ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) on cognitive function of vascular dementia (VD) rats and its mechanism. MethodsVD rat model was established by modified two-vessel occlusion (2-VO). After modeling, TEAS and electroacupuncture (EA) were used to stimulate Baihui and Zusanli points of rats respectively for 14 d. After treatment, novel object recognition test, Morris water maze test, and Y maze test were used to evaluate the spatial memory and learning ability of rats. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was used to observe the morphology of hippocampal neurons. Transmission electron microscopy was used to observe the ultrastructure of hippocampal mitochondria. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kits were used to detected the levels of SOD, CAT, GSH-Px, MDA and ROS in serum of rats. Western blot was used to detect the expression of PGC-1α, TFAM, HO-1, NQO1 proteins in the hippocampus, Keap1 protein in the cytoplasm and Nrf2, NRF1 proteins in the nucleus. ResultsAfter treatment for 14 d, compared to the model group, the escape latency of VD rats decreased, while the discrimination index, the times of rats crossing the original platform area, the residence time in the original platform quadrant, and the percentage of alternation increased. TEAS can improve the structure of hippocampal neurons and mitochondria of VD rats, showing that neurons were arranged more regularly and distributed more evenly, nuclear membrane and nucleoli were clearer, and mitochondrial swelling were reduced, mitochondrial matrix density were increased, and mitochondrial cristae were more obvious. The levels of SOD, GSH-Px and CAT in serum increased significantly, while the concentration of MDA and ROS decreased. TEAS also up-regulated the expression levels of PGC-1α TFAM, NQO1 and HO-1 proteins in the hippocampus and Nrf2, NRF1 proteins in the nucleus, but down-regulated the Keap1 protein in the cytoplasm. ConclusionTEAS can improve cognition, hippocampal neurons and mitochondrial structure of VD rats, and the effect is better than EA. The mechanism may be the activation of PGC-1α mediated mitochondrial biogenesis and antioxidant stress, which also provides a potential therapeutic technology and experimental basis for the treatment of VD.

Objective To explore the influence factors and predictors of treatment response after adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH)in infantile epileptic spasms syndrome(IESS).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 80 cases of IESS infants(50 males and 30 females)who were diagnosed and treated with ACTH in Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital from January 2016 to December 2020.Patients were divided into effective group(n=39)and ineffective group(n=41)based on their response of ACTH treatment after 28 days,and their clinical data including the patients'basic information,etiology,treatment programmer,per-and post-treatment Kramer scores of electroencephalogram(EEG)hypsarrhythmia severity and so on,were collected to compare and analyze between the two groups.A modified Poisson regression model was constructed to discover predictors of outcome,and the receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curves were used to assess the prognosis evaluation of the positive predictive value.Results The ages at seizure onset ranged from one month and seven days to one year and nine months.Seizure types included simple epileptic spasms in 66 cases and combined with other types(focal and secondarily generalized seizures)in 14 cases.Thirty-two cases had been given anti-seizure medications(ASMs)before ACTH treatment.The median Kramer scores per-treatment and at 14 days post-treatment were 10.0(8.3,12.0)and 6.0(4.0,7.0),respectively.After ACTH treatment,39(48.8%)cases were effective.Compared with the effective group,the ineffective group had significantly higher proportion of abnormal perinatal conditions,unknown aetiology with normal development,ASMs given before ACTH treatment,the dosages of ACTH greater than 2 U/(kg·d),combinations of two or more ASMs,poor control,and still seizure attack after ACTH treatment of 14 days(P<0.05).Additionally,the Kramer scores after ACTH treatment of 14 days in the ineffective group were also significantly higher(P<0.05).The modified Poisson regression model showed that there were significant statistic differences between the two groups on ASMs given before ACTH treatment(RR=0.546,95%CI 0.357-0.833,P=0.005)and Kramer scores of hypsarrhythmia severity(RR=0.701,95%CI 0.620-0.792,P<0.001),while there were no significant differences between the two groups in term of ages,gender,perinatal conditions,etiologies,seizure types,Kramer scores before treatment,time lag between onset and treatment,duration of ACTH treatment,kinds of ASMs combination.ROC curve analysis showed that only Kramer scores at 14 days after ACTH treatment could predict the treatment response with sensitivity and specificity of 92.7%and 84.6%,respectively,with Youden index of 0.773.The area under the ROC curve was 0.930(95%CI 0.873-0.987,P<0.001)and the cut-point of the score was 6,indicating that the higher the Kramer scores at 14 days after ACTH treatment,the worse the treatment response.The treatment response rate would reduce by about 30.0%if the Kramer score increased by one point.Conclusion ASMs given before ACTH treatment may influence the treatment response.Kramer scores greater than 6 at day 14 after ACTH treatment may be used as a predictor of treatment response after ACTH in IESS patients.

