OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to assess the effect of posterior decompression, fusion and fixation in the treatment of spinal gout. Spinal gout is a disease of gouty arthritis involving the spine, which can affect all segments of the spine. At present, the etiology and pathogenesis of spinal gout are not clear, and there are no definite methods for the treatment of spinal gout.
METHODS: This was a case series of seven patients (seven men) who underwent posterior decompression, fusion and fixation in the treatment of spinal gout between January 2016 and January 2020. Physical examination, radiography, CT, MRI, Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score and visual analog scale (VAS) score were used to evaluate the effect of this procedure. All patients were followed up every 3 months. The evaluation time point was 12 months after the operation. Comparisons of the functional indexes of the patients before and after the operation were performed using SPSS 22.0 (IBM, Armonk, NY, USA).
RESULTS: The JOA score was 13.43 ± 6.55 and the VAS score was 7.43 ± 1.51 preoperatively. The JOA score was 24.43 ± 3.74 and the VAS score was 0.86 ± 0.90 postoperatively at 12 months after surgery. At 12 months after surgery, the JOA and VAS score showed significant improvements when compared with those before surgery (P = 0.004 and P = 0.002, respectively). None of the patients had re-surgery of the gout due to actively and reasonably controlling uric acid. No loosening or displacement of screws was reported. There was only one screw tail cap loosening. Radiographic examination revealed that there was no obvious accumulation of gout or surrounding bone destruction, and the segmental instability was significantly improved. There was no progressive aggravation of neurological symptoms of the seven patients.
CONCLUSIONS: Posterior approach decompression, fusion and fixation can stabilize the vertebral body, remove gout and directly relieve local spinal cord compression. The method is a reliable surgical choice for the treatment of spinal gout.

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UNASSIGNED: Skin carbuncle is a suppurative infection of adjacent multiple hair follicles and their surrounding tissues, mostly caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Skin carbuncle often occurs in the neck, the back, and other skin thicker parts. It can also spread to the subcutaneous tissue and cause extensive subcutaneous infection. It is especially common in people with low immunity such as diabetes, nephritis, and malnutrition.
UNASSIGNED: We reported four cases of carbuncle of the neck, three of which were treated with traditional Chinese medicine therapy based on fire needles combined with topical drugs, and the other one was treated by surgical incision and drainage, debridement, and dressing change.
UNASSIGNED: All four cases achieved good therapeutic effects. The results showed that in the treatment of early carbuncle, compared with surgical treatment, fire needle therapy had less trauma, smaller prognosis scar, less cost, and faster recovery. However, when the carbuncle significantly expands or the deep tissue of the late carbuncle shows erosion necrosis, surgical debridement is necessary.
UNASSIGNED: The traditional Chinese medicine therapy based on the fire needle for the early treatment of carbuncle has important clinical significance, which is worthy of further study.

This paper deals with the problem of overlapping clinical effects of neurotropic agents in treating children with complex comorbidity. An 8-year-old boy suffering from a complexity of symptoms such as chronic motor tics, compulsions, phobias, anxious inhibition, and stuttering displayed the totality of Tourette\'s syndrome while taking imipramine. Sulpiride also enhanced motor and vocal tics. In the discussion, a review on the neurometabolic mechanisms in tic disease actually known is given, and on drugs proven to precipitate tics, which is the case in a number of neurotropic agents. Psychodynamics and famility dynamics are another issue to be regarded independently.