Impact of mini-dose dexmedetomidine supplemented analgesia on sleep structure in patients at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea: a pilot trial.

Background: Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is common in surgical patients and associated with worse perioperative outcomes.

Objectives: To investigate the effect of mini-dose dexmedetomidine supplemented analgesia on postoperative sleep quality pattern in patients at high risk of OSA.

Design: A pilot randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

[Comparison of coagulation function between adrenocorticotropic hormone independent Cushing syndrome and nonfunctional adrenal adenoma and its influence factors].

Objective: To investigate the coagulation function indicators and identify influence factors of hypercoagulability in patients with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) independent Cushing syndrome (CS).

Methods: In our retrospective study, the electronic medical records system of Peking University First Hospital was searched for the patients diagnosed with ACTH independent CS on discharge from January 2014 to June 2019. Nonfunctional adrenal adenoma patients were chosen as control group and matched 1 ∶1 by body mass index (BMI), gender, and discharge date.

Effect of mini-dose dexmedetomidine supplemented intravenous analgesia on sleep structure in older patients after major noncardiac surgery: A randomized trial.

Study Objectives: In previous studies, low-dose dexmedetomidine supplemented opioid analgesia improved sleep architecture but increased sedation level. Herein we tested the hypothesis that mini-dose dexmedetomidine supplemented analgesia improves sleep structure without increasing sedation.

Methods: In this randomized trial, 118 older patients (≥65 years) following major noncardiac surgery were randomized to receive patient-controlled intravenous analgesia supplemented with either placebo or dexmedetomidine (median 0.

Effect of low-dose dexmedetomidine on sleep quality in postoperative patients with mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit: A pilot randomized trial.

Background: Sleep disturbances are prevalent in patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation in the intensive care unit (ICU) and are associated with worse outcomes. Sedative-dose dexmedetomidine may improve sleep quality in this patient population but is associated with adverse events. Herein, we tested the effect of low-dose dexmedetomidine infusion on nighttime sleep quality in postoperative ICU patients with invasive ventilation.

Effect of a carbohydrate-rich beverage on rate of cesarean delivery in primigravidae with epidural labor analgesia: a multicenter randomized trial.

Background: Labor represents a period of significant physical activity. Inefficient energy supply may delay labor process and even lead to cesarean delivery. Herein we investigated whether ingestion of a carbohydrate-rich beverage could reduce cesarean delivery in laboring women with epidural analgesia.

Prophylactic Penehyclidine Inhalation for Prevention of Postoperative Pulmonary Complications in High-risk Patients: A Double-blind Randomized Trial.

Background: Postoperative pulmonary complications are common. Aging and respiratory disease provoke airway hyperresponsiveness, high-risk surgery induces diaphragmatic dysfunction, and general anesthesia contributes to atelectasis and peripheral airway injury. This study therefore tested the hypothesis that inhalation of penehyclidine, a long-acting muscarinic antagonist, reduces the incidence of pulmonary complications in high-risk patients over the initial 30 postoperative days.

Efficacy and safety of aildenafil citrate in Chinese men with erectile dysfunction: a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial.

Background: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of aildenafil citrate in the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED) in Chinese population.

Methods: A multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, double-cycle crossover trial was conducted in three medical centers. Male patients with mild to moderate ED were randomized into two groups and received either aildenafil citrate or placebos, followed by a crossover administration after a 7-day washout.

Impact of dexmedetomidine supplemented analgesia on delirium in patients recovering from orthopedic surgery: A randomized controlled trial.

Background: Dexmedetomidine promotes normal sleep architecture; the drug also improves analgesia. We therefore tested the hypothesis that supplementing intravenous analgesia with dexmedetomidine reduces delirium in older patients recovering from orthopedic surgery.

Methods: In this double-blinded randomized controlled trial, we enrolled 712 older (aged 65-90 years) patients scheduled for major orthopedic surgery.

Long-term Survival after Combined Epidural-General Anesthesia or General Anesthesia Alone: Follow-up of a Randomized Trial.

