Objective:To investigate the current status of endoscopic treatment for gastroesophageal varices in portal hypertension in China, and to provide supporting data and reference for the development of endoscopic treatment.Methods:In this study, initiated by the Liver Health Consortium in China (CHESS), a questionnaire was designed and distributed online to investigate the basic condition of endoscopic treatment for gastroesophageal varices in portal hypertension in 2022 in China. Questions included annual number and indication of endoscopic procedures, adherence to guideline for preventing esophagogastric variceal bleeding (EGVB), management and timing of emergent EGVB, management of gastric and isolated varices, and improvement of endoscopic treatment. Proportions of hospitals concerning therapeutic choices to all participant hospitals were calculated. Guideline adherence between secondary and tertiary hospitals were compared by using Chi-square test.Results:A total of 836 hospitals from 31 provinces (anotomous regions and municipalities) participated in the survey. According to the survey, the control of acute EGVB (49.3%, 412/836) and the prevention of recurrent bleeding (38.3%, 320/836) were major indications of endoscopic treatment. For primary [non-selective β-blocker (NSBB) or endoscopic therapies] and secondary prophylaxis (NSBB and endoscopic therapies) of EGVB, adherence to domestic guideline was 72.5% (606/836) and 39.2% (328/836), respectively. There were significant differences in the adherence between secondary and tertiary hospitals in primary prophylaxis of EGVB [71.0% (495/697) VS 79.9% (111/139), χ2=4.11, P=0.033] and secondary prophylaxis of EGVB [41.6% (290/697) VS 27.3% (38/139), χ2=9.31, P=0.002]. A total of 78.2% (654/836) hospitals preferred endoscopic therapies treating acute EGVB, and endoscopic therapy was more likely to be the first choice for treating acute EGVB in tertiary hospitals (82.6%, 576/697) than secondary hospitals [56.1% (78/139), χ2=46.33, P<0.001]. The optimal timing was usually within 12 hours (48.5%, 317/654) and 12-24 hours (36.9%, 241/654) after the bleeding. Regarding the management of gastroesophageal varices type 2 and isolated gastric varices type 1, most hospitals used cyanoacrylate injection in combination with sclerotherapy [48.2% (403/836) and 29.9% (250/836), respectively], but substantial proportions of hospitals preferred clip-assisted therapies [12.4% (104/836) and 26.4% (221/836), respectively]. Improving the skills of endoscopic doctors (84.2%, 704/836), and enhancing the precision of pre-procedure evaluation and quality of multidisciplinary team (78.9%, 660/836) were considered urgent needs in the development of endoscopic treatment. Conclusion:A variety of endoscopic treatments for gastroesophageal varices in portal hypertension are implemented nationwide. Participant hospitals are active to perform emergent endoscopy for acute EGVB, but are inadequate in following recommendations regarding primary and secondary prophylaxis of EGVB. Moreover, the selection of endoscopic procedures for gastric varices differs greatly among hospitals.

Objective To investigate the value of total bilirubin rebound rate (TBRR), total bilirubin clearance rate (TBCR), and TBCR after 1 week of treatment (ΔTBCR) in evaluating the short-term prognosis of patients with severe drug-induced liver injury (DILI) after artificial liver support therapy. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for 203 patients with severe DILI who received artificial liver support therapy in Tianjin Third Central Hospital from September 2013 to December 2021, and general information, biochemical parameters, and clinical classification were collected. The patients were divided into improved group and unhealed group according to the prognosis at discharge, and Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, TBRR, TBCR, and ΔTBCR were calculated. The independent samples t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to investigate the value of assessment indices in predicting the prognosis of patients, and the Kaplan-Meier method was used to investigate the difference in the length of hospital stay in the context of different assessment indices. Results Compared with the unhealed group, the improved group had significantly lower age ( t =-2.762, P < 0.05), white blood cell count ( Z =-3.184, P < 0.05), total bilirubin ( t =-2.809, P < 0.05), conjugated bilirubin ( t =-2.739, P < 0.05), international normalized ratio ( Z =-2.357, P < 0.05), MELD score ( t =-3.090, P < 0.05), and TBRR ( t =-4.749, P < 0.05), as well as significantly higher albumin ( t =2.198, P < 0.05), prothrombin time activity ( t =2.018, P < 0.05), TBCR ( t =2.166, P < 0.05), and ΔTBCR ( t =9.549, P < 0.05). MELD score, TBRR, TBCR, and ΔTBCR had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.656, 0.727, 0.611, and 0.879, respectively, and ΔTBCR had a better predictive value than TBRR ( Z =3.169, P =0.001 5). The optimal cut-off value was 22.5% for TBRR (with a sensitivity of 94.6% and a specificity of 45.2%) and 27.4% for ΔTBCR (with a sensitivity of 77.7% and a specificity of 86.5%). ΔTBCR showed a good predictive value in different clinicopathological types, with extremely high sensitivity (91.4%) and specificity (100.0%) in evaluating the treatment outcome of patients with mixed-type DILI after artificial liver support therapy. Conclusion TBRR and ΔTBCR have a higher value than MELD score in evaluating the short-term prognosis of patients with severe DILI after artificial liver support therapy, among which ΔTBCR has a higher predictive value.

