Objective To investigate the feasibility of aortic and mitral valves replacement under video-assisted thoracoscope.Methods The subjects included 16 dogs(Experimental Group) and a clinical volunteer(Clinical Group).The procedure was performed under extracorporeal circulation with femoral artery and vein intubation.An incision 4~5 cm in length and two 1.5 cm ports were made in the right chest wall.The superior and inferior vena cava were cross-clamped by a self-made clamp and the myocardium was protected by cold cardioplegic coronary perfusion.Artificial mechanical aortic and mitral valves were intermittently sutured.Results In the Experimental Group: the time of extracorporeal circulation was 104~196 min(143.2?46.5 min) and the ascending aorta cross-clamped time was 58~128 min(82.4?26.1 min).Autopsy findings showed satisfactory valve suture fixation,without thread loosing or paravalvular rupture.In the Clinical Group: the time of extracorporeal circulation was 157 min,the ascending aorta cross-clamped time was 112 min,the time of mechanical ventilation was 10 h,and the drainage volume,150 ml.The patient was discharged from hospital on the 10 postoperative day.Follow-up observations for 9 months found no paravalvular leakage or other complications.Echocardiography showed normal prosthetic valve movement.Conclusions Video-assisted thoracoscopic aortic and mitral valves replacement is technically feasible.

Objective To investigate the pharmacokinetics of propofol when combined with remifentanil in patients with liver cirrhosis.Methods Ten patients (5 males, 5 females) with liver cirrhosis scheduled for endoscopic esophageal varix ligation (test group) and 10 cases (5 males, 5 females) with normal liver function scheduled for gastroscopy (control group), aged 18-55 yr, weighing 40-75 kg, were studied. The patients were unpremedicated. All the patients received iv injection of propofol 1.5 mg/kg and remifentanil 0.5 μg/kg, and 5 min later propofol 0.5 mg/kg and remifentanil 0.2 μg/kg was given again. Blood samples were taken from radial artery before administration and at 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 45, 60, 80 and 120 min after administration for determination of the plasma propofol concentration using gas chromatography-mass spectrography. The pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using DAS 2.0 software.Results The pharmacokinetics of propofol was best described by a three-compartment open model. There was no significant difference in the distribution half-life, elimination halflife , terminal half-life, area under the curve and transfer rate constant between the two groups ( P ＞ 0.05) . The apparent volume of distribution of propofol and clearance were significantly increased in test group compared with control group (P ＜0.01) .Conclusion When propofol combined with remifentanil is used in patients with liver cirrhosis, the apparent volume of distribution of propofol and clearance are significantly increased, while no changes in the other pharmacokinetic parameters are found.

Objective The risk for coronary artery bypass surgery is reported to be increased with age and associated with diabetes. We examined the outcomes of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in patients with diabetes who were older than 70 years of age and evaluate the effect of diabetes on CABG in those patients. Methods From March 2000 to March 2008, the data of 649 patients older than 70 years of age were collected retrospectively and divided into diabetic group or non-diabetic group based on pre-operative diagnosis. The blood glucose level of patients was maintained between 7.0 mmol/L ( 126mg/dl) and 10.0 mmoL/L ( 180 mg/dl) porioporatively. Stats 7.0 was used for statistical analysis. The t test and χ~2 test were used to determine the differences in the numerical variables and categorical variables respectively. Results No statistical differences were observed between the two groups in the baseline variables, such as age [ ( 74.78±3.67 ) years for diabetic group vs. ( 75.00±3.65 ) years for non-diabetic group, P = 0. 4877 ], female patients ( 34.76% vs. 29.22%, P =0. 1663 ), ejection fraction [ ( 57.02±10. 10 ) % vs. ( 58.49±10. 39 ) %, P = 0. 1004 ) ], myocardial infarction history (26.20% vs. 28.35%, P =0. 5795), though there were more left main diseases in the diabetic group (52.41% vs.26.41%, diabetic vs. non-diabetic, P = 0. 0000 ). The overall in-hospital mortality was 6.32% (8.02% in the diabetic group vs. 5.63% in the non-diabetic group, P = 0. 2571 ). The main causes of death were sudden respiratory and cardiac arrest,low cardiac output syndrome ( LCOS), malignant arrhythmia, respiratory failure, renal failure, central nervous system compli-cations, and multiple organ failure. Major post-operative complications were bleeding, atrial fibrillation, plural effusion and pulmonary infection. Post-operative variables, such as EF (0.59±0. 13 in the diabetic group vs. 0. 61±0.15 in the non-dia-betie group, P =0. 1807), re-revascularization due to bleeding (2. 14% vs. 4.76%, P = 0. 1232), blood transfusion (89.84% vs. 84.63%, P = 0.0820) and the administration of vasoactive agent (21.93% vs. 27.71%, P= 0. 1286),were found no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusion Conclusions The early outcomes of CABG in aged patients are acceptable. The surgical consequences in diabetic patients may be similar to those in non-diabetic patients.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for simultaneous determination of propofol and remifentanil concentrations in human plasma.Methods Methods Eighteen healthy volunteers of both sexes,aged 18-45 yr,weighing 52-81 kg,were enrolled in the study.Venous blood samples were collected,and the concentrations of propofol and remifentanil in human plasma were detected simultaneously by HPLC.The internal standard was thymol.Potassium dihydrogen phosphate 0.1 mol/L was added to the plasma and then the plasma samples were extracted with extract liquor (ethyl acetate ∶ hexane =4 ∶ 1,V/V).The analytical column was ZORBAX Eclipse XDB-C18 (4.6 mm×250 mm,5 μm).The mobile phase was methano ∶ 0.02 mol/L NaH2PO4 ∶ acetonitrile,the flow rate was 1.0 ml/min,the detection wavelength was 210 nm within 1-7 min,and 266 nm within 7-16 min,and the sample size was 20 μl.Linear regression analysis was performed by using the least-squares method.The specimens of the blood with the final concentration of remifentanil 1.00,5.00 and 20.00 ng/ml and propofol 0.50,2.00 and 10.00 μg/ml were obtained to determine the recovery,precision and stability.Results Linear regression equation of remifentanil was C=12.853 5Ai/As+0.084 8 (R2 =0.999 4),and this system showed a good linear relationship with the concentration of remifentanil ranged 0.5-40.0 ng/ml.Linear regression equation of propofol was C=8.554 3 Ai/As+0.029 1 (R2=0.998 6),and this system showed a good linear relationship with the concentration of propofol ranged 0.2-20.0 μg/ml.For both propofol and remifentanil concentrations,the relative recovery was within the range of 85％-115％,the absolute recovery was larger than 75％,and the relative standard deviation of intra-and inter-day precision and stability was less than 5％.The method was proved to meet the requirements of biological sample analysis.Conclusion For HPLC method established in this trial,the determination is sensitive,reproducible,rapid and simple,and it can be used for simultaneous determination of propofol and remifentanil concentrations in human plasma and for clinical pharmacokinetic research.

Objective To explore the protective effects of erythropoietin (EPO) on cardiomyocytes against hypoxia/reoxygenation (HR) injury. Method Isolated and cultured rat eardiomyocytes were subjected to 2-hour hypoxia followed by 1 hour reoxygenation to establish model of HR injury. Cardiomyocytes were randomly divided into 4 groups: sham group, HR group, HR + EPO-treated group (EPO 10 U/ml), and HR + EPO + UO126-treated group (U0126 10?mol/L). The concentration of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in culture medium was detected by automatic biochemical analyzer; viability of eardiomyocytes was measured by MTT assay; apoptosis ratio was determined by TUNEL technology and Annexin-V-FITC with flow cytometer (FCM); level of extracellular signal- regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK_(1/2)) and phospho-ERK_(1/2) were measured by Western-blot analysis. Results EPO significantly decreased the leakage of LDH, enhanced activity, reduced apoptosis ratio, and increased level of phospho-ERK_(1/2).However, the effects were blocked by U0126, an inhibitor of MAPK. Conclusions EPO has the protective effects on cardiomyocytes against HR injury possibly via the mechanism of activation of ERK_(1/2) and inhibition of apoptosis.

To scientifically evaluate the intervention effect of Chinese medicine preventive administration(combined use of Huo-xiang Zhengqi Oral Liquid and Jinhao Jiere Granules) on community population in the case of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19), a large cohort, prospective, randomized, and parallel-controlled clinical study was conducted. Total 22 065 subjects were included and randomly divided into 2 groups. The non-intervention group was given health guidance only, while the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) intervention group was given two coordinated TCM in addition to health guidance. The medical instructions were as follows. Huoxiang Zhengqi Oral Liquid: oral before meals, 10 mL/time, 2 times/day, a course of 5 days. Jinhao Jiere Granules: dissolve in boiling water and take after meals, 8 g/time, 2 times/day, a course of 5 days, followed up for 14 days, respectively. The study found that with the intake of medication, the incidence rate of TCM intervention group was basically maintained at a low and continuous stable level(0.01%-0.02%), while the non-intervention group showed an overall trend of continuous growth(0.02%-0.18%) from 3 to 14 days. No suspected or confirmed COVID-19 case occurred in either group. There were 2 cases of colds in the TCM intervention group and 26 cases in the non-intervention group. The incidence of colds in the TCM intervention group was significantly lower(P<0.05) than that in the non-intervention group. In the population of 16-60 years old, the incidence rate of non-intervention and intervention groups were 0.01% and 0.25%, respectively. The difference of colds incidence between the two groups was statistically significant(P<0.05). In the population older than 60 years old, they were 0.04% and 0.21%, respectively. The incidence of colds in the non-intervention group was higher than that in the intervention group, but not reaching statistical difference. The protection rate of TCM for the whole population was 91.8%, especially for the population of age 16-60(95.0%). It was suggested that TCM intervention(combined use of Huoxiang Zhengqi Oral Liquid and Jinhao Jiere Granules) could effectively protect community residents against respiratory diseases, such as colds, which was worthy of promotion in the community. In addition, in terms of safety, the incidence of adverse events and adverse reactions in the TCM intervention group was relatively low, which was basically consistent with the drug instructions.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Betacoronavirus ; Coronavirus Infections ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia, Viral ; drug therapy ; Prospective Studies ; Young Adult