Objective To explore the clinical outcomes of Ligament reconstruction tendon interposition (LRTI) arthro-plasty for first carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis. Methods From January 2008 to January 2011, 19 patients (21 thumbs) had surgery for thumb carpometacarpal arthritis using ligament reconstruction tendon interposition arthroplasty with flexor carpi radia-lis (FCR). There were 1 male and 18 were females with an average age of 60 years (range, 52-75 years);8 thumbs were on the left side and 13 thumbs on the right side. According to Eaton-Glickel classification, 1 thumb belonged to stageⅡ, 14 thumbs to stageⅢ, and 6 thumbs to stageⅣ. Pain level, grip strength, tip pinch strength, range of motion, and radiographic measurement were re-corded. According to the first metacarpal subsidence, the cases were classified in mild, moderate, and severe groups. Clinical out-comes of different group were evaluated and compared. Results All patients were followed up for 9-28 months with an average of 13.9 months. Comparision with the preoperative X-rays showed the first metacarpal had subsided 54.8% of the arthroplasty space after surgery. Grip strength improved from 18.6±10.1 kg to 20.5±11.9 kg, and tip pinch strength increased from 4.4±2.1 kg to 4.5 ± 1.9 kg after the surgery. Radial abduction increased from 55.7° ± 8.2° to 60.6° ± 7.2° and palmar abduction improved from 56.7° ± 8.5° to 63.5° ± 8.2° after the procedure. Patient pain levels (visual analogue scale, VAS) were significantly reduced, from 6.6 ± 1.4 to 0.5 ± 0.7. There was no difference of grip strength, tip pinch strength, thumbs range of motion, and VAS after LRTI in mild, moderate and severe groups. Conclusion LRTI resulted in excellent relief of pain and increase in range of motion. Howev-er, LRTI cannot sustain the arthroplasty space. Compared with the preoperative X-ray, the first metacarpal subsided more than 50%. Subsidence of the first metacarpal doesn't affect the pain relief, range of motion and strength improvement.

Fistula formation is common during the course of Crohn's disease, whereas duodenocolic fistulas are very rare. The management of internal fistulas in Crohn's disease is a complex issue. Herein, we report a case of duodenocolic fistula manifested by increasing frequency of diarrhea and loss of body weight. The fistula was diagnosed by upper gastrointestinal tract barium series, magnetic resonance enterography, and panendoscopy and was treated with a right hemicolectomy and Whipple procedure because of the simultaneous occurrence of pancreatic head tumor. Subsequent treatment with adalimumab, azathioprine, and mesalazine was prescribed for the maintenance of disease remission, and the patient was well until 18 months after the surgery.
Adalimumab ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; Azathioprine ; Barium ; Body Weight ; Crohn Disease* ; Diarrhea ; Fistula* ; Head ; Humans ; Intestinal Fistula ; Magnetics ; Magnets ; Mesalamine ; Upper Gastrointestinal Tract

Background: (Introduction): Zika virus (ZIKV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, causes the outbreaks of Latin America in 2015 - 2016, with the incidence of neurological complications. Sunitinib malate, an orally bioavailable malate salt of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is suggested as a broadspectrum antiviral agent against emerging viruses like severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and SARS-CoV-2. Materials and Methods: This study investigated the antiviral efficacy and antiviral mechanisms of sunitinib malate against ZIKV infection using cytopathic effect reduction, virus yield, and time-of-addition assays. Results: Sunitinib malate concentration-dependently reduced ZIKV-induced cytopathic effect, the expression of viral proteins, and ZIKV yield in supernatant with 50% inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) value of 0.015 μM, and the selectivity index of greater than 100 against ZIKV infection, respectively. Sunitinib malate had multiple antiviral actions during entry and post-entry stages of ZIKV replication. Sunitinib malate treatment at entry stage significantly reduced the levels of ZIKV RNA replication with the reduction of (+) RNA to (-) RNA ratio and the production of new intracellular infectious particles in infected cells. The treatment at post-entry stage caused a concentration-dependent increase in the levels of ZIKV (+) RNA and (-) RNA in infected cells, along with enlarging the ratio of (+) RNA to (-) RNA, but caused a pointed increase in the titer of intracellular infectious particles by 0.01 and 0.1 μM, and a substantial decrease in the titer of intracellular infectious particles by 1 μM. Conclusion The study discovered the antiviral actions of sunitinib malate against ZIKV infection, demonstrating a repurposed, host-targeted approach to identify potential antiviral drugs for treating emerging and global viral diseases.

