Watertight-intent dural reconstruction may reduce incisional cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage after decompressive craniectomy but may prolong surgery. We aimed to evaluate whether watertight-intent reconstruction, compared with non-watertight management, was associated with direct postoperative incisional CSF leakage and operative time.

Five databases were searched through August 1, 2026. Comparative studies with explicit watertight or sealing-intent reconstruction and non-watertight comparators were included. The primary outcome was direct incisional CSF leakage; secondary outcomes included operative time, wound or surgical-site infection, hydrocephalus, mortality, and functional outcomes. Binary outcomes were expressed as risk ratios (RRs), and continuous outcomes as mean differences. Random-effects meta-analysis used restricted maximum likelihood estimation with Wald 95% confidence intervals (CIs); randomized and observational studies were examined as subgroups, with Hartung–Knapp sensitivity analyses. Certainty of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation framework.

Twelve studies were included; nine (1,314 participants) reported direct incisional CSF leakage. Watertight-intent reconstruction was associated with fewer reported leaks (RR, 0.54; Wald 95% CI, 0.34–0.86; I² = 23.3%), although the prediction interval included the null value (0.24–1.20). The randomized subgroup was imprecise (RR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.32–1.73), whereas the observational subgroup favored reconstruction (RR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.20–0.90); its Hartung–Knapp interval (0.14–1.32) crossed 1. Infection and hydrocephalus estimates were imprecise; mortality and function were not pooled. Reconstruction was associated with longer operative time (mean difference, 39.85 minutes; 95% CI, 25.14–54.56; I² = 97.4%). Certainty was very low for all key outcomes.

Watertight-intent reconstruction is associated with fewer reported incisional CSF leaks and longer operations, although certainty is very low. Limited study and event numbers, imprecise design subgroups, and multicomponent techniques preclude causal or universal treatment conclusions. Effects on infection, hydrocephalus, mortality, and function remain uncertain.

Head, thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic polytrauma is clinically complex and requires coordinated multidisciplinary care, creating an urgent need for standardized guidance. This guideline aims to provide an evidence-based foundation and clinical pathway for the diagnosis, assessment, damage control, surgical timing, and acute-phase management of patients with head, thoracic, abdominal, and pelvic polytrauma. Led by the Senior Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, a multidisciplinary working group comprising experts in thoracic surgery, general surgery, orthopedics, critical care medicine, anesthesiology, radiology, emergency medicine, nursing, and related disciplines developed the guideline through systematic review of the relevant literature, consideration of the characteristics of trauma care in China’s military and civilian medical systems, and two rounds of expert voting and consensus decision-making. The guideline addresses 22 key clinical questions covering imaging assessment, damage-control resuscitation, prioritization of craniocerebral and torso injury management, anticoagulation and hemostatic management, intensive care, and early rehabilitation. A total of 22 recommendations were formulated by integrating evidence quality, clinical feasibility, and implementability, together with corresponding implementation points and quality-control indicators. The guideline emphasizes stabilization of vital signs, damage-control principles, multidisciplinary collaboration, standardized clinical pathways, and a tiered trauma-care system. Implementation of these recommendations may improve the consistency and timeliness of multidisciplinary care and provide a framework for reducing early mortality while preserving neurological and functional outcomes.

The widespread assumption that “natural” equals “safe” has been repeatedly challenged by adverse events associated with medicinal plant-derived products. Unlike synthetic pharmaceuticals, these natural products present distinct safety concerns because of their compositional complexity, inherent variability, and batch-to-batch inconsistency. Consequently, a one-size-fits-all approach to toxicological assessment is insufficient. In this narrative review, we propose a pragmatic “classify-then-evaluate” framework that stratifies natural products into three operational categories according to compositional complexity and degree of chemical characterization—TCM compound formulae, active fractions/extracts, and purified single compounds. This framework enables safety evaluations to be tailored to product complexity by integrating conventional toxicological assays with emerging new approach methodologies. By linking chemical characterization, hazard identification, quality control, and risk assessment within a tiered system, this framework bridges the gap between evidence generation and regulatory decision-making, offering a scientifically grounded and proportionate pathway for evaluating the safety of natural products used in integrative medicine, with a primary focus on herbal and TCM-related products. The review does not aim to provide a comprehensive systematic evidence map; further validation of the proposed framework is required

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) is widely used as a neuroprotective strategy, but variability in bedside implementation may limit its optimal application. This study aimed to develop a standardized TH management protocol for patients with neurocritical illness and evaluate the clinical outcomes associated with its implementation.

