Vascular calcification is a highly regulated process of ectopic calcification in cardiovascular system while no effective intervention can be clinically performed up to date.As vascular calcification undergoes a common regulatory mechanism within bone formation,bone morphogenetic protein 7(BMP-7)main-tains contractile phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells and further inhibits vascular calcification via promoting the process of osteoblast differentiation,reducing ectopic calcification pressure by increasing bone formation and reducing bone resorption.This work systematically reviews the role of BMP-7 in vascular calcifi-cation and the possible mechanism,and their current clinical application as well.The current proceedings may help develope early diagnostic strategy and therapeutic treatment with BMP-7 as a new molecular marker and potential drug target.The expec-tation could achieve early prevention and intervention of vascular calcification and improve poor prognosis on patients.

This study investigated the characteristics of gut microbiota imbalance in patients with infectious diarrhea caused by various pathogenic infections,and the role of Bacteroides in maintaining homeostasis in the intestinal environment.The gut microbiota in patients with diarrhea caused by pathogenic infections,such as viral and bacterial infections,was determined through full-length 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing.Patients with diarrhea were grouped and analyzed according to the presence of single bacterial infection,single viral infection,mixed infection,or Clostridioides difficile infection.Bacteroides had the highest absolute number and relative abundance in the gut microbiota in healthy people,whereas patients with infectious diar-rhea showed lower relative abundance of Bacteroides at each phylum/order/family/genus taxonomic level.Alpha diversity anal-ysis indicated no significant differences among groups.NMDS and PCoA indicated formation of distinct clusters in the control group compared with the different infectious diarrhea groups.The diversity of the gut microbiota was higher in the control group than the infectious diarrhea groups.Patients with infec-tious diarrhea caused by different pathogens showed differing predominant gut microbiota.Bifidobacterium predominated in the single viral infection group,Streptococcus predominated in the single bacterial infection group,and Lachnoclostridium predominated in the mixed infection group.Escherichia and Klebsiella were the major gut microbiota in the C.difficile infection group.Meanwhile,the dominant gut microbiota in the healthy population was Bacteroides.COG function prediction revealed that the healthy control group formed a distinct cluster from the different infection groups.The functions of defense mechanisms,cell wall synthesis,protein modification,cellular differentiation,and replication and recombination were signifi-cantly diminished in all infectious diarrhea groups.In general,patients with infectious diarrhea caused by different pathogens showed dysbiosis,with diminished gut microbiota diversity and the emergence of related biomarkers.Our findings indicated that Bacteroides has a key role in maintaining the homeostasis of the human intestinal environment,thus providing new ideas for the subsequent treatment of infectious diarrhea and research in other fields.

Objective:To report the results of national surveillance on the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical Gram-positive bacteria isolates from bloodstream infections in China in 2022.Methods:The clinical isolates of Gram-positive bacteria from blood cultures in member hospitals of National Bloodstream Infection Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System（BRICS）were collected during January 2022 to December 2022. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute（CLSI）. WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 25.0 software were used to analyze the data.Results:A total of 3 163 strains of Gram-positive pathogens were collected from 51 member units，and the top five bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus（ n=1 147，36.3%），coagulase-negative Staphylococci（ n=928，29.3%）， Enterococcus faecalis（ n=369，11.7%）， Enterococcus faecium（ n=296，9.4%）and alpha-hemolyticus Streptococci（ n=192，6.1%）. The detection rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus（MRSA）and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococci（MRCNS）were 26.4%（303/1 147）and 66.7%（619/928），respectively. No glycopeptide and daptomycin-resistant Staphylococci were detected. The sensitivity rates of Staphylococcus aureus to cefpirome，rifampin，compound sulfamethoxazole，linezolid，minocycline and tigecycline were all >95.0%. Enterococcus faecium was more prevalent than Enterococcus faecalis. The resistance rates of Enterococcus faecium to vancomycin and teicoplanin were both 0.5%（2/369），and no vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium was detected. The detection rate of MRSA in southern China was significantly lower than that in other regions（ χ2=14.578， P=0.002），while the detection rate of MRCNS in northern China was significantly higher than that in other regions（ χ2=15.195， P=0.002）. The detection rates of MRSA and MRCNS in provincial hospitals were higher than those in municipal hospitals（ χ2=13.519 and 12.136， P<0.001）. The detection rates of MRSA and MRCNS in economically more advanced regions（per capita GDP≥92 059 Yuan in 2022）were higher than those in economically less advanced regions（per capita GDP<92 059 Yuan）（ χ2=9.969 and 7.606， P=0.002和0.006）. Conclusions:Among the Gram-positive pathogens causing bloodstream infections in China， Staphylococci is the most common while the MRSA incidence decreases continuously with time；the detection rate of Enterococcus faecium exceeds that of Enterococcus faecalis. The overall prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci is still at a low level. The composition ratio of Gram-positive pathogens and resistant profiles varies slightly across regions of China，with the prevalence of MRSA and MRCNS being more pronounced in provincial hospitals and areas with a per capita GDP≥92 059 yuan.

