PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the efficacy of novel distraction support (DS) in intramedullary nailing treatment for tibial shaft fracture. METHODS: The random controlled trial included adult patients with tibial shaft fractures who were treated with intramedullary nailing at the trauma center between July 2013 and December 2018. Participants were randomly assigned to either control group (n=43) or DS group (n=42) based on whether DS was used during the operation. All surgical procedures were conducted by a single, experienced surgeon. Parameters such as hospital stay, blood loss, operative time, infection, delayed union, and malalignment were recorded for assessment. Shapiro-Wilk test was used to assess normality, and the F test was adopted to measure variance homogeneity. Continuous variables were presented as mean±standard deviation and compared via independent samples t-tests. Categorical variables are expressed as percentages. The Pearson's Chi-squared or Fisher's exact test was used for categorical variables n (%). Two-sided p<0.05 indicated statistical significance. RESULTS: A total of 85 participants were enrolled in the study. All cases achieved acceptable reduction. The operative time was significantly shorter in the DS group than in control group ((75.3±10.5) min vs. (90.4±15.5) min, p<0.001). Additionally, the DS group showed lesser blood loss ((60.1±27.2) mL vs. (85.4±25.4) mL, p<0.001). No significant differences were observed between the 2 groups in terms of hospital stay ((9.4±2.7) days vs. (10.2±3.1) days, p=0.370), infection (3 (7.1%) vs. 2 (4.7%), p=0.978), delayed union (2 (4.8%) vs. 5 (11.6%), p=0.450), and malalignment (3 (7.1%) vs. 5 (11.6%), p=0.713). CONCLUSION The use of DS in intramedullary nailing surgery is effective. The application of this DS system may represent a valuable addition to future clinical practice.
Humans ; Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary/methods* ; Tibial Fractures/surgery* ; Male ; Female ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Operative Time ; Length of Stay ; Young Adult ; Osteogenesis, Distraction/methods*

PURPOSE: The rate of complications among patients undergoing surgery has increased due to infection with SARS-CoV-2 and other variants of concern. However, Omicron has shown decreased pathogenicity, raising questions about the risk of postoperative complications among patients who are infected with this variant. This study aimed to investigate complications and related factors among patients with recent Omicron infection prior to undergoing orthopedic surgery. METHODS: A historical control study was conducted. Data were collected from all patients who underwent surgery during 2 distinct periods: (1) between Dec 12, 2022 and Jan 31, 2023 (COVID-19 positive group), (2) between Dec 12, 2021 and Jan 31, 2022 (COVID-19 negative control group). The patients were at least 18 years old. Patients who received conservative treatment after admission or had high-risk diseases or special circumstances (use of anticoagulants before surgery) were excluded from the study. The study outcomes were the total complication rate and related factors. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify related factors, and odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated to assess the impact of COVID-19 infection on complications. RESULTS: In the analysis, a total of 847 patients who underwent surgery were included, with 275 of these patients testing positive for COVID-19 and 572 testing negative. The COVID-19-positive group had a significantly higher rate of total complications (11.27%) than the control group (4.90%, p < 0.001). After adjusting for relevant factors, the OR was 3.08 (95% CI: 1.45-6.53). Patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 at 3-4 weeks (OR = 0.20 (95% CI: 0.06-0.59), p = 0.005), 5-6 weeks (OR = 0.16 (95% CI: 0.04-0.59), p = 0.010), or ≥7 weeks (OR = 0.26 (95% CI: 0.06-1.02), p = 0.069) prior to surgery had a lower risk of complications than those who were diagnosed at 0-2 weeks prior to surgery. Seven factors (age, indications for surgery, time of operation, time of COVID-19 diagnosis prior to surgery, C-reactive protein levels, alanine transaminase levels, and aspartate aminotransferase levels) were found to be associated with complications; thus, these factors were used to create a nomogram. CONCLUSION Omicron continues to be a significant factor in the incidence of postoperative complications among patients undergoing orthopedic surgery. By identifying the factors associated with these complications, we can determine the optimal surgical timing, provide more accurate prognostic information, and offer appropriate consultation for orthopedic surgery patients who have been infected with Omicron.
Humans ; COVID-19/complications* ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Orthopedic Procedures/adverse effects* ; Aged ; Nomograms ; Adult ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

