Fujian Medical University Research Articles

Development of a prognostic nomogram and risk stratification system for upper thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

The study aimed to develop a nomogram model to predict overall survival (OS) and construct a risk stratification system of upper thoracic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). Newly diagnosed 568 patients with upper ESCC at Fujian Medical University Cancer Hospital were taken as a training cohort, and additional 155 patients with upper ESCC from Sichuan Cancer Hospital Institute were used as a validation cohort. A nomogram was established using Cox proportional hazard regression to identify prognostic factors for OS. The predictive power of nomogram model was evaluated by using 4 indices: concordance statistics (C-index), time-dependent ROC (ROCt) curve, net reclassification index (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI). In this study, multivariate analysis revealed that gender, clinical T stage, clinical N stage and primary gross tumor volume were independent prognostic factors for OS in the training cohort. The nomogram based on these factors presented favorable prognostic efficacy in the both training and validation cohorts, with concordance statistics (C-index) of 0.622, 0.713, and area under the curve (AUC) value of 0.709, 0.739, respectively, which appeared superior to those of the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system. Additionally, net reclassification index (NRI) and integrated discrimination improvement (IDI) of the nomogram presented better discrimination ability to predict survival than those of AJCC staging. Furthermore, decision curve analysis (DCA) of the nomogram exhibited greater clinical performance than that of AJCC staging. Finally, the nomogram fairly distinguished the OS rates among low, moderate, and high risk groups, whereas the OS curves of clinical stage could not be well separated among clinical AJCC stage. We built an effective nomogram model for predicting OS of upper ESCC, which may improve clinicians' abilities to predict individualized survival and facilitate to further stratify the management of patients at risk.

Changes in the pathogen spectrum of hospitalized adults with community-acquired pneumonia in Fujian Province: A multicenter, retrospective study from 2012 to 2018.

Changes in the pathogen spectrum of hospitalized adults with community-acquired pneumonia in Fujian Province: A multicenter, retrospective study from 2012 to 2018.

A commentary on "Hemihepatic versus total hepatic inflow occlusion for laparoscopic hepatectomy: A randomized controlled trial." (Int J Surg. 2022;107:106961.).

aHepatological Surgery Department, Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China bHepatopancreatobiliary Surgery Clinic, Kunming Medical University Second Hospital, Kunming, Yunnan Province, China Sponsorships or competing interests that may be relevant to content are disclosed at the end of this article. Published online ■ ■ *Corresponding author. Address: Kunming Medical University Second Hospital, Kunming, China China. . E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Huang). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Effect of Goal-directed Fluid Therapy on Postoperative Cognitive Dysfunction in Elderly Patients Undergoing Combined Lingual and Cervical Radical Surgery

Background: The intraoperative rehydration technique known as the effect of Goal-Directed Fluid Therapy (GDFT), which is guided by the dynamic monitoring of volume responsiveness, has received a lot of attention recently. According to a meta-analysis by Bene, GDFT can maintain intraoperative hemodynamic stability, which lowers the incidence of postoperative complications and reduces stay at the intensive care unit. Objectives: This study aimed to determine how GDFT affected elderly patients who underwent combined lingual and cervical radical surgery after an operation for postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD). Methods: This interventional study was conducted between December 2021 and December 2022 in a medical center affiliated with Fujian Medical University on people undergoing radical neck and tongue surgery for tongue cancer. The samples (n=36) were selected using an availability sampling method and randomly divided into conventional fluid therapy (the Non-GDFT, n=18) and GDFT (n=18) groups. The Non-GDFT group was hydrated normally during anesthesia. A continuous infusion of 8 mL/(kg/h) of compounded sodium chloride was administered to the GDFT group to maintain basal hydration volume during the operation. Before and following surgery, Montreal Cognitive Assessment Scale scores were completed, arterial blood lactate values and bilateral cerebral oxygen saturation levels were measured at various times following the stabilization of anesthesia, and the levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6) and S100 protein in venous blood were calculated. Results: The Non-GDFT group had a higher incidence of POCD than the GDFT group, the GDFT group had significantly lower levels of IL-6 and S100 than the Non-GDFT group, the GDFT group had significantly lower levels of serum lactate than the Non-GDFT group. The GDFT group experienced significantly lower rates of intraoperative hypotensive and intraoperative low rSO2 events than the Non-GDFT group, and this difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusion: Assuring the balance of cerebral oxygen supply and demand, lowering the production of inflammatory mediators, and successfully reducing the incidence of POCD are all possible benefits of GDFT.

