Medicine
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Observational Study
Whether perceived limb heaviness affects return to work among patients with ischemic stroke.
This study aims to explore the relationship between perceived limb heaviness and return to work (RTW) among ischemic stroke patients. We retrospectively reviewed the data of consecutive participants recruited in the CIRCLE study. Perceived limb heaviness was gathered from self-reported by 1-year follow-up. ⋯ Participants who had perceived limb heaviness were independently associated with a low rate of RTW compared with no perceived limb heaviness (P = .009, OR = 0.235). This research finds that participants experiencing limb heaviness might lower the rate of RTW after 12 months. The other interesting finding is that participants with 2 sons might have a higher rate of RTW.
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Observational Study
Retrospective cohort study on the safety and efficacy of paclitaxel-coated balloon in the treatment of diabetic subpatellar artery disease.
Paclitaxel can inhibit smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration, and reduce the risk of vascular restenosis after balloon dilation. Our study investigated the safety and efficacy of paclitaxel-coated balloon (PCB) treatment for diabetic subpatellar artery disease. In this study, 140 patients with diabetic subknee arterial disease treated in our hospital from January 2022 to December 2023 were selected as the study objects, and were divided into the control group (conventional balloon interventionization angioplasty) and the observation group (PCB interventionization angioplasty), with 70 cases in each group according to the differences in previous balloon interventionization. ⋯ The improvement rate of walking impairment and 6 minutes walking distance in the observation group were significantly better than those in the control group, the difference was statistically significant (P < .05). There was no significant difference in the occurrence of adverse events between the 2 groups after operation (P > .05). For diabetic patients with subknee arterial disease, PCB treatment can ensure safety and improve clinical symptoms, and has good practical value.
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This study aimed to investigate the effect of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) intervention on the risk of readmission and laboratory indicators in patients with rheumatoid arthritis hypercoagulable state. In the retrospective cohort design, patients with RA hospitalized between June 2013 and June 2021 at the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine were followed up by telephone. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to balance deviations in baseline information between patients in the hypercoagulable (HC) and non-hypercoagulable (Non-HC) groups, with exposure defined as receiving TCM treatment for ≥ 1 month. ⋯ Furthermore, the Mantel test highlights an intrinsic correlation between coagulation markers and other markers such as erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and hypersensitive c-reactive protein (hs-CRP), which are dramatically influenced by gender, age, etc. In addition, association rule analysis revealed a strong correlation between TCM and non-readmission, as well as improvement in rheumatoid factor, hs-CRP, ESR, platelet count, and NLR in RA-HC patients. As a promising therapeutic strategy, TCM with sufficient intensity and duration interventions can effectively reduce the risk of readmission and relieve laboratory indicators in RA-HC patients.
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Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are newly discovered inflammatory markers in recent years. To explore the relationship between NLR, MLR, PLR, and bone mineral density (BMD), as well as osteoporosis (OP), in postmenopausal patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). 320 postmenopausal patients with T2DM who were admitted to the Department of Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases of our hospital from January 2022 to January 2024 for treatment were included in this retrospective study. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the BMD: normal bone mass group (n = 109), osteopenia group (n = 99), and OP group (n = 112). ⋯ Peripheral blood monocytes play a vital role in osteoclastogenesis as osteoclast precursors. The BMD of postmenopausal T2DM patients is negatively correlated with NLR, MLR, and PLR. NLR and PLR can both serve as predictive indicators for the occurrence of OP in postmenopausal T2DM patients.
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Observational Study
Study on the predictive value of APACHE II score and neurogenic dysphagia in carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) poses a growing challenge in clinical treatment globally. Early identification of high-risk patients is essential to control infection spread and improve treatment outcomes. This retrospective study analyzed 152 patients with K pneumoniae infections at the Second People's Hospital of Hefei City, Anhui Province, dividing them into carbapenem-resistant and non-carbapenem-resistant groups. ⋯ Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed an area under the curve of 0.824 (95% confidence interval: 0.749-0.898) for the APACHE II score, with an optimal threshold of 14.5 points. A new predictive model combining neurogenic dysphagia with APACHE II scores improved classification performance, as demonstrated by Net Reclassification Improvement (NRI = 0.0967, 95% confidence interval: -0.0477 to 0.2410) and reclassification probability analysis, correctly reclassifying 24.32% of individuals into a higher risk category. The findings highlight the combined predictive value of APACHE II scores and neurogenic dysphagia for early identification and intervention in high-risk CRKP patients.