Ulinastatin shortens the length of ICU stay in critical patients with organ failure: A 7-year real-world study.

Background: Ulinastatin has been applied in a series of diseases associated with inflammation but its clinical effects remain somewhat elusive.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the potential effects of ulinastatin on organ failure patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: This is a single-center retrospective study on organ failure patients from 2013 to 2019.

Improving enteral nutrition tolerance and protein intake maybe beneficial to intensive care unit patients.

Enteral nutrition (EN) is important for critically ill patients. This study investigated the current situation of EN treatment in SHANGHAI intensive care units (ICUs). We hypothesized that improving EN practice in SHANGHAI may benefit the prognosis of ICU patients.

Anisodamine hydrobromide in the treatment of critically ill patients with septic shock: a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Background: Septic shock is the development of sepsis to refractory circulatory collapse and metabolic derangements, characterized by persistent hypotension and increased lactate levels. Anisodamine hydrobromide (Ani HBr) is a Chinese medicine used to improve blood flow in circulatory disorders. The purpose of this study was to determine the therapeutic efficacy of Ani HBr in the treatment of patients with septic shock.

A NETWORK PHARMACOLOGY-BASED TREATMENT ANALYSIS OF LUTEOLIN FOR REGULATING PYROPTOSIS IN ACUTE LUNG INJURY.

Background: Acute lung injury (ALI) and its severe manifestation, acute respiratory distress syndrome, are complicated pulmonary inflammatory conditions for which standard therapeutics are still not well established. Although increasing research has indicated the anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antioxidant effects of luteolin, especially in lung diseases, the molecular mechanisms underlying luteolin treatment remain largely unclear. Methods: The potential targets of luteolin in ALI were explored using a network pharmacology-based strategy and further validated in a clinical database.

Rapidly progressive Guillain-Barré syndrome following amitriptyline overdose and severe infection: A case report and literature review.

Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is a potentially life-threatening post-infectious autoimmune disease characterized by rapidly progressive symmetrical weakness of the extremities. Herein, we report a case of GBS associated with drug poisoning complicated by infection. A 38-year-old woman was admitted to the intensive care unit after taking an overdose of amitriptyline and was later diagnosed with coma, infection, and septic shock.

CRISPLD2 attenuates pro-inflammatory cytokines production in HMGB1-stimulated monocytes and septic mice.

HMGB1 has been identified as a pro-inflammatory mediator which leads to sepsis lethality. Previous studies suggested that CRISPLD2 had anti-inflammatory property and might severe as a therapeutic agent in sepsis. In the present study, we first conducted bioinformatic analysis to explore the expression profile of HMGB1 in septic survivors and non-survivors.

Effects of viral infection and microbial diversity on patients with sepsis: A retrospective study based on metagenomic next-generation sequencing.

Background: The study aims to investigate the performance of a metagenomic next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based diagnostic technique for the identification of potential bacterial and viral infections and effects of concomitant viral infection on the survival rate of intensive care unit (ICU) sepsis patients.

Methods: A total of 74 ICU patients with sepsis who were admitted to our institution from February 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019 were enrolled. Separate blood samples were collected from patients for blood cultures and metagenomic NGS when the patients' body temperature was higher than 38 °C.

Infection biomarkers in assisting the judgement of blood stream infection and patient prognosis: a retrospective study incorporating principal components analysis.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate whether inexpensive and quickly available infection biomarkers including procalcitonin (PCT), C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell (WBC) count, and percentage of neutrophils (N%) are helpful in assisting the judgement of blood culture results and patient prognosis.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients who were admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) of Changzheng Hospital from July 2015 to June 2017 and had at least one episode of blood culture with matched infection biomarkers (PCT, CRP, WBC, and N%). Primary infection biomarkers were transformed into newly derived components using the principal component analysis (PCA) method.

Respiratory Variations in Peak Peripheral Artery Velocities and Waveforms for Rapid Assessment of Fluid Responsiveness in Traumatic Shock Patients.

BACKGROUND This study aimed to assess the correlation between the variability of the end-inspiratory and end-expiratory blood flow waveform and fluid responsiveness (FR) in traumatic shock patients who underwent mechanical ventilation by evaluating peripheral arterial blood flow parameters. MATERIAL AND METHODS A cohort of 60 patients with traumatic shock requiring mechanical ventilation-controlled breathing received ultrasound examinations to assess the velocity of carotid artery (CA), femoral artery (FA) and brachial artery (BA). A rehydration test was performed in which of 250 mL of 0.

Hypothermia prevents hippocampal oxidative stress and apoptosis via the GSK-3β/Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in a rat model of cardiac arrest-induced brain damage.

Objectives: The present study was undertaken to investigate the effects and related mechanisms of hypothermia on oxidative stress and apoptosis caused by cardiac arrest (CA)-induced brain damage in rats.

Methods: The CA/CPR model was initiated by asphyxia. Body temperature in the normothermia and hypothermia groups was maintained at 37°C ± 0.

Parkin deficiency accentuates chronic alcohol intake-induced tissue injury and autophagy defects in brain, liver and skeletal muscle.

Alcoholism leads to organ injury including mitochondrial defect and apoptosis with evidence favoring a role for autophagy dysregulation in alcoholic damage. Parkin represents an autosomal recessive inherited gene for Parkinson's disease and an important member of selective autophagy for mitochondria. The association between Parkinson's disease and alcoholic injury remains elusive.

Estimation of the reproductive number of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and the probable outbreak size on the Diamond Princess cruise ship: A data-driven analysis.

