Objective： To review our experience of the treatment of bilateral primary spontaneous pneumothorax （PSP） by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS）. Materials and methods： Retrospective chart review was foll...Objective： To review our experience of the treatment of bilateral primary spontaneous pneumothorax （PSP） by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS）. Materials and methods： Retrospective chart review was followed by an on-clinic or telephone interview. Patients were cared for by one thoracic surgeon in four medical centers or community hospitals in Northern and Central Taiwan. Thirteen patients with bilateral PSP underwent bilateral VATS simultaneously or sequentially from July 1994 to December 2005. Results： Twelve males and one female, with age ranging from 15 to 36 years （mean 23.1 years）, were treated with VATS for bilateral PSP, under the indications of bilateral pneumothoracis simultaneously （n=4） or sequentially （n=9）. The interval between the first and second contra-lateral VATS procedure for non-simultaneous PSP patients ranged from 7 d to 6 years. Eleven of 13 patients （84.6%） had prominent pulmonary bullae/blebs, and underwent bullae resection with mechanical or chemical pleurodesis. The mean operative time was （45.6±18.3） min （range 25-96 min） and （120.6±28.7） min （range 84-166 min） respectively for the non-simultaneous （second VATS for the recurrence of contralateral side after first VATS） and simultaneous （bilateral VATS in one operation） procedures. There was no postoperative mortality. However, prolonged air leakage （〉7 d） occurred in one patient （7.7%） who recovered after conservative treatment. The mean duration of chest tube drainage was 3.1 d and the median follow up period was 3.4 years. Conclusions： VATS is a safe and effective procedure in the treatment of bilateral PSP. Bilateral VATS is only recommended for patients with simultaneously bilateral PSP, because the incidence of recurrence, even with visible bullae, was not so high in my group and in some previous literature. Bilateral VATS in a supine position should only be used in selective cases, because of possible pleural adhesion or hidden bullae on the posterior side.展开更多
Bronchoesophageal fistulas are usually diagnosed in the neonatal period. As such, the condition is rare in adults. We present a case of a congenital bronchoesophageal fistula in a 62-year-old man with the complaint of...Bronchoesophageal fistulas are usually diagnosed in the neonatal period. As such, the condition is rare in adults. We present a case of a congenital bronchoesophageal fistula in a 62-year-old man with the complaint of severe bouts of cough and choking after swallowing liquid. His workup included a barium esophagogram that revealed a fistula between the esophagus and a right lower lobe bronchus. The diagnosis should be considered in certain individuals with suggestive symptomatology and unexplained respiratory pathology. The fistula was divided and resected, The patient had an uneventful recovery.展开更多
AIM: To compare thromboembolism rates between hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and other hospitalized patients at high risk for thromboembolism. To compare thromboembolism rates between pat...AIM: To compare thromboembolism rates between hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and other hospitalized patients at high risk for thromboembolism. To compare thromboembolism rates between patients with ulcerative colitis undergoing a colorectal operation and other patients undergoing colorectal operations. METHODS: Data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey was used to compare thromboembolism rates between (1) hospitalized patients with a discharge diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and those with diverticulitis or acute respiratory failure, and (2) hospitalized patients with a discharge diagnosis of ulcerative colitis who underwent colectomy and those with diverticulitis or colorectal cancer who underwent colorectal operations. RESULTS: Patients diagnosed with ulcerative colitis had similar or higher rates of combined venous thromboembolism (2.03%) than their counterparts with diverticulitis (0.76%) or respiratory failure (1.99%), despite the overall greater prevalence of thromboembolic risk factors in the latter groups. Discharged patients with colitis that were treated surgically did not have signifi cantly different rates of venous or arterial thromboembolism than those with surgery for diverticulitis or colorectal cancer.CONCLUSION: Patients with ulcerative colitis who do not undergo an operation during their hospitalization have similar or higher rates of thromboembolism than other medical patients who are considered to be high risk for thromboembolism.展开更多
Objective： To evaluate the effect of pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus exercising on obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome （OSAHS）. Methods： We conducted a non-randomized retrospective clinical trial...Objective： To evaluate the effect of pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus exercising on obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome （OSAHS）. Methods： We conducted a non-randomized retrospective clinical trial of 75 patients with OSAHS. Fifty-four patients were managed by exercising of the pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus （exercising group）. Twenty-one patients, who refused to undertake any treatment, were defined as the control group. We took the Epworth Sleepiness Scale （ESS）, checked patients＇ polysomnography, and took 320- detector computed tomography （CT） before treatment. Six and twelve months later, we made records of apnea hypopnea index （AHI）, lowest arterial oxygen saturation （LSaO2）, body mass index （BMI）, the shortest sagittal diameter, and transverse diameter, and the effective rates of