Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of hypomethylating agents (HMA) in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) .Methods:A total of 409 MDS patients from 45 hospitals in Zhejiang province who received at least four consecutive cycles of HMA monotherapy as initial therapy were enrolled to evaluate the efficacy and safety of HMA. Mann-Whitney U or Chi-square tests were used to compare the differences in the clinical data. Logistic regression and Cox regression were used to analyze the factors affecting efficacy and survival. Kaplan-Meier was used for survival analysis. Results:Patients received HMA treatment for a median of 6 cycles (range, 4-25 cycles) . The complete remission (CR) rate was 33.98% and the overall response rate (ORR) was 77.02%. Multivariate analysis revealed that complex karyotype ( P=0.02, OR=0.39, 95% CI 0.18-0.84) was an independent favorable factor for CR rate. TP53 mutation ( P=0.02, OR=0.22, 95% CI 0.06-0.77) was a predictive factor for a higher ORR. The median OS for the HMA-treated patients was 25.67 (95% CI 21.14-30.19) months. HMA response ( P=0.036, HR=0.47, 95% CI 0.23-0.95) was an independent favorable prognostic factor, whereas complex karyotype ( P=0.024, HR=2.14, 95% CI 1.10-4.15) , leukemia transformation ( P<0.001, HR=2.839, 95% CI 1.64-4.92) , and TP53 mutation ( P=0.012, HR=2.19, 95% CI 1.19-4.07) were independent adverse prognostic factors. There was no significant difference in efficacy and survival between the reduced and standard doses of HMA. The CR rate and ORR of MDS patients treated with decitabine and azacitidine were not significantly different. The median OS of patients treated with decitabine was longer compared with that of patients treated with azacitidine (29.53 months vs 20.17 months, P=0.007) . The incidence of bone marrow suppression and pneumonia in the decitabine group was higher compared with that in the azacitidine group. Conclusion:Continuous and regular use of appropriate doses of hypomethylating agents may benefit MDS patients to the greatest extent if it is tolerated.

Objective:To retrospectively analyze the bone marrow characteristics of methimazole-induced agranulocytosis and other hematologic damage, and to explore its correlation with clinical features and prognosis.Methods:The bone marrow and clinical parameters of 20 patients of Graves′ disease diagnosed with methimazole-induced agranulocytosis at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi′an Jiaotong University from January 2000 to December 2022 were collected. The intergroup differences in bone marrow characteristics and granulocyte recovery time were analyzed. Differences in peripheral blood and bone marrow characteristics between patients with single agranulocytosis and pancytopenia were compared. Besides, literature review of the bone marrow characteristics of methimazole-induced hematologic diseases was conducted.Results:Compared to patients with bone marrow characteristics of granulocyte and precursor maturation disorders(Type Ⅱ), patients with aplastic marrow(Type Ⅰ) had significant decreases in the proportions of granulocytes in all phases( P<0.05). Patients with bone marrow characteristics of Type Ⅰ had a significant increase in the proportion of the lymphocyte system [51.00%(41.50%, 75.50%) vs 22.00%(14.00%, 35.00%), P=0.002], and got a longer to recovery time [(6.58±1.68)d vs(3.71±1.60)d, P=0.003]; Correlation analysis suggested the granulocyte to erythrocyte ratio was negatively correlated with the granulocyte recovery time( r=-0.520, P=0.023), and the proportion of the bone marrow lymphocyte was positively correlated with granulocyte recovery time( r=0.622, P=0.004). Compared to patients with single agranulocytosis, patients with pancytopenia had a markedly longer hospital stay duration [(27.14±5.27)d vs(14.15±7.36)d, P=0.001]. Literature review suggestsed that methimazole may cause various degrees of damage to blood system and bone marrow. Conclusion:Methimazole can induce a variety of hematologic damages. Analysis of bone marrow characteristics can aid in further prognosis assessment. Clinicians should be vigilant about potential hematologic adverse reactions when using methimazole and promptly diagnose and treat them to prevent serious consequences.

