Objective: To explore the changes of mechanosensitive channels Piezos (Piezo 1 and Piezo 2) in neurogenic bladder (NB) of young rats and their effects，so as to provide reference for clinical search of new therapeutic targets. Methods: A total of 30 female young SD rats were divided into 5 groups based on random number table method：sham operation group (sham)，2-week nerve transection group (NB-2W)，6-week nerve transection group (NB-6W)，2-week nerve transection + Piezos inhibitor group (NB-P-2W) and 6-week nerve transection + Piezos inhibitor group (NB-P-6W)，with 6 rats in each group.The NB models were constructed by transecting the L6 and S1 spinal nerves of young rats.The NB-2W and NB-6W groups were not intervened after modeling，while the NB-P-2W and NB-P-6W groups were intraperitoneally injected with Piezos inhibitor GsMTx4 (10 mg/kg) every 2 days after modeling.Bladder cystometry and ultrasound were performed after 2 and 6 weeks of transection.The expressions of Piezos and fibrosis-related indexes (Collagen Ⅰ and α-smooth muscle actin) were detected in bladder tissues. Results: The results of bladder cystometry showed that the basal bladder pressure in NB-2W group was significantly increased，while it was slightly decreased but was still higher in NB-6W group than in the sham group (P<0.05).Basal bladder pressure was lower in NB-P-2W group than in NB-2W group，but was higher than that in the sham group; basal bladder pressure was lower in NB-P-6W group than in NB-6W group，but higher than that in the sham group (P<0.05).Compared with the sham group，the NB-2W and NB-6W groups had firstly increased and then decreased maximum cystometric capacity (MCC) (P<0.05).Compared with NB-2W group，NB-P-2W group had lower bladder leakage point pressure (BLPP)，but higher MCC and bladder compliance (BC) (P<0.05).Compared with NB-6W group，NB-P-6W group had significantly lower BLPP but higher MCC and BC (P<0.05).HE and MASSON staining and ultrasound results showed that，with the extension of nerve transection time，bladder fibrosis gradually worsened，the bladder wall became rough and thickened，calculi were visible inside，and hydronephrosis gradually appeared; the degree of fibrosis in NB-P-2W and NB-P-6W groups was less than that in NB-2W and NB-6W groups，and no hydronephrosis was observed in the upper urinary tract.In addition，Western blotting and immunohistochemical results showed that NB-2W and NB-6W groups had significantly higher relative expression levels of Piezos，Collagen Ⅰ and α-SMA than the sham group (P<0.01)，while NB-P-2W and NB-P-6W groups had lower relative expression levels of Piezos,Collagen Ⅰ and α-SMA than NB-2W and NB-6W groups (P<0.01). Conclusion: The increased expressions of mechanosensitive channels Piezos in NB young rats may be involved in the progression of bladder fibrosis，but its mechanism needs further study.

Objective To validate the efficacy of the prediction model for difficulty of peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) through an independent cohort. Methods A total of 617 patients with achalasia who underwent POEM at the Endoscopy Center of Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University from January 2021 to December 2023 were included. The general data of patients were collected, and the predictive value of the prediction model for POEM difficulty in the validation cohort was estimated. The stratified analysis was undergone according to the difficulty risk scores. Results In 617 consecutive patients, technical difficulty was observed in 90 cases (14.6%). The predictive model demonstrated moderate discriminatory capacity with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.711 (95%CI 0.643-0.780). Patients were stratified into three risk categories according to the difficulty risk scores: low-risk (＜0.1), medium-risk (0.1-0.25), and high-risk (≥0.25). The corresponding technical difficulty rates were 7.3%, 16.9%, and 51.6%, respectively. Conclusion The prediction model for POEM difficulty built by our center shows good stability and discrimination, and has good clinical application value.

