BACKGROUND: A prognostic nutritional index (PNI) developed by nutritional status and inflammation are closely associated with poor prognosis in malignant tumors. However, the predictive impact of PNI in patients with malignant pleural effusion (MPE) remains inconclusive. The study aimed to determine the predictive value of PNI in prognosis and spontaneous pleurodesis among patients with MPE. METHODS: The patients diagnosed with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with MPE in West China Hospital between January 2015 and December 2022 were reviewed and allocated randomly to development set(60%) and validation set(40%). After collecting clinical data, peripheral blood inflammation indices and calculating systemic inflammation indices, the effects of PNI on prognosis and spontaneous pleurodesis have been evaluated by Cox proportional hazards models, Kaplan-Meier method and Nelson-Aalen cumulative risk curve. RESULTS: In total, 261 patients diagnosed NSCLC with MPE were selected (development set: n=157; validation set: n=104), of whom 58.2% were aged <65 years, 53.6% were male and 95.8% were diagnosed with adenocarcinoma. The dichotomous cut-off value for PNI was 44.1, respectively. Compared with lower PNI (PNI<44.1) cases, patients with higher PNI (PNI≥44.1) showed significantly longer overall survival (36.5 vs 24.3 mon, P=0.02) and higher incidence of spontaneous pleurodesis (P=0.009). According to the multivariate Cox analysis, higher PNI was associated with good prognosis and successful spontaneous pleurodesis (P<0.05). According to the results of Cox regression analysis, the PNI-prognosis and PNI-spontaneous pleurodesis models are determined, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves are drawn, and the area under the curves (AUC) value of development set are 0.694 (95%CI: 0.620-0.776) and 0.673 (95%CI: 0.590-0.737). CONCLUSIONS PNI is a reliable biomarker of prognosis and spontaneous pleurodesis in patients with MPE. Attention to the patient's nutritional status and inflammation may improve the prognosis and efficacy of pleural effusion.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/mortality* ; Lung Neoplasms/mortality* ; Aged ; Prognosis ; Pleurodesis ; Pleural Effusion, Malignant/mortality* ; Nutrition Assessment ; Adult ; Nutritional Status

Objective::To use fetal heart quantification ( fetal HQ) technology to compare the coarctation of the aorta (CoA) and normal fetal heart structure and systolic function and to assess whether there are abnormalities in the fetal heart structure and systolic function associated with CoA. Methods::This prospective cohort study was conducted from May 2020 to December 2022 and involved 18-40-week-old singleton pregnancies and 30 fetuses diagnosed with CoA using fetal echocardiography at the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University and Peking University First Hospital Ningxia Women’s and Children’s Hospital, China. The control group contained 60 normal fetuses. The following parameters were recorded and analyzed statistically: four-chamber view (4CV) end-diastolic long diameter, 4CV epicardial-contralateral epicardial transverse maximum diameter, 4CV global sphericity index (GSI), left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) 24-segment end-diastolic diameter (EDD), 24-segment sphericity index (SI), LV-fractional area change (LV-FAC), LV-longitudinal strain (LV-LS), RV-fractional area change (RV-FAC), RV-longitudinal strain (RV-LS), and LV and RV 24-segment transverse fractional shortening (FS). Measurement data were compared between the two groups using an independent sample t test, with P < 0.05 indicating statistically significant differences. Moreover, the correlation between gestational age and GSI, LV-FAC, LV-LS, RV-FAC, and RV-LS was assessed. Results::Within and between observer comparisons of the parameters associated with major cardiac function revealed an intragroup correlation coefficient of >0.9, indicating high consistency, and a coefficient of variable of <1 %, indicating low variability. Correlation analysis revealed no obvious correlation between gestational age and GSI, LV-FAC, LV-LS, RV-FAC, and RV-LS. A comparison of the four-chamber morphological structural parameters of the hearts in the two groups revealed that when compared with the control group, the 4CV end-diastolic long diameter was shortened in fetuses in the CoA group and the epicardial-contralateral epicardial transverse maximum diameter was wider, while the GSI was lower ( P < 0.05). A comparison of the LV and RV morphological structure parameters between the two groups revealed that when compared with the control group, the LV’s 24-segment EDD was smaller in the CoA group, the RV’s 24-segment EDD was greater in the control group, the SI of the LV’s segments 16-24 was greater than in the control group, and the SI of the RV’s segments 7-24 was less than in the control group (all P < 0.05). When compared with fetuses in the control group, the LV’s segments 16-24 were greater in the CoA group, whereas the RV’s segment 6-24 was smaller ( P < 0.05). When compared with the control group, LV-FAC, RV-FAC, and LS were lower in the CoA group ( P < 0.05). The FS of the LV segments 1-24 and the FS of the RV segments 1-16 were smaller in the CoA group than in the normal group ( P < 0.05). Conclusion::Fetal HQ, a new simple technique that offers rapid analysis and high repeatability, can quantitatively evaluate structural and systolic function changes in fetuses with CoA.

