[Multicenter retrospect analysis of early clinical features and analysis of risk factors on prognosis of elderly patients with severe burns].

Objective: To investigate the early clinical characteristics of elderly patients with severe burns and the risk factors on prognosis. Methods: This study was a retrospective case series study. Clinical data of 124 elderly patients with severe burns who met the inclusion criteria and were admitted to the 12 hospitals from January 2015 to December 2020 were collected, including 4 patients from the Fourth People's Hospital of Dalian, 5 patients from Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, 22 patients from Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital of Jinan University, 5 patients from Heilongjiang Provincial Hospital, 27 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, 9 patients from the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, 10 patients from Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, 9 patients from Tongren Hospital of Wuhan University & Wuhan Third Hospital, 12 patients from the 924th Hospital of PLA, 6 patients from Zhangjiagang First People's Hospital, 4 patients from Taizhou Hospital of Zhejiang Province, and 11 patients from Zhengzhou First People's Hospital. The patients' overall clinical characteristics, such as gender, age, body mass index, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, inhalation injury, causative factors, whether combined with underlying medical diseases, and admission time after injury were recorded. According to the survival outcome within 28 days after injury, the patients were divided into survival group (89 cases) and death group (35 cases). The following data of patients were compared between the two groups, including the basic data and injuries (the same as the overall clinical characteristics ahead); the coagulation indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), thrombin time, D-dimer, fibrinogen degradation product (FDP), international normalized ratio (INR), and fibrinogen; the blood routine indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as white blood cell count, platelet count, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, monocyte count, red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit; the organ function indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, urea, serum creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, total protein, albumin, globulin, blood glucose, triglyceride, total cholesterol, alkaline phosphatase, creatine kinase, electrolyte indexes (potassium, sodium, chlorine, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus in blood), uric acid, myoglobin, and brain natriuretic peptide; the infection and blood gas indexes within the first 24 hours of injury such as procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, pH value, oxygenation index, base excess, and lactate; treatment such as whether conducted with mechanical ventilation, whether conducted with continuous renal replacement therapy, whether conducted with anticoagulation therapy, whether applied with vasoactive drugs, and fluid resuscitation. The analysis was conducted to screen the independent risk factors for the mortality within 28 days after injury in elderly patients with severe burns. Results: Among 124 patients, there were 82 males and 42 females, aged 60-97 years, with body mass index of 23.44 (21.09, 25.95) kg/m2, total burn area of 54.00% (42.00%, 75.00%) total body surface area (TBSA), and full-thickness burn area of 25.00% (10.00%, 40.00%) TBSA. The patients were mainly combined with moderate to severe inhalation injury and caused by flame burns. There were 43 cases with underlying medical diseases. The majority of patients were admitted to the hospital within 8 hours after injury. There were statistically significant differences between patients in the 2 groups in terms of age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, and inhalation injury, and PT, APTT, D-dimer, FDP, INR, white blood cell count, platelet count, urea, serum creatinine, blood glucose, blood sodium, uric acid, myoglobin, and urine volume within the first 24 hours of injury (with Z values of 2.37, 5.49, 5.26, 5.97, 2.18, 1.95, 2.68, 2.68, 2.51, 2.82, 2.14, 3.40, 5.31, 3.41, 2.35, 3.81, 2.16, and -3.82, respectively, P<0.05); there were statistically significant differences between two groups of patients in whether conducted with mechanical ventilation and whether applied with vasoactive drugs (with χ2 values of 9.44 and 28.50, respectively, P<0.05). Age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, serum creatinine within the first 24 hours of injury, and APTT within the first 24 hours of injury were the independent risk factors for the mortality within 28 days after injury in elderly patients with severe burns (with odds ratios of 1.17, 1.10, 1.10, 1.09, and 1.27, 95% confidence intervals of 1.03-1.40, 1.04-1.21, 1.05-1.19, 1.05-1.17, and 1.07-1.69, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusions: The elderly patients with severe burns had the injuries mainly from flame burns, often accompanied by moderate to severe inhalation injury and enhanced inflammatory response, elevated blood glucose levels, activated fibrinolysis, and impaired organ function in the early stage, which are associated with their prognosis. Age, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, and serum creatinine and APTT within the first 24 hours of injury are the independent risk factors for death within 28 days after injury in this population.

