ABSTRACT
Objective@#To explore the association between the frequency of prenatal care in childbearing aged women and risk of small for gestational age (SGA) among neonatal twins in Shaanxi Province.@*Methods@#From July to December 2013, a total of 30 027 childbearing aged women, who were pregnant from January 2010 to November 2013 and had definite outcomes, were selected from 30 districts (counties) of Shaanxi Province by using the multi-stage random sampling method. The questionnaires with a face-to-face survey method were used to retrospectively collect demographic information, pregnancy history, lifestyle during pregnancy, disease history, nutritional supplements, and health care during pregnancy. Information on the gestational age and birth weight of the newborn were obtained by consulting the medical certificate of birth and were registered as twin A and twin B by birth order. Finally, 356 childbearing aged women and their twin babies with complete data were included in the analysis. A generalized estimation equation model was used to analyze the association between the frequency of prenatal care and the risk of SGA among neonatal twins.@*Results@#The age of childbearing aged women was (27.44±4.68) years old, of which 79.49% (283 women) were rural residents and 44.38% (158 women) had seven or more times prenatal care. The gestational age and birth weight were (37.64±2.51) weeks and (2 510±497) g, respectively. The prevalence of SGA was 51.40% (183/356) for twin A and 53.37% (190/356) for twin B, respectively. The prevalence of SGA was 44.30% (70/158) for twin A with seven or more times prenatal care and 42.41% (67/158) for twin B with seven or more times prenatal care, which was lower than that for twins with less than seven times prenatal care, respectively [57.07% (113/198) and 62.12% (123/198)] (P values were 0.017 and <0.001). The results of generalized estimation equation model suggested that compared to those with less than seven times prenatal care, after adjusting for parity, birth order, place of residence, maternal age, occupation, education, family wealth index, passive smoking, pregnancy-induced hypertension syndrome, folic acid, and iron supplement during perinatal period, and gender of the newborn, the OR (95%CI) of risk of SGA among childbearing aged women with seven or more times prenatal care was 0.60 (0.40-0.91).@*Conclusion@#Seven or more times prenatal care could reduce the risk of SGA among neonatal twins in Shanxi Province.
ABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the prevalence of hyperuricemia in type 2 diabetic patients and explore the correlation between the level of serum uric acid and kidney functions in type 2 diabetic patients. Methods: The demographic and clinical data of type 2 diabetic patients treated in The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2018 to December 2018 were collected and retrospectively analyzed. Measurement data were described by mean±SD, and enumeration data were presented by percentage. Pearson correlation and Logistic regression were performed to evaluate the correlation between the level of serum uric acid and kidney functions. Results: Of all the 808 type 2 diabetic patients aged 54.81±14.26 years, 525 (64.98%) were males and 283 (35.02%) were females. The prevalence of hyperuricemia in type 2 diabetic patients was 16.46%. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the level of serum uric acid was negatively associated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (r=-0.181, P368 μmol/L) quartile group was 1.55 (95% CI: 0.71-3.37), 4.03 (95% CI: 1.89-8.49) and 7.09 (95% CI: 3.37-14.89), respectively. Conclusion: The level of serum uric acid is negatively associated with eGFR. High level of serum uric acid is associated with increased prevalence of CKD.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the interaction of pregnancy-induced hypertension and history of preterm birth on the risk of small for gestational age.@*Methods@#Stratified multistage random sampling method was used to choose samples from 30 districts and counties of Shaanxi province. Information on childbearing-age women with their children between January 2010 and November 2013 was retrospectively collected through face-to-face questionnaire survey. The childbearing-aged women were in pregnancy or having had definite outcomes of pregnancy. Enumeration data were described by percentage, and measurement data were described by Mean±SD, and χ2 test was used to compare the rates. Unconditional logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the interaction between pregnancy-induced hypertension and history of preterm birth on the risk of small for gestational age, and by using small for gestational age as dependent variables, pregnancy-induced hypertension and history of preterm birth as independent variables. Confounding factors were under control. Firstly, the association between pregnancy-induced hypertension and small for gestational age has been analyzed in primiparas, secondly, interaction of pregnancy-induced hypertension and history of preterm birth on the risk of small for gestational age has been analyzed in multiparas.