Objective To investigate the risk factors of postoperative delirium in elderly patients undergoing spine surgery.Methods The basic case data of 566 patients who underwent spine surgery under general anesthesia from January 2021 to Jan-uary 2023 were retrospectively analyzed.There were 296 males and 270 females with an average age of(71.58±4.21)years old.There were 195 cases of cervical spine surgery,26 cases of thoracic spine surgery and 345 cases of lumbar spine surgery.According to the occurrence of postoperative delirium,the patients were divided into postoperative delirium group(41 patients)and non-delirium group(525 patients).Univariate analysis was used to analyze the possible influencing factors such as gen-der,age,weight,smoking history,drinking history,surgical site,preoperative anxiety,intraoperative hypotension times,blood loss and so on,and binary Logistic regression was used to analyze the univariate factors with P＜0.05.Results A total of 41 pa-tients developed postoperative delirium.Univariate analysis showed that age(P=0.000),duration of surgery(P=0.039),preop-erative anxiety(P=0.001),blood loss(P=0.000),history of opioid use(P=0.003),history of stroke(P=0.005),C-reactive protein(P=0.000),sodium ion(P=0.000)were significantly different between delirium group and non-delirium group.These factors were included in the binary Logistic regression analysis,and the results showed that age[OR=0.729,95％CI(0.569,0.932),P=0.012],opioid use[OR=21.500,95％CI(1.334,346.508),P=0.031],blood loss[OR=0.932,95％CI(0.875,0.993),P=0.029],C-reactive protein[OR=0.657,95％CI(0.485,0.890),P=0.007],preoperative anxiety[OR=23.143,95％CI(1.859,288.090),P=0.015],and sodium[OR=1.228,95％CI(1.032,1.461),P=0.020]were independent risk factors for the development of delirium after spinal surgery in elderly patients.Conclusion Age,opioid use,blood loss,preoper-ative anxiety,elevated c-reactive protein,and hyponatremia are independent risk factors for the development of postoperative delirium in elderly patients undergoing spinal surgery.

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

Gouty arthritis is a type of metabolic rheumatic disease caused by autoimmune abnormalities. Currently, the use of Western medicine in the clinical treatment of gouty arthritis has been associated with a high risk of adverse reactions. Therefore, there is a growing interest in exploring therapeutic drugs from traditional Chinese medicine as a potential alternative. According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, gouty arthritis has been classified as damp-heat arthralgia syndrome. Shirebi granules has been found to have good clinical efficacy in treating gouty arthritis. However, its underlying pharmacological mechanisms remain unclear. To address this problem, the study first established the interaction network of candidate targets for Shirebi granules, which is used to treat damp-heat syndrome of gouty arthritis. Then, the key candidate targets of Shirebi granules for treating gouty arthritis with damp-heat syndrome were screened by calculating the topological features of the network nodes. Then, the functional mining of the key candidate targets revealed that the candidate targets of Shirebi granules may intervene in the biological process of inflammatory response and lipid metabolism through the crosstalk of Wnt/β-catenin signaling. To verify the effectiveness of Shirebi granules in treating gouty arthritis with damp-heat syndrome, a rat model was established. The results demonstrated that the granules significantly improved the severity of arthritis in rats with this condition, reduced joint inflammation, gait score, swelling index, increased mechanical pain threshold (P < 0.05), and reduced the content of serum inflammatory factors IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in gouty arthritis rats with damp-heat syndrome (P < 0.01) gouty. It was also found that Shirebi granules effectively alleviated the symptoms of dampness heat syndrome such as local joint fever and dry mouth by reducing the temperature of the joints in acute gouty arthritis with damp-heat syndrome (AD) rats, increasing the threshold of heat pain, increasing water intake (P < 0.01), and inhibiting abnormal changes in the content of fatty acid oxidation related enzymes (P < 0.01). Western blot analysis showed that Shirebi granules increased the protein expression levels of Wnt and β-catenin (P < 0.01) while decreasing the protein expression of p65, p-p65 and PPARγ (P < 0.01) in rats with gouty arthritis and damp-heat syndrome. The results showed that Shirebi granules may reverse the "inflammation-immune" imbalance and lipid metabolism disorder by regulating the crosstalk of Wnt/β-catenin signaling, and play a role in alleviating the severity of the disease. This study provides a methodological reference for elucidating the pharmacological mechanisms of traditional Chinese medicine formulas. It also presents research ideas for the appropriate clinical use of Chinese patent medicines and the development of new clinical drugs for gouty arthritis therapy. The animal welfare and experiment procedures of this study were performed in accordance with the regulations of the Experimental Animal Ethics Committee of Experimental Research Center, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences (grant No. ERCCACMS11-2302-08).

Abstract: Objective　To investigate the clinical characteristics and diagnosis key points of brain abscess caused by Nocardia asiatica, and provide a clinical basis for diagnosing and treating intracranial infection caused by Nocardia. Methods　A case of pulmonary Nocardia asiatica complicated with brain abscess diagnosed at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Hainan Medical University was selected to analyze the clinical manifestations, cerebrospinal fluid characteristics, pulmonary and cranial imaging features, and treatment plan, and to summarize the diagnosis and treatment experience. Results　The patient was an elderly woman with a history of diabetes, dry cough was the first symptom without fever or headache. At the beginning of the course, it was diagnosed as pulmonary infection and tuberculosis in the local hospital, and received conventional antimicrobial and anti-tuberculosis therapies, but showed no improvement. The patient developed progressive limb weakness, followed by consciousness disorders, and coma. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) adenosine deaminase and lactate dehydrogenase were not abnormal, CSF pressure, protein and white blood cells were high, mainly with multiple nuclear cells. CSF glucose and chloride were normal in the early stage of the disease, but decreased significantly in the later stage. Metagenomic analysis of cerebrospinal fluid indicated Nocardia asiatica with a specific sequence number of 537. Lung CT showed exudation, abscess, and cavity in the right lung. Skull MRI scan + enhancement suggested multiple scattered abscesses in both cerebral hemispheres. The abscesses were of different sizes and showed ring enhancement, with extensive surrounding edema, and ventricular compression. After treatment with meropenem, linezolid, and compound sulfamethoxazole tablets, the cerebrospinal fluid recovered, and the lesions in the lungs and intracranial structures improved. Conclusions　Brain abscess caused by Nocardia asiatica is similar to the tuberculous brain in clinical symptoms, cerebrospinal fluid examination, craniocerebral imaging, so we should be alert to the possibility of Nocardia infection in patients with diabetes. At the same time, metagenomic testing of the cerebrospinal fluid can help confirm the diagnosis. The mortality and disability rates of brain abscess caused by Nocardia are high. Early diagnosis and treatment can improve the prognosis.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the difference in CT values between pulmonary thromboembolism and postmortem clot in postmortem CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) to further improve the application value of virtual autopsy. METHODS: Postmortem CTPA data with the definite cause of death from 2016 to 2019 were collected and divided into pulmonary thromboembolism group (n=4), postmortem clot group (n=5), and control group (n=5). CT values of pulmonary trunk and left and right pulmonary artery contents in each group were measured and analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The average CT value in the pulmonary thromboembolism group and postmortem clot group were (168.4±53.8) Hu and (282.7±78.0) Hu, respectively, which were lower than those of the control group (1 193.0±82.9) Hu (P<0.05). The average CT value of the postmortem clot group was higher than that of the pulmonary thromboembolism group (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS CT value is reliable and feasible as a relatively objective quantitative index to distinguish pulmonary thromboembolism and postmortem clot in postmortem CTPA. At the same time, it can provide a scientific basis to a certain extent for ruling out pulmonary thromboembolism deaths.
Humans ; Autopsy ; Thrombosis ; Pulmonary Embolism/diagnostic imaging* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Angiography ; Cadaver