Early results of left ventricular assist device implantation for the treatment of heart failure

Twenty-four male patients who underwent left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation due to advanced heart failure in Union Hospital, Fujian Medical University from June 2019 to June 2022 were retrospectively included. The age of patients was 32-61 (48.4±8.4) years. Everheat-Ⅰ, HeartCon and Corheart 6 left ventricular assist systems were used in 10, 6 and 8 cases, respectively. All patients were discharged successfully without mechanical failure, thrombosis or secondary thoracotomy for hemostasis. Early postoperative hemodynamics were significantly improved, left ventricular systolic diameter was reduced, left ventricular ejection fraction was gradually improved, and no hemolysis occurred. The patients were followed up for 3 to 39 (17.9±8.6) months, the cardiac function was restored to grade Ⅰ to Ⅱ, and the 6-minute walking test distance increased significantly. Therefore, satisfactory early results can be achieved with left ventricular assist device implantation for the treatment of heart failure.

A study on the current situation and causes of smoking among college students

The total number of smokers worldwide is now more than one billion, accounting for about a quarter of the world's population, and tobacco use causes more than five million deaths worldwide each year. While smoking brings people pleasure, the toxic substances produced by the ignition of cigarettes can cause a variety of diseases. The data was collected from each school through a questionnaire and distributed online. For the questionnaire data, this paper uses C5.0 decision tree, chi-square test, logistic regression, and structural equation modeling to investigate the basic situation, causes, and influencing factors of smoking among college students, and to provide useful reference for improving the smoking situation among college students. In this paper, Fujian Medical University, Sunshine College, Fujian Information Vocational and Technical College, Fujian Arts Vocational College, Fujian Early Childhood Teacher's College, Jimei University, Chengyi College of Jimei University, and Jiageng College of Xiamen University were selected as the overall sample.

Prognostic Value of Serum Transferrin Level before Radiotherapy on Radio-Sensitivity and Survival in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

To investigate the prognostic value of serum transferrin (TRF) level before intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) on radio-sensitivity and overall survival (OS) in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). From October 2012 to October 2016, a total of 348 patients with NPC in the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University were retrospectively analyzed in our study. The concentration of serum TRF was detected by the method of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). In the whole group, 46 patients received IMRT, and 302 patients received IMRT plus chemotherapy. The radio-sensitive tumor was defined when the local tumor lesions disappeared completely in the nasopharyngeal MRI scan and no tumor residues were found under the electronic nasopharyngoscope one month after the end of radiotherapy. The serum TRF level before IMRT was (1.34-3.89) g/L, with a median of 2.16 g/L and a mean of (2.20 ± 0.42) g/L. In the whole group, 242 cases (69.5%) were radiosensitive, and 106 cases (30.5%) were insensitive. The number of radiosensitive patients in the group of HTRF (transferrin > 2.16 g/L) and LTRF (transferrin ≤ 2.16 g/L) before radiotherapy was 129 (74.6%) and 113 (64.6%), respectively. The difference in radio-sensitivity between the two groups was statistically significant (χ2 = 4.103, p = 0.043). Logistic regression analysis showed that the level of TRF before radiotherapy (OR = 1.702; 95% CI 1.044~2.775; p = 0.033) was an independent factor for radio-sensitivity. The log-rank test showed that patients in the LTRF group achieved a significantly worse OS (χ2 = 5.388, p = 0.02) than those in the HTRF group. Cox regression analysis showed that baseline TRF level (HR = 1.706; 95% CI 1.065~2.731; p = 0.026) was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival. The low level of TRF before IMRT is a risk factor for radio-sensitivity and a prognostic factor for poor OS in NPC patients. It may be a promising marker to predict radio-sensitivity and OS in NPC patients who accept IMRT.

