OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

Objective: To investigate the clinicopathological features and differential diagnosis of CIC-rearranged sarcoma (CRS). Methods: Five CRSs of 4 patients (2 biopsies of pelvic cavity and lung metastasis from case 4) diagnosed in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were enrolled from 2019 to 2021. All cases were evaluated by clinical presentation, H&E, immunohistochemical staining and molecular analysis and the related literature was reviewed. Results: There were one male and three females, the age at diagnosis ranged from 18 to 58 (mean 42.5) years. Three cases were from the deep soft tissues of the trunk and one case from the skin of foot. Grossly, the tumor size ranged from 1 to 16 cm. Microscopically, the tumor was arranged in nodules or solid sheets. The tumor cells were typically round or ovoid, with occasional spindled or epithelioid morphology. The nuclei were round to ovoid with vesicular chromatin and prominent nucleoli. Mitotic figures were brisk (>10/10 HPF). Rhabdoid cells were seen in four of five cases. Myxoid change and hemorrhage were observed in all samples and two cases showed geographic necrosis. Immunohistochemically, CD99 was variably positive in all samples, while WT1 and TLE-1 were positive in four of five samples. Molecular analysis showed CIC-rearrangements in all cases. Two patients succumbed within 3 months. One had mediastinal metastasis 9 months after surgery. One underwent adjuvant chemotherapy and remained tumor-free 10 months after diagnosis. Conclusions: CIC-rearranged sarcoma is uncommon and shows aggressive clinical course with dismal prognosis. The morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics can largely overlap with a variety of sarcomas; hence, knowledge of this entity is vital to avoid potential diagnostic pitfalls. Definitive diagnosis requires molecular confirmation of CIC-gene rearrangement.
Repressor Proteins/genetics* ; Sarcoma/therapy* ; Humans ; Male ; Female ; Adult

Objective:To retrospectively assess the relationship between immune disorder and acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI) in patients after severe polytrauma.Methods:Totally 205 patients with severe polytrauma admitted to Tongji Hospital from April 2018 to October 2019 were enrolled as the observation group, and 23 healthy volunteers were served as the control group. According to the diagnostic criteria of AGI, all patients were divided into the AGI group (with AGI) or N-AGI group (without AGI), AGI patients were divided into the S-AGI group or L-AGI group according to the severity. The levels of cytokines and lymphocyte subset were evaluated at day 1, 7, and 14 after severe polytrauma. The differences between groups were statistically analyzed. The independent risk factors of AGI were analyzed by Logistic regression analyzed.Results:Totally 79.5% (163/205) of patients with severe polytrauma were accompanied by AGI. There were significant differences in the ratio of Tc, Th at day 1 after trauma, the levels of IL-6, TNF-α, IL-8, IL-10, the ratio of Ts, Th/Ts, Treg at day 7 after trauma, and the levels of IL-8, IL-10,the ratio of Ts, Th/Ts, Treg at day 14 after trauma between the AGI group and N-AGI group ( P<0.05). There were significant differences in the ratio of Tc, Th, the levels of IL-6, TNF-α at day 1 after trauma and the ratio of Ts, Th/Ts, Treg, the levels of IL-8, IL-10 at day 7 and 14 after trauma between the S-AGI group and L-AGI group ( P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that Ts 7 d ( OR=2.018, 95% CI: 1.105-5.364, P=0.013), Treg 14 d ( OR=3.612, 95% CI: 1.375-8.476, P=0.006), IL-6 7 d ( OR=1.824, 95% CI: 1.011-5.835, P=0.024), IL-10 14 d ( OR=2.847, 95% CI: 1.241-6.216, P=0.014), TNF-α 7 d ( OR=1.754, 95% CI: 1.215-5.441, P=0.018) were independent risk factors in patients with AGI after severe polytrauma. Conclusions:AGI is more easily occurred in patients with the heavier immune disorders after severe polytrauma. AGI can also aggravate pre-existing immune disorders in patients after severe polytrauma.

