Mitral regurgitation (MR) is the most common type of valvular heart disease. Mitral valve repair/replacement can improve the prognosis of patients with severe MR, but a large proportion of patients cannot tolerate surgical procedures due to comorbidities and surgical risks. Transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) is a kind of treatment for mitral valve disease in which an artificial valve is delivered to the mitral valve annulus through a catheter and released into place, with the advantages of no thorax opening, less trauma and high safety. Early clinical studies of TMVR have shown good results, but still face many challenges. Strict indications are effective measures to reduce surgical risks and postoperative complications. This article explores the relevant indications of TMVR by analyzing several studies at home and abroad.
Patients with brain metastases are more prone to developing life-threatening neurological symptoms. Initial therapies include surgery, whole brain radiotherapy (WBRT), and stereotactic radiotherapy. With the progress of stereotactic radiotherapy, the indication of stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is gradually expanding, and the indications for surgery and WBRT gradually narrowed. The existing studies have shown that SRS can significantly benefit patients who are <50 years old with single brain metastasis, but the specific scope of the application with SRS is still controversial, and a large number of the phase Ⅲ randomized multicenter trials designed around the controversies are also developing. This review summarizes the results of clinical research and came to the conclusion. Firstly, postoperative adjuvant SRS in the treatment of brain metastases is superior to postoperative adjuvant WBRT. Secondly, using SRS in the elderly patients with multiple brain metastases are safe and effective. Thirdly, the use of targeted therapy in patients with brain metastases thereby delaying SRS may lead to poor prognosis. The focus of future research include selection of optimal timing for adjuvant targeted therapy after SRS and the appropriate patient population, as well as prevention of recurrence and metastasis after lacal treatment.
Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is rather common in Southeast Asia and Southern China. The standard treatment for NPC is intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT). A large number of the NPC survivors benefit from the IMRT, while some suffer from the late toxicities which can be life-threatening or significantly erode the patients’ quality of life and functional status, especially in the locally advanced NPC. Nowadays the late radiotherapy-related toxicities have been the most important concern for the radiotherapists and patients, who look forward to the better long-term tumor local control and overall survival. Therefore, we carried out a review about the late radiotherapy-related toxicities of the vital organs at risk after IMRT for NPC patients.
The primary principle of evidence-based medicine is that the best clinical decision-making is derived from clinical problems with combination of patient’s preferences with clinical experience and the best evidence. Evidence-based medicine by its nature, is a specific application on the evaluation of medical hypothesis. It also emphasize the importance of humanism in clinical practice. Our study explored the scientific and humanistic characteristics of evidence-based medicine from the prospective of philosophy, so as to facilitate the extensive application of evidence based practice paradigm in other fields.
The majority of problems are comprehensive and complex in the modern society, which leads to the increasing contradictions in the specialization and comprehensiveness of knowledge. Interdisciplinary cooperation is one approach to improve the effectiveness and transferability. The primary principle of evidence-based medicine is its scientific and transparent procedures. It combines the patient’s preferences with clinical experience and the best evidence. Meanwhile, evidence-based medicine is focused on how to transfer research outcomes into practice and the re-evaluation of the result of practice in order to striving for perfections. Combining this practical pattern of evidence-based medicine with other disciplines can have a significant improvement on scientific methods and thinking patterns, and become an effective way to improve the quality of scientific research and promote the transformation.
Objective To analyze the causal relationship between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) metabolites and tic disorder (TD) based on two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR). Methods CSF metabolites data from humans were downloaded from genome-wide association study databases, and CSF metabolites were selected as exposure factors. single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) strongly associated with the exposure factors and independent of each other were selected as instrumental variables. The TD dataset from the Finngen database was downloaded, including 365 cases of TD and 411 816 controls. Analysis was conducted using inverse variance weighting, MR-Egger, weighted median, weighted mode, and simple mode. Sensitivity analysis was conducted using leave-one-out, and multiple-effects testing was conducted using MR-Egger and MR-PRESSO. Heterogeneity was detected using Cochran’s Q. Results A total of 9 CSF metabolites were found to have a causal relationship with the occurrence and development of TD (P<0.05), with a total of 394 SNPs included in the analysis. Inverse variance weighting results showed that N-acetylneuraminic acid [odds ratio (OR)=2.715, 95% confidence interval (CI) (1.102, 6.961), P=0.030], γ-glutamylglutamine [OR=1.402, 95%CI (1.053, 1.868), P=0.021], lysine [OR=2.816, 95%CI (1.084, 7.319), P=0.034] could increase the risk of TD. Cysteinylglycine disulfide [OR=0.437, 95%CI (0.216, 0.885), P=0.021], propionylcarnitine [OR=0.762, 95%CI (0.616, 0.941), P=0.012], pantothenate [OR=0.706, 95%CI (0.523, 0.952), P=0.023], gulareic acid [OR=0.758, 95%CI (0.579, 0.992), P=0.044], and cysteine-glycine [OR=0.799, 95%CI (0.684, 0.934), P=0.005] could reduce the risk of TD. The results of leave-one-out sensitivity analysis were stable, and no horizontal pleiotropy or heterogeneity was observed. Conclusions N-acetylneuraminic acid, γ-glutamylglutamine, and lysine can increase the risk of TD, but cysteinylglycine disulfide, propionylcarnitine, pantothenate, gulagic acid and cysteine-glycine can reduce the risk of TD. However, the mechanism of their effects on TD still needs to be further explored.
