As the search for effective treatments for COVID-19 continues, the high mortality rate among critically ill patients in Intensive Care Units (ICU) presents a profound challenge. This study explores the potential benefits of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a supplementary treatment for severe COVID-19. A total of 110 critically ill COVID-19 patients at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Vulcan Hill Hospital between Feb., 2020, and April, 2020 (Wuhan, China) participated in this observational study. All patients received standard supportive care protocols, with a subset of 81 also receiving TCM as an adjunct treatment. Clinical characteristics during the treatment period and the clinical outcome of each patient were closely monitored and analysed. Our findings indicated that the TCM group exhibited a significantly lower mortality rate compared with the non-TCM group (16 of 81 vs 24 of 29; 0.3 vs 2.3 person/month). In the adjusted Cox proportional hazards models, TCM treatment was associated with improved survival odds (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the analysis also revealed that TCM treatment could partially mitigate inflammatory responses, as evidenced by the reduced levels of proinflammatory cytokines, and contribute to the recovery of multiple organic functions, thereby potentially increasing the survival rate of critically ill COVID-19 patients.
Humans ; COVID-19 ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Critical Illness ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND:Digital three-dimensional reconstruction technology is gradually applied to orthopedic diseases with the advantages of visualization,accuracy and non-invasiveness,but there is less evidence-based support for its use in artificial hip hemiarthroplasty for intertrochanteric fractures of the femur in the elderly. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the application value and economic effects of digital three-dimensional reconstruction techniques in artificial hip hemiarthroplasty of intertrochanteric fractures of the femur in the elderly. METHODS:One hundred and thirty elderly patients with intertrochanteric femur fractures admitted to Zunyi First People's Hospital from January 2019 to December 2022 were selected and randomly divided into a control group(n=65)and an observation group(n=65).Artificial hip hemiarthroplasty was performed in both groups.The control group adopted the film template measurement method for manual preoperative planning while the observation group adopted a digital three-dimensional reconstruction technique.Preoperative planning and intraoperative actual application of prosthesis compliance rate,fibrinogen,D-dimer,bilateral femoral eccentric distance difference,bilateral lower limb length difference,Harris hip function score,visual analog scale score,excellent and good rate of hip function,complications,and hospitalization cost were observed in both groups. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The proportion of acetabular side and femoral side prosthesis in grade 0(fully compliant)was higher in the observation group than that in the control group(P<0.05).(2)Fibrinogen and D-dimer levels in the observation group were lower than those in the control group 3 days after surgery(P<0.05).(3)The difference in bilateral femoral eccentric distance and the difference in bilateral lower limb length in the observation group were smaller than those in the control group immediately after surgery(P<0.05).The differences in Harris and visual analog scale scores were not significantly different between the two groups preoperatively,6 and 12 months postoperatively(P>0.05).There was no significant difference in excellent and good rate of hip function between the two groups 12 months postoperatively(P>0.05).(4)There was no significant difference in the complication rate between the two groups(P>0.05).The hospitalization cost of the observation group was higher than that of the control group(P<0.05).(5)It is indicated that digital three-dimensional reconstruction technology applied in artificial hip hemiarthroplasty of intertrochanteric femoral fracture in the elderly can not only accurately determine the prosthesis type before surgery,but also accurately reconstruct the bilateral lower limbs offline,but its hospitalization cost is high.

Objective: To examine the safety and effectiveness of a new stent graft system for endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm(AAA). Methods: This is a prospective,multi-center,single-arm clinical trial. The patients with AAA treated with a new stent graft system were enrolled at 21 centers from September 2018 to September 2019 in China. Follow-up was performed before discharge, and at 30, 180, 360 days after operation, respectively. The primary safety endpoint was the incidence of major adverse events(MAE) within 30 days. The primary efficacy endpoint was the success rate of AAA treatment at 360 days. Secondary safety endpoints were the incidence of perioperative access complications and acute lower limb ischemia,all-cause mortality, AAA related mortality and incidence of serious adverse events (SAE) at 180 and 360 days. Secondary efficacy endpoints were the incidence of type Ⅰ or Ⅲ endoleak,stent displacement,and conversion to open surgery or re-intervention at 180 and 360 days. Results: One hundred and fifty-six patients were enrolled,including 137 males and 19 females. The age was (68.9±6.9) years (range:48.2 to 84.6 years).Maximum aneurysm diameter was (50.8±11.2) mm (range:25.0 to 85.0 mm),diameter of proximal landing zone was (21.2±2.5) mm (range:17.0 to 29.5 mm),and length of proximal landing zone was (31.4±13.0) mm (range:11.0 to 75.0 mm).The incidence of MAE was 1.3% (2/156) at 30 days,both were all-cause death cases. The success rate of AAA treatment was 88.5% (138/156) at 360 days. No perioperative access complication and acute lower limb ischemia occurred. All-cause mortality was 2.0% (3/154) at 180 days and 2.6% (4/153) at 360 days,and there was no AAA related death. The incidence of SAE was 23.0%(35/152) at 180 days and 30.5%(46/151) at 360 days, and no device-related SAE occurred. The incidence of type Ⅰor Ⅲ endoleak was 3.4% (5/147) at 180 days and 3.5% (5/144) at 360 days. Conclusion: The new stent graft system is easy to operate,and early-term safety and effectiveness results are expected.
Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Prospective Studies ; China ; Ischemia ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal/surgery*

