Objective To explore the value and clinical safety of low-dose dexamethasone used after operation of anastomotic colorectal resection with fast-track surgery in patients with colorectal cancer. Methods Between January 2008 and December 2009, 470 patients undergoing anastomotic colorectal resection were analyzed retrospectively, who were divided into dexamethasone group and control group according to the use of low-dose dexamethasone treatment or not after operation. Postoperative adverse effect, complications, and early rehabilitations were studied. Results There was no statistical significance in postoperative incidence of adverse effect or complications between two groups (Pgt;0.05). In early rehabilitation, first ambulation of patients in the dexamethasone group was significantly earlier than that in the control group (Plt;0.05), while there was no statistical significance in first time of passing flatus, stool, and oral intake, the retain time of nasogastric tubes, urinary catheter, and drains, and postoperative hospital stay (Pgt;0.05). Conclusion Using low-dose dexamethasone after operation anastomotic colorectal resection in patients with colorectal cancer is safe and may have potential to enhance recovery after operation.
ObjectiveThrough measuring fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and eosinophil levels of peripheral blood in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with different phenotype of acute exacerbation frequency, to predict the therapeutic effect of glucocorticoid therapy and guide the clinical treatment of different subtypes patients with acute exacerbations of COPD.MethodsA total of 127 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD in Suining Central Hospital from February 2017 to October 2019 were recruited. They were divided four groups according to the number of acute exacerbations in the past one year and the treatment scheme, ie. a frequent acute exacerbation with glucocorticoid treatment group (34 cases), a frequent acute exacerbation with non-glucocorticoid treatment group (31 cases), a non-frequent acute exacerbation with glucocorticoid treatment group (30 cases), and a non-frequent acute exacerbation with non-glucocorticoid treatment group (32 cases). FeNO value, eosinophil ratio in peripheral blood, COPD assessment test (CAT) score, and interleukin-8 (IL-8) concentration were measured before and on the 10th day of treatment, and the differences within group and between groups before and after treatment were compared.ResultsCAT score, FeNO, eosinophil ratio and IL-8 level in the four groups were significantly improved on the 10th day after treatment (all P<0.05). The declines of FeNO value, eosinophil ratio, and IL-8 level on the 10th day of treatment compared with those before treatment in the frequent acute exacerbation with glucocorticoid treatment group and the frequent acute exacerbations with non-glucocorticoid treatment group were larger than those in the non-frequent acute exacerbation with glucocorticoid treatment group and the non-frequent acute exacerbation with non-glucocorticoid treatment group (all P<0.05). The declines of FeNO value, blood eosinophil ratio and IL-8 level in the frequent acute exacerbation with glucocorticoid treatment group were also statistically significantly larger than those in the frequent acute exacerbations with non-glucocorticoid treatment group (all P<0.05). The improvement of CAT score in the frequent acute exacerbation with glucocorticoid treatment group was greater than that in other three groups (all P<0.05). There was no significant difference in CAT score between the non-frequent acute exacerbation with glucocorticoid treatment group and the non-frequent acute exacerbation with non-glucocorticoid treatment group (P>0.05).ConclusionsThe degree of airway inflammation is more obvious in patients with frequent acute exacerbation phenotype of COPD. FeNO value can reflect the level of airway inflammation in patients with frequent acute exacerbation of COPD and evaluate the response to glucocorticoid therapy.
