ObjectiveTo investigate the efficacy and safety of Babaodan Capsule （BBD） in the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus （HBV） infection with damp-heat in the liver and gallbladder comorbid with gallbladder polyps. MethodsA randomized， double-blinded， placebo-controlled single-center trial was conducted among 120 patients with chronic HBV infection who were admitted to Beijing YouAn Hospital， Capital Medical University， from August 2020 to April 2023， and they were divided into treatment group （BBD） and control group （placebo）， with 60 patients in each group. The course of treatment was 24 weeks， and follow-up assessments were conducted every 4 weeks. The primary outcome measures were the number and maximum diameter of gallbladder polyps （assessed by ultrasound）， and the secondary outcome measures included traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， blood lipid levels， and liver function parameters. The independent-samples t test or the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of continuous data between two groups， and the chi-square test or the Fisher’s exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups； the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of ranked data between two groups； the generalized estimating equation was used to analyze repeated measures data. ResultsAfter 8 weeks of treatment， the treatment group had a significantly smaller diameter of polyps and a significantly lower number of polyps than the control group （Z=-1.76 and -1.80， both P<0.05）， and after 24 weeks of treatment， the treatment group had a significantly higher polyp reduction rate than the control group （30.51% vs 10.91%， P<0.05）. The subgroup analysis showed that patients receiving combined antiviral therapy， male patients， patients with a diameter of polyps of <5 mm， and patients with multiple polyps tended to achieve significantly greater benefits. At week 8 of treatment， the treatment group had a significantly better TCM syndrome score than the control group （Z=-2.35， P<0.05）； after treatment， compared with the control group， the treatment group had a significantly greater increase in high-density lipoprotein （Z=-1.85， P<0.05） and significantly lower levels of alanine aminotransferase （Z=-2.06， P <0.05）， aspartate aminotransferase （Z=-2.13， P<0.05）， total bilirubin （Z=-2.12， P<0.05）， and direct bilirubin （Z=-3.09， P<0.05）. No serious adverse events were reported in either group. ConclusionBBD can effectively reduce the size of gallbladder polyps， improve TCM syndrome score， and reduce the level of bilirubin in patients with chronic HBV infection with damp-heat in the liver and gallbladder， with a favorable safety profile， and it may be more suitable for patients receiving combined antiviral therapy and specific subgroups （male patients， patients with a diameter of polyps of <5 mm， and patients with multiple polyps.