Mixed reality technology enhances teaching of spinal blockade procedures.

To investigate the efficacy of utilizing mixed reality technology-assisted teaching of a spinal medial branch nerve block. Twenty undergraduate students from a 5-year clinical medicine program in Fujian Medical University were selected. They were divided into group A and group B using a random number generator, with 10 students in each group. Group A used the traditional teaching method and Group B used the mixed reality technology-assisted teaching method. At the end of the teaching period, both groups were assessed on the blocking operation, number of punctures required, puncture time, and final error value (distance between the final position and the reference position). A questionnaire was administered to both groups to assess teaching satisfaction. The number of punctures required was 7.40 ± 1.26 and 2.10 ± 0.74 for groups A and B, respectively. The puncture time in group A was 297.80 ± 50.95 s and 65.60 ± 22.02 s in group B. All differences were significant p < 0.01. The final error of the puncture in group A was 2.24 ± 0.35 mm and 1.96 ± 0.26 mm in group B-not significant. Group B had (p < 0.01) higher evaluation scores than group A for teaching effectiveness, learning interest, initiative, and teaching satisfaction. The application of mixed reality technology in the teaching of posterior medial branch blocks of the spinal nerve is superior to previous methods. This method should be adopted wherever possible to enhance learning of this difficult technique.

Mediating role of resilience between learning engagement and professional identity among nursing interns under COVID-19: A cross-sectional study.

The aim of the study was to explore the mediating effect of resilience between learning engagement and professional identity of nursing interns. A descriptive, cross-sectional study design. An online questionnaire survey was conducted among nursing interns in Fujian Medical University from February 2022 to April 2022 by convenience sampling. The scores of learning engagement, resilience and professional identity were evaluated. The PROCESS Marco in SPSS was used to analyse the mediating effect. A total of 222 senior nursing students participated in the questionnaire survey. Both learning engagement (r=0.491, p < 0.01) and resilience (r=0.537, p < 0.01) correlated positively with PI. Resilience is also positively related to PI (r =0.693, p < 0.01). Also resilience played a partial mediating role in the relationship between learning engagement and professional identity (a*b=b=0.2451, 95% CI: 0.1543, 0.3581), and its effect accounted for 53.3%.

Clinical characteristics and overall survival prognostic nomogram for metaplastic breast cancer.

Metaplastic breast cancer (MBC) is a rare breast tumor and the prognostic factors for survival in patients still remain controversial. This study aims to develop and validate a nomogram to predict the overall survival (OS) of patients with MBC. We searched the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database for data about patients including metaplastic breast cancer and infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC) from 2010 to 2018. The survival outcomes of patients between MBC and IDC were analyzed and compared with the Kaplan-Meier (KM) method. MBC patients were randomly allocated to the training set and validation I set by a ratio of eight to two. Meanwhile, the performance of this model was validated again by the validation II set, which consisted of MBC patients from the Union Hospital of Fujian Medical University between 2010 and 2018. The independent prognostic factors were selected by univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses. The nomogram was constructed to predict individual survival outcomes for MBC patients. The discriminative power, calibration, and clinical effectiveness of the nomogram were evaluated by the concordance index (C-index), the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and the decision curve analysis (DCA). MBC had a significantly higher T stage (T2 and above accounting for 75.1% vs 39.9%), fewer infiltrated lymph nodes (N0 accounted for 76.2% vs 67.7%), a lower proportion of ER (22.2% vs 81.2%), PR (13.6% vs 71.4%), and HER-2(6.7% vs 17.7%) positive, radiotherapy(51.6% vs 58.0%) but more chemotherapy(67.5% vs 44.7%), and a higher rate of mastectomy(53.2% vs 36.8%), which was discovered when comparing the clinical baseline data between MBC and IDC. Age at diagnosis, T, N, and M stage, as well as surgery and radiation treatment, were all significant independent prognostic factors for overall survival (OS). In the validation I cohort, the nomogram's C-index (0.769 95% CI 0.710 -0.828) was indicated to be considerably higher than the standard AJCC model's (0.700 95% CI 0.644 -0.756). Nomogram's great predictive capability capacity further was supported by the comparatively high C-index of the validation II sets (0.728 95%CI 0.588-0.869). Metaplastic breast cancer is more aggressive, with a worse clinical prognosis than IDC. This nomogram is recommended for patients with MBC, both American and Chinese, which can help clinicians make more accurate individualized survival analyses.

