BACKGROUND: Plasma exchange (PE)-centered artificial liver support system reduced the high mortality rate of hepa titis B virus (HBV)-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). But the data were diverse in ...BACKGROUND: Plasma exchange (PE)-centered artificial liver support system reduced the high mortality rate of hepa titis B virus (HBV)-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). But the data were diverse in different medical centers. The present prospective nationwide study was to evaluate the effects of PE on patients with HBV-ACLF at different stages.展开更多
Because of the diversity of the dinical and laboratory manifestations, the diagnosis of autoimmune liver disease (AILD) remains a challenge in clinical practice. The value of metabolomics has been studied in the dia...Because of the diversity of the dinical and laboratory manifestations, the diagnosis of autoimmune liver disease (AILD) remains a challenge in clinical practice. The value of metabolomics has been studied in the diagnosis of many diseases. The present study aimed to determine whether the metabolic profiles, based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS), differed between autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cir- rhosis (PBC), to identify specific metabolomic markers, and to establish a model for the diagnosis of AIH and PBC. METHODS: Serum samples were collected from 20 patients with PBC, 19 patients with AIH, and 25 healthy individuals. UPLC-MS data of the samples were analyzed using principal component analysis, partial least squares discrimination analysis and or- thogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis. RESULTS: The partial least squares discrimination analysis model (R2y=0.991, Q2=0.943) was established between the AIH and PBC groups and exhibited both sensitivity and speci- ficity of 100%. Five groups of biomarkers were identified, in- eluding bile acids, free fatty acids, phosphatidylcholines, lyso- lecithins and sphingomyelin. Bile acids significantly increased in the AIH and PBC groups compared with the healthy con- trol group. The other biomarkers decreased in the AIH andPBC groups compared with those in the healthy control group. In addition, the biomarkers were downregulated in the AIH group compared with the PBC group. CONCLUSIONS: The biomarkers identified revealed the pathophysiological changes in AILD and helped to discrimi- nate between AIH and PBC. The predictability of this method suggests its potential application in the diagnosis of AILD.展开更多
Background:Currently,there are no drugs that have been proven to be effective against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2).Because of its broad antiviral activity,interferon(IFN)should be evalua...Background:Currently,there are no drugs that have been proven to be effective against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2).Because of its broad antiviral activity,interferon(IFN)should be evaluated as a potential therapeutic agent for treatment of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19),especially while COVID-19-specific therapies are still under development.Methods:Confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital,School of Medicine,Zhejiang University in Hangzhou,China,from January 19 to February 19,2020 were enrolled in a retrospective study.The patients were separated into an IFN group and a control group according to whether they received initial IFN-α2 b inhalation treatment after admission.Propensity-score matching was used to balance the confounding factors.Results:A total of 104 confirmed COVID-19 patients,68 in the IFN group and 36 in the control group,were enrolled.Less hypertension(27.9%vs.55.6%,P=0.006),dyspnea(8.8%vs.25.0%,P=0.025),or diarrhea(4.4%vs.19.4%,P=0.030)was observed in the IFN group.Lower levels of albumin and C-reactive protein and higher level of sodium were observed in the IFN group.Glucocorticoid dosage was lower in the IFN group(median,40 vs.80 mg/d,P=0.025).Compared to the control group,fewer patients in the IFN group were ventilated(13.2%vs.33.3%,P=0.015)and admitted to intensive care unit(ICU)(16.2%vs.44.4%,P=0.002).There were also fewer critical patients in the IFN group(7.4%vs.25.0%,P=0.017)upon admission.Although complications during admission process were comparable between groups,the discharge rate(85.3%vs.66.7%,P=0.027)was higher and the hospitalization time(16 vs.21 d,P=0.015)was shorter in the IFN group.When other confounding factors were not considered,virus shedding time(10 vs.13 d,P=0.014)was also shorter in the IFN group.However,when the influence of other factors was eliminated using propensity score matching,virus shedding time was not significantly shorter than that of the control group(12 vs.15 d,P=0.206).Conclusions:IFN-α2 b spray inhalation did not shorten virus shedding time of SARS-CoV-2 in hospitalized patients.展开更多
