Immune killer cells treatment for previously treated stage IV NSCLC patients.

The 5-year survival is poor for stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Recently, cell immunotherapy has emerged as a new treatment strategy. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Immune killer cells (IKC) in patients with stage IV NSCLC after the failure of prior chemotherapy.

Echogenic swirling pattern, carcinoembryonic antigen, and lactate dehydrogenase in the diagnosis of malignant pleural effusion.

The echogenic swirling pattern has a role in predicting malignant pleural effusion (MPE). However, its predictive ability is suboptimal, and its clinical utility remains to be defined. The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic potential of the echogenic swirling pattern combined with pleural carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and routine laboratory tests of pleural effusion in MPE.

Risk factor analysis of nosocomial lower respiratory tract infection in influenza-related acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Background: Patients with severe influenza-related acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) have high morbidity and mortality. Moreover, nosocomial lower respiratory tract infection (NLRTI) complicates their clinical management and possibly worsens their outcomes. This study aimed to explore the clinical features and impact of NLRTI in patients with severe influenza-related ARDS.

Impact of corticosteroid treatment on clinical outcomes of influenza-associated ARDS: a nationwide multicenter study.

Background: Corticosteroid treatment has been widely used in the treatment of septic shock, influenza, and ARDS, although some previous studies discourage its use in severe influenza patients. This multicenter retrospective cohort study conducted in the intensive care units (ICUs) of eight medical centers across Taiwan aims to determine the real-world status of corticosteroid treatment in patients with influenza-associated acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and its impact on clinical outcomes. Between October 2015 and March 2016, consecutive ICU patients with virology-proven influenza infections who fulfilled ARDS and received invasive mechanical ventilation were enrolled.

Using a machine learning approach to predict mortality in critically ill influenza patients: a cross-sectional retrospective multicentre study in Taiwan.

Objectives: Current mortality prediction models used in the intensive care unit (ICU) have a limited role for specific diseases such as influenza, and we aimed to establish an explainable machine learning (ML) model for predicting mortality in critically ill influenza patients using a real-world severe influenza data set.

Study Design: A cross-sectional retrospective multicentre study in Taiwan SETTING: Eight medical centres in Taiwan.

Participants: A total of 336 patients requiring ICU-admission for virology-proven influenza at eight hospitals during an influenza epidemic between October 2015 and March 2016.

Pre-Treatment with Ten-Minute Carbon Dioxide Inhalation Prevents Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Lung Injury in Mice via Down-Regulation of Toll-Like Receptor 4 Expression.

Various animal studies have shown beneficial effects of hypercapnia in lung injury. However, in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), there is controversial information regarding the effect of hypercapnia on outcomes. The duration of carbon dioxide inhalation may be the key to the protective effect of hypercapnia.

Bidirectional association between tuberculosis and sarcoidosis.

Background And Objective: Tuberculosis (TB) and sarcoidosis are both granulomatous diseases with potential interassociations. However, much uncertainty remains; thus, the present study aimed to clarify the association between these diseases.

Methods: We established two cohorts in this retrospective longitudinal cohort study using data obtained from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Database from 2000 to 2015.

Integrated safety summary of phase II and III studies comparing oral nemonoxacin and levofloxacin in community-acquired pneumonia.

Background: Nemonoxacin, a novel nonfluorinated quinolone, has broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, including activity against antibiotic-resistant strains, and was developed for treating community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). This report provides an integrated safety summary of oral nemonoxacin from two phase II and one phase III clinical studies.

Methods: Patients with mild CAP were randomized for treatment with nemonoxacin 500 mg (NEMO-500MG), nemonoxacin 750 mg (NEMO-750MG), or levofloxacin 500 mg (LEVO), orally, once daily, for 7-10 days.

Predictors of survival in patients with influenza pneumonia-related severe acute respiratory distress syndrome treated with prone positioning.

Background: Patients with influenza complicated with pneumonia are at high risk of rapid progression to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Prone positioning with longer duration and lung-protective strategies might reduce the mortality level in ARDS. The aim of this study is to investigate the survival predictors of prone positioning in patients with ARDS caused by influenza pneumonia.

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.

First tidal volume greater than 8 mL/kg is associated with increased mortality in complicated influenza infection with acute respiratory distress syndrome.

Backgrounds: Severe influenza infection causes substantial morbidity and mortality worldwide and remains an important threat to global health. This study addressed factors related to treatment outcomes in subjects of complicated influenza infection with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) during the Taiwan epidemic in the Spring of 2016.

Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted by Taiwan Severe Influenza Research Consortium (TSIRC), including eight tertiary referral medical centers.

Endobronchial Lesion in Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis is a systemic vasculitis. It could affect respiratory system, kidney, and central nervous system frequently; however, all body organs could be involved. Asthma and eosinophilic pneumonia are predominant manifestations in respiratory system.

Association of day 4 cumulative fluid balance with mortality in critically ill patients with influenza: A multicenter retrospective cohort study in Taiwan.

Background: Fluid balance is a fundamental management of patients with sepsis, and this study aimed to investigate the impact of cumulative fluid balance on critically ill patients with influenza admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU).

Methods: This multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted by the Taiwan Severe Influenza Research Consortium (TSIRC) which includes eight medical centers. Patients with virology-proven influenza infection admitted to ICUs between October 2015 and March 2016 were included for analysis.

Comparative efficacy and tolerability of beclomethasone/formoterol and fluticasone/salmeterol fixed combination in Taiwanese asthmatic patients.

