AIM: To evaluate the changes in corneal epithelial thickness(CET)and corneal optical density(CD)after smart pulse technology(SPT)-assisted transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy(TPRK)and analyze their correlation.METHODS: The prospective study included 60 patients(120 eyes)with myopia and myopic astigmatism who underwent SPT-TPRK in the ophthalmology department at the First Affiliated Hospital of Xinxiang Medical University between February and August 2023. Changes in CET and CD were evaluated preoperatively and at 1 wk, 1 and 3 mo postoperatively.RESULTS: A total of 14 cases(28 eyes)were lost to follow-up, and 3 patients(6 eyes)with postoperative haze were excluded from this study, resulting in a final inclusion of 43 patients(86 eyes). At 1 wk after SPT-TPRK, CET had statistically significantly thickened compared to preoperative levels(P<0.05), particularly in the CET at 0-2 mm central corneal area(P<0.05). At 1 mo after SPT-TPRK, the CET at 0-2 mm area had statistically significantly decreased(P<0.05). At 3 mo after SPT-TPRK, the CET at 0-2 mm had essentially reached preoperative levels. Postoperative CD values increased, with a positive correlation between CET in the 0-2 mm area and CD in the whole 0-2 mm area(r=0.256, P<0.05), and a positive correlation between CET in the 2-5 mm area and CD in the anterior 2-6 mm area(r=0.319, P<0.05).CONCLUSION: Corneal epithelial remodeling takes 3 mo in areas within 2 mm of the central cornea; areas with thinner CET have faster postoperative corneal epithelial remodeling and greater thickening in the early postoperative period; CD increases in the early postoperative period compared to the preoperative value, and in some areas, there is a positive correlation between CET and CD value.

Liver failure is a common clinical syndrome of severe liver disease with rapid progression and high mortality. Therefore， early intervention in pre-liver failure or “golden window” is of great significance in improving the prognosis of patients. Hepatitis B virus-related acute-on-chronic liver failure and alcohol-related acute-on-chronic liver failure are the main topics of studies on pre-liver failure. This article discusses the pathogenesis of pre-liver failure and artificial liver support therapy， so as to guide the reasonable and affective applications of artificial liver technology in clinical practice， promote related studies， and thereby reduce the mortality rate of patients with liver failure.

To summarize the nursing experience of a patient with cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator(CRT-D)implantation who was about to deplete battery due to repeated discharge after implantation and underwent left ventricular assist device implantation combined with cryoablation.Key points of care were as follows.To begin with,we actively managed arrhythmias and electric storm.Secondly,we carried refined capacity management to avoid water and sodium retention.Thirdly,we formulated personalized anticoagulation programs to reduce the risk of bleeding and thrombosis.Then,the pump line infection should be prevented as early as possible.At the whole stage,we provided psychological counseling to improve emotional state.After discharge,regular follow-up was carried out through online and offline method to ensure quality of life in the long term.After careful treatment and nursing care,23 days after surgery,the patient was discharged smoothly,and good follow-up after discharge.

Hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） is a common malignancy in China， and molecular-targeted drugs and immune checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of advanced HCC are currently a research hotspot； however， there are large individual differences in the treatment outcome of advanced HCC. In order to further screen for the population with benefits from such treatment， predict treatment outcome， and improve disease prognosis， this article summarizes the studies on predicting the efficacy of targeted therapy/immunotherapy for HCC， so as to provide a reference for developing individualized treatment regimens for patients with advanced HCC.

