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Objective:To understand the clinical characteristics of empyema caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae in children. Methods:The clinical manifestations, imaging characteristics, treatment and prognosis of 49 children with pneumococcal empyema admitted to Beijing Children′s Hospital, Capital Medical University from March 2007 to February 2018 were retrospectively analyzed.Results:Among the 49 children, 26 were male and 23 were female, with a median age of 2.63 years old.All the cases had cough and fever, 46 cases of them had high fever, 2 cases had moderate fever and 1 case had ultrahyperpyrexia.The course of disease before admission was 2-90 days, with a median of 10 days.All cases had toxic symptoms and signs of pleural effusion; 26 patients had dyspnea; 23 patients had moist rales, while 8 cases of whom had wheezing sounds.Eleven cases had extrapulmonary complications, including purulent meningitis in 6 cases, purulent pericarditis 1 case, 2 cases of hemophagocytic syndrome and hemolytic uremic syndrome respectively.The medians of leukocytes in the whole blood, white blood cells in pleural effusion and multinuclear cell percentage were 26.97×10 9/L, 32×10 9/L and 0.85, respectively.The average C-reactive protein (CRP) was 177.79 mg/L.The drug sensitivity test of Streptococcus pneumoniae showed that 68.89% strains were insensitive to Penicillin and all strains were resistant against Erythromycin.Chest image showed bilateral consolidation in 32 cases and pneumothorax in 31 cases.Besides antimicrobial therapy, 34 patients were treated with chest drainage, and 7 cases underwent surgery.Ten of the 49 cases were treated with nasal continuous positive airway pressure, tracheal intubated was used in 6 cases, and 1 case was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation.Forty-five cases discharged with improvement, 3 cases were not cured and 1 case died. Conclusions:Pneumococcal empyema is more common in children under 5 years old.Children with pneumococcal empyema usually have poor mental status, high fever, cough accompanied by dyspnea, high peripheral white blood cells and CRP.Their radiographic findings are usually serious, and the insensitive rate to Penicillin is high.The main treatment is anti-infection therapy and closed thoracic drainage.The prognosis of most patients is good, but there are still dead cases.
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Objective To investigate the effects of AGEs-RAGE on the apoptosis of GLUTag cells and explore the possiblc mechanism.Methods GLUTag cells treated with 0、100、200、300μg/ml of AGEs for 24h were examined for gene and protein expression of RAGE using RT-PCR and western blotting,respectively.GLUTag cells were randomly divided into four groups:control,200μg/ml AGEs,AGEs+siRNA-RAGE and AGEs+apocynin.The protein expression of p22phox、p47phox 、Bcl-2、Bax in the cells were detected with western blotting.The reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were examined using 2'7'-dichlorodihydroflur-rescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) and the apoptosis of L cells were tested by AnnexinV-FITC/PI.Results AGEs increased thc cxpression of RAGE in a dose dependent manner.Treatment with AGEs induced a significant increase in the expression of p22phox,p47phoxand the activity of ROS,caused up-regulation of Bax and down-regulation of Bcl-2,which enhanced the apoptosis of GLUTag cells.Apocynin,the inhibitor of NADPH oxidase,prevented those responses and the effects caused by AGEs were abolished by inhibition of RAGE activity with siRNA.Conclusion AGEs positively regulate the exprcssion of NADPH oxidase-derived ROS and its down-steam signaling pathway p53/Bax by targeting RAGE,leading to the apoptosis of GLUTag cells.
