Publications by authors named "Jian-Xun Wen"

Unlabelled: Carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent (CR-hvKP) strains present a significant global public health threat due to their high mortality rates. This study investigated the genomic characteristics of seven ST11-K1 CR-hvKP isolates harboring highly homologous KPC-2-encoding multidrug-resistance plasmids. The strains were isolated from a Chinese tertiary hospital between 2017 and 2020.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - The study evaluates the effectiveness of pleural fluid complement C1q for diagnosing tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) specifically in elderly patients, as previous research primarily focused on younger individuals.
  • - Researchers analyzed pleural fluid samples from patients with undiagnosed pleural effusions, finding that elderly TPE patients had higher C1q levels compared to those without TPE.
  • - The results indicated that C1q has low diagnostic accuracy for TPE in older adults, with a sensitivity of 44% and specificity of 79% at a threshold of 100 mg/L.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Introduction: Pleural effusion is common in clinical practice, and its differential diagnosis remains challenging for clinicians. This study investigates the diagnostic value of apolipoprotein E (apoE) in patients with undetermined pleural effusion.

Methods: This prospective, double-blind study enrolled 152 patients with undiagnosed pleural effusion.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Serum carbohydrate antigen 50 (CA50) is an auxiliary diagnostic marker for various solid tumors, but it remains unclear whether CA50 in pleural fluid can assist in the diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion (MPE). This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of pleural fluid CA50 for MPE in pleural effusion patients with undetermined causes.

Methods: This study prospectively recruited pleural effusion patients with undetermined causes who visited the Affiliated Hospital of Inner Mongolia Medical University between September 2018 and July 2021.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • This study explores the potential of CXCR3 ligands, specifically CXCL9 and CXCL11, as biomarkers for diagnosing tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE), highlighting their low cost and less invasive nature.
  • Conducted in two Chinese centers, the double-blind study analyzed pleural fluid from patients with undiagnosed pleural effusion, measuring levels of CXCL9 and CXCL11 for diagnostic accuracy using ROC curves and decision curve analysis.
  • Results showed that both CXCL9 and CXCL11 were significantly elevated in TPE patients, exhibiting high diagnostic accuracy, particularly in the Changshu Center, with their levels influenced by age and upregulated in response to BCG treatment in macrophages
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) is challenging for pulmonologists. Adenosine deaminase (ADA), interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), and interleukin-27 (IL-27) have some limitations for diagnosing TPE. Soluble Fas ligand (sFasL) had a high diagnostic value for TPE.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Lung cancer is the most common cause of malignant pleural effusion (MPE). Serum human epididymis secretory protein 4 (HE4) is a useful diagnostic marker for lung cancer.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of pleural fluid HE4 for MPE.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • - Diagnosing tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) is difficult due to the limitations of traditional methods like pleural fluid staining, culture, and biopsy, which can be invasive and time-consuming.
  • - Nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) offer a quicker and less invasive alternative for TPE diagnosis.
  • - This review discusses the accuracy of various NAATs for TPE, highlighting findings from systematic reviews and meta-analyses on tests such as GeneXpert and loop-mediated isothermal amplification.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: The in vitro stability assessment is essential for investigating the diagnostic accuracy of pleural biomarkers. This study aimed to investigate the long-term stability of pleural fluid carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) at -80°C to -70°C. In addition, we analyzed the effects of frozen storage on the diagnostic accuracy of CEA for malignant pleural effusion (MPE).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Pleural fluid carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is a key marker for diagnosing malignant pleural effusion (MPE), and recent studies explored the diagnostic potential of the PF to serum CEA ratio and delta CEA (PF minus serum CEA).
  • A study involving two cohorts (BUFF and SIMPLE) found that MPE patients exhibited significantly higher levels of PF CEA, serum CEA, CEA ratio, and delta CEA, but statistical differences in diagnostic accuracy between the markers were not significant.
  • The conclusion indicated that the CEA ratio and delta CEA do not enhance the diagnosis of MPE beyond PF CEA alone, thus recommending against their use in clinical settings.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The screening performance of urine flow cytometry parameters (e.g., white blood cell and bacteria) for urinary tract infection (UTI) has been widely recognized.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Serum N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) is a well-recognized diagnostic marker for heart failure (HF) in patients with dyspnea or pleural effusion (PE). The effects of age on the diagnostic accuracy of NT-proBNP in dyspneic patients are widely known; however, whether its diagnostic accuracy is affected by age in patients with PE remains unknown. This study aimed to investigate the influence of age on the diagnostic accuracy of serum NT-proBNP for HF in patients with PE.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) affects the outcomes of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). NSCLC cells released exosomes to suppress the antitumor activity of TAMs. MiR-146a is a critical regulator in TAM polarization.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • * Key components like theabrownin and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) contribute to its antitumor effects by promoting cell death and inhibiting cancer cell growth.
  • * While evidence suggests green tea can prevent and possibly treat lung cancer, more clinical trials are needed to confirm these therapeutic effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • This study evaluated the effectiveness of the pleural fluid LDH/ADA ratio in diagnosing tuberculous pleural effusion (TPE) compared to ADA alone.
  • Two patient cohorts were analyzed to measure diagnostic accuracy using ROC curves, showing that while both tests had moderate accuracy, the LDH/ADA ratio performed slightly worse than ADA in some cases.
  • The findings indicate that the LDH/ADA ratio does not offer any additional diagnostic value beyond what ADA provides, suggesting it should not be used for TPE diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Carbapenem-resistant hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (CR-hvKP) is a dangerous bacterium that causes severe infections in both healthcare and community settings, posing significant public health risks.
  • The evolution of CR-hvKP involves complex mechanisms, including the transfer of plasmids that carry genes for both hypervirulence and carbapenem resistance.
  • This review discusses these evolutionary processes and highlights the current prevalence of CR-hvKP in the population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of circulating N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) for Kawasaki disease (KD).

Methods: We searched the PubMed, Web of Science and EMBASE databases to identify the eligible studies investigating the diagnostic accuracy of NT-proBNP for KD. The revised tool for the quality assessment of diagnostic accuracy studies (QUADAS-2) was used to evaluate the eligible studies' quality.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF