BACKGROUND: Effective interventions during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic require an understanding of patients' knowledge and perceptions that influence their behaviour. Our study assessed knowledge of COVID-19 among kidney transplant recipients and donors, hitherto unevaluated. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 325 kidney transplant recipients and 172 donors between 1 May 2020 and 30 June 2020. The survey questionnaire assessed knowledge levels of COVID-19, sociodemographic data, health status, psychosocial impact of COVID-19 and precautionary behaviours during the pandemic. RESULTS: The mean COVID-19 knowledge score of the study population was 7.5 (standard deviation: 2.2) out of 10. The mean score was significantly higher among kidney recipients compared to kidney donors (7.9 [1.9] vs. 6.7 [2.6]; P <0.001). Younger age (21-49 vs. ≥50 years) and higher education (diploma and higher vs. secondary and lower) were associated with significantly higher knowledge scores in donors, but not among recipients ( P -interactions ≤0.01). In both kidney recipients and donors, financial concerns and/or social isolation were associated with lower knowledge levels. CONCLUSIONS Concerted efforts are needed to improve COVID-19 knowledge in kidney transplant recipients and donors, particularly older donors, donors with lower education and patients with financial concerns or feelings of social isolation. Intensive patient education may mitigate the impact of education levels on COVID-19 knowledge levels.
Humans ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Kidney Transplantation ; Middle Aged ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Transplant Recipients/psychology* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tissue Donors/psychology* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Young Adult ; Aged ; Pandemics

Background: Multiple biomarkers have performed well in predicting type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk in Western populations. However, evidence is scarce among Asian populations. Methods: Plasma triglyceride-to-high density lipoprotein (TG-to-HDL) ratio, alanine transaminase (ALT), high-sensitivity Creactive protein (hs-CRP), ferritin, adiponectin, fetuin-A, and retinol-binding protein 4 were measured in 485 T2DM cases and 485 age-and-sex matched controls nested within the prospective Singapore Chinese Health Study cohort. Participants were free of T2DM at blood collection (1999 to 2004), and T2DM cases were identified at the subsequent follow-up interviews (2006 to 2010). A weighted biomarker score was created based on the strengths of associations between these biomarkers and T2DM risks. The predictive utility of the biomarker score was assessed by the area under receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC). Results: The biomarker score that comprised of four biomarkers (TG-to-HDL ratio, ALT, ferritin, and adiponectin) was positively associated with T2DM risk (P trend <0.001). Compared to the lowest quartile of the score, the odds ratio was 12.0 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.43 to 26.6) for those in the highest quartile. Adding the biomarker score to a base model that included smoking, history of hypertension, body mass index, and levels of random glucose and insulin improved AUC significantly from 0.81 (95% CI, 0.78 to 0.83) to 0.83 (95% CI, 0.81 to 0.86; P=0.002). When substituting the random glucose levels with glycosylated hemoglobin in the base model, adding the biomarker score improved AUC from 0.85 (95% CI, 0.83 to 0.88) to 0.86 (95% CI, 0.84 to 0.89; P=0.032). Conclusion A composite score of blood biomarkers improved T2DM risk prediction among Chinese.

BACKGROUND: Membrane CD36 is a fatty acid transporter implicated in the pathogenesis of metabolic disease. We aimed to evaluate the association between plasma CD36 levels and diabetes risk and to examine if the association was independent of adiposity among Danish population. METHODS: We conducted a case-cohort study nested within the Danish Diet, Cancer and Health study among participants free of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer and with blood samples and anthropometric measurements (height, weight, waist circumference, and body fat percentage) at baseline (1993 to 1997). CD36 levels were measured in 647 incident diabetes cases that occurred before December 2011 and a total of 3,515 case-cohort participants (236 cases overlap). RESULTS: Higher plasma CD36 levels were associated with higher diabetes risk after adjusting for age, sex and other lifestyle factors. The hazard ratio (HR) comparing high versus low tertile of plasma CD36 levels was 1.36 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00 to 1.86). However, the association lost its significance after further adjustment for different adiposity indices such as body mass index (HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 0.87 to 1.73), waist circumference (HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 0.88 to 1.68) or body fat percentage (HR, 1.20; 95% CI, 0.86 to 1.66). Moreover, raised plasma CD36 levels were moderately associated with diabetes risk among lean participants, but the association was not present among overweight/obese individuals. CONCLUSION Higher plasma CD36 levels were associated with higher diabetes risk, but the association was not independent of adiposity. In this Danish population, the association of CD36 with diabetes risk could be either mediated or confounded by adiposity.

