Objective To explore the association between moxibustion sensation and therapeutic efficacy during moxibustion treatment. Methods By applying Taiyi moxa stick to Shiqizhui (EX-B 8) to treat primary dysmenorrhea, the association between the change of Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score and the topical moxibustion sensation and transmission types during the 30 min moxibustion treatment was observed. Besides, the occurrence time of transmission, and the transmission distance, width, depth, and direction were recorded. Results Superficial moxibustion sensation occurred in forty patients, of whom, the VAS score changed by (38.50±14.38) mm; heat-penetrating moxibustion sensation occurred in 18 patients, and the VAS score changed by (38.89±12.43) mm; heat-expanding sensation occurred in 6 patients, and the VAS score changed by (45.00±14.10) mm; distant transmission happened in 13 patients, and the VAS score changed by (41.54±13.90) mm. Patients with 4 types of moxibustion sensation had the highest VAS scores both before and after treatment, followed by 3 types, 2 types, and 1 type moxibustion sensation. In comparing the changes of VAS score between 10 min and 20 min treatment and between 20 min and 30 min treatment, the patients with 4 types of moxibustion sensation had the most significant change. Conclusions Different moxibustion sensations occur at different frequencies, and the occurrence of moxibustion sensation is related to the severity of disease condition. The number of moxibustion sensation type can affect the remission process of disease, but can merely influence the treatment result. The single moxibustion sensation (superficial heat only) works faster, usually taking 0~10 min; while the other forms of moxibustion sensation (heat penetrating, heat-expanding, and distant transmission) works slower, usually taking over 20 min.

Objective: To compare the therapeutic effects of two different moxibustion methods both with tai-yi moxa stick in treating primary dysmenorrhea. ＜br> Methods: Forty-three patients were randomized into two groups by the random number table according to their treatment orders. The causalgic group was intervened by causalgic stimulation with tai-yi moxa stick while the tepid group was treated by mild thermal stimulation with tai-yi moxa stick. Shiqizhui (EX-B 8) was selected for both groups. Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used for observation before and during the treatment by every 10 min to compare the clinical efficacies between the two groups. ＜br> Results: Before treatment, there was no statistically significant difference in pain intensity between the two groups (P>0.05). After treatment, both groups achieved significant improvements in pain intensity (P＜0.05), but the inter-group difference in pain intensity was still statistically insignificant (P>0.05), but the difference was enlarged comparing with that before treatment. The pain relief during the first 10 min of treatment was slower in the causalgic group than that in the tepid group. However, during the later 20 min, the pain relief in the calsalgia group gradually outpaced that in the tepid group. ＜br> Conclusion: The two moxibustion methods with tai-yi moxa stick both have a good instant analgesic effect in treating primary dysmenorrhea. For patients with primary dysmenorrhea, if 30 min is regarded as the treatment time, mild stimulation was suggested to be used for the first 10 min, and causalgic stimulation for the later 20 min to achieve a better curative effect.

Objective:To analyze the mechanism of Danpi-Chishao in treatment of sepsis based on network pharmacology.Methods:The corresponding targets of Danpi-Chishao and sepsis were carried out through TCMSP database, OMIM database and Genecards database. Cystoscope 3.8.2 software was used to construct the " Chinese medicine-active components-target-disease" network diagram. Gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis were carried out by DAVID database. Weisheng cloud platform was used to draw bubble map.Results:A total of 36 effective components of Danpi-Chishao was obtained, mainly including quercetin, kaempferol, baicalin, β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, paeoniflorin and so on. There were 96 potential common key targets between Danpi-Chishao and sepsis, such as prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase 2 (PTGS2), transcription factor p65 (RELA), phosphatidylinositol-4, 5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit gamma (PIK3CG), B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2)-associated X (BAX), BCL-2, Caspase-3 (CASP3) with a degree value>4.9. The result of protein-protein interaction (PPI) network analysis showed that there were 10 important target proteins, including alpha serine/threonine-protein kinase (AKT1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor (TNF), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGFA), cellular tumor antigen p53 (TP53), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP9), CASP3, PTGS2, C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2). The pathways obtained by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis included atherosclerosis pathway, advanced glycation end products (AGE)-receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) signal pathway, cancer pathway, tumor necrosis factor signal pathway, hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) signal pathway, IL-17 signal pathway and other pathway.Conclusions:The mechanism of the intervention effect of Danpi-Chishao on sepsis may be that the active components such as quercetin, kaempferol, paeoniflorin act on target proteins such as PTGS2, RELA, PIK3CG, BAX, BCL2, CASP3, and through TNF-related signal pathway, HIF-1 signal pathway, IL-17 signal pathway, etc. Nonetheless, the conclusion needs further experimental verification.

