Developing competency-based medical education for dental education in Taiwan: A pilot study of tooth extraction entrustable professional activities.

Background/purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the initial implementation of competency-based medical education (CBME) through entrustable professional activities (EPAs) in Taiwan dental education, focusing on tooth extraction EPAs across undergraduate year (UGY), postgraduate year (PGY), and oral and maxillofacial surgery-residency (OS-R) levels.

Materials And Methods: Using the Delphi method, an advisory team developed and validated three levels of trial EPAs, which were implemented through the Emyway platform. A structured questionnaire was used to evaluate teachers' and students' experiences and satisfaction with Emyway and the EPAs.

Incidence of Subsequent Injuries Associated with a New Diagnosis of Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo and Effects of Treatment: A Nationwide Cohort Study.

: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) is the most common cause of recurrent vertigo and the most common peripheral vestibular disorder. It is characterized by intense vertigo triggered by head and position changes. This study investigates the risk of subsequent injury in BPPV patients and the effects of treatment.

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.

Differential effects of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors on cardiovascular and renal outcomes according to renal function: a dose-response meta-analysis involving 10 randomized clinical trials and 71 553 individuals.

Background: The main target of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2i), the sodium-glucose cotransporters 2, is found in the kidneys, and their activity is reduced in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). How the efficacy of SGLT2i may vary in patients with different levels of renal impairment has not been fully elucidated.

Methods: We searched the PubMed databases for relevant studies published through May 25, 2022.

Impact of post-implantation time on bioresorbable vascular scaffold outcomes for type C versus non-type C coronary lesions: A longer-term study.

Background: We have demonstrated that bioresorbable vascular scaffold (BVS) for ACC/AHA type C lesions was associated with higher risks of long-term target lesion revascularization (TLR) and target lesion failure (TLF). We determined the specific time after which higher risks of BVS for type C lesions are reduced in a longer-term follow-up.

Methods: We analyzed data of 457 patients (59 ± 12 years, 87% male) with 714 BVS implanted for 529 lesions and a median follow-up of 56.

Myocardial Flow Assessment After Heart Transplantation Using Dynamic Cadmium-Zinc-Telluride Single-Photon Emission Computed Tomography With Tl and Tc Tracers and Validated by N-NH Positron Emission Tomography.

Background: Cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV) is an obliterative and diffuse form of vasculopathy and is the most common cause of long-term cardiovascular mortality in heart transplant patients. This study aimed to investigate the diagnostic performance of Tc and Tl tracers in the assessment of CAV using cadmium-zinc-telluride (CZT) single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) for myocardial blood flow (MBF) and myocardial flow reserve (MFR) quantification, which was further validated using N-NH positron emission tomography (PET).

Methods: Thirty-eight patients with prior heart transplantation who underwent CZT SPECT and N-NH PET dynamic scans were included in this study.

Circulating serum amyloid A levels but not SAA1 variants predict long-term outcomes of angiographically confirmed coronary artery disease.

Objectives: Circulating serum amyloid A (SAA) levels are strongly associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk and severity. The association between genetic variants, SAA levels, inflammatory marker levels, and coronary artery disease (CAD) prognosis has not been fully understood.

Materials And Methods: In total, 2199 Taiwan Biobank (TWB) participants were enrolled for a genome-wide association study (GWAS), and the long-term outcomes in 481 patients with CAD were analyzed.

Aortic remodeling after endovascular aortic repair and tailored distal entry tears exclusion in Crawford type III or IV dissection aneurysm.

Background: Thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) can only promote 55-80% false lumen (FL) thrombosis when only the proximal primary tear is covered during the repair of type B aortic dissection (TBAD). This study evaluated the effectiveness and clinical outcome of tailored exclusion of the primary entry tear with TEVAR and distal fenestrations with ancillary devices in patients with subacute or chronic Crawford type III and IV aortic dissection aneurysm.

Methods: All patients underwent either TEVAR for primary entry tear; subsequently, various ancillary devices were applied on each distal fenestration.

The hidden curve behind COVID-19 outbreak: the impact of delay in treatment initiation in cancer patients and how to mitigate the additional risk of dying-the head and neck cancer model.

Purpose: The rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic around the world caused most healthcare services to turn substantial attention to treatment of these patients and also to alter the structure of healthcare systems to address an infectious disease. As a result, many cancer patients had their treatment deferred during the pandemic, increasing the time-to-treatment initiation, the number of untreated patients (which will alter the dynamics of healthcare delivery in the post-pandemic era) and increasing their risk of death. Hence, we analyzed the impact on global cancer mortality considering the decline in oncology care during the COVID-19 outbreak using head and neck cancer, a known time-dependent disease, as a model.

Sex, racial differences and healthy aging in normative reference ranges on diastolic function in Ethnic Asians: 2016 ASE guideline revisited.

Background: Diastolic dysfunction (DD) has shown to be a hallmark pathological intermediate in the development of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). We aim to establish age- and sex-stratified normal reference values of diastolic indices and to explore racial-differences.

