Objective To explore the sex difference in clinical manifestations, echocardiographic features and prognosis of patients with bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) combined with moderate to severe aortic stenosis (AS). Methods The clinical data and echocardiographic follow-up parameters of patients diagnosed with BAV combined with moderate to severe AS at Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, from July 30, 2010 to August 1, 2015 were retrospectively collected. The composite endpoint was defined as all-cause mortality or surgical intervention. Kaplan-Meier survival curve and log-rank test were used to compare the risk of composite endpoint events between male and female patients, and Cox regression models were used to analyze independent risk factors for composite endpoint events. Results A total of 144 patients were included, with 69 males and 75 females, and a median age of 60 years. Compared to males, female patients were younger (58[46, 65] years vs 61[54, 67] years, P＝0.046), had a lower proportion of aortic valve calcification (61.1% vs 81.1%, P＝0.009), and a higher peak transvalvular pressure gradient (72[59, 88] mmHg vs 63[55, 72] mmHg, P＝0.002). In terms of left ventricular remodeling types, the proportion of concentric remodeling was higher in females than in males (36.0% vs 15.9%, P＝0.006), while the proportion of eccentric hypertrophy was lower in females than in males (10.7% vs 29.0%, P＝0.006). The proportion of female patients classified as New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class Ⅲ-Ⅳ was higher than that of males (45.3% vs 17.4%, P＜0.001), and left ventricular ejection fraction was higher in females (68%[65%, 72%] vs 65%[60%, 70%], P＝0.003). With a median follow-up of 49 months, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the risk of composite endpoint events was higher in females than in males (P＜0.001). Independent risk factors for composite endpoint events included female (HR＝1.74, 95%CI 1.02-2.96, P＝0.042), severe AS (HR＝1.99, 95%CI 1.18-3.36, P＝0.010), and NYHA functional class Ⅲ-Ⅳ (HR＝2.08, 95% CI 1.24-3.47, P＝0.005). Conclusions Sex significantly affects the clinical manifestations, echocardiographic characteristics, and prognosis of patients with BAV combined with moderate to severe AS, suggesting that sex-specific echocardiographic assessment and follow-up monitoring should be conducted for these patients.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the early changes in various liver function indicators in critically injured trauma patients assessed by intelligent calculation method, aiming to develop more advantageous diagnostic and treatment strategies for traumatic liver injury. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted. Critically injured trauma patients [injury severity score (ISS) ≥ 16, age > 18 years old] admitted to the Emergency Medical Center of Tianjin Fifth Central Hospital from January 1, 2022, to December 1, 2023 were enrolled. ISS score and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) assessed by intelligent calculation method were collected upon patient admission to the emergency medical center. Trends in liver function indicators in fasting venous serum were analyzed at 6, 24 and 72 hours after admission, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (TBil), prothrombin time (PT). Patients were grouped based on APACHE II scores into those with APACHE II < 15 and APACHE II ≤ 15, and liver function indicators within 6 hours of admission were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: A total of 112 critically injured trauma patients were included, with 83 males and 29 females, an average age of (47.78±14.84) years old. The median ISS score was 21.0 (18.0, 26.0). The most common cause of injury for critically injured trauma patients was road traffic accidents (68 cases, accounting for 60.71%), followed by falls from heights, compression injuries, heavy object injuries, knife stabs, and explosion injuries. The most common injured areas was the limbs and pelvis (97 cases, accounting for 86.61%), followed by chest injuries, surface skin and soft tissue injuries, abdominal and pelvic organ injuries, head injuries, and facial injuries. The proportion of elevated LDH, AST, and ALT within 6 hours of admission was 77.68%, 79.46%, and 52.68%, respectively, while the proportion of decreased ALB was 75.89%, the abnormal rates of ALP, GGT, TBil, and PT were all below 50%. The ALT and AST levels of patients at 24 hours and 72 hours after admission were significantly lower than those at 6 hours after admission [ALT (U/L): 37.0 (22.0, 66.0), 31.0 (21.2, 52.0) vs. 41.0 (25.0, 71.0), AST (U/L): 55.5 (30.0, 93.5), 40.0 (27.0, 63.2) vs. 69.5 (39.0, 130.8), all P < 0.05]. There was no statistically significant difference in ISS score between