Two cases of Klebsiella pneumoniae liver abscess necessitating liver resection for effective treatment

We report two British cases of liver abscess, due to Klebsiella pneumoniae and associated with synchronous infection elsewhere, which required liver resection for definitive treatment. They illustrate the geographic spread of aggressive K pneumoniae liver infection and demonstrate the importance of early aggressive treatment.     

Management of recurrent urinary tract infections in adults

Many women will experience one or more urinary tract infection (UTI) during their life. The most unfortunate will have many. Men presenting with infections, and women with recurrent episodes, require further investigation. A diagnosis of a UTI is often based on a typical spectrum of symptoms, with confirmatory urine cultures lagging a few days behind. Unfortunately, symptoms of a UTI may not be typical, and other conditions can manifest similarly. Treatment of UTI with antibiotics is usually required, but there is increasing awareness of the need for antimicrobial stewardship to avoid the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, even as patients are increasingly reluctant to take them. Recurrent UTI can cause significant morbidity and disruption to daily activities yet investigations rarely demonstrate a reversible cause. There are a host of different antibiotic and non-antibiotic interventions that aim to lower the risk of further infections. However, these are not reliably effective, bring side effects of their own and are often proposed to this desperate population of patients on the back of weak evidence of efficacy.     

Helicobacter pylori and gastric hyperacidity,and their association with recurrent aphthous stomatitis

Helicobacter pylori is an established cause of gastric ulcers. Its role in causing recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) remains controversial. Fifty-two RAS patients and 52 sex-matched controls were recruited in this case–control study. All subjects were screened for hematinic deficiencies and H. pylori. The latter was assessed quantitatively using the ¹⁴C-urea breath test. The χ² test and Wilcoxon signed ranks test were used to compare H. pylori and hematinic indices between cases and controls, while conditional logistic regression was used to assess the associations between the occurrence of RAS and independent factors. H. pylori was positive in 56.7% of the overall sample, with no difference between RAS patients (50.8%) and controls (49.2%) (P = 0.843). The median H. pylori and haematological indices values did not show any association with ulcer diameter, number, or frequency. Interestingly, gastric hyperacidity was significantly associated with RAS, and this association was independent from tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, and H. pylori (odds ratio 14.99, 95% confidence interval 2.47–90.95; P = 0.003). This study found no association between H. pylori and RAS. The association between RAS and gastric hyperacidity suggests that gastric refluxate, not H. pylori, has an effect on the oral mucosa that favours an ulcerative change.     

On estimands arising from misspecified semiparametric rate-based analysis of recurrent episodic conditions

Marginal rate-based analyses are widely used for the analysis of recurrent events in clinical trials. In many areas of application, the events are not instantaneous but rather signal the onset of a symptomatic episode representing a recurrent infection, respiratory exacerbation, or bout of acute depression. In rate-based analyses, it is unclear how to best handle the time during which individuals are experiencing symptoms and hence are not at risk. We derive the limiting value of the Nelson-Aalen estimator and estimators of the regression coefficients under a semiparametric rate-based model in terms of an underlying two-state process. We investigate the impact of the distribution of the episode durations, heterogeneity, and dependence on the asymptotic and finite sample properties of standard estimators. We also consider the impact of these features on power in trials designed to test intervention effects on rate functions. An application to a trial of individuals with herpes simplex virus is given for illustration.     

miR-200、 miR -155及血管新生因子与复发性流产的相关性分析

目的 研究miR-200、miR-155及血管新生因子与原因不明复发性流产(unexplained recurrent spontaneousabortion,URSA)的相关性分析。 方法 选择2015年3月—2018年1月在青岛市妇女儿童医院妇产科就诊的URSA患者作为URSA组、要求终止妊娠的正常早孕患者作为对照组,检测绒毛组织中微小RNA(microRNA, miR)miR-200、miR-155、血管内皮生长因子(vascular endothelial growth factor,VEGF)、可溶性FMS样酪氨酸激酶1(soluble FMS like tyrosine kinase-1,sFlt-1)的表达量及血清中VEGF、sFlt-1的含量,对miR-200、miR-155靶向结合VEGF、sFlt-1进行生物信息学分析。 结果 URSA组的绒毛组织中miR-200(1.78±0.32 vs. 0.91±0.15)、sFlt-1(1.87±0.35 vs. 1.06±0.21)的相对表达量及血清中sFlt-1的含量[(12.39±2.31)ng/ml vs. (6.51±0.95)ng/ml]均高于对照组,差异有统计学意义(均P<0.05)。绒毛组织中miR-155相对表达量(0.60±0.10 vs. 0.93±0.16)、VEGF mRNA相对表达量(0.59±0.09 vs. 1.02±0.16)及蛋白表达量(0.62±0.07 vs. 1.04±0.18)、血清中VEGF的含量[(601.25±94.39)ng/ml vs. (935.12±132.47)ng/ml]低于对照组,差异有统计学意义(均P<0.05);URSA组患者绒毛组织中miR-200的表达量与血清中VEGF的含量、绒毛组织中VEGF的表达量均呈负相关,绒毛组织中miR-155的表达量与血清中sFlt-1的含量和绒毛组织中sFlt-1的表达量均呈负相关;miR-200、miR-155分别靶向结合VEGF、sFlt-1基因的3’UTR。 结论 miR-200表达增多、miR-155表达减少与URSA发生有关,miR-200靶向VEGF、miR-155靶向sFlt-1是介导该过程的可能机制。