Clofazimine and QT prolongation in the treatment of rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis: Findings of aDSM in Taiwan.

Background: Bedaquiline, delamanid and fluoroquinolones are associated with increased QTcF. Whether clofazimine is associated with QTcF prolongation is less clear.

Methods: All patients with rifampicin-resistant TB enrolled between May 2017 and Dec 2019 were included.

Enhancing the sequence coverage of nanodiamond-extracted early secretory proteins from the complex.

The unambiguous identification of protein species requires high sequence coverage. In this study, we successfully improved the sequence coverage of early secretory 10 kDa cell filtrate protein (CFP-10) and 6 kDa early secretory antigenic target (ESAT-6) proteins from the complex (MTC) in broth culture media with the use of the 4-chloro-α-cyanocinnamic acid (Cl-CCA) matrix. Conventional matrices, α-cyano-hydroxy-cinnamic acid (CHCA) and 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (DHB), were also used for comparison.

Incremental yield of serial sputum examinations in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in Taiwan: Findings of a pragmatic trial.

Background: Presumptive tuberculosis (TB) cases commonly had two to three sputum examinations in Taiwan. The incremental yield of serial sputum examinations has not been assessed before.

Methods: In a pragmatic trial, presumptive TB patients with a frontline nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT) were classified as group A.

Performance of Nucleic Acid Amplification Tests in Patients with Presumptive Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Taiwan.

Introduction: Several nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) for detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) complex (MTBC) are available in Taiwan; however, their performances may differ and have not been extensively evaluated. Therefore, we aimed to explore the accuracy of NAATs overall followed by comparison between platforms commonly used in Taiwan.

Methods: This study enrolled presumptive pulmonary TB patients with NAATs throughout Taiwan.

A program to improve the quality of dental unit water in a medical center.

The water quality of dental unit waterlines (DUWLs) is associated with patient safety. No program for DUWL water quality improvement has been formulated since the time they were established 20 years ago. This study provides an improvement program for the quality of dental unit water.

Lymphocyte percentage and platelet count correlate with the treatment outcome to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated lung adenocarcinoma.

This observational study evaluated the treatment outcomes of clinical factors on the patients with lung adenocarcinoma with epidermal growth factor receptor mutations who received tyrosine kinase inhibitors as first-line treatment.Patients with stage IIIb or IV lung adenocarcinoma with mutated epidermal growth factor receptor were enrolled retrospectively between March 2010 and December 2017. The hematologic markers on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were analyzed.

Enhanced directly-observed treatment short-course for tuberculosis control program in mountain areas of Taiwan.

Introduction: Directly Observed Treatment Short course (DOTS) is one of the most cost-effective approaches for TB treatment. However, TB incidence rates remain high in the mountain areas of Taiwan. A lay health advisor (LHA) strategy is integrated into DOTS as an Enhanced-DOTS (E-DOTS) to provide trustworthy, culturally-specific services in mountain areas that consider the characteristics of local ethnic groups.

Impact of universal drug susceptibility testing and effective management of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Taiwan.

Background: The treatment outcomes of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) patients in the 1990s in Taiwan was not satisfactory. To strengthen programmatic management of drug-resistant tuberculosis (PMDT), Taiwan MDR-TB Consortium (TMTC) was established in 2007. We assess the performance and epidemiologic impact of TMTC.

Treatment outcomes for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in Eastern Taiwan.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to evaluate the treatment outcomes of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) under special programmatic management in Eastern Taiwan over the past 10 years.

Materials And Methods: All newly diagnosed MDR-TB patients and MDR-TB patients enrolled previously with persistent positive cultures were included in this study, from May 2007 to April 2017, in Eastern Taiwan. A panel of pulmonologists designed the initial MDR-TB regimens.

Treatment Outcomes of Multidrug-Resistant Tuberculosis in Taiwan: Tackling Loss to Follow-up.

Background: The proportion of treatment success among patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) enrolled between 1992 and 1996 was 51.2%, and that among patients enrolled between 2000 and April 2007 was 61%. To address the challenge of MDR-TB, the Taiwan MDR-TB Consortium (TMTC) was established in May 2007.

Presence of pleural effusion is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated lung cancer receiving tyrosine kinase inhibitors as first-line treatment.

Aim: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of clinical factors on the treatment outcomes of lung cancer patients with active epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations treated by first-line tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs).

Methods: Patients of stage IIIb or IV lung adenocarcinoma harboring mutated EGFR were enrolled between March 2010 and June 2014 and followed up until December 2015. The effects of various clinical features, such as age, sex, smoking history, EGFR mutation types, TKIs used, presence of pleural effusion, metastatic sites on progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS), were analyzed retrospectively.

The assessment of host and bacterial proteins in sputum from active pulmonary tuberculosis.

Pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The protein composition of sputum may reflect the immune status of the lung. This study aimed to evaluate the protein profiles in spontaneous sputum samples from patients with active pulmonary TB.

The Influence of Smoking on Pulmonary Tuberculosis in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Patients.