APACHE II > 15 group (45 cases) and APACHE II ≤ 15 group [67 cases; 21.0 (18.5, 26.5) vs. 20.0 (17.0, 22.0), P > 0.05]. Nevertheless, compared with patients with APACHE II ≤ 15, patients with APACHE II > 15 have a higher abnormality rate of ALT and AST within 6 hours of admission [ALT abnormal rate: 66.44% (29/45) vs. 44.78% (30/67), AST abnormal rate: 93.33% (42/45) vs. 70.15% (47/67), both P < 0.05], and the levels of ALT and AST were higher [ALT (U/L): 56.0 (30.0, 121.0) vs. 35.0 (21.0, 69.0), AST (U/L): 87.0 (48.0, 233.0) vs. 52.0 (31.0, 117.0), both P < 0.05]. CONCLUSIONS Severe trauma patients frequently exhibit a high incidence of reversible early liver function impairment. Based on intelligent calculation method, the utilization of both the ISS and APACHE II scores demonstrates a distinct advantage in the assessment of their early liver injury.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Liver/physiopathology* ; Risk Assessment ; APACHE ; Wounds and Injuries ; Adult ; Injury Severity Score ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Female ; Liver Function Tests ; Alanine Transaminase/blood* ; Young Adult ; Aspartate Aminotransferases/blood*

Objective To analyze the characteristics of adverse events of disposable hemoperfusion devices in real-world clinical practice using multicenter data,and to investigate the influencing factors of hypotension,providing evidence for the safe clinical use of these devices.Methods An observational study was conducted involving patients who received disposable hemoperfusion therapy across 17 sentinel hospitals in China from June 2022 to July 2024.Device-related adverse events were monitored and analyzed.Descriptive statistics,Firth's Logistic regression model,and balanced random forest model were applied to systematically evaluate the manifestations of adverse events and the risk factors for the occurrence of hypotension.Results A total of 17,824 usage records were included.In the sentinel hospital data,hypotension[0.19％,95％CI(0.14％,0.27％)]and hemoperfusion occlusion[0.13％,95％CI(0.09％,0.19％)]occupied the highest incidence rate.The Firth's Logistic regression analysis revealed that end-stage renal disease with comorbidities significantly increased hypotension risk(OR=77.324),while no prior medical history was protective(OR=0.061).Stepwise blood purification modalities(hemoperfusion alone or sequential hemoperfusion-hemodialysis)significantly reduced the hypotension risk compared with simultaneous hemoperfusion and hemodialysis(OR=0.003).The random forest model further confirmed that blood purification modality was the strongest influencing factor for hypotension.Conclusion In real-world clinical settings,hypotension and device occlusion were the predominant adverse events,with blood purification modality critically influencing hypotension risk.Stepwise blood purification is recommended to mitigate this risk.Enhancing clinical operating procedures and device design is essential to improve overall treatment safety.

Objective To analyze the characteristics of adverse events of disposable hemoperfusion devices in real-world clinical practice using multicenter data,and to investigate the influencing factors of hypotension,providing evidence for the safe clinical use of these devices.Methods An observational study was conducted involving patients who received disposable hemoperfusion therapy across 17 sentinel hospitals in China from June 2022 to July 2024.Device-related adverse events were monitored and analyzed.Descriptive statistics,Firth's Logistic regression model,and balanced random forest model were applied to systematically evaluate the manifestations of adverse events and the risk factors for the occurrence of hypotension.Results A total of 17,824 usage records were included.In the sentinel hospital data,hypotension[0.19％,95％CI(0.14％,0.27％)]and hemoperfusion occlusion[0.13％,95％CI(0.09％,0.19％)]occupied the highest incidence rate.The Firth's Logistic regression analysis revealed that end-stage renal disease with comorbidities significantly increased hypotension risk(OR=77.324),while no prior medical history was protective(OR=0.061).Stepwise blood purification modalities(hemoperfusion alone or sequential hemoperfusion-hemodialysis)significantly reduced the hypotension risk compared with simultaneous hemoperfusion and hemodialysis(OR=0.003).The random forest model further confirmed that blood purification modality was the strongest influencing factor for hypotension.Conclusion In real-world clinical settings,hypotension and device occlusion were the predominant adverse events,with blood purification modality critically influencing hypotension risk.Stepwise blood purification is recommended to mitigate this risk.Enhancing clinical operating procedures and device design is essential to improve overall treatment safety.

