INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to examine patterns of diagnosis, cognitive and adaptive functioning, and school placement outcomes in autistic children in Singapore, and to assess earlier predictive factors of cognitive outcomes. METHOD: Retrospective data were extracted from medical records of a specialist developmental paediatrics service for children born in 2008-2011 and referred to the autism clinic or were given a diagnosis of autism. Data items included demographic data, diagnostic methods, psychological assessment results, early intervention attendance and school placement outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 2124 children (82.6% male; 66.4% Chinese, 13.4% Malay, 9.8% Indian and 10.5% Others) were diagnosed with autism from the 4 birth-year cohorts. The mean (SD) age of the first clinical diagnosis of autism was 3.56 (1.14) years, with 81.0% of children receiving a concordant initial clinical diagnosis. A total of 1811 (85.2%) had a formal diagnostic assessment using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) at a mean (SD) age of 4.16 (1.11) years. Of 1326 with cognitive and adaptive assessment results, 16.6% had mild and 19.8% had moderate-severe cognitive impairment. Of 1483 with school placement outcomes, 45.9% went to mainstream schools, 21.8% entered SPED schools offering the national curriculum and 32.3% required customised curriculum SPED schools. Logistic regression showed that factors predicting intellectual impairment included higher ADOS scores (aOR 95% CI 1.13 [1.08-1.19] for Comm+SI total and 1.53 [1.33-1.75] for SBRI total), higher social communication level of support (based on the DSM-5 criteria) (aOR [95% CI] 2.14 [1.10-4.16] for level 2 and 14.94 [5.77-38.64] for level 3), and minority race (aOR [95% CI] 2.82 [1.52-5.20] for Malay, 5.19 [2.36-11.44] for Indian, and 4.54 [1.91-10.79] for Others). CONCLUSION These findings could guide policymakers and practitioners worldwide to strategically allocate diagnostic, intervention and educational resources, maximising developmental outcomes for autistic children across diverse settings.
Humans ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Male ; Female ; Retrospective Studies ; Child, Preschool ; Autistic Disorder/complications* ; Child ; Early Intervention, Educational ; Cognitive Dysfunction/diagnosis* ; Cognition

BACKGROUND: The available evidence regarding the benefits of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on patients receiving dialysis with coronary artery disease (CAD) is limited and inconsistent. This study aimed to evaluate the association between PCI and clinical outcomes as compared with medical therapy alone in patients undergoing dialysis with CAD in China. METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective study was conducted in 30 tertiary medical centers across 12 provinces in China from January 2015 to June 2021 to include patients on dialysis with CAD. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal stroke. Secondary outcomes included all-cause death, the individual components of MACE, and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium criteria types 2, 3, or 5 bleeding. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the association between PCI and outcomes. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and propensity score matching (PSM) were performed to account for potential between-group differences. RESULTS: Of the 1146 patients on dialysis with significant CAD, 821 (71.6%) underwent PCI. After a median follow-up of 23.0 months, PCI was associated with a 43.0% significantly lower risk for MACE (33.9% [ n  = 278] vs . 43.7% [ n  = 142]; adjusted hazards ratio 0.57, 95% confidence interval 0.45-0.71), along with a slightly increased risk for bleeding outcomes that did not reach statistical significance (11.1% vs . 8.3%; adjusted hazards ratio 1.31, 95% confidence interval, 0.82-2.11). Furthermore, PCI was associated with a significant reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities. Subgroup analysis did not modify the association of PCI with patient outcomes. These primary findings were consistent across IPTW, PSM, and competing risk analyses. CONCLUSION This study indicated that PCI in patients on dialysis with CAD was significantly associated with lower MACE and mortality when comparing with those with medical therapy alone, albeit with a slightly increased risk for bleeding events that did not reach statistical significance.
Humans ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/methods* ; Male ; Female ; Coronary Artery Disease/drug therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Renal Dialysis/methods* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; China ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVES: To develop a risk prediction model for left ventricular adverse remodeling (LVAR) based on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) parameters in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). METHODS: A total of 329 acute STEMI patients undergoing primary PCI at 8 medical centers from January, 2018 to December, 2021 were prospectively enrolled. The parameters of CMR, performed at 7±2 days and 6 months post-PCI, were analyzed using CVI42 software. LVAR was defined as an increase >20% in left ventricular end-diastolic volume or >15% in left ventricular end-systolic volume at 6 months compared to baseline. The patients were randomized into training (n=230) and validation (n=99) sets in a 7∶3 ratio. In the training set, potential predictors were selected using LASSO regression, followed by univariate and multivariate logistic regression to construct a nomogram. Model performance was evaluated using receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves, area under the curve (AUC), calibration curves, and decision curve analysis. RESULTS: LVAR occurred in 100 patients (30.40%), who had a higher incidence of major adverse cardiovascular events than those without LVAR (58.00% vs 16.16%, P<0.001). Left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LVGLS; OR=0.76, 95% CI: 0.61-0.95, P=0.015) and left atrial active strain (LAAS; OR=0.78, 95% CI: 0.67-0.92, P=0.003) were protective factors for LVAR, while infarct size (IS; OR=1.05, 95% CI: 1.01-1.10, P=0.017) and microvascular obstruction (MVO; OR=1.26, 95% CI: 1.01-1.59, P=0.048) were risk factors for LVAR. The nomogram had an AUC of 0.90 (95% CI: 0.86-0.94) in the training set and an AUC of 0.88 (95% CI: 0.81-0.94) in the validation set. CONCLUSIONS LVGLS, LAAS, IS, and MVO are independent predictors of LVAR in STEMI patients following PCI. The constructed nomogram has a strong predictive ability to provide assistance for management and early intervention of LVAR.
Humans ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Prospective Studies ; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/diagnostic imaging* ; Ventricular Remodeling ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Aged ; Risk Assessment

