Efficacy and safety of transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) created using covered stents of different diameters: A systematic review and meta-analysis

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to make a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the stent diameter (8 mm vs. 10 mm) that conveys better safety and clinical efficacy for transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS).Materials and methodsFour databases were used to identify clinical trials published from inception until March 2020. Data were extracted to estimate and compare one-year and three-year overall survivals, hepatic encephalopathy, variceal rebleeding, and shunt dysfunction rates between patients with 8 mm covered stents and those with 10 mm covered stents.ResultsFive eligible studies were selected, which included 489 patients (316 men, 173 women). The 8 mm covered stent group had higher efficacy regarding one-year or three-year overall survival (odds ratio [OR], 2.88; P = 0.003) and (OR, 1.81; P = 0.04) and lower hepatic encephalopathy (OR, 0.69; P = 0.04) compared with 10 mm covered stent group. There were no significant differences in variceal rebleeding rate (OR 0.80; P = 0.67). However, shunt dysfunction was lower in 10 mm covered stent group (OR, 2.26; P = 0.003).ConclusionsOur results suggest that the use of 8 mm covered stents should be preferred to that of 10 mm covered stents for TIPS placement when portal pressure is frequently monitored.     

Dectin-2受体介导宿主抵抗烟曲霉菌感染的研究

目的探讨C型凝集素受体Dectin-2在烟曲霉菌感染中的作用及机制。方法用紫外线灭活的烟曲霉菌膨胀态分生孢子刺激野生型(wild type, WT)和Dectin-2缺失(Clec4n-/-)小鼠骨髓来源的巨噬细胞(bone marrow derived macrophages, BMDMs)。刺激20min及40min后，利用Western印迹法检测BMDMs中脾酪氨酸激酶(spleen tyrosine kinase, Syk)和核转录因子κB抑制因子(inhibitor-κB, IκBα)的磷酸化水平。刺激16h后，利用酶联免疫吸附法(enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, ELISA)检测BMDMs细胞上清液中IL-6、TNF-α和IL-12p40的水平。另一方面，利用压舌感染的方法在WT和Clec4n-/-小鼠中构建烟曲霉菌肺部感染模型。感染2d后，统计小鼠整个肺脏荷菌量，并检测肺脏匀浆液中IL-6和IL-12p40水平。结果体外试验提示，烟曲霉菌刺激后，Dectin-2缺失的BMDMs中Syk和IκBα的磷酸化水平及IL-6、TNF-α和IL-12p40水平显著下降(P＜0.05)。体内试验发现，烟曲霉菌感染后，Dectin-2缺失小鼠中肺脏荷菌量显著升高(P＜0.05)，肺脏匀浆液内IL-6、IL-12p40水平显著降低(P＜0.05)。结论C型凝集素受体Dectin-2激活烟曲霉菌诱导的NF-κB信号通路并介导促炎细胞因子的产生，可在小鼠肺烟曲霉菌病动物模型中发挥保护性作用。     

国内外安宁疗护准入标准的研究进展

安宁疗护可提高患者在生命终末阶段的生活质量，减轻患者和家属的身心痛苦。科学合理的安宁疗护准入标准可帮助医护人员识别出需要安宁疗护服务的患者，使其及时获得安宁疗护服务，因此明确安宁疗护的准入标准是推进安宁疗护发展的基础。本文就国内外安宁疗护准入标准的制定方法、具体内容及优缺点进行综述，以期为我国安宁疗护准入标准的构建提供参考。     

心脏瓣膜置换术后患者的出院准备度现状及其影响因素分析

目的:调查心脏瓣膜置换术后患者的出院准备度现状,并分析其影响因素。方法:于2018年9月至2019年3月用一般资料、出院准备度量表、出院指导质量量表对139例瓣膜置换术后患者进行调查。结果:心脏瓣膜置换术后患者的出院准备度总分为(89.51±8.53)分,与出院指导质量呈正相关;多元回归分析显示,主要照顾者、婚姻状况、工作状态、服药种类、出院指导质量为出院准备度影响因素。结论:心脏瓣膜置换术后患者的出院准备度有待提高,患者感知的个人状态得分不理想;护士应鼓励患者配合进行早期康复,强化出院指导,采取有效措施提供康复信息,满足患者及其家属需求,提高出院准备度。     

Clinical Diagnostic Implications of Body Fluid MiRNA in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Meta-Analysis

Oral cancer, predominantly oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), is one of the most leading causes of cancers worldwide. Due to a low 5-year survival rate, highly effective methods for the early detection of OSCC are totally needed. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), as promising biomarkers, can bring insights into tumorigenesis of oral cancers. However, studies on the accuracy of miRNAs detection in OSCC have inconsistent conclusions, leading us to conduct this meta-analysis. The aim of this study was to systematically review the articles investigating the diagnostic value of miRNAs in OSCC.The PubMed, Embase, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Web of Science were searched (updated to June 11th, 2015) to identify all articles evaluating the diagnostic yield of miRNAs for OSCC. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, and other diagnostic parameters were used to assess the performance of miRNAs assays on OSCC detection. Statistical analysis was conducted by employing the R software.The present meta-analysis comprised 23 studies from 10 articles, including 598 OSCC patients and 320 healthy individuals, available for analysis. The summary receiver operator characteristic (SROC) curve was plotted. Meanwhile, the pooled diagnostic parameters and the area under curve (AUC) were calculated based on all included studies. The pooled diagnostic parameters calculated from all 23 studies were as follows: pooled sensitivity of 0.759 (95% CI: 0.701–0.809), pooled specificity of 0.773 (95% CI: 0.713–0.823) and AUC of 0.832, which indicates a relatively high diagnostic accuracy of miRNAs in differentiating OSCC patients from healthy controls. Meanwhile, In addition, subgroup analyses were conducted to access the heterogeneity between studies, which is based on specimen (serum/plasma/blood/saliva/ tissue) and ethnicity (Asian/Caucasian).In summary, our meta-analysis suggests that miRNAs might be used in noninvasive screening tests for OSCC, which needs further large-scale studies to be validated.     

Lysophosphatidylcholine‐induced cytotoxicity and protection by heparin in mouse brain bEND.3 endothelial cells

A pathological feature in atherosclerosis is the dysfunction and death of vascular endothelial cells (EC). Oxidized low‐density lipoprotein (LDL), known to accumulate in the atherosclerotic arterial walls, impairs endothelium‐dependent relaxation and causes EC apoptosis. A major bioactive ingredient of the oxidized LDL is lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), which at higher concentrations causes apoptosis and necrosis in various EC. There is hitherto no report on LPC‐induced cytotoxicity in brain EC. In this work, we found that LPC caused cytosolic Ca²⁺ overload, mitochondrial membrane potential decrease, p38 activation, caspase 3 activation and eventually apoptotic death in mouse cerebral bEND.3 EC. In contrast to reported reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation by LPC in other EC, LPC did not trigger ROS formation in bEND.3 cells. Pharmacological inhibition of p38 alleviated LPC‐inflicted cell death. We examined whether heparin could be cytoprotective: although it could not suppress LPC‐triggered Ca²⁺ signal, p38 activation and mitochondrial membrane potential drop, it did suppress LPC‐induced caspase 3 activation and alleviate LPC‐inflicted cytotoxicity. Our data suggest LPC apoptotic death mechanisms in bEND.3 might involve mitochondrial membrane potential decrease and p38 activation. Heparin is protective against LPC cytotoxicity and might intervene steps between mitochondrial membrane potential drop/p38 activation and caspase 3 activation.