Transarterial Chemoembolization Combined with Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Plus Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors Versus Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Plus Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors in Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma with First- or Lower-Order Portal Vein Tumor Thrombosis.

PURPOSE: To compare the efficacy of transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) plus immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) (TACE-TKI-ICI) versus TKIs plus ICIs (TKI-ICI) for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with first- or lower-order portal vein tumor thrombosis (PVTT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was performed in HCC patients with first- or lower-order PVTT receiving TKIs (Lenvatinib or sorafenib) plus ICIs (camrelizumab, sintilimab, or atezolizumab) with or without TACE from four institutions between January 2019 and January 2022. Propensity score-based method was performed to minimize bias by confounding factors. Tumor response, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and adverse events (AEs) were evaluated and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: After inverse probability of treatment weighting, two balanced pseudopopulations were created: 106 patients in the TACE-TKI-ICI group and 109 patients in the TKI-ICI group. The objective response rate was higher in the TACE-TKI-ICI group (50.9% vs. 28.4%, P < 0.001). The median PFS and OS were significantly longer in the TACE-TKI-ICI group than in the TKI-ICI group (PFS: 9.1 vs. 5.0 months, P = 0.005; OS: 19.1 vs. 12.7 months, P = 0.002). In Cox regression, TACE-TKI-ICI treatment was an independent predictor of favorable OS. Treatment-related grade 3/4 AEs were comparable between the two groups (22.6% vs. 17.9%, P = 0.437). CONCLUSION: TACE-TKI-ICI therapy contributed to better tumor control, PFS and OS than TKI-ICI therapy in unresectable HCC patients with first- or lower-order PVTT.

Optimized strategy to improve the outcomes of acute type A aortic dissection with malperfusion syndrome.

BACKGROUND: The mortality of acute type A aortic dissection (ATAAD) with malperfusion syndrome (MPS) is high. However, the management strategy remains controversial. We aimed to evaluate the strategy for MPS at our institution. METHODS: Among 724 patients with ATAAD, 167 patients with MPS were treated with immediate central repair (first stage) or an optimized strategy (second stage). In the second stage, the optimized strategy used was based on 6-hour threshold from symptom onset. For MPS with symptom onset within 6 hours, immediate central repair was performed, followed by endovascular reperfusion if malperfusion persisted. With symptom onset beyond 6 hours, individualized delayed central repair was performed. We compared outcomes between the first and second stages. RESULTS: The in-hospital mortality of ATAAD was significantly decreased when the optimized strategy was used (4.3% in the second stage vs 12.5% in the first stage; P < .01). In the second stage, the in-hospital mortality for MPS was decreased (10.2% vs 33.9%; P < .01). Moreover, the in-hospital mortality for MPS with symptom onset within 6 hours and beyond 6 hours decreased from 24% to 7.5% and from 41.2% to 11.8%, respectively. The operative mortality of MPS in the second stage was comparable to that in patients without MPS (4.0% vs 2.4%; P > .05). CONCLUSIONS: The optimized strategy significantly improved the outcomes of MPS. The 6-hour threshold from symptom onset could be very useful in determining the timing of central repair. For patients with MPS symptom onset within 6 hours, immediate central repair is reasonable; for those with symptom onset beyond 6 hours, individualized delayed central repair should be considered.

[Bacterial Community Diversity in Channel Sediments of Different Disturbance Sections of the Jialing River].

In order to explore the impact of different anthropogenic disturbances on the ecological environment of natural rivers, the bacterial community in the channel sediments of the Jialing River was taken as the research object, and the high-throughput sequencing technique was used to analyze the community composition and functional changes of bacteria in the channel sediments of rivers with engineering disturbance, tributary disturbance, sand mining disturbance, reclamation disturbance, and undisturbed section. The results showed that there were significant differences in the physical and chemical properties of channel sediments and bacterial community diversity in different disturbance sections of the Jialing River (P<0.05). The undisturbed section had the highest bacterial community diversity, whereas the sand mining disturbance and undisturbed section had the highest bacterial community uniformity, and tributary disturbance and reclamation disturbance both resulted in a decrease in bacterial community diversity and uniformity. The effect of engineering disturbance on bacterial community composition was significantly different from that of the other four disturbance sections. The dominant bacterial phyla were Proteobacteria, Actinobacteriota, Acidobacteriota, and Chloroflexi, and the dominant bacterial classes were γ-Proteobacteria, α-Proteobacteria, and Vicinamibacteria. Sand mining disturbance led to the increase in Actinobacteria, and engineering disturbance promoted the increase in Acidobacteria. Moisture content, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus were the main environmental factors affecting the changes in sediment microbial communities. The bacterial communities mainly involved four categories of primary metabolic functions, including metabolism, genetic information processing, environmental information processing, and cellular processes, and 18 categories of secondary metabolic functions, such as global and overview maps, carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, cofactor and vitamin metabolism, and energy metabolism. Human interference led to significant changes in energy metabolism, cofactor and vitamin metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, replication and repair, and translation (P<0.05). In conclusion, anthropogenic disturbance led to the mutation of bacterial community diversity and function, which destroyed the stability of the microbial community structure in Jialing River sediments.