Patients with severe trauma require an extremely timely treatment and transfusion plays an irreplaceable role in the emergency treatment of such patients. An increasing number of evidence-based medicinal evidences and clinical practices suggest that patients with severe traumatic bleeding benefit from early transfusion of low-titer group O whole blood or hemostatic resuscitation with red blood cells, plasma and platelet of a balanced ratio. However, the current domestic mode of blood supply cannot fully meet the requirements of timely and effective blood transfusion for emergency treatment of patients with severe trauma in clinical practice. In order to solve the key problems in blood supply and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma, Branch of Clinical Transfusion Medicine of Chinese Medical Association, Group for Trauma Emergency Care and Multiple Injuries of Trauma Branch of Chinese Medical Association, Young Scholar Group of Disaster Medicine Branch of Chinese Medical Association organized domestic experts of blood transfusion medicine and trauma treatment to jointly formulate Chinese expert consensus on blood support mode and blood transfusion strategies for emergency treatment of severe trauma patients ( version 2024). Based on the evidence-based medical evidence and Delphi method of expert consultation and voting, 10 recommendations were put forward from two aspects of blood support mode and transfusion strategies, aiming to provide a reference for transfusion resuscitation in the emergency treatment of severe trauma and further improve the success rate of treatment of patients with severe trauma.

Objective To improve clinicians'understanding on Prevotella bloodstream infection(BSI),reduce the rate of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis,and broaden the ideas of diagnosis and treatment.Methods Clinical data of patients with Prevotella BSI at a hospital affiliated to a medical school of Nanjing University from May 2013 to May 2023 were collected.Risk factors,sources of infection,strains of infection,clinical manifestations,laboratory test results,treatment,and outcomes of patients with Prevotella BSI were retrospectively analyzed.Results A to-tal of 23 patients diagnosed with Prevotella BSI were included in analysis,15(65.2％)were males and 8(34.8％)were females.Most patients had related predisposing factors before BSI,such as surgical procedures(n=11,47.8％),malignant tumors(n=10,43.5％),diabetes(n=9,39.1％),and indwelling urinary catheter(n=10,43.5％),etc.There were 9 types of infected bacteria,mainly Prevotella buccalis(n=6,26.1％),Prevotella bivia(n=5,21.7％)and Prevotella intermedia(n=4,17.4％).The main sources of infection were hepatobiliary system(n=6,26.1％),abdominal and thoracic cavities(n=4,17.4％),as well as urogenital tract(n=4,17.4％).All pa-tients showed symptoms of chills and fever,with significantly elevated blood inflammation indicators.Four cases(17.4％)developed septic shock,and 18 cases(78.3％)had a good prognosis after appropriate anti-infection treat-ment.Conclusion When atypical BSI caused by Prevotella is suspected,predisposing factors should be removed as soon as possible,blood should be actively collected and performed culture,rational use of antimicrobial agents based on antimicrobial susceptibility testing is beneficial for rapid control of infection and improvement of prognosis.

