Background Electroplating technology is widely used in the mechanical manufacturing industry. Electroplating workers may be exposed to occupational hazards such as chromium, zinc, cyanides, and sulfuric acid. With the continuous improvement of protective conditions, occupational hazards have been effectively controlled, but there is less focus on the potential acute occupational poisoning that may occur during the electroplating process. Objective To identify causes of an acute chromium poisoning accident occurred during the cleaning process of electroplating tank in a hardware processing plant, and to formulate relevant prevention and control measures to avoid similar poisoning accidents. Methods Occupational history, medical history, and treatment process of the poisoned worker were inquired in detail, his inpatient medical records were consulted , and his blood samples were tested. Occupational health investigation and testing were carried out at the scene of the poisoning accident. Results The air concentration of peak exposure (CPE) and permissible concentration-time weighted average (CTWA) of chromium and its compounds in the workplace were 0.49 mg·m⁻³ and 0.31 mg·m⁻³ respectively. The results of auxiliary test were Serum chromium 4175.85 μg·L⁻¹, serum creatinine 1370.2 μmol·L⁻¹, urea 42.28 mmol·L⁻¹, and urine osmotic pressure 248 mosm·L⁻¹. The final diagnosis was occupational acute severe toxic nephropathy (chromium and its compounds) and occupational chemical skin moderate burn (chromic acid, sulfuric acid). The prescribed treatment included right lower limb expansion skin grafting, hemodialysis and symptomatic support. The patient’s condition was stable and gradually improved after the treatment. Conclusion The main causes of the poisoning accident include weak awareness of the employer of occupational disease prevention and control; failures in fulfilling legal obligations of occupational disease prevention and control, implementing effective occupational disease prevention measures, and providing proper occupational health and safety training and effective personal protective equipment. In order to protect the health of workers, the relevant government departments and employers should attach great importance to the prevention and control of occupational diseases, such as strengthening training and education, increasing the intensity of occupational health supervision, and urging employers to implement occupational disease prevention measures in accordance with the law.

Objective:To analyze and summarize the clinical manifestations, pathological characteristics, treatment, and outcomes of primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus(PMME)in elderly Chinese patients.Methods:A case study of an elderly patient with PMME was conducted at the Department of Gastroenterology in the China-Japan Friendship Hospital.Additionally, literature and case data on elderly PMME cases reported in China up to July 2023 were gathered and analyzed to summarize the epidemiological characteristics, endoscopic manifestations, clinical presentations, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of the disease.Results:A comprehensive review of the literature up to July 2023 documented a total of 114 cases of elderly patients with PMME in China, which also included cases from our hospital.Among these cases, there were 68 male patients(59.6%)and 46 female patients(40.4%), ranging in age from 60 to 81 years, with a median age of 65 years.The predominant clinical manifestations observed were dysphagia and choking while eating, followed by chest pain and retrosternal burning sensation.The majority of the lesions were found in the middle and lower segments of the esophagus, predominantly protruding into the lumen, with only 2 cases(1.8%)displaying esophageal mucosal pigmentation.Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that HMB45 was positive in 74 cases(64.9%)and negative in 3 cases(2.6%), while S-100 was positive in 66 cases(57.9%)and negative in 2 cases(1.8%), although data for some patients were not available.Lymph node or distant metastases were present in 45 cases(39.5%), while 38 patients(33.3%)had tumors confined to the esophagus without metastases.Of the 114 patients, 61(53.5%)had a follow-up period ranging from 0.3 to 39 months, with a median follow-up time of 6.75 months.Among the patients who survived during the follow-up period, there were 30 cases(26.3%), with a follow-up time of 1 to 39 months and a median follow-up time of 7.5 months.For the deceased patients, the time from consultation to death ranged from 0.3 to 31 months.Conclusions:Elderly individuals with PMME in China typically present with a gradual onset, nonspecific symptoms, frequent metastasis upon diagnosis, aggressive behavior, and unfavorable outcomes.

