Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) related to SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant infection.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical data of 11 children with MIS-C, who were admitted to the Department of Pediatrics of Peking University First Hospital from December 2022 to January 2023. Clinical characteristics, treatment, and follow-up of MIS-C were summarized in this study.Results:The 11 cases contained 7 boys and 4 girls, with an age of 4.4 (2.0, 5.5) years on admission. All the patients had fever, with a duration of 7(5, 9) days. Other clinical manifestations included rash in 7 cases, conjunctival hyperemia in 5 cases, red lips and raspberry tongue in 3 cases, lymphadenopathy in 3 cases, and swollen fingers and toes in 2 cases. There were 8 cases of digestive symptoms, 8 cases of respiratory symptoms, and 3 cases of nervous system symptoms. Eight patients had multi-system injuries, and one of them had shock presentation. All 11 patients were infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BF.7 variant. The laboratory examination results showed that all cases had elevated inflammatory indicators, abnormal coagulation function and myocardial damage. Six patients had elevated white blood cell counts, 5 cases had liver function abnormalities, 3 cases had kidney function abnormalities, and 8 cases had coronary artery involvement. All 11 patients received anti-infection treatment, of which 3 cases received only 2 g/kg intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), while the remaining 8 cases received a combination of IVIG and 2 mg/(kg·d) methylprednisolone. Among the 8 cases with coronary artery disease, 6 cases received low molecular weight heparin anticoagulation therapy. All patients were followed up in 2 weeks after being discharged, and their inflammatory markers had returned to normal by that time. The 8 cases with coronary artery disease and 3 cases with pneumonia showed significant improvement or back to normal at the 4-week follow-up. All patients had no new complications or comorbidities during follow-up of more than 3 months.Conclusions:MIS-C may present with Kawasaki disease-like symptoms, with or without gastrointestinal, neurological, or respiratory symptoms. Elevated inflammatory markers, abnormal coagulation function, and cardiac injury contribute to the diagnosis of MIS-C. IVIG and methylprednisolone were the primary treatments for MIS-C, and a favorable short-term prognosis was observed during a follow-up period of more than 3 months.

ObjectiveTo investigate the role and possible mechanism of action of rhubarb decoction （RD） retention enema in improving inflammatory damage of brain tissue in a rat model of mild hepatic encephalopathy （MHE）. MethodsA total of 60 male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into blank group （CON group with 6 rats） and chronic liver cirrhosis modeling group with 54 rats using the complete randomization method. After 12 weeks， 40 rats with successful modeling which were confirmed to meet the requirements for MHE model by the Morris water maze test were randomly divided into model group （MOD group）， lactulose group （LT group）， low-dose RD group （RD1 group）， middle-dose RD group （RD2 group）， and high-dose RD group （RD3 group）， with 8 rats in each group. The rats in the CON group and the MOD group were given retention enema with 2 mL of normal saline once a day； the rats in the LT group were given retention enema with 2 mL of lactulose at a dose of 22.5% once a day； the rats in the RD1， RD2， and RD3 groups were given retention enema with 2 mL RD at a dose of 2.5， 5.0， and 7.5 g/kg， respectively， once a day. After 10 days of treatment， the Morris water maze test was performed to analyze the spatial learning and memory abilities of rats. The rats were analyzed from the following aspects： behavioral status； the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase （ALT）， aspartate aminotransferase （AST）， interleukin-1β （IL-1β）， interleukin-6 （IL-6）， and tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） and the level of blood ammonia； pathological changes of liver tissue and brain tissue； the mRNA and protein expression levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase （PI3K）， protein kinase B （AKT）， and mammalian target of rapamycin （mTOR） in brain tissue. A one-way analysis of variance was used for comparison of continuous data between multiple groups， and the least significant difference t-test was used for further comparison between two groups. ResultsCompared with the MOD group， the RD1， RD2， and RD3 groups had a significantly shorter escape latency （all P<0.01）， significant reductions in the levels of ALT， AST， IL-1β， IL-6， TNF-α， and blood ammonia （all P<0.05）， significant alleviation of the degeneration， necrosis， and inflammation of hepatocytes and brain cells， and significant reductions in the mRNA and protein expression levels of PI3K， AKT， and mTOR in brain tissue （all P<0.05）， and the RD3 group had a better treatment outcome than the RD1 and RD2 groups. ConclusionRetention enema with RD can improve cognitive function and inflammatory damage of brain tissue in MHE rats， possibly by regulating the PI3K/AKT/mTOR signaling pathway.

