AIM:To observe the accuracy of infiltrating B ultrasound guided A-scan segment biometric measurement of axial length in dense cataract.METHODS: Perspective study. A total of 86 patients(90 eyes)with dense cataract were selected from Chengdu Aier Eye Hospital from August 2020 to August 2022. There were 61 males(59 eyes)males and 25 females(31 eyes)females, with an average age of 66.49±14.55 years. The axial length(AL), anterior chamber depth(ACD)(including corneal thickness), corneal curvature(K), lens thickness(LT), central corneal thickness(CCT), and white-to-white(WTW)were measured preoperatively by contact A-scan, infiltrating B ultrasound guided segmented A-scan, and IOL Master 700, respectively. At 1 wk postoperatively, AL was retested by IOL Master 700 in aphakic mode. Furthermore, the agreements and correlations of AL obtained by the three kinds of devices were analyzed.RESULTS:The AL measured by contact A-scan and infiltrating B ultrasound guided segmented A-scan were 23.40(22.63, 23.89)mm and 23.70(23.04, 24.25)mm, respectively, and the AL measured by IOL Master 700 at 1 wk postoperatively was 23.72(23.01, 24.27)mm. There were statistical significant difference in AL measured by the three methods(P=0.018), while there were no statistical significant difference in AL measured by infiltrating B ultrasound guided segmented A-scan and IOL Master 700(P=0.991). Bland-Altman analysis showed that there was a good agreement in AL measured by infiltrating B ultrasound guided segmented A-scan and IOL Master 700(P=0.0809). The AL measured by infiltrating B ultrasound guided segmented A-scan and IOL Master 700 was positively correlated(rs=0.992, P<0.0001), and the AL was positively correlated between preoperative contact A-scan and postoperative IOL Master 700(rs=0.989, P<0.0001).CONCLUSION:For dense cataract, infiltrating B ultrasound guided A-scan segment biometric measurement, which has good correlations and agreement, is closer to the AL measured by IOL Master 700 postoperatively than that measured by contact A-scan.

Objective To research the procedure for creating an animal model of mitral regurgitation by implanting a device through the apical artificial chordae tendineae, and to assess the stability and dependability of the device. Methods Twelve large white swines were employed in the experiments. Through a tiny hole in the apex of the heart, the artificial chordae tendineae of the mitral valve was inserted under the guidance of transcardiac ultrasonography. Before, immediately after, and one and three months after surgery, cardiac ultrasonography signs were noted. Results All models were successfully established. During the operation and the follow-up, no swines died. Immediately after surgery, the mitral valve experienced moderate regurgitation. Compared with preoperation, there was a variable increase in the amount of regurgitation and the values of heart diameters at a 3-month follow-up (P<0.05). Conclusion In off-pump, the technique of pulling the mitral valve leaflets with chordae tendineae implanted transapically under ultrasound guidance can stably and consistently create an animal model of mitral regurgitation.

Objective    To summarize the early outcomes of totally thoracoscopic minimally invasive aortic valve replacement (AVR) and double valve replacement (DVR). Methods    The clinical data of patients who underwent totally thoracoscopic minimally invasive AVR or DVR in Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital from April 2020 to January 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into an AVR group and a DVR group according to the surgical method, and the clinical data of the two groups were compared. Results    Finally 22 patients were enrolled, including 14 males and 8 females with an average age of 50.0±11.2 years at operation. Eight patients were degenerative disease, 8 were rheumatic heart disease combined with valvular disease, and 6 were bicuspid aortic valve. Out of the 22 patients, 16 underwent AVR alone, and 6 underwent DVR. All patients completed the operation successfully, and there was no death. Perivalvular leakage during surgery occurred in 2 patients. The average cardiopulmonary bypass time was 187.0±39.9 minutes, and aortic cross-clamping time was 117.0 (99.0, 158.0) minutes. Duration of mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit stay was 9.5 (4.8, 18.3) hours and 41.0 (34.0, 64.0) hours, respectively. The volume of chest drainage at the first 24 hours after surgery was 214.0±124.6 mL, and the postoperative hospital stay was 5.5 (4.0, 8.3) days. The cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross-clamping time in the DVR group were longer than those in the AVR group, and the volume of chest drainage at 24 hours after surgery was more than that in the AVR group, with a statistical difference (P<0.05). Echocardiography before hospital discharge showed paravalvular leakage in 1 patient. There was no death during follow-up of 5.9±3.0 months. Conclusion    The early outcome of totally thoracoscopic minimally invasive AVR and DVR is satisfactory, and the approach of surgery is worth exploring.

