Preoperative electroacupuncture versus sham electroacupuncture for the treatment of postoperative ileus after laparoscopic surgery for colorectal cancer in China: a study protocol for a multicentre, randomised, sham-controlled trial.

Introduction: Postoperative ileus (POI) is a postoperative complication that can cause lingering recovery after colorectal resection and a heavy healthcare system burden. Acupuncture aims to prevent postoperative complications, reduce the duration of POI, help recovery and shorten hospital stays. We hypothesise that preoperative electroacupuncture (EA) can promote POI recovery under the enhanced recovery after surgery protocol after laparoscopic surgery in patients with POI.

Preservation of left colic artery in laparoscopic colorectal operation: The benefit challenge.

Background: During laparoscopic resection for colorectal cancer, there is controversy regarding whether the left colic artery (LCA) should be preserved at its origin.

Aim: To investigate the prognostic significance of preservation of the LCA in colorectal cancer surgery.

Methods: Patients were divided into two groups.

A Systematic Review and Single-center Experience of Azygos Vein Defibrillator Lead Insertion.

Defibrillation threshold (DFT) testing is performed in individuals with higher predicted risks of defibrillation failure. Many strategies have been explored to overcome the challenge of high DFT, including an insertion of a defibrillator lead into the azygos vein. We performed a systematic review of the literature to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azygos vein implantable cardioverter-defibrillator insertion for high DFT combined with the analysis of a single-center experience of the procedure at our institution.

Direct Current Ablation of Deep Substrate Arrhythmia.

Direct-current ablation has been reinvestigated in animal models with considerably good outcomes and safety margins. Its modified version using biphasic energy lowers the current density further, minimizing its complications. We report a first-in-human ablation of ventricular tachycardia using biphasic direct current with short-term success and no procedural complications.

Characteristics, trends, outcomes, and costs of stimulant-related acute heart failure hospitalizations in the United States.

Background: Heart failure (HF) hospitalizations remains a significant burden on the health care system. Stimulants including cocaine, amphetamine and its derivatives are amongst the most used illegal substances in the United States. The information regarding stimulant-related HF hospitalizations is scarce.

Epicardial bridge via the coronary sinus musculatures revealed by ultra-high-definition mapping.

Mapping and ablation of perimitral flutter, a macro-reentrant tachycardia, can be sometimes challenging. We describe a case of perimitral atrial flutter following the pulmonary vein isolation in which mitral isthmus ablation failed to terminate the arrhythmia due to epicardial-endocardial breakthrough via the muscle fibers of coronary sinus. Ultra-high-definition mapping system was utilized to locate the epicardial bridge, and spot ablation of the lesion subsequently terminated the arrhythmia.

Impact of acute kidney injury on in-hospital outcomes among patients hospitalized with acute heart failure - A propensity-score matched analysis.

Aim: We sought to determine the impact of acute kidney injury (AKI) on in-hospital outcomes in patients presenting with acute heart failure (AHF). Data from National Inpatient Sample (2012- 14) were used to identify patients with the principal diagnosis of AHF and the concomitant secondary diagnosis of AKI.

Methods: Propensity score matching was performed on 30 baseline variables to identify a matched cohort.

Utility of circulating tumor cells in stage II colorectal cancer patients undergoing curative resection.

Background: The aim of this study was to determine whether circulating tumor cells (CTCs) have utility as a prognostic biomarker in stage II colorectal cancer (CRC), as well as a biomarker for the selection of patients for adjuvant chemotherapy.

Methods: CTCs were detected in peripheral blood samples obtained from 73 stage II CRC patients, using a negative enrichment and immune-fluorescence in situ hybridization (imFISH) staining method. The follow-up time ranged from 3.

Transanal total mesorectal excision for rectal cancer: a multicentric cohort study.

Background: Transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) has recently emerged as a promising novel surgical procedure for rectal cancer. It is believed to hold the potential advantage of providing better access to mobilize the distal rectum and achieving better pathologic results. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of taTME for rectal cancer and summarize the preliminary experience in 10 Chinese hospitals.

Clozapine-Induced Cardiotoxicity Presenting as Sepsis: A Case Report and Literature Review.

Clozapine is an atypical antipsychotic agent indicated in the treatment of medication-resistant schizophrenia. It is often reserved as a last line of treatment owing to the potential for serious and potentially life-threatening side effects, the most serious being agranulocytosis requiring close hematological monitoring and possible discontinuation of the medication from further use in the patient even when the agranulocytosis resolves. Other complications of clozapine include sedation, weight gain, elevated triglyceride levels, postural hypotension, and tachycardia.

Air Entrapment Causing Inappropriate Shock From a Subcutaneous Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator.

Subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD) is an accepted alternative to conventional transvenous devices. Their efficacy in arrhythmia management is comparable to ICDs. However, those devices also have limitations such as lack of anti-tachycardia pacing capability or higher occurrence of device oversensing associated with inappropriate shocks.

