Objective To analyze the screening results of prostate cancer(PCa)based on the serum prostate-specific antigen(PSA)level in middle-aged and elderly men in Kaifeng,so as to provide reference for optimizing the early screening strategy of PCa.Methods A multicenter cross-sectional design was adopted to analyze the serum PSA test results of male residents aged 52 to 94 collected from 14 community health service stations in Kaifeng during Jul.2024 and Apr.2025. Participants with PSA ≥4 μg/L were recommended to undergo prostate biopsy at a tertiary grade A hospital for a confirmed diagnosis.Multivariate logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of referral compliance.The PSA positivity rate,referral loss rate,puncture willingness rate,and biopsy positivity rate were calculated.Results A total of 2812 men received free PSA screening.Among them,248 had abnormal PSA(≥4 μg/L),with a positive rate of 8.8%(248/2812).Only 105 cases were successfully referred to a tertiary grade A hospital,with a referral rate of 42.3%(105/248),and the referral loss rate reached 57.7%.Fifty-seven patients were advised to undergo prostate biopsy,but only 23 actually underwent prostate biopsy,and the willingness rate was 40.4%(23/57).Fourteen cases were diagnosed with PCa and the positive rate of prostate biopsy was 60.9%(14/23).The overall detection rate of PCa was 0.5%(14/2812).In the screening stage,the median PSA was 6.7(4.8-11.2)μg/L.The Spearman correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between participant age and PSA level(r_s=0.28,P＜0.001).In the diagnostic stage,only 40.4% of the referred patients underwent prostate biopsy,and the loss rate reached 59.6%.The median PSA in the PCa group was significantly higher than that in the non-PCa group(9.8 μg/L vs. 5.1 μg/L,P=0.002).Multivariate logistic regression analyses showed that advanced age(OR=1.08)and educational level of primary school or below(OR=3.32)were independent influencing factors for referral disorders(P＜0.001).In terms of screening efficacy,the overall biopsy positivity rate was 5.6%(14/248).Conclusion Conducting PCa screening based on PSA testing among middle-aged and elderly male residents can significantly increase the detection rate of clinically meaningful PCa,thereby improving the overall prognosis of patients.However,insufficient referral compliance(only 42.3%)and low puncture willingness rate(only 40.4%)have limited the screening benefits.Therefore,the research suggests that measures such as strengthening health education,popularizing relevant knowledge,and providing referral support are needed to reduce the churn rate.

Objective:To understand trends and hotspots of TCM research papers published in journals with high IF basing on a bibliometric analysis.Methods:TCM research papers published between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2024 from 80 journals with IF higher than 16.0 were retrieved from medical, life sciences and comprehensive journals in Journal Citation Reports of 2024. CiteSpace 6.3.R1 and Excel 2021 were used to analyze and visualize annual publication volume, research fields, features of clinical study, institutes, funds and keywords.Results:A total of 51 papers were included, showing an increasing trend in annual publication volume; the main research areas were pharmacology, acupuncture&moxibustion and internal medicine. Multi-center randomized controlled trials were the main clinical studies; China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences was the leading institute in terms of publication volume; 84 funds were involved, including National Natural Science Foundation of China. Keywords that appeared most frequently were TCM, efficacy, double blind, electroacupuncture, stimulation and management.Conclusion:The number and quality of TCM research papers are improved simultaneously; future research needs to deepen international cooperation, and pay attention to the integration of TCM diagnosis and treatment characteristics and modern scientific research methods.