Objective:To investigate the epidemiological characteristics and transmission chain of COVID-19 in two families, and to provide scientific evidence for effective prevention and control measures.Methods:Field epidemiological investigation was conducted for the COVID-19 cases occurred in two families and the close contacts in a county of Baotou city in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Descriptive statistical analysis on epidemiological data was conducted.Results:The infection source of the COVID-19 cases in the two families was a man who had living history in Wuhan. After his return, his parents were infected by him. A few days later, the members of a neighbor family were found to be infected, and relatives of this family were also infected after dining together repeatedly. Finally, ten confirmed cases and three suspected cases of COVID-19 were detected in the two families.Conclusions:Human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 can occur not only in a family but also in neighborhoods. The cases in two families had close relationship, indicating the necessity to strengthen the health education about COVID-19 prevention and control and the management of groups at high risk to reduce the incidence of COVID-19 in families and neighborhoods.

OBJECTIVE： To systematically evaluate the status quo of cost estimation in pharmacy intravenous admixture services （PIVAS）， and to provide cost basis for the construction of PIVAS in China. METHODS： Retrieved from PubMed， Embase， Cochrane library， CBM， CNKI， CSJD and Wanfang database from database establishment to Jan. 2019， the studies about the status quo of cost estimation in PIVAS of China were included. The descriptive analysis was conducted for content and method of cost estimation， infection to hospital. RESULTS： A total of 17 literatures were included， involving 8 before and after control studies， 6 experience sharing studies and 3 reviews. Existing reports showed that the estimation contents and methods of PIVAS cost were roughly the same. The cost included manpower， medical and health materials， fixed asset purchase， depreciation， repair costs， medicine cost and indirect costs. At the same time， the infection to hospital were reported， such as in manpower adopting， formulating detailed management measures and systems， concurrent allocation of the same kind of drugs， shortening infusion preparation and replacement time， in order to save manpower cost. CONCLUSIONS： PIVAS cost calculation method is roughly the same in some hospitals， but there is no uniform standard. It is necessary to further improve the PIVAS cost measurement standard and provide a basis for the construction and development of PIVAS in China.

BACKGROUND: Fetuin-A is a hepatokine that involved in the pathogenesis of insulin resistance. Previous epidemiological studies have found a positive association between blood fetuin-A and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) risk among Caucasians and African Americans. We aimed to investigate the prospective relationship between fetuin-A and T2DM in an Asian population for the first time. METHODS: A nested case-control study was established within a prospective cohort of Chinese living in Singapore. At blood collection (1999 to 2004), all participants were free of diagnosed T2DM and aged 50 to 79 years. At subsequent follow-up (2006 to 2010), 558 people reported to have T2DM and were classified as incident cases, and 558 controls were randomly chosen from the participants who did not develop T2DM to match with cases on age, sex, dialect group, and date of blood collection. Plasma fetuin-A levels were measured retrospectively in cases and controls using samples collected at baseline. Conditional logistic regression models were used to compute the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI). Restricted cubic spline analysis was used to examine a potential non-linear association between fetuin-A levels and T2DM risk. RESULTS: Compared with those in the lowest fetuin-A quintile, participants in the highest quintile had a two-fold increased risk of developing T2DM (OR, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.21 to 3.51). A non-linear association was observed (P nonlinearity=0.005), where the association between fetuin-A levels and T2DM risk plateaued at plasma concentrations around 830 µg/mL. CONCLUSION: There is a positive association between plasma fetuin-A levels and risk of developing T2DM in this Chinese population.
African Americans ; alpha-2-HS-Glycoprotein ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Case-Control Studies ; Cohort Studies ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Epidemiology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Insulin Resistance ; Logistic Models ; Odds Ratio ; Plasma ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Singapore

OBJECTIVE： To systematically evaluate the mode of personnel training in pharmacy intravenous admixture services （PIVAS） in China， and to provide reference for the comprehensive training of pharmacist in PIVAS in China. METHODS： PubMed， Embase， Cochrane Library， CBM， CJFD， VIP and Wanfang database were searched from the establishment of database to Sept. 2018. Studies which evaluated the training mode of PIVAS in China were included， and the results were presented by descriptive analysis in respects of training objects， training objectives， contents and evaluation indicators. RESULTS： A total of 5 literatures were included. The research types were 2 before-after control studies， 2 experience sharing studies and 1 review. 3 subjects were pharmacists， 1 subject was clinical pharmacists， and 1 subject was nurses. The training objectives were comprehensive quality training， clinical rational drug use level， pharmacy personnel training path and professional service ability. The specific training content of the training mode varied greatly， including professional theoretical knowledge， practical operation ability， pre-job training， professional psychological quality， professional ethics and laws and regulations， continuing education learning ability， career development planning and teaching ability. There were great differences in the evaluation indicators of training effectiveness， which were mainly reflected in team execution motivation and creativity， discoveny rate of unreasonable doctor’s advice， work efficiency， service quality， drug treatment level and satisfaction of PIVAS， etc. CONCLUSIONS： There are certain differences in the training objectives， training targets， specific contents and evaluation indicators of the PIVAS pharmacist training model in China. It is necessary to use the evidence- based method to construct the training mode for PIVAS pharmacist to provide support for clinical intravenous drug use.

