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Objective:To investigate the prevalence and clinical characteristics of pruritus in adult patients with psoriasis vulgaris, and to evaluate the effect of pruritus on sleep and quality of life.Methods:From January 2020 to December 2020, 291 patients with psoriasis vulgaris were enrolled in Lanzhou University Second Hospital, and characteristics of pruritus as well as quality of sleep and life were evaluated by physicians directly or through a questionnaire. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze risk factors for pruritus, and multivariate linear regression to analyze factors affecting sleep and quality of life.Results:Among the 291 patients with psoriasis vulgaris, 184 (63.23%) were males and 107 (36.77%) were females, with the age ( M [ Q1, Q3]) being 37.00 (28.00, 50.00) years; 258 (88.64%) had the itching symptom, and the severity of itching was usually moderate. The severity of skin lesions was the main risk factor for pruritus ( OR = 1.252, 95% CI: 1.114-1.407, P < 0.001) . Psoriasis area and severity index was positively correlated with pruritus numerical rating scale (NRS) score ( r = 0.65, P < 0.001) , 5-D′S score ( r = 0.65, P < 0.001) , Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI) score ( r = 0.48, P < 0.001) and dermatology life quality index (DLQI) score ( r = 0.63, P < 0.001) , the pruritus NRS score was positively correlated with the DLQI score ( r = 0.61, P < 0.001) and PSQI score ( r = 0.55, P < 0.001) , and the 5-D′S score was positively correlated with the DLQI score ( r = 0.62, P < 0.001) and PSQI score ( r = 0.64, P < 0.001) . Conclusion:Most adult patients with psoriasis vulgaris have moderate pruritus; the severity of disease markedly affects the severity of pruritus, and pruritus exerts considerable impact on sleep and quality of life.
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Objective To compare the efficacy of desloratadine citrate disodium versus loratadine in the treatment of chronic urticaria (CU),and to evaluate their effect on serum interleukin (IL)-23,IL-33 and pulmonary and activation-regulated chemokine/CC chemokine ligand 18 (PARC/CCL-18).Methods From January 2013 to December 2016,120 CU patients treated in Department of Dermatology,Wuwei Oncology Hospital were enrolled into this study,and divided into study group and control group by using a random number table.Patients in the study group took oral desloratadine citrate disodium tablets 8.8 mg once a day,and patients in the control group took loratadine tablets 10 mg once a day.The treatment lasted 28 days.The therapeutic effect was compared between the two groups,and changes in serum levels of IL-23,IL-33 and PARC/CCL-18 were compared before and after treatment.Statistical analysis was carried out by using two-sample t test and chi-square test for comparing indices between the two groups.Results The response rate was significantly higher in the study group (88.33％,53/60) than in the control group (61.67％ [37/60],x2 =15.352,P ＜ 0.01).After the treatment,the serum levels of IL-23,IL-33 and PARC/CCL-18 in the study group significantly decreased to 87.72 ± 22.16 ng/L,95.94 ± 18.27 ng/L,85.93 ±27.34 μg/L respectively,which were all lower than those in the control group (104.21 ± 32.05 ng/L,106.27 ±20.93 ng/L,95.72 ± 30.28 μg/L,respectively;t =3.264,4.034,3.934,respectively,P =0.020,0.006,0.015,respectively).No significant difference was observed in the incidence of adverse reactions between the study group and control group (P =0.298).Conclusion Desloratadine citrate disodium can markedly improve the clinical symptoms of CU with favorable safety,likely by inhibiting the immune response of the body and reducing the effect of chemokines on the chemotaxis of inflammatory cells.
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Objective To evaluate effects of the daily average temperature on the daily number of outpatient visits for eczema in Lanzhou city.Methods Clinical data were obtained from outpatients with eczema in the Department of Dermatology of 2 third-grade class-A hospitals in Lanzhou city from January 1st 2007 to December 31st 2015,and meteorological data during this period were also collected.Controlling for confounding factors like long-term trends and day of the week,a distributed lag non-linear model (DLNM) fitted with quasi-Poisson link function was used to assess the effects of daily average temperature on the daily number of outpatient visits for eczema,and the analysis was stratified by season,age and gender.Results The exposure-response relationship between the daily average temperature and daily number of outpatient visits for eczema could be roughly described by a W-shaped curve.Stratification analysis showed that the effect of the daily average temperature on outpatient visits for eczema was strongest in autumn and winter,followed by summer,and weakest in spring.Low temperature may have lagged,cumulative and persistent effects on the daily number of outpatient visits for eczema,with the maximum relative risk (RR) value (1.12 [95％ CI:1.03-1.22]) observed at-9 ℃ on lag day 14.With a 1 ℃decrease in the temperature,16％ (RR =1.16,95％ CI:1.00-1.03),14％ (RR =1.14,95％ CI:1.02-1.26) and 13％ (RR =1.13,95％ CI:1.02-1.25) increases in the daily number of outpatient visits for eczema were observed in men,teenagers and middle-aged adults respectively (P ＜ 0.05).However,low temperature had no significant effects on outpatient visits for eczema among women or the elderly (P ＞0.05).The effect of high temperature usually occurred following exposure without lag periods,and was gradually weakened over lag time (P ＞ 0.05).Conclusions In Lanzhou,the effect of daily average temperature on outpatient visits for eczema was strongest in autumn and winter.Changes of the daily temperature may be one of risk factors for eczema.Low temperature had lagged effects on the daily number of outpatient visits for eczema,and the effects were strongest on lag day 14.
