Objective To understand the dynamic changes of inflammatory indicators in the peripheral blood of patients with malignant cerebral edema at different time points after acute cerebral infarction, and provide a basis for early prediction and prevention of malignant cerebral edema. Methods Consecutive patients with acute cerebral infarction within 24 h of onset who were admitted to the Department of Neurology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University between January 1st, 2017 to December 31st, 2018 were collected. The basic clinical data of the patients were collected, and the data of inflammatory cells (white blood cell count, absolute neutrophil count, absolute lymphocyte count, and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio) and acute phase reactants (blood glucose, fibrinogen, albumin, and fibrinogen to albumin ratio) were dynamically collected at admission and 1, 3, and 7 d after admission, respectively. Differences between groups were compared using generalized estimating equations. Results A total of 798 patients with acute cerebral infarction were included, of whom 93 (11.65%) developed malignant cerebral edema. At all time points examined, the white blood cell counts, absolute neutrophil counts, and neutrophil to lymphocyte ratios were higher in the malignant cerebral edema group than those in the non-malignant cerebral edema group (Wald χ2=63.737, P<0.001; Wald χ2=91.848, P<0.001; Wald χ2=75.197, P<0.001); 1 and 3 d after admission, the absolute lymphocyte counts were lower in the malignant cerebral edema group than those in the non-malignant cerebral edema group (Wald χ2=18.580, P<0.001). The blood glucose levels were higher in the malignant cerebral edema group compared with the non-malignant cerebral edema group 1, 3, and 7 d after admission (Wald χ2=16.722, P<0.001); no significant between-group effect was found in the albumin levels (Wald χ2=3.643, P=0.056); the fibrinogen levels were significantly different between groups 3 d after admission (Wald χ2=8.923, P=0.003), and the fibrinogen to albumin ratios differed between the two groups 3 and 7 d after admission (Wald χ2=6.739, P=0.009). Dynamic analysis of multiple time points in the malignant cerebral edema group found that these inflammatory markers mostly reached their extreme values 3 d after admission. Conclusions Compared with the non-malignant cerebral edema group, the inflammatory cell-related indicators (except lymphocytes) and the acute phase inflammatory reactant-related indicators in malignant cerebral edema patients are significantly higher, and the absolute lymphocyte count is significantly lower. Three days after admission to hospital is probably the most significant time point for the change of each inflammatory indicator.
ObjectiveTo investigate the dynamic changes of nodule volume in benign thyroid tumors after radiofrequency ablation (RFA), and to analyze the predictive value of risk factors for nodule regeneration. MethodsA total of 165 patients with benign thyroid nodules who received RFA treatment in the People’s Hospital of Yuechi County from June 2019 to June 2021 were retrospectively collected and divided into small nodule volume group (≤15 mL, n=116) and large nodule volume group (>15 mL, n=49) according to the median nodule volume at admission. The clinical data and serological data of the two groups were compared. Multivariate Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to adjust confounding factors to explore the relationship between initial nodule volume, vascular density, nodule location near critical structure and postoperative nodule regeneration in patients with benign thyroid nodules. According to the proposed Nomogram of the model, Bootstrap method was adopted for sampling verification, calibration curve was adopted to evaluate the calibration degree of the model, and area under the curve (AUC) of receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve was adopted to evaluate the model differentiation. ResultsIn the small volume nodule group, the proportion of unilateral nodule was higher, and the preoperative beauty score, preoperative symptom score, radiofrequency power, ablation time, total energy, operative time, intraoperative blood loss and hospital stay were lower or short, P<0.05. The change value of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), catalase (CAT) after operation in small volume nodule group were higher than those in the large nodule volume group (P<0.05), but change value of the free thyroxine (FT4), malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were lower than those in the large nodule volume group (P<0.05). At 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after RFA operation, the nodule volume of the two groups decreased successively, and volume reduction rate (VRR) increased successively. The changes of nodule volume and VRR in the small nodule volume group were better than those in the large nodule volume group. In the large nodule group, the nodule volume was larger at 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months after operation, and the VRR was higher at 1 month after operation, the regeneration time was shorter, the number of residual nodules was higher, and the initial ablation rate (IAR) was lower (P<0.05). After adjusting for age, gender and other factors, the correlation effect value increased with the increase of initial volume and blood vessel density, and the differences in trend test were statistically significant (Ptrend <0.05). Nodules located near the critical structure had an increased risk of regeneration (OR=1.76, P<0.001). The Nomogram constructed according to the multi-factor model has good differentiation (AUC before and after ROC curve validation were 0.854 and 0.814, respectively) and accuracy (mean absolute error of 0.023). ConclusionsRFA achieved clinically relevant volume reduction in both ≤15 mL and >15 mL of single benign thyroid nodules, lasting for at least 2 years. However, the nodule VRR and cosmetic effect were better in the small volume nodule group, and the initial nodule volume, blood vessel density and location were closely related to nodule regeneration. The Nomogram model showed good differentiation and accuracy in predicting the risk of nodule regeneration, providing strong support for clinical decision-making.