Abstract Background: Hyperbilirubinemia is one of the common complications after cardiac surgery and is associated with increased mortality. However, to the best of our knowledge, the reports on clinical significance of postoperative severe hyperbilirubinemia in Stanford type A aortic dissection (AAD) patients were limited. Methods: Patients who underwent surgical treatment for AAD in our center between January 2015 and December 2018 were retrospectively screened. In-hospital mortality, long-term mortality, acute kidney injury (AKI), and the requirement of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) were assessed as endpoints. Univariate and multivariate regression models were employed to identify the risk factors of these endpoints. Results: After screening, 271 patients were included in our present study. Of the included patients, 222 (81.9%) experienced postoperative AKI, and 50 (18.5%) received CRRT. The in-hospital mortality was 30.3%. The 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year cumulative mortality were 32.9%, 33.9%, and 35.3%, respectively. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that age (P < 0.033), AKI stage 3 (P < 0.001), the amount of blood transfusion after surgery (P = 0.019), mean arterial pressure (MAP) in the first postoperative day (P = 0.012), the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (P = 0.02), and the peak total bilirubin (TB) concentration (P = 0.023) were independent risk factors of in-hospital mortality. The optimal cut-off value of peak TB on predicting in-hospital mortality was 121.2 μmol/L. Patients with post-operation TB ≥ 121 μmol/L was associated with worse long-term survival as well. Conclusions: Severe post-operation hyperbilirubinemia is a common clinical situation in patients had AAD repair. In AAD patients with severe post-operation hyperbilirubinemia, older age, lower MAP, increased blood transfusion, stage 3 AKI, the use of ECMO, and the increased peak TB lead to increase in-hospital mortality.

Background: China has the largest absolute burden of hypertension (HTN) in the world. Gut dysbiosis may be a potentially modifiable risk factor for HTN. However, the characteristics of gut microbiota in Chinese populations with HTN remain to be determined. Methods: We systematically searched for studies comparing the gut microbial in HTN with healthy controls in databases. The cut-off date was December 30, 2021. Semiquantitative analysis and meta-analysis with standardized mean differences of the alteration in gut microbiota were carried out. Results: A total of 16 studies involving 2372 patients with HTN and 849 controls were included, covering 16 Chinese provinces or regions. The present study supports that compared to healthy population, the diversity of patients with HTN is significantly compromised, while richness is overall preserved. To be specific, a significant increase of the Firmicutes(F)/Bacteroidetes(B) ratio is considered as a special parameter of gut microbiota in HTN patients. The increased abundance of phylum Firmicutes, genus Megasphaera, Escherichia_Shigella, and Klebsiella, while the lower abundance of phylum Bacteroidetes, genus Bifidobacterium, Faecalibacterium, Roseburia, and Ruminococcus may be associated with HTN. The gut microbial metabolism in HTN was more abundant in LPS biosynthesis, membrane transport, and steroid degradation. Conclusions: Variation in gut microbial parameters is likely associated with Chinese patients with HTN. Further investigations should distinguish geographical and ethnic characteristics to develop in-depth knowledge of the underlying mechanisms by which gut dysbiosis contributes to HTN.

Objective Hyperbilirubinemia is one of the common complications after cardiac surgery and is associated with increased mortality. However, to the best of our knowledge, the report on clinical significance of postoperative severe hyperbilirubinemia in Stanford type A aortic dissection (AAD) patients is limited. Therefore, the purpose of our present study is to assess the characteristics and outcomes of AAD patients with post-operation severe hyperbilirubinemia.Methods Patients who underwent surgical treatment for AAD in our center between January 2015 and December 2018 were retrospectively screened. In-hospital mortality, long-term mortality, acute kidney injury (AKI), and the requirement of continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) were assessed as endpoints. Univariate and multivariate regression models were employed to identify the risk factors of these endpoints.Results Of the 2210 screened patients, 271 (12.3%) were included. Of the included patients, 222 (81.9%) experienced postoperative AKI, and 50 (18.5%) received CRRT. In-hospital mortality was 30.3%. The 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year cumulative mortality were 32.9%, 33.9%, and 35.3%, respectively. Multivariate Logistic regression analysis indicated that age ( P < 0.033), AKI stage 3 ( P < 0.001), the total amount of blood transfusion after surgery ( P = 0.019), mean arterial pressure (MAP) in the first postoperative day ( P = 0.012), the use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) after surgery ( P = 0.02), and the peak total bilirubin (TB) concentration ( P = 0.023) were independent risk factors of in-hospital mortality. The optimal cut-off value of peak TB on predicting in-hospital mortality was 121.2 μmol/l. Older age, high preoperative serum creatinine (SCr) concentration, and prolonged cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time were identified as the independent risk factors of AKI. High preoperative SCr concentration was identified as the only independent risk factor of the requirement of CRRT.Conclusions Post-operation severe hyperbilirubinemia is a common clinical presentation in AAD surgery patients. Post-operation severe hyperbilirubinemia AAD patients with older age, lower MAP, increased blood transfusion, stage 3 AKI, the use of ECMO, and the increased peak TB had higher risk of in-hospital mortality.