Objective:To explore the correlation between conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound features and invasive histological features of T 1a clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Methods:A retrospective case series study was conducted. Sixty-seven T 1a ccRCC patients who were admitted to Shanxi Province Cancer Hospital from May 2018 to August 2023 were selected. According to the World Health Organization (WHO)/International Society of Urology and Pathology (ISUP) renal tumor grading system, the patients were divided into the low-grade group (WHO/ISUP grades 1-2, 53 cases) and the high-grade group (WHO/ISUP grades 3-4, 14 cases). The conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound characteristics of two groups of patients were compared. Multivariate logistic regression model was used to analyze the independent factors of conventional ultrasound and contrast-enhanced ultrasound related to T 1a ccRCC with WHO/ISUP high grade. Results:There were no statistically significant differences in clinical characteristics between the two groups of patients (all P > 0.05). In conventional ultrasound examination, the proportion of patients with tumor exophytic rate <50% in the high-grade group was higher than that in the low-grade group [64.3% (9/14) vs. 34.0% (18/53)], and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2 = 4.23, P = 0.040); there were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of patients with different tumor maximum diameter, laterality, polarity, depth, echo, boundary, and shape between the two groups (all P > 0.05). In contrast-enhanced ultrasound examination, the proportion of patients lack of pseudocapsule sign in the high-grade group was higher than that in the low-grade group [57.1% (8/14) vs. 24.5% (13/53)], and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2 = 4.06, P = 0.044); there were no statistically significant differences in the distribution of patients with different perfusion mode, enhancement degree, enhancement uniformity, and regression mode between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the conventional ultrasound tumor exophytic rate < 50% (compared to exophytic rate ≥ 50%, OR = 3.732, 95% CI: 1.019-13.664, P = 0.047) and the absence of pseudocapsule sign (compared to the presence of pseudocapsule sign, OR = 4.357, 95% CI: 1.201-15.804, P = 0.025) on contrast-enhanced ultrasound were independent risk factors for high-grade T 1a ccRCC. Conclusions:T 1a ccRCC with the exophytic rate <50% and absence of pseudocapsule sign may have invasive histological features.

Objective To establish the preliminary reference intervals for the percentage and fluorescence intensity ratio(FIR)for 12 platelet-leukocyte aggregates(PLAs)in peripheral blood circulation.Methods A total of 124 healthy individuals(61 males and 63 females)aged 18-90 years were selected from Beijing Jishuitan Hospital.Venous blood samples were collected in EDTA-K2 tubes for anticoagulation,and flow cytometry was used to measure the percentage and FIR of 12 types of PLAs.All the participants were grouped by gender for comparative analysis.Reference intervals for each parameter were calculated according to the WS/T 402-2024 standard.Results The percentages of platelet-T lymphocyte aggregates,platelet-CD4+T lymphocyte aggregates,and platelet-CD8+T lymphocyte aggregates in males were significantly lower than those in females(all P＜0.05).The FIRs of platelet-T lymphocyte aggregates,platelet CD8+T lymphocyte aggregates,platelet-B lymphocyte aggregates,and platelet-NK cell aggregates in males were significantly higher than those in females(all P＜0.05).Conclusion The preliminary reference intervals for the percentage and FIR of 12 types of PLAs in healthy adults have been established.Different gender may influence the detection results of platelet-leukocyte aggregates,especially platelet-lymphocyte aggregates,and the corresponding FIR values in healthy adults.Further large-scale studies should be necessary to confirm these findings.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence of tinnitus and hearing loss in otology patients,and to analyze the characteristics and relationship of tinnitus and hearing loss in different age groups.METHODS A total of 4 716 patients who visited otology clinic were enrolled.Age,gender,and presence or absence of tinnitus were recorded.All patients completed pure tone audiometry.The characteristics and relationship between tinnitus and pure tone audiometry threshold were analyzed after age grouping.RESULTS 1.Among the 4 716 patients,2 772 patients had tinnitus,accounting for 58.78%,and the incidence was highest in the 41-70 years old group.3 521 cases(74.66%)had hearing loss.2.Among the patients with tinnitus,2 227 cases(80.34%)had hearing loss,which was higher than that of patients without tinnitus(66.56%,1 294/1 944 cases).There was a difference in the incidence of hearing loss between those with and without tinnitus in each age group from 11 to 70 years(P<0.05).3.The average hearing threshold of patients with tinnitus was higher than that of patients without tinnitus.There was a difference in the average hearing threshold between patients with and without tinnitus in each age group over 30 years old(P<0.05).4.The incidence of high frequency hearing loss with tinnitus was 24.57%(681/2 772),and the incidence of without tinnitus was 21.66%(421/1 944).The rate of high-frequency hearing loss in the 21-40 years old group with tinnitus was higher than that in the non-tinnitus group(P<0.05).CONCLUSION The incidence of hearing loss is higher and more severe in patients with tinnitus.Particular attention should be paid to tinnitus in young patients.The incidence of high-frequency hearing loss was higher in the young and middle-aged group of patients with tinnitus.Therefore,the evaluation of hearing threshold in patients with tinnitus is very important,which can provide a basis for clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

