International Journal of General Medicine

INTRODUCTION: Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TO) is a relatively rare benign tracheobronchial disease, which is often misdiagnosed or missed. To date, there is no specific treatment for TO. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical manifestations, imaging features, bronchoscopy results, pathological findings, and diagnostic points of TO. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 33 patients diagnosed with TO were enrolled. Clinical data were collected using retrospective methods in the period from January 2021 and November 2022...

PURPOSE: To explore the diagnostic value of positive features in the Chinese Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System (C-TIRADS) for thyroid nodules of different sizes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 1864 patients with 2347 thyroid nodules were selected from January 2021 to December 2022 and assessed according to C-TIRADS. According to the maximum diameter, nodules were divided into the A1 group (≤10 mm), A2 group (>10 mm,<20 mm), and A3 group (≥20 mm)...

BACKGROUND: Cytochrome P450 2C19 (CYP2C19) genotypes and metabolic phenotypes (extensive metabolizer (EM), intermediate metabolizer (IM), and poor metabolizer (PM)) are related to the metabolism of therapeutic drugs for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. This study aimed to investigate the differences of CYP2C19 gene polymorphism distribution between coronary artery disease (CAD) patients and cerebral infarction (CI) patients. METHODS: We identified 413 CI patients, 509 CAD patients, and 241 CI+CAD patients from 2016 to 2020 and studied genotypes of CYP2C19 rs4986893 (636G>A) and rs4244285 (681G>A) polymorphisms using PCR-gene chip detection method...

PURPOSE: We aimed to explore the expressions of peptidoglycan recognition protein 1 (PGLYRP-1), neuron towards axon guidance factor-1 (Netrin-1) and miR-142-3p and their correlations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Sixty patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated from January 2022 to January 2023 were enrolled as a rheumatoid group, 30 patients with osteoarthritis were selected as an osteoarthritis group, and 30 healthy volunteers were recruited as a control group...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: A high incidence of depression has been reported in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and diabetes mellitus (DM-PTB). However, the association between depression and DM-PTB is poorly understood and requires further investigation. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of depression and the associated factors in patients with DM-PTB. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among DM-PTB patients at the Tuberculosis Department of Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University, China, enrolled between June 2021 and October 2021...

BACKGROUND: Non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is associated with increased stroke in elderly populations, yet anticoagulant therapy is underutilized. We analyzed clinical characteristics and anticoagulation treatment rates of elderly NVAF patients hospitalized in Dali, China, to identify potential contributing factors. METHODS: We collected data for 155 elderly patients with NVAF aged ≥60 years, from July 01, 2020, to December 31, 2021. We analyzed the awareness rate, clinical characteristics, and anticoagulant treatment rate of atrial fibrillation (AF), and identified factors influencing treatment...

Sickle cell disease is an autosomal recessive disorder of the beta-globin gene, with resultant deformation of the red blood cells and variable clinical outcomes. Nigeria is recognised as the country with the highest burden of sickle cell disease globally. This study aimed at critically reviewing available literature on impact of sickle cell disease in Nigeria. A literature search was carried out on four databases, and a total of 116 articles that met the inclusion criteria were included in the critical review...

OBJECTIVE: The present study was undertaken to assess the clinical significance of action research-based seamless care to improve imaging efficiency and alleviate patient anxiety. METHODS: A total of eighty patients who underwent imaging examinations in our hospital between May 2019 and November 2020 were recruited for this study. The patients were randomly assigned to two groups: the control group receiving routine care and the observation group receiving seamless care based on action research...

BACKGROUND: With the advances in genomics research, many countries still need more bioinformatics skills. This study aimed to assess the levels of awareness of bioinformatics and predictors of its use in genomics research among scientists in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: In a cross-sectional survey, 309 scientists of different biological and biomedical specialties were subjected to a previously validated e-questionnaire to collect data on (1) Knowledge about bioinformatics programming languages and tools, (2) Attitude toward acceptance of bioinformatics resources in genome-related research, and (3) The pattern of information-seeking to online bioinformatics resources...

BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) with laparoscopic common bile duct exploration (LCBDE) is convenient in treating cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis due to its advantage of accelerated recovery. This retrospective study aimed to summarize the experience of cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis treatment via three-port approach of LCBDE in Eastern China. METHODS: Patients diagnosed with cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis between July 2019 and October 2021 were included...

