We propose a strategy to reduce unnecessary prostate biopsies in Chinese patients with total prostate-specific antigen (tPSA) >10 ng ml -1 and Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) scores between 1 and 3. Clinical data derived from 517 patients of The First Affiliated Hospital of USTC (Hefei, China) from January 2020 to December 2023 who met the screening criteria for the study were retrospectively collected. Independent predictors were identified via univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis. The diagnostic capacity of clinical variables was evaluated using the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under the curve (AUC). A prostate biopsy strategy was developed via risk stratification. Of the 517 patients, 17/348 (4.9%) with PI-RADS 1-2 were diagnosed with clinically significant prostate cancer (csPCa), and 27/169 (16.0%) patients with PI-RADS 3 were diagnosed with csPCa. The appropriate prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD) cut-off values were 0.45 ng ml -2 for PI-RADS 1-2 patients and 0.3 ng ml -2 for PI-RADS 3 patients. The appropriate prostate volume (PV) cut-off values were 40 ml for PI-RADS 1-2 patients and 50 ml for PI-RADS 3 patients. The prostate biopsy strategy based on PSAD and PV developed in this study can reduce unnecessary prostate biopsies in patients with tPSA >10 ng ml -1 and PI-RADS 1-3. In the study, 66.5% (344/517) patients did not need to undergo prostate biopsy, at the expense of missing only 1.7% (6/344) patients with csPCa.
Humans ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood* ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Prostate/diagnostic imaging* ; Unnecessary Procedures/statistics & numerical data* ; Biopsy/statistics & numerical data* ; China ; ROC Curve

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

Objective To understand the change in distribution and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from blood specimens of Hunan Province,and provide for the initial diagnosis and treatment of clinical bloodstream infection(BSI).Methods Data reported from member units of Hunan Province Antimicrobial Resistance Survei-llance System from 2012 to 2021 were collected.Bacterial antimicrobial resistance surveillance method was imple-mented according to the technical scheme of China Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System(CARSS).Bacteria from blood specimens and bacterial antimicrobial susceptibility testing results were analyzed by WHONET 5.6 soft-ware and SPSS 27.0 software.Results A total of 207 054 bacterial strains were isolated from blood specimens from member units in Hunan Province Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System from 2012 to 2021,including 107 135(51.7％)Gram-positive bacteria and 99 919(48.3％)Gram-negative bacteria.There was no change in the top 6 pathogenic bacteria from 2012 to 2021,with Escherichia coli(n=51 537,24.9％)ranking first,followed by Staphylococcus epidermidis(n=29 115,14.1％),Staphylococcus aureus(n=17 402,8.4％),Klebsiella pneu-moniae(17 325,8.4％),Pseudomonas aeruginosa(n=4 010,1.9％)and Acinetobacter baumannii(n=3 598,1.7％).The detection rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA)decreased from 30.3％in 2015 to 20.7％in 2021,while the detection rate of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus(MRCNS)showed an upward trend year by year(57.9％-66.8％).No Staphylococcus was found to be resistant to vancomy-cin,linezolid,and teicoplanin.Among Gram-negative bacteria,constituent ratios of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were 43.9％-53.9％and 14.2％-19.5％,respectively,both showing an upward trend(both P＜0.001).Constituent ratios of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii were 3.6％-5.1％and 3.0％-4.5％,respectively,both showing a downward trend year by year(both P＜0.001).From 2012 to 2021,resistance rates of Escherichia coli to imipenem and ertapenem were 1.0％-2.0％and 0.6％-1.1％,respectively;presenting a downward trend(P＜0.001).The resistant rates of Klebsiella pneumoniae to meropenem and ertapenem were 7.4％-13.7％and 4.8％-6.4％,respectively,presenting a downward trend(both P＜0.001).The resistance rates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii to carbapenem antibiotics were 7.1％-15.6％and 34.7％-45.7％,respectively.The trend of resistance to carbapenem antibiotics was relatively stable,but has de-creased compared with 2012-2016.The resistance rates of Escherichia coli to the third-generation cephalosporins from 2012 to 2021 were 41.0％-65.4％,showing a downward trend year by year.Conclusion The constituent ra-tio of Gram-negative bacillus from blood specimens in Hunan Province has been increasing year by year,while the detection rate of carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacillus remained relatively stable in the past 5 years,and the detection rate of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus has shown a downward trend.

