Comparison analysis of five ultrasound malignancy risk stratification guidelines for thyroid nodules / 中华超声影像学杂志

Objective:To compare and analyze the clinical diagnostic values of five thyroid nodule malignant risk stratification guidelines.Methods:From October 2019 to October 2021, 926 cases of patients with 1 027 thyroid nodules were recruited in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi ′an Jiaotong University. All nodules were categorized individually according to 2015 American Thyroid Association for Ultrasound Malignancy Risk Stratification of Thyroid Nodules in Adults Guidelines(ATA guidelines), 2016 the Korean Society of Radiology and the Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data Systems(K-TIRADS), 2017 European Thyroid Association Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data Systems(Eu-TIRADS), 2017 American College of Radiology Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data Systems (ACR TI-RADS), and 2020 Chinese Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (C-TIRADS). The pathological results were taken as the gold standard, the malignancy ratio of nodules of different categories in each system was calculated. ROC curves were plotted to evaluate the diagnostic efficiencies of different systems, and DeLong test was used to compare the areas under ROC curves. The sensitivity and specificity of different systems were calculated when the maximum point of the Youden index was the optimal cut-off value.Results:In the same stratified system, there were statistically significant differences in the malignant proportion of nodules of different grades ( P<0.05). The malignant proportion of nodules in the high-risk group showed no significant difference among different stratified systems ( P>0.05). Except for C-TIRADS, the malignant proportion of nodules was increased with the increase of diagnostic grade at each grade of the other four stratification systems. ROC curve showed that AUCs of ATA guidelines, K-TIRADS, EU-TIRADS, ACR TI-RADS and C-TIRADS were 0.814, 0.819, 0.814, 0.820 and 0.802, respectively, there was no statistical significance in AUC of different stratification systems (all P>0.05). The optimal truncation values in differentiating benign and malignant nodules were middle-risk malignant nodules, moderately suspicious malignant nodules, middle-risk malignant nodules, class 4 and class 4B. The diagnostic of five stratification systems showed that ATA guidelines had the highest sensitivity (0.784), C-TIRADS had the highest specificity (0.854). Conclusions:The five stratified systems have similar efficacy in differentiating benign and malignant thyroid nodules, and all of them have good diagnostic value.

Combination of Dendrobium Mixture and Metformin Curbs the Development and Progression of Diabetic Cardiomyopathy by Targeting the lncRNA NEAT1

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the efficacy of combination treatment with dendrobium mixture and metformin (Met) in diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) and its effects on NEAT1 and the Nrf2 signaling pathway. METHODS: H9c2 cells were maintained in medium supplemented with either low (5.5 mmol/L) or high (50 mmol/L) glucose. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a high-glucose diet and administered a single, low dose of streptozotocin (35 mg/kg) via intraperitoneal injection to induce the development of DM. After induction of DM, the rats were treated with dendrobium mixture (10 g/kg) and Met (0.18 g/kg) daily for 4 weeks. Next, quantitative reverse transcription (qRT)-PCR and western blotting were performed to evaluate the expression levels of target genes and proteins. Flow cytometry was performed to assess apoptosis, and hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed to evaluate the morphological changes in rat cardiac tissue. RESULTS: In patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and myocardial cells and heart tissues from rats with high glucose-induced DM, NEAT1 was downregulated, and the expression levels of Nrf2 were decreased (p<0.01, p<0.001). The combination of dendrobium mixture and Met upregulated the expression of NEAT1 which upregulated Nrf2 by targeting miR-23a-3p, resulting in reduced apoptosis and improved cardiac tissue morphology (p<0.01, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Dendrobium mixture and Met upregulated the expression of NEAT1 in DCM, thereby inhibiting apoptosis of myocardial cells.

