Summary Stem cells are considered to be one of the greatest potential treatments to cure degenerative diseases. Stem cells injection for knee osteoarthritis (OA) is still a relatively new treatment and has not yet gained popularity. So, the effectiveness, safety and potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for knee OA treatment is worthy to be explored. Explore the effectiveness and safety of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis. We collected clinical trials using MSCs as treatment for knee OA (before April 2019), including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), retrospective studies and cohort studies. We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and the ClinicalTrials.gov with keywords (Mesenchymal stem cells [MSCs], Knee osteoarthritis, Effectiveness and Safety), and then performed a systematic review and cumulative metaanalysis of all RCTs and retrospective comparative studies. To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of MSC in knee OA treatment, we applied visual analog scale score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteo-arthritis Index and adverse events. We included 15 RCTs, two retrospective studies and two cohort studies including a total of 584 knee OA patients in this study. We demonstrated that MSC treatment could significantly decrease visual analog scale in a 12-month follow-up study compared with controls (p < 0.001). MSC therapy also showed significant decreases in Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index scores after the 6-month follow-up (p < 0.001). MSC therapy showed no difference compared with controls (p > 0.05) in adverse events. We suggest that MSC therapy could serve as an effective and safe therapy for clinical application in OA treatment. The translational potential of this article This study provided the best available evidence and a wider perspective to MSCs application in the management of knee OA. MSCs therapy will have great translational potential in the clinical treatment of various degenerative diseases once optimum formula and explicit target population are identified.

The CAMI registry represents a well-supported and the largest national long-term registry-research-education platform for surveillance, research, prevention and care improvement for AMI in China, the world's most populous nation. The broad representation of all provinces and different-level hospitals will allow for the exploration of AMI across diverse geographic regions and economic circumstances.

Key Points Question What are the differences in care and outcomes of patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction among 3 vertical levels of hospitals in China? Findings In this cross-sectional study using data from the China Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry, which included 108 hospitals at the province, prefecture, and county levels, compared with patients in province-level hospitals, the rates of reperfusion therapy were lower among those in prefecture-level and county-level hospitals (69.4% vs 54.3% vs 45.8%). In-hospital mortality rates progressively increased among the 3 levels of hospitals, from 3.1% at the province level to 5.3% at the prefecture level to 10.2% at the county level. Meaning These findings suggest that more efforts should be made to address the gaps in care and outcomes of ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction for national quality improvement in China.

BackgroundWe studied the concomitant use of single antiplatelet therapy (SAPT) on the efficacy and safety of the anti‐Xa agent edoxaban in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF).Methods and Results ENGAGE AF‐TIMI 48 was a randomized trial that compared 2 dose regimens of edoxaban with warfarin. We studied both the approved high‐dose edoxaban regimen (HDER; 60 mg daily reduced by one half in patients with anticipated increased drug exposure), as well as a lower‐dose edoxaban regimen (LDER; 30 mg daily, also reduced by one half in patients with anticipated increased drug regimen). SAPT (aspirin in 92.5%) was administered at the discretion of the treating physician. Cox proportional hazard regressions stratified by SAPT at 3 months with treatment as a covariate were performed. The 4912 patients who received SAPT were more frequently male, with histories of coronary artery disease and diabetes, and had higher CHADS 2Vasc and HAS BLED scores than did the 14 977 patients not receiving SAPT. When compared to patients not receiving SAPT, those receiving SAPT had a higher incidence of major bleeding; (adjusted hazard ratio [HR adj]=1.46; 95% CI, 1.27–1.67, P<0.001). SAPT did not alter the relative efficacy of edoxaban compared to warfarin in preventing stroke or systemic embolic events (SEEs): edoxaban versus warfarin without SAPT, hazard ratio (HR adj for HDER)=0.94; (95% CI: 0.77–1.15) with SAPT, HR adj=0.70 (95% CI: 0.50–0.98), P interaction (P int)=0.14. (HR adj for LDER versus warfarin without SAPT=1.19 (95% CI 0.99–1.43) With SAPT, 1.03 (95% CI, 0.76–1.39) P int=0.42. Major bleeding was lower with edoxaban than warfarin both without SAPT, HR adj for HDER=0.80 (95% CI, 0.68–0.95), and with SAPT, HR adj=0.82 (95% CI, 0.65–1.03; P int=0.91). For LDER without SAPT (HR adj=0.56 [95% CI 0.46–0.67]) and with SAPT (HR adj=0.51 [95% CI 0.39–0.66]).ConclusionsPatients with AF who were selected by their physicians to receive SAPT in addition to an anticoagulant had a similar risk of stroke/SEE and higher rates of bleeding than those not receiving SAPT. Edoxaban exhibited similar relative efficacy and reduced bleeding compared to warfarin, with or without concomitant SAPT.Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/. Unique identifier: NCT00781391.

Background: Vein graft occlusion is deemed a major challenge in coronary artery bypass grafting. Previous studies implied that the no-touch technique for vein graft harvesting could reduce occlusion rate compared with the conventional approach; however, evidence on the clinical benefit and generalizability of the no-touch technique is scare. Methods: From April 2017 to June 2019, we randomly assigned 2655 patients undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting at 7 hospitals in a 1:1 ratio to receive no-touch technique or conventional approach for vein harvesting. The primary outcome was vein graft occlusion on computed tomography angiography at 3 months and the secondary outcomes included 12-month vein graft occlusion, recurrence of angina, and major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events. The generalized estimate equation model was used to account for the cluster effect of grafts from the same patient. Results: During the follow-up, 2533 (96.0%) participants received computed tomography angiography at 3 months after coronary artery bypass grafting and 2434 (92.2%) received it at 12 months. The no-touch group had significantly lower rates of vein graft occlusion than the conventional group both at 3 months (2.8% versus 4.8%; odds ratio, 0.57 [95% CI, 0.41–0.80]; P <0.001) and 12 months (3.7% versus 6.5%; odds ratio, 0.56 [95% CI, 0.41–0.76]; P <0.001). Recurrence of angina was also less common in the no-touch group at 12 months (2.3% versus 4.1%; odds ratio, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.35–0.85]; P <0.01). Rates of major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events were of no significant difference between the 2 groups. The no-touch technique was associated with higher rates of leg wound surgical interventions at 3-month follow-up (10.3% versus 4.3%; odds ratio, 2.55 [95% CI, 1.85–3.52]; P <0.001). Conclusions: Compared with the conventional vein harvesting approach in coronary artery bypass grafting, the no-touch technique significantly reduced the risk of vein graft occlusion and improved patient prognosis. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT03126409.