Humans ; Amyloidosis ; Amyloid ; Cardiomyopathies

Objective:To search, evaluate, and summarize the best evidence for difficult peripheral intravenous catheterization in children.Methods:Following the "6S" evidence pyramid model, literature related to the management of difficult peripheral veins in children was searched in both English and Chinese databases including UpToDate, BMJ Best Practice, National Guidelines Clearinghouse, the Joanna Briggs Institute Evidence-Based Health Care Database, PubMed, Medlive, SinoMed, CNKI, and Wanfang Database. The search period was from the establishment of the database to January 2023. Two researchers trained in systematic evidence-based nursing, independently evaluated the quality of included literature and extracted relevant evidence.Results:Five articles were included: two guidelines, two expert consensuses, and one systematic review. 19 best evidence were summarized, covering five aspects: difficult vein quality management, difficult vein assessment, difficult intravenous catheterization site and needle type selection, difficult intravenous catheterization auxiliary methods, and handling of failed difficult intravenous catheterization.Conclusions:This study summarizes the best evidence for difficult peripheral intravenous catheterization in children, demonstrating clinical nursing practicality. It provides evidence-based guidance for pediatric nursing staff performing difficult intravenous catheterization.

Objective:To investigate the clinical and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) characteristics of heart involvement in patients with Fabry disease (AFD).Methods:From January 2018 to March 2021, eight AFD patients [3 males and 5 females, mean age (50±11) years old, range 26-60 years old] confirmed by genetic testing or pathology in Fuwai Hospital were retrospectively included in this study. At the same time, sixteen patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) [6 males and 10 females, mean age (46±15) years old] and 16 healthy individuals [6 males and 10 females, mean age (51±11) years old] were included as controls. The clinical baseline data and CMR data of the patients were collected and analyzed. The CMR data were analyzed using the software CVI42, with the corresponding parameters automatically generated. One-way ANOVA or Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the differences in the parameters among the three groups. Independent-samples t test, Fisher precise test or Mann-Whitney U test were used for the comparison between each two groups. Results:Statistically significant difference was found in renal insufficiency between the HCM group and the AFD group; No other significant difference was found in other clinical factors and ECG results (all P>0.05). CMR results showed that in the AFD group, there were 5 cases with symmetric or roughly symmetric hypertrophy, and 3 with asymmetric hypertrophy. The late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) showed myocardial enhancement in 5 patients, mainly presenting as multiple intermural enhancement, and partially as local subendocardial enhancement. In the HCM group, fourteen cases suffered mainly asymmetric ventricular septal thickening, with or without thickening of other parts of left ventricular wall; and 2 cases had thickening of middle and distal part of the left ventricle. The LGE showed myocardial enhancement in 14 patients, which manifested as focal or patchy enhancement in hypertrophic myocardium, including focal enhancement in the right ventricular insertion of ventricular septum (more common) and subendocardial enhancement in the middle and far segments of left ventricle. Statistically significant difference was found in the differences between the left atrial anterior posterior diameter, the maximum wall thickness of left ventricular, the left ventricular myocardial mass index (LVMI) and the native T 1 value among the three groups (all P<0.001). However, there was no statistically significant difference in the left atrial anterior posterior diameter and the maximum wall thickness of left ventricular between AFD group and HCM group ( P>0.05). The LVMI in AFD group was higher than that in healthy group and HCM group (all P<0.05). Significant difference was found in the native T 1 value among the three groups, with the native T 1 value of the AFD group [(1 177.4±46.0) ms] was significantly lower than that of the healthy group [(1 244.5±34.3) ms] and the HCM group [(1 278.8±41.6) ms], with ( F=13.10, P<0.001). Conclusions:The clinical characteristics of AFD and HCM are quite similar. When AFD is suspected, CMR imaging should be the first choice for imaging examination. Especially, T 1 mapping imaging can provide important information for the diagnosis of AFD.

