OBJECTIVE To evaluate the efficacy and safety of letermovir in preventing cytomegalovirus （CMV） infection after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation （allo-HSCT）. METHODS A retrospective cohort study was conducted， enrolling patients who underwent allo-HSCT at the Department of Hematology， Shanghai General Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine， from August 30， 2022， to February 21， 2024. Patients who initiated letermovir prophylaxis within 28 days post-transplantation were assigned to the experimental group （99 cases）， while those who did not initiate letermovir within this period were assigned to the control group （18 cases）. The incidence and clinical characteristics of CMV infection （including the number of wangranran@xinhuamed.com.cn CMV infection cases， the number of cases progressing to CMV disease， recurrent CMV disease， onset time of CMV infection， and treatment duration）， immune function recovery within 120 days post-transplantation， and the occurrence of transplantation-related complications （including CD4+ and CD8+ T-cell recovery， Epstein-Barr virus infection， acute graft-versus-host disease， human herpesvirus 6 infection， and posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders） and adverse events were recorded. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to identify factors influencing CMV infection. RESULTS A total of 117 patients were included， among whom 15 developed CMV infection， 5 progressed to CMV disease， and 2 experienced recurrent CMV disease. The CMV infection rate in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group （P＜0.001）， and the onset time of CMV infection was significantly delayed （P＝0.014）. The proportion of patients with CD4+ T-cell counts ≥200 cells/μL in the experimental group was significantly lower than that in the control group （P＝0.022）. During the follow-up period， elevated creatinine levels were observed in 1 patient， and nausea and vomiting were observed in 2 patients. Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the use of high-dose corticosteroids was a risk factor for CMV infection （HR＝6.230， 95%CI of 1.255-30.926， P＝0.025）， while initiating letermovir within 28 days post-transplantation was a protective factor （HR＝0.125， 95%CI of 0.045-0.348， P＜0.001）. CONCLUSIONS Early initiation of letermovir after allo-HSCT significantly reduces the CMV infection rate and delays the onset of infection， with favorable short-term safety.

To report 7 Chinese children with characteristic hyperpigmented macules on the forehead and temples. Among the 7 cases, there were 2 males and 5 females, with the age at onset ranging from 9 to 24 months (12.43 ± 5.32 months), and the disease duration being 1 - 4 months (2.57 ± 1.27 months). Skin examination revealed that the children presented with varying numbers of irregular brown macules and patches scattered on their foreheads and temples, without obvious desquamation. Dermoscopic examination revealed multiple yellowish-brown patches with irregular borders, and linear vessels were observable in some skin lesions. A diagnosis of acquired facial hyperpigmented macules was made in these children. The children received no treatment. After 2 years of follow-up, hyperpigmented macules completely subsided in 2 cases and regressed to varying degrees in 4 cases, while 1 case exhibited no changes in the skin lesions. Considering the literature and the cases discussed in this article, it is hypothesized that acquired facial hyperpigmented macules in young children may represent an independent condition.

