ObjectiveTo investigate the characteristics of left ventricular structural damage in patients with primary aldosteronism(PA).MethodsA total of 438 inpatients with hypertension from January 2007 to June 2010 were screened for PA,and diagnosis was made in 213 PA patients and 225 patients with essential hypertension (EH).The left ventricular structure of all subjects was evaluated according to the results of echocardiographic measurements.Results The duration of hypertension and plasma aldosterone level in patients with PA were significantly higher (P＜ 0.01 ),while the serum potassium and plasma renin activity were significantly lower (P＜0.01 ) than those in patients with EH.The interventricular septum thickness,left ventricular end-diastolic dimension,left ventricular mass index (LVMI),left ventricular end-diastolic volume,and stroke volume in patients with PA were significantly higher than those in EH patients( P＜0.01 ) after the duration of hypertension was corrected.In patients with PA,the prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) was higher than that in EH patients ( 53.1％ vs 33.8 ％,x2 =16.57,P ＜ 0.01 ). Normal left ventricular geometry ( NG ),concentric remodeling ( CCR ),concentric hypertrophy( CCH),and eccentric hypertrophy (ECH) were found respectively in 24.9％,22.1％,22.1％,and 30.9％ of patients with PA.Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that the seated plasma aldosterone level (β=0.43,P ＜ 0.01 ) and systolic blood pressure (β =0.45,P ＜ 0.01 ) were the main factors that influenced LVMI.The course was the main parameter that influenced relative wall thickness(β=0.011,P＜0.05 ).Conclusion The prevalence of LVH is higher in patients with PA than that in EH patients.The eccentric hypertrophy is the most common left ventricular geometrical pattern in patients with PA.

Objective To explore an effective mode for the prevention and control of hypertension in agricultural and pastoral areas in Xinjiang by comparing the effect of mode A with that of B in blood pressure-lowering treatment. Methods 1445 patients with hypertension in agricultural and pastoral areas were included in this study. They voluntarily received mode A or B blood pressure-lowering treatment. The changes in heart rate , blood pressure, lipid, and glucose, and the incidences of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events and adverse events were noted;and the effect of modes A and B was compared. Results 87.07%of the patients chose mode A group, while 12.93%chose mode B. The rate of pressure control was 70.71%in mode A group and 68.75%in mode B group , with no significant statistical difference (P>0.05). In 12th month of treatment, the decreased level of systolic pressure was (19.09 ± 20.33)mmHg in the group with mode A and (14.14 ± 17.85) mmHg in the group with mode B, showing a significant statistical difference between the two groups (P=0.047); and the declined level of diastolic pressure was (11.17 ± 13.23)mmHg and (8.17 ± 11.17) mmHg, respectively, with no significant statistical difference. Conclusion Mode A blood pressure-lowering treatment can effectively control blood pressure in hypertensive patients living in agricultural and pastoral areas in Xinjiang.

Objective To explore the relationship between genetic polymorphisms of sixtransmembrane protein of prostate 2 (STAMP2) and metabolic index,TNFα in Xinjiang Uygur population.Methods STAMP2 gene functional regions were sequenced in Uygur Xinjiang population diagnosed as metabolic syndrome.Patients were divided into the following three groups by their TNFα concentration:the high level group(TNFα≥7.95 μg/L,n =313),the moderate level group(TNFα ＞5.34-＜7.95 μg/L,n =268)and the low level group(≤5.34 μg/L,n =313).The selected representative variations were genotyped by TaqMan-PCR in 894 Uygur individuals.The association of the genetic variations of STAMP2 gene with metabolic index and TNFα was analyzed.Results Three representative variations were genotyped,including rs8122,rs1981529 and rs34741656.The genotype distribution and allele frequencies of rs8122and rs1981529 were statistically different among the three groups (P ＜ 0.05),while no difference was observed with rs34741656(P ＞0.05).By ANOVA analysis,statistical difference was showed between the rs1981529 polymorphism AA and AG in the concentration of TNFα(P ＜ 0.05).None of the polymorphisms was significantly associated with TC,HDL-C,LDL-C and TG (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusion Two STAMP2 gene polymorphisms,rs8122 and rs1981529 are associated with the concentration of TNFα in Xinjiang Uygur population.

OBJECTIVEApplication of real-time shear wave elastography (SWE) measurement of patients with Chronic severe hepatitis B and liver cirrhosis of the liver stiffness, aimed to explore SWE can evaluate the existence of liver cirrhosis patients with esophageal varices (EV) and its severity.

METHODSAccording to the results of gastroscope, 256 cases of patients with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis of the liver can be divided into no EV group,mild EV group,moderate to severe EV group,analysis between groups in patients with liver stiffness, portal vein,spleen vein diameter, the correlation of liver fibrosis indexes and the degree of esophageal varices.Using receives operating characteristic curve (ROC) and area under curve of ROC to evaluate each index prediction ability.

