With the rapid advancement of medical technology and the increasing complexity of clinical environments, competence in clinical ethical decision-making has become an indispensable core competency for exemplary physicians. However, traditional medical ethics education has long been confronted with the persistent challenges of theory-practice dissociation and the disconnect between pedagogical settings and clinical realities. Thus, how to construct a "Clinical Ethics" curriculum that aligns with the objectives of training high-caliber medical professionals has emerged as a critical and challenging issue in current medical education reform. To effectively address this challenge, the Office of Education at Peking University Third Hospital, since 2021, has assembled a multidisciplinary "Clinical Ethics" teaching and management team comprising faculty from Peking University School of Humanities and key clinical specialists from the hospital. In 2022, the "Clinical Ethics" elective course was formally launched for fourth-year students in the eight-year MD program who had completed coursework in "Medical Ethics" and organ-system-based curricula, with the aim of exploring and operationalizing a pre-clinical ethics education model tailored for senior medical students. The course employs a modular instructional design encompassing "theoretical review-case-based deliberation-clinical workshop", which effectively facilitates the deep integration of medical humanities with clinical practice.Following four years of iterative refinement through the "plan-act-observe-reflect" cycle, the course has demonstrated positive outcomes in enhancing students' ethical awareness and decision-making capabilities, and has preliminarily established a sustainable collaborative mechanism among the multidisciplinary faculty team. This article systematically delineates the course development background, pedagogical model and methodological innovations, and the multidisciplinary collaborative framework, alongside reflections and summaries based on implementation outcomes, with the intent of providing references for the future development of "Clinical Ethics" curricula.

Tracheal intubation in emergency and complex scenarios is difficult for critical care medicine residents.Virtual reality(VR)technology has not been used in the training of tracheal intubation in critical care scenarios in China.This project team has developed an emergency tracheal intubation training system for the intensive care unit(ICU)based on virtual simulation technology,and has obtained the computer software copyright registration certificate from the National Copyright Administration(registration number:2024SR1139484).This system uses a case script of acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS)secondary to severe acute pancreatitis,sets the roles of patients,family members,nurses and residents,collects digital resources of ICU rescue scenes,computer-aided design(CAD)drawings,instrument models and equipment photos,models instruments and equipment,and uses PICO 4 Pro VR helmets to display the ICU environment in the virtual scene.The key points of skill assessment include tracheal intubation operation,the ability to interpret laboratory results,the ability to judge diseases and the ability to work in teams.The user center contains 3 submodules,namely,the score center,skill analysis and user management.There are 3 user roles in the system,namely,residents,teachers and administrators.The system can track and record the entire operation process,including video recording and playback,and score and comprehensively evaluate each step,thereby realizing an objective and quantitative training and assessment system.By simulating the three-dimensional clinical operation environment of the ICU,the entire process of real tracheal intubation is fully reproduced.Resident doctors are placed in the ICU rescue scene,focusing on training tracheal intubation skills,the ability of doctor-patient communication,on-the-spot response,and teamwork,which is expected to become an important type of standardized teaching in critical care medicine.

