Objective: Patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are classified as very-high-risk individuals in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk stratification. The distribution pattern of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndromes in this patient population, as well as its association with blood lipid profiles and clinical prognosis, remains unclear. The present prospective cohort study aims to investigate these correlations, thereby providing insights to enrich the research fields. Methods: We enrolled consecutive patients with ASCVD who underwent PCI at the Integrated Cardiology Unit of China-Japan Friendship Hospital between September 1, 2020 and December 31, 2022. Demographics and clinical characteristics, signs and symptoms defining each TCM syndrome, and fasting venous blood samples were collected at baseline and follow up or upon major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs). We analyzed the correlation between TCM syndromes, blood lipid profiles, and MACEs, and developed a new joint prognostic model incorporating both TCM syndromes and blood lipids using logistic regression. The analyses were based on detailed baseline and one-year follow-up data. Results: A per-protocol analysis was performed on 586 patients with complete data ultimately. During the one-year follow-up, 174 patients (29.69%) experienced a MACE. We performed statistical analyses on comorbidities, medication, and biochemical indicators across groups defined by TCM syndrome differentiation. When comparing different TCM syndromes, no significant differences were found in age, body mass index (BMI), history of revascularization, comorbidities, family history of CVD, smoking or drinking, or statin intensity (P > 0.05). Patients with intertwined phlegm and blood stasis syndrome exhibited significantly higher levels of total cholesterol (TC, 5.27 ± 1.18 mmol/L, P < 0.001), triglyceride (TG, 1.96 ± 1.33 mmol/L, P = 0.008), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, 3.35 ± 0.79 mmol/L, P < 0.001), and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, 1.24 ± 0.81 mmol/L, P < 0.001) compared with those with other TCM syndromes combined. A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to predict MACEs. The model included TCM syndrome type [with intertwined phlegm and blood stasis as a predictor, adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 1.413, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.517 – 3.864, P = 0.501], age (adjusted OR = 0.97, 95% CI: 0.955 – 1.001, P = 0.057), male gender (adjusted OR = 0.698, 95% CI: 0.416 – 1.170, P = 0.173), TC (adjusted OR = 1.004, 95% CI: 0.513 – 1.965, P = 0.990), and LDL-C (adjusted OR = 5.825, 95% CI: 2.214 – 15.326, P < 0.001). This model demonstrated good discriminatory ability for MACEs in post-PCI ASCVD patients [the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) = 0.865, 95% CI: 0.816 – 0.914]. Conclusion The intertwined phlegm and blood stasis TCM syndrome is associated with a distinct atherogenic lipid profile characterized by elevated levels of TC and LDL-C. The prognostic model that incorporates this TCM syndrome type along with conventional lipid parameters (TC and LDL-C) shows good discriminatory ability for predicting MACEs in ASCVD patients after PCI, underscoring the potential clinical utility of integrating TCM syndrome differentiation into CVD risk assessment.

Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of crisaborole ointment 2% versus pimecrolimus cream 1% in the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in children aged 2 years or older.Methods:A multicenter, randomized, open-label, controlled clinical trial was conducted. A total of 120 pediatric patients aged 2 - 17 years with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis were enrolled from departments of dermatology of 8 hospitals in China between March 2022 and February 2023. The participants were randomly assigned in a 1∶1 ratio to the crisaborole group and the pimecrolimus group, and received the treatment with crisaborole ointment 2% and pimecrolimus cream 1% respectively, twice a day for 4 weeks. Visits were scheduled at baseline/on day 1, as well as on days 8, 15, and 29. The primary efficacy outcome was the percentage of patients achieving the Investigator's Static Global Assessment (ISGA) success (defined as clear [0] or almost clear [1] on the ISGA scale, combined with ≥ 2‐grade improvement from baseline) on day 29. The secondary efficacy outcomes included changes in the Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) total scores from baseline to day 29, percentages of patients achieving ISGA improvement (defined as clear [0] or almost clear [1] on the ISGA scale), as well as changes in the Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) scores, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) /Infants' Dermatology Life Quality Index (IDLQI) /Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) scores, and in the Dermatitis Family Impact (DFI) scores. Drug safety was evaluated according to the incidence of adverse events. Categorical data were compared using the chi-square test. Since measurement data did not follow a normal distribution, the rank sum test was used for comparisons of measurement data between groups.Results:A total of 106 children with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis were included in the per-protocol analysis set, with 52 in the crisaborole group (26 males and 26 females) and 54 in the pimecrolimus group (27 males and 27 females). There were no significant differences in age, disease duration, ISGA and EASI scores at baseline between the two groups (all P > 0.05). On day 29, 22 patients (42.31%) in the crisaborole group and 25 (46.30%) in the pimecrolimus group achieved ISGA success, with no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2 = 0.17, P = 0.68) ; 35 patients (67.31%) in the crisaborole group and 45 (83.33%) in the pimecrolimus group achieved ISGA improvement, also with no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2 = 3.68, P = 0.06) ; additionally, there were no significant differences in the EASI, pruritus NRS, DLQI/IDLQI/CDLQI, or DFI scores between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Adverse reactions to the two topical agents were mainly local reactions such as mild to moderate pain, itching, or worsening of itching, and no obvious systemic adverse reactions occurred. The incidence of drug-related adverse reactions was 46.15% (24 cases) in the crisaborole group and 37.04% (20 cases) in the pimecrolimus group, with no significant difference between the two groups ( χ2 = 0.91, P = 0.34) . Conclusion:The efficacy of crisaborole ointment 2% was comparable to that of pimecrolimus cream 1% in the treatment of mild to moderate atopic dermatitis in children aged ≥ 2 years, and it yielded early and rapid improvement in the quality of life of patients and their families, with good safety and tolerability profiles.

