Medicine
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The aim of this study was to investigate the role of uric acid (UA) in assessing rectal cancer metastasis. There were 475 newly diagnosed patients with complete data in our study, a total of 475 cases were reviewed, and divided into patients with metastasis and without metastasis. There were several statistical differences in age, tumor diameter, carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), and C-reactive protein (CRP) between the 2 groups. ⋯ Multivariate analysis model revealed that elevated serum levels of UA were significant prognostic marker for lymphatic metastasis in patients with rectal cancer, independently of CRP, CEA, and tumor diameter (odds ratio 1.035, 95% CI 1.013-1.057, P = 0.002). In receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis, the area under the curve of serum UA in assessing metastatic rectal cancer patients was 0.803, with sensitivity of 0.864 and specificity of 0.739. Our results suggest that serum UA may be a novel marker in assessing tumor metastasis in patients with rectal cancer.
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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.
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Reconstruction of the auricular conchal cavity is relatively difficult because of its unique structure, shape, and location. We compared different methods of repair of the auricular concha to determine the method that would cause the least injury to the donor site. The method selected was based on the location and size of the defect. ⋯ All patients were satisfied with the outcome. The periauricular flap technique chosen for reconstruction of skin defects in the auricular concha depends on the size and location of the defect. With appropriate flap selection, excellent functional, and aesthetic outcomes are achieved.
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Atherosclerosis underlies aortic aneurysm (AA) and atherosclerotic stenosis (AS). Kallikrein-1 (KLK1) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) are 2 key molecules in kallikrein-kinin systems and renin-angiotensin systems, respectively, which are responsible for maintaining vascular balance and stability, playing important roles in atherosclerosis. We aimed to assess the involvement of single nucleotide polymorphism rs5516 in KLK1 as well as the insertion/deletion rs4646994 polymorphism in ACE in the development of AA and AS. ⋯ The KLK1 rs5516 G allele is closely associated with AA, and the ACE D allele is closely related to AA and AS.
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Meta Analysis
Early initiation of renal replacement treatment in patients with acute kidney injury: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with a substantially increased risk of mortality for many hospitalized patients. It has been suggested that early initiation of renal replacement treatment has a favorable outcome in critically ill patients complicated with AKI. However, results of studies evaluating the effect of early initiation strategy of renal replacement treatment on AKI have been controversial and contradictory. The aim of this meta-analysis is to examine the effect of early initiation of renal replacement treatment on patients with AKI. ⋯ According to the results from present meta-analysis, early initiation of renal replacement treatment showed no survival benefits in patients with AKI. To achieve optimal timing of renal replacement treatment, further large multicenter randomized trials, with widely accepted and standardized definition of early initiation, are still needed.