On August 24 2024, Xiaoshan District Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hangzhou City, received a report of two cases of varicella infection among staff in the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital in its jurisdiction. The center immediately organized personnel to conduct an epidemiological investigation of the cases and their close contacts. The index case was a patient admitted to the ICU who had large areas of red rash and pustules on the chest, back, and right axilla. This case was diagnosed with herpes zoster by a dermatology consultation within the hospital. The other nine secondary cases were all nursing staff in the ICU, who were clinically diagnosed with varicella between August 21 and September 1, with an attack rate of 14.06%. All secondary varicella cases had a history of contact with the herpes zoster case and no history of varicella infection. Their varicella vaccination history was unknown. Based on the results of the on-site epidemiological and sanitary investigations, it was determined that this was an outbreak of varicella in the hospital caused by a herpes zoster case. After the last case was diagnosed, no new cases were reported within the longest incubation period (21 days), and the outbreak was declared over on September 21. Close contact with the herpes zoster case was likely the main cause of the outbreak. This highlights the need for early identification and isolation of suspected herpes zoster cases in hospitals in the future, as well as enhanced protective measures to prevent nosocomial infections.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of relaxing needling at the contracted sites of meridian-muscle regions in the patients with post-stroke shoulder-hand syndrome (SHS) at acute stage. METHODS: Eighty patients with post-stroke SHS at acute stage were randomized into an observation group (40 cases, 1 case dropped out) and a control group (40 cases, 1 case was eliminated). In the control group, the routine medication, basic rehabilitation training, and hyperbaric oxygen therapy were administered. In the observation group, besides the treatment as the control group, relaxing needling was delivered at the contracted sites of meridian-muscle regions. These contracted sites were distributed along three yin meridians of hand and three yang meridians of hand on the affected upper limbs. The intervention was given once daily, 5 times a week and for 4 weeks. Before and after treatment, the scores of visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain, edema degree, modified Barthel index (MBI), and Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) for motor function, and the integrated electromyography (iEMG) of surface electromyogram (sEMG) were observed in the two groups. The curative effect was evaluated after treatment and in follow-up of 2 months after treatment in the two groups. RESULTS: After treatment, VAS scores and the scores of edema degree were reduced when compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05), and the scores in the observation group were lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). MBI and FMA scores increased after treatment compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05), and the scores in the observation group were higher than those in the control group (P<0.05) after treatment. The iEMG values of the biceps brachii, triceps brachii, and wrist extensors were elevated after treatment in comparison with those before treatment (P<0.05) in the two groups, and the values in the observation group were larger than those in the control group after treatment (P<0.05). The total clinical effective rate in the observation group was 92.3% (36/39), which was better than that of the control group (74.4%, 29/39, P<0.05) after treatment; and that of the observation group was 97.4% (38/39), which was better than 82.1% (32/39) in the control group (P<0.05) in follow-up. CONCLUSION Relaxing needling at the contracted sites of meridian-muscle regions in treatment of post-stroke SHS at acute stage can attenuate the symptoms such as upper limb pain, swelling and spasm, improve motor function and the activity of daily living of patients.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Aged ; Meridians ; Stroke/complications* ; Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy/etiology* ; Adult ; Acupuncture Points

In order to support the implementation of the Opinions on Improving the Quality of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Promoting the High-Quality Development of the Traditional Chinese Medicine Industry and fundamentally promote the high-quality development of Chinese materia medica(CMM) industry, this article analyzed the quality and safety issues arising during the transition of CMM from wild harvesting to cultivation. Root causes of these issues were identified, including changes in the habitats of medicinal plants caused by inappropriate field cultivation patterns, excessive use of chemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides, and shortened cultivation periods due to rising economic costs. To address the above issues, the following countermeasures and suggestions were proposed to advance the high-quality development of CMM:(1) comprehensively adjust the cultivation patterns, vigorously promote ecological cultivation of CMM, and ensure production quality and safety of CMM from the source;(2) strengthen the breeding of high-quality, stress-resistant CMM varieties, improve cultivation techniques to reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides, and improve the quality and efficiency of ecological cultivation of CMM;(3) systematically design the production, operation, and supervision models for ecological cultivation of CMM, carry out demonstrations of "high quality with fair price", and ensure the sustainable development of ecological cultivation of CMM.
Drugs, Chinese Herbal/standards* ; Quality Control ; Plants, Medicinal/chemistry* ; Plant Roots/chemistry* ; China ; Fertilizers/analysis* ; Materia Medica/standards* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/standards*