Objective To explore the effectiveness of a tracheal intubation training system based on virtual reality(VR)technology in cultivating the clinical practice abilities of resident physicians.Methods Twenty-five first-year resident physicians who were enrolled in the residency programme at Peking University Third Hospital from August 2024 to February 2025 were recruited for this study.All participants completed a questionnaire after receiving VR-based intensive care unit(ICU)emergency tracheal intubation training,to share their experiences with the VR technology-based ICU emergency tracheal intubation training and the shortcomings encountered during the process.Results ① General information:a total of 25 resident physician questionnaires were distributed in this study and received 25 valid responses(response rate 100%).Among the 25 residents,there were 15 males(60%)and 10 females(40%),with an average age of(25.3±0.8)years.Clinical experience was categorised as≤1 year 4 residents(16%),>1-3 years 8 residents(32%),>3-<5 years 5 residents(20%)and≥5 years 8 residents(32%).Among them,3 residents(12%)had no prior tracheal intubation experience,while 11(44%)had performed>10 intubations.Prior to this training,3 residents(12%)had received other forms of virtual tracheal intubation training,whereas 22(88%)had not.During traditional tracheal intubation training,18 residents(72%)reported that they monitored heart rate and blood pressure,whereas 7(28%)did not.In real-world emergency tracheal intubation scenarios,21 residents(84%)experienced role confusion.Additionally,23 residents(92%)believed that opportunities for tracheal intubation practice were too limited,17(68%)thought traditional training provided more guidance from instructors,and 15(60%)valued practical operation opportunities more in tracheal intubation training.②VR-based ICU emergency tracheal intubation training experience:23 residents(92%)considered the VR-based ICU emergency tracheal intubation training effective,with 13(52%)believing it to be more effective than traditional training.Furthermore,23 residents(92%)felt that the VR-based training created a more relaxed learning atmosphere,heightened their interest in learning tracheal intubation,and had better future prospects;22 residents(88%)believed that VR technology facilitated a better understanding of the laryngeal structure;24 residents(96%)thought that VR-based training reduced practical operation risks and better simulated real-world conditions;16 residents(64%)were highly satisfied with the VR-based ICU emergency tracheal intubation operating system;24 residents(96%)considered the case scenarios in the VR-based training reasonable.17 residents(68%)believed that VR-based training offered more learning opportunities,and 19 residents(76%)thought it reduced anxiety during the intubation process.③ Disadvantages of VR-based ICU emergency tracheal intubation:9 residents(36%)tended to overlook obtaining family consent before emergency tracheal intubation prior to the training.Regarding interactivity,5 residents(20%)rated it as excellent,9(36%)as average,and 11 residents(44%)believe that the interactivity was poor;22 residents(88%)felt a lack of tactile feedback during practical operations;20 residents(80%)recommended adding more simulated scenarios;11 residents(44%)believed that,compared to traditional training,VR training lacked practical operation opportunities.Additionally,17 residents(68%)experienced discomfort such as dizziness during the operation.Conclusion VR-based intubation training effectively enhances technical proficiency and psychological preparedness in ICU clinicians,particularly in anatomical visualization and risk-controlled rehearsal.

Sepsis is a life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by the body's dysregulated response to infection. Reversible myocardial dysfunction caused by sepsis is known as septic cardiomyopathy. A thorough understanding of the pathogenesis of septic cardiomyopathy is crucial for early intervention to prevent its progression and improve the success rate of sepsis treatment. At present, the research on the pathogenesis of septic cardiomyopathy mainly focuses on two aspects: the systemic neuroimmune mechanism and the local changes of cardiomyocytes. The former mainly includes the autonomic nervous dysfunction mainly caused by sympathetic overactivation and the inflammatory storm induced by immune response disorder. The latter covers the dysregulation of calcium homeostasis, mitochondrial dysfunction and energy metabolism disorder of cardiomyocytes. Immune dysfunction is one of the key factors that cause the poor prognosis of patients with septic cardiomyopathy. Macrophages are sentinel cells of the body's innate immunity. Cardiac macrophages have been confirmed to be one of the most heterogeneous immune cells in the heart. According to their origin and differentiation, they can be divided into bone marrow-derived tissue infiltrating macrophages and cardiac resident macrophages, which have roles of polarization, phagocytosis, regulation of inflammatory response, and participate in innate and adaptive immunity. In the occurrence and development of septic cardiomyopathy, cardiac macrophages recruited from the blood participate in balancing the inflammation and repair of myocardial tissue through the conversion of pro-inflammatory phenotype and anti-inflammatory phenotype. Cardiac resident macrophages mediate immune phagocytosis to maintain the local homeostasis of cardiomyocytes, and the glycometabolic reprogramming of macrophages regulates the release of inflammatory factors, while macrophage metabolic reprogramming regulates the release of inflammatory factors. A deeper understanding of the biological behavior of macrophages, and regulating the polarization, metabolism and phagocytosis of cardiac macrophages, could serve as new target for the prevention and treatment of septic cardiomyopathy. Therefore, this article reviews the key pathogenesis of septic cardiomyopathy and the role of macrophages of different origins and differentiation, revealing the possibility of developing new strategies for the prevention and treatment of septic cardiomyopathy.
