Esophageal cancer is a prevalent malignant tumor of the digestive tract in China, and radical surgery remains the cornerstone of its comprehensive treatment. However, multifactorial challenges such as postoperative gastrointestinal tract reconstruction, traumatic stress, and tumor-related metabolic disturbances render esophageal cancer patients highly susceptible to malnutrition. Perioperative nutritional support therapy plays a crucial role in enhancing surgical safety, improving clinical outcomes, and elevating patients' quality of life by regulating metabolic homeostasis, preserving organ function, and optimizing the immune microenvironment. This article reviews the mechanisms underlying malnutrition in esophageal cancer, methods for nutritional status assessment, and precision intervention pathways based on multi-omics evaluations. The aim is to strengthen clinicians' awareness of standardized perioperative nutritional management for esophageal cancer patients and promote its clinical implementation, thereby facilitating postoperative recovery and improving long-term quality of life.

Debates persist regarding the efficacy and safety of azvudine, particularly its real-world outcomes. This study involved patients aged ≥60 years who were admitted to 25 hospitals in mainland China with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection between December 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. Efficacy outcomes were all-cause mortality during hospitalization, the proportion of patients discharged with recovery, time to nucleic acid-negative conversion (T _NANC), time to symptom improvement (T _SI), and time of hospital stay (T _HS). Safety was also assessed. Among the 5884 participants identified, 1999 received azvudine, and 1999 matched controls were included after exclusion and propensity score matching. Azvudine recipients exhibited lower all-cause mortality compared with controls in the overall population (13.3% vs. 17.1%, RR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.67-0.90; P = 0.001) and in the severe subgroup (25.7% vs. 33.7%; RR, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.66-0.88; P < 0.001). A higher proportion of patients discharged with recovery, and a shorter T _NANC were associated with azvudine recipients, especially in the severe subgroup. The incidence of adverse events in azvudine recipients was comparable to that in the control group (2.3% vs. 1.7%, P = 0.170). In conclusion, azvudine showed efficacy and safety in older patients hospitalized with COVID-19 during the SARS-CoV-2 omicron wave in China.

The clinical antiprotozoal drug nitazoxanide has been demonstrated to improve the experimental diabetes mellitus, lipid metabolism disorders, atherosclerosis and inhibit inflammation. Since the pathogenesis of heart failure with preserved ejection (HFpEF) is multifactorial and closely associated with the aforementioned diseases, we aim to study the effect of nitazoxanide on high-fat diet (HFD) plus L-NAME (N ω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester)-induced HFpEF and metabolic syndrome in mice. We found that oral nitazoxanide improved cardiac hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis, cardiac diastolic dysfunction, increased blood pressure, impaired exercise tolerance, impaired glucose handling, serum lipid disorders, hepatic steatosis, increased weight of white adipose tissues and kidney fibrosis in HFD + L-NAME-treated mice. In the established HFD + L-NAME-induced HFpEF and metabolic syndrome mouse model, therapeutic treatment with nitazoxanide rescued HFD + L-NAME-induced pathological phenotypes as mentioned above. The in vitro experiments revealed that tizoxanide, the active metabolite of nitazoxanide, increased the basal mitochondria metabolism of cardiomyocytes, inhibited cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and collagen secretion from cardiac fibroblasts, and relaxed phenylephrine- and U46619-induced constriction of rat mesenteric arteries, indicating that the direct effect of tizoxanide might partly contribute to the protective effect of nitazoxanide against HFpEF in vivo. The present study suggests that nitazoxanide might be a potential drug for HFpEF and metabolic syndrome therapy.

