Assessment of causal association between thyroid function and lipid metabolism: a Mendelian randomization study / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Thyroid dysfunction is associated with cardiovascular diseases. However, the role of thyroid function in lipid metabolism remains partly unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the causal association between thyroid function and serum lipid metabolism via a genetic analysis termed Mendelian randomization (MR).@*METHODS@#The MR approach uses a genetic variant as the instrumental variable in epidemiological studies to mimic a randomized controlled trial. A two-sample MR was performed to assess the causal association, using summary statistics from the Atrial Fibrillation Genetics Consortium (n = 537,409) and the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium (n = 188,577). The clinical measures of thyroid function include thyrotropin (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3) and free thyroxine (FT4) levels, FT3:FT4 ratio and concentration of thyroid peroxidase antibodies (TPOAb). The serum lipid metabolism traits include total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) levels. The MR estimate and MR inverse variance-weighted method were used to assess the association between thyroid function and serum lipid metabolism.@*RESULTS@#The results demonstrated that increased TSH levels were significantly associated with higher TC (β = 0.052, P = 0.002) and LDL (β = 0.041, P = 0.018) levels. In addition, the FT3:FT4 ratio was significantly associated with TC (β = 0.240, P = 0.033) and LDL (β = 0.025, P = 0.027) levels. However, no significant differences were observed between genetically predicted FT4 and TPOAb and serum lipids.@*CONCLUSION@#Taken together, the results of the present study suggest an association between thyroid function and serum lipid metabolism, highlighting the importance of the pituitary-thyroid-cardiac axis in dyslipidemia susceptibility.

Clinical characteristics of early and late drug-eluting stent in-stent restenosis and mid-term prognosis after repeated percutaneous coronary intervention / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#The mechanism and characteristics of early and late drug-eluting stent in-stent restenosis (DES-ISR) have not been fully clarified. Whether there are different outcomes among those patients being irrespective of their repeated treatments remain a knowledge gap.@*METHODS@#A total of 250 patients who underwent initial stent implantation in our hospital, and then were readmitted to receive treatment for the reason of recurrent significant DES-ISR in 2016 were involved. The patients were categorized as early ISR (<12 months; E-ISR; n = 32) and late ISR (≥12 months; L-ISR; n = 218). Associations between patient characteristics and clinical performance, as well as clinical outcomes after a repeated percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were evaluated. Primary composite endpoint of major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) included cardiac death, non-fatal myocardial infarction (MI), or target lesion revascularization (TLR).@*RESULTS@#Most baseline characteristics are similar in both groups, except for the period of ISR, initial pre-procedure thrombolysis in myocardial infarction, and some serum biochemical indicators. The incidence of MACE (37.5% vs. 5.5%; P < 0.001) and TLR (37.5% vs. 5.0%; P < 0.001) is higher in the E-ISR group. After multivariate analysis, E-ISR (odds ratio [OR], 13.267; [95% CI 4.984-35.311]; P < 0.001) and left ventricular systolic dysfunction (odds ratio [OR], 6.317; [95% CI 1.145-34.843]; P = 0.034) are the independent predictors for MACE among DES-ISR patients in the mid-term follow-up of 12 months.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Early ISR and left ventricular systolic dysfunction are associated with MACE during the mid-term follow-up period for DES-ISR patients. The results may benefit the risk stratification and secondary prevention for DES-ISR patients in clinical practice.

