The diagnosis and management of congenital heart disease (CHD), the most common inborn defect, has been a tremendous success of modern medicine. With the development of diagnostic techniques, surgical procedures and interventional techniques, more than 90% of CHD children can survive to adulthood. Consequently, the prevalence of patients with CHD has shifted away from infancy and childhood towards adulthood. Adult CHD cardiology is now encompassing not only young or middle-aged adults but also patients aged above 60 years. Standardized guidelines can provide good theoretical support for the comprehensive management of adult CHD. Ten years after the European Society of Cardiology guidelines for the management of grown-up CHD released in 2010, the new version was officially released in August 2020. The new version of guidelines updated the classification and stratification of diseases, comprehensive intervention methods and intervention timing, and put forward some new concepts, new intervention standards and methods. For adult CHD that has not been repaired or needs to be repaired again, the indication and mode of surgical intervention and perioperative management have a great impact on the prognosis. The new version of the guidelines provides a detailed description of the surgical and intervention indications and methods for different diseases, and clarifies the management methods for high-risk groups. This article attempts to interpret this newly updated guideline from the perspective of a surgeon, sort out several key diseases introduced by the guideline, and strives to provide a concise and actionable guideline for domestic counterparts.
Peripheral artery disease (PAD) of the lower extremities, which poses a major challenge in the field of global public health, has seen a rising trend in its incidence and disability rate year by year. With the continuous innovation of new diagnostic techniques, imaging evaluation methods, and treatment strategies, profound changes have taken place in the diagnosis and treatment paradigm in this field. Based on the “European Society for Vascular Surgery (ESVS) 2024 Clinical Practice Guidelines on the Management of Asymptomatic Lower Limb Peripheral Arterial Disease and Intermittent Claudication” issued by the European Society for Vascular Surgery in 2024, we systematically reviewed the relevant international guidelines in recent years and conducted horizontal comparisons. Combining with the latest clinical research evidence, we conducted an in-depth analysis from the perspective of evidence-based medicine on the strategic evolution, technical key point updates, and clinical evidence levels of endovascular treatment for lower extremity PAD. The aim is to provide an evidence-based medical basis for clinical decision-making.
Objective To explore the feasibility of using biomechanical indicators as supplementary evaluation to the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society Scoring System (MSTS) for amputee patients. Methods Twenty-four patients who underwent hemipelvectomy between September 2018 and January 2025 were enrolled. There were 15 males and 9 females with an average age of 61.4 years (range, 45-76 years). Participants performed gait tests at self-selected speeds using three assistive devices (prosthesis, single crutch, and double crutches). Motion data were analyzed using a customized OpenSim model. Biomechanical indicators of the intact limb exhibiting common characteristics were screened through correlation and sensitivity analyses. Test-retest reliability [interclass correlation coefficient (ICC)] of selected parameters was assessed to evaluate their potential as MSTS score supplements. Results All biomechanical indicators showed significant positive correlations with MSTS scores across assistive devices (P<0.05). Seven indicators demonstrated |Pearson correlation coefficients|>0.8, including walking speed, maximum hip angle, maximum hip moment, peak hip flexion moment, peak hip extension moment, hip flexion impulse, and hip extension impulse. Among these, maximum hip moment, hip flexion impulse, and hip extension impulse exhibited significant between-group differences in adjacent MSTS levels (P<0.05), indicating high sensitivity, along with excellent test-retest reliability (ICC>0.74, P<0.01). Conclusion Biomechanical indicators statistically qualify as potential supplements to MSTS scoring. Maximum hip moment, hip flexion impulse, and hip extension impulse demonstrate particularly high sensitivity to MSTS score variations.
The management of malignant pleural effusion remains a clinical challenge. In November 2018, American Thoracic Society, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and Society of Thoracic Radiology summarized the recent advances and provided 7 recommendations for clinical problems of the management of malignant pleural effusion. This paper interprets these recommendations to provide references for management and research on malignant pleural effusion.
