ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of acupuncture combined with bloodletting and cupping in the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria（CSU） and to explore its potential mechanisms of action. MethodsSeventy CSU patients were randomly divided into loratadine group and acupuncture + bloodletting group， with 35 patients in each group. The loratadine group received oral loratadine tablets， 10 mg once daily in the evening. The acupuncture + bloodletting group received acupuncture at Zhongwan （CV 12）， Guanyuan （CV 4）， Tianshu （ST 25）， Zusanli （ST 36）， Sanyinjiao （SP 6）， Xuehai （SP 10）， Quchi （LI 11）， Hegu （LI 4）， Taichong （LR 3）， Baihui （GV 20）， and Shenting （GV 24）， once daily，along with bloodletting and cupping at Dazhui （GV 14） and Geshu （BL 17）， every other day. Both groups were treated for 4 weeks. The 7-day urticaria activity score（UAS7） was assessed before and after the treatment， and levels of serum immunoglobulin E （IgE）， interleukin-4 （IL-4）， interleukin-5 （IL-5）， eosinophil cationic protein （ECP）， plasma tissue factor （TF）， activated factor Ⅶ （FⅦa）， prothrombin fragment 1+2 （F1+2）， D-dimer （D-D） and complement component 5a （C5a） were detected. ResultsA total of 65 patients were included in the final analysis， 32 in the loratadine group and 33 in the acupuncture + bloodletting group. Before treatment， there was no significant difference in UAS7 score， serum IgE， IL-4， IL-5， ECP levels， or plasma TF， FⅦa， F1+2， D-D， C5a levels between groups （P＞ 0.05）. After treatment， both groups showed significant reductions in UAS7 score， serum IgE， IL-4， IL-5， and plasma TF， FⅦa， F1+2， D-D， and C5a levels compared to those before treatment （P＜0.01）. However， after treatment， there was no significant difference in UAS7 score and serum ECP， IgE， IL-4， IL-5 levels between groups （P＞0.05）. The acupuncture + bloodletting group showed lower plasma TF， FⅦa， F1+2， D-D and C5a levels compared to the loratadine group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. ConclusionAcupuncture combined with bloodletting and cupping can effectively improve the skin symptoms of CSU patients and reduce the levels of inflammatory factors. The potential mechanism of action may involve the regulation of the coagulation-complement-mast cell activation axis， thereby inhibiting mast cell degranulation.

This consensus will introduce the characteristics of fillers used in the surgical cavities of domestic nasal surgery patients based on relevant literature and expert opinions. It will also provide recommendations for the selection of cavity fillers for different nasal diseases, with chronic sinusitis as a representative example.
Humans ; Nasal Cavity/surgery* ; Nasal Surgical Procedures ; China ; Consensus ; Sinusitis/surgery* ; Dermal Fillers

Acute lung injury (ALI) has been a kind of acute and severe disease that is mainly characterized by systemic uncontrolled inflammatory response to the production of huge amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the lung tissue. Given the critical role of ROS in ALI, a Fe₃O₄ loaded bovine serum albumin (BSA) nanocluster (BF) was developed to act as a nanomedicine for the treatment of ALI. Combining with NIR irradiation, it exhibited excellent ROS scavenging capacity. Significantly, it also displayed the excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions for lipopolysaccharides (LPS) induced macrophages (RAW264.7), and Sprague Dawley rats via lowering intracellular ROS levels, reducing inflammatory factors expression levels, inducing macrophage M2 polarization, inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway, increasing CD4⁺/CD8⁺ T cell ratios, as well as upregulating HSP70 and CD31 expression levels to reprogram redox homeostasis, reduce systemic inflammation, activate immunoregulation, and accelerate lung tissue repair, finally achieving the synergistic enhancement of ALI immunotherapy. It finally provides an effective therapeutic strategy of BF + NIR for the management of inflammation related diseases.