Methods: We explored age- and sex-related structural/functional alterations from 6023 healthy ethnic Asians (47.

Surviving and Thriving 1 Year After Cardiac Surgery: Frailty and Delirium Matter.

Background: We compared 1-year functional outcomes for 4 cardiac surgery patient groups: comparison (without preoperative frailty or postoperative delirium [POD]), frailty only (with preoperative frailty only), POD only (with POD only), and frailty-POD (combined frailty and POD).

Methods: Consecutive cardiac surgery patients (n = 298) at a university hospital were assessed for preoperative frailty using Fried's phenotype, and POD was assessed daily for 10 days after surgery using the Confusion Assessment Method. Functional outcomes (Barthel Index for activities of daily living [ADL]) and all-cause mortality were evaluated 1-year after surgery.

Establishing a Core Outcome Set for Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: Report of the Standardized Outcomes in Nephrology-Polycystic Kidney Disease (SONG-PKD) Consensus Workshop.

The omission of outcomes that are of relevance to patients, clinicians, and regulators across trials in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) limits shared decision making. The Standardized Outcomes in Nephrology-Polycystic Kidney Disease (SONG-PKD) Initiative convened an international consensus workshop on October 25, 2018, to discuss the identification and implementation of a potential core outcome set for all ADPKD trials. This article summarizes the discussion from the workshops and the SONG-PKD core outcome set.

Core Outcome Domains for Trials in Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease: An International Delphi Survey.

Rationale & Objective: Outcomes reported in trials involving patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) are heterogeneous and rarely include patient-reported outcomes. We aimed to identify critically important consensus-based core outcome domains to be reported in trials in ADPKD.

Study Design: An international 2-round online Delphi survey was conducted in English, French, and Korean languages.

Self-perception of symptoms, medical help seeking, and self-help strategies of women with interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome.

Background: This study aims to investigate the self-perception of symptoms, medical help seeking, and self-help strategies of women with interstitial cystitis (IC).

Methods: A mixed method of qualitative and quantitative approaches was employed. The qualitative approach used in-depth interviews about the subjective experience of symptoms, medical help seeking, and self-help strategies for their IC.

Stress Echocardiography-Derived E/e' Predicts Abnormal Exercise Hemodynamics in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction.

Background: The correlation between echocardiographic parameters and hemodynamics data in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) is unclear. It is important to find a non-invasive echocardiographic parameter for predicting exercise pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP).

Aim: This study sought to determine the correlation between echocardiographic parameters and hemodynamics data at rest and during exercise in HFpEF patients.

Modulation of osmotic stress-induced TRPV1 expression rescues human iPSC-derived retinal ganglion cells through PKA.

Background: Transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1), recognized as a hyperosmolarity sensor, is a crucial ion channel involved in the pathogenesis of neural and glial signaling. Recently, TRPV1 was determined to play a role in retinal physiology and visual transmission. In this study, we sought to clarify the role of TRPV1 and the downstream pathway in the osmotic stress-related retina ganglion cell (RGC) damage.

Clinicopathologic Characterization of GREB1-rearranged Uterine Sarcomas With Variable Sex-Cord Differentiation.

Uterine mesenchymal tumors are genetically heterogenous; those with uniform cytomorphology, best exemplified by endometrial stromal tumors, often contain various fusion genes. Novel fusions involving ESR1 and GREB1, key factors in sex hormone pathways, have been implicated in rare uterine mesenchymal tumors. Particularly, the fusions between 5'-ESR1/GREB1 and 3'-NCOA2/NCOA3 were recently identified in 4 uterine tumors resembling ovarian sex-cord tumor (UTROSCT).

Duration of Clopidogrel-Based Dual Antiplatelet Therapy and Clinical Outcomes in Patients With Acute Coronary Syndrome Undergoing Percutaneous Coronary Intervention - A Real-World Observation in Taiwan From 2012 to 2015.

Background: Little information is available in Asia about the real-world practice of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) duration for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and its influence on clinical outcomes.

Methods and results: The Taiwan ACS STENT Registry was a prospective, multicenter study to observe ACS patients using clopidogrel-based DAPT after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). The primary outcome was a composite of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, and stroke.

Effects of GADL1 overexpression on cell migration and the associated morphological changes.

Lithium has been used for maintenance treatment of bipolar disorder, but drug response varies among patients. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in glutamate decarboxylase-like protein 1 (GADL1) are found to be associated with lithium response in Han Chinese bipolar patients. In this study, we assessed GADL1 function using a neuroblastoma cell line that stably overexpressed GADL1.

Effects of sarcopenia on functional improvement over the first year after cardiac surgery: a cohort study.

Background: Sarcopenia is linked with poor postoperative outcomes.

Aims: To evaluate the effects of sarcopenia on first-year functional changes after cardiac surgery.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, functional changes (physical activity levels in metabolic equivalent hours/week, 6-minute walking distance in metres, and grip strength in kg) from preoperative baseline to 1, 3, 6 and 12 months postoperatively were compared in adult patients with and without sarcopenia undergoing cardiac surgery at a tertiary medical centre.