Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation - Volume Pre-press, issue Pre-press

Authors: Liang, Ming | Ou, Bing | Wu, Jiayi | Xiao, Xiaoyun | Ruan, Jingliang | Tian, Jing | Xu, Xiaolin | Wang, Bin | Yang, Haiyun | Luo, Baoming

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the combined use of strain elastography (SE) and superb microvascular imaging (SMI) with grayscale ultrasound (US) according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) classification for differentiating benign from malignant breast masses. METHODS: In total, 166 patients with 177 breast masses categorized as BI-RADS 3–5 were included in the study between April 2016 to September 2017. US, SMI and SE were performed to evaluate each mass. The following outcome measures were compared between US and the combinations of US, SMI, and SE: area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), sensitivity, specificity. …RESULTS: The addition of SMI and SE to US increased the AUC from 0.816 to 0.948 (P  < .001); and the specificity from 43.7% to 80.8% (P  < .001), without a significant decrease in the sensitivity. Meanwhile, 66.1% (37 of 56) of the benign masses that were indicated for unnecessary biopsy were correctly changed to follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: The addition SMI and SE to US could improve the diagnostic performance in differentiating benign from malignant breast masses compared to US alone. When US was combined with SMI and SE, the specificity were increased, thus significantly reducing unnecessary biopsies. Show more

Keywords: Breast cancer, superb microvascular imaging, strain elastography, ultrasonography

DOI: 10.3233/CH-190693

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-13, 2019

Authors: Gao, Yan | Zhu, Xiaolong | Huang, Lining | Teng, Jinliang | Li, Fulong

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the effects of dexmedetomidine on cerebral oxygen saturation [Sct(O2 )] and postoperative cognitive function in elderly patients undergoing minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft surgery. METHODS: Sixty elderly patients who received minimally invasive coronary artery bypass graft surgery were randomly equally divided into dexmedetomidine group (group D) and control group (group N). The patients in group D were pumped with 1 μg/kg dexmedetomidine for 15 min before incision, followed by continuous pumping at 0.3–0.5 μg/(kg·h) till the end of the operation. The patients in group N received same dose of normal saline during …the operation. Sct(O2 ) was monitored at pre-induction (T0), post-induction (T1), 30 min (T2) after single-lung ventilation, and after surgery (T3). Mini-mental state examination (MMSE) was used to assess the cognitive function at 1 day before, 72 hour and 7 days after surgery. RESULTS: Sct(O2 ) level in group D was significantly higher than that in group N at T2 (P  < 0.05). Sct(O2 ) level was statistically lower at T2 than that at T0, T1 and T3 in the same group N (P  < 0.05). At 72 h and 7d after operation, the incidence of cognitive dysfunction in group D was markedly lower than that in group N (P  < 0.05), the MMSE score in group D was markedly higher than those in group N, but was significantly lower than that before surgery (P  < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Dexmedetomidine can alleviate the decrease of Sct(O2 ) during single-lung ventilation, improve postoperative cognitive function, and reduce the incidence of POCD in elderly patients with minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery. Show more

Keywords: Dexmedetomidine, minimally invasive coronary artery bypass surgery, elderly, cognitive dysfunction

DOI: 10.3233/CH-190590

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-7, 2019

Authors: Zhu, Jing | kang, Jing | Li, Xiaochen | Wang, Mengmei | Shang, Min | Luo, Yuchuan | Xiong, Mengqing | Hu, Ke