Humans ; Cardiomyopathies/pathology* ; Macrophages/immunology* ; Sepsis/complications* ; Myocytes, Cardiac

Tracheal intubation in emergency and complex scenarios is difficult for critical care medicine residents.Virtual reality(VR)technology has not been used in the training of tracheal intubation in critical care scenarios in China.This project team has developed an emergency tracheal intubation training system for the intensive care unit(ICU)based on virtual simulation technology,and has obtained the computer software copyright registration certificate from the National Copyright Administration(registration number:2024SR1139484).This system uses a case script of acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS)secondary to severe acute pancreatitis,sets the roles of patients,family members,nurses and residents,collects digital resources of ICU rescue scenes,computer-aided design(CAD)drawings,instrument models and equipment photos,models instruments and equipment,and uses PICO 4 Pro VR helmets to display the ICU environment in the virtual scene.The key points of skill assessment include tracheal intubation operation,the ability to interpret laboratory results,the ability to judge diseases and the ability to work in teams.The user center contains 3 submodules,namely,the score center,skill analysis and user management.There are 3 user roles in the system,namely,residents,teachers and administrators.The system can track and record the entire operation process,including video recording and playback,and score and comprehensively evaluate each step,thereby realizing an objective and quantitative training and assessment system.By simulating the three-dimensional clinical operation environment of the ICU,the entire process of real tracheal intubation is fully reproduced.Resident doctors are placed in the ICU rescue scene,focusing on training tracheal intubation skills,the ability of doctor-patient communication,on-the-spot response,and teamwork,which is expected to become an important type of standardized teaching in critical care medicine.

Objective To explore the effectiveness of a tracheal intubation training system based on virtual reality(VR)technology in cultivating the clinical practice abilities of resident physicians.Methods Twenty-five first-year resident physicians who were enrolled in the residency programme at Peking University Third Hospital from August 2024 to February 2025 were recruited for this study.All participants completed a questionnaire after receiving VR-based intensive care unit(ICU)emergency tracheal intubation training,to share their experiences with the VR technology-based ICU emergency tracheal intubation training and the shortcomings encountered during the process.Results ① General information:a total of 25 resident physician questionnaires were distributed in this study and received 25 valid responses(response rate 100%).Among the 25 residents,there were 15 males(60%)and 10 females(40%),with an average age of(25.3±0.8)years.Clinical experience was categorised as≤1 year 4 residents(16%),>1-3 years 8 residents(32%),>3-<5 years 5 residents(20%)and≥5 years 8 residents(32%).Among them,3 residents(12%)had no prior tracheal intubation experience,while 11(44%)had performed>10 intubations.Prior to this training,3 residents(12%)had received other forms of virtual tracheal intubation training,whereas 22(88%)had not.During traditional tracheal intubation training,18 residents(72%)reported that they monitored heart rate and blood pressure,whereas 7(28%)did not.In real-world emergency tracheal intubation scenarios,21 residents(84%)experienced role confusion.Additionally,23 residents(92%)believed that opportunities for tracheal intubation practice were too limited,17(68%)thought traditional training provided more guidance from instructors,and 15(60%)valued practical operation opportunities more in tracheal intubation training.②VR-based ICU emergency tracheal intubation training experience:23 residents(92%)considered the VR-based ICU emergency tracheal intubation training effective,with 13(52%)believing it to be more effective than traditional training.Furthermore,23 residents(92%)felt that the VR-based training created a more relaxed learning atmosphere,heightened their interest in learning tracheal intubation,and had better future prospects;22 residents(88%)believed that VR technology facilitated a better understanding of the laryngeal structure;24 residents(96%)thought that VR-based training reduced practical operation risks and better simulated real-world conditions;16 residents(64%)were highly satisfied with the VR-based ICU emergency tracheal intubation operating system;24 residents(96%)considered the case scenarios in the VR-based training reasonable.17 residents(68%)believed that VR-based training offered more learning opportunities,and 19 residents(76%)thought it reduced anxiety during the intubation process.③ Disadvantages of VR-based ICU emergency tracheal intubation:9 residents(36%)tended to overlook obtaining family consent before emergency tracheal intubation prior to the training.Regarding interactivity,5 residents(20%)rated it as excellent,9(36%)as average,and 11 residents(44%)believe that the interactivity was poor;22 residents(88%)felt a lack of tactile feedback during practical operations;20 residents(80%)recommended adding more simulated scenarios;11 residents(44%)believed that,compared to traditional training,VR training lacked practical operation opportunities.Additionally,17 residents(68%)experienced discomfort such as dizziness during the operation.Conclusion VR-based intubation training effectively enhances technical proficiency and psychological preparedness in ICU clinicians,particularly in anatomical visualization and risk-controlled rehearsal.

