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Background: The traditional diagnosis model has great challenges for the etiological diagnosis of the central nervous system (CNS) diseases with similar clinical manifestations, especially for the diagnosis of rare pathogens. It is very important to make rapid and accurate identification of pathogens for guiding clinical choices in administering countermeasures. Case summary: On August 22, 2020, a 49 years old Chinese male patient had a headache for two days, and then the computed tomography (CT) scan of the brain showed subarachnoid hemorrhage. Subsequently, he underwent twice craniotomy and about 3 weeks of hospitalization. Since September 20, the patient was in the local rehabilitation hospital for hyperbaric oxygen therapy for about three weeks. Then the patient developed acute purulent meningoencephalitis. In the absence of diagnosis of specific pathogenic bacteria, vancomycin (1 g every 12 hours), ceftazidime (2 g every 8 hours), mannitol dehydration (125 mL, every 8 hours), and sodium valproate (0.4 g tid) was used timely according to cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination and clinical manifestations. CSF smear and routine culture test were negative during hospitalization. We used the metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) analysis of CSF for quick and accurate diagnosis, which identified human herpesvirus type 4 (EBV), Corynebacterium corynebacterium , Achromobacter xylose oxidation, and Acinetobacter baumannii , But the mapping degree was not high. Then, we used the modified method-multiplex PCR-based targeted gene sequencing platform (ptNGS) to detect CSF samples and found that the sequences detected were Acinetobacter pittii ( A. pittii ) and Staphylococcus epidermidis . S. epidermidis might come from skin colonization during lumbar puncture, so it was excluded from the etiological diagnosis. Therefore, we highly suspected that A. pittii was the pathogen in this case. After about three weeks of hospitalization treatment, the patient’s symptoms were relieved. Conclusion: In conclusion, empirical medication before the identification of pathogens is very important. The ptNGS may be an effective method for the diagnosis of pathogens.

BACKGROUND: Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is a benign and self-limiting syndrome, but can progress to life-threatening conditions if leave untreated. This study aimed to assess the efficacy of acetazolamide for the prophylaxis of AMS, and disclose factors that affect the treatment effect of acetazolamide. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials comparing the use of acetazolamide versus placebo for the prevention of AMS were included. The incidence of AMS was our primary endpoint. Meta-regression analysis was conducted to explore factors that associated with acetazolamide efficacy. Trial sequential analyses were conducted to estimate the statistical power of the available data. RESULTS: A total of 22 trials were included. Acetazolamide at 125, 250, and 375 mg/bid significantly reduced incidence of AMS compared to placebo. TAS indicated that the current evidence was adequate confirming the efficacy of acetazolamide at 125, 250, and 375 mg/bid in lowering incidence of AMS. There was no evidence of an association between efficacy and dose of acetazolamide, timing at start of acetazolamide treatment, mode of ascent, AMS assessment score, timing of AMS assessment, baseline altitude, and endpoint altitude. CONCLUSION: Acetazolamide is effective prophylaxis for the prevention of AMS at 125, 250, and 375 mg/bid. Future investigation should focus on personal characteristics, disclosing the correlation between acetazolamide efficacy and body mass, height, degree of prior acclimatization, individual inborn susceptibility, and history of AMS.

AimThe aim of this study was to explore factors related to neurological deterioration (ND) after spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) and establish a prediction model based on random forest analysis in evaluating the risk of ND.MethodsThe clinical data of 411 patients with acute sICH at the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical University and Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University between January 2018 and December 2020 were collected. After adjusting for variables, multivariate logistic regression was performed to investigate the factors related to the ND in patients with acute ICH. Then, based on the related factors in the multivariate logistic regression and four variables that have been identified as contributing to ND in the literature, we established a random forest model. The receiver operating characteristic curve was used to evaluate the prediction performance of this model.ResultsThe result of multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that time of onset to the emergency department (ED), baseline hematoma volume, serum sodium, and serum calcium were independently associated with the risk of ND. Simultaneously, the random forest model was developed and included eight predictors: serum calcium, time of onset to ED, serum sodium, baseline hematoma volume, systolic blood pressure change in 24 h, age, intraventricular hemorrhage expansion, and gender. The area under the curve value of the prediction model reached 0.795 in the training set and 0.713 in the testing set, which suggested the good predicting performance of the model.ConclusionSome factors related to the risk of ND were explored. Additionally, a prediction model for ND of acute sICH patients was developed based on random forest analysis, and the developed model may have a good predictive value through the internal validation.