General Clinical Information Research Articles

Low molecular weight heparin reduces arterial blood lactic acid content and increases estimated glomerular filtration rate in patients with moderate Covid-19 pneumonia.

Background:Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) remains a serious health threat worldwide. We aimed to investigate whether low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) can promote organ function recovery in moderate Covid-19 pneumonia patients.Methods:We initiated an LMWH protocol in Covid-19 patients with increased D-dimer, body mass index >30 kg/m2 or a history of diabetes from January 18, 2020 at Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center. In this retrospective study, we assigned moderate Covid-19 pneumonia patients admitted between January 18th and April 18, 2020 receiving the LMWH protocol to the LMWH group. Moderate patients who met the inclusion criteria but did not receive LMWH protocol were included in the control group by 1:2 propensity score matching. General clinical information, indicators for renal function, arterial blood gas analyses, arterial blood lactic acid content (mmol/L), and coagulation indexes at 0 day, 3 days, 7 days, and 11 days after admission were recorded and compared between the two groups.Results:There were 41 patients in the LMWH group and 82 patients in the control group. General information in both groups were similar. Compared to the control group, the arterial blood lactic acid content (mmol/L) at day 11 (1.3 [1.1, 1.7] vs. 1.2 [0.9, 1.3], P = 0.016) was reduced in the LMWH group. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) in the LMWH group was higher than that in the control group at day 7 (108.54 [89.11, 128.17] vs. 116.85 [103.39, 133.47], P = 0.039) and day 11 (113.74 [94.49, 126.34] vs. 128.31 [112.75, 144.12], P = 0.003). The serum creatinine levels (Scr) in the LMWH group were lower than that in the control group at day 7 (62.13 [51.47, 77.64] vs. 55.49 [49.50, 65.75], P = 0.038) and day 11 (63.35 [50.17, 75.73] vs. 51.62 [44.62, 61.24], P = 0.005).Conclusions:LMWH treatment can reduce arterial blood lactic acid levels and improve eGFR in moderate Covid-19 pneumonia patients. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to further investigate this issue.Trial registration:ChiCTR.org.cn, ChiCTR2000034796.

Analysis of recurrence factors associated with conservative surgery for ovarian-type endometriosis.

BackgroundTo investigate the factors associated with postoperative recurrence in patients with ovarian-type endometriosis (EMS) who were treated with conservative surgery and to provide ideas for preventing disease recurrence in advance of treatment.MethodsThe study included data from 289 inpatients with ovarian-type EMS who underwent conservative laparoscopic surgery in the Department of Gynecology, Changzhou Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, from 2018 to 2020. We collected general clinical data, postoperative recurrence, drug treatment, and follow-up information. The factors associated with recurrence were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software.ResultsA total of 289 patients were included in this study, including 49 patients with recurrence and 240 without recurrence. In the univariate analysis of recurrence, revised American Fertility Society (r-AFS) score, preoperative dysmenorrhea, EMS fertility index (EFI) score, combined myoma, and postoperative pregnancy affected postoperative recurrence of patients. The critical value of r-AFS was 70 according to the subject receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), and the Youden index was 0.513. R-AFS >70 had a sensitivity of 57.1%, specificity of 94.2%, the positive predictive value of 66.7%, the negative predictive value of 91.5%, and diagnostic accuracy of 87.9% for the diagnosis of recurrent ovarian endometrioid cysts. Using multifactorial binary logistic regression, results showed that r-AFS score >70 [odd ratio (OR) =1.042; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.028–1.055; P<0.05], myoma (OR =2.995; 95% CI: 1.429–6.275; P<0.05), and preoperative dysmenorrhea (OR =1.994; 95% CI: 1.071–3.713; P<0.05) were risk factors for recurrence. EFI score (OR =0.785; 95% CI: 0.661–0.931; P<0.05), postoperative pregnancy (OR =0.349; 95% CI: 0.132–0.920; P<0.05) were protective factors for recurrence. The differences were statistically significant, and the remaining differences were not statistically significant.ConclusionsPreoperative r-AFS level, preoperative dysmenorrhea, and combined myoma are risk factors for postoperative recurrence, so patients with an r-AFS score over 70 should be more alert to possible recurrence. Moreover, EFI score and postoperative pregnancy are protective factors for postoperative recurrence. Postoperative patients should routinely take medication for prevention, and patients with the intention to become pregnant should be encouraged to conceive as soon as possible to reduce recurrence.

Ramadan favors first blood donation, but not frequent donation: Results of 10,145 blood donors from Algeria.