exercising were calculated and compared with the 21 patients without any treatment （control group） at the same time. SPSS 10.0 was used to analyze the data. Results： Before treatment, the ESS value was 7.67; 6 and 12 months later, the values were 3.54 and 3.25, respectively in the exercising group. AHI was decreased to 15.36 after 6 months and 13.79 after 12 months from 22.84 at the beginning. LSaO2 values were up to 81.18% after 6 months and 81.93% after 12 months from 74.05% at the beginning. There were significant differences in ESS scores, AHI, and LSaO2 between pre-treatment and post-treatment in the exercising group （P〈0.05）. However, there was no statistical difference in all the parameters between 6 and 12 months of exercising. The effective rates were 70.37% and 74.07% after 6- and 12-month exercising, respectively. There were significant differences between the exercising and control groups （P〈0.0001）. There was no statistical difference in the effective rate of the exercising group between 6 and 12 months of exercising （P〉0.05）. At 12 months of exercising, the compliance of the anteroposterior pharyngeal wall of the retropalatal area was lower （P〈0.01） than that before treatment. There was no significant change of BMI in either group. Conclusions： Exercising pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus is a kind of non-invasive and cost-effective method to treat some OSAHS patients, especially those who are old, without surgical complications, and especially mild and moderate OSAHS patients who do not want to take surgery and continuous positive airway pressure （CPAP） treatment. In addition, exercising pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus can be considered as remedial treatment of OSAHS to surgery and other therapies.展开更多
Patients who are diagnosed with acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome （ALI/ARDS） usually have ventilation-perfusion mismatch, severe decrease in lung capacity, and gas exchange abnormalities. Health ...Patients who are diagnosed with acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome （ALI/ARDS） usually have ventilation-perfusion mismatch, severe decrease in lung capacity, and gas exchange abnormalities. Health care workers have implemented various strategies in an attempt to compensate for these pathological alterations. By rotating patients with ALI/ARDS between the supine and prone position, it is possible to achieve a significant improvement in PaO2/FiO2, decrease shunting and therefore improve oxygenation without use of expensive, invasive and exprimental procedures. Prone positioning is a safe and effective way to improve ventilation when conventional strategies fail to initiate a patient response. Because a specific cure for ARDS is not available, the goat is to support the patients with therapies that cause the least amount of injury while the lungs have an opportunity to heat. Based on current data, a trial of prone positioning ventilation should be offeted to the patients who have ALI/ARDS in the early course of the disease. Published studies exhibit substantial heterogeneity in clinical results, suggesting that an adequately sized study optimizing the duration of pronmg ventilation strategy is warranted to enable definitive conclusions to be drawn.展开更多
文摘Objective： To review our experience of the treatment of bilateral primary spontaneous pneumothorax （PSP） by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery （VATS）. Materials and methods： Retrospective chart review was followed by an on-clinic or telephone interview. Patients were cared for by one thoracic surgeon in four medical centers or community hospitals in Northern and Central Taiwan. Thirteen patients with bilateral PSP underwent bilateral VATS simultaneously or sequentially from July 1994 to December 2005. Results： Twelve males and one female, with age ranging from 15 to 36 years （mean 23.1 years）, were treated with VATS for bilateral PSP, under the indications of bilateral pneumothoracis simultaneously （n=4） or sequentially （n=9）. The interval between the first and second contra-lateral VATS procedure for non-simultaneous PSP patients ranged from 7 d to 6 years. Eleven of 13 patients （84.6%） had prominent pulmonary bullae/blebs, and underwent bullae resection with mechanical or chemical pleurodesis. The mean operative time was （45.6±18.3） min （range 25-96 min） and （120.6±28.7） min （range 84-166 min） respectively for the non-simultaneous （second VATS for the recurrence of contralateral side after first VATS） and simultaneous （bilateral VATS in one operation） procedures. There was no postoperative mortality. However, prolonged air leakage （〉7 d） occurred in one patient （7.7%） who recovered after conservative treatment. The mean duration of chest tube drainage was 3.1 d and the median follow up period was 3.4 years. Conclusions： VATS is a safe and effective procedure in the treatment of bilateral PSP. Bilateral VATS is only recommended for patients with simultaneously bilateral PSP, because the incidence of recurrence, even with visible bullae, was not so high in my group and in some previous literature. Bilateral VATS in a supine position should only be used in selective cases, because of possible pleural adhesion or hidden bullae on the posterior side.
文摘Bronchoesophageal fistulas are usually diagnosed in the neonatal period. As such, the condition is rare in adults. We present a case of a congenital bronchoesophageal fistula in a 62-year-old man with the complaint of severe bouts of cough and choking after swallowing liquid. His workup included a barium esophagogram that revealed a fistula between the esophagus and a right lower lobe bronchus. The diagnosis should be considered in certain individuals with suggestive symptomatology and unexplained respiratory pathology. The fistula was divided and resected, The patient had an uneventful recovery.