Objective To investigate changes in the distribution and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from cerebrospinal fluid(CSF)specimens in Hunan Province,and provide reference for correct clinical diagnosis and rational antimicrobial use.Methods Data reported by member units of Hunan Province Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System from 2012 to 2021 were collected according to China Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Sys-tem(CARSS)technical scheme.Data of bacteria isolated from CSF specimens and antimicrobial susceptibility tes-ting results were analyzed with WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 20.0 software.Results A total of 11 837 bacterial strains were isolated from CSF specimens from member units of Hunan Province Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Sys-tem from 2012 to 2021.The top 5 strains were coagulase-negative Staphylococcus(n=6 397,54.0％),Acineto-bacter baumannii(n=764,6.5％),Staphylococcus aureus(n=606,5.1％),Enterococcus faecium(n=465,3.9％),and Escherichia coli(n=447,3.8％).The detection rates of methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphyloco-ccus(MRCNS)and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA)were 58.9％-66.3％and 34.4％-62.1％,respectively.No Staphylococcus spp.were found to be resistant to vancomycin,linezolid,and teicoplanin.The de-tection rate of Enterococcus faecium was higher than that of Enterococcus faecalis,and the resistance rates of En-terococcus f aecium to penicillin,ampicillin,high concentration streptomycin and levofloxacin were all higher than those of Enterococcus faecalis(all P=0.001).Resistance rate of Streptococcus pneumoniae to penicillin was 85.0％,at a high level.Resistance rate of Escherichia coli to ceftriaxone was＞60％,while resistance rates to enzyme inhibitors and carbapenem antibiotics were low.Resistance rate of Klebsiella pneumoniae to ceftriaxone was＞60％,to en-zyme inhibitors piperacillin/tazobactam and cefoperazone/sulbactam was＞30％,to carbapenem imipenem and me-ropenem was about 30％.Resistance rates of Acinetobacter baumannii to most tested antimicrobial agents were＞60％,to imipenem and meropenem were 59.0％-79.4％,to polymyxin B was low.Conclusion Among the bac-teria isolated from CSF specimens,coagulase-negative Staphylococcus accounts for the largest proportion,and the overall resistance of pathogenic bacteria is relatively serious.Bacterial antimicrobial resistance surveillance is very important for the effective treatment of central nerve system infection.

Objective To investigate the distribution and antimicrobial susceptibility of clinically isolated bacteria from intensive care units(ICUs)in hospitals of Hunan Province Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System from 2012 to 2021.Methods According to China Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System,data of clinically isolated bacterial strains and antimicrobial susceptibility testing results of bacteria from ICUs reported by all member units of Hunan Province Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System were analyzed with WHONET 2022 software.Results From 2012 to 2021,the total number of bacteria isolated from ICUs of member units of the Hunan Province Antimi-crobial Resistance Surveillance System was 5 777-22 369,with Gram-negative bacteria accounting for 76.1％-78.0％annually.Staphylococcus aureus ranked first among isolated Gram-positive bacteria each year.The top 5 bacteria among Gram-negative bacteria were Acinetobacter baumannii,Klebsiella pneumoniae,Escherichia coli,Pseudo-monas aeruginosa,and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.Detection rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus showed a downward trend year by year.No Staphylococcus spp.were found to be resistant to vancomycin,teico-planin and linezolid.Detection rates of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecalis and vancomycin-resistant Entero-coccus faecium were 0.6-1.1％and 0.6％-2.2％,respectively.Resistance rates of Escherichia coli and Kleb-siella pneumoniae to imipenem were 3.1％-5.7％and 7.7％-20.9％,respectively.Resistance rates of Pseudo-monasaeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii to imipenem were 24.6％-40.1％and 76.1％-80.9％,respective-ly.Detection rates of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa declined year by year.Acinetobacter baumannii maintained high susceptibility to polymyxin B,with resistance rate＜10％.Conclusion Antimicrobial resistance of bacteria from ICUs is serious.Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriales has an upward trend after 2019.It is nece-ssary to strengthen the surveillance of bacterial resistance and carry out multidisciplinary collaboration.

