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Objective To compare the diagnostic value of fluorescent staining versus KOH wet-mount microscopy in detecting superficial fungal infection.Methods Totally,600 specimens from cases of clinically diagnosed superficial fungal infections and 102 from cases of clinically diagnosed Malassezia infection (including 54 cases of pityriasis versicolor and 48 cases of Malassezia folliculitis) were collected from the dermatology clinic of Tenth People's Hospital of Tongji University between July 2017 and February 2018.These specimens were subjected to fluorescent staining and KOH wet mount separately followed by direct microscopy,and the positive rate and average time for slide reading were compared between the two methods.Culture served as the gold standard method,and the missed diagnosis rate was compared between the two methods.Statistical analysis was carried out using chi-square test or Fisher's exact test for comparing enumeration data,and paired t test for comparing emeasurement data.Results Of the 600 specimens from clinically diagnosed superficial fungal infection cases,fungi were detected in 546 (91.00％) and 489 (81.50％) by fluorescent staining and KOH wet-mount microscopy respectively (x2 =22.83,P ＜ 0.05).Fluorescent staining showed significantly shorter average reading time (73.67 ± 13.56 s)compared with KOH wet-mount microscopy (87.12 ± 15.83 s,t =14.60,P ＜ 0.05).Among the 54 specimens from pityriasis versicolor cases,fluorescent staining and KOH wet-mount microscopy positive results in 51 (94.44％) and 50 (92.59％) specimens respectively (adjusted x2 =0,P ＞ 0.05),with the average reading time being 38.36 ± 8.79 s and 41.25 ± 15.67 s respectively (t =1.14,P ＞ 0.05).Of the 48 specimens from Malassezia infection cases,43 (89.58％) and 11 (22.92％) specimens were detected to be positive for fungi by fluorescent staining and KOH wet-mount microscopy respectively (x2 =43.34,P ＜ 0.05),and fluorescent staining showed shorter average reading time (42.14 ± 12.61 s) compared with KOH wet-mount microscopy (103.56 ± 9.48 s,t =17.83,P ＜ 0.05).Among the 600 specimens from superficial fungal infection cases,culture yielded fungi in 479.Moreover,476 specimens were found positive by fluorescent staining,and 3 were found negative (0.63％),while KOH wet-mount microscopy showed 465 positive results and 14 negative results (2.92％).There was a significant difference in the missed diagnosis rate between the two methods (x2 =7.25,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusion Compared with KOH wet-mount microscopy,fluorescent staining can increase the detection rate,reduce missed diagnosis rate and shorten reading time.
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Objective To evaluate the specific antibody-producing capacity of locally infiltrating B lymphocytes in lesions of patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV).Methods Totally,35 patients with PV and 22 healthy controls were enrolled into this study.Skin tissues were resected from blisters or erosions of the patients with PV,and from normal skin of healthy controls.Then,mononuclear cells were isolated from these skin tissues.Flow cytometry was performed to determine the percentages of lymphocytes,CD 19+ B lymphocytes,and desmoglein (Dsg)1-and Dsg3-specific CD19+ B lymphocytes.B lymphocytes isolated from the lesional skin of patients with PV were cultured in vitro.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to determine titers of anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 antibodies in the cell culture supernatant.Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was conducted to calculate positive rates of anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 antibodies.Results The percentages of lymphocytes (17.95％ ± 3.85％) and CD19+ B lymphocytes (4.27％ ± 1.13％) were significantly higher in the lesional skin of PV patients than in the normal skin of healthy controls (7.83％ ± 1.29％,0.61％ ± 0.31％ respectively;t =2.49,U =13.00 respectively,both P ＜ 0.05).Among the CD19+ B lymphocytes in the lesional skin of PV patients,the percentage of CD19qgG+ B cells was (38.33 ± 5.56)％,and percentages of Dsg1-and Dsg3-specific CD19+ B lymphocytes were 12.87％ ± 1.267％ and 10.42％ ± 1.243％ respectively.After the in vitro culture for 6 days,the titers of anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 antibodies in the cell culture supematant were (4.89 ± 1.56) U/ml and (35.45 ± 13.03) U/ml respectively,with their positive rates being 85％ (17/20)and 95％ (19/20) respectively.Conclusion There are Dsg1-and Dsg3-specific B lymphocytes aggregating in the lesional skin of patients with PV,which can produce anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 antibodies after in vitro culture.
