Medicine
-
Observational Study
Female and diabetes are risk factors for alpha-fetoprotein and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II negative in hepatocellular carcinoma.
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a common type of tumor with a high incidence. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II or des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin) are proven effective biomarkers for HCC. Combining them can enhance detection rates. ⋯ The prediction model had an area under curve of 0.832 (P < .001, 95%CI = 0.786-0.877), with a sensitivity of 81.2% and specificity of 75.5% in all HCC patients. Female diabetic patients with levels closer to normal for glutamate transpeptidase and total bilirubin are more likely to develop AFP and PIVKA-II-negative HCC. Imaging is crucial for screening liver cancer in these patients.
-
Observational Study
Association between nasal septal deviation and tinnitus: Insights from a 9-year nationwide cohort study.
Tinnitus is a condition where sound is perceived in the ear or head when no external sound stimulation is present. To date, no study has explored the correlation between nasal septal deviation (SD) and tinnitus using large-scale real-world data. This study hypothesized a potential relationship between tinnitus and SD, which we investigated using a 9-year large-scale cohort study. ⋯ In the SD group, the HR for tinnitus after septoplasty significantly decreased to 0.75 (95% CI: 0.63-0.90). From long-term follow-up, the prevalence of tinnitus was 1.74 times higher in the SD group compared with the control group. This phenomenon significantly decreased after septoplasty.
-
Observational Study
Correlation between elderly patients with COPD and the impact on immunity in tuberculosis patients: A retrospective study.
The prevalence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and tuberculosis (TB) is increasing globally, yet their comprehensive impact on the immune system remains underexplored. This study aimed to provide a thorough assessment of the immune status of patients with COPD and tuberculosis (TB-COPD), including their pulmonary conditions, immune cell responses, and changes in lymphocyte subpopulations. A total of 151 patients with TB-COPD patients were included, and clinical data were compared between the TB-COPD group and a group of TB patients without COPD (TB-NCOPD). ⋯ The one-month treatment outcomes showed that the improvement rate in the control group was 70.58%, which was significantly higher than the 38.92% in the COPD + TB group (P < .001). We observed a significant increase in the number of pulmonary cavity patients in the TB-COPD group, suggesting that COPD may be a potential risk factor for the formation of pulmonary cavities in patients with TB. At the immune cell level, TB-COPD patients showed a notable decrease in lymphocytes and CD4+ T lymphocytes, implying that COPD combined with pulmonary TB may significantly affect the immune system, leading to a reduction in the counts of key immune cells.
-
Observational Study
Serum non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol predicts distant metastases following resection of stages I to III colorectal cancer.
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between levels of non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) and postoperative distant metastasis for stages I to III colorectal cancer (CRC). Demographic, clinicopathological, and lipid data were collected from 588 patients, who were subsequently grouped according to their non-HDL-C levels. The primary endpoint was distant metastasis, survival without distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS). ⋯ Multivariate Cox proportional hazards identified non-HDL-C ≥ 4.1mmol/L(HR: 2.604; 95% CI: 1.584-4.282; P = .001) as independent risk factors for postoperative distant metastasis. The high non-HDL-C group exhibited a higher rate of distant metastasis and a shorter duration of DMFS (HR: 2.133; 95% CI: 1.404-3.240; P < .001). Our study suggests that high levels of non-HDL-C (≥4.1 mmol/L) may potentially serve as predictors for postoperative distant metastasis in stages I to III CRC.
-
To explore the application value of postoperative contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) parameters for lymph node metastasis (LNM), tumor, node, metastasis staging, and treatment response evaluation of resected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We retrospectively analyzed 100 patients with liver cancer who underwent liver CEUS at our hospital between October 2020 and October 2022. The patient's LNM, pathological staging, and therapeutic effects were recorded based on the histopathological results. ⋯ The receiver operating characteristic curve shows that RT, PI, and AUC have a certain value in evaluating LNM, pathological staging, and treatment response of HCC, and the combined evaluation/evaluation value of these 3 factors is relatively high. The postoperative CEUS parameters RT, PI, and AUC can be used for LNM, pathological staging evaluation, and treatment response evaluation of HCC. Moreover, the combination of the 3 parameters is feasible and valuable in evaluating LNM, tumor, node, metastasis staging, and treatment response of HCC.