Objective To assess the technical performance of two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) for measuring liver stiffness. Materials and Methods The Ovid-MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched for studies reporting the technical performance of 2D-SWE, including concerns with technical failures, unreliable measurements, interobserver reliability, and/or intraobserver reliability, published until June 30, 2018. The pooled proportion of technical failure and unreliable measurements was calculated using meta-analytic pooling via the random-effects model and inverse variance method for calculating weights. Subgroup analyses were performed to explore potential causes of heterogeneity. The pooled intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for interobserver and intraobserver reliability were calculated using the Hedges-Olkin method with Fisher's Z transformation of the correlation coefficient. Results The search yielded 34 articles. From 20 2D-SWE studies including 6196 patients, the pooled proportion of technical failure was 2.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3–3.9%). The pooled proportion of unreliable measurements from 20 studies including 6961 patients was 7.5% (95% CI, 4.7–11.7%). In the subgroup analyses, studies conducting more than three measurements showed fewer unreliable measurements than did those with three measurements or less, but no intergroup difference was found in technical failure. The pooled ICCs for interobserver reliability (from 10 studies including 517 patients) and intraobserver reliability (from 7 studies including 679 patients) were 0.87 (95% CI, 0.82–0.90) and 0.93 (95% CI, 0.89–0.95), respectively, suggesting good to excellent reliability. Conclusion 2D-SWE shows good technical performance for assessing liver stiffness, with high technical success and reliability. Future studies should establish the quality criteria and optimal number of measurements.

Core needle biopsy has low nondiagnostic result rates and high specificity for the diagnosis of malignancy. It is a safe diagnostic technique with a higher diagnostic yield, especially when molecular testing is not available or fine-needle aspiration did not yield enough cells for molecular testing.

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This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Purpose: To evaluate the technical success and complication rates of tunneledcuffed catheter insertions radiologically placed via the internal jugular vein in patients with different types of underlying diseases. Materials and Methods: A total of 2153 tunneled-cuffed catheter insertions performed in 1926 patients between January 2008 and December 2012 were retrospectively reviewed. All procedures were conducted using sonography and fluoroscopy. The number of catheter maintenance days, technical success rates, and complication rates were analyzed based on radiologic and medical records. Results: A total of 204809 catheter maintenance days (mean, 95.35 days; range, 0-1710 days) were recorded. Technical success was achieved in 2148 insertions (99.77%). A total of 185 complications (8.61%, 0.903/1000 catheter days) were observed, including 22 procedure-related complications (1.02%). A total of 143 catheters (6.66%) were removed due to complications. Significant differences in complication rates were observed between patients with or without underlying hematologic diseases (11.65% vs. 7.02%, respectively; p = 0.000). Significant differences in catheter thrombosis were observed between patients in which right-sided or left-sided venous approaches were used (0.81% vs. 2.70%, respectively; p = 0.010). Conclusion: The very high technical success rates and very low procedure-related complication rates indicate insertion of a tunneled-cuffed catheter radiologically placed via the internal jugular vein is safe and effective.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the biocompatibility of studied binary magnesium-calcium (Mg-Ca) alloys for biodegradable intraosseous implants. Mg is necessary for health and is a non-toxic biodegradable material that decomposes naturally in the body. Nevertheless, Mg has been implicated in problems including diminished physical properties and corrosion resistance when degradation is too rapid prior to bone healing. This study has explored the effect of Ca on the corrosion resistance and biological evaluation after anodizing treatment with different contents of Ca alloy. Binary Mg-0.5Ca, Mg-1Ca and Mg-5Ca alloys were prepared by the casting method under an argon atmosphere and cut into disc-shaped pieces. Pure Mg alloy was used as the control. Anodic oxidation was performed for 15 minutes at a voltage of 120 V using an electrolyte solution containing Ca gluconate, sodium hexametaphosphate, and sodium hydroxide at room temperature. Corrosion resistance was analyzed using a corrosion tester. After a hydrogen evolution test, the surface pattern and phase changes were observed on a scanning electron microscop (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscop (EDS). Microscopic evaluation of the adhesion and cell biological functions of Mg was conducted by observing the response of human fetal osteoblastic 1.19 cells with regard to changes in surface film properties, depending on the amount of Ca. Our results support the view that in Mg-xCa alloys (x = 0.5, 1, 5 wt.%) treated using anodic oxidation, the increasing Ca content controls the rate of decomposition and improves corrosion resistance.