Objective    To investigate the predictive value of right atrial myocardial fibrosis in the prognosis of isolated tricuspid regurgitation surgery after left heart valve surgery. Methods    The patients who underwent tricuspid valvuloplasty by the same operator in Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital from April 2016 to August 2021 due to long-term isolated severe tricuspid regurgitation after left heart valve surgery were included in the study. According to the degree of right atrial myocardial fibrosis, the patients were divided into three groups: a mild group, a moderate group, and a severe group. The clinical data of these patients were compared and analyzed. Results    A total of 75 patients were enrolled, including 16 males and 59 females with an average age of 57.0±8.4 years. There were 30 patients in the mild group, 29 patients in the moderate group and 16 patients in the severe group. In terms of the preoperative data, there were statistical differences in cardiac function grade, right atrial diameter, tricuspid incompetence area among the three groups (P<0.05). In terms of the postoperative data, there were statistical differences among the three groups in the cardiopulmonary bypass time, mechanical ventilation time, ICU monitoring time, complication rate and mortality (P<0.05). Further pairwise comparison showed that, compared with the mild group, the severe group had longer mechanical ventilation time (P=0.024), longer ICU monitoring time (P=0.003) and higher incidence of postoperative complications (P=0.024), while the moderate group had no statistical difference in all aspects (P>0.05); compared with the moderate group, the severe group had longer ICU monitoring time (P=0.021) and higher incidence of complications (P=0.006). Conclusion    The early outcome of tricuspid valvuloplasty in patients with isolated tricuspid regurgitation after left heart valve surgery with severe right atrial myocardial fibrosis is worse than that in the patients with mild and moderate fibrosis, suggesting that the degree of myocardial fibrosis in the right atrium can be a predictor of the effect of tricuspid regurgitation surgery and a judgement indicator of the surgery timing.

Objective:The changes of serum inflammatory factors in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) with different traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) syndrome types were compared, and the characteristics and significance of inflammatory factors in COPD were discussed from the perspective of traditional Chinese and western medicine.Methods:A total of 100 patients with COPD who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted to Dongzhimen Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine from September 2021 to September 2022 were selected and divided into phlegm turbation obstructing lung group ( n=50) and lung and kidney qi deficiency group ( n=50) according to TCM syndrome types. Twenty healthy subjects in the same period were selected as control group. Serum levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (MIP-1α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP) and other inflammatory factors were compared in each group. Results:The MCP-1, IL-6, ESR, CRP, white blood cell count (WBC) and procalcitonin (PCT) of COPD patients in phlegm turbation obstructing lung group were significantly higher than those in lung and kidney qi deficiency group (all P<0.05). The WBC, MCP-1, MIP-1α, IL-6, ESR and CRP of COPD patients in the lung and kidney qi deficiency group were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05). In the phlegm turbation obstructing lung group, the MIP-1α, MCP-1, IL-6, ESR, CRP, WBC, and PCT were significantly higher than those in the control group (all P<0.05). Conclusions:Patients with COPD have inflammatory reactions, and the inflammatory reactions of patients with phlegm turbation obstructing lung syndrome are more obvious than those with lung and kidney qi deficiency syndrome. The inflammatory factors MCP-1, MIP-1α, IL-6, ESR, CRP, WBC, PCT and other indicators could be used to judge the degree of COPD inflammation, which had certain clinical guiding significance for different syndrome types of COPD patients.

BACKGROUND: Antenatal corticosteroids (ACS) can significantly improve the outcomes of preterm infants. This study aimed to describe the ACS use rates among preterm infants admitted to Chinese neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and to explore perinatal factors associated with ACS use, using the largest contemporary cohort of very preterm infants in China. METHODS: This cross-sectional study enrolled all infants born at 24 +0 to 31 +6 weeks and admitted to 57 NICUs of the Chinese Neonatal Network from January 1st, 2019 to December 30th, 2019. The ACS administration was defined as at least one dose of dexamethasone and betamethasone given before delivery. Multiple logistic regressions were applied to determine the association between perinatal factors and ACS usage. RESULTS: A total of 7828 infants were enrolled, among which 6103 (78.0%) infants received ACS. ACS use rates increased with increasing gestational age (GA), from 177/259 (68.3%) at 24 to 25 weeks' gestation to 3120/3960 (78.8%) at 30 to 31 weeks' gestation. Among infants exposed to ACS, 2999 of 6103 (49.1%) infants received a single complete course, and 33.4% (2039/6103) infants received a partial course. ACS use rates varied from 30.2% to 100% among different hospitals. Multivariate regression showed that increasing GA, born in hospital (inborn), increasing maternal age, maternal hypertension and premature rupture of membranes were associated with higher likelihood to receive ACS. CONCLUSIONS The use rate of ACS remained low for infants at 24 to 31 weeks' gestation admitted to Chinese NICUs, with fewer infants receiving a complete course. The use rates varied significantly among different hospitals. Efforts are urgently needed to propose improvement measures and thus improve the usage of ACS.
Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant ; Pregnancy ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Infant, Premature ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use*

