Mapping algorithms for predicting EuroQol-5D-3L utilities from the assessment test of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

To predict 3-Level version of European Quality of Life-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire utility from the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) assessment test (CAT), the study attempts to collect EQ-5D-3L and CAT data from COPD patients. Response mapping under a backward elimination procedure was used for EQ-5D score predictions from CAT. A multinomial logistic regression (MLR) model was used to identify the association between the score and the covariates. Afterwards, the predicted scores were transformed into the utility. The developed formula was compared with ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models and models using Mean Rank Method (MRM). The MLR models performed as well as other models according to mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) evaluations. Besides, the overestimation for low utility patients (utility ≤ 0.6) and underestimation for near health (utility > 0.9) in the OLS method was improved through the means of the MLR model based on bubble chart analysis. In conclusion, response mapping with the MLR model led to performance comparable to the OLS and MRM models for predicting EQ-5D utility from CAT data. Additionally, the bubble charts analysis revealed that the model constructed in this study and MRM could be a better predictive model.

Peak urea level, leukocyte count and use of invasive ventilation as risk factors of mortality in acute pancreatitis: A retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is associated with high complications. Early, reliable prediction of mortality may improve patient management. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 1,599 patients with AP treated at a single large hospital in southwest China. Models to predict mortality were derived from a subset of 1,062 patients (development dataset), and the models were then validated in the remaining 537 patients (validation dataset). Independent risk factors and prediction models for mortality were identified using logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 33 patients in the development dataset and 13 in the validation dataset died during hospitalization. Independent risk factors for mortality were found to be plasma urea levels, glucose levels and platelet counts at admission; as well as peak urea levels, leukocyte counts and use of invasive ventilation during hospitalization. Based on the development dataset, a mortality prediction model based only on urea level at admission gave an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.81, which did not significantly improve by incorporating glucose level or platelet count at admission. Significantly better was a model taking into account three in-hospital parameters: peak urea level, leukocyte count and use of invasive ventilation (AUC 0.97). CONCLUSIONS: While mortality of AP patients can be predicted reasonably well based only on urea values at admission, predictions are more reliable when they take into account in-hospital data on peak urea level, leukocyte count and use of invasive ventilation.

[Effects of Tranexamic Acid after Cardiopulmonary Bypass on the Outcomes of Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of tranexamic acid (TXA) after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) on the outcomes of cardiac surgery patients. METHODS: This retrospective study included adult patients (≥18 years old) who underwent elective valve replace surgery and/or coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) with CPB from July 1, 2011 to December 31, 2016 in West China Hospital of Sichuan University. The patients were divided into TXA group (n=2 062), who received TXA after CPB, and the control group (n=4 236), who did not receive any TXA at all. The differences in postoperative complications such as death, excessive bleeding, ischemic event and bleeding related event, ICU and hospitality duration of the two groups were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the effects of TXA on the outcomes of the patients. RESULTS: The rate of excessive bleeding and the median chest tube drainage of TXA group were less than those of control group (P<0.05), while the incidences of death, ischemic event and bleeding related event were comparable between the two groups (P>0.05). Multivariable regression analysis showed TXA after CPB was associated with the reduced risks of excessive bleeding [odds ratio (OR):0.55, 95%confidence interval (CI):0.49-0.62, P<0.001] and death (OR: 0.55, 95%CI:0.30-0.98, P=0.044), but was not associated with ischemic event and bleeding related event. CONCLUSION: TXA after CPB following cardiac surgery could reduce the risk of excessive bleeding and death without increase of ischemic event.

Amelioration of paraquat-induced pulmonary injury by mesenchymal stem cells.

Acute paraquat (PQ) poisoning induces redox cycle and leads to fatal injury of lung. Clinical management is supportive in nature due to lack of effective antidote, and the mortality is very high. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) process the properties of immunomodulation, anti-inflammatory, and antifibrotic effects and oxidative stress resistance. MSC transplantation may theoretically serve as an antidote in PQ intoxication. In this study, we examined the potential therapeutic effects of MSCs in PQ-induced lung injury. The degree of PQ toxicity in the rat type II pneumocyte cell line, L2, and MSCs was evaluated by examining cell viability, ultrastructural changes, and gene expression. L2 cells treated with 0.5 mM PQ were cocultured in the absence or presence of MSCs. For the in vivo study, adult male SD rats were administered an intraperitoneal injection of PQ (24 mg/kg body weight) and were divided into three groups: group I, control; group II, cyclophosphamide and methylprednisolone; group III, MSC transplantation 6 h after PQ exposure. MSCs were relatively resistant to PQ toxicity. Coculture with MSCs significantly inhibited PQ accumulation in L2 cells and upregulated the expression of antioxidative heme oxygenase 1 and metallothionein 1a genes, reversed epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, and increased the viability of PQ-exposed L2 cells. Treatment with MSCs resulted in a significant reduction in severity of liver and renal function deterioration, alleviated lung injury, and prolonged the life span of rats. Altogether, our results suggest that MSCs possess antidote-like effect through multifactorial protection mechanism. The results of this preclinical study demonstrate that transplantation of MSCs may be a promising therapy and should be further validated clinically.

[Oxidation behavior and kinetics of representative VOCs emitted from petrochemical industry over CuCeOx composite oxides].

CuCeOx composite catalysts were synthesized via coprecipitation (COP-CuCeO,) and incipient impregnation (IMP-CuCeOx) methods, respectively. The physicochemical properties of the samples were characterized by XRD, low-temperature N2 sorption, H2-TPR and O2-TPD. The influences of reactant composition and concentration, reaction space velocity, O2 content, H2O concentration, and catalyst type on the oxidation behaviors of benzene, toluene, and n-hexane emitted from petrochemical industry were systematically investigated. In addition, the related kinetic parameters were model fitted. Compared with IMP-CuCeOx, COP-CuCeOx had well-dispersed active phase, better low-temperature reducibility, and more active surface oxygen species. The increase of reactant concentration was unfavorable for toluene oxidation, while the opposite phenomenon could be observed in n-hexane oxidation. The inlet concentration of benzene was irrelevant to its conversion under high oxidation rate. The introduction of benzene obviously inhibited the oxidation of toluene and n-hexane, while the presence of toluene had a positive effect on beuzene conversion. The presence of n-hexane could promote the oxidation of toluene, while toluene had a negative influence on e-hexane oxidation. Both low space velocity and high oxygen concentration were beneficial for the oxidation process, and the variation of oxygen content had negligible effect on n-hexane and henzene oxidation. The presence of H2O noticeably inhibited the oxidation of toluene, while significantly accelerated the oxidation procedure of henzene and n-hexane. COP-CuCeOx had superior catalytic performance for toluene and benzene oxidation, while IMP-CuCeOx showed higher n-hexane oxidation activity under dry condition. The oxidation behaviors under different conditions could be well fitted and predicted by the pseudo first-order kinetic model.

Conditioned mesenchymal stem cells attenuate progression of chronic kidney disease through inhibition of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and immune modulation.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been shown to improve the outcome of acute renal injury models; but whether MSCs can delay renal failure in chronic kidney disease (CKD) remains unclear. In the present study, the were cultured in media containing various concentrations of basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor and ascorbic acid 2-phosphate to investigate whether hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) secretion could be increased by the stimulation of these growth factors. Then, TGF-ß1-treated renal interstitial fibroblast (NRK-49F), renal proximal tubular cells (NRK-52E) and podocytes were co-cultured with conditioned MSCs in the absence or presence of ascorbic acid 2-phosphate to quantify the protective effects of conditioned MSCs on renal cells. Moreover, male Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with 1 × 10(6) conditioned MSCs immediately after 5/6 nephrectomy and every other week through the tail vein for 14 weeks. It was found that basic fibroblast growth factor, epidermal growth factor and ascorbic acid 2-phosphate promoted HGF secretion in MSCs. Besides, conditioned MSCs were found to be protective against TGF-ß1 induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition of NRK-52E and activation of NRK-49F cells. Furthermore, conditioned MSCs protected podocytes from TGF-ß1-induced loss of synaptopodin, fibronectin induction, cell death and apoptosis. Rats transplanted with conditioned human MSCs had a significantly increase in creatinine clearance rate, decrease in glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis and increase in CD4(+)CD25(+)Foxp3(+) regulatory T cells counts in splenocytes. Together, our studies indicated that conditioned MSCs preserve renal function by their anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory effects. Transplantation of conditioned MSCs may be useful in treating CKD.

