AIM:To investigate the role of serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein(hsCRP)in the pathogenesis and progression of diabetic retinopathy(DR)in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM).METHODS:A nested case-control study was conducted involving 187 T2DM patients(187 eyes)who attended at Eye Center, Beijing Tongren Hospital, Capital Medical University from June 2017 to October 2024. Patients were categorized into three groups: the diabetes mellitus(DM)group, non-proliferative DR(NPDR)group, and proliferative DR(PDR)group. Baseline information was collected, including age, sex, duration of DM, and duration of hypertension. All patients underwent fasting biochemical tests and comprehensive ophthalmic examinations.RESULTS: A positive correlation was observed between hsCRP and fasting blood glucose(FBG; P=0.004)and glycated hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c; P=0.048)by Spearman's rank correlation coefficient analysis. After adjusting for confounding factors, multivariable Logistic regression identified hsCRP as a significant risk factor for DR(OR=2.67, 95% CI: 1.19-5.96, P=0.017). CONCLUSION:Serum hsCRP is positively correlated with FBG and HbA1c and can serve as an important predictor of the severity of DR.

Objective:To analyze the multimodal ultrasound characteristics of primary breast cancer and sentinel lymph node (SLN) and to establish a nomogram model for predicting SLN metastasis in invasive breast cancer, thereby providing reference for precise clinical diagnosis and treatment.Methods:A total of 329 patients diagnosed with invasive breast cancer and admitted to the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from June 2018 to October 2023 were retrospectively enrolled. They were randomly divided into a training cohort ( n=230) and a validation cohort ( n=99) in a ratio of 7 to 3. In the training cohort, ultrasound findings and clinical parameters were analyzed, univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent predictive factors for SLN metastasis, and a nomogram model was constructed based on these factors. The ROC curve, calibration curve, and decision curve analysis (DCA) were plotted between the training and validation cohorts to assess the discrimination, calibration, and clinical applicability of the nomogram model. Results:Regression analysis identified 3 independent risk factors for establishing the nomogram prediction model: ratio of the long diameter to the short diameter of SLN ( P=0.020), lymphatic contrast-enhanced ultrasound (LCEUS) enhancement pattern ( P<0.001) and intravenous contrast-enhanced ultrasound (ICEUS) enhancement mode ( P=0.002). The area under the curve (AUC) of the training cohort was 0.888, the accuracy was 0.865; the AUC of the validation cohort was 0.870, the accuracy was 0.859, demonstrating good predictive performance of the model in both cohorts. The calibration curve demonstrated that the nomogram has a strong concordance between predicted and actual probability. DCA demonstrated that the nomogram could increase net benefit within a certain probability threshold range. Conclusions:The nomogram based on ratio of the long diameter to the short diameter of SLN, LCEUS enhancement pattern and ICEUS enhancement mode can effectively predict SLN status in patients with invasive breast cancer, facilitating precise diagnosis and treatment.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess carotid stiffening in a pre-hypertensive (PHT) population using ultrafast pulse wave velocity (ufPWV). Methods: This study retrospectively enrolled 626 individuals who underwent clinical interviews, serum tests, and assessments of the systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), pulse wave velocity-beginning of systole (PWV-BS), and pulse wave velocity-end of systole (PWV-ES) between January 2017 and December 2021. The patients were divided into three groups according to their blood pressure (BP)—normal BP (NBP): SBP <130 mmHg and DBP <80 mmHg (n=215); PHT: 130 mmHg≤SBP<140 mmHg and/or 80 mmHg≤DBP<90 mmHg (n=119); hypertensive (HT): SBP ≥140 mmHg and/or DBP ≥90 mmHg (n=292). Correlation analyses and comparisons were performed among the groups and in the cIMT subgroups (cIMT ≥0.050 cm and <0.050 cm). Results: cIMT and PWV-ES significantly differed among the BP groups (P<0.05). The BP groups had similar PWV-BS when cIMT <0.050 cm or cIMT ≥0.050 cm (all P>0.05). However, the NBP group had a notably lower PWV-ES than the PHT (P<0.001 and P=0.024) and HT (all P<0.001) groups in both cIMT categories, while the PWV-ES in the PHT group were not significantly lower than in the HT group (all P>0.05). Conclusion Carotid morphological and biomechanical properties in the PHT group differed from those in the NBP group. ufPWV could be used for an early evaluation of carotid stiffening linked to pre-hypertension.

