Smell disorders in COVID-19 patients: role of olfactory training: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread around the world, a surge of evidence suggests that smell disorders are common symptoms in COVID-19 infection. This dysfunction may cause loss of appetite, malnutrition, poisoning, and depression. Obviously, the impairment has a strong impact on the quality of life. Therefore, there is an urgent need to identify effective treatments. Various therapies have been studied to treat smell disorders after infection, and olfactory training (OT) is considered a promising treatment option. Assessing the effectiveness and safety of olfactory training for COVID-19 patients with smell disorders is the main purpose of this systematic review protocol.Methods:PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Wanfang Database, ClinicalTrials.gov trials registry, and Chinese Clinical Trial Registry will be searched from January 2019 to January 2021. A combination of subject words and free text words will be applied in the searches. The language is limited to Chinese and English. The complete process will include study selection, data extraction, risk of bias assessment, and meta-analyses. Endnote X9.3 will be used to manage data screening. The statistical analysis will be completed by Review Manager V.5.3 (Cochrane Collaboration) or Stata V.16.0 software.Results:This proposed study will assess the effectiveness and safety of OT for COVID-19 patients with smell disorders.Conclusion:The conclusion of this study will provide evidence to prove the effectiveness and safety of olfactory training for COVID-19 patients with smell disorders.Ethics and dissemination:This protocol will not evaluate individual patient information or infringe patient rights and therefore does not require ethical approval.Registration:PEROSPERO CRD42020218009.     

Efficacy of warming needle moxibustion in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis: A protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Background:Ankylosing spondylitis is a recurrent autoimmune disease, which has a high disability rate and seriously affects patients’ daily life. Conventional treatment cannot effectively solve the clinical problems of patients, and long-term medication is accompanied by adverse reactions. The evidence shows that warming needle moxibustion has advantages in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis, but there is still a lack of clinical studies on warm acupuncture alone and long-term follow-up.Methods:This is a prospective randomized controlled trial to study the efficacy and safety of needle warming through moxibustion in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. It was approved by the Ethics Committee of Clinical Research of our hospital. Patients were randomly assigned to an observation group or a control group. The patients were followed up for 6 months after 30 days of treatment. Observation indicators include; activity index, functional ability, Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index, inflammatory indicators, adverse reactions, and so on. Finally, SPASS 22.0 software is used for statistical analysis of the data.Discussion:This study will evaluate the clinical efficacy of warming needle moxibustion in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis. The results of this study will provide a reference basis for the clinical use of warm needle moxibustion in the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis.Trial registration:OSF Registration number: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/GWPX3     

Predicting in-hospital mortality in ICU patients with sepsis using gradient boosting decision tree

Sepsis is a leading cause of mortality in the intensive care unit. Early prediction of sepsis can reduce the overall mortality rate and cost of sepsis treatment. Some studies have predicted mortality and development of sepsis using machine learning models. However, there is a gap between the creation of different machine learning algorithms and their implementation in clinical practice.This study utilized data from the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III. We established and compared the gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT), logistic regression (LR), k-nearest neighbor (KNN), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM).A total of 3937 sepsis patients were included, with 34.3% mortality in the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III group. In our comparison of 5 machine learning models (GBDT, LR, KNN, RF, and SVM), the GBDT model showed the best performance with the highest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (0.992), recall (94.8%), accuracy (95.4%), and F1 score (0.933). The RF, SVM, and KNN models showed better performance (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.980, 0.898, and 0.877, respectively) than the LR (0.876).The GBDT model showed better performance than other machine learning models (LR, KNN, RF, and SVM) in predicting the mortality of patients with sepsis in the intensive care unit. This could be used to develop a clinical decision support system in the future.     

The effect of dance-based mind-motor activities on the quality of life in the patients recovering from COVID-19: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis

Background:Since the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with the improvement of diagnosis and treatment level in various countries, more and more patients have been discharged after systematic treatment. In order to effectively promote the overall recovery of patients’ physical and mental function and quality of life (QOL), the focus of clinical work should be gradually shifted to rehabilitation treatment. Dance-based mind-motor activities were defined as coordinated upright mind-motor movements that emphasize dynamic balance, structured through music or an inner rhythm (e.g., breathing) and distinctive instructions or choreography, and that involve social interaction. It has positive effects on motor function, lung function, psychological mood and other aspects, so it can be used as a safe alternative therapy for patients recovering from COVID-19. At present, there are no relevant articles for systematic review.Methods:From its inception until March 2021, we will conduct a comprehensive electronic search, including Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PubMed, Springer, EMBASE, Chinese Science Citation Database, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Chinese Scientific Journal Database, Wan-fang database. Two independent researchers will conduct article retrieval, screening, quality assessment, and data analysis through the Review Manager (V. 5.3.5).Results:The results of this study will evaluate the effectiveness and safety of dance-based mind-motor activities for the improvement of QOL in COVID-19 patients during the recovery period.Conclusion:The conclusion of the study will provide an evidence to judge whether dance-based mind-motor activities is effective and safe for COVID-19 in recovery period.Ethics and dissemination:This protocol will not evaluate individual patient information or infringe patient rights and therefore does not require ethical approval.PROSPERO registration number:CRD42021232995.     

