Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Comparison of efficacy according to voltage of pulsed radiofrequency treatment to lumbar dorsal root ganglion in patient with lumbar radiculopathy: Pilot study.
Lumbar radicular pain (LRP) is a common symptom, but a challenging clinical problem. Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) is a more recently developed technique that uses short pulses of radiofrequency current with intervals of longer pauses to prevent temperature from rising to the level of permanent tissue damage and has been advocated in treatment of such patients. But there were no comparative studies on the analgesic effects according to output voltage during PRF in patients with LRP. The goal of this study is to determine the clinical effect of high-voltage (60V) versus standard-voltage (45V) PRF of lumbar dorsal root ganglion. ⋯ The results of this trial will help determine which voltage could be applied for PRF to dorsal root ganglion in LRP and be a basis for subsequent trials.
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Meta Analysis
Reproductive outcomes of ectopic pregnancy with conservative and surgical treatment: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Ectopic pregnancy (EP), one of the most common gynecological emergencies, is the major cause of maternal death in the first trimester and increases the incidence of infertility and repeat ectopic pregnancy (REP). The aim of this study was to compare the effects of different treatment methods for tubal EP on natural pregnancy outcomes. ⋯ For hemodynamically stable tubal EP patients, MTX has advantages over surgery, particularly salpingectomy, in improving natural pregnancy outcomes. However, MTX is not inferior to salpingostomy and expectant treatment.
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Review Case Reports
Treatment of primary squamous cell carcinoma of the endometrium and review of previous literature: A case report.
Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the endometrium (PSCCE) has been occasionally reported. Treatment of this disease poses a challenge to clinicians because of its rarity. Herein, we report the case of a 56-year-old woman with typical clinical manifestations and a pathological diagnosis classified by molecular typing as having high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) PSCCE. Based on a review of the previous literature, we summarized the treatment options for this rare disease and proposed new opinions. ⋯ Curettage specimens may show only well-differentiated squamous epithelium, which is indistinguishable from normal squamous epithelium. It is difficult to infer from the histological morphology that the curettage specimens originate from the uterine cavity, which makes it difficult to diagnose PSCCE before the operation. We suggest that when an imaging examination indicates a tumor in the uterine cavity, even if multiple curettage specimens indicate normal or well-differentiated squamous epithelium, it indicates the possibility of PSCCE.
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The degeneration of articular cartilage tissue is the most common cause of articular cartilage diseases such as osteoarthritis. There are limitations in chondrocyte self-renewal and conventional treatments. ⋯ This paper reviews the role of thrombospondin-2 in cartilage regeneration and the important role it plays in protecting cartilage from damage caused by inflammation or trauma and in the regenerative repair of cartilage by binding to different receptors and activating different intracellular signaling pathways. These studies provide new ideas for cartilage repair in clinical settings.
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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) are at high risk for stroke. Left atrial appendage closure (LAAC) is a promising alternative for stroke prevention in AF patients. We aimed to review the clinical outcomes of patients with AF and HCM at our center. ⋯ There were another 2 HCM patients who had sudden cardiac death (SCD). Compared with the control, HCM patients had higher cumulative rate of combined death and stroke (26.67% vs 3.33%, P = .024). In our initial clinical experience, the cumulative stroke and death rate of the HCM patients was significantly higher than that of the non-HCM patients.