Access to mechanical thrombectomy for cerebral ischaemia: A population-based study in the North-of-France

Background and purposeHospitals admitting acute strokes should offer access to mechanical thrombectomy (MT), but local organisations are still based on facilities available before MT was proven effective. MT rates and outcomes at population levels are needed to adapt organisations. We evaluated rates of MT and outcomes in inhabitants from the North-of-France (NoF) area.MethodWe prospectively evaluated rates of MT and outcomes of patients at 3 months, good outcomes being defined as a modified Rankin scale (mRS) 0 to 2 or like the pre-stroke mRS.ResultsDuring the study period (2016–2017), 666 patients underwent MT (454, 68.1% associated with intravenous thrombolysis [IVT]). Besides, 1595 other patients received IVT alone. The rate of MT was 81 (95% confidence interval [CI] 72–90) per million inhabitants-year, ranging from 36 to 108 between districts. The rate of IVT was 249 (95% CI 234–264) per million inhabitants-year, ranging from 155 to 268. After 3 months, 279 (41.9%) patients who underwent MT had good outcomes, and 167 (25.1%) had died. Patients living outside the district of Lille where the only MT centre is, were less likely to have good outcomes at 3 months, after adjustment on age, sex, baseline severity, and delay.ConclusionThe rate of MT is one of the highest reported up to now, even in low-rate districts, but outcomes were significantly worse in patients living outside the district of Lille, and this is not only explained by the delay.     

Developmental validation of the ANDE™ rapid DNA system with FlexPlex™ assay for arrestee and reference buccal swab processing and database searching

A developmental validation was performed to demonstrate reliability, reproducibility and robustness of the ANDE System with the FlexPlex assay, including an integrated Expert System, across a number of laboratories and buccal sample variations. Previously, the related DNAscan™/ANDE 4C Rapid DNA System using the PowerPlex^®16 assay and integrated Expert System Software received NDIS approval in March 2016. The enhanced ANDE instrument, referred to as ANDE 6C, and the accompanying 6-dye, 27-locus STR assay, referred to as FlexPlex, have been developed to be compatible with all widely used global loci, including the expanded set of the CODIS core 20 loci.Six forensic and research laboratories participated in the FlexPlex Rapid DNA developmental validation experiments, testing a total of 2045 swabs, including those obtained from 1387 unique individuals. The goal of this extensive and comprehensive validation was to thoroughly evaluate and document the ANDE System and its internal Expert System to reliably genotype reference buccal swab samples in a manner compliant with the FBI’s Quality Assurance Standards and the NDIS Operational Procedures.The ANDE System, including automated Expert System analysis, generated reproducible and concordant results for buccal swabs when testing various instruments at different laboratories by a number of different operators. When testing a number of non-human DNAs, including oral bacteria, the ANDE System and FlexPlex assay demonstrated limited cross-reactivity. Potential PCR inhibitors were evaluated as part of the validation and no inhibition was detected. Reproducible and concordant profiles were generated from buccal swab samples collected with a limit of detection appropriate for buccal swab collections from arrestees. The precision and resolution of the System met industry standards for detection of microvariants and single base resolution.The integrated Expert System appropriately demonstrated the ability to correctly pass or fail profiles for CODIS upload without human review. During this comprehensive developmental validation, the ANDE System successfully interpreted over 2000 samples tested with over 99.99% concordant alleles. The data package described herein led to the ANDE System with the FlexPlex assay receiving NDIS approval in June 2018.     

Lung Cancer Risk in Never-Smokers of European Descent is Associated With Genetic Variation in the 5p15.33 TERT-CLPTM1Ll Region

IntroductionInherited susceptibility to lung cancer risk in never-smokers is poorly understood. The major reason for this gap in knowledge is that this disease is relatively uncommon (except in Asians), making it difficult to assemble an adequate study sample. In this study we conducted a genome-wide association study on the largest, to date, set of European-descent never-smokers with lung cancer.MethodsWe conducted a two-phase (discovery and replication) genome-wide association study in never-smokers of European descent. We further augmented the sample by performing a meta-analysis with never-smokers from the recent OncoArray study, which resulted in a total of 3636 cases and 6295 controls. We also compare our findings with those in smokers with lung cancer.ResultsWe detected three genome-wide statistically significant single nucleotide polymorphisms rs31490 (odds ratio [OR]: 0.769, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.722–0.820; p value 5.31 × 10^-16), rs380286 (OR: 0.770, 95% CI: 0.723–0.820; p value 4.32 × 10^-16), and rs4975616 (OR: 0.778, 95% CI: 0.730–0.829; p value 1.04 × 10^-14). All three mapped to Chromosome 5 CLPTM1L-TERT region, previously shown to be associated with lung cancer risk in smokers and in never-smoker Asian women, and risk of other cancers including breast, ovarian, colorectal, and prostate.ConclusionsWe found that genetic susceptibility to lung cancer in never-smokers is associated to genetic variants with pan-cancer risk effects. The comparison with smokers shows that top variants previously shown to be associated with lung cancer risk only confer risk in the presence of tobacco exposure, underscoring the importance of gene-environment interactions in the etiology of this disease.     