Objective To explore the longitudinal changes of symptoms after discharge in patients with daytime lung cancer surgery by factor analysis,in order to strengthen nursing countermeasures and improve the quality of life of patients.Methods Patients who underwent day surgery in the thoracic surgery department of a tertiary general hospital in Zhejiang Province from October 2023 to January 2024 were selected using convenience sampling.On the 1st,3rd,14th and 30th day after discharge,the general information questionnaire and the postoperative symptom inventory for patients with lung cancer were used for investigation.Exploratory factor analysis was performed to extract the symptom clusters.Results A total of 227 patients were followed up in this study,including 19 shed cases and 2 excluded cases,and 206 patients were finally included.The percentage of the 9 major symptoms of patients with daytime lung cancer surgery after discharge showed dynamic changes.The highest percentage symptom on the 1st day after discharge was pain in 197 cases(95.63％).The highest percentage on the 30th day after discharge was cough in 129 cases(62.62％).The results of exploratory factor analysis were P＜0.001 and KMO＞0.500 for Bartlett's test of sphericity on days 1,3,and 14 after discharge,except for P=0.874 and KMO=0.495 on day 30,with digestive and respiratory symptom clusters on day 1;respiratory,digestive,and fatigue symptom clusters on day 3;fatigue and respiratory symptom clusters on day 14.Conclusion The single symptom and symptom clusters of patients with daytime lung cancer surgery after discharge showed dynamic changes at different time points.Therefore,in clinical work,targeted intervention strategies should be adopted,and precise symptom management should be implemented according to the characteristics of symptom clusters in different periods of discharge of patients undergoing daytime lung cancer surgery,so as to reduce the symptom burden of patients.

AIM:To compare the formation and release of neutrophil extracellular traps(NETs)af-ter exposure to the high-altitude hypoxic environ-ment for different periods,and their relationship with the dynamic changes of microcirculatory disor-ders associated with pulmonary edema.METH-ODS:SD rats were raised under normoxic condi-tions at an altitude of 400 m and under hypoxic conditions at an altitude of 4 200 m.The rats raised under hypoxic conditions at an altitude of 4 200 m for 7 days were returned to normoxic con-ditions at 400 m to observe the changes in physio-logical and pathological indicators of the rats.The dynamic changes of neutrophil extracellular traps(NETs)release and microcirculatory disorders relat-ed to pulmonary edema after high-altitude hypoxia exposure and after returning to the plain were ex-plored by blood routine determination,rat arterial blood gas analysis,ELISA experiment,lung water content determination,H&E staining,and immuno-histochemical staining.RESULTS:In the hypoxic en-vironment at 4 200 m,rats exhibited significant re-ductions in arterial oxygen saturation(SaO2)and partial pressure of oxygen(PO2)(P＜0.01),accompa-nied by a marked increase in lung-tissue water con-tent(P＜0.01).The complete blood count revealed elevated levels of red blood cells,white blood cells,lymphocytes,and neutrophils(P＜0.01).In addition,the formation and release of NETs in neutrophils in-creased,accompanied by an aggravation of the in-flammatory response.After returning to the low-al-titude normoxic area at 400 m,the above indica-tors gradually returned to normal levels on the 7th day.Pathological changes such as alveolar epitheli-al cell shedding and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed in the lung tissues of rats in the high-altitude area,and the pathological changes were restored after returning to the low-altitude normoxic environment.CONCLUSION:The release of NETs from neutrophils is closely related to the re-covery of pulmonary edema and pulmonary ede-ma-related microcirculatory disorders after high-al-titude hypoxia exposure.

