Medicine
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This study aimed to assess the burden and influencing factors among primary caregivers of children with congenital microtia. A total of 153 primary caregivers of children with congenital microtia who underwent auricular reconstruction surgery at a tertiary A-grade hospital in Xi'an between October 2019 and August 2022, were recruited using convenience sampling. The Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (ZBI) was employed to evaluate caregiver burden. ⋯ Strategic approaches are essential to address the psychological, social, and financial challenges they encounter. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies and interventions to enhance caregiver well-being and patient outcomes. However, caution is advised when generalizing these findings due to the sampling limitations.
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Polymyositis is a prominent subgroup of idiopathic inflammatory myopathy, considered to have an autoimmune etiology. However, research exploring the condition between immunocytes and polymyositis remains limited, indicating the need for further investigation to unravel these intricate associations. We employed bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to ascertain causality between 731 immunocytes and polymyositis. ⋯ Polymyositis and dermatomyositis share common immunocytes' regulatory mechanisms. CD8, CD33dim, HLA-DR, CD11b, and CD45 may represent potential immune cell markers for polymyositis. These findings hold implications for planning prognosis and therapeutic strategies for polymyositis, offering novel insights for drug development.
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Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a common male sexual health problem that can be associated with obesity. This study aimed to identify serum metabolic differences and pathways related to ED in obese men using non-targeted metabolomics techniques. We included 54 obese male patients with (n = 27) and without (n = 27) ED. ⋯ Specific metabolites associated with these pathways included betaine aldehyde, choline, L-threonine, phosphatidylcholine, L-serine, and D-glutamine. Our findings suggest abnormalities in fatty acid metabolism, phospholipid metabolism, and amino acid metabolism between obese men with and without ED. Metabolites such as betaine aldehyde, choline, L-threonine, phosphatidylcholine, L-serine, and D-glutamine may be potential biomarkers for distinguishing obese men with ED.
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Observational Study
Does T-tube indwelling prolong the procedure of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for healing duct-to-duct anastomotic bile leakage after liver transplantation?
Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is the preferred treatment for duct-to-duct anastomotic bile leakage (D-D aBL) after liver transplantation (LT). This study aimed to compare the time required for ERCP and D-D aBL recovery in post-LT patients with and without T-tube drainage. ⋯ However, there was no significant difference in the time required for ERCP to result in D-D aBL healing between patients with T-tube drainage and those without T-tubes (33.4 vs 23.0 days). T-tube indwelling did not significantly prolong the course required for ERCP to resolve D-D aBL in post-LT patients.
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Macrophages are key regulators of the inflammatory and innate immune responses. Researchers have shown that aberrant expression of macrophages contributes to the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). However, a comprehensive bibliometric analysis exploring the research status and knowledge mapping of this area is lacking. This study aimed to explore the research status, knowledge mapping and hotspots of macrophages in AAA research from a bibliometric perspective. ⋯ Our findings offered new insights for scholars in this field. They will help researchers explore new directions for their work.