Knowledge and attitudes regarding hospice care among outpatients and family members in two hospitals in China.

Access to hospice care is widely provided in Western countries, but the supply of such service is still in its initiative stage in China. As relatives are often involved in end-of-life decision making in China, a better understanding of their cognitions toward hospice care would help policy makers and physicians to overcome the barriers of providing such service. Thus, we conducted the study to assess the level of knowledge and attitudes among Chinese outpatients and family members regarding hospice care.A cross-sectional study was conducted in Peking University Third Hospital and Peking University Shougang Hospital. Trained interviewers recruited outpatients or family members in two hospitals as a convenience sample to complete an anonymous face-to-face survey on demographic information, knowledge, and attitudes regarding hospice care.A total of 550 respondents completed this survey. Only 107 (19.5%) reported that they had known or heard of hospice care, with a mean knowledge score of 2.8 (standard deviation = 1.6). Of the respondents, 69.5% answered "strongly agree" or "agree" regarding the importance of providing hospice care in China. Participants who had known of hospice care were more likely to have favorite attitudes toward it.The awareness rate of hospice care is low in the study, which may lead to poor attitude and low enrollment rate. Considering the increasing evidence to support the improved outcomes of patients and family members associated with hospice care, the public education on its scope of services, benefits, and limitations is needed in China.

Metabolomic Analysis of Serum Glycerophospholipid Levels in Eosinophilic and Neutrophilic Asthma / 生物医学与环境科学（英文）

OBJECTIVE@#To compare the serum glycerophospholipid levels in the inflammatory subtypes of asthma by using targeted metabolomic analysis.@*METHODS@#Demographic and clinical data were collected from 51 patients with asthma between January 2015 and December 2015. Routine blood and sputum induction tests were performed. Eosinophilic asthma was defined as induced sputum containing ⪖ 3% eosinophils, and neutrophilic asthma, as induced sputum containing ⪖ 71% neutrophils. Serum metabolic glycerophospholipid profile was determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Differences in glycerophospholipid levels between eosinophilic and non-eosinophilic asthma and between neutrophilic and non-neutrophilic asthma were analyzed using partial least squares discriminant analysis.@*RESULTS@#The serum lysophosphatidylglycerol level was significantly higher in the group with ⪖ 3% eosinophils in sputum than in the group with < 3% eosinophils in sputum. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve was ⪖ 70%. There was no significant difference in the serum metabolic glycerophospholipid profile between the group with sputum neutrophils ⪖ 71% and the group with sputum neutrophils < 71%.@*CONCLUSION@#Serum lysophosphatidylglycerol is produced abundantly in eosinophilic asthma and may be a biomarker of eosinophilic asthma. This information is helpful for identifying and tailoring treatment for the common asthma subtypes.