Clinical assessment of levamlodipine besylate combination therapy for essential hypertension: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Essential hypertension has been regarded a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease across the globe, and a significant escapable causation of early death as well as morbidity in the U.S. When angiotensin II receptor blockers and calcium channel blockers are used to treat essential hypertension, most patients will have inadequate blood pressure management. As a result, including a diuretic in the regimen is necessary. The current study's aim is to investigate the effectiveness as well as safety of levamlodipine besylate combination therapy in treating essential hypertension at varying degrees of severity. METHODS: In establishing the effectiveness and safety of the mix of levamlodipine besylate and dihydropyridine for essential hypertension, the authors will conduct a systematic review and, where applicable, a meta-analysis of randomized controlled clinical trials. A total of 8 electronic databases will be used in the search, including 4 English databases (PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library) and 4 Chinese databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese BioMedical Literature database, Chinese Scientific Journal database, and WanFang database). All articles published in the databases will be considered between their inception and January 18, 2022. Only articles published in English or Mandarin Chinese will be picked. A group of writers will independently evaluate each reference to see if it is eligible and whether there are any duplicates. The same authors will do data extraction for all eligible studies and use the Cochrane risk of bias tool to evaluate the risk of bias in the trials chosen for inclusion. RESULTS: The analysis will evaluate the efficiency and level of safeness of levamlodipine besylate combined treatment for essential hypertension. CONCLUSIONS: Our systematic review will offer evidence for judging whether levamlodipine besylate combination therapy can be considered an effective intercession for essential hypertension. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval will not be required as no original data will be collected as part of this review. REGISTRATION NUMBER: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/H8ZR2.

Low enhancement on multiphase contrast-enhanced CT images: an independent predictor of the presence of high tumor grade of clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the relation between tumor enhancement on multiphase contrast-enhanced CT images and Fuhrman grade of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A single-institution retrospective review was conducted on the records of 255 patients who underwent radical or partial nephrectomy and received a histologic diagnosis of clear cell renal cell carcinoma. Two radiologists recorded the radiographic features of each patient, including the attenuation value of the lesion, lesion size, calcification within the lesion, cystic versus solid appearance, and margin regularity. Parameters representing the extent of tumor enhancement were defined and calculated. The association between tumor enhancement and Fuhrman grade was analyzed, and multivariate analysis was performed to find independent predictors of high tumor grade. RESULTS: Significant differences existed in tumor enhancement among different Fuhrman grades (p < 0.001). High-grade tumors had significantly lower enhancement (p < 0.001). The enhancement parameter had a sensitivity of 0.84 and specificity of 0.93 in prediction of high tumor grade. In the multivariate analysis, more advanced age, irregular margin, and low tumor enhancement were the three independent predictors of high tumor grade. CONCLUSION: Tumor enhancement of clear cell renal cell carcinoma on multiphase contrast-enhanced CT images is associated with Fuhrman grade. Low tumor enhancement in the corticomedullary phase is an independent predictor of high tumor grade. This system may be helpful in clinical decision making about the care of patients treated by nonsurgical approaches.

[Serum ferritin in donors with regular plateletpheresis].

This study was aimed to evaluate the impact of regular donating platelets on serum ferritin (SF) of donors. A total of 93 male blood donors including 24 initial plateletpheresis donors and 69 regular plateletpheresis donors were selected randomly. Their SF level was measured by ELISA. The results showed that the SF level of initial plateletpheresis donors and regular plateletpheresis donors were 91.08 ± 23.38 µg/L and 57.16 ± 35.48 µg/L respectively, and all were in normal levels, but there was significant difference between the 2 groups (p < 0.05). The SF level decreased when the donation frequency increased, there were no significant differences between the groups with different donation frequency. Correlation with lifetime donations of platelets was not found. It is concluded that regular plateletpheresis donors may have lower SF level.