Persistent left superior vena cava is a rare venous variant that is often combined with cardiovascular malformations. In thoracic surgery, especially mediastinal tumor resection, neglect of this variant may make the surgery difficult and risky, and careful preoperative imaging interpretation and adequate preoperative evaluation play an important role in the perioperative safety of the patient. In this paper, we reported a case of a 17-year-old female patient with a persistent left superior vena cava combined with mediastinal tumors. She was successfully discharged 5 days after thoracoscopic surgery, and after 3 years of postoperative follow-up, no tumor recurrence was observed.

Objective: To explore the drug resistance of Isolated From Blood Culture Escherichia coli (E. coli) in a hospital in Qinghai over the past seven years, to evaluate the ability of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to analyze the homologous origin of E. coli, and to establish a protein fingerprint library to match with it, adjuvant clinical experience medication so as to provide the basis for the prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections. Methods: Retrospective analysis of blood cultures sent to hospitals from January 2016 to December 2022. Drug resistance and resistance changes in E. coli.A total of 1 841 E. coli strains were isolated from Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital from January 2016 to December 2022; all strains were identified by MALDI-TOF MS, and the VITEK2.0 drug sensitivity analyzer was applied for drug sensitivity analysis of the strains, and the mass spectrometry homology analysis and self-constructed protein fingerprint library were carried out by MALDI-Biotyper software; the protein fingerprint library was built by using WHONET5.6 software was used to statistically analyze the drug sensitivity results, SPSS23.0 software was used to analyze the relationship between fingerprint typing and drug sensitivity, and the χ² test was used for intergroup comparisons. Results: A total of 1 841 strains of E. coli were detected in 4 582 positive blood culture specimens from January 2016 to December 2022, with a detection rate of 40.17%; the resistance rate of E. coli from blood sources to piperacillin/tazobactam and ceftriaxone was on the rise, and it was slightly decreased to cefepime, amikacin, levofloxacin, and sulfamethoxazole, and there was not much change to the rest of the drugs; After MALDI-Biotyper clustering analysis, the 1841 E. coli strains from Isolated From Blood Culture were classified into two major clusters and five subtypes, of which type Ⅰa1 accounted for about 40%, type Ⅰa2 accounted for about 2.7%, type Ⅰb accounted for about 3.8, type Ⅱa accounted for about 46%, and type Ⅱb accounted for about 7.5%. The detection rate of type Ⅰa1 E. coli was higher in general surgery (50.45%) and emergency surgery (50.92%), and the detection rate of type Ⅰb E. coli was higher in emergency medicine(10.05%)than in other departments. The drug sensitivity results of different subtypes were compared with each other, the resistance rate of type Ⅰa1 E. coli to cefepime was 21.3% higher than that of the remaining four types, and the difference was statistically significant (χ²=37.74,P=0.000); the resistance rate of type Ⅱ E. coli(>60%) to sulfamethoxazole was higher than that of type Ⅰ (<60%) as a whole, and the difference was statistically significant (χ²=15.248,P=0.004); and a preliminary database of homologous protein fingerprints of E. coli has been established E. coli homologous protein fingerprint library and validated. The drug susceptibility results of 1 288 E. coli strains in the validation set were statistically analyzed and compared with those in the training set. There was no significant difference(P>0.05). Conclusion: In recent years, the resistance rate of E. coli isolated from a hospital in Qinghai province to piperacillin/Tazobactam, cefepime, amicacin and other antibiotics has changed greatly. A fingerprint database of E. coli homologous protein was established, and it was found that the drug sensitivity data of E. coli were different among different fingerprint types. According to drug sensitivity, drug use could assist clinical experience and provide evidence for prevention and control of hospital illness.
Humans ; Blood Culture ; Escherichia coli ; Cefepime ; Retrospective Studies ; Drug Resistance ; Sulfamethoxazole ; Piperacillin ; Tazobactam

