Understanding the factors associated with nurse employment in clinics: Experiences in Taiwan.

Background: The shortage and distribution of nurses affect healthcare access in aging societies. Limited research has explored the nursing workforce in clinics, which is vital for healthcare delivery. This study aimed to investigate the shortage and distribution of nurses in clinics in Taiwan, considering geographical, institutional, and specialty variations.

Risk Factors and Incidence Rates of Self-Reported Short-Term Adverse Events of COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Dose.

With the spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 variants, many countries have begun COVID-19 vaccine booster programs with the mix-and-match strategy. However, research on the adverse events (AE) of booster doses is still scarce. The aim of our study was to analyze the reported incidence rate (IR), and factors associated with AE, including short-term serious adverse events (SAE) and short-term non-serious adverse events (NSAE), among different vaccine products through the hospital-based Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).

Factors related to overweight and obese populations maintaining metabolic health.

Background: For people who are overweight or obese, maintaining a metabolically healthy status can decrease the risks of developing cardiovascular diseases and Type 2 diabetes. Despite this, only a limited amount of research has discussed the metabolically healthy overweight and obesity (MHOO) population in Asia and the factors associated with them maintaining their metabolic health.

Methods: This study enrolled 195 MHOO participants from communities in northern Taiwan during 2009-2010 (baseline).

Magnolol reduces myocardial injury induced by renal ischemia and reperfusion.

Background: Magnolol is a component of the bark of Magnolia officinalis, which is a traditional herbal remedy used in China. In this study, we investigated whether magnolol can reduce myocardial injury induced by renal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R).

Methods: Renal I/R was elicited by a 60-minute occlusion of the bilateral renal arteries and a 24-hour reperfusion in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Do Metabolically Healthy People with Obesity Have a Lower Health-Related Quality of Life? A Prospective Cohort Study in Taiwan.

The association between metabolically healthy obesity (MHO) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has not been thoroughly evaluated. This study enrolled 906 adult participants aged 35-55 years between 2009 and 2010 in Northern Taiwan; 427 participants were followed up after eight years. Normal weight, overweight, and obesity were evaluated via body mass index.

Pharmacist Workforce at Primary Care Clinics: A Nationwide Survey in Taiwan.

Although dispensing is usually separated from prescribing in healthcare service delivery worldwide, primary care clinics in some countries can hire pharmacists to offer in-house dispensing or point-of-care dispensing for patients' convenience. This study aimed to provide a general overview of pharmacists working at primary care clinics in Taiwan. Special attention was paid to clarifying the relationship by location, scale, and specialty of clinics.

Varied impacts on outpatient services among departments and divisions in the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for personnel mobilization and preparatory training.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread all over the world in 2020. In the face of the sudden pandemic, workforce mobilization has been of critical concern to medical institutions. During the pandemic, the public's behaviors of seeking medical assistance have also changed.

Utilization and Safety of Percutaneous Lung Biopsy: A 10-Year Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Percutaneous lung biopsy is a technique used for sampling peripherally located lung masses and has been gaining in popularity. However, its exact utilization is unknown, and its safety has not been well studied. The current study aimed to assess the trend of utilization and study the safety of this procedure.

Factors of missed appointments at an academic medical center in Taiwan.

Background: Missed appointments mean appointments neither attended nor canceled by patients. Missed appointments belong to one of the important subjects of hospital management because they would incur the inactivity of medical professionals and devices, occupy the health resources for other patients, and thus impair the quality of healthcare services. The aim of this study was to explore the factors of missed appointments at the outpatient department of an academic medical center in Taiwan.

Visits to Pediatric Clinics by Adult Patients: A Nationwide Survey in Taiwan.

Pediatricians are trained to provide non-surgical medical care to children. Improvements in medical treatments and surgical techniques have extended the survival of children with congenital diseases and chronic illnesses. Consequently, pediatricians may provide continuous medical service to their patients into adulthood.

The Shipai cohort for cardiovascular metabolic risk factors and outcome study - Design and preliminary results.

Background: The aim of this study was to identify genotypic and phenotypic cardiovascular metabolic risk factors, and to establish risk models of diseases, including diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, stroke, kidney dysfunction and psychiatric disorders, in Taiwanese adults.

Methods: In 2009, a community-based cohort study was initiated in the Shipai area of the Shilin and Beitou districts in Taipei. Residents were randomly sampled by age (young adults: 35-44 years and middle-aged adults: 45-55 years) and urbanization (rural and urban).

Sex differences in relationships between metabolic syndrome components and factors associated with health-related quality of life in middle-aged adults living in the community: a cross-sectional study in Taiwan.

Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a widespread condition with important effects on public health, in general. There is a lack of relevant research on possible sex differences in the relationship between MetS and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and also the sex differences in factors associated with HRQoL. The aims of this study were to identify: 1) whether women exhibit greater negative impacts on physical domain HRQoL from MetS compared with men; 2) whether women exhibit greater mental domain impacts compared with men; and 3) whether factors associated with HRQoL scores are different for men and women.

Is Excessive Polypharmacy a Transient or Persistent Phenomenon? A Nationwide Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Target populations with persistent polypharmacy should be identified prior to implementing strategies against inappropriate medication use, yet limited information regarding such populations is available. The main objectives were to explore the trends of excessive polypharmacy, whether transient or persistent, at the individual level. The secondary objectives were to identify the factors associated with persistently excessive polypharmacy and to estimate the probabilities for repeatedly excessive polypharmacy.

Magnolol Reduces Renal Ischemia and Reperfusion Injury via Inhibition of Apoptosis.

Magnolol, a constituent of the bark of Magnolia officinalis, has been reported to decrease myocardial stunning and infarct size. In this study, we investigated whether magnolol can reduce renal ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury. Renal I/R, induced by a 60-min occlusion of bilateral renal arteries and a 24-h reperfusion, significantly increased blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine levels, and caused histological damage to the kidneys of rats.

Birth Trends among Female Physicians in Taiwan: A Nationwide Survey from 1996 to 2013.

: Although more and more women are becoming physicians, their decisions regarding pregnancy may be affected by the lengthy period of medical education and postgraduate training. The aim of this study was to explore the birth trends among female physicians in Taiwan; Retrospective analyses of maternal ages at delivery from 1996 to 2013, both for physicians and the general population, were conducted using a nationwide dataset called National Health Insurance Research Database; : During the study period, 8540 female physicians were identified. The physicians delivered a total of 4940 births in that time, with a rise from 210 in 1996 to 440 in 2013.

Baicalein Attenuates Lung Injury Induced by Myocardial Ischemia and Reperfusion.

Baicalein is an active component of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, which has traditionally been used to treat cardiovascular diseases in China. In this study, we investigated if treatment with baicalein can attenuate the lung injury induced by myocardial ischemia and reperfusion (I/R). Myocardial I/R, induced by a 40-min occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery and a 3-h reperfusion, significantly increased histological damage and the wet-to-dry weight ratio of lungs in rats.

Clinical efficacy of Rong-Yang-Jyh-Gan-Tang on patients with chronic hepatitis C: A double-blinded randomized placebo-controlled crossover study.

Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has been widely used by the Chinese population for treatment of chronic hepatitis. However, the efficacy of TCM for patients with chronic hepatitis has not been confirmed, mostly due to the lack of available scientific parameters such as serum viral load to evaluate treatment response.

Aim Of The Study: We evaluated the efficacy of Rong-Yang-Jyh-Gan-Tang (RYJGT, composed of Long-Dan-Xie-Gan-Tang, Jia-Wei-Xia-Yao-San, Dan-Shen, and Hou-Po) on patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Infrared thermography in the evaluation of meibomian gland dysfunction.

Background/purpose: To evaluate meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD) by infrared thermography.

Methods: An observational study was conducted at the Department of Ophthalmology, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, New Taipei City, Taiwan. Participants included 89 MGD patients (30 in Grade 1, 49 in Grade 2, and 10 in Grade 3) and 65 controls.

Baicalein Reduces Liver Injury Induced by Myocardial Ischemia and Reperfusion.

Baicalein is a component of the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi, which has traditionally been used to treat liver disease in China. In the present study, we investigated baicalein' ability to reduce the liver injury induced by myocardial ischemia and reperfusion (I/R). Myocardial I/R was induced in this experiment by a 40[Formula: see text]min occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery and a 3[Formula: see text]h reperfusion in rats.

Baicalein, a Component of Scutellaria baicalensis, Attenuates Kidney Injury Induced by Myocardial Ischemia and Reperfusion.

Acute kidney injury is a common and severe complication of acute myocardial infarction and cardiac surgery. It results in increased mortality, morbidity, and duration of hospitalization. Baicalein is a component of the root of Scutellaria baicalensis, which has traditionally been used to treat cardiovascular and liver diseases in Asia.

Brief pressure overload of the left ventricle reduces myocardial infarct size via activation of protein kinase C.

Background: We have previously reported that brief pressure overload of the left ventricle reduced myocardial infarct (MI) size. However, the role of protein kinase C (PKC) remains uncertain. In this study, we investigated whether pressure overload reduces MI size by activating PKC.

Ischemic preconditioning activates prosurvival kinases and reduces myocardial apoptosis.

Background: Ischemic preconditioning has been reported to protect the myocardium against ischemia and reperfusion injury. The underlying mechanisms have been extensively investigated but are not fully elucidated. In this study, we investigated the role of apoptosis in ischemic preconditioning protection and the signal pathways involved.

Impact of a warning CPOE system on the inappropriate pill splitting of prescribed medications in outpatients.

Background: Prescribing inappropriate pill splitting is not rare in clinical practice. To reduce inappropriate pill splitting, we developed an automatic warning system linked to a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system for special oral formulation drugs in outpatient settings. We examined the impact of the warning system on inappropriate prescribing of pill splitting and assess prescribers' responses to the warnings.

Myocardial preconditioning reduces kidney injury and apoptosis induced by myocardial ischaemia and reperfusion.

Objectives: Acute kidney injury is a common and serious complication of cardiac surgery. Because its underlying mechanisms are unclear, there is no specific therapy to prevent or treat it. A regional transient ischaemia and reperfusion (I/R) may provide protection to distant tissue or organs, a phenomenon known as remote preconditioning.