Objective:To investigate the etiological characteristics and drug resistance patterns of multidrug-resistant organism (MDRO) infection in patients after cardiac surgery, so as to help clinicians rationally prescribe antimicrobials recommended by guidelines, increase the success rate of empirical antibacterial therapy and improve the prognosis of inpatients.Methods:Clinical data of 409 patients diagnosed with nosocomial infection (NI) after cardiac surgery from January 2018 to October 2021 were retrospectively collected. According to the results of culture, these cases were divided into two groups: MDR bacterial infection group (MDR, n=176) and non-MDR bacterial infection group (non-MDR, n=233). The etiological characteristics of MDRO infection and the patterns of drug resistance to commonly used clinical antibiotics were analyzed. Meanwhile, the etiological distribution, drug resistance and clinical outcome corresponding to different surgical types and clinical infection types were statistically analyzed. Results:A total of 306 strains of MDR bacteria were detected. Among the 176 patients, 97 (55.1%) were infected with more than one kind of MDRO and the mix infections were mainly caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and/or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Carbapenem-resistant (CR) bacteria accounted for 69.6% (213/306). Regardless of surgical type and clinical infection type, Acinetobacter baumannii (114/306, 37.3%) was the most common pathogenic bacteria, followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae (72/306, 23.5%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (55/306, 18.0%). Most of the clinical specimens were sputum specimens (528/601, 87.9%) and most of the isolated strains were carbapenem resistant, MDR and extensively drug-resistant (XDR). The positive rates of MDR bacteria were 53.7% and 53.1% in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and aortic surgery, respectively, while the positive rates of pandrug-resistant bacteria were relatively low. In vitro drug sensitivity test results showed that MDR bacteria were highly resistant to levofloxacin (64.4%) and cefepime (61.4%), and then to ciprofloxacin (54.6%), ceftazidime (53.9%) and cotrimoxazole (52.4%). However, the resistance rates to polycolistin (5.5%) and amikacin (7.2%) were low. Compared with non-MDR bacteria, MDR bacteria were less susceptible to ceftazidime (χ 2=156.663, P<0.001), ceftriaxone (χ 2=27.844, P<0.001), cefepime (χ 2=210.181, P<0.001), imipenem (χ 2=173.242, P<0.001), levofloxacin (χ 2=201.521, P<0.001), ciprofloxacin (χ 2=180.187, P<0.001), amikacin (χ 2=16.661, P<0.001), gentamicin (χ 2=46.047, P<0.001), tobramycin (χ 2=106.546, P<0.001), piperacillin (χ 2=7.325, P=0.007), ampicillin/sulbactam (χ 2=5.415, P=0.020), piperacillin/tazobactam (χ 2=139.506, P<0.001), cefoperazone/sulbactam (χ 2=102.832, P<0.001), cotrimoxazole (χ 2=121.217, P<0.001), aztreonam (χ 2=6.977, P=0.008) and minocycline (χ 2=53.107, P<0.001). Although there was no significant difference in the detection rates of pathogenic bacteria between patients undergoing different types of surgery or having different types of infection, the mortality rate of NI after cardiac surgery, especially MDR bacterial infection, was as high as 30.0%. Moreover, the mortality rate was closely related to the types of clinical infection. The all-cause mortality of common pulmonary infection and bloodstream infection (BSI) was 10.0% to 20.0%, and once the patient′s condition was not under control and progressed to severe infection or even septic shock, the all-cause mortality would double. Conclusions:MDR bacterial infections would bring great challenges to patients after cardiac surgery, especially gram-negative bacteria (GNB) such as Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. More than half of the patients would have mixed infections caused by carbapenem resistant, XDR or even pandrug-resistant bacteria, resulting in limited choice of anti-infective drugs and poor prognosis in hospitalized patients.

