In the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2021, the results of six clinical trials related to cardiovascular surgery were revealed. The PALACS trial demonstrated that posterior left pericardiotomy during open heart surgery was associated with a significant reduction in postoperative atrial fibrillation; the EPICCURE study found that injection of mRNA encoding vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A mRNA) directly into the myocardium of patients undergoing elective coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) improved patients’ heart function; the VEST trial once again proved the safety and potential value of external stent for vein graft. This article will interpret the above-mentioned three studies.
In the late-breaking trials session of the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2021, which took place in November 2021, six clinical trials in cardiac surgery published their primary results. This review will look into three of them including the management of patients with moderate or less-than-moderate tricuspid regurgitation at the time of surgery for degenerative mitral regurgitation, timing of ticagrelor cessation before coronary artery bypass grafting, and long-term outcomes of ticagrelor-based antiplatelet therapy for secondary prevention of coronary artery bypass grafting.
ObjectiveTo analyze the association between the acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) (syndrome of phlegm-heat obstructing lung) and clinical indicators related to COPD. MethodAECOPD in-patients and out-patients were enrolled from the Third People's Hospital of Chengdu from January 2013 to January 2014. The patients were grouped to Tanre Syndrome and non-Tanre Syndrome according to their clinical symptoms, signs and tongue, pulse. All patients underwent the following tests including routine blood test, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, lung function, blood gas analysis, C-reaction protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and other clinically relevant indicators. The association between AECOPD and clinically relevant indicators were analyzed by using SPSS 19.0 software. ResultsA total of 194 AECOPD patients were included, of which 88 patients were syndrome of phlegm-heat obstructing lung and 106 were non syndrome of phlegm-heat obstructing lung according to the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) classifications. The results of single factor analysis showed that age (Z=-4.848, P=0.000) and course of disease (Z=-2.455, P=0.014) were associated with syndrome of phlegm-heat obstructing lung. While further logistic regression analysis showed that age (r=0.090, P=0.000) and the level of CRP (r=-0.008, P=0.000) were associated with syndrome of phlegm-heat obstructing lung. ConclusionSyndrome of phlegm-heat obstructing lung is the major clinical TCM syndrome of AECOPD. Syndrome of phlegm-heat obstructing lung is associated with age and level of CRP.
The TNM staging of lung cancer which is now widely used in clinic was formally proposed in 1997. It has played quite an important role in directing the diagnosis and treatment of lung cancer as well as the clinical research in the past decade. However, at the same time, there are some insufficiencies which are emerging gradually. By collecting the clinical information from 100 869 patients, in 2007, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer(IASLC) made a deep analysis on the relativity between TNM staging and prognosis, and put forward the suggestions to revise the Seventh Edition of the TNM staging of lung cancer: (1) According to the size of tumor, the primary T staging is divide into T1a (the maximum tumor diameter≤2 cm), T1b (3 cm≥the maximum tumor diameter＞2 cm), T2a (5 cm≥the maximum tumor diameter＞3 cm) and T2b (7 cm≥the maximum tumor diameter＞5 cm); (2) T 2c (the maximum tumor diameter gt;7 cm) and additional nodules in the same lobe are classified as T3, while nodules in the ipsilateral nonprimary lobe are classified as T4;(3) Cancerous hydrothorax, pericardial effusion and the additional nodules in the contralateral lung are classified as M1a, while the extrapulmonary metastases are classified as M1b. It is believed that the new revised edition will has higher international authority and identification degree, and it will play a more meticulous and accurate guiding role in the treatment of lung cancer and its predicting prognosis in the future. At the same time, it will provide a new starting point to the research of lung cancer.
Periodontal disease is a common chronic infectious disease targeting the connective tissue supporting the dentition. In recent years, the research on periodontal disease and cerebral infarction has been increasing. However, the causal relationship between periodontal disease and cerebral infarction remains unclear. Periodontal disease may be associated with atherosclerosis, which is one of the major causes of cerebral infarction. Regular dental care can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Therefore, investigating the above association and its underlying mechanisms is of great clinical significance, which may help clinicians to make appropriate treatment and prevention measures. In this paper, the research progress and possible mechanism of the relationship between periodontal disease and cerebral infarction were reviewed.
The Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes released by the American Diabetes Association (ADA) is one of the most important guidelines for clinicians. Based on the latest evidence of clinical studies, the Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes is annually updated by ADA. The statements of ADA on diagnosis, assessment, and management in diabetes are recommended for clinicians, patients, and researchers. The latest edition of Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes was published in a supplementary issue of Diabetes Care in January 2018. This interpretation will focus on the updated contents and their best evidence and clinical importance in this guideline.
