Volume 104 · Issue 03 · 2024

As one of the most common complications of cancer or its treatment, cancer-related pain can negatively affect the functional status and quality of life of patients. Pain management for cancer patients in China started later than that in developed countries. After 30 years of efforts by health authorities and medical professionals, cancer pain management in China has made great progress. However, with the accelerated aging of the Chinese population, the increasing incidence of cancer, the prolonged survival of cancer patients, and the strengthening of people′s expectations for high-quality life, there is still a gap between the development level of cancer pain management in China and the actual health needs of cancer patients. This article provides a comprehensive overview of the current state and future challenges facing the integrated management of cancer pain in China. Simultaneously, it offers a prospective outlook on future developments, thereby furnishing vital information for professionals engaged in the field of cancer pain management.

Esophageal cancer is one of the common malignant tumors of the digestive system in China. Surgical intervention is a frequently employed method for treating esophageal cancer. However, esophagectomy is a complex surgical procedure with a relatively high incidence of complications and mortality. In recent years, enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) as a novel medical concept, has gradually gained acceptance among healthcare professionals and been widely applied. It has also demonstrated significant efficacy in the surgical treatment of esophageal cancer. This article summarizes evidence-based medicine (EMB) in the perioperative period of ERAS for esophageal cancer treatment and formulates a clinical pathway for ERAS in esophageal cancer treatment throughout the perioperative period, aiming to provide guidance for clinical practice. Preoperatively, the following measures are advocated: preoperative education, preoperative nutrition assessment and risk assessment, individualized fasting and fluid restriction, optimal timing of surgery after neoadjuvant therapy, and the establishment of a multidisciplinary team (MDT) collaborative diagnostic and treatment model. Intraoperatively, optimization of anesthesia strategies, maintenance of optimal fluid balance, implementation of protective lung ventilation strategies, prevention of intraoperative hypothermia, and the selection of appropriate surgical techniques are essential. Postoperatively, effective pain management, thrombosis prevention, early mobilization, early removal of nasogastric tubes, drainage tubes, and urinary catheters, prevention of postoperative complications, and proactive enteral nutrition should be emphasized. It is important to note that the ERAS protocol is not static and continues to undergo improvement, with ongoing systematic training and promotion in the hope of wider adoption in more medical centers.

To investigate the efficacy and safety of bupivacaine liposome for pericapsular nerve group block (PENGB) for postoperative analgesia in elderly patients with total hip replacement.

A total of 42 elderly patients underwent total hip replacement were selected in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from May to July in 2023, including 19 males and 23 females, aged (68.8±6.3) years, the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade Ⅰ to Ⅲ. They were divided into bupivacaine liposome group (observation group) and levobupivacaine hydrochloride group (control group) according to random number table, with 21 cases in each group. All the patients were anesthetized by lumbar anesthesia combined with PENGB. During PENGB, the observation group was injected with 10 ml (133 mg) bupivacaine liposome+5 ml normal saline, and the control group was injected with 10 ml (75 mg) levobupivacaine hydrochloride+5 ml normal saline. The primary outcome measures included the rest and movement visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h after operation, the sufentanil consumption in analgesic pump, the numbers of analgesic pump compressions, and the rates of additional parexib sodium use in ward. The secondary outcome measures were the changes in lower limb muscle strength, the length of hospital stay and the occurrence of adverse reactions.

There was no significant difference in the rest and movement VAS scores between the two groups at pre-operation and at 6 h after operation (P>0.05);but the rest and movement VAS scores at 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 h after operation in observation group were significantly lower than those in control group (P<0.05); the rest and movement VAS scores at 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60 and 72 h after operation were lower than those at pre-operation in two group (P<0.05). The consumption of sufentanil in analgesic pump and parexib sodium usage in observation group were lower than those in control group at 12, 24, 36 and 48 h after operation (P<0.05). The total number of analgesic pump compressions, the number of effective compressions and the number of ineffective compressions in 48 h in observation group were lower than those in control group (P<0.05). The muscle strength of the lower limbs of all patients were able to move against gravity at 12 h after operation. The incidence of nausea in 48 h after operation in observation group was 9.5% (2/21), which was lower than 42.9% (9/21) in control group (P=0.014). No postoperative vomiting occurred in all patients. The length of the hospital stay was (9.3±2.2) d in observation group and (8.9±1.9) d in control group, and there was no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.500).

