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Background and objective Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIS) have good efficacy on most advanced tumors, which brings new hope to patients with advanced tumors. However, the immune system activated by ICIs may attack human normal tissues and organs, resulting in corresponding immunotoxicity, such as checkpoint inhibitor pneumonitis. This article carried out a meta-analysis on the incidence and risk of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death protein ligand 1 (PD-L1) inhibitor-associated pneumonia in advanced tumors patients. Methods The computer retrieval of PubMed, Cochrane Library, EMbase and CNKI was performed, and the studies on the occurrence rate of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor-associated pneumonia in terminal cancer patients were collected, with the retrieval time limit of January 2000 to January 2020. Statistical analysis was conducted by using Revman 5.3 and R 3.6.2 software to compare the occurrence rate of pneumonia under different circumstances. Results 15 studies were included, involving 8,642 patients, of which those with PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor were treatment group, and those with chemotherapy were control group. The odds radio of all grades of immune pneumonia was 6.63, and that of high grade was 4.87. The occurrence rate of all grades of pneumonia in the ICI group with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) was 1.658 times than other tumors, and that of high grade was 2.299 times. The occurrence rate of all grades of pneumonia in second-line or more treatment with ICI was 0.489 times than that in first-line, and that of high grade was 0.449 times than that in first-line or more treatment with ICI. Conclusion Compared with chemotherapy, the risk of immune-associated pneumonia is higher in PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors, and its occurrence risk is high in the ICI group with NSCLC and the first-line treatment with ICI. This paper provides guidance for clinic treatment of terminal cancers and prevention of complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Nursing is the property of Taiwan Nurses Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Obesity is a worldwide epidemic that threats the health and body image of those who suffer from this condition. While bariatric surgery has been shown to effectively assist patients to achieve weight loss goals and to improve body image, related research on this intervention is lacking in Taiwan. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of bariatric surgery on body image in obese patients. Method: This study used a longitudinal design. Data was collected from 2 hospitals located in northern and southern Taiwan. A total of 56 obese patients who had undergone bariatric surgery enrolled as participants, and the completion rate was 93.3%. Participants responded to a validated body image questionnaire immediately prior to and 3 months after bariatric surgery, with data used to assess the effects of the surgery. SPSS 20.0 software for windows was used for data analysis. Result: Participant scores for body image were low on the questionnaire administered prior to surgery, with a significant negative correlation identified between body mass index (BMI) and the value of appearance (r = -.36, p < .01). After bariatric surgery, the average EWL was 42.08%, which effectively achieved expected weight loss goals. Variables including overall body image, appearance evaluation, orientation, and body satisfaction of participants were significantly improved. Only the variable of muscle tension did not improve significantly. Postoperative body image did not correlate with either BMI or EWL. Conclusion: Three months after the bariatric surgery, the body image, appearance evaluation, and physical appearance satisfaction of participants had significantly improved. However, there was no improvement in muscle tension scores. In order to improve the post-surgery body image of patients, we recommend that healthcare workers provide patients with proper expectations of bariatric surgery and teach patients appropriate muscle-tension exercises. This paper reports the relation between bariatric surgery and body image. The results provide evidence for clinical and future research in this field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition characterized by paroxysm of seizures due to abnormal electrical discharge from central nervous system neurons. Several new antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were listed over the past two decades, and they were believed to be equally effective and have better tolerability and side effect profiles. This paper aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of adjunctive topiramate in refractory partial seizures. Methods Relevant research articles about randomized controlled trials of adjunctive topiramate in refractory partial seizures, with topiramate, Topamax, add - on treatment, adjunctive