Objective:To explore the diagnostic efficacy of percutaneous lymphatic contrast ultrasound (LCEUS) combined with clinicopathological features in the diagnosis of breast cancer sentinel lymph node (SLN).Methods:A total of 135 breast cancer patients who underwent sentinel lymph node biopsy and axillary lymph node radical resection were prospectively collected in the Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine from July 2018 to June 2021, and the breast masses and SLNs were evaluated by routine ultrasound, contrast-enhanced ultrasound and LCEUS within one week before surgery. The surgeons recorded the patients′ clinical characteristics before surgeries, and the pathology of the masses and SLNs were recorded after surgeries. Univariate analysis and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were used to explore the correlation between ultrasound clinicopathological features of breast cancer and SLN metastasis, then to establish a model, and evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of the model.Results:Univariate analysis showed that SLN metastasis of breast cancer was associated with age, axillary palpation of enlarged lymph nodes, pathological type of mass, clear hilum of lymph nodes, cortical thickening of lymph nodes, marginal blood flow in lymph nodes, and the appearances of LCEUS(all P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed age, palpation of axillary lymph nodes and the appearances of LCEUS were independent predictors of SLN properties, the OR values were 6.90 ( P=0.030), 16.06 ( P<0.001) and 12.71 ( P<0.001), respectively. The regression equation was Logit(P)=0.887+ 1.932× axillary lymph node palpation + 2.776× marginal blood flow + 2.542×LCEUS. Conclusions:LCEUS combined with marginal blood flow in lymph nodes and palpation of axillary lymph nodes can help to determine the SLN state.

【Objective】 To evaluate the efficacy and safety of human coagulation factor Ⅷ developed by Shenzhen Weiguang Biological products Co, Ltd in the treatment of patients with hemophilia A. 【Methods】 A prospective, multi-center, open, single-group clinical study was conducted. A total of 65 subjects with hemophilia A were enrolled, and human coagulation factor Ⅷ(FⅧ) was injected according to the patients’ bleeding severity. The improvement score of bleeding symptoms and signs after the first infusion of the first bleeding event and the transfusion efficiency of FⅧ activity at 10 min and 1 hour after infusion were taken as the main efficacy indexes. The improvement scores of bleeding symptoms and signs after the first infusion and the increase of FⅧ activity at 10 min and 1 hour after infusion were the secondary efficacy indexes. 【Results】 The 65 subjects were enrolled in safety analysis set (SS) and full analysis set (FAS), and 58 of them were enrolled in protocol analysis set (PPS). Ten minutes and one hour after the first infusion, the level of factor Ⅷ activity in the subjects increased significantly, and the FⅧ activity increased by 100% or more in more than 79% of the subjects. The average infusion efficiency of FⅧ activity in all subjects was more than 100%. In 70% of the subjects, the pain was relieved rapidly and /or the bleeding symptoms were significantly improved 8 hours after each bleeding infusion, and the improvement rate of bleeding symptoms and signs reached 100% 72 hours after infusion. 【Conclusion】 After infusion of human coagulation factor Ⅷ, the activity level of factor Ⅷ in patients with hemophilia A significantly increased. The infusion efficiency can reach a optimal level, and the bleeding symptoms can be significantly improved.