Frequent blood donors contribute to an important share of blood donations in many countries. In Algeria, frequent donation and its determinants, notably the place of the month of Ramadan, which plays an important role in blood donation in Muslim countries, have not been studied. This was a retrospective cohort study of n = 10145 Algerians who donated blood to the blood transfusion post (BTP) of Boufarik between January 2, 2008, and December 31, 2019. Donors were assessed at each donation for general clinical information, demographic information, and dates and times of donation. Donor return, defined as two or more donations to Boufarik BTP, and frequent donation, defined as three or more blood donations to Boufarik BTP, were the outcomes of interest and were analyzed using groups comparison and logistic and Cox regression analyses. 2.2% of donors were frequent donors and donated 9.6% of all donated blood. The volume of donated blood during Ramadan was twice the monthly volume during the rest of the year, but donation in Ramadan was associated with lower odds of return (odds ratio [OR]: 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.40-0.71) and frequent donation (OR: 0.41, 95% CI: 0.24-0.73). Women were underrepresented (10.9%), but they were more likely to be frequent donors (male vs. female OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.31-0.96; hazard ratio: 0.64, 95% CI: 0.41-0.98). Reducing the gender gap and promoting return could significantly improve the volume of blood donations in Algeria.

Designing and Evaluating an Educational Website for Osteoarthritis

Aim: Using educational websites can be effective in enhancing the health-related knowledge of patients suffering from osteoarthritis. This study aimed to design and evaluate an educational website to improve the awareness of patients with osteoarthritis. Method: This is a descriptive-applied study. Having reviewed valid scientific articles retrieved from Medline (through PubMed), Scopus, and Google Scholar databases, the contents required for the website were identified and classified. Then, the scientific content extracted from the articles was evaluated by general physicians and Ph.D. of physical medicine and rehabilitation. Different sections of the website were designed by "Google sites," and the content was published. In the last stage of the research, the osteoarthritis educational website was evaluated by students of medicine and health information technology in terms of technical performance by a standard questionnaire. Results: In this study, an educational website was designed to educate patients with osteoarthritis. Users can log in to the website and learn about symptoms, consequences, predisposing factors, pain relief exercises, nutritional information, and self-care programs. The content provided on the website includes three main sections of general disease information, clinical information, and disease self-care information, which physicians evaluated in the first phase. According to the content evaluation results extracted from the studies and the questionnaire's analysis, the designed website had a good quality. The average scores of the questions related to website usability, screen capabilities, terminology and information, learning ability, and overall website capability were 7.79, 8.15, 8.4, 8.08, and 8.03, respectively, which were at a "good" level. Conclusion: At the end of this research, an educational website for osteoarthritis was created. Patients can access the site via the link and receive educational information about symptoms, consequences, predisposing factors, exercises to reduce pain, self-care, and nutritional information.

Treatment and prognosis of 826 infants with critical congenital heart disease: a single center retrospective study

Objective: To analyze the current status of clinical treatment and factors influencing postoperative mortality in infants with critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) in China, optimize the perioperative management of CCHD, and provide a new scientific basis for clinical decision-making for the optimal management of these patients. Methods: This is a retrospective single-center study. Infants diagnosed with CCHD in Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital from January 2017 to December 2019 (aged 0-1 years at admission) were enrolled. General clinical information, inpatient treatment information, prognosis and complications were collected and analyzed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to explore the independent risk factors of postoperative death in infants with CCHD. Results: A total of 826 infants with CCHD were included, including 556 males (67.3%) and the age at first admission was 51.0 (5.0,178.3) days. 264 (32.0%) cases were tetralogy of Fallot and 137 (16.6%) cases were total anomalous pulmonary venous return. 195 cases (23.6%) were diagnosed prenatally. 196 cases (23.7%) were treated with prostaglandin. The preoperative invasive ventilation time was 0 (0, 0) hour, and the postoperative invasive ventilation time was 95.0 (26.0, 151.8) hours. A total of 668 cases (80.9%) underwent surgical treatment. The age was 100.5 (20.0, 218.0) days during operation and the operation time was 190.0 (155.0, 240.0) hours. Sixty-two cases (7.5%) received medical treatment, and 96 cases (11.6%) gave up treatment. A total of 675 cases (81.7%) were discharged with improvement, 96 cases (11.6%) were discharged after giving up treatment, 55 cases (6.7%) died and 109 cases (13.2%) were readmitted within one year. Complications occurred in 565 (68.6%) cases, including pneumonia in 334 cases (40.4%) and cardiac arrhythmias in 182 cases (22.0%). Multifactorial analysis showed that delayed chest closure (OR=49.775, 95%CI 3.291-752.922, P=0.005), prolonged post-operative invasive ventilator ventilation (OR=1.003, 95%CI 1.000-1.005, P=0.038) and cardiac hypoplasia syndrome (OR=272.658, 95%CI 37.861-1 963.589, P<0.001) were the independent risk factors for mortality in CCHD infants post-operation. Conclusions: Tetralogy of Fallot and total anomalous pulmonary venous return account for the majority of infants with CCHD. The proportion of infants diagnosed prenatally was less than 1/4. The majority CCHD infants received surgical treatment. The main complications are pneumonia and arrhythmia. Delayed chest closure, prolonged postoperative invasive ventilator ventilation and low cardiac output syndrome are the independent risk factors for postoperative death in infants with CCHD.

