Study on the Application Value of the Content of Prostatic Exosomal Protein in the Treatment of Chronic Prostatitis.

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the application value of urinary prostatic exosomal protein (PSEP) in the treatment of chronic prostatitis (CP). METHODS: We evaluated 174 patients with chronic prostatitis (44 cases of NIH-II, 65 cases of NIH-IIIa, and 65 cases of NIH-IIIb) who had obvious symptoms of chronic prostatitis syndrome and met the diagnostic criteria of National Institutes of Health Prostatitis from May 2018 to February 2021. They were also evaluated according to the clinical treatment's effect after six weeks of treatment. Urine samples of CP patients were collected before treatment and after six weeks of treatment, and the level of PSEP in the urine samples of all patients, before and after treatment, was detected by the ELISA method to evaluate the application value of PSEP in the end of CP curative effect. RESULTS: After six weeks of treatment, the total CPSI score of CP patients decreased significantly, compared to patients before treatment. After six weeks of treatment, the PSEP content in the patients' urine was compared to before treatment. The PSEP levels of CP subgroups decreased significantly (p < 0.05): NIH-II group (1.55 ± 1.39 ng/mL vs. 3.09 ± 2.66 ng/mL); NIH-IIIa group (1.68 ± 1.06 ng/mL vs. 3.34 ± 2.69 ng/mL); and NIH-IIIb group (1.57 ± 1.17 ng/mL vs. 3.14 ± 2.81 ng/mL). CONCLUSIONS: The concentration of PSEP in the urine of CP patients has a good application value for evaluating clinical treatment's effect on chronic prostatitis, and its concentration level may affect the development and outcome of prostatitis.

Development and Validation of a Nomogram to Assist Monitoring Nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 Infection of Hospitalized Patients.

PURPOSE: SARS-CoV-2 is extremely infectious, and the incidence of nosocomial infection is conceivably high. We aimed to develop and validate a nomogram to assist monitoring nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospitalized patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: There were 437 COVID-19 hospitalized cases and 420 negative inpatients enrolled from two hospitals in Hubei province, China. We compared the demographic and clinical characteristics of participants between the two groups. Then, LASSO regression and logistic regression were applied to build a nomogram for SARS-CoV-2 infection prediction in the development cohort. Our nomogram was assessed by area under the curve (AUC), calibration curve, decision curve (DCA) and clinical impact curve analysis (CICA). RESULTS: After LASSO regression filtration, eleven laboratory indicators were correlated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Then, we integrated these features and constructed a nomogram, which showed a high AUC 0.863 (95% CI: 0.834-0.892) in the development cohort with a sensitivity of 80.41% and specificity of 77.38% and 0.813 (95% CI: 0.760-0.866) in validation cohort with a sensitivity of 82.98% and specificity of 70.43%. The calibration plot displayed that the predicted outcomes were in good concordance with the actual observations. DCA and CICA further showed a larger clinical net benefit. CONCLUSION: We constructed and validated a nomogram that integrated eleven laboratory indexes to assist monitoring of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection in hospitalized patients. Our nomogram is remarkably informative for clinical practice, which will be helpful for preventing SARS-CoV-2 further transmission in hospital and avoiding nosocomial infection.

Prognostic value of hypothyroidism in patients undergoing intensity-modulated radiation therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hypothyroidism and thyroxine replacement therapy on the prognosis of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) patients. METHODS: The clinical data of 284 NPC patients, who received intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) between January 2011 and December 2016, were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: Hypothyroidism occurred in 38% of patients. Patients with hypothyroidism had significantly better disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.002) and relapse-free survival (RFS) (p = 0.008). Multivariate analysis showed that hypothyroidism was a positive independent prognostic factor (DFS and RFS). Among the patients with hypothyroidism, thyroxine replacement therapy did not yield inferior survival (DFS, RFS, all p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The NPC patients with complete response are at risk of hypothyroidism, which is attributable to escalating dose. These patients experienced clinical hypothyroidism could be adequately treated with thyroid hormone replacement. Further investigation of the underlying biological mechanism and potential therapeutic implications are required.

Does Serum Vitamin D Level Affect COVID-19 Infection and Its Severity?-A Case-Control Study.

BACKGROUND: As effective medication to treat COVID-19 is currently unavailable, preventive remedies may be particularly important. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) level and COVID-19 infection, its severity, and its clinical case characteristics. METHODS: This case-control study compared serum 25(OH)D levels and rates of vitamin D deficiency (VDD) between 80 healthy controls and 62 patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and admitted to Guangxi People's Hospital, China, 2/16/2020-3/16/2020. Cases were categorized into asymptomatic, mild/moderate, and severe/critical disease. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the associations between 25(OH)D level, or VDD, and case status/severity of COVID-19 while controlling for demographics and comorbidities. A threshold level of vitamin D for conveying COVID-19 risk was estimated. RESULTS: Severe/critical COVID-19 cases were significantly older and had higher percentages of comorbidity (renal failure) compared to mild cases. The serum 25(OH)D concentration in COVID-19 patient was much lower than that in healthy control. And 25(OH)D level was the lowest in severe/critical cases, compared with mild cases. In further, significantly higher rates of VDD were found in COVID-19 cases (41.9%) compared to healthy controls (11.1%). And VDD was the greatest in severe/critical cases (80%), compared with mild cases (36%). These statistically significant associations remained even after controlling for demographics and comorbidities. A potential threshold of 25(OH)D (41.19 nmol/L) to protect against COVID-19 was identified. CONCLUSION: Elderly and people with comorbidities were susceptible to severe COVID-19 infection. VDD was a risk factor for COVID-19, especially for severe/critical cases. While further confirmation is needed, vitamin D supplementation may have prevention or treatment potential for COVID-19 disease.