RESULTSCompare the liver stiffiness, portal vein,spleen vein diameter had statistically significant difference in the no EV group, mild EV group,moderate to severe EV group, (F values are respectively 137.86,44.77,73.88, P < 0.05), Patients age, type IV collagen, larninin, hyaluronic acid had no statistically significant difference in the no EV group and mild EV group (P > 0.05) and had statistically significant difference in the other two groups (P < 0.05). Patients with gender, pro-collagen type III N-terminal peptide (PC III NP) had no statistically significant difference in the three groups (P > 0.05). Correlation analysis showed that portal vein, spleen vein diameter, type IV collagen, laminin, hyaluronic acid showed significant positive correlation (P < 0.05),highest correlation was liver stiffness and the degree of esophageal varices, correlation coefficient of 0.689 (P < 0.01). PC III NP and the degree of esophageal varices, liver stiffness showed no correlation (P > 0.05). Liver stiffness area under the ROC curve is 0.923, with a strong ability to predict than the portal vein and splenic vein diameter, LN, IV-C, HA, PCIII NP. Liver stiffness more than 7.55 kPa, diagnose mild EV sensitivity 90.5%, specificity 60%.Liver stiffness more than 18.85 kPa,the sensitivity of the diagnosis of severe EV 82.4%, specificity of 90.5%.

CONCLUSIONSSWE liver stiffness measurement was predicted the existence of the EV and the severity of liver disease patients and effective inspection method, can be used as evaluation of liver disease patients with esophageal varices non-invasive indicator of the initial screening.

The clinical data of 330 patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) from January 2006 to March 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. The prevalence of 1, 2, and 3 stage hypertension in these subjects was 3.64％,20. 91％, and 75.45 ％, respectively. Of all PA patients, 89.09％ were young adults and 81.82％ were overweight or obese. There was a marked preponderance of male patients in the overweight or obese group ( P＜0. 01 ). The incidence of hypokalemia was 32. 12％. The concentration of serum potassium was not associated with the disease course. Logistic regression showed that the concentration of plasma aldosterone was an independent risk factor of hypokalemia in PA patients( P＜0. 01 ). 79. 09％ PA patients presented the plasma aldosterone level over 12 ng/dl and the renin activity level of less than 1 ng · ml-1 · h-1. The aldosterone-to-rennin activity ratio was ＞20 in 94.24％ of the patients with PA.

Objective:To investigate the current situation of the use of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) for portal hypertension, which should aid the development of TIPS in China.Methods:The China Portal Hypertension Alliance (CHESS) initiated this study that comprehensively investigated the basic situation of TIPS for portal hypertension in China through network research. The survey included the following: the number of surgical cases, main indications, the development of Early-TIPS, TIPS for portal vein cavernous transformation, collateral circulation embolization, intraoperative portal pressure gradient measurement, commonly used stent types, conventional anticoagulation and time, postoperative follow-up, obstacles, and the application of domestic instruments.Results:According to the survey, a total of 13 527 TIPS operations were carried out in 545 hospitals participating in the survey in 2021, and 94.1% of the hospital had the habit of routine follow-up after TIPS. Most hospitals believed that the main indications of TIPS were the control of acute bleeding (42.6%) and the prevention of rebleeding (40.7%). 48.1% of the teams carried out early or priority TIPS, 53.0% of the teams carried out TIPS for the cavernous transformation of the portal vein, and 81.0% chose routine embolization of collateral circulation during operation. Most of them used coils and biological glue as embolic materials, and 78.5% of the team routinely performed intraoperative portal pressure gradient measurements. In selecting TIPS stents, 57.1% of the hospitals woulel choose Viator-specific stents, 57.2% woulel choose conventional anticoagulation after TIPS, and the duration of anticoagulation was between 3-6 months (55.4%). The limitation of TIPS surgery was mainly due to cost (72.3%) and insufficient understanding of doctors in related departments (77.4%). Most teams accepted the domestic instruments used in TIPS (92.7%).Conclusions:This survey shows that TIPS treatment is an essential part of treating portal hypertension in China. The total number of TIPS cases is far from that of patients with portal hypertension. In the future, it is still necessary to popularize TIPS technology and further standardize surgical indications, routine operations, and instrument application.

Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) has been widely used in predicting portal hypertension in clinical practice, and in recent years, spleen stiffness measurement (SSM) has also become a diagnostic tool. Studies have shown that SSM can predict portal hypertension and its complications such as esophagogastric variceal bleeding in patients with chronic liver diseases and assist in the risk stratification management of portal hypertension and esophagogastric variceal bleeding. It can accurately predict clinically significant portal hypertension, high-risk esophageal and gastric varices, decompensation rate, and mortality rate in patients with chronic liver diseases. At present, SSM data in most studies are obtained by detection using the liver equipment FibroScan Ⓡ (SSM@50 Hz). FibroScan Ⓡ 630 is a new scanner dedicated for SSM with a special mode for SSM (SSM@100 Hz). This article elaborates on the significance of SSM in predicting portal hypertension and briefly introduces the advantages and disadvantages of the new equipment for SSM.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of independent and combined subtests of the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) in mild hepatic encephalopathy(MHE) of patients with liver cirrhosis, so as to optimize the PHES.Methods:This was a prospective, multicenter and real-world study which was sponsored by the National Clinical Research Center of Infectious Diseases and the Portal Hypertension Consortium. Twenty-six hospitals from 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities countrywide participated in this study, induding Tianjin Third Central Hospital, the Fourth People′s Hospital of Qinghai Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College, the Third People′s Hospital of Taiyuan, the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital and so on. From October 2021 to February 2022, outpatients and hospitalized patients with liver cirrhosis and no obvious hepatic encephalopathy were consecutively enrolled. All patients received 5 PHES subjects in the same order: number connection test(NCT)-A, NCT-B, digit symbol test(DST), line tracing test(LTT) and serial dotting test(SDT), and the scores were calculated. The total score of PHES <-4 was taken as the cut-off value for diagnosing MHE. Compare the differences in each subtest between MHE group and non-MHE group. Receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC) and area under the curve(AUC) was performed to assess the diagnostic value of independent and combined subtests in MHE. Mann-Whitney U test and DeLong test were used for statistical analysis. Results:A total of 581 patients with liver cirrhosis were enrolled, 457 were diagnosed as MHE, and the incidence of MHE was 78.7%. The results of NCT-A, NCT-B, SDT, LTT, DST of MHE group were 60.00 s(47.01 s, 88.00 s), 90.45 s(69.32 s, 125.35 s), 74.00 s(57.65 s, 96.60 s), 74.72(60.00, 98.61) and 27.00(20.00, 36.00), respectively. Compared those of non-MHE group(34.00 s(29.15 s, 44.48 s), 50.00 s(40.98 s, 60.77 s), 50.00 s(41.07 s, 63.03 s), 46.23(38.55, 59.42) and 42.00(34.00, 50.75)), the differences were statistically significant( Z=12.37, 12.98, 9.83, 11.56, 10.66; all P<0.001). The AUC(95% confidence interval(95% CI)) of subtests of PHES NCT-B, NCT-A, LTT, DST and SDT alone in MHE diagnosis were 0.880(0.849 to 0.910), 0.862(0.828 to 0.896), 0.838(0.799 to 0.877), 0.812(0.772 to 0.851) and 0.788(0.743 to 0.832), respectively. The combination of 2 PHES subtests significantly increased the diagnostic efficacy. Among them the diagnostic efficacy of the combination of NCT-B and LTT was the best, the AUC(95% CI) was 0.924(0.902 to 0.947), the specificity was 91.9% and the sensitivity was 79.2%, which was better than a single PHES subtest (NCT-A, NCT-B, SDT, LTT and DST) and the combination of NCT-A and DST(AUC was 0.879, 95% CI0.847 to 0.910) which was recommended by guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis, the differences were statistically significant ( Z=3.78, 3.83, 5.57, 5.51, 5.38, 2.93; all P<0.01). Furthermore, compared between the combination of NCT-B and LTT and the combination of 3 subests of PHES, only the diagnostic efficacy of combination of NCT-B, LTT and SDT (AUC was 0.936, 95% CI 0.916 to 0.956) was better than that of the combination of NCT-B and LTT, the difference was statistically significant( Z=2.32, P=0.020). Conclusion:Based on the diagnostic efficacy and clinical feasibility of PHES subtests and their combinations, the combination of NCT-B and LTT is recommended for the diagnosis of MHE.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of serological indicators and evaluate the diagnostic value of a new established combined serological model on identifying the minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:This prospective multicenter study enrolled 263 compensated cirrhotic patients from 23 hospitals in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China between October 2021 and August 2022. Clinical data and laboratory test results were collected, and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was calculated. Ammonia level was corrected to the upper limit of normal (AMM-ULN) by the baseline blood ammonia measurements/upper limit of the normal reference value. MHE was diagnosed by combined abnormal number connection test-A and abnormal digit symbol test as suggested by Guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis. The patients were randomly divided (7∶3) into training set ( n=185) and validation set ( n=78) based on caret package of R language. Logistic regression was used to establish a combined model of MHE diagnosis. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve. The internal verification was carried out by the Bootstrap method ( n=200). AUC comparisons were achieved using the Delong test. Results:In the training set, prevalence of MHE was 37.8% (70/185). There were statistically significant differences in AMM-ULN, albumin, platelet, alkaline phosphatase, international normalized ratio, MELD score and education between non-MHE group and MHE group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that AMM-ULN [odds ratio ( OR)=1.78, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.05-3.14, P=0.038] and MELD score ( OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.20, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for MHE, and the AUC for predicting MHE were 0.663, 0.625, respectively. Compared with the use of blood AMM-ULN and MELD score alone, the AUC of the combined model of AMM-ULN, MELD score and education exhibited better predictive performance in determining the presence of MHE was 0.755, the specificity and sensitivity was 85.2% and 55.7%, respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve showed that the model had good calibration ( P=0.733). The AUC for internal validation of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.752. In the validation set, the AUC of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.794, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed good calibration ( P=0.841). Conclusion:Use of the combined model including AMM-ULN, MELD score and education could improve the predictive efficiency of MHE among patients with compensated cirrhosis.