Medicine
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Observational Study
Cardiovascular Autonomic Dysfunction Predicts Diabetic Foot Ulcers in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Without Diabetic Polyneuropathy.
We investigated the factors that might influence the development of diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) in type 2 diabetes patients without diabetic polyneuropathy (DPN). From January 2000 to December 2005, a total of 595 patients who had type 2 diabetes without DPN between the ages of 25 and 75 years, and had no prior history of DFUs were consecutively enrolled in the study. A cardiovascular autonomic function test was performed to diagnose cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) using heart rate variability parameters. ⋯ A Cox hazard regression analysis results revealed that the development of DFUs was significantly associated with the presence of CAN (normal vs definite CAN; HR, 4.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.29-15.33) after adjusting for possible confounding factors. The development of DFUs was independently associated with CAN in patients with type 2 diabetes without DPN. We suggested the importance of CAN as a predictor of DFUs even in the patients without DPN, and the need to pay attention to patients with definite CAN and type 2 diabetes.
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No large-scale population-based cohort study has ever investigated the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in patients with Sjögren syndrome (SS). This study evaluated the risk of COPD in women with primary SS (pSS) in a nationwide population. We used the data of the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan to establish a pSS group consisting of 3013 female adults diagnosed between 2000 and 2005, and a non-SS group consisting of 12,052 women without SS matched by a propensity score. ⋯ Women with both pSS and comorbidity had an aHR of 3.11 (95% CI = 2.23-4.33, P < 0.001) for COPD, compared to those free of both pSS and comorbidity. Women with pSS are at a greater risk of developing COPD than those without SS. Patients with SS require close monitoring to prevent COPD development, particularly for those with comorbidity.
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Observational Study
Baseline Characteristics and Risk Factors of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Patients.
Peking Union Medical College Hospital (PUMCH) has started a single-center right heart catheterization (RHC)-based pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) study in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) since 2006. The baseline characteristics of these patients were described and the risk factor for PAH in lupus was identified. The demographic, clinical, laboratory, and treatment characteristics of SLE patients with PAH when they were registered were collected as the baseline data. ⋯ The immunosuppressive therapy rate and the PAH target therapy rate were high, which is consistent with reports from Western countries. This study has confirmed that pericardial effusion and positive anti-RNP antibody are risk factors for SLE-associated PAH. Long SLE disease duration, the presence of interstitial lung disease, without acute skin rash, positive anti-SSA antibody, low SLEDAI and ESR, and high uric acid levels are also associated with PAH in SLE patients.
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Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have a high risk of osteoporosis and fractures. The incidence rate of hip fracture has steadily increased over time and is a major common event in patients with osteoporosis and COPD. Total hip replacement (THR) is commonly performed in patients with hip fracture. ⋯ The COPD group had a significantly higher ratio of complications, including 30-day readmission (14.0% vs 8.4%), 30-day pneumonia (10.4% vs 4.4%), 30-day acute respiratory failure (1.5% vs 0.5%), 1-year mortality (6.9% vs 2.7%), and length of stay in the hospital (10.6% vs 0.8%) than the non-COPD group. In addition to airway diseases, patients in the COPD group had higher mortality than those in non-COPD group after THR. Surgeons should give more attention to airway evaluation and selection of patients with COPD for THR.
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Observational Study
Gemcitabine-Based Regional Intra-Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy in Patients With Advanced Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma.
The present study was carried out to investigate the prognostic factors in patients who received intra-arterial infusion for advanced pancreatic cancer. In addition, the detailed procedure of intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy was described. A total of 354 patients with advanced unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma were recruited from January 2012, to April 2015, at Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China. ⋯ The Cox proportional hazard model showed that age, CA19-9 baseline, CA19-9 value, and tumor location were significantly associated with the OS. In conclusion, the gemcitabine-based RIAC presented a potential treatment method for advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma. Young age, pretreatment CA19-9 value <1000 U/mL, and tumor located at the head of pancreas indicated better response to the regional intra-arterial chemotherapy and better overall survival.