Antibiotic and glucocorticoid-induced recapitulated hematological remission in acute myeloid leukemia: A case report and review of literature.

BACKGROUND: Leukemic hematopoietic cells acquire enhanced self-renewal capacity and impaired differentiation. The emergence of symptomatic leukemia also requires the acquisition of a clonal proliferative advantage. Untreated leukemia patients usually experience an aggressive process. However, spontaneous remission occasionally occurs in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), most frequently after recovery from a febrile episode, and this is generally attributed to the triggering of antineoplastic immunity. There may be another explanation for the spontaneous remission as implicated in this paper. CASE SUMMARY: A 63-year-old Chinese man presented with high fever, abdominal pain and urticaria-like skin lesions. He was diagnosed with AML-M4 with t(8;21) (q22;q22)/RUNX1-RUNX1T1 based on morphological, immunological, cytogenetic and molecular analyses. He had a complex chromosome rea-rrangement of 48,XY,t(8;21)(q22;q22),+13,+13[9]/49,idem,+mar[9]/49,idem,+8[2]. He also had a mutated tyrosine kinase domain in fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 gene. He was treated with antibiotics and glucocorticoids for gastrointestinal infection and urticaria-like skin lesions. The infection and skin lesions were quickly resolved. Unexpectedly, he achieved hematological remission along with resolution of the febrile episode, gastrointestinal symptoms and skin lesions. Notably, after relapse, repeating these treatments resulted in a return to hematological remission. Unfortunately, he demonstrated strong resistance to antibiotic and glucocorticoid treatment after the second relapse and died of sepsis from bacterial infection with multidrug resistance. The main clinical feature of this patient was that symptomatic AML emerged with flaring of the gut inflammatory disorder and it subsided after resolution of the inflammation. Learning from the present case raises the possibility that in a subgroup of AML patients, the proliferative advantage of leukemia cells may critically require the presence of inflammatory stresses. CONCLUSION: Inflammatory stresses, most likely arising from gastrointestinal infection, may sustain the growth and survival advantage of leukemic cells.

Expert panel's guideline on cervicogenic headache: The Chinese Association for the Study of Pain recommendation.

Cervicogenic headache (CEH) has been recognized as a unique category of headache that can be difficult to diagnose and treat. In China, CEH patients are managed by many different specialties, and the treatment plans remain controversial. Therefore, there is a great need for comprehensive evidence-based Chinese experts' recommendations for the management of CEH. The Chinese Association for the Study of Pain asked an expert panel to develop recommendations for a series of questions that are essential for daily clinical management of patients with CEH. A group of multidisciplinary Chinese Association for the Study of Pain experts identified the clinically relevant topics in CEH. A systematic review of the literature was performed, and evidence supporting the benefits and harms for the management of CEH was summarized. Twenty-four recommendations were finally developed through expert consensus voting for evidence quality and recommendation strength. We hope this guideline provides direction for clinicians and patients making treatment decisions for the management of CEH.

Expert consensus of Chinese Association for the Study of Pain on the non-opioid analgesics for chronic musculoskeletal pain.

Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) is a common occurrence in clinical practice and there are a variety of options for the treatment of it. However, the pharmacological therapy is still considered to be a primary treatment. The recent years have witnessed the emergence of opioid crisis, yet there are no relevant guidelines on how to treat CMP with non-opioid analgesics properly. The Chinese Medical Association for the Study of Pain convened a panel meeting to develop clinical practice consensus for the treatment of CMP with non-opioid analgesics. The purpose of this consensus is to present the application of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, muscle relaxants, ion channel drugs and topical drugs in CMP.

Expert consensus of the Chinese Association for the Study of Pain on pain treatment with the transdermal patch.

Chronic pain lasting more than 3 mo, or even several years can lead to disability. Treating chronic pain safely and effectively is a critical challenge faced by clinicians. Because administration of analgesics through oral, intravenous or intramuscular routes is not satisfactory, research toward percutaneous delivery has gained interest. The transdermal patch is one such percutaneous delivery system that can deliver drugs through the skin and capillaries at a certain rate to achieve a systemic or local therapeutic effect in the affected area. It has many advantages including ease of administration and hepatic first pass metabolism avoidance as well as controlling drug delivery, which reduces the dose frequency and side effects. If not required, then the patch can be removed from the skin immediately. The scopolamine patch was the first transdermal patch to be approved for the treatment of motion sickness by the Food and Drug Administration in 1979. From then on, the transdermal patch has been widely used to treat many diseases. To date, no guidelines or consensus are available on the use of analgesic drugs through transdermal delivery. The pain branch of the Chinese Medical Association, after meeting and discussing with experts and based on clinical evidence, developed a consensus for promoting and regulating standard use of transdermal patches containing analgesic drugs.