Objective: To investigate the predictive value of glycosylated hemoglobin A1c/apolipoprotein A-1 (HbA1c/ApoA-1) ratio for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: The present study is a retrospective cohort study. ACS patients who were hospitalized and underwent coronary angiography at Beijing Hospital from March 2017 to March 2019 were enrolled. Baseline information such as sex, age, previous history, Gensini score, HbA1c and ApoA-1 were analyzed. Patients were divided into two groups according to presence or absence of MACEs and the difference on HbA1c/ApoA-1 ratio was compared between the two groups. According to the tertiles of HbA1c/ApoA-1 levels, patients were divided into high (5.87-16.12), medium (4.50-5.83) and low (2.11-4.48) HbA1c/ApoA-1 groups. Cox proportional risk model was used to evaluate the differences in MACEs and all-cause mortality among the three groups. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to compare the differences of MACEs between the various HbA1c/ApoA-1 groups. Results: A total of 366 ACS patients were included in this study. The mean age of the patients was (65.9±10.3) years. There were 59 MACEs and 10 all-cause deaths during the mean of (22.3±4.4) months follow-up. After adjusting for age, systolic blood pressure, history of diabetes and Gensini score, the incidence of MACEs was 2.45 times higher in the high HbA1c/ApoA-1 group than in the low HbA1c/ApoA-1 group (95%CI 1.16-5.18, P=0.019). There was no significant difference in all-cause mortality between the high and low HbA1c/ApoA-1 groups (P=1.000). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that patients in the high HbA1c/ApoA-1 group had the highest risk of MACEs, while patients in the low HbA1c/ApoA-1 group had the lowest risk of MACEs (P<0.01). Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that HbA1/ApoA-1 ratio was positively correlated with Gensini score in ACS patients (r=0.274, P<0.01). Conclusion: High HbA1c/ApoA-1 ratio was an independent risk factor for MACEs in ACS patients. Patients with high HbA1c/ApoA-1 ratio had more severe coronary artery disease lesions. HbA1c/ApoA-1 ratio may be used as a potential risk stratification biomarker for ACS patients, it might be useful for the early identification of high-risk population and for predicting the incidence of MACEs among ACS patients.
Aged ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Acute Coronary Syndrome/diagnosis* ; Apolipoprotein A-I/analysis* ; Biomarkers/analysis* ; Glycated Hemoglobin/analysis* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Predictive Value of Tests

