Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of hypofractionated thoracic radiotherapy combined with EP chemotherapy in the treatment of limited-stage small-cell lung cancer (LS-SCLC). Methods A total of 117 patients with LS-SCLC were enrolled and randomly divided into test group (n=59) and control group (n=58). Patients in the experiment group were given hypofractionated thoracic radiotherapy combined with EP chemotherapy, while patients in the control group were given hyperfractionation radiotherapy combined with EP chemotherapy. Objective response rate (ORR), 2-year overall survival (OS), 2-year progression free survival (PFS), and immune cell level were used to evaluate clinical efficacy. We compared the incidence of side effects between the two groups. Results After the treatment, the ORR of patients in the test group was higher than that in the control group (P > 0.05). The mean OS and PFS of patients in the test group were significantly longer than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The levels of CD3⁺, CD4⁺, CD4⁺/CD8⁺, and NK cells in the test group were significantly higher, whereas the levels of CD8⁺ were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). The incidence of radiation pneumonitis, radiation esophagitis, and severe dermatitis in the test group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Conclusion Hypofractionated radiotherapy combined with EP chemotherapy for treatment of LS-SCLC can effectively improve the anticancer efficacy and patient survival, reduce the damage to the body's immune function, and alleviate adverse reaction of radiotherapy.

Objective:To explore the performance characteristics of the digital clock-drawing test(dCDT) for amnestic mild cognitive impairment(aMCI), and its diagnostic value for aMCI patients compared with the traditional clock-drawing test (tCDT).Methods:Total 81 middle-aged and elderly outpatients in Affiliated Hospital to Shanxi Medical University from November 2020 to May 2021 were selected, including 42 cognitively normal people (control group) and 39 aMCI patients (aMCI group). The dCDT developed by our team was used to collect drawing process parameters (such as stroke length, time and speed). The Cognitive Domain Indexs of Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) were calculated using the CDIS scoring method, and the correlation between dCDT parameters and MoCA indexs were analyzed.Logistic regression analysis was used to construct the predictive model, and the sensitivity and specificity of different methods for the diagnosis of aMCI patients were compared by the area under the ROC curve.Results:(1) The total time(51.25(38.80, 63.75)s vs 42.42(33.64, 51.91)s) and time in air(36.34(26.81, 47.25)s vs 28.47(22.37, 33.98)s) of the aMCI group were significantly higher than those of the control group, and the minute hand/hour hand ratio(1.23±0.35 vs 1.39±0.34), strokes per minute((31.31±10.44) vs (41.05±9.48))and tCDT score(3.0(3.0, 4.0), 4.0(3.0, 4.0))were significantly lower than those of the control group, and the differences were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Other dCDT parameters were not statistically significant between the two groups ( Z=-1.835--0.440, P>0.05). (2) Correlation analysis showed that the total time was negatively correlated with MoCA MIS( r=-0.224, P=0.049), LIS( r=-0.237, P=0.037)and AIS( r=-0.236, P=0.038); time in air was negatively correlated with MoCA MIS( r=-0.268, P=0.018), LIS( r=-0.271, P=0.016), AIS( r=-0.259, P=0.022)and OISA( r=-0.267, P=0.018); the minute hand/hour hand ratio was positively correlated with MoCA EIS( r=0.259, P=0.022)and VIS( r=0.309, P=0.006); the strokes per minute was positively correlated with MoCA MIS( r=0.376, P=0.001), EIS( r=0.290, P=0.010), VIS( r=0.294, P=0.009), AIS( r=0.238, P=0.036)and OISA( r=0.301, P=0.007). (3)dCDT model composed of the pre-second hand latency, the ratio of minute hand/hour hand, and the strokes per minute can correctly classify 77.8% of aMCI, with a sensitivity of 74.36% and a specificity of 80.95%.Its diagnostic power for aMCI was significantly higher than the tCDT scoring( Z=2.335, P=0.02). Conclusion:The cognitive impairment in aMCI can be detected by dCDT, and different dCDT parameters can reflect the impairment of different cognitive domains.Compared with tCDT scoring, dCDT can improve the diagnostic efficacy of aMCI patients.

