OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of palliative care on drug use, medical service utilization and medical expenditure of patients with advanced cancer. METHODS: A cohort of patients including pal-liative care and standard care was constructed using the medical records of the patients in Peking University Cancer Hospital from 2018 to 2020, and coarsened exact matching was used to match the two groups of patients. The average monthly opioid consumption, hospitalization rate, intensive care unit (ICU) rate and operation rate, and the average monthly total cost were selected to evaluate drug use, medical service utilization and medical expenditure. Chi-square test and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to compare the differences between the two groups before and after exposure and the change in the palliative care group. The net impact of palliative care on the patients was calculated using the difference-in-differences analysis. RESULTS: In this study, 180 patients in the palliative care group and 3 101 patients in the stan-dard care group were finally included in the matching, and the matching effect of the two groups was good (L₁ < 0.1). Before and after exposure, the average monthly opioid consumption in the palliative care group was significantly higher than that in the standard care group (Before exposure: 0.3 DDD/person-month vs. 0.1 DDD/person-month, P < 0.01; After exposure: 0.7 DDD/person-month vs. 0.1 DDD/person-month, P < 0.01; DDD refers to defined daily dose), palliative care significantly increased the average monthly opioid consumption in the patients (0.3 DDD/person-month, P < 0.01). The hospitalization rate (48.9% vs. 74.3%, P < 0.01) and operation rate (3.9% vs. 8.8%, P < 0.01) of the patients in palliative care group were significantly lower than those in standard care group, and the ICU rate became similar between the two groups (1.1% vs. 1.6%, P=0.634). Palliative care significantly reduced the patients ' hospitalization rate (-25.6%, P < 0.01), ICU rate (-4.9%, P < 0.01) and operation rate (-14.5%, P < 0.01). Before and after exposure, the average monthly total costs of pal-liative care group were slightly higher than those of standard care group (Before exposure: 20 092.3 yuan vs. 19 132.8 yuan, P=0.725; After exposure: 9 719.8 yuan vs. 8 818.8 yuan, P=0.165). Palliative care increased the average monthly total cost by 2 208.8 yuan, but it was not statistically significant (P=0.316). CONCLUSION Palliative care can increase the opioid consumption in advanced cancer patients, reduce the rates of hospitalization, ICU and surgery, but has no significant effect on medical expenditure.
Humans ; Palliative Care/economics* ; Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Analgesics, Opioid/economics* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Hospitalization/economics* ; Intensive Care Units/statistics & numerical data* ; Health Expenditures/statistics & numerical data* ; Adult ; Drug Utilization/statistics & numerical data* ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care/statistics & numerical data*

Pelvic organ prolapse (POP), whose etiology is influenced by genetic and clinical risk factors, considerably impacts women's quality of life. However, the genetic underpinnings in non-European populations and comprehensive risk models integrating genetic and clinical factors remain underexplored. This study constructed the first polygenic risk score (PRS) for POP in the Chinese population by utilizing 20 disease-associated variants from the largest existing genome-wide association study. We analyzed a discovery cohort of 576 cases and 623 controls and a validation cohort of 264 cases and 200 controls. Results showed that the case group exhibited a significantly higher PRS than the control group. Moreover, the odds ratio of the top 10% risk group was 2.6 times higher than that of the bottom 10%. A high PRS was significantly correlated with POP occurrence in women older than 50 years old and in those with one or no childbirths. As far as we know, the integrated prediction model, which combined PRS and clinical risk factors, demonstrated better predictive accuracy than other existing PRS models. This combined risk assessment model serves as a robust tool for POP risk prediction and stratification, thereby offering insights into individualized preventive measures and treatment strategies in future clinical practice.
Humans ; Female ; Pelvic Organ Prolapse/epidemiology* ; Middle Aged ; Risk Assessment/methods* ; China/epidemiology* ; Multifactorial Inheritance ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Case-Control Studies ; Adult ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Genetic Risk Score ; East Asian People

Objective To explore the implementation effects and application value of the Clinical Rehabilitation Integration Plan based on the graded management of rehabilitation treatment programs in a 3A general hospital.Methods The details of the programme were firstly formulated according to the needs of clinical rehabilitation and the implementation plan was formed,and then the integrated clinical rehabilitation work was carried out for 1 year accordingly,and finally the effects before and after the implementation of the programme were compared and analysed by selecting the indicators of departmental operation and patient satisfaction.Results The rehabilitation programme was classified into 4 levels according to the degree of technical difficulty and medical risk,and its connotation and management requirements were defined in detail.The implementation of the programme included organisational structure,training and assessment,authorisation management and quality control.The programme was carried out in 8 clinical departments in the hospital,and the overall willingness of the clinical departments to develop early rehabilitation was improved since 2022.Conclusion This program can improve the operational efficiency of clinical departments and patient prognosis.

