Objective:To investigate the association between serum uric acid trajectories and the risk of renal function decline and diabetic kidney disease(DKD) incidence in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods:This retrospective cohort study included 5 037 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus aged 60 years and above who underwent at least three health examinations between 2019 and 2023, with 2019 as the baseline. Latent growth mixture modeling(LGMM) was employed to identify distinct serum uric acid trajectories. Renal function changes and DKD incidence were followed from 2020 to 2023. Binary logistic regression models were used to assess the association between serum uric acid trajectories and the risks of renal function decline and DKD.Results:Two distinct serum uric acid trajectory groups were identified based on model selection criteria: A stable group( n=4 485, 89.04%) and an inverted U-shaped group( n=552, 10.96%). After adjusting for potential confounders, compared with the stable trajectory group, the inverted U-shaped group showed a significantly increased risk of estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR) <60 mL·min -1·(1.73 m 2) -1, ≥25% decline in eGFR, doubling of serum creatinine, and DKD events, with OR(95% CI) of 1.99(1.28-3.09), 2.27(1.65-3.13), 1.52(1.09-3.02), and 1.52(1.27-1.82), respectively(all P<0.05). In addition, multivariate analysis indicated that elevated baseline serum uric acid levels were also associated with an increased risk of adverse renal outcomes and DKD incidence; However, the magnitude of the associations was lower than that observed for serum uric acid trajectory groups. Conclusions:An inverted U-shaped serum uric acid trajectory is significantly associated with an increased risk of renal function progression and DKD in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. These findings highlight the importance of long-term dynamic monitoring of serum uric acid levels to facilitate early identification and intervention for high-risk individuals.

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis(TPP) is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication of thyrotoxicosis. TPP secondary to thyrotoxicosis factitia(TF) is exceptionally uncommon. Here, we report the case of a 31-year-old female who developed TF and subsequent TPP after taking laxatives containing unknown ingredients. The patient presented with acute onset of quadriplegia. Laboratory investigations revealed severe hypokalemia(serum potassium 1.47mmol/L), thyrotoxicosis[thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH)<0.005 mIU/L, free thyroxine(FT 4) 30.84 pmol/L, free triiodothyronine(FT 3) 7.71 pmol/L], and a decreased thyroglobulin level(3.08 ng/mL). The patient′s symptoms resolved rapidly following potassium supplementation, and thyroid function gradually normalized after discontinuation of the suspected medication. This case highlights the importance of considering TF in the differential diagnosis of TPP, particularly in patients with a history of unknown medication use. It also underscores the diagnostic value of thyroglobulin measurement in identifying TF and outlines clinical strategies for the management of TF-induced TPP.

