A case of the application of Paxlovid for a patient infected by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a new acute respiratory infectious disease with high infectivity. To date, > 500 million cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide (World Health Organization). The Omicron variant has affected nearly every country worldwide due to its high infectivity and immune evasion, which has caused widespread anxiety. However, most of the existing treatments do not effectively reduce the risk of progression to more severe disease, or the existing treatments are too costly or not suitable for extensive use.Paxlovid is a novel oral antiviral drug that has proven effective against symptomatic COVID-19 infection by reducing the risk of progression to severe disease, hospitalization, and mortality

Analysis of the imaging and clinical features of subsolid pulmonary nodules in stage IA non-small cell lung cancer

The subsolid pulmonary nodules (SSPNs) in the imaging diagnosis of stage IA non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is very important since they are closely related to early lung cancer. The CT imaging and pathology data of 230 patients with solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) who underwent thoracoscopic treatment at Guizhou Provincial People’s Hospital between July 2021 and June 2022 were collected. Based on postoperative pathology, the patients were divided into a benign group and a stage IA NSCLC group. The imaging and clinical features of SPNs in stage IA NSCLC were analysed. A total of 230 patients with SPNs were enrolled. There were 146 cases of SSPNs (including 34 cases of pure ground-glass opacities (pGGOs) and 112 cases of mixed GGOs (mGGOs)), and the incidence rate was significantly higher in the stage IA NSCLC group than in the benign group [96.7% (146/151) vs. 74.7% (59/79), P<0.05]. The overall malignancy rate of subsolid nodules was 71.2% (146/205); the malignancy rate of mGGO lesions was higher (75.2%) than that of pGGO lesions (60.7%) and solid nodules (20%). Malignant subsolid nodules mostly occurred in middle-aged women, mostly in the upper lobe of the lungs, with unclear edges and lobular signs, and accompanied by spur signs and pleural indentation signs (P<0.05). SSPNs are an important sign of lung cancer, and mGGO lesions have the highest malignant tendency. CT imaging findings such as unclear lesion edges, lobular signs, and pleural indentation signs are important for determining benign and malignant SSPNs. CT imaging manifestations are helpful for correctly assessing the nature of early SSPNs so that patients can receive timely and effective treatment

The Risk of Cryptocurrency Payment Adoption

The rapid development of blockchain technology enables the application of cryptocurrency payment in real business practice. However, no research has examined the net effect of adopting such technologies on firm performance. Leveraging a unique research context that Booking.com starts cooperating with Travala.com, this study collects consumer reviews of the same hotels listed on Expedia and Booking.com in all states of the US and employs difference-in-differences designs. This study has three main findings. First, the adoption of cryptocurrency payment via Travala.com induces a net decrement in online sales on Booking.com. Second, the sales decrement is mainly driven by upscale hotels. Third, the sales decrement is severer when the cryptocurrency price is lower. These results are robust across hotels in all the states of USA and can be generalized using a later adoption of cryptocurrency payment. We interpret the mechanism as users’ negative associations and provide evidence by an event study analysis

Bronchoscopic ethanol injection combined with cryotherapy is an effective treatment for benign airway stenosis caused by endotracheal intubation or tracheotomyc

The benign tracheal stenosis is a challenge in interventional pulmonary disease. Bronchoscopic ethanol injection (BEI) is always used in airway stenosis caused by malignant tracheal tumor. The efficacy and safety of BEI in benign airway stenosis has not been studied before. To compare the safety and efficacy between bronchoscopic icryotherapy and BEI combined with bronchoscopic cryotherapy in the treatment of benign tracheal stenosis. A retrospective study included 61 patients with tracheal stenosis caused by endotracheal intubation and tracheotomy from July 2010 to June 2015 was made. 33 patients received repeated bronchoscopic cryotherapy alone were in Group A, 29 patients underwent repeated cryotherapy combined with BEI were in Group B. Dyspnea index, tracheal diameter were collected before and after treatment. Efficacy and complications were compared in two groups. The changes of tracheal diameter, dyspnea index were significant before and after treatment in both groups (P < 0.05). The long-term cure rate was higher in group B than that in group A (100% vs 84.8%). The average duration for dilated airway stable was much shorter in group B than group A (166±28 days vs 278±32 days, P < 0.05). The average cryotherapy session performed in group B was significantly less than that in group A (22.1±4.7 vs 34.9±6.5, P < 0.05). Meanwhile the complications in group A were seldom, the incidence of complications related to BEI were low in group B (mild chest pain 7.1%, bleeding 3.6% and cough 10.7%). BEI combined with bronchoscopic cryotherapy is an effective minimally invasive choice for releasing the airway obstructive symptoms