Association of pre-hospital theophylline use and mortality in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients with sepsis.

Background: Although theophylline has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects, the therapeutic use of theophylline before sepsis is unknown. The aim of our study was to determine the effect of theophylline on COPD patients presenting with sepsis.

Methods: This nationwide, population-based, propensity score-matched analysis used data from the linked administrative databases of Taiwan's National Health Insurance program.

Impact of Beta-Blocker Initiation Timing on Mortality Risk in Patients With Diabetes Mellitus Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: Relevant clinical studies have been small and have not convincingly demonstrated whether the perioperative initiation of beta-blockers should be considered in patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing noncardiac surgery.

Methods And Results: In this nationwide propensity score-matched study, we included patients with diabetes mellitus undergoing noncardiac surgery between 2000 and 2011 from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. Patients were classified as beta-blocker and non-beta-blocker cohorts.

Long-Term Mortality and Major Adverse Cardiovascular Events in Sepsis Survivors. A Nationwide Population-based Study.

Rationale: Patients with sepsis who survive to hospital discharge may present with ongoing high morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the risk of long-term, all-cause mortality and cardiovascular outcomes after sepsis.

Objectives: Our study aimed to investigate the long-term clinical outcomes in sepsis survivors.

Long-Term Outcomes in Critically Ill Septic Patients Who Survived Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.

Objective: To evaluate the long-term survival rate of critically ill sepsis survivors following cardiopulmonary resuscitation on a national scale.

Design: Retrospective and observational cohort study.

Setting: Data were extracted from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database.

Association of sleep apnoea with chronic kidney disease in a large cohort from Taiwan.

Background And Objective: Recent observational studies have shown that sleep apnoea (SA) is associated with increased risk of incident CKD. However, the contribution of SA relative to common traditional CKD risk factors remains unknown. The aims of this study were to investigate the long-term risk of incident CKD events following SA diagnosis and compare the relative contributions of SA, diabetes and hypertension.

Comparative Effectiveness of Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors and Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers in Terms of Major Cardiovascular Disease Outcomes in Elderly Patients: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.

Renin and aldosterone activity levels are low in elderly patients, raising concerns about the benefits and risks of angiotensin-converting-enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) and angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB) use. However, data from direct comparisons of the effects of ACEIs on ARBs in the elderly population remain inconclusive.In this nationwide study, all patients aged ≥ 70 years were retrieved from the Taiwan National Health Insurance database for the period 2000 to 2009 and were followed up until the end of 2010.

Effects on Clinical Outcomes of Adding Dipeptidyl Peptidase-4 Inhibitors Versus Sulfonylureas to Metformin Therapy in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.

Background: Recent studies concluded that dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors provide glycemic control but also raised concerns about the risk for heart failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, large-scale studies of the effects on cardiovascular outcomes of adding DPP-4 inhibitors versus sulfonylureas to metformin therapy remain scarce.

Objective: To compare clinical outcomes of adding DPP-4 inhibitors versus sulfonylureas to metformin therapy in patients with T2DM.

Comparative effectiveness of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor blockers on major adverse cardiac events in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: a nationwide study.

Background: Guidelines for hypertension management recommend either angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARBs) as first-line therapies for diabetes population. No head-to-head trial has been conducted to determine the priority of ACEI/ARB use for major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) in diabetes mellitus.

Methods: Data on patients with newly diagnosed diabetes treated with ACEIs or ARBs were collected from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database for the period 2000-2010.

Long-term clinical outcome of major adverse cardiac events in survivors of infective endocarditis: a nationwide population-based study.

Background: Substantial infective endocarditis (IE)-related morbidity and mortality may occur even after successful treatment. However, no previous study has explored long-term hard end points (ie, stroke, myocardial infarction, heart failure, cardiovascular death) in addition to all-cause mortality in IE survivors.

Methods And Results: A nationwide population-based cohort study was conducted among IE survivors identified with the use of the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database during 2000 to 2009.

Risk of tuberculosis among healthcare workers in an intermediate-burden country: a nationwide population study.

Objective: The potential association between healthcare workers (HCWs) and the risk of clinically active tuberculosis (TB) in countries with intermediate TB burdens remains unclear.

Methods: A nationwide, population-based cohort study was performed by using Taiwan National Health Insurance Database during 2000-2010. We included HCWs and non-HCWs without history of tuberculosis matched at a 1:1 ratio according to age, sex, monthly income, underlying comorbidities, and concomitant medications.

Effect of the use of low and high potency statins and sepsis outcomes.

Introduction: Although statins have been shown to have cholesterol-lowering effects, their pleiotropic benefits on sepsis remain a matter of debate. In addition, the influence of statin potency on sepsis-related mortality has never been explored. The aim of our study was to determine the sepsis outcomes of low- and high-potency statin users and non-users.

Effect of statin therapy on mortality in patients with infective endocarditis.

The aim of our study was to determine whether pre-emptive statin therapy was associated with improved outcome of infective endocarditis (IE). We conducted a nationwide, population-based, propensity score-matched cohort study with the Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database. All patients with IE between January 2000 and December 2010 were enrolled.

Familial sarcoidosis in Taiwan.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology and is uncommon in Taiwan. No cases of familial sarcoidosis have been reported in Taiwan. In this article, we report a mother and son pair who had sarcoidosis.

Adenocarcinoma of the lung presenting as a mycetoma with an air crescent sign.

An 89-year-old man was admitted to the hospital due to intermittent anterior chest wall pain for > 1 month. A chest radiograph obtained on November 9, 2004, demonstrated a mass with an irregular border, inside a thin-walled cavity, located in the superior segment of the left lower lobe. A chest CT scan revealed an irregular thin-walled cavity, 5.

Impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome on the status of lung cancer chemotherapy patients and a correlation of the signs and symptoms.

Our aim was to describe the impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on the status and chemotherapy of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who had entered clinical trials, and to review how to differentiate the signs and symptoms of SARS from lung cancer and its treatment-related toxicities. A prospective case series involving 79 NSCLC patients who were enrolled in clinical trials undergoing chemotherapy at Taipei Veterans General Hospital, between April 1 and July 15, 2003, was studied. Whether or not there existed a delay, omission, or refusal of scheduled chemotherapy, was recorded.