Fractal dimension in CT low attenuation areas is predictive of long-term oxygen therapy initiation in COPD patients: Results from two observational cohort studies

BackgroundSome chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients develop hypoxemia with disease progression, with some even requiring long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT). Lung function, especially diffusing capacity, and the annual decline in PaO₂, are reported to be predictive factors of chronic respiratory failure. However, the association between lung morphometry evaluated using computed tomography (CT) images and LTOT initiation is unknown.MethodsWe retrospectively evaluated the relationship between clinical indices, including pulmonary function, body mass index (BMI), and CT parameters, at baseline and LTOT initiation in two prospective COPD cohorts. In the Nara Medical University cohort (n = 76), the low attenuation area (LAA) and its fractal dimension (fractal D) were adapted as the indices for parenchymal destruction in CT images. The association between these CT measurements and LTOT initiation was replicated in the Kyoto University cohort (n = 130).ResultsIn the Nara Medical University cohort, lower BMI (hazard ratio [HR]:0.70, p = 0.006), lower % diffusing capacity (%DLCO) (HR: 0.92, p = 0.006), lower %DLCO/VA (HR, 0.90, p = 0.008), higher RV/TLC (HR, 1.26, p = 0.012), higher LAA% (HR: 1.18, p = 0.001), and lower fractal D (HR: 3.27 × 10^?8, p < 0.001) were associated with LTOT initiation. Multivariate analysis in the Kyoto University cohort confirmed that lower %DLCO and lower fractal D were independently associated with LTOT initiation, whereas LAA% was not.ConclusionFractal D, which is the index for morphometric complexity of LAA in CT analysis, is predictive of LTOT initiation in COPD patients.     

Coupling online control and inhibitory systems in children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: Goal-directed reaching

For children with Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), the real-time coupling between frontal executive function and online motor control has not been explored despite reported deficits in each domain. The aim of the present study was to investigate how children with DCD enlist online control under task constraints that compel the need for inhibitory control. A total of 129 school children were sampled from mainstream primary schools. Forty-two children who met research criteria for DCD were compared with 87 typically developing controls on a modified double-jump reaching task. Children within each skill group were divided into three age bands: younger (6–7 years), mid-aged (8–9), and older (10–12). Online control was compared between groups as a function of trial type (non-jump, jump, anti-jump). Overall, results showed that while movement times were similar between skill groups under simple task constraints (non-jump), on perturbation (or jump) trials the DCD group were significantly slower than controls and corrected trajectories later. Critically, the DCD group was further disadvantaged by anti-jump trials where inhibitory control was required; however, this effect reduced with age. While coupling online control and executive systems is not well developed in younger and mid-aged children, there is evidence of age-appropriate coupling in older children. Longitudinal data are needed to clarify this intriguing finding. The theoretical and applied implications of these results are discussed.     

Influence of COMT genotype and affective distractors on the processing of self-generated thought

The catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme is a major determinant of prefrontal dopamine levels. The Val¹⁵⁸Met polymorphism affects COMT enzymatic activity and has been associated with variation in executive function and affective processing. This study investigated the effect of COMT genotype on the flexible modulation of the balance between processing self-generated and processing stimulus-oriented information, in the presence or absence of affective distractors. Analyses included 124 healthy adult participants, who were also assessed on standard working memory (WM) tasks. Relative to Val carriers, Met homozygotes made fewer errors when selecting and manipulating self-generated thoughts. This effect was partly accounted for by an association between COMT genotype and visuospatial WM performance. We also observed a complex interaction between the influence of affective distractors, COMT genotype and sex on task accuracy: male, but not female, participants showed a sensitivity to the affective distractors that was dependent on COMT genotype. This was not accounted for by WM performance. This study provides novel evidence of the role of dopaminergic genetic variation on the ability to select and manipulate self-generated thoughts. The results also suggest sexually dimorphic effects of COMT genotype on the influence of affective distractors on executive function.     

Differentiating autoimmune pancreatitis from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with CT radiomics features

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to determine whether computed tomography (CT)-based machine learning of radiomics features could help distinguish autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).Materials and MethodsEighty-nine patients with AIP (65 men, 24 women; mean age, 59.7 ± 13.9 [SD] years; range: 21–83 years) and 93 patients with PDAC (68 men, 25 women; mean age, 60.1 ± 12.3 [SD] years; range: 36–86 years) were retrospectively included. All patients had dedicated dual-phase pancreatic protocol CT between 2004 and 2018. Thin-slice images (0.75/0.5 mm thickness/increment) were compared with thick-slices images (3 or 5 mm thickness/increment). Pancreatic regions involved by PDAC or AIP (areas of enlargement, altered enhancement, effacement of pancreatic duct) as well as uninvolved parenchyma were segmented as three-dimensional volumes. Four hundred and thirty-one radiomics features were extracted and a random forest was used to distinguish AIP from PDAC. CT data of 60 AIP and 60 PDAC patients were used for training and those of 29 AIP and 33 PDAC independent patients were used for testing.ResultsThe pancreas was diffusely involved in 37 (37/89; 41.6%) patients with AIP and not diffusely in 52 (52/89; 58.4%) patients. Using machine learning, 95.2% (59/62; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 89.8–100%), 83.9% (52:67; 95% CI: 74.7–93.0%) and 77.4% (48/62; 95% CI: 67.0–87.8%) of the 62 test patients were correctly classified as either having PDAC or AIP with thin-slice venous phase, thin-slice arterial phase, and thick-slice venous phase CT, respectively. Three of the 29 patients with AIP (3/29; 10.3%) were incorrectly classified as having PDAC but all 33 patients with PDAC (33/33; 100%) were correctly classified with thin-slice venous phase with 89.7% sensitivity (26/29; 95% CI: 78.6–100%) and 100% specificity (33/33; 95% CI: 93–100%) for the diagnosis of AIP, 95.2% accuracy (59/62; 95% CI: 89.8–100%) and area under the curve of 0.975 (95% CI: 0.936–1.0).ConclusionsRadiomic features help differentiate AIP from PDAC with an overall accuracy of 95.2%.     

