Objective To investigate the antimicrobial resistance of clinical isolates from elderly patients(≥65 years)in major medical institutions across China.Methods Bacterial strains were isolated from elderly patients in 52 hospitals participating in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program during the period from 2015 to 2021.Antimicrobial susceptibility test was carried out by disk diffusion method and automated systems according to the same CHINET protocol.The data were interpreted in accordance with the breakpoints recommended by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)in 2021.Results A total of 514 715 nonduplicate clinical isolates were collected from elderly patients in 52 hospitals from January 1,2015 to December 31,2021.The number of isolates accounted for 34.3％of the total number of clinical isolates from all patients.Overall,21.8％of the 514 715 strains were gram-positive bacteria,and 78.2％were gram-negative bacteria.Majority(90.9％)of the strains were isolated from inpatients.About 42.9％of the strains were isolated from respiratory specimens,and 22.9％were isolated from urine.More than half(60.7％)of the strains were isolated from male patients,and 39.3％isolated from females.About 51.1％of the strains were isolated from patients aged 65-＜75 years.The prevalence of methicillin-resistant strains(MRSA)was 38.8％in 32 190 strains of Staphylococcus aureus.No vancomycin-or linezolid-resistant strains were found.The resistance rate of E.faecalis to most antibiotics was significantly lower than that of Enterococcus faecium,but a few vancomycin-resistant strains(0.2％,1.5％)and linezolid-resistant strains(3.4％,0.3％)were found in E.faecalis and E.faecium.The prevalence of penicillin-susceptible S.pneumoniae(PSSP),penicillin-intermediate S.pneumoniae(PISP),and penicillin-resistant S.pneumoniae(PRSP)was 94.3％,4.0％,and 1.7％in nonmeningitis S.pneumoniae isolates.The resistance rates of Klebsiella spp.(Klebsiella pneumoniae 93.2％)to imipenem and meropenem were 20.9％and 22.3％,respectively.Other Enterobacterales species were highly sensitive to carbapenem antibiotics.Only 1.7％-7.8％of other Enterobacterales strains were resistant to carbapenems.The resistance rates of Acinetobacter spp.(Acinetobacter baumannii 90.6％)to imipenem and meropenem were 68.4％and 70.6％respectively,while 28.5％and 24.3％of P.aeruginosa strains were resistant to imipenem and meropenem,respectively.Conclusions The number of clinical isolates from elderly patients is increasing year by year,especially in the 65-＜75 age group.Respiratory tract isolates were more prevalent in male elderly patients,and urinary tract isolates were more prevalent in female elderly patients.Klebsiella isolates were increasingly resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents,especially carbapenems.Antimicrobial resistance surveillance is helpful for accurate empirical antimicrobial therapy in elderly patients.

Objective To summarize the changing prevalence of carbapenem resistance in Enterobacterales based on the data of CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program from 2015 to 2021 for improving antimicrobial treatment in clinical practice.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using a commercial automated susceptibility testing system according to the unified CHINET protocol.The results were interpreted according to the breakpoints of the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)M100 31st ed in 2021.Results Over the seven-year period(2015-2021),the overall prevalence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales(CRE)was 9.43％(62 342/661 235).The prevalence of CRE strains in Klebsiella pneumoniae,Citrobacter freundii,and Enterobacter cloacae was 22.38％,9.73％,and 8.47％,respectively.The prevalence of CRE strains in Escherichia coli was 1.99％.A few CRE strains were also identified in Salmonella and Shigella.The CRE strains were mainly isolated from respiratory specimens(44.23±2.80)％,followed by blood(20.88±3.40)％and urine(18.40±3.45)％.Intensive care units(ICUs)were the major source of the CRE strains(27.43±5.20)％.CRE strains were resistant to all the β-lactam antibiotics tested and most non-β-lactam antimicrobial agents.The CRE strains were relatively susceptible to tigecycline and polymyxins with low resistance rates.Conclusions The prevalence of CRE strains was increasing from 2015 to 2021.CRE strains were highly resistant to most of the antibacterial drugs used in clinical practice.Clinicians should prescribe antimicrobial agents rationally.Hospitals should strengthen antibiotic stewardship in key clinical settings such as ICUs,and take effective infection control measures to curb CRE outbreak and epidemic in hospitals.

