Association Between Cardiovascular Health and Cirrhosis and Mortality: Insights From a Comprehensive Cross-sectional Study.

GOAL: We aim to explore the relationship between the newly introduced CVH indicator "Life's Essential 8 (LE8)" and cirrhosis. BACKGROUND: The global burden of cirrhosis is increasing, with a rising number of deaths, leading to significant societal and economic challenges. Cardiovascular health (CVH) has been found to have potential associations with liver diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All participants aged 20 and older from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005 to 2018 were included. CVH was accessed by LE8, consisting of 4 health behaviors (diet, physical activity, nicotine exposure, and sleep health) and 4 health factors (body mass index, lipid levels, blood sugar, and blood pressure). Cirrhosis was determined based on abnormal liver function test results, with an aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index >2. Participants' mortality status was obtained by matching with the National Death Index and all-cause mortality served as the follow-up endpoint. RESULTS: This extensive cross-sectional study reveals that LE8 was not associated with cirrhosis. A higher health behaviors score was associated with lower cirrhosis. Moreover, there is an inverse U-shaped relationship between the LE8 score and all-cause mortality in participants with cirrhosis, signifying a decrease in all-cause mortality when LE8 surpasses 60. A greater health behaviors score is linked to a decreased proportion of all-cause mortality in cirrhosis patients. CONCLUSION: Maintaining better health behaviors may be beneficial for cirrhosis, especially through a balanced diet, regular exercise, smoking cessation, and quality sleep.

The efficacy and safety of anti-tumor necrosis factor agents in the treatment of intestinal Behcet's disease, a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Behcet's disease is a systemic vasculitis that can involve gastrointestinal tract. This is a systematic review and meta-analysis evaluating the efficacy and safety of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents in treating patients with intestinal Behcet's disease. METHODS: We conducted searches on PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane. Data from eligible studies were used to calculate the pooled estimate of proportions of clinical remission, mucosal healing at Months 3, 6, 12, and 24 as well as the pooled incidence of adverse drug reactions. And subgroup analysis based on the specific type of anti-TNF agents was performed. RESULTS: Of the 828 studies initially identified, 13 were included finally, all of which were single-arm cohort studies. The pooled proportions of clinical remission at Months 3, 6, 12, and 24 were 0.61 (95%CI 0.48-0.78), 0.51 (95%CI 0.40-0.66), 0.57 (95%CI 0.48-0.67), and 0.38 (95%CI 0.16-0.88), respectively. The pooled proportions of mucosal healing at Months 3, 6, 12, and 24 were 0.66 (95%CI 0.50-0.86), 0.82 (95%CI 0.48-0.98), 0.65 (95%CI 0.51-0.81), and 0.69 (95%CI 0.39-1.00), respectively. The pooled estimate of proportion of overall adverse drug reactions for infliximab was 0.22 (95%CI 0.07-0.69). CONCLUSIONS: Anti-TNF agents, including infliximab and adalimumab, were an efficient therapy for intestinal Behcet's disease. The safety of anti-TNF agents used in the treatment of intestinal Behcet's disease was acceptable.

[Values of Different Laboratory Diagnostic Approaches for Tuberculous Peritonitis].

Objective To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of different laboratory approaches for tuberculous peritonitis(TP).Methods The clinical data of patients with suspected TP who were mainly manifested as ascites in Peking Union Medical College Hospital from January 2014 to June 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Ascites samples were tested with different diagnostic approaches,including acid fast stain,culture for mycobacterium,real-time polymerase chain reaction for identifying DNA of mycobacterium tuberculosis,and T-cell spot of tuberculosis test(T-SPOT.TB). Results Totally 163 cases aged 15-84 years [mean±SD:(50±17)years] with complete data were enrolled,among whom 82(50.3%) were males and 81(49.7%) were females. Finally,27 patients were confirmed as TP,which was excluded in the other 136 cases. The sensitivity and specificity of ascites acid fast stain were 0% and 100%,respectively,followed by ascites culture for mycobacterium(21.74% and 100%),real-time polymerase chain reaction for DNA of mycobacterium tuberculosis in ascites(18.52% and 100%),T-SPOT.TB on ascites(95.42% and 61.90%),and T-SPOT.TB on peripheral blood(76.19% and 80.18%). Conclusion The diagnosis of tuberculous peritonitis remains challenging because of the limitations of the currently available diagnostic tests. Diagnosis should also be based on clinical manifestations and auxiliary examinations.

