Objective To evaluate the correlation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and vascular endothelial cadherin (VE-Cadherin) in serum with the severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and explore their clinical value in OSA. Methods A total of 90 patients with OSA admitted to the Sleep Monitoring Center of the Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University from April 2023 to June 2024 were prospectively selected. Based on the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), the patients were divided into a mild group (5 - 15 times/hour, n=30), a moderate group (>15 - 30 times/hour, n=28), and a severe group (>30 times/hour, n=32). Thirty healthy individuals who underwent physical examinations during the same period were included as a control group. The levels of serum VEGF and soluble VE-Cadherin (sVE) in all subjects were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The differences in serum VEGF and sVE levels among the groups were compared, and the correlations between serum VEGF and sVE levels and sleep parameters were explored. The moderate and severe OSA patients were given 3 months of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) treatment, and the changes in sleep parameters and serum VEGF and sVE levels before and after treatment were compared. Results The levels of serum VEGF and sVE in the OSA patients increased with the severity of the disease; the levels of serum VEGF and sVE in the moderate and severe OSA groups were significantly higher than those in the healthy control group and the mild OSA group (P<0.05). The levels of serum VEGF and sVE in the severe OSA group were significantly higher than those in the moderate OSA group (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the expression levels of serum VEGF or sVE between the mild OSA group and the healthy control group (P>0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of serum VEGF in diagnosing OSA were 65.6% and 93.3%, respectively, with an area under curve (AUC) value of 0.845. The sensitivity and specificity of serum VE-Cadherin in diagnosing OSA were 64.4% and 96.7%, respectively, with an AUC value of 0.835. After 3 months of CPAP treatment, AHI, longest apnea time, serum VEGF and sVE levels in the moderate and severe OSA groups decreased significantly, mean arterial oxygen saturation and lowest arterial oxygen saturation increased significantly (P<0.05). Conclusions The levels of VEGF and VE-Cadherin in serum of OSA patients are significantly elevated and positively correlated with the severity of OSA. Monitoring the changes in the levels of VEGF and VE-Cadherin in serum of OSA patients is helpful for evaluating the therapeutic effect of CPAP.
ObjectiveTo investigate the relationship of 24-hour ambulatory pulse pressure (24hPP) with left ventricular mass index (LVMI) in elderly essential hypertension patients. MethodsThe data of 110 elderly patients with essential hypertension from January to December 2012 were collected in the study. All patients received 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and echoeardiographic examination 24hPP and LVMI were calculated according to the results of 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring and echocardiographic measurements. The patients were divided into group A [24hPP<60 mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa), n=70] and group B (24hPP≥60 mm Hg, n=40). ResultsThe 24-hour systolic blood pressure and 24hPP for patients in group B were significantly higher than those in group A (P<0.001). Compared with group A patients, the interventricular septal thickness, left ventricular posterior wall thickness, left ventricular mass and left ventricular mass index were significantly higher in group B (P<0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed that 24hPP had a positive correlation with LVMI in the elderly essential hypertension patients (r=0.33, P<0.001). Multiple stepwise regression analysis showed that 24hPP was the main factor for the increase of LVMI in elderly essential hypertension patients (β=0.90, P<0.001). ConclusionThe 24hPP is positively correlated with LVMI in elderly essential hypertension patients. The 24hPP is an important risk factor for left ventricular structural damage in elderly essential hypertensive patients.
Objective To investigate the effects of different levels of intra-abdominal pressure ( IAP) on respiration and hemodynamics in a porcine model of acute lung injury( ALI) .Methods A total of 8 domestic swine received mechanical ventilation. Following baseline observations, oleic acid 0. 1mL/kg in 20mL of normal saline was infused via internal jugular vein. Using a nitrogen gas pneumoperitongum, the IAP increased from0 to 15 and 25mmHg, and the groups were named IAP0 , IAP15 and IAP25 , respectively. During the experimental period, hemodynamic parameters including heart rate ( HR) , cardiac output ( CO) , mean arterial pressure( MAP) , central venous pressure( CVP) , intrathoracic blood volume index( ITBVI) and so on were obtained by using thermodilution technique of pulse induced continuous cardiac output( PiCCO) . The esophageal pressure( Pes) was dynamicly monitored by the esophageal catheter. Results Pes and peak airway pressure( Ppeak) increased and static lung compliance( Cstat) decreased significantly in IAP15 and IAP25 groups compared with IAP0 group( all P lt;0. 01) . Transpulmonary pressure( Ptp) showed a downward trend( P gt;0. 05) . PO2 and oxygenation index showed a downward trend while PCO2 showed a upward trend ( P gt;0. 05) . HR and CVP increased significantly, cardiac index( CI) and ITBV index decreased significantly ( all P lt;0. 05) ,MAP didn′t change significantly( P gt;0. 05) . The changes in Pes were negatively correlated with the changes in CI( r = - 0. 648, P = 0. 01) . Conclusion In the porcine model of ALI, Pes increases because of a rise in IAP which decreased pulmonary compliance and CI.
