OBJECTIVE: To observe the clinical effect and safety of Jiuci renmai therapy (moxibustion and acupuncture on the conception vessel) combined with bladder function training in treatment of post-stroke neurogenic bladder (PSNB). METHODS: Sixty patients with PSNB were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases in each group. On the basis of conventional treatment with western medication, bladder function training was delivered in the control group, once a day for 4 weeks. In the observation group, Jiuci renmai therapy was supplemented besides the regimen as the control group. The main acupoints were Guanyuan (CV4), Zhongji (CV3), Qihai (CV6) and Qugu (CV2); and the supplementary acupoints were Henggu (KI11), Zhongwan (CV12), Xiawan (CV10) and Shuifen (CV9). Warm needling and moxibustion were operated, once every other day, for 4 weeks. Separately, before treatment and in 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, the urodynamic parameters were detected in the two groups, including maximal urine flow rate (Qmax), maximal detrusor pressure (PdetQmax), residual urine volume (RUV), maximal bladder capacity in the filling phase (MCC), and maximal intravesical pressure in the voiding phase (Pvesmax); the voiding parameters (the average daily number of micturition, urinary leakage episodes, and single voiding volume) were recorded; neurogenic bladder symptom score (NBSS), lower urinary tract symptom score (LUTS) and the score of quality of life scale for incontinence of urine (I-QoL) were evaluated, as well as the clinical effect and safety in the two groups. RESULTS: In 2 and 4 weeks of treatment, Qmax, PdetQmax, MCC, Pvesmax, and average daily single voiding volume were increased compared with the levels before treatment in each group (P<0.05), and the above indexes in the observation group were higher than those of the control group (P<0.05). RUV, the average daily number of micturition, urinary leakage episode, NBSS and LUTS scores of the two groups were reduced in comparison with those before treatment (P<0.05 ), and these indexes in the observation group were lower than those of the control group (P<0.05). In 4 weeks of treatment, the average urinary leakage episode was reduced largely in comparison with the control group (P<0.05); and the improvement in RUV for the patients with retention of urine in the observation group was superior to the control group (P<0.05). In 4 weeks of treatment, the score of each dimension in I-QoL and the total score were elevated compared with those before treatment in the two groups (P<0.05), and the scores in the observation were higher when compared with the control group (P<0.05). The total effective rate in the observation group was 90.0% (27/30) which was higher than 70.0% (21/30) of the control group (P<0.05). The incidence of adverse reactions was 3.3% (1/30) in the observation group, which was not significantly different from that in the control group [10.0% (3/30), P>0.05]. CONCLUSION The combination of Jiuci renmai therapy and bladder function training can effectively alleviate clinical symptoms, recover bladder voiding function, and improve the quality of life in the patients with PSNB, presenting the favorable safety profile in treatment.
Humans ; Female ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic/etiology* ; Urinary Bladder/physiopathology* ; Adult ; Aged ; Stroke/complications* ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Acupuncture Points ; Treatment Outcome ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Moxibustion

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

In order to isolate Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae(Mhp)and select virulent strains with high growth titer from the isolates to acclimate at high temperature to obtain attenuated strains.Forty lung and trachea tissues were aseptically collected from pigs suspected of Mhp in several farms in Nanyang City.A total of 6 strains of Mhp were isolated through pathogen isolation,colony observation,PCR identification and sequencing.For each isolate,round colonies with neat edges,dewdrop like particles and ridges in the center were observed on solid medium.PCR could amplify the target gene bands of each isolated P36.After sequencing,the amplified products were compared with the gene sequences of ATCC 25934 reference strain(J strain)P36 registered in NCBI,and the homology was more than 99％.The growth titer of TH-1 strain measured by CCU experiment could reach 1011 CCU/mL,which showed a high growth titer.TH-1 strain was selected for continu-ous passage at high temperature(40 ℃)in vitro to obtain different passages(P50,P1 00,P1 50).TH-1 P150 still had a higher growth titer(1010 CCU/mL)at 40 ℃ growth temperature.TH-1 P1,P50,P100 and P150 were injected into the trachea to infect 25-day-old weaned piglets,and the re-sults of virulence evaluation showed that 4 pigs(4/5)in the P1 infection group had typical"meat or shrimp meat"lesions,and serious monocyte and lymphocyte infiltration were found in the lung HE pathological sections,and the cilia were clutter-tangled,shortened and exfoliated.P150 infec-tion group did not show typical Mhp characteristic lesions,lung HE and tracheal scan sections did not show microscopic pathological changes,indicating that TH-1 was a virulent strain,but its viru-lence was continuously decreased after continuous in vitro passage,and TH-1 P150 was a low-viru-lence strain.TH-1 P150 strain,as a attenuated vaccine strain,has good immunogenicity,and the av-erage reduction rate of pneumonia disease after immune challenge was 83.3％.In conclusion,a low-virulence strain with high growth titer(TH-1 P150)was obtained by continuous passage at high temperature in vitro for the first time,and its immunogenicity was good,which laid the foundation for further research and development of Mhp attenuated vaccine.