Objective     To explore the evolving strategies and compare perioperative and long-term outcomes of tricuspid valve replacement (TVR) in recent 20 years in our hospital. Methods    Between 1998 and 2018, the clinical data of 608 patients who underwent TVR at the Department of Cardiac Surgery, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital were retrospectively analyzed. There were 201 males and 407 females, with a median age of 47.0 (36.0, 57.0) years. Patients were divided into a biological tricuspid valve (BTV, n=427) group and a mechanical tricuspid valve (MTV, n=181) group. Propensity score matching was used to balance the baseline difference. Surgical strategy evolving, postoperative and long-term outcomes were analyzed between the two groups. Results    Since 2008, the usage ratio of biological valves was significantly higher than that of mechanical valves. Seventy-nine (13.0%) patients died in hospital after TVR. Before propensity score matching, the postoperative mortality of the BTV group was higher than that of the MTV group (15.2% vs. 7.7%, P=0.012), and there was no statistical difference between the two groups after matching (10.4% vs. 7.2%, P=0.372). The duration of postoperative ventilator support in the BTV group was longer than that in the MTV group [22.0 (15.0, 37.0) h vs. 19.0 (11.0, 27.0) h, P=0.003], and the incidence of postoperative dialysis and re-thoracotomy exploring for bleeding was higher in the BTV group (8.9 % vs. 2.8%, 9.4% vs. 6.6%, respectively). However, there was no statistical difference in mortality after matching. The median follow-up time of discharged patients was 101.0 (65.0, 147.0) months, ranged from 1 to 265 months, and the follow-up rate was 82.2%. During the follow-up period, there were 101 deaths (19.1%) of whom 68 were from the BTV group and 33 from the MTV group. The survival rates at 1 year, 5 years, 10 years, 15 years and 20 years of all patients were 85.0% (95%CI 82.2-87.9), 78.9% (95%CI 75.7-82.4), 71.1% (95%CI 67.3-75.3), 59.7% (95%CI 54.2-65.6) and 51.7% (95%CI 43.3-60.7), and there was no statistical difference between the two groups after matching (P=0.46). The median time of tricuspid valve failure was 84.0 (54.0-111.0) months. Conclusion    TVR is associated with high perioperative risks. There is no statistical difference in early mortality and long-term survival between biological and mechanical valve, while patients with mechanical valve has higher risk of re-operation for valve failure. Therefore, the type of prosthetic valve can be selected according to the patients' age, physical condition and the doctors’ experience.

Objective    To compare the efficacy and safety of mitral valvuloplasty via minimally invasive approach with those of mitral valvuloplasty via traditional median sternotomy. Methods    A total of 1 221 patients undergoing mitral valvuloplasty from January 2015 to August 2018 in Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital were analyzed retrospectively, including 721 males and 500 females, with an average age of 47.2±15.1 years. According to the different surgical methods, they were divided into a study group (n=654), who received mitral valvuloplasty via the totally thoracoscopic approach, and a control group (n=567), who received mitral valvuloplasty via traditional median sternotomy. Clinical data, surgical results, and perioperative outcomes of the two groups were compared. Results    There was no significant difference in preoperative general data between the two groups (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the study group had longer cardiopulmonary bypass time and aortic cross-clamping time (146.7±42.4 min vs. 122.7±30.6 min, 96.2±32.7 min vs. 78.3±23.8 min, both P=0.000), and shorter total operation time (227.4±55.3 min vs. 238.1±56.4 min, P=0.001). There was no significant difference in the incidence of secondary cross-clamping and mitral valve replacement between the two groups (3.7% vs. 2.6%, P=0.312; 1.7% vs. 1.4%, P=0.690). The blood transfusion rate and the incidence of respiratory tract infection and postoperative poor wound healing were lower (13.0% vs. 24.5%, 2.1%vs. 18.0%, 1.5% vs. 5.3%, all P=0.000) and the postoperative hospital stay was shorter (6.2±4.4 d vs. 11.5±8.8 d, P=0.000) in the study group. There was no significant difference in hospitalization expense between the two groups (95 847.9±31 322.0 yuan vs. 99 673.1±47 930.3 yuan, P=0.149). Within 30 d after surgery, 1 patient died in the study group and 4 patients died in the control group. Before discharge, there were 4 and 5 patients with severe mitral valve regurgitation in the study group and the control group, respectively. Conclusion    Compared with mitral valvuloplasty via traditional median sternotomy, minimally invasive mitral valvuloplasty is superior in shortening operation time and postoperative hospital stay, lowering blood transfusion rate, and reducing postoperative complications, which can achieve better clinical outcomes.

