Preparation of multifunctional nanobubbles and their application in bimodal imaging and targeted combination therapy of early pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer will gradually become the second leading cause of cancer death due to its poor suitability for surgical treatment, frequent recurrence and metastasis, and insensitivity to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Strategies for precise early detection and effective targeted treatment of pancreatic cancer are urgently needed. Because of its unique advantages, molecular targeted contrast-enhanced ultrasound imaging (CEUI) has generated new opportunities to overcome this challenge.

A new strategy for accurate targeted diagnosis and treatment of cutaneous malignant melanoma: dual-mode phase-change lipid nanodroplets as ultrasound contrast agents.

Background: Currently, effective detection and treatment of cutaneous malignant melanoma (CMM) still face severe challenges. Ultrasound molecular imaging as a noninvasive and easy-to-operate method is expected to bring improvements for tumor detection.

Purpose: The aim of this research is to prepare novel phase-change ultrasound contrast agents, Nds-IR780, which can perform not only dual-mode molecule-targeted imaging but also targeted photothermal therapy for CMM.

Incidence of portal vein thrombosis after splenectomy and its influence on transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt stent patency.

Background: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is widely accepted as an alternative to surgery for management of complications of portal hypertension. TIPS has been used to treat portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in many centers since the 1990s. Although TIPS has good therapeutic effects on the formation of PVT, the effect of PVT on TIPS stenting has rarely been reported.

Safety and efficacy of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt combined with palliative treatment in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background: There is a close relationship between cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) has good clinical effect in treating the complication of portal hypertension. However, because of the risk of postoperative liver failure, severe complications, and low survival rate for HCC, TIPS is contraindicated in patients with portal hypertension and liver cancer.

Targeted puncture of left branch of intrahepatic portal vein in transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt to reduce hepatic encephalopathy.

Background: Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) is currently used for the treatment of complications of portal hypertension. The incidence of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) remains a problem in TIPS placement. It has been reported that the right branch mainly receives superior mesenteric venous blood while the left branch mainly receives blood from the splenic vein.

Direct Intrahepatic Portocaval Shunt for Sinusoidal Obstruction Syndrome Associated with Hepatotoxicity of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids.

We retrospectively identified 89 consecutive patients from January 2004 to January 2012 to investigate efficacy of direct intrahepatic portocaval shunt (DIPS) combined with inferior vena cava (IVC) stenting for sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) associated with hepatotoxicity of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. Indications for treatment were variceal hemorrhage and/or refractory ascites. Patients were treated with DIPS plus IVC stenting (group A, n=68) or DIPS alone (group B, n=21).

Effect of initial stent position on patency of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of initial stent position on transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS).

Methods: We studied 425 patients from January 2004 to January 2015 with refractory ascites or variceal bleeding who required TIPS placement. Patients were randomly divided into group A (stent in hepatic vein, = 57), group B (stent extended to junction of hepatic vein and inferior vena cava, = 136), group C (stent in left branch of portal vein, = 83) and group D (stent in main portal vein, = 149).

Application of vertebral artery ultrasonography in enlistment-age male student pilots.

The aim of this study was to investigate the vertebral artery (VA) morphology of enlistment-age male student pilots with ultrasound to provide a basis for early diagnosis of potentially asymptomatic cervical vertigo. Ultrasound results of the origin position, diameter and hemodynamics of the VA in 935 cases of student pilots with a mean age of 18.0 y were analyzed.

Significance and clinical applications of ultrasound score in assessing the clinical severity of acute cholecystitis in the elderly.

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and significance of the clinical application of ultrasound score in assessing the clinical severity of acute cholecystitis in the elderly.

Methods: Pre-surgery ultrasonography was performed on 72 elderly patients with acute cholecystitis who were scheduled for cholecystectomy to determine the score based on ultrasonic imaging features to reflect clinical severity. Prior to operation, the cases were classified as mild, moderate, and severe according to clinical manifestation.

Investigation of membranous ventricular septal defect complicated with tricuspid regurgitation in ventricular septal defect occlusion.

This study aimed to explore the mechanism of membranous ventricular septal defect complicated with tricuspid regurgitation and the significance of ventricular septal defect occlusion by echocardiography. A total of 43 patients with membranous ventricular septal defect complicated with tricuspid regurgitation were observed by echocardiography and the changes in length, area and volume of tricuspid regurgitation prior to and following ventricular septal defect occlusion were measured. There were four different mechanisms of membranous ventricular septal defect complicated with tricuspid regurgitation.

Laparoscopic ultrasound enhances diagnosis and localization of insulinoma in pancreatic head and neck for laparoscopic surgery with satisfactory postsurgical outcomes.

This study explored the value of laparoscopic ultrasonography (LUS) for tumor localization in laparoscopic pancreatic surgery of insulinomas, especially for tumors located at anatomically unfavorable positions. Twenty-eight patients with insulinomas were enrolled in this study between July 2007 and March 2009. Various image examinations were performed preoperatively.

Assessment of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography in diagnosis and preoperative localization of insulinoma.

Objective: This study was to evaluate the value of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) in the diagnosis and preoperative localization of insulinoma and explore the enhancement patterns of the tumors.

Methods: Unenhanced and contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic examinations of 31 patients who underwent resection of insulinomas were retrospectively reviewed. The diagnosis sensitivity and localization specificity of CEUS for insulinomas were determined.