Objective:To report the results of national surveillance on the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical Gram-negative bacteria isolates from bloodstream infections in China in 2022.Methods:The clinical isolates of Gram-negative bacteria from blood cultures in member hospitals of national bloodstream infection Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System（BRICS）were collected during January 2022 to December 2022. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute（CLSI）. WHONET 5.6 and SPSS 25.0 software were used to analyze the data.Results:During the study period，9 035 strains of Gram-negative bacteria were collected from 51 hospitals，of which 7 895（87.4%）were Enterobacteriaceae and 1 140（12.6%）were non-fermenting bacteria. The top 5 bacterial species were Escherichia coli（ n=4 510，49.9%）， Klebsiella pneumoniae（ n=2 340，25.9%）， Pseudomonas aeruginosa（ n=534，5.9%）， Acinetobacter baumannii complex（ n=405，4.5%）and Enterobacter cloacae（ n=327，3.6%）. The ESBLs-producing rates in Escherichia coli， Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus spp. were 47.1%（2 095/4 452），21.0%（427/2 033）and 41.1%（58/141），respectively. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli（CREC）and carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae（CRKP）were 1.3%（58/4 510）and 13.1%（307/2 340）；62.1%（36/58）and 9.8%（30/307）of CREC and CRKP were resistant to ceftazidime/avibactam combination，respectively. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii（CRAB）complex was 59.5%（241/405），while less than 5% of Acinetobacter baumannii complex was resistant to tigecycline and polymyxin B. The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa（CRPA）was 18.4%（98/534）. There were differences in the composition ratio of Gram-negative bacteria in bloodstream infections and the prevalence of main Gram-negative bacteria resistance among different regions，with statistically significant differences in the prevalence of CRKP and CRPA（ χ2=20.489 and 20.252， P<0.001）. The prevalence of CREC，CRKP，CRPA，CRAB，ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were higher in provinicial hospitals than those in municipal hospitals（ χ2=11.953，81.183，10.404，5.915，12.415 and 6.459， P<0.01 or <0.05），while the prevalence of CRPA was higher in economically developed regions（per capita GDP ≥ 92 059 Yuan）than that in economically less-developed regions（per capita GDP <92 059 Yuan）（ χ2=6.240， P=0.012）. Conclusions:The proportion of Gram-negative bacteria in bloodstream infections shows an increasing trend，and Escherichia coli is ranked in the top，while the trend of CRKP decreases continuously with time. Decreasing trends are noted in ESBLs-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Low prevalence of carbapenem resistance in Escherichia coli and high prevalence in CRAB complex have been observed. The composition ratio and antibacterial spectrum of bloodstream infections in different regions of China are slightly different，and the proportion of main drug resistant bacteria in provincial hospitals is higher than those in municipal hospitals.

Objective:To analyze the etiological features and clinical characteristics of herpes zoster cases under 20 years old in Beijing City from 2017 to 2021.Methods:Herpes zoster cases were collected from a surveillance system in Beijing City from December 2017 to April 2021. The cases included individuals under 20 years old from seven sentinel hospitals located in two districts (Miyun District and Changping District). The basic information, the rash date of rash onset and the location and number of lesions were investigated at the first visit to the hospital, and the lesion swab samples were collected for laboratory testing. A telephone follow-up was conducted 21 days after the onset of the rash to investigate the degree of pain, duration of the rash and duration of pain. The individuals who still experienced neuralgia were further investigated for their pain condition at 90 days after the onset of the rash, to discover cases with postherpetic neuralgia. DNA was extracted from the rash fluid, and the ORF62 gene region was amplified and sequenced to obtain the viral sequence. The wild-type strain or chickenpox vaccine strain was identified by using sequence alignment, and the clinical characteristics of cases with different varicella vaccinations were compared.Results:A total of 78 herpes zoster cases under 20 years old were investigated during 2017-2021 in Beijing City, and 61 cases completed the follow-up survey. The age range of 61 cases was 1.83 to 20.54 years with a median age of 17.50 years. There were 36 males (59.02%) and 25 females (40.98%). Among them, there were 29 cases with the chickenpox vaccine immunization history (18 cases with one dose, 5 cases with two doses and 6 cases with unknown doses), 13 cases with no vaccination history and 19 cases with unknown vaccination history. Among the 78 cases, the herpetic fluid samples of 64 cases were positive for VZV, including 62 cases identified as wild-type strains and two cases as vaccine strains. The two vaccine strain cases were both 2-year-old girls who had received one dose of varicella vaccine and developed herpes zoster 3 months and 13 months after vaccination. Among the 29 cases with chickenpox vaccine immunization history, the majority had 10 to 49 lesions, accounting for 58.62% (17 cases). The trunk was the most common site of lesions, accounting for 44.83% (13 cases). About 51.72% (15 cases) reported "no or mild" pain intensity. The median ( Q1, Q3) scores for the worst pain, duration of pain and the time to crusting of lesions in the herpes zoster cases were 3 (1.5, 5) points, 10 (1.5, 12.5) days and 10 (6.5, 13) days, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the constituent ratio of the location of lesions, number of lesions and pain degree among the cases with vaccination history, without vaccination history and with unknown vaccination history ( P>0.05). There was also no statistically significant difference in the distribution of pain score, duration of lesions and duration of pain across the three groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Wild strains are the predominant pathogens in herpes zoster cases under 20 years old in Beijing City during 2017-2021. The varicella vaccination has no significant impact on the clinical manifestations of herpes zoster cases.

