ObjectiveTo analyze the clinical presentations and radiological characteristics of pulmonary vein stenosis after radiofrequency ablation.
MethodsClinical and radiological data of 2 patients with pulmonary vein stenosis after radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation were retrospectively analyzed and literatures were reviewed.
ResultsBoth patients had undergone circumferential pulmonary vein isolation. The symptoms appeared approximately 2 months after the operation. The major symptoms were cough, hemoptysis, exacerbation of dyspnea and chest pain. Both patients were misdiagnosed as other diseases such as pneumonia in other hospitals, and the anti-infection therapy was invalid. Both CT scans showed parenchymal exudative consolidation with varying degrees of interstitial septal thickening and small nodules. Both patients were confirmed as pulmonary vein stenosis by CT angiography. Literature review identified 21 cases of pulmonary vein stenosis after radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation. The main clinical features are hemoptysis, chest pain, shortness of breath and cough. The most common features of thoracic radiological imaging are consolidation, groud-glass attenuation, pleural effusion and interstitial septal thickening.
ConclusionsIf a patient presents with hemoptysis, dyspnea, chest pain or other clinical manifestations after ablation therapy and image findings show parenchymal exudative consolidation with interstitial septal thickening and multiple small nodules, the possibility of pulmonary vein stenosis should be considered. Contrast-enhanced CT combined with pulmonary vein imaging technology can clearly show the opening diameter of each pulmonary vein and its branches, so it is an important non-invasive examination method for the evaluation and diagnosis of pulmonary vein stenosis.
Objective To improve the knowledge of cryptogenic organizing pneumonia ( COP) , and reduce misdiagnosis and mistreatment. Methods The medical records of 22 patients with biopsy-proven COP from January 2006 to October 2011 were retrospectively reviewed. The clinical presentation, laboratory data, radiographic results and treatment were collected and analyzed. Results The clinical presentations were nonspecific, and the most common symptomof COPwas cough ( 95. 45% ) . The laboratory data analysis revealed that elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate in 71. 43% of the COP patients. The COP patients usually presented with a restrictive ventilation dysfunction and decreased diffuse function on pulmonary function test. The most common patterns of lung abnormality on chest CT scan were bilaterally multifocal patchy consolidation or ground-glass opacification ( 63. 64% ) , which distributed along the bronchovascular bundles or subpleural lungs. Patchy consolidation with air bronchograms was also a common feature ( 54. 55% ) . Migration over time and spontaneous remission of consolidation were important pointers.Histopathology by transbronchial lung biopsy was a valuable means for diagnosis. The majority of COP patients were non-response to antibiotics, but responded rapidly and completely to oral administration of corticosteroids with good prognosis. Conclusions The clinical presentations and laboratory data of COP patients are nonspecific. Initial imaging findings of COP are similar with pneumonia. Strengthening the recognition of COP is conducive to reducing misdiagnosis and reasonable antibiotics use.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical and video EEG features of patients with post-stroke epilepsy (PSE).MethodsThe clinical data of 68 patients with epilepsy after cerebral infarction and 33 patients with epilepsy after cerebral hemorrhage were analyzed retrospectively from January 2015 to June 2018 in the Affilated Hospital of Jining Medical University. There were 5 cases of early-onset epilepsy, and the rest were late-onset epilepsy. There were 68 cases of cerebral infarction (1 case showed post-infarction hemorrhagic transformation), 33 cases of cerebral hemorrhage; 51 females, 50 males (f∶m = 1.02∶1); the onset age was 45 ~ 101 years, with an average of (68.10 ± 10.26) years.ResultsThe time from seizure to stroke in 101 cases was (28.92 ± 35.61) months, 60 cases (59.40%) ≤ 1 year, 26 cases (25.74%) 1 ~ 5 years, and 15 cases (14.85%) 5 ~ 10 years. Post-stroke epilepsy had no relation to gender (P>0.05). The age of onset is mostly in 60 to 75 years old (62.38%). Seizure often happen within 1 year after stroke (59.4%). The type of attack is focal seizure (77.23%). Cortical infarction (77.94%), cerebral artery stenosis (83.82%), hypertension, diabetes, and atrial fibrillation are risk factors for epilepsy after infarction. The abnormal rate of EEG for PSE is 90.1%, which was manifested as slow wave in the lesion side, epileptic wave in the lesion side or contralateral side.ConclusionsThe location, duration, age and severity of cerebral artery stenosis in patients with PSE are closely related to the occurrence of seizure. VEEG plays an important role in the diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of epilepsy.
Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics of neutrophilic asthma ( NA) .Methods NA patients were collected from the out-patient and in-patient departments of Respiratory Diseases of Xinqiao Hospital between January 2010 and December 2010. The results of the medical records,pulmonary function tests, and induced sputum cytology were analyzed retrospectively. Results The NA patients with neutrophil percent ≥ 61% accounted for 33. 1% ( 51 /154 ) of all the asthmatics patients detected by induced sputumin the same period, and 45 cases with complete records were included. Of the 45 cases recruited, 20 cases ( 44. 4% ) were in-patients,2 cases ( 4. 4% ) were with controlled asthma, 3 cases ( 6. 7% ) were with cough variant asthma, 30 cases ( 66. 7% ) were female, 12 cases ( 26. 7% ) were atopic patients, and 27 cases ( 60% ) had acute exacerbation. The age of onset of 35 patients ( 77. 8% ) were after 12 years. FEV1% pred lt; 60% and gt; 80% was obtained in 55. 9% ( 19/34) and 14. 7% ( 5 /34) of patients respectively. The result of bronchodilator test was positive in 64% ( 16/25) of patients, and mean increase in FEV1 was 11. 7% . The percentage of neutrophil and eosinophil was ( 74. 5 ±9. 1) % and ( 2. 4 ±2. 5) % respectively in induced sputum, and 35. 6% ( 16/45) of the patients had increased eosinophil percentage ( gt;3% ) . Conclusions In our study, most of NA is severe and acute exacerbation asthma, and its clinical features are various. The mechanismand clinical significance of increased neutrophils in asthmatic patients are unclear and more studies are needed.
Objective
To propose the terminology of acoustic hypersensitivity, and investigate its clinical features and relationship with tinnitus.
Methods
A total of 214 patients with acoustic hypersensitivity or tinnitus as their first chief complaint were recruited and studied between January 2014 to January 2016. Detailed information of clinical manifestations, accompanying symptoms and related medical history were collected in the patients with acoustic hypersensitivity. Patients were instructed to complete the Hyperacusis Questionnaire and the Self-rating Anxiety Scale. The Tinnitus Evaluation Questionnaire was used to evaluate tinnitus severity in patients with tinnitus.
Results
Among the patients with acoustic hypersensitivity as their first chief complaint, 93.3% had tinnitus; 47.3% of the patients with tinnitus as their first chief complaint had acoustic hypersensitivity and the prevalence of acoustic hypersensitivity increased as the tinnitus severity increased. In terms of onset of the two symptoms, simultaneous acoustic hypersensitivity and tinnitus occurred in 55.1% of the patients, acoustic hypersensitivity occurred after tinnitus in 34.7% of the patients, and acoustic hypersensitivity occurred before tinnitus in 10.2% of the patients. Most patients with acoustic hypersensitivity as the first chief complaint felt uncomfortable to any sounds that are louder than usual. The main manifestations included feeling disturbed, echoing in the ear or head, ear fullness or pain. Discomfort in 68.6% of the patients disappeared when there was no environmental sound. It was found that hearing loss, ear fullness, vertigo, and anxiety were usually present in patients with acoustic hypersensitivity, and 28.6% of the patients with acoustic hypersensitivity had a history of noise exposure.
Conclusions
Acoustic hypersensitivity occurs together with tinnitus for the majority of time, which shows a close relationship between these two symptoms. However, acoustic hypersensitivity shows different clinical manifestations from tinnitus. It is important to unify the terminology and standardize the concept of acoustic hypersensitivity among clinicians. It is also critical to conduct more clinical research in terms of diagnosing and evaluating acoustic hypersensitivity.
