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Both environmental factors, such as alcohol consumption and smoking, and genetic factors are strongly associated with the risk of developing chronic pancreatitis (CP). However, comprehensive understanding of their impacts on the progression of CP remains elusive.A prospective cohort study was performed on a large cohort of CP patients with known genetic backgrounds. The cumulative incidence of pancreatic insufficiency after the onset of CP was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression analysis also was performed.A total of 798 patients were enrolled in the study and followed up for 10.5 years. Rare pathogenic genotypes in the SPINK1, PRSS1, CTRC, or CFTR genes were identified in 410 (51.4%) patients. The development of pancreatic insufficiency was significantly earlier in patients with a history of smoking and/or alcohol consumption in both the positive (P.001) and negative (P = .001) gene mutation groups. However, the development of pancreatic insufficiency did not differ significantly between patients with and without gene mutations despite alcohol and/or smoking status, with P values of .064 and .115, respectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that age at onset of CP (hazard ratio, [HR], 1.02; P.001) and alcohol consumption (HR, 1.86; P.001) were independent risk factors for the development of diabetes, while male sex (HR, 1.84; P = .022) and smoking (HR, 1.56; P = .028) were predictors of steatorrhea.Although rare pathogenic mutations in the 4 major susceptibility genes for CP were not correlated significantly with the development of pancreatic insufficiency, environmental factors (either alcohol consumption or smoking) significantly accelerated disease progression (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT04574297).

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) is an impactful treatment for coronary heart disease. Intimal hyperplasia is the central reason for the restenosis of vein grafts after CABG. The introduction of external vascular sheaths around VGs (VGs) can effectively inhibit intimal hyperplasia and ensure the patency of VGs. In this study, the well-known biodegradable copolymer poly (e-caprolactone-co-L, L-lactide) (PLCL) was electrospun into high porosity external sheaths. The prednisone loaded in the PLCL sheath was slowly released during the degradation process of PLCL. Under the combined effects of sheath and prednisone, intimal hyperplasia was inhibited. For the cell experiments, all sheaths show low cytotoxicity to L929 cells at different concentrations at different time intervals. The ultrasonography and histological results showed prominent dilation and intimal hyperplasia of VG without sheath after two months of surgery. But there was no dilation in PLCL and PLCLPrednisone groups. Notably, the prednisone-loaded sheath group exhibited efficacy in inhibiting intimal hyperplasia and ensured graft patency.

The relationship between chronic pancreatitis (CP) and acute pancreatitis (AP) is complex and not well understood. CP could be preceded by antecedent episodes of AP.The aim of this study was to explore both genetic and environmental factors associated with AP episodes before the diagnosis of CP.This was a cross-sectional study including 1022 patients. Detailed demographic, genetic, and clinical data were collected. Based on the presence of AP episode(s) before diagnosis of CP, patients were divided into AP group (further classified into single episode of AP group and recurrent AP group) and non-AP group. Related factors among these groups were assessed using multivariate logistic regression model.Before diagnosis of CP, 737 patients (72.1%) had a history of AP. Smoking(P = 0.005) and heavy alcohol consumption(P = 0.002) were risk factors for AP while age at CP onset(P 0.001), harboring the SPINK1 mutation(P 0.001), diabetes(P 0.001) and steatorrhea(P 0.001) were protective factors. Further, alcoholic CP(P = 0.019) was the only independent risk factor for recurrent AP attacks while age at onset of CP(P 0.001), pancreatic stones(P = 0.024). and pseudocysts(P = 0.018) served as protective factors.SPINK1 mutations served as protective factor for AP episodes, suggesting SPINK1 mutation might play a pathogenic role in CP occurrence with occult clinical manifestations.

Objective The relationship between SPINK1 and pancreatic cancer (PC) remains controversial. The current study aimed to determine the effect of SPINK1 mutations on PC development among patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). Methods This is a prospective observational study including a large cohort of 965 CP patients with 11-year follow-up. Patients’ demographic characteristics and clinical CP outcomes were documented in detail. Genetic testing was performed. The effect of SPINK1 mutations on the clinical development of PC was explored using Cox proportional hazards regression. Subgroup analyses conducted included the consideration of gender, onset age of CP (early- and late-onset), etiologies of CP, smoking, and alcoholic drinking status. Results PC was diagnosed in 2.5% (24/965) of patients, and the cumulative incidence rates were 0.2%, 0.8%, and 1.5% at 3, 5, and 10 years since the onset of CP, respectively. In this cohort, SPINK1 c.194+2T > C was the most common variant with a proportion of 39.1%. And the risk of PC development varied marginally between patients with and without SPINK1 mutations (Cox HR 0.39(0.14–1.04), P = 0.059). In the subgroup analyses, patients carrying SPINK1 mutations had a significantly lower risk of PC (Cox HR 0.18(0.04–0.80), P = 0.025) in the non-smoking group. SPINK1 mutations showed no significant effect in the other subgroups considered. Conclusions CP patients harboring SPINK1 mutations do not have an elevated risk of PC development compared to mutation-negative CP patients. On the contrary, SPINK1 mutations may be a protective factor in non-smoking patients with CP.

