OBJECTIVES: With the accelerating aging of the population and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, the number of patients with pressure injuries (PIs) has increased markedly, prolonging the period of disease-related care. Informal caregivers play a critical role in the daily care of patients with pressure injuries, and their care burden has become increasingly prominent. This study aims to investigate the current status and influencing factors of care burden among informal caregivers of patients with PIs, providing evidence for targeted intervention strategies. METHODS: A total of 170 informal caregivers of patients with PIs were selected by convenience sampling from the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University. General demographic and clinical data of both patients and caregivers were collected. The Zarit Caregiver Burden Inventory (ZBI), Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Scale for Informal Caregivers of Patients with PIs, General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES), and Family Caregiver Task Inventory (FCTI) were used to assess caregiving burden, knowledge-attitude-practice level, self-efficacy, and caregiving ability, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to evaluate relationships among ZBI, Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Scale for Informal Caregivers of Patients with PIs, GSES, and FCTI scores. Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was used to identify factors influencing caregiving. RESULTS: Among the 170 patients with pressure injuries, the age was (65.52±15.88) years; 118 (69.41%) were male and 52 (30.59%) were female. The duration of PIs was less than 1 month in 108 (63.53%) cases and 1 to 6 months in 40 cases (23.53%). Stage II injuries were predominant (135 cases, 79.41%). A total of 193 pressure injury sites were recorded, most commonly located at the sacrococcygeal region (127 sites, 65.80%), followed by the head (3 sites, 1.55%), shoulder and back (9 sites, 4.66%), feet (24 sites, 12.44%), and other regions (30 sites, 15.55%). Informal caregivers were 48.82% aged 46 to 59 years, 54.71% female, 41.77% primarily spouses and 47.06% children of the patients, and 77.06% lived with the patients. Caregivers who received assistance from others or had higher family per-capita monthly income reported significantly lower caregiver burden scores than those without assistance or with lower income (all P<0.001). The total ZBI score was 50.89±14.95, indicating a moderate burden. The total scores of the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Scale for Informal Caregivers, GSES, and FCTI were 50.61±7.22, 26.03±7.11, and 14.76±8.70, respectively. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that ZBI scores were correlated with scores on the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Scale for Informal Caregivers of Patients with PIs (r=-0.543, P<0.001), GSES scores (r=-0.545, P<0.001), and FCTI scores (r=0.800, P<0.001). The scores on Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Scale for Informal Caregivers of patients with PIs were correlated with GSES scores (r=0.500, P<0.001) and FCTI scores (r=-0.461, P<0.001); GSES scores was negatively correlated with FCTI scores (r=-0.415, P<0.001). Stepwise multiple linear regression analysis showed that assistance availability, family per-capita monthly income, total scores on the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Scale for Informal Caregivers of Patients with PIs, total GSES score, and total FCTI score were the main influencing factors of caregiver burden, jointly explaining 79.38% of its variance. CONCLUSIONS The main factors influencing the caregiving burden of informal caregivers of patients with PIs include the availability of assistance, family per-capita monthly income, total score on the Knowledge-Attitude-Practice Scale for Informal Caregivers of PI patients, total score on the GSES, and total score on the FCTI. Developing targeted intervention strategies addressing these factors may help alleviate the caregiving burden among informal caregivers of patients with PIs.
