Objective To evaluate the relationship between anxiety levels and clinicopathological characteristics in patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Methods Among the patients who underwent surgical treatment in our center from July 2022 to September 2023, 304 patients completed the Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM-A) questionnaire. The clinical and pathological characteristics of these patients and their association with anxiety levels were investigated. Results Among the 304 patients, 271 were pathologically confirmed to have PTC. Of the 271 patients, 75 had higher levels of anxiety (according to HAM-A scoring system, a score ≥14 indicates clinically significant anxiety) and were assigned to the anxiety group. Univariate statistical analysis showed that the proportion of patients with elevated thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) in the anxiety group was higher than that in the non-anxiety group (34.7% vs. 16.8%, P=0.002 4). Moreover, the proportion of patients with multifocal tumors in the anxiety group was also higher than that in the non-anxiety group (33.3% vs. 16.7%, P=0.004 4). Multivariate Logistic regression confirmed that anxiety levels were associated with elevated TPOAb (P=0.005 6) and tumor multifocality (P=0.001 9). Conclusions Anxiety levels may be related to elevated TPOAb and tumor multifocality in PTC patients.

Objective To understand the current situation as well as the implementation of infection prevention and control measures against bacterial contamination of external and vaginal ultrasound probes in medical institutions(MIs),and explore the risk of ultrasound probe-related infection under current prevention and control measures.Methods Through on-site sampling,external ultrasound probes from 179 MIs and vaginal ultrasound probes from 83 MIs in 15 prefecture-level cities in Henan Province underwent quantitative bacterial detection,and the implemen-tation of relevant infection prevention and control measures was assessed using questionnaire survey.Results A to-tal of 513 ultrasound probe specimens were detected.Bacterial detection rate and exceedance rate of the disinfected vaginal ultrasound probes were 18.02％(20/111)and 2.70％(3/111),respectively,which were both lower than external ultrasound probes(40.05％[161/402]and 5.22％[21/402],respectively).Bacterial detection rate of dis-infected specimens was lower than that of the towel-wiping group([33.86％,149/440]vs[50.00％,27/54],x2=5.46,P=0.019).Bacterial detection rate of the quaternary ammonium salt disinfectant group was lower than that of the alcohol disinfectant group([17.31％,18/104]vs[40.63％,128/315],x2=18.74,P＜0.001).The quali-fied rates of specimens using different disinfection methods and with different probe types showed no statistically significant differences(all P＞0.05).The implementation rates of"single disinfection for every use"for external ul-trasound probes and vaginal ultrasound probes were 60.34％(108/179)and 70.54％(79/112),respectively.The disinfectants used were mainly quaternary ammonium salts(57.27％)and alcohols(36.36％).The coupling agents used for external and vaginal ultrasound examinations were mainly large packaged products for multiple time use,accounting for 93.85％and 57.89％,respectively.33.33％(56/168)of external ultrasound coupling agents and 20.00％(11/55)of vaginal ultrasound coupling agents were used for more than 7 days.In vaginal ultrasound exa-minations,the usage rates of disinfectant coupling agents and sterile coupling agents were 28.42％(27/95)and 14.74％(14/95),respectively.In vaginal ultrasound examinations,50.00％(56/112)of MIs used condoms as probe co-vers,and 45.54％(51/112)used sound-transmission ultrasound isolation membranes.60.55％(66/109)of MIs didn't change gloves after cleaning and disinfecting the vaginal ultrasound probe and before examination.Conclusion Ultrasound probes have cross infection risks in key processes such as reprocessing(disinfection/sterilization),phy-sical barrier use,coupling agent selection,and glove replacement.It is urgent to develop and implement standar-dized ultrasound probe infection prevention and control technical specifications based on evidence-based research.