Objective: To evaluate the protective effect of jailed balloon technique on side branch (SB) ostium using three-dimensional optical coherence tomography(OCT). Methods: This is a retrospective study. Consecutive coronary disease patients with coronary artery bifurcation lesions who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and completed pre-and post-procedural OCT examinations at the Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital from September 2019 to March 2022 were enrolled. Patients were divided into the jailed balloon technique group and the unprotected group according to the options applied for the SB. The SB ostium area difference was calculated from OCT images (SB ostium area difference=post-PCI SB ostium area-pre-PCI SB ostium area). The SB ostium area differences were compared between the two groups and compared further in the subgroup of true bifurcation lesions and non-true bifurcation lesions. In the jailed balloon group, the SB ostium area difference was compared between the active jailed balloon technique and the conventional jailed balloon technique, between the jailed balloon>2.0 mm diameter and the jailed balloon≤2.0 mm diameter, and between the higher balloon pressure (>4 atm, 1 atm=101.325 kPa) and the lower balloon pressure (≤4 atm). Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to explore the correlation between the technical parameters of the jailed balloon technique and the SB protection effect. Results: A total of 176 patients with 236 bifurcation lesions were enrolled, aged (60.7±9.3) years, and there were 128 male patients (72.7%). There were 67 patients in the jailed balloon technique group with 71 bifurcation lesions and 123 patients in the unprotected group with 165 bifurcation lesions. Fourteen patients had 2 to 3 lesions, which were treated in different ways, so they appeared in the unprotected group and the jailed balloon technique group at the same time. The area difference in SB ostium was greater in the jailed balloon group than in the unprotected group (0.07 (-0.43, 1.05)mm² vs.-0.33 (-0.83, 0.26)mm², P<0.001), and the results were consistent in the true bifurcation lesion subgroup (0.29 (-0.35, 0.96)mm² vs.-0.26 (-0.64, 0.29)mm², P=0.004), while the difference between the two groups in the non-true bifurcation lesion subgroup was not statistically significant (P=0.136). In the jailed balloon technique group, the SB ostium area difference was greater in patients treated with the active jailed balloon technique than in those treated with the conventional jailed balloon technique ((0.43±1.36)mm² vs. (-0.22±0.52)mm², P=0.013). The difference in SB ostium area was greater in those using>2.0 mm diameter jailed balloons than in those using≤2.0 mm diameter jailed balloons (0.25 (-0.51, 1.31) mm² vs.-0.01 (-0.45, 0.63) mm², P=0.020), while SB ostium area difference was similar between those endowed with higher balloon pressure (>4 atm) compared to those with lower balloon pressure (≤4 atm) (P=0.731). Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that there was a positive correlation between jailed balloon diameter and SB ostium area difference (r=0.344, P=0.019). Conclusions: The jailed balloon technique significantly protects SB ostium, especially in patients with true bifurcation lesions. The active jailed balloon technique and larger diameter balloons may provide more protection to the SB.
Humans ; Male ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary/methods* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Tomography, Optical Coherence/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Stents ; Coronary Artery Disease/therapy* ; Coronary Vessels/pathology* ; Coronary Angiography

Objective: To investigate the clinical features and long-term prognostic factors of diabetic patients with low or intermediate complexity coronary artery disease (CAD) post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: This was a prospective, single-centre observational study. Consecutive diabetic patients with SYNTAX score (SS)≤32 undergoing PCI between January and December 2013 in Fuwai hospital were included in this analysis. The patients were divided into two groups based on SS, namely SS≤22 group and SS 23-32 group. Multivariate Cox regression analysis was performed to identify independent factors related to poor 5-year prognosis. The primary outcomes were cardiac death and recurrent myocardial infarction, the secondary outcomes were all cause death and revascularization. Results: Of the 3 899 patients included in the study, 2 888 were men (74.1%); mean age was 59.4±9.8 years. There were 3 450 patients in the SS≤22 group and 449 patients in the SS 23-32 group. Compared with SS≤22 group, the incidence of revascularization was higher in SS 23-32 group (18.9% (85/449) vs. 15.2% (524/3450), log-rank P=0.019). There was no significant difference in all-cause death, cardiac death and recurrent myocardial infarction between the two groups (log-rank P>0.05). Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age (HR=1.05, 95%CI 1.02-1.08, P<0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR=3.12, 95%CI 1.37-7.07, P=0.007) and creatinine clearance rate (CCr)<60 ml/min (HR=3.67, 95%CI 2.05-6.58, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for 5-year cardiac death, while left ventricular ejection fraction (HR=0.94, 95%CI 0.91-0.96, P<0.001) was a protective factor. Previous PCI (HR=2.04, 95%CI 1.38-3.00, P<0.001), blood glucose level≥11.1 mmol/L on admission (HR=2.49, 95%CI 1.32-4.70, P=0.005) and CCr<60 ml/min (HR=1.85, 95%CI 1.14-2.99, P=0.012) were independent risk factors for 5-year recurrent myocardial infarction. The SS of 23-32 was independently associated with risk of revascularization (HR=1.54, 95%CI 1.09-2.16, P=0.014), after adjusting for residual SS. Residual SS was not a risk factor for 5-year prognosis. Conclusions: In diabetic patients with low-or intermediate complexity CAD, SS 23-32 is associated with increased risk of 5-year revascularization; the clinical characteristics of the patients are associated with the long-term mortality and recurrent myocardial infarction, but not related to revascularization.
Male ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Female ; Coronary Artery Disease/surgery* ; Stroke Volume ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Prospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Ventricular Function, Left ; Prognosis ; Risk Factors ; Myocardial Infarction/etiology* ; Diabetes Mellitus