Objective:To analyze the etiological features and clinical characteristics of herpes zoster cases under 20 years old in Beijing City from 2017 to 2021.Methods:Herpes zoster cases were collected from a surveillance system in Beijing City from December 2017 to April 2021. The cases included individuals under 20 years old from seven sentinel hospitals located in two districts (Miyun District and Changping District). The basic information, the rash date of rash onset and the location and number of lesions were investigated at the first visit to the hospital, and the lesion swab samples were collected for laboratory testing. A telephone follow-up was conducted 21 days after the onset of the rash to investigate the degree of pain, duration of the rash and duration of pain. The individuals who still experienced neuralgia were further investigated for their pain condition at 90 days after the onset of the rash, to discover cases with postherpetic neuralgia. DNA was extracted from the rash fluid, and the ORF62 gene region was amplified and sequenced to obtain the viral sequence. The wild-type strain or chickenpox vaccine strain was identified by using sequence alignment, and the clinical characteristics of cases with different varicella vaccinations were compared.Results:A total of 78 herpes zoster cases under 20 years old were investigated during 2017-2021 in Beijing City, and 61 cases completed the follow-up survey. The age range of 61 cases was 1.83 to 20.54 years with a median age of 17.50 years. There were 36 males (59.02%) and 25 females (40.98%). Among them, there were 29 cases with the chickenpox vaccine immunization history (18 cases with one dose, 5 cases with two doses and 6 cases with unknown doses), 13 cases with no vaccination history and 19 cases with unknown vaccination history. Among the 78 cases, the herpetic fluid samples of 64 cases were positive for VZV, including 62 cases identified as wild-type strains and two cases as vaccine strains. The two vaccine strain cases were both 2-year-old girls who had received one dose of varicella vaccine and developed herpes zoster 3 months and 13 months after vaccination. Among the 29 cases with chickenpox vaccine immunization history, the majority had 10 to 49 lesions, accounting for 58.62% (17 cases). The trunk was the most common site of lesions, accounting for 44.83% (13 cases). About 51.72% (15 cases) reported "no or mild" pain intensity. The median ( Q1, Q3) scores for the worst pain, duration of pain and the time to crusting of lesions in the herpes zoster cases were 3 (1.5, 5) points, 10 (1.5, 12.5) days and 10 (6.5, 13) days, respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in the constituent ratio of the location of lesions, number of lesions and pain degree among the cases with vaccination history, without vaccination history and with unknown vaccination history ( P>0.05). There was also no statistically significant difference in the distribution of pain score, duration of lesions and duration of pain across the three groups ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Wild strains are the predominant pathogens in herpes zoster cases under 20 years old in Beijing City during 2017-2021. The varicella vaccination has no significant impact on the clinical manifestations of herpes zoster cases.

