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OBJECTIVE@#To compare the curative effect between bloodletting at tip of ear with different amounts combined with western medication and western medication alone for early-stage stye.@*METHODS@#A total of 108 patients with early-stage stye were randomly divided into a 50 μL group (36 cases, 4 cases dropped off), a 100 μL group (36 cases, 2 cases dropped off) and a western medication group (36 cases, 5 cases dropped off). The patients in the western medication group were treated with levofloxacin eye drops and levofloxacin hydrochloride eye gel. Based on the treatment of the western medication group, the patients in the 50 μL group were treated with 50 μL bloodletting (about 3 drops) at tip of ear while the patients in the 100 μL group were treated with 100 μL bloodletting (about 6 drops) at tip of ear; the bloodletting was given once a day for 3 days. After treatment, the changes of visual analogue scale (VAS) and clinical effect were observed, and the patients were followed up by telephone on the 8th day.@*RESULTS@#After treatment, the VAS score in each group was reduced (0.05). One week after the onset of the disease, all the patients in the 50 μL group and 100 μL group were cured, and one patient in the western medication group was not cured, and treated with routine surgery.@*CONCLUSION@#Based on the conventional western medication treatment, bloodletting at tip of ear can significantly reduce the pain of stye, and the effect of 100 μL bleeding is better than 50 μL.
RESUMO
Although the efficacy of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) has been recommended as first-line therapy for nonsurgical patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), it is difficult to accurately predict the efficacy of TACE. Therefore, this study evaluated the efficacy of TACE for HCC using magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). A total of 84 HCC patients who received initial TACE were selected and assigned to the stable group (n=39) and the progressive group (n=45). Before TACE treatment, a contrast-enhanced MR scan and DWI (b=300, 600, and 800 s/mm2) were performed on all patients. The modified response evaluation criteria in solid tumors were used for evaluation of tumor response. Receiver operating characteristic curve was employed to predict the value of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) for TACE efficacy. The ADC values of HCC patients in the progressive group were higher than those in the stable group at different b-values (b=300, 600, and 800 s/mm2) before TACE treatment. The area under the curve of ADC values with b-values of 300, 600, and 800 s/mm2 were 0.693, 0.724, and 0.746; the threshold values were 1.94×10-3 mm2/s, 1.28×10-3 mm2/s, and 1.20×10-3 mm2/s; the sensitivity values were 55.6%, 77.8%, and 73.3%; and the specificity values were 82.1%, 61.5%, and 71.8%, respectively. Our findings indicate that the ADC values of MR-DWI may accurately predict the efficacy of TACE in the treatment of HCC patients.