Objective To evaluate the prognostic value of several indexes of laboratory and ultrasonic cardiogram for adverse events in 3 months following the diagnosis of acute non-high-risk pulmonary embolism. Methods A total of 266 cases of acute non-high-risk pulmonary embolism patients diagnosed and treated in Beijing Anzhen Hospital during 2016 to 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into a bad event group and a control group according to whether there was a bad event happened in 3 months following the diagnosis. The general data, indexes of laboratory and ultrasonic cardiogram were compared. Univariate and multivariate COX regression analysis were conducted to explore independent risk factors for 3 months’ poor prognosis. Results The bad outcome group had a significantly higher value of the proportion of suffering from connective disease and active cancer, C-reaction protein, monocyte/lymphocyte ratio (MLR) and urea while a significantly lower level of red blood cell count and hemoglobin compared with the control group (all P<0.05). Univariate and multivariate COX regression analysis showed that both the MLR (hazard ratio 14.59, 95% confidence interval 1.48 - 143.69, P=0.02) and suffering from connective disease (hazard ratio 5.85, 95% confidence interval 1.11 - 30.81, P=0.04) remain significantly different between the bad events group and the control group. Conclusion MLR at the admission may be related to the 3 months death of acute non-high-risk pulmonary embolism.
ObjectiveTo explore the common causes and the clinical pathological characteristics of infant death which occurred after vaccination. MethodsThe study retrospectively analyzed the data of 13 cases of infant death occurring after vaccination from January 2009 to September 2014 in West China Medico-legal Expertise Center. ResultsAmong the 13 cases of infant death, 12 were dead from lethal respiratory system and cardiovascular system diseases, 1 from mechanic asphyxia caused by milk intake. All cases were coupling disease death and had no direct correlation with vaccination. ConclusionSystematic and comprehensive forensic pathological examination is helpful to clarify the cause of death, reveal the relationship between vaccination and the cause of death, and contribute to proper processing of such incidents.
Most immune-related adverse event (irAE) associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) resulted from excessive immune response against normal organs. The severity, timing, and organs affected by these events were often unpredictable. Adverse reactions could cause treatment delays or interruptions, in rare cases, pose a life-threatening risk. The mechanisms underlying irAE involved immune cell dysregulation, imbalances in inflammatory factor expression, alterations in autoantibodies and complement activation, even dysbiosis of intestinal microorganisms. However, the mechanisms of irAE occurrence might differ slightly among organs due to variations in their structures and the functions of resident immune cells. Future research should focus on the development of targeted drugs for the prevention or treatment of irAE based on the mechanisms by which irAE occurs in different organs. A deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying irAE occurrence would aid clinicians in effectively utilizing ICIs and provide valuable guidance for their clinical application.
Objective To investigate the correlation between D-dimer level within 2 hours on admission and early in-hospital major adverse events (MAEs) in patients with acute type A aortic dissection undergoing arch replacement and the frozen elephant trunk (FET) implantation. Methods The patients with acute type A aortic dissection undergoing arch replacement and the FET implantation, who hospitalized in our hospital from September 2017 to December 2022, were included in this retrospective study. Grouping based on the occurrence of in-hospital major adverse events (MAEs) after total arch replacement and FET implantation, with no in-hospital MAEs as a control group and in-hospital MAEs as an observation group. The perioperative data were compared between the two groups. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to investigate the risk factors for MAEs (in-hospital mortality, gastrointestinal bleeding, paraplegia, acute kidney failure, reopening the chest, low cardiac output syndrome, cerebrovascular accident, respiratory insufficiency, multiple organ dysfunctionsyndrome, gastrointestinal bleeding, and severe infection). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of the prediction area under the ROC curve (AUC). Results Finally 218 patients were collected, including 157 males and 61 females with an average age of 51.54±9.79 years. There were 152 patients in the control group and 66 patients in the observation group. In-hospital mortality was 2.8% (6/218). The level of D-dimer, lactic acid, cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamping time, ventilator-assisted time and ICU stay in the observation group were higher or longer than those in the control group (P=0.013). Multivariate logistic analysis showed that D-dimer (OR=1.077, 95%CI 1.020-1.137, P＜0.05) was an independent risk factor for MAEs in hospital. The level of D-dimer within 2 hours admission predicted that the AUC of MAEs in hospital was 0.83 (95%CI 0.736-0.870, P＜0.05), and the optimal critical point was 2.2 μg/mL, with sensitivity and specificity of 84.8% and 73.0%, respectively. Conclusion Increased D-dimer levels at admission are associated with early in-hospital MAEs in the patients with acute type A aortic dissection undergoing arch replacement and FET. These results may help clinicians optimize the risk evaluation and perioperative clinical management to reduce early adverse events.