Objective:To investigate the correlations of urinary adverse reactions with dose to the bladder and urethra during external pelvic irradiation for locally advanced cervical cancer.Methods:This study retrospectively collected relevant dosimetric parameters and urinary symptoms, such as frequent, urgent, and painful urination, from locally advanced cervical cancer patients treated with external pelvic irradiation in the Department of Oncology, Affiliated Hospital of Guizhou Medical University. The dosimetric parameters examined in this study included the maximum, minimum, and mean doses to bladder and urethra (i.e., Dmax, Dmin and Dmean), mean doses received in an area of 0.1, 1, and 2 cm 3 around the planning target volume, D0.1 cm 3, D1 cm 3, D2 cm 3, and percentages of irradiated volumes in the whole organ volume under doses of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 Gy, V5 Gy, V10 Gy, V15 Gy, V20 Gy, V25 Gy, V30 Gy, V35 Gy, V40 Gy, V45 Gy, V50 Gy. Then the correlations between urinary symptoms and these dosimetric parameters were analyzed using the independent-sample t-test and the Logistic regression model. Results:The median volumes of bladder and urethra were 294.8 and 4.71 cm 3, respectively. Patients were divided into two groups based on the median division. The univariate analysis showed that urethral Dmax, Dmin, Dmean, V5 Gy, V10 Gy, V15Gy, V20 Gy, V25 Gy, V30 Gy, V35 Gy, V40 Gy, V45 Gy and V50 Gy correlated with urinary complications ( t = 14.30, 21.65, 32.19, 33.36, 16.62, 17.91, 21.52, 20.11, 12.27, 37.25, 30.18, 36.24 and 21.98, P<0.05). The multivariate analysis further indicates that urethral D2 cm 3, V20 Gy, V40 Gy and Bladder V40 Gy, D1 cm 3, D2 cm 3 were independent predictors of grade 2 urinary adverse reactions ( P<0.05). Conclusions:This study reported the correlations of relevant dosimetric parameters of urethra with urinary toxicity during external pelvic irradiation. It holds that urethral D2 cm 3, V20 Gy and V40 Gy should be restricted to minimize the risks of grade 2 urinary complications.

AIM:To evaluate the efficacy,safety,and economy of camrelizumab(CAM)combined with platinum-containing chemotherapy(CT)for the first-line treatment of locally advanced/meta-static non-small cell lung cancer(NSCLC).METH-ODS:Chinese and English databases such as Pubmed,the Cochrane Library,China Knowledge Network,Wanfang Data,and other related web-sites were systematically searched.After literature screening,quality assessment,and data extraction of the literature according to the inclusion and ex-clusion criteria,two researchers conducted a rapid health technology assessment(HTA).RESULTS:A total of 7 systematic evaluations/Meta-analyses and 17 economics evaluations were included.In terms of effectiveness,compared to docetaxel che-motherapy,CAM+CT significantly prolonged the overall survival(OS),progression-free survival(PFS),and improved the objective remission rate(ORR)of mutation-negative patients with locally ad-vanced/metastatic NSCLC.Compared with CT and pembrolizumab(PEM),CAM+CT significantly pro-longed the PFS,and improved the ORR of mutation-negative patients with locally advanced/metastatic NSCLC.Subgroup analysis showed that CAM+CT significantly prolonged PFS in patients with PD-L1 ≥1％and PD-L1 ≥ 50％compared with CT.Compared with CT,CAM+CT significantly prolonged the OS and PFS of mutation-negative patients with locally advanced/metastatic squamous NSCLC.Compared with sintilimab(SIN),CAM+CT significantly pro-longed the PFS of mutation-negative patients with locally advanced/metastatic squamous NSCLC.Sub-group analysis showed that CAM+CT significantly prolonged OS in patients with PD-L1＜1％com-pared with CT.In terms of safety,CAM+CT was comparable in terms of the occurrence of all grades of adverse events,but the incidence of grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events was significantly increased compared with CT and PEM for mutation-negative locally advanced/meta-static NSCLC patients.CAM+CT was significantly in-creased the occurrence of all grades of adverse events compared with CT,but was comparable in terms of the occurrence of grade 3 or higher treat-ment-related adverse events.In terms of economy,CAM+CT has a cost-effectiveness advantage over CT for patients with mutation-negative advanced/metastatic squamous NSCLC.CAM+CT has a cost-effectiveness advantage over CT and PEM+CT;and CAM+CT does not have a cost-effectiveness ad-vantage over SIN+CT for patients with mutation-negative locally advanced/metastatic non-squa-mous NSCLC.CONCLUSION:CAM+CT has good ef-ficacy and cost-effectiveness for the first-line treat-ment of locally advanced/metastatic NSCLC,and the safety aspect is compared with CT,PEM or slightly worse.