A disease-specific language representation model for cerebrovascular disease research

BackgroundEffectively utilizing disease-relevant text information from unstructured clinical notes for medical research presents many challenges. BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representation from Transformers) related models such as BioBERT and ClinicalBERT, pre-trained on biomedical corpora and general clinical information, have shown promising performance in various biomedical language processing tasks. ObjectivesThis study aims to explore whether a BERT-based model pre-trained on disease-related clinical information can be more effective for cerebrovascular disease-relevant research. MethodsThis study proposed the StrokeBERT which was initialized from BioBERT and pre-trained on large-scale cerebrovascular disease related clinical text information. The pre-trained corpora contained 113,590 discharge notes, 105,743 radiology reports, and 38,199 neurological reports. Two real-world empirical clinical tasks were conducted to validate StrokeBERT's performance. The first task identified extracranial and intracranial artery stenosis from two independent sets of radiology angiography reports. The second task predicted the risk of recurrent ischemic stroke based on patients’ first discharge information. ResultsIn stenosis detection, StrokeBERT showed improved performance on targeted carotid arteries, with an average AUC compared to that of ClinicalBERT of 0.968 ± 0.021 and 0.956 ± 0.018, respectively. In recurrent ischemic stroke prediction, after 10-fold cross-validation on 1,700 discharge information, StrokeBERT presented better prediction ability (AUC±SD = 0.838 ± 0.017) than ClinicalBERT (AUC±SD = 0.808 ± 0.045). The attention scores of StrokeBERT showed better ability to detect and associate cerebrovascular disease related terms than current BERT based models. ConclusionsThis study shows that a disease-specific BERT model improved the performance and accuracy of various disease-specific language processing tasks and can readily be fine-tuned to advance cerebrovascular disease research and further developed for clinical applications.

Long-term quality of life outcome after spondylodiscitis treatment

BACKGROUND CONTEXTSpondylodiscitis is the most common spinal infection of which the incidence has increased and the peak prevalence is between 50 and 70 years of age. Spondylodiscitis is often a complication of a distant infection. Early diagnosis can be challenging, and although improvements in diagnostic techniques and modern therapy have diminished the mortality of the disease, current literature about the outcome of spondylodiscitis is scarce. PURPOSETo evaluate the long-term clinical outcome of patients who suffered from spondylodiscitis. STUDY DESIGNA two-center cross-sectional study. PATIENT SAMPLEPatients with spondylodiscitis in two large teaching hospitals in the Netherlands between 2003 and 2017. OUTCOME MEASURESVisual Analogue Scale (VAS) for back pain, Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) for function, and Short Form 36 (SF-36) for general quality of life of spondylodiscitis patients. METHODEligible patients were identified from electronic patient databases and completed multiple patient reported outcome measures after obtaining informed consent. General demographic and clinical information (age, sex, medical history) were extracted from the patient records. SF-36 domain scores of spondylodiscitis patients were compared with a nationwide population sample. RESULTS183 patients were treated for spondylodiscitis; additional questionnaires were received from 82 patients. After a median follow-up of 63 months, the overall mortality was 28%. The mean VAS for back pain was 3.5, and the mean ODI score was 22. In all SF-36 domains a significantly lower score was found in the spondylodiscitis group compared with a normative national Dutch cohort. There was a strong correlation between back pain and ODI scores (ρ=0.81, p<.05). CONCLUSIONSOur study confirms that spondylodiscitis is a disease causing a profound impact on back pain, function and quality of life. The results suggest that chronic back pain is a debilitating problem, as it has an extensive influence on daily activities and social and psychological well-being, causing significant disability.

Red blood cell distribution width and serum CA-125 level as prognostic markers in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

ObjectiveAcute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) is a primary cause of hospitalization and death in COPD. Serum CA-125 and red blood cell distribution width (RDW) are related to AECOPD. We investigated correlations between serum markers and AECOPD.MethodsIn total, 132 patients with AECOPD were included from January 2017 to December 2019. Participants were followed for 1 year. Patients were assigned to the poor prognosis (n = 40) or good prognosis (n = 92) group. We collected serum samples and general clinical information and conducted routine blood tests. We used logistic regression, receiver operating characteristic (ROC), and area under the ROC curve (AUC) analyses to assess differences between groups.ResultsWe found significant differences between groups (odds ratio, 95% confidence interval) for age (1.046, 1.005–1.09), RDW (2.012, 1.339–3.023), and cancer antigen 125 (CA-125; 1.022, 1.006–1.039); these remained risk factors for AECOPD prognosis in multivariate analyses. RDW and CA-125 in combination was significant in ROC curve analysis. The AUC of RDW, CA-125, and these combined were 0.691, 0.779, and 0.772, respectively. Patients with RDW >12.75% and CA-125 >15.65 U/mL were predicted to have poor prognosis.ConclusionsWe found that RDW and CA-125 are potential prognostic indicators for AECOPD.