Objective To understand the antimicrobial resistance of clinically isolated Enterococcus spp.in Hunan Province.Methods Surveillance data of Enterococcus spp.resistance from member units of Hunan Provincial Anti-microbial Resistance Surveillance System from 2012 to 2021 were collected.Data were cleaned according to a unified method,and WHONET 5.6 software was adopted for statistical analysis.Results From 2012 to 2021,a total of 110 652 non-repetitive Enterococcus spp.strains were included in the analysis,mainly Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium,accounting for 46.9％(n=37 774)and 45.9％(n=36 968),respectively,followed by En-terococcus avium(2.5％,n=1 982),Enterococcus gallinarum(1.8％,n=1 428),and Enterococcus casseliflavus(1.5％,n=1 185).The main specimen sources of Enterococcus spp.was urine(51.8％,n=57 350),followed by secretions(9.6％,n=10 660)and bile(8.5％,n=9 377).From 2012 to 2021,the resistance rates of Enteroco-ccus faecalis to ampicillin,teicoplanin,and vancomycin were 5.5％-12.0％,1.3％-2.0％,and 0.6％-1.4％,respectively.The resistance rates of Enterococcus faecium to ampicillin,teicoplanin,and vancomycin were 69.2％-85.0％,1.5％-2.8％,and 0.7％-2.5％,respectively.Except for linezolid and minocycline,the resistance rates of Enterococcus faecium to tested antimicrobial agents were all higher than those of Enterococcus faecalis.The re-sistance rates of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium to vancomycin decreased from 1.4％and 2.1％in 2012 to 0.6％and 0.7％in 2021,respectively,presenting a decreased trend.Conclusion Clinically isolated En-terococcus spp.maintain high antimicrobial susceptibility to vancomycin and teicoplanin.Resistance rates of Entero-coccus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium to vancomycin present decreased trends.

Objective To analyze the distribution and changing trend of antimicrobial resistance of bacteria isolated from bile from Hunan Province Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System.Methods Data of pathogens isolated from bile from Hunan Province Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System from 2012 to 2021 were collected.The constituent of bacteria and antimicrobial susceptibility testing results were analyzed by WHONET 5.6 software.Changes in antimicrobial resistance was analyze by trend chi-square test.Results The major pathogenic bacteria isolated from bile were Gram-negative bacteria,accounting for 70.84％.The top three isolated Gram-negative pathogens were Escherichia coli(30.14％),Klebsiella pneumoniae(12.15％),and Pseudomonas aeruginosa(5.18％),and the top two Gram-positive bacteria were Enterococcus faecium(10.34％)and Enterococcus faecalis(9.52％).The resistance rates of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli to imipenem were highest in 2012-2013,being 15.7％and 14.9％,respectively,presenting an downward trend(P＜0.05);resistance rates to piperacillin/tazobactam and cefoperazone/sulbactam were＜24％,presenting an upward trend year by year(P＜0.05);the sus-ceptibility rate to amikacin was＞94％,to levofloxacin and ciprofloxacin was 15.5％-65.2％.The highest resis-tance rate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa to imipenem(32.0％)was higher than that of meropenem(22.9％),resis-tance rates to piperacillin/tazobactam and cefoperazone/sulbactam were＜19％.The highest resistance rates of Acinetobacter baumannii to imipenem and meropenem were 59.4％and 62.6％,respectively,resistance rate to cefo-perazone/sulbactam was＜48％,presenting an upward trend(P＜0.05);the highest resistance rate to ciprofloxa-cin(60.8％)was higher than levofloxacin(48.7％);resistance rate to tigecycline was＜8％.The resistance rates of Enterococcus faecium to penicillin and ampicillin were both higher than those of Enterococcus faecalis,presenting an upward trend(P＜0.05).Resistance rate of Enterococcus faecium to vancomycin was lower than that of Entero-coccus faecalis.The resistance rates of Enterococcus faecium to vancomycin and linezolid were 0.5％-4.5％and 0.5％-3.4％,respectively;resistance rates of Enterococcus faecalis to vancomycin and linezolid were 0.2％-1.7％and 0.5％-3.5％,respectively(both P＜0.05),all presenting a downward trend(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Pathogenic bacteria isolated from bile are mainly related to the intestinal flora.The resistance rates of Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium to vancomycin and linezolid as well as resistance rate of Enterobacterales to car-bapenem antibiotics all present a downward trend.

Objective To understand the antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia spp.from member units of Hu-nan Province Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System from 2012 to 2021.Methods According to the technical scheme of China Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System(CARSS),data about Escherichia spp.and the anti-microbial susceptibility testing results reported from member units of Hunan Province Antimicrobial Resistance Sur-veillance System were analyzed by WHONET 5.6 software.Results From 2012 to 2021,a total of 476 351 clini-cally isolated Escherichia spp.were collected,475 520 of which were Escherichia coli,accounting for 99.8％;92.6％were isolated from inpatients;39.3％were isolated from urine specimens.Over the past 10 years,the proportion of Escherichia spp.in total detected pathogens remained relatively stable,ranging 20％-23％,the lowest rate was 18.7％in 2012,and the highest rate was 22.9％in 2015.In the past 10 years,the resistance rates of Escherichia spp.to ampicillin,ceftriaxone,cefotaxime and ampicillin/sulbactam were＞80％,＞47％,＞45％,and＞39％,respectively;resistance rates to piperacillin/tazobactam,cefoperazone/sulbactam,and nitrofurantoin were all＜8％,to tigecycline,amikacin,imipenem,and meropenem(except in 2012)were all＜5％.Resistance of Escherichia spp.to 22 commonly clinically used antimicrobial agents fluctuated,but overall trend decreased year by year.The resistance rates of Escherichia spp.from patients in the intensive care unit(ICU),non-ICU patients,outpatients,and emergency patients to 22 clinically commonly used antimicrobial agents were compared among different depart-ments,and the differences were statistically significant(all P＜0.05).The resistance rates of Escherichia spp.iso-lated from ICU and non-ICU patients were compared,and except for tigecycline,the resistance rates to the other 21 antimicrobial agents were statistically different(all P＜0.05).The resistance rates of Escherichia spp.isolated from patients to commonly clinically used antimicrobial agents were statistically different among patients of different age groups(all P＜0.05).Conclusion Escherichia spp.isolated from patients in different years,departments,specimens,and ages have different resistance to commonly used antimicrobial agents.It is necessary to continue to strengthen the surveillance on bacterial resistance,so as to guide the rational choice of antimicrobial agents.