Objective To characterize the changing species distribution and antibiotic resistance profiles of respiratory isolates in hospitals participating in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program from 2015 to 2021.Methods Commercial automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing systems and disk diffusion method were used to test the susceptibility of respiratory bacterial isolates to antimicrobial agents following the standardized technical protocol established by the CHINET program.Results A total of 589 746 respiratory isolates were collected from 2015 to 2021.Overall,82.6％of the isolates were Gram-negative bacteria and 17.4％were Gram-positive bacteria.The bacterial isolates from outpatients and inpatients accounted for(6.0±0.9)％and(94.0±0.1)％,respectively.The top microorganisms were Klebsiella spp.,Acinetobacter spp.,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,Staphylococcus aureus,Haemophilus spp.,Stenotrophomonas maltophilia,Escherichia coli,and Streptococcus pneumoniae.Each microorganism was isolated from significantly more males than from females(P＜0.05).The overall prevalence of methicillin-resistant S.aureus(MRSA)was 39.9％.The prevalence of penicillin-resistant S.pneumoniae was 1.4％.The prevalence of extended-spectrum β-lactamase(ESBL)-producing E.coli and K.pneumoniae was 67.8％and 41.3％,respectively.The overall prevalence of carbapenem-resistant E.coli,K.pneumoniae,Enterobacter cloacae,Pseudomonas aeruginosa,and Acinetobacter baumannii was 3.7％,20.8％,9.4％,29.8％,and 73.3％,respectively.The prevalence of β-lactamase was 96.1％in Moraxella catarrhalis and 60.0％in Haemophilus influenzae.The H.influenzae isolates from children(＜18 years)showed significantly higher resistance rates to β-lactam antibiotics than the isolates from adults(P＜0.05).Conclusions Gram-negative bacteria are still predominant in respiratory isolates associated with serious antibiotic resistance.Antimicrobial resistance surveillance should be strengthened in clinical practice to support accurate etiological diagnosis and appropriate antimicrobial therapy based on antimicrobial susceptibility testing results.

Objective To examine the changing prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Burkholderia cepacia in 52 hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021.Methods A total of 9 261 strains of B.cepacia were collected from 52 hospitals between January 1,2015 and December 31,2021.Antimicrobial susceptibility of the strains was tested using Kirby-Bauer method or automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing systems according to a unified protocol.The results were interpreted according to the breakpoints released in the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)guidelines(2023 edition).Results A total of 9 261 strains of B.cepacia were isolated from all age groups,especially elderly patients.The proportion was 11.1％(1 032 strains)in children,significantly lower than the proportion in adults.About half(46.5％,4 310/9 261)of the strains were isolated from patients at least 60 years old and 42.3％(3 919/9 261)of the strains were isolated from young adults.Most isolates(71.1％)were isolated from sputum and respiratory secretions,followed by urine(10.7％)and blood samples(8.1％).B.cepacia isolates were highly susceptible to the five antimicrobial agents recommended in the CLSI M100 document(33rd edition,2023).B.cepacia isolates showed relatively higher resistance rates to meropenem and levofloxacin.However,the resistance rates to ceftazidime,trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole,and minocycline remained below 8.1％.The percentage of B.cepacia strains resistant to levofloxacin was the highest compared to other antibiotics in any of the three age groups(from 12.4％in the patients＜18 years old to 20.6％in the patients aged 60 years or older).Conclusions B.cepacia is one of the clinically important non-fermenting gram-negative bacteria.Accurate and timely reporting of antimicrobial susceptibility test results and ongoing antimicrobial resistance surveillance are helpful for rational prescription of antimicrobial agents and proper prevention and control of nosocomial infections.

Objective:To explore the potential role of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and components of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the early progression of carotid arteriosclerosis.Methods:The study was a cross-sectional study. Urban participants undergoing routine health check-ups were enrolled from all 11 prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang Province between January and December 2022. General clinical information was obtained through interviews, and data on MS was collected from the clinical health examinations. Serum Lp-PLA? levels were measured in all participants. All participants were divided into 3 groups according to the results of the carotid ultrasound: the normal group, the intima thickening group with carotid intima thickening change and the plaque group. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations of Lp-PLA2, MS, and the components of MS with early carotid atherosclerosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of combining Lp-PLA2 with MS and the cumulative number of MS components for early carotid atherosclerosis.Results:A total of 4 009 urban adults undergoing routine health check-ups were enrolled (mean age (48.9±8.46) years, 2 665(66.5 %)male). Of these, 1 398 were in the normal group, 1 650 in the intima thickening group, and 961 in the plaque group. Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that Lp-PLA2 was independently associated with early carotid atherosclerosis ( OR=1.34, 95% CI: 1.11-1.63, P=0.003). Lp-PLA2 also showed independent positive associations with both carotid intima thickening and carotid plaque formation, with the latter being more pronounced (both P<0.05). MS was independently and positively associated with early carotid atherosclerosis ( OR=1.48, 95 % CI: 1.20-1.84, P<0.001), as well as with intima thickening and carotid plaque formation, with the association being stronger for the latter (both P<0.05). Furthermore, the strength of the association increased progressively with the number of MS components ( P<0.001), especially for carotid plaques formation (both P<0.001). Multivariable logistic regression revealed that, compared with individuals without MS and low Lp-PLA2 levels, the risk of early carotid atherosclerosis was increased in those with high Lp-PLA2 alone, MS alone, or both conditions concurrently, with the highest risk observed when both were present (all P<0.05). ROC analyses demonstrated that the combination of elevated Lp-PLA2 with 3, 4, or 5 MS components yielded good diagnostic performance for early carotid atherosclerosis ( AUC=0.869, 0.888, and 0.889, respectively), intima thickening ( AUC=0.844, 0.860, and 0.845, respectively), and carotid plaque formation ( AUC=0.899, 0.924, and 0.968, respectively) in urban health-screening participants. Conclusions:Lp-PLA2, MS, and the number of MS components were independently and positively associated with early carotid atherosclerosis in urban health chek-up populations. The combination of MS components and Lp-PLA2 provided favorable diagnostic performance for the detection of early carotid atherosclerosis.