Azvudine and nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) are recommended for COVID-19 treatment in China, but their safety and efficacy in the elderly population are not fully known. In this multicenter, retrospective, cohort study, we identified 5131 elderly hospitalized COVID-19 patients from 32,864 COVID-19 patients admitted to nine hospitals in Henan Province, China, from December 5, 2022, to January 31, 2023. The primary outcome was all-cause death, and the secondary outcome was composite disease progression. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to control for confounding factors, including demographics, vaccination status, comorbidities, and laboratory tests. After 2:1 PSM, 1786 elderly patients receiving azvudine and 893 elderly patients receiving Paxlovid were included. Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses revealed that compared with Paxlovid group, azvudine could significantly reduce the risk of all-cause death (log-rank P = 0.002; HR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.573-0.883, P = 0.002), but there was no difference in composite disease progression (log-rank P = 0.52; HR: 1.05, 95% CI: 0.877-1.260, P = 0.588). Four sensitivity analyses verified the robustness of above results. Subgroup analysis suggested that a greater benefit of azvudine over Paxlovid was observed in elderly patients with primary malignant tumors (P for interaction = 0.005, HR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.18-0.57) compared to patients without primary malignant tumors. Safety analysis revealed that azvudine treatment had a lower incidence of adverse events and higher lymphocyte levels than Paxlovid treatment. In conclusion, azvudine treatment is not inferior to Paxlovid treatment in terms of all-cause death, composite disease progression and adverse events in elderly hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the effect of artificial intelligence-assisted compressed sensing (ACS) acceleration on MRI radiomic feature extraction and performance of diagnostic staging models for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in comparison with conventional parallel imaging (PI). METHODS: A total of 64 patients with newly diagnosed NPC underwent 3.0T MRI using axial T1-weighted (T1W), T2-weighted (T2W), and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted (CE-T1W) sequences. Both PI and ACS protocols were performed using identical imaging parameters. The total scan time for the 3 sequences in ACS group was 227 s, representing a 30% reduction from 312 s in the PI group. Eighteen first-order and 75 texture features were extracted using Pyradiomics. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to assess the agreement between the two acceleration methods. After feature selection using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), random forest regression models were constructed to distinguish early-stage (T1 and T2) from advanced-stage (T3 and T4) NPC. The diagnostic performance of the models was evaluated using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and compared using the DeLong test. RESULTS: ACS-accelerated images demonstrated good radiomic reproducibility, with 86.0% (240/279) of features showing good agreement (ICC>0.75), with mean ICCs for T1W, T2W and CE-T1W sequences of 0.91±0.09, 0.89±0.13 and 0.88±0.11, respectively. The staging prediction models achieved similar AUCs for ACS and PI (0.89 vs 0.90, P=0.991). CONCLUSIONS The MRI radiomic features extracted using ACS and PI techniques are highly consistent, and the ACS-based model shows comparable diagnostic performance to the PI-based model, but ACS significantly reduces the scan time and provides an efficient and reliable acceleration strategy for radiomics in NPC.
Humans ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods* ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma ; Neoplasm Staging ; Artificial Intelligence ; Carcinoma ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Radiomics

Objective To compare the long-term prognosis differences between surgical radical resection and endoscopic resection for early gastric cancer patients based on the SEER database. Methods A total of 1 437 patients with stage Tis to T_1b gastric adenocarcinoma were selected from the SEER database from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2013. They were divided into a surgery group (n=1 257) and an endoscope group (n=180) according to the treatment method. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and Cox regression model were used to analyze survival outcomes. Results The patients in the surgery group were younger than those in the endoscope group ([67.63±12.97] years old vs [71.29±10.82] years old), with higher rates of T₁ stage (97.45% vs 87.78%) and lymph node metastasis (19.73% vs 5.00%, all P＜0.001). The median follow-up time for all patients was 37 (15, 66) months, and the mortality rate of gastric cancer in the endoscope group was lower than that in the surgery group (23.33% vs 27.13%, P＜0.001). Univariate Cox analysis showed that treatment modality, age, sex, T stage, lymph node metastasis were all associated with early gastric cancer mortality (all P＜0.05), and the risk of death in the endoscope group was 43% of that in the surgery group (HR=0.43, P=0.015). After adjusting for multiple factors, there was no statistically significant difference in mortality risk between the two groups (P=0.067), but after excluding lymph node positive patients, the mortality risk in the endoscope group was 46% of that in the surgery group (HR=0.46, P=0.048). Conclusions For early gastric cancer patients with negative lymph nodes, endoscopic resection may provide better survival benefits than surgical procedures, suggesting that it can be the preferred treatment strategy for patients with low risk of lymph node metastasis.

