IntroductionPars plana vitrectomy (PPV) is considered to be an essential and effective surgical approach for the management of complications of diabetic retinopathy. Given the high rate of accelerated cataract progression after PPV, PPV combined with cataract surgery appears to be an attractive treatment option for patients with diabetes. However, this combined surgical approach remains controversial in terms of effectiveness and safety. We have therefore conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the treatment outcome of PPV with or without cataract surgery.MethodsA systematic search of three electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library) was performed to identify relevant articles, using the key words “pars plana vitrectomy,” “cataract,” and “diabetic retinopathy.” Main outcome measures included the final visual acuity and postoperative complications. The incidence of postoperative complications was pooled using odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals in a random effect model.ResultsUltimately, one randomized controlled trial (RCT) and four high-quality retrospective studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the meta-analysis. In four of these studies, final visual acuity did not vary significantly between patients undergoing PPV alone and those undergoing PPV combined with cataract surgery (combined surgery). Only one study reported better visual improvement in the combined treatment group. Our analysis also showed that most phakic eyes after PPV had cataract progression with varying degrees. In addition, patients receiving PPV alone had a lower risk of neovascular glaucoma (OR 0.36; P  < 0.05), iris synechias to anterior capsule (OR 0.36; P  < 0.05), and iris rubeosis (OR 0.26; P  < 0.05) compared with those receiving combined surgery.ConclusionOverall, our findings show that PPV combined with cataract surgery achieved good outcomes without a substantial increased risk to visual acuity or most complications. Given the high rates of cataract progression after PPV, combined surgery may be the more appropriate treatment for patients with diabetes and coexistent visually significant cataract.

Objective: To evaluate the diagnostic performance of standard diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM), and diffusion kurtosis imaging (DKI), for differentiating benign and malignant soft tissue tumors (STTs). Materials and methods: A thorough search was carried out to identify suitable studies published up to September 2020. The quality of the studies involved was evaluated using Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 (QUADAS-2). The pooled sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), and summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve were calculated using bivariate mixed effects models. A subgroup analysis was also performed to explore the heterogeneity. Results: Eighteen studies investigating 1319 patients with musculoskeletal STTs (malignant, n =623; benign, n =696) were enrolled. Thirteen standard DWI studies using the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) showed that the pooled SEN and SPE of ADC were 0.80 (95% CI: 0.77-0.82) and 0.63 (95% CI: 0.60-0.67), respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) calculated from the SROC curve was 0.806. The subgroup analysis indicated that the percentage of myxoid malignant tumors, magnet strength, study design, and ROI placement were significant factors affecting heterogeneity. Four IVIM studies showed that the AUCs calculated from the SROC curves of the parameters ADC and D were 0.859 and 0.874, respectively. The AUCs for the IVIM parameters pseudo diffusion coefficient (D*) and perfusion fraction (f) calculated from the SROC curve were 0.736 and 0.573, respectively. Two DKI studies showed that the AUCs of the DKI parameter mean kurtosis (MK) were 0.97 and 0.89, respectively. Conclusion: The DWI-derived ADC value and the IVIM DWI-derived D value might be accurate tools for discriminating musculoskeletal STTs, especially for non-myxoid SSTs, using more than two b values, with maximal b value ranging from 600 to 800 s/mm 2 , additionally, a high-field strength (3.0 T) optimizes the diagnostic performance.

ObjectiveIntravenous tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) is the standard therapy for patients with acute ischaemic stroke (AIS) within 4.5 hours of onset. Recent trials have expanded the endovascular treatment window to 24 hours. We investigated the efficacy and safety of using multimodal MRI to guide intravenous tPA treatment for patients with AIS of unknown time of onset (UTO).MethodsData on patients with AIS with UTO and within 4.5 hours of onset were reviewed. Data elements collected and analysed included: demographics, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score at baseline and 2 hours, 24 hours, 7 days after thrombolysis and before discharge, the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score at 3 months after discharge, imaging findings and any adverse event.ResultsForty-two patients with UTO and 62 in control group treated within 4.5 hours of onset were treated with intravenous tPA. The NIHSS scores after thrombolysis and/or before discharge in UTO group were significantly improved compared with the baseline (p<0.05). Between the two groups, no significant differences in NIHSS score were observed (p>0.05). Utilising the non-inferiority test, to compare mRS scores (0–2) at 3 months between the two groups, the difference was 5.2% (92% CI, OR 0.196). Patients in the UTO group had mRS scores of 0-2, which were non-inferior to the control group. Their incidence of adverse events was similar.ConclusionsUtilising multimodal MRI to guide intravenous only thrombolysis for patients with AIS with UTO was safe and effective. In those patients with AIS between 6 and 24 hours of time of onset but without large arterial occlusion, intravenous thrombolysis could be considered an option.