INTRODUCTION
granulomas, psychiatric, fibrosis
DISEASE, FIBROSIS, SCHISTOSOMIASIS, SCHISTOSOMIASIS JAPONICA, DISORDERS, SCHISTOSOMIASIS, GRANULOMAS, COMPLICATIONS
Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease afflicting more than 250 million people worldwide.The pathogenic basis of advanced schistosomiasis japonica is based on the immune response of the host to the eggs of a schistosome, which results in granulomas and extensive fibrosis in the liver and intestinal wall (especially the wall of the colon).Clinical classification has a significant impact on the treatment and prognosis of advanced schistosomiasis, which poses a great challenge and impact on human health and the economy.As a result of the complexity and particularity of advanced schistosomiasis, the complications should be analyzed with rigorous theoretical networks rather than as coupled interactions in isolation. Network analysis—an increasingly popular approach—has been used to detect the distances (homogeneity/heterogeneity) between clinical symptoms for etiological underpinnings in psychiatric disorders.Currently, no clinical classification provides prediction of the prognosis in advanced schistosomiasis with regard to the complications as co-occurring networks. In attempt to solve this problem, network analysis was used to explore a more practical and scientific, standardized clinical classification in advanced schistosomiasis. The prediction ability of this novel classification on the 5-year overall survival rate is also reported.