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Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of transvesical incision in the treatment of ejaculatory duct obstruction., Methods: The clinical data of 26 male infertile patients with ejaculatory duct obstruction were retrospectively analysed at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from June 2020 to August 2021. All patients were treated with seminal vesicle neck incision for ejaculatory duct obstruction. The general clinical characteristics, intraoperative conditions and postoperative effects on the patients were recorded, and the therapeutic effect was evaluated., Results: The ejaculatory duct was found through fenestration, and the seminal vesicle gland was smoothly entered in 25 patients (96.2%). Among them, 22 cases underwent bilateral endoscopy and three underwent unilateral endoscopy. Sperm appeared in 23 cases (88.5%) 3 months after surgery. The sperm concentration and motility postoperatively at 6 months were higher than that at 3 months postoperatively. No postoperative complications, such as epididymitis or retrograde ejaculation, occurred., Conclusion: Searching for the ejaculatory duct via the neck of the prostatic utricle, assisted by a low-energy holmium laser, is a new method for the treatment of ejaculatory duct obstruction. Microscopic vision is clear using this approach and the postoperative complications are few, which has high value for clinical application., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (© 2022 Lv, Sun, Zhang, Zheng, Nan, Liu, Zhou and Wang.)

The study explored the clinical efficacy of a type 5 phosphodiesterase inhibitor (PDE5i) combined with Ziyin Baihuo granules in the treatment of patients suffering from erectile dysfunction (ED) with yin deficiency and fire-hyperactivity syndrome. A total of 163 patients with erectile dysfunction were divided into observation and control groups. The observation group took tadalafil (Cialis) and Ziyin Baihuo granules orally, and the control group took only tadalafil orally, for 12 weeks. An additional 40 healthy people were selected as a normal group for comparison of the sex hormone levels before and after treatment of the participants in the erectile dysfunction group. After treatment, the symptoms of dry throat and tongue, tidal fever and night sweats, liking cold and avoiding heat, and waist pain showed significant improvement in the observation group ( p < .05). Compared with before treatment, the clinical indexes of erectile function in the control group and the observation group were improved after treatment ( p < .05). After treatment, Ziyin Baihuo granules combined with tadalafil restored the abnormal indexes of blood ( p < .05) in the observation group. Our research shows that PDE5i combined with Ziyin Baihuo granules could effectively improve erectile function.

This study aimed to compare the success rates of two approaches for seminal vesiculoscopy: through the interior of the prostatic utricle and through the neck of the prostatic utricle. The patients were divided into two groups based on the seminal vesiculoscopy used. Group A was an interior of the prostatic utricle group (152 cases), and group B was a neck of the prostatic utricle group (146 cases). The general clinical data, intraoperative conditions and surgical results of the two groups were compared. Compared with group A, group B had a higher surgical success rate (94.5% vs. 62.5%, p < .001), a shorter operation time (33 min vs. 45 min, p < .001), less blood loss (0.5 ml vs. 2 ml, p < .001), a higher pain relief rate (86.6% vs. 52.3%, p < .001), a higher remission rate of haemospermia (82.2% vs. 58.5%, p = .011), a lower recurrence rate of pain (10.4% vs. 35.4%, p < .001), a lower recurrence rate of haemospermia (15.6% vs. 37.7%, p = .014), a higher symptom remission rate of the lower urinary tract (90.9% vs. 50.0%, p = .030), a higher remission rate of scrotal moisture (84.6% vs. 45.5%, p = .042) and a higher remission rate of frequent spermatorrhea (80.0% vs. 55.6%, p = .033). Seminal vesiculoscopy undertaken through the neck of the prostatic utricle has the characteristics of high success rate, short operation time and good surgical effect and is worthy of promotion and application.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the correlation and consistency between traditional head measurement and structured light three-dimensional (3D) scanning parameters when measuring infant skull shape., Methods: A total of 76 infants aged 3 months to 2.5 years old were included in the study. Head circumference (HC) was measured with a tape measure. The transverse, anteroposterior, and oblique diameters were measured using a spreading caliper, and the cranial vault asymmetry index (CVAI) and a cranial index (CI) of symmetry were calculated; 76 cases were measured successfully. The above indexes were measured using a structured light 3D scanning system (71 cases were measured with success). Thus, in the end, the valid data of 71 cases were analyzed, and the measurements of the two approaches were compared., Results: The 95% confidence interval of traditional head measurement and structured light 3D scanning was between 0.633 and 0.988. Pearson's correlation coefficient indicated a high correlation between the two methods (r=0.793-0.980). The correlation coefficients of the transverse diameter, anteroposterior diameter, and HC, and the CI of symmetry were higher than 0.9. The lowest correlation coefficient for the CVAI was 0.793. The P values of the above measurement data were all <0.001, which indicated that they were closely related. A Bland-Altman plot indicated reasonable consistency between the two methods., Conclusions: Both traditional head measurement and structured light 3D scanning are suitable for the measurement of infant head shape. However, while traditional head measurement using a spreading caliper is economical and simple, making it suitable for general screening at a basic level, structured light 3D scanning can deliver additional parameters, which is useful for infants with an abnormal head shape. The latter is also convenient for designing a customized helmet for skull correction when needed., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://dx.doi.org/10.21037/tp-21-186). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2021 Translational Pediatrics. All rights reserved.)