[Analysis of the risk factors of persistent inflammation-immunosuppression-catabolism syndrome in patients with extensive burns].

Objective: To investigate the risk factors and treatment outcome of persistent inflammation-immunosuppression-catabolism syndrome (PICS) in patients with extensive burns. Methods: A retrospective case series study was conducted. From January 2017 to December 2021, 220 patients with extensive burns who were admitted to Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital of Jinan University met the inclusion criteria, including 168 males and 52 females, aged 18-84 (43±14) years. According to the occurrence of PICS, the patients were divided into PICS group (84 patients) and non-PICS group (136 patients). The general data such as sex, age, complication of underlying diseases and acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHE Ⅱ) score on admission, sepsis-related organ failure evaluation (SOFA) scores on admission and 14 days post admission, and proportion of patients with mechanical ventilation over 48 h during treatment, special conditions such as total burn area, full-thickness burn area, proportion of patients admitted within 48 h post injury, and exposed deep wound area at the 30th day post injury, outcome indicators such as hospitalization day, total cost of hospital stay, number of surgeries, and death of patients in the 2 groups were collected and analyzed. Data were statistically analyzed with independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test, and chi-square test. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed on the indicators with statistically significant differences between the two groups except for outcome indicators, and the independent risk factors influencing secondary PICS in patients with extensive burns were screened. Results: The APACHE Ⅱ and SOFA scores on admission, and proportion of patients with mechanical ventilation over 48 h during treatment of patients in PICS group were significantly higher than those in non-PICS group (t=6.78, Z=-4.75, χ2=4.74, respectively, P<0.05). There were no statistically significant differences in the rest of general data of patients between the two groups (P>0.05). The total burn area, full-thickness burn area, and exposed deep wound area at the 30th day post injury in PICS group were significantly greater than those in non-PICS group (t=6.29, Z=-7.25, Z=-8.73, P<0.05), the exposed deep wound areas at the 30th day post injury in PICS group and non-PICS group were respectively 25% (15%, 35%) total body surface area (TBSA) and 8% (0, 13%) TBSA, while the proportion of patients admitted within 48 h post injury was significantly lower than that in non-PICS group (χ2=6.13, P<0.05). The hospitalization day, total cost of hospital stay, and number of surgeries of patients in PICS group were significantly higher than those in non-PICS group (with Z values of -7.12, -8.48, and -6.87, respectively, P<0.05), while the deaths of patients in the 2 groups were similar (P>0.05). The APACHE Ⅱ score on admission and exposed deep wound area at the 30th day post injury both were the independent risk factors for PICS in patients with extensive burns (with odds ratios of 1.15 and 1.07, 95% confidence intervals of 1.06-1.25 and 1.05-1.10, respectively, P<0.05). Conclusions: The APACHE Ⅱ score on admission and exposed deep wound area at the 30th day post injury are the independent risk factors for PICS in patients with extensive burns. The patients with secondary PICS had good prognosis with more surgical intervention and hospitalization day, and higher total cost of hospital stay.

[Pay attention to persistent inflammation-immunosuppression-catabolism syndrome in the late stage of severe burns].

With the deepening of researches on organ complications after severe burns and the continuous improvement of monitoring and support technology for organ function, severe burn patients have avoided death in the early and middle to late stages due to shock, infection, etc., and entered the late stage of burns. Due to the failure of timely and effective burn wound healing and long-term exposure and infection of extensive burn wounds, some of these patients were in chronic and critical conditions such as fever, emaciation, and delayed wound healing that are accompanied by decreased immune function, anemia, and hypoproteinemia, etc. It manifested as persistent inflammation-immunosuppression-catabolism syndrome (PICS), leading to prolonged hospitalization and increased long-term mortality. Based on clinical practice of the author's team in burn treatment, this paper briefly expounds the main causes, clinical characteristics, and prevention methods of PICS in the late stage of severe burns of patients, hoping to attract the attention of peers to PICS in the late stage of severe burns.

[Research progress on prevention and treatment of deep vein thrombosis in burn patients].

