OBJECTIVETo explore whether the dental restoration of nickel-chromium (Ni-Cr) based alloys will lead to extra excretions of urinary Ni and Cr.

METHODSUrinary Ni and Cr were repeatedly measured in 33 patients before and 2 months after the dental restoration of Ni-Cr alloys. The associations between alloy restoration and urinary Ni or Cr were analyzed by paired t test and general linear model of repeated measures.

RESULTSA slightly higher urinary Ni was found in patients after 2 month of the alloy restoration, but the difference was not statistically significant (before: 46.4 microg x mol(-1) crea; after: 67.6 microg x mol(-1) crea; P=0.063). This difference was only in female subjects (before: 44.8 microg x mol(-1) crea; after: 73.7 microg x mol(-1) crea; P=0.068). A significant higher urinary Cr was found in patients after 2 month of the alloy restoration (before: 57.0 microg x mol(-1) crea; after: 99.4 microg x mol(-1) crea; P=0.024). This significant difference was only in female subjects (before: 59.8 microg x mol(-1) crea; after: 124.4 microg x mol(-1) crea; P=0.023). General linear models of repeated measurements showed that urinary excretions of Ni and Cr were associated with the number of restoration and the area of metal basis uncovered with porcelain.

CONCLUSIONDental restoration of Ni-Cr alloy might lead to the enhanced excretions of urinary Ni and Cr.

Chromium ; Chromium Alloys ; Dental Porcelain ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Nickel ; Prospective Studies

There are irreversible eyeball structural changes in high myopic patients. These changes include axial length, corneal radius, anterior chamber depth, fundus degeneration, macula thickness, etc. There is a close relationship between the damage degree of visual function and these changes. The incidence of complications, such as vitreous opacity, posterior vitreous detachment, cataract, glaucoma, posterior staphyloma and retina detachment, is also highly related to the myopia diopter. More and more researches have indicated that the myopia diopter and the level of visual function are affected by multiple factors. It is promising to detect all of these changes by different kinds of methods, and to assess visual function through these changes. By clarifying these changes, it is also useful to distinguish traumatic damage from disease to provide evidence for forensic assessment of eye injuries.
Eye/physiopathology* ; Forensic Medicine ; Humans ; Myopia/pathology* ; Vision, Ocular/physiology*

OBJECTIVETo evaluate the value of measuring ankle brachial index (ABI) for diagnosing peripheral arterial disease(PAD) compared with conventional digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the reference standard.

METHODSA total of 383 consecutive inpatients (245 male, mean age 64.1 +/- 11.7 years) underwent both conventional DSA and ABI measurements.

RESULTSThe rate of statin intervention was 90.9%, ACEI 69.2%, antiplatelet 96.6% and beta-blockers 67.9%. The intravascular stenosis was classified into six degrees: normal, < 30%, 30% - 49%, 50% - 69%, 70% - 89% and > or = 90%. Compared to the traditional gold standard (DSA) in diagnosis PDA, the ABI value decreased in proportion to the severity of PAD (the ABI value was 1.08 +/- 0.11, 1.05 +/- 0.16, 0.99 +/- 0.17, 0.66 +/- 0.24, 0.55 +/- 0.28 and 0.54 +/- 0.00 respectively in the six ranks). There was a significant correlation between DSA and ABI in diagnosis PAD.

CONCLUSIONABI measurement is an accurate and reliable non-invasive alternative to conventional DSA in the assessment of lower extremity arteries in patients with peripheral arterial disease.

Aged ; Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; Ankle ; blood supply ; Ankle Brachial Index ; Brachial Artery ; diagnostic imaging ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Peripheral Vascular Diseases ; diagnosis ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Risk Assessment

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; China ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Female ; Hospitals, Community ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

OBJECTIVETo investigate the value of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) levels in assessing myocardial protection by remifentanil precondition against myocardial injury induced by off-pump coronary artery bypass (OPCAB).

METHODSTwenty-four patients undergoing OPCAB were randomized into control and remifentanil preconditioning group (n=12). All the patients received pretreatment with oral diazepam (10 mg), intramuscular morphine (10 mg) and hyosine (0.3 mg). General anesthesia was induced with midazolam (0.08 mg/kg), etomidate (0.1-0.3 mg/kg), fentanyl (5-10 microg/kg), and rocuronium (1 mg/kg), and maintained with isoflurane inhalation and propofol infusion. Intermittent fentanyl and pipecuronium were given intravenously. In remifentanil preconditioning group, remifentanil (5 microg/kg in 50 ml normal saline) was infused in 10 min after anesthesia induction, and only NS was administered in the control group. Blood samples were obtained before and at 0, 2, 6, 24, and 48 h after the operation to determine serum cTnI levels.

RESULTSIn both of the two groups, the cTnI levels increased significantly at the postoperative time points (0, 2, 6, 24, and 48 h) as compared with those before the operation (P<0.05). The cTnI levels of remifentanil preconditioning group were markedly decreased after the operation in comparison with those of the control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONRemifentanil preconditioning decreases the cTnI levels and reduces myocardial injury induced by OPCAB.

Aged ; Coronary Artery Bypass, Off-Pump ; adverse effects ; Female ; Heart ; drug effects ; Humans ; Ischemic Preconditioning, Myocardial ; Male ; Myocardial Reperfusion Injury ; blood ; etiology ; metabolism ; Myocardium ; metabolism ; Piperidines ; pharmacology ; Postoperative Period ; Time Factors ; Troponin I ; blood ; metabolism

OBJECTIVETo conduct a meta-analysis of the effect of levosimendan on B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) levels and evaluate the therapeutic effect of levosimendan on advanced heart failure.

METHODSA meta-analysis was performed on the selected data to analyze the effect of levosimendan on BNP levels.

RESULTSLevosimendan decreased BNP by a mean of 337.66 [95%CI (-296.30, -379.02)] pg/ml 24 h after the administration, and by 259.92 [95%CI (-195.76, -324.08)] pg/ml at 48 h, and by 123.09 [95%CI(-53.32,-195.86)] pg/ml at 1 week. Levosimendan resulted in improvements of the cardiac function by about 29%, 22%, and 10% at 24 h, 48 h and 1 week after the administration.

CONCLUSIONLevosimendan produces favorable effects on the cardiac functions and BNP levels.

Cardiotonic Agents ; therapeutic use ; Heart Failure ; blood ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Hydrazones ; therapeutic use ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain ; blood ; Pyridazines ; therapeutic use

With continuous discovery of tumor immune targets and continuous changes in antibody research and development technology, antibody drugs are becoming more and more widely used in clinical practice. However, some targets are not only expressed on tumor cells, but also on red blood cells. Therefore, the clinical application of antibodies against the corresponding targets may interfere with the detection of blood transfusion compatibility, resulting in difficulty in blood matching or delay of blood transfusion. This consensus summarizes the current solutions for the interference of CD38 monoclonal antibody (CD38 mAb) in transfusion compatibility testing. After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of different methods, polybrene and sulfhydryl reducing agents [dithiothreitol (DTT) or 2-mercaptoethanol (2-Me)], as a solution for CD38 mAb interference in blood compatibility testing, are recommended for Chinese patients, so as to eliminate blood transfusion interference produce by CD38 mAb and further provide a pre-transfusion workflow for clinicians and technicians in Department of Blood Transfusion.