ObjectiveTo explore the effect of different ventilation modes on pulmonary complications (PCs) after laparoscopic weight loss surgery in obese patients. MethodsThe obese patients who underwent laparoscopic weight loss surgery in the Xiaolan People’s Hospital of Zhongshan from January 2019 to June 2023 were retrospectively collected, then were assigned into pressure-controlled ventilation-volume guaranteed (PCV-VG) group and volume controlled ventilation (VCV) group according to the different ventilation modes during anesthesia. The clinicopathologic data of the patients between the PCV-VG group and VCV group were compared. The occurrence of postoperative PCs was understood and the risk factors affecting the postoperative PCs for the obese patients underwent laparoscopic weight loss surgery were analyzed by multivariate logistic regression analysis. ResultsA total of 294 obese patients who underwent laparoscopic weight loss surgery were enrolled, with 138 males and 156 females; Body mass index (BMI) was 30–55 kg/m2, (42.40±4.87) kg/m2. The postoperative PCs occurred in 63 cases (21.4%). There were 160 cases in the PCV-VG group and 134 cases in the VCV group. The anesthesia time, tidal volume at 5 min after tracheal intubation, peak inspiratory pressure and driving pressure at 5 min after tracheal intubation, 60 min after establishing pneumoperitoneum, and the end of surgery, as well as incidence of postoperative PCs in the PCV-VG group were all less or lower than those in the VCV group (P<0.05). The indicators with statistical significance by univariate analysis in combination with significant clinical indicators were enrolled in the multivariate logistic regression model, such as the smoking history, American Society of Anesthesiologists classification, hypertension, BMI, operation time, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), FEV1/forced vital capacity, and intraoperative ventilation mode. It was found that the factors had no collinearity (tolerance>0.1, and variance inflation factor<10). The results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the patients with higher BMI and intraoperative VCV mode increased the probability of postoperative PCs (P<0.05). ConclusionsFrom the preliminary results of this study, for the obese patients underwent laparoscopic weight loss surgery, the choice of ventilation mode is closely related to the risk of developing postoperative PCs. In clinical practice, it is particularly important to pay attention to the risk of postoperative PCs for the patients with higher degree obesity.
ObjectiveTo summarize surgical experience and explore the best treatment strategy for the management of complicated mediastinitis after cardiac surgery. MethodsClinical data of 18 patients who received vascularized muscle flap transposition combined with negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT)for the treatment of complicated mediastinitis after cardiac surgery in one stage in the Department of Cardiac Surgery of Beijing Anzhen Hospital, Capital Medical University between June 2006 and December 2012 were retrospective analyzed. There were 12 male and 6 female patients with their average age of 65.5±8.2 years. The average interval between cardiac surgery and vascularized muscle flap reconstruction was 12.5±5.8 days. ResultsPostoperatively, 1 patient died of recurrent mediastinitis, sepsis and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. Seventeen patients had an uneventful postoperative recovery and one-stage wound healing. Postoperative hospital stay was 18.6±7.2 days and wound healing time was 4.5±2.4 weeks. All the 17 patients were followed up for over 6 months, no recurrent mediastinitis was observed, and they had a good quality of life. ConclusionVascularized muscle flap transposition combined with NPWT is a simple and effective surgical strategy for the treatment of complicated mediastinitis after cardiac surgery in one-stage.
Objective To explore the effects of enteral tube feeding on moderate AECOPD patients who underwent noninvasive positive pressure ventilation ( NPPV) . Methods Sixty moderate AECOPD patients with NPPV admitted from January 2009 to April 2011 were recruited for the study. They were randomly divided into an enteral tube feeding group (n=30) received enteral tube feeding therapy, and an oral feeding group (n=30) received oral feeding therapy. Everyday nutrition intake and accumulative total nutrition intake in 7 days, plasma level of prealbumin and transferrin, success rate of weaning, duration of mechanical ventilation, length of ICU stay, rate of trachea cannula, and mortality rate in 28 days were compared between the two groups. Results Compared with the oral feeding group, the everyday nutrition intake and accumulative total nutrition intake in 7 days obviously increased (Plt;0.05) , while the plasma prealbumin [ ( 258.4 ±16.5) mg/L vs. (146.7±21.6) mg/L] and transferrin [ ( 2.8 ±0.6) g/L vs. ( 1.7 ±0.3) g/L] also increased significantly after 7 days in the enteral tube feeding group( Plt;0.05) . The success rate of weaning ( 83.3% vs. 70.0%) , the duration of mechanical ventilation [ 5. 6( 3. 2-8. 6) days vs. 8. 4( 4. 1-12. 3) days] , the length of ICU stay [ 9. 2( 7. 4-11. 8) days vs. 13. 6( 8.3-17. 2) days] , the rate of trachea cannula ( 16. 6% vs. 30. 0% ) , the mortality rate in 28 days ( 3. 3% vs. 10. 0% ) all had significant differences between the enteral tube feeding group and the oral feeding group. Conclusions For moderate AECOPD patients with NPPV, enteral tube feeding can obviously improve the condition of nutrition and increase the success rate of weaning, shorten the mechanical ventilation time and the mean stay in ICU, decrease the rate of trachea cannula and mortality rate in 28 days. Thus enteral tube feeding should be preferred for moderate AECOPD patients with NPPV.