Objective:To study the factors influencing survival after radical resection in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), and to construct a nomogram on survival prediction.Methods:The clinical data of 139 patients with ICC who underwent radical resection at the People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University from June 2018 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. There are 69 males and 70 females, aged (59.5±10.2) years old. These patients were divided into two groups based on a 3: 1 ratio by using the random number method: the test group ( n=104) and the validation group ( n=35). Data from the test group was used to construct a nomagram and data from the validation group was used to validate the predictive power of the nomagram. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were used to analyse factors influencing survival on the test group patients and to construct a nomogram. The predictive accuracy of the nomogram was determined by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, concordance index (C-index) and calibration curves. Results:The results of the multivariate regression analysis showed that a combined hemoglobin, albumin, lymphocyte and platelet immunoinflammation (HALP) score <37.1 ( HR=1.784, 95% CI: 1.047-3.040), CA19-9 > 35U/ml ( HR=2.352, 95% CI: 1.139-4.857), poorly differentiated tumor ( HR=2.475, 95% CI: 1.237-4.953) and vascular invasion ( HR=1.897, 95% CI: 1.110-3.244) were independent risk factors that affected prognosis of patients with ICC after radical resection (all P<0.05). The AUCs of the nomogram in the test group in predicting the overall survival at 1, 2 and 3 years of patients with ICC after radical resection were 0.808, 0.853 and 0.859, respectively. There was good consistency between the prediction of the nomogram and actual observation. The predicted C-index of the total survival period of the test group was 0.765 (95% CI: 0.704-0.826), and the C-index of the validation group was 0.759 (95% CI: 0.673-0.845). Conclusion:A HALP score <37.1, CA19-9>35 U/ml, poorly differentiated tumour and vascular invasion were independent risk factors for prognosis of ICC patients after radical resection. The nomogram was established based on the above factors and showed good performance in predicting overall survival after radical resection in patients with ICC.

Humans ; Asthma/drug therapy* ; Biological Therapy

Sphingomyelinases (SMase) are the main enzymes that regulate the signaling pathway of sphingomyelin and the metabolism of related products, and they are involved in the key steps of the complex metabolic process of sphingomyelin. In recent years, many studies have shown that SMase is involved in the biological processes such as cell cycle arrest, cell migration, and inflammation and promotes the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma by regulating the apoptosis and proliferation of tumor stem cells. SMase has an important potential biological value in the development, progression, diagnosis, and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. This article summarizes the exact role of SMase in the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma, in order to provide new ideas and strategies for the clinical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma and the development of new drugs.

Objective:To explore the clinical utility of bronchoscopy and transbronchial cryotherapy in children with tracheobronchial tuberculosis (TBTB).Methods:Retrospective study was conducted to collect the clinical data of 10 hospitalized children who underwent bronchoscopy and were diagnosed as TBTB and in the Department of Pediatrics of Peking University First Hospital and the Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine of the Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children′s Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University from January 2011 to October 2019. The clinical characteristics of TBTB in children, and the efficacy and safety of bronchoscopy and transbronchial cryotherapy were summarized through descriptive analysis.Results:The onset age of 10 children (6 males and 4 females) ranged from 1-14 years. The clinical manifestations included fever (8/10), cough (7/10) and hemoptysis (2/10). Purified protein derivative test and interferon-γ release assay were performed in 9 and 10 patients respectively, the results were all positive. Chest CT examination was performed in all patients, and 8 patients had hilar and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. All patients underwent pediatric bronchoscopy in time, in 9 patients bronchus was found to be blocked in varying degrees by granulation tissue and caseous necrosis and in the remaining patient, obvious congestion and edema in bronchial mucosa. The bronchoscopic manifestations included 8 cases of lymph node fistula type, 1 case of granulation proliferative type and 1 case of inflammatory infiltration type. Pathological biopsies were performed in 7 cases, the findings were consistent with the pathological characteristics of tuberculosis. Nine patients were treated by pediatric bronchoscopic intervention, with 8 transbronchial cryotherapy by flexible bronchoscopy, and among them, 2 patients were treated by simultaneous rigid bronchoscopy. After 1-3 times of transbronchial cryotherapy, the blocked bronchial lumina in 8 cases were all recanalized, and the curative effect was significant without any serious complications.Conclusions:Bronchoscopy plays an important role in the diagnosis of TBTB in children and is helpful for its classification. Also, transbronchial cryotherapy has good efficacy and safety for TBTB in children, especially for the granuloproliferative type or lymph node fistula type.

