OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the dynamic changes of glucocorticoid (GC) dose and the feasibility of GC discontinuation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients under the background of Chinese medicine (CM). METHODS: This multicenter retrospective cohort study included 1,196 RA patients enrolled in the China Rheumatoid Arthritis Registry of Patients with Chinese Medicine (CERTAIN) from September 1, 2019 to December 4, 2023, who initiated GC therapy. Participants were divided into the Western medicine (WM) and integrative medicine (IM, combination of CM and WM) groups based on medication regimen. Follow-up was performed at least every 3 months to assess dynamic changes in GC dose. Changes in GC dose were analyzed by generalized estimator equation, the probability of GC discontinuation was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curve, and predictors of GC discontinuation were analyzed by Cox regression. Patients with <12 months of follow-up were excluded for the sensitivity analysis. RESULTS: Among 1,196 patients (85.4% female; median age 56.4 years), 880 (73.6%) received IM. Over a median 12-month follow-up, 34.3% (410 cases) discontinued GC, with significantly higher rates in the IM group (40.8% vs. 16.1% in WM; P<0.05). GC dose declined progressively, with IM patients demonstrating faster reductions (median 3.75 mg vs. 5.00 mg in WM at 12 months; P<0.05). Multivariate Cox analysis identified age <60 years [P<0.001, hazard ratios (HR)=2.142, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.523-3.012], IM therapy (P=0.001, HR=2.175, 95% CI: 1.369-3.456), baseline GC dose ⩽7.5 mg (P=0.003, HR=1.637, 95% CI: 1.177-2.275), and absence of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs use (P=0.001, HR=2.546, 95% CI: 1.432-4.527) as significant predictors of GC discontinuation. Sensitivity analysis (545 cases) confirmed these findings. CONCLUSIONS RA patients receiving CM face difficulties in following guideline-recommended GC discontinuation protocols. IM can promote GC discontinuation and is a promising strategy to reduce GC dependency in RA management. (Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT05219214).
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid/drug therapy* ; Glucocorticoids/therapeutic use* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Retrospective Studies

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics, laboratory examination, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of hereditary factor Ⅹ (FⅩ) deficiency. Methods: Clinical data of 11 patients with congenital FⅩ deficiency were retrospectively analyzed from July 2009 to February 2021. Results: There were 3 males and 8 females. Median age was 39 (5-55) years. The media duration of follow-up was 81.67 (1.87-142.73) months. Of the 11 patients, 10 had bleeding symptoms, 7 had ecchymosis or hemorrhage after skin bump, 7 had nosebleed, 6 had gingival hemorrhage, and 1 had muscle hematoma. Among the female patients, 6 had menorrhagia and 1 experienced bleeding after vaginal delivery. Family history of FⅩ deficiency was found in one case. Eight patients had a history of surgery, and four had postoperative bleeding. Laboratory findings were characterized by significantly prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, and decreased FⅩ activity (FⅩ∶C) . Four cases underwent gene mutation analysis and five new mutations were found. Four cases were treated with prothrombin complex concentrates (PCC) and seven cases with fresh frozen plasma (FFP) . One female patient had significantly reduced menstrual volume after PCC prophylactic therapy. One patient received FFP for prophylactic infusion with no bleeding during and after the operation. Conclusion: Most patients with congenital FⅩ deficiency had bleeding symptoms and there was no significant correlation between severity of bleeding symptoms and FⅩ∶C. Prophylaxis should be applied in patients with severe bleeding tendencies. Gene mutation test is significant for screening, diagnosis, and prognosis prediction of congenital FX deficiency.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Blood Coagulation Factors/therapeutic use* ; Blood Coagulation Tests ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Factor X Deficiency/genetics* ; Female ; Hemorrhage/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Plasma ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the factors affecting the chronicity of childhood primary immune thrombo-cytopenia (ITP) and compare the efficiency of different first-line treatment regimens. METHODS: Children with ITP hospitalized in our hospital from September 2013 to October 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Three hundred and one children (150 males and 151 females) were included in this study, with a median age of 8 (0.17-17) years old, and 110 (36.5%), 92 (30.6%), and 99 (32.9%) cases were grouped into newly diagnosed, persistent, and chronic ITP, respectively. The median of follow-up was 41.92 (1.07-74.03) months. At the end of the follow-up (October 2019), among the 202 newly diagnosed/persistent ITP children, 79 cases (59 newly diagnosed and 20 persistent ITP) achieved remission within 1 year after initial diagnosis, with a remission rate of 39.3%; 122 cases (50 newly diagnosed and 72 persistent ITP) developed chronic disease, with a chronicity rate of 60.7%; one case underwent splenectomy. In 99 cases with chronic ITP, 5 cases underwent splenectomy. Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that, the insidious onset of symptoms (OR=3.754, 95%CI: 1.882-7.488, P=0.000) increased the risk of chronicity, while the positive antibody to anti-platelet membrane glycoprotein (OR=0.446, 95%CI: 0.224-0.888, P=0.021) might reduce the risk of chronicity. And no difference was found by the analysis of subtype of anti-platelet membrane glycoprotein (P=0.305). The efficacy of the first-line treatment of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) alone or combined with steroid was better than that of steroid alone (P=0.028, 0.028), however, the efficiency was not significantly different between IVIG alone and combined with steroid (P=0.086). CONCLUSION Insidious onset of symptoms in pediatric ITP increases the risk of chronicity, while the positive titer of anti-platelet membrane glycoprotein may reduce the risk. In the first-line treatment for the newly diagnosed/persistent children. The efficacy of IVIG alone or combined with steroid is better than that of steroid alone.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Hospitalized ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Male ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; Retrospective Studies ; Splenectomy