Background: Experimental and observational research suggests that combined epidural-general anesthesia may improve long-term survival after cancer surgery by reducing anesthetic and opioid consumption and by blunting surgery-related inflammation. This study therefore tested the primary hypothesis that combined epidural-general anesthesia improves long-term survival in elderly patients.

Methods: This article presents a long-term follow-up of patients enrolled in a previous trial conducted at five hospitals.

Intraoperative hypotension is associated with increased postoperative complications in patients undergoing surgery for pheochromocytoma-paraganglioma: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Dramatic hemodynamic fluctuation occurs frequently during surgery for pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma. However, the criteria of intraoperative hemodynamic instability vary widely, and most of them were defined arbitrarily but not according to patients' prognosis. The objective was to analyze the relationship between different thresholds and durations of intraoperative hyper-/hypotension and the risk of postoperative complications in patients undergoing surgery for pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma.

Appropriate Source Control and Antifungal Therapy are Associated with Improved Survival in Critically Ill Surgical Patients with Intra-abdominal Candidiasis.

Background: Intra-abdominal candidiasis (IAC) is the predominant type of invasive candidiasis with high mortality in surgical intensive care patients. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of appropriate source control and antifungal therapy on the outcomes of critically ill surgical patients with IAC.

Methods: This was a retrospective single-center cohort study.

Real-time PCR for the rapid detection of vanA, vanB and vanM genes.

Background/purpose: To evaluate the ability of quadruple Taqman probe real-time PCR to the detection of vanA, vanB and vanM in enterococcal isolates.

Methods: A total of 343 strains, including 253 vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) strains and 90 non-VRE strains, were tested by both quadruple Taqman probe real-time PCR and gel-based PCR assay.

Results: When differentiating among three genotypes of vanA, vanB and vanM in VRE strains, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), diagnostic accuracy and consistency of the quadruple Taqman probe real-time PCR were all 100%.

Effects of Hydroxychloroquine on Proteinuria in IgA Nephropathy: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Rationale & Objective: Despite optimization of renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) inhibition, patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) and persistent proteinuria remain at risk for kidney failure. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), an immunomodulator, when added to the treatment regimen of patients with IgAN.

Study Design: Double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, phase 2 clinical trial.

Handover of anesthesia care is associated with an increased risk of delirium in elderly after major noncardiac surgery: results of a secondary analysis.

In patients undergoing major surgery, complete handover of intraoperative anesthesia care is associated with adverse postoperative outcomes including high mortality and more major complications. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between the intraoperative complete handover between anesthesiologists and the occurrence of postoperative delirium. This was a secondary analysis of the database of a previously published clinical trial.

Overproduction of Mitochondrial Fission Proteins in Membranous Nephropathy in Children.

Background/aims: The molecules involved in nephrotic syndrome (NS) have not been fully clarified. Mitochondrial fission proteins are found to be involved in podocyte injury in vitro. Increased glomerular expression of mitochondrial fission proteins was found in adriamycin nephropathy in our previous study.

Treatment-Related Costs of Childhood Epilepsy in Mainland China: A Preliminary Study in a Tertiary Pediatric Epilepsy Center.

This study aimed to investigate the treatment-related annual cost of childhood epilepsy and its related factors in mainland China. A total of 244 cases were collected at the outpatient clinics of Peking University First Hospital Pediatrics from April 2010 to August 2013. The median annual epilepsy treatment-related costs per patient were estimated to be RMB7822 (US$1160), accounting for 43.

Proportion of neuropathic pain in the back region in chronic low back pain patients -a multicenter investigation.

Neuropathy can contribute to low back pain (LBP) in the region of the back. Our study investigated the proportion of neuropathic pain (NP) in low back region in chronic LBP patients from multicenter and clinics in China and identified associated factors. Assessment was made using a questionnaire and the Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS, only tested in low back region), as well as Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST, merely applied to the low back region), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI).

IPR-Grp75-VDAC1-MCU calcium regulation axis antagonists protect podocytes from apoptosis and decrease proteinuria in an Adriamycin nephropathy rat model.

Background: The mechanism of podocyte apoptosis is not fully understood. In addition, the role of the inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate receptor (IPR)/glucose-regulated protein 75 (Grp75)/voltage-dependent anion channel 1 (VDAC1)/mitochondrial calcium uniporter (MCU) calcium regulation axis, which is located at sites of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) mitochondria coupling, in the mechanism of podocyte apoptosis is unclear. This study aimed to understand the roles of this axis in podocyte apoptosis and explore potential targets for podocyte protection.

Effects of Postoperative Parenteral Nutrition Enhanced by Multivitamin on Metabolic Phenotype in Postoperative Gastric Cancer Patients.

Scope: To investigate the effects of postoperative parenteral nutrition (PN) with multivitamins supplementation on oxidative stress and metabolism.

Methods And Results: The participants are randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to groups: total nutrient admixture (TNA) + multivitamin (n = 14, Group A) and TNA + normal saline (n = 16, Group B). The levels of blood vitamins, ILs, and MDA are assessed and the dysregulation of metabolism is analyzed using nontargeted metabolite profiling.

Predictive Value of Serum Creatinine, Blood Urea Nitrogen, Uric Acid, and β-Microglobulin in the Evaluation of Acute Kidney Injury after Orthotopic Liver Transplantation.

Background: As a major complication after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT), the occurrence of acute kidney injury (AKI) is frequently defined by serum creatinine (Cr); however, the accuracy of commonly used blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid (UA), and β-microglobulin (β-MG) remains to be explored. This retrospective study compared the accuracy of these parameters for post-OLT AKI evaluation.

Methods: Patients who underwent OLT in three centers between July 2003 and December 2013 were enrolled.

Combined epidural-general anesthesia was associated with lower risk of postoperative complications in patients undergoing open abdominal surgery for pheochromocytoma: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Current evidences show that regional anesthesia is associated with decreased risk of complications after major surgery. However, the effects of combined regional-general anesthesia remain controversial. The purpose of our study was to analyze the impact of anesthesia (combined epidural-general anesthesia vs.

Prophylactic penehyclidine inhalation for prevention of postoperative pulmonary complications in high-risk patients: study protocol of a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Postoperative pulmonary complications (PPCs) are major causes of morbidity, mortality, and prolonged hospital stay in patients after surgery. Using effective strategies to prevent its occurrence is essential to improve outcome. However, despite various efforts, the incidence of PPCs remains elevated in high-risk patients.

Alterations of CCR5 and CCR7 expression on donor peripheral blood T cell subsets after mobilization with rhG-CSF correlate with acute graft-versus-host disease.

To investigate the effects of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) on chemokine receptors and explore the potential mechanism of rhG-CSF inducing immune tolerance, ninety-seven donor and recipient pairs undergoing family-donor allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were studied. The results indicated that different donors showed great disparities in expression changes after mobilization. Multivariate analysis revealed that both HLA mismatching and CCR7 downregulation on donors' CD4+ T cells after mobilization were independent risk factors for acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD).

Assessment of Glycated Albumin as a Useful Indicator for Renal Dysfunction in Diabetic and Nondiabetic Population.

Background: Glycated albumin (GA) reflects serum glucose of the preceding 2 - 3 weeks and plays an important role in diabetes mellitus (DM). This study aimed at investigating whether GA can assess renal dysfunction in population.

Methods: 3818 individuals attending physical examination were enrolled in this cross-sectional study and divided into five groups: healthy controls, impaired fasting glucose, DM without renal complications, DM with albuminuria, and nondiabetic chronic kidney disease patients.

Endometriosis Fertility Index for Predicting Pregnancy after Endometriosis Surgery.

Background: The endometriosis fertility index (EFI) has a predictive value for pregnancy after surgery. In vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) is a good treatment to infertility. This study aimed to provide external validation of EFI, assess the factors affecting the ability of EFI to predict cumulative spontaneous pregnancy rates (PRs), and propose reasonable advice for treatment by evaluating the effect of infertility management combining surgery and IVF-ET.