@*Results@#A total of 25 751 women of childbearing age and their children were recruited. 60.55% (15 592/25 751) were primiparas, 39.45% (10 159/25 751) were multiparas, the rate of history of preterm birth was 1.89% (192/10 159) for multiparas. The incidence rates of pregnancy-induced hypertension and small for gestational age were 1.55% and 15.49% in pregnant woman (400/25 751) and their newborns (3 990/25 751). Unconditioned logistic regression analysis showed that compared with woman without pregnancy-induced hypertension, primiparas with pregnancy-induced hypertension had increased risk of small for gestational age (OR=1.43, 95%CI: 1.02-2.00, P=0.041). Regarding multiparas, the main effect of pregnancy-induced hypertension had a positive correlation with small for gestational age (OR=1.34, 95%CI: 0.91-1.96), but there was no statistical significance (P=0.138). The main effect of history of preterm birth was positively correlated with small for gestational age (OR=1.61, 95%CI: 1.13-2.31, P=0.009). The interaction term "pregnancy-induced hypertension×history of preterm birth" was positively associated with risk of small for gestational age (OR=5.93, 95%CI: 1.19-29.61, P=0.030).@*Conclusions@#Pregnancy-induced hypertension was associated with increased risk for small for gestational age in both primiparas and multiparas, and history of preterm birth further increased risk for small for gestational age in pregnant women with pregnancy-induced hypertension, indicating that there was multiplication interaction between pregnancy-induced hypertension and history of preterm birth.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#To understand the relationship between medication during pregnancy and single live preterm birth of infant in women of childbearing age in Shaanxi province.@*Methods@#A cross-sectional design was used in this study and stratified multistage random sampling method was used. A questionnaire survey was conducted in the childbearing-aged women selected through multi stage stratified random sampling in Shaanxi during 2010 to 2013. Qualitative datum was described by percentage and measurement datum was described by mean±standard deviation. Logistic regression analysis was done to evaluate the relationship between medication during pregnancy and preterm birth of infant.@*Results@#The overall incidence rate of premature birth was 2.7% in Shaanxi. Among the 28 841 mothers participating in this study, the proportion of medication use at any time during pregnancy was 15.8%, and the most commonly used drug was cold medicine (5.9%). After adjusting all confounding factors, the multivariable logistic regression analysis results showed that taking hormone medicine (OR=2.23, 95%CI: 1.19-4.18), antihypertensive medicine (OR=7.74, 95%CI: 4.28-13.95) and other medicines (OR=2.15, 95%CI: 1.60-2.89) during early pregnancy were the risk factors for preterm delivery, the risk was 2.23 times, 7.74 times and 2.15 times higher compared with those taking no these medicines.@*Conclusion@#Using hormone medicine, antihypertensive medicine and other medicines during pregnancy increased the risk for preterm delivery in women of childbearing age in Shaanxi.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#To investigate the relationship between maternal disease in early pregnancy of women of childbearing age and congenital heart disease of neonates.@*Methods@#A cross-sectional design was used in this study and stratified multistage random sampling method was used. A questionnaire survey was conducted in the childbearing-aged women during 2010-2013 in Shaanxi province. Propensity score (PS) matched (1∶1) analysis was used to match participants with diseases to those without disease in early pregnancy. Through the control of the confounders step by step, a logistic regression model was established to evaluate the ORs of congenital heart disease according to the independent variable of maternal disease.@*Results@#A total of 28 680 pairs of mothers and infants were included in this study, the proportion of the women with disease in early pregnancy was 20.25% (5 807). After PS matching, 5 436 pairs were matched. After adjusting all confounding factors, the multivariable logistic regression analysis results showed that maternal disease (OR=1.86, 95%CI: 1.23-2.81), especially cold (OR=2.19, 95%CI: 1.46-3.28), gynecological disease (OR=4.74, 95%CI: 2.03-11.09) and diabetes (OR=14.00, 95%CI: 1.64-119.21), in early pregnancy were the risk factors for congenital heart disease of neonate.@*Conclusion@#In women of childbearing age, disease in early pregnancy, especially cold, gynecological disease and diabetes, can increase the risk of congenital heart disease in neonates.