Power of PTAIR 2.0 in Prediction, Identification, and Ischemia Assessment of the Parathyroid Gland Under Endoscopic Thyroid Surgery

Objective: This video demonstrates the use of PTAIR 2.0, which is an artificial intelligence model for the prediction, identification, and ischemia assessment of parathyroid glands in endoscopic thyroid surgery. Methods: PTAIR 2.0 is an artificial intelligence model for parathyroid gland recognition during surgery. In total, 1641 patients who underwent endoscopic thyroid surgery at our hospital from August 2012 to December 2021 were selected. YOLOX was used to train this version. The hindsight strategy was used for the labeling of parathyroid gland prediction data.1–3 Results: PTAIR achieved the AP50 values for the prediction, identification, and ischemia assessment of the parathyroid glands of 94.1%, 98.9%, and 92.1%, respectively. Conclusions: PTAIR, which was established through computer vision, provides a novel methodology for the prediction, identification, and ischemia assessment of parathyroid glands in endoscopic thyroid surgery. PTAIR can be used to detect parathyroid glands and provide decision-making in the autotransplantation of parathyroid glands in endoscopic thyroid surgery. Acknowledgments: On behalf of the PTAIR Research Group, Yi-Jian Li from Fuzhou University, Jun-Yi Huang and Chi-Peng Zhou from Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, and Jing Zheng from Zhangzhou Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University have also contributed to this video. Si-Ying Lin, Meng-Yao Li, and Jia-Fan Yu contributed equally to this study and are considered co-first authors. PTAIR is a registered trademark of Fujian Medical University Union Hospital. All other authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Funding Information: This research was supported by the China Scholarship Council; the Joint Funds for the Innovation of Science and Technology, Fujian Province (Grant Nos. 2018Y9093, 2018Y0915, and 2018Y9018); sponsored by Fujian Provincial Health Technology Project (Grant Nos. 2019-CX-16 and 2018-CX-17). Runtime of video: 3 mins 23 secs An abstract based on this video was posted for presentation at the 2022 American Thyroid Association Annual Meeting.

Combining chemotherapy and tislelizumab with preoperative split-course hypofraction radiotherapy for locally advanced rectal cancer: study protocol of a prospective, single-arm, phase II trial

IntroductionShort-course radiotherapy (SCRT) with systemic therapy has the potential to further improve the long-term efficacy in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC). To maximise the benefits of neoadjuvant therapy...

Better performance of PIVKA-II for detecting hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with chronic liver disease with normal total bilirubin.

Serum protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) is a promising biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) surveillance. To identify the contributing factors related to the abnormal elevation of PIVKA-II level and assess their potential influence on the performance of PIVKA-II in detecting HCC. This study retrospectively enrolled in 784 chronic liver disease (CLD) patients and 267 HCC patients in Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital of Fujian Medical University from April 2016 to December 2019. Logistic regression and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were used to evaluate the influencing factors and diagnostic performance of PIVKA-II for HCC, respectively. Elevated PIVKA-II levels were independently positively associated with alcohol-related liver disease, serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total bilirubin (TBIL) for CLD patients and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and tumor size for HCC patients (all P < 0.05). Serum PIVKA-II were significantly lower in patients with viral etiology, ALP ≤ 1 × upper limit of normal (ULN), TBIL ≤ 1 × ULN, and AST ≤ 1 × ULN than in those with nonviral disease and abnormal ALP, TBIL, or AST (all P < 0.05), but the differences disappeared in patients with early-stage HCC. For patients with TBIL ≤ 1 × ULN, the AUC of PIVKA-II was significantly higher compared to that in patients with TBIL > 1 × ULN (0.817 vs 0.669, P = 0.015), while the difference between ALP ≤ 1 × ULN and ALP > 1 × ULN was not statistically significant (0.783 vs 0.729, P = 0.398). These trends were then more prominently perceived in subgroups of patients with viral etiology and HBV alone. Serum PIVKA-II has better performance in detecting HCC at an early stage for CLD patients with normal serum TBIL.