Objective To describe the underlying conditions of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA). Methods A retrospective study was performed. Details of the clinical, imaging features, and the underlying conditions of CPA patients admitted to a tertiary university teaching hospital from January 2009 to December 2016 were extracted from clinical records. The classification distribution of CPA, and underlying conditions were analyzed. Results Among the 108 CPA patients, 87 cases had underlying conditions, 21 cases had no underlying conditions. Seventy two (66.7%) patients were engaged in agriculture, the proportion of which was significantly higher in the cases without underlying conditions (85.7% vs. 62.1%). Chronic necrotizing pulmonary aspergillosis (CNPA) was the most common type of these CPA cases. The cases without underlying conditions had significantly more proportion of CNPA than the cases with underlying conditions (85.7% vs. 62.1%). The cases with systemic underlying conditions had significantly more proportion of CNPA than the cases only with pulmonary underlying conditions (82.8% vs. 51.7%). Chronic cavity pulmonary aspergillosis (24/108, 22.2%) only existed in the cases with pulmonary underlying conditions. Underlying conditions were identified in 87 cases of CPA, with 85.1% (74/87) pulmonary and 33.3% (29/87) systemic underlying diseases. Previous tuberculosis mycobacterial infection, bronchiectasis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were the most common pulmonary underlying conditions (40.2%, 39.1% and 35.6%, respectively). Diabetes (16.1%) and glucocorticoid using (13.8%) were the most two common systemic underlying conditions. Conclusions CPA can occur in patients with and without underlying diseases. CNPA is the most common type of these CPA, the proportion of which is higher in cases without underlying conditions and cases with systemic underlying conditions. Farming maybe the risk factors of CPA. Chronic pulmonary primary diseases are the most common underlying conditions. The most common systemic factors are diabetes and glucocorticoid using.
Objective To identify the best therapy regimen for a patient with rare hypoglycemia due to insulin autoantibody (IAA). Methods We searched The Cochrane Library (Issue 3, 2008), PubMed (1966-July 2009), EMbase (1974-July 2009) and CBM (1978-July 2009) to identify relevant evidence. The quality of the retrieved studies was critically assessed. Results A total of 291 records were retrieved. No clinical guidelines, systematic reviews or clinical randomized studies were identified. Thirty treatment-related studies involving 6 interventions showed that insulin combined with Prednisone was relatively more effective and safer than conventional therapies. Conclusion The steroid treatment might be useful for the improvement of glycamic control in patients with high IAA levels and severe hypoglycemia and hyperglycemia due to insulin antibodies raised against subcutaneously-injected human insulin.
Objective To investigate the effect of glucocorticoid on the expression levels of osteoprotegerin (OPG)/receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa B ligand (RANKL)-matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)/tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (TIMP) system in bone tissues of femoral head of rats, and to discuss its interrelated action mechanism in glucocorticoid-induced avascular necrosis of femoral head (ANFH). Methods Forty adult Sprague Dawley rats, weighing 250-300 g, half males and half females, were randomly divided into 4 groups: high dose glucocorticoid group (HD, n=10), medium dose glucocorticoid group (MD, n=10), low dose glucocorticoid group (LD, n=10), and control group (n=10). The rats in HD group, MD group, and LD group were intramuscularly injected with 25.0, 12.5, and 7.0 mg/kg of prednisolone respectively, and the rats in the control group were injected with physiological saline. After 4 weeks intervention, the osteonecrosis of left femoral heads was observed by HE staining, total RNA was extracted from the right femoral head bone tissue and the mRNA expression levels of OPG, RANKL, MMP-2, MMP-9, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2 were detected by RT-PCR. Results After injection of prednisolone, 4 rats of HD group and 1 rat of MD group died of systemic failure caused by the decreased food and weight culminating in cachexia. HE staining showed that the integrity of bone trabecula and osteon was destroyed at different levels, discontinuous bone chips formed, and osteocytes were replaced by granulation tissue in some lacunae in HD, MD, and LD groups; the integrated osteon was observed, the lamellar structure formed concentric circles around the blood vessel and osteocytes were seen in the lacunae in the control group. The necrosis rates of femoral head were 83.3% (5/6), 66.7% (6/9), 30.0% (3/10), and 0 (0/10) in HD, MD, LD, and control groups. The results of RT-PCR showed: the mRNA expression levels of the OPG, TIMP-1, TIMP-2 in HD, MD, and LD groups were lower than those in the control group, showing significant differences (P lt; 0.05) and there was negative correlation with the hormone dosage. The difference in OPG expression was significant between the hormone groups (P lt; 0.05); the differences in the TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 expressions were not significant between the LD group and MD group (P gt; 0.05), but there were significant differences when compared with HD group (P lt; 0.05). The RANKL, MMP-2, and MMP-9 mRNA expression levels in HD, MD, and LD groups were higher than those in the control group and there was a positive correlation with the hormone dosage, showing significant differences when compared MD and HD groups with control group (P lt; 0.05); there was no significant difference in RANKL expression between HD group and MD group (P gt; 0.05), but there was significant difference when compared HD and MD groups with LD group (P gt; 0.05); no significant difference was observed in the MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression between MD group and LD group (P gt; 0.05), but the differences were significant when compared with HD group (P lt; 0.05). Conclusion Glucocorticoid-induced ANFH may be related to the expression levels of OPG/RANKL-MMP/TIMP mRNA regulated by glucocorticoid.
