Objective To explore the facilitators and barriers of palliative care volunteering,and to provide references for further advancement of palliative care volunteering.Methods Purposeful sampling was used to select 12 volunteers from a palliative care ward in Hangzhou,Zhejiang Province,between April and September 2024.Semi-structured interviews were conducted,and directed content analysis was applied to organize and analyze the data,followed by theme analysis.Results Facilitators and barriers for volunteers' participation in palliative care volunteering were extracted.The 5 sub-themes of facilitators include motivating factors and perceived benefits,support and collaboration among volunteers,professional training and healthcare recognition,increased social awareness and public acceptance,and government support and institutional safeguards.The 5 sub-themes of barriers include limitations in individual capacity,challenges in collaboration with patients,families and healthcare workers,inadequate management and service mechanisms,uneven development of palliative care and insufficient public attention to psychological problems,and inadequate relevant laws and incentives.Conclusion There are more factors affecting the development of palliative care volunteering,and healthcare professionals should adopt targeted strategies to promote the active participation of volunteers in order to promote the sustainable development of palliative care volunteering.

In tracheal resection and reconstruction, a technically demanding, complex, and high-risk procedure, management of the anastomotic site significantly impacts postoperative outcomes and long-term quality of life. However, comprehensive studies detailing perioperative anastomotic management strategies in tracheal reconstruction remain scarce. This review summarizes perioperative management strategies for tracheal reconstruction, covering preoperative assessment, surgical techniques, and other key aspects. It also highlights future research directions and challenges, aiming to provide clinicians with a systematic guide to perioperative management in tracheal reconstruction.

Objective To explore the facilitators and barriers of palliative care volunteering,and to provide references for further advancement of palliative care volunteering.Methods Purposeful sampling was used to select 12 volunteers from a palliative care ward in Hangzhou,Zhejiang Province,between April and September 2024.Semi-structured interviews were conducted,and directed content analysis was applied to organize and analyze the data,followed by theme analysis.Results Facilitators and barriers for volunteers' participation in palliative care volunteering were extracted.The 5 sub-themes of facilitators include motivating factors and perceived benefits,support and collaboration among volunteers,professional training and healthcare recognition,increased social awareness and public acceptance,and government support and institutional safeguards.The 5 sub-themes of barriers include limitations in individual capacity,challenges in collaboration with patients,families and healthcare workers,inadequate management and service mechanisms,uneven development of palliative care and insufficient public attention to psychological problems,and inadequate relevant laws and incentives.Conclusion There are more factors affecting the development of palliative care volunteering,and healthcare professionals should adopt targeted strategies to promote the active participation of volunteers in order to promote the sustainable development of palliative care volunteering.

Objective To observe the incidence of pericardial tamponade(PT)after left atrial appendage closure(LAAC)in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation(NVAF),and to explore its related factors and outcomes.Methods NVAF patients who were hospitalized and treated with LAAC in Department of Cardiology of our hospital from August 2014 to March 2023 were selected for the study.The general clinical data,preoperative transthoracic echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography data,results of routine preoperative laboratory tests,intraoperative data and follow-up data of the patients were collected through the hospital medical record management system.The enrolled patients were classified into the non-PT group(n=8)and the PT group(n =1184)according to whether PT occurred after LAAC or not.The incidence of PT,related risk factors and outcomes were statistically analyzed.Results This study included 639 males(53.6%)and 553 females(46.4%),with an average age of 68.1±9.65 years.The CHA2 DS2-VASc score was 4.51±1.72,and the HAS-BLED score was 3.36±1.09.PT occurred in 8 cases(0.67%),among them,6 cases occurred 1 to 33 h after LAAC,and 2 cases occurred on day 19 and day 27 after LAAC.As for the results of transesophageal echocardiography(TEE)and LAA angiography,compared with the non-PT group,the PT group had the significantly larger maximum caliber of the LAA(P=0.025,P=0.015),smaller maximum depth of the LAA(P=0.028,P=0.031),and lower success rate of one-time placement of the occluder(P=0.031);The occluder compression rate of the PT group was significantly greater than that of the non-PT group(P=0.046).Multivariate analysis showed that larger maximum diameter of LAA,smaller average effective depth of LAA and larger compression rate of occluder were the main risk factors for PT.All the 8 PT patients were cured by stopping antithrombotic drugs,pericardiocentesis or surgical drainage.During a mean follow-up of 39±27 months,there were no device-related thrombosis(DRT),ischemic stroke,systemic embolism and other complications in the PT group.Conclusion The incidence of PT after LAAC is low,which is related to the large diameter of LAA,the relatively insufficient depth of the LAA and the large compression rate of the occlude.PT can be cured by stopping antithrombotic drugs and pericardiocentesis/surgical drainage.

