BACKGROUND: The potential impact of pre-existing coronary artery stenosis (CAS) on right ventricular (RV) function during acute pulmonary embolism (PE) episodes remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between pre-existing CAS and RV dysfunction in patients with acute PE. METHODS: In this multicenter, case-control study, 89 cases and 176 controls matched for age were enrolled at three study centers (Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Fuwai Hospital, and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University) from January 2016 to December 2020. The cases were patients with acute PE with CAS, and the controls were patients with acute PE without CAS. Coronary artery assessment was performed using coronary computed tomographic angiography. CAS was defined as ≥50% stenosis of the lumen diameter in any coronary vessel >2.0 mm in diameter. Conditional logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between CAS and RV dysfunction. RESULTS: The percentages of RV dysfunction (19.1% [17/89] vs. 44.6% [78/176], P <0.001) and elevated systolic pulmonary artery pressure (sPAP) (19.3% [17/89] vs. 39.5% [68/176], P = 0.001) were significantly lower in the case group than those in the control group. In the multivariable logistic regression model, CAS was independently and negatively associated with RV dysfunction (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.367; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.185-0.728; P = 0.004), and elevated sPAP (OR: 0.490; 95% CI: 0.252-0.980; P = 0.035), respectively. CONCLUSIONS Pre-existing CAS was significantly and negatively associated with RV dysfunction and elevated sPAP in patients with acute PE. This finding provides new insights into RV dysfunction in patients with acute PE with pre-existing CAS.
Humans ; Pulmonary Embolism/complications* ; Case-Control Studies ; Male ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Right/physiopathology* ; Female ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Coronary Stenosis/complications* ; Logistic Models ; Adult

Nonunion of osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVF), predominantly affecting the elderly, can lead to intractable pain, vertebral collapse, progressive kyphotic deformity, and neurological impairment, significantly compromising patients′ quality of life. There exists considerable debate on diagnosis and management of OVF, encompassing key issues such as clinical diagnosis and staging criteria for nonunion, surgical indications and procedure selection, and postoperative rehabilitation planning. Currently, there lacks standardized clinical guideline and expert consensus on the diagnosis and management of OVF nonunion in China. To address this gap, Minimally Invasive Surgery Group of Chinese Orthopedic Association, Osteoporosis Committee of Chinese Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, Prevention and Rehabilitation Committee for Osteoporosis of Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine and Minimally Invasive Orthopedic Surgery Branch of China Association for Geriatric Care jointly organized domestic experts in spinal surgery, endocrinology, and rehabilitation to formulate the Clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment for nonunion of osteoporotic vertebral fractures ( version 2025), based on existing literature and clinical experience and adhering to principles of scientific rigor and practicality. The guideline provided 13 evidence-based recommendations encompassing diagnosis and treatment of OVF nonunion, aiming to standardize its clinical management.

With the rapid development of population aging in various countries around the world,the health and elderly care industry has been paid high attention.The standardization of smart health and elderly care technology and services is particularly important.This paper firstly reviewed the policies related to healthy elderly care in China.By analyzing the industrial standards and provincial standards issued,this paper focused on the policies proposed by the Shanghai Municipal Government for the standardization of smart health and elderly care,as well as the researches on the standard system and the construction of standard families.Shanghai group standards in the field of smart health and elderly care were summarized,including the guidelines for the construction of standard systems,elderly care service platforms,community elderly cafeterias,portable health monitoring terminals,indoor sports services,and home-based elderly care safety monitoring.A series of case analyses of the standardized implementation of the above aspects were also provided.Through standardization research and practice in recent years,it has been fully demonstrated that the standard research plays an important leading role in the field of smart health and elderly care.