Objectives: To evaluate microvascular perfusion and left ventricular function in patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after revascularization using myocardial contrast echocardiography (MCE), and to explore clinical influencing factors of abnormal microvascular perfusion in these patients. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. The analysis was performed among patients admitted to Peking University People's Hospital for acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) from June 2018 to July 2021. All patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and completed MCE within 48 hours after PCI. Patients were divided into normal myocardial perfusion group and abnormal perfusion group according to the myocardial perfusion score. The echocardiographic indexes within 48 hours after PCI, including peak mitral valve flow velocity (E), mean value of early diastolic velocity of left ventricular septum and lateral mitral annulus (Em), left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) and so on, were analyzed and compared between the two groups. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the influencing factors of myocardial perfusion abnormalities. Results: A total of 123 STEMI patients, aged 59±13 years with 93 (75.6%) males, were enrolled. There were 50 cases in the normal myocardial perfusion group, and 73 cases in the abnormal myocardial perfusion group. The incidence of abnormal myocardial perfusion was 59.3% (73/123). The left ventricular volume index ((62.3±18.4)ml/m² vs. (55.1±15.2)ml/m², P=0.018), wall motion score index (WMSI) (1.59 (1.44, 2.00) vs. 1.24(1.00, 1.47), P<0.001) and mitral E/Em (17.8(12.0, 24.3) vs. 12.2(9.2, 15.7), P<0.001) were significantly higher whereas left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) ((-10.8±3.4)% vs. (-13.8±3.5)%, P<0.001) was significantly lower in the abnormal myocardial perfusion group than those in the normal myocardial perfusion group. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that left anterior descending (LAD) as culprit vessel (OR=3.733, 95%CI 1.282-10.873, P=0.016), intraoperative no/low-reflow (OR=6.125, 95%CI 1.299-28.872, P=0.022), and peak troponin I (TnI) (OR=1.018, 95%CI 1.008-1.029, P=0.001) were independent risk factors of abnormal myocardial perfusion. As for ultrasonic indexes, deceleration time of mitral E wave (OR=0.979, 95%CI 0.965-0.993, P=0.003), mitral E/Em (OR=1.100, 95%CI 1.014-1.194, P=0.022) and WMSI (OR=7.470, 95%CI 2.630-21.222, P<0.001) were independently related to abnormal myocardial perfusion. Conclusions: The incidence of abnormal myocardial perfusion after PCI is high in patients with acute STEMI. Abnormal myocardial perfusion is related to worse left ventricular systolic and diastolic function. LAD as culprit vessel, intraoperative no/low-reflow and peak TnI are independent risk factors of abnormal myocardial perfusion.
Male ; Humans ; Female ; ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction/diagnostic imaging* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Coronary Circulation ; Echocardiography ; Anterior Wall Myocardial Infarction/etiology* ; Ventricular Function, Left ; Perfusion

This retrospective single-center registry study included all consecutive patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for a de novo left main coronary artery lesion using drug coated-balloon (DCB)-only strategy between August 2011 and December 2018. To best of our knowledge, no previous studies of DCB-only strategy of treating de novo left main coronary artery disease, exist. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs) including cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization (TLR). The cohort was divided into two groups depending on weather the lesion preparation was done according to the international consensus group guidelines. Sixty-six patients (mean age 75±8.6, 72% male), 52% of whom had acute coronary syndrome, underwent left main PCI with the DCB-only strategy. No procedural mortality and no acute closures of the treated left main occurred. At 12 months, MACE and TLR occurred in 24% and 6% of the whole cohort, respectively. If the lesion preparation was done according to the guidelines, the MACE and TLR rates were 21.2% and 1.9%. Left main PCI with the DCB only-strategy is safe leading to acceptable MACE and low TLR rates at one year, if the lesion preparation is done according to the guidelines.
Humans ; Male ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Female ; Coronary Artery Disease/therapy* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary/adverse effects* ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

Humans ; Cohort Studies ; Body Mass Index ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Inflammation ; Treatment Outcome ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: Foreign studies have reported that coronary artery disease (CAD) patients with high baseline low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) may have a good prognosis, which is called the "cholesterol paradox". This study aimed to examine whether the "cholesterol paradox" also exists in the Chinese population. METHODS: A total of 2,056 patients who underwent the first percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) between 2014 and 2016 were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study and classified into two groups based on baseline LDL-C = 2.6 mmol/L (100 mg/dL). The outcomes of interest included major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), all-cause mortality, recurrent nonfatal myocardial infarction, unexpected coronary revascularization, or any nonfatal stroke. RESULTS: All-cause mortality occurred in 8 patients (0.7%) from the low-LDL-C group and 12 patients (2.4%) in the high-LDL-C group, with a significant difference between the two groups (adjusted hazard ratio: 4.030, 95% confidence interval: 1.088-14.934; P = 0.037). However, no significant differences existed for the risk of MACE or other secondary endpoints, such as unexpected revascularization, nor any nonfatal stroke in the two groups. CONCLUSION In this study, a high baseline LDL-C was not associated with a low risk of clinical outcomes in CAD patients undergoing first PCI, which suggested that the "cholesterol paradox" may be inapplicable to Chinese populations.
Humans ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Retrospective Studies ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/adverse effects* ; Coronary Artery Disease/surgery* ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Stroke/etiology* ; Treatment Outcome ; Risk Factors