Jiuwei Xifeng Granules have become a Chinese patent medicine in the market. Because the formula contains Os Draconis, a top-level protected fossil of ancient organisms, the formula was to be improved by replacing Os Draconis with Ostreae Concha. To evaluate whether the improved formula has the same effectiveness and safety as the original formula, a randomized, double-blind, parallel-controlled, equivalence clinical trial was conducted. This study enrolled 288 tic disorder(TD) of children and assigned them into two groups in 1∶1. The treatment group and control group took the modified formula and original formula, respectively. The treatment lasted for 6 weeks, and follow-up visits were conducted at weeks 2, 4, and 6. The primary efficacy endpoint was the difference in Yale global tic severity scale(YGTSS)-total tic severity(TTS) score from baseline after 6 weeks of treatment. The results showed that after 6 weeks of treatment, the declines in YGTSS-TSS score showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. The difference in YGTSS-TSS score(treatment group-control group) and the 95%CI of the full analysis set(FAS) were-0.17[-1.42, 1.08] and those of per-protocol set(PPS) were 0.29[-0.97, 1.56], which were within the equivalence boundary [-3, 3]. The equivalence test was therefore concluded. The two groups showed no significant differences in the secondary efficacy endpoints of effective rate for TD, total score and factor scores of YGTSS, clinical global impressions-severity(CGI-S) score, traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) response rate, or symptom disappearance rate, and thus a complete evidence chain with the primary outcome was formed. A total of 6 adverse reactions were reported, including 4(2.82%) cases in the treatment group and 2(1.41%) cases in the control group, which showed no statistically significant difference between the two groups. No serious suspected unexpected adverse reactions were reported, and no laboratory test results indicated serious clinically significant abnormalities. The results support the replacement of Os Draconis by Ostreae Concha in the original formula, and the efficacy and safety of the modified formula are consistent with those of the original formula.
Adolescent ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Double-Blind Method ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Tic Disorders/drug therapy* ; Treatment Outcome

Objective·To summarize the clinical features,imaging features,and diagnosis and treatment experience of primary mediastinal yolk sac tumor(YST).Methods·Data of 29 patients with primary mediastinal YST,who attended Shanghai Chest Hospital,Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine from September 2016 to May 2023,were collected and comprehensively analyzed,including imaging examination results,serum indicators,pathology reports and treatment methods.Results·There were 22 cases of pure YST and 7 cases of mixed YST comprising 28 males and 1 female.The mean age of onset was(24.5±5.9)years.The initial symptoms were chest tightness(34.5%),chest pain(27.8%),cough(34.5%),expectoration(34.5%)and no specific symptoms(24.1%).Chest computerized tomography(CT)enhancement showed that all the 29 lesions were located in the anterior mediastinum.The maximum diameter of the lesions ranged from 5.6 cm to 18.2 cm.The lesions were irregular in shape,uneven in density,partially cystic and solid in density.The enhancement scan showed the solid part was slightly and moderately enhanced,and the low-density area was not enhanced.Tumor boundary was not clear because tumors often compressed and invaded surrounding tissues.Among the 29 newly diagnosed patients,serum alpha-fetoprotein(AFP)was significantly increased in 28 cases(1 case was not tested).Patients received multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment,including chemotherapy(25/29),surgery(26/29),and radiotherapy(8/29).Seven patients directly received surgery after diagnosis.Nineteen patients received chemotherapy first and then surgery;16(84.2%)cases were evaluated as lesion shrinkage after chemotherapy.After surgery,73.1%(19/26)patients had a significant decrease in serum AFP.After chemotherapy,56.0%(14/25)patients had decreased serum AFP.Conclusion·Primary mediastinal YST usually occurs in middle-aged and young men,with certain clinical and radiographic features and elevated serum AFP,which requires multidisciplinary comprehensive treatment.