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the effect and application value of HC visual laryngoscope used for the emergency tracheal intubation on obese patients in the Emergency Department. Methods Totally 80 obese patients enrolled from January 2014 to December 2016 from Emergency Department, Second affiliated hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University who needed the emergency tracheal intubation were randomly (random number) divided into two groups. Patients in group T were operated with traditional laryngoscope, and patients in group HC with HC visual laryngoscope. Then the success rate of glottis exposure, the trial times, operative time, success rate and complication rate of tracheal intubation were compared between the two groups. Results The success rate of glottis exposure in group HC was significantly higher than that in group T (95％ vs 77.5％, P<0.05). The one-time success rate of tracheal intubation and the total success rate of tracheal intubation in group HC were significantly higher than those in group T (72.5％ vs 37.5％, and 95％ vs 62.5％, respectively, P<0.05). However, the trial times of successful intubation cases and the operative time of successful intubation cases were significantly less than those in group T (1.26±0.40) vs (1.64±0.82), and (30.74±6.17) s vs (44.2±7.68) s, respectively, P<0.05. The complication rate of tracheal intubation in group HC was significantly less than that in group T (12.5％ vs 35％, P<0.05). Conclusions HC visual laryngoscope used for the obese patients in Emergency Department can not only increase the success rate of glottis exposure, decrease trial times and shorten operative time of intubation, but also improve the success rate and decrease the complication rate of emergency tracheal intubation, thus having a certain application value.
ABSTRACT
Objective To analyze the relationship between medication taken during pregnancy and congenital heart disease of the newborns.Methods A large cross-sectional survey was conducted between August and November 2013.A questionnaire survey was conducted among the childbearing aged women,selected through multistage stratified random sampling in Shaanxi from 2010 to 2013.All of the childbearing aged women under study were in pregnancy and with definite pregnancy outcomes.Multivariable Poisson regression was conducted for data analyses.Results A total of 28 680 cases were included in this study.The proportion of medication taken at any time during pregnancy was 16.0％,and the prevalence of congenital heart disease among the newborns was 67.9/10 000.After adjustment for factors as general demographic characteristic,history of heart disease and drug allergy and the situation of disease during pregnancy of these women,results from the multivariable Poisson regression showed that,factors as taking drugs (RR=1.95,95％ CI:1.42-2.68),cold medicine (RR=l.68,95％ CI:1.07-2.64),antibiotics (RR=1.90,95％ CI:1.25-2.90),salicylates (RR=5.01,95％CI:1.84-13.64) and antifungal drugs (RR=10.22,95％CI:3.25-32.19)during pregnancy were all related to congenital heart disease,and with the history of taking cold medicine (RR =1.90,95 ％ CI:1.01-3.61),antibiotics (RR =2.18,95 ％ CI:1.17-4.06),salicylates (RR =6.07,95％CI:1.45-25.41),antifungal drugs (RR=21.01,95％CI:4.17-105.87) and other drugs (RR=2.31,95％CI:1.19-4.47) during early pregnancy.These factors were with higher risks for congenital heart disease.Conclusion Women of childbearing age who took cold medicine,antibiotics,salicylic acid drugs,antifungal drugs and other drugs during early pregnancy would increase the risks related to congenital heart diseases.
ABSTRACT
Bacterial biofilms have been demonstrated to be closely related to clinical infections and contribute to drug resistance. Berberine, which is the main component of Coptis chinensis, has been reported to have efficient antibacterial activity. This study aimed to investigate the potential effect of a combination of berberine with ciprofloxacin (CIP) to inhibit Salmonella biofilm formation and its effect on expressions of related genes (rpoE, luxS, and ompR). The fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index of the combination of berberine with CIP is 0.75 showing a synergistic antibacterial effect. The biofilm's adhesion rate and growth curve showed that the multi-resistant Salmonella strain had the potential to form a biofilm relative to that of strain CVCC528, and the antibiofilm effects were in a dose-dependent manner. Biofilm microstructures were rarely observed at 1/2 × MIC/FIC concentrations (MIC, minimal inhibition concentration), and the combination had a stronger antibiofilm effect than each of the antimicrobial agents used alone at 1/4 × FIC concentration. LuxS, rpoE, and ompR mRNA expressions were significantly repressed (p < 0.01) at 1/2 × MIC/FIC concentrations, and the berberine and CIP combination repressed mRNA expressions more strongly at the 1/4 × FIC concentration. The results indicate that the combination of berberine and CIP has a synergistic effect and is effective in inhibiting Salmonella biofilm formation via repression of luxS, rpoE, and ompR mRNA expressions.
