Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) has been the major cause of tumor-associated mortality in recent years and has a poor prognosis. Pyroptosis is regulated via the activation of inflammasomes and participates in tumorigenesis. However, the effects of pyroptosis-related lncRNAs (PRlncRNAs) on LUAD have not yet been completely elucidated. Therefore, we attempted to systematically explore patterns of cell pyroptosis to establish a novel signature for predicting LUAD survival. Based on TCGA database, we set up a prognostic model by incorporating PRlncRNAs with differential expression using Cox regression and LASSO regression. Kaplan-Meier analysis was conducted to compare the survival of LUAD patients. We further simplified the risk model and created a nomogram to enhance the prediction of LUAD prognosis. Altogether, 84 PRlncRNAs with differential expression were discovered. Subsequently, a new risk model was constructed based on five PRlncRNAs, GSEC, FAM83A-AS1, AL606489.1, AL034397.3 and AC010980.2. The proposed signature exhibited good performance in prognostic prediction and was related to immunocyte infiltration. The nomogram exactly forecasted the overall survival of patients and had excellent clinical utility. In the present study, the five-lncRNA prognostic risk signature and nomogram are trustworthy and effective indicators for predicting the prognosis of LUAD.

BackgroundThe relationships between coagulation factors and non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) prognosis have been intensively studied. However, no previous study has investigated the combined effects of preoperative platelet (PLT), fibrinogen (FIB), and D‐dimer (D‐D) levels on the prognosis of NSCLC.MethodsA multicenter prospective study was conducted over seven hospitals. A total of 395 patients diagnosed with operable NSCLC for the first time were included and followed‐up until disease progression or the end of the study. Baseline demographic and clinicopathological information, and preoperative coagulation test results were collected for each patient. Univariate and multilevel survival analyses were conducted using Cox regression and shared frailty models.ResultsMultilevel analyses revealed that there was a marginally significant association between elevated PLT level (> 215 × 109/L) and unfavorable progression‐free survival (PFS) (hazard ratio 2.42, P = 0.05), whereas preoperative FIB and D‐D were not significant prognostic factors for PFS (P = 0.31 and 0.30, respectively). Compared to patients with one elevation of the three coagulation factors, patients with at least two elevations of the three factors had a significantly higher risk of cancer progression (hazard ratio 4.62, P = 0.02).ConclusionThe number of elevated preoperative coagulation factors may have a significant effect on PFS and could be used to predict the prognosis of NSCLC patients after surgery. Future studies are warranted to further investigate the interactions between these three coagulation factors.

Objectives At present, the modified inflation‐deflation method is accepted and widely used in the clinic, but the near‐infrared (NIR) fluorescence imaging with intravenous indocyanine green (ICG) method can also delineate the intersegmental demarcation. However, whether the two methods identify that the intersegmental plane is concordant with each other and match the real intersegmental demarcation is still unknown. Methods Between March 2019 to July 2019, 19 consecutive segmentectomies were performed, using both methods to delineate the intersegmental plane, in order to evaluate and verify whether the intersegmental plane results created by the two methods were concordant and matched the real intersegmental demarcation. Results Segmentectomies were carried out using uniportal video‐assisted thoracic surgery (UVATS) successfully with no intraoperative conversions or ICG‐related complications and only three cases (15.8%) with postoperative complications related to the operation. The intersegmental plane generated by the NIR fluorescence imaging with intravenous ICG method was found to be totally concordant with the modified inflation‐deflation method that was approaching the real intersegmental demarcation in all 19 cases. Conclusions Both methods revealed the intersegmental plane clearly, and the NIR fluorescence imaging with intravenous ICG method was found to be totally concordant with the modified inflation‐deflation method, which is highly concordant with the real intersegmental demarcation. NIR fluorescence imaging with intravenous ICG method may be more popular because of its safety, efficiency, and less complicated restrictions, especially in patients with pulmonary emphysema. Low doses of ICG do not affect the rate of identification of the intersegmental plane and is safer from drug toxicology.