Transient appearance of EDTA dependent pseudothrombocytopenia in a patient with 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia.

EDTA dependent pseudothrombocytopenia (EDTA-PCTP) is a phenomenon that characterized by a spurious decrease of platelets in vitro due to the aggregation of platelets in EDTA anticoagulant blood samples. We report the first case of a transient appearance of EDTA-PCTP in a patient with 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19). A 59-year-old woman was admitted to the isolated ward for severe type of 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia. At the time of admission, her platelet count was in a normal range. Two days later, her platelet count decreased gradually without any signs or symptoms of bleeding. Since the peripheral blood smear showed a platelet aggregation, a blood sample anticoagulanted with citrate was tested and the number of platelet was normal. The phenomenon disappeared after 17 days when the patient was cured. This case emphasized the importance of peripheral blood smear and clinical manifestation, especially in the differential diagnosis of thrombocytopenia.

External quality assessment program for detection of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in the Guangxi region.

The aim of this study is to improve the quality of testing for glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency through evaluation and analysis of the laboratory tests for G6PD activity. External quality assessment (EQA) was carried out twice per year with five samples each from 2014 to 2016. Samples were used for quantitative and qualitative assays. Quantitative results were collected, qualitative results were determined with reference values, and information about methods, reagents and instruments from participating laboratories within the required time. Laboratory performance scores, coefficient of variation (CV), and the rates of false negative and positive results were calculated. As a result, a total of 2,834 cases of negative quality control (QC) samples and 2,451 cases of positive QC samples were assessed, where the rates of false negative and false positive results were 1.31% (37/2,834) and 1.34% (33/2,451), respectively. Quantitative results indicated an increasing trend in testing quality, which were consistent with conclusions based on the comparison of EQA full-score and acceptable ratio in six assessments. The 2nd assay in 2016 had the best full-score ratio of 68.9% (135/196) and best acceptable ratio of 84.2% (165/196). There was a decreasing trend in the average CV of six reagents produced in China, and the range of average CV increased to 14.6-23.6% in 2016. The average CV of low level and high level samples was 22.5% and 15.3%, respectively, demonstrating that samples with low G6PD activity have greater interlaboratory CV values. In conclusion, laboratories improved their testing quality and provided better diagnostic service for G6PD deficiency in areas with high incidence after participation in the EQA program in the Guangxi region.

High plasma fatty acid concentrations were present in non-diabetic patients with coronary heart disease.

BACKGROUND: Free fatty acids (FFAs) are reported to be related to coronary heart disease (CHD); however, some case subjects in those reports suffered from CHD and diabetes mellitus. The aim of this research was to reveal the FFAs as the independent discriminators in non-diabetic CHD patients. The association between FFA concentrations and DNA methylation of carbohydrate response element binding protein (ChREBP) was also investigated, since ChREBP acted as an important regulatory factor in the FFA synthesis. METHODS: Blood samples were collected after an overnight fast from 60 controls and 68 non-diabetic patients with CHD. Plasma concentrations of glucose, cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were measured by standard techniques in an automatic biochemical analyzer. Plasma concentrations of nine types of FFAs were determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The DNA methylation of ChREBP was detected by direct bisulfate sequencing. RESULTS: In the case group, the concentrations of glucose and HDL-C decreased, while the concentrations of TC, TG, and each FFA significantly increased compared with controls (p < 0.05). By logistic regression analysis, all FFAs except C14:0 were found to be independent risk factors for CHD in non-diabetic patients. No significant differences of clinical chemistry indicators were found between the methylated and unmethylated case groups. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma concentrations of FFAs are higher in non-diabetic patients with CHD and are emerging independent discriminators for CHD. High FFA concentrations are expected to play a role even in non-diabetic patients with CHD.

Age-related distributions of nine fasting plasma free fatty acids in a population of Chinese adults.

BACKGROUND: Free fatty acids (FFAs) play important roles in health and disease. We investigated the distributions of nine plasma FFAs in a population of Chinese adults. METHOD: Three hundred and ninety-nine healthy individuals aged 18-104 years were divided into 4 groups: 18-39 years; 40-59 years; 60-79 years; and 80-104 years. Nine plasma FFAs, including C12:0, C14:0, C16:0, C16:1, C18:0, C18:1 C18:2, C20:4 and C20:5 were determined using a validated HPLC method. RESULTS: There were significant differences among the 4 age groups in the plasma total FFA (TFA), saturated fatty acid (SFA), unsaturated fatty acid (UFA), and eight specific FFA concentrations, and the ratios of SFA to UFA, SFA to TFA, and UFA to TFA as well (all P<0.05), except for FFA C16:1. However, no significant difference was found between males and females. The 4 most abundant FFAs, C16:0, C18:0, C18:1 and C18:2 account for >90% of plasma total FFA. Reference intervals for individual FFAs are set at the 10th-90th percentile. CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences in eight specific plasma FFAs among various age groups were found in a population of Chinese adults. C16:0, C18:0, C18:1 and C18:2 are the most abundant FFAs in the fasting plasma. Reference intervals are established for the local Chinese community.