Novel technique for lymphadenectomy along left recurrent laryngeal nerve during thoracoscopic esophagectomy

BACKGROUND In esophageal squamous carcinoma,lymphadenectomy along the left recurrent laryngeal nerve(RLN)is recommended owing to its highly metastatic potential.However,this procedure is difficult due to limited working space in the left upper mediastinum,and increases postoperative complications.AIM To present a novel method for lymphadenectomy along the left RLN during thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the semi-prone position.METHODS The fundamental concept of this novel method is to exfoliate a bilateral pedicled nerve flap,which is a two-dimensional membrane,which includes the left RLN,lymph nodes(LNs)along the left RLN,and tracheoesophageal vessels,by suspending the esophagus to the dorsal side and pushing the trachea to the ventral side(named“bilateral exposure method”).Then,the hollow-out method is performed to transform the two-dimensional membrane to a three-dimensional structure,in which the left RLN and tracheoesophageal vessels are easily distinguished and preserved during lymphadenectomy along the left RLN.This novel method was retrospectively evaluated in 116 consecutive patients with esophageal squamous carcinoma from August 2016 to February 2018.RESULTS There were 58 patients in each group.No significant difference was found between the two groups in terms of age,gender,postoperative pneumonia,anastomotic fistula,and postoperative hospitalization.However,the number of dissected LNs along the left RLN in this novel method was significantly higher than that in the conventional method(4.17±0.359 vs 2.93±0.463,P=0.0447).Moreover,the operative time and the rate of postoperative hoarseness in the novel method were significantly lower than those in the conventional method(306.0±6.774 vs 335.2±7.750,P=0.0054;4/58 vs 12/58,P=0.0312).CONCLUSION This novel method for lymphadenectomy along the left RLN during thoracoscopic esophagectomy in the semi-prone position is much safer and more effective.

Current research status and research hotspots in Chinese geriatric medicine: Data retrieved from the Chinese Journal of Geriatrics

Objective: To investigate the research hotspots and development trends of Chinese geriatric medicine by analyzing the high-frequency keywords, core authors, research institutions and their collaborations in papers published in the Chinese Journal of Geriatrics.Methods: Bibliometric methods and information visualization software(CiteSpace Ⅲ) were used to analyze the following 3 aspects: keywords, institutions and authors.Results: Overall, the number of papers published in the Chinese Journal of Geriatrics grew between 1994 and 2015. The top 3 institutions with the greatest numbers of published papers were Beijing Hospital,People's Liberation Army General Hospital and the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University.The authors with high productivity were Pulin Yu, Jianye Wang and Xiaoying Li. The terms "Diabetes","hypertension" and "myocardial infarction" were hotspot words that drew sustained attention in this field.Conclusions: Research on geriatric medicine is growing steadily in China. Hospitals and teaching hospitals are major contributors to publications. The collaboration of authors is more common within the same institutions or in the same regions. Clinical research is still the focus of current research. In the future, basic research should be strengthened, and collaborations between different institutions and regions should be promoted to achieve coordinated and integrated development in Chinese geriatric medicine.

Information visualization analysis on Advances in Psychological Science:1983-2014

Objective: To describe the revolution and research status of Advances in Psychological Science.Methods: A total of 3060 articles published in Advances in Psychological Science from 1983 to 2014 were analyzed with the information visualization method using Citespace software from the aspects of publications, cited frequency and downloads, funding, organizations, authors and keywords.Results: The results showed that the amount of literature published annually had an upward tendency,and 49.4% of the papers were supported by national or provincial projects. Institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS) and the normal universities were rated in the forefront of the scientific research output. Xiting Huang, Hong Li and Yuejia Luo were at the top of the list of prolific authors.Conclusions: A new pattern of cooperative development of the theory and application in the field of psychological research is forming.

A bibliometric study of the Journal of School Health:1965-2014

Background:As an important international journal in the field of school health,the Journal of School Health has drawn wide attention from researchers and readers around the world.Therefore,it is important to conduct a systematic retrospective study of the journal.With the aim of understanding the development of the journal and the evolutionary process of cooperative study of this field comprehensively,we employed bibliometric analysis using the articles published in the Journal of School Health from 1965.Methods:Using bibliometrics,5242 articles published in the journal were extracted and then analyzed using the visualization software CiteSpace Ⅲ.Results:The annual published amount of literature showed a declining tendency;however,the frequency of citation displayed an increase year by year.Among prolific authors,the number of reports published by JH Price,L Kann and RJ McDermott are at the top.Among the high frequency keywords used in the research journal, "adolescents", "children" and "programs" have become popular in the journal's vocabulary.CDCP,Univ Texas and Univ Calif are positioned in the forefront of the involved institutions when ranked by degree of contribution.Conclusions:The Journal of School Health provides an important platform for sharing research achievements and promoting cooperation in this field.The amount of articles published in the journal is continually improving;its cooperative research network promoted by famous scholars and institutions is forming.As more researchers and institutions join,the network will grow and relationships will become increasingly close.However,limitations to cooperation at the regional or interagency scope remain.