Objective To describe the clinical characteristics of idiopathic ventricular fibrillation (IVF) with fragmented QRS complex (f-QRS) and J wave in resting electrocardiogram. Methods We reviewed data from 21 case subjects in our hospital who were resuscitated after cardiac arrest due to IVF and assessed the prevalence of f-QRS and J wave in resting electrocardiogram (ECG). All the case subjects were classified among three groups based on the electrocardiographic morphology: group I, both f-QRS and J wave were observed (n = 6), group II, only J wave was observed (n = 9), group III, neither f-QRS nor J wave was observed (n = 6). Population characteristics, history of syncope or sudden cardiac arrest, incidence of ventricular fibrillation (VF), and circumstance of VF were evaluated among the three groups. Results The incidence of index events (syncope, survived cardiac arrest and VF episodes recorded in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or pacemakers) was 13.4 ± 5.6 per-year in group I, 10.8 ± 3.9 per-year in group II, and 9.8 ± 4.2 per-year in group III. There were significant differences in incidences among the three groups, the most frequent index events were observed in group I. The hazard ratio for incidence was 3.2 (95%CI, 1.1-7.9; P = 0.01). The history and circumstance of the index events were different among the groups. In group I, all the index events occurred during sleep in early morning. In group II, four subjects suffered VF during strenuous physical activities or agitation state, two during sleep in early morning, three in usual activity. In group III, one subject suffered VF during sleep in early morning, one in agitation state, four in usual activity. Conclusions This study suggests that the IVF patients with the combined appearance of f-QRS and J wave in the resting ECG suffer an increased risk of VF, this subgroup of IVF patients has a unique clinical feature.

Objective:To explore the clinicopathological features and prognosis of renal mucinous tubular spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC).Methods:The clinical data of 16 patients with MTSCC admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from July 2013 to July 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. There were six male cases and ten female cases. The mean age was (56.4±11.4) years old. Among them, 10 cases were asymptomatic, two complained of hematuria, three complained of lumbar pain, and one complained of lower limb pain. Twelve cases underwent preoperative enhanced CT examination, 6 cases of ultrasound examination, 3 cases of MRI examination, and 1 case of bone scan. Imaging manifestations showed that the masses were round or round-like with clear borders. Two cases combined with hemorrhage and three cases combined with calcification. Five cases showed exophytic growth, 10 cases partially exophytic, and 1 case completely endophytic. The maximum diameter of the tumor was (65.7±27.4) mm. The tumors were located in the left kidney in 11 cases and in the right kidney in 5 cases. The tumors were mildly delayed-enhancing under enhanced CT, long/short T1 signal mixed with long/short T2 signal under MRI, and diffusion-limited high signal under DWI. The tumors were hypoechoic masses without obvious blood flow signals under ultrasound. Twelve cases were diagnosed as renal occupying neoplasms, 2 cases were suggested as lack of blood supply renal tumor, and one was considered renal tumor rupture and bleeding. In one case, a bone scan suggested metastasis to the thoracic spine and pelvis. The metastatic renal tumor was diagnosed, and a renal puncture was performed to clarify the pathology. Eleven patients underwent laparoscopic radical nephrectomy, and 4 patients underwent partial nephrectomy. One case was metastasized without surgery and treated with apatinib mesylate and zoledronic acid.Results:The postoperative pathological specimens showed grayish, grayish-yellow, or grayish-red masses with a soft or medium texture. No perinephric, ureteral, or adrenal invasion was seen in all tumors. Microscopically, the tumor cells were round and ovoid. The tumor cells were arranged in tubular and striated shapes, and mucus pools were locally visible. No sarcomatous component was seen in all tumors. There were 9 patients with pT 1N 0M 0, 6 patients with pT 2N 0M 0, and 1 patient with pT 1N 0M 1. After operation, 2 patients with pT 2N 0M 0, who underwent laparoscopic radical nephrectomy were treated with pazopanib and sunitinib, respectively. All patients were followed up for a median of 50.7(25.8, 75.0)months, 15 patients were free of recurrent metastases, and 1 patient with pre-puncture metastasis died due to tumor progression of multiple pulmonary and bone metastases, with a survival of 16.9 months. Conclusions:Renal MTSCC is rare, mostly found on physical examination, with female patients predominantly, and imaging shows a lack of blood supply tumor. Surgery is the primary treatment method. Partial nephrectomy or radical nephrectomy could be chosen according to the tumor stage, kidney function, and patient's underlying condition, and patients have a good prognosis.

This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) in patients with severe/critical coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this retrospective study, data were collected from 662 patients with severe/critical COVID-19 who were admitted to a designated hospital to treat patients with severe COVID-19 in Wuhan before March 20, 2020. All patients were divided into an exposed group (CHM users) and a control group (non-users). After propensity score matching in a 1:1 ratio, 156 CHM users were matched by propensity score to 156 non-users. No significant differences in seven baseline clinical variables were found between the two groups of patients. All-cause mortality was reported in 13 CHM users who died and 36 non-users who died. After multivariate adjustment, the mortality risk of CHM users was reduced by 82.2% (odds ratio 0.178, 95% CI 0.076-0.418; P < 0.001) compared with the non-users. Secondly, age (odds ratio 1.053, 95% CI 1.023-1.084; P < 0.001) and the proportion of severe/critical patients (odds ratio 0.063, 95% CI 0.028-0.143; P < 0.001) were the risk factors of mortality. These results show that the use of CHM may reduce the mortality of patients with severe/critical COVID-19.
Age Factors ; Aged ; COVID-19/therapy* ; China ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Propensity Score ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate