[Clinical characteristics of patients with human adenovirus infection undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation].

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of human adenovirus (HAdV) infection in patients with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Methods: This is a retrospective case series study. Patients who received allo-HSCT and had symptoms of HAdV infection were tested in the Hematology Department at Perking University People's Hospital from August 2015 to October 2019. Real-time quantitative PCR was used to detect HAdV DNA from 2 728 patients with potential infection. HAdV DNA-positive patients were defined as having HAdV infection. The clinical features of these patients were analyzed, and a case-pair method was used to select patients without HAdV infection as the control group in a 1∶3 ratio. The clinical results of the two groups were compared using Kaplan-Meier and Log-rank testing. Results: A total of 7 119 samples were tested for HAdV, of which 99 samples from 36 patients were positive. Of these patients, 22 developed HAdV viremia, and 24 patients had concurrent infection with another virus. Nineteen patients had fever (53%), 25 had gastrointestinal symptoms (69%), 11 had respiratory symptoms (31%), nine had reduced liver function (25%), and six had nervous system symptoms (17%). Twenty-three patients developed acute graft-versus-host disease of grade 2 or higher. Of all the patients with HAdV infection, nine were treated with cidofovir, seven of whom became HAdV negative and two had invalid treatment. The median follow-up time was 496 (216, 940) d post-HSCT. The overall survival at 5 years post HSCT was 48.4%±9.2% vs. 91.3%±3.5% (χ2=65.03, P<0.001) in patients with and without HADV, respectively. The non-relapse mortality at 5 years post-HSCT was 40.8%±8.8% vs. 4.0%±2.0% (χ2=34.17, P<0.001) in patients with and without HADV, respectively. Conclusions: After allo-HSCT, HAdV-infected patients are dominated by gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms and have an increased risk of combined acute graft-versus-host disease of >2 degrees. Patients with HAdV infection have poor overall survival and high non-relapse mortality.

[Associations of all-cause mortality with admission blood pressure variability during multiple hospitalizations in acute decompensated heart failure].

Objective: To investigate whether admission blood pressure (BP) variability during multiple hospitalizations is associated with all-cause mortality independent of baseline BP in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF). Methods: Patients with ADHF admitted to the Department of Cardiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University from September 2013 to December 2017 were retrospectively enrolled. The risk of all-cause mortality associated with indices of BP variability, including mean admission BPs, standard deviation of BP and coefficient of variation of BP during multiple hospitalizations was assessed, using Cox regression model. Results: A total of 1 006 ADHF patients (mean aged (69.3±13.5) years; 411 (40.8%) female; 670 (66.6%) with preserved ejection fraction) were enrolled. During a median follow-up of 1.54 years, 47.0% of patients died. In all ADHF patients, after adjusting for confounding factors, for every 1-standard deviation (SD) increase in SD and coefficient of variation (CV) of systolic BP, the risk of all-cause mortality increased by 10% and 11%, respectively (SD: HR, 1.10, 95%CI, 1.01-1.21, P=0.029, CV: HR, 1.11, 95%CI, 1.02-1.21, P=0.017); for every 1-SD increase in the mean of diastolic BP, the risk of all cause mortality decreased by 25% (HR, 0.75; 95%CI, 0.65-0.87; P<0.001). In ADHF patients with preserved ejection fraction, after accounted for potential confounders, higher SD and CV of admitted systolic and diastolic BP were significantly associated with higher risk of all-cause mortality, regardless of whether confounding factors were adjusted (P≤0.049); After adjusting for confounding factors, the risk of all-cause mortality increased by 18% and 19% for every 1-SD increase in SD and CV of systolic BP, while the risk of all-cause mortality increased by 11% and 15% for every 1-SD increase in SD and CV of diastolic BP. In ADHF patients with reduced ejection fraction, after adjusting for confounding factors, the higher the mean admission systolic BP during multiple hospitalizations, the lower the risk of total mortality (HR, 0.68; 95%CI, 0.47-1.00; P=0.049). Conclusions: In patients with ADHF, independent of baseline BP, BP variability during multiple hospitalizations was strong predictor of all-cause mortality.

Role of height and glycosylated hemoglobin in abnormal nerve conduction in pediatric patients with type I diabetes mellitus after 4-9 yr of disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the role of height and glycosylated hemoglobin in abnormal nerve conduction in pediatric patients with insulin-dependent (type I) diabetes mellitus. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Sixty-six pediatric patients (aged 6.3-18.2 yr) with a duration of diabetes from 4 to 8.5 yr but free of clinical neuropathy were evaluated for abnormal nerve conduction. RESULTS: Mean HbA1 values for 1 and 2 yr before study were available. Electroneurographic findings were significantly different from control subjects in upper and lower extremities and included all five measured velocities, three sensory latencies, and one amplitude. Stepwise regression analysis identified an adverse effect of height on latency (5 of 6) and of mean HbA1 concentration on decreasing velocity (4 of 5). The data analysis from 52 patients who were restudied and who had a duration of diabetes from 5.3 to 9.6 yr confirmed that all velocity values slowed; one of five values did so significantly. The coefficients associated with mean HbA1 concentration usually increased in both upper- and lower-extremity velocity analyses at the follow-up examination. The change in peroneal motor velocity between the first and last examinations was significantly related to the increasing time interval between examinations. CONCLUSIONS: Prospective evaluation of nerve conduction parameters in pediatric patients with diabetes should include both height (the most significant independent variable in latency analysis) and mean glycemic control (the most consistent variable in velocity analyses) as variables in the assessment of the natural history of evolving peripheral neuropathy.