Medicine
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Classical trigeminal neuralgia (CTN) is a kind of trigeminal neuralgia which is due to neurovascular compression. The common neurological treatment CTN drug called carbamazepine is the main measure, although it usually has side effects and a high-rate of relapse. As a critical alternative therapy, electroacupuncture (EA) has been shown to benefit for neuropathic pain. The aims of this study are to observe the therapeutic effect and safety of EA for CTN, to evaluate whether EA has the advantage over carbamazepine in the analgesia of CTN. Furthermore, we would to establish a standardized, effective, and convenient therapy program of EA. ⋯ Ethics approval was obtained from the Clinical Trial Ethics Committee of The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (NO. ZSLL-KY-2017-033) and Jiaxing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine (NO. 2018-JZLK-002). The results will be disseminated by presentation at peer-reviewed journals.
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Case Reports Comparative Study
Transesophageal and intracardiac ultrasound in arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy: Two case reports.
Two-dimensional echocardiography (2D echo) is a major tool for the diagnosis of Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C). However 2D echo can skip regional localized anomalies of the right ventricular wall. We aimed to determine whether transesophageal and intracardiac ultrasound can provide additional information, on the right ventricular abnormalities compared to 2D echo. ⋯ Transesophageal echocardiography and intracardiac echocardiography can provide additional information on small, focal structural abnormalities in patients with ARVD/C: bulges, saculations, aneurysms with or without associated thrombus, partial or complete loss of trabeculations and hypertrophy of the moderator band. These changes are particularly important in cases with "concealed" form of the disease in which no morphological abnormalities are evident in transthoracic echocardiograpy.
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Comparative Study Observational Study
Effect of puncture sites on pneumothorax after lung CT-guided biopsy.
To determine the influence of puncture site on aspiration in dealing with pneumothorax following CT-guided lung biopsy. Two hundred thirty-six pneumothorax patients after CT guided lung biopsies were retrospective analyzed from January 2013 to December 2018. Patients with minor asymptomatic pneumothorax were treated conservatively with monitoring of vital signs and follow-up CT to confirm stability. ⋯ No serious side effects were detected in the period of aspiration procedure. Manual aspiration with puncture site away from initial biopsy one is worth trying to deal with post-biopsy pneumothorax. This modified procedure improved the efficiency of treatment significantly, and reduced the rate of pneumothorax requiring chest tube placement.
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Healthy dietary patterns and physical activity (PA) represent important lifestyle behaviors with considerable potential to influence on age-related metabolic health. Yet, data on the combined effects of these lifestyle behaviors on metabolic health including low-grade systemic inflammation in aging populations remain scarce. Therefore, this protocol describes a randomized controlled trial aiming to examine the impacts of healthy dietary patterns alone or combined with PA on metabolic health in middle-aged and older men and women. ⋯ The study protocol has been approved by the ethical review board in Uppsala, Sweden. The results will be published in peer-reviewed journals and disseminated in national and international conferences.
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Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess (KPLA) is often associated with accompanying metastatic complications such as septic pulmonary embolism, brain abscess, and endophthalmitis. Pleural empyema secondary to a KPLA is a very unusual finding, made even more rare with the presence of a hepatopleural fistula. ⋯ Pleural empyema is a rare but fatal complication secondary to KPLA. Additionally, the discovery of a hepatopleural fistula on a CT scan (multiplanar reconstruction image) made this case even more rare. Both, the liver abscess and pleural empyema, were effectively drained through the fistula tract with drainage procedure, thoracostomy, and additional liver abscess drainage. Prompt diagnostic evaluation, using an imaging modality such as CT, and early drainage management with intravenous antibiotics can improve clinical outcome.