Background:A novel coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2),first identified in Wuhan,China,has been rapidly spreading around the world.This study investigates the epidemiological...Background:A novel coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2),first identified in Wuhan,China,has been rapidly spreading around the world.This study investigates the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)patients in Zhejiang Province who did or did not have a history of Wuhan exposure.Methods:We collected data from medical records of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Zhejiang Province from Jan.17 to Feb.7,2020 and analyzed epidemiological,clinical,and treatment data of those with and without recorded recent exposure in Wuhan.Results:Patients in the control group were older than those in the exposure group((48.19±16.13)years vs.(43.47±13.12)years,P<0.001),and more were over 65 years old(15.95%control vs.5.60%exposure,P<0.001).The rate of clustered onset was also significantly higher in the control group than in the exposure group(31.39%vs.18.66%,P<0.001).The symptom of a sore throat in patients in the exposure group was significantly higher than that in the control group(17.30%vs.10.89%,P=0.01);however,headache in the exposure group was significantly lower than that in the control group(6.87%vs.12.15%,P=0.015).More patients in the exposure group had a significantly lower level of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)and aspartate aminotransferase(AST)than those in the control group.There was no significant difference in any degree of COVID-19 including mild,severe,and critical between the two groups.Conclusions:From the perspective of epidemiological and clinical characteristics,there was no significant difference between COVID-19 patients with and without Wuhan exposure history.展开更多
Jaundice is a common and complex clinical symptom potentially occurring in hepatology, general surgery, pediatrics, infectious diseases, gynecology, and obstetrics, and it is faidy difficult to distinguish the cause o...Jaundice is a common and complex clinical symptom potentially occurring in hepatology, general surgery, pediatrics, infectious diseases, gynecology, and obstetrics, and it is faidy difficult to distinguish the cause of jaundice in clinical practice, especially for general practitioners in less developed regions. With collaboration between physicians and artificial intelligence engineers, a comprehensive knowledge base relevant to jaundice was created based on demographic information, symptoms, physical signs, laboratory tests, imaging diagnosis, medical histories, and risk factors. Then a diagnostic modeling and reasoning system using the dynamic uncertain causality graph was proposed. A modularized modeling scheme was presented to reduce the complexity of model construction, providing multiple perspectives and arbitrary granularity for disease causality representations. A "chaining" inference algorithm and weighted logic operation mechanism were employed to guarantee the exactness and efficiency of diagnostic rea- soning under situations of incomplete and uncertain information. Moreover, the causal interactions among diseases and symptoms intuitively demonstrated the reasoning process in a graphical manner. Verification was performed using 203 randomly pooled clinical cases, and the accuracy was 99.01% and 84.73%, respectively, with or without laboratory tests in the model. The solutions were more explicable and convincing than common methods such as Bayesian Networks, further increasing the objectivity of clinical decision-making. The promising results indicated that our model could be potentially used in intelligent diagnosis and help decrease public health expenditure.展开更多
基金supported by grants from the National Science and Technology Major Project(2012ZX10002004)Scientific Research Fund of Zhejiang Provincial Education Department(Y201328037)the opening foundation of the State Key Laboratory for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases and Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Infectious Diseases,First Affiliated Hospital,Zhejiang University School of Medicine(2015KF04)
文摘BACKGROUND: Plasma exchange (PE)-centered artificial liver support system reduced the high mortality rate of hepa titis B virus (HBV)-related acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). But the data were diverse in different medical centers. The present prospective nationwide study was to evaluate the effects of PE on patients with HBV-ACLF at different stages.
基金supported by grants from the National Grand Program on Key Infectious Diseases(2012ZX10002-004)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(81100286)
文摘Because of the diversity of the dinical and laboratory manifestations, the diagnosis of autoimmune liver disease (AILD) remains a challenge in clinical practice. The value of metabolomics has been studied in the diagnosis of many diseases. The present study aimed to determine whether the metabolic profiles, based on ultraperformance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS), differed between autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cir- rhosis (PBC), to identify specific metabolomic markers, and to establish a model for the diagnosis of AIH and PBC. METHODS: Serum samples were collected from 20 patients with PBC, 19 patients with AIH, and 25 healthy individuals. UPLC-MS data of the samples were analyzed using principal component analysis, partial least squares discrimination analysis and or- thogonal partial least squares discrimination analysis. RESULTS: The partial least squares discrimination analysis model (R2y=0.991, Q2=0.943) was established between the AIH and PBC groups and exhibited both sensitivity and speci- ficity of 100%. Five groups of biomarkers were identified, in- eluding bile acids, free fatty acids, phosphatidylcholines, lyso- lecithins and sphingomyelin. Bile acids significantly increased in the AIH and PBC groups compared with the healthy con- trol group. The other biomarkers decreased in the AIH andPBC groups compared with those in the healthy control group. In addition, the biomarkers were downregulated in the AIH group compared with the PBC group. CONCLUSIONS: The biomarkers identified revealed the pathophysiological changes in AILD and helped to discrimi- nate between AIH and PBC. The predictability of this method suggests its potential application in the diagnosis of AILD.