An evidence-based TH protocol was developed through a two-round Delphi consensus process. A subsequent observational before-and-after study included 244 patients with neurocritical illness receiving TH. The historical control group (n = 120) received routine care, whereas the TH protocol group (n = 124) was managed according to the standardized protocol. No single primary endpoint was prespecified for the final comparative analysis. Outcomes were interpreted as exploratory and included temperature-management process indicators, individual TH-related complications requiring intervention, and neurological outcomes assessed using the Glasgow Outcome Scale.

Protocol implementation was associated with more favorable temperature-management process indicators, including earlier TH initiation, a shorter recorded time to target temperature, fewer unplanned treatment interruptions, a longer controlled rewarming phase, and greater adherence to rewarming criteria. In exploratory analyses, the TH protocol group had lower incidences of selected TH-related complications and more favorable Glasgow Outcome Scale outcomes at discharge than the historical control group.

Implementation of a consensus-derived TH management protocol was associated with more consistent temperature-management processes, fewer selected TH-related complications, and more favorable short-term neurological outcomes. These findings support prospective evaluation of protocolized TH management in larger multicenter cohorts.

Large-scale critical care databases have expanded opportunities for clinical research. Previous reviews have summarized open-access intensive care unit databases and specific analytical methods, but integrated, practice-oriented guidance on commonly used and emerging methods and their selection remains limited. The objective of this narrative review is to provide a practice-oriented overview of commonly used and emerging statistical and modeling methods in critical care database research, with emphasis on their appropriate applications, strengths, limitations, and considerations for method selection. This narrative review summarizes commonly used and emerging methods in critical care database research, focusing on their applications, strengths, limitations, and practical considerations. The methods reviewed range from descriptive and regression analyses to prediction modeling, longitudinal analysis, causal inference, and artificial intelligence-based approaches. Common problems include missing data, temporal bias, confounding, overfitting, and limited external validation. Careful method selection and appropriate validation are therefore important when working with complex critical care data. Closer coordination of clinical questions, data structures, analytical methods, and reporting standards can strengthen research using intensive care unit databases. Paying closer attention to data quality, causal hypotheses, validation, reproducibility, and generalizability may improve the methodological rigor and translational value of these studies.

Extensive burn injuries are associated with a profound systemic response, the severity of which increases with the extent of tissue damage. Beyond local destruction, extensive burns induce a sustained immune-inflammatory disturbance that alters immune regulation and contributes to secondary organ failure and infectious complications. These mechanisms are major determinants of adverse outcomes in critically ill patients with burns. In this context, therapeutic strategies targeting immune dysregulation have gained increasing attention. Immunomodulatory approaches aim to limit excessive inflammatory signaling while maintaining effective host defense. Among extracorporeal blood purification techniques, hemoadsorption has emerged as a potential adjunctive therapy designed to reduce circulating inflammatory mediators, particularly cytokines, and to attenuate systemic inflammatory burden. Rather than providing another general overview of extracorporeal blood purification, this review focuses specifically on the cellular and mechanistic basis of burn-induced immune dysregulation and offers a stratified, critical appraisal of the experimental and clinical evidence for hemoadsorption in burns, together with current safety considerations and unresolved questions that should guide future research. Experimental studies and early clinical observations suggest that hemoadsorption may contribute to hemodynamic stabilization and modulation of inflammation in critically ill patients, including those with severe burns. However, clinical evidence in this specific population remains scarce, and its impact on patient-centered outcomes has not yet been established. Although available data suggest that this technique is generally well tolerated, the non-selective removal of circulating molecules underscores the need for careful patient selection and close monitoring. Future investigations should focus on defining the appropriate indications, optimal timing, and treatment duration of hemoadsorption for burn care. Comparative studies with other immunomodulatory strategies are required to clarify its role within the therapeutic armamentarium for burn-induced immune dysfunction.

