Genitourinary tuberculosis in Taiwan: A 15-year experience at a teaching hospital.

Background: Genitourinary tuberculosis (GUTB) is rare but fatal if not diagnosed early. The purpose of this study was to investigate the outcomes of GUTB in Taiwan.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 57 patients who were diagnosed as GUTB from January 2002 to December 2016, over a 15-year period.

Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 activity and risk of recurrent stroke.

Background: Mass levels of lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) (Lp-PLA(2)), a leukocyte-derived enzyme involved in the metabolism of low-density lipoprotein to pro-inflammatory mediators, are associated with prognosis after stroke. Lp-PLA(2) mass correlates only moderately with levels of Lp-PLA(2) activity. The relationship of Lp-PLA(2) activity to risk of stroke recurrence is unknown.

Risk of myocardial infarction or vascular death after first ischemic stroke: the Northern Manhattan Study.

Background And Purpose: In national guidelines, absolute long-term risk of myocardial infarction (MI) or coronary death determines target low-density lipoprotein levels, but stroke patients are not explicitly addressed. We determined the absolute 5-year risk of cardiovascular outcomes and their predictors after first ischemic stroke in a multiethnic cohort.

Methods: A population-based cohort of first ischemic stroke patients > or =40 years old was prospectively followed annually for recurrent stroke, MI and cause-specific mortality.

High-sensitivity C-reactive protein, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2, and outcome after ischemic stroke.

Background: Inflammatory markers have been associated with ischemic stroke risk and prognosis after cardiac events. Their relationship to prognosis after stroke is unsettled.

Methods: A population-based study of stroke risk factors in 467 patients with first ischemic stroke was undertaken to determine whether levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A(2) (Lp-PLA2) predict risk of stroke recurrence, other vascular events, and death.

Levels of acute phase proteins remain stable after ischemic stroke.

Background: Inflammation and inflammatory biomarkers play an important role in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. Little information is available, however, on time course of serum markers of inflammation after stroke.

Methods: First ischemic stroke patients > or =40 years old had levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), and fibrinogen measured in plasma samples drawn at 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 days after stroke.

Antimicrobial susceptibility of common bacterial pathogens isolated from a new regional hospital in southern Taiwan.

Background: Antimicrobial resistance has become a major health problem in Taiwan. While some trends in antimicrobial resistance are universal, others appear to be unique for specific regions.

Methods: To determine the distribution and antimicrobial drug resistance of bacterial pathogens in a new hospital in southern Taiwan, surveillance data on major bacterial pathogens isolated from Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Chia-Yi from January 2002 through December 2002 were retrospectively analyzed.