Correlation analysis of myonectin levels with metabolic and hormonal disorders in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome.

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between myonectin levels and metabolic and hormonal disorders in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). One hundred PCOS patients who sought medical advice from September 2017 to March 2019 in our hospital were selected as the PCOS group, while 100 healthy women matched for age and body mass index (BMI) with the PCOS patients were selected as the control group. General clinical information, myonectin levels, and metabolism and sex hormone-related indicators of the two groups were compared, and the correlation between myonectin, metabolism, and sex hormones was analyzed. There were no significant differences in age, BMI, blood pressure, or other general clinical information between the two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the levels of myonectin, sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in the PCOS group were significantly decreased (P<0.05), while the levels of fasting blood glucose (FBG), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), triglyceride (TG), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone were significantly increased (P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that the level of myonectin was negatively correlated with BMI, FBG, HOMA-IR, TG, and testosterone but was positively correlated with SHBG and HDL-C. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that the level of myonectin was negatively correlated with BMI, HOMA-IR, and TG but positively correlated with SHBG and HDL-C. There is a correlation between the level of myonectin and multiple metabolic and hormone indices in PCOS patients indicating that myonectin may be an effective index to predict metabolic and hormone disorders in PCOS patients.

Adipose Tissue Insulin Resistance is Closely Associated with Metabolic Syndrome in Northern Chinese Populations

ObjectiveAdipose tissue insulin resistance is a common feature of obesity-related metabolic diseases. However, the relationship between adipose tissue insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome (MS) has not been fully elucidated. Here, we explored the relationship between the adipose tissue insulin resistance index (Adipo-IR) (fasting insulin × free fatty acids) and MS and the predictive power of Adipo-IR for MS in northern Chinese populations.MethodsA total of 312 subjects, 186 subjects with MS, 80 nonmetabolic syndrome (NMS) subjects with central obesity, and 46 normal controls were recruited. The general clinical information, biochemical measurements, and oral glucose tolerance tests were evaluated. Serum adiponectin levels were determined using enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).ResultsAdipo-IR was 2.32-fold higher in NMS subjects and 2.62-fold higher in MS subjects than in normal controls in male subjects; in female subjects, it was 1.75-fold and 3.58-fold higher, respectively (P < 0.05). Female subjects with MS had higher Adipo-IR than male subjects (P < 0.001). Adipo-IR was independently positively correlated with waist circumference, triglyceride, aspartate aminotransferase, and fasting blood glucose and negatively correlated with adiponectin (P < 0.05). Subjects with the highest Adipo-IR tertile had a 2.758-fold higher risk of MS than subjects with the lowest tertile after adjusting for potential confounders (95% confidence interval: 1.552–9.096; P = 0.003). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed that the predictive power of Adipo-IR for MS was 73.1% and 79.2% in male and female subjects, respectively, with optimal cutoff values of 3.84 and 5.92 mU/L×mmol/L.ConclusionAdipo-IR provides a simple method to study adipose tissue insulin sensitivity. Adipo-IR is associated with MS and is an important predictor of MS.

Endothelial Dysfunction Is Associated with Cerebrovascular Events in Pre-Dialysis CKD Patients: A Prospective Study.

