The effect of continuous care on the recovery of patients with advanced colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

To explore the impact of continuous care on chemotherapy patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Six hundred forty patients who received chemotherapy from June 2015 to December 2022 were included in this retrospective study and divided into the observation group (n = 332) and control group (n = 308) based on different care methods that they received. The observation group patients were followed up using the continuous care team model, the control group patients using the traditional telephone follow-up model. A comparative analysis was conducted on the effects of 2 modes on patients self-care ability, treatment compliance, anxiety, depression, communication ability with nurses, level of hope, as well as the effects of toxic side effects and cancer-related fatigue. The self-care ability and treatment compliance of patients in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group (P < .05), with lower anxiety and depression scores, toxic side effects, and cancer-related fatigue compared to the control group (P < .05). The communication ability and patient hope level of nurses in the observation group were also significantly stronger than those in the control group (P < .05). The application of continuous care can improve patients self-care ability and treatment compliance, effectively reduce anxiety and depression in in patients with advanced colorectal cancer undergoing chemotherapy, and improve nurses communication skills and patients hope level. Therefore, this practice is worth promoting clinically.

Rapid screening for sickle cell disease by polymerase chain reaction-high resolution melting analysis.

Each year, ~300,000 individuals with sickle cell disease (SCD), a hemoglobinopathy caused by ß-globin gene mutation, are born, and >75% of those are in Africa. The present study examined 511 individuals on the island of Bioko (Equatorial Guinea) and attempted to establish a method for rapid sickle cell disease screening. Following DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, high resolution melting (HRM) analysis was used to assess the specificity of fluorescence signals of the PCR products and to differentiate various genotypes of these products. The analytical results of HRM were validated using DNA sequencing. By HRM analysis, 80 out of 511 samples were classified as hemoglobin S (Hb S) heterozygotes, while 431 out of 511 samples were classified as wild-type. No mutant homozygote was identified. DNA sequencing indicated that within the 431 wild-type samples as indicated by HRM analysis, one case was actually a Hb S heterozygote and another case was a rare hemoglobin S-C genotype (sickle-hemoglobin C disease). One out of 80 suspected Hb S heterozygotes as indicated by HRM was confirmed as wild-type by DNA sequencing and the results of residual 508 cases were consistent for HRM analysis and sequencing. In conclusion, HRM analysis is a simple, high-efficiency approach for Hb S screening and is useful for early diagnosis of SCD and particularly suitable for application in the African area.