Introduction This study aims to evaluate the current literature with regard to the average time to and overall rate of return to work (RTW) following medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). Methods A systematic search was conducted on MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase, Pubmed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library to identify studies reporting RTW after UKA. Primary outcomes were the rate and time to RTW after UKA. Secondary outcomes were postoperative changes in work intensity, functional scores, and factors affecting RTW. Methodological quality was evaluated using the the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) criteria. Results Seven studies met inclusion criteria. Results were summarized qualitatively. The overall methodological quality of the studies was moderate based on the MINORS score. These studies included 636 patients with 46.5% male. Mean age was 63.1 years. The average rate of RTW was 81.7%. The average time to RTW was 5.4 ± 3.9 weeks (range 1–32 weeks). 81.8% of patients in one study returned to an equally or more physically demanding job, while 83.5% were able to work the same or longer hours postoperatively in another study. Functional scores improved after surgery (n = 6 studies). Factors affecting RTW were postoperative rehabilitation, retirement, and the effects of surgery. Conclusion Limited evidence from the included studies with moderate quality suggests that UKA allows patients to RTW faster, with a high rate of RTW and improved functional outcomes. However, consensus definitions and methods of work status analysis are needed for future studies.

Only few studies have analyzed the global distribution of anesthesia research. This study was designed to reveal the current global research status of anesthesiology. Articles published between 1999 and 2018 in international journals in the field of anesthesiology were retrieved from the PubMed database. The top 20 ranked countries were identified. The gross domestic product (GDP) of each country was also retrieved to reveal the correlation between research outputs and the economy. The total outputs and outputs per 10 million inhabitants in each country were calculated and compared. To analyze the quality of publications among the top 10 ranked countries, the impact factor (IF), article influence score (AIS), and immediacy index (ImI) were calculated and analyzed. In addition, the keywords of publications were retrieved to conduct co-occurrence analysis in order to determine the research focus in anesthesiology. A total of 112,918 articles were published in 30 selected journals from 1999 to 2018. There was a positive correlation between research outputs and GDP of 10 countries (p

Our aim was to determine the impact of targeted blood pressure modifications on cerebral blood flow in ischemic moyamoya disease patients assessed by single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). From March to September 2018, we prospectively collected data of 154 moyamoya disease patients and selected 40 patients with ischemic moyamoya disease. All patients underwent in-hospital blood pressure monitoring to determine the mean arterial pressure baseline values. The study cohort was subdivided into two subgroups: (1) Group A or relative high blood pressure (RHBP) with an induced mean arterial pressure 10–20% higher than baseline and (2) Group B or relative low blood pressure (RLBP) including patients with mean arterial pressure 10–20% lower than baseline. All patients underwent initial SPECT study on admission-day, and on the following day, every subgroup underwent a second SPECT study under their respective targeted blood pressure values. In general, RHBP patients showed an increment in perfusion of 10.13% (SD 2.94%), whereas RLBP patients showed a reduction of perfusion of 12.19% (SD 2.68%). Cerebral blood flow of moyamoya disease patients is susceptible to small blood pressure changes, and cerebral autoregulation might be affected due to short dynamic blood pressure modifications.

OBJECTIVES The lack of risk profile data on changes in multiple polyps identified by a colonoscopy constrains the creation of evidence-based guidelines. Our study aimed to investigate the relationship between size, location and histology of multiple polyps and patients' characteristics in a large teaching hospital-based Chinese population. METHODS We conducted a large, case-control, retrospective analysis on polyps obtained from 8308 patients who presented at the Digestive Endoscopy Center, Changhai Hospital (Shanghai, China) from January 2013 to August 2015. In total 10572 polyps were analyzed, with risk factors extrapolated through chart reviews of patients' electronic medical records. RESULTS Single polyps were identified in 6843 (82.4%) patients while multiple polyps were found in 1465 (17.6%). A multivariate analysis indicated that men were more likely than women to have multiple polyps (P < 0.001). Compared with the single polyps group, the numbers of patients with multiple polyps increased significantly with age (P < 0.001). Multiple small (6-9 mm) non-advanced adenomas were more likely to be found than were diminutive (

Background Despite pancreatic extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (P-ESWL) is a minimally invasive treatment for pancreatic stones, complications exist. Case presentation A 37-year-old male was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and admitted to our hospital for recurrent acute pancreatitis. After the first P-ESWL session, the patient complained of a new type of pain different from the previous pain pattern. Computerized tomography and colonoscopy were arranged and colonic hematoma was found. Since the patient had stable vital signs, no special treatment was given focusing on the colonic hematoma. Five days later, P-ESWL treatment was repeatedly performed for four consecutive days. Two days after the last P-ESWL session, the patient underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. At the three-month follow up visit, the colonic hematoma disappeared and pancreatic stones decreased significantly. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, colonic hematoma after P-ESWL for pancreatic stones has never been reported. Here, we present the only case of colonic hematoma after P-ESWL, which was coincidentally found in more than 6000 P-ESWL sessions in our hospital. As the symptoms of colonic hematoma are mild, we believe the incidence of colonic hematoma has been underestimated. Many people with colonic hematoma after P-ESWL may be undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Treatment for colonic hematoma depends on whether there is severe clinical state. Exploration of more precise location method for pancreatic stones may reduce the probability of P-ESWL complication.

