Background: Mechanical heart valve replacement (MHVR) is an effective method for the treatment of severe heart valve disease. However, it subjects patients to lifelong warfarin therapy after MHVR, with the attendant risk of bleeding and thrombosis. Whether internet-based warfarin management reduces complications and improves patient quality of life remains unknown. Objective: This study aimed to compare the effects of internet-based warfarin management and the conventional approach in patients who received MHVR in order to provide evidence regarding alternative strategies for long-term anticoagulation. Methods: This was a prospective, multicenter, randomized, open-label, controlled clinical trial with a 1-year follow-up. Patients who needed long-term warfarin anticoagulation after MHVR were enrolled and then randomly divided into conventional and internet-based management groups. The percentage of time in the therapeutic range (TTR) was used as the primary outcome while bleeding, thrombosis, and other events were the secondary outcomes. Results: A total of 721 patients were enrolled. The baseline characteristics did not reach statistical differences between the two groups, suggesting the random assignment was successful. As a result, the internet-based group showed a significantly higher TTR (mean 0.53, SD 0.24 vs. mean 0.46, SD 0.21; P < .001) and fraction of time in the therapeutic range (mean 0.48, SD 0.22 vs. mean 0.42, SD 0.19; P < .001) than did those in the conventional group. Furthermore, as expected, the anticoagulation complications, including bleeding and embolic events, had a lower frequency in the internet-based group than in the conventional group (6.94% vs. 12.74%; P = .01). Logistic regression showed that internet-based management increased the TTR by 7% (odds ratio [OR] 1.07, 95% CI 1.05-1.09; P < .001) and reduced the bleeding and embolic risk by 6% (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.92-0.96; P = .01). Moreover, low TTR was found to be a risk factor for bleeding and embolic events (OR 0.87, 95% CI 0.83-0.91; P = .005). Conclusions: Internet-based warfarin management is superior to the conventional method, as it can reduce anticoagulation complications in patients who receive long-term warfarin anticoagulation after MHVR.

Purpose To summarize our treatment experience of acute urethral trauma in girls. Methods We retrospectively analyzed six girls with acute urethral trauma who were admitted to our hospital from April 2003 to April 2023 and followed up. Results All six patients had pelvic fractures and vaginal injuries, and one had a rectal injury. Five showed a large amount of fresh blood flowing from the perineum and an inability to urinate. However, the remaining patient had a more insidious onset, causing the emergency doctors to miss the diagnosis. Four had severe perineal tearing and had lost their normal urethral and vaginal openings, making urinary catheter insertion impossible. The diagnosis was very clear. The other two were diagnosed with urethrovaginal injury during cystourethroscopy. Five underwent urethral and vaginal repair surgery within 7 days after the injury, and two of them developed complications requiring endoscopy or reoperation. Postoperative questionnaire scoring showed that four patients had normal urinary function and two had mild dysfunction. Conclusion The diagnosis of acute urethral trauma in girls requires vigilance. If the patient’s vital signs are stable, emergency urethrovaginal repair surgery can be performed. Although this is difficult and requires experienced pediatric urologists, it facilitates discovery of concurrent injuries.

Aims: Type 2 diabetes (T2D), a prevalent cardiovascular disease, is linked with cardiac arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation (AF) and ventricular arrhythmia. This study evaluated T2D's impact on these arrhythmias in patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (OHCM). Methods and materials: We retrospectively analyzed the data of 75 patients with OHCM and T2D from two medical centers in China from 2011 to 2020. A propensity score-matched cohort of 150 patients without T2D was also analyzed. Results: Altogether, 225 patients were included. The prevalence of supraventricular tachycardia (SVT), AF, and non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) was higher in patients with HCM and T2D than in those without T2D. Multivariate logistic regression showed T2D as an independent risk factor for SVT (odds ratio [OR] = 1.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.01-3.58, P = 0.04), AF (OR = 2.68, 95% CI = 1.27-5.67, P = 0.01), and NSVT (OR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.04-4.57, P = 0.04). Further analysis identified fasting glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels as independent risk factors for AF and NSVT in patients with T2D. Conclusions: T2D independently increases the risk of cardiac arrhythmias (SVT, AF, NSVT) in OHCM patients. Furthermore, fasting glucose and glycosylated hemoglobin levels independently heighten AF and NSVT risk in OHCM patients with T2D.