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND AND AIM: Both chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) and chronic continuous hypoxia (CCH) are risk factors for cardiovascular disease, which are associated with cardiac systolic function and associated with dysfunction of endothelia and coagulation-fibrinolysis system in the vasculature. However, the different effects of these two hypoxic models are not fully understood. In our study, we systemically compared the effects of CIH and CCH on cardiac function and related factor levels in serum using rat model. METHODS: Forty-five male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into the normoxia control (NC), CIH and CCH groups. The rat CIH and CCH models …were established, then the blood and tissue samples were collected to analyze the function of endothelium and the coagulation-fibrinolysis system. Also, the ultrasound cardiogram was performed to directly assess myocardial contractility. RESULTS: Both CIH and CCH significantly decreased the NO, eNOS, P-eNOS and AT-III levels in the rat serum but significantly increased the levels of ET-1, vWF, COX-2, NF-κ B, FIB, FVIII and PAI-1 in the rat serum (P  < 0.05). The expression of ET-1, VWF and ICAM-1 in CIH group were higher than CCH group (P  < 0.05), however, the expression of CD62p was increased in CCH group but not in CIH group. The expression of t-PA in CIH group were lower than CCH group (P  < 0.05), but there were no significant differences in CCH group and NC group (P  > 0.05). Using transmission electron microscope, we found that the mitochondrial ultrastructure of thoracic aorta endothelial cells in CIH and CCH group were damaged. Moreover, the myocardial contractility in CIH and CCH group were significantly decreased compared with NC group. CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that CIH and CCH could cause endothelial dysfunction, dysfunction of the coagulation-fibrinolysis system and decreasing of myocardial contractility. Compared with CCH, CIH has greater effect on vasoconstriction and adhesion of vascular endothelial cells, and stronger procoagulant effect. Show more

Keywords: Chronic intermittent hypoxia, chronic continuous hypoxia, vascular endothelial function, myocardial contractility

DOI: 10.3233/CH-190706

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-11, 2019

Authors: Sun, Xianlei | Tung, Wingtai | Zou, Jie | Wang, Weiwei | Kratz, Karl | Ma, Nan | Lendlein, Andreas

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The behavior of endothelial cell is remarkably influenced by the physical and biochemical signals from their surrounding microenvironments. OBJECTIVE: Here, the elasticity of fiber meshes was studied as a design parameter of substrates for endothelial cells in order to modulate angiogenesis. METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were cultured on electrospun fiber meshes made from polyetheresterurethane (PEEU), differing in their elasticity. Cell morphology, proliferation, migration and angiogenesis of endothelial cells on the degradable substrates meshes were characterized. RESULTS: The aspect ratio of HUVECs cultured on the fiber meshes from PEEU materials increased …with increasing stiffness of the materials. HUVECs cultured on fiber meshes with high stiffness (Young’s modulus E  = 4.5±0.8 MPa) presented a higher proliferation rate and significantly faster migration velocity, as well as higher tube formation capability than the cells cultured on fiber meshes with low stiffness (E  = 2.6±0.8 MPa). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that tuning the fiber meshes’ elasticity might be a potential strategy for modulating of the formation or regeneration of blood vessels. Show more

Keywords: Tensile E-modulus, HUVECs, electrospun fiber meshes, multiblock copolymers

DOI: 10.3233/CH-190696

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-11, 2019

Authors: Qiu, Yijie | Yang, Daohui | Zhang, Qi | Chen, Kailing | Dong, Yi | Wang, WenPing

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of vector flow imaging technique (V Flow) in measurement of wall shear stress (WSS) of common carotid arteries (CCA) in healthy adults and to provide the normal WSS values assessed by V Flow. METHODS & MATERIALS: This prospective study was approved by the Ethics Committee of our University. Eighty healthy adult volunteers were included (mean age 43.3 y, 47 females, 33 males). The volunteers were classified into three groups according to their age: group I (age 20 - 39 y), group II (age 40 - 59 y) and group III (age 60 - …80 y). Mindray Resona 8 ultrasound machine and a linear array transducer (3–9 MHz) was used, equipped with the updated V Flow function. Common carotid arteries of both sides were evaluated in three segments (initial segment, middle segment and near bifurcation segment). The WSS values of CCA were measured by two independent radiologists. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of observer reliability in WSS measurement was calculated. Inter-observer reproducibility was also evaluated with the 95% Bland-Altman limits of agreement (LOA). RESULTS: V Flow measurements were performed successfully in 79 volunteers (98.8 %, 79/80). The mean value of WSS in right CCA was (0.66±0.24) Pa, in left CCA was (0.66±0.18) Pa (P  > 0.05). Mean WSS value had a moderately negative correlation with age group (P  < 0.05). The mean WSS value of group I(mean±SD, 0.75±0.25 Pa) is larger than group II (mean±SD, 0.62±0.13 Pa) and group III (mean±SD, 0.49±0.11 Pa) (P  < 0.05). The ICC of observer reliability of group I, II and III was 0.96 (95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.92–0.98), 0.94 (95% CI 0.88–0.97), 0.93 (95% CI 0.76–0.98) respectively. The Bland-Altman plots showed that the 95% LOA were –0.17–0.12 (Pa) for group I, –0.09–0.13 (Pa) for group II and –0.08–0.10 (Pa) for group III. CONCLUSION: V Flow measurement is a simple, rapid and feasible imaging method for the WSS assessment of CCA in healthy volunteers, which will probably be an important tool for assessing CCA function. Show more

