Systematic comparison of plasma EBV DNA,anti-EBV antibodies and miRNA levels for early detection and prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is originated from the epithelial cells of nasopharynx, Epstein–Barr virus (EBV)-associated and has the highest incidence and mortality rates in Southeast Asia. Late presentation is a common issue and early detection could be the key to reduce the disease burden. Sensitivity of plasma EBV DNA, an established NPC biomarker, for Stage I NPC is controversial. Most newly reported NPC biomarkers have neither been externally validated nor compared to the established ones. This causes difficulty in planning for cost-effective early detection strategies. Our study systematically evaluated six established and four new biomarkers in NPC cases, population controls and hospital controls. We showed that BamHI-W 76 bp remains the most sensitive plasma biomarker, with 96.7% (29/30), 96.7% (58/60) and 97.4% (226/232) sensitivity to detect Stage I, early stage and all NPC, respectively. Its specificity was 94.2% (113/120) against population controls and 90.4% (113/125) against hospital controls. Diagnostic accuracy of BamHI-W 121 bp and ebv-miR-BART7-3p were validated. Hsa-miR-29a-3p and hsa-miR-103a-3p were not, possibly due to lower number of advanced stage NPC cases included in this subset. Decision tree modeling suggested that combination of BamHI-W 76 bp and VCA IgA or EA IgG may increase the specificity or sensitivity to detect NPC. EBNA1 99 bp could identify NPC patients with poor prognosis in early and advanced stage NPC. Our findings provided evidence for improvement in NPC screening strategies, covering considerations of opportunistic screening, combining biomarkers to increase sensitivity or specificity and testing biomarkers from single sampled specimen to avoid logistic problems of resampling.     

血必净注射液对EICU脓毒症患者炎症应激反应和心肌功能的影响

目的:探讨血必净注射液治疗急诊重症监护室(EICU)脓毒症患者的疗效,以及对机体炎症应激反应和心肌功能的影响。方法:采用随机数字表法将190例脓毒症分为常规组和血必净组,每组均95例。两组均严格按照脓毒症治疗指南(2016年版)给予常规抗脓毒症集束化治疗,血必净组在常规治疗基础上给予血必净注射液治疗,常规组给予等量的0.9%氯化钠注射液。观察两组治疗前和治疗7 d后急性和慢性健康状况评分系统Ⅱ(APACHE Ⅱ)评分,检测并比较治疗前后血清炎性因子肿瘤坏死因子-α(TNF-α)、超敏C-反应蛋白(hs-CRP)、降钙素原(PCT)、白介素-6(IL-6)和心肌损伤标志物血肌钙蛋白I(cTn I)、肌酸激酶同工酶(CK-MB)水平,统计两组EICU住院时间和28 d死亡率。结果:两组治疗7 d后血清TNF-α、hs-CRP、PCT、IL-6和cTn I、CK-MB水平均明显下降(P<0.05),且治疗组治疗7 d后上述炎性因子和心肌功能指标水平显著低于常规组,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。治疗组治疗7 d后APACHEⅡ评分明显低于常规组,EICU住院时间较常规组明显缩短,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05),两组28 d病死率比较差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论:常规对症治疗联合血必净注射液能有效减轻脓毒症患者机体炎症应激反应和保护心肌功能,对改善病情程度和缩短EICU住院时间有一定价值。     

Changes in brain glucose metabolism and connectivity in somatoform disorders: an 18F-FDG PET study

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience - Somatoform disorders (SFD) are defined as a syndrome characterized by somatic symptoms which cannot be explained by organic reasons....     

First experience with robotic pancreatoduodenectomy in Singapore

INTRODUCTIONRecent studies reported that laparoscopic pancreatoduodenectomy (LPD) is associated with superior perioperative outcomes compared to the open approach. However, concerns have been raised about the safety of LPD, especially during the learning phase. Robotic pancreatoduodenectomy (RPD) has been reported to be associated with a shorter learning curve compared to LPD. We herein present our initial experience with RPD.METHODSA retrospective review of a single-institution prospective robotic hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) surgery database of 70 patients identified seven consecutive RPDs performed by a single surgeon in 2016–2017. These were matched at a 1:2 ratio with 14 open pancreatoduodenectomies (OPDs) selected from 77 consecutive pancreatoduodenectomies performed by the same surgeon between 2011 and 2017.RESULTSSeven patients underwent RPD, of which five were hybrid procedures with open reconstruction. There were no open conversions. Median operative time was 710.0 (range 560.0–930.0) minutes. Two major morbidities (> Grade 2) occurred: one gastrojejunostomy bleed requiring endoscopic haemostasis and one delayed gastric emptying requiring feeding tube placement. There were no pancreatic fistulas, reoperations or 90-day/in-hospital mortalities in the RPD group. Comparison between RPD and OPD demonstrated that RPD was associated with a significantly longer operative time. Compared to open surgery, there was no significant difference in estimated blood loss, blood transfusion, postoperative stay, pancreatic fistula rates, morbidity and mortality rates, R0 resection rates, and lymph node harvest rates.CONCLUSIONOur initial experience demonstrates that RPD is feasible and safe in selected patients. It can be safely adopted without any compromise in patient outcomes compared to the open approach.