Objective: To investigate the features of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma (HEHE) in order to improve the preoperative diagnosis rate. Methods: CEUS images of 32 pathologically-proven cases of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma from January 2004 to August 2021 were collected. Lesions were analyzed to observe the features of enhancement mode, enhancement intensity, and distinct enhancement phases. Results: Among the 32 cases, one had a solitary lesion, 29 had multiple lesions, and two had diffuse-type lesions. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound revealed a total of 42 lesions in 32 cases. In terms of arterial phase enhancement, 18 lesions had overall enhancement, six lesions had uneven dendritic enhancement, 16 lesions had rim-like enhancement, and two lesions had just slight peripheral spot enhancement around the lesions. Among the three cases, there were multiple lesions that had overall enhancement and ring enhancement. In terms of the enhancement phase, 20 lesions showed "fast progression", 20 lesions showed "same progression", and two lesions showed "slow progression". During the late arterial or early portal venous phases with rapid washout, all lesions manifested as hypoechoic. With peaked enhanced intensity, 11 lesions had a lower enhancement intensity than the surrounding normal liver parenchyma; 11 lesions had the same enhancement degree as the surrounding normal liver parenchyma; and 20 lesions had a higher enhancement degree than the surrounding normal liver parenchyma. All 16 ring-enhancing lesions had marked hyperenhancement. In the typical enhancing lesions, four showed hyperenhancement, five showed low enhancement, and nine showed isoenhancement. In the dendrite-enhancing lesions, there were two isoenhancing and four hypoenhancing. Contrast-enhanced ultrasound delineated the boundaries of all lesions more clearly than two-dimensional ultrasound. Conclusion: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound has certain value in the diagnosis of hepatic epithelioid hemangioendothelioma.
Humans ; Hemangioendothelioma, Epithelioid/pathology* ; Contrast Media ; Retrospective Studies ; Liver Neoplasms/pathology* ; Portal Vein/pathology* ; Ultrasonography

Objective:To investigate the risk factors and their warning value for the occurrence of sepsis in patients with severe multiple trauma.Methods:A retrospective cohort study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 92 patients with severe multiple trauma admitted to Yuyao People′s Hospital from July 2019 to October 2021. There were 71 males and 21 females, with the age range of 36-55 years [(45.5±13.6)years]. The injury severity score (ISS) was 20-29 points [(25.3±6.4)points]. The patients were divided into sepsis group ( n=32) and non-sepsis group ( n=60) according to whether sepsis occurred during hospitalization. Data were recorded for the two groups, including gender, age, basic diseases, cause of injury, number of injury sites, ISS, post-injury complications, and levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT) at 1, 3 and 5 days after injury. The above data were analyzed to identify their correlation with the occurrence of sepsis in patients with severe multiple trauma by univariate analysis. The independent risk factors for sepsis in patients with severe multiple trauma were determined by multivariate Logistic regression analysis. The warning value of the single or combined risk factors for the occurrence of sepsis in patients with severe multiple trauma was evaluated by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and area under the curve (AUC). Results:By univariate analysis, it was demonstrated that the occurrence of sepsis was correlated with ISS, level of AHR at day 1 after injury, level of CRP at day 3 after injury and level of PCT at day 3 after injury ( P<0.05 or 0.01), but not with age, sex, basic diseases, level of AHR at 3, 5 days after injury, level of PCT at 1, 5 days after injury and level of CRP at 1, 5 days after injury (all P>0.05). By multivariate Logistic regression analysis, higher ISS ( OR=1.12, 95% CI 1.01, 1.24, P<0.05), level of AHR at day 1 after injury ( OR=1.30, 95% CI 1.10, 1.52, P<0.01) and level of PCT at day 3 after injury ( OR=1.81, 95% CI 1.08, 3.03, P<0.05) were found to be strongly correlated with the occurrence of sepsis. ROC curve analysis showed that higher ISS (AUC=0.69, 95% CI 0.57, 0.76) and level of AHR at day 1 after injury (AUC=0.79, 95% CI 0.68, 0.90) had warning value for the occurrence of sepsis, and the warning efficiency of combined panel was much better (AUC=0.86, 95% CI 0.77, 0.95). Conclusions:Higher ISS, level of AHR at day 1 after injury and level of PCT at day 3 after injury are independent risk factors for the occurrence of sepsis in patients with severe multiple trauma. ISS, AHR and combination of both exhibit good warning value for the occurrence of sepsis in patients with severe multiple trauma.