丹红注射液对急性心肌梗死PCI围手术期心功能和TIMI血流影响的Meta分析

目的:系统评价丹红注射液对急性心肌梗死(AMI)经皮冠状动脉介入治疗(PCI)围手术期心功能和心肌梗塞溶栓治疗(TIMI)血流分级的影响。方法:计算机检索CNKI,万方数据库,维普数据库,Pub Med,CBM,Web of Science,The Cochrane Library共7个数据库,全面采集在PCI围手术期应用丹红注射液治疗急性心梗的临床试验,采用Cochrane风险评价表进行文献质量评价,运用Revman 5.3软件进行Meta分析。结果:共纳入12个临床试验,包含1131例患者,其中丹红治疗组569例,对照组562例,结果显示在常规治疗的基础上加入丹红注射液治疗,患者的左室射血分数明显增高[均数差(MD)=6.62,95%可信区间(CI)(4.91,8.34),P<0.00001],TIMI分级3级患者明显增多[相对危险度(RR)=0.22,95%CI(0.12,0.41),P<0.00001],脑利钠肽水平明显降低[MD=-151.86,95%CI(-247.00,-56.72),P=0.002]。结论:丹红注射液可以提高急性心梗PCI围手术期心功能和增加TIMI血流的分级。     

腹腔镜胆囊切除术对胆道结石合并糖尿病患者肠屏障功能的影响

目的观察胆道结石合并糖尿病患者腹腔镜胆囊切除术(LC)后肠屏障功能的变化。方法将择期行LC的126例患者分为糖尿病组41例和非糖尿病组85例。术前及术后第1、3天,采用高效液相色谱法检测尿乳果糖与甘露醇比值(L/M),并采用酶联免疫吸附法(ELISA)检测尿脂肪酸结合蛋白(IFABP)及血清D-乳酸水平。结果2组患者均成功完成手术,无中转开放手术者。糖尿病组术后肛门排气时间长于非糖尿病组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。糖尿病组术后第1、3天尿L/M、血清D-乳酸、尿IFABP均高于术前及非糖尿病组,差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论合并糖尿病的胆道结石患者行LC后会加重肠屏障功能障碍程度,术前控制好血糖水平或可降低肠道功能损伤的严重程度。     

罗伊氏乳杆菌对轮状病毒感染肠炎患儿免疫功能与肠道菌群及临床疗效的影响

目的探究罗伊氏乳杆菌DSM 17938在治疗轮状病毒感染肠炎患儿中的疗效及对免疫功能、肠道菌群的影响。方法收集于2018年2月-2019年2月在阳光融和医院进行诊治的轮状病毒感染肠炎患儿126例,随机分为试验组(63例)和对照组(63例)。对照组给予常规补液治疗及蒙脱石散和枯草杆菌二联活菌口服治疗,试验组采用常规补液治疗及蒙脱石散和罗伊氏乳杆菌DSM 17938辅助治疗。观察两组患儿的腹泻改善情况,并分析对免疫功能(IgG、IgA、CD4^+/CD8^+水平)及肠道菌群失调的影响。结果在治疗72 h后,试验组患儿的治疗总有效率为92.06%,高于对照组的74.60%(P=0.009);且治疗后两组患儿的IgG、IgA、CD4^+/CD8^+水平均较治疗前有升高(P<0.05),且试验组水平高于对照组(P<0.05)。对患儿肠道菌群进行分析,在治疗1周后,试验组患儿肠道菌群失调程度低于对照组,且试验组的肠道菌群正常比例高于对照组(P<0.05)。结论罗伊氏乳杆菌DSM 17938对于辅助治疗轮状病毒感染肠炎患儿具有良好的疗效,能够提高患儿免疫力,改善肠道菌群失调,减轻患儿腹泻症状,具有一定的临床应用价值。     

卡马西平与左乙拉西坦治疗成人癫痫的效果及对认知功能和骨密度的影响分析

目的探究卡马西平与左乙拉西坦治疗成人癫痫的效果及对认知功能、骨密度的影响。方法92例成人癫痫患者作为研究对象,随机分为左乙拉西坦组与卡马西平组,各46例。左乙拉西坦组采用左乙拉西坦治疗,卡马西平组采用卡马西平治疗。比较两组患者治疗前及治疗6个月后认知功能[语言智商(VIQ)、操作智商(PIQ)、总智商(FIQ)]评分、骨密度(腰椎、股骨大转子、股骨颈)变化情况。结果治疗6个月后,两组患者VIQ、PIQ、FIQ评分均较治疗前显著提升,且左乙拉西坦组患者VIQ评分(101.2±3.1)分、PIQ评分(108.1±2.3)分、FIQ评分(105.2±1.8)分均明显高于卡马西平组的(95.1±2.8)、(94.1±2.0)、(93.5±1.6)分,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。治疗6个月后,卡马西平组患者腰椎、股骨大转子、股骨颈骨密度均较治疗前显著下降,且明显低于卡马西平组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05);左乙拉西坦组治疗6个月后腰椎、股骨大转子、股骨颈骨密度与治疗前比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论左乙拉西坦与卡马西平治疗成人癫痫,左乙拉西坦更能明显提升患者认知功能,且对患者骨密度无影响。