Disulfidptosis is a novel pattern of cell death caused by disulfide stress and inadequate NADPH. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease （NAFLD） is a group of metabolic diseases with the main pathological feature of fatty infiltration， and it is closely associated with insulin resistance and genetic susceptibility. Currently， the latest studies have shown that disulfide stress caused by disulfidptosis can result in hepatocyte death， thereby accelerating the progression of NAFLD. This article summarizes and analyzes the latest studies on disulfidptosis in NAFLD， in order to explore the application of disulfidptosis in NAFLD and provide new ideas for the prevention and treatment of NAFLD.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a complication in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The Chinese Children's Cancer Group-ALL-2015 protocol was carried out in China, and epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and risk factors associated with VTE were analyzed. We collected data on VTE in a multi-institutional clinical study of 7640 patients with ALL diagnosed in 20 hospitals from January 2015 to December 2019. First, VTE occurred in 159 (2.08%) patients, including 90 (56.6%) during induction therapy and 108 (67.92%) in the upper extremities. T-ALL had a 1.74-fold increased risk of VTE (95% CI 1.08-2.8, P = 0.022). Septicemia, as an adverse event of ALL treatment, can significantly promote the occurrence of VTE (P < 0.001). Catheter-related thrombosis (CRT) accounted for 75.47% (n = 120); and, symptomatic VTE, 58.49% (n = 93), which was more common in patients aged 12-18 years (P = 0.023), non-CRT patients (P < 0.001), or patients with cerebral thrombosis (P < 0.001). Of the patients with VTE treated with anticoagulation therapy (n = 147), 4.08% (n = 6) had bleeding. The VTE recurrence rate was 5.03% (n = 8). Patients with VTE treated by non-ultrasound-guided venous cannulation (P = 0.02), with residual thrombus (P = 0.006), or with short anticoagulation period (P = 0.026) had high recurrence rates. Thus, preventing repeated venous puncture and appropriately prolonged anticoagulation time can reduce the risk of VTE recurrence.
Humans ; Child ; Venous Thromboembolism/etiology* ; East Asian People ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors ; Thrombosis/chemically induced* ; China/epidemiology* ; Anticoagulants/adverse effects* ; Recurrence

Objective:This paper is to propose a calibration model based on sine function which enables more choices to determine the functional relationship between the absorbance and the concentration of the tested substance.Methods:This paper uses Taylor series expansion and Levenberg-Marquardt to obtain the optimal parameters for the Sine model and then summarizes the characters of the Sine model. On the basis of these characters, this paper compares and evaluates the experimental data processed by the Sine model from four aspects: correctness, precision, linearity and correlation.Results:The generated sine function calibration model achieved deviations within ±3% of the national standard substance, precision ( CV%) less than 2%, and a linear correlation coefficient greater than 0.990 within the measurement range of 32-710 mg/L. The correlation coefficients between the sine model and other well-performing linear calibration models for 104 clinical samples were all greater than 0.990. Conclusions:The performance evaluation of the prealbumin assay kit using the sine function calibration model meets industry standards and shows good correlation with the results of clinical sample measurements. This indicates that the sine function calibration model can serve as a new calibration model for in vitro diagnostic research and clinical applications.

Objective:To explore the predictive value of preablative stimulated thyroglobulin (psTg) level before 131I treatment on the excellent response (ER) to 131I treatment in patients with functional residual lymph node metastasis without distant metastasis after papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) surgery. Methods:From March 2011 to June 2015, 72 patients (22 males, 50 females, age: 14-76 (46.5±14.4) years) who were diagnosed with functional lymph node metastasis without distant metastasis at the time of their first 131I treatment after total thyroid bilobectomy + lymph node dissection performed in the Affiliated Cancer Hospital of Zhengzhou University were retrospectively included, and their serum thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) levels were normal. Patients were divided into ER group and non-ER group according to the treatment response assessment system. Independent sample t test, χ2 test, and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare the basic clinical characteristics between the two groups, and then multivariate logistic regression was performed. The ROC curve was employed to evaluate the predictive value of psTg and lymph node size in 131I treatment response. Results:The treatment responses of 44 patients were ER, and those of 28 were non-ER. The differences in gender, age, clinical stage, number and location of postoperative metastatic lymph nodes between ER and non-ER groups were not statistically significant ( t=0.82, χ2 values: 0.16-2.60, all P>0.05), while there were significant differences in American Thyroid Association (ATA) initial risk stratification ( χ2=33.38), lymph node size ( U=296.50) and psTg ( U=111.00, all P<0.001). PsTg (odds ratio ( OR)=0.047, 95% CI: 0.004-0.500, P=0.011) and lymph node size ( OR=0.146, 95% CI: 0.032-0.666, P=0.013) were independent factors affecting ER, whereas ATA initial risk stratification was not an independent factor ( OR=0.266, 95% CI: 0.051-1.390, P=0.116). AUCs for psTg and lymph node size were 0.904 and 0.873, respectively. The cut-off value of psTg was 20.05 μg/L with the sensitivity and specificity of 96.4%(27/28) and 75.0%(33/44) respectively, and lymph node size was 0.75 cm with the sensitivity and specificity of 78.6% (22/28) and 81.8% (36/44) respectively. Conclusion:PsTg can be used to predict 131I outcomes in patients with functional lymph node metastases after PTC, and lymph node size also has effect on ER.