Objective:To prospectively assess clinical characteristics, potential causes and prognosis in patients with persistent inflammation, immunosuppression and catabolism syndrome (PICS) after polytrauma.Methods:Totally 1 083 patients with polytrauma admitted to Department of Traumatic Surgery of Tongji Hospital from Janury 2019 to July 2020 were enrolled. Exclusion criteria included age<18 years old, length of hospital stay<15 days, previous medical history of malignancy, or immunological, consumptive, and metabolic diseases. According to the diagnostic criteria of PICS, all enrolled patients were divided into two groups: PICS group and N-PICS group (without PICS). The patient’s clinical characteristics, ISS score, GCS score, SOFA score, and prognosis were collected. The χ2 test or Student’s t test was uesd to compare the difference between the PICS group and N-PICS group. Results:The incidence of PICS in patients with polytrauma was 11.7% (127/1 083). The majority of PICS patients were middle-aged and elderly men, 68.5% with traumatic brain injury and 59% with thoracic injury. GCS score was significantly lower, while ISS, APACHE II and SOFA scores were significantly higher in the PICS group than in the N-PICS group ( P<0.01, P<0.05). Among PICS patients, 79.5% were treated with mechanical ventilation and 76.3% were associated with pulmonary infection, with a 28-day mortality of 5.5% and a 180-day mortality of 16.5%, which were siginifcantly different from those without PICS. Conclusions:PICS has a high incidence after polytrauma and is commonly seen in middle-aged and elderly male patients with severe polytrauma, especially accompanied by traumatic brain injury or/and thoracic injury. Patients with PICS after polytrauma have poor long-term prognosis, so early identification and intervention should be strengthened in clinical practice.

Objective:To retrospectively assess the occurrence and risk factors in patients with acute gastrointestinal injury (AGI) after polytrauma.Methods:Totally 430 patients with polytrauma admitted to Tongji Hospital from April 2018 to October 2019 were enrolled as the observation group. According to the diagnostic criteria of AGI, all patients were divided into the AGI group (with AGI) or N-AGI group (without AGI). The patients with abdominal injury or previously suffered from gastrointestinal disease were excluded. The patient's clinical characteristics lab tests results, and the first ISS, APACHEⅡ, SOFA and GCS scores were collected. The differences between different groups were statistically analyzed. The independent risk factors of AGI were analyzed by Logistic regression.Results:65.3% of patients with polytrauma were accompanied by AGI (281/430 cases).There were significant differences between the AGI group and N-AGI group in ISS, GCS, APACHE Ⅱ and SOFA score, PCT or IL-6 level, shock index and length of stay in ICU ( P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that shock, ISS≥16, APACHE Ⅱ≥16, SOFA≥5, GCS≤8 and IL-6>50 pg/mL were the early independent risk factors in patients with ACI after polytrauma. Conclusion:The incidence of AGI in patients after polytrauma is higher, which is related to ischemia, hypoxia, abnormal blood coagulation and stress in the early stage after trauma.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the related factors of adverse reactions of blood transfusion, and clinical precautions so as to reduce the adverse reactions. METHODS: Data of 2108 patients with allogeneic transfusion in our hospital from January 2017 to June 2017 collected and analyzed. RESULTS: These patients received 15 244 time of blood transfusion, and 213 time of adverse reactions occurred in 178 patients in totality, the incidence is 1.4%, and there was no significant difference between the male (1.31%) and female (1.53%). The main type of transfusion reaction were allergy (73.23%), FNHTR (11.74%) and TACO (10.80%). Among all kinds of blood components, the incidence of adverse reactions of apheresis platelet transfusion was the highest (4.31%), significantly higher than that of cryoprecipitate and other blood components. The incidence rate of adverse reactions of blood transfusion in the hematopathy patients was 2.56%, significantly higher than that of immune diseases (1.48%), cancer diseases (1.28%) and other diseases (1.08%), (P＜0.01). The rate of transfusion history of apheresis platelets was 42.67% (the incidence of adverse reactions was 4.31%), significantly higher than other groups (P＜0.01); the rate of transfusion history of cryoprecipitate was 4.11% (the incidence of adverse reaction was 0.45%), significantly lower than other groups (P＜0.05). Among the disease types, the rate of transfusion history in the hematopathy patients was 48.79% (the incidence of adverse reaction was 2.56%), significantly higher than that of other groups (P＜0.01). The incidence of drug allergy in patients with the adverse reactions to blood transfusion was 11.25%, significantly higher than that of patients without adverse reactions (4.71%) (P＜0.01). CONCLUSION The main risk factors of adverse reactions of blood transfusion are as follows: blood varieties, disease type, transfusion history and drug allergy history. For the patients with transfusion, multiple factors should be controlled, so as to reduce the adverse reactions.
Blood Component Transfusion ; Blood Transfusion ; Female ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Male ; Platelet Transfusion ; Transfusion Reaction

OBJECTIVETo screen out the suitable erythrocytes compatible to the results from the routine blood matching for the patients suffered from the relapse of acute hemolytic transfusion reaction.