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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by incompletely reversible airflow limitation and progressive course.The pathogenesis of COPD is complicated.Clinical symptoms include declining pulmonary function, airway and lung inflammation, cough, emaciation, low activity and so on.In the past, the medications for COPD treatment were mainly bronchodilators and anti-inflammatory drugs.With the better understanding of its pathogenesis, anti-oxidative drugs have also been used in the clinical treatment of COPD recently.This article reviews the development of drugs which include bronchodilators, anti-inflammatory drugs and anti-oxidative drugs for the therapy of COPD.
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Objective To evaluate effects of daily average temperature on the occurrence of urticaria in Lanzhou city,and to analyze differences in the effects between different populations.Methods Time-series data on daily outpatient visits for urticaria between January 1,2007 and December 31,2013 were collected from the First Hospital of Lanzhou University and Lanzhou University Second Hospital.Daily meteorological data during this peroid were obtained from the Gansu Meteorological Bureau.Distributed lag non-linear models were used to analyze the association between daily average temperature and occurrence of urticaria,and the analysis was stratified by age and gender.Results The association between daily average temperature and daily number of outpatient visits for urticaria was nonlinear.Low temperature had significant lag effects on the daily number of outpatient visits for urticaria,with the maximum relative risk (RR) value (1.014 [95％ CI 1.000-1.023]) observed at 6 ℃ on lag day 18.Stratification analysis demonstrated that the effects of high temperature on the number of outpatient visits for urticaria were apparent on the day of exposure in age groups of 0-18 and 19-64 years,but decreased on the day of exposure in the age group ≥ 65 years.The effects of low temperature,which showed similar trends along with the increment of lag days in all groups,were relatively delayed and occurred 2 to 4 days after exposure.Conclusions Air temperature affects the occurrence of urticaria in Lanzhou city.Low temperature has evident lag effects on the occurrence of urticaria,while high temperature does not have.
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Objective To profile genotypes of Trichophyton rubrum isolates from different body sites in patients with onychomycosis. Methods DNA was extracted from 30 T. nibium isolates from 10 patients with onychomycosis, and subjected to PCR with tandemly repetitive subelement 1 (TRS1 )-specific primer to analyze the number of repetitive elements in the non-transcribed spacer (NTS) region of ribosomal DNA gene, and to random primer amplification with the random primer OPAA11. The genotype variety was evaluated for T. rubrum isolates from different body sites of patients with onychomycosis. Results All the strains were classified into 5 genotypes based on the copy number of TRS1, and into 11 genotypes by RAPD analysis. The genotypes of T. rubrum seemed unrelated to sites of infection. Genotype diversity was observed among T. rubrum strains from different body sites of the same host in 7 out of the 10 cases as shown by amplification of TRS1 region, in 8 out of the 10 cases as demonstrated by RAPD analysis. Conclusion A single host with onychomycosis could harbor multiple genotypes of T. rubrum at different body sites, suggesting external sources of infection rather than infection from a different site in the same individual.
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Objective To investigate the in vitro anti-candidal activity of the essential oil of Illicium verum (EOIV) alone and in combination with fluconazole. Methods The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the minimum fungicidal concentration (MFC) of EOIV were determined in 130 clinically isolated Candida strains by NCCLS-M27-A microdilution method, and fluconazole was used as positive control. Meanwhile the checkerboard microdilution method was applied to assay the combined effect of EOIV and fluconazole in 18 candidal strains. Results For the 18 candidal strains the MICs and the MFCs of EOIV were 1 517.16 ?g/mL and 2 248.55 ?g/mL for C. albicans, 1 169.24 ?g/mL and 2 338.49 ?g/mL for C. glabrata, 1 320.03 ?g/mL and 1 741.79 ?g/mL for C. parapsilosis, 1 203.50 ?g/mL and 2 407.01 ?g/mL for C. tropicalis, 1 516.32 ?g/mL and 2 144.40 ?g/mL for C. krusei, and 1 072.64 ?g/mL and 2 144.40 ?g/mL for C. guilliermondii, respectively. Significant synergistic and additive effects were observed after the combination of EOIV with fluconazole, and no antagonism was found. There was no significant difference in the mean fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) between the fluconazole-susceptible and the fluconazole-resistant candidal strains (P = 0.671). Conclusion EOIV has antifungal effects on medically important Candida spp.. The combination of EOIV with fluconazole presents a synergistic and additive effects.
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Objective To genotype Candida strains by random amplified polymorphic DNA(RAPD)technique,and to analyse the analogy of different Candida strains based on similarity coefficient.Methods Candida strains were isolated from vaginal secretion taken from patients with vulvovaginal can-didiasis by Sabouraud' s dextrose agar,C.albicans was differentiated from non-C.albicans strains by germ tube test,chlamydospore test and CHROMagar-Candida,and further identified by API20c Aux test Kits.The genomic DNA of45Candida isolates,including Candida albicans,Candida glabrata,Candida krusei,Candida parapsilosis and Candida tropicalis were amplified by RAPD,and DNA polymorphisms of inter-species and intraspecies were evaluated by using the DNA pattern-clustering of5primers.Results Thirty strains of C.albicans could be classified into7groups,and further divided into19subgroups,while15strains of non-C.albicans could be identified to species level.C.albicans isolates were related to each other with the similarity coefficients of more than90%,while different Candida species were connected to each other with the similarity coefficients of80%~90%.Conclusion C.albicans,which is the predominant pathogen of vulvovaginal candidiasis,could be classified into different genotypes by use of RAPD method.
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Advancements in technology have enhanced the performance of pacemakers but made the interaction between the pacemaker and the heart becoming increasingly complex, and its is difficult to interpret the paced ECGs (PGCGs). This paper introduces a brief method to interpret PECGs, which illustrate the timing intervals graphically and avoid using symbols and strings.