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Objective To investigate pathological features of infiltrating lymphocytes in skin lesions of patients with pemphigus,and to analyze their correlation with titers of anti-desmoglein (Dsg) 1 and anti-Dsg3 antibodies in peripheral blood.Methods A retrospective pathological analysis was performed in 93 patients with pemphigus vulgaris or pemphigus foliaceus,who visited the Department of Dermatology of Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine between 2014 and 2016.For each HE-stained section,the total number of lymphocytes per × 50 microscopic field was counted,and defined as lymphocyte density index.Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was conducted to determine the serum titers of anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 antibodies in the patients with pemphigus.The correlations between the lymphocyte density index and titers of anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 antibodies were analyzed.Immunohistochemical staining was performed in lesional skin samples from 8 patients with pemphigus vulgaris and 8 patients with pemphigus foliaceus,so as to analyze the distribution of CD3+ T cells,CD20+ B cells and CD138+ plasma cells.Results Of the 93 pathological sections,93 (100.00％) showed Grade1 lymphocyte aggregates,64 (68.09％) showed Grade 2 lymphocyte aggregates,and 10 (10.64％) showed Grade 3 lymphocyte aggregates,and the 56 cases of pemphigus vulgaris and 37 of pemphigus foliaceus showed the similar proportion of grade 1,2 and 3 lymphocyte aggregates.There was also no significant difference in the lymphocyte density index between patients with pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceus (P ＞ 0.05),and the lymphocyte density index was uncorrelated with the serum titers of anti-Dsg1 and anti-Dsg3 antibodies in patients with pemphigus.Of the 16 cases of pemphigus,CD3+ T cells were found in all cases,CD20+ B cells in 15,and CD138+ plasma cells in 12.Of 16 sections,all showed a large amount of CD3+ T cells in Grade 1-3 lymphocyte aggregates,while lymphocyte aggregates containing CD20+ B cells and CD138+ plasma cells were found in 52.80％ ± 5.78％ and 34.59％ ± 7.42％ of sections respectively.No significant differences in the distribution of CD3+ T cells,CD20+ B cells,CD138+ plasma cells were found between the 8 cases of pemphigus vulgaris and 8 cases of pemphigus foliaceus.Conclusion Different degrees of lymphocyte infiltration generally exist in skin lesions of patients with pemphigus,which may form ectopic lymphoid structures and contribute to the development and aggravation of pemphigus skin lesions.
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Objective To investigate the etiology, pathogenesis and treatment of erythromelalgia.MethodsRetrospective analysis of clinical features and respective treatment options of 8 cases of erythromelalgia patients in Ruijin Hospital.ResultsThe major clinical characteristics of EM cases included burning, sharp, tingling and/or stinging pain in toes, soles and/or dorsum of feet, increased temperature, erythema and swelling.One case reported burning pain in both fingers and feet.These symptoms were more severe during the night, walking, standing, exercising and when the individual was near a heater.Patients could relieve their pains by rest, using cold packs, walking on cold floors or immersing feet in cold water.Combined treatment, topical therapies and management of underlying disorders were necessary for erythromelalgia.ConclusionErythromelalgia is a rare cutaneous vascular disease with characteristics of recurrent redness, burning pain, and warmth of the extremities which could be induced by heat and exercise.Combined treatment, topical therapies and management of underlying disorders were necessary for erythromelalgia.