Objective:To understand the epidemiological characteristics of injury deaths in local residents in Nanjing from 2009 to 2023, and provide evidence for the development of injury prevention and control strategies.Methods:The injury mortality data in Nanjing from 2009 to 2023 were analyzed based on the death cause surveillance system. In the recorded 33 542 injury death cases, 19 906 (59.35%) were men, and 13 636 (40.65%) were women. The crude mortality rate, age-standardized mortality rate, age-specific mortality rate, cause-eliminated life expectancy (CELE), potential gains in life expectancy (PGLEs) and life loss rate, were calculated. Joinpoint 5.0 software was used to estimate the average annual percentage change (AAPC) and its 95% CI to assess temporal trends of injury deaths. Results:In Nanjing, the crude injury mortality rate showed an upward trend (AAPC=2.11%), while the age-standardized mortality rate exhibited a downward trend (AAPC=-1.27%) from 2009 to 2023. The ranking of injury deaths in all causes of death declined from the 4 th in 2009 to the 6 th in 2023. The crude and age-standardized injury mortality rates in men were consistently higher than those in women. The primary cause of injury deaths was fall (31.42%). Drowning was the primary cause of injury deaths in age group 0-14 years (35.94%), while traffic accident was the primary cause in age group 15-64 years. For residents aged ≥65 years, fall was the primary cause of injury deaths. From 2009 to 2023, the CELE (AAPC=0.61%, 95% CI: 0.34%-0.89%, P<0.05) and the PGLEs (AAPC=1.73%, 95% CI: 0.21%-3.29%, P<0.05) showed increasing trends. The PGLEs and life loss rate due to injury were consistently higher in men than in women, but the AAPC of PGLEs and life loss rate was higher in women. Conclusions:From 2009 to 2023, the age-standardized injury mortality rate decreased, but the life loss due to injury deaths showed an upward trend in Nanjing, indicating that injury still has non-negligible negative impact on life expectancy.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) for pyogenic spinal infections.Methods:A total of 255 patients diagnosed with pyogenic spinal infections were enrolled between September 2022 and September 2024 at Qingdao University Affiliated Hospital, Fuzhou Second General Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Shandong University Affiliated Public Health Clinical Center, and the Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Among them, 155 were male and 100 were female, with an average age of 62.5±14.2 years (ranging from 13 to 90 years). All patients had samples of infected tissue and/or pus collected for microbial culture and mNGS testing. The number, types, and positive rates of pathogens detected by microbial culture and mNGS were compared. Using culture results as the gold standard, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed for mNGS testing and the combined method of mNGS and microbial culture, calculating the area under the curve (AUC) and 95% CI. Results:All 255 cases were clinically diagnosed as pyogenic spinal infections, with 194 cases providing microbiological evidence. The most common Gram-positive bacterium was Staphylococcus aureus, while the most common Gram-negative bacterium was Escherichia coli. A total of 33 pathogenic microorganisms were detected by mNGS, while microbial culture detected 18 pathogenic microorganisms. The positive rate of mNGS was 72.2% (184 out of 255), which was significantly higher than that of 30.2% (77 out of 255) for microbial culture, showing a significant difference (χ 2=90.150, P<0.001); the positive rate of mNGS combined with microbial culture was 76.1% (194 out of 255) with significant difference compared to mNGS alone (χ 2=8.100, P<0.001). Among 178 culture-negative samples, the detection rate of mNGS was 65.7% (117 out of 178); among 77 culture-positive samples, the detection rate of mNGS was 87.0% (67 out of 77), and 97.0% (65 out of 67) of the detected pathogens matched the culture results at the species level. The AUCs of the ROC curves for mNGS testing and the combination of mNGS with microbial culture were 0.606 [95% CI (0.534, 0.678)] and 0.671 [95% CI (0.606, 0.736)], respectively, with significant differences compared to microbial culture ( P=0.007; P=0.007). Conclusions:mNGS demonstrates superior performance over conventional culture in identifying pathogens in pyogenic spinal infections. Moreover, combining mNGS with culture further improves diagnostic yield, supporting its integration into clinical practice.

Stereotactic radiotherapy is widely favored because of its high treatment precision and less fractionations.ZND-A is a new domestic gamma-ray cone-beam focused stereotactic radiotherapy system.Herein the technical characteristics of ZND-A system are described in detail from the aspects of the treatment frame,gamma-ray module,collimator module,six-dimensional treatment couch module and image-guided system module,and the main parameters are compared with the mainstream gamma knife equipments at home and abroad.With reference to Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors(RECIST 1.1),the initial efficacy of the patients treated by the ZND-A system is analyzed to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of the ZND-A system for providing a reference for the hospital clinical use of this type of gamma knife.

Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis(TPP) is a rare but potentially life-threatening complication of thyrotoxicosis. TPP secondary to thyrotoxicosis factitia(TF) is exceptionally uncommon. Here, we report the case of a 31-year-old female who developed TF and subsequent TPP after taking laxatives containing unknown ingredients. The patient presented with acute onset of quadriplegia. Laboratory investigations revealed severe hypokalemia(serum potassium 1.47mmol/L), thyrotoxicosis[thyroid stimulating hormone(TSH)<0.005 mIU/L, free thyroxine(FT 4) 30.84 pmol/L, free triiodothyronine(FT 3) 7.71 pmol/L], and a decreased thyroglobulin level(3.08 ng/mL). The patient′s symptoms resolved rapidly following potassium supplementation, and thyroid function gradually normalized after discontinuation of the suspected medication. This case highlights the importance of considering TF in the differential diagnosis of TPP, particularly in patients with a history of unknown medication use. It also underscores the diagnostic value of thyroglobulin measurement in identifying TF and outlines clinical strategies for the management of TF-induced TPP.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) for pyogenic spinal infections.Methods:A total of 255 patients diagnosed with pyogenic spinal infections were enrolled between September 2022 and September 2024 at Qingdao University Affiliated Hospital, Fuzhou Second General Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Shandong University Affiliated Public Health Clinical Center, and the Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. Among them, 155 were male and 100 were female, with an average age of 62.5±14.2 years (ranging from 13 to 90 years). All patients had samples of infected tissue and/or pus collected for microbial culture and mNGS testing. The number, types, and positive rates of pathogens detected by microbial culture and mNGS were compared. Using culture results as the gold standard, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed for mNGS testing and the combined method of mNGS and microbial culture, calculating the area under the curve (AUC) and 95% CI. Results:All 255 cases were clinically diagnosed as pyogenic spinal infections, with 194 cases providing microbiological evidence. The most common Gram-positive bacterium was Staphylococcus aureus, while the most common Gram-negative bacterium was Escherichia coli. A total of 33 pathogenic microorganisms were detected by mNGS, while microbial culture detected 18 pathogenic microorganisms. The positive rate of mNGS was 72.2% (184 out of 255), which was significantly higher than that of 30.2% (77 out of 255) for microbial culture, showing a significant difference (χ 2=90.150, P<0.001); the positive rate of mNGS combined with microbial culture was 76.1% (194 out of 255) with significant difference compared to mNGS alone (χ 2=8.100, P<0.001). Among 178 culture-negative samples, the detection rate of mNGS was 65.7% (117 out of 178); among 77 culture-positive samples, the detection rate of mNGS was 87.0% (67 out of 77), and 97.0% (65 out of 67) of the detected pathogens matched the culture results at the species level. The AUCs of the ROC curves for mNGS testing and the combination of mNGS with microbial culture were 0.606 [95% CI (0.534, 0.678)] and 0.671 [95% CI (0.606, 0.736)], respectively, with significant differences compared to microbial culture ( P=0.007; P=0.007). Conclusions:mNGS demonstrates superior performance over conventional culture in identifying pathogens in pyogenic spinal infections. Moreover, combining mNGS with culture further improves diagnostic yield, supporting its integration into clinical practice.