Objective To explore the correlation between brachial and ankle pulse wave conduction velocity(baPWV)and cardiac structure and function in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).Methods A total of 443 patients with T2DM who were treated in The Endocrinology Department of Gansu Provincial People's Hospital were enrolled in this study from June 2022 to October 2023.All the patients were divided into simple T2DM group(T2DM,baPWV<1400 cm/s,n=221)and atherosclerosis group(AS,baPWV≥1400 cm/s,n=222)based on baPWV.The cardiac ultrasound diagnostic instrument was used to record left ventricular ejection fraction(LVEF),end diastolic left ventricular diameter(LVd),end diastolic interventricular septal thickness(IVSd),end diastolic left ventricular posterior wall thickness(LVPWd),ratio of early to late diastolic peak velocity of mitral valve annulus(E/A),and ratio of early diastolic peak velocity of mitral valve orifice to early diastolic peak velocity of mitral valve annulus(E/E').Results Age,DM duration,SBP,DBP,HbA1c,TG,ABI,LVEF,IVSd,LVPWd,E/A<1,E/E'＞14,were higher in AS group than in T2DM group(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Spearman correlation analysis shows that E/A<1 was positively correlated with age,DM duration,BMI,SBP,DBP,and ABI(P<0.05 or P<0.01),while negatively correlated with baPWV(P<0.01).Pearson correlation analysis shows that LVPWd was positively correlated with age,DM duration,BMI,SBP,DBP,baPWV,and Scr(P<0.05 or P<0.01).Logistic regression analysis shows that baPWV,ABI,and SBP were the influencing factors for left ventricular diastolic dysfunction.The analysis of the working characteristic curve of the subjects shows that the area under the curve of baPWV,SBP and ABI for predicting left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is 0.647,0.643,and 0.624,with the best cutoff points being 1398.5 cm/s,125.5 mmHg,and 1.107.Conclusions baPWV is closely related to cardiac structure and function in T2DM patients.As baPWV increases,the risk of left ventricular diastolic insufficiency and hypertrophy rises.

Pan-immune inflammation value (PIV) is a comprehensive immune inflammatory biomarker based on complete blood cell counts, which has been proven to predict treatment response and survival outcomes for different types of tumors. However, the predictive value of the PIV varies in different strategies for tumor treatment. This paper aims to systematically review the latest progress of PIV in predicting survival outcomes and tumor prognosis for immunotherapy, radiotherapy, targeted therapy, endocrine therapy, surgical treatment and neoadjuvant therapy, and analyze its existing challenges and issues, as well as look forward to its future development direction and application prospects.

Objective To investigate the correlation between pre-treatment pan-immune inflammation value (PIV) and clinicopathological features in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients with postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy and evaluate its value in prognosis assessment combined with T stage. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on data of 85 ESCC patients with postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy in the Department of Radiation Oncology of the Affiliated Hospital of Yangzhou University from January 2019 to January 2023. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drew to obtain the optimal cut-off value of PIV and other immune-inflammatory biomarkers. The area under the curve (AUC) and clinical applicability of PIV and other immune-inflammatory biomarkers were compared based on the ROC curve and decision curve analysis (DCA). According to the optimal cut-off value, patients were divided into high PIV group and low PIV group, and the correlation between PIV level and clinicopathological features of ESCC was evaluated. Kaplan-Meier method was used for survival analysis, the Cox proportional hazards model was used for multivariate analysis, and a risk stratification model combining PIV and T stage was established by recursive partitioning analysis (RPA). Results The optimal cut-off value of pre-treatment PIV was determined as 187.22 based on the ROC curve. The AUC of PIV was 0.679, which was greater than 0.640, 0.583, 0.656 and 0.644 of the other four immune-inflammatory biomarkers such as the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). The 85 patients were divided into low PIV group (< 187.22, n=48) and high PIV group (≥187.22, n=37). The level of PIV was significantly correlated with tumor diameter (P < 0.05). The 3-year overall survival (OS) (75.6% versus 30.6%, P < 0.001) and 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) (56.1% versus 21.0%, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in the low PIV group than the high PIV group. Tumor diameter, T stage and PIV were independent factors affecting OS in ESCC patients (P < 0.05), and T stage and PIV were independent factors affecting DFS in ESCC patients (P < 0.05). A new staging system with three risk groups was established by the RPA stratification model based on T stage and PIV, which further improved the predictive value of prognosis compared with T stage or PIV alone. Conclusion Pre-treatment PIV is helpful in predicting the prognosis of ESCC patients with postoperative adjuvant radiotherapy, and the combination of PIV and T stage can improve the predictive value.

