Transfusion safety monitoring and learning provide a mechanism for identifying transfusion risks, enabling medical institutions to implement intervention measures, to reduce transfusion risks, and ultimately to improve patient safety. Recently, in response to ongoing challenges in transfusion safety, the UK Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT) integrated and transformed the recommendations scattered in previous annual reports, and released the Standards for Transfusion Safety. This document specifies standards and requirements/criterion in eight key areas, including transfusion safety, transfusion information technology and equipment, supporting staff to work safely, staff education and training, safety culture, patients as safety partners, haemovigilance and risk management, and governance. The issue and implementation of the Standards marks a significant transformation in the UK's blood transfusion safety governance strategy. Understanding the content and background of the Standards will be beneficial for contemplating and exploring the future direction of China's blood transfusion safety governance strategy.

As the second part of this series, this article summarizes and synthesizes the key aspects of UK Serious Hazards of Transfusion (SHOT), SHOT’s continuous promotion of learning from excellent daily transfusion events over the past six years. This summary is based on an introduction to the holistic approach to improving patient safety—proactively learning from both failures and successes. The covered topics include an overview, definitions, case studies, implementation methods, safety culture, psychological safety in the workplace, civility in work, the use of neutral language, leading and lagging indicators, and compassionate governance. It is hoped that this article will assist domestic colleagues in understanding and studying the strategic significance of the transformation of transfusion safety governance in the UK, and inspire reflection on the strategic development direction of transfusion safety governance in China.

Whole blood, containing all blood components in physiological proportions, is a preferred resuscitative fluid for patients with severe hemorrhage. The preparation, supply, and clinical use of whole blood are more convenient, safe, and effective, offering the advantages of reduced blood utilization and associated costs. In recent years, an increasing number of countries and regions have initiated whole blood transfusion programs. The newly issued "Medical Treatment Specifications for Trauma Patients in Emergencies (2025 Edition)" by China's National Health Commission designates whole blood as the preferred choice for early trauma transfusion. Establishing a priority supply mechanism for whole blood has become a critical task for blood services in China. This paper introduces the recommendations of the European Blood Alliance practical guidance on implementation of a whole blood programme within a blood service, hoping to provide insights and assistance in establishing a priority supply mechanism for whole blood in China.

BACKGROUND:Psoralen has a strong anti-osteoporotic activity and may have a restorative effect on chemotherapy-induced osteoporosis. OBJECTIVE:To explore the restorative effect of psoralen on the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in mice inhibited by cyclophosphamide and its mechanism. METHODS:C57BL/6 mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells were isolated and cultured.Effect of psoralen on viability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells was detected by MTT assay.Osteogenic induction combined with alkaline phosphatase staining was used to determine the optimal dose of psoralen to restore the osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells inhibited by cyclophosphamide.The mRNA expression levels of Runx2,alkaline phosphatase,Osteocalcin,osteoprotegerin,and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway-related genes Wnt1,Wnt4,Wnt10b,β-catenin,and c-MYC were measured by RT-qPCR at different time points under the intervention with psoralen.The protein expression of osteogenic specific transcription factor Runx2 and Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway related genes Active β-catenin,DKK1,c-MYC,and Cyclin D1 was determined by western blot assay at different time points under the intervention with psoralen. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)There was no significant effect of different concentrations of psoralen on the viability of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.The best recovery of the inhibition of osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells caused by cyclophosphamide was under the intervention of psoralen at a concentration of 200 μmol/L.(2)Psoralen reversed the reduction in osteogenic differentiation marker genes Runx2,alkaline phosphatase,Osteocalcin and osteoprotegerin mRNA expression and Runx2 protein expression in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells caused by cyclophosphamide conditioned medium.(3)Psoralen reversed the decrease in Wnt/β-catenin pathway-related genes Wnt4,β-catenin,c-MYC mRNA and Active β-catenin,c-MYC,and Cyclin D1 protein expression and the increase in DKK1 protein expression in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells caused by cyclophosphamide conditioned medium.(4)The results showed that cyclophosphamide inhibited osteogenic differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in mice,and psoralen had a restorative effect on it.The best intervention effect was achieved at a concentration of 200 μmol/L psoralen,and this protective effect might be related to the activation of Wnt4/β-catenin signaling pathway by psoralen.

