Correlation of N-terminal-pro-brain natriuretic peptide with postoperative outcomes of older patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement.

Background: Patients undergoing transcatheter aortic valve replacement surgery (TAVR) are typically older adults with multiple chronic diseases and therefore have a high surgical risk. The N-terminal of brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) and pro-BNP, referred to as NT-pro-BNP, is an easily measurable biomarker of heart failure. Studies on correlation between higher NT-pro-BNP levels and adverse prognoses after TAVR have yielded inconsistent results.

The determinants of health-related quality of life among patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer in Taiwan: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Although considered one of the most important prognostic factors for lung cancer patients, the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of the newly diagnosed lung cancer population remains scarcely focused on in the literature. Therefore, we aimed to identify the determinants of HRQOL among newly diagnosed lung cancer patients in Taiwan.

Methods: Two hundred and fifty patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer were recruited from a medical center in northern Taiwan through convenience sampling.

Effectiveness of influenza vaccination in the elderly: a population-based case-crossover study.

Background: There is limited information regarding the effectiveness of influenza vaccines for older adults. Particularly, controlling for healthy senior bias is challenging in observational studies. We aimed to assess the efficacy of influenza vaccination in the elderly while addressing potential healthy senior bias and whether it was related to virus-vaccine strains matching.

Endovascular aortic repair is a cost-effective option for in-hospital patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Background: To investigate the cost-effectiveness of endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) versus open aortic repair (OAR) for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) using incremental costs per decreased in-hospital mortality rate gained through our patients' cohort.

Methods: Medical records and healthcare costs of patients with AAA hospitalized between 2010 and 2015 were extracted from the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD) of Taiwan. Multiple regression analysis was applied to adjust for confounding factors and to compare the differences in postoperative clinical outcomes between patients who received EVAR and OAR.

Trajectory of growth in Taiwanese nursing students' professional self-concept over two years and its association with critical thinking and class climate.

Background: Nursing is a practice-oriented profession, and the goal of education is to cultivate confidence and assertiveness for future clinical practice. Nurturing a professional self-concept at school is expecting to help students to approach their success in the nursing profession.

Purpose: Using a hierarchical model associated with critical thinking, academic achievement, class climate, and work experience, this longitudinal correlational study explored the growth trajectory of professional self-concept over two years in students attending 2- or 4-year baccalaureate nursing programs.

Increased risk for sleep disorders in burn patients: A 14-year nationwide, population-based cohort study.

Background: Burn is a major trauma that causes physical and psychosocial impairments, leading to sleep disorders. However, the data about risks for sleep disorders in patients over 3 years following burn injury are limited.

Aim: To investigate the long-term risks for sleep disorders in patients after burn injury and identify the high-risk population.

Association Between Statin Use and Exacerbation of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Among Patients Receiving Corticosteroids.

Purpose: The role of statins as anti-inflammatory drugs in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is controversial. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of statins used with or without corticosteroids in COPD patients.

Patients And Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study and used the two million outpatients and inpatients in Taiwan's Longitudinal Health Insurance Database covering 2000 to 2015.

Trajectory of smoking behaviour during the first 6 months after diagnosis of lung cancer: A study from Taiwan.

Aims: To identify different classes of change pattern/ trajectory of tobacco smoking behaviour after diagnosis of lung cancer using multi-wave data and to explore factors associated with the class membership.

Design: This is a multi-wave observational study.

Methods: Smoking behaviour data were collected at diagnosis and then every month for 6 months from 133 newly diagnosed people with lung cancer who had recently quit smoking or continued to smoke at diagnosis.

Gender Differences in the Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome Among Taiwanese Air Force Personnel: A Population-Based Study.

Background: Authors of several studies have reported differences in the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) between men and women. However, information is lacking on gender difference among military personnel.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of MetS and its component abnormalities among Taiwanese Air Force personnel by gender and age groups.

Health-related quality of life in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm undergoing endovascular aneurysm repair: A cross-sectional study.

Background: Endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) has become a common surgical treatment for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA), and postoperative health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is drawing increasing attention. Most studies compare HRQoL in EVAR patients and open aneurysm repair patients, while few studies have investigated HRQoL in EVAR patients versus the general population. This study aimed to investigate whether HRQoL differs between patients with EVAR patients and the general population.

[Toward 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife: Linking Taiwan Nursing With the World].

To commemorate the 200th birthday of Florence Nightingale, the World Health Organization announced 2020 as the "International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife." Nursing is in the frontline of transformational care. The actions of nurses help bring positive changes to the world.

A comparison of quality of life between patients treated with different dialysis modalities in Taiwan.

Purpose: This study compared the quality of life (QOL) of hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients in Taiwan.

Methods: This cross-sectional study recruited end-stage renal disease patients from 34 Taiwanese hospitals or clinics. Patient characteristics, diagnoses, and laboratory data were extracted from charts.

A Hierarchical Model of Occupational Burnout in Nurses Associated With Job-Induced Stress, Self-Concept, and Work Environment.

Background: Nurses may experience different levels of occupational burnout in different unit and hospital settings. However, pooling multilevel data in an analysis ignores independent, environmental, and sociocultural contexts of ecological validity.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore a hierarchical model of occupational burnout that is associated with job-induced stress, nurse self-concept, and practice environment in nurses working in different units and hospitals.

