Objective To screen the high specific and sensitive monitoring indications in the diagnosis of intestinal barrier dysfunction.Methods A total of 70 critical patients with intestinal barrier dysfunction and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation (APACHE) Ⅱ score≥8 and over the same period 41 patients without intestinal barrier dysfunction and APACHE Ⅱ score≤6 were recruited.The general information,histories,symptoms,physical signs,24 hours urine output and the condition of mechanical ventilation treatment were recorded.The venous blood was taken for bacteria culture,white blood cell counting,creatinine level,diamine oxidase (DAO) activity,D-lactic acid,intestinal fatty acid binding protein (IFABP) and endotoxin level testing.The urine was taken for urinary IFABP level testing.Twenty-four hours urine was reserved for 24 hours total urinary IFABP testing.The factors which might influence intestinal barrier dysfunction were analyzed by univariate analysis and multivariate analysis.The measurement data were analyzed by t test and the count data were analyzed by x2 test.The factors were screened according to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.Results The factors related with intestinal barrier dysfunction were white blood cell counting (OR=3.971,P=0.046),plasma endotoxin level (OR=7.857,P=0.005)and 24 hours total urinary IFABP (OR=11.154,P=0.001).The areas under the ROC curve (AUC)of plasma endotoxin level and 24 hours total urinary IFABP were 0.852 and 0.820 respectively (both P＜0.01).The critical value was 8.0 pg/ml and 17.12 ng respectively.The sensitivity was 97.8％ and 84.4％.The specificity was 66.7％ and 72.7％.Conclusion Once critical patients presented certain gastrointestinal symptoms and physical signs with plasma endotoxin level ＞8.0 pg/ml and or 24 hours total urinary IFABP ＞17.12 ng,which might indicate intestinal barrier dysfunction.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of intraoperative fluorouracil implant combined with raltitrexed chemotherapy in advanced gastric cancer. Methods The clinical data of patients with advanced gastric cancer from November 2013 to November 2014 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to intraoperative treatment method. Sixty-two cases (observation group) received intraoperative fluorouracil implant combined with raltitrexed regional chemotherapy, and 54 cases (control group) were not given the intraoperative chemotherapy drugs. The postoperative ventilation time, incidence of complications, peripheral blood white blood cell and platelets 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th day after operation, cumulative recurrence rate and cumulative survival rate 3 years after operation were compared between 2 groups. Results There were no significant differences in postoperative ventilation time and incidence of complications between 2 groups (P > 0.05). The white blood cell 1st and 3rd day after operation in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group: (5.21 ± 1.03)×109/L vs. (6.52 ± 1.08)×109/L and (5.29 ± 1.11)×109/L vs. (6.37 ± 1.06)×109/L, the platelet 1st, 3rd and 5th day after operation in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group: (172.64 ± 31.48) × 109/L vs. (188.34 ± 30.05) × 109/L, (175.81 ± 31.77) × 109/L vs. (190.36 ± 31.12) ×109/L and (178.46 ± 32.04) ×109/L vs. (191.18 ± 31.29) ×109/L, and there were statistical differences (P＜0.05); but the white blood cell and platelets in 2 groups were in the normal range at all time points. The 3-year cumulative recurrence rate in the observation group was significantly lower than that in control group: 75.8% (47/62) vs. 83.3% (45/54), the 3-year cumulative survival rate was significantly higher than that in control group: 71.0% (44/62) vs. 51.9% (28/54), and there were statistical differences (P＜0.05). Further analysis of patients with recurrent 3 years after operation, the incidence of local recurrence and extensive peritoneal metastasis in observation group was significantly lower than that in control group: 40.4% (19/47) vs. 68.9% (31/45), and there was statistical difference (P＜0.01). Conclusions It is a safe and effective treatment for intraoperative fluorouracil implant combined with raltitrexed regional chemotherapy to inhibit local recurrence and peritoneal metastasis in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the protective effect of procyanidin B2 (PCB2) on the intestinal barrier and against enteritis in mice with trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNBS)-induced colitis and explore the possible mechanism. METHODS: A mouse model of TNBS-induced colitis was established in male Balb/c mice aged 6-8 weeks. The successfully established mouse models were randomly divided into PCB2 treatment group (=10) and model group (=10) and were treated with daily intragastric administration of PCB2 (100 mg/kg, 0.2 mL) and 0.2 mL normal saline, respectively. After 4 weeks, the disease symptoms, intestinal inflammation, intestinal mucosal cell barrier function and the changes in PI3K/AKT signaling were evaluated using HE staining, immunofluorescence assay and Western blotting. RESULTS: The disease activity index of the mice was significantly lower and the mean body weight was significantly greater in PCB2 group than in the model group in the 3rd and 4th weeks of intervention ( < 0.05). The levels of colonic inflammation and intestinal mucosal inflammatory mediators IL-1β and TNF-α were significantly lower while IL-10 was significantly higher in PCB2 group than in the model group ( < 0.05). Compared with those in the model group, the mice in PCB2 treatment group showed a significantly lower positive rate of bacterial translocation in the mesenteric lymph nodes and a lower thiocyanate-dextran permeability of the intestinal mucosa ( < 0.05). Western blotting showed that PCB2 treatment significantly increased the expressions of claudin-1 and ZO-1 ( < 0.05) and significantly lowered the expression levels of p-PI3K and p-AKT in the intestinal mucosa as compared with those in the model group ( < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS PCB2 suppresses intestinal inflammation and protects intestinal mucosal functions and structural integrity by inhibiting intestinal PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, suggesting the potential of PCB2 as a new drug for Crohn's disease.
