BACKGROUND:Increased homocysteine level induces apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells,but the mechanism remains unclear. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the role of hsa-circ-0001360 in human umbilical vein endothelial cell apoptosis induced by homocysteine. METHODS:In vitro cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells were divided into control group,homocysteine group,interference control group,interference control + homocysteine group,hsa-circ-0001360 interference group,hsa-circ-0001360 + homocysteine interference group,overexpression control group,overexpression control + homocysteine group,hsa-circ-0001360 overexpression group and hsa-circ-0001360 + homocysteine overexpression group.All groups were treated with 100 μmol/L homocysteine.After 72 hours of intervention,the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins Bax,Bcl-2,and Caspase-3 were detected by western blot assay.The apoptotic rate was detected by flow cytometry.Quantitative real-time PCR was used to detect the expression of hsa-circ-0001360. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Compared with the control group,the expression of Caspase-3 and Bax was significantly increased(P<0.01),and the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly decreased(P<0.01),and the apoptotic rate was significantly increased(P<0.01)in the homocysteine group.(2)Compared with control group,the expression of hsa-circ-0001360 was significantly increased in the homocysteine group(P<0.01).(3)The expression of hsa-circ-0001360 was significantly higher in the cytoplasm than that in the nucleus(P<0.01).(4)Compared with the interference control C group and interference control + homocysteine group,the expressions of Caspase-3 and Bax were significantly decreased(P<0.01),while the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly increased(P<0.01);the apoptotic rate was significantly decreased(P<0.01)in sh-hsa-circ-0001360 interference group and sh-hsa-circ-0001360 + homocysteine interference group.(5)Compared with overexpression control group and overexpression control + homocysteine group,the expressions of Caspase-3 and Bax were significantly increased(P<0.01),while the expression of Bcl-2 was significantly decreased(P<0.01);the apoptotic rate was significantly increased(P<0.01)in the hsa-circ-0001360 overexpression group and the hsa-circ-0001360 + homocysteine overexpression group.(6)In conclusion,hsa-circ-0001360 can promote the apoptosis of human umbilical vein endothelial cells induced by homocysteine.

Objective:To study the early predictors of refractory septic shock (RSS) in neonates.Methods:From July 2020 to December 2021, clinical data of neonates with septic shock admitted to the Neonatal Department of our hospital were retrospectively reviewed. According to the maximum septic shock score (SSS) during clinical course, the neonates were assigned into RSS group and non-RSS group. Perinatal data, laboratory results and hemodynamic parameters at diagnosis were compared between the two groups. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent risk factors of RSS and septic shock-related death. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to evaluate the early predictors of poor prognosis.Results:A total of 130 neonates were enrolled, including 54 in RSS group and 76 in non-RSS group. Compared with the non-RSS group, the RSS group had significantly lower pH, base excess (BE), stroke volume index (SVI), cardiac output (CO) and cardiac index (CI).Meanwhile, the RSS group had significantly higher mean arterial pressure (MAP) to CI ratio (MAP/CI) and SSS [including bedside SSS (bSSS), computed SSS (cSSS) and modified version of cSSS (mcSSS)] (all P<0.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that increased MAP/CI was an independent predictor of RSS. The cut-off value of MAP/CI was 11.6 [sensitivity 62%, specificity 87%, positive predictive value (PPV) 79% and negative predictive value (NPV) 77%], with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.734. Increased mcSSS was an independent predictor of septic shock-related death. The cut-off value of mcSSS was 5.8 (sensitivity 83%, specificity 72%, PPV 21% and NPV 97%), with an AUC of 0.845. Conclusions:Increased MAP/CI (≥11.6) and mcSSS (≥5.8) may be early predictors of RSS and septic shock-related death in neonates.

