Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract and is characterized by alternating periods of inflammation and remission. Although UC incidence is lower in Taiwan than in Western countries, its impact remains considerable, demanding updated guidelines for addressing local healthcare challenges and patient needs. The revised guidelines employ international standards and recent research, emphasizing practical implementation within the Taiwanese healthcare system. Since the inception of the guidelines in 2017, the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease has acknowledged the need for ongoing revisions to incorporate emerging therapeutic options and evolving disease management practices. This updated guideline aims to align UC management with local contexts, ensuring comprehensive and context-specific recommendations, thereby raising the standard of care for UC patients in Taiwan. By adapting and optimizing international protocols for local relevance, these efforts seek to enhance health outcomes for patients with UC.

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic, fluctuating inflammatory condition that primarily affects the gastrointestinal tract. Although the incidence of CD in Taiwan is lower than that in Western countries, the severity of CD presentation appears to be similar between Asia and the West. This observation indicates the urgency for devising revised guidelines tailored to the unique reimbursement system, and patient requirements in Taiwan. The core objectives of these updated guidelines include the updated treatment choices and the integration of the treat-to-target strategy into CD management, promoting the achievement of deep remission to mitigate complications and enhance the overall quality of life. Given the diversity in disease prevalence, severity, insurance policies, and access to medical treatments in Taiwan, a customized approach is imperative for formulating these guidelines. Such tailored strategies ensure that international standards are not only adapted but also optimized to local contexts. Since the inception of its initial guidelines in 2017, the Taiwan Society of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (TSIBD) has acknowledged the importance of continuous revisions for incorporating new therapeutic options and evolving disease management practices. The latest update leverages international standards and recent research findings focused on practical implementation within the Taiwanese healthcare system.

Background/Aims: Ineffective esophageal motility (IEM) is common in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and can be associated with poor esophageal contraction reserve on multiple rapid swallows. Alterations in the esophageal microbiome have been reported in GERD, but the relationship to presence or absence of contraction reserve in IEM patients has not been evaluated. We aim to investigate whether contraction reserve influences esophageal microbiome alterations in patients with GERD and IEM. Methods: We prospectively enrolled GERD patients with normal endoscopy and evaluated esophageal motility and contraction reserve with multiple rapid swallows during high-resolution manometry. The esophageal mucosa was biopsied for DNA extraction and 16S ribosomal RNA gene V3-V4 (Illumina)/full-length (Pacbio) amplicon sequencing analysis. Results: Among the 56 recruited patients, 20 had normal motility (NM), 19 had IEM with contraction reserve (IEM-R), and 17 had IEM without contraction reserve (IEM-NR). Esophageal microbiome analysis showed a significant decrease in microbial richness in patients with IEM-NR when compared to NM. The beta diversity revealed different microbiome profiles between patients with NM or IEM-R and IEM-NR (P = 0.037). Several esophageal bacterial taxa were characteristic in patients with IEM-NR, including reduced Prevotella spp.and Veillonella dispar, and enriched Fusobacterium nucleatum. In a microbiome-based random forest model for predicting IEM-NR, an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.81 was yielded. Conclusions In symptomatic GERD patients with normal endoscopic findings, the esophageal microbiome differs based on contraction reserve among IEM. Absent contraction reserve appears to alter the physiology and microbiota of the esophagus.

Background Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are classified as persistent organic pollutants and have been widely detected in human. Studies investigating the associations between PFASs exposure and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) yielded inconsistent results, and little is known about the effects of PFASs on eGFR in population without kidney disease. Objective To explore the associations of exposure to PFASs with eGFR and renal dysfunction in population without kidney disease. Methods A total of 609 participants with an eGFR > 60 mL·min⁻¹·1.73 m⁻² and without renal impairment matched for sex and age (1∶1) were recruited from endocrinology department and medical examination center of two hospitals in Tianjin, China, from April 2021 to March 2022. Each subject was interviewed using a structured questionnaire to collect information about sex, age, height, weight, disease history, smoking, alcohol intake, etc. Clinical parameters were obtained from medical record, such as fasting blood glucose (FBG), creatinine (Cre), total cholesterol (TC), and triglyceride (TG). Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) were measured by professionals using standard methods. The serum concentrations of PFASs were determined by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were performed to evaluate the associations of PFASs exposure with eGFR and renal dysfunction, respectively. Subgroup analyses stratified by age and sex were also performed to assess the modified effects of covariates on the associations of PFASs exposure with eGFR. Results There were 283 males, accounting for 46.5% of the total population. The mean age of the participants was (56.86±12.47) years, and the average body mass index (BMI) was (25.59±3.84) kg·m⁻². Perfluoro-n-octanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluoro-n-nonanoic acid (PFNA), perfluoro-n-decanoic acid (PFDA), perfluoro-n-undecanoic acid (PFUnDA), sodium 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H-perfluoro-1-octanesulfonate (6:2 FTS), and perfluoropentane sulfonic acid (PFPeS) were positive in more than 75% of serum samples, and the corresponding median concentrations were 9.50, 1.67, 17.22, 1.86, 1.41, 0.78, 0.42, and 0.43 μg·L⁻¹, respectively. After full adjustments of sex, age, BMI, hypertension, diabetes, TC, TG, smoking, and drinking, the linear regression models showed that log₂-transformed PFHxS concentration was negatively associated with eGFR (<i>bi>=−1.160, 95%CI: −2.280, −0.410). Compared with the lowest exposure tertile, the estimated change of eGFR in the highest tertile for PFHxS was significantly decreased (<i>bi>=−2.471, 95%CI: −4.574, −0.368). Furthermore, compared with males, the negative association of PFHxS with eGFR was strengthened among females (female: <i>bi>=−1.281, 95%CI: −2.388, −0.174; male: <i>bi>=−0.781, 95%CI: −2.823, 1.261, <i>Pi>_interaction=0.043). Conclusion A significant negative association between serum PFHxS and eGFR is observed in the sampled population without kidney disease, and females are more susceptible to PFASs exposure than the males.