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism are common and serious complications in hospitalized patients. DVT may be induced by factors including the vein wall injury, hypercoagulability, and slow blood flow during the pathophysiological changes and treatment process of burn patients, especially severe burn patients. It is of great significance to understand the occurrence of DVT in burn patients, identify the high risk group of DVT formation in burn patients with effective evaluation methods, and carry out safe and effective prevention and treatment. This article briefly reviews research progress on the monitoring, prevention, and treatment of DVT in burn patients.

[Analysis of the clinical characteristics and risk factors of postoperative atrial fibrillation in patients with critical burns].

Objective: To investigate the clinical characteristics and risk factors of postoperative atrial fibrillation (POAF) in patients with critical burns. Methods: A retrospective case series study was conducted. From January 2017 to December 2021, two hundred and twenty-seven critically burned aldult patients who met the inclusion criteria were admitted to Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital of Jinan University, including 173 males and 54 females, aged 19-83 (43±14) years. The admission years of patients were collected, and the percentage of patients complicated with POAF in each year was calculated. According to whether the patients were complicated with POAF or not, they were divided into POAF group (n=17) and non-POAF group (n=210). Following data were collected in patients in POAF group, including operation methods, duration of operation, intraoperative blood loss before occurrence of POAF each time, occurrence time and times of POAF, postoperative body temperature, blood pressure, hemoglobin, blood glucose, blood lactate, sepsis, and electrolyte, and type, duration, and treatment of POAF. General data of patients in the two groups including age, gender, burn reason, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHEⅡ) and sepsis-related organ failure evaluation (SOFA) scores on admission, combined with underlying diseases (hypertension, diabetes, and other types of arrhythmias), and sepsis were collected and analyzed. The mortality and factors influencing the prognosis of patients in the two groups such as mechanical ventilation time, operations times, and burn intensive care unit (BICU) length of stay were also collected and analyzed. Data were statistically analyzed with independent sample t test, Mann-Whitney U test, chi-square test or Kruskal-Wallis H test. The multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed on the general data with statistically significant differences between the two groups, and the independent risk factors influencing the onset of POAF in 227 patients with critical burns were screened. Results: From 2017 to 2021, the percentage of critically burned patients complicated with POAF increased year by year. In POAF group, eschar debridement in limbs was the main surgical procedure prior to POAF complication, with the operation time of (3.5±1.2) h and the intraoperative blood loss volume of (365±148) mL.The POAF occurred 25 times in total in patients of POAF group, mostly within one week after the injury and within 6 hours after the operation with most of these patients having POAF only once. When POAF happened, the patients were often complicated with hypothermia, anemia, hyperglycemia, high blood lactate, sepsis, and electrolyte disturbance, and few patients had complications of hypotension. The POAF lasted (5±3) h, with all being paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, and most of POAF patients were reverted to sinus rhythm after amiodarone intervention. Most patients in the two groups suffered from flame burn, and the gender, age, and SOFA score on admission of patients in the two groups were similar (P>0.05); the APACHEⅡ score on admission, total burn area, full-thickness burn area, incidence proportion of sepsis, combined with diabetes and hypertension and other types of arrhythmias of patients in POAF group were significantly higher or larger than those in non-POAF group (t=3.47, with χ2 values of 7.44, 10.86, 12.63, 14.65, 6.49, and 7.52, respectively, P<0.05 or P<0.01). The full-thickness burn area, combined with other types of arrhythmias, and sepsis were the independent risk factors for POAF in 227 critically burned patients (with odds ratios of 4.45, 0.04, and 3.06, respectively, with 95% confidence intervals of 2.23-8.87, 0.01-0.22, and 1.77-5.30, respectively, P<0.01). Compared with those in non-POAF group, the mechanical ventilation time, BICU length of stay, number of operations, and mortality rate of patients in POAF group were significantly increased (Z=3.89, Z=2.57, t=3.41, χ2=3.72, P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusions: POAF is a common postoperative complication in critically burned patients, and the incidence is increasing year by year, which seriously affects the prognosis of patients. The full-thickness burn area together with other types of arrhythmias and sepsis are the high-risk factors for POAF complication in patients with critical burns.

