Objective To determine the relationship between zinc and nutritional status or immunity in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Methods Forty-five stable CAPD patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis were enrolled in this study. The dietary zinc intake and serum zinc levels were investigated, and the results were compared with the gender- and age-matched healthy populations (n = 45). The relationship between dietary zinc intake and serum zinc levels and subjective global assessment (SGA) score, blood cell counts, serum albumin (ALB), prealbumin (PA), C-reactive protein (CRP),and lymphocyte subsets were analyzed. Results The percentages of inadequate dietary zinc intake (P= 0. 007)and low blood zinc (P = 0. 036) were significantly higher in CAPD patients than in healthy group. CD8 levels were significantly lower (P = 0. 000) while CD4/CD8 ratio was significantly higher (P = 0. 033) in CAPD patients than in healthy group. In CAPD patients, correlation analysis showed that dietary zinc intake was significantly correlated with serum prealbumin levels (r = 0. 577, P = 0. 000), but was negatively correlated with SGA score (r = - 0.354,P = 0. 015) and CRP (r = - 0.354, P = 0. 015); however, it was not significantly correlated with lymphocyte subsets and CD4/CD8 ratio. Serum zinc level was significantly positively correlated with hemoglobin (r= 0. 411, P=0.005), hematocrit (r=0.345, P=0.023), WBC (r=0.318, P=0.035), SGA score (r=0.417, P=0. 005), and CRP (r=0.342, P = 0. 027), but was not significantly correlated with lymphocyte subsets and CD4/CD8 ratio. Conclusions Zinc deficiency is common among patients with CAPD. Adequate dietary zinc intake can facilitate protein synthesis and improve the overall nutritional status. High serum zinc concentrations are beneficial for the synthesis of hemoglobin and the improvement of anemia.

Objective To compare the estimated CFR (eCFR) values using the new chronic kidney disease epidemiology collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation with those from the abbreviated MDRD equation in a Chinese cohort with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and to analyze the impact of the new CKD-EPI equation on the staging of CKD. Methods A total of 450 Chinese patients (239 female and 211 male) with CKD were enrolled. eCFRs obtained by the CKD-EPI equation and the abbreviated MDRD equation were compared with the Bland and Altaian method. The agreement between two equations in CKD staging was assessed by Kappa test. Results Mean eGFR was 2.4 ml ·(min)-1 ·( 1.73 m2)-1 higher with the CKD-EPI equation as compared to the abbreviated MDRD equation. The percentage of CKD staging concordance between equations for stage 1, 2, 3A, 3B, 4, and 5 was 97.10% (n=67), 80.77% (n=105), 6 0.86% (n= 48), 87.69%(n=57), 90.38% (n=47) and 98.18% (n=54) respectively. Kappa index was 0.913 (95%C/: 0.881-0.945). The CKD-EPI equation reclassified 19.23% (n=25) and 39.24% (n=31) of patients with CKD stage 2 and 3A,upward to a higher eCFR category. Conclusions The new CKD-EPI equation reclassifies a number of patients to higher CKD stages, especially those classified as CKD stage 2 or 3A by the abbreviated MDRD equation.

PURPOSE: The efficacy of helmet continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in hypoxemic acute respiratory failure (hARF) remains unclear. The aim of this meta-analysis was to critically review studies that investigated the effect of helmet CPAP on gas exchange, mortality, and intubation rate in comparison with standard oxygen therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) by searching the PubMed, Embase, Cochrane library, OVID, and CBM databases, and the bibliographies of the retrieved articles. Studies that enrolled adults with hARF who were treated with helmet CPAP and measured at least one of the following parameters were included: gas exchange, intubation rate, in-hospital mortality rate. RESULTS: Four studies with 377 subjects met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. Compared to the standard oxygen therapy, helmet CPAP significantly increased the PaO2/FiO2 [weighted mean difference (WMD)=73.40, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 43.92 to 102.87, p<0.00001], and decreased the arterial carbon dioxide levels (WMD=-1.92, 95% CI: -3.21 to -0.63, p=0.003), intubation rate [relative risk (RR)=0.21, 95% CI: 0.11 to 0.40, p<0.00001], and in-hospital mortality rate (RR=0.22, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.50, p=0.0004). CONCLUSION: The results of this meta-analysis suggest that helmet CPAP improves oxygenation and reduces mortality and intubation rates in hARF. However, the significant clinical and statistical heterogeneity of the literature implies that large RCTs are needed to determine the role of helmet CPAP in different hypoxemic ARF populations.
Acute Disease ; Adult ; *Continuous Positive Airway Pressure ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; *Oxygen Inhalation Therapy ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Respiratory Insufficiency/mortality/*therapy

Acute lung injury (ALI), as a common clinical emergency, is pulmonary edema and diffuse lung infiltration caused by inflammation. The lack of non-invasive alert strategy, resulting in failure to carry out preventive treatment, means high mortality and poor prognosis. Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a key molecular biomarker of innate immunity in response to inflammation, but there is still a lack of STING-targeted strategy. In this study, a novel STING-targeted PET tracer, [¹⁸F]FBTA, was labeled with high radiochemical yield (79.7 ± 4.3%) and molar activity (32.5 ± 2.9 GBq/μmol). We confirmed that [¹⁸F]FBTA has a strong STING binding affinity (K_d = 26.86 ± 6.79 nmol/L) and can be used for PET imaging in ALI mice to alert early lung inflammation and to assess the efficacy of drug therapy. Our STING-targeted strategy also reveals that [¹⁸F]FBTA can trace ALI before reaching the computed tomography (CT) diagnostic criteria, and demonstrates its better specificity and distribution than [¹⁸F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([¹⁸F]FDG).