Clinical features of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia / 中华检验医学杂志

Objective:The clinical features, laboratory indices, and imaging data of patients with Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP) were described and analyzed, aiming to provide helpful information for the diagnosis and treatment of PJP. Methods:A retrospective study were conducted with data from 154 PJP patients who visited China-Japan Friendship Hospital from May 2017 to August 2020. Their clinical characteristics, laboratory and imaging data, and clinical outcomes were collected for analysis. The patients were further divided into the death group (51 cases) and the survival group(103 cases). The differences between the groups were compared by using t-test, nonparametric test, and chi-square test. Results:Of the 154 PJP patients, there were 89 males and 65 females, with a mean age of (53.7±14.8) years. Among them, 85.7% (132/154) were on immunosuppressive/glucocorticoids agents within the past month. Besides, 27.9% (43/154) and 33.1% (51/154) had kidney diseases and connective tissue diseases, respectively. The major clinical manifestations in these patients involved fever 82.9% (126/154), cough 59.7% (92/154), and dyspnea 52.6% (81/154). For the laboratory data, the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was 561.0 (434.3, 749.0) IU/L and the value increased in 91.3% (95/104) of the patients. The CD4+T-cell lymphocytes in 88.0% (95/108) and 57.4% (62/108) of patients were lower than 400/μl and 200/μl, respectively. Furthermore, (1, 3)-β-D glucan (BG) increased in 74.4% (67/90) of PJP patients (≥100.0 ng/L). For the imaging results, chest computed tomography (CT) showed diffuse ground-glass shadows/grid shadows in 90% (117/130) patients. Compared with the survival group, higher LDH [690.5 (528.8, 932.3) IU/L vs 502.5 (381.8, 657.0) IU/L, Z=-3.375, P=0.001], white blood cell count (WBC) [9.8 (5.8, 12.6) ×10 9/L vs 7.3 (5.0, 10.1) ×10 9/L, Z=-2.392, P=0.017], and age [(69.8±14.5) years vs (50.6±14.0) years, t=-3.756, P=0.001] were found in the death group. Lower lymphocyte ratio [5.3 (3.2, 9.3) % vs 9.6 (5.6, 17.2) %, Z=?3.262, P=0.001] and oxygen partial pressure (PaO 2) levels [(73.2±20.5) mmHg vs (64.8±17.7) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa), t=2.345, P=0.021] were also observed in the death group. Furthermore, in the death group, the bacterial and fungal infection rate was higher than the rates in the survival group [55.1% (27/51) vs 21.5% (22/103), χ 2=15.372, P=0.001]. Conclusions:Long-term use of immunosuppressive agents or glucocorticoids predispose to PJP. CD4+T-lymphocytes, LDH, and BG might be used as important auxiliary examinations for PJP patients. Age, LDH, WBC, lymphocyte ratio, PaO 2 and possible combinations with bacterial or fungal infections are more closely related to the prognostic of PJP patients.

Clinical factors associated with composition of lung microbiota and important taxa predicting clinical prognosis in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia / 医学前沿

Few studies have described the key features and prognostic roles of lung microbiota in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP). We prospectively enrolled consecutive SCAP patients admitted to ICU. Bronchoscopy was performed at bedside within 48 h of ICU admission, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was applied to the collected bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The primary outcome was clinical improvements defined as a decrease of 2 categories and above on a 7-category ordinal scale within 14 days following bronchoscopy. Sixty-seven patients were included. Multivariable permutational multivariate analysis of variance found that positive bacteria lab test results had the strongest independent association with lung microbiota (R2 = 0.033; P = 0.018), followed by acute kidney injury (AKI; R2 = 0.032; P = 0.011) and plasma MIP-1β level (R2 = 0.027; P = 0.044). Random forest identified that the families Prevotellaceae, Moraxellaceae, and Staphylococcaceae were the biomarkers related to the positive bacteria lab test results. Multivariable Cox regression showed that the increase in α-diversity and the abundance of the families Prevotellaceae and Actinomycetaceae were associated with clinical improvements. The positive bacteria lab test results, AKI, and plasma MIP-1β level were associated with patients' lung microbiota composition on ICU admission. The families Prevotellaceae and Actinomycetaceae on admission predicted clinical improvements.

Progress in drugs for fibrosis of important organs / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

Fibrosis is an important pathoIogicaI change in a variety of diseases and with compIicated causes. Fibrosis diseases in different organs have different causes,but the common manifestations of fibrobIast are proIiferation and coIIagen deposition that couId eventuaIIy Iead to normaI tissue damage and Ioss of function. Fibrosis in such important organs as the heart or Iung couId be Iife-threatening. There are different reguIating factors and drugs to fibrosis. Chinese medicine treatment is stiII the main method cIinicaIIy for Iiver fibrosis. Because there is no effective cure for puImonary fibrosis,treatment focuses on anti-infIammation by aIIeviating Iesion and improving kidney function. Despite the tremendous progress in fibrosis treatment,there is stiII a Iack of targeted drugs that couId cure a specific disease in a specific area. With the deveIopment of gene technoIogy,gene therapy wiII become an important treatment for this disease. This paper introduces anti-myocardiaI fibrosis drugs according to the mechanism.