Background/Aims: Despite the high efficacy of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), approximately 1–3% of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients fail to achieve a sustained virological response. We conducted a nationwide study to investigate risk factors associated with DAA treatment failure. Machine-learning algorithms have been applied to discriminate subjects who may fail to respond to DAA therapy. Methods: We analyzed the Taiwan HCV Registry Program database to explore predictors of DAA failure in HCV patients. Fifty-five host and virological features were assessed using multivariate logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and artificial neural network. The primary outcome was undetectable HCV RNA at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Results: The training (n=23,955) and validation (n=10,346) datasets had similar baseline demographics, with an overall DAA failure rate of 1.6% (n=538). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, poor DAA adherence, and higher hemoglobin A1c were significantly associated with virological failure. XGBoost outperformed the other algorithms and logistic regression models, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 1.000 in the training dataset and 0.803 in the validation dataset. The top five predictors of treatment failure were HCV RNA, body mass index, α-fetoprotein, platelets, and FIB-4 index. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the XGBoost model (cutoff value=0.5) were 99.5%, 69.7%, 99.9%, 97.4%, and 99.5%, respectively, for the entire dataset. Conclusions Machine learning algorithms effectively provide risk stratification for DAA failure and additional information on the factors associated with DAA failure.

Objective:To summarize the effect of one and a half ventricle repair in the treatment of Ebstein’s Anomaly.Methods:The data of 149 patients diagnosed with Ebstein’s Anomaly and received with surgical treatment in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Department of Beijing Anzhen Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University from January 2010 to December 2018 were continuously collected, and the survival rate, reoperation rate and tricuspid regurgitation were followed up in the medium-long term.Results:There were 68 males and 81 females, with a median age of 5.58 years. Patients were divided into Biventricular repair group and one and a half ventricle repair group. The operative age was significantly younger in the one and a half ventricle repair group (4.15 years vs. 6.71 years, P=0.019). There were also significant differences in patiens’ body length[(107.70±31.28)cm vs. (123.20±35.22)cm, P=0.014]and body weight[(19.69±12.22)kg vs. (29.65±20.41)kg, P=0.001], between the two groups, which may be related to the severity of the disease and the need for early surgical intervention. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in preoperative cyanosis, hemoglobin level, cardiac function, arrhythmia, and common cardiac malformations such as atrial septal defect. Notably, the proportion of preoperatively complicated pulmonary stenosis (10.81% vs. 1.79%, P=0.016) and right ventricular dysplasia (16.22% vs. 3.57%, P=0.008) was significantly higher in the one and a half ventricle repair group. In intraoperative and postoperative indicators, as one and a half ventricle repair under the collateral circulation, extracorporeal circulation time was slightly longer [(125.51±37.35)min vs. (100.44±25.24)min, P<0.001], and other indicators such as aortic cross-clamp time, endotracheal intubation time, length of hospital stay, and mid-term follow-up results, including mid-term mortality, reoperation rate, cardiac function and valvular regurgitation, there was no significant difference between the two groups. However, the proportion of hospital mortality in half ventricular therapy group was slightly higher, which may be related to the poor right heart function and postoperative recovery difficulties. Conclusion:Good follow-up results have been achieved in the treatment of two surgical therapy. Patients with right ventricular dysplasia and pulmonary artery stenosis should be paid more attention to. Pulmonary artery pressure and pulmonary vascular development should be evaluated before surgery to make preparations for one and a half ventricle repair.

Ginkgo biloba Extract( GBE50) Dispersible Tablets is a new standardized prescription,which is widely used in the treatment of ischemic cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However,there are still many problems in its clinical application.Rational and safe use of GBE50 Dispersible Tablets is pivotal to the medication safety and clinical prognosis of patients. This consensus has been jointly formulated by clinical experts of traditional Chinese medicine and western medicine in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and followed the Manual for the Clinical Experts Consensus of Chinese Patent Medicine published by the China Association of Chinese Medicine. The present study identified clinical problems based on clinical investigation,searched the research papers according to PICO clinical problems,carried out evidence evaluation,classification,and recommendation by GRADE system,and reached the expert consensus with nominal group technique. The consensus combines evidence with expert experience. Sufficient evidence of clinical problems corresponds to " recommendations",while insufficient evidence to " suggestions". Safety issues of GBE50 Dispersible Tablets,such as indications,usage and dosage,and medication for special populations,are defined to improve clinical efficacy,promote rational medication,and reduce drug risks. This consensus needs to be revised based on emerging clinical issues and evidencebased updates in practical applications in the future.
Cerebrovascular Disorders/drug therapy* ; Consensus ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Tablets