Objectives To investigate the perioperative outcomes of patients who underwent uniport video‐assisted thoracoscopic (VATS) segmentectomy for identifying the intersegmental boundary line (IBL) by the near‐infrared fluorescence imaging with the intravenous indocyanine green (ICG) method or the modified inflation‐deflation (MID) method and assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the ICG fluorescence (ICGF)‐based method. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the perioperative data in total 198 consecutive patients who underwent uniport VATS segmentectomy between February 2018 and August 2020. With the guidance of a preoperative imaging interpretation and analysis system (IQQA‐3D), the targeted segment structures could be precisely identified and dissected, and then the IBL was confirmed by the ICGF‐based method or the MID method. The clinical effectiveness and postoperative complications of the two methods were evaluated. Results An IBL was visible in 98% of patients in the ICGF‐based group, even with low doses of ICG. The ICGF‐based group was significantly associated with a shorter IBL clear presentation time (23.6 ± 4.4 vs. 23.6 ± 4.4 s) (p < 0.01) and operative time (89.3 ± 31.6 vs. 112.9 ± 33.3 min) (p < 0.01) compared to the MID group. The incidence of postoperative prolonged air leaks was higher in the MID group than in the ICGF‐based group (8/100, 8% vs. 26/98, 26.5%, p = 0.025). There were no significant differences in bleeding volume, chest tube duration, postoperative hospital stays, surgical margin width, and other postoperative complications. Conclusion The ICGF‐based method could highly accurately identify the IBL and make anatomical segmentectomy easier and faster, and therefore has the potential to be a feasible and effective technique to facilitate the quality of uniport VATS segmentectomy.

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Compared with the multiport approach, SP VATS lobectomy might reduce postoperative pain and lead to faster recovery.

BackgroundSince the 1990s, paratyphoid fever caused by Salmonella Paratyphi A has emerged in Southeast Asia and China. In 2010, a large-scale outbreak involving 601 cases of paratyphoid fever occurred in the whole of Yuanjiang county in China. Epidemiological and laboratory investigations were conducted to determine the etiology, source and transmission factors of the outbreak.Methodology/Principal FindingsA case-control study was performed to identify the risk factors for this paratyphoid outbreak. Cases were identified as patients with blood culture–confirmed S. Paratyphi A infection. Controls were healthy persons without fever within the past month and matched to cases by age, gender and geography. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and whole-genome sequencing of the S. Paratyphi A strains isolated from patients and environmental sources were performed to facilitate transmission analysis and source tracking. We found that farmers and young adults were the populations mainly affected in this outbreak, and the consumption of raw vegetables was the main risk factor associated with paratyphoid fever. Molecular subtyping and genome sequencing of S. Paratyphi A isolates recovered from improperly disinfected hospital wastewater showed indistinguishable patterns matching most of the isolates from the cases. An investigation showed that hospital wastewater mixed with surface water was used for crop irrigation, promoting a cycle of contamination. After prohibition of the planting of vegetables in contaminated fields and the thorough disinfection of hospital wastewater, the outbreak subsided. Further analysis of the isolates indicated that the origin of the outbreak was most likely from patients outside Yuanjiang county.ConclusionsThis outbreak is an example of the combined effect of social behaviors, prevailing ecological conditions and improper disinfection of hospital wastewater on facilitating a sustained epidemic of paratyphoid fever. This study underscores the critical need for strict treatment measures of hospital wastewater and the maintenance of independent agricultural irrigation systems in rural areas.

Objective To investigate whether video-assisted thoracoscopic segmentectomy using near-infrared fluorescence imaging had better intersegmental plane visualization and peri-operative outcome in patients with chronic lung diseases. Methods Data were collected retrospectively from March 2014 and August 2019. A total of 92 patients with pulmonary nodules underwent near-infrared fluorescence guided uni-port thoracoscopic segmentectomy(NIF-VATS), 149 patients underwent thoracoscopic segmentectomy with inflation-deflation method(ID-VATS). After 1:1 propensity matching, perioperative outcomes between NIF-VATS and ID-VATS was compared. Results Incision size was 3 cm in both group.Mean operative time was 79 min in NIF-VATS group and 96 min in ID-VATS group. The intersegmental plane was not clear in 33 cases of ID-VATS group, and no clear boundary was found after prolonged waiting time. Emphysema or pulmonary bullae could be found in chest CT scan in these patients, they all were diagnosed as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In NIF-VATS group, the intersegmental plane was not clear in 8 cases. Under the guidance of three-dimensional reconstruction and preoperative positioning, the oncological margin length of both groups met the requirements of surgical quality control. The intraoperative blood loss, number of lymph node resection, showed no statistical difference between the two groups. Postoperative air leakage was more often observed in ID-VATS group. The postoperative drainage duration, postoperative hospitalization time was shorter in ID-VATS group. Conclusions Compared with inflation-deflation method, segmentectomy using NIF imaging is feasible for patients with chronic lung diseases with better intersegmental plane, shorter operation time, less complications, it might lead to faster recovery.