Expression and clinical diagnostic value of miR-383 in patients with severe preeclampsia.

This study aimed to investigate the expression and clinical diagnostic value of miR-383 in patients with severe preeclampsia. Thirty patients with severe preeclampsia from July 2017 to December 2018 were selected as a research group, twenty healthy pregnant women undergoing physical examination at the same period were selected as a control group, and miR-383 and miR-16 in placenta tissue of the two groups were detected by qRT-PCR. ROC curve was drawn to evaluate the predictive value of diagnostic efficiency, Spearman test was used for correlation analysis, and Logistic univariate and multivariate analysis was performed on the risk factors related to the metastasis of severe preeclampsia. The miR-383 expression in the research group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P< 0.001), while the miR-16 expression in the research group was significantly higher than that in the control group (P< 0.001). The miR-383 and miR-16 expression levels were tied to TNM staging and metastasis (P< 0.001). The sensitivity, specificity and AUC of miR-383 single diagnosis were 75.00%, 83.33% and 0.847 respectively, and those of miR-16 single diagnosis were 65.00%, 63.33% and 0.728 respectively. The relative expression of miR-383 in placenta tissue was negatively correlated with APACHE II score of severe preeclampsia (r = -0.4129, P= 0.0233), but the relative expression of miR-16 in placenta tissue was positively correlated with APACHE II score of severe preeclampsia (r = 0.9833, P< 0.001). Blood pressure, miR-383, miR-16 at the admission of pregnant women were independent risk factors for severe preeclampsia. miR-383 and miR-16 might participate in the process of occurrence, development and metastasis of severe preeclampsia, and could be used as potential biomarkers of placental tissue for its diagnosis and disease assessment of metastasis.

Value of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) score in predicting hospital mortality for postoperative brain tumor patients in intensive care units in Japan: A retrospective case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) is based on the data of intensive care unit (ICU) patients and often correlates with disease severity and prognosis. However, no prognostic predictors exist based on ICU admission data for patients with brain tumors, and no studies have reported an association between APACHE II and prognosis in patients with brain tumors. The Japanese Intensive Care Patients Database (JIPAD) was established to improve the quality of care delivered in intensive care medicine in Japan. We used JIPAD to examine factors associated with in-hospital mortality based on available data of postoperative patients with brain tumors admitted to the ICU. METHODS: Patients aged ≥16 years enrolled in JIPAD between April 2015 and March 2018 after surgical brain tumor resection or biopsy of brain tumors. We examined factors related to outcomes at discharge based on blood tests and medical procedures performed during ICU admission, tumor type, and APACHE II score. RESULTS: Among the 1454 patients (male:female ratio: 1:1.1, mean age: 62 years) in the study, 32 (2.2 %) died during hospital stay. In multivariate analysis, male sex (odds ratio [OR] 2.70, [95 % confidence interval, CI 1.22-6.00]), malignant tumor (OR 2.51 [95 % CI 1.13-5.55]), and APACHE II score ≥15 (OR 2.51 [95 % CI 3.08-14.3]) were significantly associated with in-hospital mortality. CONCLUSION: By picking up cases with a high risk of in-hospital death at an early stage, it is possible to improve methods of treatment and support for the patient's family.

Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation reduces cytokine production in sepsis: An open double-blind, sham-controlled, pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that vagus nerve-mediated inflammatory reflex could inhibit cytokine production and inflammation in sepsis animals. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to explore the efficacy of transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) on inflammation and disease severity of sepsis patients. METHODS: A randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled pilot study was performed. Twenty sepsis patients were randomly assigned to receive taVNS or sham stimulation for five consecutive days. Stimulation effect was assessed with serum cytokine levels, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) Ⅱ score, and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score at baseline and on Day 3, Day 5, and Day 7. RESULTS: TaVNS was well tolerated in the study population. Patients receiving taVNS experienced significant reductions in serum TNF-α and IL-1ß levels and increases in IL-4 and IL-10 levels. SOFA scores decreased on Day 5 and Day 7 compared with baseline in the taVNS group. However, no changes were found in sham stimulation group. The changes of cytokine from Day 7 to Day 1 were greater with taVNS than sham stimulation. No differences in the APACHE Ⅱ score and SOFA score were observed between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: TaVNS resulted in significantly lower serum pro-inflammatory cytokines and higher serum anti-inflammatory cytokines in sepsis patients.