Objective To understand the changing distribution and antimicrobial resistance profiles of Klebsiella strains in 52 hospitals across China in the CHINET Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Program from 2015 to 2021.Methods Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out according to the unified CHINET protocol.The susceptibility results were interpreted according to the breakpoints in the Clinical & Laboratory Standards Institute(CLSI)M100 document.Results A total of 241,549 nonduplicate Klebsiella strains were isolated from 2015 to 2021,including Klebsiella pneumoniae(88.0％),Klebsiella aerogenes(5.8％),Klebsiella oxytoca(5.7％),and other Klebsiella species(0.6％).Klebsiella strains were mainly isolated from respiratory tract(48.49±5.32)％.Internal medicine(22.79±3.28)％,surgery(17.98±3.10)％,and ICU(14.03±1.39)％were the top 3 departments where Klebsiella strains were most frequently isolated.K.pneumoniae isolates showed higher resistance rate to most antimicrobial agents compared to other Klebsiella species.Klebsiella isolates maintained low resistance rates to tigecycline and polymyxin B.ESBLs-producing K.pneumoniae and K.oxytoca strains showed higher resistance rates to all the antimicrobial agents tested compared to the corresponding ESBLs-nonproducing strains.The K.pneumoniae and carbapenem-resistant K.pneumoniae(CRKP)strains isolated from ICU patients demonstrated higher resistance rates to majority of the antimicrobial agents tested than the strains isolated from non-ICU patients.The CRKP strains isolated from adult patients had higher resistance rates to most of the antimicrobial agents tested than the corresponding CRKP strains isolated from paediatric patients.Conclusions The prevalence of carbapenem-resistant strains in Klebsiella isolates increased greatly from 2015 to 2021.However,the Klebsiella isolates remained highly susceptible to tigecycline and polymyxin B.Antimicrobial resistance surveillance should still be strengthened for Klebsiella strains.

Objective To investigate the effect of miR-22-3p on pyroptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells(VSMCs)induced by homocysteine(Hcy).Methods Human VSMCs were cultured in vitro and divided into a Control group(0 μmol/L Hey)and a Hey group(100 μmol/L Hey).After intervention,expression levels of pro Caspase-1,gasdermin D(GSDMD),N-GSDMD,and NLR family pyrin domain containing 3(NLRP3)were detected by Western blot.MiR-22-3p expression was determined by quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction.Interleukin(IL)-1 β and IL-18 levels in the supernatant were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.Cells were also transfected with control miR-22-3p(miR-22-3p-NC),miR-22-3p-mimic,and miR-22-3p-inhibitor,to observe the effects on VSMC pyroptosis induced by Hcy.Results Expression levels of pro Caspase-1,GSDMD,N-GSDMD,and NLRP3 in VSMCs were increased(P＜0.05),IL-1 β and IL-18 levels were increased(P＜0.01),and the relative expression level of miR-22-3p was reduced(P＜0.01)in the Hcy group compared with the Control group.Transfection with miR-22-3p-mimic significantly decreased the expression levels of pro Caspase-1,GSDMD,N-GSDMD,and NLRP3 in VSMCs(P＜0.01),and significantly decreased levels of IL-1β and IL-18(P＜0.01),while transfection with miR-22-3p-inhibitor significantly increased the expression levels of pro Caspase-1,GSDMD,N-GSDMD,and NLRP3 in VSMCs(P＜0.01)and significantly increased the levels of IL-1β and IL-18(P＜0.05).Conclusions MiR-22-3p may delay Hcy-induced VSMC pyroptosis.