Nodular goiter has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Clinically, there has been a burgeoning interest in nodular goiter due to the risk of progression to thyroid cancer. This review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of the mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effect of Chinese medicine (CM) in nodular goiter. Articles were systematically retrieved from databases, including PubMed, Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. New evidence showed that CM exhibited multi-pathway and multi-target characteristics in the treatment of nodular goiter, involving hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis, oxidative stress, blood rheology, cell proliferation, apoptosis, and autophagy, especially inhibition of cell proliferation and promotion of cell apoptosis, involving multiple signal pathways and a variety of cytokines. This review provides a scientific basis for the therapeutic use of CM against nodular goiter. Nonetheless, future studies are warranted to identify more regulatory genes and pathways to provide new approaches for the treatment of nodular goiter.
Humans ; Goiter, Nodular/metabolism* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Apoptosis ; China

Objective: To explore the drug resistance of Isolated From Blood Culture Escherichia coli (E. coli) in a hospital in Qinghai over the past seven years, to evaluate the ability of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) to analyze the homologous origin of E. coli, and to establish a protein fingerprint library to match with it, adjuvant clinical experience medication so as to provide the basis for the prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections. Methods: Retrospective analysis of blood cultures sent to hospitals from January 2016 to December 2022. Drug resistance and resistance changes in E. coli.A total of 1 841 E. coli strains were isolated from Qinghai Provincial People's Hospital from January 2016 to December 2022; all strains were identified by MALDI-TOF MS, and the VITEK2.0 drug sensitivity analyzer was applied for drug sensitivity analysis of the strains, and the mass spectrometry homology analysis and self-constructed protein fingerprint library were carried out by MALDI-Biotyper software; the protein fingerprint library was built by using WHONET5.6 software was used to statistically analyze the drug sensitivity results, SPSS23.0 software was used to analyze the relationship between fingerprint typing and drug sensitivity, and the χ² test was used for intergroup comparisons. Results: A total of 1 841 strains of E. coli were detected in 4 582 positive blood culture specimens from January 2016 to December 2022, with a detection rate of 40.17%; the resistance rate of E. coli from blood sources to piperacillin/tazobactam and ceftriaxone was on the rise, and it was slightly decreased to cefepime, amikacin, levofloxacin, and sulfamethoxazole, and there was not much change to the rest of the drugs; After MALDI-Biotyper clustering analysis, the 1841 E. coli strains from Isolated From Blood Culture were classified into two major clusters and five subtypes, of which type Ⅰa1 accounted for about 40%, type Ⅰa2 accounted for about 2.7%, type Ⅰb accounted for about 3.8, type Ⅱa accounted for about 46%, and type Ⅱb accounted for about 7.5%. The detection rate of type Ⅰa1 E. coli was higher in general surgery (50.45%) and emergency surgery (50.92%), and the detection rate of type Ⅰb E. coli was higher in emergency medicine(10.05%)than in other departments. The drug sensitivity results of different subtypes were compared with each other, the resistance rate of type Ⅰa1 E. coli to cefepime was 21.3% higher than that of the remaining four types, and the difference was statistically significant (χ²=37.74,P=0.000); the resistance rate of type Ⅱ E. coli(>60%) to sulfamethoxazole was higher than that of type Ⅰ (<60%) as a whole, and the difference was statistically significant (χ²=15.248,P=0.004); and a preliminary database of homologous protein fingerprints of E. coli has been established E. coli homologous protein fingerprint library and validated. The drug susceptibility results of 1 288 E. coli strains in the validation set were statistically analyzed and compared with those in the training set. There was no significant difference(P>0.05). Conclusion: In recent years, the resistance rate of E. coli isolated from a hospital in Qinghai province to piperacillin/Tazobactam, cefepime, amicacin and other antibiotics has changed greatly. A fingerprint database of E. coli homologous protein was established, and it was found that the drug sensitivity data of E. coli were different among different fingerprint types. According to drug sensitivity, drug use could assist clinical experience and provide evidence for prevention and control of hospital illness.
Humans ; Blood Culture ; Escherichia coli ; Cefepime ; Retrospective Studies ; Drug Resistance ; Sulfamethoxazole ; Piperacillin ; Tazobactam

