BACKGROUND: The STAR (Scientific, Transparent, and Applicable Rankings) working group conducts regular evaluations of Chinese guidelines and consensus statements. This study gathered insights from STAR working group members using qualitative interviews. METHODS: From March to August 2023, members of the STAR specialist committees were interviewed using semi-structured interview outline. The interviewees were selected through purpose-based sampling. Subject analysis was employed to summarize the findings. RESULTS: We conducted interviews with 37 members from 36 committees and summarized the contents into four main themes and 16 specific topics. The value of STAR in enhancing the development and selection of high-quality guidelines in China was commonly mentioned. Challenges identified included the lack of resources and suboptimal organizational structures, collaboration, and evaluation efficiency. Suggestions for the STAR tool included developing extensions for different guideline types, adjusting certain items, and better covering guideline applicability. The promotion of STAR and the consideration of an international committee for global outreach were also highlighted. CONCLUSION STAR has exerted a substantial influence on the evaluation of Chinese guidelines, and the insights gained from interviews offer valuable directions for its further enhancement.
Humans ; China ; Qualitative Research ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Interviews as Topic

Objective To investigate the effect of T cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains (TIGIT) on the function of CD8⁺ T cells in the lungs of Plasmodium infected mice. Methods The lungs of the mice infected with Plasmodium yoelii were isolated, weighed and photographed after 12 days' infection. After dissolution, lung lymphocytes were isolated, counted and stained, and then the contents of CD8⁺ and TIGIT⁺CD8⁺ T cells were detected by flow cytometry. The expressions of L selectin (CD62L), CD69, programmed death 1 (PD-1), CD25, and C-X3-C motif chemokine receptor 1 (CX3CR1) on TIGIT⁺CD8⁺ T cells were detected by flow cytometry. After stimulation with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and ionomycin, the ability of TIGIT⁺CD8⁺T cells to secrete interferon γ(IFN-γ), interleukin 21 (IL-21), IL-4, IL-17, and IL-10 was detected. Results The body mass of mice with Plasmodium infection was reduced. The lungs became darker, and the ratio of the lung mass to body mass was significantly increased. Compared with the normal mice, the percentages and absolute quantity of CD8⁺ and TIGIT⁺CD8⁺ T cells in the lungs of the infected mice were significantly increased. The percentage of TIGIT⁺CD8⁺ T cells expressing CD62L in the infected group was significantly lower, while the percentage of the CD69, PD-1, and CX3CR1 cells were significantly higher than that of TIGIT⁺CD8⁺ T cells from the normal mice. The percentages of TIGIT⁺CD8⁺ T cells secreting IL-21, IL-4, IL-17 and IL-10 cells in the infected group were significantly lower. Conclusion The lung lesions from mice with Plasmodium infection are obvious, the numbers of TIGIT⁺CD8⁺ T cells increase, and these cells express a variety of activation-related molecules, but the ability to secrete cytokines is reduced.
Animals ; Mice ; CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Cytokines/metabolism* ; Interferon-gamma/metabolism* ; Interleukin-10/metabolism* ; Interleukin-17/metabolism* ; Interleukin-4/metabolism* ; Lung/metabolism* ; Malaria/metabolism* ; Plasmodium yoelii/metabolism* ; Programmed Cell Death 1 Receptor/metabolism*

Objective    To investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of using ultrasound to evaluate the internal mammary artery (IMA) and explore the related factors affecting the quality of IMA. Methods    From July 2020 to January 2021, for patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Fuwai Hospital, ultrasound was applied to measure bilateral IMA at the parasternal second intercostal space. There were 62 males and 18 females with an average age of 59.9±8.3 years. The clinical data of the patients were recorded and analyzed. Results    A total of 160 IMA were measured. The IMA was detected in 99.4% (159/160), and the one that was not measured was proved to be occluded by enhanced CT. A total of 157 (98.1%) IMA intima were smooth, 2 (1.3%) were found to have uneven intimal thickening and less smooth, and only 1 (0.6%) was occluded. The intravascular diameter, peak systolic flow rate, peak diastolic flow rate, and blood flow rate of the left second intercostal IMA were 1.9±0.3 mm, 66.8±17.7 cm/s, 6.4 (0.0, 9.7) cm/s, 19.7±9.4 mL/min; and those of the right one were 2.1±0.3 mm, 69.7±18.5 cm/s, 6.0 (0.0, 9.2) cm/s and 22.8±11.5 mL/min, respectively. IMA vessel diameter and blood flow were greater on the right than those on the left side in the same individual (P<0.01). In univariate analysis, sex and body surface area were the factors that influenced the size of the IMA vessel among different individuals, and by linear regression analysis, the size of the IMA vessel was only related to body surface area among different individuals. On univariate analysis, diabetes mellitus was the only factor affecting IMA blood flow, with a mean reduction in blood flow of 18.4% (left) and 21.7% (right) in the diabetic group (P<0.05). Conclusion    Preoperative evaluation of the IMA using ultrasound over the parasternal second intercostal space is easy, noninvasive, and has a high success rate. The internal diameter of the IMA is positively correlated with body surface area, and blood flow is significantly reduced in patients with diabetes.

