1.Harnessing Machine Learning for Personalized Care of Patients With Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss: A Multicenter Cohort Study
Yen-Ting GUO ; Ching-Ting TAN ; Chen-Chi WU ; Chun-Ying WANG ; Chein-Yu HUANG ; Tzu-Hsiang YANG ; Ting-Yi LEE ; Ting-Hua YANG ; Tien-Chen LIU ; Pey-Yu CHEN ; Pei-Hsuan LIN
Clinical and Experimental Otorhinolaryngology 2026;19(2):194-204
Objectives:
. Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) is a significant cause of hearing loss. Intratympanic steroid injection (ITSI) is commonly used as an initial or salvage treatment; however, the lack of a standardized treatment protocol has resulted in variability in clinical practice. In addition, no efficient prediction model currently exists to support personalized management. Therefore, this study aimed to develop tailored management strategies for ISSNHL using a machine-learning model.
Methods:
. This retrospective multicenter cohort study was conducted between January 2015 and December 2020, with data analysis performed between January 2021 and March 2024. Patients were selected based on the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision criteria for ISSNHL, along with relevant medication and procedure codes. Patients with pure-tone audiogram results not meeting ISSNHL criteria, better initial hearing in the affected ear, an identifiable etiology, no post-treatment audiogram, or delayed treatment (>6 weeks) were excluded. We included 770 patients diagnosed with ISSNHL who received ITSI. The primary outcome was the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for prediction performance. Recovery status was determined using the last pure-tone audiogram. Modeling was conducted on the Quanta for Medical Care AI platform using five machine-learning algorithms and a nested cross-validation framework, in which feature selection and hyperparameter tuning were performed in the inner folds and model performance was evaluated in the outer folds.
Results:
. A random forest classifier outperformed the other models in predicting hearing outcomes, achieving an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.788. Time to ITSI was the most influential treatment-related factor, with ITSI administered within 10 days of hearing loss being associated with better outcomes. This model can be used to provide personalized prognostic estimates under different treatment protocols.
Conclusion
. The machine-learning-based prediction model facilitates personalized treatment strategies and timely treatment adjustments for ISSNHL, thereby optimizing the likelihood of complete recovery.
2.Two Cases of Psychiatric Symptoms Associated with Zonisamide Antiepileptic Treatment
Cun-Bo WU ; Pei-Sen YAO ; Li-Chao SU ; Zhang-Ya LIN
Clinical Psychopharmacology and Neuroscience 2026;24(1):202-206
To report two cases of psychiatric symptoms associated with zonisamide, an antiepileptic drug, and raise clinical awareness of this potential adverse effect. Two male patients with epilepsy treated with zonisamide were retrospectively analyzed. Case 1 (25 years old) developed acute emotional and behavioral abnormalities (e.g., insomnia, aggression, incoherent speech) after switching from sodium valproate to zonisamide (200 mg/day). Case 2 (48 years old) had long-term zonisamide use (≥5 years) with persistent treatment-resistant psychotic symptoms (e.g., delusions, command hallucinations). Clinical courses, medication adjustments, and symptom responses were documented. In Case 1, psychiatric symptoms resolved after discontinuing zonisamide and switching to sodium valproate, with improved mood stability and reduced impulsivity. In Case 2, despite escalating antipsychotic medications (risperidone, clozapine), psychotic symptoms persisted, likely due to ongoing zonisamide use. Both cases highlighted zonisamide’s potential to exacerbate or induce psychiatric manifestations, possibly via mechanisms involving sodium/calcium channel inhibition and neurotransmitter dysregulation (e.g., dopamine, serotonin). Zonisamide can cause or worsen psychiatric symptoms, particularly in vulnerable individuals. Clinicians should monitor for mental health changes during zonisamide treatment and consider drug discontinuation or substitution with alternative antiepileptics (e.g., sodium valproate) if psychiatric adverse effects emerge. Awareness of this association is crucial to avoid misdiagnosis and optimize epilepsy management.