Objective To evaluate the application effect of broth microdilution(BMD)method in susceptibility testing of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis(MDR-MTB).Methods The Roche's proportion method and BMD method were adopted in drug susceptibility testing on 108 MDR-MTB strains and 11 non-MDR-MTB strains in Hainan Province.Whole genome sequencing(WGS)was performed on strains with inconsistent results by the above two methods.Results The average time to acquire drug susceptibility testing results by Roche's propor-tional method and BMD method were 28.0 and 8.5 days,respectively.Roche's proportional method showed higher resistance rates to isoniazid(INH),rifampicin(RFP),ethambutol(EMB),kanamycin(KM),and capreomycin(CPM)than BMD method(all P＜0.001).BMD method showed higher resistance rates to protionamide(PTO)and para-aminosalicylic acid(PAS)than Roche's proportional method(both P＜0.001).Taking Roche's proportional method as the gold standard,the sensitivity and specificity of BMD method for testing drug resistance were 50.00％-100％and 95.69％-100％,respectively.Except EMB(87.39％)and INH(94.96％),the consistency rates of the BMD method in testing drug resistance of other drugs were all ≥95.00％.The overall consistency rate between Roche's proportional method and WGS was 76.19％(32/42),while the consistency rate between BMD method and WGS was 23.81％(10/42),difference was statistically significant(x2=23.048,P＜0.001).34 MTB strains showed inconsistent results by two drug susceptibility testing methods.Among the 26 MTB strains that were resis-tant in Roche's proportion method but sensitive in BMD method,22 strains(84.62％)had mutations in relevant re-sistance genes.Among the 11 MTB strains that were sensitive in Roche's proportion method but resistant in BMD method,5 strains(45.45％)had mutations in relevant resistance genes.Conclusion BMD method is an accurate and rapid MDR-MTB susceptibility testing method,but further improvement and optimization are still needed.Drug resistance is closely related to mutations in relevant resistance genes.

Bungarus Parvus, a precious animal Chinese medicinal material used in clinical practice, is believed to be first recorded in Ying Pian Xin Can published in 1936. This study was carried out to analyze the names, geographical distribution, morphological characteristics, ecological habits, poisonousness, and medicinal parts by consulting ancient Chinese medical books and local chronicles, Chinese Pharmacopeia, different processing standards of trditional Chinese medicine(TCM) decoction pieces, and modern literatures. The results showed that the earliest medicinal record of Bungarus Parvus was traced to 1894. In 1930, this medicinal material was used in the formulation of Annao Pills. The original animal, Bungarus multicinctus, was recorded by the name of "Bojijia" in 1521. The morphological characteristics, ecological habits, and poisonousness of the original animal are the same in ancient and modern records. The geographical distribution is similar between the ancient records and modern documents such as China Medicinal Animal Fauna. The dried body of young B. multicinctus is used as Bungarus Parvus, which lack detailed references. As a matter of fact, it is still inconclusive whether there are differences between young snakes and adult snakes in terms of active ingredients, pharmacological effects, and clinical applications. This study clarified the medicinal history and present situation of Bungarus Parvus. On the basis of the results, it is suggested that systematic comparison on young and adult B. multicinctus should be carried out to provide references for revising the medicinal parts of B. multicinctus.
Animals ; Bungarus ; Snakes ; China ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal

COVID-19 has been prevalent for three years. The virulence of SARS-CoV-2 is weaken as it mutates continuously. However, elderly patients, especially those with underlying diseases, are still at high risk of developing severe infections. With the continuous study of the molecular structure and pathogenic mechanism of SARS-CoV-2, antiviral drugs for COVID-19 have been successively marketed, and these anti-SARS-CoV-2 drugs can effectively reduce the severe rate and mortality of elderly patients. This article reviews the mechanism, clinical medication regimens, drug interactions and adverse reactions of five small molecule antiviral drugs currently approved for marketing in China, so as to provide advice for the clinical rational use of anti-SARS-CoV-2 in the elderly.

Osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (OVCF) can lead to lower back pain and may be even accompanied by scoliosis, neurological dysfunction and other complications, which will affect the daily activities and life quality of patients. Vertebral augmentation is an effective treatment method for OVCF, but it cannot correct unbalance of bone metabolism or improve the osteoporotic status, causing complications like lower back pain, limited spinal activities and vertebral refracture. The post-operative systematic and standardized rehabilitation treatments can improve curative effect and therapeutic efficacy of anti-osteoporosis, reduce risk of vertebral refracture, increase patient compliance and improve quality of life. Since there still lack relevant clinical treatment guidelines for postoperative rehabilitation treatments following vertebral augmentation for OVCF, the current treatments are varied with uneven therapeutic effect. In order to standardize the postoperative rehabilitation treatment, the Spine Trauma Group of the Orthopedic Branch of Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized relevant experts to refer to relevant literature and develop the "Guideline for postoperative rehabilitation treatment following vertebral augmentation for osteoporotic vertebral compression fracture (2022 version)" based on the clinical guidelines published by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) as well as on the principles of scientificity, practicality and advancement. The guideline provided evidence-based recommendations on 10 important issues related to postoperative rehabilitation treatments of OVCF.

