PURPOSE: To screen laboratory markers with predictive value in early spinal surgical site infections (SSI) that are diagnosed within 30 days postoperatively. METHODS: Patients who underwent surgical treatment for internal spinal fixation between March 2022 and March 2023 in our hospital were retrospectively studied. The inclusion criteria were aged >18 years, undergoing internal fixation surgery, complete medical records with >30 days of postoperative follow-up, diagnosis was made within 30 days postoperatively, and an informed consent form was obtained. The exclusion criteria were abnormal white blood cell count or neutrophil percentage in the preoperative blood routine and combined diseases that may affect the C-reactive protein (CRP) or procalcitonin (PCT) values, including lower respiratory tract infection, renal insufficiency, and liver disease. We collected patients' personal information, surgical information, and blood laboratory data, including CRP, PCT, lymphocyte-neutrophil ratio, platelet-neutrophil ratio, and routine blood tests on preoperative and postoperative days 3, 5, and 7, from these patients. These data were statistically analyzed to determine which laboratory markers were statistically significant. The diagnostic value and optimal diagnostic threshold of these laboratory markers were further determined by receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. RESULTS: A total of 106 patients were enrolled in this study, of whom 8 patients were diagnosed with early SSI. A total of 4 laboratory markers were screened, namely, CRP on postoperative day 7 (optimal diagnostic threshold of ≥64.1 mg/L, sensitivity of 100%, specificity of 76.5%, area under the curve (AUC) of 0.908), PCT on postoperative day 7 (optimal diagnostic threshold of ≥0.2 ng/mL, sensitivity of 87.5%, specificity of 94.1%, AUC of 0.967), lymphocyte count on postoperative day 5 (optimal diagnostic threshold of ≤0.67 × 10⁹/L, sensitivity of 50%, specificity of 95.9%, AUC of 0.760), and lymphocyte count on postoperative day 7 (optimal diagnostic threshold of ≤1.32 × 10⁹/L, sensitivity of 87.5%, specificity of 55.1%, AUC of 0.721). CONCLUSION We concluded that CRP and PCT levels on postoperative day 7 and lymphocyte counts on postoperative days 5 and 7 are useful markers in screening for early spinal SSI.
Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; Biomarkers/blood* ; Middle Aged ; C-Reactive Protein/analysis* ; Surgical Wound Infection/blood* ; Procalcitonin/blood* ; Adult ; Aged ; Postoperative Period ; ROC Curve ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Spine/surgery*

Objective:To investigate the association between body composition and coronary artery calcification in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD).Methods:This cross-sectional study enrolled patients with CKD hospitalized from May 2019 to April 2022 at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, China. Skeletal muscle mass index and visceral fat area were measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Coronary artery calcification was assessed by computed tomography. Patients were divided into coronary artery calcification group and non-coronary artery calcification group according to the incidence of coronary artery calcification. Patients were categorized into tertile groups according to their skeletal muscle mass index and visceral fat area levels ranging from the lowest to the highest levels (T1 to T3). We defined skeletal muscle mass index≤30.4% as low muscle mass and visceral fat area≥80.6 cm 2 as high visceral fat based on the results of the restricted cubic spline graph. All individuals were divided into 4 phenotypes: normal body composition, low muscle mass, high visceral fat, and low muscle mass with high visceral fat. Spearman correlation analysis and logistic regression analysis were used to assess the association between skeletal muscle mass index, visceral fat area and coronary artery calcification. Results:A total of 107 patients with CKD were enrolled, with an age of (60.0±14.1) years, including 41 female patients (38.3%). Patients of coronary artery calcification group had lower skeletal muscle mass index ((32.0±4.8) vs. (34.3±4.8), P=0.016) and higher visceral fat area ((70.8±32.6) cm 2 vs. (47.9±23.8) cm 2, P<0.001) than those of non-coronary artery calcification group. Patients in the T3 group of skeletal muscle mass index had a lower prevalence of coronary artery calcification (17 (48.6%) vs. 28 (77.8%)) and a lower coronary artery calcification score (0.5 (0, 124.0) vs. 12.0 (0.3, 131.0)) than those in the T1 group ( P<0.05). Similarly, patients in the T1 group of visceral fat area had a lower prevalence of coronary artery calcification (14 (40.0%) vs. 29 (80.6%)) and a lower coronary artery calcification score (0 (0, 3.0) vs. 37.0 (2.0, 131.0)) than those in the T3 group ( P<0.05). Likewise, patients with both low muscle mass and low muscle mass with high visceral fat had a higher prevalence of coronary artery calcification (11(78.6%) vs. 33 (47.8%); 15 (83.3%) vs. 33 (47.8%)) and a higher coronary artery calcification score (31.1 (0.8, 175.8) vs. 0 (0, 16.4); 27.6 (6.4, 211.4) vs. 0 (0, 16.4)) than those with normal body composition ( P<0.05). Spearman correlation analysis showed that skeletal muscle mass index was inversely correlated with coronary artery calcification score ( r=-0.212, P=0.028), and visceral fat area was positively correlated with coronary artery calcification score ( r=0.408, P<0.001). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that increased skeletal muscle mass index was inversely associated with coronary artery calcification prevalence (T2: OR=0.208, 95% CI: 0.056-0.770, P=0.019; T3: OR=0.195, 95% CI: 0.043-0.887, P=0.034), and reduced visceral fat area was inversely associated with coronary artery calcification prevalence (T1: OR=0.256, 95% CI: 0.071-0.923, P=0.037; T2: OR=0.263, 95% CI: 0.078-0.888, P=0.031). Consistently, both low muscle mass and low muscle mass with high visceral fat were associated with coronary artery calcification prevalence ( OR=6.616, 95% CI: 1.383-31.656, P=0.018; OR=5.548, 95% CI: 1.062-28.973, P=0.042). Conclusion:Reduced skeletal muscle mass index and increased visceral fat area are significantly associated with both the prevalence and severity of coronary artery calcification in patients with CKD.