3.Current status and influencing factors of contamination of dental unit wa-terlines in 248 primary medical institutions
Yu ZHANG ; Lin GONG ; Yimei WANG ; Hongbing PEI ; Changhan WU ; Xiaoli LIU
Chinese Journal of Infection Control 2025;24(6):823-829
Objective To understand the current status and influencing factors of microbial contamination of dental unit waterlines(DUWLs)of secondary and lower medical institutions in Wuhan,and provide scientific basis for for-mulating prevention and control measures.Methods A stratified convenience sampling method was adopted to con-duct questionnaire survey on 248 dental medical institutions in 15 districts of Wuhan City,DUWLs from 44 medical institutions were sampled and detected according to hospital levels.Results Among disinfection and maintenance management measures for source water and waterlines,the highest implementation rate was the installation rate of anti-suction dental handpiece(73.39%,182/248),but only 16.48%(30/182)of institutions regularly conducted the detection on anti-suction function;The lowest was the daily disinfection rate of water storage tanks(17.53%,17/97).A total of 132 water specimens were collected from 44 medical institutions,with a qualified rate of microbi-al detection of 56.06%.The qualified rates for secondary,primary,and unclassified medical institutions were 77.78%,50.00%,and 50.72%,respectively,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).The qualified rates of microbial detection for source water,handpiece water,and three-way syringe water were 59.09%,50.00%,and 59.09%,respectively,with no statistically significant difference(P>0.05).Univariate analysis re-sults showed that medical institutions that regularly conducted chemical disinfection on DUWLs,understood DU-WLs waterline cleaning and disinfection standards,regularly performed microbial monitoring on diagnosis and treat-ment water,qualified source water,and flushed waterlines for 3 minutes before and after daily consultations had a higher qualified rate of microbial detection in DUWLs diagnosis and treatment water,and the differences were all statistically significant(all P<0.05).Conclusion The contamination status of DUWLs in secondary and lower medical institutions in Wuhan is relatively serious.It is recommended to focus on strengthening the training of rele-vant regulations,installing inlet filters,regularly detecting the anti-suction function of dental handpieces,imple-menting chemical disinfection and microbial monitoring on waterlines,standardizing the implementation of flushing before and after diagnosis and treatment,and strengthening the disinfection and use management of independent wa-ter storage tanks to control contamination.
4.Analysis on the current status of outpatient benefit policies for patients with hypertension and diabetes in urban and rural residents
Pei-lin WU ; Jing LIANG ; Yan-qing MIAO ; Dong-hua TIAN
Chinese Journal of Health Policy 2025;18(2):24-29
Objective:To analyze the current policy design of outpatient benefit policies for patients with hypertension and diabetes(H&D)in urban and rural residents in China,and to provide references for optimizing the outpatient benefit mechanism for patients with H&D.Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data on the basic features of General Outpatient Benefit(GOB),Outpatient Medication Guarantee Mechanisms for Hypertension and Diabetes(OMGM-H&D)and Outpatient Benefit for Patient with Chronic and Special Diseases(OB-C&S),focusing on deductibles,policy reimbursement ratios,and maximum payment limits.Descriptive statistical analysis was performed on the data.Results:A total of 334 regions were surveyed,of which 253 regions(75.34%)had implemented all three policies.Regional analysis revealed significant differences(P<0.001)in reimbursement ratios for GOB and the OMGM-H&D between the eastern,central,and western regions,with the western region having notably higher ratios than the eastern and central regions.However,no significant difference (P>0.05) was observed in the reimbursement ratios for OB-C&S across regions. Regarding deductibles,no significant regional difference (P>0.05) was found for GOB,but significant differences (P<0.05) existed for the OMGM-H&D and OB-C&S. Additionally,the annual maximum payment limits for all three policies showed significant regional variations (P<0.001). Conclusions:The outpatient benefits policy for patients with H&D have achieved full coverage nationwide among urban and rural residents in China,but regional equity in benefit levels requires improvement. It is recommended to strengthen data feedback mechanisms and promote provincial-level pooling of medical insurance.