Objective:To systematically review and evaluate the predictive efficacy of various derived indicators of sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) in mortality rate of sepsis patients.Methods:Literature on sepsis and SOFA scores were searched in PubMed, Embase and Cochrane Library. The retrieval time will be set to the time of database-building to February, 2023. The main outcome measures included 28-day mortality, 30-day mortality, in-hospital mortality, intensive care unit (ICU) mortality and long-term mortality. Literature screening, data extraction and quality evaluation were carried out independently by 2 researchers. Data were analyzed by Revman 5.3.5, Meta-disc and Stata software. Deek funnel plots were used to assess publication bias in the included studies.Results:A total of 40 articles including 51 trials were included. Of these, 32 were in English and 8 in Chinese, 17 were in prospective trials and 34 were in retrospective trials, 38 were in initial SOFA-related trials and 9 were in the change of SOFA score (ΔSOFA)-related studies, a total of 59?962 patients were enrolled. ① The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) of initial SOFA and ΔSOFA for predicting outcome in sepsis was 0.773 and 0.787 ( Z = 0.115, P > 0.05), respectively. There was no significant difference between the two indexes in predicting the outcome of patients with sepsis. ② In subgroup analysis, due to limitations in the number of literature articles, the 28-day mortality rate and 30-day mortality rate were merged for discussion. The predictive power of ΔSOFA for 28-day or 30-day mortality was significantly higher than that of initial SOFA (AUC was 0.854, 0.787, Z = 2.603, P ≤ 0.01). ③ There were few studies onΔSOFA in predicting in-hospital mortality, ICU mortality and long-term mortality of sepsis patients. The AUC of the initial SOFA for predicting the study endpoints described above was: ICU mortality (0.814) > 28-day or 30-day mortality (0.787) > in-hospital mortality (0.697) > long-term mortality (0.646). ④ Initial SOFA and ΔSOFA in patients with sepsis of non-Han original had good predictive performance and there was no significant difference between them (AUC was 0.766, 0.811, respectively). However, the pooled sensitivity of ΔSOFA was higher (92%). ⑤ In prospective studies, initial SOFA was better at predicting outcomes in patients with sepsis (AUC was 0.804, pooled sensitivity 64%). The sensitivity of ΔSOFA indicators in predicting the outcome of sepsis patients was significantly higher than the initial SOFA (78% vs. 64%). The funnel plot showed that there was no significant publication bias in the included literature. Conclusion:ΔSOFA has a relatively high diagnostic efficacy in predicting short-term (28-day or 30-day) mortality in patients with sepsis.