Objective To investigate the value of CT radiomics models based on intranodal and perinodal in distinguishing pulmonary cryptococcosis(PC)from lung adenocarcinoma.Methods A total of 194 patients,including PC(n=94)and lung adenocarcinoma(n=100),confirmed by surgical or puncture pathology were analyzed retrospectively and randomly divided into training set and test set in a ratio of 7∶3.3D Slicer was used to delineate and extract the intranodal and perinodal volume of interest(VOI)radiomics features within a 5 mm range.The minimum redundancy maximum relevance(mRMR)and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator(LASSO)methods were used to dimensionality reduction.Statistically significant indicators were screened by one-way logistic regression and further incorporated into the multifactor logistic regression model.Support vector machine(SVM)was used to construct the intranodal image-based radiomics model,the perinodal image-based radiomics model,the intranodal-and-perinodal image-based radiomics model,and the combined model.The diagnostic efficacy of each model was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve.Results In the test set,the area under the curve(AUC)of the clinical imaging model,the intranodal image-based radiomics model,the perinodal image-based radiomics model,the intranodal-and-perinodal image-based radiomics model,and the combined model were 0.84,0.88,0.85,0.90,and 0.94,respectively.Conclusion The combined model based on clinical imaging features,intranodal and perinodal radiomics features can improve the ability of differentiating PC from lung adenocarcinoma.

Objective:To explore the potential correlation between cumulative pulse pressure (cumPP) level and metabolic syndrome (MetS), and to provide insights for MetS management.Methods:A total of 3 968 subjects who underwent health checkup were selected to form a research cohort, and the data were categorized into three groups based on the tertiles of cumPP levels. Cox proportional hazards regression model was employed to analyze the association between different cumPP levels and the incidence of new-onset MetS. Results:The risk of MetS increased with the increased tiers of the cumPP levels (2.5%, 4.3%, and 4.6%, Ptrend<0.001) during the median follow-up period of 2.16 years. Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that cumPP was positively correlated with waist circumference, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure and fasting plasma glucose (all P<0.05). The Cox proportional hazards regression adjusted model showed that the risk of MetS in Q2 and Q3 was higher than that in Q1 in the total population, and the same results were observed in males (all P<0.05), while there was no statistical significance in females. Model 3 of the total population adjusted for a variety of confounding factors displayed a higher risk of MetS in Q3 compared with that in Q1[1.654 (95% CI 1.272-2.151) ]. When stratified by sex, and the risk of MetS in Q3 was 1.665 times higher than that in Q1 (95% CI 1.245-2.227), while there was no statistically significant risk in female. According to the visual nomogram of independent risk factors screened by multivariate analysis based on Cox proportional hazards regression model, the incidence of MetS at 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years was 0.18%, 3.97% and 7.39%, respectively. In addition, the dose-response curve was plotted according to cumPP, suggesting that the risk of MetS gradually increased with the increase of cumPP in the total population. Subgroup analyses based on baseline systolic blood pressure levels showed that higher cumPP levels were associated with a higher risk of developing MetS, regardless of whether systolic blood pressure was abnormal. Conclusions:Elevated cumPP levels is significantly related to the incidence of new-onset MetS. Maintaining pulse pressure within an appropriate range over long term is crucial for the management of MetS.

