Objective To compare the ability of three propensity score weighting methods to balance the covariates and the advantages and disadvantages to estimate the treatment effects when dealing with multiple treatment data under different sample sizes. Methods Monte Carlo simulation was used to generate data sets and the advantages and disadvantages of balancing covariates and estimating the treatment effects of three propensity score weighting methods, Logistic-IPTW, Logistic-OW and GBM-OW were compared. The evaluation index of covariate equilibrium level was the absolute standard mean difference. The evaluation indexes of effect estimation included the point estimate of treatment effect, root mean square error and confidence interval coverage. Results Compared with Logistic-IPTW and Logistic-OW, GBM-OW was better in effect estimation and had a smaller root mean square error in five scenarios where covariates were related to treatment factors and outcome variables with different varying degrees of complexity. In terms of covariate equilibrium, all three methods had good effects. GBM-OW method performed better when the overlap of propensity score distribution of multiple treatment data was relatively low and covariables had increasingly complex nonlinear relationships with treatment factors and outcome variables. Conclusion When dealing with multiple treatment data, GBM-OW method has advantages over the other two methods when there is nonlinearity and/or interaction between covariates and treatment factors and outcome variables. Using this method, the effect estimation is closer to the real value, which is a better choice.
This study introduced the inverse probability weight and overlap weight by propensity score and how to test the balance and estimate the effect after weighting. Four R packages that can be used for propensity score weight analysis were introduced and compared.
Minimally invasive surgery played a crucial role in modern medicine. With advantages such as less trauma, precise operation, minimal bleeding, and rapid postoperative recovery, minimally invasive procedures had been increasingly applied in the field of liver transplantation in recent years. This included techniques such as small incision living donor hepatectomy through an upper abdominal midline incision, laparoscopic-assisted living donor hepatectomy, pure laparoscopic living donor hepatectomy, and robotic living donor hepatectomy. Since Professor Cherqui from France firstly reported the total laparoscopic left lateral sectionectomy in living donors in 2002, the application of minimally invasive technology in living donor liver transplantation had become increasingly widespread. Based on this, so as to guide the more standardized, effective, and safe implementation of minimally invasive liver donor hepatectomy across the country, in August 2023, the Branch of Organ Transplant of Chinese Medical Association and the Branch of Organ Transplant Physicians of Chinese Medical Doctor Association organized national liver transplantation experts to jointly formulate the “Chinese guidelines for minimally invasive surgical techniques in living donor liver transplantation (2024 edition)”. This is to provide scientific guidance and reference for surgeons performing minimally invasive surgery on living liver donors in China.
With nearly four decades of progress in healthcare-associated infection prevention and control in China, the national quality control efforts in this field have been ongoing for the past ten years, advancing rapidly with significant achievements. Over the last decade, the team of infection control professionals involved in quality management and control in China has consistently expanded, accompanied by an enhancement of their skills. Management capabilities have steadily grown, and operational mechanisms have been continuously refined. As public hospitals transition into a new phase of high-quality development, emphasizing refined management models and intrinsic development of medical quality, it becomes crucial to further fortify the foundation and foster innovation in infection control work to ensure quality. This article provides an overview of the establishment and implementation of the National Center for Quality Control of Infection Prevention and Control, examines the current shortcomings and challenges in the field, and collectively explores the positioning and direction of the development of quality control efforts for infection prevention and control in China.
Objective To investigate the correlation of intracranial arachnoid cyst (IAC) with epilepsy and the possible mechanism of seizure induced by IAC. Methods Patients with IAC, who were treated in West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January 2009 and January 2019, were included and divided into IAC with epilepsy group and IAC without epilepsy group according to whether they were diagnosed with epilepsy. We collected the IAC location information of all subjects after the establishment of a three-dimensional spatial coordinate system of MRI images. Computational fluid dynamics technology was used to establish a blood vessel model in cyst area and perform hemodynamic analysis basing on contrast-enhanced CT images. Results A total of 72 patients were enrolled, including 24 in the IAC with epilepsy group and 48 in the IAC without epilepsy group. There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of sex, age, IAC location, the volumes or the maximum diameters of IAC (P>0.05). Consecutive areas formed by the seven high-risk areas found in the IAC with epilepsy group were located in the temporal area. The seven high-risk areas were simultaneous IAC location in 5 patients in the IAC with epilepsy group and in 1 patient in the IAC without epilepsy group, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=5.114, P=0.024). Comparison of the hemodynamic parameters between the two types of vascular models revealed similar pressure changes and blood pressure parameters, with lower blood flow and higher mean vascular wall shear stress in the IAC with epilepsy group. Conclusions IAC may cause epilepsy by increasing adjacent blood vessel stenosis and blood vessel wall shear stress through cyst space-occupying effect. The most common location of IAC with epilepsy is the temporal area. The occupying effect of IAC should be considered in the location of epileptogenic foci before surgery for IAC patients with epilepsy.
Objective To preliminarily understand the equipment configuration and information system function improvement of the microbiology laboratory for etiological submission before antibiotic treatment in Chinese medical institutions, and provide a scientific basis for further targeted action work on the rate of etiological submission before antibiotic treatment. Methods A network questionnaire was released in “Sentinel Hospital Information Reporting System of National Hospital Infection Management Professional Quality Control Center” between March 1 and June 21, 2022. The second-level and above hospitals were investigated. Results A total of 783 hospitals were included, of which 765 (97.7%) hospitals had been equipped with microbiology laboratory equipment to varying degrees, and the allocation rate of tertiary hospitals was higher than that of secondary hospitals (P<0.05). The top three items of common pathogenic test were aerobic (98.3%), bacterial smear (97.6%) and fungal smear (95.1%), and the last three items were streptococcus pneumoniae urine antigen (20.4%), silver hexamine staining (19.0%) and gene sequencing (8.9%). The comparison of relevant information system and function improvement among hospitals of different levels showed that tertiary hospitals were superior to secondary hospitals (P<0.05). In different regions, except for the allocation rate of nosocomial infection information monitoring system and rational drug use monitoring system (P>0.05), other relevant systems and functional improvement of hospitals in eastern, central and western regions, the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The number of hospitals that could obtain the indicators of “etiological submission rate of inpatients before antibiotic treatment”“etiological submission rate related to hospital infection diagnosis”“etiological submission rate before combined use of key drugs” were 698 (89.1%), 474 (60.5%) and 337 (43.0%), respectively. Among the factors affecting the implementation of special actions, 454 hospitals (58.0%) thought that the information system was not fully functional, 341 hospitals (43.6%) thought that the etiology testing project was not fully carried out, and 148 hospitals (18.9%) thought that the microbiology laboratory testing ability was insufficient. Conclusion All kinds of hospitals at all levels in China, especially specialized and secondary hospitals, need to further improve the configuration of equipment and information system functions in the microorganism laboratory related to aetiology inspection, strengthen the support for microbial inspection, and strengthen information management, monitoring and analysis.
The preferred reporting items for comprehensive evaluation of Chinese patent medicine (PRICE-CPM) regulate the specific requirements of forming integrity, clear, and transparent reports from title to conclusion. It contains six domains with twenty-one items and seventy-two sub-items and is important to promote the integrity, scientificity, transparency, and applicability of relevant reports. Additionally, it indicates that comprehensive evaluation results reports of post-marketing Chinese patent medicine should refer to PRICE-CPM. Therefore, this article provides a detailed interpretation of the report list and references for future users.