ObjectiveTo investigate the distribution, service volume, and medical efficiency of private general hospitals in Sichuan Province to provide references for optimizing the allocation of health resources in Sichuan Province. MethodsUsing the 2020 data from private general hospitals above the second level in 18 cities and states in Sichuan Province, this study calculated the market concentration and competitiveness with the Herfindahl-Hirschman index (HHI). A three-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) model was employed to eliminate environmental variables and random errors for hospital efficiency analysis. Influencing factors were conducted using a Tobit regression model. ResultsThe HHI indices for the number of licensed (assistant) physicians, beds, and total consultations in each city and state were below 1 000, indicating a low concentration market. The comprehensive technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency of private general hospitals above the second level in Sichuan Province were 0.534, 0.661, and 0.806, respectively, after the three-stage DEA analysis. The number of practicing (assistant) physicians was negatively correlated with scale efficiency. the number of beds was negatively correlated with pure technical efficiency. The total number of consultations showed a positive correlation with overall technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency. ConclusionThe provincial private hospital market exhibits low concentration competition. Differences in efficiency exist among various regions, grades, and hospital types. Market competition in resource allocation promotes the improvement of pure technological efficiency and scale efficiency. Market share competition hinders the improvement of comprehensive technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency, and scale efficiency.
Objective To systematically review the diagnostic value of anti-HCV in serum tested by the third-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA 3) in patients with hepatitis C. Methods Such databases as PubMed, MEDLINE, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2013), EBSCO, CBM, CNKI, VIP and WanFang Data were electronically and comprehensively searched for relevant studies on the diagnostic value of anti-HCV in serum tested by ELISA 3 in patients with hepatitis C from inception to January 1st, 2013. Relevant journals were also manually retrieved. QUADAS items were used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using Meta-Disc 1.4 software to calculate pooled effect size in sensitivity (SEN), specificity (SPE), likelihood ratio (±LR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and summary receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC curve), and area under the curve (AUC) as well. Results Finally, nine studies were included, involving 1 182 patients with hepatitis C diagnosed by the gold standard and 4 764 patients with non-hepatitis C diseases. The results of meta-analysis using random model showed (SEN=0.96, 95%CI 0.95 to 0.97; SPE=0.96, 95%CI 0.96 to 0.97; +LR=42.21, 95%CI 10.23 to 174.23; –LR=0.02, 95%CI 0.01 to 0.09; DOR=1 635.89, 95%CI 372.37 to 7 186.83; AUC=0.996 5). Conclusion Anti-HCV in serum tested by ELISA 3 has fairly high value in the diagnosis of patients with hepatitis C.
Objective To evaluate the sensitivity， specificity, and accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging （MRI） in characterizing adnexal masses. Methods The databases such as the Cochrane Library, PubMed， EMbase， CNKI， and WanFang Data were searched on computer from 1991 to 2011. The reviewers screened the trials according to inclusion and exclusion criteria strictly, extracted the data， and assessed the methodology quality. Meta-analysis were performed using the Metadisc 1.40 software. The acquired pooled sensitivity, specificity， and summary receiver operating characteristic curve （SROC） were used to describe the diagnostic value. The pooled likelihood ratios were calculated based on the pooled sensitivity and specificity. Results Ten case-control studies involving 649 women who were suspected to have pelvic masses were included and 729 masses were confirmed by the postoperative histopathology. The pooled statistical results of meta-analysis showed that：the sensitivity and specificity of MRI were 〔89%（84%-92%）， P=0.046 6〕 and 〔87% （83%-90%）， P=0.000 2〕 respectively, the positive and negative likelihood ratios of MRI were 6.25（P=0.008 5） and 0.14（P=0.029 1） respectively, and the area under the SROC curve （AUC） was 0.941. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound were 〔87%（82%-91%）， P=0.000 0〕 and 〔73%（69%-77%）, P=0.000 0〕 respectively, the positive and negative likelihood ratios of MRI were 3.07（P=0.000 0） and 0.18（P=0.000 1） respectively， and the AUC was 0.897. The speci?city and accuracy of MRI in characterizing female pelvic masses were higher than ultrasound obviously. Conclusion According these evidences， the MRI should be recommended to the women who are suspected to have pelvic masses as a preferred.
