Medicine
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This study aimed to examine whether the 3 harmonic components (HCs) of photoplethysmography (PTG) - total harmonic distortion (THD), harmonic power (HP), and normalized harmonic amplitude (HA) - have aging effects and may serve as an arterial stiffness marker and examine the relationship between HCs and clinical severity of pathological patterns. This study had a retrospective chart review design, and electronic medical records of 173 female patients (age: 38.57 ± 11.64 years) were reviewed. Patients were asked to complete the phlegm, blood stasis (BS), and food retention (FR) pattern questionnaires and underwent PTG and the second derivative of PTG measurements. ⋯ In the older group (≥46 years), HP and HA were positively or negatively correlated with the phlegm pattern (r: ±0.263 to ±0.440). HCs may serve as an arterial stiffness marker, and may be partially related to phlegm, BS, and FR patterns. Aging effect needs to be considered when utilizing HCs as an indicator of phlegm, BS, and FR patterns.
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Bladder diverticula (BD) can be classified into congenital and acquired forms, with the latter accounting for approximately 90% of all cases, primarily among male patients. Although BD-associated anatomical bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) is uncommon, existing literature suggests that congenital BD are more frequently observed in male children and rarely in female children. While around 70% of acquired BD are linked to BOO secondary to benign prostatic hyperplasia in male patients, clinical reports of female BD are less common. Furthermore, cases of female BD located posterior to the urethra, which lead to voiding difficulties, are exceedingly rare. ⋯ Female bladder outlet obstruction resulting from posterior urethral BD can be challenging to visualize during transurethral cystoscopy, especially with limited angulation, and may even be overlooked. Furthermore, conventional transvaginal diverticulectomy is often difficult to perform effectively. Therefore, laparoscopic bladder diverticulectomy, partial urethral croppingplasty, and cystoplasty are considered appropriate treatment options for such cases.
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Observational Study
Predictive value of ACE I/D genetic polymorphism for 12-month all-cause mortality in patients with acute myocardial infarction.
The prognostic role of the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion (I/D) genetic polymorphism in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is controversial and inconsistent across various study populations. This study evaluated the predictive validity of the ACE I/D variant based on 12-month all-cause mortality in Vietnamese patients after AMI. This was an observational, prospective study conducted among AMI patients at Cho Ray Hospital between January 2020 and September 2021. ⋯ Among patients with Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) scores below the median (153.5 points), those with DD genotype had a higher risk of mortality than those with the II/ID genotypes (HR = 3.35, 95% CI: 1.01-11.11; P = .049). The ACE I/D genetic polymorphism was found not to be associated with 12-month all-cause mortality in Vietnamese patients with AMI. However, it was associated with mortality in patients who did not use ACEI/ARB and also whose GRACE scores were below 153.5 points.
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This study aimed to explore the prenatal indicators in the second trimester of pregnancy and their association with chromosome abnormities (CA) to guide decisions toward invasive diagnostic procedures. Pregnant women who underwent prenatal screening and underwent amniocentesis in the second trimester in our Hospital between June 2017 and February 2019 were included in this retrospective cohort study. The reason for amniocentesis in prenatal screening and diagnoses was extracted from the charts. ⋯ AMA (OR = 4.22, 95% CI: 2.35-7.58, P < .001; AUC = 0.536), IRN (OR = 10.62, 95% CI: 6.66-16.94, P < .001; AUC = 0.589), PCA (OR = 4.77, 95% CI: 2.01-11.32, P < .001; AUC = 0.584), and IRT21 (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.47-0.89, P = .008; AUC = 0.515) were independently associated with CA. AMA, IRN, IRT21, and PCA during the second trimester were independently associated with CA, but their predictive values for CA were relatively low. Combining those indicators may improve the predictive value.
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The physiological effects of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), leading to beneficial metabolic outcomes, have been extensively revealed in recent decades. Significantly elevated serum levels of FGF21 in obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are referred to as FGF21 resistance. However, Asian population tend to develop metabolic disorders at a lesser degree of obesity than those of Western. ⋯ Moreover, PAI-1 was a significant predictor of FGF21 in those with FLI < 60, BMI < 25.0 kg/m2, and HOMA-R < median, while leptin was the only independent factor in each of their counterparts. The factors related to serum FGF21 differ according to the severity of metabolic disorders. FGF21 appears to be independently associated with PAI-1 in T2DM patients: without overweight/obesity, those free of insulin resistance, and those without hepatic steatosis.