Unilateral absence of a pulmonary artery (UAPA) is a rare congenital malformation resulting from the failed development or premature involution of the sixth aortic arch during embryogenesis, leading to a failure to establish a connection with the main pulmonary artery. Currently, there is a notable lack of consensus regarding the surgical management of UAPA in China. Drawing upon the latest clinical research, this consensus aims to summarize surgical approaches and techniques to improve the clinical management of UAPA patients and serve as a scientific reference for physicians specializing in pediatric cardiology and structural heart disease. This consensus aims to promote the standardization of UAPA diagnosis and treatment, thereby facilitating improved patient outcomes and long-term management, and stimulating the continuous development and innovation of surgical treatment for this condition in China.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of piriformis muscle release versus preservation in total hip arthroplasty (THA) via supercapsular percutaneously-assisted total hip (SuperPATH) approach on muscle injury. METHODS: Forty-nine patients undergoing initial THA via SuperPATH approach between June 2022 and June 2023 were randomly divided into two groups, with 24 patients in trial group and 25 patients in control group. The trial group received piriformis muscle release intraoperatively, whereas the control group underwent muscle preservation. There was no significant difference in baseline data such as gender, age, body mass index, disease type, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grading, and preoperative muscle infiltration, muscle atrophy, muscle injury serological indicators, Harris score, etc. ( P>0.05). The incision length, operation time, intraoperative blood loss, total blood loss, hospital stay, preoperative and postoperative 1-day muscle injury serological indicators [including creatine kinase (CK) and lactic dehydrogenase (LDH)], and incidence of complications between two groups were recorded. Harris score was used to evaluate the recovery of hip joint function. MRI was used to evaluate the extent of hip muscle injuries (gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, piriformis, obturator internus, quadratus femoris), including tendon integrity, degree of muscle fat infiltration, and degree of muscle atrophy preoperative and 1 year postoperatively. RESULTS: The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, and total blood loss in the trial group were significantly shorter than those in the control group ( P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incision length and length of hospital stay between the two groups ( P>0.05). Both groups showed a significant increase in serum CK and LDH levels on postoperative day 1 compared to preoperative levels ( P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the two groups ( P>0.05). All patients were followed up, the follow-up time for the trial group and the control group was (14.8±2.8) and (15.1±3.0) months, respectively, with no significant difference ( t=-0.400, P=0.691). Incisions healed by first intention in both groups, with 1 case in the trial group and 2 cases in the control group experiencing venous thrombosis in the calf muscle space. There was no complication such as deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, hip dislocation, prosthesis loosening, or periprosthetic infection in the lower limbs. There was no significant difference in the incidence of complications between the two groups ( P>0.05). At 1 year after operation, both groups of patients showed a significant increase in Harris scores compared to preoperative levels ( P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the two groups ( P>0.05). Compared with preoperative results, both groups showed significant fat infiltration in the piriformis and obturator muscles at 1 year after operation ( P<0.05), while there was no significant fat infiltration in the gluteus minimus, gluteus medius, and quadratus femoris muscles ( P>0.05). At 1 year after operation, except for the higher incidence of piriformis muscle fat infiltration in the control group compared to the trial group ( P<0.05), there was no significant difference in the incidence of other muscle infiltrations between the two groups ( P>0.05). At 1 year after operation, both groups of piriformis and obturator muscles showed significant muscle atrophy compared to preoperative levels ( P<0.05). The gluteus minimus and gluteus medius showed mild atrophy compared to preoperative levels, while the maximum transverse diameter of the quadriceps muscle slightly increased, but the differences were not significant ( P>0.05). There was no significant difference in the maximum cross-sectional diameter or cross-sectional area changes of each muscle between the two groups ( P>0.05). At 1 year after operation, the continuity of the gluteus medius and quadratus femoris muscles in both groups was intact. Both groups had some patients with incomplete continuity of the piriformis muscle, obturator internus, and gluteus minimus, but the difference was not significant ( P>0.05). CONCLUSION The SuperPATH approach THA may cause injury to the piriformis, gluteus minimus, and obturator internus. The piriformis muscle release does not increase muscle injury, but it can shorten the operation time and reduce bleeding.
Humans ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; Muscle, Skeletal/surgery* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Postoperative Complications/epidemiology* ; Adult ; Operative Time ; Muscular Atrophy ; Creatine Kinase/blood* ; Length of Stay ; Treatment Outcome