Expert consensus of the Chinese Association for the Study of Pain on ion channel drugs for neuropathic pain.

Neuropathic pain (NPP) is a kind of pain caused by disease or damage impacting the somatosensory system. Ion channel drugs are the main treatment for NPP; however, their irregular usage leads to unsatisfactory pain relief. To regulate the treatment of NPP with ion channel drugs in clinical practice, the Chinese Association for the Study of Pain organized first-line pain management experts from China to write an expert consensus as the reference for the use of ion channels drugs . Here, we reviewed the mechanism and characteristics of sodium and calcium channel drugs, and developed recommendations for the therapeutic principles and clinical practice for carbamazepine, oxcarbazepine, lidocaine, bulleyaconitine A, pregabalin, and gabapentin. We hope this guideline provides guidance to clinicians and patients on the use of ion channel drugs for the management of NPP.

Intrathecal delivery of hydromorphone vs morphine for refractory cancer pain: a multicenter, randomized, single-blind, controlled noninferiority trial.

Hydromorphone is an alternative to morphine for intrathecal drug delivery system to treat refractory cancer pain; however, there is not enough clinical evidence to prove it. In our study, 233 patients from 12 different pain management centers across China were enrolled, 121 and 112 in the intrathecal hydromorphone (ITHM) and intrathecal morphine (ITMO) groups, respectively. The primary outcome was the clinical success rate, which was defined as ratio of patients achieving ≥50% pain relief. The noninferiority margin was defined as -0.15. Other outcomes included daily visual analogue scale score, breakthrough pain (BTP) incidence, intrathecal dose change, and patient-controlled analgesia bolus count change, GAD-7/PHQ-9. Clinical success was achieved in 85 and 79 of the 121 ITHM patients (70.2%) and 112 ITMO patients (70.5%), respectively. Compared to the corresponding baseline findings, significantly decreased visual analogue scale scores and BTP incidence were noted in both groups. The dose change rate decreased and increased with time in the ITHM and ITMO groups, respectively (ITHM -3.33% vs ITMO 35.4%, P < 0.01, t test) from the third week. The patient-controlled analgesia bolus change rate was lower in the ITHM group than in the ITMO group (ITHM -19.88% vs ITMO 7.79%, P < 0.01, t test) from first week. Our result shows that ITHM is noninferior to ITMO on pain relief to treat refractory cancer pain, however, at different doses and that the doses of morphine tended to increase, whereas those of hydromorphone decreased over time. Hydromorphone offers advantage over morphine in controlling BTP.

The Chinese Association for the Study of Pain (CASP): Consensus on the Assessment and Management of Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain.

Chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNLBP) is defined as pain or discomfort originating from the waist, which lasts for at least 12 weeks, but no radiculopathy or specific spinal diseases. CNLBP is a complicated medical problem and places a huge burden on healthcare systems. Clinical manifestation of CNLBP includes discogenic LBP, zygapophyseal joint pain, sacroiliac joint pain, and lumbar muscle strain. Further evaluation should be completed to confirm the diagnosis including auxiliary examination, functional assessment, and clinical assessment. The principle of the management is to relieve pain, restore function, and avoid recurrence. Treatment includes conservative treatment, minimally invasive treatment, and rehabilitation. Pharmacologic therapy is the first-line treatment of nonspecific LBP, and it is most widely used in clinical practice. Interventional therapy should be considered only after failure of medication and physical therapy. Multidisciplinary rehabilitation can improve physical function and alleviate short-term and long-term pain. The emphasis should be put on the prevention of NLBP and reducing relevant risk factors.

[Enrichment of triphenyltin in water samples by beta-cyclodextrin cross-linking polymer and determination by hydride-generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry].

A new method was proposed for the enrichment of triphenyltin in water samples by beta-cyclodextrin cross-linking polymer and the quantitative determination of tin in triphenyltin by hydride-generation atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The chemical conditions and instrumental conditions were investigated and optimized. The method is sensitive and precise. The detection limit is 0.1 ng x mL(-1) and the RSD 2.64% (for 0.04 microg x mL(-1)). The proposed method has been successfully applied to the determination of triphenyltin in various water samples.

[Determination of trace beryllium in geological samples by oxygen doped air-acetylene flame atomic absorption spectrometry].

A new method for the determination of trace beryllium in geological samples by oxygen-air-acetylene flame atomic absorption spectrometry is reported in the present paper. The optimum determination conditions were selected. When suitable amounts of 8-hydroxyquinoline are added, the interference effect from the coexisting elements can be minimized and the sensitivity for the determination of beryllium can be increased. The detection limit (k = 3) is 0.006 microg x mL(-1) for beryllium. The method has been applied to the determination of trace beryllium in geological standard samples, and the results are in good agreement with the certified values with a precision of 4.69% RSD( n = 8).