Analysis of related factors for RA flares after SARS-CoV-2 infection: a retrospective study from patient survey.

SARS-CoV-2 and its variants are widely prevalent worldwide. With frequent secondary and breakthrough infections, immune dysfunction in RA patients, and long-term use of immune preparations, SARS-CoV-2 infection poses a significant challenge to patients and rheumatologists. Whether SARS-CoV-2 infection causes RA flares and what factors aggravate RA flares are poorly studied. A questionnaire survey was conducted on RA patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 after December 7, 2022, in China through a multicenter and inter-network platform regarding general personal condition, primary disease, comorbidity, SARS-CoV-2 vaccination, viral infection, and impact on the primary disease. A total of 306 RA patients were included in this study, and the patient data were analyzed, in which the general condition of RA patients, medication use before SARS-CoV-2 infection and post-infection typing and manifestations, and medication adjustment did not affect the Flare of RA patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection. The control of disease before SARS-CoV-2 infection (OR = 2.10), RA involving pulmonary lesions (OR = 2.28), and the recovery time of COVID-19 (OR = 2.50) were risk factors for RA flare. RA involving pulmonary lesions, control status of disease before infection, and recovery time of COVID-19 disease are risk factors for RA flare after SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Association between animal source foods consumption and risk of hypertension: a cohort study.

PURPOSE: This study assessed the association between animal source foods (ASF) consumption and hypertension, a recognised risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Adverse effects of red and processed meat (RPM) consumption and beneficial effects of the consumption of dairy products and other ASF have been discovered separately; however, the constrained nature of food intake has been typically ignored. We assessed the effects of substituting RPM and other ASF. METHODS: We followed-up 5394 Chinese adults (age 18-60 years) at baseline using the China Health and Nutrition Survey from 2004 to 2011. Food consumption was assessed using individual-based consecutive 24-h recall and household-based food weighing approaches. Both traditional substitution analysis and substitution analysis based on compositional transformation were used to assess substitution effects. RESULTS: In total, 1267 participants were newly diagnosed with hypertension during the median follow-up time of 6.81 years (range, 2.97-6.99 years). The traditional substitution analysis found that substituting eggs for RPM was associated with a lower risk of hypertension. The compositional transformation substitution analysis revealed that replacing RPM with any other ASF was associated with a lower risk of hypertension; it implemented substitutions of one or many ASF for RPM; it also revealed different substitution effects of RPM and dairy products, and substituting dairy products for RPM was associated with reduced hypertension risks. CONCLUSION: The compositional transformation substitution analysis considers the constrained and relative nature of food consumption. It is a flexible approach to estimating substitution effects using different patterns to obtain personalised estimation effects and provide individualised dietary recommendations.

Associations between dietary patterns and 10-year cardiovascular disease risk score levels among Chinese coal miners--a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Diet-related cardiovascular diseases have produced a large health burden in China. Coal miners are a high-risk population for cardiovascular disease, but there is little evidence concerning associations between coal miners' dietary patterns and their 10-year cardiovascular disease risk score levels. METHODS: The study included 2632 participants and focused on dietary patterns associated with higher 10-year cardiovascular disease risk score levels. A valid semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to collect data regarding dietary intake, and dietary patterns were identified using factor analysis combined with cluster analysis. Logistic regression was used to assess associations between dietary patterns and 10-year cardiovascular disease risk score levels. RESULTS: For ground workers, compared with the 'Healthy' pattern, the 'High-salt' and 'Refined grains' patterns were significantly associated with higher 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score level (OR: 1.50, 95% CI: 1.02-2.21; OR: 1.92, 95% CI: 1.26-2.93) and 10-year ischemic cardiovascular disease risk score level (OR: 2.18, 95% CI: 1.25-3.80; OR: 2.64, 95% CI: 1.48-4.72) adjusted for gender, and behavioural and socioeconomic factors. The 'High-fat and salt' pattern was significantly associated with higher 10-year ischemic cardiovascular disease risk score level (OR: 1.97, 95% CI: 1.13-3.42). For underground workers, the 'High-salt' pattern was significantly associated with higher 10-year atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk score level (OR: 1.65, 95% CI: 1.16-2.36) and 10-year ischemic cardiovascular disease risk score level (OR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.09-2.84). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence for dietary patterns associated with higher 10-year cardiovascular disease risk score levels in Chinese miners, and facilitates relevant departments in designing effective dietary guidelines to ameliorate dietary structures.

Laparoscopic versus open surgery for rectal cancer: Results of a systematic review and meta-analysis on clinical efficacy.