Objective To evaluate the process risk of the implementation of prevention and control measures for surgical site infection(SSI)after colorectal surgery,and explore the application effect of failure mode and effects analysis(FMEA)based on action priority.Methods FMEA based on action priority was adopted to evaluate the whole process of the implementation of prevention and control measures for SSI after colorectal surgery.Prioritiza-tion ranking was conducted according to whether optimized measures were taken.Standard-reaching rate of comp-liance to SSI prevention and control measures as well as SSI incidence before and after the implementation of FMEA were compared.Results After evaluation,there were 7 high-priority and 22 medium-priority prevention and control measures for SSI.The control of medium-priority measures was strengthened,with a focus on developing further preventive and detectable measures for high-priority measures.The re-evaluation results after improvement showed that 7 high-priority measures have been downgraded to medium priority,and 16 medium-priority measures have been downgraded to low priority.Standard-reaching rate of compliance to SSI prevention and control measures in-creased from 77.15％(2 566/3 326)to 92.47％(3 096/3 348),and SSI incidence decreased from 6.04％(58/960)to 2.54％(60/2 364).Conclusion Application of FMEA based on action priority can effectively evaluate the risk of prevention and control process of SSI after colorectal surgery,and adopting preventive risk control measures accord-ing to the current situation can reduce the incidence of SSI after colorectal surgery.

Objective To understand the prevalence characteristics of influenza and changes of influenza virus strains,and provide reference for the prevention and control of influenza in the province.Methods Surveillance da-ta about influenza in Hunan Province from 2014 to 2023 were exported from China Influenza Surveillance Informa-tion System.Differences in the percentage of influenza-like illness(ILI)cases(percentage of influenza-like cases[ILI％]in outpatient and emergency department visits)among different years and different populations,as well as the positive rate of influenza virus in ILI specimens were compared.Results From 2014 to 2023,over 2.65 million cases of ILI were reported,with an ILI％of 4.70％.ILI％among different years presented statistically significant differences(P＜0.001).People aged 0-14 years old were the main population with ILI,accounting for 82.90％.The positive rate of influenza virus in ILI specimens was 14.14％,the positive rate of influenza virus among diffe-rent years and age groups were both significantly different(both P＜0.001).The main prevalent influenza strains from 2014 to 2023 included types A(H1N1),A(H3N2),B(Victoria),and B(Yamagata),alternating among di-fferent years.However,type B(Yamagata)strains were not detected from 2020 to 2023.There were basically two influenza prevalence seasons every year,namely winter-spring and summer.Conclusion People＜15 years old are the main population of influenza,and the prevalence peaks are in winter-spring and summer.From 2021 to 2023,the prevalence alternates mainly among 3 types:A(H1N1),A(H3N2),and B(Victoria).

Objective To investigate the significance of auditory brainstem response(ABR)combined with auditory steady-state response(ASSR)for the assessment of mild sensorineural hearing loss in infants.Methods Data from 114 infants with mild sensorineural hearing loss were retrospectively analyzed,and their ABR and ASSR results were collected for rank sum test and correlation analysis.Results In the rank sum test,the difference in thresholds between tone-burst ABR(Tb-ABR)and ASSR at 0.5,1,2,4 kHz was statistically significant(P＜0.05),and they were also correlated at 0.5,1,2,4 kHz(P＜0.05),r=0.613,0.569,0.616,0.71.After grouping by gender and ear,there was a correlation between ABR and ASSR at 0.5,1,2,and 4 kHz,male:r=0.61,0.56,0.671,0.774;female:r=0.581,0.558,0.546,0.608;left ear:r=0.61,0.558,0.576,0.715;right ear:r=0.631,0.581,0.662,0.71.And after grouping by age at diagnosis,only infants diagnosed from 7～12 months of age did not correlate at 0.5 kHz and 1 kHz(P＞0.05),while the rest of the groups had a good correlation(P＜0.05),0～3 months:r=0.686,0.643,0.671,0.742;4～6 months:r=0.671,0.626,0.616,0.693;7～12 months at 2 kHz and 4 kHz:r=0.571,0.706.Conclusion In infants with mild sensorineural hearing loss,ABR and ASSR correlate in assessing hearing thresholds at all frequencies,and the combination of the two tests could provide a more accurate assessment of the subject's true hearing.

