Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of Da-Cheng-Qi Decoction on gut dysfunction in patients with severe acute pancreatitis (SAP). Methods Forty-eight SAP patients complicated with gut dysfunction were randomly divided into two groups according to the number of admission, which were treatment group and control group. The therapy in t reatment group was Da-Cheng-Qi Decoction infusion through gastric tube (one paste/day, b. i. d), however the therapy of control group was normal saline infusion through gastric tube (the amount was the same as the former, b. i. d), and other management in the two groups was similar. The first passage of gas by anus and defecation after treatment was observed. Serum amylase, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6 were examined before and one week after treatment;complications and mortality were compared between the two groups. Results The first passage of gas by anus and defecation in the treatment group was ( 12.3 ± 5.7 ) h and ( 24.8 ± 11.2 ) h, respectively, and shorter than ( 22. 1 ± 9.7 ) h and 46.2 ± 17.4) h of control group ( P <0.01) ;the numerical values of serum amylase, CRP, TNF-α and IL-6 one week after treatment were ( 120.3 ± 35.8 ) U/L, ( 10.8 ±2.0) ng/ml, (36.3 ± 5.8) U/L and (4.8 ± 1.0) U/L, which were significantly decreased when compared with the values before treatment, and these values were significantly lower than (267.2 ± 78.9 )U/L, ( 19.5 ± 2.7 ) ng/ml, (80.1 ± 9.0) U/L, ( 10.5 ± 1.2 ) U/L of the control group ( P < 0.05 ). The total complications and mortality of treatment group was 12.5% and 4.4%, respectively, which were significantly lower than those in the control group (37.5% and 25%, P <0.05). Conclusions Treatment with Da-Cheng-Qi Decoction in SAPpatients complicated with gut dysfunction was effective to reverse gut dysfunction and reduce total complications and mortality.

Objective To determine the level and clinical significance of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) and intestinal fatty acid binding protein (iFABP) in patients of severe acute pancreatitis (SAP) with intestinal dysfunction. Methods The serum and urine in 42 cases of SAP with intestinal dysfunction were collected at day 1, 3 and 7 after admission, respectively. The numbers of bowel sounds were recorded. 20 health subjects were selected as the control. Results The numbers of bowel sounds in health subjects were 5.6 ± 2.3/min. The numbers of bowel sounds in SAP patients at day 1,3 and 7 were 2.3 ± 0.7/min, 1.7 ± 0.2/min and 3.1 ± 1.1/min, respectively;which were significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.01). The level of 5-HT in the control group was(86.7 ± 9.5)ng/ml, while the levels of 5-HT in the SAP patients at day 1, 3 and 7 were (112.0 ± 17.8) ng/ml, (130.5 ± 19.7) ng/ml, (107.9 ± 16.3) ng/ml. The level of urine iFABP in the control group was (90.5 ± 19.8) pg/ml, while the levels of urine iFABP in the SAP patients were (1250.2 ± 425.3) pg/ml, (1586.9 ± 523.4) pg/ml, (1154.6 ± 394.0) pg/ml. The levels of 5-HT and urine iFABP in the SAP patients all were significantly higher than those in the control group (P <0.01). The levels of 5-HT and urine iFABP in the SAP patients at day 3 were significantly higher than those in the day 1 and day 7, while there was no significant difference between the two groups. Conclusions Determination of serum 5-HT and urine iFABP in patients with early SAP could effectively evaluate the intestinal function, and it may have potential clinical significance.