Background Autoimmune factor was regarded as one of the risk factors in the pathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis (CP), especially for autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP). However, whether autoimmune factor plays a role in non-AIP CP or not was unknown. Methods Hospitalized patients with non-AIP CP from January 2010 to October 2016 were detected for 22 autoantibodies at the time of hospital admission. Autoantibodies with frequency > 0.5% were enrolled to calculate the frequency in historial healthy controls through literature search in PubMed. Differentially expressed autoantibodies were determined between patients and historial healthy controls, and related factors were identified by multivariate logistic regression analysis. Results In a total of 557 patients, 113 cases were detected with 19 kinds of positive autoantibodies, among them anti-β2-glycoprotein I (β2-GPI) antibody was most frequent (9.16%). Compared with historial healthy controls, the frequencies of serum β2-GPI and anti SS-B antibody in patients were significantly higher, while frequencies of anti-smooth muscle antibody and anticardiolipin antibody were significantly lower (all P

BACKGROUND Endoscopic intervention combined with extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) is recommended as the first line therapy for large pancreatic stones, yet both can cause adverse events. The aim of the study was to identify the risk factors for post-procedural pancreatitis. METHODS Consecutive patients with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic stones treated with both ESWL and subsequent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) from October 2016 to December 2019 were prospectively enrolled. Multivariate logistic analyses were performed to detect risk factors for post-ESWL and post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). RESULTS A total of 714 patients (507 males, 45.60 ± 12.52 years) were included in this study. A total of 80 patients (11.2%) developed post-ESWL pancreatitis,while 33 patients (4.6%) suffered from PEP. Steatorrhea (P = .018), multiple stones (P = .043), and stones located at the head combined with the body or tail of the pancreas (P = .015) were identified as independent protective factors for post-ESWL pancreatitis. The history of acute exacerbations (P = .013), post-ESWL pancreatitis (P

Objectives The interval between extracorporeal shock-wave lithotripsy (ESWL) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) may cause differences in cannulation and stone removal. This study was to investigate the optimal timing of ERCP after ESWL. Methods Patients with chronic calcified pancreatitis, who underwent ESWL and subsequent ERCP in Changhai Hospital from February 2012 to February 2015, were retrospectively analyzed. The interval between ESWL and ERCP was used to divide patients into groups A ( 36 hours). Cannulation success, stone clearance, and post-ESWL/ERCP complications were compared. Results A total of 507 patients were enrolled. There were no significant differences regarding the successful cannulation and stone removal rates between the 3 groups. In patients without prior ERCP, the successful cannulation rates were 71.4%, 81.9%, and 90.9% (P = 0.004), and the successful clearance rates were 76.2%, 85.1%, and 90.9% (P = 0.031) for these 3 groups, respectively, showing significant differences. There were no differences in the successful cannulation and stone extraction rates for patients with prior ERCP. Conclusions The interval between ESWL and ERCP in chronic calcified pancreatitis patients with prior ERCP is not relevant, while delaying endoscopic intervention is recommended in those with native papilla.

Purpose The diagnosis of prostate transition zone cancer (PTZC) remains a clinical challenge due to their similarity to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) on MRI. The Deep Convolutional Neural Networks (DCNNs) showed high efficacy in diagnosing PTZC on medical imaging but was limited by the small data size. A transfer learning (TL) method was combined with deep learning to overcome this challenge. Materials and methods A retrospective investigation was conducted on 217 patients enrolled from our hospital database (208 patients) and The Cancer Imaging Archive (nine patients). Using T2-weighted images (T2WIs) and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps, DCNN models were trained and compared between different TL databases (ImageNet vs. disease-related images) and protocols (from scratch, fine-tuning, or transductive transferring). Results PTZC and BPH can be classified through traditional DCNN. The efficacy of TL from natural images was limited but improved by transferring knowledge from the disease-related images. Furthermore, transductive TL from disease-related images had comparable efficacy to the fine-tuning method. Limitations include retrospective design and a relatively small sample size. Conclusion Deep TL from disease-related images is a powerful tool for an automated PTZC diagnostic system. In developing regions where only conventional MR scans are available, the accurate diagnosis of PTZC can be achieved via transductive deep TL from disease-related images.

Background Osteosarcoma is a tumour of malignant origin in children and adolescents. Recent progression indicates that it is necessary to develop new therapies to improve the patient's prognosis rather than strengthen anti‐tumour chemotherapy. Researchers recently realised that cancer is a kind of disease with a metabolic disorder, and metabolic reprogramming is becoming a new cancer hallmark. Hence, our study's primary purpose is to explore the value of genes related to osteosarcoma metabolism. Methods From public databases, three osteosarcoma datasets with adequate clinical information were obtained. Besides, the IMvigor dataset through the ‘IMvigor’ package as a supplement was downloaded, the metabolic‐related genes were identified, and these genes were used to construct the metabolic‐related gene pairs (MRGP). Based on the prognosis‐related MRGP, two molecular subtypes were identified. There are significant differences in the metabolic characteristics between the two molecular subtypes. Subsequently, the MRGP signature is constructed using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression method. Finally, use SubMap analysis to evaluate the response of patients in the MRPG signature group to immunotherapy. Results The MRGP signature can reliably predict overall survival in patients with osteosarcoma. The MRGP signature is also associated with osteosarcoma patients’ metastatic status and can be used for subsequent risk classification of metastatic patients. The immunotherapy is more likely to benefit the patients in the MRGP low‐risk group. Conclusion Metabolic‐related gene pairs signature can assess the prognosis of patients with osteosarcoma., Metabolism‐related gene pair signatures can predict the overall survival of patients with osteosarcoma and are related to tumor metastasis in patients with osteosarcoma.Patients in the MRGP low‐risk group may benefit from immunotherapy