Stroke risk prediction by color Doppler ultrasound of carotid artery-based deep learning using Inception V3 and VGG-16.

This study aims to automatically classify color Doppler images into two categories for stroke risk prediction based on the carotid plaque. The first category is high-risk carotid vulnerable plaque, and the second is stable carotid plaque. In this research study, we used a deep learning framework based on transfer learning to classify color Doppler images into two categories: one is high-risk carotid vulnerable plaque, and the other is stable carotid plaque. The data were collected from the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, including stable and vulnerable cases. A total of 87 patients with risk factors for atherosclerosis in our hospital were selected. We used 230 color Doppler ultrasound images for each category and further divided those into the training set and test set in a ratio of 70 and 30%, respectively. We have implemented Inception V3 and VGG-16 pre-trained models for this classification task. Using the proposed framework, we implemented two transfer deep learning models: Inception V3 and VGG-16. We achieved the highest accuracy of 93.81% by using fine-tuned and adjusted hyperparameters according to our classification problem. In this research, we classified color Doppler ultrasound images into high-risk carotid vulnerable and stable carotid plaques. We fine-tuned pre-trained deep learning models to classify color Doppler ultrasound images according to our dataset. Our suggested framework helps prevent incorrect diagnoses caused by low image quality and individual experience, among other factors.

Effect, sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of ultrasonic assessment of axillary lymph node-negative breast cancer.

To investigate the diagnostic value of ultrasound for patients with axillary lymph node-negative breast cancer (ALNNBC). A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical data of 204 breast cancer patients who were admitted by Quanzhou First Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University between October 2020 and May 2022. According to the results of axillary lymph node (ALN) examination, the patients were assigned to a positive group(n=102) and a negative group(n=102). All patients underwent diagnosis with color Doppler ultrasound, with pathological diagnosis as the "gold standard" to determine the sensitivity and specificity of ultrasonic diagnosis. A receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve was established to analyze the efficiency of ultrasonic diagnosis and compare the ultrasonographic features and flow grades between the two groups. Differences were statistically significant between the two groups in ultrasonographic features of lesions(negative vs positive, all p<0.05), including morphological irregularity(59.8% vs 85.3%), spiky margins(19.6% vs 63.7%), posterior echo attenuation(19.6% vs 44.1%) and microcalcification(40.2% vs 55.89%). The negative group had a lower proportion of patients with grade 2-3 ultrasound blood flow when compared with the positive group(32.4% vs 56.86%), and the difference was statistically significant(p<0.05). Ultrasonic diagnosis of ALNNBC had a sensitivity of 88.24%(90/102), a specificity of 92.16%(94/102), a coincidence rate of 90.20% (184/204), a 95% CI of 0.845-0.928, and an AUC of 0.879. Ultrasonic diagnosis of ALNNBC is relatively efficient as ultrasonographic features and ultrasound blood flow signals can provide a scientific basis for the diagnosis of ALNNBC.

Carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacterial infection in intensive care unit patients: Antibiotic resistance analysis and predictive model development.