基金Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81700549)the National Major Science and Technology Research Projects for the Control and Prevention of Major Infectious Diseases in China(No.2017ZX10202202)the Medical and Health Research Program of Zhejiang Province(No.2015KYB144),China。
文摘Background:Currently,there are no drugs that have been proven to be effective against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2).Because of its broad antiviral activity,interferon(IFN)should be evaluated as a potential therapeutic agent for treatment of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19),especially while COVID-19-specific therapies are still under development.Methods:Confirmed COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the First Affiliated Hospital,School of Medicine,Zhejiang University in Hangzhou,China,from January 19 to February 19,2020 were enrolled in a retrospective study.The patients were separated into an IFN group and a control group according to whether they received initial IFN-α2 b inhalation treatment after admission.Propensity-score matching was used to balance the confounding factors.Results:A total of 104 confirmed COVID-19 patients,68 in the IFN group and 36 in the control group,were enrolled.Less hypertension(27.9%vs.55.6%,P=0.006),dyspnea(8.8%vs.25.0%,P=0.025),or diarrhea(4.4%vs.19.4%,P=0.030)was observed in the IFN group.Lower levels of albumin and C-reactive protein and higher level of sodium were observed in the IFN group.Glucocorticoid dosage was lower in the IFN group(median,40 vs.80 mg/d,P=0.025).Compared to the control group,fewer patients in the IFN group were ventilated(13.2%vs.33.3%,P=0.015)and admitted to intensive care unit(ICU)(16.2%vs.44.4%,P=0.002).There were also fewer critical patients in the IFN group(7.4%vs.25.0%,P=0.017)upon admission.Although complications during admission process were comparable between groups,the discharge rate(85.3%vs.66.7%,P=0.027)was higher and the hospitalization time(16 vs.21 d,P=0.015)was shorter in the IFN group.When other confounding factors were not considered,virus shedding time(10 vs.13 d,P=0.014)was also shorter in the IFN group.However,when the influence of other factors was eliminated using propensity score matching,virus shedding time was not significantly shorter than that of the control group(12 vs.15 d,P=0.206).Conclusions:IFN-α2 b spray inhalation did not shorten virus shedding time of SARS-CoV-2 in hospitalized patients.
基金the National Major Science and Technology Research Projects for the Control and Prevention of Major Infectious Diseases in China(No.2017ZX10202202)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.81770574)。
文摘Background:A novel coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2),first identified in Wuhan,China,has been rapidly spreading around the world.This study investigates the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)patients in Zhejiang Province who did or did not have a history of Wuhan exposure.Methods:We collected data from medical records of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Zhejiang Province from Jan.17 to Feb.7,2020 and analyzed epidemiological,clinical,and treatment data of those with and without recorded recent exposure in Wuhan.Results:Patients in the control group were older than those in the exposure group((48.19±16.13)years vs.(43.47±13.12)years,P<0.001),and more were over 65 years old(15.95%control vs.5.60%exposure,P<0.001).The rate of clustered onset was also significantly higher in the control group than in the exposure group(31.39%vs.18.66%,P<0.001).The symptom of a sore throat in patients in the exposure group was significantly higher than that in the control group(17.30%vs.10.89%,P=0.01);however,headache in the exposure group was significantly lower than that in the control group(6.87%vs.12.15%,P=0.015).More patients in the exposure group had a significantly lower level of lactate dehydrogenase(LDH)and aspartate aminotransferase(AST)than those in the control group.There was no significant difference in any degree of COVID-19 including mild,severe,and critical between the two groups.Conclusions:From the perspective of epidemiological and clinical characteristics,there was no significant difference between COVID-19 patients with and without Wuhan exposure history.
基金supported by the Medical and Health Research Program of Zhejiang Province(No.2015KYB128)the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation(No.LQ15H030004),China
文摘Jaundice is a common and complex clinical symptom potentially occurring in hepatology, general surgery, pediatrics, infectious diseases, gynecology, and obstetrics, and it is faidy difficult to distinguish the cause of jaundice in clinical practice, especially for general practitioners in less developed regions. With collaboration between physicians and artificial intelligence engineers, a comprehensive knowledge base relevant to jaundice was created based on demographic information, symptoms, physical signs, laboratory tests, imaging diagnosis, medical histories, and risk factors. Then a diagnostic modeling and reasoning system using the dynamic uncertain causality graph was proposed. A modularized modeling scheme was presented to reduce the complexity of model construction, providing multiple perspectives and arbitrary granularity for disease causality representations. A "chaining" inference algorithm and weighted logic operation mechanism were employed to guarantee the exactness and efficiency of diagnostic rea- soning under situations of incomplete and uncertain information. Moreover, the causal interactions among diseases and symptoms intuitively demonstrated the reasoning process in a graphical manner. Verification was performed using 203 randomly pooled clinical cases, and the accuracy was 99.01% and 84.73%, respectively, with or without laboratory tests in the model. The solutions were more explicable and convincing than common methods such as Bayesian Networks, further increasing the objectivity of clinical decision-making. The promising results indicated that our model could be potentially used in intelligent diagnosis and help decrease public health expenditure.