BACKGROUND: Albuvirtide is a once-weekly injectable human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 fusion inhibitor. We present interim data for a phase 3 trial assessing the safety and efficacy of albuvirtide plus lopinavir-ritonavir in HIV-1-infected adults already treated with antiretroviral drugs. METHODS: We carried out a 48-week, randomized, controlled, open-label non-inferiority trial at 12 sites in China. Adults on the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended first-line treatment for >6 months with a plasma viral load >1000 copies/mL were enrolled and randomly assigned (1:1) to receive albuvirtide (once weekly) plus ritonavir-boosted lopinavir (ABT group) or the WHO-recommended second-line treatment (NRTI group). The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients with a plasma viral load below 50 copies/mL at 48 weeks. Non-inferiority was prespecified with a margin of 12%. RESULTS: At the time of analysis, week 24 data were available for 83 and 92 patients, and week 48 data were available for 46 and 50 patients in the albuvirtide and NRTI groups, respectively. At 48 weeks, 80.4% of patients in the ABT group and 66.0% of those in the NRTI group had HIV-1 RNA levels below 50 copies/mL, meeting the criteria for non-inferiority. For the per-protocol population, the superiority of albuvirtide over NRTI was demonstrated. The frequency of grade 3 to 4 adverse events was similar in the two groups; the most common adverse events were diarrhea, upper respiratory tract infections, and grade 3 to 4 increases in triglyceride concentration. Renal function was significantly more impaired at 12 weeks in the patients of the NRTI group who received tenofovir disoproxil fumarate than in those of the ABT group. CONCLUSIONS: The TALENT study is the first phase 3 trial of an injectable long-acting HIV drug. This interim analysis indicates that once-weekly albuvirtide in combination with ritonavir-boosted lopinavir is well tolerated and non-inferior to the WHO-recommended second-line regimen in patients with first-line treatment failure. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02369965; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov.Chinese Clinical Trial Registry No. ChiCTR-TRC-14004276; http://www.chictr.org.cn/enindex.aspx.
Adult ; Anti-HIV Agents/adverse effects* ; Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active ; China ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; HIV Infections/drug therapy* ; HIV-1 ; Humans ; Maleimides ; Peptides ; Ritonavir/therapeutic use* ; Treatment Outcome ; Viral Load

Diemailing~® Kudiezi Injection( DKI) is widely used in the treatment of cerebral infarction,coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. Long-term clinical application and related research evidence showed that DKI has a good effect in improving the clinical symptoms of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. However,this injection has not been included in any clinical practice guideline. It has been found that the use of DKI is in wrong way in clinical practice in recent years. Therefore,clinical experts from the field of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases nationwide are invited to compile this expert consensus in order to guide clinicians.GRADE system is used to grade the quality of evidence according to different outcomes according to degrading factors. Then it forms the recommendation or consensus suggestion through the nominal group method. The formation of expert consensus mainly considers six factors: quality of evidence,economy,efficacy,adverse reactions,patient acceptability and others. Based on these six aspects,if the evidence is sufficient,a " recommendation" supported by evidence is formed,and GRADE grid voting rule is adopted. If the evidence is insufficient,a " consensus suggestions" will be formed,using the majority voting rule. In this consensus,the clinical indications,efficacy,safety evidences and related preliminary data of DKI were systematically and comprehensively summarized in a concise and clear format,which could provide valuable reference for the clinical use of DKI. This consensus has been approved by China association of Chinese medicine which is numbered GS/CACM 202-2019.
Angina Pectoris ; drug therapy ; Cerebral Infarction ; drug therapy ; China ; Consensus ; Coronary Disease ; drug therapy ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Humans ; Injections ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Kangfu Xiaoyan Suppository is widely used in the treatment of gynecological inflammatory diseases. Long-term clinical application and a certain amount of research evidences show that Kangfu Xiaoyan Suppository can alleviate the clinical symptoms of pelvic inflammatory diseases,reduce the recurrence rate,and relieve sequelae,with a better safety and economic characteristics. As a type of nationally protected traditional Chinese medicine and type B medicine included in medical insurance,it has been selected as a Chinese patent medicine for rectal administration. It was included in the Guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of common gynecological diseases of traditional Chinese medicine published by the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2012,the Pelvic inflammatory diseases diagnosis and treatment guidelines issued by the Infectious Diseases Collaborative Group of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association in 2014,and the group standard of Single use of traditional Chinese medicine/combined antibiot guidelines for clinical practice-pelvic inflammatory diseases of the Chinese Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 2017. To further enhance clinicians' understanding of the drug and better guide its rational clinical use,experts from the field of gynecology of traditional Chinese and Western medicine were invited to develop and compile this expert consensus. This consensus takes full account of clinical evidences and expert clinical experience,and form recommendations for clinical problems based on evidences and consensus recommendations for clinical problems without evidence by nominal grouping method. The expert consensus is mainly formed in the consideration of six factors: quality of evidence,economy,efficacy,adverse reactions,patient acceptability and others. Based on clinical research evidences and expert experience,this consensus provides a preliminary reference for the clinical use of the drug in a concise and clear format. However,evidence-based support is still required in a large number of high-quality studies,and this consensus will be revised in the future according to new clinical problems and the update of evidence-based evidence in practical application.
Consensus ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Female ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Nonprescription Drugs ; Pelvic Inflammatory Disease/drug therapy* ; Suppositories