Objective To observe the value of nomogram obtained with multivariate logistic regression based on ultrasound for predicting residue of benign thyroid nodules after microwave ablation(MWA).Methods Totally 101 patients with 133 benign thyroid nodules who underwent ultrasound-guided MWA were retrospectively enrolled.The nodules were divided into residual group(n=21)and non-residual group(n=112)according to follow-up results of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)1 month after MWA.The ultrasonic performances of nodules before MWA were compared between groups,and those being statistically different were included in a multivariate logistic regression model to identify the independent predictors for residue after MWA,and the model was then visualized as a nomogram.The discrimination of the nomogram for predicting residue after MWA was assessed with receiver operating characteristic curve and area under the curve(AUC),and its calibration was assessed with Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test.Results High ablation risk and nodules volume shown with ultrasound were both independent predictors of residue of benign thyroid nodules after MWA(both P＜0.05),indicating that benign thyroid nodules with high ablation risk(OR=17.637[2.528,123.019])and large volume(OR=1.297[1.155,1.457])had relatively higher risk of residue after MWA.AUC of the nomogram was 0.756 for predicting residue of benign thyroid nodules after MWA,while Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed good fit(P=0.401).Conclusion Benign thyroid nodules with high ablation risk and large volume shown with ultrasound had relatively high risk of residue after MWA,which could be predicted conveniently and effectively with the obtained nomogram.

Objective:To study the value of sound touch elastography (STE) linear combined with ultrasound score (US) in the diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) liver fibrosis, and to investigate whether their combination can improve the diagnostic efficiency of subdividing the degree of CHB liver fibrosis. Furthermore, a comparison with STE linear combined with the serological model was performed to seek the optimal linear combination model.Methods:A total of 313 subjects were enrolled from September 2018 to December 2021 in Shenzhen Third People′s Hospital Affiliated to Guangdong Medical University, including 259 patients with CHB who had completed liver biopsy and 54 healthy volunteers. CHB patients were divided into liver fibrosis group (F1-F4 group) according to METAVIR classification standard, and healthy volunteers were used as the control group. All subjects underwent liver ultrasound examination, STE and blood biochemical indexes of liver function. The US was performed according to the liver ultrasound examination, and the liver stiffness measurement (LSM) was measured by STE, aspartate aminotransferase and platelet ratio index (APRI) was calculated by blood biochemical index. Fisher discriminant analysis was used to establish the linear combination (LC) diagnostic marker of US and LSM, and the linear combination (LC2) diagnostic marker of LSM and APRI, successively. Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlations between US, LSM, APRI, LC2, LC and pathological results. The ROC curves of US, LSM, APRI, LC2 and LC for diagnosing CHB liver fibrosis were plotted, and the diagnostic efficiency of above diagnostic markers was evaluated according to the accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and area under the ROC curve (AUC).Results:The formula for the linear combination of US and LSM was LC=0.986 0×US+ 0.166 7×LSM, and LC was highly positively correlated with pathological findings ( rs=0.851, P<0.001), higher than US, LSM, LC2 and APRI ( rs=0.825, 0.775, 0.802, 0.586, all P<0.001). LC showed the best diagnostic efficiency. The AUCs for diagnosing ≥F1, ≥F2, ≥F3 liver fibrosis and =F4 cirrhosis were 0.945, 0.911, 0.954, 0.955, respectively, which superior to the AUCs of US (0.913, 0.879, 0.934 and 0.916, respectively), the AUCs of LSM (0.860, 0.871, 0.934 and 0.952, respectively) and the AUCs of LC2(0.899, 0.883, 0.941, 0.946, respectively). Compared with US, the AUC of LC diagnosis of ≥F1, ≥F2, ≥F3 liver fibrosis and =F4 cirrhosis increased by 3.2%, 3.2%, 2.0% and 3.9%, respectively, with all significant differences ( P<0.05). Compared with LSM, the AUC of LC increased by 8.5%, 4.0%, 2.0% and 0.3%, respectively, with significant difference ( P<0.05) except for stage =F4 cirrhosis.Compared with LC2, the AUC of LC increased by 4.6%, 2.8%, 1.3% and 0.9%, respectively, and there were significant differences in the diagnosis of ≥F1 and ≥F2 liver fibrosis ( P<0.05). Moreover, the overall efficiency of LC2 was not significantly improved than LSM, the difference was not significant ( P>0.05). Conclusions:US, LSM, LC2 and LC can be used to diagnose the degree of CHB liver fibrosis, but LC is better than US or LSM and LC2 alone, especially in the subdivision of mild liver fibrosis, which is a promising new diagnostic marker to subdivide the degree of CHB liver fibrosis.

