Bioscience trends
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Historical Article
Medical emergency rescue in disaster: the international emergency response to the Haiyan typhoon in Philippines.
Following Typhoon Haiyan, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been supporting the Government of the Philippines in coordinating the incoming relief supplies from more than 30 international humanitarian health organizations. During the 10 days in Abuyong, Philippines, the Chinese medical rescue team consisting of 50 experts specialized in clinical medicine and disease prevention and control action was taken including, medical treatment, environmental disinfection and health education. ⋯ The international emergency response to the Haiyan typhoon in Philippines contributed to reconstruct the local disaster health system by the activities from international medical emergency rescue. To improve the capacity of international medical emergency rescue in disaster, the special project of foreign medical emergency rescue should be set in countries' medical emergency rescue, and disaster emergency medical rescue should be reserved as a conventional capacity.
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Extremely elevated intracranial pressure (ICP) in patients with HIV and cryptococcal meningitis is a poor prognostic predictor of death during initial therapy. The risks associated with implanting a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt into immunocompromised patients with ongoing CSF infection have historically discouraged surgeons from implanting CSF shunts in patients with HIV and cryptococcal meningitis. An unanswered question is whether ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts can effectively provide long-term treatment for patients with intracranial hypertension and HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis in China. ⋯ Seven patients (77.78%) had good outcomes, with recovery from 1 month to 48 months. Two patients had poor outcomes; one died six months after shunting due to severe adverse reactions to antiretroviral drugs, and the other died two weeks after surgery. Patients with intracranial hypertension and HIV-associated cryptococcal meningitis who cannot tolerate cessation of external lumbar CSF drainage or frequent lumbar punctures may be eligible for VP shunt placement, despite severe immunosuppression and persistent CSF cryptococcal infection.
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This study aimed to investigate the clinical utility of simultaneous measurement of alphafetoprotein (AFP) and des-γ-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) diagnosis in Chinese patients predominantly caused by hepatitis B virus infection by a multi-center case-controlled study. Subjects were 1,153 individuals from three major hospitals in China, including 550 cases in HCC group, 164 in Malignant disease group, 182 in Benign disease group, 85 in Chronic liver disease group, and 173 in Normal group. Serum levels of AFP and DCP were measured and clinicopathological features were determined for all subjects. ⋯ The area under ROC curve was 0.846 for DCP, 0.832 for AFP, and 0.890 for the combination of DCP and AFP. The combination of DCP and AFP resulted in a higher Youden index and a sensitivity of approximately 90%, even for small tumors. The simultaneous measurement of AFP and DCP could achieve a better sensitivity in diagnosing Chinese HCC patients, even for small tumors.
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Fibrin sealant (FS) and tranexamic acid (TXA) have been used in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) to minimize perioperative blood loss. The efficacy of FS has been debated, and few studies have looked into the effects of FS and TXA on perioperative coagulability. The current study retrospectively reviewed 100 cases of unilateral primary TKA. ⋯ Administration of FS in addition to TXA was not superior to TXA alone. FS and/or TXA did not increase the risk of hypercoagulation according to TEG parameters. Intravenous administration of 1 g of TXA pre-operatively and administration of 1 g before tourniquet release is an effective and safe method of reducing blood loss in TKA.
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The effects of anesthesia with sevoflurane and with propofol on glucose utilization in rats were investigated. Sevoflurane significantly impairs glucose utilization whereas propofol does not. Both insulin secretion and sensitivity affect glucose utilization. ⋯ In the insulin tolerance test, groups SL and P showed insulin resistance compared to group S, but no significant difference was observed between groups SL and P. In summary, propofol anesthesia enhances insulin secretion and concomitantly exaggerates insulin resistance, compared with sevoflurane anesthesia. Propofol appears to be the main cause of hyperinsulinemia, and the acute lipid load exaggerates insulin resistance.