[Analysis of causes and treatment methods of complication of early acute kidney injury in four severely burned patients].

Objective: To analyze the causes of complication of early acute kidney injury (AKI) in four severely burned patients, and to explore the related treatment methods. Methods: The clinical data of 4 patients with severe burn complicated with early AKI admitted to Guangzhou Red Cross Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Jinan University (hereinafter referred to as our hospital) from June 2014 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. All the patients were male, aged 23-33 (30±5) years old, with depth of burns ranged from deep partial-thickness to full-thickness, complicated with myofascial compartment syndrome of extremities and varying degrees of striated muscle injury, and treated in other hospitals before transfer to our hospital. The patients were numbered from small to large according to the total burn area. The total burn area of patients No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 was 10%, 80%, 90%, and 95% total body surface area respectively, their occurrence time of early AKI was 48, 11, 29, and 48 hours after injury respectively, and their time of arriving our hospital was 60, 11, 29, and 144 hours after injury respectively. Hypovolemic shock occurred in patients No. 2 and 3 at admission to our hospital. All the patients received continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) after admission to our hospital. Under the support of hemodynamic monitoring and organ function monitoring, the limbs complicated with myofascial compartment syndrome were incised, thorough decompression exploration was performed, and necrotic muscle tissue was removed or amputation was performed. After escharectomy and decompression of limbs, fresh granulation wounds were formed by temporarily covering wounds with Jieya dressing skin or pig skin, multiple debridements, and vacuum sealing drainage. Fresh granulation wounds and other wounds underwent staged eschar excision and shaving were covered with autologous Meek skin graft, particulate skin graft, reticular skin graft and small skin graft respectively. The treatment outcome, CRRT time, operation times, time of recovery of serum creatinine and myoglobin, length of hospital stay, and follow-up were recorded. Results: All the 4 patients were cured after transfer to our hospital. Among them, totally 5 limbs of patients No. 1 and No. 4 underwent amputation because of complication of myofascial compartment syndrome and a large amount of necrotic muscle which could not be preserved. Patients No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 were treated with CRRT for 19, 35, 14, and 25 days respectively and performed with operation for 5, 6, 10, 8 times respectively. Serum creatinine of patients No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 returned to normal on 22, 35, 37, and 48 days after transfer respectively, and their serum myoglobin returned to normal on 18, 28, 25, and 30 days after transfer respectively. Patients No. 1, 2, 3, and 4 were hospitalized for 52, 105, 148, and 156 days and discharged after basic wound healing. Follow-up for 1 to 36 months showed no abnormal renal function in 4 patients. Conclusions: The early AKI in patients No. 1 and 4 was caused by rhabdomyolysis after severe burn complicated with myofascial compartment syndrome, while that of the other 2 cases were also related to hypovolemic shock and poor renal perfusion. The success rate of early AKI treatment in severely burned patients can be effectively improved by removing the causes of diseases at the same time of CRRT and actively treating burn wounds under the support of organ function and hemodynamic monitoring.

[Clinical exploratory application of robotic resection of tumor in segment â §: a report for 7 cases].

Objective: To investigate the feasibility and security of robotic resection of tumor in segment Ⅷ primarily. Methods: The clinicopathologic data of 7 patients who underwent robotic resection of tumor in segment Ⅷ using daVinci robotic system in the Department of Hepato-pancreato-biliary Surgical Oncology, Chinese PLA General Hospital from June 2016 to December 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. The lesion size, the tumor malignance degree mean operation time, intraoperative blood loss and the rate of conversion to laparotomy, postoperative hospital stay, mobidity and motality of all the 7 patients were collected. Results: All the 7 operations were successfully performed with radical resection.The mean tumor diameter was (4.6±1.2)cm. The mean operation time, intraoperative blood loss and postoperative hospital stay were(120.7±21.7)min, (100±106.7)ml, and(7.3±1.8)days respectively.All the patients were discharged successfully with no severe complications. Conclusions: According to our experiences, as a new operationmodel of minimally invasive surgery, robotic resection of tumor in segment Ⅷ has manyadvantages in laparoscopic like less trauma, less intraoperative bleeding, light postoperative pain, shorter postoperative hospital stay and so on. There are some certain advantages in exposure of Ⅷ segment under robotic surgery system. Robotic surgery system is safe and feasible for tumorresection of segmentⅧ, andhas clinical promoting value and application prospect.