Objective:To investigate the relationship between the level of Apelin-13 and coronary artery lesion (CAL) in patients with Kawasaki disease (KD), and assess the predictive value of Apelin-13 for CAL in acute phase of KD.Methods:A total of 240 children with KD treated in Chengdu Women and Children′s Central Hospital from September 2017 to October 2019 were recruited, and were divided into KD with CAL (KD-CAL) group and KD without CAL (KD-NCAL) group.Thirty children with acute upper respiratory infection and 30 healthy children were recruited into the febrile control group and the healthy control group, respectively.Blood routine and serum levels of albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP), N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and Apelin-13 were mea-sured in KD children prior to intravenous gamma globulin injection and after the diagnosis of children in the febrile control group and physical examination of children in the healthy control group.The clinical data of children in each group were compared, and the risk factors of KD complicated with CAL and the predictive value of Apelin-13 were determined by using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and multiple Logistic regression analysis. Results:Apelin-13 and hemoglobin in children with KD were significantly decreased compared with those in the healthy control group and fever control group (all P<0.001). However, white blood cell(WBC) count, platelet count, CRP and NT-proBNP in KD group were significantly increased compared with those in the healthy control group and fever control group (all P<0.001). Serum albumin in KD children was significantly lower than that in the healthy control group ( P=0.004), and there was no difference when compared with the fever control group ( P=0.485). Apelin-13 and hemoglobin were significantly decreased in KD-CAL group compared with KD-NCAL group ( t=10.102, P<0.001; t=2.034, P=0.043), while NT-proBNP and CRP were significantly increased ( t=5.982, 3.728, all P<0.001). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that Apelin-13 and NT-proBNP were independent predictors of CAL in KD.The ROC curve analysis showed that the cut-off value of Apelin-13 for predicting CAL was 2.99 μg/L, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.869 (95% CI: 0.820-0.909), sensitivity of 77.78% and specificity of 88.67%.While NT-proBNP cutoff value of 822 ng/L yielded sensitivity of 57.78% and specificity of 84.62% for predicting CAL with an AUC of 0.718(95% CI: 0.656-0.774). Conclusions:Apelin-13 plays a protective role in KD complicated with CAL, and could be used to predict CAL in the acute phase of KD.

Objective:To assess the value of CD4 + and CD8 + T-lymphocyte counts for the diagnostic classification and prognosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods:A total of 95 COVID-19 adult patients admitted to Shanghai Public Health Clinical Center, Fudan University from January to March 2020 were recruited. The CD4 + and CD8 + T-lymphocyte counts among ordinary, severe and critical patients, as well among the cured, improved, unimproved and death patients were compared. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was used to evaluate the value of CD4 + and CD8 + T-lymphocyte counts for the clinical diagnosis and prognosis of COVID-19. The comparison among groups was performed by Mann-Whitney U test. Results:A total of 95 COVID-19 cases including 68 common, 11 severe and 16 critical cases were enrolled. The counts of CD4 + and CD8 + T-lymphocyte of patients in common, severe and critical groups were 419 (309, 612), 267 (212, 540), 141 (77, 201)/μL, and 238 (153, 375), 128 (96, 172), 92 (51, 144)/μL, respectively, with significant differences ( Z=24.322 and 15.956, respectively, both P<0.01). The counts of CD4 + and CD8 + T-lymphocyte of the death, unimproved, improved, and cured patients were 149 (143, 349), 315 (116, 414), 344 (294, 426), 745 (611, 966)/μL, and 106 (43, 501), 176(67, 279), 194(188, 432), 429(276, 564)/μL, respectively, with significant differences ( Z=36.083 and 16.658, respectively, both P<0.01). The optimal cut-off point of CD4 + T-lymphocyte counts was 237/μL for critical COVID-19 with AUROC 0.911 (95% confidence interval ( CI) 0.833-0.989, P<0.01), with the sensitivity of 86.1% and specificity of 87.5%. For predicting severe and critical cases, the optimal cut-off point of CD4 + T-lymphocyte counts was 405/μL with AUROC 0.863 (95% CI 0.727-0.999, P=0.001), with the sensitivity of 78.6% and specificity of 74.6%. Conclusions:The conditions of patients with COVID-19 are aggravated with CD4 + and CD8 + T-lymphocyte counts decreasing. CD4 + T-lymphocyte counts may be an indicator for diagnostic classification of COVID-19 and prognostic indicator for severe and critical patients.