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have markedly increased rates of end stage renal disease, major adverse cardiovascular/cerebrovascular events (MACCEs), and mortality. Endothelial dysfunction (ED) is an early marker of atherosclerosis that is emerging as an increasingly important non-traditional cardiovascular risk factor in CKD. There is a lack of clinical studies examining the association between ED and both cardiovascular and renal endpoints in patients with CKD. Aims: We examined the association between reactive hyperemia index (RHI), a validated measure of endothelial function measured by peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT), with traditional cardiovascular risk factors in pre-dialysis CKD patients and prospectively evaluated the role of RHI as predictor of renal and cardiovascular outcomes in this population. Methods: One hundred and twenty pre-dialysis patients with CKD stages 1 to 5 (CKD group) and 18 healthy kidney donor candidates (control group) were recruited and had a successful RHI measurement by PAT. General demographic and clinical information including traditional cardiovascular risk factors were registered from all participants. Thereafter, patients were prospectively followed-up for a median time of 47 (IQR 19–66) months to determine associations of RHI with renal outcomes, MACCEs, hospitalizations or mortality. Results: In the CKD patient population, the mean age was 57.7 ± 15.5 years, the mean eGFR was 54.9 ± 36.7 mL/min/1.73 m2 (CKD-EPI) and 57 were males (47.5%). At baseline, in univariate analysis, RHI in the CKD group correlated positively with eGFR (r = 0.332, p < 0.0001) and correlated negatively with age (r = −0.469, p < 0.0001), Charlson index (r = −0.399, p < 0.0001), systolic blood pressure (r = −0.256, p = 0.005), and proteinuria (r = 0.211, p = 0.027). Reactive hyperemia index in the control group did not significantly differ from RHI observed in patients with CKD stages 1 to 5 (2.09 ± 0.40 vs. 2.01 ± 0.06, p = 0.493). In adjusted analysis, only age (β = −0.014, p = 0.003) remained independently associated with RHI at baseline. During follow-up, 8 patients suffered a MACCEs, 33 patients experienced renal function deterioration, 17 patients were hospitalized for medical reasons and 6 patients died. RHI at baseline was not significantly associated with CKD progression (1.94 vs. 2.02, p = 0.584), hospitalizations (1.90 vs. 2.04, p = 0.334), and all-cause mortality (1.65 vs. 2.01, p = 0.208) or MACCEs (1.77 vs. 2.01, p = 0.356), but was significantly associated with cerebrovascular events (1.27 vs. 2.02, p = 0.004) and with a composite cardiovascular outcome (MACCEs, hospital admissions and death; 1.73 vs. 2.07, p = 0.035). Conclusion: Our results suggest that RHI may be a predictor for the development of cerebrovascular events in pre-dialysis CKD patients who may benefit from more aggressive preventive measures.

Periodontal disease in preoperative patients with digestive cancer: a retrospective, single-institution experience in Fukui, Japan

BackgroundThe careful preoperative oral assessment may be useful for safe surgery under general anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of periodontitis in patients with malignant digestive disease before surgery under general anesthesia.MethodsPatients with digestive malignant disease who underwent periodontal examination and orthopantomograph examination for preoperative oral health assessment were participated. The authors investigated the patients’ general characteristics and clinical oral information, including the presence of periodontitis.ResultsOne hundred twenty patients participated in this study. The mean and standard deviation of the number of teeth was 20.8 ± 8.2, and there was a statistically significant correlation between age and number of teeth. The periodontal pocket depth was 3.0 ± 1.0, and mobile teeth were observed in 62 patients. There was a statistically significant correlation between number of teeth and number of mobile teeth. However, there was no significant difference between the age of patients without mobile teeth and the age of patients with mobile teeth.ConclusionsThis retrospective study performed in single-institution clarified the presence of periodontitis in patients with malignant digestive disease before surgery. Regardless of age, it is important to assess the oral health, including periodontitis, for safe surgery under general anesthesia.

Classification of emphysematous pancreatitis and its relation to prognosis.

Emphysematous pancreatitis (EP) is a subtype of infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN). It is characterized by the accumulation of gas inside or around the pancreatic necrotic tissue. This study aims to investigate the relation between classification and prognosis of EP, and to provide guidance for clinical diagnosis and treatment of IPN. A prospective cohort of 228 cases of IPN from January 2010 to June 2020 in the Department of General Surgery of Xiangya Hospital, Central South University were analyzed. Among them, 120 cases without peritoneal/retroperitoneal surgical intervention before admission were included. The 120 cases of IPN were classified into the EP group and the non-EP group. The general clinical information and results of pathogenic microorganism between the EP and the non-EP group were compared. EP patients were divided into early-EP (within 2 weeks of onset) and late-EP (after 2 weeks of onset) according to the presence timing of air bubble sign, and they were divided into extensive-EP and common-EP according to the distribution characteristics of bubble sign. The clinical characteristics between the survivors and non-survivors of both IPN and EP were compared. Among the 120 IPN patients, 25 (20.8%) were EP patients and 95 (79.2%) were non-EP patients. According to the classifications, 8 were early-EP (32.0%) and 17 were late-EP (68.0%); 15 were common-EP (60.0%) and 10 were extensive-EP (40.0%). There was no significant difference in gender, age, etiology, and mortality between the EP group and the non-EP group (all P>0.05). The percentage of Escherichia coli infection in the EP group was significantly higher than that in non-EP group (52.0% vs 16.5%, P<0.05). Among the 120 IPN patients, 35 died (IPN non-survivors) and 85 patients survived (IPN survivors). The mortality rate of IPN was 29.2%. There was no significant difference in gender, age, and etiology between the IPN non-survivors and the IPN survivors (all P>0.05). The proportion of severe patients in IPN non-survivors was significantly higher than that in the IPN survivors (97.1% vs 54.1%, P<0.05). Among the 25 cases of EP, 8 died (EP non-survivors) and 17 survived (EP survivors). The mortality rate of EP was 32.0%. There was no significant difference in gender, age, etiology, and time from gas detected to surgical intervention between the EP non-survivors and the EP survivors (all P>0.05). The proportion of early-EP and extensive-EP in the EP non-survivors was significantly higher than that in the EP survivors (both P<0.05). The mortality was up to 100% in the early- and extensive-EP patients. All of the EP non-survivors were severe patients, while 58.8% of the EP survivors were moderate or severe patients, the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). All of the EP survivors underwent step-up surgical treatment strategy. Air bubble sign is not associated with the prognosis of IPN. Early- and extensive-EP often indicate worse prognosis. Aggressive surgical intervention based on step-up approach should be considered with priority.