Objective:To study the predictive value of vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS), fluid overload (FO) and lactate level for the outcome of preterm infants with refractory septic shock.Methods:Preterm infants diagnosed with refractory septic shock and required hydrocortisone treatment in our Department from January 2016 to December 2021 were analyzed retrospectively. Preterm infants were assigned into three gestational age groups (<28 weeks, 28-31 weeks, 32-36 weeks). According to the outcome of the disease, the children were further divided into good prognosis group and poor prognosis group. The relationship between the maximum VIS, FO and the mean lactic acid before hydrocortisone and the outcome of refractory septic shock was analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the cut-off point of ROC curve was calculated to obtain the predictive efficacy of the three indicators for the outcome of refractory septic shock in preterm infants.Results:A total of 50 preterm infants with refractory septic shock and received hydrocortisone treatment were enrolled, including 20 in the good prognosis group and 30 in the poor prognosis group. There were no significant differences in the maximum VIS, FO and mean lactic acid before hydrocortisone treatment between the two groups of gestational age of <32 weeks ( P> 0.05). The maximum VIS, FO and mean lactic acid of gestational age of 32-36 weeks in the poor prognosis group were higher than those in the good prognosis group, VIS: 56.1±15.7 vs. 37.1±12.9, FO (%): 108.2 (78.6,137.7) vs. 55.5 (10.3, 100.7), and mean lactic acid (mmol/L): 8.3 (4.6, 12.0) vs. 4.8 (-0.8, 10.5), all P<0.05. The area under the ROC curve of the mean lactic acid was the largest, the cut-off value was 4.1 mmol/L, and the Youden index was 1.732. Conclusions:VIS, FO and lactate level are difficult to be used for determining the outcome of refractory septic shock in preterm infants of <32 weeks. While the mean lactic acid has the best predictive performance in preterm infants of 32-36 weeks.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation between early-stage blood pressure indexes and prognosis in sepsis patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on the medical records of patients diagnosed with sepsis from 2001 to 2012 in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care-III (MIMIC-III) database. Patients were divided into survival group and death group according to the 28-day prognosis. General data of patients and heart rate (HR) and blood pressure at admission to ICU and within 24 hours after admission were collected. The blood pressure indexes including the maximum, median and mean value of systolic index, diastolic index and mean arterial pressure (MAP) index were calculated. The data were randomly divided into training set and validation set (4 : 1). Univariate Logistic regression analysis was used to screen covariates, and multivariate Logistic stepwise regression models were further developed. Model 1 (including HR, blood pressure, and blood pressure index related variables with P < 0.1 and other variables with P < 0.05) and Model 2 (including HR, blood pressure, and blood pressure index related variables with P < 0.1) were developed respectively. The receiver operator characteristic curve (ROC curve), precision recall curve (PRC) and decision curve analysis (DCA) curve were used to evaluate the quality of the two models, and the influencing factors of the prognosis of sepsis patients were analyzed. Finally, nomogram model was developed according to the better model and effectiveness of it was evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 11 559 sepsis patients were included in the study, with 10 012 patients in the survival group and 1 547 patients in the death group. There were significant differences in age, survival time, Elixhauser comorbidity score and other 46 variables between the two groups (all P < 0.05). Thirty-seven variables were preliminarily screened by univariate Logistic regression analysis. After multivariate Logistic stepwise regression model screening, among the indicators related to HR, blood pressure and blood pressure index, the HR at admission to ICU [odds ratio (OR) = 0.992, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was 0.988-0.997] and the maximum HR (OR = 1.006, 95%CI was 1.001-1.011), maximum MAP index (OR = 1.620, 95%CI was 1.244-2.126), mean diastolic index (OR = 0.283, 95%CI was 0.091-0.856), median systolic index (OR = 2.149, 95%CI was 0.805-4.461), median diastolic index (OR = 3.986, 95%CI was 1.376-11.758) were selected (all P < 0.1). There were 14 other variables with P < 0.05, including age, Elixhauser comorbidity score, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT), use of ventilator, sedation and analgesia, norepinephrine, norepinephrine, highest serum creatinine (SCr), maximum blood urea nitrogen (BUN), highest prothrombin time (PT), highest activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), lowest platelet count (PLT), highest white blood cell count (WBC), minimum hemoglobin (Hb). The ROC curve showed that the area under the curve (AUC) of Model 1 and Model 2 were 0.769 and 0.637, respectively, indicating that model 1 had higher prediction accuracy. The PRC curve showed that the AUC of Model 1 and Model 2 were 0.381 and 0.240, respectively, indicating that Model 1 had a better effect. The DCA curve showed that when the threshold was 0-0.8 (the probability of death was 0-80%), the net benefit rate of Model 1 was higher than that of Model 2. The calibration curve showed that the prediction effect of the nomogram model developed according to Model 1 was in good agreement with the actual outcome. The Bootstrap verification results showed that the nomogram model was consistent with the above results and had good prediction effects. CONCLUSIONS The nomogram model constructed has good prediction effects on the 28-day prognosis in sepsis patients, and the blood pressure indexes are important predictors in the model.
Humans ; Cohort Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Blood Pressure ; Intensive Care Units ; ROC Curve ; Sepsis/diagnosis* ; Prognosis ; Critical Care ; Norepinephrine

Objective:To explore the effect of quality improvement of hemodynamic monitoring on fluid overload (FO) and outcome in newborns with septic shock.Methods:Non-invasive cardiac output monitoring and functional cardiac ultrasound quality improvement program was started during January 2020 in our hospital. Neonates with septic shock admitted before and after the program were retrospectively analyzed. From January 2018 to December 2019 was pre-improvement period when fluid resuscitation was routinely performed and vasoactive drugs was selected empirically. From January 2020 to December 2021 was post-improvement period when fluid resuscitation and/or use and adjustment of vasoactive drugs were guided by hemodynamic parameters. The 24 h, 48 h, 72 h FO, duration of invasive respiratory support, vasoactive-inotropic score, septic shock score, incidences of complications and all-cause mortality were compared between the two groups.Results:A total of 284 eligible cases were enrolled, including 136 cases in pre-improvement group and 148 cases in post-improvement group. Post-improvement group had significantly lower gestational age (GA), birth weight (BW) and body weight at disease onset than pre-improvement group ( P<0.05). Incidences of 48 h and 72 h FO, fluid resuscitation volume within 72 h, pulmonary hemorrhage and periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) were significantly lower in the post-improvement group ( P<0.05). No significant differences existed in 24 h FO, other complications and all-cause mortality between the two groups ( P>0.05). No significant differences existed in GA and BW for neonates with pulmonary hemorrhage and PVL between the two groups ( P>0.05). Conclusions:Quality improvement of hemodynamic monitoring can effectively improve FO and reduce the incidences of pulmonary hemorrhage and PVL.

