Integrated treatment for lower-limb stage II thromboangiitis obliterans by interventional therapy and oral administration of Chinese medicine: a randomized controlled clinical trial.

METHODS: Ninety lower-limb stage II or worse TAO patients were randomly divided into three groups: group A (30 cases) treated by intervention and oral administration of Chinese medicine; group B (30 cases) treated by intervention alone; and group C (30 cases) treated only with oral administration of Chinese medicine. Therapeutic effects were observed, including the cure rate; the recurrence rate after one month, three months, six months, nine months, and one year; the ankle brachial indexes; the incidence of complications; and the level of C-reactive protein and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. RESULTS: Group A had significantly better clinically curative effects, related indexes, and outcomes during the long-term follow-up survey, than that of groups B and C. CONCLUSION: Integrated treatment is more effective for treating lower-limb stage II or worse TAO. OBJECTIVE: To observe if integrated treatment is better than other therapies for lower-limb stage II thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO).

Risk factors and mortality of pulmonary embolism in COVID-19 patients: Evidence based on fifty observational studies.

BACKGROUND: At present, many studies have described acute pulmonary embolism (PE) as a frequent and prognostically relevant complication of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. Thus we performed the present analysis of 50 studies to evaluate the risk factors and mortality of PE in COVID-19 patients. METHOD: Databases including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library and Web of Science were searched to October, 2021. Odds ratio (OR), mean difference (MD) or standard MD was used to evaluate the outcomes. The primary outcomes were the difference of mortality between PE and non-PE COVID-19 patients as well as relevant risk factors of PE in COVID-19 patients. All statistical analyses were performed using the standard statistical procedures provided in Review Manager 5.2. RESULT: A total of 50 studies including 10053 patients were included in this meta-analysis. Our results indicated that COVID-19 patients with PE experienced significantly higher mortality than non-PE patients (21.9% vs. 10.7%), with a pooled OR of 2.21 (95% CI 1.30 - 3.76; P = .003). In addition, COVID-19 patients with PE also experienced more mechanical ventilation (MV) (OR 2.21; 95% CI 1.30 - 3.75; P = .003) and invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) (OR 3.58; 95% CI 2.47 - 5.20; P < .0001) respectively. Univariate analysis (UVA) results indicated the Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) score, time to deep venous thrombosis (DVT), nonintensive care unit (non-ICU) patients and no anticoagulation as risk factors of PE for COVID-19 patients. In addition, multivariate analysis also found that SOFA score, D-dimer, BMI > 30 kg/m2 and history of PE were risk factors of PE for COVID-19 patients. CONCLUSION: The present analysis indicated that PE increased the mortality of COVID-19 patients. Mechanical ventilation, especially invasive mechanical ventilation, is correlated with an increased incidence of PE in patients with COVID-19. The incidence of PE for COVID-19 patients may be multifactorial and further researches focused on risk factors were needed in the future.