Compared with levobupivacaine hydrochloride, liposomal bupivacaine in PENGB provides analgesic effects for up to 72 h after total hip replacement in elderly patients, reduces postoperative opioid and other analgesics usage, decreases the incidence of postoperative nausea, and has a minor effect on lower limb movement without prolonging hospitalization.

To analyze the risk factors for patients′ postoperative gastrointestinal disorders (POGD) after surgery of thoracolumbar fusion.

This retrospective study was based on clinical data of 434 patients who underwent thoracolumbar fusion from January 2021 to December 2021 in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital.According to the occurrence of POGD, the patients were divided into POGD group(n=70) and non-POGD group(n=364). The clinical data of the two groups were compared, and the risk factors of POGD were discussed by binary logistic regression.

There were 23 males and 47 females in POGD group, with an average age of (60±6) years, and 133 males and 231 females in the non-POGD group, with an average age of (62±7) years. There were significant differences in operation duration, blood loss, intraoperative spinal decompression, intraoperative hypotension, white blood cell count 24 h postoperatively, C-reactive protein 24 h postoperatively, and postoperative hospitalization days between the two groups (P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed that intraoperative decompression (OR=2.368, 95%CI: 1.365-4.106, P=0.002), blood loss≥10.9 ml/kg (OR=2.115, 95%CI: 1.166-3.835, P=0.014), white blood cell count 24 h postoperatively≥15.2×10⁹/L (OR=3.580, 95%CI: 1.773-7.226, P<0.001), and intraoperative hypotension (OR=2.019, 95%CI: 1.080-3.773, P=0.028) were risk factors for POGD in patients after thoracolumbar fusion. Use of dexamethasone was a protective factor (OR=0.408, 95%CI:0.218-0.762, P=0.005).

Intraoperative decompression, blood loss≥10.9 ml/kg, white blood cell count 24 h postoperatively≥15.2×10⁹/L and intraoperative hypotension are risk factors for POGD after thoracolumbar fusion, and dexamethasone is a protective factor.

The present retrospective study aimed to analyses the ventilation efficacy and safety of new nasopharyngeal airway applied in left atrial appendage occlusion.

A total of 37 advanced aged patients diagnosed with atrial fibrillation(>65 years)who underwent left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) in Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University from March 2021 to March 2022 were enrolled in this study. All patients received supplemental oxygen by a new nasopharyngeal airway to ensure intraoperative ventilation. The primary outcome was the occurrence of hypoxemia. The secondary outcomes included the incidence of hypotension after anesthesia, the incidence of body movement during surgery, significant fluctuations of the vital signs such as mean arterial pressure (MAP), heart rate (HR), saturation of pulse oxygen (SpO₂) and respiratory rate (RR) at different time points (T1: pre-operation; T2: at the time of placing nasopharyngeal airway; T3: at the time of placing transesophageal echocardiography(TEE); T4: at the time of TEE intraoperative exploration; T5: end of the surgery; T6: at the time of patient woke up), and the incidence of postoperative adverse events.

There were 24 males and 13 females with a mean age of (73.8±7.7) years. The incidence of hypoxemia was 16.2% (6/37), which could return to normal after simple treatment. The incidence of hypotension was 27.0% (10/37), occurred after anesthesia induction mainly.32.4% (12/37) of the patients experienced movements, but no adverse events led to surgical termination. MAP at different time points was significantly different (P=0.001), but other vital signs of HR, SpO₂ and RR were not significantly different(all P>0.05), without serious hemodynamic fluctuations. The incidence of postoperative adverse cardiovascular events was 10.8% (4/37), and delirium was 2.7% (1/37). All patients successfully completed the surgery and were safely discharged from the hospital.

The new nasopharyngeal airway can meet the requirements of airway management during left atrial appendage occlusion under intravenous anesthesia without serious adverse events.

