The prognostic value of elevated neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio for cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background

Patients undergoing cardiac surgery are at significant risk of developing postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI). Neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a widely available inflammatory biomarker which may be of prognostic value in this setting.

Methods

We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies reporting associations between perioperative NLR with postoperative AKI. We searched Medline, Embase and the Cochrane Library, without language restriction, from inception to May 2022 for relevant studies. We meta-analysed the reported odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for both elevated preoperative and postoperative NLR with risk of postoperative AKI and need for renal replacement therapy (RRT). We conducted a meta-regression to explore inter-study statistical heterogeneity.

Results

Twelve studies involving 10,724 participants undergoing cardiac surgery were included, with eight studies being deemed at high risk of bias using PROBAST modelling. We found statistically significant associations between elevated preoperative NLR and postoperative AKI (OR 1.45, 95% CI 1.18–1.77), as well as postoperative need for RRT (OR 2.37, 95% CI 1.50–3.72). Postoperative NLR measurements were not of prognostic significance.

Conclusions

Elevated preoperative NLR is a reliable inflammatory biomarker for predicting AKI following cardiac surgery.     

Utility of the 3‐Vessel and 3‐Vessel and Trachea Views in Prenatal Diagnosis of a Pulmonary Artery Sling

A pulmonary artery (PA) sling is a very rare congenital cardiovascular anomaly, and only a few studies have reported PA slings in fetuses. The relationship of the PA, aorta, ductus arteriosus, and trachea can be evaluated in the 3‐vessel and 3‐vessel and trachea views during fetal echocardiography. A PA sling can be detected by abnormal positioning of the left PA in relation to the trachea when sweeping from the 3‐vessel view cranially to the 3‐vessel and trachea view. Here we report 3 cases of fetal PA slings and their follow‐ups. Two cases were confirmed by postnatal echocardiography, and the other case was confirmed by a cardiovascular cast after pregnancy termination. We emphasize that the 3‐vessel and 3‐vessel and trachea views are of crucial importance in the prenatal diagnosis of a PA sling.     

玻璃体切割联合内界膜剥除治疗糖尿病性黄斑水肿

评估玻璃体切割联合内界膜剥除对糖尿病性黄斑水肿（DME）的疗效。方法：回顾性病例对照研究。2014年6月至2017年1月间因糖尿病视网膜病变合并玻璃体积血或增殖病变于温州医科大学附属眼视光医院杭州院区行玻璃体切割手术治疗，且术前或术中经光学相干断层扫描（OCT）检查确诊合并DME的患者31例（33眼）纳入研究。16例（18眼）术中联合内界膜剥除作为剥膜组，15例（15眼）仅接受玻璃体切割手术治疗者作为对照组。所有手术均由同一医师主刀完成。术后1、3个月随访时复查OCT，对比观察黄斑中心厚度（CMT）和视力的术后变化情况。随访中CMT和最佳矫正视力（BCVA）比较采用重复测量方差分析，组间CMT和BCVA比较采用独立样本t检验。结果：手术前，手术后1、3个月2组间比较LogMAR视力总体差异有统计学意义（F=15.93，P<0.001）。术后 1个月时剥膜组BCVA高于对照组（t=2.55，P=0.02），但术后3个月时2组间差异无统计学意义（t=0.82， P=0.42）。手术前，手术后1、3个月CMT总体差异无统计学意义（F=2.85，P=0.065）。术后1、3个月时，剥膜组的CMT均低于对照组，2组间差异均有统计学意义（t=2.24，P=0.03；t=3.79，P=0.001）。术后1个月时，剥膜组有效（与术前比CMT减少20%以上）、无效（变化不超过20%）及恶化（增厚超过 20%）的例数分别为8、6、4例，术后3个月时则分别为11、5、2例，与对照组相比，术后1个月时组间差异无统计学意义（Z=-1.687，P=0.092），术后3个月时剥膜组DME改善有效比例明显高于对照组，组间差异有统计学意义（Z=-2.177，P=0.029）。结论：对于非牵拉性DME，内界膜剥除有助于术后早期DME消退。     