Distal radial artery access is a safe and feasible technique in the anatomical snuffbox for visceral intervention.

Regarding the site of arterial access during the intervention, transracial intervention can reduce the risk of bleeding and vessel-related complications as well as improve patient comfort. Importantly, the distal radial artery (DRA) approach may reduce the incidence of radial artery occlusion and digital ischemia, but the feasibility and safety of DRA in performing subdiaphragmatic vascular interventions remain unclear. From January 2018 to December 2019, 106 patients were admitted to our department for visceral angiography and intervention by left distal radial artery accessing in an anatomical snuffbox. In total, 152 times of vascular interventions were performed during this period. Patients demographics, procedure details, technical success, and access site-related complications were recorded and evaluated. The mean age was 58.9 (range 22-86) years. Males accounted for 80.2%. Thirty-five patients (33%) had 2 or more procedures via the DRA approach. Technical success was achieved for 96.1% of procedures (146 cases) and 3.9% of cases failed to perform the intended procedure via the DRA approach (6 cases). The 4-Fr sheath was used in 86.8% of cases, and the 5 Fr sheath was used in the rest of the 13.2% of procedures. The rate of asymptomatic radial artery occlusion was 5.7% (6 of 106 patients). No patient suffered from distal limb ischemia after a long-time follow-up. Eight patients suffered postoperative local pain, transient numbness, or local bruised in the anatomical snuffbox without major complications. Patients with postoperative complications recovered quickly by using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or without further treatment. Left distal radial artery access is safe and feasible as a new technique for visceral angiography and intervention.

Developing a professional-practice-model-based nursing organizational informatics competency model.

BACKGROUND: The development of nursing informatics started late in China. There is an urgent need to develop a clinical practice model that can guide nursing managers in constructing an organizational nursing informatics competency. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop a nursing organizational informatics competency model based on the Professional Practice Model (PPM) and to provide a reference for training in clinical nursing informatics in hospitals. METHODS: A multidisciplinary team in the hospital was first formed as the working group, consisting of nurses trained with the TIGER (Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform) Taiwan model and had practical experience in system development. We used an exploration map to help build the prototype of the hospital nursing informatics competency model. Then, a final model was constructed by experienced out-of-hospital experts using the Delphi method. The final model was determined according to the validity analysis. RESULTS: Ten hospital stakeholders were invited to form the multidisciplinary working team to develop the prototype organizational PPM model. Two rounds of Delphi were conducted to twelve experienced nurses' informatics experts outside the hospital by e-mail. The results showed that the questionnaire return rate was 100 %, the expert authority coefficient was 0.84, the general validity of the two rounds of content was 92.46 % and 100 %, respectively, and the coefficient of variation of all items was < 0.3. The final model included five categories, including management strategy and leadership, organizational structure and operation, improvement of the environment for nursing information practice, cultivation of core competence in nursing information, and project management of the nursing information system, with 61 elements in total. CONCLUSIONS: We propose this model to help hospital nursing managers to establish a plan of action to build up organizational clinical informatics competency.

Development of Nursing Informatics Competencies Evaluation Index System of Clinical Nurses.

For lack of effective and reliable assessment tools of nursing informatics competencies (NIC), we used literature research method, nominal group technology (NGT) and delphi technique to construct an evaluation index system of NIC for clinical nurses, which can provide reference for establishing a training system of talents of nursing informatics.

Comprehensive Analysis of Factors Affecting Clinical Response and Short-Term Survival to Drug-Eluting Bead Transarterial Chemoembolization for Treatment in Patients With Liver Cancer.