To summarize the pathogenic characteristics of bloodstream infection (BSI)-induced severe sepsis and analyze the influence factors in pediatric intensive care unit (PICU).

Pediatric patients who were diagnosed with severe sepsis caused by BSI in the PICU of Children′s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from January 2016 to December 2021 were retrospectively selected and divided into survival group and death group according to their discharge outcomes. Clinical characteristics, laboratory parameters, pathogenic characteristics and drug resistance of the patients were collected. The characteristics of pathogens, clinical and laboratory indicators were summarized, and the influencing factors of death in children with severe sepsis caused by BSI were analyzed based on binary multivariate logistic regression.

A total of 132 patients, aged [M (Q₁, Q₃)] 36 (10, 119) months, with BSI-induced severe sepsis were enrolled in this study, including 81 males and 51 females. There were 38 cases aged 36 (15, 120) months in the death group, including 23 males and 15 females. There were 94 cases, aged 36 (8, 108) months, in the survival group, including 58 males and 36 females. A total of 132 strains of pathogens were isolated, including 87 strains (65.9%) of Gram-negative bacteria. The top 5 pathogens were Klebsiella pneumoniae (24 cases, 18.2%), Escherichia coli (17 cases, 12.9%), Acinetobacter baumannii (13 cases, 9.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (10 cases, 7.6%) and Staphylococcus aureus (10 cases, 7.6%). The proportion of multi-drug resistant bacteria in hospital-acquired BSI was higher than that in community-acquired BSI [52.9% (36/68) vs 15.6% (10/64), P=0.001]. The proportions of community-acquired infection were 58.5% (55/94) and 23.7% (9/38) in the survival and death groups, respectively, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.001). The proportion of central venous catheter insertion before bloodstream infection in the death group was higher than that in the survival group [63.2% (24/38) vs 42.6% (40/94), P=0.034]. According to the binary multivariate logistic regression analysis, hospital-acquired infection (OR=4.80, 95%CI: 1.825-12.621, P=0.001), absolute neutrophil count (ANC) (OR=0.93, 95%CI: 0.863-0.993, P=0.030) and decreased albumin (OR=0.89, 95%CI: 0.817-0.977, P=0.014) were risk factors for death.

The common pathogen of BSI-induced severe sepsis in PICU is Gram-negative bacteria. The proportion of multi-drug resistant organisms of BSI obtained in hospitals is high. Children with severe sepsis due to BSI with nosocomial acquired infection, ANC and decreased albumin have a high risk of death.

To investigate the epidemiology of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in China and its association with RA disease characteristics.

A cross-sectional study. A retrospective study was conducted on RA patients recruited from January 2001 to February 2023 in the Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital. Demographic and clinical data were collected including age, gender, disease duration, active smoking, RA disease activity, physical function, radiographic assessment, serological markers of HBV infection and liver function indicators. According to the status of HBV infection, RA patients were grouped as chronic HBV infection, resolved HBV infection and no HBV infection groups. The distribution of each group and the clinical characteristics of RA patients were analyzed.

Among 1 941 RA patients, 1 461 (75.3%) completed HBV screening, including 335 males (22.9%) and 1 126 females (77.1%), with a mean age of (55.4±13.1) years. The prevalence of chronic HBV infection was 10.1%(148/1 461), which was significantly higher in male patients than in females [14.6%(49/335) vs 8.8%(99/1 126), P<0.001], especially among those males born from 1970 to 1979[20.0%(7/35) vs 8.5%(17/201), P=0.037] and 1980-1989 [31.8%(7/22) vs 10.5%(14/133), P=0.007]. Among 148 RA patients with chronic HBV infection, there were 5 cases (3.4%) of chronic hepatitis B, 2 cases (1.4%) of HBV-associated cirrhosis and 1 case (0.7%) of hepatocellular carcinoma. The prevalence of resolved HBV infection was 57.6%(841/1 461). There were 472(32.3%) patients with no HBV infection and 267(56.6%) of them showed negative anti-HBs. Among all RA patients, 15 (1.0%) patients had abnormal liver function, of which 7 cases were drug-induced liver injury, 5 cases were chronic hepatitis B, 2 cases were non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and 1 case was primary biliary cholangitis.