Analysis of characteristics of peripheral arterial ischemia in premature babies and effects of nitroglycerin patch application.

PurposeThe aim of this retrospective study was to analyze the characteristics of peripheral arterial ischemia and tissue necrosis in premature babies, as well as the effects of nitroglycerin.MethodsIn total, 513 newborns were enrolled who were admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit with a gestational age of 34 weeks or younger. Data were collected on general personal and clinical information, peripheral arterial ischemia, and nitroglycerin patch application in the premature infants. The collected data were analyzed using the χ2 test, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, logistic regression.ResultsThirty-six (7.0%) infants had peripheral arterial ischemia, while 477 (93.0%) infants did not. Lower gestational age (χ2=35.97, p<.001), lower birth weight (χ2=29.40, p<.001), lower blood pressure (χ2=23.10, p<.001), and insertion of an umbilical artery catheter (p<.001) were significantly associated with the occurrence of peripheral arterial ischemia. Among the preterm infants in whom nitroglycerin patches were applied, 30 (83.3%) premature infants without necrosis improved without complications, 4 (11.1%) showed hypotension, and 2 (5.6%) showed skin damage.ConclusionBased on a review of our experiences with nitroglycerin patches, we recommend closely observing skin color and using nitroglycerin patches on the skin to help improve flow in premature infants with peripheral arterial ischemia.

Ultrasonic features and pathological information of lymphoepithelial carcinomas of the salivary gland with ferroferric oxide nanometer ultrasound contrast agent

This study aimed to investigate and analyze the ultrasonic features and pathological information of lymphoepithelial carcinomas of the salivary gland using ultrasound. The general clinical information of 62 patients with lymphoepithelial carcinomas of the salivary gland and the ultrasonic features and pathological information of 28 patients who underwent surgery were retrospectively analyzed and compared with ferroferric oxide (Fe3O4) nanometer lipid microbubble contrast agent using Minitab software with P &lt; 0.005 to indicate statistical significance. Similarly, inflammatory nodules, lymphomas, and metastatic nasopharyngeal carcinomas were identified using ultrasound. Lymphoepithelial carcinomas were often observed in the parotid glands, with hypoechoic nodules. Network-like or cord-like hyperechoes were often observed in the nodules, with unclear boundaries, irregular morphologies, and significantly less invasion into the surrounding tissues. Differences in the incidence in the right and left glands, blood flow signal, nerve invasion, lymphatic metastasis, and tumor volume were insignificant. Lymphatic metastasis was often noted in ipsilateral neck level II, followed by the periparotid region or ipsilateral neck level I. The diagnoses of inflammatory nodules and lymphomas had a combined pathology, while the diagnosis of nasopharynx cancer was dependent on the result of nasopharyngoscopy. The ultrasonic features of lymphoepithelial carcinomas of the salivary gland are network-like or cord-like hypoechoic nodules that possess the ultrasonic and biological features of malignant tumors.

Guanxin V for coronary artery disease: A retrospective study

BackgroundGuanxin V (GXV), a traditional herbal mixture, has been widely used in clinical practice for the treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). This retrospective study was designed to assess the safety and effectiveness of GXV for CAD. MethodsIn our study, December 2006 to January 2009, 101 patients with CAD from Nanjing Hospital of Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine were enrolled, of whom 52 patients received GXV plus guideline-recommended medical therapy (GMT) (GXV group), 49 patients received GMT alone (GMT group). The general clinical information, traditional Chinese medicine syndrome score (TSS), the therapeutic effects, 6-minute walk test (6MWT), adverse events, echocardiography, and laboratory information were collected and analyzed pre-and post-treatment. ResultsWe did not find differences in the information between the two groups before treatment. Patients in the GXV group had decreased TSS (P < 0.0001) and increased therapeutic effects (P = 0.763) and 6MWT (P < 0.0001) than those in the GMT group and there were no significant differences in safety between the two groups. Moreover, patients in the GXV group improved ejection fraction, cardiac output, and stroke volume (P = 0.2113, 0.0001, 0.0002, respectively), and dropped BNP (P = 0.3856) compared with those in the GMT group. ConclusionsSuperiority in the GXV group for patients with CAD was demonstrated over the GMT group for both the safety and effectiveness endpoints. This suggests that GXV is a potentially safe and effective treatment for CAD patients.