Background: Both smoking and diabetes can increase the risk and influence the manifestations and outcomes of tuberculosis (TB). It is not clear whether the influence of smoking on pulmonary TB differs between non-diabetic and diabetic patients. Herein, we assessed the manifestations and outcomes of TB in relation to smoking in both diabetic and non-diabetic TB patients.

Outbreak of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in an aboriginal family in eastern Taiwan.

Spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) strains in the general population presents a serious threat to public health and severely threatens existing control efforts. Techniques such as spoligotyping and interspersed repetitive units-variable-number tandem-repeat typing of mycobacterial isolates have been employed to confirm familial outbreaks of MDR-TB. We diagnosed and traced four MDR-TB cases in a family via genotyping.

Antimycobacterial Activities of Endolysins Derived From a Mycobacteriophage, BTCU-1.

The high incidence of Mycobacterium infection, notably multidrug-resistant M. tuberculosis infection, has become a significant public health concern worldwide. In this study, we isolate and analyze a mycobacteriophage, BTCU-1, and a foundational study was performed to evaluate the antimycobacterial activity of BTCU-1 and its cloned lytic endolysins.

Validation of nanodiamond-extracted CFP-10 antigen as a biomarker in clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in broth culture media.

With detonation nanodiamonds (DNDs) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS), we previously identified early secreted cell filtrate protein 10 (CFP-10) as a candidate Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC) biomarker. The performance of the CFP-10 biomarker was initially evaluated in relatively small mycobacterial samples (n = 42 samples) in our previous study. In this study, we conducted DND MALDI-TOF MS experiments to investigate the specificity and sensitivity of the MTC biomarker with 312 MTC and 52 nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) clinical samples.

Outcome correlation of smear-positivity but culture-negativity during standard anti-tuberculosis treatment in Taiwan.

Background: The appearance of smear-positivity but culture-negativity (SPCN) for acid-fast bacilli among sputum specimen is frequently found in pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) patients during treatment. This study aimed to investigate clinical risk factors, impacts on treatment course, and relapse pattern associated with sputum SPCN.

Methods: We retrospectively enrolled 800 patients with culture-proven pulmonary TB who were receiving standard treatment and follow-up at six TB-referral hospitals in Taiwan between January 2006 and December 2007.

The influence of diabetes, glycemic control, and diabetes-related comorbidities on pulmonary tuberculosis.

Background: To assess the influence of diabetes mellitus (DM), glycemic control, and diabetes-related comorbidities on manifestations and outcome of treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB).

Methodology/principal Findings: Culture positive pulmonary TB patients notified to health authorities in three hospitals in Taiwan from 2005-2010 were investigated. Glycemic control was assessed by glycated haemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) and diabetic patients were categorized into 3 groups: HbA1C<7%, HbA1C 7-9%, HbA1C>9%.

Molecular analysis of codon 548 in the rpoB gene involved in Mycobacterium tuberculosis resistance to rifampin.

Most Mycobacterium tuberculosis rifampin-resistant strains have been associated with mutations in an 81-bp rifampin resistance-determining region (RRDR) in the gene rpoB. However, if this region alone were targeted, rifampin-resistant strains with mutations outside the RRDR would not be detected. In this study, among 51 rifampin-resistant clinical isolates analyzed by sequencing 1,681-bp-long DNA fragments containing the RRDR, 47 isolates contained mutations within the RRDR, three isolates contained mutations both within and outside the RRDR, and only one isolate had a single missense mutation (Arg548His) located outside the RRDR.

Distinct modes of transmission of tuberculosis in aboriginal and non-aboriginal populations in Taiwan.

Tuberculosis incidence among aborigines is significantly higher than for Han Chinese in Taiwan, but the extent to which Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) strain characteristics contribute to this difference is not well understood. MTB isolates from aborigines and Han Chinese living in eastern and southern Taiwan, the major regions of aborigines, were analyzed by spoligotyping and 24-loci MIRU-VNTR. In eastern Taiwan, 60% of aboriginal patients were ≤20 years old, significantly younger than the non-aboriginal patients there; aborigines were more likely to have clustered MTB isolates than Han Chinese (odds ratio (OR) = 5.

Determinants of the public intent to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine and protective behaviors: a population-based study in Taiwan.

Background And Study Aims: this study aims to identify the determinants of perceived changes in protective behaviors against seasonal influenza and the intent to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine among Taiwanese in 2011.

Methods: During the early 2011-2012 influenza season, we conducted a nationwide survey with randomly stratified samples and collected 1400 self-reported questionnaires from respondents aged 15 years and above using the computer-aided telephone interviewing software in Taiwan.

Results: One-third of the respondents intended to receive the seasonal influenza vaccine.

Glycemic control and radiographic manifestations of tuberculosis in diabetic patients.

Background: Radiographic manifestations of pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) have previously been reported, with inconsistent results. We conducted a study to investigate whether glycemic control has an impact on radiographic manifestations of pulmonary TB.

Methods: Consecutive patients with culture-positive pulmonary TB who had DM in three tertiary care hospitals from 2005-2010 were selected for review and compared with a similar number without DM.