Objective:To evaluate the safety and efficiency of robotic visualization system(RVS)-assisted microsurgical re-construction of the reproductive tract in male rats and the satisfaction of the surgeons.Methods:We randomly divided 8 adult male SD rats into an experimental and a control group,the former treated by RVS-assisted microsurgical vasoepididymostomy(VE)or vaso-vasostomy(VV),and the latter by VE or VV under the standard operating microscope(SOM).We compared the operation time,me-chanical patency and anastomosis leakage immediately after surgery,and the surgeons'satisfaction between the two groups.Results:No statistically significant difference was observed the operation time between the experimental and the control groups,and no anasto-mosis leakage occurred after VV in either group.The rate of mechanical patency immediately after surgery was 100％in both groups,and that of anastomosis leakage after VE was 16.7％in the experimental group and 14.3％in the control.Compared with the control group,the experimental group achieved dramatically higher scores on visual comfort(3.00±0.76 vs 4.00±0.53,P＜0.05),neck/back comfort(2.75±1.16 vs 4.38±1.06,P＜0.01)and man-machine interaction(3.88±1.55 va 4.88±0.35,P＜0.05).There were no statistically significant differences in the scores on image definition and operating room suitability between the two groups.Conclusion:RVS can be used in microsurgical reconstruction of the reproductive tract in male rats and,with its advantages over SOM in ergonomic design and image definition,has a potential application value in male reproductive system micosurgery.

Background::Although overnight fasting is recommended prior to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), the benefits and safety of high-carbohydrate fluid diet (CFD) intake 2 h before ERCP remain unclear. This study aimed to analyze whether high-CFD intake 2 h before ERCP can be safe and accelerate patients’ recovery.Methods::This prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial involved 15 tertiary ERCP centers. A total of 1330 patients were randomized into CFD group ( n = 665) and fasting group ( n = 665). The CFD group received 400 mL of maltodextrin orally 2 h before ERCP, while the control group abstained from food/water overnight (>6 h) before ERCP. All ERCP procedures were performed using deep sedation with intravenous propofol. The investigators were blinded but not the patients. The primary outcomes included postoperative fatigue and abdominal pain score, and the secondary outcomes included complications and changes in metabolic indicators. The outcomes were analyzed according to a modified intention-to-treat principle. Results::The post-ERCP fatigue scores were significantly lower at 4 h (4.1 ± 2.6 vs. 4.8 ± 2.8, t = 4.23, P <0.001) and 20 h (2.4 ± 2.1 vs. 3.4 ± 2.4, t= 7.94, P <0.001) in the CFD group, with least-squares mean differences of 0.48 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26–0.71, P <0.001) and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.57–0.95, P <0.001), respectively. The 4-h pain scores (2.1 ± 1.7 vs. 2.2 ± 1.7, t = 2.60, P = 0.009, with a least-squares mean difference of 0.21 [95% CI: 0.05–0.37]) and positive urine ketone levels (7.7% [39/509] vs. 15.4% [82/533], χ2 = 15.13, P <0.001) were lower in the CFD group. The CFD group had significantly less cholangitis (2.1% [13/634] vs. 4.0% [26/658], χ2 = 3.99, P = 0.046) but not pancreatitis (5.5% [35/634] vs. 6.5% [43/658], χ2 = 0.59, P = 0.444). Subgroup analysis revealed that CFD reduced the incidence of complications in patients with native papilla (odds ratio [OR]: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.39–0.95, P = 0.028) in the multivariable models. Conclusion::Ingesting 400 mL of CFD 2 h before ERCP is safe, with a reduction in post-ERCP fatigue, abdominal pain, and cholangitis during recovery.Trail Registration::ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT03075280.