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by inflammation of the sacroiliac joints and the spinal attachment point and is the most common type of spondyloarthritis (SpA). The pathogenesis of AS is related to both the immune system and the skeletal system. The main pathological changes include enthesitis, osteogenesis changes, osteolytic bone destruction, and immune system changes. Bone cells interact with immune cells, secrete a series of inflammatory factors, and jointly regulate the pathogenesis of AS. The imbalance of various immune cells in AS and the changes in inflammatory cytokines lead to a disorder of bone metabolism. At the same time, the osteocytes express various inflammatory cytokines, which leads to an imbalance of the immune system. The interaction between the immune system and the skeletal system has become a hot spot in the pathogenesis of AS. Understanding the bone immunological mechanism of AS will help to understand the exact pathogenesis of the disease and explore new treatment methods for it. In this review, the changes of various immune cells and inflammatory cytokines in AS and their effects on the skeletal system, as well as the changes of various osteocytes in the skeletal system and their effects on the immune system, were reviewed, and the latest progress in the treatment of AS was summarized.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of Qingpeng ointment for the treatment of localized eczema in children.Methods A multicenter,randomized,open-labeled,tacrolimus 0.03％ ointment-controlled clinical trial was conducted.A total of 442 children with localized eczema were enrolled into this study,and divided into 2 groups to topically apply Qingpeng ointment (Qingpeng group) and tacrolimus 0.03％ ointment (tacrolimus group) respectively twice a day for 2 weeks.The children were followed up before the treatment and 1,2 weeks after the treatment,and the efficacy and safety were evaluated at the same time.Results Clinical data from 426 children were included in the efficacy analysis.At 1,2 weeks after the treatment,there were no significant differences in the response rate between the Qingpeng group and tacrolimus group (1 week after the treatment:78.92％ vs.81.77％,x2 =0.545,P =0.460;2 weeks after the treatment:98.65％ vs.97.54％,x2 =0.721,P =0.396).However,the pruritus scores at 1,2 weeks after the treatment were both significantly lower in the Qingpeng group than in the tacrolimus group (1 week:F =14.001,P =0.000;2 weeks:F =11.252,P =0.001).At 1 week after the treatment,the incidence rate of adverse reactions was significantly lower in the Qingpeng group than in the tacrolimus group (P ＜ 0.05).Mild itching,burning sensation and other local irritant sensations were the most common adverse reactions.Conclusion Qingpeng ointment is safe and effective for the treatment of localized eczema in children with good tolerability.

Objective To investigate the voicing acoustic characteristics of sulcus vocalis patients with mini-mum glottal area(MGA) .Methods 60 normal subjects (30 male ,30 female) ,and 62 subjects with sulcus vocalis (33 male and 29 female)were recruited .They all had stroboscopic laryngoscopy ,and had MGA measured when say-ing /i:/using software supporting KIPS .The acoustic parameters consisted of vocal cord fundamental frequency (F0) ,jitter and shimmer ,normalized noise energy ( NNE) ,harmony to noise ratio (HNR) and signal noise ratio (SNR) ,maximum phonation time(MPT) and respectively make correlation analysis with voice MGA .Results The voicing MGA of male patients with sulcus vocalis was 434 .74 ± 112 .83 ,larger than the males with normal vocalis 298 .25 ± 93 .63 .This was statistically significant (P<0 .05) .The voicing MGA of females with sulcus vocalis was (484 .75 ± 143 .91) ,significantly larger than those of females with normal vocalis (293 .43 ± 93 .73) and the differ-ence was statistically significant (P<0 .05) .The voicing MGA on both males and females with sulcus vocalis was noticeably relation to the F0 (r=0 .972 ,P<0 .05) and (r=0 .928 ,P<0 .05) ,Jitter (r=0 .978 ,P<0 .05) and (r=0 .910 ,P<0 .910) and Shimmer (r=0 .973 ,P<0 .05) and (r=0 .921 ,P<0 .05) ,normalized noise energy(r=0 .883 ,P<0 .05) and (r=0 .960 ,P<0 .05) ;and negative relation to the signal noise ratio (r= -0 .947 ,P<0 .05) and (r = -0 .957 ,P<0 .05) ,signal noise ratio (r= -0 .959 ,P<0 .05) and (r= -0 .944 ,P<0 .05) ,max-imum phonation time (r= -0 .891 ,P<0 .05) and (r= -0 .936 ,P<0 .05) .Conclusion Patients with pathological sulcus vocalis have glottal areas larger than normal .Acoustic analysis of the voices of the sulcus vocalis can be used as an objective laboratory examination .