Most hospitalized patients infected with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are in severe or critical condition, and malnutrition is a key factor contributing to adverse outcomes. The basic principles of medical nutrition therapy have been determined in the recently released tenth edition of the National Diagnosis and Treatment Protocol. The principles have promoted nutritional risk assessment, emphasized the preferred method of enteral nutrition, and recommended the daily intake of calories at 25 to 30 kcal/kg and protein at > 1.2g/kg. Parenteral nutrition should be also added when necessary. Based on the above principles, Beijing Hospital has refined the medical nutrition therapy measures to facilitate the implementation in clinical practice, in order to improve healthcare quality and decrease the mortality in COVID-19 patients.

Sarcopenia is an age-related syndrome with progressive, generalized loss of muscle mass, strength, and physiological function. Low muscle mass is an important diagnostic criterion for sarcopenia. Ultrasound is safe, convenient and cost-effective, with extensive availability. It's a promising diagnostic tool for muscle mass assessment and sarcopenia screening in the elderly population. This review focuses on the specific methods and latest research progress on ultrasound assessment of sarcopenia.

Objective:To analyze the correlation between nutritional status and frailty and sarcopenia in geriatric inpatients (GIPs) planning to receive major hepatopancreatobiliary (HPB) surgery.Methods:From December, 2020 to September, 2022, GIPs who were planning to receive major HPB surgery were recruited. Nutritional assessment was performed using nutritional risk screening 2002 (NRS-2002) and Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) criteria. Frailty and sarcopenia assessment were performed using Fried frailty phenotype (FFP) and Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia (AWGS) 2019 consensus on sarcopenia diagnosis and treatment. The prevalence and concurrence of malnutrition, frailty and sarcopenia were investigated, and the correlation between nutritional status and frailty and sarcopenia was analyzed.Results:A total of 144 participants at the mean age of (70.10±7.44) years were included. The prevalence of nutritional risk, malnutrition, and severe malnutrition were 73.6% ( n ?=?106), 68.1% ( n ?=?98), and 34.7% ( n ?=?50) respectively. The prevalence of frailty was 20.8% ( n ?=?30) and that of sarcopenia was 35.4% ( n ?=?51). The prevalence of severe malnutrition increased significantly in older participants and the prevalence of nutritional risk, malnutrition and severe malnutrition decreased significantly with higher BMI. The prevalence was 35.4% (51/144) for concurrent sarcopenia and malnutrition, 19.4% (28/144) for frailty and malnutrition, 14.6% (21/144) for sarcopenia and weakness, and 14.6% (21/144) for sarcopenia, malnutrition, and weakness. There was a positive correlation between nutritional risk and frailty ( r = 0.603, P < 0.001). The risk of pre-frailty and frailty in the nutritional risk group was higher than that in the non-nutritional risk group ( χ 2 = 31.830, P < 0.001). The risk of pre-frailty and frailty in the malnutrition group was higher than that in the normal nutrition group ( χ 2 = 36.727, P < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of frailty in patients with severe malnutrition was 12.303 times higher than that in patients with normal nutrition status (95% CI: 2.592 to 58.409, P = 0.002). The risk of sarcopenia in the nutritional risk group was higher than that in the non-nutritional risk group ( χ 2 = 13.982, P < 0.001). The risk of sarcopenia in the malnutrition group was higher than that in the normal nutrition group ( χ 2 = 37.066, P < 0.001). Conclusions:The prevalence and concurrence rate of malnutrition, frailty, and sarcopenia are high in GIPs undergoing major HPB surgery. GIPs with malnutrition are susceptible to frailty.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to develop a comprehensive instrument for evaluating and ranking clinical practice guidelines, named Scientific, Transparent and Applicable Rankings tool (STAR), and test its reliability, validity, and usability. METHODS: This study set up a multidisciplinary working group including guideline methodologists, statisticians, journal editors, clinicians, and other experts. Scoping review, Delphi methods, and hierarchical analysis were used to develop the STAR tool. We evaluated the instrument's intrinsic and interrater reliability, content and criterion validity, and usability. RESULTS: STAR contained 39 items grouped into 11 domains. The mean intrinsic reliability of the domains, indicated by Cronbach's α coefficient, was 0.588 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.414, 0.762). Interrater reliability as assessed with Cohen's kappa coefficient was 0.774 (95% CI: 0.740, 0.807) for methodological evaluators and 0.618 (95% CI: 0.587, 0.648) for clinical evaluators. The overall content validity index was 0.905. Pearson's r correlation for criterion validity was 0.885 (95% CI: 0.804, 0.932). The mean usability score of the items was 4.6 and the median time spent to evaluate each guideline was 20 min. CONCLUSION The instrument performed well in terms of reliability, validity, and efficiency, and can be used for comprehensively evaluating and ranking guidelines.
Reproducibility of Results ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Humans