Objective:To analyze the safety and efficacy of percutaneous transhepatic endoscopic holmium laser lithotripsy combined with papillary muscle balloon dilation (PTBL-PBD) in the treatment of refractory common bile duct (CBD) stones.Methods:Clinical data of eight patients with CBD stones who underwent PBD treatment in the Department of Interventional and Vascular Surgery of Wanning People's Hospital from March 2023 to October 2024 were retrospectively collected, including seven males and one female, aged 71.6±6.9 years. Under local anesthesia, a passage was established through percutaneous transhepatic biliary puncture, combined with holmium laser lithotripsy and balloon lithotripsy. Two weeks after the operation, angiography was performed to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Bile culture of bacteria were collected from the patients. Symptoms including fever, jaundice, abdominal pain and complications of the patients after the operation were recorded. The white blood cell (WBC) count, hypersensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) one week before and one week after the operation were analyzed. All patients were followed up.Results:Eight patients successfully completed the surgery. No residual stone in the biliary system were observed in the imaging two weeks after the operation in six of the patients, and the biliary drainage tubes were successfully removed. Residual stone were observed in two of the patients, which were completely removed through re-treatment with balloon lithotripsy. Biliary bacterial infection occurred in four cases after the operation, including three cases with Escherichia coli and one with Klebsiella pneumoniae. One case with postoperative biliary hemorrhage was managed with coil embolization for hemostasis. The symptoms such as fever, jaundice and abdominal pain of the patients were all relieved after the operation. The WBC count decreased from 14.3±2.8 ×10 9/L before the operation to 6.1±1.3 ×10 9/L, and the high-sensitivity CRP decreased from 58.7±15.2 mg/L to 8.4±3.6 mg/L. Total bilirubin decreased from 102.2±27.7 μmol/L to 17.6±5.5 μmol/L, AST decreased from 137.6±36.7 U/L to 30.4±9.9 U/L, and ALT decreased from 141.3±44.9 U/L to 32.4±10.8 U/L. Two patients were followed up for 24 months, five for 12 months, and one for 6 months. No long-term complications such as stone recurrence or bile duct stenosis were observed during the follow-ups, and there were no clinical symptoms such as fever, jaundice, or abdominal pain. Conclusion:The treatment of refractory common bile duct stones with PTBL-PBD has less trauma and high safety, and could be suitable for high-risk patients who have failed with endoscopic approaches or cannot tolerate general anesthesia.

Nonunion of osteoporotic vertebral fractures (OVF), predominantly affecting the elderly, can lead to intractable pain, vertebral collapse, progressive kyphotic deformity, and neurological impairment, significantly compromising patients′ quality of life. There exists considerable debate on diagnosis and management of OVF, encompassing key issues such as clinical diagnosis and staging criteria for nonunion, surgical indications and procedure selection, and postoperative rehabilitation planning. Currently, there lacks standardized clinical guideline and expert consensus on the diagnosis and management of OVF nonunion in China. To address this gap, Minimally Invasive Surgery Group of Chinese Orthopedic Association, Osteoporosis Committee of Chinese Association of Orthopedic Surgeons, Prevention and Rehabilitation Committee for Osteoporosis of Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine and Minimally Invasive Orthopedic Surgery Branch of China Association for Geriatric Care jointly organized domestic experts in spinal surgery, endocrinology, and rehabilitation to formulate the Clinical guideline for the diagnosis and treatment for nonunion of osteoporotic vertebral fractures ( version 2025), based on existing literature and clinical experience and adhering to principles of scientific rigor and practicality. The guideline provided 13 evidence-based recommendations encompassing diagnosis and treatment of OVF nonunion, aiming to standardize its clinical management.

