Infective Native Aortic Aneurysm: a Delphi Consensus Document on Treatment, Follow Up, and Definition of Cure.

Objective: Evidence is lacking to guide the management of infective native aortic aneurysm (INAA). The aim of this study was to establish expert consensus on surgical and antimicrobial treatment and follow up, and to define when an INAA is considered cured.

Methods: Delphi methodology was used.

Editor's Choice - Infective Native Aortic Aneurysms: A Delphi Consensus Document on Terminology, Definition, Classification, Diagnosis, and Reporting Standards.

Objective: There is no consensus regarding the terminology, definition, classification, diagnostic criteria, and algorithm, or reporting standards for the disease of infective native aortic aneurysm (INAA), previously known as mycotic aneurysm. The aim of this study was to establish this by performing a consensus study.

Methods: The Delphi methodology was used.

Nivolumab plus chemotherapy versus placebo plus chemotherapy in patients with HER2-negative, untreated, unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer (ATTRACTION-4): a randomised, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 trial.

Background: The additive or synergistic sustained antitumour effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors in combination with oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy has previously been reported. We investigated the efficacy of nivolumab plus oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy versus placebo plus oxaliplatin-based chemotherapy as first-line therapy for patients with HER2-negative, unresectable advanced or recurrent gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction cancer.

Methods: We did a randomised, multicentre, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2-3 trial (ATTRACTION-4) at 130 centres (hospitals, cancer centres, and medical centres) across Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Effects of a Case Management Program for Women With Pregnancy-Induced Hypertension.

Background: Pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) is a leading cause of maternal and fetal morbidity and mortality. Although case management programs have been proposed to improve maternal and fetal outcomes in high-risk pregnancies, limited data are available regarding the effect of case management on women with PIH.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of an antepartum case management program on stress, anxiety, and pregnancy outcomes in women with PIH.

Lifetime Risks, Life Expectancy, and Health Care Expenditures for Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Nationwide Cohort Followed Up From 2003 to 2016.

Objective: This study was undertaken to estimate the cumulative incidence rate of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in the Taiwanese population ages 16-84 years, and life expectancy, loss of life expectancy, and lifetime health care expenditures for incident RA in Taiwan after 2003, when biologics began to be prescribed.

Methods: We obtained all claims data for the period 1999 to 2016 from the National Health Insurance program of Taiwan, and validated the data against the Catastrophic Illness Registry to establish the study cohort. We estimated the survival function for RA and extrapolated to lifetime using a rolling-over algorithm.

Phase II Study of BGJ398 in Patients With FGFR-Altered Advanced Cholangiocarcinoma.

Purpose No standard treatment exists for patients with cholangiocarcinoma for whom first-line gemcitabine-based therapy fails. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 ( FGFR2) fusions/translocations are present in 13% to 17% of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinomas. BGJ398, an orally bioavailable, selective pan-FGFR kinase inhibitor, has shown preliminary clinical activity against tumors with FGFR alterations.

Anti-angiogenic Therapy in Patients with Advanced Gastric and Gastroesophageal Junction Cancer: A Systematic Review.

Despite advancements in therapy for advanced gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers, their prognosis remains dismal. Tumor angiogenesis plays a key role in cancer growth and metastasis, and recent studies indicate that pharmacologic blockade of angiogenesis is a promising approach to therapy. In this systematic review, we summarize current literature on the clinical benefit of anti-angiogenic agents in advanced gastric cancer.

Dysregulation of RUNX2/Activin-A Axis upon miR-376c Downregulation Promotes Lymph Node Metastasis in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

Epigenetic correlates of the head and neck cancer may illuminate its pathogenic roots. Through a gene set enrichment analysis, we found that the oncogenic transcription factor RUNX2 is widely upregulated in the head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) with lymph node metastasis, where it also predicts poor prognosis in patients with HNSCC. Enforced expression of ectopic RUNX2 promoted the metastatic capabilities of HNSCC, whereas RUNX2 silencing inhibited these features.

TSOC-HFrEF Registry: A Registry of Hospitalized Patients with Decompensated Systolic Heart Failure: Description of Population and Management.

Introduction: Heart failure (HF) is a medical condition with a rapidly increasing incidence both in Taiwan and worldwide. The objective of the TSOC-HFrEF registry was to assess epidemiology, etiology, clinical management, and outcomes in a large sample of hospitalized patients presenting with acute decompensated systolic HF.

Methods: The TSOC-HFrEF registry was a prospective, multicenter, observational survey of patients presenting to 21 medical centers or teaching hospitals in Taiwan.

Hepatic angiosarcoma may have fair survival nowadays.

Hepatic angiosarcoma (HAS) is rare but often fatal. A review of literature in 1979 found that only 3% of the 70 patients lived for more than 2 years, but the survival might have been improved over the years. We conducted a retrospective study and reviewed the medical records of patients who visited a teaching hospital in Taiwan from January 2000 to August 2010 and had pathological proof of HAS.

Is abnormal non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol a gender-specific predictor for metabolic syndrome in patients with schizophrenia taking second-generation antipsychotics?

Evidence supports an association between metabolic syndrome (MetS) and schizophrenia. However, specific risk factors for MetS and gender differences in patients with schizophrenia taking second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) have not been well explored. A cross-sectional cohort of 329 Han Chinese patients was recruited in a psychiatric hospital in central Taiwan.

[Changes to the psychiatric diagnosis protocol].

The newest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has just been published. The DSM is an essential tool for mental health professionals and clinicians to diagnose patient conditions and conduct post-diagnosis communications with patients. Further, hospitals, clinics, and insurance companies in the U.

Prenatal diagnosis of fetal gastroschisis using three-dimensional ultrasound: comparison between the 20th and 21st centuries.

Objective: In order to compare the trends and improvements of prenatal diagnosis of gastroschisis, we herein retrospectively reviewed our cases of fetal gastroschisis detected by three-dimensional ultrasound (3D US) between the two centuries.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed our computer database of prenatal diagnosis on gastroschisis in National Cheng Kung University Hospital from October 1994 to November 2011. All the fetuses were initially scanned by two-dimensional (2D) US to locate the region of interest (ROI).

Prenatal diagnosis of fetal congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung using three-dimensional ultrasound: comparison between the 20th and 21st centuries.

Objective: Congenital cystic adenomatoid malformation of the lung (CCAML) is one of the most common lung lesions diagnosed prenatally. In order to compare the trends and improvements of prenatal diagnosis of CCAML, we herein retrospectively reviewed our cases of fetal CCAML detected by three-dimensional ultrasound (3-D US) between two centuries.

Materials And Methods: We reviewed our computer database of prenatal diagnosis of CCAML in National Cheng Kung University Hospital from October 1994 to November 2011.

Low anxiety disorder comorbidity rate in bipolar disorders in Han Chinese in Taiwan.

Objectives: Studies report high comorbidity of lifetime anxiety disorders with bipolar disorders in Western patients, but it is unclear in Taiwan. The authors explored the comorbidity of anxiety disorders in different bipolar disorder subtypes in Han Chinese in Taiwan.

Methods: Three hundred twenty-five patients with bipolar disorder (bipolar I: 120; bipolar II: 205) disorder were recruited from two general medical outpatient services.

Treatment of enophthalmos using corrective osteotomy with concomitant cartilage-graft implantation.

Post-traumatic enophthalmos is a relatively common problem following orbitozygomatic fractures. Bony-volume expansion and soft-tissue atrophication are considered the main aetiological causes of this condition. Although most surgeons are familiar with the treatment principles in this field, inadequate long-term results are frequently observed.