Objective:To investigate the clinical characteristics of vasa previa (VP) with low-lying placenta (LP).Methods:A retrospective case-control study was conducted on pregnant women with VP who delivered at Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center from January 2015 to August 2021. According to the status of LP, these cases were classified into VP with LP (VP+LP) and VP without LP (VP-LP) group. The cases diagnosed with placenta previa (PP, n=128) during the same period were collected as control. Maternal-fetal clinical characteristics and outcomes were compared among the three groups using t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Chi-square test (or Fisher's exact test). Results:During the study period, 116 VP cases were diagnosed, accounting for 0.085% (116/136 450) of all deliveries. Apart from one case of intrauterine death caused by non-VP reasons in the third trimester, there were 64 in the VP+LP group and 51 in the VP-LP group. VP+LP cases accounted for about 2.9% (64/2 219) of all the cases with PP or LP. The proportions of multiparae and women with a history of cesarean section were significantly higher in the VP+LP group than in the VP-LP group [62.5% (40/64) vs 39.2% (20/51), χ 2= 6.17, P=0.013; 31.3% (20/64) vs 13.7% (7/51), χ 2= 4.85, P=0.028]. Besides, a rare type of VP (type Ⅲ) was only found in the VP+LP group (9.4%, 6/64). The median gestational age at first diagnosis by prenatal ultrasound was significantly larger in the VP+LP group than in the VP-LP group [28.3 (23.6-31.7) vs 23.9 (23.3-25.9) weeks, Z=2.61, P=0.007]. There was no significant difference in the incidence of antepartum hemorrhage between the two groups. In contrast, the amount of postpartum hemorrhage was significantly increased in the VP+LP group [550 (436-732) vs 420 (300-540) ml, Z=3.37, P=0.001]. Compared with the VP-LP group, the VP+LP group showed a lower incidence of lower neonatal Apgar score (<7 at 5 min) and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy [0.0%(0/64) vs 6.9%(4/58), 0.0%(0/64) vs 8.6% (5/58), Fisher's exact test, both P<0.05]. No neonatal death was reported in the VP+LP and VP-LP groups. No significant difference in the incidence of antepartum hemorrhage was found between the VP+LP group and the PP group. Still, the median time at delivery was earlier [36.0 (34.3-36.9) vs 37.0 (35.7-37.3) weeks, Z=3.79, P<0.001], and the incidence of abnormal fetal heart rate was higher [10.9% (7/64) vs 3.1% (4/128), Fisher's exact test , P=0.044] in the VP+LP group. Furthermore, the neonatal NICU admission rate and the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome were significantly higher in the VP+LP group than in the PP group [36.4% (24/66) vs 12.1% (16/132), χ 2= 16.04, P<0.001; 25.8% (17/66) vs 12.1% (16/132), χ 2= 5.89, P=0.015]. Conclusions:For VP+LP cases, there might be an additional type (type Ⅲ VP). Patients with VP+LP would have more blood loss within 24 h after delivery and a higher risk of adverse neonatal outcomes. Intensive attention should be paid to those diagnosed with LP during the third trimester to identify any VP.

Objective:To analyze the characteristics and hot spots of hospital management projects funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC), for the reference for furthering improving the modernization level of hospital management.Methods:The NSFC funded research projects in hospital management during 2010-2020 was searched. Project name, keywords, approval year, affiliation and other informations were obtained. CiteSpace was used for bibliometric analysis of these research projects, while all the data acquired were subject to descriptive analysis and frequency analysis.Results:The number of hospital management projects funded by NSFC increased from 4 in 2010(0.93 million yuan) to 32(9.94 million yuan) in 2020, totaling 192 projects and 72.76 million yuan. These numbers consisted of 90 general projects(46.9%) and 79(41.1%) youth fund projects respectively. All the funded projects were distributed in sub-disciplines under the NSFC first-level discipline of macro management and policy, namely health management and policy(154) and medical/drug management and policy(38). The hotspots of the funded projects covered performance evaluation, payment method, public health system, health economics, hierarchical diagnosis and treatment, utility theory, regional medical alliance, essential medicine system, capitation and incentive strategy, and so on.Conclusions:Recent years are witnessing a rising trend in the number and grants of NSFC projects on hospital management. More and more funds are granted to universities, especially young researchers, and a hospital management research system has been initially taken shape. Hospital management in China should take into full account of the management characteristics and the status quo of the medical and health field, focus on performance appraisal incentive mechanism, hierarchical medical system, construction of medical alliances. and patient medical experience as well. In addition, the cooperation between hospitals and universities should be strengthened in order to promote the translation of research results.