Pudilan Xiaoyan Oral Liquid has effects in clearing away heat and detoxifying,and is used to treat pharynx and throat swelling caused by the syndrome of excessive heat and toxin accumulation. Its efficacy is to relieve swelling and pain( redness,swelling and hot pain). It is included in the Chinese Pharmacopoeia of 2015 Edition,and has been listed in provincial health insurance directories of Shaanxi,Jiangsu,Liaoning,Hunan,Tianjin,Xinjiang and Hebei. It has been recommended by health departments of Beijing,Chongqing and other provinces as a preferred drug for the prevention and treatment of H1 N1 and HFMD,and listed in the diagnosis and Treatment Guide of HFMD by the Ministry of Health,the Clinical Application Guide of Chinese Patent Medicine edited by the Lung Department Disease Branch of China Association of Chinese Medicine,and the Clinical Practice Guide of Single Administration/Combined Administration of Antibiotics in Treatment of Common Infectious Diseases by China Association of Chinese Medicine. To further improve the clinician's understanding of drugs and better guide the rational clinical application,we invited front-line clinical experts from respiratory department,infectious department and dermatology of traditional Chinese and Western medicine to develop and compile the expert consensus. The consensus fully considered the clinical evidence and the expert clinical experience to give recommendations for clinical problems with evidence support and consensus suggestions for clinical problems without evidence support by the nominal group method.This consensus is based on clinical research evidence and expert experience in a simple and clear format,which provides a preliminary reference for the clinical use of the drug.
China ; Consensus ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Nonprescription Drugs

The promulgation of standardized documents on traditional Chinese medicine has promoted the formulation of industrial standards of traditional Chinese medicine, including clinical practice guidelines and clinical expert consensus. In order to adapt to the current research situation of "insufficient evidence" or "very low quality" when developing clinical practice guideline in the field of traditional Chinese medicine, the author has made a retrospective study on the development of guidelines and consensus, and found that the consensus is more suitable for the current research status of Chinese patent medicine, as the stage of lack of high-quality clinical evidence will remain for a long time. However, unlike clinical practice guidelines, domestic scholars and consensus makers have insufficient understanding of the clinical experts consensus. This article will introduce the origin and status of the clinical experts consensus, the differences between clinical experts consensus and the clinical practice guidelines, and the basic principles that should be followed in the formulation of the clinical experts consensus of Chinese patent medicine, expecting to provide theory basis and reference for the normative formulation of clinical experts consensus.
Consensus ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Nonprescription Drugs ; Retrospective Studies

Background: The impact of fasting plasma glucose (FPG) on survival outcomes in patients with acute heart failure (HF) is unclear, and the relationship between intensity of glycemic control of FPG in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients and HF prognosis remains uncertain. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of FPG in patients with acute HF. Methods: A total of 624 patients hospitalized with acute HF from October 2000 to April 2014 were enrolled in this study. All patients were stratified by three groups according to their admission FPG levels (i.e., DM, impaired fasting glucose [IFG], and non-DM). All-cause and cardiovascular mortality was the primary end point, and HF re-hospitalization was the secondary end point during follow-up period. Results: A total of 587 patients were included in final analysis. The all-cause mortality rates of patients with DM, IFG, and non-DM were 55.5%, 40.3%, and 39.2%, with significant difference (P = 0.001). Moreover, compared with those with IFG (34.3%) and non-DM (32.6%), patients with DM had significantly higher rate of cardiovascular mortality (45.1%). Multiple Cox regression analysis showed that DM as well as IFG was related to all-cause mortality (DM: hazard ratio [HR] = 1.936, P < 0.001; IFG: HR = 1.672, P = 0.019) and cardiovascular mortality (DM: HR = 1.739, P < 0.001; IFG: HR = 1.817, P = 0.013). However, they were both unrelated to HF re-hospitalization. DM patients with strictly controlled blood glucose (FPG <3.9 mmol/L) had higher all-cause mortality than patients with non-DM, IFG, and DM patients with moderately controlled glucose (3.9 mmol/L≤ FPG <7.0 mmol/L). Likewise, both the primary end point and secondary end point were found to be worse in DM patients with poorly controlled blood glucose (FPG ≥7.0 mmol/L). Conclusions IFG and DM were associated with higher all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality in patients with acute HF. The association between mortality and admission FPG in DM patients with acute HF appeared U-shaped.
Aged ; Blood Glucose ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Fasting ; Female ; Heart Failure ; blood ; mortality ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies