A Network Analysis of Psychiatric Symptoms in Patients With Schizophrenia Treated With Antipsychotic Polypharmacy Using Propensity Score Matching: Findings From the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns (REAP) Study.

Objectives: Antipsychotic polypharmacy (APP) is prevalent among patients with schizophrenia across countries in Asia. This study aimed to explore the relationships between psychiatric symptoms and APP using network analysis.

Methods: Data on nine major psychiatric symptoms and the number of prescribed antipsychotics were extracted from the fourth survey of the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns (REAP-AP).

Ecological management zoning in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China based on the balance of supply and demand for ecosystem services.

Ecological management zoning is the key to cope with the imbalance between ecosystem service supply and demand induced by rapid urbanization, and it is of great significance in solving the problems of ecological damage and impaired ecosystem services. Taking Huhhot, a typical city in arid and semi-arid areas, as an example, we measured the supply of four typical ecosystem services, namely, water yield (WY), carbon storage (CS), soil conservation (SC), and habitat quality (HQ), from 2000 to 2020 using InVEST model, and measured the demand based on multi-source data. We used the -score standardization method and the coupling coordination degree model to analyze the matching types of ecosystem service supply-demand and the coupling coordination degree at the grid scale, and delineated the ecological management zoning.

Antipsychotic prescription pattern in ASEAN: Comparison of antipsychotic prescription formulation and type from REAP-AP4 consortium study.

BackgroundTo date, there has not been an evaluation of antipsychotic prescription practices specific to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region. This study examined antipsychotic prescription for schizophrenia patients in ASEAN countries based on Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription (REAP) survey.MethodsThis study used data from the fourth REAP antipsychotic survey (REAP-AP4), conducted between March and May 2016 using standardized procedures.

Opioid agonist treatment programs and hepatitis C virus elimination in Taiwan: Ways of expanding the care cascade in screening and treatment.

Background: One key population related to achieving the global goal of hepatitis C virus (HCV) elimination is people who inject drugs (PWID). By surveying opioid agonist treatment (OAT) programs nationwide in Taiwan, this study aimed to examine (1) the current status of HCV care cascade provision by OAT programs and (2) the opinions of the programs' directors on integrating the HCV care cascade into OAT programs.

Methods: From September to November 2022, questionnaires were sent via administrative networks to case managers for information on daily operation and routine booking and to directors for information on the HCV care cascade of 185 OAT programs.

Rapid Screening of New Psychoactive Substances Using pDART-QqQ-MS.

Drug abuse is a severe social problem worldwide. Particularly, the issue of new psychoactive substances (NPSs) have increasingly emerged. NPSs are structural or functional analogs of traditional illicit drugs, such as cocaine, cannabis, and amphetamine; these molecules provide the same or more severe neurological effects.

Assessing the impact of public funding in alleviating participant reduction and improving the retention rate in methadone maintenance treatment clinics in Taiwan: an interrupted time series analysis.

Background: Given the steady decline in patient numbers at methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) clinics in Taiwan since 2013, the government initiated Patients' Medical Expenditure Supplements (PMES) in January 2019 and the MMT Clinics Accessibility Maintenance Program (MCAM) in September 2019. This study aims to evaluate the impact of the PMES and MCAM on the enrollment and retention of patients attending MMT clinics and whether there are differential impacts on MMT clinics with different capacities.

Methods: The monthly average number of daily participants and 3-month retention rate from 2013 to 2019 were extracted from MMT databases and subjected to single interrupted time series analysis.

The Use of Premixed Drugs in Commodity Packets in the Population: Prevalence and Correlates Revealed by the 2018 National Survey of Substance Use in Taiwan.

Background: Administering premixed drugs in commodity packets was first reported in Asia in 2015, but there continues to be a dearth of related population-based data. This study aimed at examining (1) the prevalence of drug-packet use in the population and (2) the sociodemographic profiles, particularly gender distribution, of drug-packet users.

Methods: Data were derived from a survey of 18,626 Taiwanese civilians, aged 12-64 years, using stratified, multi-stage, random sampling in 2018.

Risk factors for relapse among methamphetamine users receiving a joint legal-medical treatment program as a diversion intervention: A one-year follow-up study.

Background: Methamphetamine (METH) is a Schedule II illicit drug in Taiwan. A 12-month legal-medical joint intervention program has been developed for first-time METH offenders during deferred prosecution. Risk factors associated with METH relapse use among these individuals were unknown.

The factor structure of extrapyramidal symptoms evaluated using the Drug-Induced Extrapyramidal Symptoms Scale in patients with schizophrenia: Results from the 2016 REAP AP-4 study.

Introduction: Drug-induced extrapyramidal syndrome (EPS) remains a major problem in clinical psychiatry. This study aimed to examine the factor structure of drug-induced extrapyramidal symptoms observed in patients with schizophrenia and assessed using the Drug-Induced Extrapyramidal Symptoms Scale (DIEPSS).

Methods: The participants were 1478 patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia whose EPS was assessed using the DIEPSS in India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Taiwan in the 2016 REAP AP-4 study.