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Luofuoshan-Baicao oil (LBO) and wind medicated oil for the treatment of Aedes albopictus bites. Methods:A paired self-controlled study was conducted. Thirty-six healthy volunteers were recruited from Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from February 2023 to March 2023. Each participant's forearms were subjected to Aedes albopictus bites, with 3 bites on each arm. For the first 18 participants, LBO was applied to the left arm, and wind medicated oil to the right arm; for the latter 18 participants, wind medicated oil was applied to the left arm, and LBO to the right arm. The observation period was 24 hours. Within the first 3 hours after the mosquito bites, the topical agents were applied once every other hour for a total of 3 sessions, with an applicator centered on the bite site at a dose of approximately 50 μl, covering a skin area of about 2 cm in diameter; after 3 hours, participants applied the topical agents themselves until symptoms subsided or the 24-hour observation period ended. All subjects were followed up at the occurrence of skin lesions after mosquito bites, 0 to 3 hours after the first treatment, as well as 24 hours after the first treatment. During the follow-up, the effects of both topical agents on pruritus, erythema, papules, or wheals were evaluated, differences in treatment frequency were analyzed, and treatment-related adverse events were recorded. The time to disappearance of pruritus after treatment was statistically analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and intergroup differences were analyzed using the log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test. Two independent samples t-test was used for comparisons of other measurement data, and Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used for comparisons of count data between groups. Results:Within 3 hours after the first treatment, the time to initial disappearance of pruritus was significantly shorter in the LBO group (20.71 ± 1.92 min) than in the wind medicated oil group (28.30 ± 2.20 min, P < 0.05). The cumulative pruritus rate (the proportion of participants with pruritus among all participants) over time showed an overall stable fluctuation, and the cumulative pruritus rates at all observation points were significantly lower in the LBO group than in the wind medicated oil group ( P<0.05). After 3 hours of treatment, the mean values of changes in erythema diameters were 25.83 mm in the LBO group and 26.24 mm in the wind medicated oil group, while the mean values of changes in papule or wheal diameters were 8.25 mm in the LBO group and 9.18 mm in the wind medicated oil group; within 24 hours after the first treatment, the average time to disappearance of papules or wheals was 71.85 minutes in the LBO group and 73.01 minutes in the wind medicated oil group, while the average time to disappearance of erythema was 82.27 minutes in the LBO group and 84.86 minutes in the wind medicated oil group; there were no significant differences in the above observational indices between the two groups (all P > 0.05). The number of pruritus episodes within 24 hours of treatment was 56 in both the LBO group and wind medicated oil group, and the treatment frequency was 107 in both two groups; there were also no significant differences in the frequencies of pruritus episodes or treatment (both P > 0.05). No adverse events or reactions occurred during the trial. Conclusion:LBO was more effective than wind medicated oil in reducing the time to disappearance of pruritus after Aedes albopictus bites, with a high safety profile.