Assessing the association of appropriateness of coronary revascularization and 1-year clinical outcomes for patients with stable coronary artery disease in China / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#The Chinese appropriate use criteria (AUC) for coronary revascularization was released in 2016 to improve the use of coronary revascularization. This study aimed to evaluate the association between the appropriateness of coronary revascularization based on the Chinese AUC and 1-year outcomes in stable coronary artery disease (CAD) patients.@*METHODS@#We conducted a prospective, multi-center cohort study of stable CAD patients with coronary lesion stenosis ≥50%. After the classification of appropriateness based on Chinese AUC, patients were categorized into the coronary revascularization group or the medical therapy group based on treatment received. The primary outcome was a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stroke, repeated revascularization, and ischemic symptoms with hospital admission.@*RESULTS@#From August 2016 to August 2017, 6085 patients were consecutively enrolled. Coronary revascularization was associated with a lower adjusted hazard of 1-year major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs; hazard ratio [HR]: 0.62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45-0.86; P = 0.004) than medical therapy in patients with appropriate indications (n = 1617). No significant benefit in 1-year MACCEs was found after revascularization compared to after medical therapy in patients with uncertain indications (n = 2658, HR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.52-1.25; P = 0.338) and inappropriate indications (n = 1810, HR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.51-1.23; P = 0.308).@*CONCLUSIONS@#In patients with appropriate indications according to Chinese AUC, coronary revascularization was associated with significantly lower risk of MACCEs at 1 year. No benefit was found in coronary revascularization in patients with inappropriate indications. Our findings provide evidence for using Chinese AUC to guide clinical decision-making.@*CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION@#NCT02880605. https://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Mis-estimation of coronary lesions and rectification by SYNTAX score feedback for coronary revascularization appropriateness / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#Imprecise interpretation of coronary angiograms was reported and resulted in inappropriate revascularization. Synergy Between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score is a comprehensive system to evaluate the complexity of the overall lesions. We hypothesized that a real-time SYNTAX score feedback from image analysts may rectify the mis-estimation and improve revascularization appropriateness in patients with stable coronary artery disease (CAD).@*METHODS@#In this single-center, historical control study, patients with stable CAD with coronary lesion stenosis ≥50% were consecutively recruited. During the control period, SYNTAX scores were calculated by treating cardiologists. During the intervention period, SYNTAX scores were calculated by image analysts immediately after coronary angiography and were provided to cardiologists in real-time to aid decision-making. The primary outcome was revascularization deemed inappropriate by Chinese appropriate use criteria for coronary revascularization.@*RESULTS@#A total of 3245 patients were enrolled and assigned to the control group (08/2016-03/2017, n = 1525) or the intervention group (03/2017-09/2017, n = 1720). For SYNTAX score tertiles, 17.9% patients were overestimated and 4.3% were underestimated by cardiologists in the control group. After adjustment, inappropriate revascularization significantly decreased in the intervention group compared with the control group (adjusted odds ratio [OR]: 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.73-0.95; P = 0.007). Both inappropriate percutaneous coronary intervention (adjusted OR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.74-0.92; P < 0.001) and percutaneous coronary intervention utilization (adjusted OR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.79-0.98; P = 0.016) decreased significantly in the intervention group. There was no significant difference in 1-year adverse cardiac events between the control group and the intervention group.@*CONCLUSIONS@#Real-time SYNTAX score feedback significantly reduced inappropriate coronary revascularization in stable patients with CAD.@*CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION@#Nos. NCT03068858 and NCT02880605; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov.

Comparison of epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients with and without Wuhan exposure history in Zhejiang Province, China / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

BACKGROUND@#A novel coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), first identified in Wuhan, China, has been rapidly spreading around the world. This study investigates the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in Zhejiang Province who did or did not have a history of Wuhan exposure.@*METHODS@#We collected data from medical records of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Zhejiang Province from Jan. 17 to Feb. 7, 2020 and analyzed epidemiological, clinical, and treatment data of those with and without recorded recent exposure in Wuhan.@*RESULTS@#Patients in the control group were older than those in the exposure group ((48.19±16.13) years vs. (43.47±13.12) years, P<0.001), and more were over 65 years old (15.95% control vs. 5.60% exposure, P<0.001). The rate of clustered onset was also significantly higher in the control group than in the exposure group (31.39% vs. 18.66%, P<0.001). The symptom of a sore throat in patients in the exposure group was significantly higher than that in the control group (17.30% vs. 10.89%, P=0.01); however, headache in the exposure group was significantly lower than that in the control group (6.87% vs. 12.15%, P=0.015). More patients in the exposure group had a significantly lower level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) than those in the control group. There was no significant difference in any degree of COVID-19 including mild, severe, and critical between the two groups.@*CONCLUSIONS@#From the perspective of epidemiological and clinical characteristics, there was no significant difference between COVID-19 patients with and without Wuhan exposure history.

