ObjectiveTo explore the effect of preoperative glucocorticoid on systemic inflammatory indexes and pulmonary inflammation after radical esophagectomy.MethodsA total of 44 patients with esophageal cancer treated in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University from July 2019 to September 2020 were selected and randomly divided into an intervention group and an observation group by random number table. There were 22 patients in the intervention group, including 20 males and 2 females with an average age of 62.86±5.22 years and 22 patients in the observation group, including 19 males and 3 females with an average age of 63.00±6.19 years. Two groups were given thoracoscope-assisted incision via right chest, upper abdomen and left neck. The intervention group was given an intravenous infusion of methylprednisolone 500 mg before induction of anesthesia, and the observation group was given the same dose of normal saline. The second generation cephalosporins were routinely used to prevent infection in the two groups. The levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP), lymphocyte and neutrophil count before operation and 1 day, 3 days and 5 days after operation were recorded and compared between the two groups. Utrecht Pneumonia Scoring System (UPSS) score 1 day after operation, the healing of the surgical incision and the anastomotic leakage within 2 weeks after the operation were evaluated.ResultsThe level of IL-6 in the intervention group was significantly lower than that in the observation group at 1 hour and 1 day after operation (both P<0.05). CRP showed significant difference between the two groups 2 days after operation (P=0.044). The white blood cell count in the intervention group was significantly less than that in the observation group 1 day and 3 days after operation (both P<0.05). There was no significant difference in lymphocyte or neutrophil count between the two groups 1 day after operation. There was no significant difference in the rate of non-grade A wound healing or the incidence of anastomotic leakage between the two groups within 2 weeks after operation. The pneumonia score of UPSS in the intervention group was lower than that in the observation group 1 day after operation (P=0.027).ConclusionThe use of glucocorticoid before radical esophagectomy can reduce the systemic inflammatory reaction and improve the short-term postoperative pulmonary inflammation. At the same time, no adverse effect on the healing of surgical incision and anastomotic stoma is found, which has certain safety.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness of the artificial intelligence-assisted diagnosis and treatment system in distinguishing benign and malignant lung nodules and the infiltration degree.MethodsClinical data of 87 patients with pulmonary nodules admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University from January 2019 to August 2020 were retrospectively analyzed, including 33 males aged 55.1±10.4 years, and 54 females aged 54.5±14.1 years. A total of 90 nodules were included, which were divided into a malignant tumor group (n=80) and a benign lesion group (n=10), and the malignant tumor group was subdivided into an invasive adenocarcinoma group (n=60) and a non-invasive adenocarcinoma group (n=20). The malignant probability and doubling time of each group were compared and its ability to predict the benign and malignant nodules and the invasion degree was analyzed.ResultsBetween the malignant tumor group and the benign lesion group, the malignant probability was significantly different, and the malignant probability could better distinguish malignant nodules and benign lesions (87.2%±9.1% vs. 28.8%±29.0%, P=0.000). The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.949. The maximum diameter of nodules in the benign lesion group was significantly longer than that in the malignant tumor group (1.270±0.481 cm vs. 0.990±0.361 cm, P=0.026); the doubling time of benign lesions was significantly longer than that of malignant nodules (1 083.600±258.180 d vs. 527.025±173.176 d, P=0.000), and the AUC was 0.975. The maximum diameter of the nodule in the invasive adenocarcinoma group was longer than that of the non-invasive adenocarcinoma group (1.350±0.355 cm vs. 0.863±0.271 cm, P=0.000), and there was no statistical difference in the probability of malignancy between the invasive adenocarcinoma group and the non-invasive adenocarcinoma group (89.7%±5.7% vs. 86.4%±9.9%, P=0.082). The AUC was 0.630. The doubling time of the invasive adenocarcinoma group was significantly shorter than that of the non-invasive adenocarcinoma group (392.200±138.050 d vs. 571.967±160.633 d, P=0.000), and the AUC was 0.829.ConclusionThe malignant probability and doubling time of lung nodules calculated by the artificial intelligence-assisted diagnosis and treatment system can be used in the assessment of the preoperative benign and malignant lung nodules and the infiltration degree.