Publications by authors named "Ping-Chang Lai"

Background: Leptospirosis (LS) and hantavirus (HV) are rodent-borne diseases and share similar clinical manifestations, posing diagnostic challenges.

Methods: This retrospective study compared clinical characteristics, laboratory data, complications and outcomes of 33 LS and nine HV cases in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, from 2006 to 2021.

Results: Both LS and HV diseases had high rates of acute kidney injury (84.

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Background: Weekly rifapentine and isoniazid (3HP) is gaining popularity for latent tuberculosis infection treatment because of its short course and high completion rate. Prior to widespread use, comprehensive 3HP treatment assessment covering an all-age population is essential.

Methods: Participants receiving ≥1 3HP dose from September 2014 to December 2019 were stratified into elderly (≥65 years), middle-aged (>35 & <65 years), and younger (≤35 years) age groups.

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People in southern Taiwan experienced two major dengue outbreaks in 2014 and 2015. The mortality and clinical features were very different between these 2 years. Dengue virus serotype 1 (DENV-1) caused epidemic outbreak in 2014 and DENV-2 was predominant in 2015.

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Clinical information regarding murine typhus in Taiwan is limited. In this study, 81 cases of serologically documented murine typhus during 1992-2009 at four referral hospitals in southern Taiwan were analyzed. There was a significant correlation between average environmental temperature and case numbers of murine typhus (r = 0.

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Cellulomonas spp. are often believed to be of low virulence and have never been reported as a pathogen causing human disease before. We report the first case of endocarditis caused by Cellulomonas and complicated with osteomyelitis of the lumbar spine in a 78-year-old woman.

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A dengue outbreak occurred in Kaohsiung City starting in July in 2001. We studied the clinical profile of all patients admitted to Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital during this outbreak from July 2001 to January 2002. A total of 25 cases of clinically suspected dengue fever were treated during this period, and 13 of them were confirmed by laboratory results (13/25; 52%).

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