Objective To evaluate the efficacy of four-dimensional traction in elderly patients with degenera-tive lumbar spinal stenosis(DLSS),focusing on changes in lumbar muscle morphology and mechanical properties.Methods Elderly patients with DLSS admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from January 2022 to February 2024 were enrolled.Based on the treatment method,they were categorized into the study group(muscle exercise combined with four-dimensional traction,n=40)and the control group(routine muscle exercise,n=40).All participants underwent a 4-week treatment regimen and subsequently received multimodal ultrasound examinations.The morphology and mechanical properties of the lumbar muscle group,lumbar range of motion,walking distance in intermittent claudication,Visual Analogue Scale(VAS),and Oswestry Disability Index(ODI)scores were compared between the two groups.Results After treatment,the study group exhibited significantly greater improvements in multifidus muscle thickness,circumference,cross-sectional area,pressure pain threshold,and lumbar range of motion(P<0.05).In contrast,the shear wave velocity(SWV),Young's modulus,muscle tension,and flexion-extension ratio of the multifidus muscle were significantly lower in the study group(P<0.05).Additionally,the walking distance in intermittent claudication for the study group was markedly longer(P<0.05).During the 12-month follow-up period after treatment,the VAS and ODI scores of the study group remained significantly lower(P<0.05).Conclusion Four-dimensional traction in combination with muscle exercise can effectively alleviate clinical symptoms,enhance muscle function,and improve mechanical properties in elderly patients with DLSS.

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of four-dimensional traction in elderly patients with degenera-tive lumbar spinal stenosis(DLSS),focusing on changes in lumbar muscle morphology and mechanical properties.Methods Elderly patients with DLSS admitted to the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from January 2022 to February 2024 were enrolled.Based on the treatment method,they were categorized into the study group(muscle exercise combined with four-dimensional traction,n=40)and the control group(routine muscle exercise,n=40).All participants underwent a 4-week treatment regimen and subsequently received multimodal ultrasound examinations.The morphology and mechanical properties of the lumbar muscle group,lumbar range of motion,walking distance in intermittent claudication,Visual Analogue Scale(VAS),and Oswestry Disability Index(ODI)scores were compared between the two groups.Results After treatment,the study group exhibited significantly greater improvements in multifidus muscle thickness,circumference,cross-sectional area,pressure pain threshold,and lumbar range of motion(P<0.05).In contrast,the shear wave velocity(SWV),Young's modulus,muscle tension,and flexion-extension ratio of the multifidus muscle were significantly lower in the study group(P<0.05).Additionally,the walking distance in intermittent claudication for the study group was markedly longer(P<0.05).During the 12-month follow-up period after treatment,the VAS and ODI scores of the study group remained significantly lower(P<0.05).Conclusion Four-dimensional traction in combination with muscle exercise can effectively alleviate clinical symptoms,enhance muscle function,and improve mechanical properties in elderly patients with DLSS.

Objectives:To develop a risk prediction model for sudden cardiac arrest(CA)in children with congenital heart disease(CHD)after surgery and validate its predictive efficacy,providing a reference for the prevention of CA and risk stratification.Methods:Medical records were retrospectively analyzed from 5 029 children who were hospitalized in Fuwai Hospital,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 1,2020 to May 31,2022 and underwent CHD surgery.The patients were divided into two groups:those who experienced CA after surgery(n=33)and those who did not(n=4 996).A random forest model for predicting the risk of postoperative CA was established on the training dataset using R software,and the predictive effect of the model was evaluated on the validation dataset using indicators of predictive accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,negative predictive value.Results:The incidence of CA in this center was 0.66%,survival rate is 72.73%.Using the random forest algorithm,the importance of risk factors for sudden CA after CHD surgery was ranked by variable importance scoring,with the following top 6 important predictive variables:blood pressure,lactate levels,heart rate,cardiac rhythm,arterial oxygen partial pressure,and blood oxygen saturation on the first day after surgery.The model established by the random forest algorithm on the training set was validated on the test set,yielding a predictive accuracy of 99.8%,specificity of 87.5%,sensitivity of 99.9%,kappa coefficient of 0.8225,positive predictive value of 99.9%,and negative predictive value of 77.8%.Conclusions:The established prediction model of sudden CA in children with CHD after surgery had good performance.It might help medical staffon decision making of early intervention,preventing the occurrence of CA,and improving the outcomes of children with high risk of CA post surgery.

