Medicine
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Comparative Study
The efficacy of artificial dermis combined with continuous vacuum sealing drainage in deep neck multiple spaces infection treatment.
Deep neck abscesses are dangerous. Artificial dermis combined with seal negative pressure drainage is a new technique for treating refractory wounds. To compare the efficacy of vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) with that of traditional incision drainage approaches for treating deep neck multiple spaces infections. ⋯ There was no significant difference in treatment cost between the two groups (P > .05). VSD technology can markedly improve the therapeutic effect of deep neck multiple spaces infection. This treatment method can be used to rapidly control infections and is valuable in the clinic (P > .05).
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Observational Study
Effects of clinicopathological factors on prognosis of young patients with resected breast cancer.
This study aims to analyze the relationship between clinicopathological characteristics and survival in young patients (≤35 years old) with resected breast cancer. A total of 173 cases were included in this study. The clinicopathological factors potentially associated with prognosis were evaluated. ⋯ For hormone receptor-positive patients, people with ER+ or PR+ and HER2-/+ showed poorer prognosis than the other 2 levels. Risk factor grouping based on the ER, PR, HER2, Ki-67 status, tumor grade, and lymph nodes postsurgery showed that patients in highest score group received the poorest prognosis. Grading system based on the hormone status or the risk factor grouping may offer a useful approach to assess which subgroups of young breast cancer present poorer prognosis.
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Gefitinib is a first-line palliative chemotherapy drug used to treat advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in patients who have an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation. However, approximately two-thirds of NSCLC patients with EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitor experience dermatological toxicity. Cutaneous toxicity is usually not life threatening but can necessitate modification or discontinuation of medication in severe cases. In this case, despite a reduction in the dose of gefitinib due to side effects, combined treatment with modified Bojungikki-tang (BJKIT) increased progression-free survival (PFS) in an advanced NSCLC patient. ⋯ Despite the reduction in gefitinib dose due to side effects, the combined treatment of gefitinib and the modified BJIKT has maintained a PFS of over 78 months, indicating that modified BJIKT enhanced the anti-cancer effect of gefitinib in a patient with advanced NSCLC harboring the EFGR mutation, and may have delayed acquired resistance, the main limitation on the efficacy of gefitinib. Further investigations including clinical trials are needed to confirm these effects.
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The study aimed to explore the association between family functioning and quality of life (QOL) in family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia. Totally 121 family caregivers were surveyed in the cross-sectional study by the self-administration questionnaires about sociodemographic characteristics, family functioning and QOL. Family functioning was evaluated in terms of the family assessment device and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scale II China Version. ⋯ Family functioning is associated with mental health rather than the physical health of family caregivers. Psychoeducational intervention could focus on family caregivers with a lower educational level and closer kinship, and those who look after patients with multiple episodes schizophrenia. Further family intervention could focus on family adaptability and affective expression in family caregivers of patients with schizophrenia.
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The vast majority of previous studies focused on the relationship between 1 meridian and 1 organ, and the comparison and specificity between 2 meridians is rarely explored. Thus, the aim of this study is to compare the heat transport characteristics between 2 different meridians and the specificity between them will also be investigated. ⋯ The study has been approved by the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Approval No. ZSLL-KY-2019-001G-01).