Object:To explore the feasibility of using artificial intelligence for quality control of echocardiographic images.Methods:Retrospectively，5 000 two-dimensional echocardiographic video images within the period from 2021 to 2023 were randomly retrieved from the echocardiography database of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital，Affiliated Hospital of Medical School，Nanjing University. Among these selected images，1 559 of them were apical views. The physician team formulated the scoring rules，which specifically included four scoring criteria：gain，scaling ratio，cardiac axis angle，and structure. Subsequently，the data were labeled with view classification and image quality scores. The labeled data were further partitioned into the training set（ n = 643），the validation set（ n = 276），and the test set（ n = 640）. The training and validation sets were utilized for constructing the models for view classification and quality assessment，while the test set was employed to verify the models' effectiveness. The view classification module was implemented using the SlowFast model，and the quality assessment module involved algorithms such as ResNet，Video Swin Transformer，SSD，and U-Net. Results:The average accuracy，precision，recall rate and F1 score of the classification model in identifying each apical view were 0.987 1，0.983 0，0.987 1 and 0.984 9 respectively，and the inference time was（333.4 ± 105.4）ms. The average accuracies of the quality assessment module in terms of gain，scaling ratio，cardiac axis angle and display of main structures were 0.915 1，0.928 2，0.938 7 and 0.965 6 respectively，and the overall scoring accuracy was 0.912 7.Conclusions:The echocardiogram quality control system developed in this research can effectively classify and evaluate the quality of two-dimensional images of the apical views in echocardiograms. Moreover，it guarantees the objectivity，timeliness and high-efficiency of quality control，which has reference value for the establishment of the echocardiogram quality control system.

The mode of cell death as well as the role of necroptosis in inflammatory diseases has gained importance in recent years.Chronic airway inflammatory diseases are common respiratory diseases,such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD)and asthma,which are often accompanied by persistent airway inflammation,and the pathogenesis of these diseases is complex and involves cell death pathways.The involvement of necroptosis in their pathogenesis is getting more and more attention.This review introduces reviewed the important pathways and factors of necroptosis,as well as its advances in mechanism of chronic airway inflammatory diseases,aiming to provide new ideas and targets for the research and treatment of chronic airway inflammatory diseases.

Objective:To explore the potential role of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) and components of metabolic syndrome (MS) in the early progression of carotid arteriosclerosis.Methods:The study was a cross-sectional study. Urban participants undergoing routine health check-ups were enrolled from all 11 prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang Province between January and December 2022. General clinical information was obtained through interviews, and data on MS was collected from the clinical health examinations. Serum Lp-PLA? levels were measured in all participants. All participants were divided into 3 groups according to the results of the carotid ultrasound: the normal group, the intima thickening group with carotid intima thickening change and the plaque group. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to evaluate the associations of Lp-PLA2, MS, and the components of MS with early carotid atherosclerosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analyses were performed to assess the diagnostic performance of combining Lp-PLA2 with MS and the cumulative number of MS components for early carotid atherosclerosis.Results:A total of 4 009 urban adults undergoing routine health check-ups were enrolled (mean age (48.9±8.46) years, 2 665(66.5 %)male). Of these, 1 398 were in the normal group, 1 650 in the intima thickening group, and 961 in the plaque group. Multivariable logistic regression demonstrated that Lp-PLA2 was independently associated with early carotid atherosclerosis ( OR=1.34, 95% CI: 1.11-1.63, P=0.003). Lp-PLA2 also showed independent positive associations with both carotid intima thickening and carotid plaque formation, with the latter being more pronounced (both P<0.05). MS was independently and positively associated with early carotid atherosclerosis ( OR=1.48, 95 % CI: 1.20-1.84, P<0.001), as well as with intima thickening and carotid plaque formation, with the association being stronger for the latter (both P<0.05). Furthermore, the strength of the association increased progressively with the number of MS components ( P<0.001), especially for carotid plaques formation (both P<0.001). Multivariable logistic regression revealed that, compared with individuals without MS and low Lp-PLA2 levels, the risk of early carotid atherosclerosis was increased in those with high Lp-PLA2 alone, MS alone, or both conditions concurrently, with the highest risk observed when both were present (all P<0.05). ROC analyses demonstrated that the combination of elevated Lp-PLA2 with 3, 4, or 5 MS components yielded good diagnostic performance for early carotid atherosclerosis ( AUC=0.869, 0.888, and 0.889, respectively), intima thickening ( AUC=0.844, 0.860, and 0.845, respectively), and carotid plaque formation ( AUC=0.899, 0.924, and 0.968, respectively) in urban health-screening participants. Conclusions:Lp-PLA2, MS, and the number of MS components were independently and positively associated with early carotid atherosclerosis in urban health chek-up populations. The combination of MS components and Lp-PLA2 provided favorable diagnostic performance for the detection of early carotid atherosclerosis.