[Esophageal motility abnormalities and their impact on esophageal acid exposure in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease].

OBJECTIVE: To identify the characteristics of esophageal motility abnormalities in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and its influence on esophageal acid exposure. METHODS: Patients with typical reflux symptoms and diagnosis of reflux esophagitis (RE) or non-erosive reflux disease (NERD), and healthy subject were enrolled in this prospective controlled study. The esophageal manometry and esophageal 26 hours pH monitoring were performed. GERD patients were divided into 3 groups according to their esophageal motility abnormalities: ① low lower esophageal sphincter pressure (LESP) group, ② ineffective esophageal motivation (IEM) group, ③ IEM and low LESP group. Esophageal acid exposure was analyzed among different groups. RESULTS: A total of 27 GERD patients (15 RE, 12 NERD) and 10 healthy subjects were enrolled in this study. The esophageal motility abnormalities in GERD patients mainly presented as the decrease of LESP and distal esophageal body pressure. The proportion of 3 kinds of esophageal motility abnormalities has significant difference between RE and NERD patients (P = 0.017). In IEM and low LESP group, all patients suffered from RE, with the total number of acid exposure, the total acid exposure time and the acid exposure time in fasting higher than those in low LESP group [98.0 (63.3, 282.8) times vs 41.0 (25.0, 82.0) times, P = 0.029; 11.7% (4.1%, 30.0%) vs 2.2% (1.4%, 9.6%), P = 0.045; 2.6% (0.9%, 4.9%) vs 0.0 (0.0, 1.2%), P = 0.015]. CONCLUSIONS: Esophageal motility abnormalities in GERD patients are characterized as low LESP and IEM in distal esophagus. The coexistence of low LESP and IEM exacerbates esophageal acid exposure, which might explain the mechanism of esophageal mucosal injury in RE patients.

Amino acid-based enteral nutrition is effective for pediatric Crohn's disease: a multicenter prospective study.

Background: Exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) therapy effectively induces remission in pediatric Crohn's disease (CD). However, this may depend on the type of enteral formula used. Moreover, data on the efficacy of amino acid-based EEN are limited. Thus, we aimed to prospectively evaluate the efficacy of amino acid-based formulas for EEN in pediatric patients with active CD. Methods: Patients with active CD aged between 6 and 17 years were recruited into this prospective study from four hospitals in China between March 2019 and December 2021. Patients received EEN for 8 weeks. Inflammatory and nutrition-associated indices were evaluated at 0, 4, and 8 weeks after treatment. Paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare continuous and categorical variables before and after intervention, respectively. Results: Twenty-four patients were included in the analysis. After an 8-week intervention period, the CD activity index significantly decreased (26.3 ± 12.2 vs 7.1 ± 8.3, P < 0.001). Most patients (66.7%) achieved complete clinical remission. Among the 22 patients who had ulcers and erosions diagnosed endoscopically at baseline, 10 (45.5%) achieved complete mucosal healing. The degree of thickening of the intestinal wall was significantly reduced after EEN intervention, with a transmural healing rate of 42.9%. Furthermore, the serum inflammatory markers decreased and there was a significant improvement in the nutrition-related indices (P < 0.05). There were no severe adverse effects. Conclusions: Amino acid-based EEN is effective and safe for treating pediatric-onset CD. Studies with larger sample sizes and mechanistic and follow-up studies are required to further validate these findings.