5.Design and application of whole-process intelligent service platform for inpatients based on super fusion infrastructure
Xiao-dan ZHOU ; Pei-ling WANG ; Lin HUANG ; Zhi-rong WU ; Yang XIAO
Chinese Medical Equipment Journal 2025;46(6):34-41
Objective To design a whole-process intelligent service platform to enhance services for inpatients.Methods A whole-process intelligent service platform for inpatients was designed with an intelligentized rehabilitation assessment model based on the support vector machine algorithm,which was constructed with the hyper-converged infrastructure,designed with the B/S architecture and developed using the front-end and back-end separation mode.The front end used Vue.js and Ant Design of Vue for user interface construction and JavaScript for data interaction,and the back end was developed with Java.The platform developed was composed of three functional modules for medical service management,intelligent rehabilitation management and system management.Results The platform developed provided whole-process inpatient service before,during and after hospitalization to enhance inpatient rehabilitation.Conclusion The platform developed is able to meet the health management needs of inpatients in terms of treatment-rehabilitation-follow-up,which improve the service quality of hospitals.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(6):34-41]
6.Analysis on the current status of outpatient benefit policies for patients with hypertension and diabetes in urban and rural residents
Pei-lin WU ; Jing LIANG ; Yan-qing MIAO ; Dong-hua TIAN
Chinese Journal of Health Policy 2025;18(2):24-29
Objective:To analyze the current policy design of outpatient benefit policies for patients with hypertension and diabetes(H&D)in urban and rural residents in China,and to provide references for optimizing the outpatient benefit mechanism for patients with H&D.Methods:A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect data on the basic features of General Outpatient Benefit(GOB),Outpatient Medication Guarantee Mechanisms for Hypertension and Diabetes(OMGM-H&D)and Outpatient Benefit for Patient with Chronic and Special Diseases(OB-C&S),focusing on deductibles,policy reimbursement ratios,and maximum payment limits.Descriptive statistical analysis was performed on the data.Results:A total of 334 regions were surveyed,of which 253 regions(75.34%)had implemented all three policies.Regional analysis revealed significant differences(P<0.001)in reimbursement ratios for GOB and the OMGM-H&D between the eastern,central,and western regions,with the western region having notably higher ratios than the eastern and central regions.However,no significant difference (P>0.05) was observed in the reimbursement ratios for OB-C&S across regions. Regarding deductibles,no significant regional difference (P>0.05) was found for GOB,but significant differences (P<0.05) existed for the OMGM-H&D and OB-C&S. Additionally,the annual maximum payment limits for all three policies showed significant regional variations (P<0.001). Conclusions:The outpatient benefits policy for patients with H&D have achieved full coverage nationwide among urban and rural residents in China,but regional equity in benefit levels requires improvement. It is recommended to strengthen data feedback mechanisms and promote provincial-level pooling of medical insurance.
7.Current status and influencing factors of contamination of dental unit wa-terlines in 248 primary medical institutions
Yu ZHANG ; Lin GONG ; Yimei WANG ; Hongbing PEI ; Changhan WU ; Xiaoli LIU
Chinese Journal of Infection Control 2025;24(6):823-829
Objective To understand the current status and influencing factors of microbial contamination of dental unit waterlines(DUWLs)of secondary and lower medical institutions in Wuhan,and provide scientific basis for for-mulating prevention and control measures.Methods A stratified convenience sampling method was adopted to con-duct questionnaire survey on 248 dental medical institutions in 15 districts of Wuhan City,DUWLs from 44 medical institutions were sampled and detected according to hospital levels.Results Among disinfection and maintenance management measures for source water and waterlines,the highest implementation rate was the installation rate of anti-suction dental handpiece(73.39%,182/248),but only 16.48%(30/182)of institutions regularly conducted the detection on anti-suction function;The lowest was the daily disinfection rate of water storage tanks(17.53%,17/97).A total of 132 water specimens were collected from 44 medical institutions,with a qualified rate of microbi-al detection of 56.06%.The qualified rates for secondary,primary,and unclassified medical institutions were 77.78%,50.00%,and 50.72%,respectively,with statistically significant differences(P<0.05).The qualified rates of microbial detection for source water,handpiece water,and three-way syringe water were 59.09%,50.00%,and 59.09%,respectively,with no statistically significant difference(P>0.05).Univariate analysis re-sults showed that medical institutions that regularly conducted chemical disinfection on DUWLs,understood DU-WLs waterline cleaning and disinfection standards,regularly performed microbial monitoring on diagnosis and treat-ment water,qualified source water,and flushed waterlines for 3 minutes before and after daily consultations had a higher qualified rate of microbial detection in DUWLs diagnosis and treatment water,and the differences were all statistically significant(all P<0.05).Conclusion The contamination status of DUWLs in secondary and lower medical institutions in Wuhan is relatively serious.It is recommended to focus on strengthening the training of rele-vant regulations,installing inlet filters,regularly detecting the anti-suction function of dental handpieces,imple-menting chemical disinfection and microbial monitoring on waterlines,standardizing the implementation of flushing before and after diagnosis and treatment,and strengthening the disinfection and use management of independent wa-ter storage tanks to control contamination.