OBJECTIVE:The clinical efficacy and safety of preoperative intravenous glucocorticoids in patients undergoing lower limb joint arthroplasty remain controversial.Therefore,we conducted a meta-analysis based on randomized controlled trials to evaluate the efficacy and safety of preoperative intravenous glucocorticoids for clinical treatment using lower limb joint arthroplasty. METHODS:We systematically searched randomized controlled trials on the effects of preoperative intravenous glucocorticoids on the efficacy and safety of lower limb joint arthroplasty in Chinese and foreign databases up to June 2023,including PubMed,Embase,Web of Science,Cochrane Library,WanFang Data,and CNKI.The trial group was injected with intravenous glucocorticoid before operation to control pain.The control group received placebo or intravenous saline.Outcome measures included postoperative resting pain score,postoperative C-reactive protein,postoperative 5-m walking test pain score,length of hospital stay,operation time,postoperative morphine opioid supplemental dose,postoperative nausea and vomiting reaction,and postoperative periprosthesis infection complications. RESULTS:(1)A total of nine randomized controlled trials included 613 patients(n=311 in the glucocorticoid group,n=302 in the control group).(2)Compared with the control group,preoperative intravenous administration of glucocorticoids significantly reduced the resting pain scores of patients at 6 and 12 hours after surgery,as well as the pain scores of patients walking for 5 m on the first day after surgery.In addition,the need for additional morphine opioids and postoperative nausea and vomiting were reduced in the glucocorticoid group.The inflammatory C-reactive protein was lower than that of the control group within three days after surgery,and the length of hospital stay was shortened after intravenous glucocorticoid injection(P<0.05).(3)However,there were no significant differences in the incidence of infection after arthroplasty,operation time,and pain scores at 24 and 48 hours between the two groups. CONCLUSION:As an effective perioperative multi-modal analgesia protocol,intravenous injection of glucocorticoids before surgery is an effective and safe method to reduce hyperacute pain and improve joint mobility in patients with lower limb joint arthroplasty.More research is needed to determine the optimal dose and type of glucocorticoids for maximum pain control.

Room temperature stored platelets are associated with a higher risk of sepsis and related fatality. The risk of bacterial contamination of platelets is a leading risk of infection from blood transfusion. U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued a guidance on bacterial risk control strategies for blood collection establishments and transfusion services to enhance the safety and availability of platelets for transfusion. The prevention and control strategies in the guidance would be informative and instructive for further development of risk control strategies of platelet bacterial contamination in China.

Diabetic macular ischemia(DMI), playing key roles behind the progression of diabetic retinopathy(DR), is one of the causes of vision loss. Its pathophysiological process is complex, involving vascular structure changes, hemodynamic abnormalities, and many other aspects. Traditional inspection methods often make it difficult to accurately capture subtle changes in DMI. In turn, optical coherence tomography angiography(OCTA)has opened a pathway to the diagnosis and treatment of DMI, which not only has the advantages of non-invasive, safe and rapid imaging, but also furnishes high-resolution retinal vascular images to provide qualitative and quantitative descriptions of DMI. OCTA can visually show the morphological and structural changes of blood vessels in the macular region, as well as reveal the characteristics of pathological changes in the superficial and deep capillary plexus of DMI patients, which provides a deeper understanding of DMI and a new treatment option of diabetic eye disease.

As a vital resource, blood directly impacts the life and health of patients and the continuity of medical care. Given that it can only be obtained through voluntary donations from blood donors, its supply is susceptible to shortages due to various external factors. As the first article in a series introducing the " National Plan for NHS Blood and Transplant and Hospitals to Address Blood Shortage in the United Kingdom", this paper provides a detailed overview of the UK’s emergency management system, with a particular focus on its health emergency management framework. Regarding the UK’s emergency management system, this article elaborates on the regulatory and standards framework and institutional mechanisms for emergency management, non-statutory guidance documents offering preparation and implementation advice, the local resilience forums (LRFs) system enabling cross-departmental and multi-agency emergency coordination and collaboration, the UK government’s capacity-building efforts, as well as emergency response entities and command-and-control mechanisms. Supplementing the preceding review, the article further details the legal basis of the UK’s health emergency system and the core standards framework of national health service (NHS) emergency preparedness, resilience, and response (EPRR), with specific reference to relevant documents.

