Objective Based on CiteSpace,this study analyzes the current research status,hotspots,and trends in the field of external traditional Chinese medicine treatments for diabetic foot ulcer,aiming to support the optimization of clinical practice and guide future research directions.Methods Literature related to external traditional Chinese medicine treatments for diabetic foot ulcer was retrieved using CiteSpace software from China National Knowledge Infrastructure,Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform,VIP,and SinoMed databases.The analysis was conducted from multiple perspectives,including keywords,authors,and institutions.Results A total of 1807 articles were included.The annual publication volume showed a trend of initial increase followed by a decline,reaching a peak in 2014 with 137 articles,and then maintaining a relatively high level.Research institutions demonstrated limited collaboration,forming small-scale cooperative clusters.Research hotspots primarily focused on the development of external treatment techniques and the integration of Chinese and Western medicine.The research trend reveals a shift from single treatment approaches to comprehensive therapies,integrating with modern medical technologies and gradually moving toward precision medicine.Conclusion Visual analysis intuitively reveals research hotspots and frontiers in this field.In the future,the development of standardized protocols through evidence-based medicine and strengthened collaboration among institutions could promote the advancement of external traditional Chinese medicine treatments in the management of diabetic foot ulcer.

Objective:To study the risk factors for combined bacterial/fungal infections in patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) and to develop a novel and validated prediction model.Methods:The basic data and the results of the first laboratory examination after admission were retrospectively collected from patients diagnosed with SFTS who were hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University from January 2018 to December 2022. The patients were categorized into co-infected and non-co-infected groups according to whether they had co-infections with bacterial/fungal infections or not.Independent risk factors were screened by multivariate logistic regression analyses. A novel prediction model was constructed, and the predictive value of the model was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve. Non-parametric tests and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis.Results:A total of 294 patients were included, and 62 cases were in the combined infection group including 39 cases of simple respiratory tract infections, 11 cases of simple bloodstream infections, four cases of simple urinary tract infections, four cases of respiratory tract combined with bloodstream infection, and four cases of respiratory tract combined with urinary tract infection. Acinetobacter baumannii was mostly found in bacterial infections, with a total of 19 strains, followed by Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, both with seven strains. Aspergillus were mostly common in fungi, with a total of 16 strains which were all collected from patients with pulmonary infections. Compared with the non-co-infected group, patients in the co-infected group had longer hospital stays, with statistically significant differences ( Z=-6.18, P<0.001). The patients also had higher frequencies of bleeding symptoms, neurological symptoms, severe illness, and death, with statistically significant differences ( χ2=23.91, 16.37, 15.51 and 15.58, respectively, all P<0.001). The aspartate transaminase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) was also higher in patients with coinfection, with a statistically significant difference ( Z=-4.64, P<0.001). Multivariate binary logistic regression showed that severe illness (odds ratio ( OR)=2.567, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.344 to 4.904, P=0.004), blood glucose level higher than 7.782 mmol/L ( OR=4.766, 95% CI 2.493 to 9.109, P<0.001), procalcitonin level higher than 0.228 μg/L ( OR=2.487, 95% CI 1.289 to 4.799, P=0.007), and APRI value higher than 6.268 ( OR=3.032, 95% CI 1.404 to 6.548, P=0.005) were the independent risk factors for co-infections in SFTS patients. Disease severity, blood glucose, procalcitonin, and APRI were combined to construct a novel predictive model: Infect-risk score=-3.331+ 0.654×severity (severe=1, non-severe=0)+ 0.160×blood glucose+ 0.066×procalcitonin+ 0.013×APRI. The AUC for this score was 0.764 (95% CI 0.698 to 0.830, P<0.001), with Youden index of 0.416, sensitivity of 0.839, and specificity of 0.578. Conclusions:Severe illness, blood glucose levels higher than 7.782 mmol/L, procalcitonin levels above 0.228 μg/L, and APRI values above 6.268 are independent risk factors for bacterial/fungal coinfection in SFTS patients. The constructed Infect-risk score model has good predictive value for bacterial/fungal coinfection in SFTS patients.