Objective::To use fetal heart quantification ( fetal HQ) technology to compare the coarctation of the aorta (CoA) and normal fetal heart structure and systolic function and to assess whether there are abnormalities in the fetal heart structure and systolic function associated with CoA. Methods::This prospective cohort study was conducted from May 2020 to December 2022 and involved 18-40-week-old singleton pregnancies and 30 fetuses diagnosed with CoA using fetal echocardiography at the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University and Peking University First Hospital Ningxia Women’s and Children’s Hospital, China. The control group contained 60 normal fetuses. The following parameters were recorded and analyzed statistically: four-chamber view (4CV) end-diastolic long diameter, 4CV epicardial-contralateral epicardial transverse maximum diameter, 4CV global sphericity index (GSI), left ventricular (LV) and right ventricular (RV) 24-segment end-diastolic diameter (EDD), 24-segment sphericity index (SI), LV-fractional area change (LV-FAC), LV-longitudinal strain (LV-LS), RV-fractional area change (RV-FAC), RV-longitudinal strain (RV-LS), and LV and RV 24-segment transverse fractional shortening (FS). Measurement data were compared between the two groups using an independent sample t test, with P < 0.05 indicating statistically significant differences. Moreover, the correlation between gestational age and GSI, LV-FAC, LV-LS, RV-FAC, and RV-LS was assessed. Results::Within and between observer comparisons of the parameters associated with major cardiac function revealed an intragroup correlation coefficient of >0.9, indicating high consistency, and a coefficient of variable of <1 %, indicating low variability. Correlation analysis revealed no obvious correlation between gestational age and GSI, LV-FAC, LV-LS, RV-FAC, and RV-LS. A comparison of the four-chamber morphological structural parameters of the hearts in the two groups revealed that when compared with the control group, the 4CV end-diastolic long diameter was shortened in fetuses in the CoA group and the epicardial-contralateral epicardial transverse maximum diameter was wider, while the GSI was lower ( P < 0.05). A comparison of the LV and RV morphological structure parameters between the two groups revealed that when compared with the control group, the LV’s 24-segment EDD was smaller in the CoA group, the RV’s 24-segment EDD was greater in the control group, the SI of the LV’s segments 16-24 was greater than in the control group, and the SI of the RV’s segments 7-24 was less than in the control group (all P < 0.05). When compared with fetuses in the control group, the LV’s segments 16-24 were greater in the CoA group, whereas the RV’s segment 6-24 was smaller ( P < 0.05). When compared with the control group, LV-FAC, RV-FAC, and LS were lower in the CoA group ( P < 0.05). The FS of the LV segments 1-24 and the FS of the RV segments 1-16 were smaller in the CoA group than in the normal group ( P < 0.05). Conclusion::Fetal HQ, a new simple technique that offers rapid analysis and high repeatability, can quantitatively evaluate structural and systolic function changes in fetuses with CoA.