This study aimed to investigate the clinical response and short-term survival and further explore the comprehensive factors for predicting clinical outcomes in patients with liver cancer treated by drug-eluting beads transarterial chemoembolization . Forty-nine patients with liver cancer who received drug-eluting beads transarterial chemoembolization treatment were consecutively enrolled in this cohort study. Demographic features, medical histories, clinicopathological properties, biochemical indexes, previous treatments, and chemoembolization reagents were recorded. Ten (20.4%) patients achieved complete response and 31 (63.3%) patients achieved partial response after drug-eluting beads transarterial chemoembolization treatment, with overall response rate of 83.7%. Logistic analysis revealed that high aspartate aminotransferase ( P = .041), high carbohydrate antigen 199 ( P = .030), and low hemoglobin ( P = .020) could independently predict less possibility for complete response achievement. As to survival analysis, high alkaline phosphatase ( P = .040), low albumin ( P = .033) low hemoglobin ( P = .018), portal vein invasion ( P = .025), higher Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ( P = .011), and higher Child-pugh stage ( P = .001) were independent predictors for worse overall survival. In conclusion, the present study validated that drug-eluting beads transarterial chemoembolization was effective and well tolerated for patients with liver cancer, and high aspartate aminotransferase, high alkaline phosphatase, low albumin, low hemoglobin, portal vein invasion, higher Child-pugh stage, higher Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage, higher Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status were correlated with worse outcomes.

Pitfalls in the diagnosis and initial management of acute cerebral venous thrombosis.

Cerebral venous thrombosis is an important etiology of stroke in young patients. Its clinical manifestations are variable and based on different involved venous or sinus processes. Cerebral venous thrombosis could mimic ischemic infarction and is easy to misdiagnose. Although many patients have favorable outcomes, delayed or incorrect diagnosis due to atypical symptoms may lead to a poor prognosis. Here we present a case of a 33-year-old woman with transient headache and recurrent right extremity weakness whose symptoms progressed and were sustained in the hospital. She was diagnosed with ischemic infarction and recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) thrombolysis was performed. However, her symptoms progressed, and intracranial hematoma was found on a computed tomography scan. Ruling out other hemorrhage etiology, we confirmed the presence of cerebral venous thrombosis using magnetic resonance venography. She underwent mechanical thrombectomy and her condition improved thereafter. This case raises the awareness that in young woman patients on oral contraceptives with neurological deficits and headache, cerebral venous thrombosis is a considerable diagnosis. A contrast CT or MRI scan should be ordered in the early course of evaluation, which can help the physician to make the right clinical decision.

Klebsiella pneumoniae invasive liver abscess syndrome with purulent meningitis and septic shock: A case from mainland China.

We present a rare case of invasive liver abscess syndrome due to Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) with metastatic meningitis and septic shock. A previously healthy, 55-year-old female patient developed fever, liver abscess, septic shock, purulent meningitis and metastatic hydrocephalus. Upon admission, the clinical manifestations, laboratory and imaging examinations were compatible with a diagnosis of K. pneumoniae primary liver abscess. Her distal metastasis infection involved meningitis and hydrocephalus, which could flare abruptly and be life threatening. Even with early adequate drainage and antibiotic therapy, the patient's condition deteriorated and she ultimately died. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of K. pneumoniae invasive liver abscess syndrome with septic meningitis reported in mainland China. Our findings reflect the need for a better understanding of the epidemiology, risk factors, complications, comorbid medical conditions and treatment of this disease.

Recent advances in imaging-guided interventions for prostate cancers.

The numbers of patients diagnosed with prostate cancers is increasing due to the widespread application of prostate-specific antigen screening and subsequent prostate biopsies. The methods of systemic administration of therapeutics are not target-specific and thus cannot efficiently destroy prostate tumour cells while simultaneously sparing the surrounding normal tissues and organs. Recent advances in imaging-guided minimally invasive therapeutic techniques offer considerable potential for the effective management of prostate cancers. An objective understanding of the feasibility, effectiveness, morbidity, and deficiencies of these interventional techniques is essential for both clinical practice and scientific progress. This review presents the recent advances in imaging-guided interventional techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancers.

Bimodal visualization of colorectal uptake of nanoparticles in dimethylhydrazine-treated mice.