Toward Evaluating Critical Factors of Extubation Outcome with XCSR-Generated Rules.

Predicting the correct timing for extubation is pivotal for critically ill patients with mechanical ventilation support. Evidence suggests that extubation failure occurs in approximately 15-20% of patients, despite their passing of the extubation evaluation, necessitating reintubation. For critically ill patients, reintubation invariably increases mortality risk and medical costs.

Network analysis of psychiatric symptoms in schizophrenia: Findings from the Research on Asian Psychotropic Prescription Patterns for Antipsychotics (REAP-AP).

Aims: Schizophrenia is a major mental disorder with a wide range of psychiatric symptoms. This study explored the structure of psychiatric symptoms of schizophrenia using network analysis in a large representative Asian sample based on a survey of clinical features and treatment used in schizophrenia patients across 15 countries/territories in Asia.

Methods: Data on the demographic characteristics and psychiatric symptoms in schizophrenia patients were extracted from the dataset of the fourth Research on Asia Psychotropic Prescription for Antipsychotics (REAP-AP) project.

Evidence-Based Dampness-Heat ZHENG (Syndrome) in Cancer: Current Progress toward Establishing Relevant Animal Model with Pancreatic Tumor.

Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases affecting the health of human beings. With limited therapeutic options available, complementary and alternative medicine has been widely adopted in cancer management and is increasingly becoming accepted by both patients and healthcare workers alike. Chinese medicine characterized by its unique diagnostic and treatment system is the most widely applied complementary and alternative medicine.

Survey of substance use among adolescent drug offenders referred from juvenile courts in Taiwan: Clinical epidemiology of single versus multiple illicit substance use.

Background: Substance use during adolescence might cause substantial health burden. Little is known regarding profiles of multiple illicit substance users compared to single illicit substance users in adolescent population in Taiwan.

Methods: We enrolled 106 adolescent illicit drug users who received addiction treatment referred by juvenile courts in Taiwan between September, 2016 and September, 2021.

Gender differences in clinical characteristics of emergency department patients involving illicit drugs use with analytical confirmation.

Background: To compare gender differences in socio-demographics, clinical manifestations, and laboratory test results of individuals who visited emergency departments (EDs) involving drug use.

Methods: We retrospectively collected the data from 10 hospitals in Taiwan on drug-related ED visits from May 2017 to December 2020. We then examined the gender differences in their socio-demographics, clinical manifestations, urine toxicological results, and other laboratory tests results using chi-square or multivariable logistic regression.

Association of depression and antidepressant therapy with antiretroviral therapy adherence and health-related quality of life in men who have sex with men.

UNAIDS' HIV treatment targets require that 90% of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) achieve viral suppression and 90% of people with viral suppression have good health-related quality of life (HRQOL). This study aimed to examine the association of depression and antidepressant therapy with ART adherence and HRQOL in HIV-infected men who have sex with men (MSM). From 2018 through 2020, HIV-infected MSMs were consecutively recruited (N = 565) for the evaluation of ART adherence and HRQOL at Taipei City Hospital HIV clinics.

Comprehensive analysis of expression profile and prognostic significance of interferon regulatory factors in pancreatic cancer.

Background: Pancreatic cancer (PC) is a highly lethal disease and an increasing cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide. Interferon regulatory factors (IRFs) play vital roles in immune response and tumor cellular biological processes. However, the specific functions of IRFs in PC and tumor immune response are far from systematically clarified.

Development of an analytical method to detect simultaneously 219 new psychoactive substances and 65 other substances in urine specimens using LC-QqQ MS/MS with CriticalPairFinder and TransitionFinder.

Emerging new psychoactive substances (NPS) poses a great risk to public health. Analyzing these large numbers of NPS and other associated substances often relies on liquid chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (LC-QqQ-MS) with multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) mode. However, the differentiation of critical pairs, coeluted isobaric and/or isomeric species, is one of the challenges for this analytical platform.

Men's decrease and women's increase in harmful alcohol use from the 2014 to 2018 national surveys in Taiwan: A harbinger for an emerging national trend in East Asia?

Background: Gender differences in alcohol use have narrowed in Western societies, but that in Asia has been less investigated. By comparing the 2014 and 2018 waves of the national survey in Taiwan, we aimed to examine the gender differences in population trends in past-month alcohol use, binge drinking, and harmful alcohol use.

Methods: The national survey enrolled 17,837 participants in 2014 and 18,626 participants in 2018.

Examining factors associated with postintervention recidivism in DUI repeat offenders after alcohol treatment: One-year follow-up study.

Taiwan has deemed driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) to be criminal, and offenders are subjected to fines and jail penalties without being offered alcohol-related treatment, although alcohol use problems are prevalent in this population. We followed the recidivism records of DUI repeat offenders for one year after they had received a newly established legal-medical joint intervention program for alcohol treatment and examined factors related to postintervention recidivism. In this study, 231 DUI repeat offenders with alcohol use problems screened out by the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test were referred from the prosecutors' office to one psychiatric hospital for SBIRT-based alcohol treatment.