Humans ; Caregivers/psychology* ; Pressure Ulcer/nursing* ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Cost of Illness ; Adult ; Aged ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Self Efficacy ; Caregiver Burden ; China

OBJECTIVE To observe the therapeutic effect of Xuanfei Zhisou Mixture combined with ceftriaxone so-dium in treating post-infectious cough with wind-evil invading lung syndrome and its effect on Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)/nuclear factor-KB(NF-κB)signaling pathway.METHODS The clinical data of 100 patients with post-in-fectious cough admitted to Wuhan Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from Dec.2021 to Dec.2022 were retrospectively analyzed.According to different therapeutic schemes,the patients were di-vided into two groups:48 cases in the single-drug group and 52 cases in the combined group.The single-drug group was treated with ceftriaxone sodium,while the combined group was treated with Xuanfei Zhisou Mixture com-bined with ceftriaxone sodium.The total effective rate,traditional chinese medicine(TCM)symptom score,leicester cough quality of life questionnaire(LCQ),serum levels of inflammatory factors[tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6),and inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)]and TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway expression were analysed to evaluate the therapeutic effect.RESULTS After treatment,the total effective rate of the combined group was higher than that of the single-drug group(94.23％vs.77.08％,x2=6.096,P=0.014);meanwhile,compared to the single-drug group,the TCM symptom score,TNF-α,IL-6,iNOS,TLR4,NF-κB levels,TLR4 protein and NF-κB protein expression in the combined group were significantly decreased(P＜0.05),and the LCQ score was significantly increased(P＜0.05).CONCLUSIONS Xuanfei Zhisou Mixture com-bined with ceftriaxone sodium has an obvious effect in treating post-infectious cough with wind-evil invading lung syndrome.They can effectively improve the cough symptoms and quality of life of patients and reduce the produc-tion of inflammatory factors by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Objective To explore the predictive value of inflammatory burden index(IBI)combined with pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A(PAPP-A)for asymptomatic missed abortion.Methods A total of 108 asymptomatic women with missed abortions admitted to Northwest Women's and Children's Hospital from January 2020 to January 2023 were selected as the study group,and another 100 healthy pregnant women who were examined in the hospital during the same period were selected as the control group.The levels of C-reac-tive protein,neutrophils,lymphocytes,and PAPP-A of all research subjects were detected,and IBI was calcu-lated.The receiver operating characteristic curve was plotted to analyze the predictive value of IBI combined with PAPP-A for asymptomatic isolated abortion,and to explore the influencing factors of asymptomatic iso-lated abortion.Results The IBI of the study group was higher than that of the control group,and the PAPP-A was lower than that of the control group,the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).The area under the curve(AUC)of the combined prediction of asymptomatic missed abortion by IBI and PAPP-A was higher than AUC predicted by IBI and PAPP-A alone(Z=9.251,10.030,P<0.001).There were statistically significant differences in the proportions of smoking history,drinking history,intrauterine operation history and reproductive tract infection between the study group and the control group(P<0.05).The results of multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that smoking history,drinking history,intrauterine operation history,reproductive tract infection,and IBI were risk factors for asymptomatic missed abortion,while PAPP-A was a protective factor for asymptomatic missed abortion(P<0.05).Conclusion IBI combined with PAPP-A has certain clinical value in predicting asymptomatic missed abortion.

Objective:To establish ferroptosis-related risk characteristics, to evaluate the prognostic correlation of ferroptosis-related genes in hepatocellular carcinoma, and to explore the complex relationship between hepatocellular carcinoma, ferroptosis and immune microenvironment.Methods:The bioinformatics analysis involved obtaining ferroptosis-related differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the GeneCards database and the cancer genome atlas database. The biological functions of ferroptosis-related DEGs were analyzed using gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway enrichment. Ferroptosis-related DEGs clusters were identified using univariate Cox regression analysis and cluster analysis, etc. The correlation between ferroptosis-related DEGs clusters and tumor immune microenvironment and tumor occurrence score was evaluated using immunopanoramic analysis and tumor-related score analysis. Based on ferroptosis-related characteristics, a ferroptosis-related characteristic spectrum and nomogram were constructed using multivariate Cox regression and correlation analysis, etc. The correlation between the risk characteristics and tumor immune microenvironment, tumor occurrence score and gene mutation were evaluated using immune panoramic analysis, tumor-related score analysis and gene mutation analysis. In the experimental verification stage, the mRNA expression levels of aurora kinase A ( Aurka), acetyl-CoA