Objective:To report the results of national surveillance on the distribution and antimicrobial resistance profile of clinical bacterial isolates from bloodstream infections in China in 2021.Methods:The clinical bacterial strains isolated from blood culture from member hospitals of Blood Bacterial Resistant Investigation Collaborative System (BRICS) were collected during January 2021 to December 2021. Antibiotic susceptibility tests were conducted by agar dilution or broth dilution methods recommended by Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI). WHONET 5.6 was used to analyze data.Results:During the study period, 11 013 bacterial strains were collected from 51 hospitals, of which 2 782 (25.3%) were Gram-positive bacteria and 8 231 (74.7%) were Gram-negative bacteria. The top 10 bacterial species were Escherichia coli (37.6%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (18.9%), Staphylococcus aureus (9.8%), coagulase-negative Staphylococci (6.3%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (3.6%), Enterococcus faecium (3.6%), Acinetobacter baumannii (2.8%), Enterococcus faecalis (2.7%), Enterobacter cloacae (2.5%) and Klebsiella spp (2.1%). The prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative Staphylococcus aureus were 25.3% and 76.8%, respectively. No glycopeptide- and daptomycin-resistant Staphylococci was detected; more than 95.0% of Staphylococcus aureus were sensitive to ceftobiprole. No vancomycin-resistant Enterococci strains were detected. The rates of extended spectrum B-lactamase (ESBL)-producing isolated in Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis were 49.6%, 25.5% and 39.0%, respectively. The prevalence rates of carbapenem-resistance in Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae were 2.2% and 15.8%, respectively; 7.9% of carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae was resistant to ceftazidime/avibactam combination. Ceftobiprole demonstrated excellent activity against non-ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Aztreonam/avibactam was highly active against carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The prevalence rate of carbapenem-resistance in Acinetobacter baumannii was 60.0%, while polymyxin and tigecycline showed good activity against Acinetobacter baumannii (5.5% and 4.5%). The prevalence of carbapenem-resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa was 18.9%. Conclusions:The BRICS surveillance results in 2021 shows that the main pathogens of blood stream infection in China are gram-negative bacteria, in which Escherichia coli is the most common. The MRSA incidence shows a further decreasing trend in China and the overall prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococci is low. The prevalence of Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae is still on a high level, but the trend is downwards.

Objective: We analyze the characteristics of Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) infection among diarrhea patients in Kunming from 2018 to 2020 and provide evidence for follow-up surveillance and prevention. Methods: A total of 388 fecal samples of diarrhea patients from four sentinel hospitals in Yunnan Province from 2018 to 2020 were collected. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect the fecal toxin genes of C. difficile. The positive fecal samples isolated the bacteria, and isolates were identified by mass spectrometry. The genomic DNA of the strains was extracted for multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). The fecal toxin, strain isolation, and clinical patient characteristics, including co-infection with other pathogens, were analyzed. Results: Among the 388 fecal samples, 47 samples with positive reference genes of C. difficile were positive, with a total positive rate of 12.11%. There were 4 (8.51%) non-toxigenic and 43 (91.49%) toxigenic ones. A total of 18 strains C. difficile were isolated from 47 positive specimens, and the isolation rate of positive specimens was 38.30%. Among them, 14 strains were positive for tcdA, tcdB, tcdC, tcdR, and tcdE. All 18 strains of C. difficile were negative for binary toxins. The MLST results showed 10 sequence types (ST), including 5 strains of ST37, accounting for 27.78%; 2 strains of ST129, ST3, ST54, and ST2, respectively; and 1 strain of ST35, ST532, ST48, ST27, and ST39, respectively. Fecal toxin gene positive (tcdB+) results were statistically associated with the patient's age group and with or without fever before the visit; positive isolates were only statistically associated with the patient's age group. In addition, some C. difficile patients have co-infection with other diarrhea-related viruses. Conclusions: The infection of C. difficile in diarrhea patients in Kunming is mostly toxigenic strains, and the high diversity of strains was identified using the MLST method. Therefore, the surveillance and prevention of C. difficile should be strengthened.
Humans ; Bacterial Toxins/genetics* ; Enterotoxins/genetics* ; Clostridioides difficile/genetics* ; Multilocus Sequence Typing ; Coinfection ; Bacterial Proteins/genetics* ; China/epidemiology* ; Clostridium Infections/epidemiology* ; Diarrhea/microbiology*