BACKGROUNDSeprase plays an important role in malignant cell invasion and metastasis by degrading the extracellular matrix. However, its clinical significance remains largely unknown. The objective of the current study was to evaluate the expression of seprase in effusions from patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma and its clinical values.

METHODSImmunohistochemistry was used to examine the expression of seprase protein in a series of 74 malignant peritoneal (n = 64) and pleural (n = 10) effusions from Norwegian patients with epithelial ovarian carcinoma. Additionally, 34 effusions were evaluated using the Western blotting. Nine reactive effusions, obtained from patients with benign lesions, served as a control group. Statistical analyses were carried out by Chi-square test and Kaplan-Meier method.

RESULTSIn the 74 malignant effusion specimens, 57 (77.02%) were positive for seprase, while only 2 (22.22%) of the control group were positively stained (P = 0.001). In the malignant effusions, 17 (22.97%), 22 (29.73%), 22 (29.73%), 13 (17.57%) had negative, weak, moderate and strong seprase protein expression, respectively. The expression of seprase protein was predominant in cytoplasm of carcinoma cells. Increased seprase protein was negatively associated with the overall survival rate of the patients (P = 0.03). However, there was no significant correlation between protein expression and FIGO stage, age, histology, and histological grade. By Western blotting, 27 of the 34 effusions showed the presence of both 170-kD dimeric form and 97-KD monomeric form of seprase while only 1 of the 34 had 170-KD dimeric form, which was consistent with the results of immunohistochemistry (P = 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSSeprase may be involved in the development of ovarian cancer, and is a potential predictive marker for the disease.

Ascitic Fluid ; enzymology ; pathology ; Blotting, Western ; Epithelial Cells ; pathology ; Female ; Gelatinases ; metabolism ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Membrane Proteins ; metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Norway ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; enzymology ; pathology ; Pleural Effusion, Malignant ; enzymology ; pathology ; Serine Endopeptidases ; metabolism