Keywords: Vector flow imaging (V Flow), wall shear stress (WSS), common carotid artery (CCA), feasibility, normal value

DOI: 10.3233/CH-190719

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-10, 2019

Authors: Kiss, Rudolf | Farkas, Nelli | Jancso, Gabor | Kovacs, Krisztina | Lenard, Laszlo

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: INTRODUCTION: With the aging of the population, the screening of frail patients, especially before high-risk surgery, come to the fore. The background of the frail state is not totally clear, most likely inflammatory processes are involved in the development. METHODS: Our survey of patients over age of 65 who were on cardiac surgery were performed with Edmonton Frail Scale (EFS). Patients’ demographic, perioperative data, incidence of complications and correlations of inflammatory laboratory parameters were studied with the severity of the frail state. RESULTS: On the basis of EFS, 313 patients were divided into non-frail (NF,163,52%), pre-frail …(PF,89,28.5%) and frail (F,61,19.5%) groups. Number of complications in the three groups were different (NF:0.67/patient, PF:0.76/patient, F:1.08/patient). We showed significant difference between NF and F in both intensive care and hospital stay, but there was no statistical difference between the groups in hospital deaths (NF:5/163, PF:3/89, F:5/61). We also found a significant difference between NF and F patients in preoperative fibrinogen-, CRP- and white blood cell count levels. CONCLUSIONS: We first present the incidence of frailty in patients with heart surgery in a Central-European population. According to our results, inflammatory processes are likely to play a role in the development of the frail state. Show more

Keywords: Frailty, frail state, CRP, fibrinogen, cardiac surgery

DOI: 10.3233/CH-190681

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-10, 2019

Authors: Zhang, Shupin | Wan, Jing | Wu, Rong | Fang, Ya

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacies of conventional ultrasound (US), US elasticity imaging (EI), and acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography in breast malignancy diagnosis. METHODS: We included 315 women (mean age, 44 years; range, 18–81 years) with 336 pathologically proven breast lesions in this retrospective study. All lesions underwent conventional US, EI, and ARFI (including virtual touch tissue imaging [VTI], virtual touch tissue quantification [VTQ], and virtual touch tissue imaging and quantification [VTIQ]) elastography. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to assess 12 independent variables for malignancy prediction. Diagnostic performance was evaluated with receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve …analysis. RESULTS: Irregular lesion shape was the strongest independent predictor for breast malignancy, followed by poorly defined margins, taller than wide dimensions, posterior echo attention, VTIQ, and VTI boundaries (P  < 0.05). Area under the ROC curve (AUC) for VTIQ was higher than other significant independent variables. With the best cut-off value of 3.74 m/s, the AUC, sensitivity, and specificity were 0.93 (95% CI: 0.90, 0.96), 90.1%, and 91.1%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: ARFI elastography is a promising method in breast malignancy prediction, with good diagnostic performance. For patients requiring surgery, the combination of various methods can provide better diagnostic results and may help to reduce unnecessary biopsy or surgery. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/CH-180527

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-13, 2019

Authors: Astapenko, David | Ticha, Alena | Tomasova, Adela | Hyspler, Radomir | Zadak, Zdenek | Lehmann, Christian | Cerny, Vladimir

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Endothelial glycocalyx (EG) is a carbohydrate-rich gel-like mesh covering the apical surface of endothelial cells. It has been linked to the microvascular pathophysiology and tissue metabolism. However, little is known about its condition in young healthy adults. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to describe the condition of EG in young healthy adults by in vivo EG imaging and measurement of syndecan-1, a plasma marker of EG integrity in order to obtain references values. METHODS: For in vivo EG studies we used Side-stream Dark Field imaging of the sublingual microcirculation. Recordings were analysed automatically by GlycoCheck …software providing the Perfused Boundary Region (PBR) as a marker of EG thickness. Levels of syndecan-1 were analysed in plasma samples by ELISA. RESULTS: 21 volunteers were included in the study. Median of the PBR value was 1.82 μm (interquartile range 1.69–2.01, 95% CI 1.79–1.97). Median concentration of syndecan-1 was 0.3 ng/ml (interquartile range 0.23–0.39, 95% CI 0.27–0.49). CONCLUSION: This study provides a comparison for cohorts of patients with a particular disease where the EG is presumably damaged. Our findings do not entirely comply with already published data in healthy individuals. Show more