Objective To construct and preliminarily apply a graded exercise rehabilitation program for patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(AECOPD),and to provide a theoretical basis for the scientific implementation of exercise rehabilitation by medical staff.Methods Based on Triangle model and evidence-based method,the first draft of the graded exercise rehabilitation program was constructed,and the items were revised through 2 rounds of expert consultations from March to October,2023.The graded exercise rehabilitation program was preliminarily applied in 10 patients with AECOPD.Results The effective recovery rates of the 2 rounds of expert consultation questionnaires were 100％;the expert authority coefficients were 0.857 and 0.863;the coefficients of variation were 0-0.285 and 0.052-0.244;the Kendall's harmony coefficients were 0.167 and 0.145,respectively(all P＜0.001).The final plan includes 4 first-level indicators,13 second-level indicators,and 25 third-level indicators.The scores of 6 min walking test,mMRC and CAT after exercise were improved compared with those before exercise,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).Conclusion The graded exercise rehabilitation program for patients with AECOPD constructed in this study has good scientificity and practicability,which can provide references for clinical implementation of exercise rehabilitation.

Drug use monitoring and evaluation play a key role in promoting drugs to return to clinical value,optimizing the basic medicine system,and improving the drug supply guarantee system.In order to promote the implementation of drug use monitoring and evaluation in medical institutions,the Pharmaceutical Affairs Committee of the Chinese Hospital Association led the efforts of organizing relevant domestic experts to follow the group standard development process.It successfully formulated the group standard of Drug Use Monitoring and Evaluation through the steps of problem sorting,framework construction,evidence collection,draft writing,opinion consultation,and standard formation.This article introduces the standard formulation process in detail,and explains and analyzes the content of the standard,aiming to help readers better understand the connotation of drug use monitoring and evaluation,and provide practical guidance.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of exogenous H₂O₂ on secondary metabolism in Atractylodes chinensis and its mechanism. MethodFresh rhizomes of A. chinensis were treated with 5.0， 1.0， 0.2， 0.04 mmol·L^-1 H₂O₂ solution and clean water， and the relationships between the contents of reactive oxygen species， activities of antioxidant enzymes， activities of key enzymes of secondary metabolites， and contents of secondary metabolites in A. chinensis were compared. ResultUnder treatment with exogenous H₂O₂， the content of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde （MDA） in the fresh rhizomes of A. chinensis were significantly elevated on the 4th day， and returned to normal level on the 6th-8th day. The activities of superoxide dismutase （SOD）， catalase （CAT） and peroxidase （POD） were all increased first and then decreased， and reached the peak on the 4th， 4^th-6^th and 2^th-4^th day， respectively. The activities of 3-hydroxy-3-methyl glutaryl coenzyme A reductase （HMGR） and acetyl CoA carboxylase （ACC）， key enzymes of the secondary metabolites， were remarkably enhanced， and under treatments with different concentrations of H₂O₂， the activities of key synthetic enzymes of the secondary metabolites in 0.2 mmol·L^-1 H₂O₂ group were increased most， with the highest biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. The contents of atractylodin， β-eudesmol， atractylone， atractylenolide Ⅱ， and atractylenolide Ⅲ on the 6th day of 0.2 mmol·L^-1 H₂O₂ treatment were 89.5%， 108.7%， 308.8%， 64.7% and 9.3%， respectively higher than those in the control. ConclusionThe antioxidant enzymes and secondary metabolites in A. chinensis synergistically maintain the balance of reactive oxygen species， and exogenous H₂O₂ can improve the medicinal quality of A. chinensis remarkably.

ObjectiveTo develop a high-quality rehabilitation major curriculum using the World Health Organization rehabilitation competency framework (RCF), to improve the level of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) rehabilitation major, to meet the requirements of competency-based education development. MethodsThe competence requirements of rehabilitation professionals of higher traditional TCM colleges and universities were analyzed using the theory and method of RCF. ResultsThe competency structure of TCM rehabilitation talents based on RCF was built, and the curriculum setting of TCM rehabilitation based on RCF was proposed. According to the characteristics of the educational environment of colleges and universities, a competency model suitable for undergraduate-level TCM rehabilitation major was established. ConclusionThe theory and methods of RCF are of great significance for the construction of competency-based education system of TCM rehabilitation major. Based on RCF, this study constructs the basic and practical curriculum system of TCM rehabilitation at the undergraduate level to promote the training of applied talents in TCM rehabilitation.

