Objective:To analyze the risk factors and pathogen distribution of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).Methods:A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 118 patients with ARDS who received treatment at Xi'an International Medical Center Hospital from January 2020 to January 2023. The patients were divided into two groups: the VAP group ( n = 38) and the non-VAP group ( n = 80), based on the presence of concurrent VAP. Serological indicators, blood gas analysis parameters, and ventilator settings were compared between the two groups to identify the risk factors associated with the occurrence of VAP. Pathogenic bacteria in the patients' sputum were also detected. Results:Among the 118 patients, there were 79 males and 39 females, with an average age of (53.1 ± 9.6) years. The primary underlying conditions leading to ARDS included chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 49 cases (41.53%), sepsis in 20 cases (16.95%), severe pneumonia in 17 cases (14.41%), and extensive stroke in 16 cases (13.56%). Univariate analysis revealed that, compared with the non-VAP group, the VAP group had significantly more severe ARDS ( Z = -4.73, P < 0.05). Compared with the non-VAP group, the levels of albumin, platelets, and procalcitonin in the VAP group were significantly lower ( t = 13.75, 3.11, 2.27, all P < 0.05), while levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, transforming growth factor beta (TGF-β), and angiotensin Ⅱin the VAP group were significantly higher ( t = 2.51, 26.63, 27.50, all P < 0.05). The VAP group had a significantly higher proportion of patients who experienced coma, underwent tracheostomy, and received more than two types of antibiotics (χ2 = 14.84, 19.04, 11.22, all P < 0.05). The VAP group also had significantly longer duration of antibiotic use compared with the non-VAP group ( t = 6.88, P < 0.05). Multivariate analysis showed that albumin ( OR = 2.632, 95% CI: 1.398-3.749), high-sensitivity C-reactive protein ( OR = 2.358, 95% CI: 1.534-4.036), coma ( OR = 3.035, 95% CI: 2.034-3.834), and use of more than two types of antibiotics ( OR = 2.005, 95% CI: 1.363-2.846) were independent risk factors for the occurrence of VAP in patients with ARDS (all P < 0.05). In 38 patients with VAP, 63 pathogenic strains were isolated from sputum, while in 80 patients with non-VAP, 128 pathogenic strains were isolated. The most common pathogens identified were Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Staphylococcus aureus. In the VAP group, a single pathogen was identified in 16 cases (42.11%), whereas in the non-VAP group, a single pathogen was identified in 51 cases (63.75%). Two types of pathogens were found in 14 cases (36.84%) of the VAP group and 25 cases (31.25%) of the non-VAP group, while three or more pathogens were detected in 8 cases (21.05%) of the VAP group and 4 cases (5.00%) of the non-VAP group. The survival rates for the VAP and non-VAP groups were 57.9% (22/38) and 85.0% (68/80), respectively, with the non-VAP group showing a significantly higher survival rate (χ2 = 22.67, P < 0.001). Conclusion:The risk of VAP in patients with ARDS is high, with two or more pathogen infections being predominant. Clinical interventions should be strengthened.

Exosomes are small vesicles with nanoscale lipid bilayer structures, which are secreted by various cells and are widely present in biological fluids, with complex contents and multiple biological functions.Exosomes play an important role in the development of glaucoma.Exosomes in the eye are involved in trabecular meshwork cell regulation by transporting glaucoma-associated proteins, regulating the Wnt signaling pathway, and affecting extracellular matrix turnover, thereby affecting the atrial circulation.Microglial exosomes mediate retinal neuroinflammation and related inflammatory signaling pathways.In addition, the stable presence of exosomes in intraocular fluid, in which differentially expressed proteins, RNA and other contents give exosomes potential as glaucoma biomarkers.In the treatment of glaucoma, stem cell-derived exosomes inhibit glial cell activation and neuroinflammation, reduce the loss of retinal ganglion cells, and act as neuroprotective agents.Exosomes can cross the blood-retinal barrier, deliver neurotrophic factors, drugs or other therapeutic molecules to target cells, regulate the function of target cells, and provide a new therapeutic tool for glaucomatous optic nerve degeneration.This paper summarized the research progress in the field of glaucoma and exosomes at home and abroad, and reviewed the role of exosomes and related mechanisms in the development, diagnosis, and treatment of glaucoma, expecting to provide new ideas for the early diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma.

BACKGROUND: The expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) as a biomarker for immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is routinely detected in clinical pathology department. However, the spatial heterogeneity of PD-L1 expression in intrapulmonary tumors and extrapulmonary metastases is still a challenge for the clinical testing. This study aims to explore the differences of PD-L1 expression in test samples obtaining from different sites of NSCLC. This study may contribute to the detection strategy of PD-L1 in patients with advanced lung cancer. METHODS: One hundred and thirty-one cases of consecutively detected PD-L1 (22c3 assay, Dako) staining in metastatic NSCLC and 972 cases of non-paired intrapulmonary NSCLC were collected. The discrepancies of tumor proportion score (TPS) of PD-L1 expression in intrapulmonary samples and extrapulmonary metastatic samples of different sites were compared. RESULTS: The positive expression rate of PD-L1 in extrapulmonary metastatic NSCLC (TPS ≥ 1%) was 61.83%, and the TPS was significantly higher than that in intrapulmonary tumors (P=0.03). The PD-L1 scores of the specimens obtained from different sites were significantly different (P=0.007). The positive rates of PD-L1 in liver and adrenal metastases were 85.71% and 77.78% respectively, and their TPS were significantly higher than that of the intrapulmonary samples (P<0.05). The positive rates of PD-L1 in lymph node, bone, brain, soft tissue, and pleural metastases was 40.00%-66.67%, with no significant differences compared to intrapulmonary tumors. The analysis of histological subtype and sample type showed that the PD-L1 score of extrapulmonary samples of adenocarcinoma subtype or surgical specimen was significantly higher than that of intrapulmonary tumors. The analysis of clinicopathological parameters showed that the PD-L1 positive expression or high expression were significantly correlated with male patients, smoking history, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) wild type. CONCLUSIONS The expression of PD-L1 in metastatic NSCLC is generally higher than that in intrapulmonary tumor, and the positive rate of PD-L1 expression was discrepant in different sites of specimen. The differences of PD-L1 score between extrapulmonary metastatic samples and intrapulmonary samples may be associated with different metastatic sites, histological subtype, and specimen type.
B7-H1 Antigen/metabolism* ; Biomarkers, Tumor/metabolism* ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Lung Neoplasms/drug therapy* ; Male

Objective:To investigate the efficacy and safety of comprehensive therapy in the treatment of advanced unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.Methods:Clinical data of 34 patients with primary liver cancer admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital from Nov 2018 to Dec 2020 initially evaluated as unresectable were treated firstly by combined therapy and then underwent reevaluation for further management.Results:A total of 34 patients completed the integrative treatment, and no serious adverse events occurred. Among them, 6 patients were evaluated as partial remission, and underwent successful tumor resection, tumors in 7 patients were stable, and 21 patients suffered from disease progression.Conclusion:After comprehensive therapy, unresectable tumors in some patients could reduce and be rendered resection.

Purpose: Platelet-related indices, including mean platelet volume (MPV) and plateletocrit (PCT), have been reported as new prognostic factors of overall survival (OS) in many cancers, but not yet in biliary tract cancer (BTC). We intended to assess these indices in predicting OS in BTC patients with the aim to build a new prognostic model for patients with BTC after surgical resection. Materials and Methods: Survival analysis and time receiver operating characteristic analysis were applied to screen the platelet indices. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to identify independent prognostic factors and develop a new prognostic model. Harrell’s C-statistics, calibration curves, and decisive curve analysis were used to assess the model. Results: MPV and platelet distribution width (PDW)/PCT showed the best prognostic accuracy among the platelet indices. In multivariable analysis, factors predictive of poor OS were presence of nodal involvement, Non-radical surgery, poor tumor differentiation, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 > 100 U/mL, MPV > 8.1 fl, and PDW/PCT > 190. The new model was found to be superior to the TNM staging system and our new staging system showed higher discriminative power. Conclusion MPV and PDW/PCT have high prognostic value in BTC patients, and the novel staging system based on these two indices showed good discrimination and accuracy compared with the American Joint Committee on Cancer 7th TNM staging system.

Objective To analyze characteristics of muscle activity and changes of corresponding kinematic parameters of the lower limbs for the elderly carrying heavy objects under synchronous stop modes, and explore the effects of hand weight-bearing and stop modes on gait stability and body balance of the elderly. Methods The ankle, knee, hip joint angles and surface electromyography (EMG) signals of bilateral lower limbs were collected under the condition of emergency stop and planned stop by loading 0 kg, 2.5 kg on both hands and 5 kg on right hand. Results Under different weight-bearing modes, the ankle and hip angles of bilateral lower limbs were significantly different (P<0.05), while the knee angles did not change significantly, and different stop modes significantly affected the angle changes in each joint (P <0.001); the average EMG of tibia anterior muscle, lateral femoral muscle, and biceps femoris in braking leg showed higher muscle activity during emergency stop. Conclusions In order to cope with the instability caused by weight-bearing and emergency stop, the elderly will have a corresponding balance mechanism in the lower limbs. During an emergency stop, braking the tibialis anterior muscle of the leg requires a higher muscle activity level to control flexion angle of the ankle joint, thereby reducing amplitude of the ankle joint fluctuation. The single-handed load increases the muscle performance differences between the braking leg and trailing leg, resulting in the lateral instability.

Objective To investigate the value of optical trocar insertion technique in establishing pneumoperitoneum in patients undergoing laparoscopic surgery after previous abdominal surgery. Methods A total of 29 patients, with a history of abdominal surgery, who planned to undergo laparoscopic liver surgery were enrolled and randomly divided into optical trocar insertion group and open approach group. 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 Fisher's exact test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups; the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of ranked data between groups. Results There were no procedure-related complications in either group. Compared with the open approach group, the optical trocar insertion group had a significantly shorter time required to establish pneumoperitoneum [35.00 (21.00-46.00) seconds vs 180.00 (152.50-252.50) seconds, U =0, P < 0.001] and a significantly smaller incision length [1.10(1.00-1.20) cm vs 2.80(2.45-3.00) cm, U =0, P < 0.001]. Conclusion Both optical trocar insertion and open approach for establishing pneumoperitoneum is relatively safe in patients undergoing laparoscopic liver surgery after previous abdominal surgery, while optical trocar insertion has the advantages of high efficiency and minimal invasiveness in establishing pneumoperitoneum.

Purpose: Platelet-related indices, including mean platelet volume (MPV) and plateletocrit (PCT), have been reported as new prognostic factors of overall survival (OS) in many cancers, but not yet in biliary tract cancer (BTC). We intended to assess these indices in predicting OS in BTC patients with the aim to build a new prognostic model for patients with BTC after surgical resection. Materials and Methods: Survival analysis and time receiver operating characteristic analysis were applied to screen the platelet indices. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were used to identify independent prognostic factors and develop a new prognostic model. Harrell’s C-statistics, calibration curves, and decisive curve analysis were used to assess the model. Results: MPV and platelet distribution width (PDW)/PCT showed the best prognostic accuracy among the platelet indices. In multivariable analysis, factors predictive of poor OS were presence of nodal involvement, Non-radical surgery, poor tumor differentiation, carbohydrate antigen 19-9 > 100 U/mL, MPV > 8.1 fl, and PDW/PCT > 190. The new model was found to be superior to the TNM staging system and our new staging system showed higher discriminative power. Conclusion MPV and PDW/PCT have high prognostic value in BTC patients, and the novel staging system based on these two indices showed good discrimination and accuracy compared with the American Joint Committee on Cancer 7th TNM staging system.