Objective:To assess the feasibility and effectiveness of transnasal ultra-thin gastrointestinal endoscope-guided ileus tube insertion for the treatment of adhesive intestinal obstruction in the elderly.Methods:Randomized controlled trial, a total of 81 elderly patients with adhesive intestinal obstruction were enrolled, with 46 receiving transnasal ultra-thin gastroscope-assisted tube placement(observation group)and 35 receiving conventional transoral gastroscope-assisted tube placement(control group). Tube insertion was carried out.Data on the time needed for tube placement, incidents of oral or nasal bleeding, rates of successful tube placement, physical signs of symptom relief and imaging signs of symptom relief were recorded and compared between the two groups.Results:The symptom remission rate within 3 d was 93.5%(43/46)in the observation group and 88.6%(31/35)in the control group, and the rate for imaging signs of symptom remission was 82.6%(38/46)in the observation group and 74.3%(26/35)in the control group.The differences in symptom remission and imaging signs of symptom remission within 3 d were not statistically significant between the two groups( χ2=0.144, 0.830, all P>0.05). In the observation group, the time needed for tube placement was(15.4±4.2)min, which was significantly shorter than that in the control group(21.3±3.1)min( t=6.984, P<0.01). The rate of successful tube placement was 100% in both groups.In terms of adverse reactions, the observation group had 1 patient with nasal bleeding, 2 with nausea and vomiting, and 1 with a sore throat, with an overall adverse reaction rate of 8.7%(4/46), while the control group had no patient with bleeding, 18 with nausea and vomiting, and 4 with a sore throat, with an overall adverse reaction rate of 62.9%(22/35). There was no statistically significant difference in nasal bleeding(Fisher's exact probability P=0.568)or a sore throat( χ2=1.559, P=0.212), but the differences in the incidence of nausea and vomiting as well as the incidence of total adverse reactions were statistically significant( χ2=23.694, 26.752, both P<0.01)between the two groups. Conclusions:Transnasal ultra-thin gastroscope-assisted tube placement can reduce discomfort such as nausea and vomiting during tube placement, the time needed for the procedure is short with a high success rate, and therefore has very good clinical value, especially for elderly patients.

Objective:To assess the efficacy of immunosuppressor on treatment of Henoch-Sch?nlein purpura nephritis(HSPN).Methods:Literatures were searched in PubMed, Cochrane library, Web of Science, Wanfang database, CNKI and CBM database from inception to January 2021.The studies that investigated the effect of immunosuppressor on HSPN outcomes were included.Article screening, data extraction and quality assessment were accomplished by two investigators independently, and statistical analyses were performed by STATA 14.Results:Ten studies were included with 443 cases, of which, 245 cases were in the experimental group while 198 cases were in the control group.The Meta-analysis showed that the experimental group had higher complete remission rate( OR=1.95, 95% CI 1.19-3.22, P=0.009), total remission rate ( OR=2.92, 95% CI 1.74-4.88, P<0.001), proteinuria decreasing level ( SMD=0.35, 95% CI 0.09-0.61, P=0.008), the increasing level of serum albumin ( SMD=1.27, 95% CI 0.43-2.11, P=0.003) and the increasing level of estimated glomerular filtration rate ( SMD=0.48, 95% CI 0.21-0.76, P=0.001), lower relapse rate ( OR=0.19, 95% CI 0.05-0.72, P=0.015) as well as death rate ( OR=0.19, 95% CI 0.04-0.78, P=0.021)than those of the control group. Conclusion:The immunosuppressor could enhance complete remission rate, total remission rate, proteinuria decreasing level, the increasing level of serum albumin and the increasing level of estimated glomerular filtration rate, reduce relapse rate and death rate of HSPN patients.

Objective:To evaluate the treatment effect of hemoperfusion(HP) on Henoch-Sch?nlein purpura(HSP) outcomes.Methods:PubMed, Cochrane library, Web of science, Wanfang database, CNKI and CBM database were searched from inception to February 2020.Literatures of randomized controlled trials(RCTs) that investigated the effect of HP on HSP outcomes were included.Articles screening, data extraction and quality assessment were accomplished by two investigators independently, and statistical analyses were performed by RevMan 5.3.Results:Thirteen RCTs were included with 803 cases, of which, 397 cases were in the HP group while 406 cases were in the control group.The Meta-analysis revealed the HP group had less disappearing time of hematuresis or albuminuria[ MD=-2.77, 95% CI(-3.18, -2.36), P<0.001], relieving time of abdominal pain[ MD=-1.70, 95% CI(-2.17, -1.23), P<0.001], disappearing time of hematochezia[ MD=-1.54, 95% CI(-1.68, -1.40), P<0.001], and the length of hospital stay[ MD=-3.23, 95% CI(-3.60, -2.87), P<0.001] than the control group. Conclusion:The HP could shorten disappearing time of hematuresis or albuminuria, relieving time of abdominal pain, disappearing time of hematochezia, and the length of hospital stay of HSP.

Objective:To evaluate the frailty status, and to explore its related factors among the community-dwelling elderly people in Beijing, so as to provide scientific basis for taking corresponding measures to delay the frail process of the elderly.Methods:From November 2015 to January 2016, a cross-sectional study was performed among elderly adults of Longtan Community in Dongcheng District, Beijing.Persons aged 60 years and over were selected using a stratified cluster sampling method, and the geriatric frailty-related information was collected through face-to-face household interview.The frailty index(FI)was used to evaluate the frailty status.Multivariate linear regression analysis was used to explore influencing factors on FI value among the elderly.Results:Of the 1 557 interviewees, the median(quartile)value of FI was 0.09(0.08); and women had a higher FI median value than men[0.10(0.08) vs.0.08(0.07)]( Z=5.376, P=0.000). The FI value increased with age( H=329.698, P=0.000). In addition, multivariate linear regression analysis showed that female, older age, disability, being hospitalized in the previous year, being hospitalized during the past 3 years, being unsatisfied to living conditions had relatively higher FI value than the control group( β=0.082, 0.236, 0.336, 0.065, 0.089, 0.193, all P<0.05); and people with high education level, family harmony, a large number of friends who gave support and help, more frequency of participating in organization activities, regular physical examination, and routine exercise had lower FI value than the control group( β=-0.049, -0.052, -0.089, -0.047, -0.045, -0.219, all P<0.05). For FI value, physiological disability was the greatest influencing factor, followed by ageing and not often physical exercise. Conclusions:Similar to foreign studies, the FI method is an effective method to evaluate the frailty status and characteristics among older adults, and is also applicable for the elderly in China.Frailty in elderly people is related not also to intrinsic factors, such as physiology and disease, but also to interventionable factor, such as society, psychology and behavior.Therefore, comprehensive measures should be adopted to delay the process of frailty among the elderly.

Objective:To analyze the relationship between frailty status and the risk of death in the elderly based on the frailty index (FI).Methods:Data from a prospective cohort study conducted between 2005 and 2015 in elderly people of an urban community in Beijing were analyzed. The variables related to health and frailty status based on the 2005 baseline survey and death as outcome variables collected in 2015 were used. A FI model was used to evaluate the correlation between FI and mortality in the elderly people in different age groups was analyzed. Cox regression was applied to evaluate the influence of FI on the risk of death, and Kaplan-Meier curves was used to show the survival rate of different frailty levels in the elderly adults.Results:Of the 1 301 elderly people included in the analysis, 403 died during 2005-2015, with the 10-year mortality rate of 31.0 %(403/1 301). The mortality rate of the elderly increased with the increase of FI, but, with the increase of FI value, the rate of mortality increased slowly. The limit value of FI causing death was around 0.70, indicating any new health problem might cause death at this value. Cox regression analysis showed that higher FI was associated with higher risk for death ( HR=1.143, 95 %CI: 1.034-1.248, P=0.000), and FI was more significantly associated with death than age ( HR=1.143 vs. HR=1.048, t=5.827, P=0.000). With the increase of age, the effect of frailty on the risk of death decreased ( HR=1.179 to HR=1.120). Kaplan-Meier curves showed that the survival rate of the elderly in all age groups decreased with the increase of frailty (Log-rank=317.812, 354.203, 247.258, all P=0.000). The survival time between different frailty levels in the elderly were significantly different, except for the elderly adults aged ≥80 years with severe frailty level (0.4≤FI<0.5, FI≥0.5, P=0.368). Conclusions:Compared with other evaluation tools of frailty, FI model can better reflect the frailty status of the elderly in communities in Beijing and has a high sensitivity in predicting adverse outcomes such as mortality. In the intervention of frailty in the elderly, focusing on relatively young elderly might be more effective in reducing the adverse outcomes caused by frailty.

Objective To investigate changes and the significance of Th17/Treg immune imbalance in secondary systemic infection in patients with severeacute pancreatitis.Methods We selected 21 patients with severe acute pancreatitis and secondary systemic infection (infection group),25 patients with severe alone (non-infection group),20 healthy cases undergoing annual health checkup (control group) in this study.The expression levels of Th17/Treg cells and related cytokines were compared between groups.Results There were significant differences in mortality rate and duration of ICU stay between infection group and non-infection group [23.8％ vs.4.0％,(11.3±3.4) d vs.(7.5±2.8) d,x2=3.949,t=2.890,P=0.047 and0.045].The percentages of Th17 cell andTreg cell,Th17/Treg ratio,mRNA expressions of IL-6,IL-17,IL-23,TGF-β and orphan receptor γt were higher in infection and non infection groups than in control group [(26.4 ± 1.2) ％,(12.8 ± 0.9)％ vs.(3.1±0.8) ％;(6.7±1.6)％,(4.2±1.3)％ vs.(1.3±0.4)％;(4.3±1.0)％,(3.2±1.1)％ vs.(2.4±0.9)％;(7.1±0.8)ng/L,(5.3±0.7)ng/L vs.(0.2±0.1)ng/L;(22.9±2.4)ng/L,(15.6±2.8)ng/L vs.(10.3± 1.5)ng/L;(15.7±2.1)ng/L,(10.2± 1.5)ng/L vs.(8.3± 1.4)ng/L;(23.6±2.2)ng/L,(16.3±1.7)ng/L vs.(11.6±1.1)ng/L;(0.052±0.014),(0.035± 0.010) vs.(0.004±0.001);F=15.761,55.745,9.437,102.788,21.038,16.239,36.957,23.924,respectively,P=0.555,0.000,0.014,0.000,0.002,0.004,0.000,0.000].The mRNA expressions of IL-10 and Foxp3-T were lower in infection and non-infection groups than in control group [(6.4±1.1)ng/L,(10.5 ± 2.1) ng/L vs.(15.4±2.0)ng/L;(0.005±0.001),(0.020±0.007) vs.(0.032±0.009),F=18.995 and 20.608,P=0.003 and 0.002].Conclusions The secondary infection can aggravate the Th17 / Treg immune imbalance in patients with severe acute pancreatitis,and extend the ICU hospitalization days.