carboxylase alpha ( Acaca) and arrestin domain containing 3 ( Arrdc3) in mouse primary hepatocytes and mouse hepatoma Hepa1-6 cells were verified by real-time reverse transcription-PCR (RT-qPCR). The mRNA expression levels of AURKA, ACACA and ARRDC3 in adjacent normal tissues and tumor tissues of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma were verified by RT-qPCR. A heat map was used to show the correlation between clustering and clinical parameters, and this was analyzed using a chi-square test. Significance analysis was performed using a two-sided unpaired t test. Results:A total of 35 up-regulated genes and 19 down-regulated genes were identified. These genes were mainly involved in biological processes and signaling pathways related to ferroptosis, oxidative stress and fatty acid metabolism. A total of 14 ferroptosis-related DEGs were identified to be associated with prognosis. The clusterring effect was best when hepatocellular carcinoma patients were divided into two subgroups. The survival rate of cluster 2 was lower than that of cluster 1 ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the tumor immune dysfunction and exclusion (TIDE) score between cluster 2 and cluster 1 ( P=0.43). Cluster 1 exhibited higher levels of immune cell infiltration, particularly CD4 + T cells ( P<0.01). The expression levels of 10 major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule-related genes were higher in cluster 1. The angiogenesis activity score ( P=0.048) and stemness score ( P=0.038) of cluster 2 were increased, and the expression levels of programmed death-1 ( PDCD1) and cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen-4 ( CTLA-4) in cluster 2 (5.924±0.013 and 5.475±0.042) were higher than those in cluster 1 (4.539±0.143 and 4.372±0.176) (both P<0.05). The expression levels of AURKA, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenease ( G6PD), ACACA, GABA type A receptor associated protein like 1 ( GABARAPL1) and ARRDC3 were correlated with the T stage, clinical stage and survival status of hepatocellular carcinoma. The survival rate of the high-risk group was lower than that of the low-risk group with time ( P<0.01). The area under the curve of the risk characteristics at 1, 3 and 5 years was 0.797, 0.717 and 0.639, respectively. The actual survival time 1, 3, and 5 years was highly consistent with the corresponding predicted survival time. The levels of memory B cell infiltration, angiogenesis activity score and cell stemness score, programmed death-ligand 1, CTLA-4, hepatitis A virus cell receptor 2, lymphocyte activation gene 3 and PDCD1 gene expression (0.013 8±0.036 0, 0.884±0.212, 0.387±0.135, 6.273±0.228, 5.847±0.331, 8.179±0.259, 6.859±0.263 and 5.142±0.326) in the high-risk group were higher than those in the low-risk group (0.001 5±0.021 0, 0.874±0.132, 0.298±0.125, 5.866±0.132, 3.742±0.237, 7.236±0.321, 6.324±0.242 and 4.513±0.211) ( P<0.05, 0.01). The expression levels of MHC molecule-related genes in the high-risk group were also higher than those in the low-risk group ( P<0.05, 0.01), while the infiltration levels of resting mast cells, activated natural killer cells, and resting natural killer cells (0.043 2±0.135 0, 0.032 1±0.143 0 and 0.016 3±0.001 9) and the TIDE score (0.072 0±0.018 0) in the high-risk group were lower than those in the low-risk group (0.054 9±0.023 0, 0.042 7±0.017 0, 0.024 6±0.021 2 and 0.094 0±0.013 5) ( P<0.05, 0.01). The top five genes with the highest mutation frequency in the high-risk group were tumor protein P53 ( TP53, 43%), titin ( TTN, 21%), catenin beta 1 ( CTNNB1, 20%), mucin 16 ( MUC16, 18%) and piccolo presynaptic cytomatrix protein ( PCLO, 11%). The top five genes with the highest mutation frequency in the low-risk group were CTNNB1 (30%), TTN (24%), albumin ( ALB, 16%), MUC16 (15%) and PCLO (11%). The cube protein and PCLO showed the co-occurrence of gene mutations in the high-risk group, while MUC16 and axis 1 protein showed the co-occurrence of gene mutations in the low-risk group. There was no significant difference in tumor mutation burden (TMB) between the high-risk group (1.374±0.026) and the low-risk group (1.303±0.081) ( P=0.073). There was no significant difference in survival time between the high-TMB group (2.3 years) and the low-TMB group (3.8 years) ( P=0.293). The mutation rates of AURKA, G6PD, ACACA, GABARAPL1 and ARRDC3 genes (2.0%, 2.0%, 4.0%, 0.3% and 0.6%) were relatively low. The relative expression levels of Aurka, Acaca and Arrdc3 mRNA in Hepa1-6 cells (13.331±0.000, 6.619±0.000 and 1.209±0.002) were higher than those in mouse primary hepatocytes (1.000±0.000, 1.000±0.000 and 1.000±0.000) (all P<0.01). The relative expression levels of AURKA, ACACA and ARRDC3 mRNA in tumor tissues of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (2.102±0.365, 2.476±0.351 and 11.460±9.189) were higher than those in adjacent normal tissues of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (1.122±0.648, 0.831±0.935 and 0.852±0.171) ( P<0.05, 0.01). Conclusions:This study constructed a prognostic signature comprising five ferroptosis-related genes ( AURKA, G6PD, ACACA, GABARAPL1, and ARRDC3) that is highly correlated with clinical hepatocellular carcinoma data. This study highlights the significance of ferroptosis-related genes as prognostic markers for hepatocellular carcinoma and provides insights into the complex relationship between hepatocellular carcinoma, ferroptosis, and the immune microenvironment.

