Clinical and epidemiological features in hospitalized young children with acute gastroenteritis in Taiwan: A multicentered surveillance through 2014-2017.

Background/purpose: Acute gastroenteritis (AGE) remains a significant health issue in children. The worldwide evolution of pediatric AGE pathogens had been recorded since the introduction of rotavirus vaccine. Ten years after the rotavirus vaccine was introduced to the private sectors in Taiwan, a nationwide study was conducted to elucidate the epidemiological changes among major AGE pathogens.

The potential role of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in reducing acute respiratory inflammation in community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia.

Background: Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) reduces both invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) and other pneumococcal infections worldwide. We investigated the impact of stepwise implementation of childhood PCV programs on the prevalence of pneumococcal pneumonia, severity of acute inflammation, and associations between breakthrough pneumonia and pneumococcal serotypes in Taiwan.

Methods: In total, 983 children diagnosed with community-acquired pneumococcal pneumonia were enrolled between January 2010 and December 2015.

Long-term effectiveness of pentavalent and monovalent rotavirus vaccines against hospitalization in Taiwan children.

Background: Two rotavirus vaccines (RV1 and RV5) are available on the private market in Taiwan, not included in national immunization program. Scanty reports evaluated the rotavirus vaccine effectiveness (VE) in Asian countries.

Methods: From February 2014-July 2017, we conducted a prospective case-control study in ten hospitals in Taiwan.

Characteristics and etiology of hospitalized pediatric community-acquired pneumonia in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the pathogens and to estimate the incidence of pediatric community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in Taiwan.

Methods: This prospective study was conducted at eight medical centers from November 2010 to September 2013. Children aged 6 weeks to 18 years who met the radiologic criteria for pneumonia were enrolled.

Prevalence and molecular characterizations of Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization among patients in pediatric intensive care units in Taiwan.

Background: Nasal colonization of Staphylococcus aureus is a risk factor for the pathogen transmission and the development of infections. Limited information is available on the prevalence and molecular characteristics of S. aureus colonization in pediatric intensive care unit (ICU) patients.

Recommendations for the use of Japanese encephalitis vaccines.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a mosquito-borne viral infection which is prevalent in Taiwan. The virus circulates in an enzootic cycle in pigs which serve as amplifying hosts. Outbreaks typically occur during summer.

Effects of influenza vaccine and sun exposure time against laboratory-confirmed influenza hospitalizations among young children during the 2012-13 to 2015-16 influenza seasons.

Background: Influenza is a major cause of acute respiratory infection burden worldwide, leading to many hospitalizations. An annual influenza vaccine is believed to be the best way to prevent influenza-related illnesses. We focused on the efficacies of other possible preventive measures such as increasing sun exposure time and dietary supplements to prevent these illnesses.

A rare case of septic cavernous sinus thrombosis as a complication of sphenoid sinusitis.

Isolated sphenoid sinusitis is a rare disorder and may present with severe complications due to its proximity to the orbital and intracranial areas. We report a 13-year-old boy hospitalized for septic shock with fever of unknown origin. Facial palsy was later noted.

Humoral immunity to mumps in a highly vaccinated population in Taiwan.

Background: A resurgence of mumps was noted recently and outbreaks were increasingly reported in populations with high vaccine coverage. We aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence to mumps in Taiwan, where a two-dose childhood mumps-containing vaccine program, with a high coverage rate, had been implemented for >20 years.

Methods: The anti-mumps IgG was determined in 3552 participants of all ages in Taiwan.

Application of Bacteriophage-containing Aerosol against Nosocomial Transmission of Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii in an Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) is associated with nosocomial infections worldwide. Here, we used phage as a potential agent to evaluate the efficacy of daily cleaning practices combined with a bacteriophage-containing aerosol against CRAB.

Methods: A two-phase prospective intervention study was performed at a 945-bed public teaching hospital.

Use of a Sampling Area-Adjusted Adenosine Triphosphate Bioluminescence Assay Based on Digital Image Quantification to Assess the Cleanliness of Hospital Surfaces.