METHODSThe in vitro hemolysis test was used to screen out the erythrocytes from the non-hemolytic donors for the transfusion of erythrocytes into the patients.

RESULTSThree U of the non-hemolytic erythrocytes were obtained by using hemolytic test in vitro, the post-transfusion effects were good, and the hemolytic reaction will not occure once more.

CONCLUSIONWhen it is compatible to the results obtained from the routine blood matching and the post-transfusion hemolytic reaction appeared. The blood matching by using in vitro hemolytic test can be used to screen out the non-hemolytic erythrocytes for transfusion of the patients.

The content of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) which as the enzymatic hydrolysis product of benzyl glucosinolate through thioglucosidase was determined by HPLC. The content of benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC) which as the enzymatic hydrolysis product of benzyl glucosinolate through thioglucosidase was determined by HPLC. The chromatography condition was as follows: Kaseisorb LC ODS 2000 (4.6 mm x 150 mm, 5 min) column with the mobile phase of acetonitrile(A)-water( B) under gradient elution (0-5 min, 3%-8% A; 5-9 min, 8%-48% A; 9-23 min, 48%-62% A; 23-28 min, 62%-99% A); the flow rate was 1.0 mL x min(-1) with 10 microL injection volume; detection wavelength was 246 nm and temperature of column was 40 degrees C. The content of benzyl glucosinolate was in the range of 10.76-17.91 g x L(-1). The method is simple, accurate and good reproducibility which can be used for the determination of benzyl glucosinolate in Lepidium meyenii, effectively.
Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; methods ; Glucosinolates ; analysis ; Lepidium ; chemistry ; Plant Extracts ; analysis

In order to screen the compatible red cells by using extracorporal hemolysis test for acute autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) patients who were difficult to be matched by automatic microcolumn gel indirect antiglobulin test. Twenty-six cases of AIHA were chosen as control group, to whom the same type of donor red blood cells were infused with the weakest blood agglutination; 12 cases of acute AIHA patients were chosen as test group, these patients were difficult to be matched by automatic microcolumn gel indirect antiglobulin test, and the donor red cells without hemolysis by extracoral hemolysis test were transfused for them. The results showed that compared with the control group,the effect of transfusion was better in test group (P < 0.01), with 2.26 U leukocyte-depleted erythrocyte suspension in average, whose hemoglobin, reticulocyte and total bilirubin levels were changed significantly compared with those before blood transfusion (P < 0.01) . It is concluded that the compatible red blood cells for the acute AIHA patients can be screened by the extracorporal hemolysis test, when it is difficult to screen by the automatic microcolumn gel indirect antiglobulin test.
Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune ; therapy ; Blood Transfusion ; Coombs Test ; Erythrocyte Count ; Erythrocytes ; Hemolysis ; Humans ; Platelet Transfusion

This study was aimed to establish the matching method of hemolytic test in vitro, and to guide the transfusion treatment for puerpera with acute hemolytic disease. The donor's erythrocytes were sensibilized by all the antibodies in plasma of patient in vitro and were added with complement, after incubation for 6.5 hours at 38 °C, the hemolysis or no hemolysis were observed. It is safe to transfuse if the hemolysis did not occur. The results showed that when the matching difficulty happened to puerpera with acute hemolytic disease, the compatible donor could be screened by hemolytic test in vitro. There were no untoward effects after transfusion of 6 U leukocyte-depleted erythrocyte suspension. The all hemoglobin, total bilirubins, indirect bilirubin, reticulocyte, D-dimex and so on were rapidly improved in patient after transfusion , showing obvious clinical efficacy of treatment. It is concluded that when the matching results can not judge accurately compatible or incompatible through the routine method of cross matching, the agglutinated and no-hemolytic erythrocytes can be screened by hemolytic test in vitro and can be transfused with good efficacy; the hemoglobin level can be promoted rapidly, and no untoward effects occur.
Anemia, Hemolytic ; therapy ; Blood Grouping and Crossmatching ; methods ; Erythrocyte Transfusion ; methods ; Female ; Humans ; Puerperal Disorders ; therapy ; Young Adult