Objective To investigate the distribution characteristics of ABA (Acinetobacter baumannii) and to analyze the influencing factors of the prognosis of elderly patients with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and lung infection in Shaanxi. Methods A retrospective single-center survey was conducted on 1 078 elderly patients with COPD admitted to our hospital from January 2015 to November 2019. According to the presence or absence of ABA infection, the patients were divided into infection group (n=63) and non-infection group (n=1 015). Through the electronic medical record system, the basic information of all patients was collected, including name, sex, age, case number, length of stay in ICU, index of auxiliary examination, combined diseases and prognosis. The prognostic outcomes of the two groups of patients were compared. Univariate analysis was performed on the baseline data of the two groups of the patients, and unconditional logistic multivariate regression analysis was used to further analyze the single factors with statistical difference, to explore the distribution and influencing factors of ABA in elderly COPD patients with pulmonary infection in Shaanxi. Results The mortality rate of the infected group was significantly higher than that of the non-infected group (χ²=8.670, P=0.003). Univariate analysis showed that there were significant differences in age, Apache II score, diabetes, PCT and ICU length of stay between the infected and non-infected groups (P<0.05), while there were no significant differences in sex, cerebrovascular disease, malnutrition, bed rest and tumor (P<0.05). In the infection group, 55 patients survived, 42 patients were discharged, 13 patients received extended hospitalization and 8 patients died. Of those who died, 5 were resistant to cefoperazone and all were resistant to carbapenems. Of those remaining hospitalized, 3 patients were resistant to cefoperazone sulbactam and 7 were resistant to carbapenems. Patients discharged from the hospital were more sensitive to carbapenems, minocycline and cefoperazone. According to multiple logistic regression analysis, apache II score (OR=3.480，95%CI 1.154-10.491), diabetes mellitus (OR=2.732，95%CI 1.297-5.753), high serum PCT (OR=6.334，95%CI 1.142-35.129) and ICU hospitalization (OR=3.773，95%CI 1.087-13.100) were independent risk factors influencing the prognosis of elderly patients with COPD in Shaanxi. Conclusion ABA Infection was correlated with age, Apache II score, diabetes Mellitus, PCT and length of stay in ICU, which could influence prognosis of elderly patients with COPD.

Purpose: The systemic inflammation response index (SIRI) has been reported to have prognostic ability in various solid tumors but has not been studied in gallbladder cancer (GBC). We aimed to determine its prognostic value in GBC. Materials and Methods: From 2003 to 2017, patients with confirmed GBC were recruited. To determine the SIRI’s optimal cutoff value, a time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve was applied. Univariate and multivariate Cox analyses were performed for the recognition of significant factors. Then the cohort was randomly divided into the training and the validation set. A nomogram was constructed using the SIRI and other selected indicators in the training set, and compared with the TNM staging system. C-index, calibration plots, and decision curve analysis were performed to assess the nomogram’s clinical utility. Results: One hundred twenty-four patients were included. The SIRI’s optimal cutoff value divided patients into high (≥ 0.89) and low SIRI (< 0.89) groups. Kaplan-Meier curves according to SIRI levels were significantly different (p < 0.001). The high SIRI group tended to stay longer in hospital and lost more blood during surgery. SIRI, body mass index, weight loss, carbohydrate antigen 19-9, radical surgery, and TNM stage were combined to generate a nomogram (C-index, 0.821 in the training cohort, 0.828 in the validation cohort) that was significantly superior to the TNM staging system both in the training (C-index, 0.655) and validation cohort (C-index, 0.649). Conclusion The SIRI is an independent predictor of prognosis in GBC. A nomogram based on the SIRI may help physicians to precisely stratify patients and implement individualized treatment.