Interferon-α2b spray inhalation did not shorten virus shedding time of SARS-CoV-2 in hospitalized patients: a preliminary matched case-control study / 浙江大学学报（英文版）（B辑：生物医学和生物技术）

BACKGROUND@#Currently, there are no drugs that have been proven to be effective against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Because of its broad antiviral activity, interferon (IFN) should be evaluated as a potential therapeutic agent for treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), especially while COVID-19-specific therapies are still under development.@*METHODS@#Confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China, from January 19 to February 19, 2020 were enrolled in a retrospective study. The patients were separated into an IFN group and a control group according to whether they received initial IFN-α2b inhalation treatment after admission. Propensity-score matching was used to balance the confounding factors.@*RESULTS@#A total of 104 confirmed COVID-19 patients, 68 in the IFN group and 36 in the control group, were enrolled. Less hypertension (27.9% vs. 55.6%, P=0.006), dyspnea (8.8% vs. 25.0%, P=0.025), or diarrhea (4.4% vs. 19.4%, P=0.030) was observed in the IFN group. Lower levels of albumin and C-reactive protein and higher level of sodium were observed in the IFN group. Glucocorticoid dosage was lower in the IFN group (median, 40 vs. 80 mg/d, P=0.025). Compared to the control group, fewer patients in the IFN group were ventilated (13.2% vs. 33.3%, P=0.015) and admitted to intensive care unit (ICU) (16.2% vs. 44.4%, P=0.002). There were also fewer critical patients in the IFN group (7.4% vs. 25.0%, P=0.017) upon admission. Although complications during admission process were comparable between groups, the discharge rate (85.3% vs. 66.7%, P=0.027) was higher and the hospitalization time (16 vs. 21 d, P=0.015) was shorter in the IFN group. When other confounding factors were not considered, virus shedding time (10 vs. 13 d, P=0.014) was also shorter in the IFN group. However, when the influence of other factors was eliminated using propensity score matching, virus shedding time was not significantly shorter than that of the control group (12 vs. 15 d, P=0.206).@*CONCLUSIONS@#IFN-α2b spray inhalation did not shorten virus shedding time of SARS-CoV-2 in hospitalized patients.

FFR could become the new criteria for non-infarct related artery(non-IRA) interventional therapy / 中国实用内科杂志

Previous studies have found that 40% of patients with acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI) combine with multiple vascular lesions(MVD), which is known as one of the main risks for poor prognosis in patients with myocardial infarction.However,the management of non-IRA remains controversial, and there is no consensus on the management of non-IRA in STEMI. FFR could be a new criteria in non-IRA PCI,since it could evaluate coronary flow reserve more intuitively than coronary angiography alone.

Changes of Chemical Components in Raw Products and Characteristic Processed Products with Porcine Cardiac Blood of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma from Menghe Medical School by UPLC-Q-TOF/MS / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective: To compare the chemical components in raw products and characteristic processed products with porcine cardiac blood of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma from Menghe medical school.Method: The ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole-time of flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-Q-TOF/MS) was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC® C18 column (2.1 mm×100 mm,1.7 μm),mobile phase was 0.1% formic acid aqueous solution (A)-0.1% formic acid acetonitrile solution (B) for gradient elution (0-1 min,8% B,1-1.5 min,8%-20% B,1.5-4 min,20% B,4-5 min,20%-60% B,5-9 min,60%-70% B,9-10 min,70%-95% B,10-13 min,95% B).The column temperature was 40℃ and the flow rate was 0.3 mL·min-1.Q-TOF/MS with electrospray ionization (ESI) and scanning range of m/z 50-1 200 were applied for analysis under positive and negative ion mode,respectively.All ionic peaks were assigned by comparison of reference substances,mass spectra data,database matching and literature reference,changes of chemical components in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma were investigated by comparing number and area of ionic peaks before and after processing.Result: A total of 59 components were identified from raw products and characteristic processed products,and peak areas of 25 components showed obvious change.However,there were no new compound was found in characteristic processed products.After being processed with porcine cardiac blood,the contents of water-soluble ingredients (protocatechuic aldehyde,salvianolic acid C,F,G),fat-soluble ingredients (tanshinaldehyde,tanshindiol A,tanshinone Ⅰ) and amino acid (L-phenylalanine) in Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma were significantly increased.Conclusion: Changes of contents of chemical components in raw products and processed products of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma are remarkable,part of water-soluble ingredients,fat-soluble ingredients and amino acids have quantitative change,which may be related to promoting treatment of Salviae Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma on cerebral ischemia after being processed with porcine cardiac blood.

