Antibiotic Use in Pediatric Dengue Cases in Taiwan: A National Administrative Database Analysis.

Nonspecific dengue clinical manifestations lead to avoidable antibiotic use. We describe antibiotic use in confirmed pediatric dengue cases and associated healthcare utilization and medical costs, including from antibiotic-associated adverse drug events (ADEs). From Taiwanese national administrative databases, children with confirmed dengue between 2009 and 2015 who were younger than 18 years old, without bacterial infection, and who were prescribed antibiotics a week before or after laboratory diagnosis were propensity score matched and compared with nonrecipients, using regression models for ADEs and medical care expenditures.

Pregnancy among thyroid cancer survivors: do thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine matter?

Background: Thyroid cancer primarily affects young women and raises concerns about future fertility due to treatments of thyroidectomy and radioactive iodine (RAI) therapy. This study investigated the effects of these treatments on pregnancy probability in young female patients post-diagnosis.

Methods: A nationwide, population-based study using data from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database (2000-2017) examined pregnancy likelihood in women ≤45 years with thyroid cancer.

Needs beyond coverage: Health care inequities among children with disabilities of parents with disabilities.

Background: Family aggregation of disability is not uncommon. Research on children with disabilities has often overlooked a specific group facing health disparities: children with disabilities of parents with disabilities.

Objective: To determine whether children with disabilities, whose parents also have disabilities, experience limited access to health care.

Reduction in perforated appendicitis incidence between rural and urban populations after introducing social health insurance in Vietnam: A population-based study.

Background: Over the years, Vietnam has expanded its social health insurance (SHI) coverage to reduce health disparities. In this population-based study, we examined the differences in incidences of perforated appendix between rural and urban populations in Vietnam since the expansion of SHI coverage in 2015. We also identified risk factors for perforated appendix in these populations.

Association between renal function and the Treatment of Diabetic Macular Edema in Long-Term Cohort Study.

To determine the correlation between the severity of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and treatment of diabetic macular edema (DME). The retrospective 2-year cohort study included eyes with DME confirmed using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography in Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan, between 2010 and 2020. All the eyes were treated with an intravitreal injection of anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) during regular follow-up around 2 years.

Risk Factors for Developing Neovascular Glaucoma in Central Retinal Vein Occlusion: Two-Year Real-World Study.

Purpose: To explore potential risk factors for the development of neovascular glaucoma (NVG) in central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) over a two-year intensive follow-up period.

Methods: This study reviewed 1545 patients with CRVO between 2005 and 2019 at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Inclusion was restricted to (1) patients with acute CRVO within 3 months; (2) patients with ocular neovascularization at initial presentation (3) patients had not received any treatment at the time of CRVO; (4) at least bimonthly follow-up schedule over the course of 2 years.

Exploring the influence of the impending death discharge tradition on home death rate in Taiwan.

Background: As modern societies witness a shift from home deaths to hospital deaths, the compromise practice of impending death discharge (IDD) in response to Chinese traditions and changing times deserves further exploration.

Methods: Using the Longitudinal Generation Tracking Database 2005, a validated cohort of two million randomly sampled National Health Insurance (NHI) beneficiaries, we conducted a retrospective analysis on the places of death for 123 832 individuals from 2008 to 2017.

Results: Approximately 47.

Prescribing antibiotics for children with dengue infection in Taiwan: who are at risk and who are high prescribers?

Inappropriate antibiotic use contributes to antimicrobial resistance, a global public health threat. The non-specific manifestations of dengue, itself a growing public health threat, lead to avoidable empiric antibiotic prescription, particularly in children. In this national pooled population-based cross-sectional study, we evaluated child and physician characteristics associated with antibiotics prescription in confirmed dengue cases in Taiwan.

Severity of Complications and Duration of Type 2 Diabetes and the Risk of Cancer: A Population-Based Study.

Background: The literature on the association between diabetes severity and cancer risk is limited and inconclusive. The study aimed to evaluate the association between the adapted Diabetes Complications Severity Index (aDCSI) and the duration of type 2 diabetes and cancer risk.

Methods: Patients ages 20 years or older with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes between January 1, 2007, and December 31, 2011, were identified from Taiwan National Health Insurance claims data.

Hospital partnership and patient outcomes among postacute patients with stroke.

Objectives: Postacute care (PAC) heavily relies on effective connection between acute and postacute providers. However, little is known about whether and to what extent providers' patient-sharing relationships influence patient outcomes. This study aimed to examine whether patients with stroke who were discharged to PAC hospitals with which the originating hospital had a strong patient-sharing relationship have a lower rate of rehospitalization and lower mortality risk.

Advanced Age and Increased Risk for Severe Outcomes of Dengue Infection, Taiwan, 2014-2015.

Dengue, a mosquitoborne flavivirus infection, is increasingly a disease of older adults who are more likely to have chronic diseases that confer risk for severe outcomes of dengue infection. In a population-based study in Taiwan, adjusted risks for dengue-related hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and death increased progressively with age.

Changes in the Place of Death and Implications for End-of-Life Care Policy: A Population-Based Observational Study.

