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// Bao-Liang Zhong 1 , Si-Heng Li 2 , Shu-Yan Lv 3 , Shun-Li Tian 4 , Zhi-Dong Liu 5 , Xu-Bin Li 6 , Hong-Qing Zhuang 6 , Ran Tao 7 , Wei Zhang 8 , Chuan-Jun Zhuo 3, 8 1 Affiliated Wuhan Mental Health Center, The Ninth Clinical School, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China 2 First Clinical Medical College & School of Basic Medical Science, Peking University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China 3 Department of Psychiatry, Tianjin Mental Health Center, Tianjin Anding Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China 4 Department of Healthcare, Tianjing Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China 5 Department of Psychiatry, Tianjin Fourth Central Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China 6 Department of Radiology, Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute & Hospital, Tianjin, People’s Republic of China 7 Department of Psychology, General Hospital of Beijing Military Region, Beijing, People’s Republic of China 8 Department of Psychiatry, Wenzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, People’s Republic of China Correspondence to: Ran Tao, email: bjptaoran@126.com Chuan-Jun Zhuo, email: iamdoforyou@163.com Keywords: cancer, inpatient, suicidal ideation, prevalence, correlate Received: October 20, 2016 Accepted: January 17, 2017 Published: February 15, 2017 ABSTRACT Cancer patients are at high risk for suicide, particularly when they are informed about the cancer diagnosis or hospitalized for cancer treatment. Therefore, oncology healthcare settings such as large general hospitals in China, may represent an ideal setting to identify and treat suicidality in cancer patients. However, the clinical epidemiology of suicidality of Chinese cancer patients remains largely unknown. This study examined the prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation among Chinese cancer inpatients of large general hospitals. A total of 517 cancer inpatients were consecutively recruited from two tertiary general hospitals of a metropolitan city in northern China, and administered with standardized questionnaires to collect data on sociodemographics, mental health, and cancer-related clinical characteristics. Suicidal ideation and mental health were measured with a single self-report question “In the past month, did you think about ending your life?” and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, respectively. The one-month prevalence of suicidal ideation was 15.3% in Chinese cancer inpatients. In multivariable Logistic regression, depression, anxiety, moderate-to-severe pain, metastatic cancer, poor performance status, surgery, and palliative care were significantly associated with suicidal ideation. Cancer inpatients of large Chinese general hospitals have high prevalence of suicidal ideation and therefore potentially at high risk for suicide. Suicide prevention efforts for cancer inpatients should include periodic evaluation of suicidality, effective pain management, psychooncological supports, and, when necessary, psychiatric treatment and crisis intervention.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between gastrointestinal dysfunction (GD) and cirrhosis severity in cirrhotic patients, to provide evidences for the prevention and treatment of GD in cirrhotic patients. A total of 95 cirrhotic inpatients and outpatients, who were treated in the Department of Gastroenterology of Xinqu Hospital of the First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology, were enrolled in the present study, and assigned as the experimental group (cirrhosis group). According to Child–Pugh classification, these patients were divided into 3 groups: group A (n = 45), group B (n = 23), and group C (n = 27). Forty healthy adults who received health check-ups during the same period served as the control group. The gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms of cirrhotic patients were scored, and the fasting serum gastrin (GAS), motilin (MTL), and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) levels were measured in all subjects. The potential correlations of GI symptom scores of patients in these cirrhosis groups with GI hormone levels and cirrhosis severity were analyzed. In cirrhotic patients, the GI symptom scores significantly increased. Furthermore, the symptom scores gradually increased along with the aggravation of liver damage. Moreover, serum GAS and VIP levels were significantly higher in the cirrhosis groups than in the control group, whereas MTL levels were significantly lower. These changes were significantly correlated with cirrhosis severity. The linear correlation analysis revealed that the GI symptom score was positively correlated with GAS and VIP levels, and negatively correlated with MTL level. In addition, the linear correlation analysis revealed that GI symptom score and GAS and VIP levels were positively correlated with cirrhosis severity, whereas MTL level was negatively correlated with cirrhosis severity. Cirrhotic patients have more obvious GI symptoms and higher GI hormone levels, which are closely correlated with the progression of liver cirrhosis and the degree of liver function damage.

This study aims to investigate the gastrointestinal functions of patients with liver failure (LF) based on gastrointestinal dysfunction (GD) scores and serum gastrointestinal hormone levels. The GD in LF patients was scored using the gastrointestinal dysfunction scoring criteria. Serum gastrin (GAS), cholecystokinin (CCK), and motilin (MTL) levels were determined in LF patients. In addition, liver function and prothrombin activity were detected, and ultrasonography was performed. The GD score was significantly higher in the LF groups than in the control group. Compared with the control group, serum GAS, CCK, and MTL levels significantly increased in the LF groups, and was positively correlated with the severity of LF. Furthermore, in the LF groups, GD was positively correlated with the severity of LF. However, the GD score and serum GAS, CCK, and MTL levels in the acute LF group were not statistically different, when compared with those in the subacute LF group, acute-on-chronic LF group and chronic LF group. LF plays a key role in the development of GD, and may be the main cause of obvious gastrointestinal symptoms, such as abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting and anorexia, in LF patients. The severity of GD is not associated with LF type, but is positively correlated with the severity of LF, suggesting that GD in LF patients may have complicated mechanisms.