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Objective To understand the current situation of neurology nurses′self-efficacy and quality of nursing services in Lanzhou area, and explore the relationship between self-efficacy and the quality of nursing services. Methods Using the method of questionnaire, one hundred and the neurology nurses and hospitalized patients in 5 Grade 3 Level hospitals of Lanzhou city were investigated by using self-efficacy scales and Servqual scales. Results Neurology nurses′ self-efficacy in Lanzhou area was lower than the general population ( U=-9.875,P=0.042);the scores of quality of care from high to low were at reliability, tangibles, assurance, responsiveness, cost acceptability and empathy, which were-(0.12 ± 0.05) points,-(0.23 ± 0.03) points,-(0.24 ± 0.06) points,-(0.25 ± 0.02) points,-(0.26 ± 0.05) points,-(0.66 ± 0.03)points.Satisfaction arranged from high to low were assurance (89.98%), reliability (89.69%), responsiveness (89.12%), tangibles (87.66%), cost acceptability (87.08%), empathy (86.67%).There were positive correlations between satisfaction and expectations and perceived service quality, and the correlation between satisfaction and perceived qualities of service was higher. Moreover, there might exist positive correlation between self-efficacy score and quality of nursing services (reliability, assurance, responsiveness, empathy) (P values were 0.002, 0.001,0.012 and 0.005). Conclusions Neurology nurses in Lanzhou area have lower self-efficacy, and the perceived qualities of care from patients never exceed their expectations. As results, hospital managers should take measures to improve general self-efficacy of nurses, and thus enhance the quality of care.
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@# Objective To investigate the intelligence level and structure of children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy. Methods 67 children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy were evaluated with Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Chinese Revised. Results The total intelligence quotients were (71.10±15.95) in the younger children (aged below 6 years and 5 months) and (73.12±16.02) in the older children (aged above 6 years and 5 months). The ratio of mental deficiency (44.78%) was less than that of children with cerebral palsy. For the older children, their verbal intelligence quotient was higher than performance intelligence quotient (P<0.01), and their scores of space and concentration factors were lower than that of conception and acquisition factors (P<0.05). Conclusion The intelligence development delayed in the children with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, but better than that of children with cerebral palsy, with special structure.
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Objective To investigate the activation state of and expressions of surface co-stimulatory molecules on peripheral CD4+ T cells from patients with pemphigus and healthy human controls.Methods Ninety patients with pemphigus including 24 patients with first-onset pemphigus,51 with quiescent pemphigus and 15 with recurrent pemphigus,as well as 30 healthy human controls were enrolled in this study.Peripheral blood samples were obtained from these subjects followed by lymphocyte isolation.Flow cytometry was performed to detect the expressions of CD69,intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1),inducible co-stimulatory molecule (ICOS),CD40 ligand (CD40L) and OX40 on CD4+ T cells.Statistical analysis was done by Mann-Whitney test using Graphpad 5.0 software.Results The expression rate of CD69 on peripheral CD4+ T cells from the healthy human controls was significantly lower than that from patients with pemphigus,patients with first-onset pemphigus,patients with quiescent pemphigus,and patients with recurrent pemphigus ((1.26 ± 0.19)％ vs.(2.46 ± 0.19)％,(2.77 ± 0.40)％,(2.15 ± 0.25)％ and (2.36 ± 0.35)％,all P ＜ 0.05).The patients with pemphigus also showed a significant increase in the expression rates of ICAM-1,CD40L and OX40 compared with the healthy human controls ((55.88 ± 1.67)％ vs.(47.75 ± 2.52)％,P＜ 0.05; (2.23 ± 0.22)％ vs.(0.73 ± 0.07)％,P＜ 0.01; (2.55 ± 0.29)％vs.(0.62 ± 0.17)％,P ＜ 0.01).No significant differences were observed between patients with different stages of pemphigus in the expression rates of CD69,ICAM-1,CD40L or OX40 (all P ＞ 0.05).The percentage of ICOS-expressing CD4+ T cells was significantly up-regulated in only patients with first-onset pemphigus as compared to the healthy controls ((3.73 ± 0.60)％ vs.(2.39 ± 0.16)％,P ＜ 0.05).Conclusions The peripheral blood CD4+ T cells from patients with pemphigus are in a relatively active state with up-regulated surface expressions of many costimulatory molecules,suggesting that CD4+ T cells are involved in the initiation and progression of pemphigus by interacting with B cells through co-stimulatory molecules.