Objective Based on CiteSpace,this study analyzes the current research status,hotspots,and trends in the field of external traditional Chinese medicine treatments for diabetic foot ulcer,aiming to support the optimization of clinical practice and guide future research directions.Methods Literature related to external traditional Chinese medicine treatments for diabetic foot ulcer was retrieved using CiteSpace software from China National Knowledge Infrastructure,Wanfang Data Knowledge Service Platform,VIP,and SinoMed databases.The analysis was conducted from multiple perspectives,including keywords,authors,and institutions.Results A total of 1807 articles were included.The annual publication volume showed a trend of initial increase followed by a decline,reaching a peak in 2014 with 137 articles,and then maintaining a relatively high level.Research institutions demonstrated limited collaboration,forming small-scale cooperative clusters.Research hotspots primarily focused on the development of external treatment techniques and the integration of Chinese and Western medicine.The research trend reveals a shift from single treatment approaches to comprehensive therapies,integrating with modern medical technologies and gradually moving toward precision medicine.Conclusion Visual analysis intuitively reveals research hotspots and frontiers in this field.In the future,the development of standardized protocols through evidence-based medicine and strengthened collaboration among institutions could promote the advancement of external traditional Chinese medicine treatments in the management of diabetic foot ulcer.

Objective:To study the risk factors for combined bacterial/fungal infections in patients with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) and to develop a novel and validated prediction model.Methods:The basic data and the results of the first laboratory examination after admission were retrospectively collected from patients diagnosed with SFTS who were hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University from January 2018 to December 2022. The patients were categorized into co-infected and non-co-infected groups according to whether they had co-infections with bacterial/fungal infections or not.Independent risk factors were screened by multivariate logistic regression analyses. A novel prediction model was constructed, and the predictive value of the model was assessed using receiver operating characteristic curve. Non-parametric tests and chi-square test were used for statistical analysis.Results:A total of 294 patients were included, and 62 cases were in the combined infection group including 39 cases of simple respiratory tract infections, 11 cases of simple bloodstream infections, four cases of simple urinary tract infections, four cases of respiratory tract combined with bloodstream infection, and four cases of respiratory tract combined with urinary tract infection. Acinetobacter baumannii was mostly found in bacterial infections, with a total of 19 strains, followed by Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, both with seven strains. Aspergillus were mostly common in fungi, with a total of 16 strains which were all collected from patients with pulmonary infections. Compared with the non-co-infected group, patients in the co-infected group had longer hospital stays, with statistically significant differences ( Z=-6.18, P<0.001). The patients also had higher frequencies of bleeding symptoms, neurological symptoms, severe illness, and death, with statistically significant differences ( χ2=23.91, 16.37, 15.51 and 15.58, respectively, all P<0.001). The aspartate transaminase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) was also higher in patients with coinfection, with a statistically significant difference ( Z=-4.64, P<0.001). Multivariate binary logistic regression showed that severe illness (odds ratio ( OR)=2.567, 95% confidence interval ( CI) 1.344 to 4.904, P=0.004), blood glucose level higher than 7.782 mmol/L ( OR=4.766, 95% CI 2.493 to 9.109, P<0.001), procalcitonin level higher than 0.228 μg/L ( OR=2.487, 95% CI 1.289 to 4.799, P=0.007), and APRI value higher than 6.268 ( OR=3.032, 95% CI 1.404 to 6.548, P=0.005) were the independent risk factors for co-infections in SFTS patients. Disease severity, blood glucose, procalcitonin, and APRI were combined to construct a novel predictive model: Infect-risk score=-3.331+ 0.654×severity (severe=1, non-severe=0)+ 0.160×blood glucose+ 0.066×procalcitonin+ 0.013×APRI. The AUC for this score was 0.764 (95% CI 0.698 to 0.830, P<0.001), with Youden index of 0.416, sensitivity of 0.839, and specificity of 0.578. Conclusions:Severe illness, blood glucose levels higher than 7.782 mmol/L, procalcitonin levels above 0.228 μg/L, and APRI values above 6.268 are independent risk factors for bacterial/fungal coinfection in SFTS patients. The constructed Infect-risk score model has good predictive value for bacterial/fungal coinfection in SFTS patients.

