OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic etiology of 46 Chinese pedigrees affected with Hereditary multiple exostoses (HME) and provide genetic counseling and reproductive intervention. METHODS: Whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing were carried out on 87 patients from the 46 pedigrees to analyze the variants of EXT1 and EXT2 genes. Pathogenicity of the variants was assessed based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics and Association for Molecular Pathology (ACMG/AMP). Prenatal diagnosis and preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) were provided for couples with identified pathogenic mutations. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the hospital (Ethics No.: LL-SC-SG-2014-010). RESULTS: In total 17 and 22 pathogenic variants were respectively identified in the EXT1 and EXT2 genes, among which 5 EXT1 and 12 EXT2 variants were unreported previously. Three patients with no family history were found to harbor de novo variants of the EXT1 gene. Twenty nine couples had opted for PGT or underwent prenatal diagnosis following natural conception, and 17 healthy babies were born. CONCLUSION This study has clarified the genetic etiology of 45 HME pedigrees and identified 17 novel variants, which has enriched the mutational spectrum of the EXT1 and EXT2 genes. Reproductive intervention through PGT and prenatal diagnosis have prevented the recurrence of HME in these families.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Pedigree ; Exostoses, Multiple Hereditary/diagnosis* ; N-Acetylglucosaminyltransferases/genetics* ; Adult ; Exostosin 1 ; Asian People/genetics* ; Genetic Testing ; Exostosin 2 ; Mutation ; China ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Pregnancy ; Genetic Counseling ; Preimplantation Diagnosis ; Exome Sequencing ; East Asian People

With the rapid advancement of medical technology and the increasing complexity of clinical environments, competence in clinical ethical decision-making has become an indispensable core competency for exemplary physicians. However, traditional medical ethics education has long been confronted with the persistent challenges of theory-practice dissociation and the disconnect between pedagogical settings and clinical realities. Thus, how to construct a "Clinical Ethics" curriculum that aligns with the objectives of training high-caliber medical professionals has emerged as a critical and challenging issue in current medical education reform. To effectively address this challenge, the Office of Education at Peking University Third Hospital, since 2021, has assembled a multidisciplinary "Clinical Ethics" teaching and management team comprising faculty from Peking University School of Humanities and key clinical specialists from the hospital. In 2022, the "Clinical Ethics" elective course was formally launched for fourth-year students in the eight-year MD program who had completed coursework in "Medical Ethics" and organ-system-based curricula, with the aim of exploring and operationalizing a pre-clinical ethics education model tailored for senior medical students. The course employs a modular instructional design encompassing "theoretical review-case-based deliberation-clinical workshop", which effectively facilitates the deep integration of medical humanities with clinical practice.Following four years of iterative refinement through the "plan-act-observe-reflect" cycle, the course has demonstrated positive outcomes in enhancing students' ethical awareness and decision-making capabilities, and has preliminarily established a sustainable collaborative mechanism among the multidisciplinary faculty team. This article systematically delineates the course development background, pedagogical model and methodological innovations, and the multidisciplinary collaborative framework, alongside reflections and summaries based on implementation outcomes, with the intent of providing references for the future development of "Clinical Ethics" curricula.