treatment, add - on therapy, adjunctive therapy, refractory partial seizure, refractory partial epilepsy both in Chinese and English as retrieval words, were retrieved from PubMed (1995-2014), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, 1995-2014), The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR, 1995-2014), China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, 1995-2014) and Wanfang Data (1999-2014). Two reviewers independently evaluated the quality of the included articles and abstracted the data. A Meta-analysis was conducted using RevMan 5.0 software. Results According to the enrollment criteria, 13 prospective, randomized controlled clinical trials with a total of 1622 patients were finally selected. The proportions of patients with reduction in seizure frequency ⩾ 50% (OR = 3.710, 95% CI: 2.870-4.810; P = 0.000), ⩾ 75% (OR = 7.220, 95% CI: 3.310-15.750; P = 0.000) and seizure free (OR = 3.380, 95%CI: 1.720-6.640; P = 0.000) in topiramate group were significantly higher than that in control group. The treatment withdrawal ratio was significantly higher compared to placebo in 600 mg/d and 800 mg/d subgroups, but not in 200 mg/d subgroup (200 mg/d: OR = 2.170, 95%CI: 0.470-9.950, P = 0.320; 600 mg/d: OR = 2.090, 95%CI: 1.020-4.270, P = 0.040; 800 mg/d: OR = 8.000, 95%CI: 1.390-46.140, P = 0.020). The common side effects included somnolence, anorexia, ataxia, aprosexia, dizziness, fatigue, nausea, thinking abnormality, paraesthesia and weight loss. The occurrence rate of side effects in topiramate group was higher than that in control group. Conclusions Topiramate is effective when added to existing therapy in patients with refractory partial seizures. The withdrawal rate of 200 mg/d topiramate is similar to control group. Compared with the control group, adverse effects are more common but mild or moderate, mainly related with the central nervous system. However, trials included in this study are of relatively short duration, and provide no evidence for the long- term efficacy of topiramate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although the early behavioral symptoms of behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) are prominent, early diagnosis for bvFTD is difficult due to confusion with other mental disorders, and lack of sensitivity and specificity of diagnostic criteria, etc. In this paper, we summarized the important reviews in recent years and analyzed the clinical characteristics of bvFTD patients to improve the detection of early symptoms in bvFTD. Methods Twenty-three possible or probable bvFTD patients were diagnosed according to International Behavioral Variant Frontotemporal Dementia Criteria Consortium (FTDC). Self-designed questionnaires designed by Shanghai Mental Health Center were used to collect sociodemographic data and general information of patients. Their clinical characteristics were summarized, including abnormal behaviors, cognitive impairment, psychotic symptoms and other symptoms. Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale (CDR) were used to make neuropsychological tests and compare with similar overseas studies (control group, N = 66). Results Eleven male patients and 12 female patients were included in our study. Compared with control group, the average age of onset [(50.83 ± 11.55) years vs. (57.00 ± 10.00) years; t = 3.863, P = 0.000] and average age of diagnosis [(53.22 ± 11.55) years vs. (61.00 ± 9.00) years; t = 13.423, P = 0.000] of bvFTD patients were smaller. The study showed that bvFTD patients had more apathy or indolence [95.65% (22/23) vs. 65.15% (43/66); χ²=8.057, P = 0.005], loss of sympathy or empathy [95.65% (22/23) vs. 33.33% (22/66); χ²=26.499, P = 0.000], while patients in control group showed more derepression behavior [98.48% (65/66) vs. 52.17% (12/23); χ=27.514, P = 0.000] and continuous, stiff, obsessive and/or ritualized behavior [95.45% (63/66) vs. 30.43% (7/23); adjusted χ²=39.159, P = 0.000]. For cognitive impairment, bvFTD patients presented apraxia [69.56% (16/23) vs. 22.73% (15/66); χ²= 16.484, P = 0.000] and executive dysfunction [82.61% (19/23) vs. 59.09% (39/66); χ²=4.156, P = 0.041]. In psychotic symptoms, patients in control group showed hallucination and delusion [33.33% (22/66) vs. 4.35% (1/23); χ²=7.477, P = 0.006]. Conclusions While the behavioral symptoms of bvFTD patients are varied, memory disorder can be one of the primal symptoms. Compared with similar foreign studies, the different composition of behavior symptoms of our bvFTD patients may be caused by cultural differences among evaluators in the understanding of some clinical symptoms in patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probe design is the most important part for the preparation of high quality gene chip. ARB software is the main software used to design probes for the phylogenetic oligonucleotide gene chip (PhyloChip). This paper introduced the installation, probe design using ARB software, and other functions of ARB software. This will help users to design probe quickly using the ARB software, and promote the development and application of PhyloChip. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to understand the status of research on the ethical climate of Korean nurses through a scoping review. Methods: The research process was conducted to the five steps of Arksey and O'Malley. The data were searched based on the COre DB recommended by NECA. Studies published up to September 2021 were included. The selected 17 studies were organized using Zotero and Microsoft Excel. Results: The final 17 studies included 14 quantitative studies, one mixed study, one qualitative study, and one systematic literature review. The variables studied along with the ethical climate were empathy, moral sensitivity, moral anguish, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. When the variables were classified into individual, organizational, work, and patient perspectives, the individual perspective variable was the most common. The ethical climate of Korean nurses had an effect on related variables, with positive effects on job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and retention intention, and negative effects on intention-to-leave and moral distress. Conclusion: This study presents the rationale for improving nursing outcomes based on the ethical climate. New leadership and revised business practices in an organization can change the ethical climate; improving it can lead to improvements in variables related to individuals, nursing work, organizations, and patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of lamotrigine in the treatment of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Methods Retrieve relevant clinical guidelines, systematic review (including Meta - analysis), randomized controlled clinical trials, case - control studies, retrospective cohort studies and case observation studies on lamotrigine treating JME from online databases (January 1, 1980-December 31, 2017) as PubMed, EBMASE/SCOPUS and Cochrane Library with key words: juvenile myoclonic epilepsy, idiopathic generalized epilepsies, lamotrigine, antiepileptic drugs, random. Jadad Scale, Cochrane System Evaluation Handbook and RevMan 5.3 statistical software were used for quality assessment and Meta-analysis. Results The research enrolled 1220 articles, from which 6 studies with Jadad score ≥ 4 (4 randomized controlled clinical trials and 2 case observation studies) were chosen after excluding duplicates and those not meeting the inclusion criteria. A total of 314 JME patients (166 cases treated by lamotrigine and 148 cases treated by valproate) were enrolled in 6 studies. Meta-analysis showed the occurrence rate of adverse reaction in lamotrigine group was significantly lower than that in valproate group (RR = 0.540, 95% CI: 0.320-0.910; P = 0.020), but there was no significant difference on rate of epileptic seizures decreasing > 50% (RR = 1.200, 95% CI: 0.870-1.650; P = 0.260). Conclusions Lamotrigine is safe and effective in the treatment of JME. It has better tolerance and less adverse reaction, and its effect is similar to that of valproate. It is the first choice for patients with JME, especially for adolescent female patients with JME. However, there is still lack of high-quality trials to confirm whether the combination with other drugs has any benefit in terms of efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To evaluate the safety of valproate (VPA) on bone mineral density and bone metabolism in children with epilepsy. Methods Retrieve relevant research from online databases (January 1, 1980-March 1, 2018) as PubMed, EBMASE/SCOPUS and Cochrane Library with key words: epilepsy, bone, child. Selection of studies was performed according to pre - designed inclusion and exclusion criteria. Quality of studies was evaluated by using Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). All data were pooled by RevMan 5.2 software for Meta- analysis. Results The research enrolled 1455 articles, from which 13 studies with NOS score ≽ 6 were chosen after excluding duplicates and those not meeting the inclusion criteria. A total of 683 children with epilepsy using VPA and 436 children in control group were included. Meta - analysis showed that comparing with control group, bone mineral density of lumbar (BMDL) in children treated with VPA has no significant difference (MD = - 0.019, 95% CI: - 0.044-0.006; P = 0.140), but there was a significant decrease in bone mineral density of femur (BMDF; MD = - 0.037, 95% CI: - 0.069-- 0.005, P = 0.020). There was no significant change in serum calcium (SMD = - 0.284, 95% CI: - 0.951-0.382; P = 0.400), phosphorus (SMD = - 0.164, 95%CI: - 0.457-0.129; P = 0.270), alkaline phosphatase (ALP; SMD = 0.363, 95%CI: - 0.294-1.020, P = 0.280), parathyroid hormone (PTH; SMD = 0.102, 95%CI: - 0.291-0.495, P =0.610) and 25 - hydroxy vitamin D [25(OH)D; SMD = - 0.104, 95%CI:- 0.620-0.413, P = 0.690] in bone metabolic markers. Sensitivity analysis showed Meta - analysis of BMDF, serum phosphorus and 25(OH)D was unstable, therefore, it