Objective To investigate the impact of acute-phase aspirin management strategies on the prognosis of elderly patients with non-major upper gastrointestinal bleeding(UGIB),and to evaluate the role of stratification for patients with a history of percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).Methods A total of 526 elderly patients with upper UGIB were retrospectively enrolled from the Geriatric Disease Database of Chinese PLA General Hospital between January 2010 and December 2019,and another 380 UGIB patients from the MIMIC-Ⅳ database were included for external validation.All patients had received long-term low-dose aspirin treatment.Based on aspirin usage,patients were divided into a discontinuation group(no aspirin use within 10 d before admission or during hospitalization,n=476)and a continuation group(aspirin use maintained during hospitalization,n=50).Then according to whether there is a history of PCI,the cases are divided into 428 cases without a history of PCI and 98 cases with a history of PCI.The primary outcome was the 30-day composite adverse events(CAE).Multivariate logistic regression and propensity score matching analyses were employed.Results Compared with the discontinuation group,the continuation group had significantly higher proportions of PCI history,renal disease,myocardial infarction,and proton pump inhibitor use,but significantly lower rates of malignancy,platelet count,and estimated glomerular filtration rate(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).A history of PCI was a protective factor for in-hospital CAE.Aspirin use significantly increased the risk of CAE in patients without a PCI history(OR=5.34,95％CI:1.69～15.52,P＜0.01),whereas in patients with a PCI history,aspirin continuation did not increase the risk of adverse outcomes(OR=0.48,95％CI:0.00～11.88,P＞0.05).Consistent results were observed in the MIMIC-Ⅳ validation cohort.Conclusion In elderly patients with non-major UGIB,continuation or discontinuation of aspirin during the acute phase shows no significant difference in overall short-term prognosis.PCI history is a key stratifying factor:continued aspirin use may maintain cardiovascular protective benefits in high-risk post-PCI patients,whereas it may increase adverse risks in those without PCI history.

Objective To investigate the association of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in elderly hypertensive patients.Methods In this cohort study,9939 elderly hypertensive patients were enrolled from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2018.According to the quartile of NLR,the participants were divided into Q1(n=2461),Q2(n=2460),Q3(n=2522)and Q4(n=2496)groups.Their survival status was determined based on National Death Index records.Cox proportional risk regression model,restricted cubic spline curve,Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and ROC analysis were performed.Results After adjusting for confounding factors,Cox proportional risk regression analysis showed a progressive increase in all-cause and cause-specific mortality across quartiles of NLR in elderly hypertensive patients.Compared with the Q1 group,the Q4 group had higher risks for all-cause mortality(HR=1.52,95％CI:1.32-1.74,P=0.000),cardiovascular mortality(HR=2.04,95％CI:1.63-2.56,P=0.000),and non-cardiovascular mortality(HR=1.30,95％CI:1.11-1.53,P=0.000)after adjustment.Restricted cubic spline curve analysis indicated that NLR was positively correlated with all-cause mortality,cardiovacular mortality and non-cardio-vascular mortality.More pronounced association between NLR and cardiovascular death was observed in patients not taking statins(P=0.035).ROC analysis revealed that the AUC value of NLR in predicting all-cause mortality,cardiovascular mortality and non-cardiovascular mortality was 0.612,0.597 and 0.581,respectively,showing better performance than high-sensitivity C-reac-tive protein and neutrophils.Conclusion Elevated NLR level is independently associated with increased risks of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in elderly hypertensive patients.In the patients not taking statins,a stronger association is observed between NLR and cardiovascular mortality.

