ObjectiveTo explore the current situation， causes， and countermeasures of medical disputes in a tertiary A comprehensive hospital in Xi’an from 2018 to 2023. MethodsA total of 804 medical dispute cases that had been processed in a tertiary A hospital in Xi’an from January 2018 to December 2023 were collected. The occurrence， current characteristics， and cause distribution of medical disputes were retrospectively analyzed. ResultsThe cumulative incidence rate of medical disputes was 4.408/100，000， and the compensation rate was 31.59% （254/804）. The incidence and compensation rate of medical disputes showed an overall increasing trend year by year from 2018 to 2023 （P<0.05）. The proportion of deceased patients in dispute cases in the past 6 years showed an increasing trend annually （χ²=30.396， P=0.011）. Medical dispute cases mainly came from hospitalized patients （65.17%） and patients undergoing surgical treatment （55.35%）， and the top five departments with medical dispute cases were the hepatobiliary surgery department， cardiovascular medicine department， obstetrics and gynecology department， emergency department， and gastroenterology department. The number of in-hospital mediations showed a decreasing trend annually， while the number of people’s mediations showed an increasing trend annually from 2018 to 2023 （χ²=34.523， P<0.001）. The top five causes of medical disputes in this hospital were surgical/operational complications （29.10%）， disease condition assessment/disease diagnosis （10.45%）， diagnosis and treatment plan （9.45%）， diagnosis and treatment effectiveness （8.83%）， and medical insurance reimbursement （7.59%）. ConclusionThe number of medical disputes and compensation cases in comprehensive hospitals is increasing annually， and high-risk departments such as the surgical department and emergency department need to be given high attention. The handling of medical disputes has shown diversification， with people’s mediation gradually taking the dominant position. The causes of medical disputes mainly concentrated on diagnosis and treatment technology， doctor-patient communication， medical insurance， and other aspects. It is necessary to continuously improve the level of clinical diagnosis and treatment technology， strengthen doctor-patient communication， improve the medical insurance system， strengthen hospital connotation management， alleviate doctor-patient conflicts， and builds a harmonious doctor-patient relationship.

ObjectiveTo investigate the accuracy of multiple discriminant analysis （MDA） versus fibrosis-4 （FIB-4） in assessing liver fibrosis degree in patients with HBV infection， as well as the possibility of MDA as an indicator for disease progression. MethodsA total of 263 patients with HBV infection who underwent liver biopsy in The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from April 2010 to April 2024 were included， and their clinical data were collected. According to the results of pathological examination， they were divided into non-significant fibrosis group （F<2） with 126 patients and significant fibrosis group （F≥2） with 137 patients. The correlation of MDA and FIB-4 with liver fibrosis degree was analyzed， and MDA and FIB-4 were compared in terms of their accuracy in assessing significant liver fibrosis. A total of 62 patients completed follow-up， and according to the presence or absence of progression to liver cirrhosis at the last follow-up visit， they were divided into progressive group with 21 patients and non-progressive group with 41 patients； the efficacy of MDA and FIB-4 in diagnosing disease progression was analyzed and compared. The independent-samples t test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups， and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups； the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups， and the Bonferroni method was used for further comparison between two groups. The chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data. The Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used for correlation analysis. The Wilcoxon signed rank sum test was used for the analysis of baseline data and data at the end of follow-up， and the binary Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the influencing factors for progression to liver cirrhosis. The receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve was used to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of indicators， the Z-test was used for comparison of the area under the ROC curve （AUC）， and the paired chi-square test was used for comparison of the sensitivity， specificity， and accuracy of the two indicators. ResultsThe correlation coefficient between FIB-4 and liver fibrosis degree was 0.378， while the correlation coefficient between MDA and liver fibrosis degree was -0.325 （both P<0.001）. FIB-4 had an AUC of 0.688， a sensitivity of 64.96%， a specificity of 68.87%， a positive predictive value of 67.42%， a negative predictive value of 63.36%， an accuracy of 65.40%， and a cut-off value of 1.01， while MDA had an AUC of 0.653， a sensitivity of 52.55%， a specificity of 78.57%， a positive predictive value of 72.73%， a negative predictive value of 60.37%， an accuracy of 65.02%， and a cut-off value of 0.29， suggesting that compared with FIB-4， MDA had a lower sensitivity （P=0.004） and a higher specificity （P=0.001）. The progressive group had a significantly higher age than the non-progressive group at baseline （t=2.611， P=0.011）. For the progressive group， there was an increase in FIB-4 and a reduction in MDA from baseline to the end of follow-up （both P<0.001）， while the non-progressive group showed no significant changes （both P>0.05）. The multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that aspartate aminotransferase （odds ratio ［OR］=0.940， 95% confidence interval ［CI］： 0.885‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.998， P<0.05） and MDA （OR=0.445， 95%CI： 0.279‍ ‍—‍ ‍0.710， P<0.001） were independent influencing factors for disease progression. MDA had an AUC of 0.893 and an optimal cut-off value of -0.01 in diagnosing the disease progression of liver cirrhosis. ConclusionMDA has a comparable accuracy to FIB-4 in the diagnosis of significant liver fibrosis， and MDA<-0.01 has a high accuracy in diagnosing the progression of liver fibrosis to liver cirrhosis， which can help to reduce the need for liver biopsy in clinical practice.