Objective To investigate the relationship between neutrophil ratio/blood glucose and short outcome among patients with acute ischemic stroke admitted to hospitals.Methods A total of 2 265 acute ischemic stroke patients in four hospitals in Shandong province were included in this study.Through access to patients' files,data on demographic,lifestyle,medical history,family history and laboratory findings were collected from all participants at admission.Endpoint of the study was defined as poor short-term prognosis of acute cerebral infarction (NIHSS≥5) at discharge or death during hospitalization.Subjects of this study were divided into four groups:normal neutrophil ratio with normal blood glucose (NN/NG) ;normal neutrophil ratio with high blood glucose (NN/IG) ;high neutrophil ratio with normal blood glucose (IN/NG) and high neutrophil ratio with high blood glucose (IN/IG).Non-conditional logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between blood glucose/neutrophil ratio and the short outcome of acute ischemic stroke.Results Neutrophil ratio and the level of blood glucose in patients with study endpoints were both higher than those without the study endpoints,and the difference was statistically significant (all P＜0.05). After multivariate adjustment,when compared to NN/NG group,the ORs (95％ CI) of NN/IG,IN/NG and IN/IG group were 1.356 (0.942-1.953),1.879 (1.113-3.171) and 2.210 (1.477-3.307),respectively.Conclusion Neutrophil ratio at admission was an independent risk factor of poor short outcome in patients with acute ischemic stroke.IN/IG group was considered at a highest risk in general population.Neutrophil ratio/glucose was valuable in predicting the incidence of poor short outcome in acute ischemic stroke patients.

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the cost-effectiveness of two-stage and three-stage hearing screenings for newborns.

METHODSHearing screening was performed for the normal newborns born in 7 hospitals in Beijing from October 2010 to December 2012 by using two stage and three stage strategies as well as hearing diagnostic test, and the cost effectiveness evaluation of two strategies was conducted. The data about the cost of screening and diagnostic test were from the hospitals. The data about car fare and charge for loss of working time of parents were collected through questionnaire survey. The sensitivity was analyzed according to the compliance rate.

RESULTSA total of 62,695 newborns received initial hearing screening, 5,809 newborns failed, the positive rate was 9.30%. A total of 4,933 newborns received rescreening, 972 newborns failed, the positive rate was 19.70%. Among the newborns failed in rescreening, 412 were provided with hearing diagnostic test and 360 received diagnostic test. The diagnostic test indicated that the hearing of 217 newborns were abnormal (60.28%). A total of 276 newborns received the third screening, 163 newborns failed, in which 125 received diagnostic test and 112 had abnormal hearing (45 had moderate and above hearing impairment), the abnormal rate was 89.60%. The average cost for three-stage screening (37,242 yuan RMB per case) was higher than that for two-stage screening (19,985 yuan RMB per case). With the increase of compliance, the cost-effectiveness of three-stage screening increased.

CONCLUSIONThe cost-effectiveness of three-stage screening was influenced by screening compliance. It is recommended that three-stage screening strategy might be taken in area where the screening compliance rate is >90%.

Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Hearing Loss ; diagnosis ; Hearing Tests ; economics ; methods ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Neonatal Screening ; economics ; methods