Objective:To investigate the relationship of heart rate variability (HRV), heart rate deceleration capacity (DC) and intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG)-resistant Kawasaki disease (KD) in children with the acute stage of KD.Methods:A total of 679 patients with KD in Chengdu Women and Children′s Central Hospital from August 2015 to May 2019 were selected.In healthy control group, 150 children obtained physical examination at the same time.Prospective cohort study was applied to analyze the data.According to the effect of initial IVIG treatment within 14 days, patients were divided into IVIG-sensitive group and IVIG-resistant group.General clinic information, HRV, DC, blood routine, liver function, cardiac troponin I (cTnI), N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), high sensitivity C-reactive protein(hs-CRP) and erythrocytesedimentation rate (ESR) before initial IVIG treatment of the 2 groups were compared.Multivariate Logistic regression was applied to analyze the risk factors of IVIG-resistant KD. Results:Among 679 KD patients, 3 cases were lost, among the rest 676 cases, 586 cases were in IVIG-sensitive group, and 90 cases were in IVIG-resistant group.The HRV and DC indexes of IVIG-sensitive group and IVIG-resistant group were lower than those of the healthy control group, and the differences among the 3 groups were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Meanwhile, standard deviation of N-N intervals (SDNN) [(65.84±38.22) ms vs.(82.56±21.41) ms, P=0.004], and low frequency (LF)[ (192.59±114.10) ms 2vs. (258.18±162.75) ms 2, P=0.048] of IVIG-resistant group were lower than those of IVIG-sensitive group.White blood cell (WBC), platelets(PLT), hs-CRP, ESR, alanine aminotransferase(ALT), cTnI and NT proBNP in IVIG sensitive group and IVIG-resistant group were all higher than those in the healthy control group (all P<0.05). Further more, ESR[(90.32±37.91) mm/1 h vs. (65.81±25.34) mm/1 h, P=0.019], cTnI [(0.83±0.35) μg/L vs. (0.52±0.18) μg/L, P=0.037] and NT-proBNP [(854.64±293.02) ng/L vs. (584.95±177.11) ng/L, P=0.011] in IVIG-resistant group were higher than those of IVIG-sensitive group.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that SDNN ( OR=0.783, 95% CI: 0.0341-0.979, P=0.021), and NT-proBNP ( OR=1.195, 95% CI: 1.061-1.428, P=0.34) were independent risk factors for predicting IVIG-resistant KD. Conclusions:SDNN and NT-proBNP may be independent predictors of IVIG-resistant KD.

The application indications of imaging examination and cardiac catheterization in the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of Kawasaki disease, especially cardiovascular sequelae, are further improved by the Japanese Circulation Society/Japanese Society for Cardiovascular Surgery 2020 Guideline on Diagnosis and Management of Cardiovascular Sequelae in Kawasaki Disease that also standardizes the long-term management program of Kawasaki disease in three different stages, namely, school, the adolescent/young adult and adulthood stage.In order to enhance the understanding of domestic medical staff with the latest knowledge, this paper focuses on the application progress of diagnostic imaging and cardiac catheterization in the diagnosis, treatment and long-term management of cardiovascular sequelae of Kawasaki disease in the guide.