BACKGROUND:Accurate diagnosis of infected aortic and iliac aneurysms is often delayed, hampering timely treatment and potentially resulting in a fatal consequence. The aim of this study was to discover useful clinical features that can help physicians to identify these patients. METHODS:We reviewed the discharge notes from two hospitals and identified all patients who had a diagnosis of infected aneurysms of the thoracoabdominal aorta and iliac arteries between July 2009 and December 2013. Eighteen patients, aged from 41 to 93, were reviewed. Only 6 patients were diagnosed accurately in their first visit to our ED. RESULTS:Most patients had at least one underlying illness, and it took 1 to 30 (9.9±6.5) days for physicians to diagnose their infected aneurysm. Localized pain and fever were the two most commonly presented symptoms. The majority (92％) of isolated microorganisms were gram-negative bacilli, including Salmonella spp, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli. Two of the 3 patients who underwent non-operative therapy died, and all of the patients who underwent a combination of medical and operative therapies survived. CONCLUSION:We suggest that physicians liberally use computed tomography scans on patients with unknown causes of pain and inflammatory processes. A combination of surgical and medical treatments is indicated for all patients with infected aortic and iliac aneurysms.

A 51-year-old woman presented with metachronous tumor development in bilateral breasts, thyroid, and endometrium. Additional signs and symptoms fulfilled the National Comprehensive Cancer Network criteria for Cowden syndrome. Immunohistochemistry showed loss of PTEN expression in all tumors. Single nucleotide variants, 647 germline variants (including one each in PTEN and MSH3), and 21 somatic mutations within exons were detected in all tumors after whole-exome sequencing. There were 0, 11, and 46 specific somatic mutations in bilateral breasts, thyroid, and endometrial cancers, respectively.Although PTEN mutation is key to the development of Cowden syndrome, DNA repair dysfunction might be the initial driver of mutations. Fewer mutations were required to induce initial bilateral breast carcinomas, with subsequent thyroid and endometrial carcinomas requiring more mutations for induction. When genetic screening is unavailable, breast cancer patients with clinical manifestations of Cowden syndrome must be carefully assessed for secondary malignancies, such as thyroid and endometrial carcinomas.

BACKGROUND: People sometimes siphon fuel to fill their tanks. However, this is a potentially dangerous procedure and may cause hydrocarbon pneumonitis. We present the case of a patient with severe hydrocarbon pneumonitis after siphoning fuel. The patient underwent artificial ventilation and was admitted to hospital for 97 days. METHODS: We review the relevant literature for a better understanding of clinical features and management strategies for hydrocarbon pneumonitis following fuel siphonage. RESULTS: We reviewed 15 articles, which included 3 original articles and 12 case reports that reported the clinical features of fuel siphonage. In addition, we added our presented case for data analysis. A total of 40 cases were included in this review. The literature review found that hydrocarbon pneumonitis caused by fuel siphonage occurs worldwide and that most patients (80%) became symptomatic within 1 day of aspiration. Cough (70%), chest pain (62.5%), dyspnoea (55%), and fever (52.5%) presented in more than half of all patients. The right middle lobe (80%) was the predominantly involved lung field; more than one-third of patients (36.7%) showed the involvement of two lobes. CONCLUSION Patient history, computed tomographic scans of the chest, and bronchoalveolar lavage are the commonly used diagnostic tools. Supportive care remains the foundation of treatment, whereas antibiotics, steroids, and bronchoalveolar lavage are practical therapies. Patients' clinical improvement precedes the resolution of lesions on chest X-ray. Most complications arise from pulmonary lesions. The prognosis of patients suffering from hydrocarbon pneumonitis following fuel siphonage might be improved by accurate diagnosis and appropriate care.

Background: Shared decision making using patient decision aids (PtDAs) was established over a decade ago, but few studies have evaluated its efficacy in Asian countries. We therefore evaluated the application of PtDAs in a decision conflict between two muscle relaxant reversal agents, neostigmine and sugammadex, and sequentially analyzed the regional differences and operating room turnover rates. Methods: This multicenter, outcome-assessor-blind, randomized controlled trial included 3,132 surgical patients from two medical centers admitted between March 2020 and August 2020. The patients were randomly divided into the classical and PtDA groups for pre-anesthesia consultations. Their clinicodemographic characteristics were analyzed to identify variables influencing the choice of reversal agent. On the day of the pre-anesthesia consultation, the patients completed the four SURE scale (sure of myself, understand information, risk-benefit ratio, encouragement) screening items. The operating turnover rates were also evaluated using anesthesia records. Results: Compared with the classical group, the PtDA group felt more confident about receiving sufficient medical information (P < 0.001), felt better informed about the advantages and disadvantages of the medications (P < 0.001), exhibited a superior understanding of the benefits and risks of their options (P < 0.001), and felt surer about their choice (P < 0.001). Moreover, the PtDA group had a significantly greater tendency to choose sugammadex over neostigmine (P < 0.001). Conclusions PtDA interventions in pre-anesthesia consultations provided surgical patients with clear knowledge and better support. PtDAs should be made available in other medical fields to enhance shared clinical decision-making.

INTRODUCTIONFalls are common among older people. Previous studies have shown that falls were multifactorial. However, data regarding community-dwelling Chinese population are minimal. We aimed to study factors associated with falls among community-dwelling older Chinese people.

MATERIALS AND METHODSWe conducted a cross-sectional study in a community hospital in Taiwan in 2010. Our sample included 671 elders from the 3680 examinees of the free annual Senior Citizens Health Examination. Participants were interviewed with a detailed questionnaire, and 317 elders were further invited for serum vitamin D tests. The main outcome was falls in the previous 12 months. Predictor variables included sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle risk factors, body stature, frailty, serum 25 (OH) D levels, and medications.

RESULTSThe mean age of the 671 participants was 75.7 ± 6.4 years old, and 48.7% of which were female. Fallers comprised 21.0% of the study population. In multivariate models, female gender (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 2.32), loss of height in adulthood (aOR: 1.52), low body weight (aOR: 2.69), central obesity (aOR: 1.67), frailty (aOR: 1.56), polypharmacy (aOR: 2.18) and hyperglycaemia (aOR: 1.56) were factors associated with falls. Vitamin D insufficiency (serum 25 (OH) D levels <30 ng/mL) was not associated with falls (OR: 0.78; 95% CI, 0.38 to 1.60) (n = 317) in this study.

CONCLUSIONAmong community-dwelling older people in Taiwan, falls were mainly associated with female gender, polypharmacy, frailty, reduced body height, low body weight or central obesity, and hyperglycaemia. In addition to other risk factors, body stature should be considered as a novel risk factor when screening elders at risk for falls.

Accidental Falls ; prevention & control ; statistics & numerical data ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Body Constitution ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Demography ; Female ; Geriatric Assessment ; methods ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; epidemiology ; Independent Living ; statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Odds Ratio ; Polypharmacy ; Risk Assessment ; methods ; statistics & numerical data ; Risk Factors ; Sex Factors ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Taiwan ; epidemiology

Objective: To evaluate the antioxidant activity, antiglycation property, and bioactive components content of different solvent extracts from Chinese olive (Canarium album L.) fruit. Methods: The dry powder of Chinese olive fruit was extracted with different solvents, i.e., water, water/ethanol (1/1, v/v), ethanol, methanol, acetone and ethyl acetate. The total phenolic, total flavonoids and total triterpenoids contents of various extracts were determined by spectrophotometric methods. Phenolic compounds were identified by high performance liquid chromatography. The assayed antioxidant activity was determined in vitro models such as antioxidant capacity by radical scavenging activity using 2,2'-Azino-bis(3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), 1,1-diphenyl-2-picryl- hydrazyl (DPPH) and nitrite oxide methods, chelating activity on metal ions, lipid and protein peroxidation methods. In vitro glucose-bovine serum albumin assay was used to evaluate the antiglycation of various extracts. Results: The water/ethanol extracts of Chinese olive fruit exerted significant scavenging effects on free radicals and strong inhibitory effects on advanced glycation end products formation. The Chinese olive fruit extracts were rich in phenolic compounds and triterpenoids. Gallic acid, ferulic acid and rutin were identified from the water/ethanol extracts. Correlation analysis indicated that there was a linear relationship between the antioxidant potency, free radical scavenging ability and phenolic compounds content of the Chinese olive fruit extracts. Conclusions: Chinese olive fruit could be a natural candidate for studies of dietary complement to diabetes treatment since it combines antioxidant and antiglycation activities.

Background: and Purpose To explore the causal relationships of elements of the exposome with ischemic stroke and its subtypes at the omics level and to provide evidence for stroke prevention. Methods We conducted a Mendelian randomization study between exposure and any ischemic stroke (AIS) and its subtypes (large-artery atherosclerotic disease [LAD], cardioembolic stroke [CE], and small vessel disease [SVD]). The exposure dataset was the UK Biobank involving 361,194 subjects, and the outcome dataset was the MEGASTROKE consortium including 52,000 participants. Results: We found that higher blood pressure (BP) (systolic BP: odds ratio [OR], 1.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 1.04; diastolic BP: OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.05; pulse pressure: OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.06), atrial fibrillation (OR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.25), and diabetes (OR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.07 to 1.18) were significantly associated with ischemic stroke. Importantly, higher education (OR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.79) decreased the risk of ischemic stroke. Higher systolic BP (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.10), pulse pressure (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.14), diabetes (OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.45), and coronary artery disease (OR, 1.58; 95% CI, 1.25 to 2.00) could cause LAD. Atrial fibrillation could cause CE (OR, 1.90; 95% CI, 1.71 to 2.11). For SVD, higher systolic BP (OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.00 to 1.07), diastolic BP (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01 to 1.12), and diabetes (OR, 1.22; 95% CI, 1.10 to 1.36) were causal factors. Conclusions The study revealed elements of the exposome causally linked to ischemic stroke and its subtypes, including conventional causal risk factors and novel protective factors such as higher education.

