The Journal of international medical research
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Objective To investigate the effect of sperm DNA fragmentation on the fertilization rate, embryo development and pregnancy outcome of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) in a cohort of Chinese couples. Methods Infertile couples that had undergone assisted reproductive technology at our centre between January 2011 and December 2013 were included in this retrospective study. Fractions of prepared sperm samples were evaluated for sperm DNA fragmentation on the day of oocyte recovery. ⋯ No association was found between sperm DNA fragmentation and cleavage rate or good quality embryo formation rates in IVF or ICSI cycles. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis showed that the sperm DNA fragmentation rate was a statistically significant prognostic indicator of the clinical fertilization rate in ICSI cycles; a rate > 22.3% was associated with a lower fertilization rate following ICSI compared with a rate ≤ 22.3%. Conclusions High values of sperm DNA fragmentation were associated with a low fertilization rate following ICSI but were not associated with alterations in pregnancy or live birth rates in either ICSI or IVF in this cohort of Chinese couples.
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Comparative Study Clinical Trial Observational Study
Comparison of the non-invasive Nexfin® monitor with conventional methods for the measurement of arterial blood pressure in moderate risk orthopaedic surgery patients.
Continuous invasive arterial blood pressure (IBP) monitoring remains the gold standard for BP measurement, but traditional oscillometric non-invasive intermittent pressure (NIBP) measurement is used in most low-to-moderate risk procedures. This study compared non-invasive continuous arterial BP measurement using a Nexfin® monitor with NIBP and IBP monitors. ⋯ Non-invasive BP measurement with Nexfin® was comparable with IBP and tended to be more precise than NIBP.
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Review Case Reports
Epidural blood patch for spontaneous intracranial hypotension with chronic subdural haematoma: A case report and literature review.
Spinal leakage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is considered to be the primary cause of spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH). Subdural haematoma (SDH) is a serious complication of SIH. This current report presents a case of bilateral SDH with SIH that was treated with epidural blood patching (EBP). ⋯ As a consequence of clinical deterioration of the patient, EBP was subsequently performed at the T12-L1 level. The headache was rapidly relieved and later the SDH was completely absorbed. This case report and literature review aims to remind clinicians that SIH can cause SDH and that EBP is a viable treatment option.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Opioid sparing effect and safety of nefopam in patient controlled analgesia after laparotomy: A randomized, double blind study.
A double-blind randomised study to evaluate the opioid sparing effect and safety of nefopam when administered via intravenous patient controlled analgesia (PCA) with fentanyl. ⋯ Intravenous PCA using nefopam + fentanyl following laparotomy has an opioid sparing effect and is associated with a low incidence of some of the typical opioid related adverse events.
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To evaluate the anatomical safety margins in relation to thoracic epidural block by analysing magnetic resonance (MR) images. ⋯ Differences in the DTC were observed among the thoracic intervertebral levels. The variability of the safety margin according to the angle of needle insertion was the largest at the T5/6 intervertebral level.