Objective:To develop, validate and initially apply a joint function and health assessment scale for juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients.Methods:The first draft of the juvenile idiopathic arthritis joint function and health assessment scale was developed through literature analysis, discussion by the research team, semi-structured interviews, Delphi expert correspondence. From March to June 2024, a total of 260 children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis or their parents were prospectively recruited from Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Children′s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University by convenience sampling method for pre-investigation and formal investigation.The reliability and validity of the scale were tested by item analysis, reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, content validity and criterion validity analysis, and the responsiveness of the scale to clinical changes was evaluated by estimating the minimum clinically important difference, and finally the formal scale was formed.Results:The juvenile idiopathic arthritis joint function and health assessment scale included disease activity assessment, daily activity and function assessment, pain, fatigue and disease outcome assessment, with a total of 5 dimensions and 24 items, in which the functional assessment subscale included 4 secondary dimensions and 18 items. The Cronbach′s α coefficient of the function assessment subscale was 0.88, the fold-half reliability was 0.86, and the test-retest reliability after 2-4 weeks was 0.84; the item-level content validity index was 0.80-1.00, and the scale-level content validity index was 0.93. Exploratory factor analysis extracted 4 common factors with a cumulative variance contribution of 70.0%. Preliminary application indicated the functional assessment subscale was moderately correlated with childhood health assessment questionnaire ( r=0.70, P<0.05), the total scale was strongly correlated with juvenile arthritis disease activity score-27 ( r=0.92, P<0.05), and moderately correlated with both active and limited joint count ( r=0.77, 0.68, both P<0.05). Reactivity analysis suggested that the minimum clinically important difference between the two visits of 41 children with clinical improvement and 25 children with disease activity was 0.49 (0.44, 0.54) and 0.51 (0.43, 0.58). Conclusion:The juvenile idiopathic arthritis joint function and health assessment scale has good reliability and validity, and has certain responsiveness to clinical changes, is simple and operable, and can be used as a tool for assessing joint function in children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Heat stroke can be divided into two types: exertional and classic, mainly manifested as a clear history of exposure to hot temperature/high heat environment or intense physical activity in hot environment, core temperature exceeding 40 ℃, accompanied by central nervous system changes (altered consciousness, epilepsy, psychiatric symptoms, etc.) and multiple organ damage, including respiratory failure, impaired liver and kidney function, rhabdomyolysis, coagulation disorders, abdominal distension, and diarrhea. Its pathology may be manifested as organ endothelial cell damage, inflammatory response, extensive thrombosis, and bleeding tendency. The main treatment measures are cooling therapy, and when combined with other organ damage, organ support or replacement therapy should be carried out in time, including blood transfusion to improve coagulation function and blood purification therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy may improve the prognosis of patients with ischemic hypoxic encephalopathy. We reported a case of a firefighter with sudden impaired consciousness and high fever during forest fire fighting. The patient was sent to a local hospital and his head computed tomography (CT) results showed unclear cerebral gyrus, suggesting severe cerebral edema, and finally diagnosed as heat stroke. After being transferred to Liuzhou Workers' Hospital, his condition continued to deteriorate and signs of multiple organ failure appeared. The patient's cerebral edema was reversed and further development of heat stroke was prevented through early cooling, sedation and anti-epilepsy, endotracheal intubation ventilator-assisted breathing, anti-infection, fluid resuscitation, infusion of fresh frozen plasma and platelets to improve coagulation function, immunomodulatory therapy, renal replacement therapy, and timely artificial liver therapy. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was ordered during the rehabilitation phase, and the patient recovered well at discharge, leaving no obvious neurological sequelae. Its prognosis is much better than that predicted at admission.