Objective To investigate the value of phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI)in evaluating pulmonary artery blood flow and right ventricular(RV)function in elderly patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).Methods Twenty-four elderly patients with COPD admitted to Beijing Anzhen Hospital between February 2016 and June 2017 were enrolled in this retrospective study.Based on pulmonary artery pressure evaluated by right heart catheterization,COPD patients were divided into a pulmonary hypertension group (PH group,n =12)and a non-PH group(n=12).Pulmonary artery blood flow velocity and volume,pulmonary arterial compliance and right heart function parameters including ejection fraction,end diastolic volume,endsystolic volume and cardiac output,and 6-min walking distance evaluated by PC-MRI were compared between the two groups.Results There were significant differences in peak flow velocity[(88.1 ±16.0)cm/s vs.(59.8± 13.8) cm/s,P =0.005],flow volume [(80.7± 22.0) ml/s vs.(53.2± 26.7)ml/s,P=0.012],main pulmonary artery compliance[(42.3± 14.6)vs.(22.7± 10.8),P =0.001],right ventricular ejection fraction [(48.4 ± 13.4) ％ vs.(37.6 ± 11.1) ％,P =0.000],end-diastolic volume[(64.6±22.5)ml vs.(72.5±22.8)ml,P =0.030]and end-systolic volume[(50.6±33.1)ml vs.(41.7±33.1)ml,P =0.040]between the non-PH and PH groups,while there was no significant difference in cardiac output between the non-PH and PH groups[(34.2±10.8)ml vs.(34.4±8.3)ml,P =0.080].Pearson's correlation analysis showed that 6-minute walking distance had good correlations with right ventricular ejection fraction(r =0.49),forced expiratory volume in 1 s(FEV1)(r=0.60)and main pulmonary artery diameter(r=0.61).Conclusions PC-MRI is a noninvasive imaging method for quantitative analysis of pulmonary artery dynamics and right heart function for the elderly with COPD,and it can provide information for evaluating therapeutic effects and prognosis.

Objectives To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of peramivir trihydrate in patients with influenza.Methods This was a randomized,double-blind,double-dummy,placebo and positive control,multicenter clinical trial,comparing peramivir trihydrate with oseltamivir and placebo.The inclusive criteria were 15-70 years old,onset within 48 h,positive rapid influenza antigen test,and febrile(＞38℃) accompanied with at least two associated symptoms.The severe cases complicated with chronic pulmonary and cardiac diseases,malignancies,organ transplantation,hemodialysis,uncontrolled diabetes,immunocompromised status,pregnancy and coexistence of bacterium infections were excluded.All patients were randomized 2:2:1 to receive peramivir,oseltamivir and placebo respectively.The primary endpoint was the disease duration,the secondary endpoints included time to normal axillary temperature and normal living activities,viral response,and adverse effects.Results Following informed consent,133 patients were included in this study.Four patients were exclude due to missing medical records,not fitting inclusion or exclusion criteria and poor compliance.A total of 129 patients were finally analyzed,including 49 cases,54 cases and 26 cases in peramivir group,oseltamivir group and placebo group.The median disease duration were 96 (76,120)hours,105(90,124) hours,and 124 (104,172)hours in three groups respectively(P＞0.05).The time to normal axillary temperature,normal living activities and viral response were not significantly different in three groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion The value of antiviral therapy in patients with mild influenza needs to be further determined.