ObjectiveTo analyze the correlation between the changes of swallowing function and aspiration in stroke patients using videofluroscopic swallowing study. MethodsFrom January, 2014 to December, 2021, 240 stroke patients who underwent videofluroscopic swallowing study in the radiology department of Xuzhou Central Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into aspiration group (n = 108, ≥ grade 5) and non-aspiration group (n = 132, < grade 5) according to Rosenbek Penetration/Aspiration Scale (PAS). The swallowing function changes in the oral and pharyngeal phases were compared between two groups according to Videofluoroscopic Dysphagia Scale, the risk factors of aspiration were analyzed using Logistic multivariate regression. ResultsThere were significant differences in incomplete lip closure, impaired bolus formation, apraxia, incomplete tongue-to-palate contact, premature bolus loss, prolonged oral transit time, delayed triggering of pharyngeal swallow, epiglottis folding dysfunction, pyriform sinus residue, and coating of pharyngeal wall (χ² > 5.802, P < 0.05). Prolonged oral transit time (OR = 3.964, P = 0.036), delayed triggering of pharyngeal swallow (OR = 5.684, P < 0.001), epiglottis folding dysfunction (OR = 11.571, P < 0.001) and pyriform sinus residue (OR = 4.524, P = 0.002) were correlated with aspiration. ConclusionProlonged oral transit time, delayed triggering of pharyngeal swallow, epiglottis folding dysfunction and pyriform sinus residue are risk factors of aspiration after stroke.

In recent years, a number of policies have been implemented to strengthen the cultivation of general practitioners in China. However, the development of community-level health professionals is still lagging behind, the development is uneven among regions, the overall number of general practitioners is insufficient, and the quality of medical services needs to be improved. Based on the Shanhai (Mountain and Sea) promotion project, with the close cooperation between the Second Affiliated Hospital and the medical consortium unit Suichang County People′s Hospital, a " Joint Cultivation by Dual-Teachers " model has been applied in training general practitioners for Suichang county community since March 2021. In this article we discuss the optimization and integration of medical and health resources through the outreaching assistance of high-quality personnel, management and system of medical service, to comprehensively upgrade the primary care and the quality of grass-roots general practitioners in remote mountainous areas.

Objective:To explore the relationship between dysphagia and the lesion site after an ischemic stroke.Methods:The records of 178 cerebral infarction patients were divided into a supratentorial group of 111 and an infratentorial group of 67, according to the site of their lesions. The supratentorial group was further divided into left, right and bilateral groups of 59, 34 and 18, respectively. Fluoroscopic videos of the patients′ swallowing were used to measure lip closure, bolus formation, apraxia, tongue-to-palate contact, premature bolus loss, oral transit time, triggering of pharyngeal swallowing, vallecular residue, larynx elevation, pyriform sinus residue, pharynx wall coating, pharynx transit time, aspiration, and leakage.Results:There were significant differences between the supratentorial and infratentorial groups in bolus formation, apraxia, oral transit time, triggering of pharyngeal swallowing, larynx elevation, and aspiration. Moreover, significant differences were found in the incidence of aspiration among the left, right and bilateral supratentorial groups.Conclusions:Patients with supratentorial infarction are more likely than those with infratentorial infarction to develop oral dysphagia, including poor bolus formation, apraxia and prolonged oral transit time. Those with infratentorial infarction are more likely to have pharyngeal dysphagia, including poor triggering of pharyngeal swallowing, obstructed larynx elevation, and aspiration. Those with bilateral cerebral hemisphere infarction are more likely to aspirate than those with an infarct in the left cerebral hemisphere.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of nab-paclitaxel plus platinum as first-line chemotherapy for ovarian cancer (OC). Methods: Patients administered platinum combined with nab-paclitaxel as first-line chemotherapy for epithelial OC, fallopian tube cancer, or primary peritoneal cancer from July 2018 to December 2021 were retrospectively evaluated. The primary outcome was progression-free survival (PFS). Adverse events (AEs) were examined. Subgroup analysis was performed. Results: Seventy-two patients (median age, 54.5 years; range, 20.0–79.0 years) were evaluated, including 12 and 60 administered neoadjuvant therapy and primary surgery with subsequent chemotherapy, respectively. The median follow-up duration was 25.6 months, and the median PFS was 26.7 (95% confidence interval [CI]=24.0–29.3) months in the whole patient population. In the neoadjuvant subgroup, the median PFS was 26.7 (95% CI=22.9–30.5) months vs. 30.1 (95% CI=23.1–37.1) months in the primary surgery subgroup. Twenty-seven patients were administered nab-paclitaxel plus carboplatin and had a median PFS of 30.3 (95% CI=not available [NA]–NA) months. The commonest grade 3–4 AEs included anemia (15.3%), white blood cell decreased (11.1%), and neutrophil count decreased (20.8%). No drug-related hypersensitivity reactions occurred. Conclusion Nab-paclitaxel plus platinum as first-line treatment in OC was associated with a favorable prognosis and was tolerable in patients with OC.