Association between comorbidities and dementia in diabetes mellitus patients: population-based retrospective cohort study.

Aims: Most diabetes mellitus (DM) patients have several comorbidities; the correlation of these comorbidities with dementia in DM requires clarification.

Methods: Using claims data from Taiwan National Health Insurance, we identified 33,709 DM adults before the year 2000 and randomly selected 67,066 non-DM patients matched by sex and age. Subjects were followed until diagnosis with dementia, excluded due to death/withdrawal from the insurance program, or followed until 2011.

Pulmonary Mucormycosis in a Patient with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Diagnostic and Treatment Challenge.

Pulmonary mucormycosis is commonly encountered in patients with diabetic ketoacidosis, hematologic malignancies, neutropenia, organ or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and malignancy, but it rarely occurs in high-risk patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We present the case of a 40-year-old SLE female with fulminant pneumonia after remission of nephritis treated with rituximab, who developed severe pulmonary mucormycosis that led to her rapid death from acute respiratory failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Pulmonary mucormycosis has a high mortality rate.

Gout and a Subsequent Increased Risk of Erectile Dysfunction in Men Aged 64 and Under: A Nationwide Cohort Study in Taiwan.

Objective: Few studies have examined the relationship between gout and erectile dysfunction (ED). We investigated whether patients with gout exhibited an increased risk of ED.

Methods: This longitudinal nationwide cohort study investigated the incidence and risk of ED in 19,368 men with gout who were newly diagnosed between January 2002 and December 2008.

Hearing Loss is Associated With Risk of Alzheimer's Disease: A Case-Control Study in Older People.

Background: It remains unknown whether hearing loss increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease. This study aimed to examine the association between hearing loss and risk of Alzheimer's disease in older people in Taiwan.

Methods: Analyzing the database from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Program, this case-control study enrolled 488 subjects ≥65 years old with newly diagnosed Alzheimer's disease as a case group and 1952 subjects without Alzheimer's disease as a control group from 1998-2011.

Mammography usage with relevant factors among women with mental disabilities in Taiwan: a nationwide population-based study.

Women with mental illness are at increased risk of developing and dying from breast cancer and are thus in urgent need of breast cancer preventive care. This study examined the use of screening mammography by Taiwanese women with mental disabilities and analyzed factors affecting this use. 17,243 Taiwanese women with mental disabilities aged 50-69 years were retrospectively included as study subjects.

Sociodemographic characteristics and health-related factors affecting the use of Pap smear screening among women with mental disabilities in Taiwan.

This study examined the use of the Pap cervical cancer screening test among women with mental disabilities in Taiwan and analyzed factors related thereto. Data were obtained from three national databases in Taiwan: the 2008 database of physically and mentally disabled persons from the Ministry of the Interior, 2007-2008 Pap smear test data from the Health Promotion Administration, and claims data from the National Health Insurance Research Database. The study subjects included 49,642 Taiwanese women aged ≥30 years with mental disabilities.

Cool extremities, a diagnostic sign recorded in Shang Han Lun, still good prognosis index for septic patients in today's medical intensive care unit.

Objective: To evaluate and compare the predictive value of the physical signs mentioned by ZHANG Zhong-jing in Treatise on Cold Damaged Diseases (Shang Han Lun), together with other clinically determined diagnostic scores and laboratory values in modern medicine on 28-day mortality in septic patients.

Methods: Three-year prospective observation was conducted in medical intensive care unit in two local community hospitals. In all, 126 patients with severe sepsis and/or septic shock were consecutively enrolled.

Velocity-Encoded Phase-Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Diagnosing Severe Bilateral Subclavian Steal Syndrome with Complete Vertebral Reversal.

Unlabelled: Subclavian steal syndrome (SSS) involves changes in hemodynamics secondary to proximal subclavian artery stenosis and/or occlusion where the subclavian artery "drains" the blood from the vertebral artery. It sometimes induces neuromuscular symptoms, especially in cases with bilateral involvement. We report the case of a 65-year-old symptomatic male with severe bilateral SSS with complete vertebral reversal.

Myocardial Infarction with Normal Coronary Arteries in a Patient with Heroin Use and Infective Endocarditis.

Unlabelled: Myocardial infarction with normal coronary arteries typically occurs in patients under 50 years of age. There is usually no history of angina or previous myocardial infarction, and risk factors for ischemic heart disease are frequently absent. We report a 27-year-old heroin user with normal coronary arteries and inferior wall infarction secondary to infective endocarditis.

Human infection with avian influenza A H6N1 virus: an epidemiological analysis.

Background: Avian influenza A H6N1 virus is one of the most common viruses isolated from wild and domestic avian species, but human infection with this virus has not been previously reported. We report the clinical presentation, contact, and environmental investigations of a patient infected with this virus, and assess the origin and genetic characteristics of the isolated virus.

Methods: A 20-year-old woman with an influenza-like illness presented to a hospital with shortness of breath in May, 2013.

Molecular typing and epidemiology of Clostridium difficile in respiratory care wards of central Taiwan.

Background/purpose: In industrialized countries, Clostridium difficile is the major cause of nosocomial diarrhea. This study involved a broad overview of baseline epidemiology for C. difficile in Taiwan.

Synergistic interaction of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatitis on prostate cancer risk.

Background: The incidence of prostate cancer is much lower in Asian men than in Western men. This study investigated whether prostate cancer is associated with prostatitis, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), and other medical conditions in the low-incidence population.

Methods: From the claims data obtained from the universal National Health Insurance of Taiwan, we identified 1184 patients with prostate cancer diagnosed from 1997 to 2008.

Risk factors associated with symptomatic cholelithiasis in Taiwan: a population-based study.

Background: Cholelithiasis has become a major health problem in Taiwan. The predominant type of gallstone found in Asian populations differs from that in the West, indicating possible differences in the etiology and risk factors for cholelithiasis. The aim of this study is to investigate the risk factors for cholelithiasis using data representative of the general population.

Hypothyroidism and cerebral infarction: a case report and literature review.

Thyroid hormone has been studied in cardiovascular disease but rarely in cerebrovascular disease (CVD). Recently, hypothyroidism has been suggested to be related to risk factors such as atherosclerosis but not directly to CVD. We reported a 52-year-old woman with acute ischemic stroke, and greatly improved general conditions after thyroid hormone replacement.

Gastrointestinal bleeding due to whipworm (Trichuris trichiura) infestation: a case report.

Severe whipworm infestation, an exceedingly uncommon cause of gastrointestinal bleeding, has not been reported in Taiwan. The reported case concerns a 59-year-old female who had suffered from abdominal pain and passage of tarry stool for several days. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy was performed, and several roundworms were seen in the second portion of duodenum.