Objective: We aimed to investigate whether 2-[ 18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (2-[ 18F]FDG PET/CT) can aid in evaluating the risk of malignancy in ampullary tumors detected by endoscopy. Materials and Methods: This single-center retrospective cohort study analyzed 155 patients (79 male, 76 female; mean age, 65.7 ± 12.7 years) receiving 2-[ 18F]FDG PET/CT for endoscopy-detected ampullary tumors 5–87 days (median, 7 days) after the diagnostic endoscopy between June 2007 and December 2020. The final diagnosis was made based on histopathological findings. The PET imaging parameters were compared with clinical data and endoscopic features. A model to predict the risk of malignancy, based on PET, endoscopy, and clinical findings, was generated and validated using multivariable logistic regression analysis and an additional bootstrapping method. The final model was compared with standard endoscopy for the diagnosis of ampullary cancer using the DeLong test. Results: The mean tumor size was 17.1 ± 7.7 mm. Sixty-four (41.3%) tumors were benign, and 91 (58.7%) were malignant. Univariable analysis found that ampullary neoplasms with a blood-pool corrected peak standardized uptake value in earlyphase scan (SUVe) ≥ 1.7 were more likely to be malignant (odds ratio [OR], 16.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 7.13–36.18;P < 0.001). Multivariable analysis identified the presence of jaundice (adjusted OR [aOR], 4.89; 95% CI, 1.80–13.33; P = 0.002), malignant traits in endoscopy (aOR, 6.80; 95% CI, 2.41–19.20; P < 0.001), SUVe ≥ 1.7 in PET (aOR, 5.43; 95% CI, 2.00–14.72; P < 0.001), and PET-detected nodal disease (aOR, 5.03; 95% CI, 1.16–21.86; P = 0.041) as independent predictors of malignancy. The model combining these four factors predicted ampullary cancers better than endoscopic diagnosis alone (area under the curve [AUC] and 95% CI: 0.925 [0.874–0.956] vs. 0.815 [0.732–0.873], P < 0.001). The model demonstrated an AUC of 0.921 (95% CI, 0.816–0.967) in candidates for endoscopic papillectomy. Conclusion Adding 2-[ 18F]FDG PET/CT to endoscopy can improve the diagnosis of ampullary cancer and may help refine therapeutic decision-making, particularly when contemplating endoscopic papillectomy.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: With the recent progress in medical treatment, surgery still plays a necessary and important role in treating ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. In this study, we analyzed the surgical results and outcomes of UC in Taiwan in the recent 20 years, via a multi-center study through the collaboration of Taiwan Society of IBD. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of surgery data of UC patients from January 1, 1995, through December 31, 2014, in 6 Taiwan major medical centers was conducted. The patients' demographic data, indications for surgery, and outcome details were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: The data of 87 UC patients who received surgical treatment were recorded. The median post-operative follow-up duration was 51.1 months and ranged from 0.4 to 300 months. The mean age at UC diagnosis was 45.3±16.0 years and that at operation was 48.5±15.2 years. The 3 leading indications for surgical intervention were uncontrolled bleeding (16.1%), perforation (13.8%), and intractability (12.6%). In total, 27.6% of surgeries were performed in an emergency setting. Total or subtotal colectomy with rectal preservation (41.4%) was the most common operation. There were 6 mortalities, all due to sepsis. Emergency operation and low pre-operative albumin level were significantly associated with poor survival (P=0.013 and 0.034, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In the past 20 years, there was no significant change in the indications for surgery in UC patients. Emergency surgeries and low pre-operative albumin level were associated with poor survival. Therefore, an optimal timing of elective surgery for people with poorly controlled UC is paramount.
Colectomy ; Colitis, Ulcerative* ; Cooperative Behavior ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies* ; Sepsis ; Taiwan* ; Ulcer*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In Taiwan, due to budget limitations, the National Health Insurance only allows for a limited period of biologics use in treating moderate to severe Crohn's disease (CD). We aimed to access the outcomes of CD patients following a limited period use of biologics, specifically focusing on the relapse rate and remission duration; also the response rate to second use when applicable. METHODS: This was a multicenter, retrospective, observational study and we enrolled CD patients who had been treated with adalimumab (ADA) according to the insurance guidelines from 2009 to 2015. RESULTS: A total of 54 CD patients, with follow-up of more than 6 months after the withdrawal of ADA, were enrolled. The average period of treatment with ADA was 16.7±9.7 months. After discontinuing ADA, 59.3% patients suffered a clinical relapse. In the univariate analysis, the reason for withdrawal was a risk factor for relapse (P=0.042). In the multivariate analysis, current smoker became an important risk factor for relapse (OR, 3.9; 95% CI, 1.2−14.8; P=0.044) and male sex was another risk factor (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.1−8.6; P=0.049). For those 48 patients who received a second round of biologics, the clinical response was seen in 60.4%, and 1 anaphylaxis occurred. CONCLUSIONS: Fifty-nine percent of patients experienced a relapse after discontinuing the limited period of ADA treatment, and most of them occurred within 1 year following cessation. Male sex and current smoker were risk factors for relapse. Though 60.4% of the relapse patients responded to ADA again.
Adalimumab* ; Anaphylaxis ; Biological Products ; Budgets ; Crohn Disease* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Insurance ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; National Health Programs ; Observational Study ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Taiwan*

