OBJECTIVE: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) incorporates traditional diagnostic methods and several major treatment modalities including Chinese herbal medicine, Chinese patent medicine, and non-pharmacological methods such as acupuncture and tuina. Even though TCM is used daily by more than 70,000 healthcare facilities and over 700,000 clinical practitioners in China, there is a poor understanding of the extent to which TCM diagnostic methods are used, how different treatment modalities are deployed in general, and what major factors may affect the integration of TCM and Western medicine. This study aimed to fill this void in the literature. METHODS: In the 2021 National Healthcare Improvement Evaluation Survey, we included three questions gauging the perception and practices of TCM amongst physicians working in TCM-related facilities, investigating the frequency of their deployment of TCM diagnostic methods, and predominant TCM treatment methods. Our empirical analysis included descriptive statistics, intergroup chi-square analysis, and binary logistic regression to examine the association between different types of facilities and individual characteristics and TCM utilization patterns. RESULTS: A total of 7618 clinical physicians comprised our study sample. Among them, 84.27% have integrated TCM and Western medicine in their clinical practice, and 80.77% of TCM practitioners used the 4 diagnostic methods as a tool in their clinical practice. Chinese herbal medicine was the most widely utilized modality by Chinese TCM physicians (used by 88.49% of respondents), compared with the Chinese patent medicine and non-pharmacological TCM methods, which were used by 73.14%, and 69.39%, respectively. Herbal tea as an out-of-pocket health-maintenance intervention is also a notable practice, recommended by 29.43% of physicians. Significant variations exist across certain institutions, departments, and individual practitioners. CONCLUSION Given that most of the surveyed physicians integrated TCM with Western medicine in their clinical practices, the practice of "pure TCM" appears to be obsolete in China's tertiary healthcare institutions. Notably, remarkable variation exists in the use of different TCM modalities across institutions and among individuals, which might be related to and thus limited by the practitioners' experience. Future research focusing on the efficacy and safety of TCM interventions for specific diseases, the development of standardized clinical guidelines, and the enhancement of TCM education and training are called for to optimize TCM-Western medicine integration. Please cite this article as: Guo R, Zeng D, Zhao Q, Zhang XY, Zhang XK, Liu YL. How are different traditional Chinese medicine modalities deployed by clinical practitioners in China? Findings from a national survey. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(1): 36-45.
Medicine, Chinese Traditional/statistics & numerical data* ; Humans ; China ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Female ; Male ; Physicians/statistics & numerical data* ; Practice Patterns, Physicians'/statistics & numerical data* ; Adult ; Middle Aged

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is a well-accepted therapy for atopic dermatitis (AD). However, there are currently no evidence-based guidelines integrating TCM and Western medicine for the treatment of AD, limiting the clinical application of such combined approaches. Therefore, the China Association of Chinese Medicine initiated the development of the current guideline, focusing on key issues related to the use of TCM in the treatment of AD. This guideline was developed in accordance with the principles of the guideline formulation manual published by the World Health Organization. A comprehensive review of the literature on the combined use of TCM and Western medicine to treat AD was conducted. The findings were extensively discussed by experts in dermatology and pharmacy with expertise in both TCM and Western medicine. This guideline comprises 23 recommendations across seven major areas, including TCM syndrome differentiation and classification of AD, principles and application scenarios of TCM combined with Western medicine for treating AD, outcome indicators for evaluating clinical efficacy of AD treatment, integration of TCM pattern classification and Western medicine across disease stages, daily management of AD, the use of internal TCM therapies and proprietary Chinese medicines, and TCM external treatments. Please cite this article as: Du XR, Wu MY, Tao MC, Lin Y, Gu CY, Wu MF, Cao Y, Chen DC, Li W, Wang HW, Wang Y, Wang Y, Lu HZ, Liu X, Su XF, Li FL. Clinical practice guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of atopic dermatitis with integrative traditional Chinese and Western medicine. J Integr Med. 2025; 23(6):641-653.
Dermatitis, Atopic/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Integrative Medicine ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic

OBJECTIVE: Humans are exposed to complex mixtures of environmental chemicals and other factors that can affect their health. Analysis of these mixture exposures presents several key challenges for environmental epidemiology and risk assessment, including high dimensionality, correlated exposure, and subtle individual effects. METHODS: We proposed a novel statistical approach, the generalized functional linear model (GFLM), to analyze the health effects of exposure mixtures. GFLM treats the effect of mixture exposures as a smooth function by reordering exposures based on specific mechanisms and capturing internal correlations to provide a meaningful estimation and interpretation. The robustness and efficiency was evaluated under various scenarios through extensive simulation studies. RESULTS: We applied the GFLM to two datasets from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). In the first application, we examined the effects of 37 nutrients on BMI (2011-2016 cycles). The GFLM identified a significant mixture effect, with fiber and fat emerging as the nutrients with the greatest negative and positive effects on BMI, respectively. For the second application, we investigated the association between four pre- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and gout risk (2007-2018 cycles). Unlike traditional methods, the GFLM indicated no significant association, demonstrating its robustness to multicollinearity. CONCLUSION GFLM framework is a powerful tool for mixture exposure analysis, offering improved handling of correlated exposures and interpretable results. It demonstrates robust performance across various scenarios and real-world applications, advancing our understanding of complex environmental exposures and their health impacts on environmental epidemiology and toxicology.
Humans ; Environmental Exposure/analysis* ; Linear Models ; Nutrition Surveys ; Environmental Pollutants ; Body Mass Index

Objective To analyze the caregiver presence needs and their influencing factors among hospitalized elderly non-surgical patients and provide a basis for formulating relevant policies.Methods A descriptive qualitative study method was adopted.Through purposive sampling,semi-structured interviews were conducted on elderly non-surgical patients and their families and medical staff in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from September to October 2023.MAXQDA 2020 and the 7-step phenomenological analysis method of Colaizzi were used to classify and code the interview contents and identify themes.Results The categories of caregiver presence needs of elderly non-surgical patients included basic living assistance needs,disease monitoring needs,psychological support needs,as well as the needs for family members to provide economic support and participate in treatment decision-making.The influencing factors included advanced age,frailty,the lack of self-care ability in patients with comorbidities,the susceptibility of patients to sudden situations during the disease exacerbation period,the increased risk of unexpected events in patients with psychological distress,and patients' concerns about social support and medical decision-making.Conclusion The caregiver presence needs of elderly non-surgical patients during hospitalization are high and influenced by multiple factors.
Humans ; Caregivers/psychology* ; Aged ; Hospitalization ; Social Support ; Male ; Qualitative Research ; Female

Objective: To explore the current status of hyperopic reserve and its related factors among non-myopia preschool and primary school students aged 5 to 12 years in Guangdong Province, so as to provide a basis for formulating intervention strategies for the pre myopia stage of children. Methods: From October to December 2023, by using stratified cluster random sampling method, a survey on hyperopic reserve among preschool children and primary school students in Guangdong were conducted. And a total of 10 567 children from the senior class of kindergarten to the sixth grade of primary school who completed autorefraction measurements with and without cycloplegia and the questionnaire survey were included in the study. The prevalence characteristics of low hyperopic reserve among non-myopia children were analyzed, and multivariable Logistic regression was used to analyze the related factors. Results: The prevalence rate of low hyperopic reserve among 8 790 non-myopia children was 62.4%. The average spherical equivalent (SE) for children aged 5 to 12 years was 0.88 (0.25, 1.25)D, decreasing from 1.13 ( 0.75 , 1.50)D in senior kindergarten to -1.00 (-2.50, 0.38)D in sixth grade, with the difference was statistically significant ( H=2 475.3, P <0.01). Multivariable Logistic regression analysis, after adjusting for confounders including gender, urban and rural, and grade, revealed that parental myopia was a risk factor for low hyperopic reserve in the preschool stage (one parent with myopia: OR=1.62, 95%CI =1.35-1.93; both parents with myopia: OR=2.05, 95%CI = 1.66 -2.55); in the lower primary school stage, parental myopia (one parent with myopia: OR=1.46, 95%CI =1.27-1.68; both parents with myopia: OR=1.58, 95%CI =1.33-1.89), frequently or always reading or using electronic screens while lying down or on one s stomach ( OR=1.43, 95%CI =1.13-1.81), and never or occasionally maintaining a viewing distance of over 3 meters when watching TV/playing video games ( OR=1.34, 95%CI =1.04-1.72) were risk factors; in the higher primary school stage, failing to take a break every hour during near work ( OR=1.79, 95%CI =1.16-2.75) was a risk factor (all P <0.05). Conclusions The emmetropization of children aged 5-12 years in Guangdong Province is accelerated, and non-myopia children generally exhibit insufficient hyperopic reserve. The contributing factors for insufficient hyperopia reserve in non-myopia children vary across different educational stages, necessitating targeted precision interventions.