Objective: To analyze the clinical characteristics, treatment and prognosis of patients with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) . Methods: 83 patients with TTP from May 1998 to May 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: Among the 83 patients, there were 27 males and 56 females, with a median age of 39 (10-68) years. 41 cases (49.4%) showed pentalogy syndrome and 79 cases (95.2%) showed triad syndrome. 78.0% (46/59) of the patients had a PLASMIC score of 6 or higher. TTP gene mutations was detected in 5 of 10 patients. The activity of von Willebrand factor-cleaving protease (ADAMTS13) , which was detected in 10 patients before plasma exchange (PEX) , was less than 10% in 9 patients. 83 patients were treated with PEX/plasma infusion and glucocorticoid, 35 of which were treated combined with rituximab and/or immunosuppressant. The median follow-up was 34 (1-167) months, the effective rate was 81.9%, the remission rate was 63.9%, the relapse rate was (35.7 ±7.1) %, and the 3-year overall survival (OS) rate was (78.6 ±4.6) %. The effective rate (72.9%vs 94.3%, P=0.019) and OS rate[ (63.8±7.5) %vs (94.3±3.9) %, χ(2)=8.450, P=0.004] in the group treated with PEX/PI and glucocorticoid alone were lower than those in the group treated combined with rituximab and/or immunosuppressant. COX multivariate analysis showed that age (HR=1.111, 95%CI 1.044-1.184, P=0.001) and alanine transaminase (ALT) /aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (HR=1.353, 95%CI 1.072-1.708, P=0.011) were independent risk factors for OS. Conclusion: Most patients with TTP have triad syndrome, accompanied by a decrease in ADAMTS13 activity. Plasma infusion and glucocorticoid combined with rituximab, immunosuppressive therapy could improve overall survival. The prognosis of patients with older age and high ALT/AST ratio is poor.
ADAM Proteins ; ADAMTS13 Protein ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Plasma Exchange ; Purpura, Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic ; Retrospective Studies ; Rituximab ; Young Adult