Objective:To deeply explore the real work of primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of stroke in general hospitals, rehabilitation and pension institutions and community health service centers (stations), and to provide reference for improving the level of comprehensive prevention of stroke in the medical system.Methods:From July to November 2022, face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 18 medical staff in general hospitals, 10 medical staff in rehabilitation and pension institutions, and 8 medical staff in community health service centers (stations) were conducted by phenomenological research methods. Colaizzi 7-step analysis method was used to analyze the interview data, and Nvivo12 software was used to code the interview data.Results:Four themes were extracted: hospitals, institutions and communities all played an important role in the comprehensive prevention of stroke and actively cooperated with each other; the public was still lack of comprehensive prevention awareness and correct cognition of stroke; lack of professional medical resources hindered the development of comprehensive stroke prevention; incomplete collaborative mechanism of comprehensive prevention of stroke in hospitals, institutions and communities.Conclusions:In the current comprehensive prevention of stroke, there are still problems such as weak public awareness of prevention, insufficient professional medical resources, and imperfect coordination mechanism. In view of the advantages of medical institutions at all levels, it is necessary to clarify the responsibilities of the system at all levels and explore efficient and sustainable coordination mechanism, so as to improve the comprehensive prevention level of stroke in the medical system.

Sufficient and organized sleep is a key factor during the developmental process of infancy while disrupted sleep schedule and diseases might lead to sleeping disorders in infants. Breastfeeding is considered to be the most beneficial way to meet the nutritional needs of infants for optimal growth and development. The α-lactalbumin-tryptophan-melatonin axis, nucleotides, and other factors are breast milk components that may affect infant sleep. Meanwhile, diet, feeding schedule, tobacco smoking, alcohol intake, and caffeine consumption will affect the circadian rhythms which might lead to the fluctuations of sleep-influencing factors in breast milk. This study reviews literature of previous studies on this topic to summarize information that can be considered for both breastfeeding practice and future basic research on the establishment of organized sleep patterns in infants.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of serological indicators and evaluate the diagnostic value of a new established combined serological model on identifying the minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in patients with compensated cirrhosis.Methods:This prospective multicenter study enrolled 263 compensated cirrhotic patients from 23 hospitals in 15 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities of China between October 2021 and August 2022. Clinical data and laboratory test results were collected, and the model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score was calculated. Ammonia level was corrected to the upper limit of normal (AMM-ULN) by the baseline blood ammonia measurements/upper limit of the normal reference value. MHE was diagnosed by combined abnormal number connection test-A and abnormal digit symbol test as suggested by Guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis. The patients were randomly divided (7∶3) into training set ( n=185) and validation set ( n=78) based on caret package of R language. Logistic regression was used to establish a combined model of MHE diagnosis. The diagnostic performance was evaluated by the area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristic curve, Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve. The internal verification was carried out by the Bootstrap method ( n=200). AUC comparisons were achieved using the Delong test. Results:In the training set, prevalence of MHE was 37.8% (70/185). There were statistically significant differences in AMM-ULN, albumin, platelet, alkaline phosphatase, international normalized ratio, MELD score and education between non-MHE group and MHE group (all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that AMM-ULN [odds ratio ( OR)=1.78, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.05-3.14, P=0.038] and MELD score ( OR=1.11, 95% CI 1.04-1.20, P=0.002) were independent risk factors for MHE, and the AUC for predicting MHE were 0.663, 0.625, respectively. Compared with the use of blood AMM-ULN and MELD score alone, the AUC of the combined model of AMM-ULN, MELD score and education exhibited better predictive performance in determining the presence of MHE was 0.755, the specificity and sensitivity was 85.2% and 55.7%, respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow test and calibration curve showed that the model had good calibration ( P=0.733). The AUC for internal validation of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.752. In the validation set, the AUC of the combined model for diagnosing MHE was 0.794, and Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed good calibration ( P=0.841). Conclusion:Use of the combined model including AMM-ULN, MELD score and education could improve the predictive efficiency of MHE among patients with compensated cirrhosis.