Rupture of the rotator cuff is a common injury of the shoulder joint in sports professionals. In addition, research on repair of the rotator cuff has gained popularity over the recent years. Given the high rate of re-tear after surgery, it is necessary to design and prepare biodegradable materials with good mechanical properties, for the management of the condition. Consequently, the present study conducted surface modification of the simvastatin factor-loaded silk fibroin for the repair of chronic rotator cuff injury in SD rats. The in vitro experiments were analyzed through scanning electron microscopy and the water contact angle. Additionally, the CCK-8 assay was used to observe the effect of the intervention on the proliferation of BMSCs. Moreover, the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs was detected through the ALP and ARS assays while the expression of osteogenic genes was examined using qRT-PCR and Western blot analysis. Furthermore, a model for repairing chronic rotator cuff tears in SD rats was established in vivo. Thereafter, rotator cuff repair and healing were evaluated through HE staining while Masson and Sirius staining was used to detect the collagen formation ratio. Additionally, the study analyzed the mechanism underlying the effect of simvastatin-loaded silk fibroin. The results showed that the simvastatin-loaded silk fibroin membrane had better biocompatibility and the in vitro experiments confirmed that it could promote the proliferation and osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs. In addition, the in vivo HE staining experiments similarly confirmed that it could enhance tendon bone healing and alleviate inflammation in chronic rotator cuff injuries. On the other hand, Masson and Sirius staining showed that the simvastatin-loaded silk fibroin could promote the formation of collagen. Further analysis also revealed that it could promote the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs by activating the β-catenin signaling pathway. In general, these findings suggested that surface modification of the simvastatin factor-loaded silk fibroin was a potential means of improving the healing of rotator cuff injuries and can be implemented in clinical practice in future.

Research on association between programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression in cancer cells and prognosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has been controversial and has focused on patients with surgical resection. We aimed to investigate impact of PD-L1 on treatment response and prognostic value in ESCC and analyze which subset of patients may benefit from immunotherapy. The PD-L1 expression was evaluated by immunohistochemical analysis in all patients. Stratification analysis was performed according to whether surgery was performed. There were no significant correlations between PD-L1 expression with 3-year overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in 81 ESCC patients. Then stratification analysis was performed. Among these 44 patients without surgery, disease control rate (DCR) in negative PD-L1 expression group (78%) was significantly better than those (42%) in positive PD-L1 expression group (P = 0.032). There were no significant correlations between PD-L1 expression with 3-year OS and PFS in 37 ESCC patients receiving surgery. However, in 44 ESCC patients without surgery, the Kaplan-Meier method showed that 3-year OS and PFS in negative PD-L1 expression group were significantly better than those in positive PD-L1 expression group. In Cox univariate and multivariate model, PD-L1 was an independent prognosticator for inferior OS (p = 0.011; p = 0.017). Our research revealed prognostic role of PD-L1 expression in cancer cells may be variable in different treatment methods. Consequently, PD-L1 may serve as an independent prognostic factor and provide a theoretical basis for combining conventional therapy with immunotherapy targeting PD-L1 to achieve better treatment outcome in ESCC patients without esophagectomy.

Background: Studies of therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in geriatric patients have mainly examined patients with biliary diseases, rather than chronic pancreatitis (CP). This study aimed to evaluate the safety and success rate of therapeutic ERCP in geriatric patients with CP. Methods: This was an observational study from prospectively collected data. The medical records of patients with CP aged over 65 years (Group A) were collected in a tertiary hospital from January 2013 to December 2018. Sex-matched CP patients under 65 years (Group B) were randomly selected into the control group (matching ratio = 1:2). Collected data included demographic data, endoscopic findings, interventions, success, and complications. The success rate and the complication rate of therapeutic ERCP in two groups were compared with chi-square test. The risk factors for post-ERCP pancreatitis were investigated by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results: A total of 268 ERCPs were performed in 179 patients of Group A and 612 ERCPs in 358 patients of Group B. The success rate of ERCP in Group A was similar to that of Group B (92.16% vs 92.32%; P=0.936). The overall incidence of post-ERCP complications was 7.09% (19/268) and 5.72% (35/612) in Group A and B, respectively (P=0.436). However, geriatric patients had a significantly increased occurrence of moderate to severe complications (2.61% vs 0.16%; P=0.002). Female gender (OR=3.40; 95% CI, 1.02-11.31; P=0.046), pancreas divisum (OR=7.15; 95% CI, 1.01-50.62; P=0.049), dorsal pancreatogram (OR=7.40; 95% CI, 1.63-33.64; P=0.010), and lithotripsy (OR=0.15; 95% CI, 0.03-0.70; P=0.016) were significantly associated with risk of post-ERCP pancreatitis in geriatric patients.Conclusions: Therapeutic ERCP is safe and feasible in elderly patients with CP. However, occurrence of moderate to severe complications after ERCP increased in geriatric patients.Trial registration: retrospectively registered.

Introduction: Difficulties encountered during removal of implants present a common technical challenge in orthopedic surgery, for which a number of factors have been implicated. A variety of techniques and instruments have been used to overcome this. However, some of these may prove to be time consuming, expensive, and inaccessible to many surgical setups. We describe a technique used for the removal of a jammed interlocking screw from an intramedullary nail that allows for minimal damage to the hardware, bone, and surrounding soft tissue, with the added advantage of being relatively quick and technically uncomplicated with the use of simple instruments. Case Report: We describe the case of an 81-year-old female with a history of surgical fixation for a left femur intertrochanteric fracture, who presented with groin pain 13 months post-fixation. Radiographs were suggestive of avascular necrosis of the femoral head with resultant cut-in of the blade, and the patient was eventually taken up for the removal of implants and total hip replacement. Intraoperatively, difficulties were encountered in the removal of the distal interlocking screw, with failure of conventional techniques initially. A high-speed burr was then employed to shape the screw head so as to achieve better grip with extraction devices, which facilitated smooth removal. Conclusion: We describe a simple method for difficult screw removal involving the use of a high-speed burr and vise grip pliers. This technique provides a quick and inexpensive option with commonly available surgical tools and may be considered when encountering difficulties with screw extraction. Keywords: Trauma, revision surgery, interlocking screw, screw removal.