Objective: aaWilson’s disease (WD) is a rare genetic disorder of copper metabolism, and longitudinal follow-up studies are limited. We performed a retrospective analysis to determine the clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes in a large WD cohort. Methods: aaMedical records of WD patients diagnosed from 2006–2021 at National Taiwan University Hospital were retrospectively evaluated for clinical presentations, neuroimages, genetic information, and follow-up outcomes. Results: aaThe present study enrolled 123 WD patients (mean follow-up: 11.12 ± 7.41 years), including 74 patients (60.2%) with hepatic features and 49 patients (39.8%) with predominantly neuropsychiatric symptoms. Compared to the hepatic group, the neuropsychiatric group exhibited more Kayser-Fleischer rings (77.6% vs. 41.9%, p < 0.01), lower serum ceruloplasmin levels (4.9 ± 3.9 vs. 6.3 ± 3.9 mg/dL, p < 0.01), smaller total brain and subcortical gray matter volumes (p < 0.0001), and worse functional outcomes during follow-up (p = 0.0003). Among patients with available DNA samples (n = 59), the most common mutations were p.R778L (allelic frequency of 22.03%) followed by p.P992L (11.86%) and p.T935M (9.32%). Patients with at least one allele of p.R778L had a younger onset age (p = 0.04), lower ceruloplasmin levels (p < 0.01), lower serum copper levels (p = 0.03), higher percentage of the hepatic form (p = 0.03), and a better functional outcome during follow-up (p = 0.0012) compared to patients with other genetic variations. Conclusion aaThe distinct clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes of patients in our cohort support the ethnic differences regarding the mutational spectrum and clinical presentations in WD.

Background/Aims: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients who failed antiviral therapy are at increased risk for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study assessed the potential role of metformin and statins, medications for diabetes mellitus (DM) and hyperlipidemia (HLP), in reducing HCC risk among these patients. Methods: We included CHC patients from the T-COACH study who failed antiviral therapy. We tracked the onset of HCC 1.5 years post-therapy by linking to Taiwan’s cancer registry data from 2003 to 2019. We accounted for death and liver transplantation as competing risks and employed Gray’s cumulative incidence and Cox subdistribution hazards models to analyze HCC development. Results: Out of 2,779 patients, 480 (17.3%) developed HCC post-therapy. DM patients not using metformin had a 51% increased risk of HCC compared to non-DM patients, while HLP patients on statins had a 50% reduced risk compared to those without HLP. The 5-year HCC incidence was significantly higher for metformin non-users (16.5%) versus non-DM patients (11.3%; adjusted sub-distribution hazard ratio [aSHR]=1.51; P=0.007) and metformin users (3.1%; aSHR=1.59; P=0.022). Statin use in HLP patients correlated with a lower HCC risk (3.8%) compared to non-HLP patients (12.5%; aSHR=0.50; P<0.001). Notably, the increased HCC risk associated with non-use of metformin was primarily seen in non-cirrhotic patients, whereas statins decreased HCC risk in both cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic patients. Conclusions Metformin and statins may have a chemopreventive effect against HCC in CHC patients who failed antiviral therapy. These results support the need for personalized preventive strategies in managing HCC risk.

Background/Aims: Despite the high efficacy of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs), approximately 1–3% of hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients fail to achieve a sustained virological response. We conducted a nationwide study to investigate risk factors associated with DAA treatment failure. Machine-learning algorithms have been applied to discriminate subjects who may fail to respond to DAA therapy. Methods: We analyzed the Taiwan HCV Registry Program database to explore predictors of DAA failure in HCV patients. Fifty-five host and virological features were assessed using multivariate logistic regression, decision tree, random forest, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), and artificial neural network. The primary outcome was undetectable HCV RNA at 12 weeks after the end of treatment. Results: The training (n=23,955) and validation (n=10,346) datasets had similar baseline demographics, with an overall DAA failure rate of 1.6% (n=538). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, poor DAA adherence, and higher hemoglobin A1c were significantly associated with virological failure. XGBoost outperformed the other algorithms and logistic regression models, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 1.000 in the training dataset and 0.803 in the validation dataset. The top five predictors of treatment failure were HCV RNA, body mass index, α-fetoprotein, platelets, and FIB-4 index. The accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of the XGBoost model (cutoff value=0.5) were 99.5%, 69.7%, 99.9%, 97.4%, and 99.5%, respectively, for the entire dataset. Conclusions Machine learning algorithms effectively provide risk stratification for DAA failure and additional information on the factors associated with DAA failure.