艾烟的作用与安全性评价＊

艾灸作为中医学最古老的疗法之一，作用多样，应用广泛，疗效显著。随着科技的发展，人们对灸法的认识逐渐深入，其中艾烟的相关研究也硕果累累，其安全性广受关注。通过对艾烟作用和安全性评价研究中取得的成果进行归纳分析，以期为艾灸临床安全应用提供指导。     

基于医院信息系统的乳腺癌临床特征及中西医用药特征分析

目的 解析真实世界中乳腺恶性肿瘤患者的人群特征、诊断特征、中西医用药特征，为乳腺癌的临床防治提供参考。方法 采集2002年2月至2015年5月全国60家三级甲等医 院信息系统（Hospital Information System，HIS）中，出院诊断为“乳腺癌”的患者用药信息，采用SAS9.3统计软件，对人口学信息、诊断信息、医嘱用药信息等进行描述性分析。结果 39798例乳腺癌患者，平均年龄（50.93者，平均年龄）岁；多以门诊入院，入院病情以“一般”为主;合并疾病主要为高血压，骨肿瘤，联用西药以抑制肿瘤细胞增殖、治疗并发症、缓解放化疗不良反应为主；中医辨证以痰瘀互结证，气阴两虚证，肝气淤滞证，脾气亏虚证型最为常见，临床清热解毒剂、益气扶正剂，活血化瘀剂应用较多。结论 乳腺癌中西医结合治疗，联用药物广泛，临床治疗基本符合临床指南。     

Association of weight-adjusted-waist index with incident hypertension: The Rural Chinese Cohort Study

AimsTo explore the association between WWI and the incidence of HTN in the Rural Chinese Cohort Study.Methods and ResultsWe examined data for 10,338 non-hypertensive participants (39.49% men) aged ≥ 18 years from the Rural Chinese Cohort Study who completed a baseline examination during 2007–2008 and follow-up during 2013–2014. WWI was calculated as waist circumference (cm) divided by the square root of weight (kg). Multiple logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the probability of HTN across four WWI categories. Restricted cubic splines analysis was used to model the dose–response association of WWI and HTN. A total of 2078 participants had HTN during a median follow-up of 6 years. After adjusting for potential confounders, as compared with the lowest WWI category (<9.94 cm/√kg), with WWI 9.94 to 10.42, 10.42 to 10.91 and ≥ 10.91 cm/√kg, the ORs (95% CIs) for HTN were 1.12 (0.93–1.35), 1.40 (1.17–1.69) and 1.50 (1.24–1.82), respectively. Results of the sensitivity analyses were robust. The ORs were generally consistent on subgroup analysis by sex, smoking status, systolic blood pressure and diastolic blood pressure. Multiple logistic regression models with restricted cubic splines showed a non-linear positive association between WWI and HTN (P_nonlinearity < 0.001).ConclusionThe highest WWI category was significantly associated with increased risk of HTN. Our findings may facilitate the development and promotion of obesity prevention strategies aimed at reducing the risk of HTN and provide evidence for healthcare policy in rural China.     

The 2018 International Consensus Meeting Minor Criteria for Chronic Hip and Knee Periprosthetic Joint Infection: Validation From a Single Center

BackgroundRecently, a revised definition of the minor criteria scoring system for diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) was developed by the second International Consensus Meeting on musculoskeletal infection. The new system combines preoperative and intraoperative findings, reportedly achieving high sensitivity and specificity. We aimed to validate the modified scoring system at a high-volume center.MethodsWe retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent a revision total hip or knee arthroplasty at our institution from May 2015 to August 2018. Serum C-reactive protein, synovial white blood cell count and polymorphonuclear percentage, leukocyte esterase test, alpha-defensin, microbiological and histologic results, and documented existence of sinus tract and intraoperative purulence were available for all patients. Cases with at least 1 major criterion were considered as infected. Using the new minor criteria, a score of ≥6 reflects PJI, while a score <3 can be considered as noninfected. Sensitivity, specificity, mean accuracy (ACC), positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) were analyzed.ResultsA total of 345 cases were included. A cutoff score of ≥6 points had the following diagnostic performance: area under the curve (AUC) = 0.90; ACC = 0.88; sensitivity = 0.96; specificity = 0.84; PPV = 0.70; NPV = 0.98. Diagnostic performance was better for the hip (AUC = 0.92; ACC = 0.90; sensitivity = 0.96; specificity = 0.86; PPV = 0.81; NPV = 0.98) than the knee (AUC = 0.89; ACC = 0.85; sensitivity = 0.95; specificity = 0.83; PPV = 0.59; NPV = 0.98).ConclusionThe modified scoring system proposed by the 2018 International Consensus Meeting in diagnosing PJI showed high sensitivity and a good performance, especially as rule-out diagnostic criteria. The cutoff level seems to be different between the hip and knee. Further validation studies considering the acknowledged limitations are recommended.