Background/Aims: Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). We aimed to evaluate the prevalence, clinical manifestation, and outcomes of PSC in Taiwanese patients with IBD. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled patients with IBD admitted from January 1, 1996, to December 31, 2018, to National Taiwan University Hospital. A case-matched analysis was performed comparing patients with IBD with and without PSC according to age, sex, and time of admission, with ratios of 1:4 and 1:2 in the adult and pediatric groups, respectively. Results In total, 763 patients with IBD were enrolled, 12 of whom were also diagnosed with PSC (1.57%). All these patients had ulcerative colitis (UC). A greater incidence of IBD with PSC was observed in younger patients than in older patients. Male sex was a risk factor for PSC in pediatric patients with IBD (P=0.015); 75% of these patients were diagnosed with PSC along with or after the diagnosis of UC. There was no significant difference in colitis extent and severity between the groups; however, a higher proportion of rectal sparing was observed in patients with PSC (P=0.001). There was no significant difference in cancer development between the groups (P=0.679). Conclusions: A 1.57% prevalence of PSC was observed in Taiwanese patients with IBD. The majority of patients with IBD and PSC were men and were diagnosed at a younger age. Hence, routine evaluation of biliary enzymes and liver imaging is recommended in young male patients with IBD.

In recent years, the number of diabetic patients has gradually increased, and the number of patients with diabetic foot has also increased. Diabetic foot has a high rate of disability and death, seriously affects the patients' quality of life, shortens life expectancy, and brings heavy social burden. The current treatment methods for diabetic foot are insufficient. The concepts and methods of tissue engineering provide new thoughts and means for the treatment of diabetic foot. This article introduces the pathogenesis of diabetic foot wounds, the factors leading to non-healing of diabetic foot, the applications of functional hydrogel dressings in the treatment of diabetic foot and their technical methods of functional hydrogel dressings for treating skin wounds in diabetic animals, and the future development direction of functional hydrogel dressing for treating diabetic foot wounds is prospected.
Bandages ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetic Foot/therapy* ; Humans ; Hydrogels ; Quality of Life ; Wound Healing

Animals ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; drug therapy ; etiology ; Creatine Kinase, MB Form ; blood ; Heart ; drug effects ; Interleukin-1 ; blood ; Interleukin-6 ; blood ; Lycium ; chemistry ; Male ; Nitrates ; blood ; Oxidative Stress ; drug effects ; Physical Conditioning, Animal ; adverse effects ; Plant Extracts ; therapeutic use ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; blood

The occurrence of hiatal hernia after total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction is rare. We report the case of a 76-year-old man who presented with dyspnea, vomiting, and fever around 8 days after total gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction. Abdominal computed tomography revealed a hiatal hernia containing part of the small intestine in the left thoracic cavity. Emergent reduction and repair of the hiatal hernia were performed later. Operative findings revealed that the Roux limb was incarcerated in the left pleural cavity. Esophagojejunostomy leakage, perforation of the small intestine with transient ischemic change, and pyothorax were also found. Thus, feeding jejunostomy, thoracoscopic decortication, and diversion T-tube esophagostomy were performed. Considering that the main cause of hiatal hernia is blunt dissection with division of the phrenoesophageal membrane, approximating the crus with 1 or 2 figure-8 sutures, according to the size of the defect, to prevent the incidence of hiatal hernia after total gastrectomy may be performed.
Aged ; Dyspnea ; Empyema, Pleural ; Esophagostomy ; Extremities ; Fever ; Gastrectomy ; Hernia ; Hernia, Hiatal ; Humans ; Incidence ; Intestine, Small ; Jejunostomy ; Membranes ; Pleural Cavity ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Sutures ; Thoracic Cavity ; Vomiting

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*