Medicine
-
Observational Study
Correlation between T2* (T2 star) relaxation time and cervical intervertebral disc degeneration: An observational study.
To demonstrate the potential benefits of T2 relaxation time of intervertebral discs (IVDs) regarding the detection and grading of degenerative disc disease using 3.0-T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a clinical setting. ⋯ Our standardized method of region-specific quantitative T2 relaxation time evaluation seems capable of characterizing different degrees of disc degeneration quantitatively. The T2 values obtained in these cervical IVDs may serve as baseline values for future T2 measurements in both healthy and degenerated cervical discs.
-
Steroid therapy has been an important reason of nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH). Steroids are metabolized by hepatic cytochrome P4503A, a low endogenous activity of this enzyme can contribute to the pathogenesis of ONFH. The aim of this study was to investigate the associations of polymorphisms of cytochrome P4503A4 (CYP3A4) gene with steroid-induced ONFH in Chinese patients. ⋯ These findings suggested that polymorphisms of CYP3A4 gene may be associated with susceptibility to steroid-induced ONFH.
-
Chest X-ray is a "golden standard" for the diagnosis and severity assessment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, it cannot be used as routine examination of CAP in children. The present study aims to investigate the roles of prealbumin (PA) in CAP in children and further determine the usefulness of PA in diagnosis and severity assessment of CAP in children. ⋯ With a cutoff value of 125 mg/L, the sensitivity and specificity of PA for the severity assessment of CAP were 0.703 and 0.714, respectively. Combined with traditional inflammatory markers, PA may improve the diagnostic efficacy of CAP in children. PA can be used as a reference marker to complement the chest X-rays for severity assessment of children CAP.
-
To investigate the relationship between excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1)-4533/8092, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α)-238/308 polymorphisms, and the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Guangxi Zhuang population of China. ⋯ The genetic polymorphisms of ERCC1-8092 and TNF-α-308 are associated with the risk of HCC in Guangxi Zhuang population of China.
-
Observational Study
Clinical assessment tests in evaluating patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: A cross-sectional study.
Exertional dyspnea scales (EDS) and health-related quality-of-life questionnaires (HRQoLQs) are used to assess chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The GOLD guidelines categorize patients according to either 1 of these 2 domains, the lung function and the frequency of acute exacerbations in the preceding year, however with inconsistent results. Combining EDS and HRQoLQs may yield better results; however, the best combination is unclear. ⋯ The EDS was more related to the exercise capacity than to the dyspnea perception and the CAT was most closely related to the other instruments but poorly with walking distance. The OCD can be used to compensate for this weak correlation. The study suggests using the CAT and the OCD simultaneously when undertaking clinical evaluation of patients with COPD.