Objective To observe the efficacy and safety of sildenafil in one case of PoPH patients. Methods A case of PoPH patient who was successfully treated with sildenafil was retrospectively analyzed，and literatures related sildenafil and PoPH were reviewed. Results A case of PoPH patient admitted with dyspnea on extetion was diagnosed with echocardiography，gastroscrope and other examinations. She was treated with sildenafil and responded well by decreased pulmonary arterial pressure，improved exercise tolerance and life quality，without obvious side effects. Literatures review suggested that PoPH is an under-recognized but life-threatening complication of cirrhosis or noncirrhotic portal hypertension with poor prognosis which exists in decompensated chronic liver diseases patients. The most classic symptoms of PoPH is progressive dyspnea on extertion. PoPH patients may benefit from sildenafil therapy with decreased pulmonary arterial pressure and improved life quality. Conclusions Theawareness of PoPH should be increased and Sildenafil may be effective and safe for PoPH patients. However，more evidences from clinical trials are needed.
Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is still a common disease that seriously affects people’s health. It is of great clinical significance for proper anti-infective therapy to identify the characteristics and changes of the pathogens. Along with the accelerated process of aging population, increased use of immunosuppression agents, and increased morbidity of malignant tumor and underlying diseases, the pathogenic spectrum of patients with CAP varies as well. This article reviews the important pathogenic changes of CAP in recent years.
Objectives To investigate the effects of cryptotanshinone (CTS) on cigarette smoke (CS) -induced airway inflammation and oxidative stress in mice and the possible mechanisms. Methods BALB/c mice were exposed to CS for 4 weeks to establish airway inflammation model. CTS was given by intraperitoneal injection before CS exposure at a dosage of 30 mg·kg−1·d−1 or 15 mg﹒kg−1·d−1. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was acquired for cell counting and detection of pro-inflammatory cytokine [interleukine (IL)-17, monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α] levels. Lung tissue was collected for histological examination, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction for Muc5ac detection, and western blot for lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein-1 receptor (LOX-1) and nuclear factor (NF)-κB. Results CTS administration attenuated CS exposure induced thickening of the airway epithelium, peribronchial inflammatory cell infiltration, and lumen obstruction, increased numbers of total cells, macrophages, and neutrophils, and decreased the releases of IL-17, MCP-1, TNF-α in BALF of mice. CS exposure could induce the elevation in MDA levels and decrease in SOD activities, markers of oxidative stress. CTS could attenuate these changes. CTS also attenuated CS induced up-regulation of the protein levels of LOX-1 and phosphorylated p65, down-regulation of the levels of NF-κB inhibitor α. Conclusion CTS alleviates the airway inflammation, oxidative stress and mucus hypersecretion induced by CS, which may be through the regulation of LOX-1 and NF-κB signaling pathway.
Objective To determine the role of serum cystatin C in evaluating the severity and predicting in-hospital mortality in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Methods The clinical data of 176 patients with CAP treated between January 2015 and October 2016 were collected in a retrospective way. The CURB-65 score was used to assess the severity. The serum levels of cystatin C and C-reactive protein (CRP) on admission were measured. The correlations between cystatin C and CURB-65 score and between cystatin C and CRP were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to determine the ability of cystatin C in predicting in-hospital mortality. Results The serum level of cystatin C increased with the increasing CURB-65 score (P<0.001). The serum level of cystatin C was correlated positively with CRP level (rs=0.190, P<0.011). There were 22 patients died in hospital, the mean serum cystatin C level of non-survivor was significantly higher than that of survivors [(1.51±0.56)vs. (1.02±0.29) mg/L, P<0.001]. At a cut-off 1.18 mg/L, the sensitivity and specificity of cystatin C in predicting in-hospital mortality were 68.18% and 81.17%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.793. The combination of cystatin C and CRP increased the predictive accuracy for in-hospital mortality. Conclusion Cystatin C level increases with the increaseing severity of CAP, and it may be a clinical biomarker to evaluate the severity and prognosis of patients with CAP.
ObjectiveTo summarize the overall diagnostic accuracy of serum proteomic assay for pulmonary tuberculosis through a Meta-analysis.MethodsStudies regarding the diagnostic utility of serum proteomic assay for pulmonary tuberculosis were searched in Scopus, PubMed, Wanfang, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, and CQVIP. The methodical quality was evaluated by Quality Assessment for Studies of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive/negative likelihood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratio were calculated. Summary receiver operating characteristic curve was generated and the area under the curve was calculated.ResultsThere were 10 articles with 2 433 patients included in this study, containing 1 191 cases and 1 242 controls. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive/negative likehood ratios, and diagnostic odds ratio were 0.86, 0.88, 6.72, 0.17, and 46.84, respectively. The area under the curve was 0.93.ConclusionSerum proteomic assay plays a role in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis, and proteomic assay represents a novel and useful method for diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical value of age/pleural fluid adenosine deaminase (age/ADA) ratio and serum lactate dehydrogenase/pleural fluid adenosine deaminase ratio (Cancer Ratio, CR) in the diagnosis of malignant pleural effusions (MPE). MethodsThe study collected 44 patients with MPE and 48 patients with benign pleural effusion (BPE) to compare the differences in age, gender, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), age/ADA ratio and CR between the groups. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of CEA, age/ADA and CR was constructed and the area under the ROC curve (AUC), sensitivity and specificity was calculated to identify the diagnostic performance of the three indicators alone or in combination in MPE. ResultsCEA, age/ADA and CR were significant higher in the MPE group than those in the BPE group (all P<0.05), the AUCs of CEA, age/ADA and CR were 0.768, 0.837 and 0.866, respectively; the sensitivity was 61.36%, 88.64% and 81.82%, the specificity was 85.42%, 75.00%, 83.33%, respectively. The AUCs of CEA combined with age/ADA, CEA combined with CR, age/ADA combined with CR, CEA combined with age/ADA and CR were respectively 0.892, 0.911, 0.837 and 0.907; the sensitivity was 81.82%, 86.36%, 88.64% and 90.91%, the specificity was 79.17%, 79.17%, 75.00% and 77.08%, respectively. ConclusionsAge/ADA and CR demonstrated good diagnostic performance in MPE, moreover, the diagnostic performance can be further improved when combined with the traditional tumor marker CEA, and more research about its diagnostic value is needed in the future.