Objective:To explore the clinical value of T 1 mapping/indexed extracellular volume fraction (iECV) quantified with cardiac MR (CMR) parameters, and its correlation with traditional indicators of myocardial dysfunction in aortic insufficiency (AI) patients. Methods:A total of 36 patients clinically and radiologically diagnosed with chronic AI in our hospital between May 2012 and February 2016 were retrospectively selected. All AI patients underwent conventional CMR protocol, native and post T 1 mapping. CMR parameters, such as aortic regurgitant fraction (RF), late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) mass fraction, myocardial extracellular volume fraction (ECV) and iECV. Based on the values of aortic RF, AI patients were divided into mild AI group (9 cases), moderate AI group (14 cases) and severe AI group (13 cases). The clinical characteristics were teased from the patients′ electronic medical records. Univariate analysis of variance was used to compare the measurement data of native T 1 mapping, post-contrast T 1 mapping, ECV, and iECV. LSD test was used for pair wise comparison between the mild AI, moderate AI and severe AI groups. Data about cardiovascular history, New York Heart Association (NYHA) heart function classification, and LGE were compared by chi-square test or Fisher exact test. The correlation between left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) and iECV was evaluated by Spearman correlation analysis. Results:There was no difference in age, sex, cardiovascular history among the three groups. Comparison of patients with different severity of AI in the three groups: (1) There was statistically significant difference in the LGE positive rate among the three groups ( P=0.023), while the myocardial replacement of fibrosis increased with the grade of aortic regurgitation. (2) There was no statistically significant difference in the measurement data of native T 1 mapping, post-contrast T 1 mapping, ECV among the three groups ( H=1.815, 0.929, 2.496, all P values>0.05), while the diffuse myocardial fibrosis tended to increase with the degree of aortic regurgitation. There was statistically significant difference in iECV among the three groups ( H=16.725, P<0.001). The measurement data of iECV in the severe AI group was significantly higher than those in the other two groups ( P<0.05). LVEF value was inversely correlated with iECV ( r=-0.649, P<0.001). Conclusions:Quantitative T 1 mapping/iECV can serve as a parameter to noninvasively identify diffuse myocardial fibrosis in AI patients of different severities. It changes with LVEF and can manifest the reversible stage of left ventricular decompensation.

