Accuracy of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 for diagnosing sepsis: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol.

Background: Sepsis is a complex and life-threatening systemic disease. A positive blood culture is the criterion standard of diagnosis for sepsis; however, it does not produce results for 24 to 72 hours. Besides, the clinical manifestations of sepsis are variable and nonspecific.

Partial splenic embolization using Bletilla striata particles for hypersplenism in cirrhosis: a prospective study.

The article evaluates the long-term follow-up results of PSE using Bletilla striata (BS) particles for hypersplenism in cirrhosis, as compared to PSE using gelfoam particles. Fifty-nine patients with cirrhosis-induced hypersplenism were treated with PSE. The patients were randomly assigned into two groups: gelfoam group, which includes 32 patients using gelfoam particles as the embolic material, and BS group, which includes 27 patients using BS particles.

[Evaluation of white lesions of vulva treated with focused ultrasound].

Objective: To explore the feasibility and efficacy of focused ultrasound for the treatment of vulvar dystrophy, including squamous hyperplasia (SH) and lichen sclerosus (LS).

Methods: A total of 76 eligible patients with vulvar dystrophy (45 SH and 31 LS) were treated with focused ultrasound between 1999 and 2002. Before and after ultrasound therapy, both ultrasonography and biopsies of the lesions were performed to monitor and evaluate the changes of the lesion being treated.