ObjectiveTo explore the common syndromes of patients with cerebral infarction in rural areas of eastern Henan based on latent structure model and factor analysis，and provide reference for clinical differentiation of cerebral infarction. MethodThe data samples of patients with cerebral infarction in rural areas in eastern Henan were preprocessed. With Lantern 5.0 of latent structure method and LTM-EAST algorithm of two-step latent tree analysis， the manifest variable latent structure model of related symptoms was built to interpret different latent nodes， and common syndromes of cerebral infarction were obtained via comprehensive cluster analysis. SPSS 20.0 was used for factor analysis and cluster analysis of related symptoms to infer the distribution of syndrome types. ResultThe data of 888 patients with cerebral infarction were included， involving symptoms， tongue and pulse （88 in total）. The 65 symptoms with a frequency of ≥5% were constructed into a latent structure model， and 31 latent variables were obtained. The Bayesian information criterion （BIC） score was -15 367.17. Based on professional knowledge， s6 common syndrome types were found， namely， syndrome of upward disturbance of wind-fire， Qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome， syndrome of phlegm and blood stasis blocking collaterals， syndrome of phlegm-heat and fu-organ excess， syndrome of wind phlegm obstructing collaterals， and syndrome of stirring wind due to yin deficiency. In factor analysis， the symptoms with a frequency of >10% were selected， and 13 common factors were obtained and used for systematic cluster analysis. And 5 syndrome types were inferred： syndrome of wind phlegm obstructing collaterals， syndrome of phlegm-heat and fu-organ excess， Qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome， syndrome of combined phlegm and blood stasis， and syndrome of yin deficiency and internal heat. According to the determination criteria of syndrome types in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， 6 common syndrome types of cerebral infarction were finally determined. ConclusionAccording to the severity of the disease， the common syndromes of patients with cerebral infarction in rural areas of Eastern Henan were divided into the following categories： apoplexy involving channel and collateral： syndrome of upward disturbance of wind fire， syndrome of wind phlegm obstructing collaterals， and syndrome of stirring wind due to yin deficiency. Apoplexy involving zang and fu-viscera： syndrome of phlegm-heat and fu-organ excess， and syndrome of phlegm and blood stasis blocking collaterals. Recovery period： Qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome. This study was basically consistent with the syndrome law in TCM theory， and provided reference for further establishing syndrome diagnostic criteria of cerebral infarction.

Papillary adenoma (PA) of kidney is defined as a lesion measuring less than 15 mm and featuring papillary or tubular architecture along with nuclei of low grade.Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (CCRCC) is the most common seen group of malignant neoplasms consists of cells with clear or eosinophilic cytoplasm.The coexistence of these two kinds of tumor is rare and was only reported in one piece of literature to date.We report a thought-provoking case in which CCRCC is coexisting with multiple PAs.The CCRCC shows no difference with other common cases while the PAs share the same clinical and pathological features with other ones and demonstrates no amplifying of 3,7 or 17 chromosome.However,the multiple PAs were neglected by imaging doctors and surgeons,and some tiny lesions were not found until the observation under microscope.This case reminds that patients accepting partial nephrectomy for CCRCC may have PAs,so attention should be paid to the image studies along with routine pathological examination of kidney for that there may exists two or more kinds of lesions.

BACKGROUNDHalo nevus (HN) has been shown to be associated with vitiligo, but no standard signs are currently available to identify HN patients at risk of vitiligo, and the relevant data obtained in previous studies are somewhat conflicting. This study aimed to identify factors affecting the presence of vitiligo in HN patients.

METHODSWe performed a retrospective study on consecutive patients with HN at the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University between January 2011 and December 2016. Detailed demographic and clinical data were collected to identify the factors associated with the presence of vitiligo in this cohort of patients using uni- and multi-variate logistic regression analyses.

