Life disturbance and hospital visit experiences among Chinese patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The impact of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) on the quality of life of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) has been rarely reported. Additionally, the challenges faced by these patients in seeking medical care have often been overlooked. In order to explore the personal struggles caused by LUTS and the difficulties or barriers experienced by Chinese patients with BPH when seeking help, we conducted a qualitative interview study. METHODS: Qualitative interviews were conducted among 46 patients with BPH who were hospitalized in three tertiary hospitals in China from July 2021 to November 2022. Grounded theory was adopted as the methodology for the qualitative study. After obtaining written informed consent from the study participants, semi-structured interviews were conducted according to the question guidelines. The interview process was audio-recorded; subsequently, the recordings were transcribed, coded, and thematically analyzed. RESULTS: The difficulties faced by Chinese patients with BPH were classified into seven main themes: (i) disturbed life, (ii) mental burden, (iii) disease cognition and communication, (iv) delayed treatment, (v) medication status, (vi) hospital visits barriers, and (vii) medical insurance issues. Further, each theme was subdivided into 2-5 sub-themes. CONCLUSIONS: LUTS have a certain effect on the life and spirit of patients with BPH. These patients face different degrees of difficulties in treatment and hospital visits. Therefore, better healthcare systems and additional social support are crucial for improving the current plight of these patients.

Chitin nanocrystal-assisted 3D bioprinting of gelatin methacrylate scaffolds.

In recent years, there has been an increasing focus on the application of hydrogels in tissue engineering. The integration of 3D bioprinting technology has expanded the potential applications of hydrogels. However, few commercially available hydrogels used for 3D biological printing exhibit both excellent biocompatibility and mechanical properties. Gelatin methacrylate (GelMA) has good biocompatibility and is widely used in 3D bioprinting. However, its low mechanical properties limit its use as a standalone bioink for 3D bioprinting. In this work, we designed a biomaterial ink composed of GelMA and chitin nanocrystal (ChiNC). We explored fundamental printing properties of composite bioinks, including rheological properties, porosity, equilibrium swelling rate, mechanical properties, biocompatibility, effects on the secretion of angiogenic factors and fidelity of 3D bioprinting. The results showed that adding 1% (w/v) ChiNC to 10% (w/v) GelMA improved the mechanical properties and printability of the GelMA hydrogels, promoted cell adhesion, proliferation and vascularization and enabled the printing of complex 3D scaffolds. This strategy of incorporating ChiNC to enhance the performance of GelMA biomaterials could potentially be applied to other biomaterials, thereby expanding the range of materials available for use. Furthermore, in combination with 3D bioprinting technology, this approach could be leveraged to bioprint scaffolds with complex structures, further broadening the potential applications in tissue engineering.

Injectable, stretchable, toughened, bioadhesive composite hydrogel for bladder injury repair.

The bladder is exposed to constant internal and external mechanical forces due to its deformation and the dynamic environment in which it is placed, which can hamper its repair after an injury. Traditional hydrogel materials have limitations regarding their use in the bladder owing to their poor mechanical and tissue adhesion properties. In this study, a composite hydrogel composed of methacrylate gelatine, methacrylated silk fibroin, and Pluronic F127 diacrylate was developed, which combines the characteristics of natural and synthetic polymers. The mechanical properties of the novel hydrogel, such as stretchability, viscoelasticity, and toughness, were improved by virtue of a particular molecular design strategy whereby covalent and non-covalent bond interactions create a cross-linking effect. In addition, the composite hydrogel has important usability properties; it can be injected in liquid format and rapidly transformed into a gel via photo-initiated crosslinking. This was demonstrated on an isolated porcine bladder where the hydrogel closed arbitrarily-shaped tissue defects within 90 s of its application, verifying its effective bioadhesive and sealing properties. This composite hydrogel has great potential for application in bladder injury repair as a tissue-engineering scaffold.