INTRODUCTION: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, contact tracers were under immense pressure to deliver effective and timely contact tracing, raising concerns of higher susceptibility to burnout. Our study aimed to determine burnout prevalence among hospital-based contact tracers and associated risk factors, so that interventions to reduce burnout risk could be formulated. METHODS: One hundred and ninety-six active contact tracers across three hospitals within a healthcare cluster were invited to complete an anonymous online survey. To identify burntout, data such as demographics, work-related variables and contact tracing-related variables were collected using the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory. Associated factors were identified using multivariate statistics. Open-ended questions were included to understand the challenges and potential improvements through qualitative analysis. RESULTS: A total of 126 participants completed the survey, giving a completion rate of 64%, and almost half of these participants (42.9%) reported burnout. Protective factors included being on work-from-home arrangements (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 0.22, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.08-0.56), perception of being well supported by their institution (adjusted OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.08-0.80) and being married (adjusted OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.12-0.64). Risk factors included having an administrative role pre-COVID-19 (adjusted OR 3.62, 95% CI 1.33-9.83). Work-related burnout was related to being activated for more than 1 day in the preceding week (unadjusted OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.33-7.94) and multiple activations in a day (unadjusted OR 3.54, 95% CI 1.44-4.41). Biggest challenges identified by participants were language barrier (62.7%), followed by workflow-related issues (42.1%). CONCLUSION Our study demonstrated burnout and other challenges faced by a team of mostly hospital-based administrative staff redeployed on a part-time basis to ensure timely contact tracing. To mitigate burnout, we recommend choosing staff on work-from-home arrangements and ensuring adequate manpower and rostering arrangements.
Humans ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; Burnout, Professional/epidemiology* ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Female ; Male ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Risk Factors ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Contact Tracing/methods* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Prevalence ; Pandemics

Functional dyspepsia (FD), characterized by persistent or recurrent dyspeptic symptoms without identifiable organic, systemic or metabolic causes, is an increasingly recognized global health issue. The objective of this guideline is to equip clinicians and nursing professionals with evidence-based strategies for the management and treatment of adult patients with FD using traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). The Guideline Development Group consulted existing TCM consensus documents on FD and convened a panel of 35 clinicians to generate initial clinical queries. To address these queries, a systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), VIP Database, China Biology Medicine (SinoMed) Database, Wanfang Database, Traditional Medicine Research Data Expanded (TMRDE), and the Traditional Chinese Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System (TCMLARS). The evidence from the literature was critically appraised using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) approach. The strength of the recommendations was ascertained through a consensus-building process involving TCM and allopathic medicine experts, methodologists, pharmacologists, nursing specialists, and health economists, leveraging their collective expertise and empirical knowledge. The guideline comprises a total of 43 evidence-informed recommendations that span a range of clinical aspects, including the pathogenesis according to TCM, diagnostic approaches, therapeutic interventions, efficacy assessments, and prognostic considerations. Please cite this article as: Zhang SS, Zhao LQ, Hou XH, Bian ZX, Zheng JH, Tian HH, Yang GH, Hong WS, He YY, Liu L, Shen H, Li YP, Xie S, Shu J, Zeng BF, Li JX, Liu Z, Xiao ZH, Xiao JD, Zheng PY, Huang SG, Chen SL, Fei GJ. International clinical practice guideline on the use of traditional Chinese medicine for functional dyspepsia (2025). J Integr Med. 2025; 23(5):502-518.
Dyspepsia/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional/methods* ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use*