Objective: To investigate the cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging characteristics and influence factors of aortic insufficiency (AI) patients with myocardial fibrosis. Method: This retrospective study included 59 AI patients who received CMR and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) examinations from June 2011 to February 2015. AI patients were divided into 2 groups: bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) group (n=30) and non-BAV group (n=29). Patients were also divided into late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) group (n=27) and non-LGE group (n=32). The baseline clinical characteristics were collected through electronic medical records. Hemodynamic parameters such as grade of AI, cardiac functional parameters and LGE mass fraction (LGE%) were measured by CMR post-processing analysis. Kappa test was used to assess the consistency of AI severity between CMR and TTE, and the multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate influence factors of myocardial fibrosis in AI patients. Results: (1) 56 (94.9%) patients were male, and the mean age was (44.2±11.0) years old. There was no significant difference in age and gender, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, alcoholic consumption between BAV and non-BAV group (all P>0.05). There were a higher proportion of smoking history (P=0.008), a lower body mass index (BMI) (P=0.020) in the LGE group than in the non-LGE group. (2) The accuracy of CMR in diagnosis of BAV was 96.7% (29/30) compared to the gold standard. In the BAV group, 20 patients (66.7%) were with fusion of left and right cusp (L-R), 5 patients (16.7%) were with fusion of right and noncoronary cusp (R-N), 5 patients (16.7%) were with fusion of left and noncoronary cusp (L-N); patients with BAV had larger left ventricular end diastolic volume index (LVEDVi), left ventricular end systolic volume index (LVESVi), higher proportion of LGE and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) than those in non-BAV group (all P<0.05). There were 19 patients with BAV in the LGE group, the cases of L-R, R-N, L-N were 10 (52.6%), 5 (26.3%), and 4 (21.1%), respectively. In the non-LGE group, patients with BAV of L-R, R-N, L-N were 10 (90.9%), 0, and 1 (9.1%), respectively. Patients with LGE had lower body surface area (BSA), LVEF and larger LVEDVi, LVESVi, left ventricular mass index (LVMi) and higher proportion of BAV compared patients without LGE. In addition, the proportion of moderate and severe AI patients was significantly higher in BAV group than in non-BAV group (P=0.009). (3) The consistency of CMR and TTE in evaluating the severity of AI patients: the agreement between TTE and CMR regarding AI severity was satisfactory (kappa value was 0.624, 95%CI 0.402-0.831, P<0.001). (4) The linear regression analysis demonstrated a negative correlation between LVEF and LGE% in BAV and non-BAV group (P<0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of BAV was an independent risk factor of left ventricucar fibrosis (OR=5.050, 95%CI 1.220-20.908, P=0.025) after adjustment for LVEF, hypertension, LVEDVi and LVMi. Conclusion Multi-parametric CMR provides a satisfactory noninvasive tool for estimation of myocardial fibrosis and ventricular remodeling in patients with AI, and BAV is an independent risk factor for myocardial fibrosis in patients with AI.

Objective To investigate the cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging characteristics and influence factors of aortic insufficiency (AI) patients with myocardial fibrosis. Method This retrospective study included 59 AI patients who received CMR and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) examinations from June 2011 to February 2015. AI patients were divided into 2 groups: bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) group (n=30) and non?BAV group (n=29). Patients were also divided into late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) group (n=27) and non?LGE group (n=32). The baseline clinical characteristics were collected through electronic medical records. Hemodynamic parameters such as grade of AI, cardiac functional parameters and LGE mass fraction (LGE% ) were measured by CMR post?processing analysis. Kappa test was used to assess the consistency of AI severity between CMR and TTE, and the multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate influence factors of myocardial fibrosis in AI patients. Results (1) 56 (94.9%) patients were male, and the mean age was (44.2 ± 11.0) years old. There was no significant difference in age and gender, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, alcoholic consumption between BAV and non?BAV group (all P>0.05). There were a higher proportion of smoking history (P=0.008), a lower body mass index (BMI) (P=0.020) in the LGE group than in the non?LGE group. (2) The accuracy of CMR in diagnosis of BAV was 96.7%(29/30) compared to the gold standard. In the BAV group, 20 patients (66.7%) were with fusion of left and right cusp (L?R), 5 patients (16.7%) were with fusion of right and noncoronary cusp (R?N), 5 patients (16.7%) were with fusion of left and noncoronary cusp (L?N) ; patients with BAV had larger left ventricular end diastolic volume index (LVEDVi), left ventricular end systolic volume index (LVESVi), higher proportion of LGE and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) than those in non?BAV group (all P<0.05). There were 19 patients with BAV in the LGE group, the cases of L?R, R?N, L?N were 10 (52.6%), 5 (26.3%), and 4 (21.1%), respectively. In the non?LGE group, patients with BAV of L?R, R?N, L?N were 10 (90.9%), 0, and 1 (9.1%), respectively. Patients with LGE had lower body surface area (BSA), LVEF and larger LVEDVi, LVESVi, left ventricular mass index (LVMi) and higher proportion of BAV compared patients without LGE. In addition, the proportion of moderate and severe AI patients was significantly higher in BAV group than in non?BAV group (P=0.009). (3) The consistency of CMR and TTE in evaluating the severity of AI patients: the agreement between TTE and CMR regarding AI severity was satisfactory (kappa value was 0.624, 95%CI 0.402-0.831, P＜0.001). (4) The linear regression analysis demonstrated a negative correlation between LVEF and LGE% in BAV and non?BAV group (P<0.001). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the presence of BAV was an independent risk factor of left ventricucar fibrosis (OR=5.050, 95%CI 1.220-20.908, P=0.025) after adjustment for LVEF, hypertension, LVEDVi and LVMi. Conclusion Multi?parametric CMR provides a satisfactory noninvasive tool for estimation of myocardial fibrosis and ventricular remodeling in patients with AI, and BAV is an independent risk factor for myocardial fibrosis in patients with AI.

Objective To study on the procedure, safety and effectiveness of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) implant applied to cranioplasty of skull defect. Methods A total of 11 cases (10 male, 1 female) of unilateral skull defect, more than 6 months post operation, were included in this study. PEEK implant was custom-made by three-dimensional numerically controlled processing depended on the data obtained from 1 mm-slice CT scan before cranioplasty individually. Autoclaved implants were applied to cranioplastic surgeries under general anesthesia. Findings of imaging examination and vital signs were compared before and after operation. Vital sign changes and circumstances during procedure were noted, and following-up reviews were performed on 2-week, 3-month and 1 year after operation respectively. Results Wounds healing were uneventful in 11 cases, no postoperative paresthesia presented. Surgical complications including temporary subcutaneous exudates were cleared up by puncture and aspiration in 5 cases, subcutaneous hematoma duo to drainage removal in 1 case, of which an emergency evacuation was performed and the implant was still with instant incision closure and then smooth recovery eventually. No significant abnormal fluctuation of laboratory examination was reported, moreover no artifact interference was found on postoperative CT scan or MR image. The subjective feelings and external sensory effects are satisfactory in patients. No emerging dysfunction of central nervous system or other organs was found, and no long-term complication was appeared. Conclusion It is feasible and safe to apply PEEK implant to cranioplasty without additional operative difficulty. This kind of material is an ideal alternative for repairing skull defect to patients with good financial condition and specific demands for postoperative status especially.

OBJECTIVETo assess the value of 15 short tandem repeat (STR) loci selected by an AmpFLSTR Identifilersystem for personal identification and paternity testing among ethnic Hans from Xiamen, Fujian.

METHODSFor 400 unrelated individuals, allelic frequencies for the 15 STR loci from the AmpFLSTR Identifilerkit were determined. Population genetics parameters for forensic usage were calculated.

RESULTSNo deviation of the observed allele frequency from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium expectations was found by Chi-square test (P>0.05). All of the 15 loci were highly polymorphic. Observed heterozygosity has varied between 0.580 and 0.868. Matching probability was between 0.036 and 0.148. Power of discrimination was between 0.798 and 0.967. Polymorphic information content was between 0.560 and 0.850. And power of exclusion was between 0.268 and 0.730.

CONCLUSIONAll of the 15 loci selected by the AmpFLSTR Identifilersystem are highly polymorphic among ethnic Hans from Xiamen. By determining the alleles and allelic frequencies, data for genetic polymorphisms usable for paternity testing and personal identification for local population were obtained.

Alleles ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; genetics ; Chi-Square Distribution ; China ; Forensic Genetics ; methods ; Gene Frequency ; Genetics, Population ; methods ; Genotype ; Humans ; Linkage Disequilibrium ; Microsatellite Repeats ; genetics ; Polymorphism, Genetic