BACKGROUND: The choice of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) vs . total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in the surgical treatment of knee osteoarthritis (KOA) remains controversial. This study aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to compare the clinical results of UKA and TKA for treating unicompartmental KOA. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were systematically searched for articles published up to January 2, 2023. The literature was rigorously screened to include only RCTs comparing UKA and TKA for unicompartmental KOA. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to calculate the mean difference (MD), relative risk (RR), and 95% confidence interval (CI) according to the Cochrane standards. RESULTS: Thirteen publications involving 683 UKAs and 683 TKAs were analyzed. Except for one study with a follow-up period of 15 years, all outcome measures reported were within 5 years of follow-up. Meta-analysis showed better knee recovery (MD: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.01-1.45; P  <0.001), greater knee function (MD: 1.78; 95% CI: 0.34-3.22; P  = 0.020), less pain (MD: 0.75; 95% CI: 0.43-1.06; P  <0.001), and better health status (MD: 3.75; 95% CI: 0.81-6.69; P  = 0.010) after UKA than TKA. However, considering the minimal clinically important difference values for these variables, the findings were not clinically relevant. Moreover, UKA patients had fewer complications (RR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.45-0.78; P  <0.001) and shorter hospital stays (MD: -0.89; 95% CI: -1.57 to -0.22; P  = 0.009) than did TKA patients. There were no statistically significant differences in terms of postoperative range of movement, revision, failure, operation time, and patient satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS In terms of clinical efficacy, there was no obvious advantage of UKA over TKA in the surgical treatment of knee OA when considering the minimal clinically important difference. The main advantage of UKA over TKA is that it leads to fewer complications and a shorter length of hospital stay. It is ideal to perform prospective studies with longer follow-up periods to fully evaluate the long-term efficacy and safety of the two procedures in the future.
Humans ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee/methods* ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/surgery* ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Luofuoshan-Baicao oil (LBO) and wind medicated oil for the treatment of Aedes albopictus bites. Methods:A paired self-controlled study was conducted. Thirty-six healthy volunteers were recruited from Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine from February 2023 to March 2023. Each participant's forearms were subjected to Aedes albopictus bites, with 3 bites on each arm. For the first 18 participants, LBO was applied to the left arm, and wind medicated oil to the right arm; for the latter 18 participants, wind medicated oil was applied to the left arm, and LBO to the right arm. The observation period was 24 hours. Within the first 3 hours after the mosquito bites, the topical agents were applied once every other hour for a total of 3 sessions, with an applicator centered on the bite site at a dose of approximately 50 μl, covering a skin area of about 2 cm in diameter; after 3 hours, participants applied the topical agents themselves until symptoms subsided or the 24-hour observation period ended. All subjects were followed up at the occurrence of skin lesions after mosquito bites, 0 to 3 hours after the first treatment, as well as 24 hours after the first treatment. During the follow-up, the effects of both topical agents on pruritus, erythema, papules, or wheals were evaluated, differences in treatment frequency were analyzed, and treatment-related adverse events were recorded. The time to disappearance of pruritus after treatment was statistically analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and intergroup differences were analyzed using the log-rank (Mantel-Cox) test. Two independent samples t-test was used for comparisons of other measurement data, and Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was used for comparisons of count data between groups. Results:Within 3 hours after the first treatment, the time to initial disappearance of pruritus was significantly shorter in the LBO group (20.71 ± 1.92 min) than in the wind medicated oil group (28.30 ± 2.20 min, P < 0.05). The cumulative pruritus rate (the proportion of participants with pruritus among all participants) over time showed an overall stable fluctuation, and the cumulative pruritus rates at all observation points were significantly lower in the LBO group than in the wind medicated oil group ( P<0.05). After 3 hours of treatment, the mean values of changes in erythema diameters were 25.83 mm in the LBO group and 26.24 mm in the wind medicated oil group, while the mean values of changes in papule or wheal diameters were 8.25 mm in the LBO group and 9.18 mm in the wind medicated oil group; within 24 hours after the first treatment, the average time to disappearance of papules or wheals was 71.85 minutes in the LBO group and 73.01 minutes in the wind medicated oil group, while the average time to disappearance of erythema was 82.27 minutes in the LBO group and 84.86 minutes in the wind medicated oil group; there were no significant differences in the above observational indices between the two groups (all P > 0.05). The number of pruritus episodes within 24 hours of treatment was 56 in both the LBO group and wind medicated oil group, and the treatment frequency was 107 in both two groups; there were also no significant differences in the frequencies of pruritus episodes or treatment (both P > 0.05). No adverse events or reactions occurred during the trial. Conclusion:LBO was more effective than wind medicated oil in reducing the time to disappearance of pruritus after Aedes albopictus bites, with a high safety profile.

Objective:To analyze the effective and safety of endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (RAAA) at one tertiary center, and to improve the outcomes of RAAA under fast-track protocol.Methods:Nineteen cases of RAAA in the 940th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of PLA from January 2014 to December 2020 were reviewed retrospectively. EVAR-fist strategy was employed from the emergency room to the operating room by using fast-track protocol. Preoperative management, anatomic characteristics, choice of anesthesia, operative procedures and postoperative complications were collected and analyzed. Abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) and hospital mortality were paid special attention.Results:Nineteen cases were undergone EVAR procedures. The age was (73.4 ± 7.4) years old, and the AAA size was (67.8 ± 13.6) mm. Two cases underwent cardiopulmonary resuscitation at emergency department. General anesthesia was used in 13 patients and local anaesthesia in 6 patients. Successful stent graft deployment was achieved in all cases. The duration from emergency room to operating room was (84.8 ± 22.4) min. The hospital stay time was (9.7 ± 5.7) d. The hospital mortality was 5/19. The 5 deaths were reviewed: 3 died for multiple organ failure, 1 for irreversible shock, and 1 for ongoing bleeding.Conclusions:Excellent results were confirmed by using EVAR-first strategy for RAAA. The management of hemodynamically unstable state, standardized endovascular procedure, fast-track program and multidiscipline team collaboration were the very important determining factors for the implementation of EVAR. Focused efforts to reduce RAAA mortality are warranted.