As the search for effective treatments for COVID-19 continues, the high mortality rate among critically ill patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU) presents a profound challenge. This study explores the potential benefits of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a supplementary treatment for severe COVID-19. A total of 110 critically ill COVID-19 patients at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Vulcan Hill Hospital between Feb., 2020, and April, 2020 (Wuhan, China) participated in this observational study. All patients received standard supportive care protocols, with a subset of 81 also receiving TCM as an adjunct treatment. Clinical characteristics during the treatment period and the clinical outcome of each patient were closely monitored and analysed. Our findings indicated that the TCM group exhibited a significantly lower mortality rate compared with the non-TCM group (16 of 81 vs 24 of 29; 0.3 vs 2.3 person/month). In the adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, TCM treatment was associated with improved survival odds (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the analysis also revealed that TCM treatment could partially mitigate inflammatory responses, as evidenced by the reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and contribute to the recovery of multiple organic functions, thereby potentially increasing the survival rate of critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Critical Illness ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To explore the influence of gender on the prognosis of patients with atrial fibrillation(AF)undergoing left atrial appendage occlusion(LAAO).Methods All non-valvular AF patients who were admitted in our hospital and underwent LAAO from August 2014 to August 2021 were enrolled and grouped according to gender.Their general information,including gender,age,comorbid underlying diseases,and results of transthoracic echocardiography and transesophageal echocardiography(TEE)were collected.The incidences of device-related thrombosis(DRT),pericardial tamponade,stroke,bleeding,hospitalization for heart failure,and cardiac death were recorded during follow-up.The influence of gender on the prognosis of these patients was analyzed.Results There were totally 673 patients with non-valvular AF were enrolled,including 366 males and 307 females,at a mean age of 68.2±9.4 years.When compared with the male patients,the female ones had a higher CHA2DS2-VASc score(P＜0.01),but smaller proportions of history of stroke,average compression ratio of occluders,and incidence of residual shunt(＜3 mm)after occlusion(P＜0.05).In 45～60 d after surgery,TEE revealed that there were 17 cases of DRT,including 8 males(2.2％)and 9 females(2.9％),though without statistical difference between the groups.Among the 17 DRT cases,1 experienced stroke,and the incidence of stroke was 5.9％in those with DRT and 0.5％without.There were 4 cases of postoperative pericardial tamponade,including 1 in the male group and 3 in the female group(no significant difference),and all of them were improved after pericardial puncture and fluid extraction.During the follow-up period of 40.2±20.5 months,no obvious differences were observed between the 2 groups in terms of stroke,bleeding,hospitalization for heart failure,and cardiogenic death.Conclusion Gender shows no significant effect on the prognosis of patients with non-valvular AF after LAAO.

Objective:To predict suicidal behaviors in patients with bipolar disorder by constructing a machine learning model based on random forest and backpropagation neural network, and provide clinical decision support for the prevention and intervention of patient suicide.Methods:From January 2020 to August 2023, 1 005 patients with bipolar disorder were enrolled.The general clinical data and social dysfunction, anxiety, depression scores of all patients were collected.The random forest algorithm was applied for feature selection, and backpropagation neural network model was constructed for evaluating the model's fitting effect and predictive performance.Results:There were statistically significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics and physiological and psychological factors among the suicide attempt group ( n=293), suicide ideation group ( n=332) and non-suicidal group ( n=380) of patients with bipolar disorder( P<0.05).Using the random forest algorithm identified six main predictive variables: educational level, age, free triiodothyronine (FT3), cognitive impairment, hopelessness and psychogenic anxiety.The developed backpropagation neural network model achieved a precision rate of 79.3%, a recall rate of 79.6%, an F1 score of 79.4%, and an AUC of 0.89 on the test set, indicating that the model predictive performance has high accuracy and discriminative power. Conclusion:This study developed a machine learning model for predicting suicide in patients with bipolar disorder, which possesses high accuracy and discriminative ability, providing a decision-making basis for the prevention and intervention of suicidal behaviors in patients with bipolar disorder.

Objective:To predict suicidal behaviors in patients with bipolar disorder by constructing a machine learning model based on random forest and backpropagation neural network, and provide clinical decision support for the prevention and intervention of patient suicide.Methods:From January 2020 to August 2023, 1 005 patients with bipolar disorder were enrolled.The general clinical data and social dysfunction, anxiety, depression scores of all patients were collected.The random forest algorithm was applied for feature selection, and backpropagation neural network model was constructed for evaluating the model's fitting effect and predictive performance.Results:There were statistically significant differences in sociodemographic characteristics and physiological and psychological factors among the suicide attempt group ( n=293), suicide ideation group ( n=332) and non-suicidal group ( n=380) of patients with bipolar disorder( P<0.05).Using the random forest algorithm identified six main predictive variables: educational level, age, free triiodothyronine (FT3), cognitive impairment, hopelessness and psychogenic anxiety.The developed backpropagation neural network model achieved a precision rate of 79.3%, a recall rate of 79.6%, an F1 score of 79.4%, and an AUC of 0.89 on the test set, indicating that the model predictive performance has high accuracy and discriminative power. Conclusion:This study developed a machine learning model for predicting suicide in patients with bipolar disorder, which possesses high accuracy and discriminative ability, providing a decision-making basis for the prevention and intervention of suicidal behaviors in patients with bipolar disorder.

In order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of submucosal tunneling endoscopic resection (STER) for the treatment of multiple submucosal tumors (SMT) in the upper gastrointestinal tract, data of 24 cases with upper gastrointestinal SMT (including 56 SMT lesions) treated at Taizhou Municipal Hospital and Shanghai East Hospital from January 2016 to June 2021 were collected for retrospective observation. The treatment effect, occurrence of major adverse events and follow-up results were analyzed. The results showed that 19 cases (79.2%) underwent tumor resection through one tunnel, and 5 cases (20.8%) underwent tumor resection through two tunnels. The length of the tunnel was 3-12 cm, with an average of 6.2 cm. The surgical time ranged from 19 to 130 minutes, with an average of 55.6 minutes. The overall resection rate was 89.29% (50/56). The hospitalization time was 2-7 days, with an average of 3.5 days. Major adverse events occurred in 2 cases (8.3%), all of which were mucosal injuries, and were cured with titanium clips and self expanding metal sealing stents. During a follow-up period of 6-64 months, with an average of 32.0 months, there was no residual tumor, tumor implantation tunnel, local recurrence, distant metastasis or death. To sum up, STER is safe and feasible for the treatment of multiple SMT in the upper gastrointestinal tract. The main resection method is single tunnel, and double tunnel is required for multiple SMT far apart.