Effectiveness of a double-carbapenem combinations against carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria

The emergence of carbapenem-resistant organisms posed considerable threat to global health while only limited treatment options are available and led to efforts to discover a novel way to treat them. To evaluate in vitro synergistic activity of meropenem plus ertapenem, a total of 203 carbapenem-resistant strains, collected from 12 provinces and municipalities in China, were examined with a dual carbapenem combination therapy. The statistical software R was used for analysis. Two hundred and one (201) of carbapenem-resistant strains mainly produced four types of carbapenemase: KPC-2 (n = 142, 69.95%), OXA-232 (n = 7, 3.45%), NDM (n = 38, 18.72%; 36 NDM-1, 1 NDM-4, 1 NDM-5), and IMP (n = 15, 7.39%; 1 IMP-26, 10 IMP-30, 4 IMP-4). Fifty-one out of two hundred and three (51/203 or 25.12%) of the examined strains showed a synergistic effect for the meropenem plus ertapenem combination throughout the checkerboard method, while only three isolates showed potential clinically relevant synergy (3/203, 1.48%). An additive effect was observed in 55/203 (27.09%) of the examined strains. Ninety-seven of the examined isolates (47.78%) showed fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) greater or equal to 2 (indicating antagonism). The synergistic activity of meropenem plus ertapenem combination suggests this combination can be a possible way to treat the infection caused by the carbapenem-resistant organisms, especially for IMP or NDM producer with a lesser minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and the infected individual who was not recommended to use colistin or tigecycline.     

Evaluation of six anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody test kits and practical approaches to optimize the diagnostic performance

In an investigation of six anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody kits with different target antigen and methodology, each kit showed comparable performance. As false-positive reactions occurred independently with different kits, specificity increased to 100% when pairs of kits were used. With three-kit combination, both sensitivity (99.1%) and specificity (100%) increased.     

中西医结合治疗动眼神经麻痹疗效观察

目的了解中西医结合法治疗动眼神经麻痹的临床疗效。方法对我院2012-03—2014-03收治的动眼神经麻痹患者进行抽样,择取74例患者随机分成2组,对照组予以基础性西医疗法,实验组在对照组治疗基础上予以中医疗法(包括针刺及服用中药正容汤等),观察2组患者的临床治疗效果。结果实验组总有效率(94.60%)明显高于对照组(64.86%),差异具有统计学意义(P0.05)。结论中西医结合法治疗动眼神经麻痹临床疗效确切,安全系数高,值得临床大力推广使用。     

乌司他丁辅助治疗重症感染性休克的价值分析

目的探究临床用乌司他丁辅助治疗重症感染性休克的治疗效果。方法90例重症感染性休克患者,随机分为观察组与对照组,每组45例。对照组患者采用西医常规治疗,观察组患者在对照组基础上联合乌司他丁治疗。比较两组患者治疗效果、体温情况、感染情况以及治疗前后白细胞计数、白细胞介素-6(IL-6)水平、格拉斯哥昏迷量表(GCS)评分、急性生理功能和慢性健康状况评分系统Ⅱ(APACHEⅡ)评分。结果治疗后,观察组白细胞计数(7.34±1.32)×10^9/L低于对照组的(9.41±1.16)×10^9/L,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。治疗后,观察组高热、感染体征发生率分别为97.78%、86.67%,均高于对照组的82.22%、62.22%,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05);观察组体温恢复时间、感染消失时间分别为(7.19±1.39)、(3.88±0.89)d,均短于对照组的(9.81±1.88)、(10.76±1.57)d,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。观察组患者血清IL-6为(4.27±0.95)μg/L低于对照组的(9.58±1.07)μg/L,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。观察组患者GCS评分和APACHEⅡ评分较治疗前均有所改善,GCS评分(8.19±1.59)分、APACHEⅡ评分(8.83±0.82)分均优于对照组的(6.81±1.82)、(14.71±3.52)分,差异均具有统计学意义(P<0.05)。观察组患者治疗总有效率95.56%明显高于对照组的77.78%,差异具有统计学意义(χ^2=6.154,P<0.05)。结论乌司他丁具有较好的抗炎效果,与西医治疗相结合可以提高临床疗效,加快重症感染性休克患者退热速度,缩短感染时间,降低白细胞计数及血清IL-6水平,改善GCS评分和APACHEⅡ评分,临床疗效较好。     

Phase 1 Study of Erlotinib and Metformin in Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

BackgroundEpidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently overexpressed in metastatic triple-negative breast cancer (mTNBC). One strategy for overcoming resistance to EGFR inhibition is concomitant inhibition of downstream signaling. The antidiabetic drug metformin inhibits both MAPK and PI3K/mTOR pathway signaling. We evaluated the combination of erlotinib and metformin in a phase 1 study of patients with mTNBC.Patients and MethodsPatients with mTNBC who had received at least one prior line of therapy for metastatic disease were eligible. Erlotinib dose was fixed at 150 mg daily. Metformin dose escalation was planned according to a 3 + 3 design. Dose-limiting toxicities (DLT) were assessed during the first 5 weeks of therapy. The primary objective was to determine the maximum tolerated dose of metformin with fixed-dose erlotinib. Secondary endpoints were response rate, stable disease rate, and progression-free survival.ResultsEight patients were enrolled. The median number of prior therapies for metastatic disease was 2.5 (range, 1-6). No DLT events were reported during the DLT assessment period. Most adverse events were grade 1/2. Grade 3 diarrhea despite maximum supportive care required dose reduction of metformin in one patient. Grade 3 rash led to study withdrawal in one patient. No grade 4 adverse events were reported. The best observed response was stable disease in 2 patients (25%). Median progression-free survival was 60 days (range, 36-61 days).ConclusionErlotinib and metformin were well tolerated in a population of pretreated mTNBC patients but did not demonstrate efficacy in this population.     

丁香郁金配伍的药理研究

丁香郁金配伍属中药配伍禁忌“十九畏”之一，本文就二者单独使用和配伍后的抗炎、镇痛、止泻、抗溃疡等指标进行了动物药效学试验。二药配伍后镇痛、抗炎及止泻作用有下降趋势；抗溃疡作用不受影响；对试验动物胸腺指数和脾脏指数无明显影响。实验结果，二者配伍似属“相恶”。     

黄芪、小柴胡冲剂联合辅酶Q10治疗病毒性心肌炎

目的观察黄芪、小柴胡冲剂联合辅酶Q10治疗病毒性心肌炎(VMC)的临床疗效.方法治疗组(30例)应用黄芪注射液、小柴胡冲剂和辅酶Q10;对照组(30例)用GIK极化液、辅酶Q10和维生素C,两组患者无禁忌证者均给予β-受体阻滞剂,钙拮抗剂和对症治疗.两组疗程均为3个月.结果治疗组临床症状和心律失常总有效率分别为73.3%和86.6%,高于对照组的43.3%和63.3%(p＜0.05).结论黄芪、小柴胡冲剂联合辅酶Q10对VMC有较好疗效,且无明显不良反应.     

Identifying the affected hemisphere by 1H-MR spectroscopy in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and no pathological findings in high resolution MRI

Up to 30% of patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) remain without remarkable changes in MRI. In this study we investigated the role of (1)H-MR spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) in lateralizing the affected hemisphere in the mentioned patient group. Twenty-two consecutive patients diagnosed with TLE were investigated by high resolution MRI and (1)H-MRS. We examined the incidence and diagnostic accuracy of temporal metabolite alterations determined by Linear Combination of Model Spectra (L C Model) via water reference. Metabolite values of each hemisphere of TLE patients were compared with healthy controls. Results of metabolite alterations were related to intensive video EEG focus localization. Reduction of N-acetylaspartate + N-acetylaspartyl-glutamate (tNAA) in the affected hemisphere revealed identification in six of nine patients (66%) with unilateral TLE. Group comparison revealed a significant reduction of tNAA (6.1+/-0.8*) in the involved temporal lobe compared with controls (6.67+/-0.4*, P=0.026). Choline levels were significantly increased in the affected hemisphere (1.42+/-0.17*) compared with healthy controls (1.22+/-0.17*, P=0.035). The results of our study show that (1)H-MRS is able to identify the affected hemisphere of MRI negative TLE patients and can be used as an additive tool in multimodal focus localization.     

Application of median-effect in quantitative analysis of antitumor drugs in vitro

Objective: To analyze quantitatively the synergistic and antagonistic effects of combined oxymatrine (OMT) and 5-fluorouracil (5-GU) on a cell line of human liver cancer (HepG2) with median-effect principle in vitro. Methods: The median-effect principle and MTT method were used in the quantitative analysis of effects of the two drugs. Results: Cytotoxic activity of the individual drugs enhanced as drug concentration increased. As fa=0.41, a CI equal to 1 indicated additivity; fa<0.41, a CI less than 1 indicated synergy; and fa>0.41, a CI greater than 1 indicated antagonism. The sequence of administration did not influence the cytotoxic activity of the combined antitumor drugs. The ratio of drug concentration was a factor that can influence the killing effect. Conclusion: The combined drugs interaction (CI<1) was synergistic at lower concentration and antagonistic at higher concentration. The ratio of drug concentration is a factor that can influence the killing effect. Biography: HE Song(1965–), male, doctor of medicine, associate professor, Chongqing Medical University, majors in gastroenterology.     

术后恶心呕吐的危险因素分析及防治

恶心呕吐是术后常见的并发症，而且可引起切口裂开、吸入性肺炎、水电解质紊乱等严重后果。近年来，虽然对术后恶心呕吐(PONV)的发生机制进行了大量的研究，也出现了很多新型的抗呕吐药，但PONV发生率依然较高。PONV的治疗可分为非药物疗法和药物疗法，作者对药物疗法进行综述。