Plos One
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
The Effects of a Community-Based Sodium Reduction Program in Rural China - A Cluster-Randomized Trial.
Average sodium intake and stroke mortality in northern China are both among the highest in the world. An effective, low-cost strategy to reduce sodium intake in this population is urgently needed. ⋯ There were clear differences in population sodium and potassium intake between villages that were most likely a consequence of increased use of salt substitute. The absence of effects on blood pressure reflects the moderate changes in sodium and potassium intake achieved.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
COPD Underdiagnosis and Misdiagnosis in a High-Risk Primary Care Population in Four Latin American Countries. A Key to Enhance Disease Diagnosis: The PUMA Study.
Acknowledgement of COPD underdiagnosis and misdiagnosis in primary care can contribute to improved disease diagnosis. PUMA is an international primary care study in Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela and Uruguay. ⋯ COPD underdiagnosis is a major problem in primary care. Availability of spirometry should be a priority in this setting.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Laparoscopic Radiofrequency Ablation for Large Subcapsular Hepatic Hemangiomas: Technical and Clinical Outcomes.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the technical and clinical outcomes of using laparoscopic radiofrequency (RF) ablation for treating large subcapsular hepatic hemangiomas. ⋯ Laparoscopic RF ablation therapy is a safe, feasible and effective procedure for large subcapsular hepatic hemangiomas, even in the hepatic hemangiomas ≥ 10 cm. Its use avoids thermal injury to the abdominal viscera.
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An efficient serum marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is currently lacking and requires intensive exploration. We aimed to evaluate the performance of des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) for identifying hepatitis B virus-related HCC in a large, multicentre study in China. A total of 1034 subjects in three cohorts (A, B, and C) including HCC and various non-HCC controls were enrolled from 4 academic medical centers in China from January 2011 to February 2014. ⋯ The superiority of DCP to AFP was more profound in the surveillance of early HCC [AUC 0.837 (95% CI: 0.771-0.903) vs. 0.650 (0.555-0.745)] and AFP-negative HCC [AUC: 0.856 (0.798-0.914)] and in discriminating HCC from LC (accuracy: 92.9% vs.64.71%). Higher DCP levels were associated with worse clinical behaviors and shorter disease-free survival. DCP not only is complementary to AFP in identifying AFP-negative HCC and in excluding AFP-positive non-HCC (liver cirrhosis), but also demonstrates improved performance in HCC surveillance, early diagnosis, treatment response and recurrence monitoring in the HBV-related population.
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Multicenter Study
Clinical Utility of an Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Detecting Anti-Melanoma Differentiation-Associated Gene 5 Autoantibodies.
Autoantibodies to melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA5) are specifically expressed in patients with dermatomyositis (DM) and are associated with a subset of DM patients with rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD). Here, we examined the clinical utility of a newly developed enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) system for detecting these antibodies. ⋯ Our newly developed ELISA can detect anti-MDA5 antibodies as efficiently as the gold standard IP assay and has the potential to facilitate the routine clinical measurement of anti-MDA5 antibodies in patients who suspected to have DM.