Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Influence of endurance and endurance-strength training on mineral status in women with abdominal obesity: a randomized trial.
Obesity and exercise are associated with disturbances of mineral metabolism, which can lead to physical inefficiency. Our study aimed to compare the influence of endurance and endurance-strength training on mineral status in women with abdominal obesity. ⋯ Both endurance and endurance-strength training have a significant effect on mineral metabolism in obese women; the favorable effects of endurance-strength exercise predominate in iron, magnesium, zinc, and copper balance.
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Functional constipation (FC) is one of the most common functional gastrointestinal disorders, which brings many negative impacts to the patient's daily life. In the treatment of FC, Tuina (Chinese massage) is often performed as complementary and alternative medicine and shows a good effect in many clinical trials. However, no high-quality systematic review was taken to show the efficacy and safety of Tuina for FC. ⋯ This protocol of systematic review has been registered on PROSPERO website (No. CRD42019119722).
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Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a complicated disease which has complex causes and poor outcome. Many factors are involved in the increase of pulmonary artery pressure. It is often difficult to identify the specific cause of a particular patient. However, identifying the etiology is of great importance for specifying treatment strategies and improving the prognosis of patients. ⋯ It is often difficult to define the cause of PH, but it is important for making the appropriate treatment at the same time.
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Pedicle screws are commonly used to treat adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). Many studies have discussed the rates and effects of pedicle screw misplacement. In this study, to increase the accuracy rate, cannulated pedicle screws were inserted into the periapical vertebrae, highly rotated vertebrae, and vertebrae with very thin pedicles in a single patient group. We compared these results with those of a patient group who underwent conventional pedicle screw placement. ⋯ The use of cannulated screws to treat AIS decreases perforation and complication rates. Although it did not significantly lower the medial perforation rate, it dramatically reduced the lateral perforation rate. The use of cannulated screws enables intraoperative confirmation of placement accuracy. Our data suggest that cannulated pedicle screw use to treat AIS is safer and more efficient.
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Observational Study
Serum YKL-40 predicts long-term outcome in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction.
Serum YKL-40, a potential inflammatory marker, is greatly increased at the early stage of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Here, we hypothesized that YKL-40 levels at admission could predict the long-term outcomes after STEMI. A total of 324 patients with acute STEMI undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) were consecutively enrolled and followed for 24 months. ⋯ Kaplan-Meier curve showed that elevated YKL-40 levels were associated with reduced MACE-free survivals (log-rank P < .001). In multivariate Cox regression analysis, we found that high serum YKL-40 level was an independent predictor of MACE after controlling for clinical and angiographic variables (hazard ratio: 1.65, 95% confidence interval: 1.14-2.39, P = .008). The results of our study indicate that serum YKL-40 may be used as a biomarker to predict the long-term outcome after PCI in patients with STEMI.