Micro-dissection testicular sperm extraction for non-obstructive azoospermia patients with the history of secondary testicular injury / 中华男科学杂志

<p><b>Objective</b>To investigate the value of micro- dissection testicular sperm extraction (micro-TESE) in the treatment of non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) in patients with the history of secondary testicular injury.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Totally, 121 NOA patients with the history of secondary testicular injury underwent micro-TESE in our hospital from September 2014 to December 2017. We analyzed the correlation of the sperm retrieval rate with the causes of testicular injury and compared the outcomes of the ICSI cycles with the sperm retrieved from the NOA males by micro-TESE (the micro-TESE group) and those with the sperm ejaculated from severe oligospermia patients (sperm concentration <1×10⁶/ml, the ejaculate group). Comparisons were also made between the two groups in the female age, two-pronucleus (2PN) fertilization rate, transferrable embryos on day 3 (D3), D3 high- quality embryos, D14 blood HCG positive rate, embryo implantation rate, and clinical pregnancy rate.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Testicular sperm were successfully retrieved by micro-TESE in 86.0% of the patients (104/121), of whom 98.4% had the history of orchitis, 75.5% had been treated surgically for cryptorchidism, and 63.6% had received chemo- or radiotherapy. No statistically significant differences were observed between the micro-TESE and ejaculate groups in the 2PN fertilization rate (59.4% vs 69.3%, P > 0.05), D14 blood HCG positive rate (44.6% vs 57.9%, P > 0.05), embryo implantation rate (31.8 %% vs 32.6%, P > 0.05) and clinical pregnancy rate (41.5% vs 48.7%, P > 0.05). However, the rate D3 transferrable embryos was significantly lower in the micro-TESE than in the ejaculate group (40.5% vs 52.2%,P < 0.05), and so was that of D3 high-quality embryos (32.5% vs 42.1%, P < 0.05).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Micro-TESE can be applied as the first choice for NOA patients with the history of secondary testicular injury, but more effective strategies are to be explored for the improvement of ICSI outcomes with the sperm retrieved by micro- TESE.</p>

Predictive Value of PARIS Bleeding Score on In-hospital Bleeding of Acute Myocardial Infarction Patients With Drug-eluting Stent Implantation / 中国循环杂志

Objective: To evaluate the predictive value of PARIS bleeding score on in-hospital bleeding of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients after drug-eluting stent (DES) implantation with dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). Methods: There were 27 594 AMI patients enrolled in China acute myocardial infarction (CAMI) registry between 2013-01-01 to 2014-09-30 from 107 hospitals, and 14 625 of them had successful in-hospital DES implantation with DAPT were studied. Based on BARC (bleeding academic research consortium definition) criteria, the end point major bleeding (MB) events were defined by both BARC type 3, 5 and BARC type 2, 3, 5; the incidence of in-hospital bleeding, clinical features and predictive value of PARIS bleeding score according to different BARC type were evaluated. Results: Compared with non-MB patients, MB patients had the higher PARIS bleeding score, P<0.001. Based on PARIS score risk stratification, taking BARC type 3, 5 as endpoint, 77/14 625 (0.53%) patients had bleeding events, PARIS scores were different among high risk, mid risk and low risk patients, P<0.001; bleeding risk in mid risk patients was 2.38 times higher than low risk patients, P=0.006 and bleeding risk in high risk patients was 4.78 times higher than low risk patients, P<0.001.Taking BARC type 2,3,5 as endpoint,223(1.52%)patients had bleeding events,bleeding risk in mid risk patients was 1.64 times higher than low risk patients, P=0.002 and bleeding risk in high risk patients was 2.23 times higher than low risk patients, P=0.001. ROC analysis showed that PARIS score had predictive value on both BARC type 3, 5 and BARC type 2, 3, 5 bleeding, area under curve (AUC) of BARC type 3, 5 (AUC: 0.672) was higher than AUC of BARC type 2, 3, 5 (AUC:0.596) (z=2.079, P=0.038), which implied that PARIS score had better predictive value in severe bleeding events. Conclusion: PARIS bleeding score had predictive value on in-hospital bleeding in AMI patients after DES implantation with DAPT, it can also be used in bleeding risk stratification. PARIS bleeding score had better predictive value on severe bleeding.

