Multistate oral carcinogenesis-A prospective cohort study and a parallel case-control study in Taiwan.

Background: To characterize multistate oral carcinogenesis, we conducted a cohort study of patients with oral precancer and a parallel case-control study of oral cancers and controls in Taiwan.

Methods: During 2013-2019, we recruited patients with oral precancer (n = 1998) or invasive oral cancer (n = 768) and hospital-based controls (n = 717). Precancer patients were followed up biannually for up to five years; questionnaire data and biospecimens were collected at multiple timepoints.

Overlapping group between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and metabolic associated fatty liver disease better for liver research.

Aims: Metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was proposed to replace "non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) with new diagnostic criteria." The group meeting these two diagnostic criteria is called "Overlapping Fatty Liver Disease (FLD)." Its clinical characteristics remain unknown.

Safety assessment of a proprietary fermented soybean solution, Symbiota®, as an ingredient for use in foods and dietary supplements: Non-clinical studies and a randomized trial.

A safety evaluation was performed of Symbiota®, which is made by a proprietary anaerobic fermentation process of soybean with multistrains of probiotics and a yeast. The battery of genotoxicity studies showed that Symbiota® has no genotoxic effects. Safety and tolerability were further assessed by acute or repeated dose 28- and 90-day rodent studies, and no alterations in clinical observations, ophthalmological examination, blood chemistry, urinalysis, or hematology were observed between the control group and the different dosing groups (1.

Anticoagulation for Patients With Concomitant Atrial Fibrillation and End-Stage Renal Disease: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis.

Background: Concomitant atrial fibrillation and end-stage renal disease is common and associated with an unfavorable prognosis. Although oral anticoagulants have been well established to prevent thromboembolism, the applicability in patients under long-term dialysis remains debatable. The study aimed to determine the efficacy and safety of anticoagulation in the dialysis-dependent population.

Right Ventricular-Vascular Uncoupling Predicts Pulmonary Hypertension in Clinically Diagnosed Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Background: Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is highly prevalent in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), and it is a strong predictor of adverse outcomes. We aimed to determine possible echocardiographic parameters to predict the presence of PH in patients with HFpEF.

Methods And Results: A total of 113 patients with HFpEF were prospectively enrolled from November 2017 to July 2022.

Efficacy and Safety of Direct Oral Anticoagulants for Stroke Prevention in Older Patients With Atrial Fibrillation: A Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Although older patients with atrial fibrillation are at heightened risk of thromboembolic and bleeding events, their optimal treatment choice remains uncertain.

Methods And Results: This meta-analysis was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched the PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane databases for randomized controlled trials that compared thromboembolic or bleeding outcomes between a direct oral anticoagulant (DOAC) and a vitamin K antagonist (VKA) and reported outcomes for patients aged ≥75 years with atrial fibrillation.

Long-Term Visit-to-Visit Glycemic Variability as a Predictor of Major Adverse Limb and Cardiovascular Events in Patients With Diabetes.

Background Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) is a severe complication in patients with type 2 diabetes. Glycemic variability (GV) is associated with increased risks of developing microvascular and macrovascular diseases. However, few studies have focused on the association between GV and PAD.

Pulmonary hypertension complicating unilateral absence of pulmonary artery and coronary-pulmonary artery fistula: Report of a case and review of the literature.

This is a case report of a 53-year-old woman who presented to our hospital in 2011 with an intermittent cough and dyspnea for 5 years. The chest X-ray showed a prominent left hilum and a smaller right lung. Computed tomography (CT) of the chest confirmed the absence of the right pulmonary artery (PA) and the right cardiac catheterization showed a mean PA pressure of 34 mmHg.

Inhaled Carbon Dioxide Improves Neurological Outcomes by Downregulating Hippocampal Autophagy and Apoptosis in an Asphyxia-Induced Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation Rat Model.

Background Protracted cerebral hypoperfusion following cardiac arrest (CA) may cause poor neurological recovery. We hypothesized that inhaled carbon dioxide (CO) could augment cerebral blood flow (CBF) and improve post-CA neurological outcomes. Methods and Results After 6-minute asphyxia-induced CA and resuscitation, Wistar rats were randomly allocated to 4 groups (n=25/group) and administered with different inhaled CO concentrations, including control (0% CO), 4% CO, 8% CO, and 12% CO.