Objective:To compare the clinical value of video laryngoscopy and conventional laryngoscopy for tracheal intubation in neonatal resuscitation.Methods:From July 2018, 100 cases of premature or asphyxia infants born in our hospital requiring tracheal intubation were enrolled. The infants were randomly assigned into video laryngoscopy group and conventional laryngoscopy group with 50 cases in each group. The time needed for intubation, the first time success rate and complications associated with intubation were compared between the two groups.Results:The time needed for intubation (21.7±2.7)s vs.(23.7±1.8)s and the first time success rate [98.0% (49/50) vs. 86.0% (43/50)] were significantly better in the video laryngoscopy group than the conventional laryngoscopy group ( P<0.05). The incidence of intubation complications showed no significant difference between the two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Using video laryngoscopy, the time needed for tracheal intubation is shorter and the first time success rate is higher, without more complications. Video laryngoscopy can be safely used in tracheal intubation of neonatal resuscitation.

The rapid spread of carbapenemase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae(cpKP)poses seri-ous threats to public health;however,the underlying genetic basis for its dissemination is still unknown.We conducted a comprehensive genomic epidemiology analysis on 420 cpKP isolates col-lected from 70 hospitals in 24 provinces/autonomous regions/municipalities of China during 2009-2017 by short-/long-read sequencing.The results showed that most cpKP isolates were categorized into clonal group 258(CG258),in which ST11 was the dominant clone.Phylogenetic analysis revealed three major clades including the top one of Clade 3 for CG258 cpKP isolates.Additionally,carbapenemase gene analysis indicated that blaKPC was dominant in the cpKP isolates,and most blaKPC genes were located in five major incompatibility(Inc)groups of blaKPC-harboring plasmids.Importantly,three advantageous combinations of host-blaKPC-carrying plasmid(Clade 3.1+3.2-IncFⅡpHN7A8,Clade 3.1+3.2-IncFⅡpHN7A8:IncR,and Clade 3.3-IncFⅡpHN7A8:InCpA1763-KPC)were identified to confer cpKP isolates the advantages in both genotypes(strong correlation/coevolution)and phenotypes(resistance/growth/competition)to facilitate the nationwide spread of ST11/CG258 cpKP.Intriguingly,Bayesian skyline analysis illustrated that the three advanta-geous combinations might be directly associated with the strong population expansion during 2007-2008 and subsequent maintenance of the population of ST11/CG258 cpKP after 2008.We then examined drug resistance profiles of these cpKP isolates and proposed combination treatment regimens for CG258/non-CG258 cpKP infections.Thus,the findings of our systematical analysis shed light on the molecular epidemiology and genetic basis for the dissemination of ST11/CG258 cpKP in China,and much emphasis should be given to the close monitoring of advantageous cpKP-plasmid combinations.

Objective:To explore the performance of the commonly used whole blood C-reactive protein (CRP) detection systems and give related recommendation on the performance requirements of detection systems.Methods:A total of 7 540 venous blood samples from 26 maternal, child and children′s hospitals were collected to conduct this multi-center study on the analytical performance of 5 commonly used whole blood CRP detection systems from March to April in 2019. The blank check, carryover, repeatability, intermediate precision, linearity, sample stability, influence of hematocrit/triglyceride/bilirubin, comparison with SIEMENS specific protein analyzer and trueness were evaluated. The 5 systems included BC-5390CRP autohematology analyzer, AstepPLUS specific protein analyzer, Ottoman-1000 Automated Specific Protein POCT Workstation, i-CHROMA Immunofluorometer equipment Reader and Orion QuikRead go detecting instrument. The 5 systems were labeled as a, b, c, d and e randomly.Results:Within the 5 systems, all values of blank check were less than 1.00 mg/L, the carryovers were lower than 1.00%. The repeatability of different ranges of CRP concentrations including 3.00-10.00, 10.00-30.00 and>30.00 mg/L were less than 10.00%, 6.00% and 5.00%, respectively, and the intermediate precision was less than 10.00%. The linearity correlation coefficients of the 5 systems were all above 0.975, while the slope was within 0.950-1.050. Whole blood samples were stable within 72 hours both at room temperature (18-25 ℃) and refrigerated temperature (2-8 ℃). The CRP results were rarely influenced by high triglyceride or bilirubin, except for the immmunoturbidimetric test based on microparticles coated with anti-human CRP F(ab) 2 fragments. When triglyceride was less than 15.46 mmol/L, the deviation of CRP was less than 10.00%. When bilirubin was less than 345.47 μmol/L, the deviation of CRP was less than 10.00%. CRP was more susceptible to Hct on the systems without Hct correction. The deviation of CRP between different Hct dilution concentration and 40% dilution concentration can reach as high as 67.48%. The correlation coefficients ( r) of 5 systems were all more than 0.975 in the range of 0-300.00 mg/L compared with Siemens specific protein analyzer. All systems passed the trueness verification using the samples with specified values of 12.89 and 30.60 mg/L. Conclusion:The performance of 5 systems can basically meet the clinical needs, but it is suggested that the whole blood CRP detection system without automatic Hct correction should be modified manually.