Keywords: Endothelial glycocalyx, syndecan-1, healthy volunteers

DOI: 10.3233/CH-190581

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-9, 2019

Authors: Wu, Qiong | Li, Yi | Liu, Yilun | Shen, Jian | Wang, Yan | Yi, Xiaolei | Hu, Bing

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of conventional sonography and ultrasound elastography for thyroid nodules of each Bethesda category and to analyze their potential role in the corresponding management decision. METHODS: This retrospective study included 557 thyroid nodules diagnosed by conventional ultrasound (US) and real-time ultrasound elastography (RTE) before fine-needle aspiration (FNA) from 458 patients. The US, RTE, and cytological results were collected and analyzed according to different Bethesda categories. Differences in the distribution of sonographic features between groups were evaluated by the Chi-square test or Fisher exact test. The sensitivity, specificity, …positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of conventional US and RTE for the diagnosis of malignant nodules in each category were then calculated and analyzed. RESULTS: The diagnostic accuracy of the comprehensive US diagnosis in all categories stayed at a relatively high level from 78.4% to 88.6%, and good specificities ranging from 77.3% to 100% were revealed in all Bethesda categories. As to RTE, the diagnostic accuracies in categories I–IV stayed at a relatively low level ranging from 44.6% to 65.6% except for better performance in categories V and VI (85.2%, 89.1%). Besides, the accuracies of comprehensive US (85.2%, 88.6%) and RTE (85.2%, 89.1%) is relatively low compared to the corresponding cytological diagnoses in categories V and VI. CONCLUSIONS: Conventional US is complementary to FNA for providing additional hints especially in categories I–IV for further clinical managements, while RTE failed to provide useful diagnostic information in general. Show more

Keywords: Thyroid nodules, fine-needle aspiration, conventional US, real-time ultrasound elastography, Bethesda category

DOI: 10.3233/CH-180533

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-12, 2019

Authors: Shi, You-Zhen | Jin, Yan | Zheng, Li

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: OBJECTIVES: To identify the associated factors for malignancy in partially cystic thyroid nodules (PCTNs) on ultrasound (US). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a retrospective study. 338 PCTNs confirmed by surgery was included in this study. The US features of the nodules were reviewed and their significance in differential diagnosis was analyzed. RESULTS: In the 338 PCTNs, 50 were malignant and 288 were benign. Univariate analyses revealed that a taller-than-wide shape and spiculated or microlobulated margin were significantly associated with malignancy while the spongy form, an ovoid to round shape and smooth margin were significantly associated with …benign nature. In terms of the internal solid portion of the nodule, eccentric configuration, non-smooth margin, hypoechogenicity, and microcalcification were more frequently demonstrated in malignant nodules than in benign ones. In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, a taller than wide shape (OR: 13.357; 95% CIs: 3.457–28.797) was revealed to be the strongest independent predictor for malignancy, followed by microcalcification (OR: 11.578; 95% CIs: 3.142–29.563), spiculated or microlobulated margin (OR: 6.331; 95% CIs: 1.425–9.457), eccentric configuration (OR: 5.456; 95% CIs: 1.358–8.774), non-smooth rim of the internal solid portion (OR: 4.897; 95% CIs: 0.754–7.021), and hypoechogenicity of the internal solid portion (OR: 4.651; 95% CIs: 0.712–8.245). CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the ultrasound characteristics of malignant PCTNs is important to make a precise diagnosis of thyroid nodules. Show more

Keywords: Partially cystic thyroid nodules, conventional ultrasound

DOI: 10.3233/CH-190582

Citation: Clinical Hemorheology and Microcirculation, vol. Pre-press, no. Pre-press, pp. 1-9, 2019