Pay-for-performance in Taiwan: A systematic review and meta-analysis of the empirical literature.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the impact of pay-for-performance (P4P) programmes on healthcare in Taiwan.

Study Design: This was a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Methods: A systematic literature search was performed using the PubMed, Medline, Embase, Cochrane review, Scopus, Web of Science and PsycINFO databases up to July 2023.

Prevalence of sleep disorders in children with chronic kidney disease: a meta-analysis.

Background: The reported prevalence of sleep disorders in children with chronic kidney disease (CKD) varies greatly. A quantitative meta-analysis to estimate the prevalence of sleep disorders among pediatric CKD patients may provide further information.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of sleep disorders in children with CKD.

Global Genome Diversity and Recombination in Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

Genomic changes in Mycoplasma pneumoniae caused by adaptation to environmental or ecologic pressures are poorly understood. We collected M. pneumoniae from children who had confirmed pneumonia in Taiwan during 2017-2020.

Toxic Effects of Indoxyl Sulfate on Osteoclastogenesis and Osteoblastogenesis.

Uremic toxins, such as indoxyl sulfate (IS) and kynurenine, accumulate in the blood in the event of kidney failure and contribute to further bone damage. To maintain the homeostasis of the skeletal system, bone remodeling is a persistent process of bone formation and bone resorption that depends on a dynamic balance of osteoblasts and osteoclasts. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that regulates the toxic effects of uremic toxins.

An Outbreak of (X6)-Carrying Tigecycline-Resistant Isolates with a New Capsular Type at a Hospital in Taiwan.

Dissemination of multidrug-resistant, particularly tigecycline-resistant, is of critical importance, as tigecycline is considered a last-line antibiotic. Acquisition of (X), a tigecycline-inactivating enzyme mostly found in strains of animal origin, imparts tigecycline resistance to . Herein, we investigated the presence of (X) variants among 228 tigecycline-non-susceptible isolates from patients at a Taiwanese hospital via polymerase chain reaction using a newly designed universal primer pair.

Development and application of a chronic kidney disease-specific health literacy, knowledge and disease awareness assessment tool for patients with chronic kidney disease in Taiwan.

Objectives: This study aims to develop an assessment tool for health literacy and knowledge specific to chronic kidney disease (CKD) for use in examining the associations between health literacy, disease-specific knowledge and disease awareness among patients with CKD in Taiwan.

Design: An assessment tool in Mandarin and Taiwanese was developed based on patient input, panel discussions with experts and a literature review, and checked for validity and reliability in a pilot test. Formal data were collected through population-based sampling with a set quota according to region and hospital accreditation level.

Continuity of care: evaluating a multidisciplinary care model for people with early CKD via a nationwide population-based longitudinal study.

Objectives: To control and prevent the burdens associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), Taiwan's National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) launched the 'early-CKD programme' in 2011 to extend care and education to patients with CKD. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the early-CKD programme in terms of continuity of care (COC).

Design And Participants: This study used secondary data from 2010 to 2014 provided by the NHIA to identify 86 581 participants each for the intervention and control groups.

Association of Constipation with risk of end-stage renal disease in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Background: Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) is a growing public health problem. Many risk factors were identified and interventions were applied accordingly, but the incidence of end-stage renal disease continued increasing. Some other risk factors may be ignored.

Glycosylated hemoglobin and albumin-corrected fructosamine are good indicators for glycemic control in peritoneal dialysis patients.

Purpose: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is the most common cause of end-stage renal disease and is an important risk factor for morbidity and mortality after dialysis. However, glycemic control among such patients is difficult to assess. The present study examined glycemic control parameters and observed glucose variation after refilling different kinds of fresh dialysate in peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients.

Interspecific competition between Solenopsis invicta and two native ant species, Pheidole fervens and Monomorium chinense.

This study was designed to understand the effects of the interspecific competition between red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren and two native ant species, Pheidole fervens Smith and Monomorium chinense Santschi, by conducting colony interference and individual confrontation tests under laboratory conditions. The colony interference test showed that both native ant species, owing to their numerical advantage, killed the Solenopsis invicta virus-1 (SINV-1)-infected or healthy queens of S. invicta.

Seven-year follow-up of peritoneal dialysis patients in Taiwan.

Background: There are no Taiwanese publications and only a few Asian publications on the long-term outcome of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of PD patients in Taiwan during a 7-year follow-up period.

Patients And Methods: This study enrolled 67 patients (23 males, mean age 46.