BACKGROUND: The atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) has been shown to be positively correlated with cardiovascular disease in previous studies. However, it is unclear whether elderly people with long-term high AIP levels are more likely to develop coronary heart disease (CHD). Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between AIP trajectory and CHD incidence in elderly people. METHODS: 19,194 participants aged ≥ 60 years who had three AIP measurements between 2018 and 2020 were included in this study. AIP was defined as log₁₀ (triglyceride/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol). The group-based trajectory model was used to identify different trajectory patterns of AIP from 2018 to 2020. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) with 95% CI of CHD events between different trajectory groups from 2020 to 2023. RESULTS: Three different trajectory patterns were identified through group-based trajectory model: the low-level group (n = 7410, mean AIP: -0.25 to -0.17), the medium-level group (n = 9981, mean AIP: 0.02-0.08), and the high-level group (n = 1803, mean AIP: 0.38-0.42). During a mean follow-up of 2.65 years, a total of 1391 participants developed CHD. After adjusting for potential confounders, compared with the participants in the low-level group, the HR with 95% CI of the medium-level group and the high-level group were estimated to be 1.24 (1.10-1.40) and 1.43 (1.19-1.73), respectively. These findings remained consistent in subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS There was a significant correlation between persistent high AIP level and increased CHD risk in the elderly. This suggests that monitoring the long-term changes in AIP is helpful to identify individuals at high CHD risk in elderly people.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To compare the impact of different primary tumor sites on the survival of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma(mUC)before and after the approval of immune checkpoints inhibitors(ICIs)based on data from Surveillance,Epidemiology,and End Results(SEER).Methods The mUC cases during 2013 and 2017 in the SEER database were enrolled.Cohorts were defined by primary tumor sites(renal pelvis,ureter,bladder)and then stratified by ICIs availability into non-ICIs era(2013)and ICIs era(2017).The survival differences in each cohort between the two eras were compared,and stratified analysis was performed.The 2-year overall survival(OS)was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis.Results A total of 1750 mUC cases were enrolled,with 785 cases in the non-ICIs era and 965 in the ICIs era.No significant differences existed across different anatomical sites in the non-ICIs era,whether in the whole urinary system or inside bladder.The 2-year survival rates were 23.5％for ureteral cancer,18.0％for renal pelvic cancer,and 15.9％for bladder cancer.Significant prognostic disparities emerged among patients based on primary tumor sites in ICIs era(P＜0.05).The 2-year survival rates were 37.7％for ureteral cancer,25.5％for renal pelvic cancer,and 25.7％for bladder cancer.Further analysis revealed that the OS of the lesions originating from the bladder dome was significantly longer than that of the other bladder subgroups(P＜0.05),while the OS of the lesions in bladder bottom was the shortest.The 2-year survival rates were 52.0％for the bladder dome,13.0％for the bladder body,and 10.7％for the bladder bottom.Conclusion Our study indicates that in the non-ICIs era,there was no significant difference in the prognosis among mUC patients with lesions from different primary sites.In the ICIs era,the OS of ureteral cancer was significantly longer than that of bladder cancer and renal pelvis cancer.As for patients with metastatic bladder cancer,those with tumor located at the top of the bladder had a significantly better prognosis than those with tumors at other sites.

Objective To explore the impact of"knowledge-attitude-practice"(KAP)training mode on head nur-ses' core competency in healthcare-associated infection(HAI)prevention and control in a tertiary first-class general hospital.Methods Head nurses of 113 departments in a tertiary first-class general hospital were taken as the re-search objects.Guided by problems and demands,HAI training was conducted using the KAP training mode.The training was divided into two stages:a stage with problems of infection control and investigation of knowledge de-mands,as well as a stage with KAP training mode implementation.It included theoretical lectures,visits and lear-ning,and supervision on rectification.Scores of theory,supervision,and core competency of head nurses before training,1 month and 6 months after training were compared by the analysis of variance.SPSS 26.0 statistical soft-ware was used for analysis.Results The top three infection control problems in this hospital were hand hygiene,prevention and control of infection with multidrug-resistant organisms,as well as HAI prevention and control in the wards.The top three training modules required urgently by the head nurses were occupational exposure and self-protection,principles of medical waste disposal,as well as prevention and control of HAI in the wards.Both scores of theory and supervision after training were higher than those before training,with statistically significant diffe-rences(both P＜0.01).The core competencies of the head nurses were at a high level.After implementing KAP training mode,the scores of dimensions in critical thought and research,clinical nursing,leadership,and profe-ssional development,as well as the overall score of core competencies were all higher than before training.Diffe-rences were all statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The overall scores of dimensions in legal and ethical practice,education and consultation,as well as interpersonal relationship were all higher than before training,but the diffe-rences were not statistically significant(all P＞0.05).Conclusion KAP training mode can significantly improve the scores of theory,supervision,and core competencies of head nurses,and can be further promoted and applied in head nurses' infection control training.