Objective To study the levels of antibodies against bordetella pertussis among pregnant women and neonates in Beijing. Method From December 2016 to March 2017, pregnant women and their newborns from three women and children′s hospitals in Beijing were enrolled in this study. 3 ml of venous blood from the mothers and 3 ml of umbilical cord blood from neonates were drawn.Pertussis bacillus IgG antibody (PER-IgG) and pertussis toxin IgG antibody (PT-IgG) were tested using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. &chi;2 test was used to compare the positive rate of pertussis IgG antibodies in maternal and cord blood in the three hospitals. Correlational analyses of the antibodies levels in each hospital were conducted. The demographic characteristics, history of cough during pregnancy and history of DTaP vaccination of the mothers were collected via questionnaires. Result A total of 612 pairs of venous blood and cord blood samples were collected, including 4 mothers delivered twins and 616 cases of cord blood sample were collected. No history of pertussis were found in the 612 mothers. Among the 616 cases of umbilical cord blood, positive rate of PER-IgG was 13.3％ (82/616), positive rate of PT-IgG was 0.5％ (3/616). Among 612 cases of venous blood from the mothers, positive rate of PER-IgG was 7.7％ (47/612), positive rate of PT-IgG was 0.3％ (2/612). Positive rates of PER-IgG and PT-IgG in the mothers′ venous blood were not correlated with their residences (P=0.676 and 0.544). Positive rates of PER-IgG (r=0.842, P<0.001) and PT-IgG (r=0.619, P<0.001) in the mothers′ blood were positively correlated with the positive rate in umbilical cord blood. Conclusion This study shows that the positive rate of PER-IgG is very low in the maternal and umbilical cord blood in Beijing. Positive correlations of PER-IgG and PT-IgG between mother and umbilical cord blood were existed. Most mothers and their newborns do not have enough protection against pertussis.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of eltrombopag in the treatment of pediatric primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) . Methods: The clinical characteristics of 23 pediatric ITP patients who received eltrombopag from May 2015 to March 2019 were retrospectively analyzed. Eltrombopag started with an initial dose of 12.5-50.0 mg/d and the maximum dose was 75.0 mg/d. Results: Among 23 children, there were 11 boys and 12 girls with median age 11.0 (2.0-17.0) years. Four cases were newly diagnosed ITP, the other 8 of persistent ITP and 11 of chronic ITP. The duration of eltrombopag application ranged from 4.5 to 95 weeks (8/23 still ongoing) . The median platelet (PLT) counts at 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 3 months and the 6 months after treatment were 40 (4-170) ×10(9)/L, 20 (4-130) ×10(9)/L, 60 (4-110) ×10(9)/L, and 70 (18-160) ×10(9)/L, which were all significantly higher than that before treatment 14 (2-82) ×10(9)/L (z=-3.440, P=0.001; z=-1.964, P=0.049; z=-4.339, P<0.001;z=-5.794, P<0.001 respectively) . The overall response rate was 60.87% (14/23 cases) . The median time to PLT count ≥30×10(9)/L was 10.5 (3-42) days. Seven patients (30.43%) responded within the first week, and 10 cases (43.48%) achieved PLT counts ≥30×10(9)/L within 2 weeks. All patients were divided into three groups according to the age (<6 years old, 6-12 years old, 13-17 years old) . The response rates were similar in three groups, as 33.33%, 60.00%, 85.71%, respectively. WHO bleeding scores as 0, 1, 2 were corresponded to 4, 12 and 7 patients before treatment. Patient numbers changed to 13, 7, 3 with bleeding scores 0, 1, 2 respectively after treatment (χ(2)=7.558, P=0.006) . Eltrombopag was well tolerated, the common adverse events included elevated transaminase (4 cases) and serum bilirubin (4 cases) ; mild nausea (1 case) , vomiting (1 case) and dizziness (1 case) . No drug withdrawal occurred due to adverse events. Conclusion: Eltrombopag is safe and effective in pediatric patients with primary ITP.
Adolescent ; Benzoates ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrazines ; Male ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; Pyrazoles ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUNDEssential thrombocythemia is a subgroup of myeloproliferative neoplasms. Previous studies identified mutations of JAK2, CALR, and MPL that are closely related with the pathogenesis of myeloproliferative neoplasms. All these mutations contribute to the hyperactivation of JAK2/STAT pathway. However, a small proportion of essential thrombocythemia patients does not display such mutations. The pathogenesis of "triple-negative" form of essential thrombocythemia remains unknown.

OBJECTIVETo investigate the clinical characteristics of triple-negative essential thrombocythemia and related mutation genes.

METHODSTo identify the mutations associated with triple-negative essential thrombocythemia, next-generation sequencing was used to conduct targeted sequencing of 360 genes in samples from 68 patients.

RESULTSAt least one missense mutation was detected in all the patients and all the detected genes. After screening the data, it was observed that 10 genes with the 10 highest mutation were follows: FLT3, SH2B3, ASXL1, ADAMTS1, TET2, TP53, EGFR, CUX1, GATA2, and MPL.When only rare genes (i.e., with a frequency in Asian populations lower than 5%, as estimated by the 1000 Genomes Project) were analyzed, the most frequently mutated genes in the patients were TET2 (33.82%), SH2B3(29.41%), and ASXL1 (23.53%). Our study identified some mutations that did not previously reported. Although all these mutations need further validation, high incidence rates may indicate relevance of the respective mutations to essential thrombocythemia pathogenesis. Some of the detected mutations have been previously reported; these mutations were also found in a large proportion of our subjects.

CONCLUSIONwhole-exon sequencing can provide a higher level of accuracy for gene mutation analysis and assist in identifying mutations that contribute to illustrate the pathogenesis of essential thrombocythemia.