Long-term outcome of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy post percutaneous transluminal septal ablation

Objective: To evaluate the long-term outcome of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy(HOCM) after percutaneous transluminal septal ablation(PTSMA). Methods: HOCM patients who underwent PTSMA and surgical myectomy at the Chest Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University from April 2001 to February 2019 were included in this retrospective analysis. Patients were divided into PTSMA group and surgical myectomy group. In addition, patients undergoing PTSMA were further divided into HOCM-PTSMA non-survivor group and HOCM-PTSMA survivor group. The general clinical information, procedural/surgical information and complications during hospitalization were compared between groups. Multivariate Cox regression model was used to analyze the independent risk factors for all-cause death in HOCM patients after PTSMA. Results: A total of 104 patients with HOCM who underwent PTSMA were enrolled. Mean age of the patients was (54±15) years old, including 41 females (38.7%). The follow-up time was 37.5(14.3, 76.8) months. At the last follow-up, 12 patients died (HOCM-PTSMA non-survivor group) and 92 were alive(HOCM-PTSMA survivor group). The proportion of patients with NYHA function class Ⅲ/Ⅳ was higher(P=0.036), and the posterior wall of the left ventricle was thicker(P=0.006) in the HOCM-PTSMA non-survivor group than in the HOCM-PTSMA survivor group. The immediate success rate of PTSMA in this cohort was 66%(70/104). The amount of absolute alcohol during the operation in the HOCM-PTSMA non-survivor group was (2.9±0.8) ml, which tended to be higher as compared to that in the HOCM-PTSMA survivor group((2.4±1.0)ml, P=0.056). Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that patients with HOCM who underwent PTSMA had an all-cause mortality-free survival rate of 90.1%, 78.3%, and 56.9% at 5, 10 and 15 years, and a HOCM-free survival rate of 91.3%, 79.4% and 57.7% at 5, 10 and 15 years, respectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age≥ 65 years was an independent risk factor for all-cause death after PTSMA in patients with HOCM (HR=2.697, 95%CI 1.292-18.977, P=0.020). There were 32 patients in the surgical myectomy group. The proportion of patients with NYHA function class Ⅲ/Ⅳ was higher than that in the PTSMA group(P<0.001), while age, gender, and major comorbidities(atrial fibrillation, coronary heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes) as well as the left atrium dimension were all similar between the two groups(all P>0.05). Patients in the surgical myectomy group were followed up for 38.0(17.6, 64.2)months, and no deaths occurred during the follow-up period. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis showed that there were no statistically significant differences in all-cause-free and HOCM-free survival rates between patients in PTSMA group and surgical myectomy group(P=0.089 and 0.110, respectively). Conclusion: PTSMA is safe and effective for the treatment of patients with HOCM, and the long-term survival rate of patients after PTSMA is similar as patients undergoing classical surgical myectomy surgery.

Predictive value of phase analysis of gated myocardial perfusion imaging for major adverse cardiac events in patients with coronary artery disease

Objective To evaluate the value of phase analysis of gated myocardial perfusion imaging (GMPI) in predicting major adverse cardiac events (MACE) in patients with coronary atherosclerotic heart disease. Methods Patients who underwent two-day rest-stress GMPI in the Department of Nuclear Medicine of Beijing Hospital from September 2012 to January 2014 were selected as observed subjects and analyzed retrospectively. The general clinical information, GMPI images and related parameters including phase standard deviation (PSD), phase histogram bandwidth (PBW), entropy, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), summed stress score (SSS), peak ejection rate (PER), peak filling rate (PFR) were noted. Patients were followed up until the onset of MACE (cardiac death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, and late revascularization within 60 d after GMPI). χ2 test, independent-sample t test or Wilcoxon rank sum test were used to compare data between different groups. The independent risk factors of MACE were obtained by Cox proportional risk regression model. Kaplan-Meier survival curve analysis was used to analyze the cumulative survival rate without MACE. Results A total of 505 patients (235 males, 270 females, median age: 73 years) were followed up successfully, with a median follow-up period of 55.6(52.0, 60.5) months. There were 54 cases (10.7%) with MACE: 6 patients with cardiac death, 27 patients with non-fatal myocardial infarction, and 21 patients with late revascularization. The incidence of hypertension and hyperlipidemia in patients with MACE was significantly higher than that in patients without MACE (χ2 values: 4.126, 6.021, both P 80°), abnormal entropy(>58 J·mol-1·K-1) and SSS≥12 were independent risk factors for MACE (odds ratio(OR) values: 2.795(95% CI: 1.259-6.201), 3.213(95% CI: 1.468-7.029), 3.640 (95% CI: 1.999-6.628), all P 26.7°), abnormal PBW group and abnormal entropy group were 51.2%, 63.2% and 46.7%, which were significantly lower than those of normal PSD group (92.3%; χ2=77.768, P<0.05), normal PBW group (94.2%; χ2=77.741, P<0.05) and normal entropy group (92.8%; χ2=117.437, P<0.05). The 5-year cumulative MACE-free survival rate (31.7%) of patients with abnormal PBW and SSS≥12 was significantly lower than that of patients with normal PBW or patients with abnormal PBW and SSS<12 (80.1%-94.4%; χ2=185.4, P<0.01). The combination analysis of entropy and SSS showed similar results. Conclusions PBW and entropy obtained by GMPI phase analysis are independent risk factors for predicting MACE in coronary artery disease. GMPI phase analysis is useful for coronary artery disease risk stratification. Key words: Coronary artery disease; Prognosis; Myocardial perfusion imaging; Tomography, emission-computed, single-photon; Tomography, X-ray computed; Technetium Tc 99m sestamibi