OBJECTIVE： To systematically evaluate current status of charges in pharmacy intravenous admixture services （PIVAS）， and to provide reference for the formulation of China’s pharmacy intravenous admixture services （PIVAS） charging standards. METHODS： Retrieved from PubMed， Embase， Cochrane library， CBM， CNKI， VIP， Wanfang database and related goverment websets， the literatures about current status evaluation of charges in PIVAS of China were collected during the establishment of database to Jan. 2019. Cost estimation， charge standard， influential factors and other indicators were collected， and the results were presented by descriptive analysis. RESULTS： A total of 5 literatures were included， all of which were reviewed. According to the existing literatures， except for Shandong， Guangdong and Yunnan provinces， there were no regional charge standards in other provinces （districts and cities）. The cost estimation methods of PIVAS in these three provinces were basically the same. The cost could be obtained by adding up the business fees， labor fees， fees of medical instruments purchase and use， indirect fees etc. Dispensing charges in PIVAS were 3-5 yuan per piece for general drug， 5 yuan per piece for antibiotics and 8-12 yuan per piece for cancer chemotherapeutics， 20-35 yuan per piece for TPN. The charging level was mainly affected by local prices， PIVAS scale， hardware investment， management and other factors. CONCLUSIONS： There is no unified charging standard for PIVAS in most provinces （districts， cities） of China. The cost estimation methods of the hospitals from the included literatures are basically the same. It is necessary to construct national PIVAS charging standard and cost estimation method， which could provide a basis for formulating the price of medical and health services.

Objective To observe the effect of the long-term low-dose mifepristone on the treatment of hysteromyoma.Methods From March 2016 to December 2016 in Haiyan maternal and child health-care center,120 cases with hysteromyoma were selected as the object study and were given long term oral low-dose mifepristone.The uterus size, follicle stimulating hormone, myoma size, luteinizing hormone, estrogen and endometrium were observed Resultsafter treatment, the patients with uterine fibroids situation improved markedly, and appeared amenorrhea.At the same time, in patients with clinical symptoms were improved to a certain extent, six months after a drug follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone and estrogen levels significantly decreased, and there is no other significant side effects.In addition, on the analysis of the effectiveness of the treatment,86 cases were markedly improved,28 cases effective,6 cases ineffective, the total effective rate was 95%.Conclusion Long-term low-dose mifepristone has worked well in the treatment of uterine fibroids, can effectively reduce uterine fibroids, high security, in the process of follow-up of patients, no recurrence no satisfaction related data, the result can't reach this Conclusion , the authors modify please.Is the ideal way of conservative treatment of uterine fibroids, and is worth popularizing in the process of clinical application.

OBJECTIVE:To observe the effect of pathological lesion of renal tissue in rats with spontaneous hypertension (SHR),and study its mechanisms based on nuclear factorκB(NF-κB)signaling pathway. METHODS:21 SHR were randomly di-vided into model group and ICA low-dose,high-dose groups(20,40 mg/kg,denoted by ICA-L,ICA-H groups);other 7 homolo-gous Kyoto rats (WKY) were regarded as control group. All rats were intragastrically administrated,twice a day,for 11 weeks, rats in control group and model group received equal volume of double distilled water,ig. Pathological changes in renal tissue in each group were observed;Western blot method was used to detect protein expressions of p-NF-κB-p65,IκB and TNF-α in renal tissue. RESULTS:Compared with control group,model group showed disorder renal structure,narrow and irregular glomerular cysts;the protein expression of IκB was significantly down-regulated,protein expressions of p-NF-κB-p65 and TNF-α were signifi-cantly up-regulated(P<0.01). Compared with model group,the above-mentioned changes of rats showed improvement in ICA-L, ICA-H groups;the protein expression of IκB was significantly up-regulated in ICA-L,ICA-H groups (P<0.05 or P<0.01);the protein expressions of p-NF-κB-p65 and TNF-α were significantly down-regulated(P<0.01)in ICA-H groups;p-NF-κB-p65 pro-tein expression was significantly down-regulated in ICA-L group(P<0.05);while there was no significant difference in TNF-αpro-tein expression in ICA-L group(P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS:ICA plays a role in improving renal pathological lesion in SHR,and the mechanism may be related to inhibiting NF-κB signaling pathway.