[Molecular characteristics and drug susceptibility analysis of Streptococcus agalactiae from respiratory specimen sources].

To study the carriage status of drug susceptibility, clonal complex groups, serotypes, surface proteins and virulence genes of Streptococcus agalactiae from respiratory specimen sources. A total of 35 strains of S.agalactiae meeting the criteria were collected from 3 hospitals in 2 locations, Tangshan and Jinan. The age span of the patients was 3 days-92 years, and the percentage of elderly patients≥60 years was 71.5%.The susceptibility to 9 antimicrobial drugs was measured and analyzed using the micro broth dilution method. The strains were 100.0% sensitive to penicillin, linezolid, vancomycin, and ceftriaxone; However, it exhibits high resistance rates to erythromycin, clindamycin and levofloxacin, at 97.1%, 85.7% and 82.9% respectively; and the resistance rates to tetracycline and chloramphenicol were 34.3% and 14.2%, respectively. Genome sequence determination and analysis showed that 16 resistance genes were detected in 35 strains, among which: macrolide and lincosamide resistance genes were mainly ermB, with a carrying rate of 74.2%; tetracycline resistance genes were mainly tetM, with a carrying rate of 25.7%; in addition, the mutation rates of the quinolone resistance determinants gyrA and parC were 88.5% and 85.7%, respectively. 35 strains belonged to 6 ST types and 4 clonal groups, with CC10/ST10 as the main one, accounting for 62.8%; they contained 4 serotypes of Ⅰb, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and Ⅴ, as well as 1 untyped strain, with serotype Ⅰb as the main one, accounting for 65.7%. The strains carried three pilus types, PI1+PI2a, PI2a and PI2b types, respectively, and detected five surface proteins, alpha, alp1, rib, srr, and rdf_0594, and seven virulence factors, cba, cfb, cylE, fbsA, hylB, lmb, and pavA. Overall, S.agalactiae isolated from respiratory tract specimens is predominantly sourced from elderly patients, with CC10 strains being most prevalent. These strains harbor multiple drug-resistant and virulence genes, demonstrating elevated resistance rates to macrolides, lincosamides, and quinolones. This emphasizes the necessity for vigilant attention to the health threat posed by S. agalactiae from respiratory tract speciments of elderly patients.

[Epidemioloical characteristics and economic burden analysis of palmoplantar pustulosis in urban areas of China].

Objective: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics and economic burden of palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) in China. Methods: A population-based retrospective study was conducted using the data from China's Urban Basic Medical Insurance data from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2016. International Classification of Diseases code and diagnoses in Chinese for PPP were used to identify cases and estimate the prevalence, incidence, and cost. Subgroup analyses were performed according to age and sex, and sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the robustness of the results. Age-adjusted prevalence rates were calculated based on the 2010 national census data. Results: The crude prevalence and incidence rate of PPP in 2016 were 2.730/100 000 (95%CI: 2.218/100 000-3.242/100 000) and 1.556/100 000 (95%CI: 1.154/100 000-1.958/100 000), and the prevalence rate of females (2.910/100 000) was higher than that of males (2.490/100 000, χ2=97.48, P=0.001). The incidence rate of females (1.745/100 000) was also higher than that of males (1.418/100 000, χ2=85.02, P=0.001). The age peak of incidence and prevalence of patients with PPP was in the 30-39-year age group and a small peak existed in the 0-3-year age group among people under 20 years old. From 2012 to 2016, the average number of visits was (2.44±0.04) per patient, and the total per-capita cost per year was (982.40±39.19) yuan. Conclusion: In 2016, the prevalence and incidence rate of PPP in China were higher in females than in males, and the highest age peak was in the 30-39-year age group.

Randomized Trial of Primary PCI with or without RoutineManual Thrombectomy

During primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), manual thrombectomymay reduce distal embolization and thus improve microvascular perfusion. Smalltrials have suggested that thrombectomy improves surrogate and clinical outcomes,but a larger trial has reported conflicting results.MethodsWe randomly assigned 10,732 patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI) undergoing primary PCI to a strategy of routine upfront manualthrombectomy versus PCI alone. The primary outcome was a composite of deathfrom cardiovascular causes, recurrent myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, orNew York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV heart failure within 180 days. The keysafety outcome was stroke within 30 days.ResultsThe primary outcome occurred in 347 of 5033 patients (6.9%) in the thrombectomygroup versus 351 of 5030 patients (7.0%) in the PCI-alone group (hazard ratio in thethrombectomy group, 0.99; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85 to 1.15; P = 0.86). Therates of cardiovascular death (3.1% with thrombectomy vs. 3.5% with PCI alone;hazard ratio, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.73 to 1.12; P = 0.34) and the primary outcome plusstent thrombosis or target-vessel revascularization (9.9% vs. 9.8%; hazard ratio,1.00; 95% CI, 0.89 to 1.14; P = 0.95) were also similar. Stroke within 30 days occurredin 33 patients (0.7%) in the thrombectomy group versus 16 patients (0.3%)in the PCI-alone group (hazard ratio, 2.06; 95% CI, 1.13 to 3.75; P = 0.02).ConclusionsIn patients with STEMI who were undergoing primary PCI, routine manual thrombectomy,as compared with PCI alone, did not reduce the risk of cardiovasculardeath, recurrent myocardial infarction, cardiogenic shock, or NYHA class IV heartfailure within 180 days but was associated with an increased rate of stroke within30 days. (Funded by Medtronic and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research;TOTAL ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01149044.

Capecitabine maintenance therapy in patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer

Our objective was to investigate the efficacy and safety of capecitabine maintenance therapy (CMT) after capecitabine-based combination chemotherapy in patients with metastatic breast cancer. The clinical data of 139 metastatic breast cancer patients treated from March 2008 to May 2012 with capecitabine-based combination chemotherapy were retrospectively analyzed. When initial disease control was achieved by the combination chemotherapy, we used CMT for 50 patients, while 37 patients were treated with a different (non-CMT) maintenance therapy. We compared time to progression (TTP), objective response rate, disease control rate, clinical benefit rate, and safety of the two groups, and a sub-group analysis was performed according to pathological characteristics. Sixty-four percent of the patients received a median of six cycles of a docetaxel+capecitabine combination chemotherapy regimen (range 1-45); the median TTP (MTTP) for the complete treatment was 9.43 months (95%CI=8.38-10.48 months) for the CMT group and 4.5 months (95%CI=4.22-4.78 months; P=0.004) for the non-CMT group. The MTTPs for the maintenance therapies administered after the initial capecitabine combined chemotherapy were 4.11 months (95%CI=3.34-4.87 months) for the CMT group and 2.0 months (95%CI=1.63-2.38 months) for the non-CMT group. Gastrointestinal side effects, decreased white blood cells and palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia were the main adverse reactions experienced with the combination chemotherapies, CMT and non-CMT treatments. No significant differences in the incidence of adverse reactions were detected in the CMT and non-CMT patients. After initial disease control was achieved with the capecitabine-based combination chemotherapy, CMT can significantly prolong TTP rates with a favorable safety profile.