Contaminated surfaces play an important role in the transmission of pathogens. We sought to establish a criterion that could indicate "cleanliness" using a sampling area-adjusted adenosine triphosphate (ATP) assay. In the first phase of the study, target surfaces were selected for swab sampling before and after daily cleaning; then, an aerobic colony count (ACC) plate assay of bacteria and antibiotic-resistant bacteria was conducted.

Clinical and epidemiological characteristics in children with community-acquired mycoplasma pneumonia in Taiwan: A nationwide surveillance.

Background: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is the leading cause of hospitalization of children. Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of the most common pathogens. The disease severity is diverse, and the diagnosis remains a challenge to clinical pediatricians.

Risk factors of progressive community-acquired pneumonia in hospitalized children: a prospective study.

Background: Complications regarding pneumonia occur in children during hospitalization and treatment. The objective of this study is to identify the risk factors of progressive pneumonia in order to institute early appropriate therapy.

Methods: This was a prospective study which involved the pediatric departments of seven medical centers in Taiwan.

Waning population immunity to measles in Taiwan.

To evaluate the population immunity to measles in Taiwan where the coverage rate of the measles vaccine was >95% for more than a decade, anti-measles IgG was determined in 3552 Taiwanese volunteers in 2007. The overall seroprevalence was 74.7% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 73.

Leptospirosis with transient paraparesis and thrombocytopenia: a case report.

Leptospirosis is the most widespread zoonosis in the world. We present an unusual case of leptospirosis in a 44-year-old man with severe thrombocytopenia and transient paraparesis. The diagnosis of leptospirosis was confirmed by blood nested polymerase chain reaction, seroconversion of Leptospira IgM and the microscopic agglutination test.

Different clinical characteristics among Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas veronii biovar sobria and Aeromonas caviae monomicrobial bacteremia.

This study aimed to compare the clinical presentations of Aeromonas hydrophila, A. veronii biovar sobria and A. caviae monomicrobial bacteremia by a retrospective method at three hospitals in Taiwan during an 8-yr period.

Intravenous minocycline versus oral doxycycline for the treatment of noncomplicated scrub typhus.

Background: Scrub typhus is an acute febrile disease for which synthetic tetracycline antibiotics are efficacious. However, no clinical studies have compared oral doxycycline with intravenous minocycline for treatment of scrub typhus.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis in patients diagnosed with noncomplicated scrub typhus by serologic or molecular methods from August 2001 to July 2007.

Different clinical characteristics between polymicrobial and monomicrobial Aeromonas bacteremia--a study of 216 cases.

Background: Part of Aeromonas bacteremia is polymicrobial infection. However, a clinical comparison of monomicrobial and polymicrobial Aeromonas bacteremia has not hitherto been reported.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of medical records of patients with Aeromonas bacteremia at three large referral hospitals in Taiwan for an 8-year period (2001-2008) was conducted.

Levofloxacin versus tetracycline antibiotics for the treatment of scrub typhus.

Background: Scrub typhus is an important febrile disease in Southeast Asia and is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. Fluoroquinolones have proved to be effective for scrub typhus in an animal model. However, it is unclear whether they are also effective clinically.

A 6-year retrospective epidemiologic study of pediatric pneumococcal pneumonia in Taiwan.

Background/purpose: Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is one of the most common diseases during childhood, and its features vary between countries. Death from CAP is rare in industrialized countries, but it is the leading cause of mortality in developing countries. The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiology and morbidity of pneumococcal CAP (PCAP) in children hospitalized with pneumonia in Taiwan.

Host factors do not influence the colonization or infection by fluconazole resistant Candida species in hospitalized patients.

Nosocomial yeast infections have significantly increased during the past two decades in industrialized countries, including Taiwan. This has been associated with the emergence of resistance to fluconazole and other antifungal drugs. The medical records of 88 patients, colonized or infected with Candida species, from nine of the 22 hospitals that provided clinical isolates to the Taiwan Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance of Yeasts (TSARY) program in 1999 were reviewed.