Clinical research from China in the medical journals ...

In the Journal of Thoracic Diseases, Dr Xiao Kun and colleagues at the Department of Respiratory Medicine, PLA General Hospital, Beijing, evaluate prognostic indicators for  Community-acquired pneumonia in elderly patients. In their study of 240 patients they found that Pneumonia Severity Index scores were the best indicator in predicting different clinical outcomes of aged patients with CAP, when compared to testing for N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide (proBNP) levels and three other scoring systems. They also found that systolic BP might be as a protective factor for prognosis of CAP.

Celecoxib may be an effective way of preventing the formation of joint adhesions, according to Shanghai researchers. In the journal Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine, 

orthopaedic surgeons from the Sixth Affiliated People's Hospital of Shanghai Jiaotong University report on an animal experiment in which they tested the inhibitory effects of celecoxib and ibuprofen given for 30 days on joint adhesions. Few adhesions were seen in the celecoxib treated animals, suggesting that the drug “may provide a novel and potent approach for their prevention,” they conclude.

In the same journal, cardiologists from the People's Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Henan report that Chinese patients with chronic heart failure have poor outcomes by international standards. Survival rates of 685 patients with chronic heart failure (HF) and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) were assessed during follow up of around 30 months.

 The fatality rate was 28%, with most due to pump failure 6% due to sudden deaths. The predictors of mortality were advanced age, BMI, NYHA functional class and lack of oral β-blockers at discharge.

“Patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction have poor prognoses in China, particularly those patients with an LVEF of ≤35%. Therefore, cardiologists should strive to improve the prognosis of HF among Chinese patients and focus on the importance of the practical application of HF diagnosis and treatment guidelines,” the researchers said.

In the European Spine Journal, bone specialists from Jinan Military General Hospital, Shandong, show that the most important risk factors for recurrent fractures after vertebroplasty are osteoporosis and treated level at the thoracolumbar junction. In a one year follow up study of 175 patients who underwent vertebroplasty for first-time and single-level osteoporotic vertebral fractures. They found that recurrent fractures developed in 37 (21%) of patients. Higher fracture rates were seen in pateints higher BMD T-score, and treated vertebrae located in the thoracolumbar junction.