Objective:To analyze the safety and efficacy of percutaneous transhepatic endoscopic holmium laser lithotripsy combined with papillary muscle balloon dilation (PTBL-PBD) in the treatment of refractory common bile duct (CBD) stones.Methods:Clinical data of eight patients with CBD stones who underwent PBD treatment in the Department of Interventional and Vascular Surgery of Wanning People's Hospital from March 2023 to October 2024 were retrospectively collected, including seven males and one female, aged 71.6±6.9 years. Under local anesthesia, a passage was established through percutaneous transhepatic biliary puncture, combined with holmium laser lithotripsy and balloon lithotripsy. Two weeks after the operation, angiography was performed to evaluate the therapeutic effect. Bile culture of bacteria were collected from the patients. Symptoms including fever, jaundice, abdominal pain and complications of the patients after the operation were recorded. The white blood cell (WBC) count, hypersensitive C-reactive protein (CRP), total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) one week before and one week after the operation were analyzed. All patients were followed up.Results:Eight patients successfully completed the surgery. No residual stone in the biliary system were observed in the imaging two weeks after the operation in six of the patients, and the biliary drainage tubes were successfully removed. Residual stone were observed in two of the patients, which were completely removed through re-treatment with balloon lithotripsy. Biliary bacterial infection occurred in four cases after the operation, including three cases with Escherichia coli and one with Klebsiella pneumoniae. One case with postoperative biliary hemorrhage was managed with coil embolization for hemostasis. The symptoms such as fever, jaundice and abdominal pain of the patients were all relieved after the operation. The WBC count decreased from 14.3±2.8 ×10 9/L before the operation to 6.1±1.3 ×10 9/L, and the high-sensitivity CRP decreased from 58.7±15.2 mg/L to 8.4±3.6 mg/L. Total bilirubin decreased from 102.2±27.7 μmol/L to 17.6±5.5 μmol/L, AST decreased from 137.6±36.7 U/L to 30.4±9.9 U/L, and ALT decreased from 141.3±44.9 U/L to 32.4±10.8 U/L. Two patients were followed up for 24 months, five for 12 months, and one for 6 months. No long-term complications such as stone recurrence or bile duct stenosis were observed during the follow-ups, and there were no clinical symptoms such as fever, jaundice, or abdominal pain. Conclusion:The treatment of refractory common bile duct stones with PTBL-PBD has less trauma and high safety, and could be suitable for high-risk patients who have failed with endoscopic approaches or cannot tolerate general anesthesia.

To assess the protective effects of luteolin(LT)on liver fibrosis in rats with autoimmune hepatitis(AIH)and to explore the underlying mechanisms,total of 62 rats were recruited and randomly divided into normal control group(CT),AIH model group(AIH),LT low-dose group(LT L),LT medium-dose group(LT M),LT high-dose group(LT H)and prednisolone group(PSL),with 10 rats in each group.The rat in CT group were injected with an equivalent volume of physiological saline via the tail vein,when the rat in the other groups were received tail vein injection of concanavalin A(Con A)dissolved in physiological saline to induce the AIH model.Then,the rat in LT L,M,and H groups were administered intraperitoneal injections of LT dissolved in physiological saline(at doses of 5,25,and 50 mg/kg,respectively),and the rat in the PSL group received intraperitoneal injections of PSL dissolved in physiological saline(at a dose of 10.0 mg/kg),while the rat in the CT and AIH groups received equivalent volumes of physiological saline intraperitoneally.All treatments were administered twice daily for 7 consecutive days.The day after the last treatment,liver function indices,peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets,and hepatic hydroxyproline content were measured.Furthermore,Masson staining was used to assess the liver fibrosis was assessed using,and Western blot analysis was performed to detect the expression levels of activated nuclear factor κB(NF-κB),phosphorylated NF-κB(p-NF-κB),inhibitor of nuclear factor κBα(IκBα),and phosphorylated IκBα(p-IκBα)proteins in liver tissue.Compared to the CT group,the AIH group exhibited significantly higher serum levels of alanine aminotransferase(ALT),total bilirubin(TBIL),CD4+T lymphocyte ratio,CD4+/CD8+ratio,and hepatic hydroxyproline content(P<0.05),while albumin(ALB)levels and the CD8+T lymphocyte ratio were significantly lower(P<0.05).LT in all doses could reverse these changes mentioned above in AIH rats in a dose-dependent manner(P<0.05),and no significant differences were observed between the LT H group and the PSL group in these parameters(P>0.05).Masson staining results revealed that liver fibrosis in the LT groups was less severe than that in the AIH group,with a clear dose-dependent effect.The PSL group exhibited similar antifibrotic effects to the LT H group.Furthermore,the AIH group showed significantly higher levels of p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 and p-IκBα/IκBα ratios in liver tissue,as compared to the CT group(P<0.05),while LT could suppress the increase of p-NF-κB p65/NF-κB p65 and p-IκBα/IκBα ratios(P<0.05)in a dose-dependent manner(P<0.05),and no significant differences in these ratios were observed between the LT H group and the PSL group(P>0.05).Taken together,Luteolin can improve liver function and immune function,and alleviate liver fibrosis by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway in AIH rats.