ObjectiveTo construct a group-based trajectory model (GBTM) for early medication adherence check-in, and to analyze the relationship between different trajectories and treatment outcomes in tuberculosis patients using data that were generated from smart tools for monitoring their medication adherence and check-in. MethodsFrom October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023, a total of 163 pulmonary tuberculosis patients diagnosed in Fengxian District were selected as the study subjects. The GBTM was utilized to analyze the weekly active check-in trajectories of the subjects during the first 4 weeks and establish different trajectory groups. The χ² tests were employed to compare the differences between groups and logistic regression analysis was conducted to explore the relationship between different trajectory groups and treatment outcomes. ResultsA total of four groups were generated by GBTM analyses, of which a low level of punch card was maintained in group A, 6% of the drug users increased rapidly from a low level in group B, 17% of drug users increased gradually from a low level in group C, and 18% of drug users maintained a high level of punch card in group D. The trajectory group was divided into two groups according to homogeneity, namely the low level medication punch card group (group A) and the high level medication punch card group (group B, group C, and group D). The results of multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that low-level medication check-in (OR=3.250, 95%CI: 1.089‒9.696), increasing age (OR=1.030, 95%CI: 1.004‒1.056), and not undergoing sputum examination at the end of the fifth month (OR=2.746, 95%CI: 1.090‒7.009) were significantly associated with poor treatment outcomes. ConclusionThe medication check-in trajectory of pulmonary tuberculosis patients within the first 4 weeks is correlated with adverse outcomes, or namely consistent low-level medication adherence check-ins are associated with poor treatment outcomes, while high-level medication adherence check-ins are associated with a lower incidence of adverse outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The available evidence regarding the benefits of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) on patients receiving dialysis with coronary artery disease (CAD) is limited and inconsistent. This study aimed to evaluate the association between PCI and clinical outcomes as compared with medical therapy alone in patients undergoing dialysis with CAD in China. METHODS: This multicenter, retrospective study was conducted in 30 tertiary medical centers across 12 provinces in China from January 2015 to June 2021 to include patients on dialysis with CAD. The primary outcome was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE), defined as a composite of cardiovascular death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, and non-fatal stroke. Secondary outcomes included all-cause death, the individual components of MACE, and Bleeding Academic Research Consortium criteria types 2, 3, or 5 bleeding. Multivariable Cox proportional hazard models were used to assess the association between PCI and outcomes. Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and propensity score matching (PSM) were performed to account for potential between-group differences. RESULTS: Of the 1146 patients on dialysis with significant CAD, 821 (71.6%) underwent PCI. After a median follow-up of 23.0 months, PCI was associated with a 43.0% significantly lower risk for MACE (33.9% [ n  = 278] vs . 43.7% [ n  = 142]; adjusted hazards ratio 0.57, 95% confidence interval 0.45-0.71), along with a slightly increased risk for bleeding outcomes that did not reach statistical significance (11.1% vs . 8.3%; adjusted hazards ratio 1.31, 95% confidence interval, 0.82-2.11). Furthermore, PCI was associated with a significant reduction in all-cause and cardiovascular mortalities. Subgroup analysis did not modify the association of PCI with patient outcomes. These primary findings were consistent across IPTW, PSM, and competing risk analyses. CONCLUSION This study indicated that PCI in patients on dialysis with CAD was significantly associated with lower MACE and mortality when comparing with those with medical therapy alone, albeit with a slightly increased risk for bleeding events that did not reach statistical significance.
Humans ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/methods* ; Male ; Female ; Coronary Artery Disease/drug therapy* ; Retrospective Studies ; Renal Dialysis/methods* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; China ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To investigate the efficacy of radiotherapy in patients with advanced esophageal cancer receiving first-line chemoimmunotherapy.Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the data of 137 patients with Stage Ⅳ esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) treated at our hospital from January 2018 to May 2023. These patients were divided into two groups: a group treated with first-line chemoimmunotherapy combined with radiotherapy (chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group, n = 43) and a group treated with only chemoimmunotherapy ( n = 94). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) was applied to balance baseline characteristics between the groups. With overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) as study endpoints, the survival data were analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier method, the log-rank test, and the Cox regression method. Results:Before calibration, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group significantly outperformed the sole chemoimmunotherapy group in median PFS (13.6 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.501, 95% CI: 0.309-0.811, P = 0.005). After calibration using the COX proportional-hazards model for age, gender, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, smoking history, T/N/M stage, and tumor location, the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group still had significant advantages in PFS (14.7 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.441, 95% CI: 0.261-0.745, P = 0.002). IPTW analysis further confirmed this trend (13.9 months vs. 7.0 months; HR: 0.492, 95% CI: 0.304-0.795, P < 0.001). Specifically, the median OS of the chemoimmunotherapy + radiotherapy group demonstrated significant improvement in all analyses: pre-calibration (29.5 months vs. 18.0 months; HR: 0.507, 95% CI: 0.297-0.867, P = 0.013), after calibration using the Cox model (27.5 months vs. 16.7 months; HR: 0.470, 95% CI: 0.266-0.830, P = 0.009), and after calibration using IPTW (29.5 months vs. 16.9 months; HR: 0.448, 95% CI: 0.262-0.764, P < 0.001). Conclusions:The combination of radiotherapy and first-line chemoimmunotherapy can significantly improve survival outcomes of patients with advanced ESCC, suggesting its potential as a standard treatment strategy.

