Medicine
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Adjunctive treatment with medication of liver-soothing-oriented method (MLSM) is one of the most commonly used approaches for subjects with depression after cerebrovascular accident (DCVA) in China. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the outcome of MLSM treatment in subjects with DCVA using relevant published literature. ⋯ MLSM appears to improve symptoms of depressive disorders, enhance immediate responses, and the quality of life in subjects with DCVA. The positive action of MLSM might be potentially connected with its immunoregulating effects. More prospective trials with strict design and larger sample sizes are warranted to clarify its effectiveness and safety.
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Liver cancer exhibits geographic and ethnic differences in its prevalence and biology, which implies that it is impractical to develop universal guidelines for all patients. Thus, a meta-analysis was conducted to identify the accuracy of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) for discriminating malignant from benign liver lesions in Asians. ⋯ Our meta-analysis indicated that ADC could be promising for characterizing liver lesions among Asians, indicating that the ADC value is a promising diagnostic criterion candidate. Meanwhile, the use of dual b values could be sufficient for liver lesion characterization. However, large-scale, high-quality trials should be conducted to identify specific standards, including cut-off values for further development of diffusion-weighted imaging as a routine clinical application among Asian populations.
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Review Case Reports
Efficacy of bosentan in patients with refractory thromboangiitis obliterans (Buerger disease): A case series and review of the literature.
The cornerstone of therapy in thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO) is complete abstinence from tobacco. In addition to discontinuation of cigarette smoking, very few pharmacological and surgical options of controversial efficacy are available to date. New therapeutic options with greater efficacy are clearly needed to properly manage these patients. ⋯ When comparing patients who gave up smoking with those who were unable to completely abstain from smoking during follow-up, no significant differences were found in efficacy outcomes. Four patients (15%) developed adverse events, requiring bosentan discontinuation in 1 case. These preliminary data suggest that bosentan may be considered a therapeutic option for treatment of cases of severe TAO refractory to conventional treatment, and merit further evaluation in larger controlled, randomized clinical studies.
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Review Case Reports
A case report of children's divergent dislocation of the elbow and review of literature.
The divergent dislocation of the elbow is not common in children, and the imaging is difficult and challenging. This often leads to misdiagnosis or inappropriate treatment. The literature has reported a total of 19 cases currently. ⋯ Therefore, through the treatment of this case and the literature review, we believe that for children, most divergent dislocations of the elbow may achieve a better clinical result with closed reduction, and we also believe that after surgery or closed reduction, in the follow-up, proper function exercise is an important condition for the rehabilitation of children. For such patients, correct diagnosis and timely treatment can help to avoid joint dysfunction of elbow.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Efficacy and safety of continuous radiofrequency thermocoagulation plus pulsed radiofrequency for treatment of V1 trigeminal neuralgia: A prospective cohort study.
Patients may develop serious eye complications after continuous radiofrequency thermocoagulation (CRF) for V1 (ophthalmic division) trigeminal neuralgia (TN) at a higher temperature. Therefore, the temperature of clinical CRF for V1 TN has long been disputed, but there have few reports been found about how to achieve satisfactory pain relief, reduce the incidence rates of complications, and shorten the recovery time after CRF for V1 TN. To observe whether pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) can lead to increased rate in pain relief, reduced rate of complications, or shortened recovery time after CRF is used to treat V1 idiopathic trigeminal neuralgia (ITN). ⋯ The mean scores of HRQoL in group B patients were higher than that in group A patients (P < 0.05). PRF after CRF results in decreased recurrence of V1 TN, reduced numbers of corneal hypoesthesia, shortened recovery time, and increased HRQoL scores. Its clinical use is recommended.