Objective To understand the current situation as well as the implementation of infection prevention and control measures against bacterial contamination of external and vaginal ultrasound probes in medical institutions(MIs),and explore the risk of ultrasound probe-related infection under current prevention and control measures.Methods Through on-site sampling,external ultrasound probes from 179 MIs and vaginal ultrasound probes from 83 MIs in 15 prefecture-level cities in Henan Province underwent quantitative bacterial detection,and the implemen-tation of relevant infection prevention and control measures was assessed using questionnaire survey.Results A to-tal of 513 ultrasound probe specimens were detected.Bacterial detection rate and exceedance rate of the disinfected vaginal ultrasound probes were 18.02％(20/111)and 2.70％(3/111),respectively,which were both lower than external ultrasound probes(40.05％[161/402]and 5.22％[21/402],respectively).Bacterial detection rate of dis-infected specimens was lower than that of the towel-wiping group([33.86％,149/440]vs[50.00％,27/54],x2=5.46,P=0.019).Bacterial detection rate of the quaternary ammonium salt disinfectant group was lower than that of the alcohol disinfectant group([17.31％,18/104]vs[40.63％,128/315],x2=18.74,P＜0.001).The quali-fied rates of specimens using different disinfection methods and with different probe types showed no statistically significant differences(all P＞0.05).The implementation rates of"single disinfection for every use"for external ul-trasound probes and vaginal ultrasound probes were 60.34％(108/179)and 70.54％(79/112),respectively.The disinfectants used were mainly quaternary ammonium salts(57.27％)and alcohols(36.36％).The coupling agents used for external and vaginal ultrasound examinations were mainly large packaged products for multiple time use,accounting for 93.85％and 57.89％,respectively.33.33％(56/168)of external ultrasound coupling agents and 20.00％(11/55)of vaginal ultrasound coupling agents were used for more than 7 days.In vaginal ultrasound exa-minations,the usage rates of disinfectant coupling agents and sterile coupling agents were 28.42％(27/95)and 14.74％(14/95),respectively.In vaginal ultrasound examinations,50.00％(56/112)of MIs used condoms as probe co-vers,and 45.54％(51/112)used sound-transmission ultrasound isolation membranes.60.55％(66/109)of MIs didn't change gloves after cleaning and disinfecting the vaginal ultrasound probe and before examination.Conclusion Ultrasound probes have cross infection risks in key processes such as reprocessing(disinfection/sterilization),phy-sical barrier use,coupling agent selection,and glove replacement.It is urgent to develop and implement standar-dized ultrasound probe infection prevention and control technical specifications based on evidence-based research.

Objective To study the invasive histopathological features of papillary thyroid carcinoma(PTC)with tall cell variant(TCV).Methods A retrospective analysis of 19 170 cases of PTC in Ruijin Hospital,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from January 2018 to May 2023 was performed to analyze and the clinicopathological features between TCV-PTC group and classic PTC(cPTC)group.Results Pathological results showed 1 380 cases in TCV-PTC group and 15 578 cases in cPTC group.TCV-PTC had higher proportion and(or)mean value in patients'age,extraglandular invasion,nerve invasion,vascular invasion,maximum diameter of cancer focus,multifocality,lymph node metastasis and BRAF mutation,but the proportion of patients with coexistent Hashimoto's thyroiditis was lower than cPTC,and all results had significant difference(P<0.05).Conclusions Compared with the cPTC,TCV-PTC has stronger local invasive characteristics and lymph node metastasis rate,which provides the basis for the subsequent clinical treatment.

Iron is an essential trace element for both humans and bacteria. It plays a vital role in life, such as in redox reactions and electron transport. Strict regulatory mechanisms are necessary to maintain iron homeostasis because both excess and insufficient iron are harmful to life. Competition for iron is a war between humans and bacteria. To grow, reproduce, colonize, and successfully cause infection, pathogens have evolved various mechanisms for iron uptake from humans, principally Fe 3+ -siderophore and Fe 2+ -heme transport systems. Humans have many innate immune mechanisms that regulate the distribution of iron and inhibit bacterial iron uptake to help resist bacterial invasion and colonization. Meanwhile, researchers have invented detection test strips and coupled antibiotics with siderophores to create tools that take advantage of this battle for iron, to help eliminate pathogens. In this review, we summarize bacterial and human iron metabolism, competition for iron between humans and bacteria, siderophore sensors, antibiotics coupled with siderophores, and related phenomena. We also discuss how competition for iron can be used for diagnosis and treatment of infection in the future.
Humans ; Siderophores/metabolism* ; Iron/metabolism* ; Bacteria ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology* ; Biological Transport