In this study, we analyzed the antibiotic resistance of carbapenem-resistant gram-negative bacteria (CR-GNB) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients and developed a predictive model. We retrospectively collected the data of patients with GNB infection admitted to the ICU of the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University, who were then divided into a CR and a carbapenem-susceptible (CS) group for CR-GNB infection analysis. Patients admitted between December 1, 2017, and July 31, 2019, were assigned to the experimental cohort (n = 205), and their data were subjected to multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify independent risk factors for constructing the nomogram-based predictive model. Patients admitted between August 1, 2019, and September 1, 2020, were assigned to the validation cohort for validating the predictive model (n = 104). The Hosmer-Lemeshow test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were used to validate the model's performance. Overall, 309 patients with GNB infection were recruited. Of them, 97 and 212 were infected with CS-GNB and CR-GNB, respectively. Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP), carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) were the most prevalent CR-GNB. The multivariate logistic regression analysis results of the experimental cohort revealed that a history of combination antibiotic treatments (OR: 3.197, 95% CI: 1.561-6.549), hospital-acquired infection (OR: 3.563, 95% CI: 1.062-11.959) and mechanical ventilation ≥ 7 days (OR: 5.096, 95% CI: 1.865-13.923) were independent risk factors for CR-GNB infection, which were then used for nomogram construction. The model demonstrated a good fit of observed data (p = 0.999), with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.753 (95% CI: 0.685-0.820) and 0.718 (95% CI: 0.619-0.816) for the experimental and validation cohort, respectively. The decision curve analysis results suggested that the model has a high practical value for clinical practice. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test indicated a good fit of the model in the validation cohort (p-value, 0.278). Overall, our proposed predictive model exhibited a good predictive value in identifying patients at high risk of developing CR-GNB infection in the ICU and could be used to guide preventive and treatment measures.

Clinical observation on the treatment of ankle fracture with buttress plate and traditional internal fixation and its effect on GQOLI-74 score and Baird-Jackson score.

To explore the curative effect of buttress plate and traditional internal fixation in the treatment of ankle fracture, so as to provide potential reference for the clinical treatment of this disease. This is a clinical comparative study. The subjects of this study were one hundred patients with ankle fracture treated in Mindong Hospital Affiliated to Fujian Medical University from January 2019 to December 2021. Enrolled patients were randomly divided into the control group and the experimental group. Patients in the control group were treated with traditional internal fixation, and those in the experimental group were provided with buttress plate. Patients were compared in several aspects such as the comprehensive quality of life assessment questionnaire (GQOLI-74), Baird-Jackson score and postoperative complications. The experimental group showed improved Baird-Jackson score after treatment, significantly higher fracture healing rate than that of the control group three months after treatment. Besides, there was no significant difference in the complications between the two groups, with good prognosis after timely treatment. Internal fixation with buttress plate has obvious advantages in the treatment of ankle fractures, which can effectively improve the quality of life and promote the rapid healing of fractures. It is worthy of clinical promotion and application.

Music therapy for pain and anxiety in patients after cardiac valve replacement: a randomized controlled clinical trial

ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess how listening to music after cardiac valve replacements affected patients' pain, anxiety, and vital signs.MethodIn Fuzhou, China's Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, the cardiac surgery division conducted a randomized controlled clinical experiment. 86 patients were enrolled, and 43 were assigned randomly to each group (control and experimental group). The standard treatment was given to the control group, while the experimental group was given standard treatment + a 15-min music intervention 3 times. Indicators include pain, anxiety and vital signs (respiratory rate, heart rate, and blood pressure).ResultsIn comparison to the control group, the experimental group, over time, demonstrated a statistically substantial decrease in pain, anxiety, systolic blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate (all P < 0.001), yet, there were no discernible variations (P > 0.05) in diastolic blood pressure.ConclusionsIn conclusion, these results provide additional proof for using music therapy to minimize cardiac postoperative pain and anxiety, as well as systolic blood pressure, heart rate and respiratory rate. Moreover, it should be regarded as a supplementary treatment for pain and anxiety after cardiac valve replacement and other medical procedures with comparable postoperative pain.

Reduced quality of life in myasthenia gravis patients: A study on 185 patients from China.