Objective:To explore the effect of pediatric critical illness score (PCIS), pediatric risk of mortality Ⅲ score (PRISM Ⅲ), pediatric logistic organ dysfunction 2 (PELOD-2), pediatric sequential organ failure assessment (p-SOFA) score and Glasglow coma scale (GCS) in the prognosis evaluation of septic-associated encephalopathy (SAE).Methods:The data of children with SAE admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU), Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences from January 2010 to December 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into the survival and death groups according to the clinical outcome on the 28th day after admission. The efficiency of PCIS, PRISM Ⅲ, PELOD-2, p-SOFA and GCS scores for predicting death were evaluated by the area under the ROC curve (AUC). The Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test assessed the calibration of each scoring system.Results:Up to 28 d after admission, 72 of 82 children with SAE survived and 10 died, with a mortality rate of 12.20%. Compared with the survival group, the death group had significantly lower GCS [7 (3, 12) vs. 12 (8, 14)] and PCIS scores [76 (64, 82) vs. 82 (78, 88)], and significantly higher PRISM Ⅲ [14 (12, 17) vs. 7 (3, 12)], PELOD-2 [8 (5, 13) vs. 4 (2, 7)] and p-SOFA scores [11 (5, 12) vs. 6 (3, 9)] ( P<0.05). The AUCs of PCIS, PRISM Ⅲ, PELOD-2, p-SOFA and GCS scores for predicting SAE prognosis were 0.773 ( P=0.012, AUC>0.7), 0.832 ( P=0.02, AUC>0.7), 0.767 ( P=0.014, AUC>0.7), 0.688 ( P=0.084, AUC<0.7), and 0.692 ( P=0.077,AUC<0.7), respectively. Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test showed that PCIS ( χ2=5.329, P=0.722) predicted the mortality and the actual mortality in the best fitting effect, while PRISM Ⅲ ( χ2=12.877, P=0.177), PELOD-2 ( χ2=8.487, P=0.205), p-SOFA ( χ2=9.048, P=0.338) and GCS ( χ2=3.780, P=0.848) had poor fitting effect. Conclusions:The PCIS, PRISM Ⅲ and PELOD-2 scores have good predictive ability assessing the prognosis of children with SAE, while the PCIS score can more accurately evaluate the fitting effect of SAE prognosis prediction.

Purpose: The present study investigated the association between Systematic COronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE)-estimated cardiovascular risk and carotid stiffening in a middle-aged population using ultrafast pulse wave velocity (ufPWV). Methods: This study enrolled 683 participants without known cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus who underwent ufPWV measurements. Clinical interviews, physical examinations, laboratory findings, carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), pulse wave velocity (PWV) at the beginning of systole (PWV-BS), and PWV at the end of systole (PWV-ES) were assessed. Each participant underwent an assessment of SCORE risk based on major cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs), including age, sex, smoking, systolic blood pressure (SBP), and total cholesterol (TC). Crude and adjusted odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals and ordinal logistic regression were used. Overall CVRFs were adjusted to assess ORs. Results: cIMT and carotid stiffening in PWV-BS and PWV-ES were significantly different between sex subgroups (all P<0.05), but only PWV-ES increased gradually in age and SCORE-estimated risk subgroups (all P<0.05). Compared with cIMT (r=0.388, P<0.001) and PWV-BS (r=0.159, P<0.001), PWV-ES was more strongly correlated with SCORE categories (r=0.405, P<0.001). Higher PWV-ES values were associated with SCORE categories independently of sex, SBP, TC, and smoking in moderate-risk and high-risk subgroups (OR, 1.63; P<0.001 and OR, 2.12; P=0.024, respectively), but were not independent of age in all risk subgroups (all P>0.05). Conclusion Carotid stiffening quantified by ufPWV is linked to SCORE categories, and elevated PWV-ES may aid in cardiovascular risk stratification.

The epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) puts higher demands on critical care medicine. Lots of studies have been conducted to solve COVID-19-related problems. Therefore, we reviewed the annual progress for COVID-19-related issues including antivirals threapies, respiratory support and immunomodulatory therapies and other critical issues, including the effect of antibiotic on mitochondrial damage and its relationship with sepsis, the goal and direction of antimicrobial de-escalation, drug prophylaxis of constipation, bleeding in gastrointestinal disorders and management of critical illness in the informalization era and so on. We hope to provide reference for clinical and scientific research work of the intensivists.