Objective To explore the longitudinal changes of symptoms after discharge in patients with daytime lung cancer surgery by factor analysis,in order to strengthen nursing countermeasures and improve the quality of life of patients.Methods Patients who underwent day surgery in the thoracic surgery department of a tertiary general hospital in Zhejiang Province from October 2023 to January 2024 were selected using convenience sampling.On the 1st,3rd,14th and 30th day after discharge,the general information questionnaire and the postoperative symptom inventory for patients with lung cancer were used for investigation.Exploratory factor analysis was performed to extract the symptom clusters.Results A total of 227 patients were followed up in this study,including 19 shed cases and 2 excluded cases,and 206 patients were finally included.The percentage of the 9 major symptoms of patients with daytime lung cancer surgery after discharge showed dynamic changes.The highest percentage symptom on the 1st day after discharge was pain in 197 cases(95.63％).The highest percentage on the 30th day after discharge was cough in 129 cases(62.62％).The results of exploratory factor analysis were P＜0.001 and KMO＞0.500 for Bartlett's test of sphericity on days 1,3,and 14 after discharge,except for P=0.874 and KMO=0.495 on day 30,with digestive and respiratory symptom clusters on day 1;respiratory,digestive,and fatigue symptom clusters on day 3;fatigue and respiratory symptom clusters on day 14.Conclusion The single symptom and symptom clusters of patients with daytime lung cancer surgery after discharge showed dynamic changes at different time points.Therefore,in clinical work,targeted intervention strategies should be adopted,and precise symptom management should be implemented according to the characteristics of symptom clusters in different periods of discharge of patients undergoing daytime lung cancer surgery,so as to reduce the symptom burden of patients.

Objective:To investigate factors influencing frequent episodes (≥ 4 episodes within 1 year) in children with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis (AD) in China.Methods:A national multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted. Patients under the age of 18 years diagnosed with moderate-to-severe AD were enrolled at dermatology clinics in 18 medical institutions across 12 provinces and municipalities in China between June 12 and August 8, 2023. At the time of the visit, their guardians completed a structured questionnaire covering demographic characteristics, clinical features of AD, personal and family history, factors associated with frequent episodes of moderate-to-severe AD, compliance with treatment, and disease awareness. Statistical analyses included t tests, one-way analysis of variance, rank-sum tests, and chi-square tests, with multiple-response analysis applied for multiple-choice questions. Results:A total of 965 valid questionnaires were collected, and 965 children with moderate-to-severe AD were included. Among them, there were 531 males and 434 females, 678 (70.3%) were aged 2 - < 12 years, 837 (86.7%) were from urban areas, the age at onset was 2.47 ± 3.03 years, and the median frequency of AD episodes in the past year was 4 times. These children were divided into 2 groups based on the median episode frequency: < 4-episode group (439 cases, 45.5%) and ≥ 4-episode group (526 cases, 54.5%). Compared with the < 4-episode group, children in the ≥ 4-episode group showed younger ages at onset (2.22 ± 2.98 years vs. 2.76 ± 3.06 years, P = 0.006) and higher proportions of patients with comorbid allergic diseases in both the children themselves (82.9% [436/526] vs. 69.7% [306/439], χ2 = 23.42, P < 0.001) and their relatives (66.0% [347/526] vs. 57.4% [252/439], χ2 = 7.46, P = 0.006). Children in the ≥ 4- episode group also had higher monthly usage of moisturizers (150 [30, 300] g vs. 60 [6, 200] g) and daily frequency of moisturizer use, greater disease awareness, but more severe fear of medication use (all P < 0.05). The region and the human development index level were both significantly associated with the episode frequency (both P < 0.001), with the highest proportion of children from South China in the ≥ 4- episode group (36.3%, 191/526). Children in the ≥ 4-episode group also had a longer duration of topical glucocorticoid use than those in the < 4-episode group ( Z = -2.21, P = 0.027). External triggers associated with AD episodes mainly included heat exposure (50.36%, 486/965), hot water bathing (40.73%, 393/965), seafood (23.52%, 227/965), and dust mites (33.37%, 322/965) . Conclusion:In children with moderate-to-severe AD in China, factors influencing frequent episodes may include residence in southern or economically developed regions, earlier age at onset, having a personal or family history of allergic diseases, and fear of medication use.