Objective:To identify factors associated with depressive symptoms in maintenance hemodialysis patients and to examine the relationship between these symptoms and mortality.Methods:Between January and December 2019, patients who received maintenance hemodialysis in the Blood Purification Center of the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University were enrolled in a prospective cohort study. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the internationally validated patient health questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8). Sleep quality and anxiety were measured with the Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) and the generalized anxiety disorder-7 (GAD-7) scale, respectively. Follow-up continued until December 31, 2022, with all-cause mortality as the primary outcome. Ordinal logistic regression was used to identify independent predictors of depression severity. Cox proportional hazards models evaluated the association between depressive symptoms and mortality.Results:A total of 532 maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients completed the study. Among them, 177 (33.3%) exhibited depressive symptoms. Compared with patients without depression, those with mild or moderate-to-severe depression were older [median age: 58 (50, 66) vs. 60 (55, 65) vs. 55 (46, 64)], more likely to smoke [35.9% (51/142) vs. 40.0% (14/35) vs.26.2% (93/355)], had poorer sleep quality [PSQI: 9 (6, 13) vs. 12 (9, 17) vs. 5 (3, 9)], and higher anxiety levels [GAD-7: 1 (0, 3) vs. 3 (1, 6) vs. 0 (0, 1)], the differences among the three groups were statistically significant (all P<0.05). Ordinal logistic regression identified smoking status, history of diabetes or cardiovascular disease, hemoglobin level, PSQI score, and GAD-7 score as independent predictors of depression severity ( OR=1.60, 1.80, 1.81, 0.98, 3.67, 8.67; all P<0.05). After a median follow-up of 40 (35, 44) months, 109 patients died, including 66 (60.6%) from cardio-cerebrovascular causes and 24 (22.0%) from infections. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed significantly lower cumulative survival in the depression group compared to the non-depression group ( P<0.001). Cox regression analysis demonstrated that depressive symptoms remained independently associated with all-cause mortality after adjusting for confounders ( HR=1.06, 95% CI 1.00-1.13, P=0.048), with an even stronger association observed for patients with PHQ-8 scores≥2.9 ( HR=1.10, 95% CI 1.03-1.16, P=0.005). However, the associations between depression and cardio-cerebrovascular mortality ( P=0.111) or infection-related mortality ( P=0.509) were not statistically significant. Conclusions:Depressive symptoms are prevalent among maintenance hemodialysis patients and are independently associated with increased all-cause mortality. Smoking, comorbid diabetes or cardiovascular disease, low hemoglobin level, poor sleep quality, and anxiety are risk factors contributing to depression. Maintenance hemodialysis patients with PHQ-8 scores≥3 should be considered at heightened risk for mortality.

Objective:To establish a GC method for the determination of related substances in myristyl alcohol.Methods:Use a column packed with polyethylene glycol as the stationary phase(HP-INNOWAX,0.25 mm×30 m,0.25 μm).Maintain the column temperature at 90℃,raise the temperature to 180℃by 5℃per minutes,maintain for 25 minutes.The temperatures of injection port is 270℃.The temperatures of detector is 280℃.Cal-culate the content by normalization method.Result:Lauryl alcohol,myristyl alcohol,pentadecanol,cetyl alcohol,stearyl alcohol and oleyl alcohol showed good linear relationships within the ranges of 6.2-123.8,4.2-134.2,5.2-104.2,4.5-90.3,4.8-96.0,4.8-95.2 μg·mL-1,respectively,with the correlation coefficient above 0.999 8.The limit of detection of aforementioned fatty alcohols were 0.2,0.2,0.2,0.3,0.5 and 0.5 μg·mL-1,which were more sensitive than the method in USP monotherapy Myristyl Alcohol.The content of lauryl alcohol was 0.2%-0.6%and that of cetyl alcohol was 0.1%-0.9%in 5 batches of samples.Sum of re-lated fatty alcohols and unspecified impurities was 0.7%-2.5%.Conclusion:The method established in this study has good separation effect,high specificity and high sensitivity,and solved the problem of difficult identifica-tion of related fatty alcohols caused by high noise at the baseline of the method in USP monotherapy myristyl alco-hol.It can be used for the the determination of related substances in myristyl alcohol.It also provides reference and guidance for the quality management and control of other fatty alcohols.

Objective:To investigate the training needs of general practitioners in community health center in health care and management of older patients for developing a curriculum for the Extension for Community Health Outcomes (ECHO) project accordingly.Methods:This was a qualitative study. The semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 community health center general practitioners (GPs) using focus groups between March 2024 and April 2024. The interview data were collated using Nvivo12 software and coded using thematic analysis. The focus of the interviews was on the challenges GPs face in health care of older people in the community and relevant training needs.Results:Three male and 17 female GPs took part in the interviews. The interviews showed that GPs in comminity health service centers faced multiple challenges in the helth management of older patients, including implementation of holistic treatment plans, time-consuming comprehensive patient assessment, lack of standardized medication selection, unclear referral processes and difficulties in establishing a trusting doctor-patient relationship. The study suggested that the design and development of training programs should encompass eight core components: differentiated end-of-life care for patients, nutritional advice, positive psychological intervention, software data-based health assessment, systematic geriatric medicine, updated clinical research findings, medication selection and treatment guidelines, and insulin resistance management.Conclusion:Through qualitative investigation, this study explored the challenges faced by general practitioners in providing health care for older patients and relevant training needs, which provids evidence for designing and developing corresponding curricula for ECHO projects.