ObjectiveTo observe the clinical characteristics and treatment prognosis of patients with ocular toxocariasis (OT). MethodsA retrospective clinical trial. From March 2018 to September 2021, 40 eyes of 40 OT patients diagnosed by ophthalmic examination in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University were included in the study. All patients underwent best corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) examination. Color Doppler ultrasound flow imaging (CDFI), fluorescein fundus angiography (FFA) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed in 25, 26 and 26 eyes, respectively. Among the 40 patients, there were 23 males (57.5%, 23/40) and 17 females (42.5%, 17/40). All patients were monocular. Thirty patients (75.0%, 30/40) were younger than 18 years old, with the mean age of (9.60±0.60) years. Ten patients (25.0%, 10/40) were great than or equal to 18 years old, with the mean age of (34.60±4.52) years. Thirty-three patients (82.5%, 33/40) lived in rural areas for a long time. There were 27 patients (67.5%, 27/40) with a history of contact with dogs and cats. In 40 eyes, peripheral granuloma (peripheral type), posterior pole granuloma (posterior pole type), vitreous opacity similar to endophthalmitis (turbid type) and hybrid type were 18(45.0%, 18/40), 11(27.5%, 11/40), 6(15.0%, 6/40) ang 5(12.5%,5/40), respectively. All patients were treated with drugs and/or surgery after definite diagnosis. There were 28 eyes of peripheral type, posterior pole type and hybrid type, 17 eyes were treated with surgery and 11 eyes with drug treatment, respectively. Five eyes with turbid type were only treated with drugs. In 40 patients, 33 patients participated in follow-up. The follow-up time after treatment was (18.78±9.44) months. The improvement of BCVA was observed. The number of eyes with different BCVA before and after treatment was compared by χ2 test or Fisher's test. ResultsAt the first visit, the BCVA ranged from light perception to 0.6, including 20 eyes with BCVA ＜0.1, 13 eyes with BCVA 0.1-0.3, and 7 eyes with BCVA ＞0.3. The posterior vitreous anterior limiting membrane was thickened in 24 eyes (60.0%, 24/40). There were 27 eyes (67.5%, 27/40) with lamellar vitreous opacity and 22 eyes (55.0%, 22/40) with peripheral/posterior pole granulomas. Among 25 eyes examined by CDFI, 14 eyes (56.0%, 14/25) showed characteristic stratified or diffuse opacity in vitreous body. Of the 26 eyes examined by FFA, 15 eyes (57.7%, 15/26) had "fern-like" leakage of retinal capillaries, and the lesion had a patchy non-perfused area. In 26 eyes examined by OCT, epiretinal membrane, cystoid macular edema and vitreoretinal traction were 8 (30.8%, 8/26), 5 (19.2%, 5/26) and 2 (7.7%, 2/26) eyes, respectively. At the last follow-up, compared with before treatment, the BCVA of 5 eyes with turbid type increased, and the difference was statistically significant (P＜0.05). In 28 eyes with peripheral type, posterior pole type and hybrid type, 17 eyes with surgical treatment improved BCVA, and the difference was statistically significant (χ2=6.258, P＜0.05). In 11 eyes only treated with drugs, BCVA remained unchanged, and the difference was not statistically significant (χ2=0.594, P＞0.05). ConclusionsOT patients are mostly children; retinal granulomas, gray-white hyperplastic membrane behind lens or vitreous stratified opacity are specific characteristics. OT is mainly treated by glucocorticoid drugs and vitrectomy.