Tumor shrinkage rate as a potential marker for the prediction of long-term outcome in advanced non-small cell lung cancer treated with first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors

Context: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) targeting epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) play an indispensable role in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), leading to a survival major breakthrough, but there remains no uniform standard for predicting the efficacy of TKI therapy. Aims: We retrospectively reviewed the use of EGFR-TKIs for advanced NSCLC between January 2009 and December 2017 in a hospital, which 169 patients who treated with first-line TKIs were enrolled. Subjects and Methods: Multiple clinical factors, including histology, age, and sex, were analyzed. We calculated the tumor shrinkage rate (TSR) by measuring the longest diameters of the main mass by computed tomography (CT) before TKI therapy and the first CT after TKI therapy. We evaluated overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) after first-line TKI therapy, and we assessed factors predicting survival using the Kaplan–Meier method. Results: Eligible patients were sorted into higher (n = 83) and lower (n = 86) TSR groups according to the mean TSR of 0.49%. The 83 patients with a higher TSR had longer PFS and OS than those in the 86 patients with a lower TSR (14.83 vs. 8.40 months, P < 0.001, and 31.03 vs. 20.10 months, P < 0.001, respectively). Multivariate analyses revealed that TSR was an independent predictor of PFS and OS (PFS hazard ratio [HR]: 0.506, P < 0.001, and OS HR: 0.291, P < 0.001). Conclusions: These cumulative data support that TSR may be an early predictor of the treatment efficacy in NSCLC with EGFR mutations treated with first-line TKIs

The clinical and bacteriological analysis of the diabetic with oral and maxillofacial space infections / 口腔疾病防治

Objective@#To analyze the clinical characteristics of oral and maxillofacial space infection between the diabetic and non-diabetic patients and to explore the common pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic sensitivity of diabetic patients, to guide the clinical medication. @*Methods @# A retrospective study was conducted on 61 patients who received treatment in Qingdao municipal hospital affiliated to Qingdao university, between December 2014 and December 2016 with Oral and maxillofacial space infection. The 61 patients were divided into diabetic group and non-diabetic group. The research contented the patients'age, sex, source of infection, pathogenic bacteria, antibacterial drugs sensitivity, fasting blood glucose levels, white blood cell total and neutrophils percentage, and days of hospitalization. T test and chi-square test in SASS.19.0 software was used. @*Results @#In the 2 groups of patients, the most common etiological factor was odontogenic infection; the most easiest affected space was submandibular space. The most common pathogenic bacteria were streptococcus. Vancomycin was the most sensitive drug, then levofloxacin and cefotaxime. In addition, the diabetes patients'age, fasting blood glucose levels and hospitalization days were significantly higher than non-diabetic patients'.@*Conclusion @#For the diabetic patients with maxillofacial space infection, levofloxacin and cefotaxime was first used for the conservative treatments when the results of the bacterial culture and drug susceptibility test are not obtained. Meanwhile, according to the oral and maxillofacial anatomy, combination of anti-anaerobic agents such as Tinidazole is also suggested. But the final situation of medication is based on the result of the drug susceptibility test.

Dilated cardiomyopathy and hypothyroidism associated with pegylated interferon and ribavirin treatment for chronic hepatitis C: case report and literature review

Pegylated interferon alpha (Peg IFN-α) in combination with ribavirin is the backbone of treatment in chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Cardiotoxicity due to interferon therapy is rare. The most frequent cardiovascular complications are arrhythmias and ischemic manifestations. Cardiomyopathy is extremely rare but can be life threatening. We present the case of a 41-year-old female patient with CHC in whom Peg IFN-α induced dilated cardiomyopathy and hypothyroidism. Chest radiography showed an enlarged and globular cardiac silhouette and pulmonary congestion. Echocardiography showed decreased left ventricular systolic function with an ejection fraction of 32% and fractional shortening of 15%. Cardiomyopathy had a complete remission after cessation of antiviral therapy with short-term heart failure medications and supportive care. Then we review the current literature about interferon induced cardiomyopathy in patients with HCV infection, as well as share our clinical experience in diagnosing and managing this rare complication.