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effects of acupuncture combined with bloodletting on the expression of inflammatory factors in serum, the morphology of sensitized skin tissue and the mast cell degranulation in urticaria rats, and to explore the potential mechanism of this therapy for urticaria. METHODS: Among 42 SD rats of SPF grade, 6 rats were randomly collected for the preparation of sensitized antiserum; and the rest 36 rats were randomized into a blank group, a model group, a positive drug group, an acupuncture group, a bloodletting group and a combined treatment group (acupuncture + bloodletting), 6 rats in each one. The rat model of urticaria was established by passive cutaneous anaphylaxis. In the positive drug group, loratadine (1 mg•kg^-1) by gavage was administered once a day. In the acupuncture group, 1 h after gavage with 0.9% NaCl (1 mL), acupuncture was delivered at "Baihui" (GV 20), "Zhongwan" (CV 12), and bilateral "Quchi" (LI 11) and "Xuehai" (SP 10) for 15 min, once daily . In the bloodletting group, 1 h after gavage with 0.9% NaCl (1 mL), bloodletting was operated at "Dazhui" (GV 14) and bilateral "Geshu" (BL 17), around 0.1 mL of bleeding volume at each point, once daily. In the combined treatment group, 1 h after gavage with 0.9% NaCl (1 mL), the interventions as the acupuncture group and the bloodletting group were adopted, once daily. All the interventions started on day 6 of modeling, lasting 2 weeks. After intervention completion, antigenic stimulation was performed in the rats of each group. Using ELISA, the levels of serum immunoglobulin E (IgE), tryptase (TPS), interleukin-4 (IL-4), interleukin-5 (IL-5), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were detected. The diameter of the blue spots of the sensitized skin on the back was measured with ruler in each rat. The morphology of sensitized skin tissue was observed using HE staining, and the degranulation of mast cells was observed using Toluidine blue staining. RESULTS: Compared with the blank group, in the model group, the levels of serum IgE, TPS, IL-4, IL-5 and TNF-α increased (P<0.01), the diameter of blue spot on the sensitized part of the rat back was larger (P<0.01), the degranulation rate of mast cells was elevated (P<0.01), and there were obvious inflammatory cell infiltration and edema in the dermis of sensitized skin tissue on the rat back. Compared with the model group, the serum levels of IgE, TPS, IL-4, IL-5 and TNF-α were reduced in the positive drug group, the acupuncture group, the bloodletting group and the combined treatment group (P<0.01, P<0.05); skin blue spot diameter was smaller in the positive drug group and the combined treatment group (P<0.05); the degranulation rate of mast cells decreased in the positive drug group, the acupuncture group, the bloodletting group and the combined treatment group (P<0.01); and the dermal edema, inflammatory infiltration were attenuated in the positive drug group, the acupuncture group, the bloodletting group and the combined treatment group. Compared with the acupuncture group and the bloodletting group, the serum levels of IgE, TPS, IL-4, IL-5 and TNF-α, as well as the degranulation rate of mast cells in the sensitized tissue were lower in the positive drug group and the combined treatment group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Acupuncture combined with bloodletting effectively suppress mast cell degranulation in the sensitized skin tissue on the back of urticaria rats, and ameliorate the histopathological morphology. Its effect mechanism may be related to inhibiting the differentiation and proliferation of helper T cells 2 and regulating the humoral immune response.