Background Various studies investigating the clinical significance of FBXW7 mutation and/or expression have yielded inconclusive results in colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Therefore, the present meta-analysis summarizes previous evidence and evaluates the clinical significance, including the prognostic role, of FBXW7 status in CRCs. Methods The meta-analysis was conducted by searching the databases of PubMed, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WANFANG data, Web of Science, Embase, and Web of Science. Pooled odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the relationships between FBXW7 status and clinicopathological features and survival in CRC, respectively. Results Ten studies involving 4199 patients met the inclusion criteria and included in our meta-analysis. FBXW7 mutation/low expression was obviously correlated with advanced T stage (OR = 0.44, 95% CI: 0.27–0.74, P P P P = 0.88). Subgroup analysis found that FBXW7 status was obviously correlated with OS in cohorts recruited after 2009 (HR = 1.32, 95% CI: 1.17–1.50, P P = 0.02), detected by immunohistochemistry/qRT-PCR (HR = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.22–1.59, P P Conclusions This study indicates that FBXW7 status, expression level especially, is associated with OS but not DFS in CRC. FBXW7 expression level may function as a prognostic biomarker in CRC.

Background Whether hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive patients are at risk for increased complications and long hospital stay following total joint arthroplasty (TJA) remains unclear. Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis aiming to answer the following question: 1) are there differences in postoperative complications including joint infection and mortality between patients with or without hepatitis C following TJAs?; 2) are patients without HCV be associated with less blood loss, shorter hospital stay, lower readmission rate, higher function scores, lower revision and reoperation rates than patients with HCV? Methods A meta-analysis was conducted to pool data and quantitatively assessing the association between HCV infection and risks for adverse postoperative outcomes. A systematic search of all published studies concerning HCV and TJA was performed in five bibliographic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases. Random-effects meta-analysis of odds ratios (OR) was accomplished according to the classification of adverse events, subgroup analyses were performed based on surgery type. Results Fifteen eligible observational studies were included with a sample size of 9,788,166 patients. Overall pooled data revealed the increased risk of overall complications, including medical and surgical complications, in HCV-positive patients undergoing TJA compared with than in HCV-negative people (OR 1.57; 95% CI: 1.44–1.71 [p Conclusions Patients with hepatitis C have an increased risk of adverse outcomes post-TJA and a high risk of reoperation and revision that is partially attributed to postoperative complications, particularly joint infections. Level of evidence III; systematic review and meta-analysis.

Whether hepatitis C virus (HCV)-positive patients are at risk for increased complications and long hospital stay following total joint arthroplasty (TJA) remains unclear. Therefore we performed a meta-analysis aiming to answer the following question: (1) are there differences in postoperative complications including joint infection and mortality between patients with or without hepatitis C following TJAs? (2) Are patients without HCV be associated with less blood loss, shorter hospital stay, lower readmission rate, higher function scores, lower revision and reoperation rates than patients with HCV?A meta-analysis was conducted to pool data and quantitatively assessing the association between HCV infection and risks for adverse postoperative outcomes. A systematic search of all published studies concerning HCV and TJA was performed in five bibliographic databases, including PubMed, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library databases. Random-effects meta-analysis of odds ratios (OR) was accomplished according to the classification of adverse events, subgroup analyses were performed based on surgery type.Fifteen eligible observational studies were included with a sample size of 9,788,166 patients. Overall pooled data revealed the increased risk of overall complications, including medical and surgical complications, in HCV-positive patients undergoing TJA compared with than in HCV-negative people (OR 1.57; 95%CI: 1.44-1.71 [p0.00001]). Joint infections were highly common in HCV-positive patients undergoing lower-extremity TJA (OR 2.06; 95%CI: 1.73-2.47 [p0.00001]). Furthermore, HCV infections were associated with high rates of reoperations and revisions (OR 1.47; 95%CI: 1.40-1.55 [p0.00001]).Patients with hepatitis C have an increased risk of adverse outcomes post-TJA and a high risk of reoperation and revision that is partially attributed to postoperative complications, particularly joint infections.III; systematic review and meta-analysis.

PurposeAdding pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND) to cystectomy offers significant survival benefit. However, it remains unclear whether this benefit persists in all histologic types. The aim of the study was to examine the impact of PLND on overall survival (OS) after cystectomy in bladder carcinoma patients with histological variants.MethodsWithin the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database, we identified 16,880 bladder carcinoma patients receiving cystectomy between 2004 and 2015. Patients were stratified according to the following histologic types: transitional cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, small cell carcinoma, neuroendocrine carcinoma, signet ring cell carcinoma, pseudosarcomatous carcinoma, and other histology. Cox regression models were used to evaluate the effect of PLND on OS stratified by histologic type.ResultsHistologic types were significantly associated with the presence of lymph node metastasis in patients with bladder carcinoma (P < 0.001). In multivariable Cox regression analyses, PLND compared with non-PLND was associated with OS benefit in patients with transitional cell carcinoma (hazard ratio [HR], 0.595; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 0.557–0.634 [P < 0.001]), squamous cell carcinoma (HR, 0.646; 95% CI, 0.494–0.846 [P = 0.002]), and signet ring cell carcinoma (HR, 0.233; 95% CI, 0.107–0.504 [P < 0.001]), whereas no significant differences in OS were observed in other histological subsets.DiscussionOur analyses revealed a significant OS benefit from PLND in patients with transitional cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and signet ring cell carcinoma. However, a survival benefit of PLND in patients with other histologic types was not demonstrated.

