Objective To compare safety and feasibility using radial versus femoral access during cardiac catheterization of patients who had previously undergone coronary artery bypass graft ( CABG) surgery. Methods We retrospectively evaluated 116 consecutive patients who underwent graft intervention via the transradial (TRA group, n = 46) or transfemoral approach (TFA group, n = 70), and observed the baseline clinical characteristics, angiography characteristics and complications between the 2 groups. Results The baseline clinical characteristics between the 2 groups were similar ( all P > 0. 05) . No significant difference was observed in angiography characteristics and procedural parameters including operation time, radiation exposure and puncture time between the 2 groups (all P > 0. 05). There was no significant difference in major adverse cardiac events during hospitalization. PCI to graft vessels were all successful and procedural success rates were similar between the 2 groups (P = 0. 669). Vascular access site complications were significantly lower ( P = 0. 03) in the TRA group. No access site complication was recorded in the TRA group. 7 cases (10. 0% ) with complications were recorded in the TFA group including 1 case of major bleeding (1. 4% ), 3 cases of minor bleeding (4. 3% ), 2 cases of local hematorna (2. 9% ) and 1 case of A-V fistula formation. Conclusions In contrast to the transfemoral route, the rate of major vascular complications was negligible using the transradial approach.

Objective To analyze the clinical, imaging and interventional data of patients with chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions without myocardial infarction (MI) and to summarize the clinical and imaging characteristics of these patients. Methods The data of 2651 patients with CTO verified by coronary angiography between January 1995 and December 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. Results There were 1466 CTO patients (55. 3%) without MI (the control group) and 1185 CTO patients (44. 7%) with MI ( the MI group). The age, percentage of female patients, unstable angina, hypertention, mean triglyceride levels, left ventricular ejection fraction ( LVEF) were lower in the MI group than in the control group ( all P﹤0. 05). The rates of heart failure and serum creatinine levels were higher in the MI group than the control group (both P﹤0. 05). The rate of multi-vessel disease was higher in the control group than in the MI group (81. 4% vs. 76. 5%, P﹤0. 05). According to the target CTO vessel location, patients in the control group had lower rates of CTO in LAD (36. 2% vs. 40. 7%, P=0. 007) and higher rates of CTO in LCX (17. 0%vs. 12. 7%, P﹤0. 001). Patients in the control group without MI had better collateral circulation than that in the control group (32. 7% vs. 27. 0%, P﹤0. 001). There were no differences in success rate of PCI and complete revascularization between the two groups. Conclusions The present study showed that the CTO patients without MI were associated with better collateral development compared with the CTO patients with MI. Age, gender, unstable angina encouraging ischemic preconditioning and hypertension may be beneficial by facilitating collateral development through endogenous cardioprotective mechanisms.

Objective To investigate the effect of human urinary kallidinogenase (HUK) on cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury in mice.Methods One hundred and ten male ICR mice were randomly divided into sham operation,control and HUK groups.A cerebral ischemia-reperfusion model was induced by transient middle cerebral artery occlusion.The infarct volume was detected by triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining.Bcl-2,Bax,and caspase-3 expression levels in the ischemic cortex were detected by Western blot.Bcl-2 and Bax positive cells in the hippocampal CA1 area on the ischemic side were detected using Immunohistochemical staining.Apoptotic cells in the ischemic cortex were detected by TUNEL staining.Results No infarction and neurological deficits were found in the sham operation group.At 24 h after ischemia-reperfusion,the infarction voltne (P ＜0.01) and neurological deficit score (P =0.02) in the HUK group were significantly lower than those in the control group;at 72 h after ischemia-reperfusion,the infarction volume (P ＜ 0.01) and neurologic deficit score (P =0.03) in the HUK group were also significantly lower than those in the control group.Westem blot analysis showed that the expression level of Bcl-2 in the ischemic cortex in the HUK group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P ＜ 0.001),and the expression levels of caspase-3 (P ＜ 0.001) and Bax (P ＜ 0.001) in the cerebral cortex in the HUK group were significantly lower than those in the control group.No apoptotic cells were found in the sham operation group.The number of apoptotic cells in hippocampal CA1 area (P ＜ 0.01) and the number of Bax positive cells (P ＜0.01) in the HUK group were significantly less than those in the control group,while the number of Bcl-2 positive cells was significantly more in the control group (P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions HUK has a certain protective effect on ischemia-reperfusion injury in mice,its mechanism may be associated with the upregulation of Bcl-2 protein expression and downregulation of caspase-3 and Bax protein expression,thus inhibiting cell apoptosis.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term efficacy of a second generation biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting stent (EXCEL2) in treating patients with de novo coronary artery diseases. Methods: CREDIT Ⅱ trial was a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled study, conducted at 15 Chinese cardiac centres from November 2013 to December 2014. In this analysis, eligible patients for coronary stenting (n=419) were randomized to receive either the EXCEL2 stent (n=208) or the EXCEL stent (n=211). The primary endpoint was target lesion failure (TLF) at 3 years after PCI defined as a composite endpoints of cardiac death, target vessel myocardial infarction (TVMI), or clinically indicated target lesion revascularization (CI-TLR). Secondary endpoints included patient-oriented composite endpoint (PoCE) including all-cause death, all MI, or any revascularization at 3 years and independent components, and stent thrombosis according to Academic Research Consortium′s (ARC) definition. Results: Among 419 enrolled patients, 413 (98.6%) patients completed 3-year clinical follow-up. Compared with the EXCEL group, 3-year TLF (5.4%(11/204) vs. 11.5% (24/209), P=0.025) and PoCE (9.8% (20/204) vs. 20.1% (42/209), P=0.003) were significantly lower in the EXCEL2 group. The cumulative event rate of CI-TLR (2.0% (4/204) vs. 5.7% (12/209), P=0.042) and any revascularization (4.9% (10/204) vs. 14.4% (30/209), P=0.001) were statistically lower in the EXCEL2 group than in the EXCEL group. There were no significant difference between two groups in terms of all-cause death and all MI. Rates of stent thrombosis were low without significant difference between the two groups (EXCEL2 vs. EXCEL, 1.0% (2/204) vs. 2.9% (6/209), P=0.285). Conclusion 3-year clinical follow-up results demonstrate that EXCEL2 stents are effective and safe in treating CAD patients with de novo coronary lesions.