Current Status of Antithrombotic Strategy for Elderly Patients With Atrial Fibrillation and Acute Coronary Syndrome After Stent Implantation in Beijing Area / 中国循环杂志

Objective: To investigate the current status of antithrombotic strategy for elderly patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and acute coronary syndrome (ACS) after stent implantation in Beijing area and to study the safety and efficacy of different therapeutic strategy. Methods: A total of 467 relevant patients were enrolled by re-travelling electronic medical records from 12 hospitals in Beijing area. The patients' mean age was (78.70±3.32) years and they were divided into 2 groups by antithrombotic therapy condition: Triple therapy group, n=17 (3.64％), Double therapy group, n=450 (96.36％). The incidence of major adverse cardiac and cerebral events (MACCE) including all-caused death, non-fatal myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis, target vessel revascularization (TVR), stoke and bleeding was compared between Triple therapy group and Double therapy group.Results: The medication in Double therapy group included aspirin+ticagrelor, aspirin+clopidogrel, clopidogrel+warfarin and cilostazol+clopidogrel; in Triple therapy group was aspirin+clopidogrel+warfarin. Patient with HAS-BLED score≥3 was defined as high risk of bleeding and they were all treated by double therapy; HAS-BLED<3 was defined as low risk of bleeding, only 5.03％ patients were treated by triple therapy. 3 patients in Triple therapy group and 33 in Double therapy group suffered from gastrointestinal bleeding, P=0.338; 6 patients in Triple therapy group and 128 in Double therapy group had MACCE, P=0.589; 3 and 80 patients died in Triple therapy group and Double therapy group, P=0.766. Conclusion: Triple therapy was rarely used in elderly AF and ACS patients after stent implantation, double therapy was the main strategy; the incidence of MACCE and mortality were similar between triple and double therapies; patients with triple therapy had the higher incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding.

Risk factors of long term mortality in elderly patients age over 75 years old with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction after primary percutaneous coronary intervention / 中国介入心脏病学杂志

Objective To investigate the risk factors of short-term and long-term mortality in elderly patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI) after primary percutaneous coronary intervention(PPCI).Methods From Sept. 2011 to Jan. 2014, there were 27397 PCI cases performedin the Fuwai Hospital. 108 consecutive patients(0.39％) who aged over 75 diagnosed as acute myocardial infarction and underwent PCI were enrolled into this study. Cox proportional hazards model was used to analysis the risk factors of mortality during follow up.Results In the study population, 5 patients (4.63％) died during in-hospital stay, 7 patients(6.5％) died within 30 days after PPCI and 17 patients (15.7％)died during follow up[averaged follow up duration was (51.17±17.75) months] . Independent risk factors of 1-year mortality included female(HR 5.482, 95％CI1.099-27.333,P=0.038) and cardiac shock(HR 11.283, 95％CI 2.841-44.805,P=0.001). Stent implantation was found to be a protective factor(HR 0.173, 95％CI 0.032-0.943,P=0.043). Independent risk factors of long-term mortality included age(HR 1.146,95％CI 1.010-1.300,P=0.034)and cardiac shock(HR 4.928, 95％ CI1.718-14.130, P=0.003).Conclusions Old age, female, low LVEF, cardic shock and not having stent implantation were independent risk factors for mortality in elderly STEMI patients(≥75 years) who underwent primary PCI.