The influence of sleep factors and dietary habits on the disease pattern of ulcerative colitis patients with long and short disease courses - a multicentre cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a disease characterized by chronic relapsing-remitting inflammatory disorders and is associated with environmental changes. AIM: To explore the disease patterns of Chinese UC patients and to determine controllable related environmental factors. METHODS: This multicentre cross-sectional study was performed using a questionnaire survey. Data on clinical characteristics and environmental factors were collected. Patients with a disease course ≥5 years were defined as the long course group, and those with a disease course < 5 years were defined as the short course group. RESULTS: A total of 588 effective questionnaires were collected. The proportion of the chronic continuous pattern was the highest among patients with a long disease course (46.8%), and in patients with a short disease course, the proportion of the active to remission pattern was the highest (53.3%). In patients with a long disease course, a higher proportion of patients with adequate sleep was found in the active to remission pattern than in the chronic intermittent (72.1% vs. 43.3%, p = 0.008) and chronic continuous (72.1% vs. 52.4%, p = 0.016) patterns. In patients with a short disease course, the frequency of shellfish and shrimp was higher in the chronic continuous pattern group than in the active to remission pattern group (P = 0.001 and 0.017 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: For early diagnosis patients, dietary guidance should be actively carried out. With the prolongation of the disease course, attention should be given to the sleep quality of patients.

1.UC exhibits various disease patterns, which may be associated with differences in patient prognosis and treatment response.2.Environmental factors, especially sleep and dietary factors, correlated strongly with disease patterns, which varied in different disease courses.3.Early diagnosis patients should receive active dietary guidance, while patients with a prolonged disease course require attention to their sleep quality and appropriate drug interventions when necessary.

[The clinical features of 16 cases of primary adenocarcinoma of the third portion of duodenum].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the clinical features of the third portion of duodenum (PATD) for improving the understanding of PATD. METHODS: Sixteen cases with PATD in Peking Union Medical College Hospital(PUMCH) were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The most common symptoms of PATD were upper abdominal pain (12/16) , vomiting (9/16) and distention (7/16).On average, the disease had progressed 5.5 months (including 2.5 months of diagnostic workup) before the diagnosis was established. Patients with pathologically poorly differentiated PATD had shorter course of disease (6.5 vs 16.6 months, P = 0.56) and lower chance of cancer-directed surgery (1/8 vs 6/8, P = 0.04) than those with well differentiated PATD. The diagnostic rate was 11/14 by CT scan while only 2/7 by upper gastrointestinal radiography. Three cases were misdiagnosed as superior mesenteric artery syndrome by barium examination. CONCLUSIONS: PATD should be considered in patients presenting upper abdominal symptoms with negative gastro endoscopy and barium examination.Overall, CT scan plays a pivotal role in diagnosing PATD. Making a correct diagnosis timely can improve the outcome of PATD patients, particularly, in those with poorly differentiated pathology.

Neostigmine for the treatment of acute pancreatitis: a protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common disease with substantial mortality. Gut dysfunction may result in abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) and delay enteral nutrition, worsening AP condition. Neostigmine is used as a prokinetic drug for the treatment of AP. But there are no recommendations from guidelines due to the lack of evidence. Therefore, we plan to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to explore the efficacy and safety of neostigmine for AP, aiming to provide current evidence for clinical practice. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: We prepared this protocol following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols. We will search the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, Wanfang, conference proceedings and ongoing trials registers for eligible studies comparing neostigmine plus conventional therapy with conventional therapy. Primary outcomes include new-onset ACS and serious adverse events caused by neostigmine. Evaluation of the risk of bias, heterogeneity and quality of evidence will follow recommendations of the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions. Trial sequential analysis will be used to control the risk of random errors and assess conclusions in the meta-analysis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethics approval is unnecessary as the systematic review is based on published studies. Study findings will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42022369536.

Altered gut microbiota in the early stage of acute pancreatitis were related to the occurrence of acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is the most common cause of organ failure in acute pancreatitis (AP) patients, which associated with high mortality. Specific changes in the gut microbiota have been shown to influence progression of acute pancreatitis. We aimed to determine whether early alterations in the gut microbiota is related to and could predict ARDS occurrence in AP patients. Methods: In this study, we performed 16S rRNA sequencing analysis in 65 AP patients and 20 healthy volunteers. The AP patients were further divided into two groups: 26 AP-ARDS patients and 39 AP-nonARDS patients based on ARDS occurrence during hospitalization. Results: Our results showed that the AP-ARDS patients exhibited specific changes in gut microbiota composition and function as compared to subjects of AP-nonARDS group. Higher abundances of Proteobacteria phylum, Enterobacteriaceae family, Escherichia-Shigella genus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, but lower abundances of Bifidobacterium genus were found in AP-ARDS group compared with AP-nonARDS groups. Random forest modelling analysis revealed that the Escherichia-shigella genus was effective to distinguish AP-ARDS from AP-nonARDS, which could predict ARDS occurrence in AP patients. Conclusions: Our study revealed that alterations of gut microbiota in AP patients on admission were associated with ARDS occurrence after hospitalization, indicating a potential predictive and pathogenic role of gut microbiota in the development of ARDS in AP patients.