To explore the quality of life (QOL) in patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) and factors associated with QOL. This observational study included patients with MG diagnosed at the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University between January 2020 and March 2022. The QOL of patients was evaluated with the 15-item Myasthenia Gravis Quality of Life (MG-QOL15). Current MG severity was evaluated with MGFA grade, MG-ADL score, MGC score, and MGFA Postintervention Status. The data about gender, age of onset, subgroup, antibodies, age, duration, education, employment state, marital status, skeletal muscle affected, thymic histology, and current treatment methods of the patient were collected. A total of 185 patients [72 males (38.9%), aged 45.2 years (14-77)] with MG were enrolled. Age at onset was 38.3 ± 17.9 years, and disease duration was 87.9 months (0-672). The median MG-QOL15 score was 12.5 (0-58). The item "have trouble using my eyes" was the highest scoring item in both ocular and generalized patients with MG. The MG-QOL15 score was significantly different among patients with OMG (9.2 ± 9.4, n = 63), GMG (9.0 ± 8.8, n = 22), and BMG (15.4 ± 14.2, n = 100) (P = 0.018). Patients with BMG had higher MG-QOL15 scores than OMG (P = 0.001) and GMG (P = 0.009), but there was no significant difference between OMG and GMG (P = 0.467). The MG-QOL15 score was significantly lower in patients who had undergone thymectomy (9.7 ± 9.8, n = 58) compared to those who had not (13.8 ± 13.4, n = 127, P = 0.022). MG-QOL15 score was significantly lower in patients who underwent thymectomy compared to those who did not (9.7 ± 9.8, n = 58 vs. 13.8 ± 13.4, n = 127, P = 0.022). MG-QOL15 score was different among MGFA grades (Remission: 5.2 ± 5.4, n = 41; I: 11.3 ± 10, n = 61; II: 11.6 ± 11.1, n = 40; III: 18.1 ± 12.1, n = 29; and IVa: 30.1 ± 20, n = 14, P < 0.001). There was no significant difference between patients in MGFA grade I and II (P = 0.896), and there was no significant difference between patients in MGFA grade III and IVa (P = 0.052). MG-ADL (P < 0.001) and MGC (P < 0.001) were positively correlated with MG-QOL15. Men had higher MG-QOL15 than women (P = 0.094), and LOMG had higher MG-QOL15 than EOMG (P = 0.072). Multivariate linear regression identified that higher MG-ADL (P < 0.001), higher MGC (P = 0.02), and poor employment status (P = 0.045) were independently associated with higher MG-QOL15. Having trouble using the eyes accounted for the highest score in MG-QOL15, eye symptoms affect QOL more than limb weakness in MG. Daily life activity, disease severity, and employment status were associated with patients' QOL. Adequate treatment should be applied to improve QOL, while mild symptoms can be accepted. Men and patients over the age of 50 years of onset may need more attention.

The prognostic significance of tumor-associated neutrophils and circulating neutrophils in glioblastoma (WHO CNS5 classification)

BackgroundTumor-associated neutrophils (TANs) in the tumor microenvironment are prognostic biomarkers in many malignancies. However, it is unclear whether TANs can serve as a prognostic marker for clinical outcomes in patients with glioblastoma (GBM), as classified according to World Health Organization Classification of Tumors of the Central Nervous System, fifth edition (CNS5). In the present study, we analyzed correlations of TANs and peripheral blood neutrophils prior to radiotherapy with overall survival (OS) in GBM (CNS5).MethodsRNA-seq expression profiles of patients with newly diagnosed GBM (CNS5) were extracted from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and The Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA). TAN infiltration was inferred using CIBERSORTx algorithm. Neutrophil counts prior to radiotherapy in newly diagnosed GBM (CNS5) were obtained from the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University. The prognostic value of TANs and peripheral blood neutrophils before radiotherapy was investigated using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards models. The robustness of these findings was evaluated by sensitivity analysis, and E values were calculated.ResultsA total of 146 and 173 individuals with GBM (CNS5) were identified from the TCGA and CGGA cohorts, respectively. High infiltration of TANs was of prognostic of poor OS in TCGA (HR = 1.621, 95% CI: 1.004–2.619) and CGGA (HR = 1.546, 95% CI: 1.029–2.323). Levels of peripheral blood neutrophils before radiotherapy (HR = 2.073, 95% CI: 1.077–3.990) were independently associated with poor prognosis. Sensitivity analysis determined that the E-value of high TANs infiltration was 2.140 and 2.465 in the TCGA and CGGA cohorts.ConclusionsTANs and peripheral blood neutrophil levels before radiotherapy are prognostic of poor outcomes in GBM (CNS5).