The value of chest computerized tomography in evaluation of bone disease and clinical prognosis of multiple myeloma / 中华内科杂志

Objective To assess the status and severity of bone disease in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) by using chest computerized tomography (CT) and the relationship between clinical prognostic parameters and bone disease.Methods All 46 newly diagnosed MM in-patients received both imaging tests of chest CT and plain X ray.An experienced radiologist reviewed all the imaging data.Clinical laboratory parameters,stages of Durie-Salmon (DS) and International Staging System (ISS) were evaluated.Five cytogenetic abnormalities of bone marrow myeloma cells were tested by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).Results The sensitivity of CT and X ray to determine pathological fractures was comparable,the positive rates of which were 41.3％ (19/46) and 30.4％ (14/46) respectively (P =0.29).Nevertheless,the positive rate of osteolytic lesions ascertained by CT was significantly higher than that by X ray (P ＜ 0.001),60.9％ (28/46) vs 13.0％ (6/46) with diameter 5-10 mm and 50.0％ (23/46) vs 10.9％ (5/ 46) with diameter more than 10 mm.Osteolytic lesion numbers found by CT were more than those by X ray [5(0-21) vs0(0-4) lesions with diameter5-10 mm (P＜0.001),2(0-14) vs0(0-2) lesions with diameter more than 10 mm (P ＜ 0.001),respectively].Patients with positive osteolytic lesions had higher percentage of RB1 gene deletion[46.7％ (14/30) vs 18.8％ (3/16),P ＜0.001],D13s319 deletion [43.3％ (13/30) vs 18.8％ (3/16),P ＜0.001] and high risk cytogenetic abnormalities[50.0％ (15/30) vs 25.0％ (4/16),P ＜ 0.001].Conclusions Chest CT is more sensitive than plain X ray in detecting osteolytic myeloma bone disease.Osteolysis determined by CT is relevant to clinical DS stages and risk stratification of cytogenetic abnormalities.

Impact of body mass index on the clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention in patients ≥ 75 years old / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>The impact of body mass index (BMI) on the clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients ≥ 75 years old remained unclear.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>A total of 1098 elderly patients undergoing PCI with stent implantation were recruited. Patients were divided into four groups by the value of BMI: Underweight (≤ 20.0 kg/m 2 ), normal weight (20.0-24.9 kg/m 2 ), overweight (25.0-29.9 kg/m 2 ) and obese (≥ 30.0 kg/m 2 ). Major clinical outcomes after PCI were compared between the groups. The primary endpoint was defined as in-hospital major adverse cardiovascular events (MACEs), which included death, myocardial infarction (MI) and target vessel revascularization. The secondary endpoint was defined as 1 year death. Logistic regression analysis was performed to adjust for the potential confounders.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Totally, 1077 elderly patients with available BMIs were included in the analysis. Patients of underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese accounted for 5.6%, 45.4%, 41.5% and 7.5% of the population, respectively. Underweight patients were more likely to attract ST-segment elevation MI, and get accompanied with anemia or renal dysfunction. Meanwhile, they were less likely to achieve thrombolysis in MI 3 grade flow after PCI, and receive beta-blocker, angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker after discharge. In underweight, normal weight, overweight and obese patients, in-hospital MACE were 1.7%, 2.7%, 3.8%, and 3.7% respectively (P = 0.68), and 1 year mortality rates were 5.0%, 3.9%, 5.1% and 3.7% (P = 0.80), without significant difference between the groups. Multivariate regression analysis showed that the value of BMI was not associated with in-hospital MACE in patients at 75 years old.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>The BMI "obese paradox" was not found in patients ≥ 75 years old. It was suggested that BMI may not be a sensitive predictor of adverse cardiovascular events in elderly patients.</p>

Characteristics of medical education in Taiwan and its revelation / 中华医学教育探索杂志

Confronted with similar problems and difficulties in mainland,Taiwan reformed its medical education. The reform included setting up flexible program,formulating objective and detailed rotary guide,making the best of the resources,implementing medical humanities education based on the reality and forming unique cultivation system and mode. These measures can be taken as references for medical education reform in mainland.

