ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy of bundle treatment on patients with moderate or severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).Methods A multicenter prospective observational study comparing the result of historical treatment strategy and bundle treatment was conducted. According to the new Berlin standard of definition, 73 patients with moderate or severe ARDS due to pulmonary factors, age from 18 to 65 years, admitted to Department of Critical Care Medicine of Taian Central Hospital and Handan Central Hospital were enrolled. Thirty-three patients admitted during September 2012 to May 2014 (prospective observation period) were enrolled as the bundle treatment group. Forty patients with matched disease history admitted from January 2010 to August 2012 were enrolled as the control group. The patients in bundle treatment group received bundle treatment based on the treatment strategy of primary diseases. Bundle treatment included restrictive fluid management, respiratory support, high-dose ambroxol combined with Xuebijing injection, prevention of ventilation associated pneumonia (VAP), individualized sedation plan, installation of continuous blood purification treatment for critical patients. A special team was organized to ensure the successful implementation of all bundle measures. The acute physiology and chronic health evaluationⅡ (APACHEⅡ) score, oxygenation index, duration of mechanical ventilation, the length of intensive care unit (ICU) stay, incidence of VAP, and 28-day mortality 5 days after treatment were compared between two groups.Results There were no significant differences in basic characteristics of patients between the two groups, including gender, age, etiology, severity, etc. (allP> 0.05) with comparability. Compared with the control group, there was no significant difference in APACHEⅡ score 5 days after treatment in bundle treatment group (15.1±2.8 vs. 16.2±3.0,t = 1.618,P = 0.110). Compared with control group, oxygenation index in bundle treatment group was significantly improved [mmHg (1 mmHg = 0.133 kPa): 135.4±34.5 vs. 117.1±34.2,t = -2.273,P = 0.026), the duration of mechanical ventilation was obviously reduced (days: 8.70±2.50 vs. 10.10±2.67,t = 2.308,P = 0.024), incidence of VAP was significantly lower [18.2% (6/33) vs. 32.5% (13/40),χ2 = 5.027,P = 0.025], and 28-day mortality rate was obviously lowered [24.2% (8/33) vs. 37.5% (15/40),χ2 = 4.372,P = 0.037], the length of ICU stay shown no statistical difference (days:10.40±1.94 vs. 11.30±2.34,t = 1.620,P = 0.110).Conclusion Implementation of bundle treatment can significantly shorten the duration of mechanical ventilation, reduce the incidence of VAP, and improve the prognosis of patients.

OBJECTIVE To explore the effect of Huangqin decoction on improving peritubular fat inflammatory microenvironment and protecting vascular endothelial function in obese hypertensive rats by regulating the NEK7-NLRP3/IL-1β inflammatory axis.METHODS Fifty 4-week-old male Wistar rats were selected,10 of which were randomly selected as the control group,and the oth-er 40 were fed a high-salt and high-fat diet to establish an obese hypertension model.The rats with successful modeling(20 rats)were randomly divided into the model group,normal-dose Huangqin decoction group,high-dose Huangqin decoction group,and IL-1β in-hibitor group,with 5 rats in each group.From the 12th week,the normal-dose group was gavaged with Huangqin decoction 2.835 g·kg-1,the high-dose group was gavaged with Huangqin decoction 5.67 g·kg-1,and the IL-1β inhibitor group was intraper-itoneally injected with 1.5 mg·kg-1 AS101,3 times a week,for 8 weeks.The rats were weighed and blood was collected 12 h after the last administration,and the thoracic aorta and perivascular fat tissue were isolated.Serum inflammatory factors were detected,patho-logical changes were observed,eNOS expression was detected by immunofluorescence,and NEK7,NLRP3,Caspase-1,ASC,and IL-1β expression levels were detected by Western blot and qPCR.RESULTS The rats in the model group had a significant increase in body weight,an increase in the area of peritubular fat lipid droplets,and severe endothelial injury;systolic blood pressure,diastolic blood pressure,serum IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α were significantly elevated in the model group,and the expression of eNOS was sig-nificantly reduced,and the expression levels of NEK7,NLRP3,Caspase-1,ASC,and IL-1β proteins and mRNAs were significantly elevated.Compared with the model group,rats in the Huangqin decoction and IL-1β inhibitor groups had lower body weights,reduced endothelial damage,lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures,lower serum IL-1β,IL-6,and TNF-α,and higher eNOS expression.NEK7,NLRP3,Caspase-1,ASC and IL-1β protein expression was significantly reduced in the high dose group of Huan-gqin decoction and the IL-1β inhibitor group.In addition,Huangqin decoction protected the endothelial function of obese hypertensive vessels in a dose-dependent manner,with the effect being more pronounced in the high-dose group.CONCLUSION Huangqin de-coction can improve the inflammatory microenvironment of perivascular fat and protect the vascular endothelial function in obese hyper-tension by regulating the NEK7-NLRP3/IL-1β inflammatory axis.