Objective To systematically evaluate the efficacy of home noninvasive positive pressure ventilation (HNPPV) on patients with severe stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in China. Methods Systematic literature search was performed in Chinese BioMedical Literature Database, WanFang Data, VIP Database, Chinese National knowledge Infrastructure databases from inception to January 2018. All randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that reported comparison of the efficacy of HNPPV on patients with severe stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were included. All related data were extracted. Meta-analysis was conducted using the statistical software RevMan 5.3 on the basis of strict quality evaluation. Results A total of 767 patients from 14 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The combined results showed that, compared with the control group, HNPPV could significantly reduce the mortality (relative risk 0.51, 95%CI 0.33 – 0.78, P=0.002) and PaCO2 ［weighted mean difference (MD) –10.78, 95%CI –13.17 – –8.39, P<0.000 01］ of patients, improve the levels of PaO2 (MD 7.84, 95%CI 5.81 – 9.87, P<0.000 01), FEV1 (MD 0.13, 95%CI 0.08 – 0.18, P<0.000 01), and the quality of life (MD –6.27, 95% CI –9.04 – –3.51, P<0.000 01). Conclusion HNPPV can reduce the mortality of patients, improve the gas exchange, pulmonary function and the quality of life, but more large sample, high-quality, and multicenter RCT studies are needed.
To investigate the effect of stepwise paced breathing (PB) on pulse transit time (PTT), we collected physiological signals of electrocardiogram (ECG), respiration and arterial pulse wave during a procedure of stepwise PB, which consists of 6 different breathing rates changing in a protocol of 14.0-12.5-11.0-9.5-8.0-7.0 breath per minute (BPM), with each breathing rate lasting 3 minutes. Twenty two healthy adults involved in this experiment and the change of PTT was analyzed during the stepwise PB procedure. In our study, the PTT was measured by calculating the time interval from the R-spike of the ECG to the peaks of the second derivative of the arterial pulse wave. Ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) was applied to PTT to decompose the signal into different intrinsic mode function, and respiratory oscillation and trend component (baseline) in PTT were further extracted. It was found that the respiratory oscillations in the PTT increased with decreasing of the PB rate, and many of the subjects (14 out of 22) showed the phenomena of PTT baseline increasing during the stepwise PB procedure. The results indicated that the stepwise PB procedure induced a high level of cardiovascular oscillation and produced an accumulative effect of PTT baseline increase. As PTT is capable of predicting changes in BP over a short period of time, increase of PTT baseline indicates the decrease of blood pressure. The experiments showed that the stepwise PB procedure could reduce blood pressure for most subjects. For future work, it is necessary to develop certain indices differentiating the effectiveness of the stepwise PB procedure on the PTT baseline change, and to test the effectiveness of this stepwise PB procedure on blood pressure reduction for patients with essential hypertension.
Acute compartment syndrome (ACS) is one of the serious complications of snake bites, which can lead to amputation or even death in severe cases. Early diagnosis and treatment of ACS remain a major challenge. This paper focuses on the latest research trends in early diagnosis of ACS, with an emphasis on the application of emerging monitoring technologies in critical areas such as intercompartmental pressure measurement, oxygenation monitoring, and perfusion monitoring. It also provides a comprehensive analysis of diverse treatment strategies including surgical and conservative interventions, aiming to offer more precise diagnostic and treatment guidelines for clinical practitioners.
Objective\ To investigate the clinical significance of measuring central venous pressure in patients after cardiac surgery.\ Methods\ Twenty four patients in postoperative cardiac surgery were randomly chosen, and investigated under three fettles:(1) The patients were sent into intensive care unit on mechanical ventilation; (2) They were all conscious and on mechanical ventilation 8 hours after operation; (3) 24 hours after operation, the patients were conscious with normal breathing.