With the publication of a vast amount of clinical research on hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), and the National Health Commission of China have all updated their diagnostic and treatment guidelines for HCC. There are no differences in the definition of HCC risk populations among the AASLD 2023, NCCN 2024, and China Liver Cancer Staging and Treatment Guideline (CNLC) 2024. Notably, CNLC 2024 has updated its guidance on high-risk factors and prospective surveillance for HCC based on the characteristics of HCC patients in China. The four guidelines have seen significant updates in the areas of neoadjuvant and adjuvant therapies, local treatments, and systemic treatments for HCC. CNLC 2024 refines the indications for local treatment, improves systemic treatment, and introduces new first-line therapy, including camrelizumab combined with rivoceranib or tislelizumab. The second-line therapy nivolumab plus ipilimumab for advanced HCC are recommended by AASLD 2023, NCCN 2024, and ASCO 2024, which may become a new first-line therapeutic option for patients with advanced HCC. We compare and interpret these four guidelines in this paper.
Randomized double-blind controlled trials (RCTs) conduct researches in carefully selected populations to ensure results of RCTs are unaffected by external disturbances and provide evidence of safety and efficacy. Real-world researches further help to understand the real world effects of new technologies in different medical environments after-market authorization. RCTs are the evidence foundation of real-world researches, and real-world researches provide valuable complement to RCTs. Medical insurance database is one of the most important database in real-world researches. Now, China's national medical insurance is entering a new era and transits from passive payment and compensation into a value-based strategic purchase mechanism for its insured population to buy the most cost-effective services. It is necessary to establish a mature, well-organized and value-based mechanism. The core of such mechanism is values, which is the price/performance ratio of innovative medicines and technologies rather than looking at the price solely. Demonstrating innovative drug value is an essential part of health care assessment. The authors argue that the assessment of the overall value of innovative technologies or medicines should include and based on the following four dimensions: clinical value, economic value, patient value and society value.
The Campbell Library is a database of preserving and promoting systematic reviews on social sciences for the purpose of providing evidence-informed decision making. This article introduces the foundation, development, major contents and search methods of the Campbell Library, so as to provide resources and technologies in the field of social sciences as well as new ideas for the development of evidence-based practice in China.
The International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH) recently released the first ISTH guideline for antithrombotic treatment of COVID-19, which provides recommendations on anticoagulant and antiplatelet agents for patients with COVID-19 in different clinical settings. The target audience includes clinicians in internal medicine, intensive care, infectious diseases, hematology, vascular medicine, residents, family physicians, and other health care providers providing inpatient or outpatient care to COVID-19 patients. This article interprets the important parts of ISTH guideline.
This paper interprets 2017 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) peripheral arterial disease diagnosis and treatment guidelines on lower extremity arterial disease, and in order to provide reference for clinical practice.
The American Thoracic Society Committee Task Force on Standards for Pulmonary Function had recommended a standardized reporting format for pulmonary function tests due to considerable variability in pulmonary function reports presented to end users, which might lead to potential confusion and miscommunication. This recommendation includes seven parts: overview, introduction, methods, report format, selecting and reporting reference values, grading the quality of pulmonary function tests and conclusions. This document presents a reporting format in test-specific units for spirometry, lung volumes, and diffusing capacity that can be assembled into a report appropriate for a laboratory’s practice. Recommended reference sources are updated, with especially emphasizing to adapt lower limit of normal (LLN) or z score instead of percent of prediction to estimate the abnormal results. This document provides detail and clear explanation on the recommendations, which might improve the interpretation, communication, and understanding of test results. However, parts of recommendation might not be used directly in our clinical practice owing to some specific conditions in China. We suggest to use appropriate normal predictions from Chinese population, to include small airway parameters such as mid-maximal expiratory flow for early detection of pulmonary function deterioration, and to include inspiratory flow volume curve, as well as strengthen the quality control data and figures in the report format.