8.Design and application of whole-process intelligent service platform for inpatients based on super fusion infrastructure
Xiao-dan ZHOU ; Pei-ling WANG ; Lin HUANG ; Zhi-rong WU ; Yang XIAO
Chinese Medical Equipment Journal 2025;46(6):34-41
Objective To design a whole-process intelligent service platform to enhance services for inpatients.Methods A whole-process intelligent service platform for inpatients was designed with an intelligentized rehabilitation assessment model based on the support vector machine algorithm,which was constructed with the hyper-converged infrastructure,designed with the B/S architecture and developed using the front-end and back-end separation mode.The front end used Vue.js and Ant Design of Vue for user interface construction and JavaScript for data interaction,and the back end was developed with Java.The platform developed was composed of three functional modules for medical service management,intelligent rehabilitation management and system management.Results The platform developed provided whole-process inpatient service before,during and after hospitalization to enhance inpatient rehabilitation.Conclusion The platform developed is able to meet the health management needs of inpatients in terms of treatment-rehabilitation-follow-up,which improve the service quality of hospitals.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2025,46(6):34-41]
9.The comprehensive evaluation of primary healthcare in China's new era:Index construction and empirical analysis
Yan-qing MIAO ; Pei-lin WU ; Wen-jing CHEN ; Hong-ming ZHU
Chinese Journal of Health Policy 2025;18(6):18-25
Objective:To construct the Primary Health Development Index(PHDI)and measure the performance of primary health care development in China.Methods:The PHDI was established through expert consultation.The indicator weights were determined using a comprehensive weighting method.Spatial autocorrelation and regional disparities in PHDI were analyzed using Moran's I and Theil indices.Results:(1)The PHDI framework comprises three dimensions—public accountability,health resources,and integrated services—covering 14 indicators.(2)The PHDI exhibited sustained growth,increasing from 70.46 in 2018 to 83.02 in 2022,with an average annual growth rate of 4.19%.(3)Spatial clustering of PHDI was observed,where provinces with high(low)scores neighbored provinces with similarly high(low)scores,though this positive spatial correlation gradually weakened.(4)Regional disparities in primary health care development showed continuous narrowing,with intra-regional differences dominating overall disparities.Intra-regional variations exhibited as"Eastern>Western>Central".Conclusions and suggestions:China's primary health care system has made rapid progress,with a growing trend toward more equitable access.However,disparities within regions persist.It is recommended to routinize and institutionalize the monitoring and evaluation of primary health care development indicators,enhance evidence-based policy implementation,strengthen inter-provincial collaboration within regions,and promote coordinated resource allocation to support balanced development.
10.Exploring mechanism of action of hypericin in antidepressant effects based on single-cell sequencing
Hui-xin NI ; Hai-xin LIU ; Bing-can ZHOU ; Ming-heng CHEN ; Ping-yan LIN ; Zheng-tao GAO ; Xin-pei LIN ; Yao LIN ; Fang-zhen WU ; Qian XU
Chinese Pharmacological Bulletin 2025;41(5):837-843
Aim To investigate the antidepressant mechanism of hyperforin via the utilization of single-cell sequencing technology.Methods C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into the control group,depres-sion model group,and hyperforin intervention group.The chronic unpredictable mild stress(CUMS)model was induced and drug interventions were administered for 28 d.Behavioral experiments were conducted to as-sess depressive symptoms,and hippocampal tissue was collected for single-cell RNA sequencing.Key cell populations and differentially expressed genes across groups were identified,followed by PPI network,GO,and KEGG enrichment analysis.Results Behavioral experiments indicated that CUMS successfully induced depressive symptoms in mice,while hyperforin im-proved depressive behavior.In the depression model group,the proportion of brain perivascular macrophages(PVM)increased,and this proportion decreased after hyperforin intervention,approaching the level seen in the control group.The top 20 common differentially ex-pressed genes in the PVM subpopulation were Saa3,Hbb-bs and Ccl24.PPI network analysis identified core targets,including Ccl2,Dhx9,C3,Msr1,Cxcl2 and Cx3cr1.KEGG enrichment analysis revealed pathways related to chemokines,phagosome formation,and inosi-tol phosphate metabolism.Conclusion The antide-pressant mechanism of hyperforin may be related to the regulation of Ccl24 and its related chemokine signaling pathway by PVM.

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