Chronic HBV infection remains a common complication in RA patients in China, the infection rate is 10.1%, and the screening and management of HBV infection should be strengthened in clinical practice.

To explore the latest clinical characteristics and development trends of posterior malleolus fracture.

Clinical information of inpatients with posterior malleolus fracture in Shanghai Tongji Hospital and Karamay Central Hospital from January 2014 to December 2022 were reviewed and collected. The imaging data of patients were acquired using the Picture Archiving and Communication Systems. A statistical analysis was performed as to gender, current age, year of admission, injury mechanism, fracture type, and posterior malleolus fracture classification. Moreover, a comparative analysis was conducted on the injury mechanisms and morphological differences of posterior malleolus fracture at different periods, regions, and age groups.

A total of 472 patients (210 patients from Shanghai Tongji Hospital and 262 patients from Karamay Central Hospital) with posterior malleolus fracture with a mean age of (48.7±15.6) years were included in this study. The peak of posterior malleolus fracture occurs in the age group of 50-59 years. The injury mechanisms mainly involve low-energy fall and sprain (411 cases, 87.1%), followed by traffic accidents (52 cases, 11.0%), and fall injury from height (9 cases, 1.9%). The number of cases according to different fracture types showed the following descending order: trimalleolar fracture-supination extorsion (335 cases, 71.0%), bimalleolar fracture (60 cases, 12.7%), trimalleolar fracture-pronation extorsion (43 cases, 9.1%), posterior malleolus+tibial shaft fracture (19 cases, 4.0%), simple posterior malleolus fracture (15 cases, 3.2%). The numbers of cases corresponding to the Haraguchi Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ type of posterior malleolus fractures was 369 (78.2%), 49 (10.4%), and 54 (11.4%), respectively. The Tongji ⅡA type represented the highest number of cases (249 cases, 52.8%), followed by the ⅡB type (120 cases, 25.4%), Ⅰ type (54 cases, 11.4%), ⅢB type (36 cases, 7.6%), and ⅢA type (13 cases, 2.8%). However, no obvious statistical difference was observed in the injury mechanism, Haraguchi classification, and Tongji classification of posterior malleolus fractures among different years and regions from the year of 2014 to 2022 (all P>0.05).

The injury mechanism of posterior malleolus fracture mainly involves low-energy fall and sprain cases. The trimalleolar fracture-supination extorsion, Haraguchi Ⅰ type and Tongji ⅡA type of posterior malleolus fracture are predilection fracture types, and all present an obvious incidence peak in the age group of 50-59 years. There has been no significant change in the development trend of clinical characteristics of posterior malleolus fractures in recent years.

The clinical characteristics, auxiliary examinations, skin and neuropathological features of 7 patients who had reticular cyanosis with peripheral neuropathy from the Department of Neurology, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University from January 2019 to December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Among the 7 patients, 5 were female and 2 were male.The age of onset of peripheral neuropathy was (39.8±21.3) years and the disease duration of peripheral neuropathy was (2.7±2.3) years. Three patients had acute onset and 4 patients had chronic onset. All the patients had limb numbness, with limb weakness in 6 patients and pain in 5 cases. Neuroelectrophysiological examination revealed 1 case of mononeuropathy, 2 cases of polyneuropathy, 2 cases of peripheral neuropathy, and 2 cases of sensory neuron neuropathy. Skin biopsy was performed in 3 patients, which presented hyperplasia and expansion of blood vessels in the dermis with lymphocyte infiltration. Nerve biopsy was performed in 3 patients, indicating axonal damage. Reticular cyanosis with peripheral neuropathy characterizes with numbness and weakness of limbs, most of which were accompanied by pain. Electrophysiological changes are in various forms. The pathological changes are dominated by the damage of axonal.