Objectives:To examine the functional outcomes of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) with preservation of pelvic floor stabilized structure and early elevated retrograde liberation of the neurovascular bundle (PEEL).Methods:This study was a retrospective cohort study. Between June 1, 2022, and March 20, 2023, 27 cases of RARP with PEEL and 153 cases of RARP with preservation of pelvic floor stabilized structure (PPSS) were included in this study. All patients were males, aged (62.5±5.2) years (range: 50 to 73 years). There were 18 cases of ≤T2b stage and 9 cases of T2c stage. After 1∶1 propensity score matching, the postoperative functional outcomes of 27 cases of RARP with PEEL and 27 cases of RARP with PPSS were compared. All surgeries were performed by a single surgeon and included patients were clinically staged as cT1-2N0M0 without preoperative urinary incontinence or erectile dysfunction. In RARP with PEEL, the prostate was cut near the midline at the front when dissecting the neurovascular bundle, dissection was performed between the visceral layer of the pelvic fascia and the prostatic fascia, preserving the parietal layer and the visceral layer of the pelvic fascia, and the neurovascular bundle was retrogradely released from the apex. The cumulative probability curve was plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Log-rank test was used to compare the differences in functional outcomes between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate analysis with the Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare postoperative urinary continence and sexual function.Results:The recovery time of continence and potency was significantly longer in the PPSS group than in the PEEL group (all P<0.05). The continence rate of the PEEL group was significantly higher than that of the PPSS group (92.59% vs. 68.10%, P=0.026) at 3 months after surgery. The potency rate of the PEEL group was also significantly higher than that of the PPSS group (40.70% vs. 15.10%, P=0.037) at 3 months after surgery. In the univariate analysis, compared to the PPSS technique, the PEEL technique was associated with a shorter recovery time of continence ( HR=1.94, 95% CI: 1.08 to 3.48, P=0.027) and a shorter recovery time of potency ( HR=2.06, 95% CI: 1.03 to 4.13, P=0.042). In the multivariate analysis, the PEEL technique was an independent prognosis factor for postoperative recovery of continence ( HR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.01 to 4.17, P=0.047) and potency ( HR=3.57, 95% CI: 1.43 to 8.92, P=0.007). All the cases of the PPSS group and the PEEL group were performed successfully with negative surgical margins. Conclusion:Compared with PPSS, PEEL may be more conducive to the recovery of urinary continence and sexual function after RARP.

Objective:To investigate the effect of dexmedetomidine on the intraoperative and early postoperative complications of patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation.Methods:This is a retrospective cohort study. The clinical data of 399 patients who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2016 to September 2020 were retrospectively collected. There were 319 males and 80 females, aged (50.9±10.2) years (range: 10 to 73 years). These patients were divided into the control group (369 cases) and the dexmedetomidine group (30 cases) according to whether dexmedetomidine was continuously pumped intravenously during the operation until the operation ended. The 1∶2 propensity score matching was used to match the preoperative and intraoperative conditions of the two groups of patients, and the caliper width was 0.2. Outcome indicators included intraoperative postreperfusion syndrome, acute kidney injury and pulmonary complications within 7 days after surgery, length of hospital stay, time of stay in ICU, duration of assisted mechanical ventilation, rate of reintubation, 6-month and 1-year survival and recurrence-free survival rate after surgery. The independent sample t test, χ2 test, Mann-Whitney U test or Fisher exact test was used to statistically analyze the data of the two groups of patients, respectively. Survival curves of overall survival and disease-free-survival were plotted by Kaplan-Meier method, and the survival rate and recurrence-free survival rate were compared by Log-rank test. Results:A total of 78 patients were included after propensity score matching, including 26 in the dexmedetomidine group and 52 in the control group. The incidence of acute kidney injury in the dexmedetomidine group within 7 days after surgery was 0 (0/26), significantly lower than that of the control group (21.2%,11/52)(corrected χ2=4.776, P=0.029). There were no significant differences in the incidence of intraoperative postreperfusion syndrome and pulmonary complications within 7 days after surgery, length of hospital stay, ICU time, the duration of assisted mechanical ventilation, rate of reintubation, 6-month and 1-year survival, and recurrence-free survival rate after surgery between the two groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion:Continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine via intravenous pump during operation may be beneficial in reducing the incidence of acute kidney injury within 7 days after orthotopic liver transplantation.