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Objective To observe the changes in levels of plasma leukocyte cell-derived chemnotaxin 2 (LECT2) in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2DM) complicated with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD),and to investigate the clinical significance.Methods A total of 137 subjects were enrolled in the study,including 50 patients with newly diagnosed T2DM complicated with NAFLD,47 patients with newly diagnosed T2DM with non-NAFLD and 40 healthy subjects.The level of plasma LECT2 was determined by ELISA.Anthropometric data and other biochemical indicators were measured in three groups.The body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were calculated.Insulin resistance and pancreas β-cell function were determined by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR,HOMA-％β).Results Plasma concentration of LECT2 in patients with newly diagnosed T2DM complicated with non-NAFLD was higher than that in type 2 diabetic patients with non-NAFLD [(32.95 ± 10.11 vs 29.08 ± 7.54) ng/mL,P ＜ 0.01].Plasma LECT2 levels in both groups were significantly higher than that in normal control group [(22.38 ± 4.40) ng/mL,P ＜ 0.01].Plasma LECT2 level was positively correlated with BMI,FPG,FINS,C peptide,HbA1c,GGT,TG and HOMA-IR,while negatively with HDL-C and HOMA-％ β (all P ＜ 0.01).Multivariate regression analysis showed that levels of BMI,FPG and HDL-C were important factors affecting plasma LECT2 level.Conclusions Plasma LECT2 concentration significantly elevates in patients with newly diagnosed T2DM complicated with non-NAFLD.Plasma level of LECT2 is closely correlated with insulin resistance and glycolipid metabolism.LECT2 may play an important role in the patho genesis of insulin resistance and T2DM.
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Objective@#To analyze the clinical characteristics, diagnosis and treatment of bronchopulmonary foregut malformation(BPFM).@*Method@#The clinical manifestations, imaging findings and treatment of 8 patients with BPFM were analyzed retrospectively from January 2006 to May 2016 in Beijing Children′s Hospital.@*Result@#The age of children varied from 2 months to 7 years and 3 children were male while 5 female. Symptoms showed cough in 6 cases, fever in 4 cases, bucking when intaking of fluids or foods in 3 cases, tachypnea in 1 case, wheezing in 1 case, vomiting in 1 case, haematemesis in 1 case Pulmonary signs were decreased breath sounds in 4 cases, phlegm rale in 3 cases, shortness of breath in 2 cases, wheeze in 1 case, and retraction in 1 case. The upper gastrointestinal series showed abnormal fistulous tracts arising from the esophagus or the gastric fundus and extending into the mass in the lung. CT showed pulmonary sequestration and prompted the tube between lung and esophagus. Six children underwent pneumonectomy and esophageal fistula repair. They were discharged and their symptoms were improved. Two cases of children were discharged from a hospital without surgery.@*Conclusion@#Bronchopulmonary foregut malformation usually has its onset in early stage of life. The most common symptoms include recurrent pneumonia or bucking when intaking of fluids or foods. CT can demonstrate the bronchopulmonary sequestration and evaluate the communication with the gastrointestinal tract. The upper gastrointestinal series can demonstrate the abnormal tract directly. Pneumonectomy and esophageal fistula repair are the treatment of this disease.
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Objective To summarize the clinical features of the allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) in children,in order to improve the understanding for ABPA and make early diagnosis and treatment of the disease.Methods A retrospective study was performed on ABPA patients diagnosed in Department of Respiratory Medicine,Beijing Children's Hospital Affiliated to Capital Medical University from March 2010 to December 2013.The clinical features,laboratory results,image characteristics and the prognosis information were reviewed.Results Eight ABPA cases met the diagnostic criterion.All patients were school-age children (7 years and 2 months to 13 years and 8 months old).Cough (8 cases),productive sputum (8 cases),wheezing (5 cases),fever (4 cases) and hemoptysis (3 cases) were the main clinical features.Six of the 8 patients showed eosinophilia.IgE level was elevated in 7 patients (1.000-5.000 IU/L).All 8 patients were allergic to aspergillus fumigatus,while only 2 cases were positive in sputum culture for aspergillus fumigatus.CT scans showed pulmonary opacities in all 8 cases,while 7 patients had typical central bronchiectasis.Seven patients were treated with the regimen,which included glucocorticosteroid,antifungal agents (voriconazole or itraconazole) and regular bronchoscope.The symptoms of all treated patients relieved,the total serum IgE level and eosinophil cell count decreased spontaneously after the therapy.Conclusions ABPA is rare in children and the clinical features are non-specific.If the patient has elevated total IgE level in serum and eosinophilia,especially in patients with underling diseases,ABPA should be suspected.The positive result of specific antibodies to aspergillus fumigatus and central bronchiectasis on the radiology may give the suggestive diagnosis.ABPA patients generally have good response to the therapy of glucocorticosteroid and antifungal agents.