Efficacy and safety of Biqi capsule in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis: A protocol of a randomized controlled trial

Background:Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is a chronic and degenerative bone and joint disease, with KOA, cartilage degeneration, destruction and subchondral bone remodeling as the main pathological features. Its clinical symptoms are knee pain, swelling, limited activity, and long course of disease can cause joint deformities. At present, the early treatment of Western medicine is mainly the use of nonsteroidal drugs for anti-inflammation and removing pain, but because the efficacy of these drugs is unstable, the disease is easy to repeat after treatment, and the clinical effect is not good. Although Biqi capsule has advantages in the treatment of KOA, there is a lack of standard clinical studies to verify it, so the purpose of this randomized controlled study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Biqi capsule in the treatment of KOA.Methods:This is a prospective randomized controlled trial to study the efficacy and safety of Biqi capsule in the treatment of KOA. The patients were randomly divided into a treatment group and a control group according to 1:1. Among them, treatment group: Biqi capsule combined with diclofenac sodium sustained release tablets; Control group: Diclofenac sodium sustained-release tablets alone. Both groups were treated with standard treatment for 2 weeks and were followed up for 30 days to pay attention to the efficacy and safety indexes. Observation indicators included: the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), Hospital for Special Surgery Knee Score (HSS), liver and kidney function, adverse reactions, and so on. SPSS 25.0 software is used for data analysis.Discussion:This study will evaluate the efficacy and safety of Biqi capsule in the treatment of KOA, and the results of this experiment will provide a clinical basis for Biqi capsule in the treatment of KOA.Trial registration:OSF Registration number: DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/6HB9D     

Differences in clinical characteristics and liver injury between suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients in Jingzhou,Hubei Province of China

To evaluate the clinical characteristics and liver injury in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients, and analyze the differences between suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients, this retrospective study was performed on 157 COVID-19 patients and 93 suspected patients who were ultimately excluded from COVID-19 (control patients). Differences in clinical characteristics and liver injury between suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients were analyzed. Age, male sex, fever, chest tightness and dyspnea were related to the severity of COVID-19. C-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer may be predictors of the severity of COVID-19. Computed tomography (CT) played an important role in the screening of COVID-19 and the evaluation of disease severity. Multiple factors may cause liver injury in COVID-19 patients. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) may be more likely to cause liver injury than common respiratory infectious diseases. Age, temperature (T), white blood cell (WBC), lymphocytes (LY), hematocrit (HCT), CRP, and finger pulse oxygen saturation (SpO₂₎ may correlate with liver function impairment and may predict the occurrence and severity of liver function impairment. Some therapeutic drugs (like glucocorticoid) may be involved in the liver function impairment of COVID-19 patients. Most liver function indices improved significantly after active treatment. Although COVID-19 and other common respiratory infectious diseases share some clinical characteristics, COVID-19 has its own characteristics.     

Primary inguinal subcutaneous endometriosis accompanied with an inguinal hernia: A case report

Rationale:We report a case with inguinal subcutaneous endometriosis without typical cyclic dysmenorrhea and accompanied with a hernia sac treated with resection of the tumor and herniorrhaphy.Patient concerns:A 40-year-old woman had a painless enlarged inguinal nodule for 3 months.Diagnoses:Subcutaneous endometriosis accompanied with a hernia sac.Interventions:Ultrasonography showed a hypoechoic lesion (3.0 cm × 2.0 cm), and an inguinal subcutaneous tumor was first suspected. After surgical exploration, a cystic lesion was excised and the hernia hole was repaired by herniorrhaphy. The immunohistochemical analysis of the small endometriotic cyst-like lesion revealed calretinin (-) in epithelial cells and CD10 (+) in stromal cells, indicative of subcutaneous endometriosis accompanied with a hernia sac.Outcomes:The patient was followed up for 1 year and without recurrence.Lessons:Cutaneous endometriosis accompanied with a hernia sac can be presented without typical endometriosis-associated symptoms such as dysmenorrhea. Inguinal endometriosis might be the differential diagnosis of inguinal painless nodules.     

Effectiveness of thoracic kinesio taping on respiratory function and muscle strength in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A protocol of randomized,double-blind placebo-controlled trial

Background:To our knowledge, only 1 study has investigated the effects of kinesio taping (KT) on pulmonary function and functional capacity of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Therefore, there is still a lack of high-quality evidence to prove the effectiveness of KT for COPD patients. Our purpose was to investigate the effect of KT on respiratory function and muscle strength in the COPD patients who were in stable condition.Methods:This research project has been received ethical approval from the Medical Research and Ethics Committee in Affiliated Nanhua Hospital, University of South China. This work is a part of a comprehensive research project to assess and provide intervention that potentially improves respiratory function and quality of life among patients with COPD. Participants recruited into the study need to fulfill the following criteria: clinical diagnosis of COPD and symptoms indicative of exacerbation; spontaneous breathing on hospital admission; and physiotherapy since the first day of hospitalization. Patients will be assigned at random to the COPD medical treatment + KT (Group 1), or the COPD medical treatment alone (Group 2). The outcome measures are pulmonary function and respiratory muscle strength. The level of statistical significance is set as P < .05.Results:This protocol will provide a reliable theoretical basis for the following research.Conclusions:It was hypothesized that thoracic KT could significantly change pulmonary function and functional capacity in patients with COPD.Trial registration:This study protocol was registered in Research Registry (researchregistry6632).