Inguinal hernia repair is one of the most common surgical procedures in the pediatric population. While a rare complication, bladder injury can impose a significant burden on patients. This study outlined a case of bladder injury following selective inguinal hernia repair and summarized methods to prevent this complication, aiming to emphasize the importance of not underestimating interventions labeled as "routine surgery" in order to avoid avoidable harm to patients.

Introduction: Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is one of the possible complications that can occur after heart valve surgery. Exploring effective VTE prevention and management models for post-cardiac surgery is an important issue in perioperative management. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that a new model for VTE prevention and management can effectively reduce the incidence of VTE in patients undergoing heart valve surgery. Methods: A total of 1200 patients who underwent heart valve surgery were included in this study and randomized in a 1:1 ratio into the control group and new management group. The control group received basic VTE prevention measures, while the intervention group implemented a newly designed VTE prevention and management protocol in addition to the basic preventive measures. The protocol included multidisciplinary team training and assessment, a comprehensive VTE evaluation mechanism, proper execution of preventive measures, physical and mechanical prophylaxis, patient rehabilitation training, and education. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of perioperative VTE, and secondary outcome measures included the occurrence of postoperative pulmonary embolism and all-cause mortality after heart valve surgery. Results: The intervention group included a total of 600 patients, with 57.6% being male and an average age of 56.7 ± 13.4 years. The control group also included 600 patients, with 55.5% being male and an average age of 57.5 ± 12.8 years. There were no significant differences in general clinical data between the two groups. The incidence of in-hospital deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in the control group (0.3% vs 1.5%, P<0.05). However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of in-hospital pulmonary embolism and early postoperative all-cause mortality. The intervention group showed a significantly higher accuracy rate in VTE risk assessment compared to the control group (91.3% vs 87.9%, P<0.05). Conclusions: The new model for VTE prevention and management can effectively reduce the incidence of VTE in patients undergoing heart valve surgery, providing important evidence for the prevention and management of VTE in cardiac surgery.

Abstract Background: Epididymo-orchitis is a common pediatric urological emergency, which can typically be managed conservatively with antibiotics. However, if symptoms persist or worsen without an obvious cause, ultrasound evaluation is recommended and surgical exploration may be required. Case presentation: We report a case of rapidly progressing epididymo-orchitis in a child, leading to testicular ischemia within one day. Intraoperatively we identified that high-tension tunica vaginalis caused compression of the swollen testis, leading to ischemia. After incision and decompression, partial blood flow was restored. However, at follow-up, the affected testicle was significantly reduced in size and hardened, with central ischemia. Conclusion: In extremely rare cases, epididymo-orchitis can lead to ischemic necrosis of the testicle. This may be due to early spermatic cord compression, for example, by an enlarged thecal tunica vaginalis sac or epididymis. Early invasive treatment can provide better opportunities to preserve the testicles.

Background This study aimed to describe the mid-term outcomes of different treatments in patients with atrial fibrillation caused tricuspid regurgitation. Methods A retrospective study of patients diagnosed as atrial fibrillation caused moderate-severe tricuspid regurgitation undergoing ablation ( n = 411) were reviewed. The surgical cohort ( n = 114) underwent surgical ablation and tricuspid valve repair; the catheter cohort ( n = 279) was selected from those patients who had catheter ablation. Results The estimated actuarial 5-year survival rates were 96.8% (95% CI: 92.95–97.78) and 92.0% (95% CI: 85.26–95.78) in the catheter and surgical cohort, respectively. Tethering height was showed as independent risk factors for recurrent atrial fibrillation and tricuspid regurgitation in both cohorts. A matched group analysis using propensity-matched was conducted after categorizing total patients by tethering height < 6 mm and ≥ 6 mm. Kaplan–Meier analysis showed in patients with tethering height < 6 mm, there were no differences in survival from mortality, stroke, recurrent atrial fibrillation and tricuspid regurgitation between two groups. In patients with tethering height ≥ 6 mm, there were significantly higher cumulative incidence of stroke (95% CI, 0.047–0.849; P = 0.029), recurrent atrial fibrillation (95% CI, 0.357–09738; P = 0.039) and tricuspid regurgitation (95% CI, 0.359–0.981; P = 0.042) in catheter group. Conclusions Atrial fibrillation caused tricuspid regurgitation resulted in less leaflets coaptation, which risk the recurrence of atrial fibrillation and tricuspid regurgitation. Patients whose tethering height was less than 6 mm showed satisfying improvement in tricuspid regurgitation with the restoration of sinus rhythm after catheter ablation. However, in patients with severe leaflets tethering, the results favored surgical over catheter.

