Objective To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of pneumococcal meningitis(PM),and drug sensitivity of Streptococcus pneumoniae(SP)isolates in Chinese children.Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical information,laboratory data,and microbiological data of 160 hospitalized children under 15 years old with PM from January 2019 to December 2020 in 33 tertiary hospitals across the country.Results Among the 160 children with PM,there were 103 males and 57 females.The age ranged from 15 days to 15 years,with 109 cases(68.1% )aged 3 months to under 3 years.SP strains were isolated from 95 cases(59.4% )in cerebrospinal fluid cultures and from 57 cases(35.6% )in blood cultures.The positive rates of SP detection by cerebrospinal fluid metagenomic next-generation sequencing and cerebrospinal fluid SP antigen testing were 40% (35/87)and 27% (21/78),respectively.Fifty-five cases(34.4% )had one or more risk factors for purulent meningitis,113 cases(70.6% )had one or more extra-cranial infectious foci,and 18 cases(11.3% )had underlying diseases.The most common clinical symptoms were fever(147 cases,91.9% ),followed by lethargy(98 cases,61.3% )and vomiting(61 cases,38.1% ).Sixty-nine cases(43.1% )experienced intracranial complications during hospitalization,with subdural effusion and/or empyema being the most common complication[43 cases(26.9% )],followed by hydrocephalus in 24 cases(15.0% ),brain abscess in 23 cases(14.4% ),and cerebral hemorrhage in 8 cases(5.0% ).Subdural effusion and/or empyema and hydrocephalus mainly occurred in children under 1 year old,with rates of 91% (39/43)and 83% (20/24),respectively.SP strains exhibited complete sensitivity to vancomycin(100% ,75/75),linezolid(100% ,56/56),and meropenem(100% ,6/6).High sensitivity rates were also observed for levofloxacin(81% ,22/27),moxifloxacin(82% ,14/17),rifampicin(96% ,25/26),and chloramphenicol(91% ,21/23).However,low sensitivity rates were found for penicillin(16% ,11/68)and clindamycin(6% ,1/17),and SP strains were completely resistant to erythromycin(100% ,31/31).The rates of discharge with cure and improvement were 22.5% (36/160)and 66.2% (106/160),respectively,while 18 cases(11.3% )had adverse outcomes.Conclusions Pediatric PM is more common in children aged 3 months to under 3 years.Intracranial complications are more frequently observed in children under 1 year old.Fever is the most common clinical manifestation of PM,and subdural effusion/emphysema and hydrocephalus are the most frequent complications.Non-culture detection methods for cerebrospinal fluid can improve pathogen detection rates.Adverse outcomes can be noted in more than 10% of PM cases.SP strains are high sensitivity to vancomycin,linezolid,meropenem,levofloxacin,moxifloxacin,rifampicin,and chloramphenicol.[Chinese Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics,2024,26(2):131-138]

Objective To observe the safety and the feasibility of biplane transrectal ultrasonography-guided transperineal biopsy for diagnosing women pelvic space-occupying lesions.Methods Data of 14 female patients with pelvic space-occupying lesions who underwent biplane transrectal ultrasonography-guided transperineal biopsy were retrospectively analyzed.The location of pelvic space-occupying lesions,the causes for not performing biopsy transabdominally nor transvaginally,the time consuming and complications of biplane transrectal ultrasonography-guided transperineal biopsy as well as pathological results were collected.Results Among 14 cases,there were 4 cases of rectum mass,3 cases of unilateral or bilateral ovaries masses,5 cases of cervix or lower uterus mass,1 case of mass at the lateral wall of the vagina and 1 case of mass at the posterior part of the bladder.Since vagina abnormalities including severe bleeding,fungal infections,deformities,edema or after vaginal resection,or deep location of lesions and high risk of intestinal tubes injuries,transabdominal or transvaginal puncturing and biopsy were not performed.The time consuming of puncturing and biopsy were(29.50±6.05)min.During the procedures,bleeding in the puncturing tract and vagal reflex occurred each in 1 case,while no obvious complication was observed during 6-month follow-up.Biopsy pathology reported 5 cases of squamous cell carcinoma,2 cases of high grade serous carcinoma,1 case of malignant melanoma,1 case of low grade serous carcinoma,1 case of adenocarcinoma and 1 case of spindle cell tumor,as well as 3 cases of chronic inflammation,all were consistent to post operation pathology or follow-up results.Conclusion Biplane transrectal ultrasonography-guided transperineal biopsy was safe and feasible for diagnosing women pelvic space-occupying lesions.

