Immunoglobulin A glomerulonephropathy:A review

In this editorial,we comment on the article by Meng et al published in the World Journal of Clinical Cases.We comprehensively review immunoglobulin A nephro-pathy(IgAN),including epidemiology,clinical presentation,diagnosis,and management.IgAN,also known as Berger's disease,is the most frequent type of primary glomerulonephritis(GN)globally.It is mostly found among the Asian population.The presentation can be variable,from microscopic hematuria to a rapidly progressive GN.Around 50%of patients present with single or recurring episodes of gross hematuria.An upper respiratory infection and tonsillitis often precede these episodes.Around 30%of patients present microscopic hematuria with or without proteinuria,usually detected on routine examination.The diagnosis relies on having a renal biopsy for pathology and immunofluorescence microscopy.We focus on risk stratification and management of IgAN.We provide a review of all the landmark studies to date.According to the 2021 KDIGO(kidney disease:Improving Global Outcomes)guidelines,patients with non-variant form IgAN are first treated conservatively for three to six months.This approach consists of adequate blood pressure control,reduction of proteinuria with renin-angiotensin system blockade,treatment of dyslipidemia,and lifestyle modifications(weight loss,exercise,smoking cessation,and dietary sodium restrictions).Following three to six months of conservative therapy,patients are further classified as high or low risk for disease progression.High-risk patients have proteinuria≥1 g/d or<1 g/d with significant microscopic hematuria and active inflammation on kidney biopsy.Some experts consider proteinuria≥2 g/d to be very high risk.Patients with high and very high-risk profiles are treated with immunosuppressive therapy.A proteinuria level of<1 g/d and stable/im-proved renal function indicates a good treatment response for patients on immu-nosuppressive therapy.

A comparison of effects of systemic and intratympanic steroid therapies for sudden sensorineural hearing loss:A meta-analysis

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intratympanic and systemic steroid therapies in the initial treatment of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss (SSNHL) patients. Methods:A comprehensive search of PubMed, Wanfang database and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) was performed covering the period from January 1990 to July 2014. A meta-analysis was conducted after filtering by the criteria of Cochrane Collaboration. Three hundred fifty six subjects in nine studies allocated to the group of intratympanic steroid therapies and 343 controls receiving systemic steroid therapies met the criteria for meta-analysis. The data were extracted and analyzed using the RevMan 5.3 meta-analysis software. Results: The total effectiveness rate in SSNHL patients receiving intratympanic steroid therapies did not differ statistically from patients receiving systemic therapies (RR ? 1.08, 95%CI ? 0.99e1.99, P ? 0.10), although the rate of full hearing recovery in this group differed significantly from patients receiving systemic therapies (RR ? 1.29, 95%CI ? 1.00e1.66, P ? 0.05). Conclusion: Local steroid therapy appears to generate higher rate of complete hearing recovery than systemic steroid treatment as an initial treatment for SSNHL, which may be especially useful for patients in whom systemic steroids are contraindicated.

Role of peripheral eosinophilia in acute exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

BACKGROUND Eosinophil counts are a promising guide to systemic steroid administration for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD).AIM To study the role of peripheral eosinophilia in hospitalized patients with acute exacerbation of COPD(AECOPD).METHODS From January 2014 to May 2017,patients with AECOPD hospitalized in Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital were retrospectively stratified into two groups according to their peripheral eosinophil count:The EOS group(eosinophil count≥2%)and the non-EOS group(eosinophil count<2%).Demographics,comorbidities,laboratory data,steroid use,length of hospital stay,and COPD-related readmissions were compared between the groups.RESULTS A total of 625 patients were recruited,with 176 patients(28.2%)in the EOS group.The EOS group showed a lower prevalence of infection,lower cumulative doses of prednisolone equivalents,shorter length of hospital stay,and higher number of COPD-related readmissions than the non-EOS group.There were significantly linear correlations between eosinophil percentage and number of readmissions and between eosinophil percentage and length of hospital stay P<0.001,and a lower percent-predicted value of forced expiratory volume in one second(FEV1)were associated with shorter time to first COPD-related readmission[adjusted hazard ratio(adj.HR)=1.488,P<0.001;adj.HR=0.985,P<0.001,respectively].CONCLUSION The study findings suggest that the EOS group had the features of a shorter length of hospital stay,and lower doses of systemic steroids,but more frequent readmissions.The EOS group and lower percent-predicted FEV1 values were risk factors for shorter time to first COPD-related readmission.