Subject(s)
Anti-Infective Agents , Berberine , Biofilms , Ciprofloxacin , Coptis , Drug Combinations , Drug Resistance , Drug Resistance, Multiple , Repression, Psychology , RNA, Messenger , SalmonellaABSTRACT
Objective To study the clinical value of electronic bronchoscope in diagnosis and treatment of recurrent dyspnea in neonates.Method From October 2014 to October 2017,the clinical data of recurrent dyspnea receiving electronic bronchoscopy examination and treatment in the neonatal intensive care unit of our hospital were retrospectively selected.Their clinical characteristics and treatment effects were summarized and analyzed.Result A total of 171 infants of neonatal recurrent respiratory infections were examined using electronic bronchoscope.The top four causes included endo－tracheo－bronchitis in 78 cases (45.6%), laryngomalacia, and tracheobronchomalacia in 22 cases (12.9%), airway stenosis in 14 cases (8.2%) and esophagotracheal fistula in 12 cases ( 7.0%).The complications of intraoperative and postoperative included decline of percutaneous oxygen saturation and /or heart rate (20.5%, 35/171), mucosal bleeding (12.3%, 21/171 ), and fever after bronchoalveolar lavage.Electronic bronchoscopy examination confirmed all the 171 neonates′diagnosis and some of them recovered after corresponding treatment.78 cases of infants with endo－tracheobronchitis were all cured.22 cases of laryngomalacia and tracheobronchomalacia and nine patients with airway stenosis improved and were discharged after treatment . One patient with subglottic stenosis received bronchoscopic holmium laser ablation therapy and the airway significantly expanded.No re－stenosis was found during follow－up.Conclusion Electronic bronchoscopy is an important method to determine the cause of recurrent dyspnea in newborns , and it′safe,reliable and can play a therapeutic role in some neonates.
ABSTRACT
Objective To analyze the relationship between medication taken during pregnancy and congenital heart disease of the newborns.Methods A large cross-sectional survey was conducted between August and November 2013.A questionnaire survey was conducted among the childbearing aged women,selected through multistage stratified random sampling in Shaanxi from 2010 to 2013.All of the childbearing aged women under study were in pregnancy and with definite pregnancy outcomes.Multivariable Poisson regression was conducted for data analyses.Results A total of 28 680 cases were included in this study.The proportion of medication taken at any time during pregnancy was 16.0％,and the prevalence of congenital heart disease among the newborns was 67.9/10 000.After adjustment for factors as general demographic characteristic,history of heart disease and drug allergy and the situation of disease during pregnancy of these women,results from the multivariable Poisson regression showed that,factors as taking drugs (RR=1.95,95％ CI:1.42-2.68),cold medicine (RR=l.68,95％ CI:1.07-2.64),antibiotics (RR=1.90,95％ CI:1.25-2.90),salicylates (RR=5.01,95％CI:1.84-13.64) and antifungal drugs (RR=10.22,95％CI:3.25-32.19)during pregnancy were all related to congenital heart disease,and with the history of taking cold medicine (RR =1.90,95 ％ CI:1.01-3.61),antibiotics (RR =2.18,95 ％ CI:1.17-4.06),salicylates (RR =6.07,95％CI:1.45-25.41),antifungal drugs (RR=21.01,95％CI:4.17-105.87) and other drugs (RR=2.31,95％CI:1.19-4.47) during early pregnancy.These factors were with higher risks for congenital heart disease.Conclusion Women of childbearing age who took cold medicine,antibiotics,salicylic acid drugs,antifungal drugs and other drugs during early pregnancy would increase the risks related to congenital heart diseases.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the status of family burden caused by anxiety and depression of parents and disease in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus to analyze the influence of family burden upon mental state of the parents. Methods Totally 100 parents from Shandong province whose children were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes mellitus were investigated with Self-Rating Anxiety Scale,Self-Rating Depression Sale and Family Burden Scale of Disease. Results The score of anxiety of parents was (46.22 ± 10.84) points while the score of depression was (49.20 ± 13.58) points, 98%(98/100) of the parents was influenced by family burden of disease. The higher the education level (F=4.874) and the monthly income(F=2.808),the lower the anxiety of parents,and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05).Mothers had higher depression level than fathers(t=7.290).The higher the educational level(F=3.699), the lower the depression of parents, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05). Anxiety and depression of parents had positive correlation with family burden of disease(P<0.05 or 0.01). Conclusions The more serious burden of children with type 1 diabetes and their parents,the higher the level of anxiety and depression,which indicates that the nursing staff should pay special attention to the bad mood of parents with heavier burden in the process of nursing.and effective measurements should be taken to improve the unhealthy psychological state of parents. to provide a good family rehabilitation environment for children and to reduce the parents′unhealthy mood radically.
ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the combined detection of serum cystatin C (Cys‐C ) and homocysteine (Hcy) for the diagnosis of early renal damage in diabetic children. Methods Data of 97 cases of diabetic children were collected in our hospital. According to the levels of 24 hUAER ,diabetic children were divided into <30 mg group (n=34) ,30~299 mg group (n=42) ,and ≥300 mg group (n=21). 40 cases of healthy children were selected as control group (NC). Laboratory indexes were compared among different groups. The critical values of Cys‐C and Hcy in early diagnosis of renal damage were calculated by receiver operating curve (ROC). Results The levels of Cys‐C and Hcy in <30 mg group were significantly higher than in NC group [Cys‐C (1.04 ± 0.26 ) vs(0.79 ± 0.21 ) mg/L ,Hcy (13.09 ± 2.15) vs(8.57 ± 1.24)μmol/L ,respectively ,P< 0.05]. When Cys‐C cutoff point took 1.02 mg/L ,the diagnosis sensitivity for diabetic nephropathy diagnosis was 86.09% and the specificity was 83.28% ,the maximum diagnostic index reached 1.6937 ,ROC area under the curve was 0.841.When Hcy threshold took 13.00 μmol/L ,the sensitivity was 83.98% and the specificity was 79.24% ,with the maximum diagnostic index 1.6322 and ROC area 0.795.Cys‐C combined with Hcy had a sensitivity of 92.38% and a specificity of 89.17% ,with the maximum diagnostic index 1.764 and ROC area 0.928. Conclusion Cys‐C combined with Hcy detection for early diagnosis of renal injury in diabetic children has important clinical value.
ABSTRACT
Neonatal jaundice is one of the most commonly diseases in newborns.Severe indirect hyperbilirubinemia may lead to neurotoxicity, or death.Hence, predicting the neonates especially high risk neonates for subsequent bilirubin level is required.This paper gives an account of the predictive value of umbilical cord blood bilirubin level,umbilical cord alpha-fetoprotein level, cord blood hydrogen peroxide and end-tidal CO for neonatal hyperbilirubinemia.
ABSTRACT
Long noncoding RNAs( lncRNAs) are classified as transcripts >200 nucleotides in length with lit-tle or no evidence of protein-coding potential, and can regulate gene expression at various levels, including transcriptional regulation, posttranscriptional processing and so on.It has been widely involved in cell differentiation, individual develop-ment and other important life processes.Recent studies show lncRNA-related dysfunction plays critical roles in various dis-eases, indicating that lncRNA may serve as a new target for disease diagnosis and treatment.This review summarizes the functions of lncRNAs, including various modes of lncRNAs in regulating gene expression, the roles of lncRNAs in differen-tiation and development, and the connection between lncRNAs and malignant tumor.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effect of Euphorbia fischeriana extract on latent HIV reactivation and the pathway involved in this process and discuss the value of Euphorbia fischeriana extract in eliminating HIV.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Fresh tissues of Euphorbia fischeriana root were crushed into powder after quick freezing with liquid nitrogen and extracted with acetone followed by a three-day vacuum freeze-drying for dehydration of the extract. The extract (EFE) was separated using RP-C18 column with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and identified with mass spectrometry (MS). The activity of reactivated latent HIV was analyzed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting in a J-Lat 10.6 cell model treated with EFE (50 µg/mL) for 24 h, using TNF-α (10 ng/mL) as the positive control. The effect of a NF-κB pathway inhibitor (Bay 11-7082) on EFE activity was tested. The changes in P65 expression in the cell nuclei within 2 h and HIV protein p24 expression within 24 h were analyzed by Western blotting in cells treated with EFE.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>EFE was obtained by one-step acetone extraction, and the concentration of prostratin in the extract was around 0.53 mmol/L. About 50% of the cells showed HIV reactivation after treatment with 50 µg/mL EFE for 24 h accompanied by a significantly increased p24 expression. The activity of EFE in reactivating latent HIV was inhibited by Bay 11-7082 in a concentration-dependent manner, and p65 accumulation was detected in the cell nuclei within 2 h.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>EFE we obtained contains the active compounds of prostratin and its analogues and shows a strong capacity to reactivate latent HIV through classical NF-κB pathway.</p>
Subject(s)
Humans , Euphorbia , Chemistry , Flow Cytometry , HIV , HIV Infections , NF-kappa B , Metabolism , Nitriles , Phorbol Esters , Chemistry , Plant Extracts , Pharmacology , Signal Transduction , Sulfones , Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha , Virus LatencyABSTRACT
The combination of chemotherapy with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor antibodies such as cetuximab and panitumumab which prolong the survival time in the past few years have been widely adopted for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.However,a large number of patients develop resistance to these agents,while there is no standard treatment after acquired resistance yet.Therefore,finding out the mechanisms of acquired drug resistance and putting forward reasonable methods to overcome the acquired resistance will be improve its curative effect.
ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To observe if VIR576, an 20-mer peptide derived from the C-proximal subfragment of a1-antitrypsin (a1-AT) which inhibits human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) entry into the target cells by interacting with fusion peptide (FP), can also directly inhibit CD4(+) T cell activation in vitro.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Splenocytes isolated from DO11.10 OVA Tg mice were stimulated with ovalbumin or concanavalin A to test the effects of VIR576 on antigen-specific or non-antigen-specific T cell activation. Both primary CD4(+)CD25(-) T cells from DO11.10 mice and CD4(+) T cell line A2b were activated with specific antigens to evaluate the effects of VIR576.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>VIR576 inhibited antigen-specific splenocyte activation but had no significant effect on non-antigen-specific T-cell activation, which bypassed the crosstalk between the CD3-signaling complex and TCR. We furthermore observed that VIR576 could also down-regulate antigen-specific CD4(+) T-cell activation.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Given the high susceptibility of activated CD4(+) T cells in the mucosa to HIV-1 infection, the inhibitory effects of VIR576 on both HIV entry into the target cells and CD4(+) T-cell activation suggest the potential of VIR576 as a microbicide for prevention of sexual transmission of HIV.</p>
Subject(s)
Animals , Mice , CD3 Complex , CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes , HIV Fusion Inhibitors , Pharmacology , HIV-1 , Lymphocyte Activation , Mice, Transgenic , Ovalbumin , Peptide Fragments , Pharmacology , alpha 1-Antitrypsin , PharmacologyABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To detect serum interleukin-21 (IL-21) levels in patients with chronic hepatitis B receiving different therapeutic regimens.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 198 patients with inactive chronic hepatitis B were divided into 3 groups according to the therapeutic regimens, namely interferon (IFN)-treated group (IFN group, n∓38), nucleoside analogue-treated group (NA group, n∓72) and untreated group (control group, n∓88). IL-21 and serum hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers were detected in these patients using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the liver function indices were measured with an auto-biochemical analyzer.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The serum IL-21 levels in Con and IFN groups were significantly higher than those in NA group (102.29∓14.03, 123.01∓38.26, and 48.10∓7.06 pg/ml, respectively, P<0.05). When all the patients were regrouped according to the status of HBeAg, serum IL-21 level was 114.83∓19.88 pg/ml in HBeAg-negative group (n∓105), significantly higher than that of 61.53∓6.61 pg/ml in HBeAg-positive group (n∓93) (P<0.05). Bivariate correlation analysis showed no significant correlations between IL-21 and liver function indices.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>The immunomodulator IFN might be capable of increasing serum IL-21 levels, while nucleoside analogues can decrease IL-21 level in patients with chronic hepatitis B. HBeAg-negative patients have a significantly higher serum IL-21 level, suggesting that the expression of HBeAg might result in IL-21 depression.</p>