[A clinical analysis of 61 cases of protein-losing enteropathy].

OBJECTIVE: To increase the understanding in protein-losing enteropathy (PLE). METHODS: Sixty-one PLE patients were enrolled in the study and the clinical characteristics, complicated disease, diagnosis and treatment were analyzed. RESULTS: The age of the patients was 16 - 77 (40 ± 15) years, and the gender ratio was 35:26 (female:male). The main clinical manifestations were bilateral lower limb edema in 51 cases, ascites in 41 cases, bilateral pleural effusion in 23 cases, pericardial effusion in 13 cases, abdominal pain in 16 cases and diarrhea in 33 cases. The prominent abnormality in laboratory examinations was hypoalbuminemia. The underlying diseases include systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in 28 cases, intestinal lymphangiectasia in 12 cases, hepatic cirrhosis in 5 cases, heart diseases in 5 cases, Crohn's disease in 3 cases, membranous nephropathy in 2 cases, Budd-Chiari syndrome in 1 case. Four cases happened after abdominal operation and 1 case after radiation therapy of gastric cardia cancer. Thirty-seven cases were diagnosed by (99)Tc(m)-labelled human serum albumin scintigraphy and 24 cases were diagnosed clinically. Treatment was focused on underlying diseases. The clinical manifestations in 21 cases of SLE improved after SLE was controlled. In 2 cases of intestinal lymphangiectasia and one with Crohn's disease, the clinical manifestations improved after surgery. The other patients had no improvement. CONCLUSIONS: PLE was not uncommon in clinical practice. Its predominant characteristics were severe hypoalbuminemia, edema and dropsy of serous cavity. PLE can complicate other diseases such as SLE, intestinal lymphangiectasia. Treatment should be focused on primary disease.

Accuracy of the highly sensitive C-reactive protein/albumin ratio to determine disease activity in inflammatory bowel disease.

ABSTRACT: Persistent disease activity is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aims to explore the accuracy of the highly sensitive C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CAR) in determining IBD activity.The clinical data of 231 IBD patients treated at Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2012 to 2018 were analyzed retrospectively. The patients were classified as having active disease or remission according to the Crohn disease activity index scores for patients with Crohn disease (CD) and partial Mayo scores for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).This study included 231 IBD patients (137 CD and 94 UC). From these groups, 182 patients had active disease, while 49 patients were in remission. The platelet counts, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein levels, and CAR scores were significantly higher, while hemoglobin levels, ALB, and body mass indexes were significantly lower in patients with active disease (P < 0.01). The hsCRP, CAR, and ALB significantly correlated with disease activity for both CD and UC (P < 0.001). The area under the curve (AUC) of CAR was highest among the laboratory indexes at 0.829, and the AUC of CAR in the UC patients was larger than that of the CD patients. Also, CAR with cutoff value of 0.06 displayed the highest sensitivity among the indexes for IBD activity at 83.05%.CAR is a useful biomarker for identifying disease activity in patients with CD and UC. Higher CAR levels are indicative of increased IBD activity. CAR may be more valuable in UC than that in CD for assessing the degree of IBD activity.

The Association Between CMV Viremia or Endoscopic Features and Histopathological Characteristics of CMV Colitis in Patients with Underlying Ulcerative Colitis.

