Objective To evaluate the efficacy of double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) in the treatment of patients with refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods Eighty-two patients were randomly aesigned,42 to the DFPP group and 40 to the no-DFPP group. All patients previously experienced an incomplete response to 2-3 dis-ease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and 1-2 nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or predni-sene. All patients received sulphasalazine (SASP,0.75 g three times daily) plus methotrexate (MTX, 10 mg orally once weekly). DFPP was performed once a week for 2-3 sessions. A total of 121 plasmapheresis procedures were per-formed in 42 patients. Control patients did not receive sham DFPP. The efficacy measures recorded one day after the final treatment and latest month in follow up for 12～24 months included the American College of Rheumatology 20% ,50% ,and 70% improvement criteria (ACR20, ACR50, and ACR70), the Health Assessment Questionnaire estimate of disability (HAQ); and the disease activity index. Results Patients in the DFPP group had ACR 20, ACR 50 and ACR 70 improvements of 100% ,92.9% and 81.0%,as compared with the patients in no-DFPP group 17.5% ,0,and 0 (P<0.001). Significant change from baseline was observed in HAQ scores in the DFPP group but not in the no-DFPP group (P<0.001). The changes from baseline in the disease activity scores were significantlygreater than in the no-DFPP group (P<0.001). Conclusion DFPP therapy significantly alters the signs and symp-toms of refractory RA. There are significant increases in physical function and improvement in quality of life.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relationship between the distribution of eosinophils(Eos) of nasal secretion and serum specific IgE(sIgE) titer in patients with allergic rhinitis, and to evaluate the diagnostic value of Eos in nasal secretion for allergic rhinitis. METHODS A total of 60 allergic rhinitis patients from Department of Otolaryngology, Beijing Shunyi Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine during Jan.2016 to June 2017 were selected as treatment group, and another 60 cases of non-allergic rhinitis and 30 normal persons in the corresponding time period were chosen as control group. Eos in nasal secretions and serum sIgE were measured in all the subjects and the relationship between Eos distribution and serum sIgE level was analyzed. RESULTS The Eos distribution and serum level of sIgE was consistent(κ=0.264, P=0.000) and statistical significance was found. The area of ROC of the Eos in nasal secretion was 0.881, the standard deviation was 0.025 and 95％ confidence interval was 0.841 to 0.924. The Udden index of ROC reached the maximum when the Eos in nasal secretion smear was graded as level 3, the sensitivity was 88.5％ and specificity was 99.4％. CONCLUSION Eos cytological examination of nasal secretions has some auxiliary value in the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis. It is a cheap, simple and rapid method, which can be used as an effective reference index for diagnosing allergic rhinitis in primary hospital.