1.Improvement of ethics matrix:construction of an ethical evaluation tool for biomedical technology
Chinese Medical Ethics 2024;37(8):877-884
With the rapid development of biomedical technology,ethical issues have become increasingly prominent.In the past,ethical analysis of biomedical technology was mostly handled by authoritative experts and lacked democracy.This paper provided a detailed analysis of four aspects of the ethical matrix proposed by BenMepham,including ethical principles,stakeholders,application methods and ethical analysis,and outcome evaluation,as well as explored the framework and process of the ethical matrix applicable to biomedical technology,which can not only provide a structured framework for evaluating the ethical aspects of biomedical technology for different interest groups,and increase the participation of grassroots people,but also enrich ethical evaluation tools for biomedical technology.
2.Urine virology and clinical characteristics of female patients with overactive bladder
Qi SUN ; Leqian LI ; Hao ZHOU ; Ying WU ; Bingyi WU ; Jie ZHAO ; Peng WU
Chinese Journal of Urology 2023;44(4):287-291
Objective:To investigate the urinary virology and clinical characteristics of female overactive bladder (OAB) patients.Methods:Catheterized urine samples were collected from 55 women with OAB and 18 control individuals between January 2021 and August 2021. Inclusion criteria were: female with age>18, diagnosed as OAB, OABSS total score≥3 and item Urgency score≥2, informed consent signed. Exclusion criteria were: Urine culture positive, urinary catheter indwelling status, antibiotic usage in recent 30 days, other disease leading to OAB-like symptoms, pelvic organ prolapse and current pregnancy, immunosuppressive therapy or status. Clinical characteristic and history were collected. OAB symptoms were assessed via both OABSS (overactive bladder symptom score) and OAB-V8 (8-item overactive bladder questionnaire). The urine specimens were analyzed using mNGS for identifying viral infections. The correlation between the disease and JC virus infection was analyzed by t test, chi-square test, binary logistic regression analysis and Spearman correlation matrix, and the Nomogram map for predicting the risk of viral infection was constructed. Results:In total, 55 women with OAB and 18 healthy controls were recruited in the study. There are significant difference in terms of UTI history, pelvic surgery history and the habit of holding urine [60.0%(n=33)to 16.7%(n=3), P=0.002; 43.6%(n=24)to 0.0%(n=0), P<0.01; 36.4%( n=20)to 5.6%( n=1), P=0.015]. Based on mNGS results, OAB patients were identified with more positive viral infection [47.3%(n=26)to 33.3%(n=6)] and more JC virus infection. In the OAB group, subtype 7B of JCV ( n=8) was identified, while in the control group, subtype 7A(n=2) was identified. Pairwise Spearman correlation analysis indicated high correlations between viral infection and OABSS ( r=0.58), age and pausimenia ( r=0.68), hypertension and age ( r=0.53), respectively. Estimates from binary logistic regression model indicated risk factors for virus infection in OAB patients including age ( OR=1.99, 95% CI 0.02-2.61), holding urine habit( OR=2.16, 95% CI 0.18-3.85) and pelvic surgery ( OR=2.53, 95% CI 0.54-4.27). Conclusions:Urinary viral infections appear to be associated with more severe OAB symptoms and JC virus may be a potential therapeutic target for OAB.