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: The PLASMIC score is a convenient tool for predicting ADAMTS13 activity of ＜10%.Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) is widely used as a marker of haemolysis in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) monitoring, and could be used as a replacement marker for lysis. We aimed to validate the PLASMIC score in a multi-centre Asia Pacific region, and to explore whether LDH could be used as a replacement marker for lysis. Methods: Records of patients with thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) were reviewed. Patients’ ADAMTS13 activity levels were obtained, along with clinical/laboratory findings relevant to the PLASMIC score. Both PLASMIC scores and PLASMIC-LDH scores, in which LDH replaced traditional lysis markers, were calculated. We generated a receiver operator characteristics (ROC) curve and compared the area under the curve values (AUC) to determine the predictive ability of each score. Results: 46 patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria, of which 34 had ADAMTS13 activity levels of ＜10%. When the patients were divided into intermediate-to-high risk (scores 5‒7) and low risk (scores 0‒4), the PLASMIC score showed a sensitivity of 97.1% and specificity of 58.3%, with a positive predictive value (PPV) of 86.8% and negative predictive value (NPV) of 87.5%. The PLASMIC-LDH score had a sensitivity of 97.1% and specificity of 33.3%, with a PPV of 80.5% and NPV of 80.0%. Conclusion Our study validated the utility of the PLASMIC score, and demonstrated PLASMIC-LDH as a reasonable alternative in the absence of traditional lysis markers, to help identify high-risk patients for treatment via plasma exchange.

INTRODUCTION: We investigated the knowledge, attitudes and practice (KAP) towards coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its related preventive measures in Singaporeans aged ≥60 years. METHODS: This was a population-based, cross-sectional, mixed-methods study (13 May 2020-9 June 2020) of participants aged ≥ 60 years. Self-reported KAP about ten symptoms and six government-endorsed preventive measures related to COVID-19 were evaluated. Multivariable regression models were used to identify sociodemographic and health-related factors associated with KAP in our sample. Associations between knowledge/attitude scores and practice categories were determined using logistic regression. Seventy-eight participants were interviewed qualitatively about the practice of additional preventive measures and data were analysed thematically. RESULTS: Mean awareness score of COVID-19 symptoms was 7.2/10. The most known symptom was fever (93.0%) and the least known was diarrhoea (33.5%). Most participants knew all six preventive measures (90.4%), perceived them as effective (78.7%) and practised 'wear a mask' (97.2%). Indians, Malays and participants living in smaller housing had poorer mean scores for knowledge of COVID-19 symptoms. Older participants had poorer attitudes towards preventive measures. Compared to Chinese, Indians had lower odds of practising three out of six recommendations. A one-point increase in score for knowledge and attitudes regarding preventive measures resulted in higher odds of always practising three of six and two of six measures, respectively. Qualitative interviews revealed use of other preventive measures, for example, maintaining a healthy lifestyle. CONCLUSIONS Elderly Singaporeans displayed high levels of KAP about COVID-19 and its related preventive measures, with a positive association between levels of knowledge/attitude and practice. However, important ethnic and socioeconomic disparities were evident, indicating that key vulnerabilities remain, which require immediate attention.
Humans ; Aged ; COVID-19/epidemiology* ; SARS-CoV-2 ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Singapore/epidemiology* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

INTRODUCTION: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) is the commonest complication of liver cirrhosis. Timely and appropriate treatment of SBP is crucial, particularly with the rising worldwide prevalence of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). We aimed to investigate the clinical outcomes of SBP in Singapore. METHODS: All cirrhotic patients with SBP diagnosed between January 2014 and December 2017 were included. Nosocomial SBP (N-SBP) was defined as SBP diagnosed more than 48 hours after hospitalisation. Clinical outcomes were analysed as categorical outcomes using univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: There were 33 patients with 39 episodes of SBP. Their mean age was 64.5 years and 69.7% were male. The commonest aetiology of cirrhosis was hepatitis B (27.3%). The Median Model for End-stage Liver Disease (MELD) score was 17; 33.3% had acute-on-chronic liver failure and 60.6% had septic shock at presentation. N-SBP occurred in 25.6% of SBP cases. N-SBP was more commonly associated with MDROs, previous antibiotic use in the past three months (p = 0.014) and longer length of stay (p = 0.011). The 30-day and 90-day mortality among SBP patients was 30.8% and 51.3%, respectively. MELD score > 20 was a predictor for 30-day mortality. N-SBP and MELD score > 20 were predictors for 90-day mortality. CONCLUSION N-SBP was significantly associated with recent antibiotic use, longer hospitalisation, more resistant organisms and poorer survival among patients with SBP. N-SBP and MELD score predict higher mortality in SBP. Judicious use of antibiotics may reduce N-SBP and improve survival among cirrhotic patients.

Adult ; Aged ; Betacoronavirus ; Coronavirus Infections ; complications ; therapy ; Critical Care ; Female ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pandemics ; Patient Positioning ; Pneumonia, Viral ; complications ; therapy ; Prone Position ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; therapy ; virology ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Retrospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness and safety of acupuncture for erectile dysfunction (ED). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched six major English and Chinese databases included randomized controlled trials (RCTs) testing acupuncture alone or in combination for ED. Dichotomous data were presented as risk ratio (RR) and continuous data were presented as mean difference (MD) both with 95% confidence interval (CI). The Revman (v.5.3) was used for data analyses. Quality of evidence across studies was assessed by the online GRADEpro tool. RESULTS: We identified 22 RCTs, fourteen of them involving psychogenic ED. Most of the included RCTs had high or unclear risk of bias. There was no difference between electro-acupuncture and sham acupuncture with electrical stimulation on the rate of satisfaction and self-assessment (RR, 1.50; 95% CI, 0.71–3.16; 1 trial). Acupuncture combined with tadalafil appeared to have better effect on increasing cure rate (RR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.00–1.71; 2 trials), and International Index of Erectile Function-5 scores (MD, 5.38; 95% CI, 4.46–6.29; 2 trials). When acupuncture plus herbal medicine compared with herbal medicine alone, the combination therapy showed significant better improvement in erectile function (RR, 1.68; 95% CI, 1.31–2.15; 7 trials). Only two trials reported facial red and dizziness cases, and needle sticking and pruritus cases in acupuncture group. CONCLUSIONS: Low quality evidence shows beneficial effect of acupuncture as adjunctive treatment for people mainly with psychogenic ED. Safety of acupuncture was insufficiently reported. The findings should be confirmed in large, rigorously designed and well-reported trials.
Acupuncture ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Dizziness ; Electric Stimulation ; Erectile Dysfunction ; Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Male ; Needles ; Odds Ratio ; Pruritus ; Self-Assessment ; Statistics as Topic ; Tadalafil

Adult ; Cytomegalovirus ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; complications ; Drug Hypersensitivity Syndrome ; complications ; virology ; Eosinophilia ; complications ; virology ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Gout ; drug therapy ; Hepatitis ; complications ; virology ; Humans ; Liver ; physiopathology ; Viremia

Cytomegalovirus ; Cytomegalovirus Infections ; Drug Hypersensitivity Syndrome ; Eosinophilia ; Hepatitis ; Humans