Objective To investigate the therapeutic effect of gabapentin combined with hemoperfusion on skin pruritus in the patients on maintenance hemodialysis(MHD).Methods A total of 72 patients with MHD complicating moderate to severe skin itching treated in Lianyungang Municipal Oriental Hospital from January 2023 to March 2024 were selected as the study subjects and divided into the observation group and control group by the random number table method,36 cases in each group.On the basis of symptomatic treat-ment,the control group was given hemodialysis 3 times a week and hemoperfusion twice a month;on the basis of the control group,the observation group orally took 1 gabapentin capsule every night,and the patients in the two groups continued to be treated for 12 weeks.The visual analogue scale(VAS)score,Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index(PSQI)score,molecular toxin level and calcium and phosphorus metabolism were evaluated be-fore treatment,in 4,12 weeks after treatment respectively,and the occurrence of adverse reactions during treatment in the two groups was observed.Results After 4 weeks and 12 weeks of treatment,the VAS and PSQI scores of the observation group were decreased compared with those before treatment,moreover the scores of the observation group were lower than those of the control group in the same period,and the differ-ences were statistically significant(P<0.05);the VAS and PSQI scores after 4 weeks of treatment in the control group were decreased compared with those before treatment,but the difference was not statistically significant(P>0.05);and the VAS and PSQI scores after 12 weeks of treatment in the control group were decreased compared with before treatment,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).After 4 weeks of treatment,the levels of Scr,BUN and β2-MG in the two groups were decreased compared with those before treatment,but the differences were not statistically significant(P>0.05);after 12 weeks of treatment,the levels of Scr,BUN and β2-MG in the two groups were decreased compared with those before treatment and after 4 weeks of treatment,and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05),but there was no sta-tistically significant difference between the two groups(P>0.05).After 4 weeks of treatment,there was no statistically significant difference in the levels of blood Ca,P and iPTH between the two groups compared with before treatment(P>0.05);after 12 weeks of treatment,except for blood Ca,the levels of blood P and iPTH in the two groups were decreased compared with those before treatment and in 4 weeks of treatment(P<0.05),and the differences were statistically significant(P<0.05),but there was no statistical difference be-tween the two groups(P>0.05).There were no adverse reactions in the control group,and there were 3 cases of drowsiness,1 case of fatigue and 1 case of dizziness at the beginning of treatment in the observation group.The symptoms were mild without treatment and spontaneously relieved in about 1 week.Conclusion Gabap-entin combined with hemoperfusion could quickly and effectively alleviate the itchy symptoms of skin,improve the sleep quality,reduce the uremic toxin levels,and improve the calcium and phosphorus metabolism in MHD patients,with few adverse reactions,and the patients are easy to tolerate.

Background::Although existing mycological tests (bronchoalveolar lavage [BAL] galactomannan [GM], serum GM, serum (1,3)-β-D-glucan [BDG], and fungal culture) are widely used for diagnosing invasive pulmonary aspergillosis (IPA) in non-hematological patients with respiratory diseases, their clinical utility in this large population is actually unclear. We aimed to resolve this clinical uncertainty by evaluating the diagnostic accuracy and utility of existing tests and explore the efficacy of novel sputum-based Aspergillus assays. Methods::Existing tests were assessed in a prospective and consecutive cohort of patients with respiratory diseases in West China Hospital between 2016 and 2019 while novel sputum assays (especially sputum GM and Aspergillus-specific lateral-flow device [LFD]) in a case-controlled subcohort. IPA was defined according to the modified European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer/Mycoses Study Group criteria. Sensitivity and specificity were computed for each test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed. Results::The entire cohort included 3530 admissions (proven/probable IPA = 66, no IPA = 3464) and the subcohort included 127 admissions (proven/probable IPA = 38, no IPA = 89). Sensitivity of BAL GM (≥1.0 optical density index [ODI]: 86% [24/28]) was substantially higher than that of serum GM (≥0.5 ODI: 38% [39/102]) ( χ2 = 19.83, P < 0.001), serum BDG (≥70 pg/mL: 33% [31/95]) ( χ2 = 24.65, P < 0.001), and fungal culture (33% [84/253]) ( χ2 = 29.38, P < 0.001). Specificity varied between BAL GM (≥1.0 ODI: 94% [377/402]), serum GM (≥0.5 ODI: 95% [2130/2248]), BDG (89% [1878/2106]), and culture (98% [4936/5055]). Sputum GM (≥2.0 ODI) had similar sensitivity (84% [32/38]) (Fisher’s exact P = 1.000) to and slightly lower specificity (87% [77/89]) ( χ2 = 5.52, P = 0.019) than BAL GM (≥1.0 ODI). Area under the ROC curve values were comparable between sputum GM (0.883 [0.812-0.953]) and BAL GM (0.901 [0.824-0.977]) ( P = 0.734). Sputum LFD had similar specificity (91% [81/89]) ( χ2 = 0.89, P = 0.345) to and lower sensitivity (63% [24/38]) ( χ2 = 4.14, P = 0.042) than BAL GM (≥1.0 ODI), but significantly higher sensitivity than serum GM (≥0.5 ODI) ( χ2 = 6.95, P = 0.008), BDG ( χ2 = 10.43, P = 0.001), and fungal culture ( χ2 = 12.70, P < 0.001). Conclusions::Serum GM, serum BDG, and fungal culture lack sufficient sensitivity for diagnosing IPA in respiratory patients. Sputum GM and LFD assays hold promise as rapid, sensitive, and non-invasive alternatives to the BAL GM test.

Objective To evaluate the semen quality and sperm morphology in the patients with different grades of varicocele. Methods Semen from 121 patients with varicocele which were divided into three groups, gradel, grade Ⅱ and grade Ⅲ, were studied and those of 23 normal male were taken as the control. Semen analysis was performed with the methods described in the WHO manual and sperm morphology was evaluated by WHO cri-teria. Results A significant reduction of semen quality and sperm morphology and an increase of small oval head, tapering head and amorphous head sperm were found in patients with different grades of varicocele compa-ring with those of the control. There was no difference in routine analysis between different groups. A reducetion of normal morphology percentage in grade Ⅲ were found comparing with grade Ⅱ (P<0.01). An increase of a-morphous head sperm in grade Ⅲ was found comparing with that of sperm in grade Ⅱ (P <0.01). Canclusions The routine semen analysis can not distinguish seminal damage between different grades of varicocele, but the sperm morphology can reflect the sperm state. Therefore, the patients with varicocele should not only get routine semen analysis but also check the sperm morphology.