Objective To investigate the prevalence and predisposing factors of gastroesophageal reflux（GER）in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease（COPD）and its impacts on the frequency of COPD exacerbations.Methods 50 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD were enrolled in the study.All patients filled a modified version of clinically validated standardized Mayo Clinic GER questionnaire.Pulmonary function tests（PFT），body mass index（BMI），serum albumin，and medications were recorded.The patients were divided in to GER group（13 patients with GER symptoms longer than one year and diagnosed GER by gastroscope） and non-GER group（37 patients without GER symptoms）.Results There were no significant differences in the BMI，serum albumin，use of inhaled steroids and theophylline between the two groups.Forced expiratory volume in one second as a percentage of the predicted value（FEV1%pred）（37% vs 38.3%，P=0.608.），residual volume % predicted（123.4 % vs 137.8%，P=0.222），and residual volume to total lung capacity（139.4% vs 141.5%，P=0.798） were not significantly different between the two groups.The number of COPD exacerbations per year was significantly higher in patients with GER compared to patients without GER（4.5 vs 1.3，P=0.006）.Conclusions The severity of airflow obstruction and the hyperinflation is unlikely to contribute to the development of GER.Patients with GER experience significantly more exacerbations per year when compared to patients without GER，suggesting more highlight warrant in treatment of GER in COPD patients.
ObjectiveTo investigate the effects of esophageal cooling (EC) on lung injury and systemic inflammatory response after cardiopulmonary resuscitation in swine.MethodsThirty-two domestic male white pigs were randomly divided into sham group (S group, n=5), normothermia group (NT group, n=9), surface cooling group (SC group, n=9), and EC group (n=9). The animals in the S group only experienced the animal preparation. The animal model was established by 8 min of ventricular fibrillation and then 5 min of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the other three groups. A normal temperature of (38.0±0.5)℃ was maintained by surface blanket throughout the experiment in the S and NT groups. At 5 min after resuscitation, therapeutic hypothermia was implemented via surface blanket or EC catheter to reach a target temperature of 33℃, and then maintained until 24 h post resuscitation, and followed by a rewarming rate of 1℃/h for 5 h in the SC and EC groups. At 1, 6, 12, 24 and 30 h after resuscitation, the values of extra-vascular lung water index (ELWI) and pulmonary vascular permeability index (PVPI) were measured, and meanwhile arterial blood samples were collected to measure the values of oxygenation index (OI) and venous blood samples were collected to measure the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and inerleukin-6 (IL-6). At 30 h after resuscitation, the animals were euthanized, and then the lung tissue contents of TNF-α, IL-6 and malondialdehyde, and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) were detected.ResultsAfter resuscitation, the induction of hypothermia was significantly faster in the EC group than that in the SC group (2.8 vs. 1.5℃/h, P<0.05), and then its maintenance and rewarming were equally achieved in the two groups. The values of ELWI and PVPI significantly decreased and the values of OI significantly increased from 6 h after resuscitation in the EC group and from 12 h after resuscitation in the SC group compared with the NT group (all P<0.05). Additionally, the values of ELWI and PVPI were significantly lower and the values of OI were significantly higher from 12 h after resuscitation in the EC group than those in the SC group [ELWI: (13.4±3.1) vs. (16.8±2.7) mL/kg at 12 h, (12.4±3.0) vs. (16.0±3.6) mL/kg at 24 h, (11.1±2.4) vs. (13.9±1.9) mL/kg at 30 h; PVPI: 3.7±0.9 vs. 5.0±1.1 at 12 h, 3.4±0.8 vs. 4.6±1.0 at 24 h, 3.1±0.7 vs. 4.2±0.7 at 30 h; OI: (470±41) vs. (417±42) mm Hg (1 mm Hg=0.133 kPa) at 12 h, (462±39) vs. (407±36) mm Hg at 24 h, (438±60) vs. (380±33) mm Hg at 30 h; all P<0.05]. The serum levels of TNF-α and IL-6 significantly decreased from 6 h after resuscitation in the SC and EC groups compared with the NT group (all P<0.05). Additionally, the serum levels of IL-6 from 6 h after resuscitation and the serum levels of TNF-α from 12 h after resuscitation were significantly lower in the EC group than those in the SC group [IL-6: (299±23) vs. (329±30) pg/mL at 6 h, (336±35) vs. (375±30) pg/mL at 12 h, (297±29) vs. (339±36) pg/mL at 24 h, (255±20) vs. (297±33) pg/mL at 30 h; TNF-α: (519±46) vs. (572±49) pg/mL at 12 h, (477±77) vs. (570±64) pg/mL at 24 h, (436±49) vs. (509±51) pg/mL at 30 h; all P<0.05]. The contents of TNF-α, IL-6, and malondialdehyde significantly decreased and the activities of SOD significantly increased in the SC and EC groups compared with the NT group (all P<0.05). Additionally, lung inflammation and oxidative stress were further significantly alleviated in the EC group compared with the SC group [TNF-α: (557±155) vs. (782±154) pg/mg prot; IL-6: (616±134) vs. (868±143) pg/mg prot; malondialdehyde: (4.95±1.53) vs. (7.53±1.77) nmol/mg prot; SOD: (3.18±0.74) vs. (2.14±1.00) U/mg prot; all P<0.05].ConclusionTherapeutic hypothermia could be rapidly induced by EC after resuscitation, and further significantly alleviated post-resuscitation lung injury and systemic inflammatory response compared with conventional surface cooling.
Objective To analyze the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of the disease burden of esophageal cancer in China from 2001 to 2021, and provide scientific evidence for optimizing public health intervention strategies. Methods Data were derived from the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD 2021) database, extracting indicators including incidence, prevalence, mortality, disability-adjusted life year (DALY) rate, and years of life lost (YLL) rate for esophageal cancer in China. The Joinpoint regression model was employed to assess long-term trends in disease burden across genders and age groups, combined with age-standardization using the GBD world standard population. Average annual percentage change (AAPC) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated, and Excel 2019 was used for data collation and descriptive statistics. Results In 2021, the crude incidence, prevalence, and mortality rates of esophageal cancer in China were 22.55, 38.37, and 20.26 per 100 000 population, respectively, representing increases of 13.49%, 23.41%, and 1.30% compared to 2001. The DALY and YLL rates were 450.14 and 436.29 per 100 000, decreasing by 18.01% and 16.10% over the same period. Significant gender disparities were observed, with males exhibiting higher age-standardized incidence, prevalence, mortality, DALY, and YLL rates than females. In 2021, the male age-standardized incidence (34.29/100 000) and mortality (31.06/100 000) rates were 3.3 and 3.5 times those of females, respectively. Disease burden increased exponentially with age, peaking in the 70 to 74-year-old group for incidence, prevalence, and DALY rates, with males showing significantly higher values than females. Trend analysis of standardized rates revealed significant declines from 2001 to 2021, with AAPC values of ?2.03% for incidence, ?1.42% for prevalence, ?2.57% for mortality, and ?2.84% for DALY rate (all P<0.05). Conclusion The age-standardized disease burden of esophageal cancer in China has decreased over the past two decades, while crude rates have continued to rise, with a pronounced burden among males and older populations. Against the backdrop of accelerating population aging, targeted early screening, behavioral interventions, and optimized resource allocation are imperative to address the challenges in preventing and controlling esophageal cancer.