Glioma is the most common primary tumor of the brain,accounting for 81%of central nervous system(CNS)malignant tumors.The degree of malignancy is high,and the current treatment methods are limited.In recent years,with the in-depth study of intestinal flora and brain-gut axis,it has been found that the diversity of gut microbiota plays an important role in the regulation of glioma.The mechanism is that the intestinal flora affects the development of glioma through the role of immune regulation and metabolites.In addition,it has been con-firmed that there is a certain correlation between some probiotics and glioma,which provides a new application prospect for the treatment of glioma.This paper discusses the main intestinal bacteria that regulate gliomas as well as the role and regulatory mechanisms of intestinal flora in the development of gliomas,and provides ideas for the discovery of new targets for glioma treatment and further improvement of treatment options.

Objective To investigate the effect of Zhuang medicated thread moxibustion on postherpetic neuralgia model rats,and to verify the mechanism of Th1/Th2/Th17 cytokine balance regulation in central nervous system.Methods 50 SD rats were randomly divided into blank group,model group,thread-moxibustion without drugs group,Zhuang medicated thread moxibustion group and pregabalin group,with 10 rats in each group.Except for blank group,the rat model of postherpetic neuralgia was induced by a single intrapitoneal injection of resin-toxin(RTX).After successful modeling,each group was given corresponding treatment for 21 days.The Mechanical Pain Threshold(PWT)and Thermal withdrawal latency(TWL)were detected 3 days before modeling,1,4 and 7 days after modeling,and 3,7,14 and 21 days after intervention.After the intervention,extract spinal cord tissue,Flow cytometry was used to detect changes in the proportion of Th1/Th2/Th17 cells;The mRNA expression levels of IFN-γ,IL-2,IL-4,IL-10,IL-17 and IL-22 were detected by qPCR;The positive expressions of IFN-γ,IL-2,IL-4,IL-10,IL-17 and IL-22 were observed by immunohistochemistry.The protein expressions of IFN-γ,IL-2,IL-4,IL-10,IL-17 and IL-22 were detected by Western blot to elucidate the regulation effect of this therapy on the equilibrium mechanism.Results After intrapitoneal injection of resin-toxin,the PWT of rats showed a downward trend,while the TWL showed an upward trend,showing the separation of heat and pain,which was consistent with the clinical manifestations of PHN.After Zhuang medicated thread moxibustion therapy,PWT increased and TWL decreased in PHN rats,which reduced the separation trend of heat and pain.Thread-moxibustion without drugs group,Zhuang medicated thread moxibustion group and pregabalin group can promote Th1 response in the central nervous system(spinal cord),increase the proportion of CD4+IL-2+cells and the contents of IFN-γ and IL-2 in the spinal cord tissue,and up-regulate the expression of IFN-γ and IL-2 mRNA and protein.Meanwhile,Th2 and Th17 responses in the central nervous system were inhibited,and the proportions of CD4+IL-4+and CD4+IL-17A+cells and the contents of IL-4,IL-10,IL-17 and IL-22 in the spinal cord tissue were reduced.The mRNA and protein expressions of IL-4,IL-10,IL-17 and IL-22 were down-regulated.In addition,Zhuang medicated thread moxibustion group and pregabalin group had similar efficacy in correcting Th1/Th2/Th17 lymphocyte imbalance in the central nervous system,and both were better than the Thread-moxibustion without drugs group.Conclusion Zhuang medicated thread moxibustion can improve the separation trend of heat and pain in postherpetic neuralgia rats,which may be achieved by regulating Th1/Th2/Th17 cell balance and related cytokine levels.