文摘AIM: To compare thromboembolism rates between hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and other hospitalized patients at high risk for thromboembolism. To compare thromboembolism rates between patients with ulcerative colitis undergoing a colorectal operation and other patients undergoing colorectal operations. METHODS: Data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey was used to compare thromboembolism rates between (1) hospitalized patients with a discharge diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and those with diverticulitis or acute respiratory failure, and (2) hospitalized patients with a discharge diagnosis of ulcerative colitis who underwent colectomy and those with diverticulitis or colorectal cancer who underwent colorectal operations. RESULTS: Patients diagnosed with ulcerative colitis had similar or higher rates of combined venous thromboembolism (2.03%) than their counterparts with diverticulitis (0.76%) or respiratory failure (1.99%), despite the overall greater prevalence of thromboembolic risk factors in the latter groups. Discharged patients with colitis that were treated surgically did not have signifi cantly different rates of venous or arterial thromboembolism than those with surgery for diverticulitis or colorectal cancer.CONCLUSION: Patients with ulcerative colitis who do not undergo an operation during their hospitalization have similar or higher rates of thromboembolism than other medical patients who are considered to be high risk for thromboembolism.
基金supported by the Social Development of Science and Technology Program of Ningbo City(No.2010C50031)the Ningbo Natural Science Foundation(No.2013A610261),China
文摘Objective： To evaluate the effect of pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus exercising on obstructive sleep apnea and hypopnea syndrome （OSAHS）. Methods： We conducted a non-randomized retrospective clinical trial of 75 patients with OSAHS. Fifty-four patients were managed by exercising of the pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus （exercising group）. Twenty-one patients, who refused to undertake any treatment, were defined as the control group. We took the Epworth Sleepiness Scale （ESS）, checked patients＇ polysomnography, and took 320- detector computed tomography （CT） before treatment. Six and twelve months later, we made records of apnea hypopnea index （AHI）, lowest arterial oxygen saturation （LSaO2）, body mass index （BMI）, the shortest sagittal diameter, and transverse diameter, and the effective rates of exercising were calculated and compared with the 21 patients without any treatment （control group） at the same time. SPSS 10.0 was used to analyze the data. Results： Before treatment, the ESS value was 7.67; 6 and 12 months later, the values were 3.54 and 3.25, respectively in the exercising group. AHI was decreased to 15.36 after 6 months and 13.79 after 12 months from 22.84 at the beginning. LSaO2 values were up to 81.18% after 6 months and 81.93% after 12 months from 74.05% at the beginning. There were significant differences in ESS scores, AHI, and LSaO2 between pre-treatment and post-treatment in the exercising group （P〈0.05）. However, there was no statistical difference in all the parameters between 6 and 12 months of exercising. The effective rates were 70.37% and 74.07% after 6- and 12-month exercising, respectively. There were significant differences between the exercising and control groups （P〈0.0001）. There was no statistical difference in the effective rate of the exercising group between 6 and 12 months of exercising （P〉0.05）. At 12 months of exercising, the compliance of the anteroposterior pharyngeal wall of the retropalatal area was lower （P〈0.01） than that before treatment. There was no significant change of BMI in either group. Conclusions： Exercising pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus is a kind of non-invasive and cost-effective method to treat some OSAHS patients, especially those who are old, without surgical complications, and especially mild and moderate OSAHS patients who do not want to take surgery and continuous positive airway pressure （CPAP） treatment. In addition, exercising pharyngeal musculature and genioglossus can be considered as remedial treatment of OSAHS to surgery and other therapies.
文摘Patients who are diagnosed with acute lung injury/acute respiratory distress syndrome （ALI/ARDS） usually have ventilation-perfusion mismatch, severe decrease in lung capacity, and gas exchange abnormalities. Health care workers have implemented various strategies in an attempt to compensate for these pathological alterations. By rotating patients with ALI/ARDS between the supine and prone position, it is possible to achieve a significant improvement in PaO2/FiO2, decrease shunting and therefore improve oxygenation without use of expensive, invasive and exprimental procedures. Prone positioning is a safe and effective way to improve ventilation when conventional strategies fail to initiate a patient response. Because a specific cure for ARDS is not available, the goat is to support the patients with therapies that cause the least amount of injury while the lungs have an opportunity to heat. Based on current data, a trial of prone positioning ventilation should be offeted to the patients who have ALI/ARDS in the early course of the disease. Published studies exhibit substantial heterogeneity in clinical results, suggesting that an adequately sized study optimizing the duration of pronmg ventilation strategy is warranted to enable definitive conclusions to be drawn.