Objective:To investigate the influence of computer tomography (CT) examination bony parameters and surgical methods on difficult pelvis and perioperative efficacy of mid-low rectal cancer.Methods:The retrospective case-control study was conducted. The clinicopathological data of 191 patients who underwent robotic or laparoscopic total mesorectal excision (TME) for mid-low rectal cancer in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from January 2021 to December 2022 were collected. There were 123 males and 68 females, aged (60±11)years. According to the surgical difficulty score, 191 patients were divided into the difficult pelvis group of 41 patients and the non-difficult pelvic group of 150 patients. Thirteen pelvic parameters were obtained on CT images of the 191 patients. Observation indicators: (1) comparison of intraoperative and postoperative conditions of patients in the difficult pelvis group and the non-difficult pelvis group; (2) analysis of factors affecting difficult pelvis in patients with mid-low rectal cancer; (3) stratified analysis of different surgical methods for patients with difficult pelvis. Measurement data with normal distribu-tion were represented as Mean± SD, and comparison between groups was conducted using the t test. Measurement data with skewed distribution were represented as M(range), and comparison between groups was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Count data were expressed as absolute numbers, and comparison between groups was conducted using the chi-square test or Fisher exact probability. Comparison of ordinal data was conducted using the Mann-Whitney U test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using the Logistic regression model. Results:(1) Com-parison of intraoperative and postoperative conditions of patients in the difficult pelvis group and the non-difficult pelvis group. There were significant differences in operation time, volume of intra-operative blood loss, sum of the product of the longest diameters (SPD) of tumor lesions, postopera-tive complications, duration of postoperative hospital stay, and hospitalization expenses between the two groups ( t=-4.853, -5.816, Z=2.838, χ2=81.498, t=-5.897, -2.770, P<0.05). (2) Analysis of factors affecting difficult pelvis in patients with mid-low rectal cancer. Results of multivariate analysis showed that gender, age, pelvic inlet, distance between the sacral promontory and the coccyx, depth of the pelvis, line AB, angle A, and angle B were independent factors affecting difficult pelvis in patients with mid-low rectal cancer ( odds ratio=0.080, 1.067, 3.065, 0.004, 10 165.062, 0.019, 0.476, 0.662, 95% confidence interval as 0.016-0.409, 1.008-1.130, 1.388-6.767, 0.001-0.024, 477.574-216 361.071, 0.003-0.131, 0.358-0.632, 0.551-0.794, P<0.05). (3) Stratified analysis of different surgical methods for patients with difficult pelvis. ① Comparison of general preoperative data of patients with difficult pelvis receiving different surgical methods. Of the 41 mid-low rectal cancer patients with difficult pelvis, 15 underwent robotic TME, and 26 underwent laparoscopic TME. There was a significant difference in the body mass index between patients receiving the two surgical methods ( t=-2.055, P<0.05). ② Comparison of intraoperative and postoperative conditions of patients with difficult pelvis receiving different surgical methods. There was no significant difference in operation time, volume of intraoperative blood loss, SPD of tumor lesions, number of lymph nodes dissected, number of lymph node metastases, distance between tumor and anal verge, combined organ resection, postoperative complications, duration of postoperative hospital stay, hospitalization costs, T staging, N staging, M staging, vascular tumor thrombus, and nerve invasion ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Gender, age, pelvic inlet, distance between the sacral promontory and the coccyx, pelvic depth, AB line, angle A, and angle B are independent factors affecting difficult pelvis in patients with mid-low rectal cancer. There is no difference in perioperative outcomes between mid-low rectal cancer patients of difficult pelvis who received robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery.