Objective: This cross-sectional investigation aimed to determine the incidence, clinical characteristics, prognosis, and related risk factors of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain in mainland China. Methods: Data of patients with SARS-CoV-2 from December 28, 2022, to February 21, 2023, were collected through online and offline questionnaires from 45 tertiary hospitals and one center for disease control and prevention in mainland China. The questionnaire included demographic information, previous health history, smoking and alcohol drinking, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, olfactory and gustatory function before and after infection, other symptoms after infection, as well as the duration and improvement of olfactory and gustatory dysfunction. The self-reported olfactory and gustatory functions of patients were evaluated using the Olfactory VAS scale and Gustatory VAS scale. Results: A total of 35 566 valid questionnaires were obtained, revealing a high incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain (67.75%). Females(χ2=367.013, P<0.001) and young people(χ2=120.210, P<0.001) were more likely to develop these dysfunctions. Gender(OR=1.564, 95%CI: 1.487-1.645), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (OR=1.334, 95%CI: 1.164-1.530), oral health status (OR=0.881, 95%CI: 0.839-0.926), smoking history (OR=1.152, 95%CI=1.080-1.229), and drinking history (OR=0.854, 95%CI: 0.785-0.928) were correlated with the occurrence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2(above P<0.001). 44.62% (4 391/9 840) of the patients who had not recovered their sense of smell and taste also suffered from nasal congestion, runny nose, and 32.62% (3 210/9 840) suffered from dry mouth and sore throat. The improvement of olfactory and taste functions was correlated with the persistence of accompanying symptoms(χ2=10.873, P=0.001). The average score of olfactory and taste VAS scale was 8.41 and 8.51 respectively before SARS-CoV-2 infection, but decreased to3.69 and 4.29 respectively after SARS-CoV-2 infection, and recovered to 5.83and 6.55 respectively at the time of the survey. The median duration of olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions was 15 days and 12 days, respectively, with 0.5% (121/24 096) of patients experiencing these dysfunctions for more than 28 days. The overall self-reported improvement rate of smell and taste dysfunctions was 59.16% (14 256/24 096). Gender(OR=0.893, 95%CI: 0.839-0.951), SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status (OR=1.334, 95%CI: 1.164-1.530), history of head and facial trauma(OR=1.180, 95%CI: 1.036-1.344, P=0.013), nose (OR=1.104, 95%CI: 1.042-1.171, P=0.001) and oral (OR=1.162, 95%CI: 1.096-1.233) health status, smoking history(OR=0.765, 95%CI: 0.709-0.825), and the persistence of accompanying symptoms (OR=0.359, 95%CI: 0.332-0.388) were correlated with the recovery of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to SARS-CoV-2 (above P<0.001 except for the indicated values). Conclusion: The incidence of olfactory and taste dysfunctions related to infection with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron strain is high in mainland China, with females and young people more likely to develop these dysfunctions. Active and effective intervention measures may be required for cases that persist for a long time. The recovery of olfactory and taste functions is influenced by several factors, including gender, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination status, history of head and facial trauma, nasal and oral health status, smoking history, and persistence of accompanying symptoms.