Detection of Carotid Artery Stenosis Based on Video Motion Analysis for Fast Screening.

Background Carotid artery stenosis (CAS) is a common cause of ischemic stroke, and the early detection of CAS may improve patient outcomes. Carotid Doppler ultrasound is commonly used to diagnose CAS. However, it is costly and may not be practical for regular screening practice.

Setting up a three-stage pre-endoscopy triage during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A multicenter observational study.

Objectives: Between May and July 2021, the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a sharp surge in community transmission in Taiwan. We present a three-stage restructuring process of pre-endoscopy triage at the beginning of the pandemic, which can support urgent endoscopic procedures while protecting endoscopy staff.

Methods: The pre-endoscopy triage framework was set up with three checkpoints at the hospital entrance, outpatient department, and endoscopy unit, with a specific target patient population and screening methods.

Switching from omalizumab to mepolizumab therapy improved extra-pulmonary abdominal and cutaneous vasculitis symptoms in a patient with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis.

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) is a systemic vasculitis of small-to-medium-sized vessels. Both eosinophilic infiltration and vasculitis are thought to contribute to multi-organ damage. Some biologics have been used to reduce the required dose of corticosteroids in EGPA, but no single agent can ensure a complete control of this disease.

Ropeginterferon alfa-2b in patients with genotype 1 chronic hepatitis C: Pharmacokinetics, safety, and preliminary efficacy.

Background And Aim: Ropeginterferon alfa-2b (P1101) is a novel long-acting mono-PEGylated recombinant proline interferon (IFN) conjugated to a 40 kDa branched polyethylene glycol (PEG) chain at its N-terminus, allowing every-two-week injection. It received European Medicines Agency and Taiwan marketing authorization for the treatment of polycythemia vera in 2019 and 2020, respectively. This phase 2 study aimed to evaluate the pharmacokinetics, safety, and preliminary efficacy of ropeginterferon alfa-2b as compared with PEG-IFN-α2a in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1 infection.

Transcutaneous ultrasound: An adjunct way to evaluate the intra-false vocal cord pathology-learning from a case of laryngeal Rosai-Dorfman disease.

In clinical practice, it is sometimes difficult to evaluate the intra-false vocal fold lesion. Transcutaneous ultrasound can be an option to evaluate the soft tissue lesion within the right false vocal cord in a 65-year-old man with laryngeal Rosai-Dorfman disease presenting with hoarseness and right false cord swelling.

2020 APHRS/HRS expert consensus statement on the investigation of decedents with sudden unexplained death and patients with sudden cardiac arrest, and of their families.

This international multidisciplinary document intends to provide clinicians with evidence-based practical patient-centered recommendations for evaluating patients and decedents with (aborted) sudden cardiac arrest and their families. The document includes a framework for the investigation of the family allowing steps to be taken, should an inherited condition be found, to minimize further events in affected relatives. Integral to the process is counseling of the patients and families, not only because of the emotionally charged subject, but because finding (or not finding) the cause of the arrest may influence management of family members.

Pneumopericardium secondary to oesophageal cancer presenting as myocardial infarction: a case report.

The diagnosis of pneumopericardium can be challenging, as the symptoms are sometimes non-specific and can mimic those of other diseases. Especially, focal pneumopericardium presenting with regional ST-segment elevation on the electrocardiogram can be difficult to diagnose. Here, we present the case of a patient with pneumopericardium secondary to oesophageal cancer that was first diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia and subsequently classified with acute coronary syndrome after an episode of cardiac arrest.

Unexpected cardio-circulatory arrest during a brain-dead donor organ retrieval.

According to the Maastricht classification category of donation after circulatory death (DCD), type IV DCD refers to brain-dead donors who are re-categorized after unexpected circulatory arrest before donor organ retrieval. Clinical management is challenging, even in intensive care units, where most of this type of organ donation occurs. We report a case of the first successful lung transplantation (LTx) using type IV DCD organ in Taiwan.

Midterm Prognosis of Patients With Pulmonary Embolism Receiving Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis or Systemic Thrombolysis: A Nationwide Population-Based Study.

Background This study compared the efficacy and safety between catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) and systemic thrombolysis for patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) with midterm follow-up. Methods and Results We conducted a prospective open cohort study by using data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database for 2001 to 2013. Patients who were first admitted for PE and were treated by either systemic thrombolysis or CDT were included and compared.