Animals ; Biflavonoids ; Catechin ; Colitis ; chemically induced ; Colon ; Enteritis ; Intestinal Mucosa ; Male ; Mice ; Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinases ; Proanthocyanidins ; Trinitrobenzenesulfonic Acid

OBJECTIVE: To explore association of the expression levels of adenylate cyclase-associated protein 2 (CAP2) in gastric cancer tissues with the histopathology and long-term prognosis of the malignancy. METHODS: This study was conducted among a total of 105 patients with gastric cancer undergoing radical gastrectomy in our hospital between January, 2010 and October, 2013. Immunohistochemistry was used to quantitatively assess the expression of CAP2 in gastric cancer tissues and the adjacent tissues. Based on the median relative expression level of CAP2 of 3.5, the patients were divided into low CAP2 expression group (=52) and high CAP2 expression group (=53). The Cox regression model was used to analyze the effect of CAP2 expression on the 5-year survival rate of the patients, and ROC curve analysis was used to assess the predictive value of CAP2 expression for the patients' long-term survival. RESULTS: Immunohistochemical analysis showed that the expression levels of CAP2 ( < 0.01) and Ki67 ( < 0.01) were significantly higher in gastric cancer tissues than in the adjacent tissues, and the expression level of CAP2 was positively correlated with Ki67 ( < 0.01), peripheral blood CEA ( < 0.01) and CA19-9 ( < 0.01). The percentages of patients with CEA≥5 μg/L, CA19-9≥37 kU/L, pathological grade of G3-G4, T stage of 3-4, and N stage of 2-3 were significantly higher in patients with high CAP2 expression than in those with low CAP2 expression ( < 0.05). Kaplan- Meier survival analysis showed that the 5-year survival rate was significantly lower in patients with a high CAP2 expression ( < 0.01). A high expression level of CAP2, CEA≥5μg/L, CA19-9≥37 and pathological grades G3-G4 were all independent risk factors for shortened 5-year survival after radical gastrectomy ( < 0.01). With the relative expression level of 3.45 as the cut-off value, the sensitivity of CAP2 was 70.15% for predicting death 5 years after the surgery, with a specificity of 71.05% and an area under the curve of 0.779 ( < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS CAP2 is highly expressed in gastric cancer tissues in close relation with the tumor progression. CAP2 is an independent risk factor for 5-year survival rate after radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer and can be of clinical value in prognostic evaluation of the patients.
Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing ; metabolism ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Membrane Proteins ; metabolism ; Neoplasm Staging ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; metabolism ; pathology ; Survival Rate

Objective: To investigate the prognosis and influencing factors of postoperative low anterior resection syndrome (LARS) for rectal cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic sphincter-preserving radical resection. Methods: A retrospective case-control study was used in this study. Clinical data of 268 rectal cancer patients undergoing laparoscopic sphincter-preserving radical resection at Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of The First Affiliated Hospital of Bengbu Medical College from January 2016 to January 2018 were retrospectively collected. Inclusion criteria: (1) operation procedure was total mesorectal excision (TME) and sphincter-preserving radical resection; (2) rectal cancer was confirmed by postoperative pathology; (3) age of patient was ≥ 18 years old. Exclusion criteria: (1) patient who had history of pelvic surgery and pelvic fractures, which would affect the anorectal function; (2) patient who had history of preoperative chronic constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, which would affect defecation; (3) patient who developed postoperative complications, such as anastomotic leakage, which would affect defecation function; (4) patient who received long-term use of drugs, which would affect the function of gastrointestinal tract or anus; (5) patient suffered from mental illness, who was unable to communicate properly; (6) patient who was lack of clinical data or had incomplete clinical data. Patients were followed up at 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively, and LARS was diagnosed and graded according to the LARS score scale. The LARS score ranged from 0 to 42 points, and 0 to 20 was difined as no LARS, 21 to 29 was mild LARS, and 30 to 42 was severe LARS. LARS score >20 points at any time point was defined as postoperative LARS. Severe LARS transferring into mild LARS and mild LARS transferring into no LARS was defined as symptom improvement. Incidence and outcomes of LARS were evaluated. The factors associated with LARS outcomes were analyzed using χ² test and logistic regression model. Results: A total of 268 patients were enrolled. The incidence of LARS was 42.9% (115/268), 32.5% (87/268) and 20.1% (54/268) at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively respectively, and no new case of LARS was found after 3 months postoperatively. The incidence of mild LARS was 25.7% (69/268), 17.2% (46/268) and 8.6% (23/268) at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively respectively, and mild LARS incidence at 6 months was significantly lower than that at 3 months (χ²=5.857, P=0.016), and was significantly higher than that at 12 months (χ²=8.799, P=0.003). The incidence of severe LARS was 17.2% (46/268), 15.3% (41/268) and 11.6% (31/268) at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively respectively, without significant difference among 3 time points (all P>0.05). The improvement rate within one year after surgery in patients with mild LARS diagnosed at 3 months was significantly higher than that in patients with severe LARS (88.4% vs. 32.6%, χ²=38.340, P<0.001). Univariate analysis showed that female, distance from anastomosis to anal verge < 5 cm and tumor diameter ≥ 5 cm were associated with unsatisfied LARS outcomes (all P<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that distance from anastomosis to anal verge <5 cm was an independent risk factor for LARS outcome (OR=3.589, 95% CI: 1.163 to 2.198, P<0.001). Conclusions The incidence of LARS after laparoscopic sphincter-preserving radical resection decreases with time. The improvement rate within postoperative 1-year of severe LARS is lower than that of mild LARS. Low anastomotic position may lead to impaired improvement of LARS.