Evaluation of the pain intensity differences among hospitalized cancer patients based on a nursing information system.

Evaluating the absolute difference in pain intensity and the percentage difference in pain intensity could facilitate an understanding of pain reduction among cancer patients during repeated hospitalizations. Examinations of the absolute differences in pain intensity and the percentage differences in pain intensity according to the worst pain intensity and last evaluated pain intensity before discharge are lacking. The aim of this study was to evaluate the absolute and percentage difference in pain intensities among cancer patients with moderate or severe pain from their 1st to 18th hospitalizations from 2011-2013.

Anticoagulation adherence and its associated factors in patients with atrial fibrillation: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: To investigate anticoagulant adherence and its associated factors, including demographics, clinical variables, atrial fibrillation (AF) severity, knowledge, satisfaction with services, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, symptom severity and self-efficacy in patients with AF.

Design: This is a cross-sectional study.

Participants And Setting: A convenient sample of patients with AF were recruited from cardiology clinics of two teaching hospitals in Taiwan.

Effect of dyspnea on frailty stages and related factors in Taiwanese men with COPD.

Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) impacts health-related quality of life in men more than in women. In patients with dyspnea, frailty is more likely to develop and aggravate disability. Despite this, few studies have addressed frailty in men with COPD.

Long-Term Effectiveness of Two Educational Methods on Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice Toward Palliative Care Consultation Services Among Nursing Staff: A Longitudinal Follow-Up Study.

This experimental study investigated long-term effectiveness of two educational methods on knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) about palliative care consultation services (PCCS) among nurses, recruited from a medical center located in Northern Taiwan in 2015, using a stratified cluster sampling method, with 88 participants in multimedia (experimental) and 92 in traditional paper education (control) group. Data were collected using KAP-PCCS questionnaire before education, immediately after, and 3rd and 6th month after education. Results showed that both K-PCCSI and P-PCCSI significantly increased immediately after, and at the 3rd month after education for the experimental group; the K-PCCSI remained significantly higher for the experimental group at the 6th month.

Path modeling of knowledge, attitude and practice toward palliative care consultation service among Taiwanese nursing staff: a cross-sectional study.

Background: The Taiwanese government has promoted palliative care consultation services (PCCS) to support terminally ill patients in acute ward settings to receive palliative care since 2005. Such an intervention can enhance the quality of life and dignity of terminally ill patients. However, research focusing on the relationship between the knowledge, attitude and practice of a PCCS using path modelling in nursing staff is limited.

Using a New Measurement to Evaluate Pain Relief Among Cancer Inpatients with Clinically Significant Pain Based on a Nursing Information System: A Three-Year Hospital-Based Study.

Objective: Developing a new measurement index is the first step in evaluating pain relief outcomes. Although the percentage difference in pain intensity (%PID) is the most popular indicator, this indicator does not take into account the goal of pain relief. Therefore, the aims of this study were to develop a pain relief index (PRI) for outcome evaluation and to examine the index using demographic characteristics of cancer inpatients with clinically significant pain.

Trends in Clinically Significant Pain Prevalence Among Hospitalized Cancer Patients at an Academic Hospital in Taiwan: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Clinically significant pain (CSP) is one of the most common complaints among cancer patients during repeated hospitalizations, and the prevalence ranges from 24% to 86%. This study aimed to characterize the trends in CSP among cancer patients and examine the differences in the prevalence of CSP across repeated hospitalizations. A hospital-based, retrospective cohort study was conducted at an academic hospital.

Evaluation of uraemic pruritus in long-term dialysis patients using a modified Chinese scale.

Aim: To examine the reliability and validity of a modified Chinese version of the uraemic pruritus scale for measurement of different degrees of itching, as well as to identify the predictors for the severity of uraemic pruritus among long-term dialysis patients.

Methods: Long-term dialysis patients (n = 110) were recruited for a cross-sectional study from a medical centre in Taiwan. A modified Chinese version of the uraemic pruritus scale was used to evaluate sleep disturbance and the severity, frequency and distribution of itching.

Risk factors and incidence of repeat osteoporotic fractures among the elderly in Taiwan: a population-based cohort study.

The incidence of osteoporotic fracture (OF), a condition that leads to higher morbidity and mortality in the elderly, is increasing yearly worldwide. However, most studies of OF have focused on the epidemiology of initial fractures, mainly in female and white populations. This study aimed to explore the incidence and the risk factors for repeat osteoporotic fracture (ROF) in Taiwan.

The effect of gender on health-related quality of life and related factors in post-lobectomy lung-cancer patients.

Purpose: While studies have documented gender differences by histologic type among lung cancer patients, the effect of these differences on the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of post-lobectomy lungcancer patients and related factors remain uncertain. This study examines gender-specific HRQoL and related factors in post-lobectomy lung-cancer patients.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was applied.

Differences in COPD patient care by primary family caregivers: an age-based study.

Background: Because Taiwan has the fastest aging rate among developed countries, care for the elderly is becoming more prominent in the country. Primary family caregivers play an important role in patient health and health promotion behavior. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), an age-related disease, is a major public health problem with high morbidity and mortality and can be a long-term burden for family members; however, little attention has been given to the differences in COPD care between elder caregivers and other caregivers.