ObjectiveTo construct an evaluation index system for public health emergency response capacity within the healthcare-associated infection prevention and control systems using the Delphi method, and to provide a basis for infection control management in municipal hospitals. MethodsBased on literature analyses and theoretical researches, a preliminary evaluation index system for response capacity was constructed. The Delphi method was employed to conduct two rounds of consultation with 17 experts. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to calculate the weights of the indicators. ResultsThe effective questionnaire return rates for both rounds of expert consultation were 100%. The expert authority coefficients for the first and second rounds were 0.97 and 0.95, respectively. Kendall’s W coefficients ranged from 0.31 to 0.58 in the first round and from 0.45 to 0.58 in the second round, with all differences being statistically significant (P<0.01). After two rounds of expert consultation, the municipal-level hospital infection prevention and control system emergency response capacity evaluation index system was finalized, comprising 5 first-level indicators, 18 second-level indicators and 59 third-level indicators. ConclusionThe constructed public health emergency response capacity evaluation index system for municipal-level hospital infection prevention and control systems demonstrates strong scientific rigor, reliability, and practicality, providing a theoretical foundation and valuable reference for enhancing the infection prevention and control capacity of municipal-level hospitals.

A 20-year-old male patient presented to the Department of Dermatology of Peking Union Medical College Hospital with complaints of an 8-year history of facial scarring, swelling of the lower limbs, and a 4-year history of scalp thickening. Physical examination showed thickening furrowing wrinkling of the skin on the face and behind the ears, ciliary body hirsutism, blepharoptosis, and cutis verticis gyrate. Both lower limbs were swollen, especially the knees and ankles. The skin of the palms and soles of the feet was keratinized and thickened. Laboratory examination using bone and joint X-ray showed periostosis of the proximal middle phalanges and metacarpals of both hands, distal ulna and radius, tibia and fibula, distal femurs, and metatarsals.Genetic testing revealed two variants in SLCO2A1, c.1658T > A and c.96+4A > C.Through multidisciplinary consultation, we confirmed the diagnosis of pachydermoperiostosis.

Schimke immuno-osseous dysplasia (SIOD)caused by SMARCAL1 gene mutations is a rare genetic disorder characterized by multi-system involvement, including T-cell dysfunction, skeletal dysplasia, disproportionate short stature, nephrotic syndrome, and kidney failure. This multidisciplinary consultation involved a 9-year-old boy with intrauterine growth retardation, presenting with short stature, T-cell lymphopenia, proteinuria, and degenerative bone and joint disease. Treatment primarily focused on symptomatic and supportive care. Through the multidisciplinary rare disease consultation, holistic support was provided to the patient, offering comprehensive care from various specialtiesx.We also aim to use this case report to enhance clinicians′ under-standing of SIOD and improve the management and treatment of rare diseases.

As an important category of rare diseases, rare genetic kidney diseases have many types. In recent years, their diagnosis, treatment, research and management strategies have made great progress. Continuously more new genes and mechanisms have been discovered, giving rise to new technologies and drugs for precision medicine and clinical applications. This article systematically analyzes rare diseases involving the urinary system listed in the catalog of rare diseases in China, gives examples to illustrate the research and management methods for the diagnosis and treatment of rare genetic kidney diseases, promotes clinical applications of new drugs by expanding physiological mechanisms, introduces the application of special blood purification in the field of critical rare diseases, and provides an outlook forward to the future prospects of precise diagnosis and treatment of rare kidney diseases in China.

Tuberous sclerosis complex(TSC)is a rare genetic disease that can lead to benign dysplasia in multiple organs such as the skin, brain, eyes, oral cavity, heart, lungs, kidneys, liver, and bones. Its main symptoms include epilepsy, intellectual disabilities, skin depigmentation, and facial angiofibromas, whilst incidence is approximately 1 in 10 000 to 1 in 6000 newborns. This case presents a middle-aged woman who initially manifested with epilepsy and nodular depigmentation. Later, she developed a lower abdominal mass, elevated creatinine, and severe anemia. Based on clinical features and whole exome sequencing, the primary diagnosis was confirmed as TSC. Laboratory and imaging examinations revealed that the lower abdominal mass originated from the uterus. CT-guided biopsy pathology and surgical pathology suggested a combination of leiomyoma and abscess. With the involvement of multiple organs and various complications beyond the main diagnosis, the diagnostic and therapeutic process for this patient highlights the importance of rigorous clinical thinking and multidisciplinary collaboration in the diagnosis and treatment of rare and challenging diseases.