Background and Objectives: The Fractional Flow Reserve and Intravascular UltrasoundGuided Intervention Strategy for Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Intermediate Stenosis (FLAVOUR) trial demonstrated non-inferiority of fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with intravascular ultrasound (IVUS)-guided PCI. We sought to investigate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided PCI compared to IVUS-guided PCI in Korea. Methods: A 2-part cost-effectiveness model, composed of a short-term decision tree model and a long-term Markov model, was developed for patients who underwent PCI to treat intermediate stenosis (40% to 70% stenosis by visual estimation on coronary angiography).The lifetime healthcare costs and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) were estimated from the healthcare system perspective. Transition probabilities were mainly referred from the FLAVOUR trial, and healthcare costs were mainly obtained through analysis of Korean National Health Insurance claims data. Health utilities were mainly obtained from the Seattle Angina Questionnaire responses of FLAVOUR trial participants mapped to EQ-5D. Results: From the Korean healthcare system perspective, the base-case analysis showed that FFR-guided PCI was 2,451 U.S. dollar lower in lifetime healthcare costs and 0.178 higher in QALYs compared to IVUS-guided PCI. FFR-guided PCI remained more likely to be cost-effective over a wide range of willingness-to-pay thresholds in the probabilistic sensitivity analysis. Conclusions Based on the results from the FLAVOUR trial, FFR-guided PCI is projected to decrease lifetime healthcare costs and increase QALYs compared with IVUS-guided PCI in intermediate coronary lesion, and it is a dominant strategy in Korea.

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.

Objective:To analyze the liver histological characteristics and clinically related factors in inactive hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carriers (IHC), and also explore whether antiviral treatment is necessary for IHC, as defined in the 2022 version of the hepatitis B prevention and treatment guidelines.Methods:A multicenter, retrospective cohort study was conducted. Two hundred and thirty-one IHC cases who underwent liver biopsy histopathological examination in nine medical institutions, including Beijing Youan Hospital affiliated with Capital Medical University, from January 2018 to December 2023 were included. General informative data, clinical serological markers, and transient elastography (TE) examination results were collected. Patients were divided into a positive (148 cases) and a negative group (83 cases) according to the results of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA detection. The differences in liver pathological inflammatory activity (G) and liver fibrosis stage (S) were analyzed between the two groups to explore the correlation between liver tissue conditions and clinically related factors. Comparsions of normally distributed continwous data, skeukd continuous data, and categorical data between groups are performed using t tests, Mann-Whitney U tests and χ2 tests, respectively. Results:The age of 231 IHC cases was 43 (38, 51) years old, with 95.2% (220/231) aged ≥30 years, and males accounted for 64.9% (150/231). HBsAg and HBV DNA levels were 131.9 (20.8, 400.9) IU/mL and 94.0 (0, 448.5) IU/mL, respectively, of which 35.9% (83/231) were HBV DNA negative (<20 IU/mL). The remarkable proportions of G≥2, S≥2, and liver injury (G≥2 and/or S≥2) in liver tissue were 16.5% (38/231), 29% (67/231), and 35.9% (83/231), respectively. The S≥2 proportion was significantly higher in the HBV DNA-negative group than the positive group (42.2% vs. 21.6%, P<0.001), and it mainly occurred in the population cohort over 30 years old (44.9% vs. 31.0%, P=0.04). The liver stiffness measurement (LSM), aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI), and platelet (PLT) were significantly higher in the S≥2 group than the S<2 group ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Clinicians can comprehensively evaluate the degree of liver fibrosis in IHC based on clinical factors such as age, PLT, APRI, and LSM, even if the liver histological results are lacking. The China 2022 version guidelines define that nearly half of IHC has histological indications for antiviral therapy, and liver biopsy and prompt treatment can be recommended.