Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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Coexistence of ankylosing spondylitis with connective tissue diseases is uncommon. We describe here the coexistence of ankylosing spondylitis and systemic lupus erythematosus in a 35-year-old man. ⋯ The human leukocyte antigen B27 antigen was also found to be positive. We propose that development of systemic lupus erythematosus in this case may have been due to low grade chronic inflammation.
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How to effectively use the finite resources of an intensive care unit (ICU) for neurosurgical patients is a critical decision-making process. Mortality prediction models are effective tools for allocating facilities. This study intended to distinguish the prediction power of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II), the Simplified Acute Physiology Score II (SAPS II), and the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) for neurosurgical patients. ⋯ The predictive powers of SAPS II, APACHE II and GCS-mr were the same. The GCS-mr is more convenient for predicting mortality in neurosurgical patients. Both GCS
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Papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is the most common endocrine malignancy, accounting for 85-90% of all thyroid cancers. Genetic alternations involving the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway are frequently demonstrated in PTC, such as RET/PTC, RAS, and B-type Raf kinase (BRAF) mutations. Over 90% of BRAF mutations are T1799A, resulting in a BRAF(V600E) mutation. ⋯ Preclinical results are encouraging, but the anticancer effects of clinical trials are disappointing. Studies of multi-kinase inhibitors and/or combination with other regimens are underway in the treatment of advanced thyroid cancers. In this article, we review the pathogenesis of PTC, and the clinical implications of BRAF(V600E) mutation in the diagnosis, prognosis and potential targeted therapeutic strategies for thyroid cancers.
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To compare 3-dimensional gadolinium-enhanced elliptic centric-ordered (3D GEC) magnetic resonance venography (MRV) with traditional 2-dimensional time-of-flight (2D TOF) MRV for imaging of the intracranial venous system. ⋯ 3D GEC MRV is superior to 2D TOF MRV for providing more detail of the intracranial venous system, and can lead to better diagnosis of venous conditions.
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Elderly persons with acute poisoning in the emergency department (ED) and prognostic factors of outcomes have not been well addressed in previous research. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of elderly patients with acute poisoning visiting the ED, and to identify the possible predictive factors of mortality. ⋯ Our results demonstrated that elderly patients with acute poisoning had a mortality rate of 9.6%. Suicide attempts resulted in more serious complications. The risk factors for mortality were herbicide intoxication, hypotension and respiratory failure.