Objective: To systematically evaluate the influencing factors for repeated implantation failure (RIF) after in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET) in China, so as to provide the evidence for prevention of RIF. Methods: Literature on influencing factors for RIF in China were retrieved from CNKI, Wanfang Data, VIP, China Medical Literature Service System, PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Embase from inception to September, 2024. A meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 and Stata 14.0 softwares. Literature were excluded one by one for sensitivity analysis. Publication bias was evaluated using Egger's test. Results: Initially 4 836 relevant articles were retrieved, and 12 of them were finally included, with a total sample size of 11 554 individuals. There were 10 case-control studies, 1 cohort study, and 1 cross-sectional study; and 10 high-quality studies and 2 medium-quality studies. The meta-analysis showed that factors including advanced age (OR=1.121, 95%CI: 1.035-1.215), prolonged infertility duration (OR=1.237, 95%CI: 1.091-1.403), abnormal hysteroscopy findings (OR=2.205, 95%CI: 1.119-4.348), positive anti-nuclear antibody (ANA) (OR=2.393, 95%CI: 1.473-3.886), and positive anti-beta2 glycoprotein Ⅰ antibody (β2-GPⅠ-Ab) (OR=2.824, 95%CI: 1.987-4.013) were associated with an increased risk of RIF; while factors including the large number of embryos transferred (OR=0.309, 95%CI: 0.098-0.973), thicker endometrium (OR=0.601, 95%CI: 0.556-0.650), and higher granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) levels (OR=0.657, 95%CI: 0.511-0.845) were associated with a reduced risk of RIF. Conclusion IVF-ET RIF is associated with age, infertility duration, number of embryos transferred, endometrial thickness, hysteroscopy findings, G-CSF levels, ANA and β2-GPⅠ-Ab.

Objectives:To develop a risk prediction model for sudden cardiac arrest(CA)in children with congenital heart disease(CHD)after surgery and validate its predictive efficacy,providing a reference for the prevention of CA and risk stratification.Methods:Medical records were retrospectively analyzed from 5 029 children who were hospitalized in Fuwai Hospital,Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences from January 1,2020 to May 31,2022 and underwent CHD surgery.The patients were divided into two groups:those who experienced CA after surgery(n=33)and those who did not(n=4 996).A random forest model for predicting the risk of postoperative CA was established on the training dataset using R software,and the predictive effect of the model was evaluated on the validation dataset using indicators of predictive accuracy,sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,negative predictive value.Results:The incidence of CA in this center was 0.66%,survival rate is 72.73%.Using the random forest algorithm,the importance of risk factors for sudden CA after CHD surgery was ranked by variable importance scoring,with the following top 6 important predictive variables:blood pressure,lactate levels,heart rate,cardiac rhythm,arterial oxygen partial pressure,and blood oxygen saturation on the first day after surgery.The model established by the random forest algorithm on the training set was validated on the test set,yielding a predictive accuracy of 99.8%,specificity of 87.5%,sensitivity of 99.9%,kappa coefficient of 0.8225,positive predictive value of 99.9%,and negative predictive value of 77.8%.Conclusions:The established prediction model of sudden CA in children with CHD after surgery had good performance.It might help medical staffon decision making of early intervention,preventing the occurrence of CA,and improving the outcomes of children with high risk of CA post surgery.

