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The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of ICG-mediated fluorescence molecular imaging (FMI) in debridement of necrotic tissue. 96 wound-infected rats were randomly divided into control group, ICG group, excitation light (EL)group and FMI group for debridement of necrotic tissue (n = 24). (I) Control group: only debridement; (II) ICG group: ICG injection before debridement; (III) EL group: Debridement under EL; (IV) FMI group: Debridement guided by ICG-mediated FMI. On the 3rd, 6th, and 9th days, the wound tissues of the rats in each group were collected for histological examination, and the levels of serum interleukin-4 (IL-4) and interferon-γ (INF-γ) were analyzed. The wound healing rate, wound score and body weight of the rats in each group were followed up until the wound healed. The results showed that the infected wounds of the rats in the FMI group had significant fluorescence development. The level of serum IL-4 in the FMI group was higher than that in the other three groups on the 6th day (p<0.01), while the level of INF-γ was lower than that in the other three groups on the 6th and 9th day (p<0.05). The results of dynamic wound tissue H&E staining indicated that the wound healing in the FMI group was better than the other three groups. The in vivo follow-up results showed that the wound healing rate and wound score of the FMI group were better than the other three groups, and the growth of rats had no difference with the other groups. ICG-mediated FMI can achieve accurate imaging of necrotic tissue for debridement, and so can accelerate wound healing, which has good clinical application prospects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the most common primary liver cancer worldwide. Multiple observational studies demonstrated a negative association between the use of antithrombotic agents and the risk of HCC. However, the precise causal relationship between these factors remains uncertain. Therefore, our study used a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to assess the causal link between these two factors. Method: The summary statistics of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with the use of antithrombotic agents were acquired from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) performed on individuals of European descent. A two-sample MR analysis was performed using the inverse variance weighting (IVW), the weighted median estimate, the MR-Egger regression, and the weighted-mode estimate. Sensitivity analysis of the primary findings was performed using MR-PRESSO, MR-Egger regression, Cochran’s Q test, and Leave-one-out analysis. Results: Ten SNPs associated with the use of antithrombotic agents were selected as instrumental variables. The MR analysis performed using the four methods mentioned above revealed a negative causal association between the use of antithrombotic agents and HCC. Univariate MR estimates based on the inverse variance weighting (IVW) method suggested a negative causal association between the use of antithrombotic agents and HCC [odds ratio (OR) 0.444, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.279 to 0.707, P = 0.001]. The other methods also produced similar results. No heterogeneity and horizontal pleiotropy were found. Conclusion: Our findings suggested an inverse causal association of antithrombotic agents with the risk of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The effect of immunonutrition in patients undergoing hepatectomy remains unclear. This meta-analysis aimed to assess the impact of immunonutrition on postoperative clinical outcomes in patients undergoing hepatectomy. Methods: A literature search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Embase databases was performed to identify all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) exploring the effect of perioperative immunonutrition in patients undergoing hepatectomy until the end of March 10, 2020. Quality assessment and data extraction of RCTs were conducted independently by 3 reviewers. Mean difference (MD) and odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated using a fixed-effects or random-effects model. The meta-analysis was performed with RevMan 5.3 software. Results: Nine RCTs involving a total of 966 patients were finally included. This meta-analysis showed that immunonutrition significantly reduced the incidences of overall postoperative complications (OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.34–0.95; p = 0.03), overall postoperative infectious complications (OR = 0.53, 95% CI: 0.37–0.75; p = 0.0003), and incision infection (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.28–0.89; p = 0.02), and it shortened the length of hospital stay (MD = −3.80, 95% CI: −6.59 to −1.02; p = 0.007). There were no significant differences in the incidences of pulmonary infection (OR = 0.60, 95% CI: 0.32–1.12; p = 0.11), urinary tract infection (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 0.55–3.08; p = 0.55), liver failure (OR = 0.54, 95% CI: 0.23–1.24; p = 0.15), and postoperative mortality (OR = 0.69, 95% CI: 0.26–1.83; p = 0.46). Conclusion: Given its positive impact on postoperative complications and the tendency to shorten the length of hospital stay, perioperative immunonutrition should be encouraged in patients undergoing hepatectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]