Objective:To evaluate the diagnostic performance of fecal calprotectin (FC) in predicting endoscopic activity of ulcerative colitis (UC), and to compare it with high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) .Methods:A cross-sectional stydy was conducted. UC patients diagnosed at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between May 2023 and July 2025 were retrospective enrolled. Patients were divided into the endoscopically active group and endoscopic remission group according to endoscopic activity. FC levels were measured using latex-enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay (LETIA). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and logistic regression models were used to assess diagnostic efficacy. Subgroup analyses were conducted according to disease extent.Results:A total of 166 UC patients were enrolled, including 92 males and 74 females with the age of 40.00 (32.00, 52.00) years old and disease course 5.00 (2.00, 10.75) years. Forty-six patients were assigned to the active group, while the remaining 120 were assigned to the remission group. FC levels were significantly higher in the active group than in the remission group (620.72 μg/g vs. 29.00 μg/g, P < 0.001), with an AUC of 0.894 at a cutoff value of 122.54 μg/g. hsCRP and ESR had lower AUC (0.712 and 0.736, respectively). The combination of FC, hsCRP, and ESR slightly improved specificity (AUC 0.898). FC was strongly correlated with the endoscopic activity ( r =0.669, P < 0.001) but not with disease extent. Conclusions:FC measured by latex-enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay had comparable diagnostic accuracy to ELISA-based methods commonly used abroad, and provided a reference cutoff value of 122.54 μg/g. FC outperforms hsCRP and ESR in assessing intestinal inflammation in UC and it is less affected by disease extent, making it a reliable non-invasive biomarker for UC monitoring.

Objective:To evaluate the predictive efficacy of fecal calprotectin (FC) for endoscopic activity in patients with Crohn's disease (CD) .Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted and patients diagnosed as CD at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from June 2023 to September 2025 were enrolled consecutively. Data was collected including general information, laboratory tests [hemoglobin (HGB), platelet (PLT), FC, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and so on], and endoscopic results. FC levels were measured by latex-enhanced turbidimetric immunoassay (LETIA). Endoscopic activity was defined as the simplified endoscopic score for Crohn's disease (SES-CD) > 2. Patients were divided into the endoscopically active group and endoscopic remission group according to endoscopic activity, and the differences in clinical data between the two groups were compared. Spearman correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between FC and endoscopic activity, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive efficacy of FC, hsCRP and ESR for endoscopic activity, and the differences were compared.Results:A total of 90 CD patients were enrolled, including 65 males and 25 females with the age of 30 (22, 41) years old and disease course 4.0 (0.5, 8.0) years. Seventy-one patients (78.9%) had ileocolonic disease involvement (L3), and 55 patients (61.1%) were using biologics. Sixty-nine patients in endoscopic active phase were assigned to the endoscopically active group, while the remaining 21 were assigned to the endoscopic remission group. There were no statistically significant differences in general characteristics such as age and gender between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Compared with endoscopic remission group, HGB was significantly lower in the endoscopically active group, while PLT, hsCRP, ESR, and FC were moderataly higher (all P < 0.05). Among the 90 CD patients, FC levels were moderatly correlated with endoscopic activity (ρ = 0.494). ROC curve analysis indicated that the area under the curve for FC in predicting endoscopic activity was 0.836 (95% CI: 0.737-0.935), with a sensitivity of 0.725, specificity of 0.952, and accuracy of 0.778 at the optimal FC cutoff value of 153.8 μg/g. FC outperformed hsCRP and ESR. Conclusion:FC measured by LETIA demonstrates certain efficacy in predicting endoscopic activity in CD and will assist in efficient clinical monitoring of CD patients.

Objective To establish a molecular method for the identification of Aucklandia lappa Decne.and its common adulterants,Inula helenium L.,based on tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system(ARMS).Methods After the analysis and comparison of internal transcribed spacer 2(ITS2)sequence differences between Aucklandia lappa Decne.and Inula helenium L.,single-nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)sites were found to design specific primers for identification,the ARMS method was established to specifically amplify samples from different sources,and identification was carried out according to the size of specific amplification bands.Results The results showed that 170 bp and 271 bp specific bands could be amplified by Aucklandia lappa Decne.and Inula helenium L.,respectively,under the following conditions:annealing temperature 56℃,cycle number 25,primer concentration ratio of internal and external primers 1∶4,agarose gel concentration 1.5%and using 2×TSINGKE Master Mix(blue),the detection limit of adulterates in Aucklandia lappa Decne.and Inula helenium L.mixture sample was 5%.The 23 samples collected from the market were identified,results comparison was the same among ARMS detection,DNA barcoding,and plant classification.Conclusion The ARMS method established in this study can accurately identify Aucklandia lappa Decne.and Inula helenium L.,which has the characteristics of strong specificity and high sensitivity and simple operation,can provide basic research for solving the problem of admixture identification and technical support for the quality control of Aucklandia lappa Decne.medicinal materials.

For TCM to go global,while carrying forward its own characteristics,it should also build a set of measurement methods recognized by the international medical field.PRO scale is more and more widely used in the field of traditional Chinese medicine because there are many confluence points between PRO scale and TCM connotation.The patient-reported outcomes measurement information system(PROMIS)provides a reference for the development of PRO scales in the field of TCM.We can learn from the methods and models relied on by PROMIS and build a PRO evaluation system for TCM diseases based on TCM culture,so as to promote the standardization,standardization and modernization of TCM.