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has been shown to be related to severe or steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis (UC) flare-ups. The aim of this study was to evaluate the endoscopic and pathological characteristics of CMV colitis in patients with UC and to assess the predictive value of the endoscopic and pathological features of CMV colitis. METHODS: A total of 50 consecutive UC patients with CMV infection who were admitted to Peking Union Medical College Hospital from 2010 to 2015 were enrolled in this study. RESULTS: Twenty-five UC patients with CMV infection (50.0%) had concurrent CMV colitis. When the cutoff value was set at 1150 copies, the sensitivity and specificity of blood CMV DNAq polymerase chain reaction for predicting CMV colitis were 44.4% and 78.9%, respectively. A higher proportion of endoscopic punched-out ulcers, irregular ulcers, and cobblestone-like appearance were observed among the patients in the CMV colitis group than those in the non-CMV colitis group (52.0% versus 20.0%, 60.0% versus 16.0%, and 20.0% versus 0%, respectively, P < 0.05). The number of CMV inclusion bodies per high-power field was significantly higher in those with punch-out ulcerations (25.7% versus 60.0%, P < 0.05). A higher grade of pathological inflammation was observed in the CMV colitis group than in the control group (68.0% versus 44.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Characteristic endoscopic features with punch-out ulcers and high CMV viremia load may be useful for predicting the presence of CMV colitis in histology. Punch-out ulcers were found to be associated with a higher number of inclusion bodies on histology, suggesting a role of targeted biopsy for endoscopist.

Cell-ELISA detection of antineuronal antibodies in central nervous system involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a cell-ELISA method to detect antineuronal antibodies (anti-Ns) and evaluate the diagnostic value of anti-Ns in central nervous system involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (CNS-SLE). METHOD: Anti-N was assessed in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples from 38 patients with CNS-SLE, 29 with SLE without CNS involvement (non-CNS-SLE), 36 with other rheumatic diseases and 59 with non-rheumatic diseases with the CNS manifestations using a cell-ELISA method with 1% paraformaldehyde-fixed SK-N-MC neuroblastoma cells as substrate. Serum samples from 37 healthy donors were also included in this study. Patients with CNS-SLE who were anti-N positive in CSF were studied serially for CSF anti-N levels at times of treatment-associated improvement in CNS symptoms. RESULTS: Serum anti-N levels were significantly increased in patients with SLE compared with other groups, with a sensitivity of 61.2% (41/67) and a specificity of 91.8% (p<0.001). CSF anti-N levels were significantly increased in patients with CNS-SLE, with a sensitivity of 47.4% (18/38) and a specificity of 89.7%, whereas only 10.3% (3/29) of patients with non-CNS-SLE had increased anti-N in CSF (p<0.001). CSF anti-N levels decreased significantly after effective treatment of CNS-SLE (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Serum anti-N is relatively specific to SLE. CSF anti-N is a sensitive and relatively specific antibody in diagnosing CNS-SLE and correlates with CNS-SLE activity.

Diagnostic value of single-photon-emission computed tomography in severe central nervous system involvement of systemic lupus erythematosus: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the diagnostic value of single-photon-emission computed tomography (SPECT) in severe central nervous system (CNS) involvement of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: Forty-three patients with SLE, including 22 with CNS-SLE and 21 with non-CNS-SLE, underwent SPECT and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations. SPECT was repeated 1-2 months after treatment in patients with abnormal findings. RESULTS: SPECT and MRI abnormalities were detected in 20 (90.9%) and 10 (45.5%) of the 22 patients with CNS-SLE, respectively (P < 0.01). For 4 patients with cerebral infarction or hemorrhage, SPECT was equally as sensitive as MRI (100%). For the patients with CNS-SLE with diffuse presentations, SPECT was more sensitive than MRI in revealing abnormalities (16 [88.9%] of 18 patients versus 6 [33.3%] of 18 patients; P < 0.01). In 19 (95.0%) patients, the abnormal SPECT finding manifested as moderate to severe perfusion defect (15 in frontal lobe, 11 in parietal lobe, 11 in basal ganglia, 3 in temporal lobe, and 17 in multiple regions). Although mild perfusion defect was also detected in 4 (19.0%) of the patients with non-CNS-SLE, it only involved a single region and spared the frontal and parietal lobes. Repeated SPECT after treatment showed that perfusion defect had improved significantly or even disappeared in 11 (84.6%) of 13 patients with diffuse CNS-SLE with abnormal findings before treatment. CONCLUSION: Moderate to severe perfusion defect in SPECT involving multiple regions, especially in the frontal and parietal lobes and basal ganglia, in patients with lupus suggests CNS involvement. SPECT is more sensitive than MRI in revealing damage in diffuse CNS-SLE, and is useful in followup, especially for monitoring disease severity and guiding treatment.