Objective:To investigate the epidemiological data of maternal sepsis in intensive care unit (ICU), analyze the common causes, outcomes of maternal sepsis, and the risk factors of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria.Methods:A retrospective cohort study. Maternal sepsis cases admitted to ICUs of Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing Chao-Yang Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University, and Beijing Friendship Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from January 2008 to September 2022 were enrolled. The following data were recorded: demographic characteristics, sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) during infection, infection time, infection sites, invasive intervention measures before infection, microbial culture results, blood routine test during infection, body temperature, and clinical outcomes caused by infection. According to the time of sepsis occurrence, the patients were divided into pre-ICU sepsis group and ICU sepsis group, and the causes of sepsis in the two groups were analyzed. According to whether MDR occurred, the patients were divided into MDR group and non-MDR group, and clinical outcomes were analyzed. Multivariate Logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors of MDR bacteria infection in obstetrics with sepsis.Results:160 patients were enrolled, among which 104 cases of sepsis happened before ICU and 56 cases of sepsis happened during ICU, 53 cases were with MDR bacteria and 107 cases were without MDR bacteria. The median age of the patients was 30.5 (28.0, 34.0) years old, the median temperature was 38.8 (38.2, 39.5) ℃, and the median white blood cell count (WBC) was 17.2 (13.2, 21.3)×10 9/L, the median SOFA score was 5.0 (3.0, 8.0), and 130 cases (81.2%) were referred from other hospitals. The main infection sites were uterine cavity in 64 cases (40.0%), lung in 48 cases (30.0%), abdominal and pelvic cavity in 30 cases (18.8%), urinary system in 27 cases (16.9%). Sepsis led to hysterectomy in 6 cases (3.8%), stillbirth in 8 cases (5.0%), and neonatal death in 2 cases (1.3%). The main surgical intervention measures were cesarean section (44 cases, accounting for 27.5%), followed by exploratory laparotomy (19 cases, 11.9%). The median length of ICU stay was 5.0 (3.0, 10.0) days, and the median hospital length was 14.0 (10.0, 20.8) days. Intrauterine infection was the primary cause of sepsis happened during ICU, accounting for 50.0% (28/56), of which postpartum hemorrhage accounted for 85.7% (24/28). The proportion of diabetes [28.3% (15/53) vs. 14.0% (15/107)], intrauterine operation [41.5% (22/53) vs. 23.4% (25/107)], intrauterine infection [50.9% (27/53) vs. 34.6% (37/107)] and bacteremia [18.9% (10/53) vs. 2.8% (3/107)] in the MDR group were significantly higher than those in the non-MDR group (all P < 0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that diabetes [odds ratio ( OR) = 2.348, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) was 1.006-5.480, P = 0.048] and intrauterine operation ( OR = 2.541, 95% CI was 1.137-5.678, P = 0.023) were independent risk factors for MDR bacterial infection in obstetrics with sepsis. Conclusions:Intrauterine infection is the common cause of maternal sepsis in ICU, and postpartum hemorrhage is the common cause of secondary intrauterine infection in ICU. MDR bacteria can lead to serious clinical outcomes. Diabetes and intrauterine operation are independent risk factors for MDR bacteria' infection.

BACKGROUND: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a psychological disorder, which is characterized by the misunderstanding of body image, food restriction, and low body weight. An increasing number of studies have reported that the pathophysiological mechanism of AN might be associated with the dysbiosis of gut microbiota. The purpose of our study was to explore the features of gut microbiota in patients with AN, hoping to provide valuable information on its pathogenesis and treatment. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, from August 2020 to June 2021, patients with AN who were admitted into Peking University Third Hospital and Peking University Sixth Hospital ( n   =  30) were recruited as the AN group, and healthy controls (HC) were recruited from a middle school and a university in Beijing ( n   =  30). Demographic data, Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) scores of the two groups, and length of stay of the AN group were recorded. Microbial diversity analysis of gut microbiota in stool samples from the two groups was analyzed by 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequencing. RESULTS: The weight (AN vs. HC, [39.31 ± 7.90] kg vs. [56.47 ± 8.88] kg, P  < 0.001) and body mass index (BMI, AN vs. HC, [14.92 ± 2.54] kg/m 2vs. [20.89 ± 2.14] kg/m 2 , P  < 0.001) of patients with AN were statistically significantly lower than those of HC, and HAMD scores in AN group were statistically significantly higher than those of HC. For alpha diversity, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups; for beta diversity, the two groups differed obviously regarding community composition. Compared to HC, the proportion of Lachnospiraceae in patients with AN was statistically significantly higher (AN vs. HC, 40.50% vs. 31.21%, Z  = -1.981, P  = 0.048), while that of Ruminococcaceae was lower (AN vs. HC, 12.17% vs. 19.15%, Z  = -2.728, P  = 0.007); the proportion of Faecalibacterium (AN vs. HC, 3.97% vs. 9.40%, Z  = -3.638, P  < 0.001) and Subdoligranulum (AN vs. HC, 4.60% vs. 7.02%, Z  = -2.369, P  = 0.018) were statistically significantly lower, while that of Eubacterium_hallii_group was significantly higher (AN vs. HC, 7.63% vs. 3.43%, Z  = -2.115, P  = 0.035). Linear discriminant effect (LEfSe) analysis (LDA score >3.5) showed that o_Lachnospirales, f_Lachnospiraceae, and g_Eubacterium_hallii_group (o, f and g represents order, family and genus respectively) were enriched in patients with AN. Microbial function of nutrient transport and metabolism in AN group were more abundant ( P  > 0.05). In AN group, weight and BMI were significantly negatively correlated with the abundance of Bacteroidota and Bacteroides , while positively correlated with Subdoligranulum . BMI was significantly positively correlated with Firmicutes; HAMD scores were significantly negatively correlated with Faecalibacterium. CONCLUSIONS The composition of gut microbiota in patients with AN was different from that of healthy people. Clinical indicators have correlations with the abundance of gut microbiota in patients with AN.
