Objective To analyze the clinical efficacy of self-made Bitong decoction(SBD)combined with etoricoxib tablets(ET)in lumbar disc herniation(LDH)patients with cold-dampness syndrome(CDS).Methods The clinical data of LDH patients attending Lishui Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine affiliated to Zhejiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2023 to January 2024 were retrospectively analyzed and divided into the ET group and the ET+SBD group according to the treatment plans.The main observed indicators of this study were quality of life[Oswestry Dysfunction Index(ODI)]and pain level[Visual Analog Scale(VAS)],functional status[Modified Japanese Orthopedic Association,M-JOA)scale],treatment response rate,TCM syndrome score and inflammatory factors(IL-1β,TNF-α,and IL-6)after 4 weeks of treatment.The occurrence of adverse reactions during the medication period was recorded to evaluate the safty.Results A total of 86 patients were included in the study,40 in the ET group and 46 in the ET+SBD group.After treatment,the ODI score,VAS score,M-JOA score,TCM syndrome score,IL-1 β,TNF-α and IL-6 levels were significantly lower in the ET+SBD group than those in the ET group,and the treatment efficiency was higher than that in the ET group(P＜0.05).In addition,there was no statistically significant difference between the incidence of adverse events in the ET+SBD group and the ET group(P＞0.05).Conclusion SBD combined with ET can significantly improve the quality of life,pain degree and functional status of LDH patients,and improve the treatment effect,which is closely related to the anti-inflammatory and analgesic effect of SBD.

Objective: To determine the level of Soluble Suppression of Tumorigenicity-2 (sST2) in patients with heart failure(HF) and atrial fibrillation (AF), and to explore its diagnostic and prognostic value in patients with HF and AF. Methods: A prospective cohort study was carried out to investigate the data of 185 HF patients who were hospitalized between January 2018 and June 2018 in department of cardiology or department of cardiac care unit in TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital. And according to whether they had atrial fibrillation before admission, we categorized patients into: HF with sinus rhythm (HF-SR, n=90) and HF with AF(HF-AF, n=95). Meanwhile, 40 healthy controls were collected. Baseline data of HF-SR and HF-AF groups and plasma sST2 levels in different ejection fraction groups were compared. Plasma sST2 level was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA). Statistical methods such as nonparametric test and Spearman correlation analysis were used. The receiver operating characteristic curve was applied to evaluate the diagnostic value of sST2 in HF-SR and HF-AF groups. And by using the COX risk model, Multi-factor COX analysis was used to analyze the prognosis of patients. Results: Compared with healthy controls, the median (P₂₅, P₇₅) of Plasma sST2 levels in HF patients increased remarkably [32.93 (20.31-51.39) ng/mL vs 15.99(7.97-22.69) ng/mL, Z=-4.373, P<0.001]. Patients with HF-AF group had significantly higher test results [39.86 (27.20-59.21)] ng/mL than HF-SR group [24.74 (14.83-44.11)] ng/mL, Z=-6.783, P<0.001].In the HFmrEF and HFpEF subgroups, the plasma sST2 level of patients in the HF-AF group was higher than that in the HF-SR group (Z=-2.381, P=0.017; Z=-3.701, P<0.001).Spearman correlation analysis showed that, in HF-AF patients, plasma sST2 level was positively correlated with diastolic blood pressure, Hypertension, New York Association (NYHA) cardiac function classification Ⅲ to Ⅳ, white blood count(WBC), and the level of Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Υ-glutamine transaminase (Υ-GT), B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) (r>0, P<0.05).Also, there is a negative correlation between sST2, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) and estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) (r<0, P<0.05). At ROC analysis, sST2 showed predictive value in both HF-AF and HF-SR group, with an optimal cut-off value of 25.33 ng/mL(AUC 0.872, 95%CI: 0.805-0.935, P<0.001, sensitivity 81.1%, specificity 87.5%) and 23.34 ng/mL(AUC 0.665, 95%CI: 0.570-0.761, P<0.001, sensitivity 55.6%, specificity 77.5%).The AUC of BNP and sST2 in differential diagnosis of HF-SR and HF-AF was 0.604 and 0.699, respectively, and the AUC of sST2 was higher than that of BNP. Multi-factor COX analysis indicated that plasma sST2 level, BNP, NYHA cardiac function grading could be risk factors for cardiac events in HF patients. Plasma sST2, left atrial diameter (LA-D), and associated cardiomyopathy are risk factors for cardiac events in patients with HF-AF. The incidence of cardiac events in HF patients with sST2≥20.31 ng/mL was significantly higher than that of patients with sST2<20.31 ng/mL (χ²=7.625, P=0.006). The incidence of cardiac events in HF-AF patients with plasma sST2≥39.86 ng/mL was significantly higher than that in patients with sST2<39.86 ng/mL (χ²=4.287, P=0.038). Conclusions The plasma sST2 level in patients with HF-AF is significantly higher than that both in HF-SR and healthy controls. The diagnostic value of plasma sST2 in patients with HF-AF is higher than that in patients with HF-SR. It is suggested that sST2 are more valuable for the differential diagnosis of HF-SR, HF-AF than BNP. HF-AF Patients with plasma sST2 ≥ 39.86 ng/mL are prone to cardiovascular events.