Objective The rising medical expenditure is an international problem. By comparing theories and methods of medical expenditure control between China and the US, this paper aims to find out the medical expenditure strategies fitting for our country and to help with the new round of medical and health system reform. Methods This evidence-based research searched for literatures using the search strategy and screened literatures according to inclusion and excluding criteria. Useful information in the literatures was extracted through quantitative analysis of literature tables and descriptive statistical analysis. Results We found that the US academia showed a sustainable and steady trend of increased concern on the medical expenditure control, while the Chinese academia showed a larger volatility on it. There were some obvious differences such as reasons for expenditure increase, the reasonableness of the medical expenditure increase, and the specific methods and strategies of the medical expenditure control between Chinese and American authors. Conclusion On the one hand, the purpose of medical expenditure control is based on the different stages of development. On the other hand, the main interest group determines the main body who is responsible for the medical expenditure control. According to our national context, China should develop effective strategies and methods for medical expenditure control.
Objective To approach the indications， techniques features， and efficacy of laparoscopic hepatectomy for liver tumor. Methods The clinical data and follow-up results of 61 patients who received laparoscopic hepatectomy at our institute from January， 2007 to December， 2012 were retrospectively analyzed. Results Of the 61 patients， 16 cases were with primary liver cancer， 1 case with liver adenocarcinoma， 2 cases with metastatic liver cancer， 31 cases with hepatic hemangioma， and 11 cases with other benign liver diseases （including hepatocellular adenoma， focal nodular hyperplasia， hepatic cysts， and mucinous cystadenoma）. The average tumor diameter was 5.6 cm （2-15 cm）. The surgical approaches includes laparoscopic hepatic left lateral lobectomy （42 cases）， right posterior lobectomy （2 cases）， hepatectomy of segmentⅥ （3 cases）， hepatectomy of segmentsⅦ/Ⅷ， Ⅳa， and caudate lobe （one respectively）. Non-anntomic and wedge resection were performed on 11 patients. The mean operating time， blood loss， postoperative hospital stay， and postoperative complication rate were （124±65） min （50-200min）， （251±145） mL （50-1 000mL），（7.3±3.6） d （4-11d）， and 16.3% （10/61）， respectively. In 19 cases with malignant liver lesions， 15 cases were followed up mean for 26 months （1-48 months）. One of them died in 1 year after operation for multiple organ dysfunction， others were survival. Conclusions Experienced laparoscopic surgery doctors selected appropriate cases， used proper blood inflow oclussion and liver resction methods， and cared for tumor-free principle， the laparoscopic hepatectomy for malignant and benign tumors of liver could be safe and effective to carry out.
ObjectiveTo reveal the pathogenic mutation in a three-generation Chinese family with autosomal dominant familial exudative vitreoretinopathy (FEVR). MethodsThree patients and a healthy spouse from the index family with FEVR were recruited. The proband was a 5 years old boy. His mother and grandpa were presented with typical FEVR presentations, while his father with normal ocular fundus. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples taken from all four participants. All coding and exon-intron boundary regions of five targeted genes, including NDP, FZD4, LRP5, TSPAN12 and ZNF408 were amplified with polymerase chain reaction and sequenced using direct sequencing. In silico analyses were applied to determine the conservation of the mutation site, pathogenic effect and the potential protein crystal structural changes caused by the mutation. ResultsFZD4 c.478G > A, a susceptible mutation was found after four high frequency mutation sites which MAF values were higher than 0.001 was filtered among 5 single nucleotide variations detected in four participants, leading to the residue 160 changing from glutamate to lysine (p.E160K). Co-segregation analysis between genotypes and phenotypes revealed FZD4 p.E160K as the disease-causing mutation for this family. Conservational analysis suggested that this mutation site was highly conserved among all tested species. Functional analysis predicated that this mutation may be a damaging mutation. Crystal structural analysis also indicated that this mutation could lead to the elimination of the hydrogen bond between residue 160 and asparagine at residue 152, thus altering the tertiary structure of the protein and further impairing the protein function. ConclusionOur study demonstrates FZD4 p.E160K as a novel pathogenic mutation for FEVR.