Tumor immunotherapy includes immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI), tumor vaccines, and adoptive cell therapy. Immunotherapy, as the main systemic treatment for advanced malignant tumors, kills tumor cells by activating the immune system and prolongs the survival of patients. However, excessive immune responses can cause immune-related adverse events (irAE), causing damage to systemic tissues. ICI are the main tumor immunotherapy drugs that cause optic nerve irAE. The most common optic nerve irAE are optic neuritis, only a few patients appeared arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. Sudden painless loss of bilateral vision is the most common clinical manifestation. In severe cases, the vision decrease to no light perception. Early diagnosis and early adequate glucocorticoid treatment can improve the symptoms. Therefore, neuro-ophthalmologists and oncologists should know the clinical characteristics of optic nerve irAE, in order to diagnose and treat early and improve the prognosis.
Objective To explore the predictive value of Composite Congestion Score (CCS) in predicting adverse events within 180 days in patients with acute heart failure (AHF) in emergency intensive care unit (EICU). Methods The patients with AHF who were admitted to EICU of Zigong Fourth People’s Hospital between January 1, 2018 and December 31, 2020 were included consecutively. The patients were followed up for 180 days, and were divided into poor prognosis group and good prognosis group according to whether there were adverse events. Logistic regression equation was used to screen independent risk factors for predicting adverse events in patients with AHF within 180 days after leaving EICU. To compare the discrimination, calibration and clinical usefulness of independent risk factors at EICU discharge and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Assessment SystemⅡ (APACHEⅡ) score at EICU admission to predict the occurrence of adverse events of AHF. Results A total of 71 patients were included, including 32 patients with good prognosis and 39 patients with poor prognosis. Except for age, APACHEⅡscore at EICU admission and CCS score at EICU discharge (P<0.05), there was no significant difference in other indicators between the two groups (P>0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that CCS score at EICU discharge [odds ratio (OR)=2.806, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.428, 5.512), P=0.003], age [OR=1.086, 95%CI (1.017, 1.159), P=0.013] were independent risk factors for predicting death or returning to hospital within 180 days. Among them, the CCS score at EICU discharge combining with age had a positive improvement ability compared with the CCS score at EICU discharge, the age, and the APACHE Ⅱ score at EICU admission. The calibration curves of the four scoring methods for predicting adverse events within 180 days showed that the CCS score at EICU discharge had the highest calibration and the calibration of age was the lowest. The decision curve showed that the clinical usefulness of age, the CCS score at EICU discharge and the CCS score at EICU discharge combining with age was better than the APACHE Ⅱ score at EICU admission. Conclusions The CCS score of patients with AHF at EICU discharge is closely related to adverse events within 180 days. The CCS score is designed based on clinical variables, simple and practical. The combination of age and the CCS score at EICU discharge will further enhance its clinical application value.
The tyrosine kinase activity of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays a key role in tumor cell proliferation, invasion, migration, and drug resistance. Studies have shown that non-small cell lung cancer patients with somatic driver gene EGFR mutations are sensitive to and can benefit from EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs). Nevertheless, EGFR-TKIs-related adverse events should not be ignored. Common adverse events such as diarrhea, acne-like rash and paronychia are usually manageable; although the incidence of interstitial lung disease is low, once it occurs, it is a serious threat to patients' life, and its pathogenesis is still unclear. There is very limited animal experimental and clinical research evidence on the potential mechanism of EGFR-TKIs-related interstitial lung disease in the available literature. Based on this, this article reviews the association between EGFR-TKIs and interstitial lung disease, at the same time, also discusses the research progress of EGFR-TKIs-related interstitial lung disease in combination with cytotoxic drugs or immunotherapeutic drugs and EGFR-TKIs, in order to provide a reference for the prevention and treatment of EGFR-TKIs-related interstitial lung disease in clinical practice in the future.
Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Although improvement has been achieved in platinum-based chemotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitors-based molecular targeted therapy, they still have limitations. Immunotherapy has recently emerged as a very effective new treatment, and there is now growing enthusiasm in cancer immunotherapy worldwide. We summarized the effects of immune checkpoint inhibitors in clinical trials, and the current status and progress of anti programmed death-1 (PD-1)/programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) agents in lung cancer treatment. Attention has been paid to finding out the factors which influence the therapeutic effect of anti-PD-1/PD-L1 therapy and reducing the occurrence of adverse events.