This study selected the top five general hospitals in the United States of America, collected the practice information of acupuncturists through the official website, and analyzed the professional department, expertise, professional title, education background, residency, fellowship, board certification, etc. of these acupuncturists to understand the practice situation of acupuncturists in the hospitals. The results of the study showed the practice of acupuncturists in the United States of America is improving. With further localization, locally trained acupuncturists have gradually become the main body of acupuncturists; acupuncture treatment is still mainly for analgesia, but the scope of treatment continues to expand, and departments that accept acupuncturists are gradually increasing. However, the group of licensed acupuncturists is still a minority in the group of acupuncturists in the United States of America. Native American physicians still use acupuncture as an alternative option and neglect to obtain a license. The entry barrier for acupuncturists still needs to be raised.

Objective To investigate the risk factors for covert hepatic encephalopathy (CHE) in patients with liver cirrhosis and their influence on prognosis. Methods A total of 416 patients with liver cirrhosis who were hospitalized in a grade A tertiary hospital in Chongqing from September 2019 to June 2020 were enrolled in the study, and according to the presence or absence of CHE, they were divided into CHE group with 212 patients and non-CHE group with 204 patients. Clinical data and laboratory examination results were collected, and follow-up was performed for 6 months. The 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, the continuous correction chi-square test, and the Mann-Whitney U test were used for comparison of categorical data between groups. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to analyze the risk factors for CHE. Results The incidence rate of CHE was 51%. The univariate analysis showed that age, course of disease, the medical history of hepatic encephalopathy (HE), infection, ascites, electrolyte disturbance, hepatorenal syndrome, Child-Pugh class, prothrombin time, total bilirubin, creatinine, platelet, prothrombin activity, albumin, and Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score were the influencing factors for CHE (all P < 0.05). The multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the medical history of HE ( OR =10.848, 95% CI : 4.971-23.674, P < 0.05), transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) ( OR =4.334, 95% CI : 1.203-15.621, P < 0.05), Child-Pugh class ( OR =4.968, 95% CI : 1.299-18.992, P < 0.05), and MELD score ( OR =1.253, 95% CI : 1.161-1.352, P < 0.05) were independent predictive factors for CHE ( P < 0.05). The follow-up study showed that CHE had an effect on the short-or medium-term readmission, HE, and death of patients (all P < 0.05). Conclusion CHE has a relatively high incidence rate and greatly affects the prognosis of patients with liver cirrhosis. The development of CHE should be taken seriously in patients with a past history of HE, a history of TIPS, Child-Pugh class C liver function, and a high MELD score, and identification, screening, and intervention should be performed as early as possible to improve the prognosis of patients with liver cirrhosis.

Objective:To compare the efficacy and safety of ultrasound-guided percutaneous translumial septal myocardial ablation in dogs using laser and radiofrequency.Methods:Twelve healthy adult Beagle dogs (males or females) were randomly divided into two groups, namely, group laser and group radiofrequency (6 dogs each group). Under ultrasound guidance, laser fiber or radiofrequency ablation needle was respectively inserted into the basal and middle segments of the interventricular septa via the percutaneous transapical approach to perform ablation. The Beagle dogs received radiologic examination, laboratory tests and pathological detection before ablation, immediately after ablation, at 1 week after ablation, and at 1 month after ablation, respectively. The efficacy and safety of the two ablation procedures were compared.Results:All dogs survived after ablation. The peak gradient of LVOT decreased immediately after ablation using either laser or radiofrequency ( P<0.05), but it increased at 1 week after ablation than before ( P<0.05). At 1 month after ablation, no significant differences were found in the peak gradient of LVOT compared with that before surgery ( P<0.05). The interventricular septum thickness was increased immediately after ablation using either laser or radiofrequency than before ( P<0.05), but it decreased at 1 week and at 1 month after surgery than before ( P<0.05). The ablation zone using radiofrequency was slightly larger than that of using laser[(372.50±69.06)mm 3 vs (116.65±20.15)mm 3, P<0.001], and the surgical time of the former was significantly shorter than that of using laser [(56.00±3.22)s vs (260.00±65.39)s, P<0.05)]. Conclusions:Ultrasound-guided percutaneous translumial septal myocardial ablation is feasible, safe and effective using either laser or radiofrequency. Comparatively speaking, radiofrequency ablation is more simple and convenient.