Search

Background Although head elevation is an early first-line treatment for elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), the use of the head-down or prone position in managing neurocritical patients is controversial because a change in a position directly affects the intracranial and cerebral perfusion pressure, which may cause secondary brain injury and affect patient outcomes. This study compared the effects of two postural drainage positions (30° head-up tilt and 0° head flat) on the prognosis of neurocritical care patients with complicated pneumonia and a clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) ≥5 points to provide a reference for selecting appropriate postural drainage positions for patients with pneumonia in neurocritical care units. Methods A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted with 62 neurocritical care patients with complicated pneumonia. The patients were categorized into control (=31) and experimental (=31) groups in a 1:1 ratio using a simple randomized non-homologous pairing method. Emphasis was placed on matching the baseline characteristics of the two groups, including patient age, sex, height, weight, Glasgow Coma Scale score, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, cough reflex, and mechanical ventilation usage to ensure comparability. Both groups received bundled care for artificial airway management. The control group maintained a standard postural drainage position of 0° head-flat, whereas the experimental group maintained a 30° head-up tilt. The efficacy of the nursing intervention was evaluated by comparing the CPIS and other therapeutic indicators between the two groups after postural drainage. Results After the intervention, the within-group comparison showed a significant decrease in the CPIS (P

The aim of this meta-analysis was to assess the effectiveness and safety of endothelin-receptor antagonist (ERA) in the patients with hypertension. Searches of the PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL databases were conducted to include all the randomized control trials (RCTs). Eighteen trials including 4898 patients were used in the meta-analysis, of which nine were classified as low risk of bias and the other nine as unclear risk of bias. There was no statistically significant difference in all-cause mortality between ERA and placebo groups [6 trials, fixed effects model, RR 1.53 (0.89–2.62); random effects model, RR 1.45 (0.84–2.52)]. ERA significantly reduced 24-h ambulatory blood pressure and sitting blood pressure in patients with hypertension [5 trials, 24-h SBP: WMD −7.65 (−8.95 to −6.36), 24-h DBP: WMD −5.92 (−7.50 to −4.33); 18 trials, SBP: WMD −6.12 (−7.87 to −4.36), DBP: WMD −3.81 (−4.82 to −2.80)]. However, ERA had more adverse events [within 24 h: 3 trials, RR 1.16 (0.82–1.65); after 24 h, 13 trials, RR 1.21 (1.08–1.36)] and severe adverse events than placebo controls [SAE: 9 trials, RR 1.34 (1.13–1.60)]. In addition, there is a potential need for further RCTs that focus on the use of ERA in patients with hypertension.

Radial load is of great significant influence on friction characteristic and fatigue life of rolling bearings. A frictional torque analysis was performed on the radially loaded SKF-6205 deep-groove ball bearings. The frictional torque formula was proposed as the sum of the frictional torques caused by elastic hysteresis, elastic hydrodynamic lubrication, differential slip, spinning friction of balls, friction between the balls and the cage pockets, and friction between the cages and the guiding lands. The experiments were carried out with the bearing with lubrication and the other one without lubrication under different radial loads and rotational speeds. In order to avoid the frictional torque measurement errors caused by the unequal length of arms, a positive–negative test method is employed to test bearing frictional torque. The experimental results showed that the frictional torque caused by radial loads played a leading role in all the frictional torque components of the bearing. Ultimately, a special theoretical model of frictional torque for deep-groove ball bearings was verified through comparing with the experimental results and SKF torque model. A reasonable correlation exists between the experiment results and the theoretical model.