Objective To explore the expression differences of procalcitonin (PCT) in different infection sites and bacterial strains, and to provide the evidence for early differential diagnosis of infectious diseases with PCT as a biomarker. Methods The patients with various kinds of infections diagnosed in West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January 2012 and June 2016 were retrospectively included. The expression differences of PCT in various infection sites and bacterial strains were analyzed. Results A total of 1 005 patients were include in this study, including 259 with systemic infection and 746 with local infection. The median PCT level in the systemic infection group was higher than that in the local infection group (8.57 vs. 0.10 ng/mL, P<0.05). In the 779 patients with pulmonary infection, the median PCT level of the patients with sepsis caused by pulmonary infection was higher than that of the ones without sepsis (4.61vs. 0.10 ng/mL, P<0.05), and the median PCT level of the patients with positive sputum culture was higher than that of the ones with negative sputum culture (0.28vs. 0.08 ng/mL, P<0.05). In the 48 patients with urinary tract infection, the median PCT level of the patients with sepsis caused by urinary tract infection was higher than that of the ones without sepsis (12.00vs. 0.42 ng/mL, P<0.05), and the median PCT level of the patients with complicated urinary tract infection was higher than that of the patients with simplex urinary tract infection (19.15vs. 5.02 ng/mL, P<0.05). In the 259 patients with systemic infection, the median PCT level of the patients with infective shock was higher than that of the ones without infective shock (40.26vs. 3.83 ng/mL, P<0.05); the mean PCT level of patients with infection of Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria and fungi was 13.66, 0.99, and 3.30 ng/mL with a significant difference (P<0.05). Conclusion The PCT level has unique advantages in identifying different sites of the infection, early diagnosing complicated urinary tract infection, and evaluating the severity of infection, which could provide evidence in early identification for sepsis caused by various kinds of infectious pathogens.
ObjectivesTo systematically review the current status of cognitive impairment of the elderly in China.MethodsCNKI, VIP, CBM, WanFang Data, PubMed, EMbase and The Cochrane Library databases were electronically searched to collect studies on the current status of cognitive impairment of the elderly in China from January 1st, 2000 to March 12th, 2020. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed by using Stata 14.1 software.ResultsA total of 126 studies involving 187 115 elderly were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that the cognitive impairment rate of the elderly in China was 22.0% (95%CI 20.4% to 23.6%). Subgroup analysis showed that the cognitive impairment rate was higher in females, seniors, low education level, residing in rural area, engaging in manual labor, no spouse, living alone, monthly income less than 1 000 yuan, and suffering from chronic diseases.ConclusionsCurrent evidence shows that the cognitive impairment rate of the elderly in China is 22%, which is relatively high in females, seniors, low education level, residing in rural area, engaging in manual labor, no spouse, living alone, low-income, and suffering from chronic diseases.
