Clinical Predictors of Nontuberculous Mycobacteria Lung Disease and Coisolates of Potential Pathogenic Microorganisms in Noncystic Fibrosis Bronchiectasis.

Background: In bronchiectasis, nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) lung disease (NTM-LD) is a well-known coexisting infection. However, microorganism coisolates and clinical NTM-LD predictors are poorly studied.

Methods: Patients with bronchiectasis diagnosed by means of computed tomography between January 2017 and June 2020 were screened, using the date of computed tomography as the index date.

An Interpretable Three-Dimensional Artificial Intelligence Model for Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Lung Nodules in Computed Tomography Images.

Lung cancer is typically classified into small-cell carcinoma and non-small-cell carcinoma. Non-small-cell carcinoma accounts for approximately 85% of all lung cancers. Low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) can quickly and non-invasively diagnose lung cancer.

The clinical efficacy of cefoperazone-sulbactam versus piperacillin-tazobactam in the treatment of severe community-acquired pneumonia.

The objective was to compare the clinical efficacy of cefoperazone-sulbactam with piperacillin-tazobactam in the treatment of severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP). The retrospective study was conducted from March 1, 2018 to May 30, 2019. Clinical outcomes were compared for patients who received either cefoperazone-sulbactam or piperacillin-tazobactam in the treatment of SCAP.

Favorable Mortality-to-Incidence Ratio Trends of Lung Cancer in Countries with High Computed Tomography Density.

: The prognoses of lung cancer deteriorate dramatically as the cancer progresses through its stages. Therefore, early screening using techniques such as low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) is critical. However, the epidemiology of the association between the popularization of CT and the prognosis for lung cancer is not known.

A case series report on successful management of patients with COVID-19-associated lymphopenia and potential application of PG2.

Background: Lymphopenia and the resultant high neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) are hallmark signs of severe COVID-19, and effective treatment remains unavailable. We retrospectively reviewed the outcomes of COVID-19 in a cohort of 26 patients admitted to Chung Shan Medical University Hospital (Taichung City, Taiwan). Twenty-five of the 26 patients recovered, including 9 patients with mild/moderate illness and 16 patients with severe/critical illness recovered.

Gallstone associated celiac trunk thromboembolisms complicated with splenic infarction: A case report.

Background: Gallstone disease (GD) can have prolonged, subacute inflammatory period before biliary events. The intricate relationship between GD and inflammatory processes can possible lead to prothrombotic tendency that can result in confusing clinical course before diagnosis.

Case Summary: A 51-year-old man, presented with a 1-year history of self-relief occasional postprandial upper abdominal pain, had sudden onset severe left upper quadrant pain and visited our emergency room.

Clinical effectiveness of branded versus generic piperacillin-tazobactam for treating severe community-acquired pneumonia.

Purpose: To compare the clinical effectiveness of branded versus generic piperacillin-tazobactam for treating severe community-acquired pneumonia (CAP).

Patients And Methods: We identified patients with severe CAP who received piperacillin-tazobactam based on a nine-center registry database. Furthermore, we classified the patients in three hospitals, which used only branded piperacillin-tazobactam as the study group, and the patients in six other hospitals, which used both branded and generic products as the control group.

Significance of the Modified NUTRIC Score for Predicting Clinical Outcomes in Patients with Severe Community-Acquired Pneumonia.

Nutritional status could affect clinical outcomes in critical patients. We aimed to determine the prognostic accuracy of the modified Nutrition Risk in Critically Ill (mNUTRIC) score for hospital mortality and treatment outcomes in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) compared to other clinical prediction rules. We enrolled SCAP patients in a multi-center setting retrospectively.

Clinical effectiveness of cefoperazone-sulbactam vs. piperacillin-tazobactam for the treatment of pneumonia in elderly patients.

Objectives: Both cefoperazone-sulbactam (CFP-SUL) and piperacillin-tazobactam (PIP-TAZ) are β-lactam/β-lactamase inhibitor antibiotics and have a similar antimicrobial spectrum. However, comparative clinical efficacy and safety of CFP-SUL and PIP-TAZ for the treatment of pneumonia remain largely unknown, especially in elderly patients.

Methods: Based on a multi-centre registry database, patients aged ≥65 years, diagnosed with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP), hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) or ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), and given empirical therapy with CFP-SUL or PIP-TAZ were included in the analysis.

Clinical Efficacy of Cefoperazone-Sulbactam versus Piperacillin-Tazobactam in the Treatment of Hospital-Acquired Pneumonia and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia.

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the usefulness of cefoperazone-sulbactam and that of piperacillin-tazobactam in the treatment of hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP).

Methods: This retrospective study included the adult patients receiving cefoperazone-sulbactam or piperacillin-tazobactam against HAP/VAP in nine hospitals in Taiwan from March 1, 2018 to May 30, 2019. Primary outcome was clinical cure rate.

The Role of Series Cholecystectomy in High Risk Acute Cholecystitis Patients Who Underwent Gallbladder Drainage.

Cholecystectomy (CCY) is the only definitive therapy for acute cholecystitis. We conducted this study to evaluate which patients may not benefit from further CCY after percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage (PTGBD) has been performed in acute cholecystitis patients. Acute cholecystitis patients with PTGBD treatment were selected from one million random samples from the National Health Insurance Research Database obtained between January 2004 and December 2010.

Cholecystectomy reduces subsequent cholangiocarcinoma risk in choledocholithiasis patients undergoing endoscopic intervention.