Background: The study was designed to compare the efficacy and tolerability of a fixed combination of extra-fine beclomethasone and formoterol, with the fixed combination fluticasone and salmeterol in Taiwanese asthmatic patients.

Methods: This was a phase III, multicentre, randomized, two-arm parallel groups, controlled study. Patients with moderate to severe asthma were randomized to a 12-week treatment with either beclomethasone 100 mcg plus formoterol 6 mcg (BDP/F) or fluticasone 125 mcg plus salmeterol 25 mcg (FP/S), both delivered 2 inhalations twice daily.

Panels of tumor-derived RNA markers in peripheral blood of patients with non-small cell lung cancer: their dependence on age, gender and clinical stages.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC)-derived gene signatures were investigated for their potential use in the early detection of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In our study, 187 patients with NSCLC and 310 age- and gender-matched controls, and an independent set containing 29 patients for validation were included. Eight significant NSCLC-associated genes were identified, including DUSP6, EIF2S3, GRB2, MDM2, NF1, POLDIP2, RNF4, and WEE1.

CPEB4 and IRF4 expression in peripheral mononuclear cells are potential prognostic factors for advanced lung cancer.

Background/purpose: Lung cancer is a heterogeneous disease with varied outcomes. Molecular markers are eagerly investigated to predict a patient's treatment response or outcome. Previous studies used frozen biopsy tissues to identify crucial genes as prognostic markers.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease increases the risk of intensive care unit admittance and mechanical ventilation use among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

Introduction: Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is common among chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients and may have a deleterious effect on COPD prognosis. However, few studies have investigated whether GORD increases the risk of severe outcomes such as intensive care unit (ICU) admittance or mechanical ventilator use among COPD patients.

Methods: Propensity score matching by age, sex, comorbidities and COPD severity was used to match the 1,210 COPD patients with GORD sourced in this study to 2,420 COPD patients without GORD.

Airway obstruction due to tracheomalacia caused by innominate artery compression and a kyphotic cervical spine.

Tracheomalacia can cause variable degrees of intrathoracic airway obstruction and is an easily overlooked cause of respiratory distress in adults. Here, we report a case of acute respiratory failure in which subglottic stenosis was accidentally identified during endotracheal intubation. Subsequent bronchoscopy and computed tomography of the thorax and neck revealed tracheal compression with tracheomalacia caused by a tortuous innominate artery and a kyphotic cervical spine.

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.

Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5a in sarcoidosis: further evidence for a novel macrophage biomarker in chronic inflammation.

Background/purpose: Tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRACP) 5a is expressed strongly in inflammatory macrophages (MΦ). Serum TRACP5a is elevated in rheumatoid arthritis patients with extra-articular manifestations of rheumatoid nodules, in a percentage of patients with end-stage chronic kidney disease, and may be a risk marker for acute myocardial infarction. This proof-of-concept study was undertaken in patients with sarcoidosis to further substantiate our hypothesis that TRACP5a protein is a biomarker for macrophages in other chronic inflammatory diseases.

Stanniocalcin-1 ameliorates lipopolysaccharide-induced pulmonary oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptosis in mice.

Stanniocalcin-1 (STC1) is an endogenous glycoprotein whose anti-inflammatory effects occur through induction of uncoupling proteins to reduce oxidative stress. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that exogenous recombinant human STC1 (rhSTC1) protects against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute lung injury in mice. Anesthetized C57BL/6 mice underwent intratracheal spraying of LPS (20 µg/10 g body wt), and lung injury was assessed 24h later by analyzing pulmonary edema, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and lung histopathology.

Examining the causal model linking health literacy to health outcomes of asthma patients.

Aims And Objectives: To explore health literacy status in asthma patients and to examine the causal model linking health literacy to health outcome-related factors via mediator and moderator variables.

Background: Understanding how low health literacy may influence health outcomes is important.

Design: This is a cross-sectional survey study.

The NAT2 tag SNP rs1495741 correlates with the susceptibility of antituberculosis drug-induced hepatotoxicity.

Background: Earlier studies have demonstrated an association between N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) catalytic activity and the genotype of a recently published tag single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), rs1495741. There have been no reports on the relationship between the rs1495741 genotype and antituberculosis drug-induced hepatotoxicity (ATDIH) to date.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of the NAT2 tag SNP (rs1495741) in the Taiwanese and its relation to the incidence of ATDIH.

Intravenous immunoglobulin replacement therapy to prevent pulmonary infection in a patient with Good's syndrome.

Good's syndrome is an acquired immunodeficiency state associated with thymoma and characterized by recurrent pulmonary infections. We describe a 67-year-old woman who presented with respiratory symptoms caused by concomitant disseminated cytomegalovirus infection and Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia 38 months after thymectomy for a thymoma. Immunologic analysis revealed hypogammaglobulinemia with absent B-cell population as demonstrated by flow cytometry, consistent with Good's syndrome.

Comparative study of patients in correct usage of and preference for the Swinghaler and Turbuhaler multidose inhalers.

Objective: Current dry powder inhalers (DPIs), introduced to overcome problems associated with pressurized metered dose inhalers (pMDIs), possess not only difficulties originating from their designs but also other barriers that prevent their correct usage. The authors of this study investigated the ease and correctness of use of Swinghaler, a new device in the form of multidose DPI, as well as the preference of the study participants for either a Swinghaler or a Turbuhaler.

Methods: A total of 260 patients from Korea, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Thailand were prospectively recruited.