BACKGROUND: The FAVOR (Comparison of Quantitative Flow Ratio Guided and Angiography Guided Percutaneous Intervention in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease) III China trial demonstrated that percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) lesion selection using quantitative flow ratio (QFR) measurement, a novel angiography-based approach for estimating fractional flow reserve, improved two-year clinical outcomes compared with standard angiography guidance. This study aimed to assess the cost-effectiveness of QFR-guided PCI from the perspective of the current Chinese healthcare system. METHODS: This study is a pre-specified analysis of the FAVOR III China trial, which included 3825 patients randomized between December 25, 2018, and January 19, 2020, from 26 centers in China. Patients with stable or unstable angina pectoris or those ≥72 hours post-myocardial infarction who had at least one lesion with a diameter stenosis between 50% and 90% in a coronary artery with a ≥2.5 mm reference vessel diameter by visual assessment were randomized to a QFR-guided strategy or an angiography-guided strategy with 1:1 ratio. During the two-year follow-up, data were collected on clinical outcomes, quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), estimated costs of index procedure hospitalization, outpatient cardiovascular medication use, and rehospitalization due to major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCE). The primary analysis calculated the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) as the cost per MACCE avoided. An ICER of ¥10,000/MACCE event avoided was considered economically attractive in China. RESULTS: At two years, the QFR-guided group demonstrated a reduced rate of MACCE compared to the angiography-guided group (10.8% vs . 14.7%, P <0.01). Total two-year costs were similar between the groups (¥50,803 ± 21,121 vs . ¥50,685 ± 23,495, P = 0.87). The ICER for the QFR-guided strategy was ¥3055 per MACCE avoided, and the probability of QFR being economically attractive was 64% at a willingness-to-pay threshold of ¥10,000/MACCE avoided. Sensitivity analysis showed that QFR-guided PCI would become cost-saving if the cost of QFR were below ¥3682 (current cost: ¥3800). Cost-utility analysis yielded an ICER of ¥56,163 per QALY gained, with a 53% probability of being cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of ¥85,000 per QALY gained. CONCLUSION: In patients undergoing PCI, a QFR-guided strategy appears economically attractive compared to angiographic guidance from the perspective of the Chinese healthcare system. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03656848.
Humans ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention/methods* ; Male ; Female ; Coronary Angiography/methods* ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Coronary Artery Disease/surgery* ; Quality-Adjusted Life Years ; Fractional Flow Reserve, Myocardial/physiology*

BACKGROUND: Valvular heart disease (VHD) has become increasingly common with the aging in China. This study aimed to evaluate regional differences in the clinical features, management strategies, and outcomes of patients with VHD across different regions in China. METHODS: Data were collected from the China-VHD Study. From April 2018 to June 2018, 12,347 patients who presented with moderate or severe native VHD with a median of 2 years of follow-up from 46 centers at certified tertiary hospitals across 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in Chinese mainland were included in this study. According to the locations of the research centers, patients were divided into five regional groups: eastern, southern, western, northern, and central China. The clinical features of VHD patients were compared among the five geographical regions. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality or rehospitalization for heart failure. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to compare the cumulative incidence rate. RESULTS: Among the enrolled patients (mean age, 61.96 years; 6877 [55.70%] male), multiple VHD was the most frequent type (4042, 32.74%), which was mainly found in eastern China, followed by isolated mitral regurgitation (3044, 24.65%), which was mainly found in northern China. The etiology of VHD varied significantly across different regions of China. The overall rate of valve interventions was 32.67% (4008/12,268), with the highest rate in southern China at 48.46% (205/423). In terms of procedure, the proportion of transcatheter valve intervention was relatively low compared to that of surgical treatment. Patients with VHD in western China had the highest incidence of all-cause mortality or rehospitalization for heart failure. Valve intervention significantly improved the outcome of patients with VHD in all five regions (all P  <0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed that patients with VHD in China are characterized by significant geographic disparities in clinical features, treatment, and clinical outcomes. Targeted efforts are needed to improve the management and prognosis of patients with VHD in China according to differences in geographical characteristics. REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov , NCT03484806.
Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; China/epidemiology* ; Heart Valve Diseases/therapy* ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Treatment Outcome