[Layer-specific strain assessment on left ventricular function before and after PCI in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction].

Objective: To evaluate the changes of left ventricular function in patients with ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) before PCI and within 24 hours after PCI by layer-specific strain, and to explore the value of this new assessment method for quantitative monitoring on the myocardial function in STEMI patients. Methods: A total of 40 patients with acute anterior wall myocardial infarction, who underwent PCI in Affiliated Hospital of Jiangsu University during July 2017 to July 2018, were included in this prospective cohort study. According to the symptom to balloon time (STB), the patients were divided into STB ≤6 hours group (26 cases) and STB 6-12 hours group (14 cases). Echocardiography was performed before, immediately, 3 hours and 24 hours after PCI. Echocardiographic indexes including endocardial myocardial longitudinal strain (LS-endo), 18-segment full-thickness myocardial longitudinal strain (LS) of left ventricle and left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) were measured. The mean LS-endo and LS values of myocardial segments in infarcted area (IALS-endo, IALS) and the mean LS-endo and LS values of myocardial segments in non-infarcted area (NIALS-endo, NIALS) were calculated. Results: There were 34 males and 6 females in this cohort and age was (62±10) years. In STB≤6 hours group, the IALS-endo value ((13.7±4.9)% vs. (10.0±2.7)%, P<0.05) and NIALS-endo value ((17.0±2.9)% vs. (14.6±2.9)%, P<0.05) were significantly higher at 24 hours after PCI than those before PCI. In the group of STB 6-12 hours, IALS-endo decreased immediately after PCI ((6.7±3.3)% vs. (11.9±6.5)%, P<0.05), and there was a rising trend at 3 hours after PCI (P>0.05). At 24 hours after PCI, the index was higher than that immediately after PCI ((13.6±8.4)% vs. (6.7±3.3)%, P<0.05). The NIALS-endo value was significantly higher at 24 hours after PCI than that before PCI ((17.1±2.1)% vs. (14.5±3.2)%, P<0.05). In the STB 6-12 hours group, the decrease rate of IALS-endo immediately after PCI was higher than that in the STB ≤6 hours group (93% (13/14) vs. 35% (9/26), P<0.001). In STB ≤6 hours group, the NIALS value at 24 hours after PCI was higher than that before PCI (P<0.05), and there was no significant difference in IALS, NIALS and GLS at other time points (P>0.05). Conclusions: Layered LS is superior to full-thickness LS and GLS in evaluating left ventricular function in STEMI patients. LS measured by echocardiography can continuously and quantitatively evaluate the changes of left ventricular myocardial function in STEMI patients before and after PCI.

[Predictive ability of risk assessment tool regarding HIV infection for men who have sex with men].

Objective: To analyze the predictive ability of HIV infection risk assessment tool for men who have sex with men (MSM). Sentinel surveillance data of MSM in Taizhou prefecture of Zhejiang province was used. Methods: MSM involved in AIDS sentinel surveillance program in Taizhou from 2013 to 2017 were included in the study and items listed in the HIV infection risk assessment tool for MSM was revised. Related data on questions and options involved in sentinel surveillance was collected and individual risk scores were calculated. We determined the predictive ability of this tool by comprehensive analyzing the HIV infection status and individual risk scores. Results: A total of 1 944 MSM were included in the study, with an average age of (35.04±13.28)years old. Most of them were recruited from the venues (55.7%) and 48.2% were never married. Among these MSM, HIV infection rate was 12.6%(245/1 944) with the median of risk score as 23.99, versus 20.36 from the HIV negative ones. Significant differences appeared on the risk scores between the target populations that with different HIV status (Mann-Whitney test, P=0.007). According to the principle of decision tree, MSM were divided into two groups according to risk scores: ≤18.66 and >18.66. It appeared that the risk scores were in parallel with the rates of HIV infection (χ(2)=13.102, P<0.001). Results from the multivariate analysis showed that MSM with higher risk score were more likely to be infected with HIV (>18.66 vs. ≤18.66: aOR=1.72, 95%CI: 1.27-2.32, P<0.001). Area under the ROC curve (AUC) for HIV infection was 0.553 (95%CI: 0.516-0.590, P=0.007). At the point of risk score 19.01, Youden's index appeared the maximum, with sensitivity as 0.69 and specificity as 0.43, of this tool. Conclusions: The HIV infection risk assessment tool for MSM developed based on Delphi method can predict the risk of HIV infection in MSM to some extent. MSM with higher risk score seemed likely to be infected with HIV. Items of this tool need to be adjusted for the verification of the tool through cohort studies in the near future.

T2* relaxation time in the detection and assessment of aggressiveness of peripheral zone cancer in comparison with diffusion-weighted imaging.

AIM: To investigate the feasibility of T2* relaxation time for distinguishing benign from malignant regions, as well as tumour aggressiveness, within the peripheral zone (PZ) of the prostate in comparison with diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-eight patients with prostate cancer underwent 3 T magnetic resonance imaging using multi-echo T2* and DWI (maximum b-value, 2000 s/mm(2)). Parametric maps were obtained for apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) and T2* values. Two radiologists reviewed these maps and measured ADC and T2* values in sextants positive for cancer at biopsy. Data were analysed using mixed-model analysis of variance and receiver operating characteristic curves. RESULTS: Ninety-three sextants exhibited a Gleason score of 6; 59 exhibited a Gleason score of 7 or 8. The T2* value was significantly lower in cancerous sextants than in the benign PZ (48.69+0.60 versus 74.14+0.56, p<0.001), as well as in cancerous sextants with higher rather than lower Gleason scores (43.18+0.89 versus 52.18+0.55, p<0.001). The T2* value showed significantly greater specificity for differentiating cancerous sextants from benign PZ than ADC (93.1% versus 89.7%, p<0.001), with equal sensitivity (82.8% versus 81%, p>0.05). The T2* value exhibited significantly greater sensitivity and specificity for differentiating sextants with low- and high-grade cancer than ADC (79.6% versus 64.5% and 81.4% versus 72.9%, respectively; p<0.05). The T2* value had a significantly greater area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for differentiating sextants with low- and high-grade cancer than ADC (0.77 versus 0.71, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: Preliminary findings suggest that the T2* relaxation time has increased diagnostic value compared with DWI in prostate PZ cancer assessment.