BACKGROUND: Hematoma enlargement (HE) is a common complication following acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and is associated with early deterioration and unfavorable clinical outcomes. This study aimed to evaluate the predictive performance of a computed tomography (CT) based model that utilizes deep learning features in identifying HE. METHODS: A total of 408 patients were retrospectively enrolled between January 2015 and December 2020 from our institution. We designed an automatic model that could mask the hematoma area and fusion features of radiomics, clinical data, and convolutional neural network (CNN) in a hybrid model...

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QOL) is defined as "individuals" perceptions of their position in life. Rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a consequence of severe, single, or recurrent bouts of acute rheumatic fever. To improve overall patient outcomes, there is currently a greater emphasis on assessing the QOL of these patients. The purpose of this study is to assess the QOL of adult RHD patients who had followed up at St Peter and Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Ethiopia. METHODS: An institutional-based cross-sectional study done at St Peter and Tikur Anbessa Hospital, Ethiopia from March 1-June 30/2021 in adult RHD patients...

BACKGROUND: Depressive symptoms are common among perimenopausal women with breast cancer having modified radical mastectomy. Esketamine exerts antidepressant effects. This study aims to assess whether an intraoperative sub-anesthetic dose of esketamine prevents postoperative depressive symptoms in these patients. METHODS: In this randomized, triple-blinded, placebo-controlled trial, we will enroll 130 perimenopausal women (aged 45-60 years) with breast cancer undergoing unilateral modified radical mastectomy...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of infection-related biomarkers in high-risk lower limb injury patients with fracture-related infection (FRI) caused by high-/low-virulence microorganisms. METHODS: This study was a retrospective analysis of patients with high-risk lower extremity fractures (including tibial plateau, calcaneus, and Pilon fractures) who underwent open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) surgery from January 2017 to February 2022...

INTRODUCTION: With population aging, sarcopenia and its accompanying risk of osteoporotic fracture has drawn increased attention. Nowadays, while Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) is often used as complementary therapy for many medical conditions, its effect against likelihood of osteoporotic fracture among sarcopenia subjects was not fully elucidated yet. We therefore conducted a population-level study to compare osteoporotic fracture risk for sarcopenia persons with or without CHM use...

PURPOSE: Lipoprotein(a) (Lp[a]) is well-known as a residual risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the different adverse effects of Lp(a) about CAD in patients with or without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are unclear. This study aimed to investigate the Lp(a) thresholds for CAD diagnosis in T2DM and non-T2DM patients, and further compare the Lp(a) alarm values along with optimal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) level. METHODS: This retrospective study consecutively enrolled patients with suspected CAD who underwent coronary angiography in Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital between September 2014 and July 2015...

OBJECTIVE: Congenital central hypothyroidism (CCH) is a rare disorder poorly described in childhood and adolescence. The current knowledge on the genetic bases of CCH is scarce. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics and molecular genetic basis of CCH in children. METHODS: We conducted a thorough evaluation of the clinical features in children diagnosed with CCH. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood of both children and their parents, and chromosomal microarray analysis and whole-exome sequencing were performed...

PURPOSE: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression is complex. There are not standardized methods for predicting the prognosis of CKD. Nicotinamide N-methyltransferase (NNMT) has been shown to be associated with renal fibrosis. This study aimed to validate NNMT as a prognostic biomarker of progressive CKD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We explored the relationship between NNMT expression and CKD-related outcome variables using the NephroseqV5 and GEO databases. Additionally, a validation set of 37 CKD patients was enrolled to measure the correlation between NNMT expression levels and CKD outcomes...

BACKGROUND: It is common for elderly patients to be underrepresented in clinical trials for cancer, which can result in a lack of efficacy data and unclear criteria to guide treatment decisions for clinical doctors. Therefore, one of the common challenges in oncology treatment is determining the extent to which patients aged 75 and older have benefited from postoperative chemotherapy. PURPOSE: The study aimed to explore the effect of adjuvant chemotherapy (AC) on 3-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) after curative resection in patients aged 75 years and older with stage II-III colorectal cancer (CRC)...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited hemoglobin disease affecting the red cells and causing hemolytic anemia. It is a very common, endemic disease in Sudan, particularly in the central and western areas of Sudan. Sickle cell anemia (SCA) is when the patient has beta-globin gene variant (Hb S variant). In this study, we screened the co-inheritance of hemoglobin O-Arab mutation among Sudanese sickle cell disease patients. STUDY POPULATION AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Sudan-Khartoum state from November 2016 to December 2021...