Background/Aims: Four-week treatment of linvencorvir (RO7049389) was generally safe and well tolerated, and showed anti-viral activity in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. This study evaluated the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of 48-week treatment with linvencorvir plus standard of care (SoC) in CHB patients. Methods: This was a multicentre, non-randomized, non-controlled, open-label phase 2 study enrolling three cohorts: nucleos(t)ide analogue (NUC)-suppressed patients received linvencorvir plus NUC (Cohort A, n=32); treatment-naïve patients received linvencorvir plus NUC without (Cohort B, n=10) or with (Cohort C, n=30) pegylated interferon-α (Peg-IFN-α). Treatment duration was 48 weeks, followed by NUC alone for 24 weeks. Results: 68 patients completed the study. No patient achieved functional cure (sustained HBsAg loss and unquantifiable HBV DNA). By Week 48, 89% of treatment-naïve patients (10/10 Cohort B; 24/28 Cohort C) reached unquantifiable HBV DNA. Unquantifiable HBV RNA was achieved in 92% of patients with quantifiable baseline HBV RNA (14/15 Cohort A, 8/8 Cohort B, 22/25 Cohort C) at Week 48 along with partially sustained HBV RNA responses in treatment-naïve patients during follow-up period. Pronounced reductions in HBeAg and HBcrAg were observed in treatment-naïve patients, while HBsAg decline was only observed in Cohort C. Most adverse events were grade 1–2, and no linvencorvir-related serious adverse events were reported. Conclusions 48-week linvencorvir plus SoC was generally safe and well tolerated, and resulted in potent HBV DNA and RNA suppression. However, 48-week linvencorvir plus NUC with or without Peg-IFN did not result in the achievement of functional cure in any patient.

Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic relapsing and remitting inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal tract. CD is rare in Taiwan and other Asian countries, but its prevalence and incidence have been steadily increasing. A steering committee was established by the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease to formulate statements on the diagnosis and management of CD taking into account currently available evidence and the expert opinion of the committee. Thorough clinical, endoscopic, and histological assessments are required for accurate diagnosis of CD. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are complementary to endoscopic evaluation for disease staging and detecting complications. The goals of CD management are to induce and maintain remission, reduce the risk of complications, and improve quality of life. Corticosteroids are the mainstay for inducing re-mission. Immunomodulating and biologic therapies should be used to maintain remission. Patients should be evaluated for hepatitis B virus and tuberculosis infection prior to treatment and receive regular surveillance for cancer. These consensus statements are based on current local evidence with consideration of factors, and could be serve as concise and practical guidelines for supporting clinicians in the management of patients with CD in Taiwan.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Biological Therapy ; Consensus* ; Crohn Disease* ; Diagnosis ; Disease Management ; Expert Testimony ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Taiwan* ; Tuberculosis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by chronic mucosal inflammation of the colon, and the prevalence and incidence of UC have been steadily increasing in Taiwan. A steering committee was established by the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease to formulate statements on the diagnosis and management of UC taking into account currently available evidence and the expert opinion of the committee. Accurate diagnosis of UC requires thorough clinical, endoscopic, and histological assessment and careful exclusion of differential diagnoses, particularly infectious colitis. The goals of UC therapy are to induce and maintain remission, reduce the risk of complications, and improve quality of life. As outlined in the recommended treatment algorithm, choice of treatment is dictated by severity, extent, and course of disease. Patients should be evaluated for hepatitis B virus and tuberculosis infection prior to immunosuppressive treatment, especially with steroids and biologic agents, and should be regularly monitored for reactivation of latent infection. These consensus statements are also based on current local evidence with consideration of factors, and could be serve as concise and practical guidelines for supporting clinicians in the management of UC in Taiwan.
Biological Factors ; Colitis ; Colitis, Ulcerative* ; Colon ; Consensus* ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Disease Management ; Expert Testimony ; Hepatitis B virus ; Humans ; Incidence ; Inflammation ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Steroids ; Taiwan* ; Tuberculosis ; Ulcer*