Objectives: To analyze the length of online-to-print lags in 5 science citation index (SCI) journals related to liver diseases and their effect on the number of citations at the date of print publication. Designs: All original papers that were published between April 2013 and April 2014 in 5 SCI journals of liver diseases were systematically collected. The length of the online-to-print lag was defined as the difference between the date of print publication and the date of online publication. The number of citations for an article was obtained on its print publication date (baseline number of citations) and every month thereafter. According to the 2012 journal impact factor (JIF), the journals were divided into high-JIF (JIF $5) and low-JIF (JIF <5). Results: During the collection period, a total of 1039 original articles were published in the 5 journals. The low-JIF journals had significantly longer online-toprint lags than the high-JIF journals (6.23 ± 2.9 months versus 4.3 ± 1.5 months, P < 0.001). The low-JIF journals had a significantly larger proportion of original articles with a baseline number of citations $1 than the high-JIF journals (41.9% versus 32.3%, P = 0.002). A longer online-to-print lag was positively associated with a baseline number of citations $1 in all 5 journals. Conclusions: Online-to-print lags are frequently observed in 5 SCI journals related to liver diseases. In contrast to the hypothesis that JIF was positively associated with the length of online-to-print lags, our study demonstrated that the low-JIF journals had significantly longer online-to-print lags than the high-JIF journals. ( J CLIN EXP HEPATOL 2015;5:127-133)

Background: Cyclophosphamide, thalidomide and dexamethasone (CTD) or bortezomib and dexamethasone (BDex) show substantial efficacy in patients with amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis, especially in Chinese patients. Currently, both regimens are recommended as primary treatment options for AL amyloidosis, but no comparative study has been reported. Results: We retrospectively evaluated the outcomes of 81 AL patients who received CTD (n=42) or BDex (n=39) and used Mayo stage 2012 to match 26 pairs of patients. In the whole cohort, the overall hematologic responses were 86% vs 91% in the CTD and BDex groups, including a complete response of 56% vs 71% based on an intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis. One- and two-year overall survival (OS) was 90.2% and 81.7% with CTD, and 87.6% and 82.7% with BDex. After matching, BDex regimen induced a significantly deeper and more rapid hematologic response over CTD, but no statistically significant difference in OS (ITT analysis, P =0.24; 6-month landmark analysis, P =0.48). Cardiac response rates were similar, while there was a trend for higher renal responses in patients treated with BDex (68% vs 44%, P =0.09). Additionally, BDex was associated with significantly improved survival in patients with advanced disease (Mayo stage III or worse) ( P =0.009). Patients treated with BDex reported more episodes of severe hematologic toxicity and diarrhea. Conclusions: CTD and BDex are effective treatments for Chinese patients with AL amyloidosis, but BDex regimen appears superior to CTD in achieving a more rapid and deeper clonal response, and in improving OS in patients with advanced disease.

Background The pathogenesis of immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN) and membranous nephropathy (MN) is characterized by immune dysregulation, which is related to gut dysbiosis. The aim of the study was to compare the gut microbiota of patients with IgAN and MN versus healthy controls. We used 16S rDNA amplicon sequencing to investigate the bacterial communities of 44 patients with kidney biopsy-proven IgAN, 40 patients with kidney biopsy-proven MN, and 30 matched healthy controls (HC). Results The abundance of Escherichia-Shigella and Defluviitaleaceae_incertae_sedis were significantly higher in IgAN than in HC, whereas lower abundances were observed for Roseburia, Lachnospiraceae_ unclassified, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, and Fusobacterium . Furthermore, the abundance of Escherichia-Shigella, Peptostreptococcaceae_incertae_sedis , Streptococcus, and Enterobacteriaceae_ unclassified increased, while that of Lachnospira, Lachnospiraceae_ unclassified, Clostridium_sensu_stricto_1, and Veillonella decreased in MN. The abundance of Megasphaera and Bilophila was higher, whereas that of Megamonas, Veillonella, Klebsiella, and Streptococcus was lower in patients with IgAN than in those with MN. Analysis of the correlations showed that in the IgAN group, Prevotella was positively correlated, while Klebsiella , Citrobacter, and Fusobacterium were negatively correlated with the level of serum albumin. Positive correlation also existed between Bilophila and Crescents in the Oxford classification of IgAN. In the MN group, negative correlation was observed between Escherichia-Shigella and proteinuria, Bacteroides and Klebsiella showed positive correlation with the MN stage. Conclusions Patients with IgAN and MN exhibited gut microbial signatures distinct from healthy controls. Our study suggests the potential of gut microbiota as specific biomarker and contributor in the pathogenesis of IgAN and MN.