Objective: Lynch syndrome (LS) is a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome with a significantly increased risk of colorectal and endometrial cancers. Current standard practice involves universal screening for LS in patients with newly diagnosed colorectal or endometrial cancer using a multi-step screening protocol (MSP). However, MSP may not always accurately identify LS cases. To address this limitation, we compared the diagnostic performance of immediate germline sequencing (IGS) with MSP in a high-risk group. Methods: A total of 31 Taiwanese women with synchronous or metachronous endometrial and colorectal malignancies underwent MSP which included immunohistochemical staining of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, MLH1 promoter hypermethylation analysis, and germline sequencing to identify pathogenic variants. All patients who were excluded during MSP received germline sequencing for MMR genes to simulate IGS for the detection of LS. Results: Our findings indicate that IGS surpassed MSP in terms of diagnostic yield (29.0% vs.19.4%, respectively) and sensitivity (90% vs. 60%, respectively). Specifically, IGS successfully identified nine LS cases, which is 50% more than the number detected through MSP.Additionally, germline methylation analysis revealed one more LS case with constitutional MLH1 promoter hypermethylation, bringing the total LS cases to ten (32.3%). Intriguingly, we observed no significant differences in clinical characteristics or overall survival between patients with and without LS in our cohort. Conclusion Our study suggests that IGS may potentially offer a more effective approach compared to MSP in identifying LS among high-risk patients. This advantage is evident when patients have been pre-selected utilizing specific clinical criteria.

Objective: Lynch syndrome (LS) is a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome with a significantly increased risk of colorectal and endometrial cancers. Current standard practice involves universal screening for LS in patients with newly diagnosed colorectal or endometrial cancer using a multi-step screening protocol (MSP). However, MSP may not always accurately identify LS cases. To address this limitation, we compared the diagnostic performance of immediate germline sequencing (IGS) with MSP in a high-risk group. Methods: A total of 31 Taiwanese women with synchronous or metachronous endometrial and colorectal malignancies underwent MSP which included immunohistochemical staining of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, MLH1 promoter hypermethylation analysis, and germline sequencing to identify pathogenic variants. All patients who were excluded during MSP received germline sequencing for MMR genes to simulate IGS for the detection of LS. Results: Our findings indicate that IGS surpassed MSP in terms of diagnostic yield (29.0% vs.19.4%, respectively) and sensitivity (90% vs. 60%, respectively). Specifically, IGS successfully identified nine LS cases, which is 50% more than the number detected through MSP.Additionally, germline methylation analysis revealed one more LS case with constitutional MLH1 promoter hypermethylation, bringing the total LS cases to ten (32.3%). Intriguingly, we observed no significant differences in clinical characteristics or overall survival between patients with and without LS in our cohort. Conclusion Our study suggests that IGS may potentially offer a more effective approach compared to MSP in identifying LS among high-risk patients. This advantage is evident when patients have been pre-selected utilizing specific clinical criteria.

Objective: Lynch syndrome (LS) is a hereditary cancer predisposition syndrome with a significantly increased risk of colorectal and endometrial cancers. Current standard practice involves universal screening for LS in patients with newly diagnosed colorectal or endometrial cancer using a multi-step screening protocol (MSP). However, MSP may not always accurately identify LS cases. To address this limitation, we compared the diagnostic performance of immediate germline sequencing (IGS) with MSP in a high-risk group. Methods: A total of 31 Taiwanese women with synchronous or metachronous endometrial and colorectal malignancies underwent MSP which included immunohistochemical staining of DNA mismatch repair (MMR) proteins, MLH1 promoter hypermethylation analysis, and germline sequencing to identify pathogenic variants. All patients who were excluded during MSP received germline sequencing for MMR genes to simulate IGS for the detection of LS. Results: Our findings indicate that IGS surpassed MSP in terms of diagnostic yield (29.0% vs.19.4%, respectively) and sensitivity (90% vs. 60%, respectively). Specifically, IGS successfully identified nine LS cases, which is 50% more than the number detected through MSP.Additionally, germline methylation analysis revealed one more LS case with constitutional MLH1 promoter hypermethylation, bringing the total LS cases to ten (32.3%). Intriguingly, we observed no significant differences in clinical characteristics or overall survival between patients with and without LS in our cohort. Conclusion Our study suggests that IGS may potentially offer a more effective approach compared to MSP in identifying LS among high-risk patients. This advantage is evident when patients have been pre-selected utilizing specific clinical criteria.