Objectives To assess the effectiveness and safety of any form of therapy compared with glucocorticoid for the treatment of oral lichen planus. Method The Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2007), MEDLINE (1966-2007), EMbase (1966-2007), CBM (1978-2005), CNKI (1989-2007), and VIP (1989-2007) were searched for randomized controlled trials or quasi-randomized controlled trials. Quality assessment and data extraction were performed by two reviewers independently. Meta-analysis was performed for the results of homogeneous studies by RevMan 4.2.9 software.Results Finally, 14 studies involving 9 therapy methods were included. Four studies were concerned with cyclosporine.We performed a meta-analysis of 3 studies. The results showed there was no statistically significant difference in the curative effect of cyclosporine and the steroid with RR 2.94 and 95%CI 1.03 to 9.97. The results showed that the curative effect of total glucosides of paenia plus topical application of triamcinolone acetonide (RR0.21, 95%CI 0.10 to 0.44),tacrolimu (RR 0.18 and 95%CI 0.05 to 0.72), and pimecrolimus (WMD –0.50 and 95%CI –0.85 to –0.15) were better than glucocorticoid. There was a statistically significant difference between fluocinolone acetonide and retinoic acid in terms of curative effect with RR 3.20 and 95%CI 1.03 to 9.97. The curative effect of mesalazine (RR 0.42 and 95%CI 0.05 to 3.54), Mycostatin paste plus desamethasone paste (RR 1.23 and 95%CI 0.93 to 1.61), triamcinolone acetonide plus vitamin B12 ( RR 0.50 and 95%CI 0.05 to 4.94), chitin (RR 1.30 and 95%CI 0.86 to 1.96) was similar with that of glucocorticoid.Conclusion Statistical analysis showed the curative effect of total glucosides of paenia combined with triamcinoloneacetonide is better than glucocorticoid. Due to the mistakes of theincluded studies designs,,further high-quality,largescale randomized controlled trials are required to confirm the effectiveness and safety of this therapy method.
Medicine bears the responsibility for human health. Technical competence, service standards, professional ethics and social accountability constitute the soul of this profession. The principles of nonmaleficence, beneficence, respect for autonomy and justice help to establish good doctor-patient relationship and regulate medical services, which has been fixed by international and domestic professional norms. Besides to ensure its truth, effectiveness and safety, medical research also should require certain rendering of subject's autonomy, minimizing risks and maintaining social justice. Some procedures have established for supporting it. Modern medical education furnishes suitable human resources for medical profession, which directly affects the accessibility and outcomes of health services. Its objectives, operations and assessments are increasingly taking shape. Faced with the current issues of healthcare equity, worsening doctor-patient relationship, scandals and ethical controversies in medical research, and the failing of medical education to fully match social needs, evidence-based medical methodology is extending to policy and social sciences for identifying and creating high-quality scientific evidence to improve the quality of decision-making.
The increasing deteriorative trend of doctor-patient relationship (DPR) have destroyed patient safety, doctor safety and social stability in China. DPR is a complicated social problem related to multidisciplinary and multi-factor interactions. A series of researches providing different views on how to improve DPR in China have been published in recently years. Evidence-based medicine (EBM) aims to deal with massive information by producing, synthesizing and disseminating evidence from complex interventions. We tried to explore the trait of DPR by EBM methods. We provided evidence on research trends, topics and methods by systematic database retrieval, classification by screening, and quality assessment. Through dissection, attribution, and visualization of interactions and relationships between factors, we provided an evidence-supported framework for improvement of DPR. We identified gaps, defects or deficiencies in existing research, and promoted further research. We continued to follow up the research and faced a challenge: Reflection and frustration in the process of establishing the quality evaluation system of qualitative research. We found that the study of complex humanities and social sciences by reference to evidence-based methodology might be: providing a structured, panoramic perspective for complex social problems on " de-fragmentation”, providing a framework for social governance through classification and hierarchy, and calling for a more tolerant attitude and more comprehensive application of methodologies.