Objective:To explore the efficacy and safety of embolization of anterior cranial fossa dural arteriovenous fistula (ACF-DAVF) via different arterial approaches, and provide evidence for individualized treatment of ACF-DAVF. Methods:A retrospective study was performed; 25 patients with ACF-DAVF admitted to Department of Cerebrovascular Surgery, Neurosurgery Center, Zhujiang Hospital, Southern Medical University from January 2020 to December 2023 were enrolled. Vascular approaches, including the anterior cerebral artery ( n=7), facial artery ( n=3), middle meningeal artery ( n=8), ophthalmic artery ( n=6), and vein ( n=1), were selected based on angioarchitectural features and microcatheter accessibility. Fistula and proximal draining vein occlusions were confirmed by immediate post-embolization digital subtraction angiography (DSA), and perioperative complications were recorded. At a 6-month follow-up, prognoses were assessed by modified Rankin Scale (mRS), and DSA or MRA was performed to detect the recurrence of ACF-DAVF. Results:Six patients had complete embolization and 2 patients had near-total embolization of the fistula and proximal draining vein immediately after embolization via middle meningeal artery approach; 4 patients achieved complete embolization and 2 patients achieved near-total embolization via ophthalmic artery approach; 6 patients achieved complete embolization and one patient achieved near-total embolization via anterior cerebral artery approach; 3 patients achieved complete embolization via facial artery approach; one patient achieved complete embolization via venous approach. No perioperative intracranial hemorrhage or central retinal artery occlusion was noted. Follow-up for 6 months was performed in 25 patients: mRS score was 0 in 19 patients, 1 in 2 patients, and 2 in 4 patients; DSA in 19 patients and MRA in 6 patients indicated no ACF-DAVF recurrence. Conclusion:Based on the angioarchitectural features and microcatheter accessibility, individualized selection of vascular approaches for ACF-DAVF embolization can achieve better efficacy and safety.

Aim To observe the mechanism of salvian-olic acid B(SalB)against oxygen glucose deprivation/re-oxygenation(OGD/R)injury in H9c2 cardiomyo-cytes.Methods The protective concentration of SalB against OGD/R-injured H9c2 cardiomyocytes was screened by CCK-8 assay.The levels of lactate dehy-drogenase(LDH),aspartate transaminase(AST)and creatine kinase(CK)were detected by ELISA kit.The mechanism of action of SalB on OGD/R-injured H9c2 cardiomyocytes was explored using high-through-put sequencing of the transcriptome.The binding of SalB to differential proteins was assessed using molecu-lar docking assays.Fatty acid content was determined using free fatty acid kits.The relative expressions of mRNA and protein of differential genes were verified by RT-qPCR and Western blot.The causal relationship between the target of action of SalB and heart failure was examined by Mendelian randomization experiment.Results SalB protected OGD/R-injured H9c2 cardio-myocytes and significantly reduced the levels of CK,LDH and AST compared with the blank control group.One hundred differential genes were screened by tran-scriptome sequencing,which were mainly involved in fatty acid elongation,central carbon metabolism of cancer,tryptophan metabolism pathways.Molecular docking showed that SalB had good binding energy to differential proteins.The mRNA and protein expression of core differential genes Elovl6,Echs1 and Acot1 were consistent with the transcriptome sequencing results.SalB reduced fatty acidsafter OGD/R injury.Mende-lian randomization experiments suggested that SalB might reduce the risk of heart failure through fatty acid metabolism,thereby reducing the risk of heart failure.Conclusion SalB can protect H9c2 cardiomyocytes after OGD/R injury by down-regulating Elovl6,Echs1 and Acot1 expression through the fatty acid metabolism pathway.