Objective To investigate the proportions of myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs)and their subsets,including poly-morphonuclear MDSCs(PMN-MDSCs),early-stage MDSCs(e-MDSCs),monocytic MDSCs(M-MDSCs),and lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1(LOX-1)positive PMN-MDSCs,in the peripheral blood of ovarian cancer(OC)patients and ana-lyze their correlations with clinicopathological parameters of the patients.Methods The proportions of MDSCs and their subsets in the peripheral blood of 38 OC patients(OC group)and 46 healthy individuals(healthy control group)were detected by flow cytometry.The levels of serum IL-10 and TGF-β were detected using ELISA.The OC group was further divided into LOX-1 high and low expres-sion subgroups based on the median proportion of LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in MDSCs.Results The proportions of MDSCs,PMN-MDSCs,and LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)of the OC group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group(U=492,P＜0.001;t=8.741,P＜0.000 1;U=223,P＜0.000 1).The proportions of M-MDSCs and e-MDSCs in the OC group were significantly lower than those in the healthy control group(t=4.366,P＜0.000 1;t=6.927,P＜0.000 1).The proportion of LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in the lymph node metastasis group of OC patients was significantly higher than that in the non-metastasis group(t=2.249,P＜0.05).The levels of serum IL-10 and TGF-β in the OC group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group(P＜0.05).In addition,the level of serum TGF-β in the LOX-1 high expression group was significantly higher than that in the LOX-1 low expression group(t=2.302,P＜0.05).Conclusion The proportion of LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in the peripheral blood of OC patients is significantly increased and closely related to lymph node metastasis.

Objective:To explore the survival status and economic burden of disease for patients with Cryopyrin Associated Periodic Syndrome(CAPS)in China.Methods:From August 2023 to February 2024,a questionnaire survey was conducted on patients who volunteered to participate.The survey included patients'sociodemographic characteristics,current medical treatment status,disease economic burden and life quality.Results:A total of 35 valid questionnaires were collected.The average age of onset for the patients was 5.67 years,and the average duration from onset to confirmed diagnosis was 7.63 years.The average total medical cost per person in the past 12 months was 82 532.79 yuan,which is significantly higher than the national per capita disposable income of China in 2023.Conclusion:CAPS has an early onset and a long duration until diagnosis,with treatment primarily symptomatic,resulting in a heavy disease burden for patients and their families.

OBJECTIVE To observe the therapeutic effect of Xuanfei Zhisou Mixture combined with ceftriaxone so-dium in treating post-infectious cough with wind-evil invading lung syndrome and its effect on Toll-like receptor 4(TLR4)/nuclear factor-KB(NF-κB)signaling pathway.METHODS The clinical data of 100 patients with post-in-fectious cough admitted to Wuhan Hospital of Integrated Traditional Chinese and Western Medicine from Dec.2021 to Dec.2022 were retrospectively analyzed.According to different therapeutic schemes,the patients were di-vided into two groups:48 cases in the single-drug group and 52 cases in the combined group.The single-drug group was treated with ceftriaxone sodium,while the combined group was treated with Xuanfei Zhisou Mixture com-bined with ceftriaxone sodium.The total effective rate,traditional chinese medicine(TCM)symptom score,leicester cough quality of life questionnaire(LCQ),serum levels of inflammatory factors[tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),interleukin-6(IL-6),and inducible nitric oxide synthase(iNOS)]and TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway expression were analysed to evaluate the therapeutic effect.RESULTS After treatment,the total effective rate of the combined group was higher than that of the single-drug group(94.23％vs.77.08％,x2=6.096,P=0.014);meanwhile,compared to the single-drug group,the TCM symptom score,TNF-α,IL-6,iNOS,TLR4,NF-κB levels,TLR4 protein and NF-κB protein expression in the combined group were significantly decreased(P＜0.05),and the LCQ score was significantly increased(P＜0.05).CONCLUSIONS Xuanfei Zhisou Mixture com-bined with ceftriaxone sodium has an obvious effect in treating post-infectious cough with wind-evil invading lung syndrome.They can effectively improve the cough symptoms and quality of life of patients and reduce the produc-tion of inflammatory factors by inhibiting TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Objective To investigate the proportions of myeloid-derived suppressor cells(MDSCs)and their subsets,including poly-morphonuclear MDSCs(PMN-MDSCs),early-stage MDSCs(e-MDSCs),monocytic MDSCs(M-MDSCs),and lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1(LOX-1)positive PMN-MDSCs,in the peripheral blood of ovarian cancer(OC)patients and ana-lyze their correlations with clinicopathological parameters of the patients.Methods The proportions of MDSCs and their subsets in the peripheral blood of 38 OC patients(OC group)and 46 healthy individuals(healthy control group)were detected by flow cytometry.The levels of serum IL-10 and TGF-β were detected using ELISA.The OC group was further divided into LOX-1 high and low expres-sion subgroups based on the median proportion of LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in MDSCs.Results The proportions of MDSCs,PMN-MDSCs,and LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMCs)of the OC group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group(U=492,P＜0.001;t=8.741,P＜0.000 1;U=223,P＜0.000 1).The proportions of M-MDSCs and e-MDSCs in the OC group were significantly lower than those in the healthy control group(t=4.366,P＜0.000 1;t=6.927,P＜0.000 1).The proportion of LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in the lymph node metastasis group of OC patients was significantly higher than that in the non-metastasis group(t=2.249,P＜0.05).The levels of serum IL-10 and TGF-β in the OC group were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group(P＜0.05).In addition,the level of serum TGF-β in the LOX-1 high expression group was significantly higher than that in the LOX-1 low expression group(t=2.302,P＜0.05).Conclusion The proportion of LOX-1+PMN-MDSCs in the peripheral blood of OC patients is significantly increased and closely related to lymph node metastasis.