Objective:To study the influence of anticoagulation timing on incidence of perioperative deep venous thrombosis (DVT) in elderly patients with hip fracture.Methods:A retrospective analysis was made of the 179 elderly patients with hip fracture who had been admitted to Department of Orthopedics and Traumaology, Hong-Hui Hospital from July 2017 to December 2018. They were 78 males and 101 females, aged from 62 to 91 years (mean, 79.5 years). There were 79 femoral neck fractures and 100 intertrochanteric fractures, 109 of which were treated by internal fixation and 70 by hip replacement. The patients were divided into 3 groups depending on the timing of anticoagulation after injury. In group 1 of 74 cases, anticoagulation started <24 h after injury; in group 2 of 36 cases, anticoagulation started 24 to 48 h after injury; in group 3 of 69 cases, anticoagulation started >48 h after injury. Anticoagulation continued until 12 h before surgery in all patients but was resumed 8 to 12 h after surgery. The 3 groups were compared in incidence of perioperative DVT.Results:The 3 groups were comparable due to insignificant differences between them in their pre-operative general data ( P>0.05). DVT occurred perioperatively in 84 patients, yielding an incidence of 46.9% (84/179). The incidences of perioperative DVT were 27.0% (20/74), 47.2% (17/36) and 68.1% (47/69) in groups 1, 2 and 3, respectively, showing significant differences ( χ2=24.206, P<0.001), between any 2 groups ( P<0.05). Conclusion:Since the earlier anticoagulation starts after injury the lower incidence of perioperative DVT in elderly patients with hip fracture, early standardized prophylactic anticoagulation after injury can effectively reduce incidence of perioperative DVT.

ObjectiveTo explore clinical characteristics of different motor phenotypes in patients with Huntington’s disease in southern China for individualized precise treatment. MethodA total of 58 Huntington’s disease （HD） patients were enrolled from Guangzhou Center of Chinese Huntington’s Disease Network （CHDN） from March 2014 to May 2021. United Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale （UHDRS） was used to assess patients’ motor function， mental state， cognition and total functional capacity （TFC）. The differences of clinical characteristics among different motor phenotypes were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test. ResultsIn southern China， HD patients showed a predominant mixed-motor phenotype， with 72.41% （42/58） of all cases. The clinical characteristics among different motor phenotypes were different， and the TFC score in hypokinetic-rigidity phenotype was lower than that in choreatic motor phenotype ［8.00 （4.00～11.00） vs 13.00 （11.00～13.00）， P=0.037］. ConclusionThe symptoms of movement disorders in HD patients in southern China are complex. The precise classification of motor phenotype is helpful for the treatment and prognosis of HD.

ObjectiveTo explore clinical characteristics of different motor phenotypes in patients with Huntington’s disease in southern China for individualized precise treatment. MethodA total of 58 Huntington’s disease （HD） patients were enrolled from Guangzhou Center of Chinese Huntington’s Disease Network （CHDN） from March 2014 to May 2021. United Huntington’s Disease Rating Scale （UHDRS） was used to assess patients’ motor function， mental state， cognition and total functional capacity （TFC）. The differences of clinical characteristics among different motor phenotypes were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test. ResultsIn southern China， HD patients showed a predominant mixed-motor phenotype， with 72.41% （42/58） of all cases. The clinical characteristics among different motor phenotypes were different， and the TFC score in hypokinetic-rigidity phenotype was lower than that in choreatic motor phenotype ［8.00 （4.00～11.00） vs 13.00 （11.00～13.00）， P=0.037］. ConclusionThe symptoms of movement disorders in HD patients in southern China are complex. The precise classification of motor phenotype is helpful for the treatment and prognosis of HD.