Objective To investigate the risk factors of peri-operative hidden blood loss in the artificial femoral head replacement.Methods Retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 106 patients who underwent artificial femoral head replacement in our hospital from January 2019 to August 2022.The peri-operative hidden blood loss was calculated according to Gross equation.The peri-operative condition of the patients was counted.The univariate analysis was used to determine the factors related with peri-operative hidden blood loss.Indicators with statistically significant differences in univariate analysis were included in the multivariate Logistic regression analysis model to screen out the independent risk factors for peri-operative hidden blood loss.Results The mean hemoglobin levels before surgery and 72 hours after surgery were(103.44±15.67)g/L and(85.65±14.53)g/L respectively,with a statistically significant difference between them(t=16.650,P<0.05).The mean peri-operative hidden blood loss was(262.43±85.79)mL.There were 94 patients with anemia,with an incidence of 88.68%.Twenty-nine patients received blood transfusions,with an transfusion rate of 27.36%.The univariate analysis showed that peri-operative hidden blood loss was related to age,fracture type,time from injury to surgery,preoperative anticoagulation(P<0.05).Multivariate Logistic regression analysis revealed that age≥80 years old,intertrochanteric femur fracture,time from injury to surgery≥5 days,and preoperative anticoagulation were independent risk factors for peri-operative hidden blood loss in artificial femoral head replacement(P<0.05).Conclusion Peri-operative hidden blood loss in artificial femoral head replacement is affected by a variety of factors,and its risk factors include age≥80 years old,intertrochanteric femur fracture,time from injury to surgery≥5 days,and preoperative anticoagulation.Patients with the above symptoms should be paid clinical attention and intervention should be initiated as early as possible to avoid peri-operative hidden blood loss and improve the prognosis of patients.

Objective To preliminarily investigate the safety and efficacy of percutaneous microwave ab-lation(MWA)in patients with advanced breast cancer involving the skin or nipple-areola complex(NAC).Methods This study included breast cancer patients with skin or NAC involvement treated at the Fifth Medical Center of the Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2011 to August 2024.Patients underwent percutaneous MWA with water isolation technique to protect surrounding tissues.Clinical data were retrospectively collected,and the technical success rate,complications,prognosis,patient satisfaction with breast aesthetics,and quality of life improvement were analyzed.Results A total of 19 patients(24 lesions)meeting the inclusion and ex-clusion criteria were analyzed.The cases included 4 with T4N0M0,2 with T4N1M0,3 with T4N2M0,1 with T4N3M0,1 with T4N2M1,and 8 with T4N3M1.The average diameter of the 24 lesions was(4.9±3.4)cm,with an average of(1.6±0.6)ablation sessions per lesion.The median ablation time was 36.9(26.1,61.7)minutes,and the median ablation energy was 84.2(45.6,149.2)kJ.The technical success rate was 100%.Postoperatively,7 patients(7/19,36.8%)experienced skin burns around the lesion or nipple shedding,all of which healed naturally.The median overall survival was 35.0(17.0,45.5)months,and the median recur-rence-free survival was 17.0(11.0,38.5)months.Patient satisfaction with post-treatment breast aesthetics was 89.5%,and all patients reported significant improvement in their quality of life.Conclusions Percutane-ous microwave ablation for breast cancer involving the skin or NAC was preliminary demonstrates to be safe and effective,suggesting its potential as a viable treatment option for patients with inoperable breast cancer.

Mastitis is one of the common and prevalent diseases in dairy cows,and the natural prod-uct daidzein is a kind of natural flavonoids with a wide range of pharmacological and anti-inflam-matory effects.However,the effect of daidzein on mastitis in dairy cows has not been reported.Therefore,in this study,we explored the effects of daidzein on LPS-induced inflammatory response and tight junction damage in dairy mammary epithelial cells Firstly,we pretreated the MAC-T cell line using different concentrations of daidzein,and it was clarified that daidzein below 200 μmol/L had no effect on the cell activity.Next,we examined the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in LPS-stimulated MAC-T cell lines using qRT-PCR,and clarified that daidzein could reduce the production of pro-inflammatory mediators in a concentration-dependent manner.Subsequently,af-ter the expression of Occludin,Claudin3 and ZO-1 was detected by immunofluorescence and West-ern Blot,it was clear that daidzein could alleviate MAC-T cell intercellular tight junction injury.Fi-nally,it was demonstrated that daidzein significantly inhibited LPS-induced activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway within MAC-T using network pharmacological analysis and Western Blot.The above results suggest that daidzein can inhibit LPS-induced inflammatory response and tight junc-tion damage in mammary epithelial cells of cows by suppressing the activation of NF-κB signaling pathway.The present study provides a theoretical basis for the alleviation of mastitis by natural products and further expands the pharmacological effects of daidzein.