Purpose To describe our experience in handling cases of children with fibroepithelial polyps (FEPs) of ureters. We specifically present preoperative diagnosis approaches, provide a clear definition of this entity and its outcomes following treatment. Method Clinical data of children with FEPs who were consecutively treated at Beijing Children's Hospital from January 2006 to May 2019 were retrospectively analyzed in this study. The clinical data reviewed included diagnostic, intraoperative, and follow-up data. Results Of the 2653 children with surgery for hydronephrosis reviewed, 48 (1.8%) cases of FEPs of the ureters were identified, with a mean age of 109 ± 34.7 months. Among them, males accounted for 95.8%, left side for 81.3%, and proximal ureteral polyps for 97.9%. Notably, 70.8% of patients had only 1 polyp and the median size of the polyps was 2.1 ± 1.8 cm. All patients underwent ultrasound before surgery, which revealed the existence of polyps in 29 (60.4%) children. These polyps were completely resected surgically. The mean follow-up was 82 months (range of 6–153 months) and no cases of recurrences of polyps were seen after surgery during follow-up. The rate of other long-term complications was 9.3%. Conclusions In conclusion, FEPs are one of the important causes of hydronephrosis in children. Ultrasound is effective for preoperative diagnosis achieving higher true positive rates than other diagnostic methods. Although the recurrence rate of polyps and symptoms are low after complete resection in children, long-term follow-up is advocated to the adolescence stage to monitor the incidences of urinary tract infections, ureteropelvic junction obstruction and stone formation.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the predictive value of haematologic parameters for testicular survival in torsion. Children with testicular torsion (TT) treated in Beijing Children's Hospital from January 2006 to December 2018 were enrolled in this study. Patient data collected in this study included age, symptom duration, preoperative preparation time, cryptorchidism testicular torsion or not, spermatic cord torsion degree, orchiectomy/orchiopexy, testicular volume 3 months after operation by ultrasound in orchiopexy patients and haematologic parameters. The orchiopexy group comprised of 54 patients with a mean age of 135.6 ± 43.73 months, and the orchiectomy group included 58 patients with a mean age of 119.36 ± 60.82 months. The multivariate analysis showed that symptom duration (Odds Ratio = 1.11, p < 0.001), spermatic cord torsion degree (Odds Ratio = 1.006, p = 0.002) and mean platelet volume (MPV; Odds Ratio = 3.697, p = 0.044) were significant predictors of orchiectomy. The cut-off value for MPV during window time for orchiectomy was 10.55 fl (10-9  L) and provided a sensitivity of 47.8% and a specificity of 92.6%. This study found that symptom duration, spermatic cord torsion degree and MPV could be indicators of testicular viability in testicular torsion. MPV can provide valuable information before operation which can guide doctors and family members of the patients to select the appropriate treatment.

The purpose of this study was to follow up patients who underwent testicular torsion orchiopexies in order to observe whether testicular atrophy had occurred and to identify any influencing factors regarding atrophy. Patient data collected in this study included age, symptom duration, pre-operative preparation time, cryptorchidism testicular torsion, spermatic cord torsion degree, ultrasound findings at least 6 months after orchiopexy, testicular atrophy, mean platelet volume (MPV), address and medical insurance. Twenty-nine patients with a mean age of 147 (126.5-163) months involved in our study. The duration of follow-up ranged from 6 to 33 months with a median follow-up duration of 12 (8.5-21) months. Only MPV was significantly different between the atrophy group and nonatrophic group (p = .022) and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve revealed that the cut-off value for MPV atrophy was 9.9 fl, with a sensitivity of 81.8% and a specificity of 70.6%. In conclusion, we found that 41.4% patients eventually experienced testicular atrophy after performing the testicular salvage procedure. MPV might be used as an indicator of testicular atrophy after an operation; however, the accuracy of MPV needs to be confirmed using significant follow-up prospective studies.

Renal pelvic hemangioma is a rare benign tumor that is difficult to diagnose preoperatively. In the past, there are rarely reported cases in children. Here, a case of left renal pelvic hemangioma in a 3-year-old boy managed by nephrectomy is reported.