Prostate cancer is one of the most common malignant tumors in men and posing a serious threat to men's health. Detection methods such as prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostate biopsy, and magnetic resonance imaging are widely used for prostate cancer screening, but they have low specificity, high cost, and significant risks. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop highly specific, low-cost, easily obtained, stable, and reliable biomarkers, and use them as the basis to establish non-invasive screening and diagnostic methods for prostate cancer. This paper reviewed the recent advances in the use of prostate cancer biomarkers and combined detection methods for prostate cancer diagnosis and prognosis assessment and provides an in-depth analysis and comparison of different biomarkers and combined detection methods, as well as points out the directions and challenges for future research. The paper emphasizes the importance of developing efficient, cost-effective and easy-to-implement biomarkers to increase the early diagnosis rate of prostate cancer, improve patient prognosis, and reduce the waste of healthcare resources. This paper provides an important theoretical basis and technical guidance for early diagnosis, precise treatment and prognostic evaluation of prostate cancer, and has important reference value for promoting clinical research and practice of prostate cancer.
Humans ; Male ; Prostatic Neoplasms/diagnosis* ; Biomarkers, Tumor/blood* ; Early Detection of Cancer/methods* ; Prognosis ; Prostate-Specific Antigen/blood* ; Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II/metabolism* ; Antigens, Neoplasm/blood* ; Antigens, Surface ; Serine Endopeptidases

Ultrasound examination has the advantages of non-radiation, non-invasive, low cost and high efficiency, and is the most commonly used method of liver imaging examination. In recent years, the application of computer vision technology to the intelligent analysis of ultrasound images has become a research hotspot in the field of intelligent healthcare. Through large-scale data training, the intelligent analysis model of ultrasound omics based on machine learning algorithm can assist clinical diagnosis and therapy, and improve the efficiency and accuracy of diagnosis. Based on the literature, the authors summarize the application proprect of computer vision technology assisted ultrasonography in the evaluation of diffuse liver lesions, focal liver lesions, microvascular invasion of liver cancer, postoperative recurrence of liver cancer, and postoperative therapy response to trans-catheter arterial chemoembolization.

Purpose: This retrospective study aimed to re-evaluate the effect of concurrent chemotherapy in patients with locally advanced nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in the era of intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). Materials and Methods: A total of 498 patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) combined with concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) or IMRT were retrospectively reviewed. The distribution of baseline characteristics was balanced using propensity score matching. Additionally, the results of NCT+IMRT and NCT+CCRT were compared using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, and differences in survival rates were analyzed using the log rank test. Results: There were no significant differences in overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and local progression-free survival (LRFS) between the two groups. Patients were further categorized into risk subgroups based on pretreatment Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA cutoff values using receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. There were no statistically significant differences in OS, PFS, DMFS, and LRFS between patients who received NCT+CCRT and NCT+IMRT in the high-risk group. In the low-risk group, although there were no differences between NCT+CCRT and NCT+IMRT in OS, PFS, and LRFS, patients who received NCT+CCRT had better DMFS than those who received NCT+IMRT. Conclusion Pretreatment EBV DNA level can be used to individualize concurrent chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced NPC. Patients with low pretreatment EBV DNA levels may benefit from concurrent chemotherapy, whereas those with high levels may not. Other treatment modalities need to be explored for high-risk patients to improve their prognosis.