Female ; Humans ; Adolescent ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Smell ; COVID-19/complications* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; COVID-19 Vaccines ; Incidence ; Olfaction Disorders/etiology* ; Taste Disorders/etiology* ; Prognosis

Objective:To analyze the quality of surgical specimens of rectal cancer in the Chinese transanal total mesorectal excision (taTME) registry collaborative (CTRC) database.Methods:The retrospective and descriptive study was conducted. Based on the concept of real-world research, the clinicopathological data of 1 761 patients with rectal cancer in the CTRC database who underwent taTME in 40 medical centers, including the Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University et al, from November 15, 2017 to December 31, 2022 were collected. There were 1 212 males and 549 females, aged 62(range, 53-68)years. Observation indicators: (1) preoperative examinations; (2) neoadjuvant therapy; (3) postoperative examinations. Measurement data with skewed distri-bution were represented as M(range). Count data were described as absolute numbers. Results:(1) Preoperative examinations. Of the 1 761 patients, 1 324 patients underwent preoperative pelvic magnetic resonance imaging examination, and the results showed that 4 cases as clinical T0 stage, 30 cases as clinical T1 stage, 250 cases as clinical T2 stage, 828 cases as clinical T3 stage, 141 cases as clinical T4 stage, 11 cases as clinical Tx stage, 60 cases missing clinical T staging data, 490 cases as clinical N0 stage, 373 cases as clinical N1 stage, 311 cases as clinical N2 stage, 86 cases as clinical Nx stage, 64 cases missing clinical N staging data, 156 cases with mesorectal fascia invasion, 223 cases with extraintestinal blood vessels invasion. The distance from lower margin of tumor to anal margin of 1 324 patients was 50(range, 40-60)mm. (2) Neoadjuvant therapy. Of the 1 761 patients, 873 patients underwent neoadjuvant therapy, including 17 cases receiving radiotherapy alone, 155 cases receiving chemotherapy alone, 43 cases receiving short-course simultaneous chemoradiotherapy, 26 cases receiving short-course simultaneous chemoradiotherapy and delayed surgery, 1 case receiving contact radiotherapy, 277 cases receiving long-course simultaneous chemoradiotherapy, 9 cases receiving other treatments, and 345 cases missing neoadjuvant therapy data. (3) Postoperative examinations. Of the 1 761 patients, 1 584 cases achieved R 0 resection, 23 cases achieved R 1 resection, 1 case achieved R 2 resection, and there were 153 cases missing surgical margin data. The tumor diameter, number of lymph nodes harvest and positive rate of intravascular tumor thrombus were 30(range, 20-45)cm, 13(range, 10-17) and 20.794%(330/1 587) in 1 761 patients. There were 1 647 patients with circumferential margin records, which showed positive in 51 cases, and the minimum distance from deep part of tumor to circumferential margin was 5(rang, 3-13)mm in 1 647 patients. There were 547 cases with distal margin records, which showed positive in 4 cases, and the distance from lower margin of tumor to distal margin was 20(10-25)mm in 547 cases. There were 1 698 patients with specimen integrity records, which showed intact specimen in 1 436 cases, fair specimen in 233 cases, poor specimen in 8 cases, unevaluated specimen in 21 cases, and there were 20 cases with rectal tube perforation. Of the 1 761 patients, cases as pathological T0 stage, Tis stage, T1 stage, T2 stage, T3 stage, T4 stage was 103, 23, 145, 515, 712, 179, respectively, and there were 4 cases of pathology that could not be evaluated and 80 cases missing pathological T staging data. Of the 1 761 patients, cases as pathological N0 stage, N1a stage, N1b stage, N1c stage, N2a stage, N2b stage was 1 117, 189, 133, 66, 109, 68, respectively, and there were 79 cases missing pathological N staging data. Of the 1 761 patients, there were 79 cases with distant metastasis, 1 591 cases without distant metastasis, and 91 cases without data of tumor metastasis. Of the 873 patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy, there were 405 patients with tumor regression grade records including 105 cases as grade 1, 142 cases as grade 2, 91 cases as grade 3, 43 cases as grade 4, 24 cases as grade 5. Conclusions:In China, the quality of surgical specimens of taTME for rectal cancer is good with low positive rate of resection margin. It is recommended that using a formatted postoperative pathological report for good quality control of pathological report of surgical specimen.

Adipocyte enhancer binding protein 2, as a component protein of Polycomb repressive complex (PRC2), is involved in the proliferation and migration of many tumor cells. However, its role in HCC is still unclear. In this study, we identify that AEBP2 was upregulated in HCC samples from the UALCAN and Kaplan-Meier Plotter database, which was correlated to the overall survival time of HCC patients. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting confirmed that the expression of AEBP2 in HCC cells was higher than normal liver cells. After silencing AEBP2 in HepG2 and Huh-7 cells, the effects of the proliferation, apoptosis, migration and invasion were detected by colony formation, CCK-8, flow cytometry, scratch healing and Transwell chamber, respectively. Compared with the control group, down-regulation of AEBP2 expression inhibited the proliferation, migration and invasion in HepG2 and Huh-7 cells, as well as promoted apoptosis (P<0. 05). Immunofluorescence and Western blotting results showed that AEBP2 silencing inhibited epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) (P < 0. 05). Bioinformatics analysis showed that AEBP2 is involved the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. Western blotting results confirmed that silencing AEBP2 down-regulated the expression levels of PI3K, p-AKT (S473), mTOR, MMP-2 and MMP-9 proteins (P<0. 05). In addition, the effects of AEBP2 silencing on HepG2 cells migration and invasion could be reversed by PI3K/Akt pathway agonist insulin-like Growth Factors (IGF-1) (P < 0. 01). In summary, our study showed that AEBP2 promoted the proliferation and migration of HCC cell by regulating PI3K/AKT pathway. This study provided a theoretical basis for the role of AEBP2 in HCC.

