Washed microbiota transplantation via colonic transendoscopic enteral tube rescues severe acute pancreatitis: A case series.

Background: Gut microbiota dysbiosis plays a significant role in the development of acute pancreatitis (AP). However, a recent randomized trial reported negative findings regarding the use of fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) via the mid-gut tube in severe AP. The case series presents the feasibility of washed microbiota transplantation (WMT) as a new methodology of FMT and its delivery via colonic transendoscopic enteral tubing (TET) for severe AP. Case series: We presented two cases of severe AP rapidly rescued using WMT via colonic TET. Symptoms related to severe AP and the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation-II score improved soon after WMT. In Case 1, bilirubin and infection indexes continuously decreased after the initial WMT and the patient was successfully weaned off the ventilator and recovered from multiple organ system failures (MSOF) within ten days. In Case 2, the patient's consciousness rapidly improved within one day after WMT, with normal bowel sounds and stable blood pressure without vasoactive drug maintenance. Both Case 1 and Case 2 completed follow-ups of seven months and twenty-two months, respectively, with no reports of new-onset diabetes. Conclusion: WMT via colonic TET played a critical therapeutic role in rescuing severe AP cases. This is the first report providing direct evidence for the clinical value of targeting microbiota through colonic TET in rescuing severe AP.

Evaluation of serum electrolytes measurement through the 6-year trueness verification program in China.

Objectives: The National Center for Clinical Laboratories (NCCL) in China initiated a serum electrolyte trueness verification (ETV) program in 2014 for measurement standardization. Methods: Every year, two levels of fresh frozen commutable serum samples determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) reference methods were transported to participating clinical laboratories for the measurement of sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium. Both samples were measured 15 times in 3 days, and the mean values and coefficient variations (CVs) were calculated from the results. The tolerance limits of trueness (bias), precision (CV) and accuracy (TE) based on the biological variation database were used as the evaluation criteria. The overall trend of the ETV program over 6 years was surveyed by calculating the pass rates of the participating laboratories. The mean bias, inter-laboratory CV, and TE of all laboratory results were analysed. Furthermore, homogeneous and heterogeneous systems were compared, and the bias and CV results of mainstream analysis systems were analysed. Results: Pass rates of the three quality specifications increased, and the overall mean bias and inter-laboratory CVs decreased. The homogeneous system was superior to the heterogeneous system for calcium and magnesium measurements. For sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium, the minimum bias corresponded to Hitachi, Siemens, Beckman AU and Roche, respectively. For inter-laboratory robust CVs, no obvious differences were observed between each peer group. Conclusions: The commutable ETV materials assigned via reference methods can evaluate the accuracy and reproducibility of an individual laboratory and the calibration traceability and uniformity between laboratories for measurements.

[Antagonistic effect of the Fengzhecao extract against human red blood cell hemolysis induced by wasp venom].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the antagonistic effect of Fengzhecao extract against human red blood cell (RBC) hemolysis induced by wasp venom. METHODS: Water extract method was used to extract dried Fengzhecao and vacuum-dried to obtain Fengzhecao extract. It was diluted into 1 g/L for next use. Wasp venom was collected from the wasp workers. A, B, O, AB type healthy blood donors' suspended RBC solution was obtain to make washed RBC solutions and adjust the RBCs count (4.0-80.0)×109/L (the number of RBC counted on the hemocytometer is 1-20 cells/small checker). According to treatment factors, they were divided into the normal saline controlled group (NS group; 200 µL RBC solution+20 µL normal saline), Fengzhecao extract group (FZC group; 200 µL RBC solution+10 µL Fengzhecao extract+10 µL normal saline), wasp venom group (FD group; 200 µL RBC solution+10 µL wasp venom+10 µL normal saline), and Fengzhecao extract+wasp venom group (FCD group; 200 µL RBC solution+10 µL Fengzhecao extract+10 µL wasp venom), with 10 blood samples per group of every blood type. The solutions were put into the glass test tube respectively, and then into 37 centigrade water bath thermostat. After 10 minutes, the blood cell counting plate was directly observed under the microscope and the RBCs was counted. Differences in RBC count was compared between the same treatment factors of different blood types and between different treatment factor groups of the same blood type. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant difference in RBC count between blood types under the same treatment factors. The RBC count (×109/L) of the type A, B, O, AB in the NS group were 5.567±1.368, 5.146±1.690, 4.577±0.774, 5.197±1.587 (F = 0.852, P = 0.475), the FZC group were 5.751±1.489, 5.268±1.418, 4.727±1.174, 5.298±1.229 (F = 0.987, P = 0.410), the FD group were 0.546±0.450, 0.804±0.428, 0.679±0.283, 0.846±0.453 (F = 1.089, P = 0.366), and the FCD group were 5.532±1.330, 5.051±1.596, 4.589±0.879, 5.140±1.492 (F = 0.820, P = 0.492), respectively. Comparison of RBC count between groups with different treatment factors of the same blood type was done. There was no significant difference between the FZC group and the NS group, indicating that the extract of Fengzhecao extract had no effect on hemolysis of RBC; in the FD group, it was significantly lower than the NS group (all P < 0.05), indicating that wasp venom had a significant hemolytic effect on RBC; but there was no statistically significant difference in RBC count between the FCD group and the NS group, indicating that the Fengzhecao extract antagonizes the hemolytic effect of wasp venom without affecting the RBC count; however, the RBC count in the FCD group was significantly higher than that in the FD group (all P < 0.05), further indicating that the Fengzhecao extract antagonizes the hemolytic effect of wasp venom. CONCLUSIONS: Wasp venom has a significant hemolytic effect which can be effectively antagonized by Fengzhecao extract and has nothing to do with the human ABO blood type.

Commutability of external quality assessment materials for serum magnesium and calcium measurements.

The commutability of pooled patient sera (PPS) and control materials (CM) should be evaluated to investigate their suitability for use in an external quality assessment (EQA) program. Individual human samples, PPS and CM were analyzed by four routine methods and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry reference methods for magnesium and calcium measurements. The commutability was analyzed according to EP14-A3 protocol and the difference in bias approach, respectively. For magnesium measurements, all PPS were commutable and 3/5 CM were commutable for all measurement systems according to the EP14-A3 protocol. For calcium measurements, most PPS were commutable for all measurement systems, but the CM were only commutable with the Cobas c702 system. The IFCC approach produced similar commutability profiles, except that a large number of inconclusive results appeared. The routine methods exhibited excellent linearity and precision. The majority of relative biases between the routine and reference methods were beyond the bias limits. The commutability of the CM and PPS vary depending on which evaluation approach and criterion is applied. Superiority in the commutability of PPS over CM was observed whichever evaluation approach is applied.