Publications by authors named "Ching-Lung Liu"

Article Synopsis
  • Dual bronchodilator therapy (LABA/LAMA) is effective for treating COPD, but the study investigates its differing effectiveness in current versus former smokers.
  • The TOReTO trial involved 967 patients and used statistical methods like propensity score matching to analyze lung function, symptoms, and exacerbation occurrences between the two groups.
  • Results showed significant differences in exacerbation rates for current smokers with specific LABA/LAMA therapies, while no significant differences were found among former smokers, indicating a need for further research.
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Article Synopsis
  • Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is common and has potential connections to cardiovascular diseases like atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and heart failure.
  • A task force from several Taiwanese medical societies reviewed evidence on assessing and managing SDB in these patients using the GRADE process.
  • They created 11 recommendations, weighing evidence quality and patient needs to help clinicians tailor care strategies for individuals with SDB and related heart conditions.
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Background And Aim: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is frequently underdiagnosed because of the unavailability of spirometers, especially in resource-limited outpatient settings. This study provides real-world evidence to identify optimal approaches for COPD case finding in outpatient settings.

Methods: This retrospective study enrolled individuals who were at risk of COPD (age ≥40 years, ≥10 pack-years, and ≥1 respiratory symptom).

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Background: Of the types of pulmonary hypertension, chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) may be cured through pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). In this study, we investigated patient experiences with PEA for CTEPH treatment in Taiwan.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of patients who underwent PEA in two medical centers between January 2005 and December 2019.

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Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is preventable and treatable. However, many patients remain undiagnosed and untreated due to the underutilization or unavailability of spirometers. Accordingly, we used Spirobank Smart, an app-based spirometer, for facilitating the early detection of COPD in outpatient clinics.

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Study Objectives: Polysomnography is the gold standard in identifying sleep stages; however, there are discrepancies in how technicians use the standards. Because organizing meetings to evaluate this discrepancy and/or reach a consensus among multiple sleep centers is time-consuming, we developed an artificial intelligence system to efficiently evaluate the reliability and consistency of sleep scoring and hence the sleep center quality.

Methods: An interpretable machine learning algorithm was used to evaluate the interrater reliability (IRR) of sleep stage annotation among sleep centers.

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Objective: Due to the complexity of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), engaging patients in the right treatment poses a constant challenge. A novel oral pressure therapy device, the intermittent negative air pressure Sleep Therapy System (iNAP), has proven to ameliorate respiratory events for OSAS patients. However, the mode of action and the characteristics of its responders are not yet fully understood.

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Background: Mycobacterium () is an intracellular pathogen that infects and persists in macrophages. This study aimed to investigate the effects of long-term fenofibrate treatment in patients with tuberculosis (TB), and the intracellular viability of in human macrophages.

Methods: Epidemiological data from the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan were used to present outcomes of TB patients treated with fenofibrate.

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Background And Objective: In an effort to improve the delivery of drugs to the lungs, various spacer devices have been developed to attach to metered-dose inhalers (MDIs). The aim of the study was to determine whether use of a small volume tube spacer with MDI is associated with better bronchodilatation.

Methods: We assessed bronchodilatation by measuring forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1)) before and after inhalation of fenoterol 0.

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Development of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) imposes a significant financial burden to the health care system, yet the therapeutic decisions rely on the conventional, less sensitive microbiological examination. Characterization of proteins secreted into bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) provides an opportunity for discovery of diagnostic marker candidates for accurate therapeutic decision-making. We report the first global description of the BALF proteome from patients with VAP.

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Background: Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells (TREM)-1 is a recently described molecule that plays an important role in myeloid cell-activated inflammatory responses. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of TREM-1 in pleural effusions of various causes.

Methods: For this cross-sectional, observational study conducted between February and August 2005 in Taiwan, 74 patients with pleural effusions of varying etiology were investigated.

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This study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of personal protective equipment (PPE) against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Sixteen patients in a SARS cluster, including 4 health care workers (HCWs) and 12 non-HCWs were studied. We compared the initial viral load by nasopharyngeal swabs, clinical progression, and outcome of this cluster.

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Using the Taiwan nationwide laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) database, we analyzed neutralizing antibody in relation to clinical outcomes. With a linear mixed model, neutralizing antibody titer was shown to peak between week 5 and week 8 after onset and to decline thereafter, with a half-life of 6.4 weeks.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study aimed to evaluate how ribavirin-induced anemia affected the outcomes in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
  • Conducted in Taiwan, it included 44 ribavirin-treated SARS patients and 7 who did not receive the drug, revealing higher peak inflammation markers and mortality rates in those on ribavirin.
  • Results indicated that a significant drop in hemoglobin levels was linked to increased mortality and hypoxemia, especially in patients who experienced both conditions, highlighting the risks associated with ribavirin treatment in SARS cases.
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To differentiate severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) from non-SARS illness, we retrospectively compared 53 patients with probable SARS and 31 patients with non-SARS who were admitted to Mackay Memorial Hospital from April 27 to June 16, 2003. Fever (> 38 degrees C) was the earliest symptom (50/53 SARS vs. 5/31 non-SARS, p < 0.

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Study Objectives: Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a rapidly progressive disease caused by a novel coronavirus (CoV) infection. However, the disease presentation is nonspecific. The aim of this study was to define clearly the presentation, clinical progression, and laboratory data in a group of patients who had SARS.

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