Objective:To analyze and evaluate the safety and efficacy of a Chinese domestically manufactured Heart Con-type implantable third-generation magnetic and hydrodynamic levitation left ventricular assist device(LVAD) for the treatment of end-stage heart failure(ESHF), by reporting the results of eleven-center clinical trial on 50 cases.Methods:This study was a multicenter clinical trial, designed by means of prospective, multicenter and single-group target value. 50 subjects with ESHF were competitively enrolled and treated with HeartCon as the LVAD in eleven centers. The primary efficacy measure was survival, defined as either the subjects experiencing the transition to heart transplantation(HT) or myocardial recovery assisted by the device within 90 days, or as successfully assisted by the LVAD for full 90 days after implantation. The target survival rate was 60%, other observations included implantation success rate, mortality, pump failure needing replacement or emergency heart transplantation.Results:All enrolled 50 patients received LVAD implantation successfully, 46 survived with the pump for 90 days, 1 patient transitioned to heart transplantation, and 3 patients experienced pump thrombosis, within which 2 patients underwent pump replacement and continued to live with the pump for 90 days, and the other one received emergency heart transplantation. There were no dropout subjects. The survival rate at full 90 days after HeartCon implantation was 100%. The survival rates with pump in the full set analysis and the protocol set analysis were 96.00% and 95.92% respectively, which were higher than the target value of 60%. The differences were both statistically significant( P<0.05). Conclusion:The results of the multicenter clinical trial with the largest sample size in China using domestically manufactured third-generation LVAD has demonstrated that, HeartCon is a safe and effective LVAD to treat ESHF patients.

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1) inhibitor combined with transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) and anti-angiogenic drug tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) versus TACE combined with TKI in the treatment of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and related influencing factors for prognosis. Methods An analysis was performed for all patients who received TACE+TKI+PD-1 inhibitor and some patients who received TACE+TKI in The First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University from June 2018 to July 2021. Related clinical data were collected, and propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance the baseline characteristics between groups. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between two groups; the Wilcoxon rank-sum test was used for comparison of the number of TACE procedures between two groups; the Kaplan-Meier method was used to analyze overall survival (OS), and univariate and multivariate Cox regression models were used to analyze the influencing factors for prognosis. Results A total of 181 patients with advanced HCC were screened out, among whom 50 patients were treated with TACE+TKI+PD-1 inhibitor; after PSM, 40 patients treated with TACE+TKI+PD-1 inhibitor were enrolled as observation group and 40 patients treated with TACE+TKI were enrolled as control group. At the end of follow-up, the median follow-up time was 28.6 (95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 22.1-35.1) months, and the median OS was 15.9 (95% CI : 7.5-24.2) months in the observation group and 11.2 (95% CI : 5.0-17.5) months in the control group. The Cox regression analysis showed that the application of PD-1 inhibitor (hazard ratio [ HR ]=0.42, 95% CI : 0.23-0.80, P =0.008), the number of TACE procedures ( HR =0.67, 95% CI : 0.46-0.99, P =0.043), Child-Pugh class ( HR =2.40, 95% CI : 1.15-5.00, P =0.019), and vascular invasion ( HR =3.42, 95% CI : 1.11-9.42, P =0.031) were independent influencing factors for prognosis. The incidence rate of grade > 2 adverse events was 40% for both the observation group and the control group, and there was no significant difference between the two groups ( P =0.818). Conclusion Compared with TACE+TKI, TACE+TKI+PD-1 inhibitor can significantly prolong the OS of patients in advanced HCC, with relatively controllable adverse events.

Osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture in the elderly will seriously reduce their quality of life and life expectancy. For osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture in the elderly, spinal reconstruction is necessary, which should comprehensively consider factors such as the physical condition, fracture type, clinical characteristics and osteoporosis degree. While there lacks relevant clinical norms or guidelines on selection of spinal reconstruction strategies. In order to standardize the concept of spinal reconstruction for osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture in the elderly, based on the principles of scientificity, practicality and progressiveness, the authors formulated the Clinical guideline for spinal reconstruction of osteoporotic thoracolumbar fracture in elderly patients ( version 2022), in which suggestions based on evidence of evidence-based medicine were put forward upon 10 important issues related to the fracture classification, non-operative treatment strategies and surgical treatment strategies in spinal reconstruction after osteoporosis thoracolumbar fracture in the elderly, hoping to provide a reference for clinical treatment.