should be cautious when explaining the results. Conclusions VPA has less effect on bone mineral density and bone metabolism, but for children with epilepsy using VPA, their BMDF should be monitored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study was intended to investigate the frequency of job performance of the Korean professional medical support staffs (PMSS). Method : The data of 1,666 PMSS from 36 hospitals and over 500 beds were analyzed. The participants were divided into 5 groups: advanced practice nurses (APN), clinical nurse experts, physician assistants (PA), coordinators, and others. Results : Among the 5 main domains of job performance, advanced clinical practice has the highest frequency (111.36 d/y), followed by consultation/collaboration (75.66 d/y), education/counseling (53.54 d/y), leadership (23.90 d/y), and research (19.14 d/y). There was a significant difference in the frequency of job performance between the 5 groups of participants. The invasive activities were more frequent in the PA group. In the education and counseling domain, APNs had a higher level of job frequency than others (p<.001). In the research and leadership domains, APNs and coordinators had more prominent performance frequency than other groups (p<.01). However, there are some ambiguities in the job performance of the 5 groups depending on institutional characteristics. Conclusion : To establish the scope of work of PMSS, organizational and individual efforts are needed to promote and expand the leadership and research domains. To resolve the ambiguities of PMSS' roles, it is necessary to reorganize their titles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Contemporary Neurology & Neurosurgery is the property of Chinese Journal of Contemporary Neurology & Neurosurgery and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the nutritional support, gastric residual volume, and nutritional status of the intensive care unit (ICU) patients on enteral feeding. Methods: A descriptive longitudinal design was used to collect 5 day data on enteral nutrition of 52 ICU patients in an university hospital. Nutritional support was calculated with actual caloric intake compared to individual caloric requirement. Residual volumes were measured prior to routine feedings, and the serum albumin levels and the total lymphocyte counts were checked to evaluate nutritional status. The data were analyzed using one group repeated measures ANOVA, paired t-test, and Spearman’s bivariate correlation analysis. Results: The subjects received their first enteral feeding on the 5.75th day of ICU admission. The mean nutritional support rate was 49.1% of the requirement, however prescription rate and support rate were increased as time goes by. Gastric residual volumes were less than 10 cc in 95% cases. A significant negative correlation was found between nutritional support and nutritional status. Conclusion: The nutritional support for ICU patient was low compared to the requirement, and their nutritional status was worse than at the time of ICU admission. Further studies are necessary to develop nursing interventions for improving nutritional support for ICU patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Resilience embodies the personal qualities that enable one to thrive in the face of adversity and is a significant factor affecting the health of patients with mental illness. Most research on resilience has focused on patients in high-risk groups. Thus, there is lack of research exploring the resilience of psychiatric patients and related factors. Purpose: The aims of the present study were to (1) explore the relationships among demographic characteristics, psychiatric symptoms, perceived stress, medical professional-patient interaction, social support, social adaptive function, and resilience and (2) identify indicators of resilience in psychiatric patients. Methods: A total of 180 psychiatric patients were recruited from a mental hospital in eastern Taiwan. The brief psychiatric rating scale, perceived stress scale, questionnaire of medical professional-patient interaction and social support, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), and social adaptive function scale were used to collect data. Results: Participants in the present study showed an intermediate level of resilience. Resilience scores correlated positively with medical professional-patient interaction and social support and negatively with perceived stress, social adaptive function, and psychiatric symptoms. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that perceived stress, social support, education, and social adaptive function collectively accounted for 45.3% of the total variance. Conclusion / Implications for Practice: For psychiatric patients, enhancing social support and social adaptive function and decreasing perceived stress improves their resilience and decreases the frequency of their psychiatric episodes, thus increasing their chances of returning to society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]