Objective:To investigate the association between serum uric acid trajectories and the risk of renal function decline and diabetic kidney disease(DKD) incidence in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.Methods:This retrospective cohort study included 5 037 elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus aged 60 years and above who underwent at least three health examinations between 2019 and 2023, with 2019 as the baseline. Latent growth mixture modeling(LGMM) was employed to identify distinct serum uric acid trajectories. Renal function changes and DKD incidence were followed from 2020 to 2023. Binary logistic regression models were used to assess the association between serum uric acid trajectories and the risks of renal function decline and DKD.Results:Two distinct serum uric acid trajectory groups were identified based on model selection criteria: A stable group( n=4 485, 89.04%) and an inverted U-shaped group( n=552, 10.96%). After adjusting for potential confounders, compared with the stable trajectory group, the inverted U-shaped group showed a significantly increased risk of estimated glomerular filtration rate(eGFR) <60 mL·min -1·(1.73 m 2) -1, ≥25% decline in eGFR, doubling of serum creatinine, and DKD events, with OR(95% CI) of 1.99(1.28-3.09), 2.27(1.65-3.13), 1.52(1.09-3.02), and 1.52(1.27-1.82), respectively(all P<0.05). In addition, multivariate analysis indicated that elevated baseline serum uric acid levels were also associated with an increased risk of adverse renal outcomes and DKD incidence; However, the magnitude of the associations was lower than that observed for serum uric acid trajectory groups. Conclusions:An inverted U-shaped serum uric acid trajectory is significantly associated with an increased risk of renal function progression and DKD in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. These findings highlight the importance of long-term dynamic monitoring of serum uric acid levels to facilitate early identification and intervention for high-risk individuals.

Objective To investigate the prognostic value of perfusion MRI in elderly patients with posterior circulation cerebral ischemia after interventional therapy.Methods A prospective study was conducted on 200 patients with posterior circulation cerebral ischemia who received interven-tional therapy in our hospital from June 2021 to March 2024.According to the prognosis,they were divided into a good prognosis group(142 patients)and a poor prognosis group(58 patients).The detection rate of abnormal sequences and related parameters were compared between the two groups.ROC curve analysis was adopted to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of cerebral blood vo-lume(CBV),time to peak(TTP),mean transmit time(MTT)and cerebral blood flow(CBF)alone and combined together.Results The poor prognosis group had significantly higher abnor-mal detection rates than the good prognosis group(all P＜0.05).Obvious differences were observed between the two groups in terms of lesion location,stenosis rate,and CBF values in bilateral occipital lobes and cerebelli(all P＜0.01).The good prognosis group exhibited higher CBV and CBF values and lower TTP and MTT values than the poor prognosis group(P＜0.01).The above four values combined together showed better diagnostic efficiency than any single va-lues and obtained biggest AUC value,and the cut-off value of CBV,TTP,MTT,and CBF was 751.23 ml,21.03 s,590.55 s,and 257.88 ml/(100 g·min),respectively.Conclusion The com-bined diagnosis of perfusion MRI indicators can significantly improve the prognostic efficiency after interventional therapy in elderly patients with posterior circulation cerebral ischemia.

