Publications by authors named "Wei- Chih Kan"

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy has emerged as a potential treatment, shown to enhance blood flow and angiogenesis. However, specific effects and mechanisms of HBO on limb ischaemia responding to a hypoxic environment remain largely unknown. We aimed to investigate the therapeutic potential of HBO in the treatment of limb ischaemia.

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  • * First-line treatments for SHPT include phosphate binders, vitamin D receptor activators, and calcimimetics, while more invasive approaches like parathyroidectomy or thermal ablation are considered when these methods fail.
  • * Parathyroidectomy has shown to be more effective in reducing symptoms and cardiovascular risks compared to medical treatments, whereas thermal ablation offers less invasive options with promising outcomes, suggesting a need for further research on treatment impacts and the causes of parathyroid gland
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Background: Patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) have a higher risk of mortality when infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Although the fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and albumin-bilirubin grade (ALBI) score can predict mortality in CLD, their correlation with the clinical outcomes of CLD patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the association between the liver severity and the mortality in hospitalized patients with non-cirrhotic CLD and COVID-19.

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  • A systematic review compared the incidence of acute kidney injury (AKI) between hospitalized patients with COVID-19 and those with influenza, revealing that COVID-19 patients had a higher incidence of AKI (29.37% vs. 20.98%).
  • The study found significantly worse outcomes for COVID-19 patients, including higher in-hospital mortality (30.95% vs. 5.51%), lower recovery rates from AKI (57.02% vs. 80.23%), and longer hospital and ICU stays.
  • The research consisted of 12 studies involving 17,618 patients, and the overall evidence quality was high, indicating a clear distinction in the risks and
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  • This study aimed to explore the relationship between the Signal Intensity Coefficient (SIC) and myocardial dysfunction and fibrosis in patients with aortic stenosis (AS) undergoing aortic valve replacement (AVR).
  • The researchers analyzed medical records and echocardiography images from 109 patients, finding that those with a pre-surgery SIC ≥0.34 had a higher chance of cardiovascular death despite decreased SIC post-surgery.
  • The findings suggest that assessing SIC could help predict cardiovascular outcomes and guide surgical timing, with further research needed to confirm its clinical relevance.
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Ethnopharmacological Relevance: Orthosiphon aristatus (Blume) Miq. (OA) is a traditional folk-herb, which is usually used to treat acute and chronic nephritis, epilepsy, cystitis, and other diseases. Phenols and flavonoids are the main active compound compounds of OA, with proven anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.

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Doxorubicin (Dox) is a potent anticancer agent, but its associated organ toxicity, including nephrotoxicity, restricts clinical applications. Dapagliflozin (DAPA), a sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor, has been shown to slow the progression of kidney disease in patients with and without diabetes. However, the effect of DAPA to counteract Dox-induced nephrotoxicity remains uncertain.

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Background: COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, is now a worldwide pandemic. The number of infected people has continually increased, and currently, this pandemic continues to present challenges to public health. Scatter plots are frequently used to interpret the impact in relation to confirmed cases.

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Background: Scientific comparative advantage is measured by using a specialization index (SI) of article citations. The profile data have been published in the literature. However, no such research has been conducted to determine which countries dominate the field of computer science (CS) (subject category [SC]) using the SI.

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Background: A urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the most common types of infections affecting the urinary tract. When bacteria enter the bladder or kidney and multiply in the urine, a URI can occur. The urethra is shorter in women than in men, which makes it easier for bacteria to reach the bladder or kidneys and cause infection.

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Objectives: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) may have an increased risk for gastrointestinal perforation (GIP) caused by medications or chronic inflammation. However, the risk of GIP between patients with and without RA remains unclear. Therefore, we conducted this study to clarify it.

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Background: The h-index does not take into account the full citation list of a researcher to evaluate individual research achievements (IRAs). As a generalization of the h-index, the hT-index takes all citations into account to evaluate IRAs. Compared to other bibliometric indices, it is unclear whether the hT-index is more closely associated with the h-index.

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  • GnRH therapy for prostate cancer is linked to an increased risk of major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs).
  • Regular use of aspirin may help reduce these risks, while irregular use could worsen them.
  • A study found that patients who used aspirin regularly had a trend towards lower MACCE rates compared to nonusers, while those who used it irregularly had a higher risk of MACCEs.
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Purpose: In this study, we use animal models combined with bioinformatics strategies to investigate the potential changes in overall renal transcriptional expression after traumatic brain injury.