Objective To investigate the potential role of plasma adiponectin concentration in predicting the response of patients with depression to electroconvulsive therapy(ECT).Methods This study enrolled depressive patients scheduled for ECT at the First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University between January 2022 and March 2024.Patients were categorized as either ECT responders(>50%reduction)or non-responders(≤50%reduction)based on post-ECT reduction rate of the 24-item Hamilton depression scale(HAMD)scores from baseline.Plasma adiponectin levels were measured in all patients before their first ECT treatment.To identify predictors of ECT response in patients with depression,the predictive value of plasma adiponectin was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis.Results A total of 80 patients with depression were enrolled including 44 in the ECT-responsive group and 36 in the non-responsive group.The plasma adiponectin level was significantly higher in the responsive group than in the non-responsive group[5.67(3.64,10.55)μg/mL vs.4.01(2.59,5.04)μg/mL,P=0.002].Pearson correlation analysis revealed a significant positive correlation between plasma adiponectin levels and the HAMD reduction rate(r=0.300,P=0.007).Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that plasma adiponectin was independently associated with the response to ECT in patients with depression(OR=1.218,95%CI:1.009-1.470,P=0.040).Furthermore,ROC curve analysis demonstrated that the area under the curve(AUC)for adiponectin in predicting ECT response was 0.748(95%CI:0.583-0.813).Conclusion Pretreatment plasma adiponectin may serve as a potential biomarker for predicting response to ECT in patients with depression.

Objective:To establish a method for determining the sialylation levels of N-glycan profiles based on ion-exchange chromatography in glycoprotein drugs.Methods:The separation was performed in a column picking with anion-exchange resin(4.6 mm × 250 mm,5 μm,or equivalent).Mobile phase A was 20％ acetonitrile solution,while mobile phase B was a 20％acetonitrile solution containing 0.1 mol·L-1 ammonium formate(pH 4.5).The flow rate was 0.60 mL·min-1.Detection was performed using a fluorescence detector with excita-tion and emission wavelengths of 330 and 420 nm,respectively.The injection volume was 5 μL.Results:Within the target loading sample range of 40％ to 160％,the peak area showed a good linear relationship with protein concentration(r＞0.99).The average recovery rates at three concentration levels were 106.25％,100.00％,and 106.67％,respectively.The limit of quantification was 0.03％.Conclusion:This method is suitable for detecting the sialylation levels of N-glycan profiles in various glycoprotein drugs.

Objective To establish a high-performance liquid chromatography method to detect the purity of human epidermal growth factor(hEGF),to compare the stability of the products of different enterprises by purity results,and to provide technical support for improving quality control and unified monitoring of hEGF based on national drug sampling and testing.Methods Agilent 300SB C8 column(250 mm×4.6 mm,5 μm)was used.Mobile phase A was 7.5 mmol·L-1 sodium phosphate buffer(pH 6.8),and mobile phase B was acetonitrile,the column temperature was 30℃,the flow rate was 0.6 mL·min-1 with gradient elution,and the detector wavelength was set at 280 nm.Results The resolution between the main peak of hEGF and the adjacent impurity peak was more than 1.5,with a detection limit of 6 ng.This method has been successfully applied to determine the purity of the bulk and final products.The results showed that the purity of the final products decreased compared with the bulk.The maximum impurity that increased significantly was the deamidation impurity identified by the mass spectrometry.Conclusion Based on the typical sample of the full chain and multi-dosage form,the established method had good specificity and resolution for the preliminary identification and purity determination of hEGF bulk and final products.