Medicine
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As a common ophthalmic disease, dry eye (DE) may bring several adverse effects on the quality of life for patients. In recent years, Acupuncture (AC) is becoming increasingly popular for treating DE. Thus, we conceived this systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of AC for DE objectively. ⋯ CRD42019144790.
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The best treatment option for patients with post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) remains controversial. The objective of the current meta-analysis is to systematically evaluate the long-term outcomes of patients with PHH treated by ventriculoperitoneal shunt (VPS) and lumboperitoneal shunt (LPS). ⋯ The study is priorly registered through International Platform of Registered Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Protocols on June 17, 2020 (INPLASY202060063).
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Breast cancer and ovarian cancer are closely related. The major common risk factors of these 2 types of cancer are likely genetic factors. However, few studies have shown any common characteristics in patients who have both types of these 2 cancers. ⋯ Multivariate analysis revealed that independent predictors of OS were the age of diagnosis of the first tumor and the time interval between two types of tumor in patients with ovarian cancer following breast cancer. Most breast cancer or ovarian cancer occurred within 5 years after being diagnosed with the first tumor, and the interval time was significantly shorter in patients with previous ovarian cancer. The prognosis is likely positively correlated to the interval time between the occurrences of two types of cancer.
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To investigate the diagnostic value of multimodal ultrasound imaging composed of conventional ultrasonography (US), contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS), and shear wave elastography (SWE) for liver tumors. Between October 2017 and October 2019, US, CEUS, and SWE examinations of a total of 158 liver tumors in 136 patients at The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University were performed. The histopathological or imaging diagnostic results were used as controls to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of US, CEUS, SWE, and multimodal ultrasound imaging, which combines these 3 modes, in the differential diagnosis of benign and malignant liver tumors. ⋯ The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for US, CEUS, SWE, and multimodal ultrasound imaging in the diagnosis of benign and malignant liver tumors were 0.760, 0.897, 0.829, and 0.968, respectively. US, CEUS, and SWE all have diagnostic value in the diagnosis of benign and malignant liver tumors. Multimodal ultrasound imaging could significantly increase the accuracy of the diagnosis of benign and malignant liver tumors and has higher value for clinical application.
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In this study, we evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) in the treatment of Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage C hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This retrospective study evaluated 139 patients with BCLC stage C HCC who underwent CyberKnife SBRT between January 2009 and September 2017. All patients had BCLC-C, Child-Turcotte-Pugh score A-B. ⋯ The major pattern of failure was out-field intrahepatic failure which comprised 42.9% of patients. Multivariate analysis revealed that the Child-Turcotte-Pugh score, macrovascular invasion, advance stage (III-IV), and tumor response rate were independent predictors of OS. The result of our study shows that SBRT is a safe and effective therapeutic option for BCLC stage C HCC lesions that are unsuitable for standard loco-regional therapies, Moreover, SBRT has acceptable local control rates and low-treatment toxicity.