Objective To review the association between chlamydia pneumoniae (CP) infection and cerebral infarction. Methods We electronically searched MEDLINE, BIOSIS, VIP database, and China Full Text Journal Database from Jan. 1990 through Dec. 2007 to identify case-control studies about the association of CP and cerebral infarction. The quality of the included studies was assessed and the RevMan 4.2 software was used for meta-analyses. Results A total of 22 studies were included. The results of meta-analyses showed: ① When the microimmunofluorescence (MIF) method was used to examine CP antibody in serum, the positive rate of the cerebral infarction group was higher than that of the control group when the positive infection was defined by IgA≥1?16 [n=8, OR=2.18, 95%CI (1.49 to 3.49), Plt;0.0001]; but when positive infection was defined by IgA≥1?32 (n=3), IgG≥1?32 (n=6), or IgG≥1?64 (n=5), there were no significant differences in the positive rate between the two groups [OR (95%CI) were 1.47 (0.97 to 2.24), 1.24 (0.82 to 1.86), and 1.23 (0.98 to 1.55), respectively]; ② When the ELISA method was used to examine CP-IgG antibody in serum, the positive rate of the cerebral infarction group was higher than that of the controlled group [n=8, OR=2.40, 95%CI (1.42 to 4.06), P=0.000 2]. ③ The acute and chronic CP infections were associated with the incidence of cerebral infarction [n=4, OR=7.22, 95%CI (2.68 to 19.49); n=4, OR=4.30, 95%CI (3.40 to 7.40)]. Conclusion ① The association between CP infection and cerebral infarction is determined by the positive criterion. IgA antibody is more sensitive than the IgG antibody. When the positive infection is determined by IgA≥1?16, CP infection is associated with cerebral infarction. ② The results of ELISA for examining CP-IgG support the association between CP infection and cerebral infarction. ③ Both acute and chronic CP infections are associated with cerebral infarction, but these associations needed to be proven by more scientific studies.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the role of CD3+CD4+T cells in patients with nosocomial infection in ICU.
MethodsOne-hundred and eleven patients who admitted in ICU and in respiratory department from March to December in 2014 were recruited in the study.There were 33 patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP group), 31 patients without nosocomial infection (NNI group), and 47 patients with hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP group).The counts of T cells, B cells, CD3+CD4+ T cells, CD3+CD8+ T cells, and NK cells were compared among three groups.
ResultsThe comparison among the groups had no statistical significance in sex and age(P > 0.05).The three groups had statistical significance in APACHEⅡscore, CD3+CD4+T cells, T cells and B cells, but had no statistical significance in CD3+CD8+T cells, CD3+CD4+/CD3+CD8+ T cells, NK cells, white blood cells, neutrophils, procalcitonin or C reactive protein.CD3+CD4+T cells of HAP group were less than other two groups.The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was 0.660, with a threshold of 29.96%, a sensitivity of 93.8%, and a specificity of 40.4%.
ConclusionCD3+CD4+ T cell is an independent predictor for nosocomial infection.
ObjectiveTo explore the clinical value of the soluble urokinase type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) level in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) for evaluateting the disease severity and prognosis of severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP).
MethodsEighty-four patients with SCAP were recruited as a SCAP group from the respiratory department, ICU and RICU between April 2014 and April 2016. According to their organ dysfunction, the SCAP patients were subdivided into a MODS group and a non-MODS group. Depending on the treatment response on the 7th day of treatment, they were subdivided into an effective group and an ineffective group. According to the survival condition within 28 days, they were subdivided into a survival group and a death group. Meanwhile, 50 cases with non-severe common community acquired pneumonia were recruited as a control group. On the admission day, all cases were evaluated by PSI score and APACHE Ⅱscore. The serum suPAR level were detected by ELISA on the 1st day in hospital. The suPAR and procalcitonin (PCT) levels in the patient's BALF and serum were detected on the 1st, 3rd, 7th day, discharge or death day. The symptoms and signs, biochemical and pulmonary imaging changes were also observed.
