The objective of the present study was to detect the virulence-associated genes of Shigella species in Xicheng district of Beijing and in order to develop the multiplex PCR method for diagnosis.From 2005 to 2007,a total of 95 strains were detected and four sets of primers were applied to amplify ipaH,ial,set1A and set1B genes,respectively.At the same time,a reaction condition was established for the multiplex PCR.Results indicated that the ipaH gene was present in all Shigella strains but the set1A and set1B genes were only present in all Shigella flexneri strains.Moreover,the positive rate of the ial gene in repeated recovery Shigella strains was decreased,and the deletion rate of Shigella sonnei was relatively higher (49%).Results indicated that the diverse distributions of the virulence-associated genes were according to the various distributions of strain types of Shigella.The multiplex PCR method developed a quicker and more convenient way for Shigella strains typing,and it had clinic significance for diagnosis in Shigella species.

Objective:To analyze the prognostic factors for survival in elderly patients with glioma.Methods:We performed a retrospective analysis of prognostic factors for elderly patients with glioma,who were treated by the same attending doctor during June 2014 and June 2016,to investigate the correlations of the age,dimension of pathology,histological grade,extent of resection,adjuvant therapy,preoperative Karnofsky Performance Scale (KPS) score,postoperative KPS score,molecular markers [isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDHH-1),O6-methylguanine DNA-transferase (MGMT),epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR),Ki-67] with the prognosis.Results:A total of 45 patients were included in the study.The median overall survival (OS) was 11 months.The median progression-free survival (PFS) was 6 months.Univariate analysis revealed that the age,gender,dimension ofpathology,histological grade and preoperative KPS score had no significant correlation with survival (P＞0.05).The gross total resection,higher postoperative KPS score,adjuvant therapy,lower Ki-67 index were significantly correlated with survival.The expressions of MGMT and EGFR were significant factors for survival.High postoperative KPS score (P=0.019),adjuvant therapy (P=0.024),and the expression of MGMT (P=0.026) were independent predictors for increased median OS in a multivariate regression model.Conclusion:The extent of resection,adjuvant therapy,postoperative KPS score and molecular markers are the influential factors for survival.Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Objective:To investigate and summarize the chest CT imaging features of patients with novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19), bacterial pneumonia and other viral pneumonia.Methods:Chest CT data of 102 patients with pulmonary infection due to different etiologies were retrospectively analyzed, including 36 patients with COVID-19 admitted to Hainan Provincial People's Hospital and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University from December 2019 to March 2020, 16 patients with other viral pneumonia admitted to Hainan Provincial People's Hospital from January 2018 to February 2020, and 50 patients with bacterial pneumonia admitted to Haikou Affiliated Hospital of Central South University Xiangya School of Medicine from April 2018 to May 2020. Two senior radiologists and two senior intensive care physicians were participated to evaluated the extent of lesions involvement and imaging features of the first chest CT after the onset of the disease.Results:Bilateral pulmonary lesions were more common in patients with COVID-19 and other viral pneumonia, and the incidence was significantly higher than that of bacterial pneumonia (91.6%, 75.0% vs. 26.0%, P < 0.05). Compared with other viral pneumonia and COVID-19, bacterial pneumonia was mainly characterized by single-lung and multi-lobed lesion (62.0% vs. 18.8%, 5.6%, P < 0.05), accompanied by pleural effusion and lymph node enlargement. The proportion of ground-glass opacity in the lung tissues of patients with COVID-19 was 97.2%, that of patients with other viral pneumonia was 56.2%, and that of patients with bacterial pneumonia was only 2.0% ( P < 0.05). The incidence rate of lung tissue consolidation (25.0%, 12.5%), air bronchial sign (13.9%, 6.2%) and pleural effusion (16.7%, 37.5%) in patients with COVID-19 and other viral pneumonia were significantly lower than those in patients with bacterial pneumonia (62.0%, 32.0%, 60.0%, all P < 0.05), paving stone sign (22.2%, 37.5%), fine mesh sign (38.9%, 31.2%), halo sign(11.1%, 25.0%), ground-glass opacity with interlobular septal thickening (30.6%, 37.5%), bilateral patchy pattern/rope shadow (80.6%, 50.0%) etc. were significantly higher than those of bacterial pneumonia (2.0%, 4.0%, 2.0%, 0%, 22.0%, all P < 0.05). The incidence of local patchy shadow in patients with COVID-19 was only 8.3%, significantly lower than that in patients with other viral pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia (8.3% vs. 68.8%, 50.0%, P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of peripheral vascular shadow thickening in patients with COVID-19, other viral pneumonia and bacterial pneumonia (27.8%, 12.5%, 30.0%, P > 0.05). Conclusions:The probability of ground-glass opacity, paving stone and grid shadow in chest CT of patients with COVID-19 was significantly higher than those of bacterial pneumonia, and it was more common in the lower lungs and lateral dorsal segment. In other patients with viral pneumonia, ground-glass opacity was distributed in both upper and lower lungs. Bacterial pneumonia is usually characterized by single lung consolidation, distributed in lobules or large lobes and accompanied by pleural effusion.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is now pandemic worldwide and has heavily overloaded hospitals in Wuhan City, China during the time between late January and February. We reported the clinical features and therapeutic characteristics of moderate COVID-19 cases in Wuhan that were treated via the integration of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine. We collected electronic medical record (EMR) data, which included the full clinical profiles of patients, from a designated TCM hospital in Wuhan. The structured data of symptoms and drugs from admission notes were obtained through an information extraction process. Other key clinical entities were also confirmed and normalized to obtain information on the diagnosis, clinical treatments, laboratory tests, and outcomes of the patients. A total of 293 COVID-19 inpatient cases, including 207 moderate and 86 (29.3%) severe cases, were included in our research. Among these cases, 238 were discharged, 31 were transferred, and 24 (all severe cases) died in the hospital. Our COVID-19 cases involved elderly patients with advanced ages (57 years on average) and high comorbidity rates (61%). Our results reconfirmed several well-recognized risk factors, such as age, gender (male), and comorbidities, as well as provided novel laboratory indications (e.g., cholesterol) and TCM-specific phenotype markers (e.g., dull tongue) that were relevant to COVID-19 infections and prognosis. In addition to antiviral/antibiotics and standard supportive therapies, TCM herbal prescriptions incorporating 290 distinct herbs were used in 273 (93%) cases. The cases that received TCM treatment had lower death rates than those that did not receive TCM treatment (17/273 = 6.2% vs. 7/20= 35%, P = 0.0004 for all cases; 17/77= 22% vs. 7/9= 77.7%, P = 0.002 for severe cases). The TCM herbal prescriptions used for the treatment of COVID-19 infections mainly consisted of Pericarpium Citri Reticulatae, Radix Scutellariae, Rhizoma Pinellia, and their combinations, which reflected the practical TCM principles (e.g., clearing heat and dampening phlegm). Lastly, 59% of the patients received treatment, including antiviral, antibiotics, and Chinese patent medicine, before admission. This situation might have some effects on symptoms, such as fever and dry cough. By using EMR data, we described the clinical features and therapeutic characteristics of 293 COVID-19 cases treated via the integration of TCM herbal prescriptions and Western medicine. Clinical manifestations and treatments before admission and in the hospital were investigated. Our results preliminarily showed the potential effectiveness of TCM herbal prescriptions and their regularities in COVID-19 treatment.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; COVID-19/therapy* ; China ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome

Animals ; Antlers ; Exosomes ; Mesenchymal Stem Cells ; Osteoarthritis/therapy*