Zhejiang Chinese Medical University

TUESDAY, Oct. 28, 2025 -- For patients with acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (AECOPD) admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), lower eosinophil counts are associated with increased in-hospital mortality, according to a study published online Oct. 24 in BMC Pulmonary Medicine . Rundi Gao, from The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University in China, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the association between blood eosinophil counts and in-hospital mortality among patients with AECOPD admitted to the ICU. The analysis included 1,855 patients with AECOPD with blood eosinophil counts measured within the first 24 hours following ICU admission. In-hospital mortality was compared for patients across eosinophil thresholds and for patients categorized into three eosinophil groups: eosinophil counts <0.1 x 10 9 /L (Group I); 0.1 x 10 9 /L ≤ eosinophil counts <0.3 x 10 9 /L (Group II); and eosinophil counts ≥0.3 x 10 9 /L (Group III), with Group I serving as the reference group. The researchers found significant mortality differences at eosinophil thresholds of 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20 x 10 9 /L in Kaplan-Meier survival curves. Across all Cox models, Group II consistently showed a significantly lower risk for in-hospital mortality compared with Group I. Group III showed a reduction in mortality only in the unadjusted model; after adjustment, the reduction lost statistical significance. An L-shaped association was seen in a restricted cubic spline analysis, with an inflection point around 0.042 x 10 9 /L. "Incorporating eosinophil counts into ICU triage or early management protocols may help clinicians identify high-risk patients more accurately and optimize resource allocation," the authors write. Abstract/Full Text

FRIDAY, Dec. 27, 2024 -- There is a bidirectional association between rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to a review published online Dec. 1 in Frontiers in Immunology . Meijiao Wang, from the Zhejiang Chinese Medical University in Hangzhou, and colleagues examined the bidirectional association between RA and COPD in a systematic review of the literature. Data were included from 19 studies with 1,549,181 participants. The researchers found that the risk for bias varied from low to moderate, while evidence levels were rated low or very low. A significant association was seen between RA and increased COPD risk (odds ratio, 1.41) in a pooled analysis. In subgroup analyses, COPD risk elevations were similar in men and women, seropositive/seronegative RA, and cohort and case-control studies. In addition, individuals with COPD had an increased risk for RA (odds ratio, 1.36); in particular, this finding was seen among women and seropositive RA and in cohort studies. "This meta-analysis indicates a significant bidirectional association between RA and COPD across the included studies," the authors write. "Early detection of both conditions may be vital for initiating effective treatments and improving long-term outcomes."

MONDAY, April 24, 2023 -- A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based machine learning method can distinguish aplastic anemia (AA) from myelodysplastic syndromes ( MDS ), according to a study published online March 6 in Clinical Radiology . P. Xiang, from The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University in Hangzhou,, and colleagues conducted a retrospective study involving patients diagnosed with AA or MDS by pathological bone marrow biopsy who underwent pelvic MRI with the iterative decomposition of water and fat with echo asymmetry and least-squares estimation quantitation (IDEAL-IQ). Three machine learning algorithms, including linear discriminant analysis, logistic regression, and support vector machine (SVM), were used to identify AA and MDS based on values of right ilium fat fraction (FF) and radiomic features extracted from T1-weighted (T1W) and IDEAL-IQ images. The study included 77 participants (37 men and 40 women), aged 20 to 84 years. Twenty-one patients had MDS and 56 had AA. The researchers found that the ilium FF of patients with AA was significantly greater than that of MDS patients (mean ± standard deviation: 79.23 ± 15.04 versus 42.78 ± 30.09 percent). The IDEAL-IQ-based SVM classifier model had the best predictive ability selecting from the machine learning models based on ilium FF, T1W imaging, and IDEAL-IQ. "IDEAL-IQ-based machine learning of the pelvis can distinguish AA from MDS with high accuracy, and its predictive ability was significantly better than ilium FF and T1W-based machine learning," the authors write. "The combination of machine learning and IDEAL-IQ technology may enable noninvasive differentiation of AA from MDS." Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required) Posted April 2023