[Effects of silencing Smad ubiquitination regulatory factor 2 on the function of human hypertrophic scar-derived fibroblasts].

Objective: To explore the effects of silencing Smad ubiquitination regulatory factor 2 (Smurf2) on the secretion of transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-ß(1)), alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), and collagen type Ⅰ by human hypertrophic scar-derived fibroblasts. Methods: The human normal skin-derived fibroblasts and hypertrophic scar-derived fibroblasts were cultured with explant culture technique from the normal skin and hypertrophic scar tissue, which was obtained from 9 patients with hypertrophic scars after burn. Two kinds of fibroblasts of the third passage were both divided into 6 groups according to the random number table, with 9 wells in each group. Fibroblasts in blank control group were cultured for 72 h without transfection of any small interfering RNA (siRNA), fibroblasts in negative control group were for cultured for 72 h after transfected with non-target siRNA, fibroblasts in Smurf2 siRNA group were cultured for 72 h after transfected with 100 nmol/L Smurf2 siRNA, fibroblasts in blank control+ TGF-ß(1) group were cultured for 72 h without transfection of any siRNA and then treated with 10 ng/mL TGF-ß(1) for 6 h, fibroblasts in negative control+ TGF-ß(1) group were cultured for 72 h after transfected with non-target siRNA and then treated with 10 ng/mL TGF-ß(1) for 6 h, fibroblasts in Smurf2 siRNA+ TGF-ß(1) group were cultured for 72 h after transfected with Smurf2 siRNA and then treated with 10 ng/mL TGF-ß(1) for 6 h. (1) The protein and mRNA expression levels of Smurf2 of the two kinds of cells in blank control group, negative control group, and Smurf2 siRNA group were assessed by Western blotting and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. (2) The content of TGF-ß(1) in the cell culture supernatant of the two kinds of cells in blank control group and Smurf2 siRNA group was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). (3) The protein expression levels of α-SMA of the two kinds of cells in the 6 groups were assessed by Western blotting. The content of collagen type Ⅰ in the cell culture supernatant of the two kinds of cells in the 6 groups was determined by ELISA. (4) The mRNA expression levels of α-SMA and collagen type Ⅰ of the two kinds of cells in the 6 groups were assessed by RT-PCR. The sample numbers of each group in the above experiments were all 9. Data were processed with analysis of variance of factorial design and Bonferroni test. Results: (1) The protein and mRNA expression levels of Smurf2 of the two kinds of cells in Smurf2 siRNA group were significantly lower than those in blank control group and negative control group (with P values below 0.05). The protein and mRNA expression levels of Smurf2 of the two kinds of cells in blank control group and negative control group were close (with P values above 0.05). (2) The content of TGF-ß(1) in the cell culture supernatant of hypertrophic scar-derived fibroblasts in blank control group and Smurf2 siRNA group was respectively (4.34±0.56) and (2.14±0.28) pg/mL, which was significantly higher than (1.52±0.20) and (1.41±0.18) pg/mL of normal skin-derived fibroblasts respectively (with P values below 0.05). In hypertrophic scar-derived fibroblasts, the content of TGF-ß(1) in the cell culture supernatant in Smurf2 siRNA group was significantly lower than that in blank control group (P<0.05). In normal skin-derived fibroblasts, the content of TGF-ß(1) in the cell culture supernatant in Smurf2 siRNA group was close to that in blank control group (P>0.05). (3) The protein expression levels of α-SMA and content of collagen type Ⅰ in the cell culture supernatant of the two kinds of cells in blank control+ TGF-ß(1) group were significantly higher than those in blank control group (with P values below 0.05). The protein expression levels of α-SMA and content of collagen type Ⅰ in the cell culture supernatant of the two kinds of cells in negative control+ TGF-ß(1) group were significantly higher than those in negative control group (with P values below 0.05). The protein expression levels of α-SMA and content of collagen type Ⅰ in the cell culture supernatant of the two kinds of cells in Smurf2 siRNA group were close to those in blank control group and negative control group (with P values above 0.05). The protein expression levels of α-SMA and content of collagen type Ⅰ in the cell culture supernatant of the two kinds of cells in Smurf2 siRNA+ TGF-ß(1) group were significantly lower than those in blank control+ TGF-ß(1) group and negative control+ TGF-ß(1) group (with P values below 0.05). (4) The mRNA expression levels of α-SMA and collagen type Ⅰ of the two kinds of cells in blank control+ TGF-ß(1) group were significantly higher than those in blank control group (with P values below 0.05). The mRNA expression levels of α-SMA and collagen type Ⅰ of the two kinds of cells in negative control+ TGF-ß(1) group were significantly higher than those in negative control group (with P values below 0.05). The mRNA expression levels of α-SMA and collagen type Ⅰ of the two kinds of cells in Smurf2 siRNA group were close to those in blank control group and negative control group (with P values above 0.05). The mRNA expression levels of α-SMA and collagen type Ⅰ of the two kinds of cells in Smurf2 siRNA+ TGF-ß(1) group were significantly lower than those in blank control+ TGF-ß(1) group and negative control+ TGF-ß(1) group (with P values below 0.05). Conclusions: Silencing Smurf2 in human hypertrophic scar-derived fibroblasts can reduce the autocrine of TGF-ß(1) and inhibit the TGF-ß(1)-induced α-SMA expression and collagen type Ⅰ synthesis.