AIM: To investigate colorectal uptake of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) in mice receiving different doses of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) using magnetic resonance (MR) and laser-scanning confocal fluorescence microscope (LSCFM) imaging. METHODS: Eight mice were sacrificed in a pilot study to establish the experimental protocol and to visualize colorectal uptake of SLNs in normal mice. Gadopentetate dimeglumine and fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-loaded SLN (Gd-FITC-SLN) enemas were performed on mice receiving DMH for 10 wk (group 1, n = 9) or 16 wk (group 2, n = 7) and FITC-SLN enema was performed on 4 DMH-treated mice (group 3). Pre- and post-enema MR examinations were made to visualize the air-inflated distal colorectum. Histological and LSCFM examinations were performed to verify colorectal malignancy and to track the distribution of SLNs. RESULTS: Homogeneous enhancement and dense fluorescence (FITC) deposition in colorectal wall were observed in normal mice and 1 DMH-treated mouse (group 1) on fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) and LSCFM images, respectively. Heterogeneous mural enhancement was found in 6 mice (4 in group 1; 2 in group 2). No visible mural enhancement was observed in the other mice. LSCFM imaging revealed linear fluorescence deposition along the colorectal mucosa in all groups. Nine intraluminal masses and one prolapsed mass were detected by MR imaging with different enhancement modes and pathologies. Interstitial FITC deposition was identified where obvious enhancement was observed in FLAIR images. Bladder imaging agent accumulations were observed in 11 of 16 DMH-treated mice of groups 1 and 2. CONCLUSION: There are significant differences in colorectal uptake and distribution of SLNs between normal and DMH-treated mice, which may provide a new mechanism of contrast for MR colonography.

Development of nanoparticle-based magnetic resonance colonography.

This study was to develop a novel method of nanoparticle-based MR colonography. Two types of solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) were synthesized with loading of (a) gadolinium (Gd) diethylenetriaminepenta acetic acid to construct Gd-SLNs as an MR T1 contrast agent and (b) otcadecylamine-fluorescein-isothiocyanate to construct Gd-fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-SLNs for histologic confirmation of MR findings. Through an in vitro experiment, we first evaluated the size distribution and gadolinium diethylenetriaminepenta acetic acid entrapment efficiency of these SLNs. The SLNs displayed a size distribution of 50-300 nm and a gadolinium diethylenetriaminepenta acetic acid entrapment efficiency of 56%. For in vivo validation, 30 mice were divided into five groups, each of which was administered a transrectal enema using: (i) Gd-SLNs (n=6); (ii) Gd-FITC-SLNs (n=6); (iii) blank SLNs (n=6); (iv) gadolinium diethylenetriaminepenta acetic acid (n=6); and (v) water (n=6). T1-weighted fluid-attenuated inversion-recovery MRI was then performed on mice after transrectal infusion of Gd-SLNs or Gd-FITC-SLNs, which demonstrated bright enhancement of the colonic walls, with decrease in T1 relaxation time. When Gd-FITC-SLNs were delivered, green fluorescent spots were visualized in both the extracelluar space and the cytoplasm through colonic walls under confocal microscopy and fluorescence microscopy. This study establishes the "proof-of-principle" of a new imaging technique, called "nanoparticle-based MR colonography," which may provide a useful imaging tool for the diagnosis of colorectal diseases.

[Safety analysis of CT-guided core needle lung biopsy].

OBJECTIVE: To study the safety of CT-guided core needle lung biopsy. METHODS: 290 cases of core-needle lung biopsy dated from April 1996 to April 2001 were studied. Complications of core-needle lung biopsy and their incidence and relationship with puncture site, diameter of the needle and depth of the target lesion were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Of the 290 cases, 69 cases of mild pneumothorax (23.8%), 11 (3.8%) medium pneumothorax, 46 (15.9%) pulmonary bleeding, 2 (0.7%)hemoptysis, 2 (0.7%) bleeding in the thoracic cavity were identified. Drainage was done in 3 cases of pneumothorax and emergency operation was needed in 1 case of thoracic cavity bleeding. The rest of the complications resolved spontaneously after several days of bed rest. CONCLUSIONS: CT-guided biopsy is a reliable and relatively safe aggressive diagnostic method to get hologic diagnosis. Pneumothorax and pulmonary bleeding are the most common complications, which correlated with the depth of the target lesions in the lung and have no correlation with the lesion location.