A 39-year-old woman with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody-related disease (MOGAD) and anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis overlap syndrome (MNOS) was reported. The main manifestations were headache, epilepsy, cognitive abnormalities, numbness and weakness of hemilateral limbs, and the right parieto-occipitotemporal cortex was observed on skull MRI₂WI and FLAIR sequence signal were increased, CSF and serum anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody were positive, and CSF anti-NMDAR antibody was positive. In the acute phase, the patient's symptoms improved after treatment with glucocorticoids, mycophenolate mofetil, and sodium valproate. At the same time, he was given immune maintenance therapy after discharge. After 8 months of follow-up, there was no recurrence, suggesting that for patients suspected of autoimmune encephalitis (AE) or MOGAD, if they are combined with demyelinating lesions or epileptic symptoms, the possibility of their superposition syndrome should be considered, and it is clear that immunotherapy should be used and maintained for a long time.

Obesity and obesity-derived metabolic diseases have become a major public health problem and one of the most important chronic non-communicable diseases that threaten human health. The treatment of obesity basically focuses on dieting, diet adjustment, exercise, medication and surgery. Nano-biomaterials have large specific surface area, strong adsorption and high bioavailability, good targeting and adjustable release rate, and have the advantages of accurate drug delivery, energy regulation and tissue engineering in the treatment of obesity. This article summarizes the weight-loss effects of nanobiomaterials in the treatment of obesity, the advantages of delivering obesity-related drugs, and the therapeutic applications of delivering bioactive substances and small molecule nucleic acids. The development of nanomaterials will promote the diagnosis and treatment of obesity and obesity-related metabolic diseases.

Glioma is a kind of malignant tumor of central nervous system that originates from glial cells, and has the characteristics of high recurrence rate and poor prognosis. However, children with glioma need to explore more effective treatment methods because of their particularity with adults. In recent years, immunotherapy has attracted widespread attention as a new therapeutic strategy, and the premise of immunotherapy is the continuous deepening of the research on tumor microenvironment (TME). The treatment of glioma is not a simple immune system activation process, but involves complex TME interactions. Changes in the composition of TME will directly affect the effectiveness of immunotherapy. This article briefly presents glioma in children, including its incidence, risk factors and clinical presentation. At the same time, the characteristics, immune escape mechanism and treatment methods of glioma TME were summarized.

In the past 10 years, the latest reports on the application of neuroendoscopic "minimally invasive" surgery to treat pineal tumors at home and abroad have gradually increased, and the surgical procedure has gradually changed from "endoscopic assisted surgery" to "total endoscopic surgery". Clinical case reports confirm that in many cases, the histopathology of pineal tumors can be obtained by simple biopsy, combined with radiotherapy and chemotherapy, without further surgery. In today's "minimally invasive" neurosurgery era, the concept of transcranial neuroendoscopy has developed rapidly, its application has gradually increased, and a variety of "keyhole endoscopy" procedures have been developed, which has a broad application prospect in the treatment of pineal tumors. Compared with traditional craniotomy microscopic surgery, total endoscopic surgery has more advantages in total resection rate, safety and accuracy. For patients with pineal tumors with complex and diverse pathological manifestations, the surgeon can choose "minimally invasive" procedures such as neuroendoscopic third ventriculostomy, tumor biopsy, stereotactic puncture biopsy or total endoscopic tumor resection according to the patient's actual condition and pathological type, and combine radiotherapy and chemotherapy after operation to make the treatment more accurate and benefit patients more.

Chronic pain refers to pain that lasts for more than 3 months. This major global health problem afflicts nearly 100 million patients in the United States and places a serious medical burden on both countries and individuals. Many common pain treatments are not effective in treating chronic pain (especially neuropathic pain caused by somatosensory nervous system damage or disease) and may increase the risk of drug-related adverse outcomes such as addiction and multidrug therapy. Current clinical guidelines recommend non-pharmacological therapies, one of which is electrical stimulation analgesia, including two types: transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and scrambler therapy. This article outlines the physiological effects, techniques, and safety of each therapy, analyzes and summarizes the results of randomized controlled trials of electrical stimulation analgesic therapy for cancer-related pain, other disease-related pain, and neuropathic pain, and discusses the limitations of current study data.

The World Health Organization (WHO) in 2023 released its first-ever report on the devastating global impact of hypertension, with recommendations on how to defeat this silent killer.