OBJECTIVE The study concerns identifying risk factors and developing nomogram for pancreatic pseudocyst (PPC) in idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP) to facilitate early diagnosis. METHODS From January 2000 to December 2013, ICP patients admitted to our center were enrolled. Cumulative incidence of PPC was determined by Kaplan-Meier method. Patients were randomized into training group and validation group in a 2:1 ratio. Risk factors of PPC were determined through Cox proportional hazards regression model based on training cohort. The nomogram was constructed according to risk factors. RESULTS Totally, 1633 ICP patients were included with a median follow-up duration of 9.8 years. Pancreatic pseudocyst was observed in 14.7% (240/1633) of patients after ICP onset. The cumulative incidences of PPC were 8.2%, 10.4%, and 12.9% at 3, 5, and 10 years after ICP onset, respectively. Male sex, smoking history, history of severe acute pancreatitis, and chronic pain at/before diagnosis of ICP and complex pathologic changes in main pancreatic duct were recognized as risk factors of PPC development. The nomogram constructed with these risk factors achieved good concordance indexes. CONCLUSIONS Risk for PPC could be estimated through the nomogram. High-risk patients were suggested to be followed up closely to help early diagnosis of PPC.

Bimodal classification of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP) into early-onset (35 years) ICP was proposed in 1994 based on a study of 66 patients. However, bimodal distribution wasn’t sufficiently demonstrated. Our objective was to examine the validity and relevance of the age-based bimodal classification of ICP. We analyzed the distribution of age at onset of ICP in our cohort of 1633 patients admitted to our center from January 2000 to December 2013. Classify ICP patients into early-onset ICP(a) and late-onset ICP(a) according to different cut-off values (cut-off value, a = 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 years old) for age at onset. Compare clinical characteristics of early-onset ICP(a) and late-onset ICP(a). We found slightly right skewed distribution of age at onset for ICP in our cohort. There were differences between early-onset and late-onset ICP with respect to basic clinical characteristics and development of key clinical events regardless of the cut off age at onset i.e. 15, 25, 35, 45 or even higher. The validity of the bimodal classification of early-onset and late-onset ICP could not be established in our large patient cohort and therefore such a classification needs to be reconsidered.

The purpose of this study is to establish the prognosis of osteosarcoma patients based on the characteristics of immune-related gene pairs. We used the lasso Cox regression model to construct and verify the signature consisting of 14 immune-related gene pairs. This signature can accurately predict the overall survival of osteosarcoma patients and is an independent prognostic factor for osteosarcoma patients. For this we constructed a signature-based nomogram. The results of the nomogram show that our signature can bring clinical net benefits. We then assessed the abundance of infiltrating immune cells in each sample, and combine the results of the gene set enrichment analysis of a single sample to explore the differences in the immune microenvironment between IRPG signature groups. The result of gene set enrichment analysis shows the strong relationship between signature and immune system. Finally, we evaluated the relationship between signature and immunotherapy efficiency using algorithms such as TIMI and SubMap to explore patients who might benefit from immunotherapy. In conclusion, our signature can predict the overall survival rate of osteosarcoma patients and provide potential guidance for exploring patients who may benefit from immunotherapy.

Background Although the number of existing cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in China has been decreasing since late February 2020, the number of confirmed cases abroad is surging. Improving public knowledge of COVID-19 is critical to controlling the pandemic. This study aimed to determine China’s public knowledge of COVID-19 and the attitudes towards control measures. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted over 48 h from 22:30 29 February 2020 to 22:30 2 March 2020 based on a self-administered web-based questionnaire. The survey was conducted on the WeChat network. Exponential non-discriminative snowball sampling was applied. The questionnaire was voluntarily completed by WeChat users. The questionnaire covered basic demographic information, public knowledge of the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19, psychological state, and attitudes towards the overall control measures. The primary outcome was the China’s public knowledge of COVID-19 and the attitudes towards control measures and secondary outcome was the psychological state of the public during this pandemic. Results The study included 10,905 participants and 10,399 valid questionnaires were included for analysis. Participants with tertiary education, younger participants and healthcare workers had better overall knowledge than other participants (all P r = − 0.492, P = 0.007). Conclusions In conclusion, the survey revealed that the Chinese public had overall good knowledge of COVID-19 except for those indeterminate knowledges. With dynamic changes in the global pandemic situation and more research, further studies should be conducted to explore changes in public knowledge and attitudes towards COVID-19 in the future. The media could be used in a strict and regular manner to publicize knowledge of such pandemics to halt their spread.