Objective:To observe the clinical efficacy and safety of Tongren Niuhuang Qingxin Pills combined with telmisartan tablets in the treatment of hypertensive vertigo syndrome of phlegm-heat disturbance.Methods:Randomized controlled trial was conducted. Totally 80 patients with hypertension vertigo and phlegm-heat disturbance syndrome were selected from March 2021 to August 2022 at Beijing Tongrentang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine as the observation objects. They were randomly divided into two groups using a random number table method, with 40 cases in each group. The control group received oral telmisartan tablets, while the experimental group received Tongren Niuhuang Qingxin Pills in addition to the control group. Both groups were treated for 28 days and followed up for 1 month. The patients' room blood pressure before and after treatment was measured, and TCM syndrome scores were evaluated. The dizziness assessment rating scale (DARS) was used to evaluate the severity of dizziness, adverse reactions during treatment were recorded, drug safety was observed, and clinical efficacy was evaluated.Results:The total effective rate of the experimental group was 85.0% (34/40), and that of the control group was 7.5% (3/40), with statistical significance between the two groups ( χ2=48.32, P<0.001). Compared with before treatment, the experimental group had SBP [(136.63 ± 6.01) mmHg vs. (159.30 ± 9.01) mmHg, t=-21.00] and DBP [(84.48 ± 4.36) mmHg vs. (95.30 ± 3.75) mmHg, t=-13.80] after treatment; after treatment, SBP [(137.34 ± 6.39) mmHg vs. (158.00 ± 10.06) mmHg, t=-5.28] and DBP [(86.08 ± 4.43) mmHg vs. (95.18 ± 6.61) mmHg, t=-8.09] decreased in the control group ( P<0.01), but there was no statistical significance between the two groups after treatment ( P>0.05). After treatment, the TCM syndrome scores in the experimental group (8.68 ± 3.39 vs. 15.12 ± 3.03, Z=-6.61) were lower than those in the control group ( P<0.001), and DARS score [(8.53 ± 3.93) vs. (12.20 ± 3.95), Z=-3.63] was lower than that in the control group ( P<0.001). After treatment, the therapeutic effect index of TCM syndromes in the experimental group improved compared to before treatment in the same group. The therapeutic effect index of each symptom, from high to low, was as follows: rotation of oneself or visual objects>numbness of limbs>dry stool>dizziness and dizziness>liking cold drinks>bitter and dry mouth>red urine>red tongue, yellow coating, and greasy tongue>vomiting sticky and turbid phlegm>tinnitus>smooth pulse. There were no significant adverse reactions during the treatment of the two groups. Conclusion:Tongren Niuhuang Qingxin Pills combined with telmisartan can reduce the blood pressure of patients with hypertensive vertigo syndrome of phlegm-heat disturbance, improve the vertigo symptoms and TCM syndromes of patients, and the efficacy evaluation is superior to that of telmisartan alone.

Objective:To explore the psychological experience and demand of parents of children with delayed recovery after congenital heart disease surgery.Methods:This study adopted phenomenological research methods from qualitative research. Using the purposive sampling method, parents of postoperative delayed recovery children with congenital heart disease who met the inclusion criteria were selected as the research objects from October to November 2019 at Fuwai Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the parents of the children, and the data were analyzed by Colaizzi 7-step analysis method.Results:Finally, 13 parents of children with delayed recovery after congenital heart disease surgery were included. According to the interview results, four themes were extracted, which were negative psychological experience of parents of children with delayed recovery, positive psychological experience and expectation change of parents, heavy economic burden of parents and diversified needs of parents.Conclusions:During the delayed recovery period, psychological experience of parents is complex and their needs are diverse. The nursing staff should identify and pay attention to the causes of the negative psychological experience of the parents of the children, timely channel their negative emotions and strengthen the positive psychological experience in many aspects. They can assist parents to seek social help to reduce physical and mental pressure and meet the diverse needs of parents by providing high-quality nursing services and multi-channel information support.

Objective:We conducted a real-world multi-center clinical study with a large sample size to comprehensively evaluate the performance of three commercial hepatitis C virus (HCV) core antigen assays. The study aimed to evaluate the performance for their use in HCV infection screening, and to provide clues for further improving the sensitivity and specificity of the assays.Methods:Key performance indicators including the lower limit of detection (LOD), diagnostic sensitivity, and specificity of three HCV antigen assays (the Architect, Laibo, and ChemClin HCV core antigen assays) were evaluated using commercial seroconversion panels reflecting early HCV infection and clinical routine serum samples of outpatients and inpatients from 3 tertiary hospitals from January 2018 to April 2022. Factors that affect the performance indicators were further investigated.Results:The window period for detecting HCV infection with the three antigen assays was equal to or slightly longer than that of the RNA assay, but all are shorter than that of the anti-HCV assay. There was a good linear positive correlation between HCV core antigen and HCV RNA levels in treatment naive patients with hepatitis C ( r=0.90, P<0.01). For the most common genotype 1b strain in China, the LOD of the three HCV assays were equivalent to 531 IU/ml (Architect), 3,698 IU/mL (Laibo), and 4,624 IU/mL (ChemClin) HCV RNA, respectively. Due to the skewed distribution of HCV RNA levels in treatment-naive hepatitis C patients, more than 95% of the patients had viral loads higher than 6 166 IU/ml. Therefore, the three HCV antigens assays still maintained a satisfactory diagnostic sensitivity (94.33%-99.40%). Among 54 immunodeficient patients (leukemia patients) with HCV infection, 9% (5/54) had negative anti-HCV results, while the HCV antigen assays found all these infectors. Through further experiments, we revealed the amino acid polymorphism in the core region of genotype 3 strain impaired the sensitivity of all three HCV antigen assays. In addition, the sensitivity of the two domestic assays was impaired by anti-HCV antibodies in the serum. The specificity of HCV antigen assays for diagnosing hepatitis C is 99.94% to 99.98%. The rheumatoid factors, autoantibodies, and other unknown interference substances can lead to a small number of low level, "false positive" antigen results. Conclusions:HCV core antigen assay may be used as a satisfactory approach of infection screening, especially for the immunodeficient patents. However, the sensitivity and specificity of the assays are influenced by multiple factors, which should be further improved.