Objective To develop new scales on the severity of myasthenia gravis ( MG) which are suitable for clinical practice in China .Methods A final version of new comprehensive scale was developed by item optimization from a preliminary scale established by combination of Delphi method and previous evaluation of items from source scales .With the original quantitative data from 60 MG patients, items were selected on the basis of interobserver and test-retest reliability of items , the contributions of items on internal consistency and construct validity of the preliminary scale .Evaluation of this final scale includes internal consistency, interobserver and test-retest reliability, construct validity and correlation with currently used scales.A self-rating version was simplified from the final scale by including items that can be measured by patients, which was then evaluated in 57 generalized MG patients.Results One item ( palpebral fissure ) was deleted from the preliminary scale due to poor interobserver and test-retest reliability.The remaining nine items constituted the final comprehensive scale which covered six commonly involved muscle groups in MG.All items in the comprehensive scale had fair to excellent interobserver reliability ( K=0.43-0.80, P<0.01) and fair to excellent test-retest reliability ( K =0.41 -1.00, P<0.01) .The comprehensive scale had acceptable internal consistency (Cronbach ɑ=0.63), excellent interobserver reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) =0.88, P<0.01) and test-retest reliability (ICC=0.86, P<0.01).The comprehensive scale had four common factors and good construct validity ( cumulative dedication rate 68.46％).There was high correlation between the comprehensive scale and Myasthenia Gravis Composite ( MGC ) , Absolute and Relative Score of MG ( ARS-MG ) and Quantitative Myasthenia Gravis score (QMGs) ( r=0.87 -0.90, P<0.01), and moderate correlation between the comprehensive scale and Myasthenia Gravis Activities of Daily Living (MG-ADL) (r=0.68, P<0.01).A self-rating scale was developed by deleting ocular and facial items and keeping the remaining six items , which covers the bulbar , limb, neck and respiratory muscles.Internal consistency (Cronbach ɑ=0.69), interobserver reliability and test-retest reliability (ICC=0.90 for both, P<0.01) of the self-rating scale were better than those of the comprehensive scale.The self-rating scale had two common factors and good construct validity ( cumulative dedication rate 64.24％) .There was high correlation between the self-rating scale and the comprehensive scale, MGC and ARS-MG (r=0.74-0.86, P<0.01), and moderate correlation between the self-rating scale and QMGs and MG-ADL ( r=0.55 -0.68, P<0.01 ) .Conclusions Item optimization was performed from a preliminary scale established by Delphi method .A new comprehensive scale and a self-rating scale were developed .The comprehensive scale and self-rating scale had good reliability and validity , which can be used to assess the severity of MG reliably and effectively .

OBJECTIVETo analyze the results and influential factors of mobilization and harvesting of autologous peripheral blood stem cell in patients with multiple myeloma (MM).

METHODSRetrospective analysis of peripheral blood stem cell collection data [CD34⁺ cells collected, successful mobilization rate (CD34⁺ cells≥2×10⁶/kg body weight), good mobilization rate (CD34⁺ cells≥5×10⁶/kg body weight)] of 149 multiple myeloma patients who were treated with cyclophosphamide (CTX) or E-CHOP (etoposide+ CTX+epirubicin+vindesine+prednisone) chemotherapy combined with G-CSF mobilization from January 1998 to March 2014. The relevance between gender, age, subtype, DS staging, ISS staging, treatment before mobilization, disease status at mobilization, regiment of mobilizationand the collection results was analyzed.

RESULTSA total of 177 stem cell mobilizations were performed in 149 MM patients, the median CD34⁺ cells harvested were 3.20 (0.13-22.34)×10⁶/kg body weight (BW), successful mobilization rate and good mobilization rate were 74.5% and 27.5%, respectively. The single logistic regression analysis showed that gender, age （>60 ys vs ≤60 ys）, subtype, DS staging (III vs II+I), ISS staging (III vs II+I) and regiment of mobilization (E-CHOP+G-CSF vs ID-CTX+G-CSF) were not correlated with the cell collection or successful mobilization rate (P>0.05). However, successful collection rate of single harvest in old patients (age>60 ys) was lower (P<0.05), andthe good mobilization rate in patients at ISS stage III was lower (P<0.05). The collection results of patients with fewer cycles of treatment (treatment before mobilization ≤6 cycles) and optimal disease status (disease status at mobilization ≥partial remission) were much better. Analysis of logistic factors revealed that treatment efficacy before mobilization affected success rate of collection (P=0.006). Risk of collection failure in patients who received more than 6 cycles of treatment before mobilization was high (OR 3.57, 95% CI 1.45-8.78).

CONCLUSIONGender, age, subtype, DS staging, ISS staging and mobilization regimen did not influence MM patients peripheral blood stem cell collection; but old patients may need twice mobilizations to collect sufficiently. Few cycles of treatment and stable disease status before mobilization is favorable to the mobilization and collection of peripheral blood stem cells.

Antigens, CD34 ; Cyclophosphamide ; Filgrastim ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Mobilization ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Humans ; Multiple Myeloma ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome