Annals of Medicine

BACKGROUND: More than half of the metastatic breast cancer patients with brain metastases (BCBM) are HER-2 negative, and the prognosis of HER2-negative BCBM is dismal. But few clinical trials have investigated systemic therapies for this subgroup of patients. METHODS: This real-world study included 58 HER2-negative BCBMs who received low-dose apatinib (250 mg daily) in combination with chemotherapy between 18 March 2017 and 31 December 2021. The objective response rate (ORR) of the central nervous system, clinical benefit rate (CBR), progression-free survival of central nervous system (CNS-PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed...

OBJECTIVES: Patients often search for health-related information on the internet allthough this trend may have some benefits, it also has some risks, such as misinformation. The aim of this study is to evaluate how Internet information seeking affect the level of anxiety in patients with endometriosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective observational study was conducted at our outpatient clinic between March 2019 and December 2020. We enrolled We enrolled all patients with a confirmed sonographic diagnosis of endometriosis who had sought information about the disease prior to our visit...

BACKGROUND: Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) derived from gut microbiota causes kidney-heart damage in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. However, it is controversial whether CKD patients with higher TMAO are associated with a higher risk of death. We aimed to assess the correlation between circulating TMAO concentration and the risk of all-cause and cardiovascular death in CKD patients of different dialysis statuses and different races by dose-response analyses, and the underlying mechanisms were also explored by analyzing the correlations of TMAO with glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and inflammation...

OBJECTIVE: Bowman's capsule rupture (BCR) is a glomerular pathological change, but it is still not well recognized in immunoglobulin A vasculitis nephritis (IgAV-N). The Oxford MEST-C score is a classification for IgA nephropathy; however, its clinical correlation and prognostic value in adult patients with IgAV-N are unclear. METHODS: A retrospective study of 145 adult patients with IgAV-N diagnosed by renal biopsy was conducted. Clinical manifestations, pathological changes and the prognosis of IgAV-N patients were compared depending on the presence or absence of BCR, International Study of Kidney Disease in Children (ISKDC) classification and MEST-C score...

PURPOSE: Astragaloside IV (AS-IV) is a natural saponin substance extracted from the plant Radix Astragali with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and liver-protecting effects. This study was to evaluate the liver protection effect of AS-IV on mice after acute alcohol stimulation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Mice were orally administrated with AS-IV (50, 150, and 500 mg/kg, respectively), and sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC, 50 mg/kg) daily for 7 days, before giving five alcohol-intragastric injections...

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the clinical utility of chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) and whole exome sequencing (WES) in foetuses with oligohydramnios. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 126 fetuses with oligohydramnios at our centre from 2018 to 2021 were reviewed. The results of CMA and WES were analysed. RESULTS: One hundred and twenty-four cases underwent CMA and 32 cases underwent WES. The detection rate of pathogenic/likely pathogenic (P/LP) copy number variant (CNV) by CMA was 1...

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Pancreatic fluid collections (PFC) are debris or fluid of the pancreas that needs to be drained out. This may result from surgery or necrotizing pancreatitis. This meta-analysis compared the outcomes of PFC through endoscopic and percutaneous interventions. METHODS: A medical database was searched up to June 2022, comparing the outcomes of endoscopic drainage (ED) and percutaneous drainage (PD) for the PFC. Eligible studies reporting clinical and technical success and adverse events were selected...

BACKGROUND: Orofacial clefts are the most common congenital malformation, but the global burden and trends of orofacial clefts have not been comprehensively analysed. The aim of this study was to assess the global incidence, deaths and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) of orofacial clefts by countries, regions, sex and sociodemographic index (SDI) from 1990 to 2019. METHODS: The data on orofacial clefts were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019...

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study is to assess the outcomes of different induction therapies among mild to moderate immunological risk kidney transplants in the era tacrolimus and mycophenolate-derivate based maintenance. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study using data from the United States Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network among mild to moderate immunological risk living-donor KTRs, defined as having first transplant and panel reactive antibodies less than 20% but with two HLA-DR mismatches...

INTRODUCTION: Esophageal adenocarcinoma incidence has increased significantly despite surveillance endoscopy for Barrett's esophagus (BE) and gastric acid supression medications. This prospective, cohort study's aims were to determine the long-term efficacy of proton-pump inhibitors twice daily (PPI-BID) with cryotherapy (CRYO) for complete ablation of BE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Consecutive BE patients were managed with a PPI-BID, CRYO ablation, follow-up protocol...

BACKGROUND: In colorectal cancer (CRC), both tumor invasion and immunological analysis at the tumor invasive margin (IM) are significantly associated with patient prognosis, but have traditionally been reported independently. We propose a new scoring system, the TGP-I score, to assess the association and interactions between tumor growth pattern (TGP) and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes at the IM and to predict its prognostic validity for CRC patient stratification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The types of TGP were assessed in hematoxylin and eosin-stained whole-slide images...

OBJECTIVE: We performed an umbrella meta-analysis to explore the factors that influence the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We systematically searched three databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Embase) up to 20 February 2023. Extracting the effect size and 95% confidence intervals for overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS) and the objective response rate (ORR). RESULTS: A total of 65 articles were included...

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the clinical efficacy and safety of interleukin-1 (IL-1) blockade for patients with COVID-19. METHODS: The PubMed, Web of Science, Ovid Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library databases were searched for relevant articles from their inception to 25 September 2022. Only randomized clinical trials (RCTs) that assessed the clinical efficacy and safety of IL-1 blockade in the treatment of patients with COVID-19 were included. RESULTS: This meta-analysis included seven RCTs...

Sepsis is still the leading cause of death as a result of infection. Metabolic disorder plays a vital role in sepsis progression. Glycolysis intensification is the most characteristic feature of sepsis-related metabolic disorders. The enzyme 6-phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2,6-bisphosphatase 3 (PFKFB3) is a critical engine that controls the rate of glycolysis. Recent studies have revealed that sepsis accelerates the rate of PFKFB3-driven glycolysis in different cells, including macrophages, neutrophils, endothelial cells and lung fibroblasts...

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbance and fatigue are prevalent in nurses. Little is known about the characteristics of shift work nurses' sleep-wake features and their subsequent impact on work performance. The study aimed to describe the characteristics of the sleep-wake index, reaction time, saliva cortisol level, and fatigue severity among female shift work nurses. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional exploratory study. A convenience sample of 152 female nurses (8-hour day-evening-night, n  = 70; 12-hour day-night, n  = 82) participated in this study from nine intensive care units (ICUs) from two teaching hospitals in Beijing, China...

BACKGROUND: It is unknown which features of unipolar atrial electrogram (U-AEGM) morphology are affected by ageing and whether age-related changes in U-AEGM morphology are equally distributed throughout the right and left atria. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Epicardial high-resolution mapping was performed in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting surgery during sinus rhythm (SR). Mapping areas include the right atrium (RA), left atrium (LA), pulmonary vein area (PVA) and Bachmann's bundle (BB)...

BACKGROUND: Obesity is associated with an increased risk of fracture in adults, but is unclear in postmenopausal women. We aim to determine the association of obesity with the risk of fracture in postmenopausal women. METHODS: PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched up to 11 April 2022 for cohort studies. And the included studies regarding the relationship between obesity with all cause of fracture in postmenopausal women were included in our meta-analysis...

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a meta-analysis and systematic review on the association between anticholinergic medication uses and the risk of pneumonia in elderly adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Medical databases were searched included PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO and Google Scholar (up to December 7, 2022). Studies evaluating association between anticholinergic medication uses and the risk of pneumonia in elderly adults were included. Studies without available data were excluded...

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OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to explore the clinicopathological characteristics of gastric cancer and precancerous conditions in patients with primary gastric lymphoma. METHODS: We analyzed 474 cases of primary gastric lymphoma, mainly DLBCL and MALT, from three clinical centres retrospectively, and compared the clinicopathological parameters of primary gastric lymphoma patients complicated with gastric cancer, precancerous conditions, or with no complications...