Objective:To explore the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of hepatic sinus obstruction syndrome(HSOS)after orthotopic liver transplantation(OLT).Methods:Clinical data were reviewed for 3 HSOS patients after OLT.Baseline profiles, primary disease, onset, clinical manifestations, abdominal imaging and pathological changes were recorded for summarizing the key points of diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of HSOS after OLT.Results:HSOS was an extremely rare complication after OLT with an incidence of 2%(2/117)and a median onset of 15(13-50)days.The major clinical manifestations were hepatic pain, abdominal distension, poor appetite, fatigue, jaundice, oliguria, peritoneal effusion and pleural effusion.Some of them were complicated with acute renal insufficiency.Abdominal ultrasonography revealed that blood stream of hepatic and portal veins was smooth but rather slow and hepatic parenchyma showed uneven echo changes.Abdominal enhanced computed tomography(CT)demonstrated " mosaic" and " map-like" uneven enhancement in portal vein and balance phases.The pathological manifestations of liver biopsy included obvious dilation and congestion of hepatic sinuses, swelling and necrosis of hepatic cells, thickening of hepatic venules and luminal stenosis or occlusion.All of them received immunosuppressants.Tacrolimus was switched to sirolimus, low molecular weight heparin or plus rivaroxaban anticoagulant thrombolytic therapy, methylprednisolone regulatory immunotherapy, albumin supplementation, diuresis, hepatic protection and fluid replacement.Afterward clinical symptoms of 2 patients improved, became cured and discharged.One case died from gastrointestinal hemorrhage and acute renal failure secondary to multiple organ failure.Conclusions:HSOS is an extremely rare but severe complication after OLT.Early diagnosis and fine-tuning of treatment protocols can avoid poor prognosis such as liver and kidney failure and significantly improve patient survival.

Objective: To explore the relationship between monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR) in peripheral blood of patients with pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) and their clinicopathological features and prognosis, and to investigate its clinical significance. Methods: A retrospective analysis was carried out to analyze the complete case data of 80 patients with PSC from October 2010 to April 2017 in Tianjin Cancer Hospital (monocyte and lymphocyte counts of peripheral blood, clinicopathological features, and survival follow-up). The receiver operating curve (ROC) was used to determine the best cut-off value of MLR for the prediction of overall survival time (OS). The patients were divided into high MLR group and low MLR group. Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate OS and draw survival curves. The Log-Rank test was used to compare the difference in OS between the two groups. The variables with statistical significance in univariate analysis were included into the COX risk regression model to verify and calculate thehazard ratio (HR)and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Results: The absolute median values of monocytes and lymphocytes were 0.63×109/L and 1.84×109/L, respectively. The best cut-off value of MLR is 0.44. Univariate analysis shows that MLR≥0.44 (P<0.01), no radical surgery (P<0.01), clinical stage Ⅲ+Ⅳ (P<0.01), tumor maximal diameter > 3 cm (P<0.01), and LDH>247 U /L (P<0.01) are the poor prognostic factors affecting overall survival. Multivariate analysis shows that MLR≥0.44（HR=3.554; 95%CI=1.671-6.125; P<0.01), and clinical stage Ⅲ+Ⅳ（HR=3.275; 95%CI=2.047-9.399; P<0.01) are the independent risk factors for the overall survival of PSC, and radical surgery is an independent protective factor affecting the overall survival of PSC（HR=0.360; 95%CI=0.195-0.848; P<0.01). Conclusion: High MLR is an independent risk factor for poor prognosis in patients with PSC.