ObjectiveTo compare the citations of Chinese literature in the 2015 and 2025 editions of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) guidelines, aiming to evaluate the progress in the field of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) research in China. MethodsChinese literature cited in the 2015 and 2025 ATA guidelines was collected and cataloged. A comparison was conducted between the two editions regarding the number of publications, source journals, affiliated institutions and their regional distribution, research types, and research foci of the cited literature. Results ① Changes in the quantity and regional distribution of Chinese citations: in the 2025 ATA guideline, the proportion of Chinese literature cited increased by nearly two times compared to the 2015 ATA guideline [8.8% (128/1 458) vs. 3.3% (36/1 078), P＜0.001]. The number of source journals increased by nearly three times (74 vs. 21), the number of contributing cities nearly doubled (29 vs. 13), and the number of involved healthcare institutions increased by nearly three times (65 vs. 18). In terms of regional distribution, compared to the 2015 ATA guideline, where institutions producing cited literature were mainly located in the Taiwan region (11 publications), the Hong Kong region (11 publications), and coastal and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei rigions of the Chinese mainland (12 publications), the 2025 ATA guideline showed a expansion of distribution to medical centers in regions such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Chengdu, and Changchun. Among these, West China Hospital of Sichuan University had the highest number of cited publications nationwide (20 publications). The proportion of cited literature from institutions in the Chinese mainland increased significantly compared to that from the Taiwan and Hong Kong regions [69.2% (45/65) vs. 16.9% (11/65) and 13.8% (9/65)]. ② Changes in research types of cited literature: clinical research constituted the majority [100% (36/36) and 97.7% (125/128), respectively] of the cited Chinese literature in both the 2015 and 2025 ATA guidelines. However, three basic research studies appeared in the 2025 ATA guideline. Cited literature in both editions was predominantly single-center studies [86.7% (26/30) and 93.8% (90/96), respectively]. ③ Changes in research foci of cited literature: the number of research foci involved in the 2025 ATA guideline (19 foci) increased by nearly doubled compared to the 2015 ATA guideline (11 foci). Among them, iodine-131 therapy was the most cited research focus in both editions. Among research foci with ≥5 citations, besides traditional areas such as tumor staging and prognosis, and surgical methods and extent which remained top-ranked, the ranking of recurrent laryngeal nerve protection rose. The ranking of some traditional research foci, such as molecular markers, imaging, preoperative diagnosis, declined. Notable newly prominent or significantly changed foci included ablation therapy (12 publications, ranked 2nd), comprehensive treatment (11 publications), lymph node metastasis (10 publications), parathyroid protection (7 publications), thyroid cancer and pregnancy risks (5 publications), and active surveillance (5 publications). ConclusionsCompared to the 2015 ATA guideline, the 2025 ATA guideline cites a higher proportion of Chinese literature, demonstrates a wider geographical distribution of publication origins (expanding from Taiwan region, Hong Kong region, and coastal developed area to major regional centers across China), and covered broader and more in-depth research foci. This suggests that the field of DTC in China has undergone robust development in recent years, with a gradual shift from traditional focuses such as cure rate and recurrence rate towards improving long-term quality of life, developing individualized, and precise comprehensive management models. China is playing an increasingly important role in establishing global DTC diagnostic and treatment standards. However, high-quality prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trials remain to be strengthened.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the association between the expression level of LncRNA and clinicopathological features and prognostic value of gastric cancer.MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, WanFang Data and CBM databases to collect studies on the association between LncRNA overexpression and prognosis for gastric cancer from inception to April 2017. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies, then, meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 12.0 software.ResultsA total of 21 case-control studies were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that: LncRNA overexpression patients had poor TNM stage (OR=0.29, 95%CI 0.24 to 0.35, P<0.001), deeper tumor invasion (OR=0.24, 95%CI 0.12 to 0.49,P<0.001), shorter overall survival (OS) (HR=2.52, 95%CI 2.07 to 3.06,P<0.001) and disease-free survival (DFS) (HR=2.31, 95%CI 1.75 to 3.05,P<0.001).ConclusionsLncRNA overexpression is a poor prognosis risk factor for gastric cancer patients. Due to limited quantity and quality of the included studies, more high quality studies are needed to verify above conclusions.
In October 2020, the American Heart Association issued the 2020 edition of guidelines for cardiopulmonary resuscitation and cardiovascular first aid, which comprehensively revised cardiopulmonary resuscitation and emergency cardiovascular care guidelines related to adults, children, newborns, resuscitation education science and treatment system. According to the latest edition of International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation’s classes of recommendation and levels of evidence, relevant suggestions are put forward. This article interprets the main updated and revised content, including children’s basic and advanced life support and neonatal resuscitation, in order to better guide emergency personnel and improve the quality of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and cardiovascular first aid.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between extent and severity of acute coronary syndrome and uric acid, leukocytes. MethodsA retrospective analysis of leukocytes, platelets, lipids and uric acid levels were performed on 23 patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI group), 17 patients with unstable angina (UA group), and 17 healthy subjects (controls) between January and December 2010. ResultsIn the three groups (AMI, UA, and Control), the leukocyte count was respectively (10.4±3.2)×109/L, (6.9±2.4)×109/L and (5.4±1.1)×109/L (P<0.05); neutrophil was (7.4±3.2)×109/L, (4.8±2.3)×109/L, and (3.4±0.8)×109/L (P<0.001); and uric acid was (401.4±94.3), (384.1±74.1) and (285.5±76.8) μmol/L, respectively (P<0.001). Multinomial Logistic regression showed leukocyte was a predictor for AMI (OR=1.712, P=0.003), while uric acid was not (OR=1.006, P=0.255), regarding the UA group as the reference. When the control group was using as reference, leukocyte was an independently significant factor for AMI (OR=2.942, P=0.004) and was not a significant factor for UA (OR=1.718, P=0.125); uric acid was a significant factor for AMI and UA (OR=1.027, P=0.016; OR=1.021, P=0.041). ConclusionUric acid may be associated with the chronic development of coronary heart disease, while leukocytes may play a potential role in plaque destabilization and the onset of AMI.