Aged ; Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use* ; COVID-19/drug therapy* ; China/epidemiology* ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Patient Acuity ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Treatment Outcome

Objective: To analyze the clinical epidemiological characteristics including composition of pathogens , clinical characteristics, and disease prognosis acute bacterial meningitis (ABM) in Chinese children. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed on the clinical and laboratory data of 1 610 children <15 years of age with ABM in 33 tertiary hospitals in China from January 2019 to December 2020. Patients were divided into different groups according to age,<28 days group, 28 days to <3 months group, 3 months to <1 year group, 1-<5 years of age group, 5-<15 years of age group; etiology confirmed group and clinically diagnosed group according to etiology diagnosis. Non-numeric variables were analyzed with the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test, while non-normal distrituction numeric variables were compared with nonparametric test. Results: Among 1 610 children with ABM, 955 were male and 650 were female (5 cases were not provided with gender information), and the age of onset was 1.5 (0.5, 5.5) months. There were 588 cases age from <28 days, 462 cases age from 28 days to <3 months, 302 cases age from 3 months to <1 year of age group, 156 cases in the 1-<5 years of age and 101 cases in the 5-<15 years of age. The detection rates were 38.8% (95/245) and 31.5% (70/222) of Escherichia coli and 27.8% (68/245) and 35.1% (78/222) of Streptococcus agalactiae in infants younger than 28 days of age and 28 days to 3 months of age; the detection rates of Streptococcus pneumonia, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus agalactiae were 34.3% (61/178), 14.0% (25/178) and 13.5% (24/178) in the 3 months of age to <1 year of age group; the dominant pathogens were Streptococcus pneumoniae and the detection rate were 67.9% (74/109) and 44.4% (16/36) in the 1-<5 years of age and 5-<15 years of age . There were 9.7% (19/195) strains of Escherichia coli producing ultra-broad-spectrum β-lactamases. The positive rates of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) culture and blood culture were 32.2% (515/1 598) and 25.0% (400/1 598), while 38.2% (126/330)and 25.3% (21/83) in CSF metagenomics next generation sequencing and Streptococcus pneumoniae antigen detection. There were 4.3% (32/790) cases of which CSF white blood cell counts were normal in etiology confirmed group. Among 1 610 children with ABM, main intracranial imaging complications were subdural effusion and (or) empyema in 349 cases (21.7%), hydrocephalus in 233 cases (14.5%), brain abscess in 178 cases (11.1%), and other cerebrovascular diseases, including encephalomalacia, cerebral infarction, and encephalatrophy, in 174 cases (10.8%). Among the 166 cases (10.3%) with unfavorable outcome, 32 cases (2.0%) died among whom 24 cases died before 1 year of age, and 37 cases (2.3%) had recurrence among whom 25 cases had recurrence within 3 weeks. The incidences of subdural effusion and (or) empyema, brain abscess and ependymitis in the etiology confirmed group were significantly higher than those in the clinically diagnosed group (26.2% (207/790) vs. 17.3% (142/820), 13.0% (103/790) vs. 9.1% (75/820), 4.6% (36/790) vs. 2.7% (22/820), χ²=18.71, 6.20, 4.07, all P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in the unfavorable outcomes, mortility, and recurrence between these 2 groups (all P>0.05). Conclusions: The onset age of ABM in children is usually within 1 year of age, especially <3 months. The common pathogens in infants <3 months of age are Escherichia coli and Streptococcus agalactiae, and the dominant pathogen in infant ≥3 months is Streptococcus pneumoniae. Subdural effusion and (or) empyema and hydrocephalus are common complications. ABM should not be excluded even if CSF white blood cell counts is within normal range. Standardized bacteriological examination should be paid more attention to increase the pathogenic detection rate. Non-culture CSF detection methods may facilitate the pathogenic diagnosis.
