Objective:To explore the potential role of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and components of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the early progression of carotid arteriosclerosis.Methods:The study was a cross-sectional study. Urban participants undergoing routine health check-ups were enrolled from all 11 prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang Province between January and December 2022. General clinical information was obtained through interviews, and data on MS was collected from the clinical health examinations. Serum Lp-PLA? levels were measured in all participants. All participants were divided into 3 groups according to the results of the carotid ultrasound: the normal group, the intima thickening group with carotid intima thickening change and the plaque group. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations of Lp-PLA2, MS, and the components of MS with early carotid atherosclerosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of combining Lp-PLA2 with MS and the cumulative number of MS components for early carotid atherosclerosis.Results:A total of 4 009 urban adults undergoing routine health check-ups were enrolled (mean age (48.9±8.46) years, 2 665(66.5 %)male). Of these, 1 398 were in the normal group, 1 650 in the intima thickening group, and 961 in the plaque group. Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that Lp-PLA2 was independently associated with early carotid atherosclerosis ( OR=1.34, 95% CI: 1.11-1.63, P=0.003). Lp-PLA2 also showed independent positive associations with both carotid intima thickening and carotid plaque formation, with the latter being more pronounced (both P<0.05). MS was independently and positively associated with early carotid atherosclerosis ( OR=1.48, 95 % CI: 1.20-1.84, P<0.001), as well as with intima thickening and carotid plaque formation, with the association being stronger for the latter (both P<0.05). Furthermore, the strength of the association increased progressively with the number of MS components ( P<0.001), especially for carotid plaques formation (both P<0.001). Multivariable logistic regression revealed that, compared with individuals without MS and low Lp-PLA2 levels, the risk of early carotid atherosclerosis was increased in those with high Lp-PLA2 alone, MS alone, or both conditions concurrently, with the highest risk observed when both were present (all P<0.05). ROC analyses demonstrated that the combination of elevated Lp-PLA2 with 3, 4, or 5 MS components yielded good diagnostic performance for early carotid atherosclerosis ( AUC=0.869, 0.888, and 0.889, respectively), intima thickening ( AUC=0.844, 0.860, and 0.845, respectively), and carotid plaque formation ( AUC=0.899, 0.924, and 0.968, respectively) in urban health-screening participants. Conclusions:Lp-PLA2, MS, and the number of MS components were independently and positively associated with early carotid atherosclerosis in urban health chek-up populations. The combination of MS components and Lp-PLA2 provided favorable diagnostic performance for the detection of early carotid atherosclerosis.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of infective endocarditis（IE）in children without congenital heart disease（CHD）.Methods:The clinical data of 51 children with IE admitted to the Department of Pediatrics at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from February 2014 to February 2024 were retrospectively analyzed.According to whether they had CHD，they were divided into non-CHD group（12 cases）and CHD group（39 cases）.The clinical manifestations，laboratory tests，etiology results，efficacy and prognosis of the non-CHD group were analyzed.Results:The proportion of skin pustule found in non-CHD group (2/12) was significantly higher than that in CHD group(0/39)( P=0.041).Compared with CHD group, the common pathogen in non-CHD group was Staphylococcus aureus( P=0.002).There were no statistically significant differences in age, gender, symptoms, laboratory tests, ultrasound detection rate and distribution of vegetations, positive rate of blood culture, course of anti infection treatment, and mortality rate between the two groups. Conclusion:For children with IE who do not houre underlying CHD,skin pustule is an important indicator, and Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen. The use of broad-spectrum antibiotics as early empirical anti infective agents is key to improve prognosis.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics of infective endocarditis（IE）in children without congenital heart disease（CHD）.Methods:The clinical data of 51 children with IE admitted to the Department of Pediatrics at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from February 2014 to February 2024 were retrospectively analyzed.According to whether they had CHD，they were divided into non-CHD group（12 cases）and CHD group（39 cases）.The clinical manifestations，laboratory tests，etiology results，efficacy and prognosis of the non-CHD group were analyzed.Results:The proportion of skin pustule found in non-CHD group (2/12) was significantly higher than that in CHD group(0/39)( P=0.041).Compared with CHD group, the common pathogen in non-CHD group was Staphylococcus aureus( P=0.002).There were no statistically significant differences in age, gender, symptoms, laboratory tests, ultrasound detection rate and distribution of vegetations, positive rate of blood culture, course of anti infection treatment, and mortality rate between the two groups. Conclusion:For children with IE who do not houre underlying CHD,skin pustule is an important indicator, and Staphylococcus aureus is the most common pathogen. The use of broad-spectrum antibiotics as early empirical anti infective agents is key to improve prognosis.