Death in hospital rather than at home is becoming more prevalent, even among terminally ill patients receiving home-based care. Identifying trends in places of death is crucial to care policy, especially for aging populations as in Taiwan. To identify changes in the places of natural death of Taiwanese individuals for various causes of death.

Adapted Diabetes Complications Severity Index and Charlson Comorbidity Index in predicting all-cause and cause-specific mortality among patients with type 2 diabetes.

Introduction: Adapted Diabetes Complications Severity Index (aDCSI) is a commonly used severity measure based on the number and severity of diabetes complications using diagnosis codes. The validity of aDCSI in predicting cause-specific mortality has yet to be verified. Additionally, the performance of aDCSI in predicting patient outcomes compared with Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) remains unknown.

Longitudinal neutralizing antibody responses after SARS-CoV-2 infection: A convalescent cohort study in Taiwan.

Background: Understanding the neutralizing antibody (NAb) titer against COVID-19 over time is important to provide information for vaccine implementation. The longitudinal NAb titer over one year after SARS-CoV-2 infection is still unclear. The purposes of this study are to evaluate the duration of the neutralizing NAb titers in COVID-19 convalescents and factors associated with the titer positive duration.

Transitions in Frailty and 4-Year Mortality Risk in Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging.

Objectives: To explore the associations of (1) the frailty phenotype or frailty index transition with cause-specific mortality, and (2) different combinations of transition in frailty phenotype and frailty index with all-cause mortality.

Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Setting And Participants: Data from 3529 respondents aged >50 years who completed the 1999 and 2003 surveys of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging were analyzed.

Influence of Care Delivery Models on Quality of Diabetes Care Among Individuals With Schizophrenia.

Managing chronic conditions in individuals with severe mental illnesses is critical for amending health disparities in this vulnerable group. The study aimed to compare the management and outcomes of diabetes care under different care models in individuals with schizophrenia in Taiwan. A population-based retrospective cohort comprising incident cases of diabetes in individuals (N = 9,109) with schizophrenia ( code 295) in Taiwan between 2008 and 2015 was selected using the National Health Insurance Research Database.

Association between sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitors and risk of psoriasis in patients with diabetes mellitus: a nationwide population-based cohort study.

Background: Sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) treatment may exert anti-inflammatory effects by modulating the NOD-like receptor family pyrin domain-containing 3 inflammasome and interleukin-17/23 inflammatory axis, which are both involved in the pathogenesis of psoriasis. However, the relationship between SGLT2i treatment and psoriasis remains unclear.

Aim: To investigate the association between SGLT2i treatment and incident psoriasis.

Association between bullous pemphigoid and risk of venous thromboembolism: A nationwide population-based cohort study.

Bullous pemphigoid (BP) has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE). However, the exact time course is unclear, and no previous studies have been reported in the Asian population. This nationwide population-based cohort study examined the risk of VTE among BP patients in Taiwan between 2007 and 2018.

Population-based assessment of factors influencing antibiotic prescribing for adults with dengue infection in Taiwan.

Background: Antibiotic treatment for dengue is likely considerable and potentially avoidable but has not been well characterized. This study aimed to assess antibiotic prescribing for confirmed dengue cases in outpatient and inpatient settings and to identify associated patient, physician and contextual factors.

Methods: 57,301 adult dengue cases reported in Taiwan between 2008-2015 were analyzed.

Longitudinal changes of frailty in 8 years: comparisons between physical frailty and frailty index.

Background: Few studies have made longitudinal comparisons between frailty phenotype (FP) and frailty index (FI) changes. We aimed to investigate frailty status changes defined by FP and FI concurrently, and to compare the associated factors and incident disability among different combination of FI and FP trajectory groups.

Methods: Data on respondents aged over 50 who completed the 1999, 2003 and 2007 Taiwan Longitudinal Study on Aging (TLSA) surveys (n = 2807) were excerpted.

A Population-Based Cohort Study on Chronic Comorbidity Risk Factors for Adverse Dengue Outcomes.

The global burden of dengue is increasing against a background of rising global prevalence of chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and an epidemiological shift of dengue toward older age groups. The contribution of NCDs toward risk for adverse clinical and healthcare utilization outcomes was assessed in a national linked-database study. About 51,433 adult dengue cases between 2014 and 2015 were assessed for outpatient and inpatient claims data in Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database for the 30 days after their dengue diagnosis.

Gender differences in the risk of depressive disorders following the loss of a young child: a nationwide population-based longitudinal study.

Background: Losing a child to death is one of the most stressful life events experienced in adulthood. The aim of the current study is to investigate parental risk of seeking treatment for major depression disorders (MDD) after a child's death and to explore whether such connection may operate differentially by parents' prior medical condition.

Methods: We studied a retrospective cohort of 7245 parents (2987 mothers and 4258 fathers) identified in the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan (NHIRD) who had lost a child with age between 1 and 12 years.

Patient-sharing relationship between Chinese medicine doctors and other physicians: costs and outcomes of breast cancer survivorship care.

Purpose: Breast cancer survivors represent a unique group of patients who need complex and continuous care after their cancer treatment. These patients often see several providers in various specialties. This study aimed to analyze how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) integration within care networks of patients with breast cancer might be related to health care costs and patient outcomes under the National Health Insurance program in Taiwan.