ResultsThere were no differences in the sex, age, body weight, duration of pneumonia, or complicated diseases such as hypertension, coronary heart disease and cerebral vascular diseases between the SCAP group and the control group (all P > 0.05). The suPAR levels in serum and BALF of the SCAP group were higher than those of the control group with significant differences (all P < 0.05). The suPAR level in BALF was obviously higher than that in serum in the SCAP group with significant difference (P < 0.05), and slightly higher than that in serum in the control group with no significant difference (P > 0.05). The level of suPAR in BALF of the MODS group was significantly higher than that in the non-MODS group with significant difference (P < 0.05), but there was no significant difference in the PCT level between the two groups (P > 0.05). The suPAR level in the ineffective treatment group was significantly higher than that in the effective treatment group on the 7th day in hospital with significant difference (P < 0.05). The suPAR levels in BALF of the death group were higher than those in the survival group at each time point after admittion with significant difference (all P < 0.05), and the PCT levels had no significant difference between the two groups within 1 week of each time point (all P > 0.05). The suPAR level in BALF of the SCAP group was positively correlated with APACHEⅡ score and PSI score (r=0.578, P=0.0085; r=0.565, P=0.0071), and plasma PCT level was weakly correlated with the APACHEⅡ score and PSI score (r1=-0.0137, r2=-0.0152).
ConclusionThe SuPAR level in BALF of patients with SCAP is closely related to the severity and prognosis, and can be used as an index to assess the severity and prognosis.
ObjectiveTo analyze the relationship between preoperative pulmonary function indexes and postoperative pneumonia (POP) in patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery.MethodsThe clinical data of 303 patients who underwent lung function examination and upper gastrointestinal surgery in West China Hospital, Sichuan University from September 2020 to January 2021 were prospectively collected and analyzed. There were 217 males and 86 females, with an average age of 61.61±10.42 years. Pulmonary function was evaluated from four aspects including ventilatory function, pulmonary volume, diffusion function and airway resistance. Relevant pulmonary function indicators were displayed as the percentage of actual measured value to predicted value (%pred). The outcome index was pneumonia within 30 days after the surgery. Logistic regression was used to analyze the relationship between preoperative pulmonary function indicators and POP.ResultsA total of 196 patients with gastric cancer and 107 patients with esophageal cancer were included, and the incidence of POP in patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery was 26.7% (81/303). Patients with preoperative low peak expiratory flow (PEF%pred) had a 3.094 times higher risk of developing POP than those with normal PEF%pred [OR=3.094, 95%CI (1.362, 7.032), P=0.007]. The incidence of POP had no correlation with the other preoperative indicators.ConclusionPreoperative PEF%pred may be an important indicator for predicting the occurrence of POP in patients undergoing upper gastrointestinal surgery.
Objective
To evaluate the methodological and reporting quality of systematic reviews/meta-analyses related to the efficacy and safety of corticosteroid-assisted treatment for severe pneumonia.
Methods
PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, WanFang Data and VIP databases were searched by computer, and the systematic reviews/meta-analyses of corticosteroid hormone as an auxiliary means for the treatment of severe pneumonia which were published from establishment of the databases to October 25th, 2018 were searched. A Measurement Tool to Assess Systematic Review-2 (AMSTAR-2) was used to assess the methodological quality of the included studies, and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) was used to evaluate the quality of literature reports.
Results
A total of 16 systematic reviews/meta-analyses were included, all of which were non-Cochrane systematic reviews. In terms of methodological quality assessed by AMSTAR-2, there was no plan in all studies; only one study explained the reasons for inclusion in the study type; eight studies did not describe the dose and follow-up time of the intervention/control measures in detail; three studies did not indicate the evaluation tools and did not describe the risk bias; six studies did not explicitly examine publication bias. In terms of reporting quality assessed by PRISMA, all studies had no pre-registered study protocol or registration number; thirteen studies did not describe the specific amount of articles retrieved from each database; three studies did not present their retrieval strategies or excluded reasons in detail; no funding sources were identified in included studies; eight studies reported both whether the study was funded and whether there was a conflict of interest.