Objective: To explore the heterogeneity and correlation of clinical phenotypes and genotypes in children with disorders of sex development (DSD). Methods: A retrospective study of 1 235 patients with clinically proposed DSD in 36 pediatric medical institutions across the country from January 2017 to May 2021. After capturing 277 DSD-related candidate genes, second-generation sequencing was performed to analyzed the heterogeneity and correlation combined with clinical phenotypes. Results: Among 1 235 children with clinically proposed DSD, 980 were males and 255 were females of social gender at the time of initial diagnosis with the age ranged from 1 day of age to 17.92 years. A total of 443 children with pathogenic variants were detected through molecular genetic studies, with a positive detection rate of 35.9%. The most common clinical phenotypes were micropenis (455 cases), hypospadias (321 cases), and cryptorchidism (172 cases) and common mutations detected were in SRD5A2 gene (80 cases), AR gene (53 cases) and CYP21A2 gene (44 cases). Among them, the SRD5A2 mutation is the most common in children with simple micropenis and simple hypospadias, while the AMH mutation is the most common in children with simple cryptorchidism. Conclusions: The SRD5A2 mutation is the most common genetic variant in Chinese children with DSD, and micropenis, cryptorchidism, and hypospadias are the most common clinical phenotypes. Molecular diagnosis can provide clues about the biological basis of DSD, and can also guide clinicians to perform specific clinical examinations. Target sequence capture probes and next-generation sequencing technology can provide effective and economical genetic diagnosis for children with DSD.
3-Oxo-5-alpha-Steroid 4-Dehydrogenase/genetics* ; Child ; China/epidemiology* ; Cryptorchidism/genetics* ; Disorders of Sex Development/genetics* ; Female ; Genital Diseases, Male ; Genotype ; Humans ; Hypospadias/genetics* ; Male ; Membrane Proteins/genetics* ; Penis/abnormalities* ; Phenotype ; Retrospective Studies ; Steroid 21-Hydroxylase/genetics*

Objective To investigate the expression of elastin and collagen in heart of rats with chronic heart failure and their related proteases. Methods Sprague-Dawley rat model of chronic heart failure was made by intraperitoneal injection of doxorubicin hydrochloride. Examination of cardiac function by echocardiography. ELISA and immunohistochemistry were used to detect brain natriuretic peptide ( BNP) , and Masson staining was used to detect myocardial fibrosis. The mRNA levels of elastin, I /IH collagen were detected by Real-time PCR and the expression levels of elastin, I/IH collagen, Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-2 and MMP-9 were detected by Western blotting. Results Compared with the control group, the heart function of rats in the model group decreased, the BNP content in serum increased, the expression of BNP in myocardial tissue was strongly positive, and the mRNA and protein expression of elastin decreased. Nevertheless, the mRNA and protein expression of I / IH collagen increased. At the same time, both MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein expression levels increased in model rat heart. Conclusion Heart failure leads to decreased expression of elastin, I /IH collagen expression increased, and the MMP-2 and MMP-9 may be involved in the regulation of this process.