Study on triterpenes from roots of Actinidia deliciosa / 中草药

Objective: To investigate the chemical constituents from the roots of Actinidia deliciosa. Methods: With 95% ethanol as the extraction solvent, various chromatography techniques were used to separate and purify the constituents and the structures were identified based on spectroscopic data. Results: Three compounds were isolated from the roots of A. deliciosa and identified as lupa-12, 20(30)-diene-2β, 3β, 28-triol (1), 2α, 3β, 19α, 24-tetrahydroxy-12-en-28-ursolic acid (2), and 2α, 3β, 23, 27-tetrahydroxy-12- en-28-ursolic acid (3). Conclusion: Compound 1 is a new triterpenoid named actinidin A.

Free triiodothyronine level indicates the degree of myocardial injury in patients with acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Previous studies have suggested that hypothyroidism correlated with coronary heart diseases (CHD) mortality in long-term cohort, but whether the thyroid function status is associated with myocardial injury in acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) has not been investigated sufficiently.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Five hundred and eighty-two hospitalized patients from January 2010 to December 2011, with the diagnosis of STEMI, were enrolled in this study. All patients underwent testing for thyroid function status, cardiac troponin I (cTnI), cardiac enzymes, C-reactive protein (CRP). We investigated the association between thyroid hormone levels and cardiac markers (creatine kinase-MB and cTnI), and thus evaluated the potential role of thyroid function status in predicting the myocardial injury.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>There were 76 patients (13.06%) who had hypothyroidism including low-T3-syndrome (34 patients, 5.84%), subclinical hypothyroidism (28 patients, 4.81%) and clinical hypothyroidism (14 patients, 2.41%). After adjusting for conventional risk factors (age, gender, smoking, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension), free triiodothyronine (FT3) was significantly and negatively correlated with log-CKMB (r = -0.244, P < 0.001) and log-cTnI (r = -0.290, P < 0.001), indicating that the lower thyroid hormone level correlates with the severer cardiac injury in STEMI patients. FT3 also had a moderate negative correlation with CRP (r = -0.475, P < 0.001), which might indicate that hypothyroidism may activate the inflammation response. No significant correlation was found between other thyroid parameters (TSH, FT4) and cardiac markers.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>As the lower FT3 level correlates with higher level of cardiac markers and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), the hypothyroidism may be a predictor for myocardial injury in STEMI. And these results may warrant further study to investigate whether reversing the hypothyroidism could benefit the STEMI patients.</p>

Efficacy of lamivudine monotherapy and combination therapy with adefovir dipivoxil for patients with hepatitis B virus-related decompensated cirrhosis / 中华肝脏病杂志

To compare the efficacy of Lamivudine (LAM) monotherapy and combination therapy with Adefovir Dipivoxil (ADV) for patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) -related decompensated cirrhosis for 2 years. A total of 115 patients with HBV-related decompensated cirrhosis were erolled in this study, among 60 patients were treated with LAM combined with ADV and 55 were treated with LAM. The liver and kidney functions, HBV DNA, HBV-M, AFP, Ultrasond or CT scan of liver were tested every 1-3months. the treatment efficacy was evaluated by month 12 and 24. By month 12, the HBV DNA negative rates of combination therapy group and LAM monotherapy group were 51.1% (45 cases) and 47.5% (40 cases) respectively, by month 24 the rates were 86.7% and 60.0% respectively. By month 24 the HBeAg negative rates of combination therapy group and LAM monotherapy group were 43.5% and 30.0% respectively, with significant difference existed between the two therapy groups (P values is less than 0.05). By month 24, the ALT normalization rates of the two groups were 88.9% and 72.5% respectively. Viral breakthrough happened in 2 cases (4.4%) by month 12 and 3 cases (6.7%) by month 24 in LAM and ADV combination group, but no viral resistance observed. Viral breakthrough happened in 9 cases (22.5%) by month 12 and 15 cases (37.5%) by month 24 in LAM monotherapy group with viral resistance observed in 7 cases (17.5%) by month 12 and 13 cases (32.5) by month 24. Significant difference existed between the two groups (P is less than 0.05). Improvement of liver function was more obviously in the combination group. The accumulative total mortality or liver transplantation rate were 16.7% and 20.0% respectively in combination therapy group and LAM monotheapy group. No renal dysfunction observed in both groups. LAM combined with ADV is better choice for patients with HBV-related decompensated cirrhosis as compared to LAM monotherapy.