Humans ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome/physiology* ; Anorexia Nervosa ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dysbiosis/microbiology* ; Body Mass Index ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S/genetics* ; Feces/microbiology*

Objective:To investigate the perfection and improvement of the execution of integrative medicine therapy in severe tetanus therapy, to successfully control tetanus severe spasms, autonomic dysfunction and prevent lethal side-effect of prolong and high-dosage sedative-muscle-relaxant therapy, resulted in significant reduction of mortality of tetanus.Methods:Symptoms, treatments and outcome of tetanus patients admitted to Peking University Third Hospital from 1965 to 2020 were reviewed. Patients were classified with Ablett classification. The cases of Ablett grade Ⅲ and Ⅳ were severe tetanus. The patients were divided into two groups according to whether they were treated together with traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) simultaneously during the standard tetanus treatment; the patients in the TCM group were divided into the tetanus TCM medication group and the non tetanus TCM medication group according to the medicine provided whether was in accord with the conventional tetanus TCM prescriptions. The mortality of each group was calculated. In addition, one survived and one deceased case with severe convulsion, autonomic nerve dysfunction (Ablett grade Ⅳ) were selected, combined with the treatment methods and curative effects, the types, use methods and outcomes of Chinese and Western medicine were analyzed.Results:The 46 tetanus cases were treated with Western medicine. Twenty-two of them, TCM were applied. Fifteen of the 22 cases took the TCM prescription which was accord with the conventional tetanus prescription. The mortality of the 46 cases was 21.7% (10/46). The number of non-TCM group was 24 cases, with mortality of 20.8% (5/24); 1 case was Ablett Ⅱ, 1 was Ablett Ⅲ and 3 were Ablett Ⅳ. The number of the TCM group was 22 cases, with mortality of 22.7% (5/22), 2 cases were Ablett Ⅲ, 3 were Ablett Ⅳ. The TCM prescription of these 5 deceased cases was not directed towards tetanus. The tetanus TCM medication group was 15 cases, with no mortality. Case analyses: case 1 was intubated because of severe spasms. Autonomic dysfunction occurred on the 8th day after admission. Esmolol with increasing the dosage of the sedatives and muscle relaxant, was not effective. Tetanus TCM was applied after 2 days of autonomic dysfunction happened. Autonomic dysfunction was then under controlled on the 2nd day post-TCM. She was recovery and discharged after 4 weeks. Case 2, also was intubated because of severe spasms. Autonomic dysfunction happened on the 3rd day after admission, and failed to be controlled by large-dose sedatives, muscle relaxant, and Esmolol. After 8 days of persistent autonomic dysfunction, tetanus TCM was applied and autonomic dysfunction was under controlled on the 2nd day post-TCM administration. Large dosage of muscle-relaxant was applied continuously. After 5 days' administration of TCM, the TCM was withdrew. One day after the withdrawal of TCM, respiratory and cardiac arrest happened because of the diffused bronchiole obstruction with pulmonary secretions loading.Conclusion:Based on the precise and real-time diagnosis of the state of the disease, integrative medicine therapy with an overall analysis tetanus TCM prescription, is the key of declining tetanus mortality.