Turning to critical illness is a common stage of various diseases and injuries before death. Patients usually have complex health conditions, while the treatment process involves a wide range of content, along with high requirements for doctor′s professionalism and multi-specialty teamwork, as well as a great demand for time-sensitive treatments. However, this is not matched with critical care professionals and the current state of medical care in China. Telemedicine, which shortens the distance of medical professionals and the gap of disease diagnosis and treatments in various regions through electronic information, can effectively solve the current problem. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop a standardized, high-quality visualization telemedicine round system .Therefore, experts have been organized to search domestic and foreign literature on telemedicine round for critically ill patients and to form this consensus based on clinical experiences so as to further improve the level of critical care treatments in regions.

Objective To explore the risk factors for 28-day mortality of sepsis-associated acute kidney injury(SA-AKI)patients and to develop a nomogram risk prediction model.Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted,involving 184 patients with SA-AKI admitted to the intensive care unit(ICU)of the 940th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of PLA between January 2017 and December 2022.Patients were categorized into survival(n=135)and non-survival(n=49)groups based on 28-day mortality.Clinical data were collected,and statistically significant risk factors were preliminarily screened.Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors for 28-day mortality of SA-AKI patients.A nomogram predictive model was constructed using these factors,and internally validated with the Bootstrap method.The receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC curve)was drawn,and the area under the ROC curve(AUC)was calculated to verify the predictive value and accuracy of the model.Results The 28-day mortality rate among 184 SA-AKI patients was 26.6％(49/184).Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis identified multiple organ dysfunction syndrome(MODS)(OR=16.393,95％CI 4.317-62.254,P＜0.001),high acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ(APACHE Ⅱ)score(OR=1.097,95％CI 1.036-1.161,P=0.002),low oxygenation index(OR=0.992,95％CI 0.986-0.998,P=0.015),low neutrophil count(OR=0.912,95％CI 0.860-0.968,P=0.002)and low fibrinogen concentration(OR=0.733,95％CI 0.549-0.978,P=0.034)as independent risk factors.The prediction model equation was P=1/1+e-logit(P),logit(P)=-1.626+2.797×MODS+0.092×AP ACHE Ⅱ+(-0.311)×fibrinogen+(-0.092)×neutrophil count+(-0.008)×oxygenation index.Internal validation with 1000 Bootstrap resamples showed high consistency between predicted and actual values.ROC analysis showed an AUC of 0.911(95％CI 0.868-0.955,P＜0.05)for the model,with 93.9％sensitivity and 78.5％specificity at a cut-off of 0.194.The Hosmer-Lemeshow test confirmed good calibration(P=0.62),and decision-making curve analysis demonstrated clinical utility within the high-risk threshold range(0.1-0.9).Conclusions MODS,high APACHE Ⅱ score,low oxygenation index,low neutrophil count,and low fibrinogen concentration are independent risk factors for 28-day mortality in SA-AKI patients.The developed nomogram risk prediction model may provide important guidance for predicting 28-day mortality in SA-AKI patients.

During the progression of ischemic stroke,cells experience oxidative stress and intracellular energy depletion,triggering the dynamic assembly and disassembly of stress granules.Stress granules may have a dual role in ischemic stroke.In the ultra-early reperfusion period(6-36 h),under acute stress,the stress granules may inhibit neuronal apoptosis and exert neuroprotective effects through reversible liquid-liquid phase separation.In contrast,in the acute reperfusion period(36 h to 2 weeks),under prolonged stress,pathological stress granules may accumulate through liquid-solid phase transition,leading to neuronal dysfunction and inducing ischemic stroke sequelae such as motor and cognitive impairments.This article reviewed the mechanisms of stress granules dynamic phase transitions during ischemic stroke and their effects on neurons,aiming to provide references and insights for future stress granule-targeted interventions for ischemic stroke and its sequelae.

Medical ultrasound technology is widely used for diagnosis and therapy in clinical practice.Ultrasound probes,which are directly contact with patients,pose a potential risk of pathogen transmission.This expert consen-sus was developed by a multidisciplinary team based on international guidelines,standards in China,and the results of a national survey,aiming to reduce the risk of healthcare-associated infection through standardizing reprocessing of medical ultrasound probes,and formulating consensus recommendations with the Delphi method.The consensus clarifies the reprocessing principles for three types of ultrasound probes of different infection risks:external-use ul-trasound probes,interventional percutaneous ultrasound probes,and internal-use ultrasound probes,puts forward systematic suggestions on the reprocessing standards and disinfection levels of ultrasound probe isolation covers and coupling agents,the reprocessing procedures and methods of ultrasound probes,as well as architectural layout and management of reprocessing,so as to provide a scientific prevention and control framework for ensuring ultrasound diagnosis and therapy safety.