[Clinical applications of intelligent pressure control flexible ureteroscope for the treatment of renal calculi ≤2 cm].

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of intelligent pressure control flexible ureteroscope for management of renal stones ≤2 cm. Methods: The clinical data of 267 cases of renal calculi treated with flexible ureteroscope lithotripsy at Department of Urology, Ganzhou People's Hospital from June 2015 to December 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. There were 129 male and 138 female patients, with a mean age of 51.2 years (ranging from 19 to 76 years). Among them, 145 patients underwent intelligent pressure control flexible ureteroscope (intelligent control group) and 122 patients underwent flexible ureteroscope ordinary (ordinary group). The t test, χ2 test or Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis. The success rate of stone seeking, the stone free rates, the incidence of complications, the average operation time, the average hospital stay after operation were compared between the two groups. Results: The average mean operative time of the patients with intelligent control group was (26.17 ± 8.64) minutes, significantly shorter than (47.23±18.35) minutes of the ordinary group (t=1.968, P=0.000). The stone free rate of the patients with intelligent control group was 97.2%, it was higher than 86.0% of ordinary group (χ2=0.069, P=0.004). The complication rate of the patients with intelligent control group was 2.7%, which was significantly shorter than 18.0% of the ordinary group (χ2=17.586, P=0.000). However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in the success rate of stone seeking and postoperative hospital stay (P>0.05). Conclusion: Intelligent controlled pressure ureteral flexible ureteroscope has the advantages of short operation time, high stone free rate and less complications in the treatment of renal calculi ≤2 cm compared with flexible ureteroscope ordinary.

Thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor affects metastasis and prognosis in papillary thyroid carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: Although endocrine therapy of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) by inhibiting thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) has been used for many years, its mechanism of action is not clear. This study aimed to explore the expression and role of TSH receptor (TSHR) in PTC, to provide a theoretical basis for optimization of endocrine treatment options in PTC. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Expression of TSHR was tested by immunohistochemistry of tissues from 150 cases of PTC and 21 normal thyroid tissues. Survival analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier and log-rank analyses, and multivariate analysis was done using a Cox model. The regulatory effects of the TSH-TSHR signal transduction pathway on differentiated thyroid carcinoma cells were explored in vitro. RESULTS: The positive expression rate of TSHR in PTC was 68% (102/150). TSHR expression was an independent factor affecting the prognosis of PTC patients aged > 45 years (p = 0.006), and TSHR might have a role in decreasing distant metastasis (p = 0.024). In vitro experiments showed that up-regulation of TSHR promoted apoptosis of thyroid cancer cells and inhibited metastasis significantly. There was no significant regulatory effect of the TSH-TSHR signal transduction pathway on the proliferation of thyroid carcinoma cells. CONCLUSIONS: TSHR expression is an independent factor that affects the prognosis of PTC patients, and might decrease distant metastasis in patient aged > 45 years. Up-regulation of TSHR could inhibit metastasis and promote apoptosis in PTC cells.