Objective:To explore the association between glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) trajectories and new-onset metabolic syndrome to provide insights for the prevention and treatment of metabolic syndrome.Methods:A total of 3 209 subjects who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study cohort of physical examination population. The GGT levels before follow-up were classified by R LCTMtools program into 3 GGT trajectory groups: low-stable group, medium-stable group and high-stable group. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze the correlation between different GGT trajectories and new-onset metabolic syndrome.Results:At the end of follow-up in 2020, the cumulative incidence of metabolic syndrome was 7.0%, and the incidence of metabolic syndrome in the low-stable group, medium-stable group and high-stable group were 3.9%, 11.4%, and 15.0%, respectively, showing a growth trend ( P<0.001). After adjusting for multiple confounding factors by Cox proportional hazards regression model, the risk of metabolic syndrome in medium-stable group and high-stable group increased in the total population. The hazard ratios (95% CI)for the high stable group in males and the medium-stable group in females were 1.67(1.07-2.60) and 3.29(1.14-9.53), respectively, compared with their respective low-stable group. Conclusion:Elevated longitudinal trajectory of GGT is a risk factor for new-onset metabolic syndrome, the risk of metabolic syndrome in the total population increased with the increase of long-term GGT level. It is recommended to maintain the long-term level of GGT at about 28 U/L in males and 14 U/L in females, respectively, to achieve the goal of early prevention of metabolic syndrome.

ObjectiveTo investigate the application of Mengchao Liver Disease-Brain System version 2.0 in clinical diagnosis and treatment. MethodsThis study was conducted among 160 patients who were admitted to the internal medicine and surgical departments from June 9 to 21， 2021， and their data were automatically captured by the intelligent information system of Southeast Big Data Institute of Hepatobiliary Health， Mengchao Hepatobiliary Hospital of Fujian Medical University. The completeness and accuracy of Mengchao Liver Disease-Brain System version 2.0 were evaluated based on the intelligent diagnostic tools such as auxiliary diagnosis of chronic hepatitis B， interpretation of liver fibrosis， staging model of chronic hepatitis B， auxiliary diagnosis of liver cirrhosis， auxiliary staining of liver cirrhosis， auxiliary diagnosis of primary liver cancer， BCLC stage of primary liver cancer， Chinese staging of primary liver cancer， Child-Pugh score， and APRI score. ResultsAll auxiliary diagnostic tools had a complete rate of 94.17% in terms of the extraction of correct key dimensions within the test period. The artificial intelligence report had a structured accuracy of 97.55% in capturing data and an accuracy rate of 91.61% in text processing. ConclusionMengchao Liver Disease-Brain System version 2.0 provides an innovative mode for the construction of big data platform in medical specialties and has a high accuracy as an auxiliary diagnostic tool in clinical diagnosis and treatment.

Objective:To evaluate the complications of complex intracranial aneurysms after intervention with flow-diverter (FD) devices.Methods:Sixty patients with complex intracranial aneurysms accepted FD devices in Department of Cerebrovascular Diseases, Second Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University from July 2018 to June 2021 were chosen. Clinical and imaging data of these patients were retrospectively analyzed, and complications were recorded: procedure-related adverse events, early postprocedural complications, complications during follow-up, and covered branch occlusion.Results:A total of 61 FD devices (47 Pipeline Flex, 10 Tubridge, 4 Surpass Streamline) were implanted in 60 patients. Incidence of procedure-related adverse events was 8.3% (5/60), including 3 with incomplete stent apposition, 1 with intraoperative bleeding, 1 with aneurysm neck not covered by stent; incidence of early postprocedural complications was 6.7% (4/60), including 3 with hemorrhagic complication and 1 with ischemic complication. DSA follow-up ([22.7±16.8] months) was completed in 54 patients; aneurysm healed rate was 83.3% (45/54). First DSA follow-up 6 months after surgery showed that in-stent restenosis was 7.4% (4/54), of which 2 deteriorated to parent vessel occlusion at 2- and 3-year after procedure, respectively. A total of 78 branch arteries were covered by FD devices, and only 1 (1.3%, 1/78) demonstrated branch artery occlusion at last follow-up, without clinical symptoms.Conclusion:The complications of complex intracranial aneurysms after intervention with FD devices should be recognized; incomplete stent apposition is the main procedure-related adverse event, and hemorrhagic complication mainly appear in the early postprocedural period; in-stent restenosis should be vigilant during follow-up.