Objective: To investigate the safety and efficacy of eltrombopag for adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (cITP). Methods: It was a randomised, single-centre, 6 weeks, placebo-controlled study. Beginning in January 29(th), 2013, 35 patients were enrolled, and the trial was completed on May 16(th), 2014. 17 patients were assigned to receive eltrombopag (starting dose 25 mg/d) and 18 were assigned to receive placebo. Results: A total of 35 cases of adult cITP, 6 males and 29 females with a median age of 42(22-66) years were enrolled. One patient withdrew from eltrombopag treatment group for the adverse event (AE) and discontinued treatment. In first two weeks, 27.78% (5/18) of placebo-treated compared with 64.71%(11/17) of eltrombopag-treated patients achieved platelet counts ≥ 30×10(9)/L(P=0.031); Treatment 6 weeks, the proportion of platelet counts reached ≥50×10(9)/L and ≥ 30×10(9)/L in eltrombopag-treated were higher than placebo-treated ones with statistically significant differences in both groups [64.71%(11/17) vs 11.11% (2/18), P=0.001; 76.47% (13/17) vs 38.89% (7/18), P=0.028]; The study also indicated a statistically significant difference in favour of eltrombopag compared with placebo in the odds of achieving the outcome of a platelet count ≥ 50×10(9)/L at least once during 6-week treatment (94.11% vs 33.33%, P<0.001), and 70.59%(12/17) of patients with the platelet count continuously ≥ 50×10(9)/L in 50% of treatment time in eltrombopag-treated group was more than placebo-treated one [11.11%(2/18), P<0.001]. Proportions of patients who required rescue treatment were 44.44% in placebo group and none in eltrombopag-treated one, respectively (P=0.002); The odds of bleeding symptoms with the WHO bleeding scale had no difference in both groups after 6 weeks (P=0.066). Adverse events that occurred more frequently due to eltrombopag than placebo included increased transaminase (3/17) and blood bilirubin (5/17), cerebral infarction(1/17). Conclusions: The thrombopoietin receptor agonist eltrombopag was a suitable therapeutic option for Chinese adults with cITP.
Adult ; Aged ; Benzoates ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrazines ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Platelet Count ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; Pyrazoles ; Receptors, Thrombopoietin ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Objective: To evaluate the applicability of Chinese disseminated intravascular coagulation scoring system (CDSS) in the diagnose of DIC in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) patients. Methods: Medical records of 220 APL patients diagnosed and receiving induction therapy in Blood Disease Hospital, CAMS & PUMC from January 2004 to February 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Each patient was evaluated by CDSS, the International Society of Thrombosis and Haemostais (ISTH) scoring system for overt DIC and Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare (JMHW) scoring system for overt DIC, respectively. Results: A total of 220 APL patients were enrolled in the study, with a median age of 38.5 (12-70) years, 114 male and 106 female. Among them, 173 were in the low-medium risk group, 47 high-risk group; 11 patients died during induction treatment. The positive rates of DIC diagnosed by CDSS criteria, ISHT criteria, JMHW criteria was 62.27%, 54.09%, 69.09%, respectively. The consistency rate of CDSS and ISTH in diagnosing DIC was 78.10%; the consistency rate of CDSS and JMHW was 88.32%. There was significant difference in PT, APTT, FIB, D-Dimer and FDP in DIC(+) and DIC(-) group by CDSS (all P<0.05), but patients in the DIC(+) group had lower level of D-Dimer than in the DIC(-) group [21.9(1.2-477.1) mg/L vs 26.3(0.6-488.7) mg/L, χ(2)=1.871, P=0.002] by ISTH, and there was not significant difference in APTT by JMHW [27.05(18.0-181.0) s vs 26.15(18.2-35.5) s, χ(2)=1.162, P=0.134]. In this study, both of the gender and age had no difference in the DIC (+) and DIC (-) group by CDSS. Univariate analysis showed that the level of WBC and the percent of abnormal promyelocytic cells in bone marrow when diagnosed were different in DIC (+) and DIC (-) group by CDSS (P<0.05). Multiple analysis showed the level of WBC (OR=3.525, 95% CI 1.875-6.629, P<0.001) was the only independent predictor in DIC diagnosis by CDSS. Conclusion: The sensitivity of diagnosing DIC by CDSS was higher than the ISTH; and the specificity was superior to JMHW. Using CDSS can help to make the DIC diagnosis and treatment in time for APL patients who with the coagulation abnormalities.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Blood Coagulation ; Child ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; Female ; Humans ; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Young Adult