Background::The study aimed to describe the aortic valve morphology in Chinese patients underwent transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) for symptomatic severe aortic stenosis (AS), and the impact of sizing strategies and related procedural outcomes.Methods::Patients with severe AS who underwent TAVR were consecutively enrolled from 2012 to 2019. The anatomy and morphology of the aortic root were assessed. "Downsize" strategy was preformed when patients had complex morphology. The clinical outcomes of patients who performed downsize strategy were compared with those received annular sizing strategy. The primary outcome was device success rate, and secondary outcomes included Valve Academic Research Consortium-3 clinical outcomes variables based on 1-year follow-up.Results::A total of 293 patients were enrolled. Among them, 95 patients (32.4%) had bicuspid aortic valve. The calcium volume (Hounsfield Unit-850) of aortic root was 449.90 (243.15-782.15) mm 3. Calcium is distributed mostly on the leaflet level. Downsize strategy was performed in 204 patients (69.6%). Compared with the patients who performed annular sizing strategy, those received downsize strategy achieved a similar device success rate (82.0% [73] vs. 83.3% [170], P= 0.79). Aortic valve gradients (downsize strategy group vs. annular sizing group, 11.28 mmHg vs. 11.88 mmHg, P = 0.64) and percentages of patients with moderate or severe paravalvular regurgitation 2.0% (4/204) vs. 4.5% (4/89), P = 0.21) were similar in the two groups at 30 days after TAVR. These echocardiographic results were sustainable for one year. Conclusions::Chinese TAVR patients have more prevalent bicuspid morphology and large calcium volume of aortic root. Calcium is distributed mostly on the leaflet level. Compare with annular sizing strategy, downsize strategy provided a non-inferior device success rate and transcatheter heart valve hemodynamic performance in self-expanding TAVR procedure.

BACKGROUND: Pain and cartilage destruction caused by osteoarthritis (OA) is a major challenge in clinical treatment.Traditional intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid (HA) can relieve the disease, but limited by the difficulty of longterm maintenance of efficacy. METHODS: In this study, an injectable and self-healing hydrogel was synthesized by in situ crosslinking of N-carboxyethyl chitosan (N-chitosan), adipic acid dihydrazide (ADH), and hyaluronic acid–aldehyde (HA-ALD). RESULTS: This supramolecular hydrogel sustains good biocompatibility for chondrocytes. Intra-articular injection of this novel hydrogel can significantly alleviate the local inflammation microenvironment in knee joints, through inhibiting the inflammatory cytokines (such as TNF-a, IL-1b, IL-6 and IL-17) in the synovial fluid and cartilage at 2- and even 12-weeks post-injection. Histological and behavioral test indicated that hydrogel injection protected cartilage destruction and relieved pain in OA rats, in comparison to HA injection. CONCLUSION This kind of novel hydrogel, which is superior to the traditional HA injection, reveals a great potential for the treatment of OA.

Objective:To investigate the correlation between 24 h blood pressure variability and early neurological improvement (ENI) in patients with large vessel occlusion (LVO) after endovascular thrombectomy (ET).Methods:Patients with LVO received ET in the Emergency Department, the Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from January 2012 to February 2018 were enrolled retrospectively. During the first 24 h after ET, the blood pressure was recorded every 2 h, and blood pressure variability was evaluated by standard deviation (SD) and successive variation (SV). At 24 h after ET, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was evaluated again. The re-evaluation of 0 point or a decrease of ≥4 from the baseline score was defined as ENI. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between blood pressure variability and ENI. Results:A total of 74 patients with LVO received ET were enrolled, of which 39 (52.7%) had ENI. Univariate analysis showed that the proportion of patients with good recanalization in the ENI group after procedure were significantly higher than that in the non-ENI group ( P<0.05), while the average systolic blood pressure, average diastolic blood pressure, systolic blood pressure variability (SBPV) -SD and SBPV-SV within 24 h after ET and baseline total cholesterol level were significantly lower than those in the non-ENI group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that higher SBPV-SV was an independent risk factor for non-ENI (odds ratio 1.223, 95% confidence interval 1.038-1.440; P=0.016). Conclusion:Higher SBPV-SV after ET is associated with poor early neurological improvement in patients with LVO, and it is expected to be a potential target for blood pressure management in patients after ET.