ABSTRACT
Objective To investigate the value of serum markers in the early diagnosis of liver cirrhosis with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE). Methods A prospective analysis was performed for 81 patients who were hospitalized and treated in General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University from April 2020 to February 2022, and all these patients were diagnosed with hepatitis B cirrhosis based on clinical manifestation, laboratory examination, and radiological examination or liver biopsy. According to digital connection test A (NCT-A) and digital symbol test (DST), these patients were divided into simple cirrhosis group with 45 patients and MHE group with 36 patients. Related indices were measured, including liver function [alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and total bilirubin (TBil)], albumin, blood ammonia, cholinesterase, and prothrombin time. The independent samples t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between two groups; the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between two groups, and the Kruskal-Wallis H test was used for comparison between multiple groups; the chi-square test was used for comparison of categorical data between groups. The logistic regression analysis and the area under the ROC curve (AUC) were used to investigate the predictive factors for MHE. Results Compared with the simple cirrhosis group, the MHE group had a significant increase in NCT-A score ( Z =-7.110, P < 0.001) and a significant reduction in DST score ( t =12.223, P < 0.001). The univariate analysis showed that there were significant changes in AST, albumin, prothrombin time, cholinesterase, and blood ammonia in the patients with MHE ( Z =-2.319, -2.643, -1.982, -6.594, and -5.331, all P < 0.05), while the multivariate analysis showed that only cholinesterase and blood ammonia were significant predictive factors (all P < 0.05) and were correlated with Child-Pugh score (all P < 0.05). Cholinesterase, blood ammonia, and their combination had an AUC of 0.925, 0.845, and 0.941, respectively, in the diagnosis of MHE, with an optimal cut-off value of 2966, 60, and 0.513, respectively. Conclusion Blood ammonia, cholinesterase, and their combined measurement have a potential clinical value in the early diagnosis of liver cirrhosis with MHE.
ABSTRACT
Objective:To evaluate the value of synthetic MRI combined with three dimensional-arterial spin labeling (3D-ASL) imaging in the grading of diffuse glioma and its correlation with tumor cell proliferative activity (Ki-67).Methods:This study was prospective. The clinical and imaging manifestations of 66 patients with diffuse glioma who underwent synthetic MRI combined with 3D-ASL imaging from August 2020 to June 2021 in General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University were analyzed. Among 66 patients, there were 36 males and 30 females, aged 4-76 years, and divided into low grade glioma (LGG) group ( n=25) (WHO Ⅱ) and high grade glioma (HGG) group ( n=41) (WHO Ⅲ and vⅣ). T 1, T 2, proton density (PD) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) of tumor parenchyma were measured by GE ADW4.7 postprocessing software. The Ki-67 label index (Ki-67 LI) in postoperative pathological sections was detected by immunohistochemistry. Independent sample t test or Mann-Whitney U test was used to compare the differences of quantitative parameters between HGG group and LGG group. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the diagnostic efficacy of T 1, PD, CBF and the combination. Spearman test was used to analyze the correlation between the parameters and Ki-67 label index (LI). Results:T 1[(1 573±173)ms], PD[(86.2±2.4)pu] and CBF[(129±48)ml·100 g -1·min -1] in HGG group were significantly higher than those in LGG group [(1 376±134)ms, (83.0±2.5)pu and (77±49)ml·100g -1·min -1 respectively], and difference had statistical significance ( t=-4.86, -5.08, -4.24, P<0.01). ROC confirmed that the area under curve (AUC) of T 1, PD and CBF in differentiating HGG from LGG were 0.847, 0.843 and 0.777, respectively. In multi-parameter analysis, the combination of three parameters had the best diagnostic efficiency (AUC=0.973) and the sensitivity and specificity were 87.8% and 100%, respectively. In LGG and HGG groups, there was no correlation between T 1, T 2, PD, CBF and Ki-67 LI. In the overall cohort, T 1, PD and CBF had slight positive correlation with Ki-67 LI ( r=0.394, 0.411 and 0.406, respectively, all P<0.01). There was no correlation between T 2 and Ki-67 LI ( r=-0.100, P=0.423). Conclusion:Synthetic MRI and 3D-ASL can noninvasively evaluate the pathological grade of glioma and predict the expression of Ki-67, among which T 1 and PD are novel imaging marks.