Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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Goiter is a disease with history perhaps as long as human has been around. Almost all the available references are in Western language works of literature while information concerning the occurrence of goiter disease in ancient China and the comparison between the treatment in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with current Western medicine remains lacking. In this article, the description of goiter, the history of surgical intervention for goiter disease, and the general concept of goiter disease treatment in ancient China literature such as seaweed decoction and acupuncture analgesia for surgery were reviewed.
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Comparative Study
Differentiation of clinical patterns and survival outcomes of hepatocellular carcinoma on hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
The main etiologies of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were often hepatitis B virus (HBV) or C and alcohol, rarely autoimmune and biliary diseases. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been an emerging role that could lead to chronic liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, cirrhosis, and eventually HCC in recent years. The aim of our study is to investigate and compare the clinical features of HCC in patients with NAFLD and HBV, including age, gender, cirrhosis, liver function tests, largest tumor size, and cancer stage at the time of diagnosis. The survival outcome was compared between the two groups and the significant predictors of mortality were also analyzed in all patients with HCC. ⋯ In conclusion, our study showed NAFLD-related HCC patients were older, heavier, and more had DM than HBV-related. In addition, more NAFLD-related HCC patients were noncirrhotic than HBV-related. The survival rate was similar between NAFLD and HBV-related HCC patients.
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Lung cancer is one of the most prevalent human cancers, and single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) has been widely used to study human lung cancer at the cellular, genetic, and molecular level. Even though there are published reviews, which summarized the applications of scRNA-seq in human cancers like breast cancer, there is lack of a comprehensive review, which could effectively highlight the broad use of scRNA-seq in studying lung cancer. ⋯ The review would first briefly outline the concept and principle of scRNA-seq, followed by the discussion on the applications of scRNA-seq in studying human lung cancer. Finally, the challenges faced when using scRNA-seq to study human lung cancer would be discussed, and the potential applications and challenges of scRNA-seq to facilitate the development of personalized cancer therapy in the future would be explored.
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Over recent years, new evolution in guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) contributes to clinical benefits in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The additional medical expenditure may be a concern due to the current financial constraint. This study aimed to investigate the medical costs and clinical effectiveness of contemporary GDMT in recently hospitalized HFrEF patients. ⋯ The higher adoption of GDMT was associated with greater medical expenses but better clinical outcomes in recently decompensated HFrEF patients.
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Observational Study
Differences in end-of-life care and outcomes in palliative consultation-eligible patients with and without do-not-resuscitate orders - A propensity score matched study.
The primary objective of palliative care, not synonymous with end-of-life (EOL) care, is to align care plans with patient goals, regardless of whether these goals include the pursuit of invasive, life-sustaining procedures, or not. This study determines the differences in EOL care, resource utilization, and outcome in palliative care consultation-eligible emergency department patients with and without do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders. ⋯ The palliative care consultation-eligible emergency department patients with DNR compared with those without DNR experienced worse outcomes, greater pain control, more endotracheal extubations, shorter duration of hospital stay, more critical discharge to home, more hospice referrals, and 23.3% reduction in total expenditure. There were fewer deaths in the ICU among them as well.