Colorectal cancer is one of the main malignant tumors threatening human health. Surgery plays a pivotal role in treating colorectal cancer. The present study aimed to compare the clinical effect in patients with rectal cancer undergoing laparoscopic versus open surgery by meta-analysis of the randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in the past 20 years. The data showed that 14 RCTs comparing laparoscopic surgery with conventional open surgery for rectal cancer matched the selection criteria and reported on 2,114 subjects, of whom 1,111 underwent laparoscopic surgery and 1,003 underwent open surgery for rectal cancer. Blood loss (P<0.00001), days to passage of flatus (P=0.0003), first bowel movement (P=0.0006), fluids intake (P<0.00001), walking independently (P<0.00001), length of hospital duration (P=0.003) and the rate of wound infection (P=0.04) were all significantly reduced following laparoscopic surgery. The incidence of complications, such as ureteric injury (P=0.33), urinary retention (P=0.43), ileus (P=0.05), anastomotic leakage (P=0.09) and incisional hernia (P=0.88), were not significantly different between the two groups. There were no significant differences in lymph nodes harvested (P=0.88), length of specimen (P=0.60), circumferential resection margin (CRM) (P=0.86), regional recurrence ((P=0.08), port site or wound metastasis (P=0.67), distant metastasis (P=0.12), 3-year overall survival (OS) (P=0.42), 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) (P=0.44), 5-year OS (P=0.60) and 5-year DFS (P=0.70). Therefore, laparoscopy for the treatment of patients with rectal cancer has the advantage of recovery and the same complications and prognosis as laparotomy, which indicates that laparoscopy may provide a potential survival benefit for patients with rectal cancer.

Diagnosis of portal vein thrombosis discontinued with liver tumors in patients with liver cirrhosis and tumors by contrast-enhanced US: a pilot study.

AIMS: We assessed the role of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) in the differential diagnosis between benign and malignant portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in patients who had liver tumors. METHODS: Seventeen consecutive patients who had cirrhosis, liver tumors, and PVT were prospectively studied with CEUS. CEUS was performed at low mechanical index after intravenous administration of a second-generation contrast agent (SonoVue, Bracco, Milan, Italy). Presence or absence of thrombus enhancement on CEUS were considered diagnostic for malignant or benign PVT. Five patients also underwent percutaneous portal vein fine-needle biopsy under US guidance. All patients were followed-up. Shrinkage of the thrombus and/or recanalization of the vessels on CDUS during follow-up were considered definitive evidence of the benign nature of the thrombosis, whereas the enlargement of the thrombus, disruption of the vessel wall, and parenchymal infiltration over follow-up were considered consistent with malignancy. RESULTS: Follow-up showed signs of malignant thrombosis in 14 of 17 patients. CEUS showed early arterial enhancement of the PVT in 14 patients of 14 malignant PVT, 1 patient of 3 benign PVT and the absence of thrombus enhancement in 2 patients of 3 benign PVT. FNB confirmed the results for malignant PVT in four of five patients, for benign granulomatous inflammation PVT in one of five patients in which CEUS showed early arterial enhancement of the PVT. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy is 100%, 66.7% and 93.3% at diagnosis of malignant PVT using CEUS. In one patient with intrahepatic bile duct stone, CEUS were positive for malignant PVT, whereas FNB was negative (benign granulomatous inflammation PVT); follow-up examination confirmed benign PVT. CONCLUSION: CEUS seems to be the pretty sensitive and specific test for diagnosing malignant portal vein thrombosis in patients with cirrhosis and tumors.

Determination of serum levels of YKL-40 and hyaluronic acid in patients with hepatic fibrosis due to schistosomiasis japonica and appraisal of their clinical value.

The objectives of this study were (i) to evaluate the serum levels of human cartilage glycoprotein 39 (YKL-40) and hyaluronic acid (HA) in people infected with Schistosoma japonicum, and (ii) to determine their clinical value. A total of 563 people were subjected to ultrasonography, and 60 patients were identified with either mild (n=30) or severe (n=30) hepatic fibrosis. In addition, 28 healthy subjects were included as controls. Blood sera of these 88 people were examined with regard to the levels of YKL-40 and HA. The former was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and serum HA was determined by a commercially available radioimmunoassay method. On the basis of the ultrasonographic investigations, HA levels in normal, mild, and severe cases of hepatic fibrosis were 83.0+/-35.7, 216.1+/-77.9 and 212.6+/-80.9 microg/ml, respectively. When the same sera were tested for YKL-40, 49.0+/-10.4, 92.3+/-18.5 and 172.1+/-35.9 microg/ml, respectively, were recorded in the three groups. Thus, the serum levels of YKL-40 are not only increased in patients infected with S. japonicum but they are also correlated with the stage of hepatic fibrosis. In conclusion, it appears that YKL-40 is more sensitive than HA in measuring the degree of hepatic fibrosis due to schistosomiasis, which warrants further investigation.