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of bedside lung ultrasound on severe pneumonia in elderly patients.Methods Bedside lung ultrasound lung ultrasound and chest CT were performed in 104 elderly patients admitted to the emergency department for suspected severe pneumonia,from November 2010 to January 2013.According to the characteristics of the chest CT image,patients were divided into consolidation group (big leaf or lung segment distribution density shadow) and the unconsolidation group (for the performance of the cable sample,ground glass sample,or small patch sample changes).Differences in ultrasonic characteristics were compared between the two groups.Results Ultrasonic image characteristics were pulmonary consolidation,subpleural lesion,pleural changes and parapneumonic effusions in patients with severe pneumonia.Among 65 patients with chest CT image of pulmonary consolidation in consolidation group,60 patients were found pulmonary consolidation by lung ultrasound,and all 39 patients in unconsolidation group were not found pulmonary consolidation by lung ultrasound,and there was a significant difference in detect rate by lung ultrasound between the two groups (x2 =87.546,P＜ 0.001).The number of subpleural lesion and pleural changes were (1.16 ± 1.07) and (3.14 ± 2.20) respectively in consolidation group and (3.85 ± 1.93) and (11.73 ± 3.69) respectively in unconsolidation group,which had significant differences between the two groups (t=7.439,12.133,both P＜0.001).There was no significant difference in the incidence of parapneumonic effusions between the two groups (45/65 vs.29/39,x2 =0.086,P=0.496).Conclusions Ultrasound image characteristics of severe pneumonia in elderly patients included pulmonary consolidation,pleural lesions,pleural changes and parapneumonic effusions.Ultrasonic characteristics will be pleural lesions,pleural changes in severe pneumonia patients without chest CT image of pulmonary consolidation.

Objective To Analyze the immunity to secondary infection in the elderly with severe acute pancreatitis.Methods Totally 105 old patients were included in the present study.The ratio of CD4+ to CD8+,and serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α),interleukin-6 (IL-6),interleukin-10 (IL-10),and interleukin-4 (IL-4) were determined by flow cytometer analysis or ELISA within 3 days after diagnosis of secondary infection.Results Among 105 old patients,58 cases experienced secondary infection.At 3th day after severe acute pancreatitis,the levels of TNF-α,IL-6,IL-4,IL-10,CD4+,CD8+ and CD4+/ CD8+ were (81.3±5.5)ng/L,(141.2±13.7)ng/L,(61.1±7.4) ng/L,(153.8 ±15.2) ng/L,(43.5±5.5)％,(20.7±2.9)％ and (2.4±0.3) in infection group,as compared with those of (50.8±4.7)ng/1,(81.4±11.7)ng/L,(30.8±7.8)ng/L,(100.3± 13.8)ng/L,(31.6±4.6)ng/L,(29.7±3.5)and (1.1±0.4)in control group,respectively,with statistically significant differences betwveen the two groups (t=7.30,6.51,4.87,4.52,2.88,3.41,4.26,all P＜0.05).At 28th day after SAP,the levels of TNF-α,IL-6,IL-4,IL-10,CD4+,CD8 ± and CD4+ /CD8+ were (29.3±5.8)ng/L,(51.7±7.9)ng/L,(33.8±5.1)ng/L,(82.6±9.5)ng/L,(22.1±3.3)％,(47.1±4.3)％ and (0.6±0.3) in infection group,as compared with those of (44.4±5.5)ng/L,(82.2±7.1)ng/L,(65.3±5.5)ng/L,(109.1±9.5)ng/L,(40.5±2.7)ng/L,(33.4±4.5)ng/L and (1.8±0.4) in control group,respectively,showing statistically significant differences between the two groups(t=3.26,4.93,7.32,3.43,7.41,3.81,4.33,all P＜0.05).Conclusions An early excessive immune response and subsequent immune injury is closely related to secondary severe acute pancreatitis.