ObjectiveThe significance of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among men who have sex with men (MSM) should not be overlooked. This study aims to assess the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the Adverse Childhood Experiences-International Questionnaire (ACE-IQ) among the MSM population in China to evaluate its applicability in this group. MethodsA cross-sectional survey was conducted in three Chinese cities(Shanghai, Shenyang and Kunming) using snowball sampling, with a total of 1 130 MSM participants included. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to assess the structural validity of the scale. Internal consistency reliability was evaluated using Cronbach’s α coefficient, and split-half reliability was assessed with the Spearman-Brown coefficient. ResultsAccording to the EFA results, after removing item ACE10 (“parental death”), the 23-item ACE-IQ demonstrated a six-factor structure, including victimization or witnessing emotional/physical abuse, sexual abuse, physical neglect, family dysfunction, emotional neglect, and peer violence. CFA results indicated a good model fit for the six-factor model, supporting the EFA findings. The scale demonstrated good reliability, with a Cronbach's α coefficient of 0.852 and a Spearman-Brown coefficient of 0.899, indicating high internal consistency and split-half reliability within the studied population. ConclusionThe Chinese version of the ACE-IQ demonstrates satisfactory reliability and validity among MSM population, supporting its suitability for assessing ACEs in this group. The findings provide an empirical basis for subsequent mental health interventions.

The intestinal barrier is the primary defense that separates the host from the external environment, possessing several crucial physiological functions, including nutrient digestion, absorption, and protection against potentially harmful dietary antigens and pathogenic microorganisms. Nevertheless, various factors, such as diet, medications, circadian rhythm disturbances, gut microbiota, microbial metabolites, and genetic predisposition, can disrupt the intestinal barrier. Such disruption may lead to bacterial translocation, subsequently triggering enterohepatic and systemic inflammation. Impaired intestinal barrier has been implicated in the pathogenesis of numerous diseases, particularly chronic gut and liver diseases. In this review, we will summarize the fundamental functions of intestinal barrier and discuss clinical correlations between intestinal barrier dysfunction and diseases such as colitis, colorectal cancer, and chronic liver diseases including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, alcohol-associated liver disease, and primary sclerosing cholangitis. Additionally, we will also highlight some potential therapeutic strategies aimed at restoring barrier integrity to improve disease management.

Objective To investigate the effect of orthokeratology combined with repeated low-level red-light(RL-RL)therapy on progressive myopia in adolescents.Methods A total of 106 adolescents(212 eyes)with progressive my-opia admitted to our hospital from March 2020 to September 2022 were selected and randomly classified into an observation group(n=57,114 eyes)and a control group(n=49,98 eyes).Patients in the observation group received orthokeratology and RLRL therapy,and patients in the control group received orthokeratology only.All patients were followed up for 1 year.The uncorrected visual acuity(UCVA),axial length(AL),diopter,tear film lipid layer thickness(LLT),break-up time(BUT),subfoveal choroidal thickness(SFChT),and the incidence of complications at different time points were compared between the two groups.Results Analysis of variance on the UCVA,diopter,LLT,BUT and SFChT at differ-ent time points before and after treatment revealed a significant time effect and time × group interaction effect(all P＜0.05),but no statistical group effect(all P＞0.05).For the AL,there was a significant time effect(P＜0.05),but no time x group interaction effect or group effect(all P＞0.05).Twelve months after treatment,the UCVA,LLT decrease and SFChT thickening were greater in the observation group compared to the control group,while the diopter progression and AL increase were milder in the observation group than in the control group(all P＜0.05).Changes in BUT yielded no sta-tistical difference between the two groups(P＞0.05).The complication rate demonstrated no statistical difference between the two groups(P＞0.05).Conclusion The application of RLRL therapy combined with orthokeratology for progressive myopia in adolescents can effectively improve the UCVA and control the growth of AL and diopter,with high safety.

The composition and characteristics of TiRobot orthopaedic surgery robot were introduced,and its application in treating traumas was reviewed such as pelvic fracture,acetabular fracture,femoral neck fracture,intertrochanteric fracture,Achilles fracture and navicular fracture.The advantages and disadvantages of TiRobot orthopaedic surgery robot were analyzed when used in the field of traumatic orthopaedics.It's pointed out TiRobot orthopaedic surgery robot be optimized in terms of the existing technical shortcomings and application cost to promote its wide application in the field of traumatic orthopaedics.[Chinese Medical Equipment Journal,2024,45(5):104-110]