Utility of Intracardiac Echocardiography to Diagnose Infective Endocarditis.

Infective endocarditis (IE) can lead to significant morbidity and mortality without appropriate treatment. Modified Duke Criteria are accepted by many professional societies to establish the diagnosis of IE, and cardiac imaging is one of the major diagnostic criteria. Transesophageal echocardiography is an algorithmic escalation to diagnose IE when transthoracic echo does not appreciate a positive finding.

Inappropriate Defibrillator Shocks due to Mechanical Inference from an Investigational Device.

Cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) is an investigational device-based therapy to enhance ventricular contractility in systolic heart failure patients who are not candidates for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) owing to the absence of wide QRS complexes or who have failed to respond on CRT. The principal mechanism is based on the stimulation of cardiac muscles by nonexcitatory electrical signals to augment the influx of calcium ions into the cardiomyocytes. The majority of patients receiving CCM therapy have concurrent implantable cardioverter defibrillators, and the manufacturer declares both devices can be used in parallel without any interactions.

[Feasibility and Safety of Enhanced Recovery after Surgery for Elderly Patients with Colorectal Cancer].

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and safety of enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) in elderly patients with colorectal cancer (CRC).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 230 CRC patients undergoing ERAS from January 2017 to January 2018. These subjects included 120 young patients (<70 years) and 110 elderly patients (≥70 years).

A Case of Complete Heart Block With Diagnostic Challenge and Therapeutic Dilemma.

Permanent pacemaker implantation is a class I indication for all symptomatic patients with complete heart block either congenital or acquired. However, certain portions of patients with congenital complete heart block are asymptomatic. Those patients are often very young, and implanting a permanent pacemaker is not always an easy decision.

Circulating tumor DNA detectable in early- and late-stage colorectal cancer patients.

Characterization, diagnosis, and treatment of colorectal cancers (CRC) is difficult due to limited biopsy information, impracticality of repeated biopsies, and cancer biomarker fallibility. Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) has recently been investigated as a non-invasive way to gain representative gene mutations in tumors, in addition to monitoring disease progression and response to treatment. We analyzed ctDNA mutations and concentrations in 47 early- and late-stage CRC patients using a targetted sequencing approach using a panel that covers 50 cancer-related genes.

Laparoscopic-assisted Transanal Total Mesorectal Excision for Middle-Low Rectal Carcinoma: A Clinical Study of 19 Cases.

Aim: To explore the safety, feasibility and short-term outcomes of laparoscopic-assisted transanal total mesorectal excision (La-TaTME) of middle-low rectal carcinoma.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective research collected and analyzed the clinical data of 19 patients diagnosed with middle and low rectal carcinoma who underwent La-TaTME from August 2015 to February 2017.

Results: No case was converted to laparotomy.

Heparin-functionalized Pluronic nanoparticles to enhance the antitumor efficacy of sorafenib in gastric cancers.

In this study, chitosan/heparin immobilized delivery system was developed for the delivery of sorafenib in gastric cancers. The SRF NP was nanosized with spherical outfit and present in the amorphous form. The SRF NP exhibited a sustained release of drug at pH 7.

Oligonucleotide microarray identifies genes differentially expressed during tumorigenesis of DMBA-induced pancreatic cancer in rats.

The extremely dismal prognosis of pancreatic cancer (PC) is attributed, at least in part, to lack of early diagnosis. Therefore, identifying differentially expressed genes in multiple steps of tumorigenesis of PC is of great interest. In the present study, a 7,12-dimethylbenzanthraene (DMBA)-induced PC model was established in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

Fabricating microparticles/nanofibers composite and nanofiber scaffold with controllable pore size by rotating multichannel electrospinning.

Polymeric nanofibers fabricated via electrospinning are regarded as promising scaffolds for biomimicking a native extracellular matrix. However, electrospun scaffolds have poor porosity, resulting in cells being unable to infiltrate into the scaffolds but grow only on its surface. In this study, we modified regular electrospinning into rotating multichannel electrospinning (RM-ELSP) to produce microparticles and nanofibers simultaneously.

[Evaluation of RCAS1 as serum tumor marker for pancreatic cancer].

Objective: To evaluate the effect of receptor-binding cancer antigen expressed on SiSO cells (RCAS1) as serum tumor marker on the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer.

Methods: Receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curve methods were used to assay the serum content of RCAS1, CA19-9 and CA242 in 46 patients with pancreatic cancer, 18 patients and 20 normal tissues of chronic pancreatitis detected by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the results were analyzed by statistics methods. The expressions of RCAS1 protein were analyzed by immunohistochemical method in 32 patients with pancreatic cancer, 10 patients with chronic pancreatitis and 6 cases of normal pancreatic specimens.