Objective To investigate the association between cystatin C level and 6-month mortali-ty as well as re-hospitalization in elderly patients with heart failure(HF).Methods The clinical data in this study were from a retrospective cohort study,Zigong Heart Failure Study.A total of 1786 elderly HF patients admitted in Zigong Fourth People's Hospital from December 2016 to June 2019 were selected.According to the tertiles of cystatin C level,the subjected patients were divided into three groups,with the cystatin C level of 1.10±0.17(587 cases),1.60±0.17(599 ca-ses),and 2.91±0.90 mg/L(600 cases),respectively.The primary endpoint was a composite end-point of death at 6 months after discharge and readmission due to HF.Multivariate Cox propor-tional hazards regression analysis was employed to analyze the relationship of the cystatin C level with the composite endpoint of 6-month mortality and readmission due to HF.Restricted cubic spline was used to model the relationship between the cystatin C level and the composite end-point,Kaplan-Meier survival curve was plotted to analyze the differences in 6-month event free survival rates among the three groups,and ROC curve was drawn to analyze the predictive value of cystatin C level for the composite endpoint.Results Multivariate Cox proportional hazards re-gression analysis showed that the middle and upper tertiles of cystatin C level were risk factors for the composite endpoint of 6-month mortality and readmission due to HF(HR=1.170,95％CI:0.970-1.390,P=0.111;HR=1.452,95％CI:1.190-1.756,P=0.000).When taking cystatin C level as a continuous variable,the results remained consistent:for every one standard deviation increase in cystatin C level,HR=1.141,95％CI:1.060-1.226 in Model 3;For every 1 mg/L in-crease,HR=1.152,95％CI:1.057-1.250 in Model 3.Restricted cubic spline displayed a non-linear inverse J-shaped relationship between cystatin C level and the composite endpoint of 6-month mortality and readmission due to HF,with a risk inflection point of cystatin C level at 2.13 mg/L.ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC value of cystatin C level in predicting the composite endpoint,6-month death and re-admission due to HF was 0.572,0.667 and 0.554,respectively.Conclusion Elevated cystatin C level is independently associated with an increased risk of the composite endpoint of 6-month death and re-admission in elderly HF patients.

Objective To investigate the association between cystatin C level and 6-month mortali-ty as well as re-hospitalization in elderly patients with heart failure(HF).Methods The clinical data in this study were from a retrospective cohort study,Zigong Heart Failure Study.A total of 1786 elderly HF patients admitted in Zigong Fourth People's Hospital from December 2016 to June 2019 were selected.According to the tertiles of cystatin C level,the subjected patients were divided into three groups,with the cystatin C level of 1.10±0.17(587 cases),1.60±0.17(599 ca-ses),and 2.91±0.90 mg/L(600 cases),respectively.The primary endpoint was a composite end-point of death at 6 months after discharge and readmission due to HF.Multivariate Cox propor-tional hazards regression analysis was employed to analyze the relationship of the cystatin C level with the composite endpoint of 6-month mortality and readmission due to HF.Restricted cubic spline was used to model the relationship between the cystatin C level and the composite end-point,Kaplan-Meier survival curve was plotted to analyze the differences in 6-month event free survival rates among the three groups,and ROC curve was drawn to analyze the predictive value of cystatin C level for the composite endpoint.Results Multivariate Cox proportional hazards re-gression analysis showed that the middle and upper tertiles of cystatin C level were risk factors for the composite endpoint of 6-month mortality and readmission due to HF(HR=1.170,95％CI:0.970-1.390,P=0.111;HR=1.452,95％CI:1.190-1.756,P=0.000).When taking cystatin C level as a continuous variable,the results remained consistent:for every one standard deviation increase in cystatin C level,HR=1.141,95％CI:1.060-1.226 in Model 3;For every 1 mg/L in-crease,HR=1.152,95％CI:1.057-1.250 in Model 3.Restricted cubic spline displayed a non-linear inverse J-shaped relationship between cystatin C level and the composite endpoint of 6-month mortality and readmission due to HF,with a risk inflection point of cystatin C level at 2.13 mg/L.ROC curve analysis showed that the AUC value of cystatin C level in predicting the composite endpoint,6-month death and re-admission due to HF was 0.572,0.667 and 0.554,respectively.Conclusion Elevated cystatin C level is independently associated with an increased risk of the composite endpoint of 6-month death and re-admission in elderly HF patients.