Objective:To study the efficacy of norepinephrine in the treatment of neonates with septic shock.Methods:A prospective observation study of neonates with septic shock, who received norepinephrine in the neonatal intensive care unit of Guangdong Women and Children's Hospital from January 2019 to November 2020. All infants had functional echocardiography for hemodynamic monitoring before norepinephrine treatment and 1 hour thereafter blood pressure, heart rate, arterial blood gas analyses were recorded at the same time. The intravenous fluid volume and urine volume from the diagnosis of shock to the commencement of norepinephrine therapy (T0) and 24 hours thereafter (T1) were recorded, and the hemodynamic parameters, vasoactive drugs and clinical outcomes were analyzed.Results:A total of 66 newborns were enrolled, including 27 cases of mild shock, 33 cases of moderate shock and 6 cases of severe shock. 48 were male infants, 38 cases were premature infants. The gestational age was (35.2±4.1) weeks and the birth weight was (2 476±909) g. The median time of shock diagnosis was 2 days after birth, and the median shock score was 4 points. The median time from the diagnosis of shock to the start of norepinephrine treatment was 7.5 hours. Compared with that before norepinephrine treatment, stroke volume, stroke volume index, cardiac output, cardiac index, left ventricular ejection fraction, shortening fraction, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, mean arterial pressure, blood pH and BE at 1 hour after treatment were increased, heart rate and blood lactic acid were decreased, the differences were statistically significant ( P<0.05). Urine volume was increased 24 hours after treatment ( P<0.05), and fluid overload decreased ( P<0.05). The maximum dopamine dose, the down-regulation time and duration of vasoactive drugs were positively correlated with the time to start norepinephrine therapy ( r=0.325、 r=0.383、 r=0.319, P<0.05). Among the 66 infants, 58 infants with shock had been corrected and 14 infants died within 28 days. Conclusions:Norepinephrine is effective and feasible in the treatment of neonatal septic shock and can significantly improve hemodynamic parameters.

Objective:To study the predictive value of vasoactive-inotropic score (VIS), shock score and lactate level for the outcome of term infants with septic shock.Methods:From January 2019 to October 2020, clinical data of term infants with septic shock admitted to our department were reviewed. According to their clinical outcome, the infants were assigned into the survival group and the deceased group and the differences of the two groups were compared. Logistic regression was used to determine the risk factors of mortality in term infants with septic shock. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to compare the predictive efficacy of VIS, shock score and lactate level for the outcome of septic shock.Results:Significant differences existed between the survival group and the deceased group in the following: maximum VIS, maximum shock score, maximum lactate level, the mean value of VIS during the second 24 h, the mean value of lactate during the first and second 24 h ( P < 0.05). Meanwhile, maximum VIS ( OR = 1.038, 95% CI 1.014~1.063), maximum shock score ( OR = 2.372, 95% CI 1.126~4.999) and the mean value of lactate during the first 24h ( OR = 2.983, 95% CI 1.132~7.862) were correlated with mortality in the infants ( P < 0.05). The area under the curve of maximum VIS was the most prominent, with 58.5 as cut-off. Conclusions:Among the three indicators, VIS has the best predictive value for mortality outcome in term infants with septic shock, followed by shock score and lactate level.

Objective:To study the threshold of fluid overload (FO) and its risk factors in neonatal septic shock.Methods:From January 2019 to November 2020, clinical data of infants with septic shock hospitalized in the neonatal department of our hospital were reviewed. With poor prognosis as the outcome, ROC curve was drawn based on 24 h (from the beginning of septic shock), 48 h and 72 h FO value. FO cutoff value was determined as area under curve (AUC) reached maximum. Risk factors of FO were analyzed between FO