Objective:To explore the reasons for delayed medical treatment in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) using the treatment pathway theory as a framework, and to propose corresponding strategies to guide timely medical care for PCOS patients.Methods:Purposeful sampling was used to select 14 PCOS patients who sought treatment at Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School between November 2022 and May 2023. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and directed content analysis was applied to analyze and extract data.Results:The delay in seeking medical treatment for PCOS patients ranged from five to 60 months. Four main themes and 11 sub-themes were identified as reasons for treatment delays: misconception and delayed recognition of the disease (misunderstanding of symptoms, intermittent symptom presentation) ; delayed seeking of medical help (mismanagement of symptoms, feelings of shame, role conflict, distance and financial constraints, lack of social support) ; delayed diagnosis by healthcare providers (misdiagnosis by healthcare providers, lack of medical resources and services) ; and delayed participation in treatment (lack of health education from medical staff, no immediate fertility needs) .Conclusions:Delays in seeking medical care for PCOS patients are common. Efforts should be made to enhance public education on PCOS for adolescent and reproductive-age women, emphasize the management of the disease in patients without immediate fertility needs, improve primary healthcare institutions' capacity for managing PCOS, and mobilize the social support system to encourage patients to seek medical treatment early, thus reducing the occurrence of delayed medical care.

Background: Recent studies have reported that costoclavicular blocks (CCBs) can consistently block almost all branches of the brachial plexus while sparing the phrenic nerve and provide effective analgesia after shoulder surgery. We aimed to compare the efficacy of the CCB with that of the interscalene block (ISB) as the sole blocking technique for shoulder surgery. Methods: A total of 212 patients undergoing elective arthroscopic shoulder surgery were randomized to receive an ISB or CCB based on a non-inferiority design. All patients received titration sedation with propofol under monitored anesthesia during surgery. The primary outcomes were the proportion of patients with complete motor blockade of the suprascapular nerve (SSN) and incidence of hemidiaphragmatic paralysis (HDP). The secondary outcomes included block-related variables, complications, and postoperative pain scores. Results: The proportion of patients with complete motor blockade of the SSN at 20 min between the CCB and ISB groups (53% vs. 66%) exceeded the predefined non-inferiority margin of −5%, but was comparable at 30 min (87% vs. 91%). The CCB resulted in a significantly lower incidence of HDP (7.55% vs. 92.45%), Horner’s syndrome (0% vs. 18.87%), and dyspnea (0% vs. 10.38%) than the ISB. None of the patients experienced failed blocks or required conversion to general anesthesia. Pain scores were comparable between the groups. Conclusions Ultrasound-guided CCBs may be comparable to ISBs, with fewer unfavorable complications in patients with impaired lung function undergoing arthroscopic shoulder surgery.

Objective To develop a health-promoting lifestyle scale for women with polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS),and to test its reliability and validity,and preliminarily apply it.Methods Based on the Pender health promotion model,the item pool of the scale was constructed through literature research,semi-structured interviews and group discussions.After 2 rounds of Delphi expert consultation and pre-survey,the initial scale was formed.From April to July 2022,316 patients with PCOS in the health management center,reproductive medicine center and endocrinology department of a tertiary hospital in Nanjing were selected for item analysis,exploratory factor analysis and reliability test,respectively.From August to October 2022,358 PCOS patients were selected for confirmatory factor analysis.From November 2022 to February 2013,294 PCOS patients were selected,and the scale was used to investigate the status of health-promoting lifestyle in PCOS patients.Results The health-promoting lifestyle scale for PCOS patients included 5 dimensions and 33 items.The total content validity index of the scale was 0.942,and the content validity index of each item was 0.810-1.000.5 common factors were extracted by 2 exploratory factor analyses,and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 62.399％.Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the model fit was good.The Cronbach's a coefficient of the total scale was 0.930;the split-half reliability was 0.842;the test-retest reliability was 0.888.The preliminary application results showed that the total score of health-promoting lifestyle in PCOS patients was(96.925±14.273),and the average score of items was(2.937±0.433),which was at a medium level.Conclusion The health-promoting lifestyle scale for PCOS patients has good reliability and validity,which can be used as a tool for medical staff to assess the level of health-promoting lifestyle of PCOS patients,and can help nurses to quickly identify the level and dimensions of health-promoting lifestyle of patients,so as to formulate individualized precise health management plans.

Objective:To construct the admission criteria and job responsibility scheme for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) case managers.Methods:The first draft of the scheme was constructed through literature research, pre-consultation and group discussion. From February to April 2022, the convenient sampling method was used to select 18 experts for two rounds of Delphi expert letter consultation. Analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the weight of each indicator.Results:The effective response rates of the questionnaire for two rounds of expert inquiries were 94.74% (18/19) and 100.00% (18/18), respectively. The expert authority coefficients were 0.892 and 0.897, respectively. After two rounds of expert consultation, the Kendall's W of the first, second, and third level indexes for the admission criteria and job responsibilities of PCOS case managers were 0.361, 0.306, 0.283 and 0.250, 0.134, 0.142 ( P<0.05), respectively. The final admission criteria for PCOS case managers included 3 first level indicators, 8 second level indicators and 30 third level indicators. Their job responsibilities included 5 first level indicators, 13 second level indicators and 46 third level indicators. Conclusions:The admission standards and job responsibility scheme for PCOS case managers systematically and comprehensively reflect the characteristics of disease management for PCOS patients in China, which are reliable and scientific, and provide reference value for the screening and work practice of PCOS case managers.

Objective:To explore the current status and influencing factors of exercise intention in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) .Methods:From March to July 2022, 174 PCOS patients admitted to the Health Management Center of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School were selected as the study subject by convenience sampling. A survey was conducted using the General Information Questionnaire, Exercise Intention Scale, Exercise Self-efficacy Scale and the Exercise Social Support Scale.Results:The Exercise Intention Scale score of 174 PCOS patients was 15.00 (13.00, 18.00). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that education level, PCOS related disease visits, exercise self-efficacy, exercise social support, and exercise self-identification were the influencing factors of exercise intention in PCOS patients, and the difference was statistically significant ( P<0.05), which could explain 42.4% of the total variation. Conclusions:The subjective intention of patients with polycystic ovary syndrome to participate in exercise needs further improvement. Medical and nursing staff should focus on patients with polycystic ovary syndrome who have low levels of education and fewer visits, and focus on enhancing their self-efficacy and self-identification in exercise. At the same time, medical and nursing staff should actively mobilize social support systems to promote their subjective intention to exercise at a high level.

AIM:To investigate the role of specific long noncoding RNA SLC25a6(lncSLC25a6)in homocys-teine(Hcy)-induced cuproptosis in cardiomyocytes.METHODS:Rat cardiomyocytes were cultured in vitro and divided into control group and Hcy group.After 48 h of intervention,the expression levels of cuproptosis-related proteins,ferre-doxin 1(FDX1)and heat shock protein 70(HSP70),were detected by Western blot and immunofluorescence staining.The oxidative stress state of cardiomyocytes was assessed using fluorescence staining,and the intracellular Cu2+levels were measured using a copper ion assay kit.Furthermore,the impact of Hcy on the expression of cuproptosis-related proteins in cardiomyocytes was analyzed following overexpression of lncSLC25a6.RESULTS:Compared with the control group,80 μmol/L Hcy significantly accelerated cardiomyocyte damage,with a notable underexpression of lncSLC25a6(P<0.05).Western blot results indicated that,compared with the control group,the expression level of FDX1 in the Hcy intervention group was significantly reduced(P<0.05),while the expression level of HSP70 was significantly elevated(P<0.05),and the expression level of copper ions in cardiomyocytes of the Hcy group was increased(P<0.05).Immunofluorescence staining showed a significant reduction in FDX1 fluorescence intensity and a significant increase in HSP70 fluorescence in-tensity in the Hcy group.Further overexpression of lncSLC25a6 significantly mitigated Hcy-induced cuproptosis in cardio-myocytes,resulting in elevated expression of FDX1 and reduced expression of HSP70(P<0.05).Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that the expression level of lncSLC25a6 was negatively correlated with FDX1 protein expression(r=-0.676,P=0.046)and positively correlated with HSP70 expression(r=0.680,P=0.044).CONCLUSION:lnc-SLC25a6 significantly mitigates Hcy-induced cuproptosis in cardiomyocytes,positioning it as a potential therapeutic target for managing Hcy-induced cardiac injury.

Objective To study the role of ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme 9(UBC9)in the pyroptosis of homocysteine-induced macrophages mediated by small ubiquitin-like modifier(SUMO)modification.Methods First,the effects of homocysteine at different concentrations(0 μmol/L,50 μ.mol/L,100 μmol/L,150 μmol/L and 200 μmol/L)on the viability and pyrodeath of mouse macrophages(RAW264.7)were detected by CCK-8 and Western blot.Western blot was used to detect the expression levels of UBC9,SUMO-1,and the inflammatory cytokine IL-1β in different groups of cells.qRT-PCR was used to detect the mRNA expression of UBC9 before and after RNA interference and the expression of UBC9,pyrogen-related protein,and SUMO-1 after RNA interference.Results After stimulation with 100 μmol/L homocysteine,the effect of macrophage activity was minimal,and NLRP3 and Caspase-1 were the proteins with the most obvious increase in expression(P＜0.05).Compared with the Control group,the Hcy group's expression of IL-1β and SUMO-1 was increased(P＜0.01).Compared with the Control group,the Hcy group's UBC9 protein and mRNA levels were increased(P＜0.05).The expression of NLRP3,Caspase-1,IL-1β,UBC9,and SUMO-1 was decreased in the si-UBC9+Hcy group compared with the si-NC+Hcy group(P＜0.01).Conclusions Homocysteine induces pyroptosis in macrophages,and its mechanism of action is related to the up-regulation of UBC9 to induce SUMO modification.

The relationship between vitamin D deficiency and idiopathic central precocious puberty (ICPP) has been recently documented. In this study, 280 girls diagnosed with ICPP and 188 normal puberty control girls of similar ages were enrolled and retrospectively studied. The ICPP group had significantly lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25[OH]D) levels than the control group. Furthermore, a nonlinear relationship was found between serum 25[OH]D and ICPP, and a cut-off point for serum 25[OH]D was found at 31.8 ng/ml for ICPP with and without adjusting the different confounding factors. Girls with serum 25[OH]D ≥ 31.8 ng/ml had a lower odds ratio (unadjusted: OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.15 to 0.83, P < 0.05; height and weight adjusted: OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.18 to 1.08, P = 0.072; BMI adjusted: OR 0.36, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.84, P < 0.05). The ICPP subjects with 25[OH]D deficiency had a higher body mass index (BMI) than the subjects from the two other subgroups. Correlation analysis showed that vitamin D level is correlated with BMI and some metabolic parameters in the ICPP group. Our study suggested that vitamin D status may be associated with ICPP risk and may have a threshold effect on ICPP.
Body Mass Index ; Child ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Logistic Models ; Multivariate Analysis ; Puberty, Precocious ; blood ; complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Vitamin D ; analogs & derivatives ; blood ; Vitamin D Deficiency ; epidemiology