Objective
To investigate the clinical features and risk factors of diabetic foot.
Methods
A total of 100 patients with diabetic foot and 158 diabetic patients without diabetic foot were selected from April 2012 to May 2015 in Meishan Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Clinical data of the patients in the two groups was comparatively analyzed. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to explore the risk factors.
Results
The age, duration of diabetes, incidences of complications, count of white blood cells, level of fibrinogen, level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) in diabetic foot group were significantly higher than those in non-diabetic foot group (P<0.05), while the ankle-brachial index, level of hemoglobin and level of albumin in diabetic foot group were significantly lower than those in non-diabetic foot group (P<0.05). The independent risk factors of diabetic foot were Wanger grade, age, ankle-brachial index, hs-CRP, albumin and HbA1c (P<0.05). HbA1c and hs-CRP level were independent risk factors of disease severity in patients with diabetic foot; the difference of prognosis in patients with different Wanger grading was statistically significant (Z=–4.394, P<0.001).
Conclusions
The risk of diabetic foot in diabetic patients increases with older age, the more serious Wanger grade, the higher hs-CRP and HbA1c level, and the lower ankle-brachial index and albumin level. Taking precautions based on the patient’s situation is conducive to early prevention of amputation in diabetic patients with diabetic foot.
Objective To explore the clinical features, treatment measures, disease outcomes, and differences in patients with asthma admitted to hospitals in Qinghai and Tibetan Plateau, and further analyze the risk factors. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 297 patients with asthma admitted to Qinghai Provincial People’s Hospital and Tibet Autonomous Region People’s Hospital from 2015 to 2021. A standardized case report form (CRF) was designed and used to collect patients’ general information, International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10), clinical symptoms, treatment, laboratory examination, and pulmonary function test data. The clinical features of the patients were described, and the risk factors of the clinical features of asthma patients admitted to hospitals in Qinghai and Tibetan Plateau were analyzed by using a stepwise Logistic regression model. Results A total of 297 patients with asthma admitted to hospitals in Qinghai and Tibetan Plateau were included in this study. The overall pulmonary function of asthma patients admitted to hospitals in Qinghai was worse than that in Tibetan Plateau (FEV1/FVC%: 73.22±13.59 vs. 80.70±18.36, P<0.001; TLC: 101.50 vs. 163.00, P=0.001). The incidence of related clinical symptoms in asthma patients admitted to hospitals in Qinghai were higher than those in Tibetan Plateau (dyspnea: 98.0% vs. 66.0%, P<0.001; cyanosis: 82.0% vs. 34.0%, P<0.001; pulmonary rales: 80.7% vs. 70.7%, P=0.046). There was no significant difference in treatment measures between patients in Qinghai and Tibetan Plateau (P>0.05). The main factors contributing to the differences in clinical characteristics between the two regions were the altitude of residence (OR=0.94, 95%CI: 0.91-0.98, P=0.004) and the co-existence of allergic diseases (OR=9.47, 95%CI: 2.68-3347.07, P=0.012).ConclusionsCompared with Tibet, the incidence of asthma symptoms and poorer lung function were higher among inpatients with asthma in Qinghai; there was no significant difference in treatment measures between the two regions, but there was a significant difference in prognosis; the main factors contributing to the differences in clinical characteristics between the two regions were the altitude of residence and the co-existence of allergic diseases.
ObjectiveTo enhance the understanding of Takayasu’s arteritis (TA) with pulmonary vascular involvement through the analyses on clinical features.MethodsA retrospective study was conducted to analyze the clinical records of patients diagnosed as TA with pulmonary vascular involvement admitted to Beijing Anzhen Hospital from January 2007 to August 2017.ResultsIn recent 10 years, there were 233 patients diagnosed as TA in Beijing Anzhen Hospital, 17 of them were involved with pulmonary arterial, which accounted for 7.3%. Fourteen patients were females, 3 patients were males. The age ranged from 16 to 59 years with an average of (40±13) years. Among the 17 patients, dyspnea (15 cases, 88.2%) was the most common symptom, and unequal blood pressure of upper limbs (9 cases, 52.9%) was the main sign. Thirteen patients had pulmonary hypertension by echocardiographic examination. Angiographic data showed that multi-lobular and multi-segmental pulmonary branches were predominantly affected. Unilateral involvement of pulmonary artery was more common than bilateral involvement, while the right pulmonary arteries were more often affected than the left. Thirteen patients received hormone and immunosuppressive therapy, 11 patients received anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy, and 5 patients received targeted treatment of pulmonary artery pressure.ConclusionsThe clinical manifestation of TA is unspecific and misdiagnosis rate is relatively high. Improving the understanding of TA is necessary so as to reduce the misdiagnosis rate at an early stage and ameliorate the prognosis.
