: In this investigation, we aimed to understand the influence of oral probiotic supplementation on the vaginal microbiota of women preparing for assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures. Given the importance of a healthy microbiome for reproductive success, this study sought to explore how probiotics might alter the bacterial composition in the vaginal environment. : We recruited a cohort of 30 women, averaging 37 years of age (ranging from 31 to 43 years), who were scheduled to undergo ART.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSecreted phosphoprotein 1 (SPP1), also known as osteopontin (OPN), is located on chromosome 4q22.1. This multifunctional secreted acidic glycoprotein is expressed intracellularly and extracellularly in various tissues, where it interacts with regulatory proteins and pro-inflammatory immune chemokines, contributing to the pathogenesis of multiple diseases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHealth Informatics J
March 2023
Background: An unplanned readmission is a dual metric for both the cost and quality of medical care.
Methods: We employed the random forest (RF) method to build a prediction model using a large dataset from patients' electronic health records (EHRs) from a medical center in Taiwan. The discrimination abilities between the RF and regression-based models were compared using the areas under the ROC curves (AUROC).
Importance: It remains unknown whether Taiwanese veterans have a lower risk of subsequent cancer compared with non-veterans.
Objective: To examine whether veterans are associated with reduced cancer risk.
Methods: From January 2004 to December 2017, this study included 957 veterans and 957 civilians who were propensity score (PS) matched by years of birth, sex, residence, index year, days in the hospital, frequency of outpatient visits, and relevant comorbidities at baseline.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
December 2022
The purpose of this study is to evaluate patient complaints using the Healthcare Complaints Analysis Tool (HCAT) during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 in Taiwan. Additionally, the study examines the distribution and type of patient complaints before and during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a better clinical procedure, hospital management and patient relationship. This study utilizes a cross-sectional design.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: To determine the association of 30-day readmission with weekend discharge and the number of holiday days during a hospital stay (holiday ratio).
Methods: This retrospective cohort study used the clinical research database and cancer registry data of our hospital from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2017. Patient characteristics, tumor factors, clinical laboratory data, and proxies of continuity of care, such as weekend discharge or holiday ratio (holiday days/total hospitalization days), received statistical analysis.
We hope to establish a new readmission prediction score for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) after major cancer surgery. A retrospective cohort study was conducted from the clinical and cancer registry data at Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital. We included the data of patients with newly diagnosed HNC who underwent surgical treatment between Nov 2010 and Dec 2017.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: The number of infertile women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles has increased annually. Due to this competitive environment, we designed a questionnaire and aimed to investigate factors affecting the choice of reproductive medicine center among infertile couples.
Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective cross-sectional study that analyzed questionnaires provided by the reproductive medicine center of the Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital from January 2018 to June 2018.