ObjectiveTo investigate the clinical efficacy, side effects, influence on viral nucleic acid conversion and prognosis of glucocorticoid used in patients with coronavirus disease 2019.MethodsEighty-seven patients with severe and critical coronavirus disease 2019 were included to observe respiratory symptoms, blood oxygen saturation, pulmonary imaging absorption, weaning status, complicated bacterial infection and double infection, and prognosis after glucocorticoid use. Whether glucocorticoid use affects the patient's viral nucleic acid was analyzed.ResultsOf the 87 patients included, 55 were severe, 32 were critical, and 38 died, which included 30 critical patients. Seventy-seven patients accepted short-term glucocorticoid, and 10 patients accepted long-term glucocorticoid due to diffuse lung lesions and poor absorption. Eleven patients had bacterial infection and 4 cases had double infection. In 10 patients with long-term use of glucocorticoids, the lung lesions relieved, no double infection was found, but 1 patient maintained nucleic acid positive even after 5 weeks’ treatment.ConclusionsThe use of appropriate glucocorticoids is beneficial to the improvement of disease status and disease absorption in patients with coronavirus disease 2019. Long-term oral administration of glucocorticoids in patients with diffuse lung lesions may be beneficial to disease absorption.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of bisphosphonates in preventing and treating glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis. MethodsDatabases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library (Issue 1, 2016), CNKI, WanFang Data and VIP were searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) related bisphosphonates for the prevention and treatment of glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis from inception to January 2016. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and evaluated the risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software. ResultsA total of 20 RCTs were included, which involved 2 330 patients. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with the placebo group, the bisphosphonates group could significantly increase the bone mineral density (BMD) at lumbar and femoral neck (MD=3.70, 95%CI 2.65 to 4.75, P<0.000 01; MD=2.18, 95%CI 1.30 to 3.06, P<0.000 01), but the bisphosphonates group could not decrease the incidence rates of vertebral fracture or non-vertebral fracture (OR=0.66, 95%CI 0.38 to 1.16, P=0.15; OR=0.73, 95%CI 0.42 to 1.28, P=0.28). There were no significant differences in the incidence rates of total adverse reactions and total severe adverse reactions between the two groups (OR=0.89, 95%CI 0.62 to 1.28, P=0.53; OR=0.93, 95%CI 0.62 to 1.39, P=0.72). ConclusionCurrent evidence shows that, compared with placebo, bisphosphonates canld effectively prevent and treat the decrease of bone mineral density of glucocorticoid induced osteoporosis, not decrease the incidence of fracture, but not increase the incidence of adverse reactions.
In recent years, with the development of neuroimaging and the improvement of people’s awareness, the incidence of cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) has been increasing year by year. CVST with venous infarction or haemorrhage is severe, accounting for about 60% of CVST, and its clinical manifestations are serious. The current therapies including anticoagulation and intravascular treatment have not significantly improved the prognosis of severe CVST patients. The incidence of long-term poor prognosis (modified Rankin scale score≥2) is up to 56.1%. Recent research indicates that inflammation may be an important factor leading to severe CVST and is significantly associated with poor prognosis. Anti-inflammatory treatment with glucocorticoids may provide a novel method for severe CVST, but further clinical studies are needed to verify it. This paper introduces the relationship between inflammation and severe CVST in order to explore the feasibility of glucocorticoid for severe CVST.
Glucocorticoids are the first-line therapy of many neurological disorders, with the treatment regimen varying across types and characteristics of neurological disorders. This article reviews the national and international guidelines and expert consensuses in the past decade on glucocorticoids treatment for neurological disorders, and summarizes recommendations from the latest Chinese guidelines and consensuses. In summary, the most frequently used pulse therapy of glucocorticoids in China is intravenous infusion of high-dose (usually 1000 mg/d) methylprednisolone in a short period (often <5 d), followed by gradual tapering, bridging with oral prednisone or direct discontinuation. The treatment regimen for children and juveniles is similar to that for adults but the dose is adjusted by body weight. Pharmacodynamics of glucocorticoids should be considered for the treatment of perinatal women. To provide appropriate glucocorticoids treatment for patients with neurological disorders, clinicians should fully understand features of each neurological disorder and clinical characteristics of individual patient.