Background::Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has potential risks for both clinically worsening pulmonary hypertension (PH) and increasing mortality. However, the data regarding the protective role of vaccination in this population are still lacking. This study aimed to assess the safety of approved vaccination for patients with PH.Methods::In this national prospective cohort study, patients diagnosed with PH (World Health Organization [WHO] groups 1 and 4) were enrolled from October 2021 to April 2022. The primary outcome was the composite of PH-related major adverse events. We used an inverse probability weighting (IPW) approach to control for possible confounding factors in the baseline characteristics of patients.Results::In total, 706 patients with PH participated in this study (mean age, 40.3 years; mean duration after diagnosis of PH, 8.2 years). All patients received standardized treatment for PH in accordance with guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of PH in China. Among them, 278 patients did not receive vaccination, whereas 428 patients completed the vaccination series. None of the participants were infected with COVID-19 during our study period. Overall, 398 patients received inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine, whereas 30 received recombinant protein subunit vaccine. After adjusting for baseline covariates using the IPW approach, the odds of any adverse events due to PH in the vaccinated group did not statistically significantly increase (27/428 [6.3%] vs. 24/278 [8.6%], odds ratio = 0.72, P = 0.302). Approximately half of the vaccinated patients reported at least one post-vaccination side effects, most of which were mild, including pain at the injection site (159/428, 37.1%), fever (11/428, 2.6%), and fatigue (26/428, 6.1%). Conclusions::COVID-19 vaccination did not significantly augment the PH-related major adverse events for patients with WHO groups 1 and 4 PH, although there were some tolerable side effects. A large-scale randomized controlled trial is warranted to confirm this finding. The final approval of the COVID-19 vaccination for patients with PH as a public health strategy is promising.

Background::The potential impact of pre-existing coronary artery stenosis (CAS) on acute pulmonary embolism (PE) episodes remains underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the association between pre-existing CAS and the elevation of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I (hs-cTnI) levels in patients with PE.Methods::In this multicenter, prospective case-control study, 88 cases and 163 controls matched for age, sex, and study center were enrolled. Cases were patients with PE with elevated hs-cTnI. Controls were patients with PE with normal hs-cTnI. Coronary artery assessment utilized coronary computed tomographic angiography or invasive coronary angiography. CAS was defined as ≥50% stenosis of the lumen diameter in any coronary vessel >2.0 mm in diameter. Conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between CAS and hs-cTnI elevation.Results::The percentage of CAS was higher in the case group compared to the control group (44.3% [39/88] vs. 30.1% [49/163]; P = 0.024). In multivariable conditional logistic regression model 1, CAS (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 2.680; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.243–5.779), heart rate >75 beats/min (OR, 2.306; 95% CI, 1.056–5.036) and N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) >420 pg/mL (OR, 12.169; 95% CI, 4.792–30.900) were independently associated with elevated hs-cTnI. In model 2, right CAS (OR, 3.615; 95% CI, 1.467–8.909) and NT-proBNP >420 pg/mL (OR, 13.890; 95% CI, 5.288–36.484) were independently associated with elevated hs-cTnI. Conclusions::CAS was independently associated with myocardial injury in patients with PE. Vigilance towards CAS is warranted in patients with PE with elevated cardiac troponin levels.

Objective     To explore the efficacy of prone positioning ventilation in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) after acute Stanford type A aortic dissection (STAAD) surgery. Methods     From November 2019 to September 2021, patients with ARDS who was placed prone position after STAAD surgery in the Xiamen Cardiovascular Hospital of Xiamen University were collected. Data such as the changes of blood gas, respiratory mechanics and hemodynamic indexes before and after prone positioning, complications and prognosis were collected for statistical analysis. Results    A total of 264 STAAD patients had surgical treatment, of whom 40 patients with postoperative ARDS were placed prone position. There were 37 males and 3 females with an average age of 49.88±11.46 years. The oxygen partial pressure, oxygenation index and peripheral blood oxygen saturation 4 hours and 12 hours after the prone positioning, and 2 hours and 6 hours after the end of the prone positioning were significantly improved compared with those before prone positioning ventilation (P<0.05). The oxygenation index 2 hours after the end of prone positioning which was less than 131.42 mm Hg, indicated that the patient might need ventilation two or more times of prone position. Conclusion     Prone position ventilation for patients with moderate to severe ARDS after STAAD surgery is a safe and effective way to improve the oxygenation.