Intraoperative ultrasound assistance in the resection of small, deep-seated, or ill-defined intracerebral lesions / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>Intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) has been increasingly used as a guiding tool during neurosurgical procedures. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the potential application of intraoperative ultrasound assisted surgery in the resection of small, deep-seated, or ill-defined lesions.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Eighty-six consecutive patients with small, deep-seated, or ill-defined intracerebral lesions were studied prospectively. An improved intraoperative imaging technique and surgical setup were practiced during the surgery. IOUS was performed in three orthogonal imaging planes (horizontal, coronal and sagittal).</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Histopathological diagnoses of these 86 cases included cavernomas, metastases, hemangioblastomas, gliomas, and radiation necrosis. Forty-seven of the 86 lesions (54.7%) were small and deep-seated, 34/86 (39.5%) were ill-defined, and 5/86 (5.8%) were small, deep-seated, and ill-defined. Sonograms in the horizontal plane were obtained in all 86 cases. Sonograms in the sagittal plane and in the coronal plane were obtained only in 52 cases and in 46 cases, respectively, due to technical limitation. In 13 cases, sonograms in all three orthogonal planes were available. All lesions were successfully identified and localized by IOUS. Total resection was performed in 67 lesions (77.9%) and partial resection was performed in 19 lesions (22.1%).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>We propose IOUS to be performed in three orthogonal planes when surgery is planned for small, deep-seated, or ill-defined brain lesions. By applying this simple, improved technique, surgeons can perform resection of these lesions precisely.</p>

ST-elevated acute myocardial infarction happening 1 month post stent implantation: late thrombosis in-stents or new lesions? / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

<p><b>BACKGROUND</b>ST-elevated acute myocardial infarction (STEAMI) happening in the first month post percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is almost related to acute thrombosis or subacute thrombosis in-stents. This study aimed to investigate the possible causes of myocardial infarction one month later.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Patients who had a history of successful PCI, and received coronary angiography or re-PCI due to STEAMI were included in this study. The AMI-related lesions and previous angiographic findings such as the number of lesions, the degree of the stenosis, the type of stents and acute results of last PCI were recorded. If the AMI-related lesion was localized in-stents or at the edge of stents (distance apart from the edge < or = 5 mm), it was defined to be late thrombosis; otherwise as a new-lesion induced AMI.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>One hundred and ninety-two patients aged 40 - 79 years were included in this study. New lesions, as the cause of STEAMI, were found in 144 patients (Group A, 75%), and late thrombosis in 48 patients (Group B, 25%). Almost all newly built thromboses were found at the sites of previous insignificant lesions (diameter stenosis < 50%). There was a significant difference in the average time from previous PCI to AMI ((30.1 +/- 12.4) vs (20.3 +/- 11.9) months) between the two groups. Diabetes mellitus (DM) and drug-eluting stent (DES) utilization were associated with markedly higher morbidity of late thrombosis in adjusted Logistic regression (hazard ratio (HR) 3.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.1 - 10.9 and 5.3, 95% CI 1.1 - 26.5).</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>STEAMIs happening 1 month after PCI are more likely to develop from previous insignificant lesion rupture than from late thrombosis in-stents. Moreover, DM and DES are associated with the high incidence of late thrombosis, which may indicate that intensive antiplatelet therapy should be considered in patients with diabetes.</p>