Objective:To compare the differences in the prevalence of mild micro-hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) among patients with cirrhosis by using the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) and the Stroop smartphone application (Encephal App) test.Methods:This prospective, multi-center, real-world study was initiated by the National Clinical Medical Research Center for Infectious Diseases and the Portal Hypertension Alliance and registered with International ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05140837). 354 cases of cirrhosis were enrolled in 19 hospitals across the country. PHES (including digital connection tests A and B, digital symbol tests, trajectory drawing tests, and serial management tests) and the Stroop test were conducted in all of them. PHES was differentiated using standard diagnostic criteria established by the two studies in China and South Korea. The Stroop test was evaluated based on the criteria of the research and development team. The impact of different diagnostic standards or methods on the incidence of MHE in patients with cirrhosis was analyzed. Data between groups were differentiated using the t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, and χ2 test. A kappa test was used to compare the consistency between groups. Results:After PHES, the prevalence of MHE among 354 cases of cirrhosis was 78.53% and 15.25%, respectively, based on Chinese research standards and Korean research normal value standards. However, the prevalence of MHE was 56.78% based on the Stroop test, and the differences in pairwise comparisons among the three groups were statistically significant (kappa = -0.064, P < 0.001). Stratified analysis revealed that the MHE prevalence in three groups of patients with Child-Pugh classes A, B, and C was 74.14%, 83.33%, and 88.24%, respectively, according to the normal value standards of Chinese researchers, while the MHE prevalence rates in three groups of patients with Child-Pugh classes A, B, and C were 8.29%, 23.53%, and 38.24%, respectively, according to the normal value standards of Korean researchers. Furthermore, the prevalence rates of MHE in the three groups of patients with Child-Pugh grades A, B, and C were 52.68%, 58.82%, and 73.53%, respectively, according to the Stroop test standard. However, among the results of each diagnostic standard, the prevalence of MHE showed an increasing trend with an increasing Child-Pugh grade. Further comparison demonstrated that the scores obtained by the number connection test A and the number symbol test were consistent according to the normal value standards of the two studies in China and South Korea ( Z = -0.982, -1.702; P = 0.326, 0.089), while the other three sub-tests had significant differences ( P < 0.001). Conclusion:The prevalence rate of MHE in the cirrhotic population is high, but the prevalence of MHE obtained by using different diagnostic criteria or methods varies greatly. Therefore, in line with the current changes in demographics and disease spectrum, it is necessary to enroll a larger sample size of a healthy population as a control. Moreover, the establishment of more reliable diagnostic scoring criteria will serve as a basis for obtaining accurate MHE incidence and formulating diagnosis and treatment strategies in cirrhotic populations.