Objectives:To examine the functional outcomes of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) with preservation of pelvic floor stabilized structure and early elevated retrograde liberation of the neurovascular bundle (PEEL).Methods:This study was a retrospective cohort study. Between June 1, 2022, and March 20, 2023, 27 cases of RARP with PEEL and 153 cases of RARP with preservation of pelvic floor stabilized structure (PPSS) were included in this study. All patients were males, aged (62.5±5.2) years (range: 50 to 73 years). There were 18 cases of ≤T2b stage and 9 cases of T2c stage. After 1∶1 propensity score matching, the postoperative functional outcomes of 27 cases of RARP with PEEL and 27 cases of RARP with PPSS were compared. All surgeries were performed by a single surgeon and included patients were clinically staged as cT1-2N0M0 without preoperative urinary incontinence or erectile dysfunction. In RARP with PEEL, the prostate was cut near the midline at the front when dissecting the neurovascular bundle, dissection was performed between the visceral layer of the pelvic fascia and the prostatic fascia, preserving the parietal layer and the visceral layer of the pelvic fascia, and the neurovascular bundle was retrogradely released from the apex. The cumulative probability curve was plotted using the Kaplan-Meier method and the Log-rank test was used to compare the differences in functional outcomes between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate analysis with the Cox proportional hazards model was used to compare postoperative urinary continence and sexual function.Results:The recovery time of continence and potency was significantly longer in the PPSS group than in the PEEL group (all P<0.05). The continence rate of the PEEL group was significantly higher than that of the PPSS group (92.59% vs. 68.10%, P=0.026) at 3 months after surgery. The potency rate of the PEEL group was also significantly higher than that of the PPSS group (40.70% vs. 15.10%, P=0.037) at 3 months after surgery. In the univariate analysis, compared to the PPSS technique, the PEEL technique was associated with a shorter recovery time of continence ( HR=1.94, 95% CI: 1.08 to 3.48, P=0.027) and a shorter recovery time of potency ( HR=2.06, 95% CI: 1.03 to 4.13, P=0.042). In the multivariate analysis, the PEEL technique was an independent prognosis factor for postoperative recovery of continence ( HR=2.05, 95% CI: 1.01 to 4.17, P=0.047) and potency ( HR=3.57, 95% CI: 1.43 to 8.92, P=0.007). All the cases of the PPSS group and the PEEL group were performed successfully with negative surgical margins. Conclusion:Compared with PPSS, PEEL may be more conducive to the recovery of urinary continence and sexual function after RARP.

Objective:To investigate the effect of dexmedetomidine on the intraoperative and early postoperative complications of patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation.Methods:This is a retrospective cohort study. The clinical data of 399 patients who underwent orthotopic liver transplantation at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2016 to September 2020 were retrospectively collected. There were 319 males and 80 females, aged (50.9±10.2) years (range: 10 to 73 years). These patients were divided into the control group (369 cases) and the dexmedetomidine group (30 cases) according to whether dexmedetomidine was continuously pumped intravenously during the operation until the operation ended. The 1∶2 propensity score matching was used to match the preoperative and intraoperative conditions of the two groups of patients, and the caliper width was 0.2. Outcome indicators included intraoperative postreperfusion syndrome, acute kidney injury and pulmonary complications within 7 days after surgery, length of hospital stay, time of stay in ICU, duration of assisted mechanical ventilation, rate of reintubation, 6-month and 1-year survival and recurrence-free survival rate after surgery. The independent sample t test, χ2 test, Mann-Whitney U test or Fisher exact test was used to statistically analyze the data of the two groups of patients, respectively. Survival curves of overall survival and disease-free-survival were plotted by Kaplan-Meier method, and the survival rate and recurrence-free survival rate were compared by Log-rank test. Results:A total of 78 patients were included after propensity score matching, including 26 in the dexmedetomidine group and 52 in the control group. The incidence of acute kidney injury in the dexmedetomidine group within 7 days after surgery was 0 (0/26), significantly lower than that of the control group (21.2%,11/52)(corrected χ2=4.776, P=0.029). There were no significant differences in the incidence of intraoperative postreperfusion syndrome and pulmonary complications within 7 days after surgery, length of hospital stay, ICU time, the duration of assisted mechanical ventilation, rate of reintubation, 6-month and 1-year survival, and recurrence-free survival rate after surgery between the two groups (all P>0.05). Conclusion:Continuous infusion of dexmedetomidine via intravenous pump during operation may be beneficial in reducing the incidence of acute kidney injury within 7 days after orthotopic liver transplantation.