肺鳞癌治疗新靶点FGFR的研究进展

肺癌是目前全球发病率和死亡率均居前列的恶性肿瘤，其中肺鳞癌经手术、放化疗等综合治疗后，其疗效仍不满意。随着分子靶向治疗在肺腺癌中取得了令人瞩目的成果，而肺鳞癌患者中EGFR基因突变及ALK融合基因少见，急需探索新的靶点指导肺鳞癌患者的临床治疗。研究表明，FGFR家族（FGFR1-4）是肺鳞癌中突变频率较高的基因，FGFR基因的激活突变和扩增与肺鳞癌的发生和发展密切相关，同时许多小分子 FGFR 抑制剂在临床应用中已经取得较好的治疗效果。目前，许多FGFR抑制剂治疗肺鳞癌的临床试验也正在进行研究，针对FGFR靶点的基因治疗可为肺鳞癌的治疗提供一种新的策略。本文就FGFR在肺鳞癌的靶向治疗中的最新研究进展进行综述。     

An epidemiologic study of sleep-disordered breathing in a large sample of Chinese adolescents

Journal of Public Health - Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is common among adolescents and is associated with short- and long-term consequences. Data on the prevalence and epidemiologic...     

针灸联合关节松动术治疗肩周炎的网状Meta分析＊

目的 运用网状Meta分析方法评价针灸联合关节松动术治疗肩周炎的疗效。方法 运用计算机检索Web of Science、PubMed、Cochrane Library、EMbase、维普（VIP）、中国知网（CNKI）、万方（Wanfang）、中国生物医学文献数据库（CBM），搜寻有关针灸联合关节松动术治疗肩周炎的随机对照试验。所有研究人员均独立纳排文献、提录资料、风险评估，对符合质量标准的RCT研究采用Stata16.0和Review Manager 5.4软件进行分析。结果 共检索出6561篇文献，最终纳入37项研究，涉及10种针灸联合关节松动术方法。总样本量2890例，其中试验组1432例，对照组1458例。网状Meta分析所得结果表明：①在总有效率方面，最好的3种治疗方法为内热针联合组、温针联合组、动筋针联合组；②在降低VAS评分方面，最好的3种治疗方法为内热针联合组、动筋针联合组、针刀联合组。结论 针灸联合关节松动术治疗肩周炎疗效总体优于单独使用，且内热针联合组具有最佳的疗效。     

The increase in bone mineral density by bisphosphonate with active vitamin D analog is associated with the serum calcium level within the reference interval in postmenopausal osteoporosis

Objectives: To examine the factors associated with increase in lumbar spine bone mineral density (LS-BMD) by bisphosphonates (BPs) with active vitamin D analog (aVD).

Methods: Two independent postmenopausal osteoporotic patients treated by BPs with aVD for 24 months (Study 1: n?=?93, Study 2: n?=?99) were retrospectively analyzed.

Results: In Study 1, LS-BMD of the patients significantly increased for 24 m (5.4%, p?r²: 0.088, p?=?.02). While average sCa of the patients was 9.2?mg/dL before treatment, it increased time-dependently to 9.6?mg/dL for 24 m by treatment. As each patient had their LS-BMD five times during the study, there were four instances of %LS-BMD in each patient, resulting in 372 instances of %LS-BMD in Study 1. The smallest Akaike’s information criterion value for the most appropriate cut-off levels of sCa for %LS-BMD by treatment every 6 m was 9.3?mg/dL. The %LS-BMD by treatment for 6 m during 24 m period in patients with sCa ≥9.3?mg/dL (1.5%) was significantly higher than that in patients with sCa <9.3?mg/dL (0.8%, p?=?.038). The results of Study 2 were similar to those of Study 1, confirming the phenomena observed.

Conclusion: sCa was associated with an increased LS-BMD by BPs with aVD.     

The Relationship Between Air Pollution and Lung Cancer in Nonsmokers in Taiwan

Introduction

For never-smokers (smoked <100 lifetime cigarettes), lung cancer (LC) has emerged as an important issue. We aimed to investigate the effects of prevalence changes in tobacco smoking and particulate matter (PM) 2.5 (PM_2.5) levels on LC in Taiwan, in relation to contrasting PM_2.5 levels, between Northern Taiwan (NT) and Southern Taiwan (ST).