Objective:To investigate the predictive value of preoperative coagulation function and inflammation response biomarkers for postoperative recurrence of non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients.Methods:The clinical data of 390 NMIBC patients underwent surgical treatment from May 2014 to May 2021 in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University were retrospectively analyzed. The baseline characteristics coagulation function, inflammation response indexes and tumor characteristics were recorded. The baseline characteristics included gender, age and smoking history; the coagulation function included prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fibrinogen (FIB) and D-dimer; the inflammation response indexes included neutrophil count, lymphocyte count, platelet count and monocyte count, and the systemic inflammatory response index (SIRI) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) were calculated; tumor characteristics included TNM stage, pathological grade, tumor length, tumor amount and postoperative instillation drugs. The patients were followed up until May 2022, with recurrence records and grouping. The "pROC" package was used to draw the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and calculate the optimal cutoff values of biomarkers. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was used to analyze the independent risk factors of recurrence in patients with NMIBC (variables were selected with P<0.1). The nomogram and its calibration curve were drawn by the "survival" and "rms" packages, and the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated with the "pROC" package for assessing the predictive ability of the model. The "caret" package was used for ten-fold cross-validation to evaluate the external applicability of the nomogram. Results:The ROC curve analysis result showed that the optimal cutoff values of PT, APTT, FIB, D-dimer, SIRI and SII were 11.95 s, 17.65 s, 0.233 mg/L, 565 ng/L, 0.62 and 291.5, respectively. The 390 patients with NMIBC were followed up 29 to 71 months, with a median follow-up time of 49 months. Among them, 113 patients experienced postoperative recurrence (recurrence group), and the recurrence rate was 29.0%; while 277 patients did not experience recurrence (non-recurrence group). The rate of FIB≥0.233 mg/L, D-dimmer ≥565 ng/L, SIRI≥0.62 and SII≥291.5, T 1 stage, high-grade tumor, tumor length ≥2.3 cm and multiple tumor in recurrence group were significantly higher than those in non-recurrence group: 90.3% (102/113) vs. 71.5% (198/277), 33.6% (38/113) vs. 23.5% (65/277), 74.3% (84/113) vs. 56.7% (157/277), 84.1% (95/113) vs. 60.6% (168/277), 77.9% (88/113) vs. 38.6% (107/277), 25.7% (29/113) vs. 8.3% (23/277), 49.6% (56/113) vs. 32.1% (89/277) and 41.6% (47/113) vs. 19.9% (55/277), and there were statistical differences ( P<0.01 or <0.05); there were no statistical differences in gender ratio, age, smoking history, PT, APTT and postoperative instillation drugs between the two groups ( P>0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis result showed that FIB≥0.233 mg/L, SII≥291.5, T 1 stage, high pathological grade, tumor length≥2.3 cm and multiple tumor were independent risk factors of postoperative recurrence in patients with NMIBC ( HR = 2.186, 1.627, 3.182, 1.675, 1.775 and 2.052; 95% CI 1.149 to 4.159, 0.913 to 2.902, 1.988 to 5.095, 1.067 to 2.630, 1.208 to 2.608 and 1.388 to 3.033; P<0.1). A nomogram model was constructed to predict postoperative 1-, 3- and 5-year non-recurrence based on FIB, SII, T stage, tumor length, pathological grade and tumor amount. The calibration curve analysis result showed that the nomogram model predicted good consistency between the postoperative 1-, 3-, 5-year non-recurrence rates and the actual incidence rate in patients with NMIBC. ROC curve analysis result showed that the AUC of the nomogram model for predicting postoperative 1-, 3- and 5-year non-recurrence in patients with NMIBC were 0.746, 0.789 and 0.835 (95% CI 0.695 to 0.832, 0.703 to 0.875 and 0.756 to 0.915). The ten-fold cross-validation result showed that the nomogram model had good external applicability for predicting postoperative 1-, 3- and 5-year non-recurrence in patients with NMIBC, with AUC of 0.754, 0.781 and 0.832 (95% CI 0.689 to 0.817, 0.724 to 0.832 and 0.778 to 0.879). Conclusions:The nomogram model based on FIB, SII, T stage, tumor length, pathological grade and tumor amount can accurately predict the postoperative 1-, 3- and 5-year recurrence risks in patients with NMIBC. The model helps clinical doctors early identify high-risk recurrent NMIBC patients, and provides reference for the development of individualized treatment plans.