Exp Ther Med
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The aim of the current study was to examine the prognostic value of copeptin for acute intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) patients. A total of 120 patients were recruited. The plasma copeptin levels were measured using sandwich immunoassays. ⋯ Copeptin levels were also higher in patients with an unfavorable functional outcome at 90 days than in patients with a favorable outcome (4.14±0.87 vs. 3.09±0.30 ng/ml; t=8.001, P=0.00). Monovariate logistic regression analysis results suggest that copeptin is a predictor of the 90-day functional outcomes of ICH patients (OR=3.17, 95% CI 2.01-4.35, P=0.003. Multivariate logistic regression analysis results indicate that copeptin is an independent predictor of the 90-day functional outcomes of ICH patients.
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Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is performed with increasing frequency in aging populations. However, in elderly patients, cognitive dysfunction following surgery may impair the outcome of surgical procedures. Dexmedetomidine (DEX) has been demonstrated to have a neuroprotectve effect in animal experiments. ⋯ Eight patients in the DEX group and 15 patients in the control group had mild cognitive impairment (26≥ MMSE score ≥21) although the difference was not statistically significant. The findings of the present study support the hypothesis that DEX administration may be an effective method for ameliorating postoperative cognitive impairment in elderly patients who have undergone laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Further research is required to confirm the findings of the present study.
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The aim of this study was to investigate the factors affecting pre- and post-stenting head computed tomography perfusion (CTP) in patients with middle cerebral artery stenosis. A total of 25 patients with severe middle cerebral artery stenosis were enrolled. CTP was performed prior to and following stenting. ⋯ TTP is a sensitive parameter for evaluating the effect of stenting on middle cerebral artery stenosis. TTP prior to and following stenting may be quantitatively assessed using the ASPECTS scale. Patients with serious stenosis and/or good collateral circulation are able to benefit more from stenting.
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Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is often characterized by reduced lung compliance, which suggests dysfunction of the endogenous surfactant system. The effectiveness of exogenous surfactants as replacements for the endogenous system in the treatment of ARDS in adults was assessed. Randomized controlled trials from Medline (1950-2011), Embase (1989-2011), the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (1994-2011) were analyzed. ⋯ There was no evidence of publication bias. Oxygenation, ventilation-free days, duration of ventilation and APACHE II scores did not undergo pooled analysis due to insufficient data. Exogenous surfactant did not reduce mortality in adults with ARDS in our meta-analysis, and we cannot accurately define whether exogenous surfactant has an effect on oxygenation from the included studies.
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The aim of the present study was to compare overall survival between stage IVA or stage IVB hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients who received transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and those who were treated with sorafenib. This retrospective comparative study included 55 patients with stage IVA or IVB HCC in whom TACE was performed as an initial treatment (the TACE group) and 56 patients with stage IVA or IVB HCC to whom sorafenib was administered (the sorafenib group). We compared the overall survival between these two groups. ⋯ In terms of overall survival, there was no significant difference between the two groups (P=0.814). In subgroup analyses, according to HCC stage [stage IVA (P=0.266) or stage IVB (P=0.183)] and Child-Pugh classification [Child-Pugh A (P=0.915) or Child-Pugh B (P=0.676)], there were also no significant differences between the two groups. In conclusion, our study results suggest that TACE could serve as a first-line treatment for stage IV HCC patients as well as sorafenib therapy.