Objective:To compare the clinical features between chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection(CAEBV) and infectious mononucleosis(IM)in adult patients.Methods:Clinical data from 56 adult IM patients and 14 adult CAEBV patients admitted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University during January 2011 to December 2019 were enrolled. Clinical manifestations, laboratory indicators, treatment and outcomes were compared between two groups. Chi-square test and Mann-whitney U test were used to analyze data. Results:The average age of CAEBV patients was higher than that of IM patients [36.0(23.8, 50.5)years vs. 19.0(17.3, 22.8) years; U=90.0, P<0.05]. The symptoms of sore throat, throat congestion, tonsilla enlargement and lymphadenopathy in IM group were more common than those in CAEBV group( χ2=14.088, 16.875, 31.855 and 10.938, all P<0.01). However, the incidence of pulmonary infection, sleepiness/dysphoria and splenomegaly in CAEBV group were significantly higher than those in IM group( χ2=17.217, 5.809 and 6.254, P<0.05 or <0.01). The white blood cell counts, hemoglobin levels, platelet counts, alanine aminotransferase(ALT) and albumin in CAEBV group were significantly lower than those in IM group( U=47.0, 49.5, 158.5, 173.0 and 263.5, all P<0.01). The levels of neutrophil ratio, C-reactive protein, serum ferritin and EBV DNA load in CAEBV group were significantly higher than those in IM group( U=145.0, 140.0, 128.5 and 115.0, P<0.05 or <0.01). The proportions of CD3 + T cell counts and CD8 + T cell counts in CAEBV group were significantly lower compared to those in IM group( U=42.0 and 24.5, P<0.01); the proportions of CD4 + T cell counts, the CD4 + T/CD8 + T cell counts ratio and B lymphocytes in CAEBV group were significantly higher compared to those in IM group( U=29.0, 23.5 and 34.5, P<0.01). Fifty-six IM patients were all cured and discharged from hospital. In CAEBV group, 8 cases died, 3 cases were improved and 3 cases lost follow-up. Conclusions:Patients with IM represent a favorable prognosis, while the prognosis of CAEBV is relatively poor and complication with HLH may occur. For older patients with EBV infection complicated with pulmonary infection, lethargy/irritability, attention should be paid to monitor blood routine, liver function, serum EBV DNA load and peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets.

This study aimed to define the most consistent white matter microarchitecture pattern in Parkinson's disease (PD) reflected by fractional anisotropy (FA), addressing clinical profiles and methodology-related heterogeneity. Web-based publication databases were searched to conduct a meta-analysis of whole-brain diffusion tensor imaging studies comparing PD with healthy controls (HC) using the anisotropic effect size-signed differential mapping. A total of 808 patients with PD and 760 HC coming from 27 databases were finally included. Subgroup analyses were conducted considering heterogeneity with respect to medication status, disease stage, analysis methods, and the number of diffusion directions in acquisition. Compared with HC, patients with PD had decreased FA in the left middle cerebellar peduncle, corpus callosum (CC), left inferior fronto-occipital fasciculus, and right inferior longitudinal fasciculus. Most of the main results remained unchanged in subgroup meta-analyses of medicated patients, early stage patients, voxel-based analysis, and acquisition with 30 diffusion directions. The subgroup meta-analysis of medication-free patients showed FA decrease in the right olfactory cortex. The cerebellum and CC, associated with typical motor impairment, showed the most consistent FA decreases in PD. Medication status, analysis approaches, and the number of diffusion directions have an important impact on the findings, needing careful evaluation in future meta-analyses.
Anisotropy ; Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Corpus Callosum ; Diffusion Tensor Imaging ; Humans ; Parkinson Disease/diagnostic imaging* ; White Matter/diagnostic imaging*

Objective: To explore the effects of checklist for nursing handover in emergency department. Methods: A total of 48 emergency department nurses were recruited by convenient sampling method. We implemented nursing bedside handover checklist four months, the quality of the nursing handover and nurses′ mastery of the patients′ condition and the patients′ satisfaction were compared before and after the implementation. Results: After four-month intervention, the score of the nursing handover quality increased from 60.39±3.22 to 67.73±3.09, the difference was statistically significant (t=-14.377, P<0.01). The score of the nurses′ mastery of the patients′ condition increased from 23.89±2.34 to 27.08±1.82, and there was significant difference (t=-7.287, P<0.01). Patients′ satisfaction improved from 91.163% (111/121) to 96.67% (116/120), the difference was statistically significant (χ²=10.66, P<0.05). Conclusions Implementation of nursing bedside-handover checklist in emergency department can reduce individual cognitive defects, decrease the information missing of the nursing handover,improve the quality of nursing work and ensure the safety of patients.