Objective To explore the impact of"knowledge-attitude-practice"(KAP)training mode on head nur-ses' core competency in healthcare-associated infection(HAI)prevention and control in a tertiary first-class general hospital.Methods Head nurses of 113 departments in a tertiary first-class general hospital were taken as the re-search objects.Guided by problems and demands,HAI training was conducted using the KAP training mode.The training was divided into two stages:a stage with problems of infection control and investigation of knowledge de-mands,as well as a stage with KAP training mode implementation.It included theoretical lectures,visits and lear-ning,and supervision on rectification.Scores of theory,supervision,and core competency of head nurses before training,1 month and 6 months after training were compared by the analysis of variance.SPSS 26.0 statistical soft-ware was used for analysis.Results The top three infection control problems in this hospital were hand hygiene,prevention and control of infection with multidrug-resistant organisms,as well as HAI prevention and control in the wards.The top three training modules required urgently by the head nurses were occupational exposure and self-protection,principles of medical waste disposal,as well as prevention and control of HAI in the wards.Both scores of theory and supervision after training were higher than those before training,with statistically significant diffe-rences(both P＜0.01).The core competencies of the head nurses were at a high level.After implementing KAP training mode,the scores of dimensions in critical thought and research,clinical nursing,leadership,and profe-ssional development,as well as the overall score of core competencies were all higher than before training.Diffe-rences were all statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The overall scores of dimensions in legal and ethical practice,education and consultation,as well as interpersonal relationship were all higher than before training,but the diffe-rences were not statistically significant(all P＞0.05).Conclusion KAP training mode can significantly improve the scores of theory,supervision,and core competencies of head nurses,and can be further promoted and applied in head nurses' infection control training.

Objective To compare the impact of different primary tumor sites on the survival of patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma(mUC)before and after the approval of immune checkpoints inhibitors(ICIs)based on data from Surveillance,Epidemiology,and End Results(SEER).Methods The mUC cases during 2013 and 2017 in the SEER database were enrolled.Cohorts were defined by primary tumor sites(renal pelvis,ureter,bladder)and then stratified by ICIs availability into non-ICIs era(2013)and ICIs era(2017).The survival differences in each cohort between the two eras were compared,and stratified analysis was performed.The 2-year overall survival(OS)was assessed using Kaplan-Meier analysis and multivariable Cox proportional hazards analysis.Results A total of 1750 mUC cases were enrolled,with 785 cases in the non-ICIs era and 965 in the ICIs era.No significant differences existed across different anatomical sites in the non-ICIs era,whether in the whole urinary system or inside bladder.The 2-year survival rates were 23.5％for ureteral cancer,18.0％for renal pelvic cancer,and 15.9％for bladder cancer.Significant prognostic disparities emerged among patients based on primary tumor sites in ICIs era(P＜0.05).The 2-year survival rates were 37.7％for ureteral cancer,25.5％for renal pelvic cancer,and 25.7％for bladder cancer.Further analysis revealed that the OS of the lesions originating from the bladder dome was significantly longer than that of the other bladder subgroups(P＜0.05),while the OS of the lesions in bladder bottom was the shortest.The 2-year survival rates were 52.0％for the bladder dome,13.0％for the bladder body,and 10.7％for the bladder bottom.Conclusion Our study indicates that in the non-ICIs era,there was no significant difference in the prognosis among mUC patients with lesions from different primary sites.In the ICIs era,the OS of ureteral cancer was significantly longer than that of bladder cancer and renal pelvis cancer.As for patients with metastatic bladder cancer,those with tumor located at the top of the bladder had a significantly better prognosis than those with tumors at other sites.