Objective:To explore the survival status and economic burden of disease for patients with Cryopyrin Associated Periodic Syndrome(CAPS)in China.Methods:From August 2023 to February 2024,a questionnaire survey was conducted on patients who volunteered to participate.The survey included patients'sociodemographic characteristics,current medical treatment status,disease economic burden and life quality.Results:A total of 35 valid questionnaires were collected.The average age of onset for the patients was 5.67 years,and the average duration from onset to confirmed diagnosis was 7.63 years.The average total medical cost per person in the past 12 months was 82 532.79 yuan,which is significantly higher than the national per capita disposable income of China in 2023.Conclusion:CAPS has an early onset and a long duration until diagnosis,with treatment primarily symptomatic,resulting in a heavy disease burden for patients and their families.

Objective To investigate the prognostic effect of N-terminal domain of gasdermin-D(GSDMD-N)on the short-and long-term outcomes of patients with large-vessel occlusion(LVO)ischemic stroke.Methods A retrospective study was conducted on 65 patients with acute LVO is-chemic stroke admitted to Emergency Medicine Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January to April 2023.According to their NIHSS score at and 5 d after admission,they were divided into a good prognosis group 1(34 cases)and a poor prognosis group 1(31 cases),and based on their mRS score at 90 d,they were also assigned into a good prognosis group 2(47 cases)and a poor prognosis group 2(18 cases).Their baseline data were collected,and univariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed to identify potential risk factors affecting short-term and long-term prognosis.GSDMD-N level was measured at and 24 h after ad-mission.ROC curves were plotted to analyze the predictive performance of GSDMD-N for poor prognosis.Results There were no significant differences between the good prognosis group 1 and the poor prognosis group 1 in terms of age,male,perfusion defect volume,time from onset to ad-mission,NIHSS score at admission,levels of GSDMD-N,S100β or syntaxin 17(STX17),hemor-rhagic complications,or ratios of intravenous thrombolysis,endovascular therapy,hypertension,diabetes,coronary heart disease,previous stroke,or atrial fibrillation(P＞0.05).Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that change in GSDMD-N from admission to 24 h later was an important factor influencing short-term poor prognosis(OR=1.054,95％CI:1.023-1.093,P=0.001;OR=1.072,95％CI:1.032-1.124,P=0.001).ROC curve analysis showed that change of GSDMD-N had good predictive value for short-term poor prognosis,with an AUC value of 0.814(95％CI:0.698-0.905).No statistical differences were observed between the good prog-nosis group 2 and poor prognosis group 2 in above indicators as between the good prognosis group 1 and poor prognosis group 1(P＞0.05).Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that change of GSDMD-N from admission to 24 h later was an important influencing fac-tor for long-term poor prognosis(OR=1.001,95％CI:1.023-1.069,P=0.046;OR=1.063,95％CI:1.017-1.125,P=0.015).ROC curve analysis displayed that the change also showed good pre-dictive value for long-term poor prognosis,with an AUC value of 0.881(95％CI:0.767-0.961).Conclusion Change in GSDMD-N from admission to 24 h later can predict the short-and long-term prognosis of patients with LVO ischemic stroke.