Objective:To explore the potential role of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and components of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the early progression of carotid arteriosclerosis.Methods:The study was a cross-sectional study. Urban participants undergoing routine health check-ups were enrolled from all 11 prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang Province between January and December 2022. General clinical information was obtained through interviews, and data on MS was collected from the clinical health examinations. Serum Lp-PLA? levels were measured in all participants. All participants were divided into 3 groups according to the results of the carotid ultrasound: the normal group, the intima thickening group with carotid intima thickening change and the plaque group. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations of Lp-PLA2, MS, and the components of MS with early carotid atherosclerosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of combining Lp-PLA2 with MS and the cumulative number of MS components for early carotid atherosclerosis.Results:A total of 4 009 urban adults undergoing routine health check-ups were enrolled (mean age (48.9±8.46) years, 2 665(66.5 %)male). Of these, 1 398 were in the normal group, 1 650 in the intima thickening group, and 961 in the plaque group. Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that Lp-PLA2 was independently associated with early carotid atherosclerosis ( OR=1.34, 95% CI: 1.11-1.63, P=0.003). Lp-PLA2 also showed independent positive associations with both carotid intima thickening and carotid plaque formation, with the latter being more pronounced (both P<0.05). MS was independently and positively associated with early carotid atherosclerosis ( OR=1.48, 95 % CI: 1.20-1.84, P<0.001), as well as with intima thickening and carotid plaque formation, with the association being stronger for the latter (both P<0.05). Furthermore, the strength of the association increased progressively with the number of MS components ( P<0.001), especially for carotid plaques formation (both P<0.001). Multivariable logistic regression revealed that, compared with individuals without MS and low Lp-PLA2 levels, the risk of early carotid atherosclerosis was increased in those with high Lp-PLA2 alone, MS alone, or both conditions concurrently, with the highest risk observed when both were present (all P<0.05). ROC analyses demonstrated that the combination of elevated Lp-PLA2 with 3, 4, or 5 MS components yielded good diagnostic performance for early carotid atherosclerosis ( AUC=0.869, 0.888, and 0.889, respectively), intima thickening ( AUC=0.844, 0.860, and 0.845, respectively), and carotid plaque formation ( AUC=0.899, 0.924, and 0.968, respectively) in urban health-screening participants. Conclusions:Lp-PLA2, MS, and the number of MS components were independently and positively associated with early carotid atherosclerosis in urban health chek-up populations. The combination of MS components and Lp-PLA2 provided favorable diagnostic performance for the detection of early carotid atherosclerosis.

Objective:To compare the results of high-resolution colonic manometry (HRCM) in patients with four subtypes of constipation: slow transit constipation(STC), outlet obstruction constipation (OOC), mixed STC and OOC, and normal transit constipation(NTC), and to explore the intestinal motility characteristics of patients with different subtypes of constipation.Methods:From 20th January 2017 to 20th September 2020, the HRCM results of 225 patients with functional constipation who visited the Department of Anorectal Surgery of Tianjin Union Medical Center were retrospectively analyzed. According to the results of colonic transit test, 225 patients were divided into STC group (108 cases), OOC group (36 cases), mixed group (28 cases) and NTC group (53 cases). General information such as Wexner constipation scores, clinical symptoms (decreased desire to defecate, sensation of anorectal blockage, hand-assisted defecation, spontaneous bowel movements frequency<3 times per week), the incidence, frequency within one day (hereinafter referred to as frequency), average velocity, average wave amplitude, average duration of contraction, average length of contraction, and the dynamic index (DI) of average pressure of high-amplitude propagating contraction (HAPC), as well as the frequency, average wave amplitude, average duration of contraction, and the DI of average pressure of low-amplitude propagating contraction (LAPC) were compared among the four groups. One-way ANOVA and multiple comparison, Kruskal-Wallis test and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis.Results:The Wexner constipation scores of the STC, OOC, mixed and NTC group were 13.17±4.04, 13.97±4.55, 11.36±4.03 and 11.58±4.06, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( F=3.879, P<0.05). The Wexner consipation scores of the STC and OOC group were both higher than the mixed and NTC group, and the difference were statistically significant (One-way ANOVA and multiple comparison, all P<0.05). The proportion of decreased desire to defecate, sensation of anorectal blockage, hand-assisted defecation, spontaneous bowel movements frequency<3 times per week of STC, OOC, mixed and NTC group were 47.2% (51/108), 36.1% (13/36), 14.3% (4/28), 20.8% (11/53); 42.6% (46/108), 75.0% (27/36), 46.4% (13/28), 64.2% (34/ 53); 31.5% (34/108), 38.9% (14/36), 3.6% (1/28), 18.9% (10/53); 90.7% (98/108), 77.8% (28/36), 82.1% (23/28) and 62.3% (33/53), and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=17.093, 12.463, 13.437 and 18.927; all P<0.01). The proportion of decreased desire to defecate of STC group was higher than that of mixed and NTC group, and spontaneous bowel movements frequency<3 times per week was higher than that of OOC and NTC group, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=10.014, 10.518, 4.418 and 19.016; all P<0.05). The proportion of sensation of anorectal blockage of OOC group was higher than that of STC and mixed group, and the proportion of hand-assisted defecation was higher than that of the mixed and NTC group, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2= 9.511, 5.486, 10.948 and 4.363, all P<0.05). The incidence of HAPC in STC, OOC, mixed and NTC groups was 39.8% (43/108), 36.1% (13/36), 57.1% (16/28), and 60.4% (32/53), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant ( χ2=8.880, P=0.031). The incidence of HAPC in STC group and OOC group were lower than that of NTC group, and the differences were statistically significant ( χ2=6.041 and 5.050, P=0.014 and 0.025). There were no statistically significant difference in the frequency, average velocity, average amplitude, average duration of contraction, average length of contraction and DI of pressure of HAPC in four groups, and there were no statistically significant difference in the frequency, average amplitude, average duration of contraction, and DI of pressure of LAPC in the four groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions:Doctors can more clearly and objectively observe the intestinal motility characteristics of patients with different subtypes of constipation through HRCM. HRCM provides a strong basis for the diagnosis and further treatment of functional constipation, and has a high clinical application value.