Objective To investigate the impact of acute-phase aspirin management strategies on the prognosis of elderly patients with non-major upper gastrointestinal bleeding(UGIB),and to evaluate the role of stratification for patients with a history of percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI).Methods A total of 526 elderly patients with upper UGIB were retrospectively enrolled from the Geriatric Disease Database of Chinese PLA General Hospital between January 2010 and December 2019,and another 380 UGIB patients from the MIMIC-Ⅳ database were included for external validation.All patients had received long-term low-dose aspirin treatment.Based on aspirin usage,patients were divided into a discontinuation group(no aspirin use within 10 d before admission or during hospitalization,n=476)and a continuation group(aspirin use maintained during hospitalization,n=50).Then according to whether there is a history of PCI,the cases are divided into 428 cases without a history of PCI and 98 cases with a history of PCI.The primary outcome was the 30-day composite adverse events(CAE).Multivariate logistic regression and propensity score matching analyses were employed.Results Compared with the discontinuation group,the continuation group had significantly higher proportions of PCI history,renal disease,myocardial infarction,and proton pump inhibitor use,but significantly lower rates of malignancy,platelet count,and estimated glomerular filtration rate(P＜0.05,P＜0.01).A history of PCI was a protective factor for in-hospital CAE.Aspirin use significantly increased the risk of CAE in patients without a PCI history(OR=5.34,95％CI:1.69～15.52,P＜0.01),whereas in patients with a PCI history,aspirin continuation did not increase the risk of adverse outcomes(OR=0.48,95％CI:0.00～11.88,P＞0.05).Consistent results were observed in the MIMIC-Ⅳ validation cohort.Conclusion In elderly patients with non-major UGIB,continuation or discontinuation of aspirin during the acute phase shows no significant difference in overall short-term prognosis.PCI history is a key stratifying factor:continued aspirin use may maintain cardiovascular protective benefits in high-risk post-PCI patients,whereas it may increase adverse risks in those without PCI history.

Objective To investigate the association of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio(NLR)with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in elderly hypertensive patients.Methods In this cohort study,9939 elderly hypertensive patients were enrolled from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2018.According to the quartile of NLR,the participants were divided into Q1(n=2461),Q2(n=2460),Q3(n=2522)and Q4(n=2496)groups.Their survival status was determined based on National Death Index records.Cox proportional risk regression model,restricted cubic spline curve,Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and ROC analysis were performed.Results After adjusting for confounding factors,Cox proportional risk regression analysis showed a progressive increase in all-cause and cause-specific mortality across quartiles of NLR in elderly hypertensive patients.Compared with the Q1 group,the Q4 group had higher risks for all-cause mortality(HR=1.52,95％CI:1.32-1.74,P=0.000),cardiovascular mortality(HR=2.04,95％CI:1.63-2.56,P=0.000),and non-cardiovascular mortality(HR=1.30,95％CI:1.11-1.53,P=0.000)after adjustment.Restricted cubic spline curve analysis indicated that NLR was positively correlated with all-cause mortality,cardiovacular mortality and non-cardio-vascular mortality.More pronounced association between NLR and cardiovascular death was observed in patients not taking statins(P=0.035).ROC analysis revealed that the AUC value of NLR in predicting all-cause mortality,cardiovascular mortality and non-cardiovascular mortality was 0.612,0.597 and 0.581,respectively,showing better performance than high-sensitivity C-reac-tive protein and neutrophils.Conclusion Elevated NLR level is independently associated with increased risks of all-cause and cause-specific mortality in elderly hypertensive patients.In the patients not taking statins,a stronger association is observed between NLR and cardiovascular mortality.

Objective To explore the efficacy and safety of evolocumab in elderly patients with high-risk cardiovascular diseases.Methods A total of 153 patients with poor lipid control after conventional statin therapy who were hospitalized in the cardiologic departments in the First,Sec-ond,Sixth and Eighth Medical Centers of Chinese PLA General Hospital from November 2019 to November 2022 were included,and divided into non-elderly group(＜60 years old,46 cases),eld-erly group(60-74 years old,66 case)and very elderly group(≥75 years old,41 cases).They were all given evolocumab treatment according to guidelines.Another 50 over-75-year-old patients with high-risk cardiovascular diseases and poor lipid control who were hospitalized in the above cardiologic departments during the same period were treated with a statin drug combined with ezetimibe,and served as conventional treatment group(control group).The baseline clinical data and the blood indicators at 4th and 12th week after drug administration,and the occurrence of ad-verse drug reactions and major adverse cardiovascular events(MACE)within 12 weeks were com-pared among the groups.Results The levels of LDL-C and TC were significantly decreased in the three evolocumab treatment groups at 4 and 12 weeks after medication when compared with the baseline values(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),but there were no obvious differences in the 2 levels among the 3 groups at 12 weeks(P＞0.05).At the time point,no statistical difference was observed in the incidence of adverse events in the three groups(2.2％vs 3.0％vs 2.4％,P＞0.05).The levels of LDL-C and TC were decreased significantly in the very elderly group and the conventional treatment group at the 12th week when compared with the baseline levels(P＜0.05,P＜0.01),and the LDL-C level at the week was notably lower in the very elderly group than the convention-al treatment group(1.36±0.44 mmol/L vs 1.87±0.56 mmol/L,P＜0.01).But no difference was seen in the incidence of MACE between the 2 groups(12.2％vs 16.0％,P＞0.05),either in sur-vival rate between them(P=0.576).Conclusion For patients of all ages,evolocumab has good short-term efficacy in lipid control,and for those over 75 years old,the drug also shows good effi-cacy and sound safety.