Objective To investigate efficacy and safety of oral prednisone acetate for prevention of esophageal stenosis after endoscopic submucosal dissection ( ESD) for patients with esophageal precancerous lesions or early esophageal carcinoma. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed on data of 56 patients who underwent circumferential or semi-circumferential ( more than three quarters but not a complete circular) ESD for esophageal precancerous lesions or early cancer in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from October 2014 to October 2017. The patients were divided into the study group ( n=26, prednisolone oral administration after ESD ) and the control group ( n=30, without prednisolone oral administration after ESD) . Endoscopic dilatation was performed whenever patients experienced persistent dysphagia to solids. Clinical data, stricture rate, numbers of endoscopic dilatation, and adverse events were compared between the two groups. Results There were no differences in age, gender, location and length of lesions, endoscopic findings, depths of tumor invasion, and pathological subtypes between the two groups ( all P>0. 05) . The proportion of circumferential esophageal lesions in the study group was higher than that in the control group[53. 85％ (14/26) VS 23. 33％ (7/30), χ2=5. 53, P=0. 02]. The rata of post-procedural esophageal stricture in the study group was significantly lower than that in the control group[ 30. 77％ ( 8/26) VS 60. 00％ (18/30), χ2=4. 78, P=0. 03], and the number of endoscopic dilatation was lesser in the study group than the control group (3. 85±2. 57 VS 9. 83±5. 82, t =7. 22, P =0. 00). There were no adverse events related to oral prednisone, and no treatment-related mortality. Conclusion Prednisone acetate oral administration is safe and effective to prevent esophageal stenosis after complete or semi-circular ESD for patients with esophageal precancerous lesions or early esophageal carcinoma.

Clinical data of 26 patients with proton pump inhibitor dependent gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) who underwent anti-reflux mucosectomy (ARMS) in Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital from July 2017 to December 2020 were reviewed, and the GERD questionnaire (GERD-Q) score, the short-form reflux-qual (RQS) score, esophageal motility and 24 h esophageal pH parameters before and after ARMS were compared. With a median follow-up period of 18.4 months (6-27 months), 23 (88.5%) patients reported symptomatic improvement and 15 (57.7%) patients discontinued the use of proton pump inhibitors. After ARMS, the mean scores of GERD-Q (6.23 VS 13.19, P=0.004) and RQS (26.67 VS 10.98, P<0.001) were significantly improved, the mean DeMeester score (10.69 VS 53.15, P<0.001), the mean acid exposure time percentage (3.56% VS 9.92%, P<0.001) and the mean number of acid reflux episodes (36.9 VS 139.9, P=0.001) were lower, and the mean rest pressure at lower esophageal sphincter (LES) (25.19 mmHg VS 13.63 mmHg, P<0.001) and the mean distal contractile integral (1 819.15 mmHg·s·cm VS 1 007.67 mmHg·s·cm, P<0.001) were significantly increased compared with those before surgery. ARMS has significant short-term efficacy in the treatment of proton pump inhibitor dependent GERD, which can effectively improve reflux symptoms and life quality of patients, and strengthen the rest pressure of LES and peristalsis of the esophageal body.

Objective:To screen mutations of the adenosine triphosphate(ATP)-binding cassette transporter A3(ABCA3)gene in elderly Chinese individuals with lung interstitial diseases(ILDs)and to analyze the clinical characteristics of ILDs in elderly patients.Methods:A prospective study, After further image analysis of patients diagnosed with interstitial lung diseases between September 2015 and December 2018 at the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, the Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, 103 patients were willing to provide peripheral blood samples and signed informed consent.DNA samples were extracted and whole exome sequencing was performed to screen ABCA3 gene mutations.Clinical data of patients were summarized and analyzed.Results:Seven rare variants of the ABCA3 gene were identified in 6 patients, with a mean age of 67 years(69-73 years)and an equal sex distribution, and 33.3%(2/6)were smokers.The most notable presentation was diffuse lung lesions.Patients' final diagnoses included idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis(IPF, 3/6), nonspecific interstitial pneumonia(NSIP, 1/6), and IgG4-related lung disease(2/6). Meanwhile, compound heterozygous mutations of the ABCA3 gene responsible for IPF were identified in patient No.39, including p. Asp1465Asn, p.Leu3Vval and p. Val93Ile3, a new finding in patients with ILDs.Conclusions:ABCA3 mutation-related lung interstitial diseases exhibit variable characteristics, with differences in the age of onset, clinical manifestations, imaging features and prognosis between patients.ABCA3 mutations responsible for early-onset ILDs are mostly homozygous or compound heterozygous and usually highly pathogenic nonsense mutations.In contrast, ABCA3 mutations identified in elderly patients with ILDs are often missense mutations, a possible explanation for the variability of ILDs in the elderly.Since patients with ILDs caused by ABCA3 variants respond poorly to currently available treatment options, early genetic diagnosis may benefit patients by enhancing disease awareness.