A two-tier screening model using quality-of-life measures and pulse oximetry to screen adults with sleep-disordered breathing.

PURPOSE: Using quality-of-life measures and pulse oximetry, this study developed a two-tiered prediction algorithm with an aim to prioritize sleep-disordered breathing patients for polysomnography. METHODS: Data from 355 patients were evaluated to obtain their clinical information, Chinese version of Epworth sleepiness scale, and snore outcomes survey scores against respiratory disturbance index (RDI). In the first-tier screening, receiver-operating characteristics were calculated with an initial strategy of choosing optimal prediction sensitivity. The second-tier strategy investigated the association between pulse oximetry data (desaturation index of 3%) against RDI to optimize prediction specificity. RESULTS: The "SOS score of 55 and ESS score of 9" was the optimal combination that yielded the highest sensitivity (0.603) in the first-tier screening. The strategy can includ 94.93% possible patients (probability = 0.6) with positive predictive value of 0.997. The area under the curve (AUC) was 0.88 (p < 0.001). Desaturation index of 3% would optimized specificity (0.966, probability = 0.5) in the second-tier screening to exclude 54% of innocent patients, with negative predictive values of 0.93 and AUC of 0.951 (p < 0.001). The two-tier screening model jointly excluded 4.8% of innocent subjects and prioritized 40% of severe patients for polysomnography. CONCLUSIONS: The prediction model is sufficiently accurate and feasible for large-scale population screening.

Ultrasonography guided percutaneous radiofrequency ablation for hepatic cavernous hemangioma.

AIM: Hepatic cavernous hemangioma (HCH) is the most common benign tumor of the liver and its management is still controversial. Recent success in situ radiofrequency ablation of hepatic malignancies has led us to consider using this technique in patients with HCH. This study was to assess the efficacy, safety, and complications of percutaneous radiofrequency ablation (PRFA) under ultrasonography guidance in patients with HCH. METHODS: Twelve patients (four men and eight women, age ranged 33-56 years, mean age was 41.7 years) with 15 hepatic cavernous hemangiomas (2.5 cm to 9.5 cm) were treated using the RF-2000 generator and 10-needle LeVeen electrode percutaneously guided by B-ultrasound. Lesions larger than 3 cm were treated by multiple overlapping ablations that encompass the entire lesion as well as a rim of normal liver tissue (approximately 0.5 cm). RESULTS: All the patients who received PRFA therapy had no severe pain, bleeding or bile leakage during and after the procedures. Nine to 34 months' follow-up (mean, 21 months) by ultrasound and/or spiral CT scan demonstrated that the ablated lesions in this group were shrunk remarkably, and the shrunken range was 38-79 % (mean, 67 % per 21 months). The contrast enhancement was disappeared within the tumor or at its periphery in all cases on spiral CT scans obtained 3 to 6 months after treatment. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that PRFA therapy is a mini-invasive, simple, safe, and effective method for the treatment of selected patients with HCH.

Designation of a new training model of a local disaster medical system with tabletop exercises.

BACKGROUND: A new model of a local disaster medical system (LDMS) was proposed through the consensus method of expert panel meetings for county governments in Taiwan. This LDMS model adopts a local emergency medical response system (EMRS) for dealing with daily accidents as a basic structure by expanding its roles and functions. The objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of the new LDMS model by evaluating its initial phase response to simulated disasters using tabletop exercises. METHODS: Two tabletop exercises were held after the responders of the LDMS were trained according to the new model. Forty and 42 participants respectively joined the 2 tabletop exercises, which simulated an earthquake causing 400 casualties in 6 different locations in order to apply the new LDMS model. The outcome measurements of the tabletop exercises were the mean accuracy rate of victim triage and disposition, and medical interventions. RESULTS: About 92% of victims were correctly triaged, and 88% had a correct disposition. Moreover, around 86% of all victims received adequate medical interventions. All victims were dispatched to appropriate facilities or treatment areas within 45 min. CONCLUSION: The new EMRS-oriented model of this LDMS can respond quickly, efficiently, and adequately to the initial phase of a disaster during tabletop exercises. Further clinical investigations are required to prove the efficacy of the new LDMS model in real disasters or in full-scale drills.