Rapid and accurate identification of COVID-19 infection through machine learning based on clinical available blood test results

Since the sudden outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), it has rapidly evolved into a momentous global health concern. Due to the lack of constructive information on the pathogenesis of COVID-19 and specific treatment, it highlights the importance of early diagnosis and timely treatment. In this study, 11 key blood indices were extracted through random forest algorithm to build the final assistant discrimination tool from 49 clinical available blood test data which were derived by commercial blood test equipments. The method presented robust outcome to accurately identify COVID-19 from a variety of suspected patients with similar CT information or similar symptoms, with accuracy of 0.9795 and 0.9697 for the cross-validation set and test set, respectively. The tool also demonstrated its outstanding performance on an external validation set that was completely independent of the modeling process, with sensitivity, specificity, and overall accuracy of 0.9512, 0.9697, and 0.9595, respectively. Besides, 24 samples from overseas infected patients with COVID-19 were used to make an in-depth clinical assessment with accuracy of 0.9167. After multiple verification, the reliability and repeatability of the tool has been fully evaluated, and it has the potential to develop into an emerging technology to identify COVID-19 and lower the burden of global public health. The proposed tool is well-suited to carry out preliminary assessment of suspected patients and help them to get timely treatment and quarantine suggestion. The assistant tool is now available online at http://lishuyan.lzu.edu.cn/COVID2019_2/. FundingThis work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (lzujbky-2020-sp11) and the Gansu Provincial COVID-19 Science and Technology Major Project, China.

Zhutan Tongluo Tang ameliorated the degeneration of articular cartilage in a rat osteoarthritis model / 国际检验医学杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of Zhutan Tongluo Tang on the articular cartilage degeneration in a rat osteoar-thritis model ,and explore the potential mechanism .Methods Thirty-healthy SD rats were equally divided into the normal control group ,the model control group and Zhutan Tongluo Tang group .Rats were induced osteoarthritis models with 4% mass fraction of papain .After replication of osteoarthritis models ,Zhutan Tongluo Tang group were given Zhutan Tongluo Tang with 2 mL/(kg · d) ,the model control group were given lavage with normal saline ,the normal control group with rovtine feeding .After treat-ments for 3 months ,the cartilage morphology were observed using HE stains ,and the expression of IL-1β,TNF-α and MMP-3 in synovial fluid were measured by ELISA .Results The degeneration of cartilage in Zhutan Tongluo Tang group was better than the model control group .Compared with the model control group ,the expression levels of IL-1β (12 .13 pg/mL vs .16 .62 pg/mL ) , TNF-α (13 .76 pg/mL vs .18 .26 pg/mL) and MMP-3 (14 .21 ng/mL vs .21 .57 ng/mL) in synovial fluid were significantly de-creased in Zhutan Tongluo Tang group(P<0 .05) .Conclusion Zhutan Tongluo Tang has the function of treating delaying osteoar-thritis cartilage degeneration and decreasing inflammation ,whose mechanism is related to inhibiting the expression of inflammatory cytokines .

Zhutan Tongluo Tang ameliorated the degeneration of articular cartilage in a rat osteoarthritis model / 国际检验医学杂志

Objective To investigate the effect of Zhutan Tongluo Tang on the articular cartilage degeneration in a rat osteoar-thritis model ,and explore the potential mechanism .Methods Thirty-healthy SD rats were equally divided into the normal control group ,the model control group and Zhutan Tongluo Tang group .Rats were induced osteoarthritis models with 4% mass fraction of papain .After replication of osteoarthritis models ,Zhutan Tongluo Tang group were given Zhutan Tongluo Tang with 2 mL/(kg · d) ,the model control group were given lavage with normal saline ,the normal control group with rovtine feeding .After treat-ments for 3 months ,the cartilage morphology were observed using HE stains ,and the expression of IL-1β,TNF-α and MMP-3 in synovial fluid were measured by ELISA .Results The degeneration of cartilage in Zhutan Tongluo Tang group was better than the model control group .Compared with the model control group ,the expression levels of IL-1β (12 .13 pg/mL vs .16 .62 pg/mL ) , TNF-α (13 .76 pg/mL vs .18 .26 pg/mL) and MMP-3 (14 .21 ng/mL vs .21 .57 ng/mL) in synovial fluid were significantly de-creased in Zhutan Tongluo Tang group(P<0 .05) .Conclusion Zhutan Tongluo Tang has the function of treating delaying osteoar-thritis cartilage degeneration and decreasing inflammation ,whose mechanism is related to inhibiting the expression of inflammatory cytokines .

Treatment of proximal humeral fractures in elderly patients with cloverleaf plate supplemented with bone cement / 中华创伤骨科杂志

Objective To study the efficacy of treatment of proximal humeral fractures in elderly patients using cloverleaf plate combined with bone cement. Methods 13 aged patients with serious proximal humeral fractures were admitted from 2000.1 to 2001.6. Their X ray revealed displacement and crispation. After anterior reduction through the shoulder joint, the obvious osseous defects were filled with bone cement. Then the fractures were fixed with cloverleaf plates. Sling was applied for the patients postoperatively and the rehabilitation program started 3 weeks after operation. Results All the 13 cases were followed up. The follow up ranged from 5 to 10 months with an average of 8.3 months. The range of motion was satisfactory with a mean abduction over 90 degrees. X ray revealedthat no patient demonstrated osteonecrosis of the humeral head. Union was achieved in all the patients. According to Neers scale, the function of shouder was excellent in 10 cases, and good in 3 cases. Conclusion This methods is recommended for aged patients with osteoporosis, serious osseous defects and difficulty of using internal fixation alone, because it is convenient and reliable and can prevent replacement of joint prosthesis.

Treatment of tibial plateau fractures by arthroscopic reduction and percutaneous fixation / 中国微创外科杂志

Objective To investigate the effectiveness of arthroscopic reduction and percutaneous fixation (ARPF) for the treatment of tibial plateau fractures. Methods Seventeen cases of tibial plateau fractures from April 1999 to June 2002 were reviewed. The fractured tibial plateau was reconstructed by “drag-and-draw” reduction and iliac crest bone graft under arthroscope. And percutaneous cancellous bone screw fixation was conducted. Results Clinical bone union was achieved in all the patients at the third postoperative month. No infection or severe osteoarthritis occurred. Conclusions ARPF for tibial plateau fractures has advantages of reduction under direct view, reliable fixation and facilitation for early activities.