Objective To explore the improvement of cognitive impairment in patients with mild and moderate vascular cognitive impairment( VCI) treated with cerebralcare granule ( CG) and basic treat-ment.Methods From October in 2014 to December in 2016 year,143 cases of VCI patients were admitted from six hospitals in some areas of Hebei Province as the research objects,and divided into CG treatment group (experimental group,n=98) and conventional treatment group (control group,n=66).Three months and six months after treatment,the score of mental state examination ( MMSE) ,the Montreal cognitive assess-ment scale ( MoCA) and the daily living capacity scale( ADL) of the two groups were compared after 3 and 6 moths of treatment.Results ①The total score of MMSE in the experimental group was higher than that of the control group for six months after treatment, and the difference was statistically significant ( ( 23. 76 ± 4.02) vs (21.52±5.13),P<0.05).②Six months after treatment,the total score of MoCA ((21.06±4.66) vs (18.32±5.20)) and visual spatial/executive function((3.05±1.37) vs (2.42±1.66)),calculation force ((2.24±0.84) vs (1.83±1.05)) and orientation ability((5.20±1.12) vs (4.06±1.35)) scores in the ex-perimental group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.05) .③Six months after treat-ment,the ADL score in the experimental group was lower than that before treatment,and the difference was statistically significant((24.96±8.74) vs (29.20±11.55),P<0.05);while there was no significant difference in the ADL score between the experimental group and the control group after 6 months (P>0.05).Conclusion CG can improve cognitive function in mild to moderate VCI patients,mainly in visual space/execution func-tion,calculation ability and orientation ability,and with the extension of treatment time,the curative effect is more obvious.

Objective To investigate the value of three-dimensional speckle tracking imaging (3D-STI) in quantitative evaluation of left ventricular global strain in patients with atrial septal defect (ASD) before and after transcatheter closure.Methods Totally 35 patients with secondary ASD who received successful transcatheter occlusion were selected.Routine echocardiography and 3D-STI examination were performed before the operation,2 days,1 month,3 months and 6 months after the operation.Routine echocardiography was used to obtain the parameters of left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD),left ventricular end systolic diameter (LVEDS),left ventricular end diastolic volume (LVEDV),left ventricular end systolic volume (LVESV),stroke volume (SV) and other parameters.The left ventricular global peak longitudinal strain (GPLS),left ventricular global peak circumferential strain (GPCS),left ventricular global peak radial strain (GPRS) and left ventricular global peak area strain (GPAS) were examined with 3D-STI.The preoperative and postoperative parameters at each time point were analyzed statistically.Results Routine echocardiography showed that LVEDD,LVEDS,LVEDV,LVESV and SV increased significantly after operation,but no significant difference was found to compare each other 2 days,1 month,3 months and 6 months after operation (all P＞0.05).3D-STI examination showed that left ventricular GPLS,GPCS,GPRS and GPAS increased after operation,and the most increase was noticed at the second day after transcatheter occlusion.GPLS,GPCS and GPAS 6 months after operation were larger than those 3 months after operation (all P＞0.05).Conclusion 3D-STI technique can evaluate the left ventricular global strain in patients with ASD before and after occlusion.Compared with conventional echocardiography,3D-STI technique can objectively and effectively evaluate the changes of left ventricular systolic function.