Backgrounds: Up to February 16, 2020, 355 cases have been confirmed as having COVID-19 infection on the Diamond Princess cruise ship. It is of crucial importance to estimate the reproductive number (R0) of the novel virus in the early stage of outbreak and make a prediction of daily new cases on the ship.

Method: We fitted the reported serial interval (mean and standard deviation) with a gamma distribution and applied "earlyR" package in R to estimate the R0 in the early stage of COVID-19 outbreak.

Interleukin-26 promotes the proliferation and activation of hepatic stellate cells to exacerbate liver fibrosis by the TGF-β1/Smad2 signaling pathway.

Liver fibrosis is a wound-healing process of liver featured by the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and the deposition of extra cellular matrix (ECM). Accumulating facts have suggested that interleukin (IL) 26 is involved in the pathogenesis of liver fibrosis by the modulation of HSCs. However, the biological roles of IL-26 in liver fibrosis are still unclear.

[Effect of estrogen on expression of cysteine-rich secretory protein CRISPLD2 in myocardium of mice with sepsis].

Objective: To investigate the effect of estrogen on expression of the cysteine-rich secretory protein containing LCCL domain 2 (CRISPLD2) in myocardium of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced mice model of sepsis.

Methods: Totally 12 female and 12 male Balb/c mice of specific pathogen-free (SPF) level with 7 weeks were served as objectives. The female and male mice were randomly divided into model groups and control groups, respectively, with 6 mice in each group.

miR-424 promotes cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury by direct targeting of CRISPLD2 and regulating cardiomyocyte pyroptosis.

As a complex pathophysiological event, myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury (IRI) can cause heart failure, which has been associated with pyroptosis, a pro-inflammatory programmed cell death. Small endogenous non-coding RNAs have been shown to be involved in myocardial IRI. In the present study, we aimed to investigate whether miR-424 modulated pyroptosis in response to myocardial IRI and determine its underlying regulatory mechanism.

[Pathogenesis of sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction].

Sepsis is a common disease in intensive care units (ICU), and the resulted multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) is the main cause of death in patients with severe sepsis. The cardiovascular system is one of the most important target organ for sepsis. The severity of cardiac dysfunction is closely related to the clinical prognosis of patients with sepsis.

NF-κB-Induced MicroRNA-211 Inhibits Interleukin-10 in Macrophages of Rats with Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome.

Background/aims: The present study addressed the potential involvement of microRNAs in acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)-related inflammation and elucidates the underlying molecular mechanism.

Methods: ARDS rat model was established by lipopolysaccharide, with compromised gas exchange capacity and lung edema. The inflammatory cells from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were profiled with automatic blood cell analyzer.

[A case of large pulmonary embolism in trunk and branches with main manifestation of syncope, vomiting and shock].

Pulmonary embolism (PE) refers to the endogenous or exogenous emboli blocking pulmonary trunk or branches, causing clinical and pathophysiological syndrome of pulmonary circulation disorder, the incidence rate is high. Sometimes PE patients were lack of specific symptoms and signs, or without any symptoms, which often result in misdiagnosis, un-timely diagnosis, and the delay of treatment. A PE case with syncope, vomiting and shock, which was proved to be pulmonary artery trunk and branch wide embolism later, was presented so as to improve the understanding of the disease.

[Formulation of combined predictive indicators using logistic regression model in predicting sepsis and prognosis].

Objective: To explore the method and performance of using multiple indices to diagnose sepsis and to predict the prognosis of severe ill patients.

Methods: Critically ill patients at first admission to intensive care unit (ICU) of Changzheng Hospital, Second Military Medical University, from January 2014 to September 2015 were enrolled if the following conditions were satisfied: (1) patients were 18-75 years old; (2) the length of ICU stay was more than 24 hours; (3) All records of the patients were available. Data of the patients was collected by searching the electronic medical record system.

Rhubarb Monomers Protect Intestinal Mucosal Barrier in Sepsis via Junction Proteins.

Background: Leakage of the intestinal mucosal barrier may cause translocation of bacteria, then leading to multiorgan failure. This study hypothesized that rhubarb monomers might protect the gut mucosal barrier in sepsis through junction proteins.

Methods: Healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats (weighing 230-250 g) under anesthesia and sedation were subjected to cecal ligation and perforation (CLP).

NF-κB inhibition attenuates LPS-induced TLR4 activation in monocyte cells.

Toll-like receptor (TLR) family are receptors for extracellular or intracellular signaling, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate. TLR induces the differentiation of human myeloid monocytic‑leukemia cells (THP-1) to macrophages. However, the relationship between extracellular or intracellular signaling and the TLR protein level remain to be determined.

Hydrogen Gas Inhalation Attenuates Seawater Instillation-Induced Acute Lung Injury via the Nrf2 Pathway in Rabbits.

Seawater instillation-induced acute lung injury involves oxidative stress and apoptosis. Although hydrogen gas inhalation is reportedly protective in multiple types of lung injury, the effect of hydrogen gas inhalation on seawater instillation-induced acute lung injury remains unknown. This study investigated the effect of hydrogen gas on seawater instillation-induced acute lung injury and explored the mechanisms involved.

Rhubarb Antagonizes Matrix Metalloproteinase-9-induced Vascular Endothelial Permeability.

Background: Intact endothelial structure and function are critical for maintaining microcirculatory homeostasis. Dysfunction of the latter is an underlying cause of various organ pathologies. In a previous study, we showed that rhubarb, a traditional Chinese medicine, protected intestinal mucosal microvascular endothelial cells in rats with metastasizing septicemia.