A Rare Case of Biopsy-Proven Sacral Mass Metastatic From Follicular Thyroid Cancer With a Literature Review.

Thyroid cancer with metastatic disease to the pelvis is extremely rare. The patient in our case, an 86-year-old male, presented after total thyroidectomy for follicular thyroid cancer (FTC) with symptoms of recurrent urinary tract infections and retentions, surprisingly leading to the discovery of a large sacral mass on the CT abdomen and pelvis. The biopsy showed metastatic carcinoma with morphology and immunohistochemistry to be consistent with FTC.

The reporting quality of randomized controlled trials in Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) formulas for diabetes based on the consort statement and its extension for CHM formulas.

This study aimed to assess the overall reporting quality of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) formulas for patients with diabetes, and to identify factors associated with better reporting quality. Four databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were systematically searched from their inception to December 2022. The reporting quality was assessed based on the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) statement and its CHM formula extension.

Risk prediction models for mortality and readmission in patients with acute heart failure: A protocol for systematic review, critical appraisal, and meta-analysis.

Introduction: A considerable number of risk models, which predict outcomes in mortality and readmission rates, have been developed for patients with acute heart failure (AHF) to help stratify patients by risk level, improve decision making, and save medical resources. However, some models exist in a clinically useful manner such as risk scores or online calculators, while others are not, providing only limited information that prevents clinicians and patients from using them. The reported performance of some models varied greatly when predicting at multiple time points and being validated in different cohorts, which causes model users uncertainty about the predictive accuracy of these models.

Radiation-induced inferior brachial plexopathy after stereotactic body radiotherapy: Pooled analyses of risks.

Introduction: Radiation-induced brachial plexopathy (RIBP), resulting in symptomatic motor or sensory deficits of the upper extremity, is a risk after exposure of the brachial plexus to therapeutic doses of radiation. We sought to model dosimetric factors associated with risks of RIBP after stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).

Methods: From a prior systematic review, 4 studies were identified that included individual patient data amenable to normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) modelling after SBRT for apical lung tumors.

Effects of Electroacupuncture for Opioid-Induced Constipation in Patients With Cancer in China: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Opioid-induced constipation (OIC) is prevalent among patients treated with opioids for cancer pain. Safe and effective therapies for OIC in patients with cancer remain an unmet need.

Objective: To determine the efficacy of electroacupuncture (EA) for OIC in patients with cancer.

Evidence-Based Strategies to Mitigate Compassion Fatigue Among Oncology Nurses.

Oncology nurses are at higher risk for compassion fatigue (CF) than nurses working in other specialties. This increased incidence occurs as a result of the type of stress oncology nurses encounter in the workplace (e.g.

Efficacy and safety of lumbrokinase plus aspirin versus aspirin alone for acute ischemic stroke (LUCENT): study protocol for a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Background: Lumbrokinase has been widely used for patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) in China; however, because rigorously designed studies are lacking, safety and efficacy of lumbrokinase in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke remains largely unknown. In this multicenter, randomized, and controlled trial, we aim to compare lumbrokinase plus aspirin versus aspirin alone in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

Methods: A total of 220 eligible participants will be randomized to either the intervention or control group with a 1:1 ratio.

A highly branched α-d-glucan facilitates antitumor immunity by reducing cancer cell CXCL5 expression.

Tumor immunotherapy has emerged as a major pillar of anticancer therapeutic strategies. Natural polysaccharides, known for their strong immunomodulatory activities with relatively low cost and toxicity, are becoming promising prospects for cancer immunotherapy. In this study, we investigated the antitumor mechanism of JNY2PW, a highly branched α-d-glucan previously purified from the traditional marine Chinese medicine Arca inflata.

Acetic Acid Use in Chronic Wound Healing: A Multiple Case Series.

Background: Acetic acid is bacteriostatic or bactericidal to many gram-negative and gram-positive microorganisms, especially Pseudomonas. Nevertheless, it has also been found to possess cytotoxic effects in concentrations as low as 0.25% inhibiting the epithelialization process during wound healing.

A Novel Peptide Derived from Induces Apoptosis in Colorectal Cancer Cells through Mitochondria and the p38 MAPK Pathway.

Colorectal carcinoma (CRC) is one of the major causes of cancer-related incidence and deaths. Here, we identified a novel antitumor peptide, P6, with a molecular weight of 2794.8 Da from a marine Chinese medicine, Reeve.

Efficacy of Acupuncture for Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome : A Randomized Trial.

Background: Acupuncture has promising effects on chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), but high-quality evidence is scarce.

Objective: To assess the long-term efficacy of acupuncture for CP/CPPS.

Design: Multicenter, randomized, sham-controlled trial.

Structural characterization and immunomodulatory mechanisms of two novel glucans from Morchella importuna fruiting bodies.

Two novel glucans named MIPB50-W and MIPB50-S-1 were obtained from edible Morchella importuna with molecular weights (M) of 939.2 kDa and 444.5 kDa, respectively.

Emerging views of statin pleiotropy and cholesterol lowering.

Over the past four decades, no class of drugs has had more impact on cardiovascular health than the 3-hydroxy-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors or statins. Developed as potent lipid-lowering agents, statins were later shown to reduce morbidity and mortality of patients who are at risk for cardiovascular disease. However, retrospective analyses of some of these clinical trials have uncovered some aspects of their clinical benefits that may be additional to their lipid-lowering effects.

Cardiovascular Manifestations and Mechanisms in Patients with COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease (CVD) or with cardiovascular complications have a higher risk of mortality. The main cardiovascular complications of COVID-19 include acute cardiac injury, acute myocardial infarction (AMI), myocarditis, arrhythmia, heart failure, shock, and venous thromboembolism (VTE)/pulmonary embolism (PE). COVID-19 can cause cardiovascular complications or deterioration of coexisting CVD through direct or indirect mechanisms, including viral toxicity, dysregulation of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS), endothelial cell damage and thromboinflammation, cytokine storm, and oxygen supply-demand mismatch.

Sex and Gender Differences in Emotion Recognition and Theory of Mind After TBI: A Narrative Review and Directions for Future Research.

A growing body of literature has examined sex differences in a variety of outcomes from moderate-severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), including outcomes for social functioning. Social functioning is an area in which adults with TBI have significant long-term challenges (1-4), and a better understanding of sex and gender differences in this domain may have a significant clinical impact. This paper presents a brief narrative review of current evidence regarding sex differences in one aspect of social functioning in adults with TBI: social cognition, specifically affect recognition and Theory of Mind (ToM).

Nitrous Oxide Impairs Axon Regeneration after Nervous System Injury in Male Rats.

Background: Nitrous oxide can induce neurotoxicity. The authors hypothesized that exposure to nitrous oxide impairs axonal regeneration and functional recovery after central nervous system injury.

Methods: The consequences of single and serial in vivo nitrous oxide exposures on axon regeneration in four experimental male rat models of nervous system injury were measured: in vitro axon regeneration in cell culture after in vivo nitrous oxide administration, in vivo axon regeneration after sharp spinal cord injury, in vivo axon regeneration after sharp optic nerve injury, and in vivo functional recovery after blunt contusion spinal cord injury.

Multicenter Assessment of Grafts in Coronaries: Midterm Evaluation of the C-Port Device (the MAGIC Study).

Objective: The commercially available C-Port distal anastomotic device (Food and Drug Administration cleared in 2007) is an automated miniature vascular stapler that performs the coronary anastomosis. This prospective multicenter registry sought to evaluate midterm patency using this device compared with hand-sewn grafts.

Methods: Patients receiving at least one C-Port anastomosis during coronary artery bypass grafting surgery were enrolled at eight sites.

ThedaCare Nutrition Risk Screen Improves the Identification of Non-Intensive Care Unit Patients at Risk for Malnutrition Compared With the Nutrition Risk Screen 2002.

Background: Identification of patients at risk for malnutrition is important for timely nutrition intervention to reduce morbidity and mortality.

Objective: The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity and specificity of the Nutrition Risk Screen (NRS) 2002 and the ThedaCare NRS to identify patients at risk for malnutrition.

Methods: The NRS 2002 and ThedaCare NRS were administered to 594 patients, aged 63 ± 16 years (mean ± SD), in the non-intensive care unit hospital setting.

A comprehensive scoring system to evaluate patient-centred risk factors regarding lower extremity amputation.

Care of the patient with a presumed life- or limb-threatening lower extremity wound poses many challenges. The mindset regarding potential outcomes of such conditions is mostly driven by the experiences and expertise of those providing the care. This mindset generally appears as two primary actions presented to the afflicted patient: attempted resolution of the problem via medical, surgical or combination treatment, with the hope of low recurrence risk, or exacerbation and amputation-amputations at a level sufficient to, at least in the mind of the surgeon, eliminate the problem.