Objective:To investigate the diagnostic value of independent and combined subtests of the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score (PHES) in mild hepatic encephalopathy(MHE) of patients with liver cirrhosis, so as to optimize the PHES.Methods:This was a prospective, multicenter and real-world study which was sponsored by the National Clinical Research Center of Infectious Diseases and the Portal Hypertension Consortium. Twenty-six hospitals from 13 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities countrywide participated in this study, induding Tianjin Third Central Hospital, the Fourth People′s Hospital of Qinghai Province, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Baotou Medical College, the Third People′s Hospital of Taiyuan, the Fifth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital and so on. From October 2021 to February 2022, outpatients and hospitalized patients with liver cirrhosis and no obvious hepatic encephalopathy were consecutively enrolled. All patients received 5 PHES subjects in the same order: number connection test(NCT)-A, NCT-B, digit symbol test(DST), line tracing test(LTT) and serial dotting test(SDT), and the scores were calculated. The total score of PHES <-4 was taken as the cut-off value for diagnosing MHE. Compare the differences in each subtest between MHE group and non-MHE group. Receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC) and area under the curve(AUC) was performed to assess the diagnostic value of independent and combined subtests in MHE. Mann-Whitney U test and DeLong test were used for statistical analysis. Results:A total of 581 patients with liver cirrhosis were enrolled, 457 were diagnosed as MHE, and the incidence of MHE was 78.7%. The results of NCT-A, NCT-B, SDT, LTT, DST of MHE group were 60.00 s(47.01 s, 88.00 s), 90.45 s(69.32 s, 125.35 s), 74.00 s(57.65 s, 96.60 s), 74.72(60.00, 98.61) and 27.00(20.00, 36.00), respectively. Compared those of non-MHE group(34.00 s(29.15 s, 44.48 s), 50.00 s(40.98 s, 60.77 s), 50.00 s(41.07 s, 63.03 s), 46.23(38.55, 59.42) and 42.00(34.00, 50.75)), the differences were statistically significant( Z=12.37, 12.98, 9.83, 11.56, 10.66; all P<0.001). The AUC(95% confidence interval(95% CI)) of subtests of PHES NCT-B, NCT-A, LTT, DST and SDT alone in MHE diagnosis were 0.880(0.849 to 0.910), 0.862(0.828 to 0.896), 0.838(0.799 to 0.877), 0.812(0.772 to 0.851) and 0.788(0.743 to 0.832), respectively. The combination of 2 PHES subtests significantly increased the diagnostic efficacy. Among them the diagnostic efficacy of the combination of NCT-B and LTT was the best, the AUC(95% CI) was 0.924(0.902 to 0.947), the specificity was 91.9% and the sensitivity was 79.2%, which was better than a single PHES subtest (NCT-A, NCT-B, SDT, LTT and DST) and the combination of NCT-A and DST(AUC was 0.879, 95% CI0.847 to 0.910) which was recommended by guidelines on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis, the differences were statistically significant ( Z=3.78, 3.83, 5.57, 5.51, 5.38, 2.93; all P<0.01). Furthermore, compared between the combination of NCT-B and LTT and the combination of 3 subests of PHES, only the diagnostic efficacy of combination of NCT-B, LTT and SDT (AUC was 0.936, 95% CI 0.916 to 0.956) was better than that of the combination of NCT-B and LTT, the difference was statistically significant( Z=2.32, P=0.020). Conclusion:Based on the diagnostic efficacy and clinical feasibility of PHES subtests and their combinations, the combination of NCT-B and LTT is recommended for the diagnosis of MHE.

Objective To investigate the level of glycosylated albumin (GA) in liver cirrhosis patients with different Child-Pugh classes and its application value in predicting liver function. Methods A total of 486 patients with liver cirrhosis who were hospitalized in Tianjin Third Central Hospital from January 1 to December 31, 2019, were enrolled, among whom 227 patients had liver cirrhosis without diabetes and 259 patients had liver cirrhosis with diabetes. The patients were divided into groups according to Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP) score, and fasting blood glucose, glycosylated hemoglobin, and percentage of GA (GA%) were measured. The Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between three groups, and the Dwass-Steel-Critchlow-Fligner test was used for further comparison between two groups. Scatter plots and fitting curves were plotted for CTP score and GA% to evaluate the association between them and calculate the cut-off value. Results For the cirrhosis patients without diabetes, there were significant differences between the patients with different Child-Pugh classes in GA% ( χ 2 =24.809, P < 0.001), fasting blood glucose ( χ 2 =11.899, P =0.003), and glycosylated hemoglobin ( χ 2 =13.607, P =0.001); further pairwise comparison showed that there was a significant difference in GA% between Child-Pugh class A/B liver cirrhosis patients without diabetes and Child-Pugh class C liver cirrhosis patients ( P < 0.05), Child-Pugh class A patients had a significantly higher level of fasting blood glucose than Child-Pugh class B patients ( P < 0.05), and Child-Pugh class A patients had a significantly higher level of glycosylated hemoglobin than Child-Pugh class B/C patients ( P < 0.05). For the patients with liver cirrhosis and diabetes, there were significant differences between the patients with different Child-Pugh classes in GA% ( χ 2 =10.734, P =0.005) and fasting blood glucose ( χ 2 =16.295, P < 0.001); further pairwise comparison showed that Child-Pugh class C liver cirrhosis patients with diabetes had a significantly lower GA% than Child-Pugh class A/B patients ( P < 0.05) and Child-Pugh class A patients had a significantly lower fasting blood glucose level than Child-Pugh class B patients ( P < 0.05). The fitting curve showed that GA% increased with the increase in CTP score in the liver cirrhosis patients without diabetes, reached the highest value at the CTP score of 6.5, and then started to decrease, with the lower value at the CTP score of 11.5, which showed a curvilinear relationship; in the liver cirrhosis patients with diabetes, GA% first increased and then decreased with the increase in CTP score, with a cut-off value of 8. Conclusion GA% first increases and then decreases along with the progression of liver cirrhosis. There is a significant difference in GA between liver cirrhosis patients with different Child-Pugh classes, suggesting that the reduction in GA is closely associated with liver function decompensation in end-stage liver cirrhosis.