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma is a disease with a high mortality rate. Our previous study revealed that cholelithiasis patients who undergo endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES)/endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation are at a higher risk for subsequent cholangiocarcinoma than cholelithiasis patients who undergo cholecystectomy.

Aim: To clarify the relationship between recurrent biliary events and subsequent cholangiocarcinoma risk in choledocholithiasis patients.

Symptomatic cholelithiasis patients have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer: A population-based study.

Background And Aim: Pancreatic cancer is a fatal disease; currently, the risk factor survey is not suitable for sporadic pancreatic cancer, which has neither family history nor the genetic analysis data. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the roles of cholelithiasis and cholelithiasis treatments on pancreatic cancer risk.

Methods: Symptomatic adult patients with an index admission of cholelithiasis were selected from one million random samples obtained between January 2005 and December 2009.

Association Between Proton Pump Inhibitors and Asthma: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Objective: The relationship between proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) and asthma is controversial. The goal of this study was to determine the association between PPI use in non-asthma subjects and their subsequent asthma prevalence.

Design: Nationwide, population-based cohort study.

Comorbidities and Outcome of Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis in Taiwan: A Population-Based Study.

The prognosis of different etiologies of liver cirrhosis (LC) is not well understood. Previous studies performed on alcoholic LC-dominated cohorts have demonstrated a few conflicting results. We aimed to compare the outcome and the effect of comorbidities on survival between alcoholic and non-alcoholic LC in a viral hepatitis-dominated LC cohort.

Risk of cholangiocarcinoma in patients undergoing therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography or cholecystectomy: A population based study.

Background: Cholangiocarcinoma is a highly lethal disease that had been underestimated in the past two decades. Many risk factors are well documented for in cholangiocarcinoma, but the impacts of advanced biliary interventions, like endoscopic sphincterotomy (ES), endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation (EPBD), and cholecystectomy, are inconsistent in the previous literature.

Aim: To clarify the risks of cholangiocarcinoma after ES/EPBD, cholecystectomy or no intervention for cholelithiasis using the National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD).

Role of Cholecystectomy in Choledocholithiasis Patients Underwent Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography.

There are no clinical guidelines for the timing of cholecystectomy (CCY) after performing therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for choledocholithiasis. We tried to analyze the clinical practice patterns, medical expenses, and subsequent outcomes between the early CCY, delayed CCY, and no CCY groups of patients. 1827 choledocholithiasis patients who underwent therapeutic ERCP were selected from the nationwide population databases of two million random samples.

Major bleeding risk of endoscopic sphincterotomy versus endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation in hemodialysis patients.

Background/aims: Endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) and endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation (EPBD) are used for therapeutic endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). The postprocedure bleeding rate for EPBD is low in the normal population; however, this bleeding rate in a group of patients prone to bleeding, such as patients with end-stage renal disease, is not well-established. We therefore evaluated the post-EST and post-EPBD bleeding rate among hemodialysis (HD) patients based on data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (NHIRD).

Oral immunotherapy with the ingestion of house dust mite extract in a murine model of allergic asthma.

Background: Allergen-specific immunotherapy (ASIT) has the potential to modify allergic diseases, and it is also considered a potential therapy for allergic asthma. House dust mite (HDM) allergens, a common source of airborne allergen in human diseases, have been developed as an immunotherapy for patients with allergic asthma via the subcutaneous and sublingual routes. Oral immunotherapy with repeated allergen ingestion is emerging as another potential modality of ASIT.

Favorable clinical outcome of nonalcoholic liver cirrhosis patients with coronary artery disease: A population-based study.

Aim: To elucidate the prevalence and risk of mortality of nonalcoholic liver cirrhosis (LC) patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).

Methods: The study cohort included newly diagnosed nonalcoholic LC patients age ≥ 40 years old without a diagnosis of CAD from 2006 until 2011 from a longitudinal health insurance database. The mean follow-up period for the study cohort was 1152 ± 633 d.

Increase risk of allergic diseases in patients with ankylosing spondylitis: A 10-year follow-up population-based study in Taiwan.

Th2 and Th17 cells are both associated with developing ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and asthma. Th2 cells are also associated with allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis (AD). The prevalence of such allergic diseases in AS patients is unknown.

Antimicrobial resistance of bacterial isolates from respiratory care wards in Taiwan: a horizontal surveillance study comparison of the characteristics of nosocomial infection and antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in adult Intensive Care Units and two respiratory care facilities for mechanically ventilated patients at a tertiary care centre in Taiwan.

The objectives of this study were to compare the incidence of nosocomial infections (NIs) and the distribution of resistant nosocomial pathogens in adult Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and two respiratory care facilities for prolonged mechanically ventilated patients [i.e. the respiratory care centre (RCC) and the respiratory care ward (RCW)] in a 1100-bed tertiary care hospital in Taiwan from 2003 to 2006.

Experiences and benefits of positron emitted tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) combined with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) in the diagnosis of Stage 1 sarcoidosis.

Background: The purpose of this study was to describe our experiences and analyze the benefits of video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) combined with positron emitted tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of patients with early (Stage 1) sarcoidosis.

Methods: From 1995 to 2006, seven patients (two males, five females), with ages ranging from 26 to 58 years, were impressed with Stage 1 sarcoidosis (mediastinal or hilar lymph nodes involvements without lung involvement) by histological examination of intrathoracic lymph nodes (LNs) and/or lung parenchyma taken from VATS biopsy. Three of them received PET or PET-CT evaluation.