ObjectiveZero-events studies frequently occur in systematic reviews of adverse events, which consist of an important source of evidence. We aimed to examine how evidence of zero-events studies was utilized in the meta-analyses of systematic reviews of adverse events.MethodsWe conducted a survey of systematic reviews published in two periods: January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2020 and January 1, 2008, to April 25, 2011. Databases were searched for systematic reviews that conducted at least one meta-analysis of any healthcare intervention and used adverse events as the exclusive outcome. An adverse event was defined as any untoward medical occurrence in a patient or subject in healthcare practice. We summarized the frequency of occurrence of zero-events studies in eligible systematic reviews and how these studies were dealt with in the meta-analyses of these systematic reviews.ResultsWe included 640 eligible systematic reviews. There were 406 (63.45%) systematic reviews involving zero-events studies in their meta-analyses, among which 389 (95.11%) involved single-arm-zero-events studies and 223 (54.93%) involved double-arm-zero-events studies. The majority (98.71%) of these systematic reviews incorporated single-arm-zero-events studies into the meta-analyses. On the other hand, the majority (76.23%) of them excluded double-arm-zero-events studies from the meta-analyses, of which the majority (87.06%) did not discuss the potential impact of excluding such studies. Systematic reviews published at present (2015-2020) tended to incorporate zero-events studies in meta-analyses than those published in the past (2008-2011), but the difference was not significant [proportion difference=–0.09, 95%CI (–0.21, 0.03), P=0.12].ConclusionSystematic review authors routinely treated studies with zero-events in both arms as "non-informative" carriers and excluded them from their reviews. Whether studies with no events are "informative" or not, largely depends on the methods and assumptions applied, thus sensitivity analyses using different methods should be considered in future meta-analyses.
Objective Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using a new generation of artificial ligaments (NGAL) gained popularity in China owing to its good effectiveness and early functional recovery, but iatrogenic surgical failures and preconceived misconceptions have seriously affected its standardized clinical application. A specialist consensus is now developed to provide guidance and reference for orthopaedic sports medicine doctors when adopting or considering the NGAL for ACL reconstruction. Methods The consensus on the core techniques and adverse events in ACL reconstruction using the NGAL was developed by a modified Delphi method, referring exclusively to the NGAL for ACL reconstruction approved by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA). Consensus specialists were selected from the members of the Chinese Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (CAOS) and the Chinese Society of Sports Medicine (CSSM). The drafting team summarized the draft consensus terms based on medical evidence and organized rounds of investigation: two rounds of online questionnaire investigation and the final round of face-to-face meeting. After discussion, revision, and voting, a consensus on the draft consensus term was reached when the agreement rate exceeded 85%. The consensus terms were categorized as “strong” (agreement rate: 95.0%-100%), “moderate” (agreement rate: 90.0%-94.9%), and “basic” (agreement rate: 85.0%-89.9%). ResultsThirty-one specialists completed the questionnaire investigation. They all practiced in university teaching hospitals (Grade-A tertiary hospitals) from 16 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China. Among them, 28 were chief physicians and 3 were associate chief physicians; 22 were professors and 7 were associate professors; the average seniority in orthopedic sports medicine was 25.2 years (range, 12-40 years); the average seniority in performing ACL reconstruction procedures was 13.2 years (range, 7-23 years); in terms of the number of ACL reconstruction using the NGAL, 18 completed more than 100 cases, of which 6 had more than 300 cases; in terms of research, 28 had published more than 1 related paper in the past 5 years, of which 13 had published more than 3 related papers. Twenty-six specialists attended the face-to-face meeting and reached a consensus on 9 terms, including 8 strong terms and 1 moderate term. Conclusion ACL reconstruction using the NGAL must deploy “isometric” or “near-isometric” reconstruction and should preserve the natural ACL remnants as much as possible. Bone tunnel positioning can be performed using intraoperative radiographic measurements or the lateral femoral intercondylar ridge as reference marks. Incorrect positioning of the bone tunnel is the main reason of surgical failure, and there is a lack of consensus on handling interference screws during revision. Bone tunnel enlargement exists after reconstruction but rarely causes related symptoms. Synovitis and infection are uncommon complications. The aging effect of polyethylene terephthalate fiber on the long-term clinical outcomes is unknown and deserves attention.