Methods: Microarray analysis was performed after kidney acquisition using unilateral controlled cortical impact as the primary mouse TBI model. Multi-oriented gene set enrichment analysis was performed for differentially expressed genes.

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Although sepsis and acute kidney injury (AKI) have a bidirectional interplay, the pathophysiological mechanisms between AKI and sepsis are not clarified and worthy of a comprehensive and updated review. The primary pathophysiology of sepsis-associated AKI (SA-AKI) includes inflammatory cascade, macrovascular and microvascular dysfunction, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. The pathophysiology of sepsis following AKI contains fluid overload, hyperinflammatory state, immunosuppression, and infection associated with kidney replacement therapy and catheter cannulation.

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Background: We saw a steady increase in the number of bibliographic studies published over the years. The reason for this rise is attributed to the better accessibility of bibliographic data and software packages that specialize in bibliographic analyses. Any difference in citation achievements between bibliographic and meta-analysis studies observed so far need to be verified.

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Doxorubicin (Dox), an effective therapy in different types of cancer, is known to exhibit cardiotoxic effects. Despite previous studies indicating the benefits of dapagliflozin (DAPA) in patients experiencing heart failure, it remains uncertain whether DAPA exerts a protective effect on Dox-induced cardiac dysfunction. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) participates in various mechanisms of cardioprotection.

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Acute kidney injury (AKI) and gut dysbiosis affect each other bidirectionally. AKI induces microbiota alteration in the gastrointestinal (GI) system, while gut dysbiosis also aggravates AKI. The interplay between AKI and gut dysbiosis is not yet well clarified but worthy of further investigation.

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We compared the outcomes in early-stage upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients receiving endoscopic ablation (EA) with radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). From 2004 to 2018, cTa/T1N0M0 UTUC patients undergoing EA and RNU were enrolled. For reducing observational bias, propensity scores based on inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) were utilized for comparing the oncologic outcomes and renal function changes.

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Vancomycin is the most frequently used antibiotic, accounting for up to 35% of hospitalized patients with infection, because of its optimal bactericidal effectiveness and relatively low price. Vancomycin-associated AKI (VA-AKI) is a clinically relevant but not yet clearly understood entity in critically ill patients. The current review comprehensively summarizes the pathophysiological mechanisms of, biomarkers for, preventive strategies for, and some crucial issues with VA-AKI.

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  • The study compares cardiovascular risks between two androgen deprivation therapies (ADT) for prostate cancer: surgical castration and GnRH therapies, using data from Taiwan's health registries.
  • Over a 3-year follow-up, patients receiving surgical castration showed a higher incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) compared to those on GnRH therapies, even though overall rates of major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) were similar.
  • The findings suggest that surgical castration may pose a greater risk for AMI, particularly in advanced cancer stages, raising concerns about its cardiac safety compared to GnRH treatments.
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Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a rare complication after vaccination of Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine (AZD1222) or Janssen COVID-19 vaccine. It makes a rare complication of thrombosis at common and/or uncommon organs with thrombocytopenia after COVID-19 vaccination four to 28 days later and most patients were younger than 60 years of age. We reported the case of a 75-year-old female with end-stage renal disease who received regular hemodialysis.

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The effect of warm-water footbath in improving dysmenorrhoea has been rarely investigated. The study aimed to examine whether a warm-water footbath effectively reduces dysmenorrhoea pain and improves the autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity. The randomised controlled trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.

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Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common yet complicated clinical entity with high morbidity and mortality. An essential strategy to improve AKI patients' prognoses is finding optimal biomarkers to identify AKI in a timely manner. Procalcitonin (PCT), a well-recognized biomarker for diagnosing infection and guiding antibiotics therapy, has been proposed to predict AKI development and recovery in many clinical settings.

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Background:: Ophthalmology authors in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan were interested in knowing their individual research achievements (IRAs). This study was to evaluate the most cited authors, institutes, and regions in the mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in the field of ophthalmology in the recent 10 years using the hx-index and to display the result with visual representations.

Methods:: Using the PubMed search engine to download data, we conducted an observational study of citation analyses in affiliated research institutes and regions (provinces/areas) of all ophthalmology authors since 2010.

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