Background: With the ongoing outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), infected patients within and beyond the epidemic area, Wuhan, China, showed different epidemiological and clinical characteristics. Little is known about the pattern of coinfection with other common respiratory pathogens in COVID-19 patients outside of Wuhan. Methods: We conducted a double-centre study recruiting 68 patients with severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection confirmed by nucleic acid testing in Qingdao and Wuhan from January 17 to February 16, 2020. Indirect immuno-fluorescence was performed to detect the specific IgM antibody against common respiratory pathogens in collected acute phase serum. Findings: Of the 68 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, 30 (44.12%) were from Qingdao. The median age of Qingdao and Wuhan patients were 50 (IQR: 37-59) and 31 (IQR: 28-38) years, respectively, and the majority of patients were female in Qingdao (60.00%) and Wuhan (55.26%). Among COVID-19 patients in Qingdao, 24 (80.00%) of them had IgM antibodies against at least one respiratory pathogen, whereas only one (2.60%) of the patients in Wuhan had positive results for serum IgM antibody detection ( P

The high incidence of osteopathy among patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) has garnered increased attention over recent years. The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence and risk factors for osteopathy in Chinese patients with CP. This was a cross-sectional study of CP patients from a large center in China; patients were recruited between 31 January 2017 and 31 January 2018. Bone density and laboratory tests, including bone-related biochemical, inflammatory, and hormone parameters, were assessed prospectively. Differences between patients with and without osteopathy were analyzed. Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate associations between variables. In total, 104 CP patients were enrolled in this study (68.3% idiopathic and 31.7% alcoholic). According to the M-ANNHEIM classification, 87.5% of the patients were at an early stage (0–II). Osteopenia was diagnosed in 30.8% of patients and osteoporosis in 5.8%; thus, a total of 36.5% of patients presented with osteopathy. In multivariate analysis, the independent risk factors for osteopathy in CP patients were age (OR = 1.04; 95% CI = 1.00–1.08; P = 0.030), BMI (OR = 0.72; 95% CI = 0.58–0.89; P = 0.003), and PTH (OR = 0.96; 95% CI = 0.93–1.00; P = 0.022). This study is the first to report the prevalence of osteopathy in Chinese patients with CP. It found that age and low BMI are significant risk factors for osteopathy. Low PTH (but within the normal range) showed a weak association with osteopathy, which warrants further exploration.

Background: Several recent studies have reported the reliable prognostic effect of hematological biomarkers in various tumors. Yet, the prognostic value of these hematological markers in soft tissue sarcoma (STS) remains inconclusive. Thus, the aim of this meta-analysis was to check the effect of hematological markers on the prognosis of STS. Methods: We systematically searched for relevant papers published before October 2019 in the PubMed and EMBASE databases. Overall survival (OS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) were the primary outcome, whereas disease-free survival was the secondary outcome. A thorough study of hazard ratios (HR) and 95% of confidence intervals (CIs) was done for determining the prognostic significance. Results: We performed 23 studies that comprised of 4,480 patients with STS. The results revealed that higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), C-reactive protein (CRP), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were associated with poor OS/DFS (HR = 2.08/1.72, for NLR; HR = 1.92/1.75, for CRP, and HR = 1.86/1.61, for PLR). In contrast, a low lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR) was relate to worse OS/DFS (HR = 2.01/1.90, for LMR). Moreover, pooled analysis illustrated that elevated NLR and CRP represents poor DSS, with HRs of 1.46 and 2.06, respectively. In addition, combined analysis revealed that higher Glasgow prognostic score (GPS) was linked to an adverse OS/DSS (HR = 2.35/2.77). Conclusion: Our meta-analysis suggested that hematological markers (NLR, CRP, PLR, LMR, and GPS) are one of the important prognostic indicators for patients affected by high-grade STS and patients with the STS being located in the extremity.

Objectives The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of pancreatic extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (P-ESWL) in chronic pancreatitis (CP) patients with pancreatic stones after previous pancreatic surgery. Methods This is a single-center study prospectively conducted in pained CP patients undergoing P-ESWL. Patients with a pancreatic surgery history (PSH) were included in the PSH group, and patients without a PSH during the same period were assigned to the control group. The primary outcomes included complications associated with P-ESWL and pain relief. Secondary outcomes included stone clearance and improved quality-of-life scores. Results From March 2011 to October 2014, P-ESWLs were performed on 1017 patients (50 in the PSH group, 967 in the control group). No significant difference was observed in the frequency of occurrence of P-ESWL complications between the PSH group and control group (14.0% vs 13.2%, P = 0.877). At follow-up (2.6 years; range, 1.0-4.5 years), pain relief was achieved in 36 patients (75.0%), and 37 patients (77.1%) experienced complete stone clearance. No significant differences were observed between these patients and the matched controls. Conclusions For CP patients who develop painful stones after pancreatic surgery, P-ESWL safely achieves significant pain relief and stone clearance, preventing the need for a repeat surgery.

Pancreatic extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (P-ESWL) has been recommended for the management of large pancreatic stones. It is considered to be a noninvasive and low morbidity procedure. However, despite its minimal invasiveness, it does have complications.

Nosocomial infection (NI) is one of the most significant complications arising after open heart surgery, and leads to increased mortality, hospitalization time and health resource allocation. This study investigated the morbidity, mortality, and independent risk factors associated with NI following open heart surgery. We retrospectively surveyed the records of 1606 consecutive cardiovascular surgical patients to identify those that developed NI. The NI selection criteria were based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. The term NI encompasses surgical site infection (SSI), central venous catheter-related infection (CVCRI), urinary tract infection (UTI), respiratory tract infection and pneumonia (RTIP), as well as other types of infections. Of 1606 cardiovascular surgery patients, 125 developed NI (7.8%, 125/1606). The rates of NI following surgery for congenital malformation, valve replacement, and coronary artery bypass graft were 2.6% (15/587), 5.5% (26/473) and 13.6% (32/236), respectively. The NI rate following surgical repair of aortic aneurysm or dissection was 16.8% (52/310). Increased risk of NI was detected for patients with a prior preoperative stay ≥3 days (OR=2.11, 95% CI=1.39-3.20), diabetes (OR=2.00, 95%=CI 1.26-3.20), length of surgery ≥6 h (OR=2.26, 95% CI=1.47-3.47), or postoperative cerebrovascular accident (OR=4.08, 95% CI=1.79-9.29). Greater attention should be paid toward compliance with ventilator and catheter regulations in order to decrease NI morbidity and mortality following cardiovascular procedures.