Objective To study the efficacy and safety of different rivaroxaban medications in prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disease in very old patients.Methods One hundred and ninety-eight very old thromboembolic disease patients were divided into low dose (2.5-7.5 mg)rivaroxaban treatment group (n =35),routine dose (10-20 mg) rivaroxaban treatment group (n=138),combined (10 mg) rivaroxaban and (75 mg) clopidogrel treatment group (n=25).Their baseline data were recorded.The incidence of major adverse thromboembolic disease and bleeding events in 3 groups was compared by Kaplan-Meiers survival analysis.Results No significant difference was found in gender,risk factors for and past history of thromboembolic disease and bleeding events,laboratory testing parameters in 3 groups (P＞0.05).The age was significantly older in low dose rivaroxaban treatment group than in routine dose rivaroxaban treatment group (90.43±5.02 vs 86.80±5.52,P=0.000).Kaplan-Meiers survival analysis showed no significant difference in the incidence of thromboembolic disease and bleeding events in 3 groups (P＞0.05).Conclusion Low dose rivaroxaban is effective in prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disease while combined clopidogrel and rivaroxaban is not only effective but also safe in prevention and treatment of thromboembolic disease in very old patients.

Objective: To compare the efifcacy and safety of rivaroxaban and warfarin on thrombolytic disease prevention in very elderly patients. Methods: A total of 90 patients with high risk of venous thrombosis treated in our hospital from 2012-03 to 2014-03 were enrolled. The patients' mean age was (82.4±5.5) years and randomized into 2 groups: Rivaroxaban group, patients received oral rivaroxaban 10 mg/day,n=44 including 34 male and 10 female; Warfarin group, patients received oral warfarin, INR was monitored and kept at stable level of 1.6-2.5,n=46 including 38 male and 8 female. All patients were followed-up for 12 months. Hemoglobin and platelet levels, coagulation, liver and kidney functions, end point events were monitored before and 1, 3, 6, 12 months after treatment. Major efficacy endpoints included all-cause death, recurrent or new onset of venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, cerebral and cardiovascular events; major safety endpoints included massive hemorrhages, clinically relevant bleeding and worsening of liver, kidney functions. Results: No patient died during follow-up period. The average INRs in Warfarin group were (2.02±0.46), (1.98±0.54), (2.03±0.56) and (2.04±0.46) at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months of treatment. Efficacy and safety were similar between 2 groups, Warfarin group had 7 patients with massive hemorrhages at 12 months of treatment and it was 2 patients more than that in Rivaroxaban group which had no statistic meaning. Hemoglobin and platelet levels, coagulation, liver and kidney functions were similar between 2 groups.Conclusion: Oral rivaroxaban was effective for preventing thromboembolic disease in very elderly patients, 10 mg/day was a safe dose; efifcacy of rivaroxaban was similar to warfarin while it was easier to use and with better compliance.

Objective To study the diagnostic value of serum N-terminal probrain natriutetic peptide (NT-proBNP) level and its influencing factors in very old male heart failure (HF) patients with preserved ejection fraction.Methods Two hundred and thirty-six very old male HF patients with preserved ejection fraction admitted to our hospital from February 2008 to July 2016 were divided into HF group (n=92) and HF-free grup (n=144).Their biochemical parameters were tested and analyzed by correlation analysis.Results The serum NT-proBNP level and logNT-proBNP were significantly higher in HF group than in HF-free group (2205.4±2128.4 ng/L vs 457.3± 312.2 ng/L,P=0.000;3.3±0.3 vs 2.5±0.3,P=0.004).Univariate correlation analysis showed that serum NT-proBNP level was positively related with AF,diuretics,LVEF,left atrium diameter,eGFR,creatinine and logcTnI (P＜0.05,P＜0.01).Multivariate linear regression analysis revealed that AF,LVEF,left atrium diameter,eGFR,and logcTnI were the independent risk factors for NT-proBNP and that NT-proBNP was negatively related with LVEF and eGFR.Conclusion The serum NT-proBNP level in very old male HF patients with preserved ejection fraction can be influenced by a variety of factors.Increasing LVEF and eGFR can reduce their serum NT-proBNP level and improve their outcome.