Aneurysm, Dissecting/surgery* ; Aorta, Thoracic/surgery* ; Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic/surgery* ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation ; Dissection ; Humans ; Treatment Outcome

Objective To compare the performance of contrast-enhanced ultrasound(CEUS)and ultrasound(US)in the differential diagnosis between cholesterol polyps and gallbladder adenomas. Methods A total of 136 patients with gallbladder polyp lesions(GPLs)and undergoing cholecystectomy in the First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital from January 2019 to October 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.All the patients underwent US and CEUS examinations before cholecystectomy.US and CEUS images of cholesterol polyps and gallbladder adenomas were compared for the evaluation of the performance of CEUS in the diagnosis of gallbladder adenomas. Results The 136 cases of GPLs included 95 cases of cholesterol polyps and 41 cases of gallbladder adenomas.Cholesterol polyps and gallbladder adenomas showed significant differences in the maximum size of GPLs(
Adenoma/diagnostic imaging* ; Cholesterol ; Contrast Media ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Gallbladder/diagnostic imaging* ; Humans ; Retrospective Studies ; Ultrasonography

HMG-CoA reductase (HMGCR) protein is usually upregulated after statin (HMGCR inhibitor) treatment, which inevitably diminishes its therapeutic efficacy, provoking the need for higher doses associated with adverse effects. The proteolysis targeting chimera (PROTAC) technology has recently emerged as a powerful approach for inducing protein degradation. Nonetheless, due to their bifunctional nature, developing orally bioavailable PROTACs remains a great challenge. Herein, we identified a powerful HMGCR-targeted PROTAC (

Objective:To understand the basic characteristics of COVID-19 cases and the virus carrying status of different samples in Ma′anshan.Methods:Descriptive epidemiological method was used to describe the distribution of 2019-nCoV infections in Ma′anshan. Real-time fluorescence RT-PCR was used to detect 2019-nCoV nucleic acid in sputum and/or throat swabs. Data was analyzed by EXCEL and SPSS 20.0. P<0.05 was considered to be statistically significant by using χ2 test. Results:Until 14 March 2020, 38 confirmed cases and no death had been reported in Ma′anshan, there were also 11 asymptomatic infections. 2019-nCoV infection was first detected on January 23, and the last was on February 20. No new infections have been found for 23 consecutive days until March 14; 77.55%(38/49)of the infections were in He county. Among the 1 447 subjects, the positive rate was 4.50% (27/600) in females and 2.60% (22/847) in males (χ 2=3.886, P=0.049). The minimum age of the infections was 4 years and the maximum was 85. There was no significant difference between age groups ( χ2=10.675, P=0.058). Among the 49 infections, 20 of them (40.82%) were from Wuhan, 24 (48.98%) were locally infected, and 5 (10.20%) were imported from other places. For the first positive infections, the positive rate of sputum (100%, 36/36) was higher than the throat swab (77.78%, 28/36), and the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=6.125, P<0.05). Conclusions:In Ma′anshan, 2019-nCoV infections were concentrated in He county, sputum was beneficial to the detection of 2019-nCoV.

To explore the value of conventional ultrasound combined with shear-wave elastography in the quantitative evaluation of sciatic nerve crush injury in rabbit models. Forty healthy male New Zealand white rabbits were randomly divided into four groups (=10 in each group):three crush injury (CI) groups (2,4,and 8 weeks after crush) and control group (without injury). The thickness and stiffness of the crushed sciatic nerves and denervated triceps surae muscles were measured at different time points and compared with histopathologic parameters. Inter-reader variability was assessed with intraclass correlation coefficients. Compared with the control group,the inner diameters of the sciatic nerves significantly increased in the 2-week CI group [(1.65±0.34) mm (0.97±0.15) mm,=0.00] but recovered to the nearly normal level in the 8-week CI group [(1.12±0.18) mm (0.97±0.15) mm,=0.06];however,compared with control group [(8.75±1.02)kPa],the elastic modulus of the nerves increased significantly in all the CI groups [2-week:(14.77±2.53) kPa;4-week:(19.12±3.46) kPa;and 8-week:(28.39±5.26) kPa;all =0.00];pathologically,massive hyperplasia of collagen fibers were found in the nerve tissues. The thickness of denervated triceps surae muscle decreased gradually,and the elastic modulus decreased 2 weeks after injury but increased gradually in the following 6 weeks;pathologically,massive hyperplasia of collagen fibers and adipocytes infiltration were visible,along with decreased muscle wet-weight ratio and muscle fiber cross-sectional area. The inter-reader agreements were good. Conventional ultrasound combined with shear-wave elastography is feasible for the quantitative evaluation of the morphological and mechanical properties of crushed nerves and denervated muscles.
Animals ; Crush Injuries ; diagnostic imaging ; Elastic Modulus ; Elasticity Imaging Techniques ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal ; innervation ; pathology ; Rabbits ; Random Allocation ; Sciatic Nerve ; injuries ; Ultrasonography