ABSTRACT
AIM: Early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for the survival of severe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, but data with regard to risk factors for disease progression from milder COVID-19 to severe COVID-19 remain scarce. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis on 116 patients. RESULTS: Three factors were observed to be independently associated with progression to severe COVID-19 during 14 days after admission: (a) age 65 years or older (hazard ratio [HR] = 8.456; 95% CI: 2.706-26.426); (b) creatine kinase (CK) ≥ 180 U/L (HR = 3.667; 95% CI: 1.253-10.733); and (c) CD4+ T-cell counts <300 cells/µL (HR = 4.695; 95% CI: 1.483-14.856). The difference in rates of severe COVID-19 development was found to be statistically significant between patients aged 65 years or older (46.2%) and those younger than 65 years (90.2%), between patients with CK ≥ 180 U/L (55.6%) and those with CK < 180 U/L (91.5%), and between patients with CD4+ T-cell counts <300 cells/µL (53.8%) and those with CD4+ cell counts ≥300 cells/µL (83.2%). CONCLUSIONS: Age ≥ 65 years, CK ≥ 180 U/L, and CD4+ T-cell counts <300 cells/µL at admission were risk factors independently associated with disease progression to severe COVID-19 during 14 days after admission and are therefore potential markers for disease progression in patients with milder COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Cerebral air embolism (CAE) is a rare but potentially devastating complication of endoscopic procedures. Only 3 cases, to our knowledge, have been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 50-year-old female patient presented with hepatitis C virus-related hepatic cirrhosis, emergency endoscopy and endoscopic variceal ligation was performed in an awakened state. CAE occurred during procedure, the patient passed away the next day in the intensive care unit. CONCLUSIONS: CAE is a rare but potentially devastating complication in endoscopic procedures. We need more preventive tools and treatments.
Subject(s)
Embolism, Air/etiology , Endoscopy/adverse effects , Esophageal and Gastric Varices/surgery , Intracranial Embolism/etiology , Ligation/adverse effects , Endoscopy/methods , Fatal Outcome , Female , Humans , Ligation/methods , Middle AgedABSTRACT
The present study aimed to examine the association between hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α and the Wnt/ß-catenin signaling pathway in a hypoxic environment. The study also aimed to explore the possible mechanisms underlying the invasion of hypoxic gastric cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. The pcDNA™ 6.2GW/EmGFPmiRßcatenin plasmid was transfected into SGC7901 gastric cancer cells, resulting in cells with stable suppression of ßcatenin expression. The biological characteristics of the control, liposome, negative control, ßcatenin knockdown, hypoxia and hypoxia ßcatenin knockdown groups were tested using an invasion assay. The differences in the invasive capacity of the control, negative control and liposome groups were not statistically significant. However, the hypoxia group demonstrated a significantly enhanced invasive capacity, as compared with that in the control group (P<0.05). In the hypoxia ßcatenin knockdown group, reduced cell penetration and diminished invasive behavior was observed (P<0.05). In the hypoxia and double (chemical + physical) hypoxia groups, HIF1α, ßcatenin, urokinasetype plasminogen activator (uPA) and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP7) protein and mRNA expression levels were elevated. In response to knockdown of ßcatenin expression, HIF1α, ßcatenin, uPA and MMP7 protein as well as mRNA expression levels were significantly reduced in the hypoxia ßcatenin knockdown and the double hypoxia ßcatenin knockdown groups. In an in vivo experiment, the growth rate of xenograft tumors of hypoxic and control cells was high alongside increased HIF1α, ßcatenin, uPA and MMP7 levels according to western blot and immunohistochemical analyses, while growth and protein levels of tumors from hypoxic ßcatenin knockdown cells were significantly lower and those of ßcatenin knockdown cells were lowest. In conclusion, these results suggested that HIF1α activation was able to regulate the Wnt/ßcatenin pathway, and that HIF1α may be controlled by the Wnt/ßcatenin pathway. A potential mechanism underlying SGC7901 tumorigenicity is the activation of the Wnt/ßcatenin signaling pathway, which activates uPA and MMP7 expression and contributes to the enhanced invasion of hypoxic cancer cells.