Adolescent ; Brain Abscess ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Escherichia coli ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Meningitis, Bacterial/epidemiology* ; Retrospective Studies ; Streptococcus agalactiae ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Subdural Effusion ; beta-Lactamases

Chest trauma is one of the most common injuries. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) as a common complication of chest trauma seriously affects the quality of patients′ life and even leads to death. Although there are some consensus and guidelines on the prevention and treatment of VTE at home and abroad, the current literatures lack specificity considering the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of VTE in patients with chest trauma have their own characteristics, especially for those with blunt trauma. Accordingly, China Chest Injury Research Society and editorial board of Chinese Journal of Traumatology organized relevant domestic experts to jointly formulate the Chinese expert consensus on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of chest trauma venous thromboembolism associated with chest trauma (2022 version). This consensus provides expert recommendations of different levels as academic guidance in terms of the characteristics, clinical manifestations, risk assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of chest trauma-related VTE, so as to offer a reference for clinical application.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influencing factors of low back pain and the relationship of the influence of bad working posture, weight load and frequency of load and the dose-response relationship among the occupational workers of key industries in China. METHODS: A total of 57 501 employees from 15 key industries in China were selected as research subjects using stratified cluster sampling method. The occurrence of low back pain in the past one year, as well as occupational factors such as job type, labor organization and work posture were investigated by using the Chinese version Musculoskeletal Disorders Questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of low back pain in the occupational population of key industries in China was 16.4%(9 448/57 501). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the risk of low back pain in females was higher than that in males(P<0.01). Married, obese, occasional and frequent smokers, and a history of lower back disease were associated with increased risk of low back pain(all P<0.05). The risk of low back pain was associated with older age, higher education level, and lower frequency of physical exercise(all P<0.01). The risk of low back pain was higher with longer working time, greater back curvature, and the high frequency of long standing and sitting position work, uncomfortable working posture, repeated operation per minute, and lifting>5 kg weight(all P<0.01). CONCLUSION: The influencing factors of low back pain in the occupational population of key industries in China include bad working posture, high frequency load, weight load and other individual factors. There is a dose-response relationship with low back posture load and frequency of load.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expressions of microRNAs in peripheral blood of patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia(ITP) and its correlation with the imbalance of Th1/Th2 cells. METHODS: Thirty patients with ITP (ITP group) and 15 healthy people (control group) were enrolled．Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect the expressions of six miRNAs (miR-107,miR-205-5p,miR-138-5p,miR-326,miR-1827,miR-185-5p) and Th1-specific transcription factor T-bet mRNA and Th2-specific transcription factor GATA-3 mRNA in the peripheral blood of the two groups. Th1 and Th2 cells were detected by flow cytometry. The expressions of Th1-cytokines TNF-α and IFN-γ and Th2-cytokines IL-4 and IL-10 were detected by AimPlex multiple immunoassays for Flow. The expression difference of miRNAs, mRNA, Th1, Th2 cells and cytokines of the two groups were compared, and the correlations of miRNAs to mRNA, Th1, Th2 cells and cytokines were analyzed in ITP group. RESULTS: The expressions of miRNAs（miR-107, miR-205-5p, miR-138-5p, miR-326, miR-1827, miR-185-5p）and Th2-specific transcription factor GATA-3 mRNA of the patients in ITP group were significantly decreased (P<0.05) as compared with those in control, while the expressions of Th1 cells and Th1-specific transcription factor T-bet mRNA and Th1-cytokines TNF-α were significantly increased (P<0.05), also for the ratios of T-bet mRNA/GATA-3 mRNA and Th1/Th2 cells were significantly increased (P<0.05). The relative expressions of miR-107, miR-205-5p, miR-138-5p in ITP patients were negatively correlated with Th2 cells (r=-0.411, r=-0.593, r=-0.403,P<0.05) and the relative expression of miR-1827 was negatively correlated with TNF-α (r=-0.390). CONCLUSION The relative expressions of the six miRNAs in peripheral blood of patients with ITP are significantly decreased, which result in the increasing ratio of T-bet mRNA/GATA-3 mRNA, then lead to the imbalance of Th1/Th2.
Humans ; MicroRNAs ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic ; RNA, Messenger ; Th1 Cells ; Th2 Cells