Objective To investigate the risk factors of high peritoneal transport characteristics in patients with end-stage renal disease undergoing initial continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis. Method The clinical data of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients who underwent initial peritoneal dialysis and catheterization in the Department of Nephrology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University from January 2011 to December 2017 and completed the peritoneal equilibration test were collected retrospectively. According to the ratio of dialysate to plasma ratio for creatinine at 4 hour [D/Pcr (4h)] in the standard peritoneal equilibration test, the patients were divided into 4 groups (low transport, low average transport, high average transport and high transport). Spearman correlation analysis was used to analyze the related factors of D/Pcr (4h). The risk factors of high peritoneal transport characteristics were analyzed by ordered multi classification logistic regression. Results A total of 647 patients were included. The average age of the patients was (45.85±14.03) years, and the average D/Pcr (4h) was 0.67±0.12. Among them, there were 89 cases (13.76%) in the high transport group, 280 cases (43.28%) in the high average transport group, 234 cases (36.17%) in the low average transport group and 44 cases (6.80%) in the low transport group. Diabetic patients with D/Pcr (4h) were higher than those without diabetes mellitus (0.72±0.12 vs. 0.66±0.12; t=−4.005, P<0.001). Correlation analysis showed that age and 24-h urine volume were positively correlated with D/Pcr (4h); serum albumin, triglyceride, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, hemoglobin, serum uric acid and creatinine were negatively correlated with D/Pcr (4h); body surface area (BSA), high sensitivity C-reactive protein, ferritin, cholesterol, sodium, intact parathyroid hormone and estimated giomerular filtration rate had no correlation with D/Pcr (4h). Regression analysis showed that serum albumin [odds ratio (OR)=0.842, 95% confidence interval (CI) (0.809, 0.877), P<0.001], serum uric acid [OR=0.996, 95%CI (0.994, 0.998), P<0.001], magnesium [OR=0.389, 95%CI (0.156, 0.965), P=0.042], BSA [OR=3.916, 95%CI (1.121, 13.680), P=0.032] were correlated with the incidence of peritoneal high transport characteristics. Conclusion Low serum albumin, high BSA, low magnesium and low serum uric acid were independent risk factors for high transport characteristics in initial PD patients.
The deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) molecule damage simulations with an atom level geometric model use the traversal algorithm that has the disadvantages of quite time-consuming, slow convergence and high-performance computer requirement. Therefore, this work presents a density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) clustering algorithm based on the spatial distributions of energy depositions and hydroxyl radicals (·OH). The algorithm with probability and statistics can quickly get the DNA strand break yields and help to study the variation pattern of the clustered DNA damage. Firstly, we simulated the transportation of protons and secondary particles through the nucleus, as well as the ionization and excitation of water molecules by using Geant4-DNA that is the Monte Carlo simulation toolkit for radiobiology, and got the distributions of energy depositions and hydroxyl radicals. Then we used the damage probability functions to get the spatial distribution dataset of DNA damage points in a simplified geometric model. The DBSCAN clustering algorithm based on damage points density was used to determine the single-strand break (SSB) yield and double-strand break (DSB) yield. Finally, we analyzed the DNA strand break yield variation trend with particle linear energy transfer (LET) and summarized the variation pattern of damage clusters. The simulation results show that the new algorithm has a faster simulation speed than the traversal algorithm and a good precision result. The simulation results have consistency when compared to other experiments and simulations. This work achieves more precise information on clustered DNA damage induced by proton radiation at the molecular level with high speed, so that it provides an essential and powerful research method for the study of radiation biological damage mechanism.
ObjectiveTo compare the refracture risk between sandwich vertebrae and ordinary adjacent vertebrae, and to explore the risk factors related to refracture.MethodsRetrospective analysis was performed on the data of patients who received percutaneous vertebral augmentation (PVA) and formed sandwich vertebrae between April 2015 and October 2019. Of them, 115 patients were enrolled in the study. There were 27 males and 88 females with an average age of 73.9 years (range, 53-89 years). Univariate analysis was performed to analyzed the patients’ general data, vertebral augmentation related indexes, and sandwich vertebrae related indexes. Survival analysis was performed for all untreated vertebrae at T4-L5 of the included patients at the vertebra-specific level, and risk curves of refracture probability of untreated vertebrae between sandwich vertebrae and ordinary adjacent vertebrae were compared. Cox’s proportional hazards regression model was used