Chinese medical journal
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Chinese medical journal · Jan 2014
Gender and magnetic resonance imaging classification-related differences in clinical and biochemical characteristics of Cushing's disease: a single-centre study.
Cushing's disease (CD) presents a remarkable preponderance in female gender, and a significant minority of patients with CD presented with negative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings. The aim of this study was to evaluate gender-related and MRI classification-related differences in clinical and biochemical characteristics of CD. ⋯ Carefulness and caution are required in all patients with CD, because of the complexity of clinical and biochemical characteristics in CD patients of different gender and MRI classification, particularly male patients and MRI-negative patients.
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Chinese medical journal · Jan 2014
Correlation of D-dimer level with the radiological severity indexes of pulmonary embolism on computed tomography pulmonary angiography.
It is known that the main role of D-dimer has been as an exclusionary test in patients with suspected venous thromboembolism. However, the D-dimer is increasingly beginning to find clinical utility as a marker in the evaluation of the extent of the embolic disease. The aim of the study was to determine whether D-dimer levels predict the radiological markers of pulmonary embolism (PE) severity using Mastora score. ⋯ D-dimer levels are positively correlated with PE burden and right ventricle dysfunction on CTPA, and can help monitor the therapeutic response.
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Chinese medical journal · Jan 2014
Diagnostic utility of N-terminal-proBNP in differentiating acute pulmonary embolism from heart failure in patients with acute dyspnea.
The plasma N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) level is frequently elevated in dyspnoeic patients and increasingly used in emergency departments to assess the cause of acute dyspnea. In this study we prospectively tested NT-proBNP levels in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and/or acute pulmonary embolism (APE) and determined the utility of NT-proBNP for discriminating APE from CHF. ⋯ NT-proBNP can assist in excluding CHF patients from those admitted to the emergency department with acute dyspnea and identifying patients with a high probability of APE, which would reduce the missed diagnosis of APE. Larger studies are necessary to validate these findings.
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Chinese medical journal · Jan 2014
Interaction of sleep quality and sleep duration on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.
Copious evidence from epidemiological and laboratory studies has revealed that sleep status is associated with glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, thus increasing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to reveal the interaction of sleep quality and sleep quantity on glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. ⋯ Inadequate sleep, in both quality and quantity, should be regarded as a plausible risk factor for glycemic control in type 2 diabetes. Poor sleep might bring much more serious insulin resistance and could be the reason for bad glycemic control. A good night's sleep should be seen as a critical health component tool in the prevention and treatment of type 2 diabetes. It is important for clinicians to target the root causes of short sleep duration and/or poor sleep quality.
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Chinese medical journal · Jan 2014
Association of renal function with cardiac reverse remodeling and long-term outcome in heart failure patients following cardiac resynchronization therapy.
Renal insufficiency (RI) is significantly associated with clinical prognosis in patients with heart failure (HF), but direct evidences on the relation between renal function and clinical outcome in patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) are limited. The aim of the current study was to systematically evaluate the association of baseline and 6-month renal function with cardiac reverse remodeling and long-term outcome after CRT. ⋯ This analysis identified that baseline eGFR as well as WRF after CRT were found to be independent determinants of the combined endpoints of all-cause mortality and HF-related hospitalizations in CRT recipients.