Neutrophil Counts as Promising Marker for Predicting In-Hospital Mortality in Aneurysmal Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

Background and Purpose: Systemic inflammation is recognized as a hallmark of stroke. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of various inflammatory factors using blood at admission in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage. Methods: In a multicenter observational study of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, the counts of neutrophil, platelet, and lymphocyte were collected on admission. Patients were stratified based on neutrophil counts with propensity score matching to minimize confounding. We calculated the adjusted odds ratios with 95% CIs for the primary outcome of in-hospital mortality and hospital-acquired infections. Results: A total of 6041 patients were included in this study and 344(5.7%) of them died in hospital. Propensity score matching analyses indicated that compared with the lower neutrophil counts, higher neutrophil counts were associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality (odds ratio, 1.53 [95% CI, 1.14­2.06]), hospital-acquired infections (odds ratio, 1.61 [95% CI, 1.38­1.79]), and delayed neurological ischemic deficits (odds ratio, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.09­1.97]). Moreover, out of all the inflammatory factors studied, neutrophil counts demonstrated the highest correlation with in-hospital mortality and hospital-acquired infections. Conclusions: Among patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, high neutrophil counts at admission were associated with increased mortality and hospital-acquired infections. The neutrophil count is a simple, useful marker with prognostic value in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.

[Study on antifungal susceptibility of different extract of Dryopteris fragrans].

OBJECTIVE: To examine the antifungal effect of different extract of Dryopteris fragrans (L.) Schott. in vitro, and screen the effective fraction from those extracts. METHODS: Separated the Dryopteris fragrans extract and got four parts by refluxing extraction,and determined the contents of total phloroglucinol. Disc agar diffusion method and solid agar dilution method were used to determine inhibitory effect. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal fungicidal concentration (MFC) of different parts of Dryopteris fragrans extract against four strains of common clinical dermatophytes were investigated. RESULTS: The data showed that the contents sequence of total phloroglucinol was in the following order: 95% -ethanol extract > water extract > diethyl ether extract > petroleum ether extract, and the antimicrobial activities against the four dermatophytes were as following order: 95% -ethanol extract > water extract > di-ethyl ether extract > petroleum ether extract. CONCLUSION: The contents of total phloroglucinol in 95% -ethanol extract of Dryopteris fragrans is the highest, and the antifungal activity against dermatophytes in vitro is the strongest. The effective fraction of Dryopteris fragrans is the 95%-ethanol extract.

Association between Vitamin D supplementation and mortality in critically ill patients: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials.

BACKGROUND: Observational studies suggest that low 25-hydroxyvitamin D status is common and has been associated with higher mortality in critically ill patients. This study aim to investigate whether vitamin D supplementation is associated with lower mortality in critically ill patients. METHOD: We searched Medline, Embase, and Cochrane databases from inception to January 12, 2020, without language restrictions, for randomized controlled trials comparing the effect of vitamin D supplementation with placebo in critically ill patients. Two authors independently performed data extraction and assessed study quality. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality at the longest follow-up. RESULT: We identified nine trials with a total of 2066 patients. Vitamin D supplementation was not associated with reduced all-cause mortality at the longest follow-up (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.74 to 1.09, I2 = 20%), at 30 days (RR 0.81, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.15), at 90 days (RR 1.15, 95% CI 0.92 to 1.44), and at 180 days (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.65 to 1.03). Results were similar in the sensitivity analysis. The sample size met the optimum size in trial sequential analysis. Similarly, supplemental vitamin D was not associated with length of ICU stay, hospital stay, or mechanical ventilation. CONCLUSION: Vitamin D supplement was not associated with reduced all-cause mortality in critically ill patients. SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: Open Science Framework https://osf.io/bgsjq.