to analyze risk factors for refracture.ResultsThe 115 patients were followed up 12.6-65.9 months (mean, 36.2 months). Thirty-seven refractures involving 51 vertebral bodies occurred in 31 patients. The refracture rate of 27.0% (31/115) in patients with sandwich vertebrae was significantly higher than that of 15.2% (187/1228) in all patients who received PVA during the same period (χ2=10.638, P=0.001). Univariate analysis results showed that there was a significant difference in the number of augmented vertebrae between patients with and without refractures (Z=0.870, P=0.004). However, there was no significant difference in gender, age, body mass index, whether had clear causes of fracture, whether had dual energy X-ray absorptiometry testing, whether the sandwich vertebra generated through the same PVA, puncture method, method of PVA, number of PVA procedures, number of vertebrae with old fracture, whether complicated with spinal deformity, bone cement distribution, and kyphosis angle of sandwich vertebral area (P>0.05). Among the 1 293 untreated vertebrae, there were 136 sandwich vertebrae and 286 ordinary adjacent vertebrae. The refracture rate of sandwich vertebrae was 11.3% which was higher than that of ordinary adjacent vertebrae (6.3%)(χ2=4.668, P=0.031). The 1- and 5-year fracture-free probabilities were 0.90 and 0.87 for the sandwich vertebrae, and 0.95 and 0.93 for the ordinary adjacent vertebrae, respectively. There was a significant difference between the two risk curves of refracture (χ2=4.823, P=0.028). Cox’s proportional hazards regression model analysis results showed that the sandwich vertebrae, thoracolumbar location, the number of the augmented vertebrae, and the unilateral puncture were significant risk factors for refracture (P<0.05).ConclusionThe sandwich vertebrae has a higher risk of refracture when compared with the ordinary adjacent vertebrae, and its 1- and 5-year fracture-free probabilities are lower than those of the ordinary adjacent vertebrae. However, the 5-year fracture-free probability of sandwich vertebrae is still 0.87, so prophylactic enhancement is not recommended for all sandwich vertebrae. In addition, the sandwich vertebrae, thoracolumbar location, the number of the augmented vertebrae, and the unilateral puncture were important risk factors for refracture.
Since January 2020, due to the epidemic of coronavirus disease 2019, all universities in China have postponed their studies or even suspend their studies. In response to the teaching policy of “suspending class, but keeping teaching and learning” , college teachers have rapidly changed into online teaching mode. However, how to ensure the quality and effect of online teaching still needs further exploration. Through analyzing the course characteristics of medical imaging diagnostics and students’ learning situations, this study discusses how to design detailed online teaching projects and improve the teaching quality and how to select online software suitable for the course. A questionnaire survey was conducted to evaluate the effect of online teaching during the spring course in 2020, selecting a total of 297 clinical and other undergraduate students of grade 2017 from West China School of Medicine of Sichuan University. The results showed that the detailed online teaching programs including “video learning” “distance teaching” “periodic examination” “weakness tutorial” were helpful to the learning process agreed by the majority of students. During the epidemic period, online teaching method can help students master the content of medical imaging diagnosis. In the era of Internet, the “online+offline” teaching mode is expected to be popularized in the future.
ObjectiveTo develop a standardized venous thromboembolism (VTE) prevention program for burn patients and verify its safety and effectiveness by comparing with traditional thrombus prophylaxis.MethodsAll burn patients admitted and met selection criteria betweem April 2017 and September 2018 were included. Patients between January 2018 and September 2018 were included as the interventional group to implement standardized VTE prevention programs, while patients between April 2017 and December 2017 were included as the control group and traditional active and passive exercises were used to prevent VTE. There was no significant difference in the age, gender, ethnic group, marriage, education, occupation, type and site of the injury, burn area, operation time, and hospital stay between the two groups (P>0.05), which was comparable. The incidence of VTE, number of cases of tissue or organ hemorrhage, survival rate of skin grafting, and time of wound healing were compared.ResultsThe incidence of VTE was obviously lower in the interventional group (1.56%, 1/64) than in the control group (10.17%, 6/59) (χ2=−2.05, P=0.04). No bleeding occurred in any tissue or organ in the two groups. The survival rate of skin grafting and the time of wound healing were 89.06% (57/64) and (11.78±3.08) days respectively in the interventional group and 91.53% (54/59) and (11.66±2.30) days respectively in the control group; and the differences between the two groups were not statistically significant (χ2=0.21, P=0.65; t=−0.22, P=0.83).ConclusionThe standardized VTE prevention program can effectively prevent the occurrence of VTE, and its safety is relatively high.