Objective:The investigation and research on the application status of Hepatic Venous Pressure Gradient (HVPG) is very important to understand the real situation and future development of this technology in China.Methods:This study comprehensively investigated the basic situation of HVPG technology in China, including hospital distribution, hospital level, annual number of cases, catheters used, average cost, indications and existing problems.Results:According to the survey, there were 70 hospitals in China carrying out HVPG technology in 2021, distributed in 28 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the central Government). A total of 4 398 cases of HVPG were performed in all the surveyed hospitals in 2021, of which 2 291 cases (52.1%) were tested by HVPG alone. The average cost of HVPG detection was (5 617.2±2 079.4) yuan. 96.3% of the teams completed HVPG detection with balloon method, and most of the teams used thrombectomy balloon catheter (80.3%).Conclusion:Through this investigation, the status of domestic clinical application of HVPG has been clarified, and it has been confirmed that many domestic medical institutions have mastered this technology, but it still needs to continue to promote and popularize HVPG technology in the future.

Objective To investigate the clinical effect of direct-acting antiviral agent (DAA) in the treatment of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients with thrombocytopenia and its effect on platelet count (PLT). Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for 83 CHC patients with thrombocytopenia (PLT < 150×10 9 /L) who received the DAA treatment regimen without interferon for 12-24 weeks in Tianjin Third Central Hospital from April 2018 to March 2019, and the changes in virologic response, liver function parameters, PLT, and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) were evaluated at the end of treatment (EOT) and at week 12 after EOT. Quantitative data accord with normal distribution were compared by repeated measures ANOVA. Normal transformation was performed before the comparison between skewed data, then repeated measures ANOVA was carried out. A logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the predictive factors for PLT elevation, and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was plotted to analyze the value of LSM in predicting PLT elevation after treatment. Results Among the 83 CHC patients with thrombocytopenia, 61.4% had liver cirrhosis, and the rate of sustained virologic response at week 12 after the end of treatment (SVR12) was 98.8%. From baseline to EOT and SVR12, the patients had significant reductions in the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase, total bilirubin, and globin, a significant increase in the serum level of albumin, and a significant reduction in LSM (all P < 0.05). For all patients, PLT at EOT and SVR12 was significantly higher than that at baseline [EOT vs baseline: (110.4±44.6)×10 9 /L vs (97.8±33.2)×10 9 /L, P < 0.01; SVR12 vs baseline: (109.0±47.7)×10 9 /L vs (97.8±33.2)×10 9 /L, P < 0.01]. At SVR12, there were significant differences in the proportion of patients with liver cirrhosis, baseline LSM, and baseline white blood cell count between the PLT elevation group and the non-PLT elevation group (all P < 0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that LSM was an independent predictive factor for significant PLT elevation after DAA treatment (odds ratio=0.929, 95% confidence interval: 0.864-0.999, P < 0.05). Baseline LSM had an area under the ROC curve of 0.644 in predicting PLT elevation, with a sensitivity of 81.0% and a specificity of 48.6% at a cut-off value of 20.15 kPa. The patients with PLT > 100×10 9 /L at baseline had a greater increase in PLT( P < 0.05). Conclusion CHC patients with thrombocytopenia have significant improvements in liver function and LSM after receiving DAA treatment and obtaining SVR12, and baseline LSM is an independent predictive factor for PLT elevation. There is a significant increase in PLT from baseline to EOT and SVR12.