Objective To study the pharmacokinetic characteristics of buspirone hydrochloride tablets in healthy adult populations under conditions of fasting and postprandial administration.Methods A single-center,randomized,three-cycle partially repeated crossover trial design was adopted,and 36 subjects were enrolled on fasting/postprandial,one tablet of the test preparation was taken in one cycle,one tablet of reference preparation(5 mg of buspirone tablets)was taken once in each of 2 cycles,the drug concentration of buspirone in plasma was determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry,and the pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by WinNonlin software.Results Main pharmacokinetics of buspirone after oral administration of test and reference preparations in fasting group,the Cmax was(285.72±286.08)and(308.94±341.03)pg·mL-1;AUC0-t were(577.09±491.10)and(618.62±642.56)pg·mL-1·h;AUC0-∞ were(586.85±510.04)and(655.92±687.95)pg·mL-1·h;tmax was 0.75(0.33-4.00)and 0.75(0.33-1.75)h.Main pharmacokinetics of buspirone after oral administration of test and reference preparations in the postprandial group,the Cmax were(676.36±603.64)and(760.33±610.27)pg·mL-1;AUC0-t were(1 755.58±1 001.69)and(1 743.00±1 073.33)pg·h·mL-1;AUC0-∞ were(1 839.97±1 044.60)and(1 818.00±1 106.95)pg·mL-1·h;tmax was 1.25(0.25-4.50)and 1.00(0.25-3.50)h.The 90％confidence intervals of the AUC0-t and AUC0-∞ geometric mean ratios of the test preparation and the reference preparation in the fasting test and the postprandial test all fell between 80.00％and 125.00％,and the 95％upper confidence limit of of Cmax was ≤0 and geometric mean ratios point estimates fall between 80.00％and 125.00％.Conclusion Two kinds of buspirone hydrochloride are bioequivalent in Chinese healthy adult subject.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the genetic basis for 7 families with gonadal mosaicism for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). METHODS: For the 7 families presented at the CITIC Xiangya Reproductive and Genetic Hospital from September 2014 to March 2022, clinical data were collected. Preimplantation genetic testing for monogenic disorders (PGT-M) was carried out for the mother of the proband from family 6. Peripheral venous blood samples of the probands, their mothers and other patients from the families, amniotic fluid samples from families 1 ~ 4 and biopsied cells of embryos cultured in vitro from family 6 were collected for the extraction of genomic DNA. Multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MLPA) was carried out for the DMD gene, and short tandem repeat (STR)/single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)-based haplotypes were constructed for the probands, other patients, fetuses and embryos. RESULTS: The results of MLPA showed that the probands and the fetuses/probands' brothers in families 1 ~ 4, 5, 7 had carried the same DMD gene variants, whilst the probands' mothers were all normal. The proband in family 6 carried the same DMD gene variant with only 1 embryo (9 in total) cultured in vitro, and the DMD gene of the proband's mother and the fetus obtained through the PGT-M were normal. STR-based haplotype analysis showed that the probands and the fetuses/probands' brothers in families 1 ~ 3 and 5 have inherited the same maternal X chromosome. SNP-based haplotype analysis showed that the proband from family 6 has inherited the same maternal X chromosome with only 1 embryo (9 in total) cultured in vitro. The fetuses in families 1 and 6 (via PGT-M) were both confirmed to be healthy by follow up, whilst the mothers from families 2 and 3 had chosen induced labor. CONCLUSION Haplotype analysis based on STR/SNP is an effective method for judging gonad mosaicism. Gonad mosaicisms should be suspected for women who have given births to children with DMD gene variants but with a normal peripheral blood genotype. Prenatal diagnosis and reproductive intervention may be adapted to reduce the births of further affected children in such families.
Male ; Pregnancy ; Child ; Humans ; Female ; Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne/diagnosis* ; Dystrophin/genetics* ; Mosaicism ; Exons ; Prenatal Diagnosis/methods* ; Nucleotides