Objective:To analyze the risk factors and prognosis for early acute kidney injury (AKI) after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT).Methods:The retrospective study was conduc-ted. The clinicopathological data of 340 pairs of donor and recipients undergoing OLT in The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University from January 2016 to January 2020 were collected. There were 262 males and 78 females of donors. There were 268 males and 72 females of recipients, aged (51±11)years. Of 340 recipients, 217 cases without postoperative early AKI were divided into the non-AKI group and 123 cases with postoperative early AKI were divided into the AKI group. Measure-ment data with normal distribution were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the independent sample t test. Measurement data with skewed distri-bution were represented as M( IQR), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were described as absolute numbers or percentages, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test. Comparison of ordinal data was conducted using the non-parameter test. Multivariate analysis was conducted using the binary Logistic regre-ssion model with forward method. The nomogram predictive model was constructed using the R software with its RMS package (R3.6.1). The efficacy of the predictive model was validated using the area under curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and internal validation of the predictive model was performed using the Bootstrap method. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to draw survival curves, and Log-rank test was used for survival analysis. Results:(1) Com-parison of preoperative clinical characteristics between donors and recipients of the non-AKI group and the AKI group. There was a significant difference in overweight of donors between the non-AKI group and the AKI group ( P<0.05). There were significant differences in preoperative hypertension, viral hepatitis, pathological types, international normalized ratio, fibrinogen levels, platelet (PLT), hemoglobin, and anemia of recipients between the non-AKI group and the AKI group ( P<0.05). (2) Comparison of surgical situations between recipients of the non-AKI group and the AKI group. There were significant differences in intraoperative urine output, volume of intraoperative blood loss, peak serum potassium after reperfusion, massive transfusion, plasma infusion, cryoprecipitate infusion, and aminocaproic acid use of recipients between the non-AKI group and the AKI group ( P<0.05). (3) Influencing factors for postoperative early AKI and construction and evaluation of the nomogram predictive model for postoperative early AKI. Results of multivariate analysis showed that donors of overweight, recipients of preoperative hypertension, recipients of non-viral hepatitis, recipients of preoperative severe PLT reduction, recipients of less intraoperative urine output, recipients of severe post-reperfusion hypotension, recipients of high peak serum potassium after reperfusion, recipients with intraoperative plasma infusion were independent risk factors for postoperative early AKI ( odds ratio=1.982, 3.365, 0.519, 3.615, 0.169, 2.480, 1.500, 1.001, 95% confidence interval as 1.160-3.388, 1.649-6.865, 0.293-0.917, 1.358-9.621, 0.061-0.464, 1.246-4.934, 1.003-2.243, 1.000-1.001, P<0.05). The nomogram predictive model for postoperative early AKI was constructed based on the results of multivariate analysis. Results of ROC curve showed the AUC was 0.769 (95% confidence interval as 0.717-0.820). Results of the calibration curve showed that the predictive results of nomogram predictive model fitted well with the actual situation, with a mean absolute error of 0.016. (4) Comparison of prognosis between recipients of the non-AKI group and the AKI group. There were significant differences in postopera-tive peak creatinine, peak brain natriuretic peptide, duration of intensive care unit stay, mechanical ventilation time, re-intubation of recipients between the non-AKI group and the AKI group ( Z=-4.836, -5.652, -5.861, -6.533, χ2=14.676, P<0.05). All 340 recipients were followed up. For recipients of hepatocellular carcinoma, the 6-month survival rates after surgery were 87.8% and 75.6% of the non-AKI group and the AKI group, respectively, showing a significant difference between them ( χ2=4.010, P<0.05), and the overall survival rates were 46.7% and 56.1% of the non-AKI group and the AKI group, respectively, showing no significant difference between them ( χ2=0.047, P>0.05). For recipients of benign liver disease, the 6-month survival rates after surgery were 89.8% and 78.0% of the non-AKI group and the AKI group, respectively, showing a significant difference between them ( χ2=6.401, P<0.05), and the overall survival rates were 81.4% and 68.0% of the non-AKI group and the AKI group, respectively, showing a significant difference between them ( χ2=4.452, P<0.05). Conclusions:Donors of overweight, recipients of preoperative hypertension, recipients of non-viral hepatitis, recipients of preoperative severe PLT reduction, reci-pients of less intraoperative urine output, recipients of severe post-reperfusion hypotension, recipi-ents of high peak serum potassium after reperfusion, recipients with intraoperative plasma transfu-sion were independent risk factors for postoperative early AKI. Nomogram predictive model has well clinical application value. For recipients of benign liver disease, the 6-month survival rate after surgery and overall survival rate of recipients in the non-AKI group are superior to those of the AKI group.