Because both acne vulgaris and folliculitis can present as inflammatory erythematous papules, pustules or nodules, they are often hard to distinguish. The importance to distinguish between these 2 shall be stressed as their pathogenesis and therapies are different and misdiagnosis or missed diagnosis may lead to improper treatment. We will introduce several special types of folliculitis that should be differentiated from acne to increase our knowledge of the disorders with an acne-like manifestation.

Objective: To determine efficacy of intraoperative microvascular Doppler ultrasound in assisting subinguinal microsurgical varicocelectomy for pain relief in the treatment of painful varicoceles, compared to the microsurgery without Doppler ultrasound., Methods: Total 153 patients underwent microsurgical varicocelectomy were randomly allocated to two groups: Groups 1 and 2 included 82 and 71 patients monitored with and without using intraoperative microvascular Doppler ultrasound, respectively. The assessments were compared between two groups, including intraoperative parameters (vessel numbers and operative time) and postoperative outcomes (pain resolution, complications and recurrence)., Results: The average numbers of internal spermatic veins ligated (13.87±6.43 vs 11.72±5.66) and arteries preserved (1.96±0.87 vs 1.73±0.86) were significantly greater in Group 1 with Doppler ultrasound. Precisely, the smaller size of the internal spermatic veins was ligated and the more encircled arteries were also preserved in Group 1. In two groups with and without using Doppler ultrasound, 56 (68.3%) and 36 (50.7%) patients experienced a complete resolution of pain, 21 (25.6%) and 29 (40.9%) patients experienced partial resolution, whereas 5 (6.1%) and 6 (8.5%) patients experienced no change in the chronic pain, respectively. Thus, patients in Group 1 had a better outcome in chronic pain resolution (P = 0.033). The operative time, complications and recurrence rate were not different between the two groups., Conclusions: Subinguinal microsurgical varicocelectomy is an effective method to treat painful varicoceles. With the assistance of Doppler Ultrasound monitoring, greater numbers of vessels were identified and a better outcome of pain resolution was achieved.

Knowledge of subinguinal microsurgical varicocelectomy is of fundamental importance to ensure that varicocele is resolved and testicular function is preserved. Our study aimed to describe the number of veins, arteries and lymphatics in the subinguinal spermatic cord and to clarify their differences between two sides, between patients with different complaints and between varicoceles with different clinical grades. A total of 102 consecutive patients underwent 162 primary subinguinal microsurgical varicocelectomies, during which the number of vessels with different diameters was recorded. A mean number of 12.9 internal spermatic veins, 0.9 external spermatic veins, 1.8 internal spermatic arteries and 2.9 lymphatics were identified per cord. 88.2% of the internal spermatic arteries were surrounded by a dense complex of adherent veins. The external spermatic vein or veins were found in 49.4% of the cases. The mean number of medium (1-3 mm in diameter) internal spermatic veins on the left was larger than that on the right (P < 0.001). The mean number of medium internal spermatic veins in grade III varicocele was larger than that in grade I or grade II (P < 0.015). There was no significant anatomical difference between the men presenting for infertility, chronic testicular pain and both the two complaints., (© 2015 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.)

Background: Chinese primary care settings have a heavy patient load, shortage of physicians, limited medical resources and low medical literacy, making it difficult to screen for developmental disorders in infants. The Infant Neurological International Battery (INFANIB) for the assessment of neuromotor developmental disorders in infants aged 0 ~ 18 months is widely applied in community health service centers because of its simplicity, time-saving advantages and short learning curve. We aimed to develop and assess a Chinese version of the INFANIB., Methods: A Chinese version of the INFANIB was developed. Fifty-five preterm and 49 full-term infants with high risk of neurodevelopmental delays were assessed using the Chinese version of the INFANIB at 3, 7 and 10 months after birth. The Peabody Developmental Motor Scale (PDMS) was simultaneously used to assess the children with abnormalities and diagnose cerebral palsy. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the scale were calculated., Results: At birth, a higher proportion of full-term infants had asphyxia (p < 0.001), brain damage ( p = 0.003) and hyperbilirubinemia ( p = 0.022). The interclass correlation coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient values for the INFANIB at 3, 7 and 10 months were >0.8, indicating excellent reliability with regard to inter- and intraobserver differences. The specificity, sensitivity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value were high for both high-risk premature infants and full-term infants at the age of 10 months. For premature infants at the age of 7 months or below, INFANIB had low validity for detecting abnormalities., Conclusions: The Chinese version of the INFANIB can be useful for screening infants with high-risk for neuromotor abnormality in Chinese primary care settings.

Carboxylated chitosan (CKCTS) was prepared for the removal of Cd(II), Pb(II), and Cu(II) from aqueous solutions. The effects of experimental parameters such as pH value, initial concentration, contact time and temperature on the adsorption were studied. From the results we can see that the adsorption capacities of Cd(II), Pb(II), and Cu(II) increase with increasing pH of the solution. The kinetic rates were best fitted to the pseudo-second-order model. The adsorption equilibrium data were fitted well with the Langmuir isotherm, which revealed that the maximum adsorption capacities for monolayer saturation of Cd(II), Pb(II), and Cu(II) were 0.555, 0.733 and 0.827 mmol/g, respectively. The adsorption was an exothermic process.