[Impact of topical application of autologous platelet-rich gel on medical expenditure and length of stay in hospitals in diabetic patients with refractory cutaneous ulcers].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential financial benefit of topical application of autologous platelet-rich gel (APG) in treating diabetic refractory cutaneous ulcers. METHODS: A single-center prospective randomized controlled trial was undertaken, with 117 patients with proven diabetic refractory cutaneous ulcers participating in the study. The patients who gave informed consents were randomly assigned into standard care group (n = 58) or standard care plus topical application of APG treatment group (n = 59). The outcome of healing and the medical expenditur and length of stay in the patients were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: The APG-treated group had better healing outcomes than the standard-treated group. The APG-treated group had 84.750 (50/59) complete healing and 98.31% improvement, higher than the 68.97% (40/58) and 75.86%, respectively, in the standard-treated group (P = 0.026). The median length for healing in the APG-treated patients was 36 days, shorter than the 45 days in the standard-treated patients (P = 0.012). The total medical expenditure and length of stay in hospitals were not significantly different between APG-treated patients [yen 38223 (23070-57398); 57 (41-94) days] and standard-treated patients [yen 35070 (24436-53649); 58 (31.75-58.50) days) (P = 0.455 and 0.301 respectively). Spendings on items such as medicine, artificial treatment, materials, interventional operation, surgical procedures, laboratory tests and other auxiliary examination, accommodations, meals, nursing care and debridement and dressing change were similar between the two groups (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: There is an advantage for the topical application of APG on diabetic refractory cutaneous ulcers in terms of the healing outcomes. APG is a cost-effective choice for patients with diabetic refractory cutaneous ulcers.

[Epidemiological study on metabolic syndrome in Chengdu adult in 2007].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and associated factors in the adults in Chengdu. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was undertaken in 2242 residents over 20 years of age. The cluster sampling method was employed to recruit participants from Yulin and Longquan communities in Chengdu. The metabolic syndrome was defined by IDF 2005. RESULTS: The prevalence of MS was 17.2%, with 15.0% and 18.6% for male and female, respectively. The age-adjusted rate of MS was 13.47%, with 17.71% and 11.09% for male and female, respectively. The difference in prevalence of MS between male and female was significant. The prevalence of central obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, high triglycerides, low HDL-C were 31.6%, 32.0%, 16.5%, 30.4%, and 31.2% respectively, which became 26.3%, 26.0%, 12.9%, 26.9%, and 30.5% respectively after age-adjustment. Gender differences appeared in all of the components of MS except for low HDL-C (P < 0.05). The multivariable stepwise analysis extracted age, history of hypertension, blood pressure, waist circumference, fasting glycaemia level and triglyceride as major risk factors for MS and blood HDL-C level as a protective factor of MS. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of MS is considerably high in Chengdu. It will continue to rise thanks to the social economic development and population ageing. There is an urgent need to take actions to reduce the burden of MS.