Object:To explore the feasibility of using artificial intelligence for quality control of echocardiographic images.Methods:Retrospectively，5 000 two-dimensional echocardiographic video images within the period from 2021 to 2023 were randomly retrieved from the echocardiography database of Nanjing Drum Tower Hospital，Affiliated Hospital of Medical School，Nanjing University. Among these selected images，1 559 of them were apical views. The physician team formulated the scoring rules，which specifically included four scoring criteria：gain，scaling ratio，cardiac axis angle，and structure. Subsequently，the data were labeled with view classification and image quality scores. The labeled data were further partitioned into the training set（ n = 643），the validation set（ n = 276），and the test set（ n = 640）. The training and validation sets were utilized for constructing the models for view classification and quality assessment，while the test set was employed to verify the models' effectiveness. The view classification module was implemented using the SlowFast model，and the quality assessment module involved algorithms such as ResNet，Video Swin Transformer，SSD，and U-Net. Results:The average accuracy，precision，recall rate and F1 score of the classification model in identifying each apical view were 0.987 1，0.983 0，0.987 1 and 0.984 9 respectively，and the inference time was（333.4 ± 105.4）ms. The average accuracies of the quality assessment module in terms of gain，scaling ratio，cardiac axis angle and display of main structures were 0.915 1，0.928 2，0.938 7 and 0.965 6 respectively，and the overall scoring accuracy was 0.912 7.Conclusions:The echocardiogram quality control system developed in this research can effectively classify and evaluate the quality of two-dimensional images of the apical views in echocardiograms. Moreover，it guarantees the objectivity，timeliness and high-efficiency of quality control，which has reference value for the establishment of the echocardiogram quality control system.

Objective To examine the changing prevalence and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Burkholderia cepacia in 52 hospitals across China from 2015 to 2021.Methods A total of 9 261 strains of B.cepacia were collected from 52 hospitals between January 1,2015 and December 31,2021.Antimicrobial susceptibility of the strains was tested using Kirby-Bauer method or automated antimicrobial susceptibility testing systems according to a unified protocol.The results were interpreted according to the breakpoints released in the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)guidelines(2023 edition).Results A total of 9 261 strains of B.cepacia were isolated from all age groups,especially elderly patients.The proportion was 11.1％(1 032 strains)in children,significantly lower than the proportion in adults.About half(46.5％,4 310/9 261)of the strains were isolated from patients at least 60 years old and 42.3％(3 919/9 261)of the strains were isolated from young adults.Most isolates(71.1％)were isolated from sputum and respiratory secretions,followed by urine(10.7％)and blood samples(8.1％).B.cepacia isolates were highly susceptible to the five antimicrobial agents recommended in the CLSI M100 document(33rd edition,2023).B.cepacia isolates showed relatively higher resistance rates to meropenem and levofloxacin.However,the resistance rates to ceftazidime,trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole,and minocycline remained below 8.1％.The percentage of B.cepacia strains resistant to levofloxacin was the highest compared to other antibiotics in any of the three age groups(from 12.4％in the patients＜18 years old to 20.6％in the patients aged 60 years or older).Conclusions B.cepacia is one of the clinically important non-fermenting gram-negative bacteria.Accurate and timely reporting of antimicrobial susceptibility test results and ongoing antimicrobial resistance surveillance are helpful for rational prescription of antimicrobial agents and proper prevention and control of nosocomial infections.