Objective:To identify the effects of Xuefu Zhuyu Capsule (XZC) on the surgical treatment of patients with chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH).Methods:Retrospectively collected 96 pairs of patients who undergoing burr-hole craniotomy (BHC) for CSDH from January 2016 to December 2019 in Dalian Municipal Central Hospital. Clinical characteristics and imaging information of each patient were extracted, the follow-up period was six months. Differences in demographics and postoperative outcomes were compared between BHC+XZC group and BHC only group. Univariate analysis and multivariate analysis with Logistic regression model were performed to determine independent associations among the various probable effective factor. The relationship between related factors and effectiveness of CSDH was estimated with odds ratio ( OR) and 95% CI. Results:Effectiveness in 87 cases (90.6%) patients with surgery and received XZC postoperatively was significantly higher than 76 cases (79.2%) patients who underwent surgery alone. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed postoperative administration of XZC and preoperative Glasgow coma scale (GCS) score were independent protective factors for CSDH to improve therapeutic effect.Conclusions:This study suggested postoperative administration of XZC for CSDH patients can improve the therapeutic effect, a higher preoperative GCS score is contributed to the postoperative effect.

Backgrounds::GALLIUM is a global phase III study that demonstrated significant improvements in progression-free survival (PFS) for obinutuzumab plus chemotherapy (G-chemo) vs. rituximab plus chemotherapy (R-chemo) in previously untreated patients with follicular lymphoma (FL). This study aimed to report the results of a subgroup of patients in China. Methods::Patients were randomized to G-chemo or R-chemo. Responders received maintenance therapy for 2 years or until disease progression. The primary endpoint was investigator (INV)-assessed PFS. Secondary endpoints included the overall response rate (ORR) and complete response rate (CRR) at the end of induction chemotherapy, overall survival (OS), and safety.Results::Overall, 58 patients with FL were randomized to the G-chemo ( n = 25) and R-chemo arms ( n = 33). The INV-assessed PFS rate at 3 years was 81.8% in the G-chemo arm, vs. 70.2% in the R-chemo arm (hazard ratio 0.35; 95% confidence interval: 0.09-1.34; P = 0.1120). The INV-assessed CRRs (without positron emission tomography [PET]) in these arms were 24.0% and 21.2%, respectively, whereas the ORRs were 80.0% and 90.9%, respectively. INV-assessed CRR-PET was 52.6% in the G-chemo, vs. 60.9% in the R-chemo. Median OS was not reached in either arm. Grade 3 to 5 adverse events were more frequent in the R-chemo arm (97.0% vs. 88.0%). Conclusions::The results of this subgroup analysis were consistent with those of the global population, and they suggest that G-chemo has a positive benefit-risk profile in patients from China with FL.Trial registration::ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT01332968.