A new non-uremic rat model of long-term peritoneal dialysis.

Together with the development of peritoneal dialysis (PD), appropriate animal models play an important role in the investigation of physiological, pathophysiological and clinical aspects of PD. However, there is still not an ideal experimental PD animal model. In this study, 45 Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into three groups. Group 1 (n=15) was receiving daily peritoneal injection through the catheter connected to the abdominal cavity, using PD solution containing 3.86 % D-glucose. Group 2 (n=15) was receiving daily peritoneal injection of 0.9 % physiological saline through a catheter. Group 3 (n=15), which was subjected to sham operation, served as controls. Our results showed that WBC counts in peritoneal effluent of Group 1 were slightly higher than those of Group 2 and control group, respectively (p<0.05). However, there was no episode of infection in any group. In addition, there was no significant difference in neutrophils fractions among these three groups. Hematoxylin-eosin and Masson's trichrome staining demonstrated a dramatic increase in thickness of the mesothelium-to-muscle layer of peritoneum exposed to high glucose (Group 1) compared to Group 2 and controls (p<0.01). These data indicated that we established a novel rat model of PD with a modified catheter insertion method. This model is more practical, easy to operate, not too expensive and it will facilitate the investigate of long-term effects of PD.

Effects of adjuvant chemotherapy on bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells of colorectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Chemotherapy damages the bone marrow and that is one of the most important problems in the treatment of malignancies, particularly colorectal cancer. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of surgical adjuvant chemotherapy for CRC patients on human MSCs using an in vitro culture system. METHODS: The bone marrows of 43 CRC patients were harvested for separation and culture of MSC at pre- and post-chemotherapy. The number of colonies forming unit-fibroblast (CFU-F) was counted. The adhesive function of MSC was assayed and the growth of colony-forming unit-mixed hematopoietic cell (CFU-Mix) on the MSC layer was observed. The concentration of IL-6, SCF and FLT-T3 proteins in the MSC culture supernatant were also detected by ELISA assay. RESULTS: In the CRC patients with chemotherapy, we have demonstrated that the CFU-F exhibit significantly decreased. We also showed that the adhesive rate of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) was significantly decreased. The growth of CFU-Mix on the MSC layer was inhibited. Most importantly, decreased CFU-F and the adhesive rate of BMSC were correlated significantly with decreased interleukins and stem-cell factor (IL-6, SCF and FLT-3L) expressions in the CRC patients after chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that MSCs of CRC patients can be damaged by chemotherapy. Our data also indicates that the decreased expression of haematogenesis factors may play an important role in the pathogenesis. In the future, the MSC refused may have a potential clinical application in chemotherapeutically treated patients.