Objective To investigate the effect of Da-Cheng-Qi decoction on enteric functional disturbance in rats with acute experimental pancreatitis and its potential mechanism. Methods Seventy-two SD rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, acute pancreatitis (AP) group and Da-Cheng-Qi decoction treated group with 24 each. The AP model was induced by retrograde injection of sodium taurocholate (0.1 ml/100 g) into bitiopancreatic duet. Before modeling, the rats in treatment group received Da-Cheng-Qi decoction (2 g/100 g), and the rats in other two groups received 0.9% NaCl solution. The rats were sacrificed at 3, 6 and 12 hours with 8 each, and the blood samples were taken for detecting the level of amylase and the contents of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The colonic tissues 10 cm apart from trans-ligament incluing jejunum, terminal ileum and sigmoid colon were collected for examining the expressions of 5-HT_3 and 5-HT_4mRNA and proteins by RT-PCR and Western blotting respectively. Results ① The levels of serum amylase and 5-HT in AP group and treatment group were significantly higher than those in sham operation group (P<0. 01), but they were lower in treatment group than in AP group at each time points (P<0. 05). The level of 5-HT was increased in the initial stage and then decreased gradually both in AP group and treatment group. ③ The expressions of 5-HT_3 and 5-HT_4 mRNA and proteins were significantly decreased in the jejunum, terminal ileum and sigmoid colon in AP group compared with sham operation group (P<0. 01). Whereas the expressions of 5-HT_3 mRNA and protein,but not 5-HT_4, were increased in the treatment group in comparison with AP group (P<0.05). Conclusions The level of 5-HT is significantly increased in acute pancreatitis, but its receptors (5-HT_3 and 5-HT_4) are decreased, which may induce enteric functional disturbance. The Da-Cheng-Qi decoction may improve enteric dynamic failure by increasing the expression of 5-HT_4 and may be a choice for treatment of acute pancreatitis with enteric dynamic failure

Objective To investigate the limitation of quantitative measurement of cerebral blood flow (CBF) of normal white matter by using a single subtraction with thin-slice TI1 periodic saturation (Q2TIPS Ⅱ ) pulsed arterial spin labeling (PASL)technique. Methods Thirty-one patients with brain tumors were examined at 3.0 T MRI system . A second version of quantitative imaging of perfusion using a single subtraction with additional thin-section periodic saturation after inversion and a time delay (Q2TIPS) technique of pulsed arterial spin labeling in the multisection mode and T2* dynamic susceptibility-weighted contrast-enhanced (T2* DSC)MR imaging were both implemented. Cerebral blood flow map obtained from PASL and DSC were reviewed. The regions of interest( ROI )were placed in the region of normal white matter contralateral to the lesion in the proximal and distal slices. In regions of interest, the signal intensity (SI)was measured from the maps of cerebral blood flow map obtained from PASL and DSC. Pair-t test was performed to determine if there were significant signal differences between proximal and distal slices. Pearson linear correlation analysis of signal intensity was performed for values from the same slices of PASL-CBF and DSC-CBF maps. Results In the deep white matter of distal slice, PASL-CBF map showed perfusion deficit while DSC-CBF map showed low CBF in the corresponding brain area. With the increased inversion time,the PASL-CBF map showed obviously improved perfusion signal in deep white matter (but still some perfusion deficit)and slightly decreased perfusion signal in grey matter. The mean signal of normal white matter measured from distal slices of PASL-CBF maps was( -22.1 ±55.5) ml· 100 g-1 · min-1 while it was (89.5 ±45.5) ml. 100 g-1 · min-1 in proximal slices. There was a significant difference of signal intensity from PASL-CBF maps between distal and proximal slices ( t = - 9. 512, P ＜ 0. 01 ＝, while no difference of signal intensity between distal[ (62. 8 ± 29.9) ml · 100 g-1 · min-1] and proximal slices [(57. 1 ±29.6) ml · 100 g-1 · min-1 ]was obtained from DSC-CBF maps(t= -1.607,P＞0.05). There was no significant correlation between PASL-CBF and DSC-CBF in both distal ( r = 0. 093, P ＞ 0. 05 ) and proximal slices ( r = - 0. 234, P ＞ 0. 05). ConclusionsPASL has limitation in the accurate quantification of cerebral blood flow of normal white matter. The quantification of CBF was affected by the limitations of the technique itself and the different parameters chosen..

Objective:The investigation and research on the application status of Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient (HVPG) is very important to understand the real situation and future development of this technology in China.Methods:This study comprehensively investigated the basic situation of HVPG technology in China, including hospital distribution, hospital level, annual number of cases, catheters used, average cost, indications and existing problems.Results:According to the survey, there were 70 hospitals in China carrying out HVPG technology in 2021, distributed in 28 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central Government). A total of 4 398 cases of HVPG were performed in all the surveyed hospitals in 2021, of which 2 291 cases (52.1%) were tested by HVPG alone. The average cost of HVPG detection was (5 617.2±2 079.4) yuan. 96.3% of the teams completed HVPG detection with balloon method, and most of the teams used thrombectomy balloon catheter (80.3%).Conclusion:Through this investigation, the status of domestic clinical application of HVPG has been clarified, and it has been confirmed that many domestic medical institutions have mastered this technology, but it still needs to continue to promote and popularize HVPG technology in the future.