Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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The implantation of the Argus II retinal prosthesis system in a 54-year-old woman with retinitis pigmentosa who presented with an eye of long axial length at 26.82 mm was successful. Postoperative examination revealed a gap of 700 µm between the electrode array and the retina, which caused decreased visual perception. A modified strategy with quad and quinary electrode stimulation was introduced to generate higher perceptual thresholds. ⋯ Schisis of the retina developed and filled the gap, resulting in decreased threshold, and the strategy was then shifted back to single electrode stimulation mode. Rehabilitation program is an evolving process that depends on the distance between the array and the retina in the eye with staphyloma. This study first showed the implantation in a patient with high myopia who presented with long axial length after surgery and rehabilitation program in Taiwan.
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To evaluate a single surgeon's experience with minimally invasive total knee arthroplasty (MIS-TKA) and report the 9-year learning curve and trends in clinical outcomes based on assessment of surgical skills, radiographic alignments, and patient's function scores. ⋯ Although a surgeon may become competent with MIS-TKA and achieved the preliminary learning curve within one year, experience accumulation continuously improved technical proficiency in MIS-TKA. This study confirmed significant improvements in surgical skills, postoperative alignment, and patients' function over time.
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Several ARID5B single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were confirmed to be significantly associated with the susceptibility of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) based on Caucasian populations in previous studies. Similar investigations in Asian populations were less. The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between ARID5B SNPs rs7089424, rs10994982, and the risk of ALL in Chinese pediatric population. ⋯ ARID5B rs7089424 and rs10994982 might serve as genetic susceptibility markers for B-ALL in Chinese pediatric population. Moreover, the two ARID5B SNPs are associated with the risk of B-hyperdiploid ALL, which had a better therapeutic response than other ALL subtypes.
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The cephalomedullary nail is the most common device used to treat unstable intertrochanteric fractures (ITFs) (AO/OTA 31-A2 and A3) in the geriatric population. However, there is lack of radiological parameter to evaluate the entry point; hence, this study reports a new radiological parameter to evaluate the entry point of the nail. Besides, other risk factors were also examined. ⋯ This study provides additional evidence demonstrating that sex and TAD have significant effects on the outcomes of unstable ITFs after nailing. Moreover, the newly reported radiological parameter, dPG, can be used to predict the failure of ITFs treated using cephalomedullary nails.
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Treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus infection has evolved rapidly in recent years due to the invention of interferon-free direct antiviral agents (DAAs). However, evidence and recommendations for acute hepatitis C (AHC) virus infection by DAAs are still limited, especially for those whose disease presents with hepatic decompensation. ⋯ Serum hepatitis C virus RNA significantly declines after therapy and became undetectable at week 8 and it remained undetectable at 12 weeks after finishing therapy; sustained virological response was impressed. Our findings support that combination of sofosbuvir and daclatasvir plus ribavirin can be used for genotype 1b, AHC virus infection patients with overt hepatic decompensation.