RESULTSA total of 212 HN patients were included, 101 of whom had vitiligo-associated HN (HNV). Univariate analysis indicated that a personal history of thyroid diseases was positively associated with HNV (odds ratio [OR] = 10.761, P = 0.025), while the onset age of HN was negatively associated with HNV (OR = 0.537, P = 0.026). Multivariate analysis demonstrated that the Koebner phenomenon (KP; OR = 10.632, P < 0.0001), multiple HN (OR = 3.918, P < 0.0001), and a familial history of vitiligo (OR = 3.222, P = 0.014) were independent factors associated with HNV.

CONCLUSIONSHN without vitiligo has clinical features distinct from HN associated with vitiligo. HN patients with KP, multiple lesions, or familial history of vitiligo are more likely to develop vitiligo and therefore should be monitored for clinical signs of such accompanied conditions.

Background:The Food and Drug Administration recently announced that the use of morcellation may cause fibroids or pelvic dissemination and metastasis of uterine sarcoma;therefore,the use of morcellation is limited in the USA.A large sample study is necessary to assess the proportion of uterine malignant tumors found in patients with laparoscopic myomectomy.Methods:A national multicenter study was performed in China.From 2002 to 2014,33,723 cases were retrospectively selected.We calculated the prevalence and recorded the clinical characteristics of the patients with malignancy after morcellation application.A total of 62 cases were finally pathologically confirmed as malignant postoperatively.Additionally,the medical records of the 62 patients were analyzed in details.Results:The proportion of postoperative malignancy after morcellation application was 0.18％ (62/33,723) for patients who underwent laparoscopic myomectomy.Nearly 62.9％ (39/62) of patients had demonstrated blood flow signals in the uterine fibroids before surgery.And,23 (37.1％) patients showed rapid growth at the final preoperative ultrasound.With respect to the pathological types,38 (61.3％) patients had detectable endometrial stromal sarcoma,13 (21.0％) had detectable uterine leiomyosarcoma,only 3 (3.2％) had detectable carcinosarcoma,and 5 (8.1％) patients with leiomyoma had an undetermined malignant potential.Conclusions:The proportion of malignancy is low after using morcellation in patients who undergo laparoscopic myomectomy.Patients with fast-growing uterine fibroids and abnormal ultrasonic tumor blood flow should be considered for malignant potential,and morcellation should be avoided.

Zidovudine (AZT), the first drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, is metabolized in the host cells to 5'-AZT triphosphate (AZT-TP) which inhibits HIV reverse transcriptase. As the pharmacokinetics of AZT and its phosphorylated metabolites in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (hPBMCs) is limited, the aim of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetic parameters of AZT and its phosphorylated metabolites in hPBMCs from 12 healthy Chinese male subjects after a single oral dose of 600 mg of AZT. Blood samples were collected prior to drug administration, then at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 h after drug administration. Mononuclear cells collected by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugation were used for determination of AZT and metabolites [AZT monophosphate (AZT-MP), AZT diphosphate (AZT-DP) and AZT-TP] and the plasma was used to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of AZT. Plasma concentration of AZT peaked within 0.583 h and intracellular concentrations of AZT, AZT-MP, AZT-DP and AZT-TP peaked within 1.083, 1.500, 1.417 and 1.583 h, respectively. AZT in plasma was eliminated rapidly with t 1/2 of 2.022 h, and AZT-MP, AZT-DP and AZT-TP were eliminated with t 1/2 of 13.428, 8.285 and 4.240 h, respectively. The plasma concentration of the phosphorylated metabolites was not quantifiable.

Biological sample pretreatment is an important step in biological sample analysis. Due to the diversity of biological matrices, the analysis of target substances in these samples presents significant challenges to sample processing. To meet these emerging demands on biopharmaceutical analysis, this paper summarizes several new techniques of on-line biological sample processing: solid phase extraction, solid phase micro-extraction, column switching, limited intake filler, molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction, tubular column, and micro-dialysis. We describe new developments, principles, and characteristics of these techniques, and the application of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) in biopharmaceutical analysis with these new techniques in on-line biological sample processing.