Background. Although head elevation is an early first-line treatment for elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), the use of the head-down or prone position in managing neurocritical patients is controversial because a change in a position directly affects the intracranial and cerebral perfusion pressure, which may cause secondary brain injury and affect patient outcomes. This study compared the effects of two postural drainage positions (30° head-up tilt and 0° head flat) on the prognosis of neurocritical care patients with complicated pneumonia and a clinical pulmonary infection score (CPIS) >5 points to provide a reference for selecting appropriate postural drainage positions for patients with pneumonia in neurocritical care units. Methods. A prospective randomized controlled study was conducted with 62 neuro-critical care patients with complicated pneumonia. The patients were categorized into control (D31) and experimental (D31) groups in a 1:1 ratio using a simple randomized non-homologous pairing method. Emphasis was placed on matching the baseline characteristics of the two groups, including patient age, sex, height, weight, Glasgow Coma Scale score, heart rate, mean arterial pressure, cough reflex, and mechanical ventilation usage to ensure comparability. Both groups received bundled care for artificial airway management. The control group maintained a standard postural drainage position of 0° head-flat, whereas the experimental group maintained a 30° head-up tilt. The efficacy of the nursing intervention was evaluated by comparing the CPIS and other therapeutic indicators between the two groups after postural drainage. Results. After the intervention, the within-group comparison showed a significant decrease in the CPIS (P <0:001); procalcitonin levels showed a significant decreasing trend (P < 0:05); the arterial oxygen pressure significantly increased (P < 0:05); the oxygenation index significantly increased (P < 0:001); and the aspiration risk score showed a significant decreasing trend (P < 0:001). A between-group comparison showed no significant differences in any of the indicators before and after the intervention (P <0:05). Conclusion. Postural drainage positions of 30° head-up tilt and 0° head-flat can improve the CPIS and oxygenation in patients without adverse effects. Therefore, we recommend that patients under neurological intensive care and having pneumonia be drained in a 30° head-up tilt position with good centralized care of the lung infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long-term peritoneal dialysis (PD) therapy results in functional and structural alteration of the peritoneal membrane, including epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a local pleiotropic cytokine, hypothesized to play an important role in EMT. This study was designed to investigate the role of IL-6 in EMT and peritoneal membrane dysfunction in long-term PD patients by assessing the level of IL-6 in dialysate and exploring the relationship between IL-6, the related signaling pathway JAK2/STAT3, and EMT, using in vitro cellular and molecular techniques. Plasma and dialysate levels of IL-6 were significantly higher in PD ultrafiltration failure patients compared with patients without ultrafiltration failure and were negatively correlated with measures of PD adequacy. In vitro IL-6 treatment changed human peritoneal mesothelial cell phenotype from a typical cobblestone-like to a fibroblast-like appearance and increased cell viability. IL-6 treatment increased α-smooth muscle actin and vascular endothelial growth factor expression but decreased E-cadherin expression. IL-6 treatment activated the JAK/STAT signaling pathway. However, the JAK2/STAT3 inhibitor WP1066 prevented IL-6- induced activation of the JAK2/STAT3 pathway and EMT. We conclude that IL-6 promotes the EMT process, possibly by activating the JAK2/STAT3 signaling pathway. IL-6 may serve as a novel therapeutic target for preventing EMT, and preservation of the peritoneal membrane may arise from these studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Due to language limitations, the abstract of journal article may be the only way for people of non-Chinese speaking countries to know about trials in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). However, little is known about the reporting quality of these trial abstracts. Our study is to assess the reporting quality of abstracts of randomized controlled trials (RCT) published in four leading Chinese medical journals of TCM, and to identify any differences in reporting between the Chinese and English version of the same abstract publication. Method: Two reviewers hand-searched the Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, the Chinese Journal of Integrative Medicine, the China Journal of Chinese Materia Medica and the Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion for all abstracts of RCTs published between 2006 and 2007. Two reviewers independently assessed the reporting quality of the Chinese and English version of all eligible abstracts based on a modified version of the CONSORT for reporting randomised trials in journal and conference abstracts (CONSORT for abstracts). Results: We identified a total of 345 RCTs of TCM with both a Chinese and English abstract. More than half of Chinese abstracts reported details of the trial participants (68%; 234/345), control group intervention (52%; 179/345), the number of participants randomized (73%; 253/345) and benefits when interpreting the trial results (55%; 190/345). Reporting of methodological quality or key features of trial design and trial results were poor; only 2% (7/345) included details of the trial design, 3% (11/345) defined the primary outcome, 5% (17/345) described the methods of random sequence generation, and only 4% (13/345) reported the number of participants analyzed. No abstracts provided details on allocation concealment and trial registration. The percentage agreement in reporting (between the Chinese and English version of the same abstract) ranged from 84% to 100% across individual checklist item. Conclusion: The reporting quality of abstracts of RCTs published in these four TCM journals needs to be improved. Since none of the four journals adopted CONSORT for Abstracts, we hope that the introduction and adoption of CONSORT for Abstracts by TCM journals will lead to an improvement in reporting quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]