ObjectiveTo summarize the clinical features of and prognosis factors for spontaneous intracranial hypotension (SIH).
MethodsWe continuously registered hospitalized patients diagnosed with SIH from December 1st, 2010 to February 1st, 2014. Etiology information and clinical features were collected at the first day of admission. Routine blood test and lumbar puncture were done as soon as possible. Every patient got position and fluid infusion therapy. During the one-week follow-up, headache level was evaluated with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).
ResultsThere were 110 patients included, and among them, 39(35.5%) were male and 71(64.55%) were female. The age of onset was between 17 and 91 years old with a mean onset age of (42.0±12.4). Besides postural headache, common signs were nausea (68 cases, 61.8%), vomiting (63 cases, 57.3%), dizziness (40 cases, 36.4%), neck pain (27 cases, 24.5%), and tinnitus (23 cases, 20.9%). VAS at baseline was (7.46±0.86), and at the last follow-up, VAS was (3.45±2.17), with an average improvement of 53.75%. Patients with ANA marker positive had better prognosis.
ConclusionSIH can accompany serious brain stem and cerebellum signs, and even meningeal irritation. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) changes are similar to virus infection with negative serum virus screening. If CSF leak cannot be found on imaging, patients can improve through fluid infusion therapy and postural treatment.
ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical characteristics of non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) pulmonary disease and pulmonary tuberculosis, as well as the bacterial distribution of NTM pulmonary disease. Methods The bacterial distribution and clinical characteristics of 104 patients with NTM lung disease hospitalized in Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital from May 2017 to May 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, as well as the clinicplal characteristics of 155 patients with tuberculosis hospitalized during the same period. Results The age of NTM lung disease group [(60±15) years] was higher than that of tuberculosis group [(55±19) years]. There were statistically significant differences in basic diseases (such as malignant tumor, type 2 diabetes, old tuberculosis, bronchiectasis), laboratory examination (such as blood routine examination, albumin) and chest imaging characteristics between the two groups (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in clinical symptoms (such as cough, sputum or fever) (P>0.05). The common underlying diseases of NTM lung disease were malignant tumor (29%), bronchiectasis (21%), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (19%), etc. The common clinical symptoms of NTM lung disease included cough, sputum, fever, hemoptysis, chest tightness and shortness of breath, and other non-specific respiratory symptoms. The common manifestations of NTM lung disease on chest high-resolution CT (HRCT) included patchy images (82%), mediastinal lymph node enalargement (35%), pleural thickening (31%), pleural effusion (26%) and other signs. The isolates of NTM included Mycobacterium avium (50%), Mycobacterium intracellulare (21%), Mycobacterium chelonae/abscessus (14%), Mycobacterium fortuitum (5%), Mycobacterium gordonae (4%), Mycobacterium gilvum (3%), and Mycobacterium smegmatis (3%). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that advanced age (OR=1.027) was a risk factor for NTM lung disease. Conclusions The clinical manifestations of NTM lung disease and tuberculosis are similar and difficult to distinguish. For male patients over 60 years old with malignant tumor, old tuberculosis, bronchiectasis and other basic diseases, and the chest HRCT findings are mainly bronchiectasis, NTM lung disease should be actively excluded. There is little difference in clinical manifestations between different strains of NTM lung disease, and the treatment cycle of NTM lung disease is long and easy to be interrupted, requiring enhanced follow-up.