OBJECTIVETo report on the result of thalassemia screening and genetic diagnosis for pregnant women from Guiyang region.

METHODSPrenatal screening for thalassemia was carried out based on erythrocyte parameters and hemoglobin electrophoresis. Single-tube multiplex GAP-PCR and PCR-reverse dot blot hybridization were performed on suspected cases to identify common alpha- and beta- thalassemia mutations, and direct sequencing was used for identifying rare mutations.

RESULTSAmong 13 738 pregnant women, 1745 (12.70%) were suspected as thalassemia. In terms of native place, the provinces with highest screening-positive rates were Guangxi, Guangdong, Jiangxi and Guizhou. And the ethnic groups with highest screening-positive rates were Zhuang, Li, and Buyi. Among 801 women subjected to genetic testing, 457 (57.05%) were diagnosed with thalassemia. In total 9 genotypes of alpha- thalassemia were detected, with the most common genotypes being --/alpha alpha (63.35%), - alpha/alpha alpha (19.37%) and - alpha/alpha alpha (8.90%). Eleven genotypes of beta- thalassemia were detected, with the most common genotypes being CD17/N (42.91%), CD41-42/N (32.46%) and IVS-II-654/N (11.94%). Two cases were detected with rare beta-thalassemia mutations (CD54-58/N and IVS-I-130/N).

CONCLUSIONThe screening-positive rate of thalassemia among pregnant women in Guiyang region is relatively high. The rates have shown substantial difference in terms of native place and ethnic group. Thalassemia-related mutations in Guizhou region have a diverse spectrum, which showed certain difference from those of other regions.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; methods ; Thalassemia ; genetics ; Young Adult

Gap junctions mediate direct communication between cells; however, toxicological cascade triggered by nonessential metals can abrogate cellular signaling mediated by gap junctions. Although cadmium (Cd) is known to induce apoptosis in organs and tissues, the mechanisms that underlie gap junction activity in Cd-induced apoptosis in BRL 3A rat liver cells has yet to be established. In this study, we showed that Cd treatment decreased the cell index (a measure of cellular electrical impedance) in BRL 3A cells. Mechanistically, we found that Cd exposure decreased expression of connexin 43 (Cx43), increased expression of p-Cx43 and elevated intracellular free Ca2+ concentration, corresponding to a decrease in gap junctional intercellular communication. Gap junction blockage pretreatment with 18β-glycyrrhizic acid (GA) promoted Cd-induced apoptosis, involving changes in expression of Bax, Bcl-2, caspase-3 and the mitochondrial transmembrane electrical potential (Δψm). Additionally, GA was found to enhance ERK and p38 activation during Cd-induced activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, but had no significant effect on JNK activation. Our results indicated the apoptosis-related proteins and the ERK and p38 signaling pathways may participate in gap junction blockage promoting Cd-induced apoptosis in BRL 3A cells.
Animals ; Apoptosis/*drug effects ; Cadmium/*toxicity ; Calcium/metabolism ; Cell Communication/drug effects ; Connexin 43/genetics ; Enzyme Activation/drug effects ; Gap Junctions/*drug effects ; Gene Expression Regulation/drug effects ; Hepatocytes/cytology/*drug effects ; Rats ; Signal Transduction/drug effects

Objective To compare the clinical efficacies of electroacupuncture plus rehabilitation training versus electroacupuncture alone in treating lumbar intervertebral disc herniation and evaluate the therapeutic effect of electroacupuncture plus rehabilitation training. Method Seventy-two patients with lumbar intervertebral disc herniation were randomly allocated to a treatment group of 36 cases and a control group of 36 cases. The control group received electroacupuncture at Huatuo jiaji(Ex-B2) points. In addition to electroacupuncture, the treatment group received lumbodorsal muscle stretch training according to the outcome (forward flexion and backward extension) obtained using the Turgunmed testing and evaluating system. Isokinetic muscle strength and the activity were measured and the ODI lumbago score and the VAS pain score were recorded before and after treatment. Result There were statistically significant differences in isokinetic muscle strength and the VAS pain score (P<0.01,P<0.05) but no in the activity and the ODI lumbago score (P>0.05) between the treatment and control groups. Conclusion Electroacupuncture plus rehabilitation training is more effective than electroacupuncture alone in improving isokinetic muscle strength and the VAS pain score in patients with lumbar intervertebral disc herniation.