Background::Patients who undergo coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) are known to be at a significant risk of experiencing long-term adverse events, emphasizing the importance of regular assessments. Evaluating health-related quality of life (HRQoL) serves as a direct method to gauge prognosis. Our objective is to ascertain the prognostic significance of consecutive HRQoL assessments using the Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) derived from the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) health survey in CABG patients.Methods::The study population consisted of 433 patients who underwent isolated elective CABG at Fuwai Hospital between 2012 and 2013. SF-36 assessments were conducted during both the hospitalization period and follow-up. The primary endpoint of the study was all-cause mortality, while the secondary outcome was a composite measure including death, myocardial infarction, stroke, and repeat revascularization. We assessed the relationships between the PCS and MCS at baseline, as well as their changes during the first 6 months after the surgery (referred to as ΔPCS and ΔMCS, respectively), and the observed outcomes.Results::The patients were followed for an average of 6.28 years, during which 35 individuals (35/433, 8.1%) died. After adjusting for clinical variables, it was observed that baseline MCS scores (hazard ratio [HR] for a 1-standard deviation [SD] decrease, 1.57; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07–2.30) and ΔMCS (HR for a 1-SD decrease, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.09–2.56) were associated with all-cause mortality. However, baseline PCS scores and ΔPCS did not exhibit a significant relationship with all-cause mortality. Notably, there was a dose-response relationship observed between ΔMCS and the likelihood of all-cause mortality (HRs for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th quartiles compared to the 1st quartile, 0.33, 0.45 and 0.11, respectively).Conclusions::Baseline MCS and changes in MCS were independent predictors for long-term mortality of CABG. Better mental health status and recovery indicated better prognosis.

This study explores the effects of enhancing the definitive hematopoiesis(DH)signals during the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells(hESCs)into hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells on the generation efficiency and effector function of natural killer(NK)cells generated from hESCs(also known as hESC-NK cells).The hESC(H1)were transformed into embryoid bodies(Ebs)by centrifugation,and during the induction of K562,were used to analyze the efficiency of hematopoietic differentiation,the efficiency of NK cell generation from hESC,the in vitro effector functions,and the expression of effector function related surface receptors.Compared to the control group,the DH group had a significant increase in the number of arterial hematopoietic endothelial cells(CD34+DLL4+)and a significant decrease in primitive hematopoietic related cells(CD34-CD43+)on day 8 of hematopoietic differentiation(P<0.05).On day 28 of NK cell differentiation,the DH group demonstrated a significant increase in the number of NK cells(CD45+CD56+),while a slight increase in the expression of effector function-related molecules such as IFN-γ,Granzyme B,Perforin and CD107a without statistical significance.Furthermore,the activation receptors CD16a and CD69 were significantly increased,NKP46 was significantly decreased,the inhibitory receptor NKG2A was significantly increased,while CD96 was significantly decreased on hESC-NK cells of DH groups(P<0.05).Conclusively,enhancing the signals for definitive hematopoiesis during hESC differentiation into hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells significantly improves the yield of NK cells and the expression of CD16a without affecting their in vitro effector functions.Our study provides a new approach to improving the efficiency of hESC-NK cell or iPSC-NK cell generation.

Renal replacement therapy and perioperative management have difficulties in hemophilia patients with end-stage renal disease. The paper summarized the diagnosis and treatment experience of six hemophilia patients complicated with end-stage renal disease from January 1, 2000 to March 31, 2023 in Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Among 6 patients treated with peritoneal dialysis, 3 were treated with hemodialysis or continuous venous-venous hemodialysis. Altogether 11 dialysis access procedures were conducted successfully, and no serious bleeding or thrombotic events. In further conjunction with literature review, the paper summarized the key points of dialysis access appliance relevant to such patients, to provide reference for renal replacement treatment paths.

Objective:To analyze the clinical and pathological characteristics, treatment and prognosis of renal changes in patients with Kimura disease and improve the clinicians′ understanding on renal manifestations of Kimura disease.Methods:The clinical data of Kimura disease patients with definite diagnosis and detailed data in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 1980 to August 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into renal impairment group and non-renal impairment group according to whether the kidney was involved or not and the related clinical data between the two groups were compared. The patients presenting with nephrotic syndrome were followed up.Results:There were 60 patients with Kimura disease confirmed by pathological diagnosis with 48 males. The median age was 33(3, 62) years old, and the median duration was 36(12, 111) months. There were 18 cases complicated with renal injury in 49 patients with complete routine urine and renal function examination and the main manifestations of renal injury were proteinuria and/or microscopic hematuria. There was no significant difference at age, sex and absolute value of eosinophils between the two groups (all P>0.05). Compared with the renal inpairment group, patients in non-renal inpairment group had longer course of disease, higher levels of hypersensitive C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and lower median values of total eosinophils and total IgE, but there was no statistically significant difference (all P>0.05). Among the patients with renal involvement, 6 patients met the diagnostic criteria for nephrotic syndrome, and 5 of them completed renal biopsies. The renal pathological diagnosis was membranous nephropathy in 2 cases and minimal change disease in 3 cases, and no interstitial eosinophil infiltration was found in renal biopsy tissues. These patients had a good response to glucocorticoids and/or immunosuppressive therapy, and achieved complete remission of nephrotic syndrome; at the same time, lymphadenopathy caused by Kimura disease could be well controlled. Conclusions:Kimura disease can combine with various renal lesions, and the pathology of nephrotic syndrome can be membranous nephropathy or minimal change nephropathy. After energetic treatment of glucocorticoids and/or immunosuppressive therapy, nephrotic syndrome can be completely relieved, and lymphadenopathy can be well controlled. The relationship between Kimura disease and renal disease needs further study.

A young female patient presented with fever, arthralgia, and rash was diagnosed with adults still's disease. When treated with glucocorticoid steroid, the above patient progressed to anuria, sudden, and confusion. After a teamwork involving different departments, the patient was finally diagnosed with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) and treated with good outcome. aHUS is a rare disease, while Eculizumab is an orphan drug. The diagnosis and treatment of the patient reveals the importance of multidisciplinary team on the diagnosis and treatment of rare and difficult diseases.