Background and Aim Pancreatic pseudocyst is a common complication of chronic pancreatitis. The identification of risk factors and development of a nomogram for pancreatic pseudocysts in chronic pancreatitis patients may contribute to the early diagnosis and intervention of pancreatic pseudocysts. Methods Patients with chronic pancreatitis admitted to our center from January 2000 to December 2013 were enrolled. Cumulative rates of pancreatic pseudocysts after the onset of chronic pancreatitis and after the diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis were calculated. Patients were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to the training and validation cohort. Based on the training cohort, risk factors were identified through Cox proportional hazards regression model, and nomogram was developed. Internal and external validations were performed based on the training and validation cohort, respectively. Results With a total of 1,998 patients, pancreatic pseudocysts were detected in 228 (11.41%) patients. Age at the onset of chronic pancreatitis, smoking, and severe acute pancreatitis were identified risk factors for pancreatic pseudocysts development while steatorrhea and pancreatic stones were protective factors. Incorporating these 5 factors, the nomogram achieved good concordance indexes of 0.735 and 0.628 in the training and validation cohorts, respectively, with well-fitted calibration curves. Conclusion The nomogram achieved an individualized prediction of pancreatic pseudocysts development in chronic pancreatitis. It may help the early diagnosis and management of pancreatic pseudocysts.

Rare functionally defective carboxypeptidase A1 (CPA1) variants have been reported to predispose to nonalcoholic chronic pancreatitis, mainly the idiopathic subtype. However, independent replication has so far been lacking, particularly in Asian cohorts where initial studies employed small sample sizes. Herein we performed targeted next-generation sequencing of the CPA1 gene in 1112 Han Chinese idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP) patients – the largest ICP cohort so far analyzed in a single population – and 1580 controls. Sanger sequencing was used to validate called variants, and the CPA1 activity and secretion of all newly found variants were measured. A total of 18 rare CPA1 variants were characterized, 11 of which have not been previously described. However, no significant association was noted with ICP irrespective of whether all rare variants [20/1112 (1.8%) in patients vs. 24/1580 (1.52%) in controls; P = 0.57] or functionally impaired variants [3/1112 (0.27%) in patients vs. 2/1580 (0.13%) in controls; P = 0.68] were considered. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Background and aims Pancreatic extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (P-ESWL) is recommended as the first-line treatment for pancreatic stones. However, how well P-ESWL performs in pediatric patients remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of P-ESWL for pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis. Methods This prospective observational study was conducted in patients with painful chronic pancreatitis who underwent P-ESWL. Patients aged under 18 years were included in the pediatric group; patients aged over 18 years who underwent P-ESWL in the same period were assigned to the control group. For investigation of long-term follow-up, the pediatric group were matched with patients from the control group in a 1:1 ratio. The primary outcomes were P-ESWL complications and pain relief. The secondary outcomes included: stone clearance, physical and mental health, quality of life score, and growth and developmental state. Results From March 2011 to March 2015, P-ESWL was performed in 1135 patients (72 in the pediatric group, 1063 in the control group). No significant differences were observed in the occurrence of P-ESWL complications between the two groups (11.1 % vs. 12.8 %; P = 0.68). Among the 67 pediatric patients (93.1 %) who underwent follow-up for 3.0 years (range 1.3 – 5.2), complete pain relief was achieved in 52 patients (52 /67; 77.6 %); this value was not significantly different from that of the matched controls (55 /69; 79.7 %; P = 0.94). Conclusions P-ESWL is safe and effective for pediatric patients with chronic pancreatitis. It can promote significant pain relief and stone clearance, and can benefit growth and development.

// Xu Liu 1 , Lianghao You 2 , Ruizhi Zhou 2 , Jian Zhang 2 1 Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Liaoning, Shenyang 110001, China 2 Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Ministry of Public Health, China, Key Laboratory of Medical Cell Biology, Ministry of Education, China Medical University, Shenyang 110122, China Correspondence to: Jian Zhang, email: jzhang@cmu.edu.cn Keywords: microRNA, polymorphism, coronary heart disease, meta-analysis, Pathology Section Received: October 07, 2016 Accepted: November 30, 2016 Published: December 27, 2016 ABSTRACT Molecular epidemiological studies suggest that microRNA polymorphisms may be associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, the results of these studies were inconsistent and inconclusive. To derive a more precise evaluation, we performed a meta-analysis focused on the associations between microRNA polymorphisms and CHD risk. PubMed, Embase, CNKI and Wanfang databases were searched. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were applied to assess the association between microRNA-146a rs2910164, microRNA-196a2 rs11614913, microRNA-499 rs3746444 and microRNA-149 rs71428439 polymorphisms and CHD susceptibility. Heterogeneity, publication bias and sensitivity analysis were conducted to measure the robustness of our findings. A total of thirteen related studies involving 8,120 patients and 8,364 controls were analyzed. Significant associations between microRNA-146a rs2910164 polymorphism and CHD risk were observed in the total population, as well as in subgroup analysis. For microRNA-196a2 rs11614913 and microRNA-499 rs3746444, similarly increased risks were also found. In addition, no significant association was detected between microRNA-149 rs71428439 polymorphism and CHD risk. In conclusion, our meta-analyses suggest that microRNA polymorphisms may be associated with increased risk of CHD development.