Objective:To isolate the influenza A (H3N2) viruses from different sources in Guangzhou in 2019 and analyze these viruses' evolution and variation characteristics.Methods:The hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA) genes of H3N2 isolates from outpatient monitoring, influenza outbreaks, and inpatient severe cases in Guangzhou in 2019 were sequenced. Bioinformatics software analyzed the variations and evolution characteristics of HA and NA genes.Results:The epidemic peaks of influenza A (H3N2) viruses were made up of period Ⅰ (from January to August) and period Ⅱ (from November to December). The positive rate of influenza A (H3N2) in males was 13.46% (703/5 221), which was higher than that in females (11.50%, 510/4 435) ( χ 2=8.43, P=0.00). The group's positive rate of 10-20 years old was the highest (25.18%,665/2 641). The isolates from different sources were highly homologous and closely related to 3C.2a.1 branches, which could be further divided into three small groups of Group 1-3. Gene recombination was observed between different branches. The mutations of HA antigen sites gradually appeared from Group 1 to Group 3, leading to new antigen drift. Variations of HA antigenic sites mainly occurred in the region of A and B. The mutations of receptor binding sites of Group 1 and Group 3 viruses occurred in the anterior and posterior walls. There were two glycosylation sites lacked on region A of HA antigen observed in the isolates of Group 2-3. Conclusions:Genetic variations of H3N2 influenza viruses in Guangzhou included gene mutations and gene recombination. Under the pressure of the vaccine, the evolution of viruses was rapid. Therefore, the monitoring of molecular-related epidemic characteristics of the H3N2 influenza virus was necessary.

Objective:To construct a real-time monitoring system based on computer vision for monitoring withdrawal speed of colonoscopy and to validate its feasibility and performance.Methods:A total of 35 938 images and 63 videos of colonoscopy were collected in endoscopic database of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from May to October 2018. The images were divided into two datasets, one dataset included in vitro, in vivo and unqualified colonoscopy images, and another dataset included ileocecal and non-cecal area images. And then 3 594 and 2 000 images were selected respectively from the two datasets for testing the deep learning model, and the remaining images were used to train the model. Three colonoscopy videos were selected to evaluate the feasibility of real-time monitoring system, and 60 colonoscopy videos were used to evaluate its performance.Results:The accuracy rate of the deep learning model for classification for in vitro, in vivo, and unqualified colonoscopy images was 90.79% (897/988), 99.92% (1 300/1 301), and 99.08% (1 293/1 305), respectively, and the overall accuracy rate was 97.11% (3 490/3 594). The accuracy rate of identifying ileocecal and non-cecal area was 96.70% (967/1 000) and 94.90% (949/1 000), respectively, and the overall accuracy rate was 95.80% (1 916/2 000). In terms of feasibility evaluation, 3 colonoscopy videos data showed a linear relationship between the retraction speed and the image processing interval, which indicated that the real-time monitoring system automatically monitored the retraction speed during the colonoscopy withdrawal process. In terms of performance evaluation, the real-time monitoring system correctly predicted entry time and withdrawal time of all 60 examinations, and the results showed that the withdrawal speed and withdrawal time was significantly negative-related ( R=-0.661, P<0.001). The 95% confidence interval of withdrawal speed for the colonoscopy with withdrawal time of less than 5 min, 5-6 min, and more than 6 min was 43.90-49.74, 40.19-45.43, and 34.89-39.11 respectively. Therefore, 39.11 was set as the safe withdrawal speed and 45.43 as the alarm withdrawal speed. Conclusion:The real-time monitoring system we constructed can be used to monitor real-time withdrawal speed of colonoscopy and improve the quality of endoscopy.