Animals ; Rats ; Mast Cells/immunology* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Male ; Cell Degranulation ; Humans ; Bloodletting ; Urticaria/immunology* ; Female ; Acupuncture Points ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha/blood* ; Interleukin-4/blood* ; Interleukin-5/blood* ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Immunoglobulin E/blood* ; Disease Models, Animal

BACKGROUND: Management of gastric leak after sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is challenging due to its unpredictable outcomes. We aimed to summarize the characteristics of SG leaks and analyze interventions and corresponding outcomes in a real-world setting. METHODS: To retrospectively review of 15,721 SG procedures from 2010 to 2020 based on a national registry. A cumulative sum analysis was used to identify a fitting curve of gastric leak rate. The Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank tests were performed to calculate and compare the probabilities of relevant outcomes. The logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictors of acute leaks. RESULTS: A total of 78 cases of SG leaks were collected with an incidence of 0.5% (78/15,721) from this registry (6 patients who had the primary SG in non-participating centers). After accumulating 260 cases in a bariatric surgery center, the leak rate decreased to a stably low value of under 1.17%. The significant differences presented in sex, waist circumference, and the proportion of hypoproteinemia and type 2 diabetes at baseline between patients with SG leak and the whole registry population ( P = 0.005, = 0.026, <0.001, and = 0.001, respectively). Moreover, 83.1% (59/71) of the leakage was near the esophagogastric junction region. Leakage healed in 64 (88.9%, 64/72) patients. The median healing time of acute and non-acute leaks was 5.93 months and 8.12 months, respectively. Acute leak (38/72, 52.8%) was the predominant type with a cumulative reoperation rate >50%, whereas the cumulative healing probability in the patients who required surgical treatment was significantly lower than those requring non-surgical treatment ( P = 0.013). Precise dissection in the His angle area was independently associated with a lower acute leak rate, whereas preservation ≥2 cm distance from the His angle area was an independent risk factor. CONCLUSIONS Male sex, elevated waist circumference, hypoproteinaemia, and type 2 diabetes are risk factors of gastric leaks after SG. Optimizing surgical techniques, including precise dissection of His angle area and preservation of smaller gastric fundus, should be suggested to prevent acute leaks.
Humans ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/complications* ; Obesity, Morbid ; Anastomotic Leak/epidemiology* ; Gastrectomy/methods* ; Reoperation/methods* ; Registries ; Laparoscopy/methods* ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To compare the effect of neoadjuvant chemotherapy vs. concurrent chemoradiotherapy on the target volume and organs at risk for locally advanced bulky (>4 cm) cervical cancer. Methods:From March 1, 2019 to June 30, 2021, 146 patients pathologically diagnosed with cervical cancer were selected and randomly divided into two groups using random number table method: the neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) + concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) group ( n=73) and CCRT group ( n=73). Patients in the NACT+CCRT group received 2 cycles of paclitaxel combined with cisplatin NACT, followed by CCRT, the chemotherapy regimen was the same as NACT. In the CCRT group, CCRT was given. Statistical description of categorical data was expressed by rate. The measurement data between two groups were compared by Wilcoxon rank-sum test for comparison of two independent samples, and the rate or composition ratio of two groups was compared by χ2 test. Results:Before radiotherapy, GTV in the NACT+CCRT group was (31.95±25.96) cm 3, significantly lower than (71.54±33.59) cm 3 in the CCRT group ( P<0.01). Besides, CTV and PTV in the NACT+CCRT group were also significantly lower compared with those in the CCRT group (both P<0.05). In terms of target volume dosimetry, D 100GTV, D 95CTV, V 100GTV, V 100CTV and V 95PTV in the NACT+CCRT group were significantly higher than those in the CCRT group (all P<0.05). The complete remision (CR) rates in the NACT+CCRT and CCRT groups were 86.3% and 67.6%, with statistical significance between two groups ( P<0.01) . Regarding organs at risk, NACT+CCRT group significantly reduced the dose to the bladder, rectum, small intestine and urethra compared with CCRT group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:NACT can reduce the volume of tumors in patients with large cervical masses, increase the radiation dose to tumors, reduce the dose to organs at risk, and make the three-dimensional brachytherapy easier. Therefore, NACT combined with CCRT may be a new choice for patients with locally advanced cervical cancer with large masses.

Objective:To establish a performance validation method for mNGS applied in BALF samples.Method:Hela cells were used as a representative of host cells, and simulated BALF samples were prepared by adding different concentrations of Hela cells, seven species of isolated pathogens (including Streptococcus pneumonia, Hemophilus influenza, Klebsiella pneumonia, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Adenovirus), and interfering substances to sterile normal saline. Clinical BALF samples were collected simultaneously, and the results of mNGS were evaluated using traditional detection methods as a reference. The limit of detection (LOD), precision, anti-interference ability, stability, and accuracy of mNGS were determined. Results:In the simulated samples, the LOD of Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Candida albicans, Cryptococcus neoformans, Aspergillus fumigatus, and Adenovirus were 150, 262, 102, 67, 96, 83 CFU/ml, and 439 copies/ml, respectively. The repeatability of the detection results for all pathogens of simulated positive BALF samples was 100%. The anti-interference test showed that the higher the concentration of human DNA, the fewer pathogen sequences detected by mNGS. Escherichia coli and Shigella sonnei were used to evaluate the ability of mNGS to distinguish closely related species. The results showed that the system could stably distinguish Escherichia coli and Shigella sonnei when the concentration of Shigella sonnei was 4, 000 CFU/ml. The stability test results showed that there was no significant change in the number of pathogen sequences detected whether after 1 to 3 freeze-thaw cycles or storage at 4 ℃, -20 ℃, or -80 ℃ for 36 h. Compared with traditional detection methods, the accuracy of 17 clinical samples was 82.4%(14/17). Continuous evaluation of clinical BALF samples simultaneously tested by mNGS and traditional methods at Tongji Hospital from October 25, 2021, to September 14, 2022, showed that the accuracy of mNGS compared to bacterial culture, fungal culture, mycobacterial culture, Mycobacterium tuberculosis culture, and conventional PCR techniques was 67.5%(472/699), 81.5%(570/699), 92.3%(335/363), 96.4%(350/363), and 86.8%(132/152), respectively. Compared with conventional PCR techniques, the accuracy of mNGS for detecting Pneumocystis jirovecii, Adenovirus, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae was 89.4%(84/94), 93.3%(56/60), and 87.1%(61/70), respectively. Conclusion:By preparing simulated BALF samples and using traditional detection methods as a reference, the performance characteristics of mNGS in detecting BALF samples can be preliminarily evaluated.

Objective:To investigate the optimal bladder filling volume in the 3D brachytherapy of postoperative cervical cancer.Methods:Totally 111 early cervical cancer patients with positive incisal margins or insufficient safety boundaries were included. The normal saline 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, and 100 ml were filled into their bladders, and accordingly six groups were determined, and 66, 69, 66, 69, 72, 56 person-times in each group, respectively. The CT-based simulation positioning was performed. According to the ICRU 89 report, high-risk clinical target volume and organs at risk such as bladder and rectum were delineated. The Oncentra planning system was used to prepare the treatment program. The high-risk clinical target volume (HR-CTV), D90, and the D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of organs at risk under different volumes were recorded. Results:Compared to the 60 ml group, the volume and dosage of HR-CTV in the groups of 50, 70, 80, 90, and 100 ml had no significant difference ( P>0.05). The D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of the bladder and rectum of patients in these groups significantly decreased, and the difference was statistically significant ( tbladder = 3.21, 5.83, 2.89, 12.95, 7.96, Pbladder = 0.031, 0.010, 0.041, 0.000, 0.001; trectum = 2.94, 4.66, 2.53, 5.89, 4.13, Prectum = 0.037, 0.024, 0.049, 0.005, 0.028). The pairwise comparison among these groups except for the 60 ml group showed that the volume and dosage of HR-CTV and the D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of bladder and rectum had no significant difference ( P > 0.05). Moreover, the D2 cm 3 and D1 cm 3 of sigmoid colon and small intestine of these groups had no significant difference ( P > 0.05). Conclusions:In the 3D brachytherapy of postoperative early cervical cancer, a bladder filling volume of 60 ml can ensure the volume and dose of HR-CTV and can protect the bladder and rectum compared with other filling volumes.