Hereditary hemochromatosis is a rare autosomal genetic disorder that can cause multi-organ dysfunction in the liver,pancreas,spleen,heart and pituitary gland,with diverse clinical manifestations,make the diagnosis difficult.In recent years,with the deepening of clinical understanding and the development of genetic diagnosis tools,the diagnostic rate of this disease has increased significantly.In this paper,we report a case of hereditary hemochromatosis type 3 involving multiple organs and complicated by severe heart failure,aiming to improve the clinicians'understanding of this disease and reduce the leakage and misdiagnosis.

Objective To investigate the dynamic changes and molecular mechanisms of myocardial injury and autophagy as the body's self-protective mechanism at different time points after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion(CI/R).Methods A CI/R model was established in male Sprague-Dawley rats using the Longa thread method.Rats that underwent CI/R following middle cerebral artery occlusion were classified into 6-,12-,24,and 48-hour groups according to the reperfusion time.The concentrations of reactive oxygen species and reac-tive nitrogen species were measured to evaluate myocardial oxidative stress.Cardiomyocyte apoptosis and autophagosomes were observed in the myocardium.Additionally,dynamic changes in myocardial autophagy,autophagic flux,and protein and gene expression of auto-phagy regulators were detected.Results Oxidative-stress-induced injury and apoptosis were observed in the myocardium after CI/R.The number of autophagosomes in cardiomyocytes increased,peaking in the 12 h group,and autophagic flux was impaired during the first 12 h after CI/R.Beclin 1,mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR),and adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase(AMPK)expression levels in the myocardium increased during the first 48 h after CI/R,peaking in the 12 h group.This was consistent with changes in autophagy,which showed significant differences compared with the control group.Conclusion These results indicated that autophagy plays a protective role against CI/R-induced myocardial injury.Furthermore,Beclin 1-mediated autophagy/apoptosis and mTOR-mediated autophagy mutual feedback pathways play important roles in the regulation of autophagy.