Conclusions
At present, there are many systematic review/meta-analysis studies on the efficacy and safety of corticosteroid-assisted treatment for severe pneumonia, and the overall quality of the study has been gradually improved. However, the common problems in the study are relatively prominent. The follow-up period and dose of intervention in the study of severe pneumonia are different, so the baseline is difficult to be unified. Suggestions: strengthening the training of researchers, standardize the research process, and report articles in strict accordance with the PRISMA statement; subgroup analysis being conducted according to the dose and duration of the hormone.
ObjectiveTo investigate the diagnostic value of products triggered by endotoxin including cytokines and procalcitonin for differentiating bacterial pneumonia from pulmonary tuberculosis.
MethodsFifty patients diagnosed to have hospital-acquired pneumonia and another 50 patients diagnosed with tuberculosis admitted into West China Hospital between January and August 2015 were recruited in this study. The frequencies of CD4+ interferon (IFN)-γ+, CD4+ tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α+, CD4+ interleukin (IL)-2+, CD4+ IL-10+ as well as CD8+IFN-γ+, CD8+TNF-α+, CD8+IL-2+, CD8+IL-10+ populations in peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry after endotoxin stimulation. Meanwhile, the levels of procalcitonin, IL-6 and C reactive protein were measured by immunofluorescence staining.
ResultsThe frequencies of CD4+ IFN-γ+, CD4+ TNF-α+, CD4+ IL-2+, CD4+ IL-10+ as well as CD8+ IFN-γ+, CD8+ TNF-α+, CD8+ IL-2+, CD8+ IL-10+ populations in the pneumonia group increased significantly compared with those in the tuberculosis group (P < 0.05). The levels of procalcitonin, IL-6 and C-reactive protein in the pneumonia group increased statistically compared with the counterparts in the tuberculosis group (P < 0.05). The positive rates of procalcitonin, IL-6 and C-reactive protein in the pneumonia group were significantly higher than those in the tuberculosis group (P < 0.05).
ConclusionMeasurement of products triggered by endotoxin is beneficial for differential diagnosis of pneumonia from tuberculosis.
ObjectivesTo explore a reliable and simple predictive tool for 30-day mortality of influenza A community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).MethodsA multicenter retrospective study was conducted on 178 patients hospitalized with influenza A CAP, including 144 alive patients and 34 dead patients. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were performed to verify the accuracy of severity scores as 30-day mortality predictors in the study patients.ResultsThe 30-day mortality of influenza A CAP was 19.1%. The actual mortality of PSI risk class Ⅰ-Ⅱ and CURB-65 score 0-1 were 14.5% and 15.7%, respectively, which were much higher than the predicted mortality. Logistic regression confirmed blood urea nitrogen >7 mmol/L (U), albumin <35 g/L (A) and peripheral blood lymphocyte count <0.7×10 9/L (L) were independent risk factors for 30-day mortality of influenza A CAP. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of UAL (blood urea nitrogen >7 mmol/L+ albumin <35 g/L+ peripheral blood lymphocyte count <0.7×10 9/L) was 0.891, which was higher than CURB-65 score (AUC=0.777, P=0.008 3), CRB-65 score (AUC=0.590, P<0.000 1), and PSI risk class (AUC=0.568,P=0.000 1).ConclusionUAL is a reliable and simple predictive tool for 30-day mortality of influenza A CAP.
Objective
To determine the role of serum cystatin C in evaluating the severity and predicting in-hospital mortality in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).
Methods
The clinical data of 176 patients with CAP treated between January 2015 and October 2016 were collected in a retrospective way. The CURB-65 score was used to assess the severity. The serum levels of cystatin C and C-reactive protein (CRP) on admission were measured. The correlations between cystatin C and CURB-65 score and between cystatin C and CRP were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic curve was used to determine the ability of cystatin C in predicting in-hospital mortality.