Objective:To explore the effects of interpregnancy interval (IPI) on pregnancy outcomes of subsequent pregnancy.Methods:A multicenter retrospective study was conducted in 21 hospitals in China. Information of age, height, pre-pregnancy weight, IPI, history of diseases, complications of pregnancy, gestational age of delivery, delivery mode, and pregnancy outcomes of the participants were collected by consulting medical records of pregnant women who had two consecutive deliveries in the same hospital during 2011 to 2018. The participants were divided into 4 groups according to IPI:<18 months, 18-23 months, 24-59 months and ≥60 months. According to the WHO′s recommendation, with the IPI of 24-59 months group as a reference, to the effects of IPI on pregnancy outcomes of subsequent pregnancy were analyzed. Stratified analysis was further carried out based on age, history of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), macrosomia, and premature delivery, to explore the differences in the effects of IPI on pregnancy outcomes among women with different characteristics.Results:A total of 8 026 women were included in this study. There were 423, 623, 5 512 and 1 468 participants in <18 months group, 18-23 months group, 24-59 months group and ≥60 months group, respectively. (1) The age, pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), history of cesarean section, GDM, gestational hypertension and cesarean section delivery rate of <18 months group, 18-23 months group, 24-59 months group and ≥60 months group were gradually increased, and the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). (2) After adjusting for potential confounding factors, compared with women in the IPI of 24-59 months group, the risk of premature delivery, premature rupture of membranes, and oligohydramnios were increased by 42% ( OR=1.42, 95% CI: 1.07-1.88, P=0.015), 46% ( OR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.13-1.88, P=0.004), and 64% ( OR=1.64, 95% CI: 1.13-2.38, P=0.009) respectively for women in the IPI≥60 months group. No effects of IPI on other pregnancy outcomes were found in this study ( P>0.05). (3) After stratified by age and adjusted for confounding factors, compared with women in the IPI of 24-59 months group, IPI≥60 months would significantly increase the risk of oligohydramnios for women with advanced age ( OR=2.87, 95% CI: 1.41-5.83, P=0.004); and <18 months could increase the risk of premature rupture of membranes for women under the age of 35 ( OR=1.59, 95% CI: 1.04-2.43, P=0.032). Both the risk of premature rupture of membranes ( OR=1.58, 95% CI: 1.18-2.13, P=0.002) and premature delivery ( OR=1.52, 95% CI: 1.07-2.17, P=0.020) were significantly increased in the IPI≥60 months group. After stratified by history of GDM and adjusted for confounding factors, compared with women in the IPI of 24-59 months group, IPI≥60 months would lead to an increased risk of postpartum hemorrhage for women with a history of GDM ( OR=5.34, 95% CI: 1.45-19.70, P=0.012) and an increased risk of premature rupture of membranes for women without a history of GDM ( OR=1.44, 95% CI: 1.10-1.90, P=0.009). After stratified by history of macrosomia and adjusted for confounding factors, compared with women in the IPI of 24-59 months group, IPI≥60 months could increase the proportion of cesarean section for women with a history of macrosomia ( OR=4.11, 95% CI: 1.18-14.27, P=0.026) and the risk of premature rupture of membranes for women without a history of macrosomia ( OR=1.46, 95% CI: 1.12-1.89, P=0.005). After stratified by history of premature delivery and adjusted for confounding factors, compared with women in the IPI of 24-59 months group, IPI≥60 months would significantly increase the risk of premature rupture of membranes for women without a history of premature delivery ( OR=1.47, 95% CI: 1.13-1.92, P=0.004). Conclusions:Both IPI≥60 months and <18 months would increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the subsequent pregnancy. Healthcare education and consultation should be conducted for women of reproductive age to maintain an appropriate IPI when they plan to pregnant again, to reduce the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes in the subsequent pregnancy.