Endovascular embolization is a cornerstone treatment for intracranial aneurysms, and transfemoral access (TFA) has traditionally been the default vascular route. Transradial access (TRA) is increasingly used in neurointervention because it may reduce clinically important access-site complications, improve postprocedural comfort, and facilitate earlier ambulation. This narrative review aims to summarize direct and indirect evidence comparing TRA and TFA for intracranial aneurysm embolization, with attention to technical feasibility, access conversion, puncture-site complications, neurological events, radiation exposure, procedure duration, recovery, and cost considerations. Direct comparative evidence specific to aneurysm embolization remains limited and is mainly observational; some supporting data come from diagnostic cerebral angiography, mixed therapeutic neurointervention, and cardiovascular access literature. Available data suggest that TRA may be a safe and feasible option for selected patients when performed by experienced operators, particularly when radial anatomy is favorable and the intended device strategy is compatible with upper-extremity access. TFA remains essential for complex anatomy, large-bore device requirements, or insufficient TRA expertise. Access selection should therefore be individualized rather than based on a presumption of universal superiority. Well-designed multicenter studies are needed to define aneurysm-specific outcomes, long-term angiographic durability, patient-reported outcomes, and cost-effectiveness.

Esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) and gastric cancer (GC) remain major causes of cancer-related mortality worldwide, largely because of late-stage diagnosis. Barrett’s esophagus (BE) is the established precursor setting for EAC, whereas gastric intestinal metaplasia is an important precursor lesion in the intestinal-type gastric carcinogenesis pathway. Aberrant DNA methylation arises early in both pathways and may offer greater sensitivity and specificity than histology or serology alone, while also illuminating the biology of neoplastic progression. This review evaluates the evidence and translational potential of DNA methylation biomarkers in upper gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma.

PubMed, Web of Science, and EMBASE were searched for studies published before May 2026 addressing DNA methylation biomarkers in BE, EAC, gastric intestinal metaplasia, and GC. Tissue-based, minimally invasive, and circulating biomarkers were reviewed, with emphasis on diagnostic performance, progression risk, biological significance, and clinical translation.

Methylation alterations accumulate during progression from precancerous lesions to invasive cancer and distinguish disease states in tissue and minimally invasive specimens. Methylation-based assays show promising diagnostic performance in BE and EAC, including nonendoscopic cytology-based approaches and risk-stratification assays, and circulating methylated DNA shows potential for noninvasive detection of EAC and GC. However, heterogeneity in populations, specimens, assay platforms, and study designs, together with limited prospective validation, remains a barrier to implementation.

The field is moving rapidly from discovery toward practice: Cytosponge-TFF3 with biomarker panels has been evaluated in real-world UK surveillance pathways, the EsoCheck/EsoGuard methylation assay is clinically available, and Esopredict is the first epigenetic prognostic assay clinically validated to risk-stratify BE, while multicancer early detection assays undergo prospective evaluation. Multicenter studies of clinical utility and cost-effectiveness remain the decisive step before routine adoption.

The IMbrave050 trial suggested that adjuvant immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy may benefit patients with hepatocellular carcinoma exceeding the “up-to-7” criterion. This study aimed to compare survival outcomes and safety between such patients receiving adjuvant programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitors and those undergoing active surveillance after curative resection.

Data were prospectively collected from patients at 13 medical centers in China between 2019 and 2024. The study was designed according to a target trial emulation framework, and propensity score matching was used to reduce confounding. The primary endpoint was recurrence-free survival; secondary endpoints included overall survival and incidence of treatment-related adverse events.

Median follow-up was 32.7 months (interquartile range, 20.9–47.5). Propensity score matching yielded 200 patients per group. Median recurrence-free survival was longer in the adjuvant group (28.0 months; 95% confidence interval [CI], 21.7–34.3) than in the surveillance group (14.4 months; 95% CI, 10.7–18.1; hazard ratio, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.45–0.74). Median overall survival was not reached in the adjuvant group and was 45.0 months (95% CI, 37.8–52.1) in the surveillance group (hazard ratio, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.45–0.89). The most frequent grade 3–4 treatment-related adverse events were hand–foot skin reaction (7.2%), elevated alanine aminotransferase (5.8%), and elevated aspartate aminotransferase (5.3%).

Adjuvant programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitors, with or without molecularly targeted agents, were associated with longer recurrence-free survival and acceptable safety in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma exceeding the “up-to-7” criterion.