Results
The serum level of cystatin C increased with the increasing CURB-65 score (P<0.001). The serum level of cystatin C was correlated positively with CRP level (rs=0.190, P<0.011). There were 22 patients died in hospital, the mean serum cystatin C level of non-survivor was significantly higher than that of survivors [(1.51±0.56)vs. (1.02±0.29) mg/L, P<0.001]. At a cut-off 1.18 mg/L, the sensitivity and specificity of cystatin C in predicting in-hospital mortality were 68.18% and 81.17%, respectively. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.793. The combination of cystatin C and CRP increased the predictive accuracy for in-hospital mortality.
Conclusion
Cystatin C level increases with the increaseing severity of CAP, and it may be a clinical biomarker to evaluate the severity and prognosis of patients with CAP.
Objective
To evaluate the prognostic values of CURB-65 score and inflammatory factors in hospitalized patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).
Methods
A retrospective study was conducted in hospitalized adult CAP patients in West China Hospital between January 1st, and December 31th, 2013. Data of CURB-65 score and serum levels of inflammatory factors (WBC, ESR, PCT, CRP, IL-6 and ALB) on admission and clinical outcomes were collected. The associations between CURB-65 score, inflammatory factors and clinical outcomes were examined. Logistic regression analysis was performed to develop combined models to predict in-hospital death of CAP patients, and ROC analysis was conducted to measure and compare the prognostic values of CURB-65 score, inflammatory factors or combined models.
Results
A total of 505 hospitalized CAP patients were included. 81 patients died during the hospitalization and the in-hospital mortality rate was 16.0%. Possible risk factors of in-hospital death included old age, male sex, hypertension, cardiovascular or cerebrovascular diseases, multi-lobular pneumonic infiltration, high risk scores, ICU admission, mechanical ventilation and severe pneumonia (all P values<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that CURB-65 score, ALB and IL-6 were the independent factors in predicting in-hospital death of CAP patients and the area under curve (AUC) of them while predicting in-hospital death were 0.75 (95%CI 0.69 to 0.81), 0.75 (95%CI 0.69 to 0.81) and 0.75 (95%CI 0.69 to 0.80), respectively. ROC analysis found that ALB and IL-6 could improve the AUC of CURB-65 score significantly while predicting the in-hospital death (P<0.05). When ALB and IL-6 were added to the CURB-65 score simultaneously, the AUC was improved to 0.84 (95%CI 0.80 to 0.87). When IL-6 or ALB was added to the CURB-65 score to form a new scale, the AUC of the new scale was significantly higher than that of the CURB-65 score in predicting in-hospital death (P<0.001).
Conclusion
The prognostic values of CURB-65 score and inflammatory factors may be not ideal when they are used alone in hospitalized CAP patients. IL-6 and ALB may significantly improve the prognostic value of CURB-65 score in predicting in-hospital death.
Objective?To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of procalcitonin (PCT) for ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). Methods?We searched MEDLINE, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CBM, BIOSIS to identify all diagnostic tests which evaluated the diagnostic value of PCT in patients with VAP. QUADAS items were used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (+LR), negative likelihood ratio (-LR), summary receiver operating characteristic (SROC) curve, and the heterogeneity of the included studies were calculated by using the Meta-disk software. Results?Five studies which were identified from 103 references met the inclusion criteria. The summary sensitivity, specificity, +LR, and –LR values were 0.70 (95%CI 0.62 to 0.77), 0.76 (95%CI 0.69 to 0.82), 5.651 (95%CI 1.237 to 25.810), and 0.349 (95%CI 0.155 to 0.784), respectively. Overall area under the curve (AUC) of SROC curve was 0.884 (DOR=19.416, 95%CI 2.473 to 152.47), demonstrating significant heterogeneity (I2gt;50%). Conclusion?The use of PCT for VAP diagnosis has only a moderate sensitivity and specificity. Although the overall accuracy of VAP diagnosis is relatively high, there is significant heterogeneity between the studies, so more high-quality studies are needed. Besides, using PCT alone to diagnose VAP is not sufficient, and a combination with other clinical evaluations is necessary.