Objective: To explore the genetic basis for a fetus with Dandy-Walker malformation. Methods: G-banding chromosomal karotyping, single nucleotide polymorphism microarray (SNP array) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were carried out for the fetus. Chromosomal karyotyping and FISH assay were also carried out for both parents. Results: SNP array has detected a 4266 kb microdeletion at 6p25.3p25.1 in the fetus, which was confirmed by FISH. FISH analysis of the parents demonstrated that the father has carried a cryptic t(6; 14)(p25.1; p13) translocation, while the fetus has a der(6)t(6; 14)(p25.1; p13) derived the paternal translocation. Conclusion The der(6)t(6; 14)(p25.1; p13) probably underlies the Dandy-Walker malformation in the fetus. The 6p25.3p25.1 microdeletion is due to unbalanced gametes produced by the father’s cryptic balanced translocation.

To explore the effect of IL-33 on various tumor types,exogenous injection of recombinant mouse IL-33 protein (mIL-33) was used to study the efficacy of different subcutaneous tumor-bearing mouse models. In this study,mIL-33 has been found to significantly inhibit the growth of liver,lung,gastric,prostate,and colon cancers. However,the inhibition of tumor growth by mIL-33 was not completely consistent in different types of tumor. A lower dose of mIL-33 (10 μg/kg) significantly inhibited tumor growth in subcutaneous tumor-bearing mice of liver,lung,and gastric cancers,while a higher dose of mIL-33 (90 μg/kg) was required to exert the corresponding antitumor effect in subcutaneous tumor-bearing mouse models with prostate and colon cancers. In addition,the growth inhibitory effect of mIL-33 on subcutaneous tumors of colon cancer was also correlated with the duration of administration and the stage of tumor progression. The results of this study indicate that mIL-33 significantly inhibits the growth of a variety of tumors,suggesting that IL-33 might be an effective target for tumor treatment.

Objective To explore the genetic basis for a child with mentally retardation.Methods G-banding karyotyping,single nucleotide polymorphism array (SNP-array) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were performed for the child.Karyotyping and FISH were also carried out for her parents.Results SNP-array has detected a 5077 kb microdeletion at 5q35.2q35.3 and a 4964 kb microduplication at 7q36.2q36.3 in the child.The results were confirmed by FISH.Based on above results,the father was subsequently found to carry a cryptic t(5;7)(q35.2;q36.2) translocation.The child was verified to have inherited a der(5) t(5;7) (q35.2;q36.2) from her father.Conclusion The 5077 kb microdeletion at 5q35.2q35.3 may have predisposed to the Sotos syndrome in the child.SNP-array combined with G-banding karyotyping and FISH can help to detect cryptic chromosomal translocations among patients.