Objective:To analyze the terminal survey data of hospice care services in a district of Beijing in 2020, and discuss its current situation and existing problems of hospice care services in this district for countermeasures, hence providing reference for the development of hospice care services.Methods:Data were collected from the " Terminal Survey Forms of the Second Batch of Hospice Care Pilot Areas in China in 2020" , which were reported by 4 tertiary hospitals and 5 community health service centers in a district of Beijing. The reporting timeframe ranged from January to December 2020. Text analysis method was used to analyze the hospice care mode, relevant security policies, hospice care team, case diagnosis categories, average hospitalization days and patient cost burden. All the data were subject to descriptive analysis.Results:In 2020, only 4 tertiary hospitals carried out outpatient, consultation and inpatient services of hospice care among the 9 medical institutions in a certain district of Beijing, and none of them carried out home hospice care services. The number of doctors and nurses engaged in hospice care in the four hospitals was 35 and 40 respectively; There were 267 inpatient cases of hospice care, including 121 cases of malignant tumors, accounting for 45.32%; The average hospitalization days of hospice patients (40.0 days) was more than that of the hospital (7.8 days); The average daily hospitalization cost of hospice patients (3 428.7 yuan) was lower than that of the hospital (3 605.6 yuan); Hospice care services had not been included in the scope of medical insurance payment, and the relevant security policies were not perfect.Conclusions:The work of hospice care service in a district of Beijing remains at an initial stage, and the professional team building and supporting policies for hospice care fail to catch up with the demand in this district. The authors suggest to speed up the development of hospice care in primary medical institutions, build a network of " hospital -community-family" levels, enhance training of professionals and technical personnel of hospice care, as well as establish and improve the medical security system, so as to promote the rapid development of hospice care services in this district.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the accuracy of automatic segmentation of organs at risk (OARs) in radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS: The CT image data of 147 NPC patients with manual segmentation of the OARs were randomized into the training set (115 cases), validation set (12 cases), and the test set (20 cases). An improved network based on three-dimensional (3D) Unet was established (named as AUnet) and its efficiency was improved through end-to-end training. Organ size was introduced as a priori knowledge to improve the performance of the model in convolution kernel size design, which enabled the network to better extract the features of different organs of different sizes. The adaptive histogram equalization algorithm was used to preprocess the input CT images to facilitate contour recognition. The similarity evaluation indexes, including Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSC) and Hausdorff Distance (HD), were calculated to verify the validity of segmentation. RESULTS: DSC and HD of the test dataset were 0.86±0.02 and 4.0±2.0 mm, respectively. No significant difference was found between the results of AUnet and manual segmentation of the OARs ( CONCLUSIONS AUnet, an improved deep learning neural network, is capable of automatic segmentation of the OARs in radiotherapy for NPC based on CT images, and for most organs, the results are comparable to those of manual segmentation.
Databases, Factual ; Humans ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma/radiotherapy* ; Nasopharyngeal Neoplasms/radiotherapy* ; Organs at Risk ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Objective:To evaluate the mechanism of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) agonist-induced protection of the intestine in rats undergoing cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and the relationship with the activity of enteric glial cells (EGCs).Methods:Seventy-two clean-grade adult male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 400-500 g, were divided into 3 groups ( n=24 each) using a random number table method: sham operation group (group S), CPB group (group C) and α7nAChR agonist PHA568487 plus CPB group (group P). In group P, PHA568487 0.8 mg/kg was intraperitoneally injected, and 30 min later CPB model was established.At the beginning of CPB (T 0), at 1 h of CPB (T 1), and at 2 and 6 h after termination of CPB (T 2, 3), the rats were sacrificed, and intestinal tissues were obtained for examination of the pathological changes and for determination of the expression of ZO-1, occludin, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and calcium-binding protein (S-100β protein) by Western blot.The immunohistochemical method was used to observe the positive expression of GFAP at T 2. Results:Compared with group S, the expression of GFAP and S-100β protein was significantly up-regulated, and the expression of ZO-1 and occludin was down-regulated at T 1-3( P<0.05), the positive expression of GFAP was increased, and the intestinal tissue injury was accentuated in C and P groups.Compared with group C, the expression of GFAP, ZO-1 and occludin was significantly up-regulated, and the expression of S-100β protein was down-regulated at T 1-3( P<0.05), the positive expression of GFAP was increased, and the intestinal tissue injury was reduced in group P. Conclusion:The mechanism by which α7nAChR agonist attenuates intestinal injury may be related to activating EGCs and improving intestinal barrier function in rats undergoing CPB.

Objective:To explore the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of secondary adrenocortical insufficiency(SACI)after kidney transplantation.Methods:Retrospective analysis was conducted for clinical data of 12 recipients with SACI after transplantation from March 2018 to November 2019(observation group). Meanwhile, 10 healthy subjects(control group)were randomly selected for in-hospital physical reexaminations during the same period. General data and morning cortisol levels of adrenocorticotropic hormone(ACTH)and aldosterone were compared between two groups.Results:In observation group, there were 8 male and 4 female with an average age of (43.67±8.81) years. Six cases(50.0%)of SACI occurred during recovery period within 30 days and 3 cases(25.0%)within 30 to 90 days post-transplantation. Deceased citizen donation(DCD)was performed in 9 cases(75.0%)and re-transplanted in 3 cases(25.0%). Oral immunosuppressive regiments were administered in a low-dose prednisone-based triple/quadruple regimen. The mean eGFR of observation group was(54.08±20.03)ml/min. The first patient had adrenal crisis, the fourth had sole symptom of fatigue and the remainder stayed asymptomatic. All of them had persistent hyperkalemia and hyponatremia. The average level of plasma cortisol was(62.24±24.16)mmol/L and it was much lower than normal in all patients at 8 am. The determination of plasma ACTH at 8 am showed that 7 patients(58.33%)were lower than normal and the remaining 5 slightly surpassed the low limit of normal. The average level of plasma cortisol at 8 am was significantly lower in observation group than that in control group(141.34±26.28)nmol/L( t=-7.349, P<0.001). The average ACTH level of observation group at 8 am was(1.08±0.515)pmol/l and it was significantly lower than that of control group(2.53±1.06)pmol/L( t=-4.178, P<0.001). The level of aldosterone was normal in both groups and showed no significant difference. All patients in observation group received an intravenous injection of hydrocortisone with satisfactory outcomes. Conclusions:Transplant surgeons should be on a high alert for an occurrence of SACI in renal transplant recipients. Serum potassium and sodium levels may be the predictors of SACI.