Low Serum ZAG Levels Correlate With Determinants of the Metabolic Syndrome in Chinese Subjects.

Introduction: Zinc-α2-glycoprotein (ZAG) is a novel adipokine, which is involved in metabolic syndrome (MetS). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between serum ZAG and MetS in Chinese adults, who diagnosed according to the 2005 International Diabetes Federation (IDF) criteria.Methods: A group of 151 MetS patients, 84 patients with central obesity and 70 healthy controls were enrolled. General clinical information, serum samples were obtained from all subjects and serum ZAG levels were determined via the commercial ELISA kits.Results: Serum ZAG levels were the highest in the control group, then gradually decreased with the severity of the metabolic abnormalities increased (8.78 ± 1.66 μg/mL for control vs. 8.37 ± 1.52 μg/mL for central obesity vs. 7.98 ± 0.94 μg/mL for MetS, P < 0.05). It was also decreased progressively with an increasing number of the MetS components (P for trend = 0.002). Additionally, serum ZAG/fat mass ratio was calculated and the similar changes were observed in the three groups (0.85 ± 0.53 μg/mL/kg for control vs. 0.39 ± 0.10 μg/mL/kg for central obesity vs. 0.36 ± 0.08 μg/mL/kg for MetS, P < 0.05). In the multiple regression analysis, group was a strong independent factor contributing to serum ZAG levels (P < 0.001). Furthermore, compared with subjects with the highest tertile of ZAG, subjects in the lowest tertile of ZAG had 1.946-fold higher risk of MetS (95% CI 1.419–6.117, P = 0.004). This phenomenon still existed after controlling for age, gender (Model 1), ALP, AST, Cr, UA, Urea based on Model 1 (Model 2), grip strength, smoking, drinking, birth place, current address, education level, manual labor, and exercise frequency based on Model 2 (Model 3). Receiver operation characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that serum ZAG might serve as a candidate biomarker for MetS (sensitivity 57.6%, specificity 70.0% and area under the curve 0.655), and serum ZAG/fat mass ratio showed improved diagnosis value accuracy, with ROC curve area of 0.951 (95% CI, 0.920–0.983, P < 0.001), and 90.7% sensitivity and 88.6% specificity.Conclusions: Serum ZAG levels were lowered in patients with MetS and central obesity. The decreased serum ZAG levels were associated with the increased risks of MetS. Serum ZAG, especially serum ZAG/fat mass ratio might be the candidate diagnostic biomarkers for MetS.

Using general practice clinical information system data for research: the case in Australia

General practice is often a patient’s first point of contact with the health system and the gateway to specialist services. In Australia, different aspects of the health system are managed by the Commonwealth Government and individual state / territory governments. Although there is a long history of research using administrative data in Australia, this split in the management and funding of services has hindered whole-system research. Additionally, the administrative data typically available for research are often collected for reimbursement purposes and lack clinical information.General practices collect a range of patient information including diagnoses, medications prescribed, results of pathology tests ordered and so on. Practices are increasingly using clinical information systems and data extraction tools to make use of this information. This paper describes approaches used on several research projects to access clinical, as opposed to administrative, general practice data which to date has seen little use as a resource for research.This information was accessed in three ways. The first was by working directly with practices to access clinical and management data to support research. The second involved accessing general practice data through collaboration with Primary Health Networks, recently established in Australia to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of health services for patients. The third was via NPS MedicineWise’s MedicineInsight program, which collects data from consenting practices across Australia and makes these data available to researchers.We describe each approach including data access requirements and the advantages and challenges of each method. All approaches provide the opportunity to better understand data previously unavailable for research in Australia. The challenge of linking general practice data to other sources, currently being explored for general practice data, is discussed.Finally, we describe some general practice data collections used for research internationally and how these compare to collections available in Australia.