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Abstract Background Previous studies have shown a growing need for pediatric palliative care, but there is a lack of knowledge in many countries concerning prevalence of service use among children and young adults with life-limiting conditions. This study aimed to estimate (1) the annual prevalence of children and young adults with a life-limiting condition, and (2) their specialized palliative care and other healthcare utilization. Methods Data from the Health and Welfare Data Science Center in Taiwan were used. All children and young adults aged 0–25 years recorded in inpatient or outpatient data, and infants aged

Retractions serve a crucial role in maintaining the integrity and accuracy of scientific literature. There has been growing interest in understanding the patterns behind retractions. This bibliometric study analyzed retracted articles published between 2003 and 2022, indexed by the Science Citation Index Expanded of the Web of Science Core Collection database. A total of 8466 retracted articles were identified, revealing an overall increase up to 2019, followed by a decline. A total of 109 countries contributed to the retracted articles, with China and the United States having the highest absolute numbers. In addition, the articles were published in 2347 different journals, with Tumor Biology recording the largest number of retracted articles. The top 10 most cited retracted articles indicated that data and image integrity issues were the main reasons for retraction. The primary reasons for retractions, identified by linking the retracted articles to the Retraction Watch Database, were data and results issues followed by plagiarism and duplication. In conclusion, the present bibliometric study offered an overview of the status of retracted articles indexed by the Web of Science Core Collection over the past two decades. These findings provide insight into areas where scientific integrity may be compromised and serve as a guide to foster a responsible research environment.

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is an essential component of healthcare practice that ensures the delivery of high-quality care by integrating the best available evidence. This study aimed to explore factors influencing EBP among nursing professionals in Taiwan. A cross-sectional survey study was conducted with 752 registered nurses and nurse practitioners recruited from a regional teaching hospital in southern Taiwan. EBP competency was evaluated using the Taipei Evidence-Based Practice Questionnaire (TEBPQ). The results showed that participation in evidence-based courses or training within the past year had the strongest association with EBP competencies (Std. B = 0.157, p < 0.001). Holding a graduate degree (Std. B = 0.151, p < 0.001), working in gynecology or pediatrics (Std. B = 0.126, p < 0.001), searching the literature in electronic databases (Std. B = 0.072, p = 0.039), and able to read academic articles in English (Std. B = 0.088, p = 0.005) were significantly associated with higher TEBPQ scores. Younger age (Std. B = −0.105, p = 0.005) and male gender (Std. B = 0.089, p = 0.010) were also identified as factors contributing to higher EBP competencies. The study highlights the importance of ongoing professional development, including EBP training and language proficiency, in enhancing EBP competencies among nursing professionals in Taiwan.

Introduction Endoscopic endonasal approach(EEA) techniques have been increasingly utilized and have been associated with development of cerebrospinal fluid(CSF) leak, meningitis, diabetes insipidus post‐operatively. Cerebral vasospasm following EEA has rarely been described. Here, we describe the clinical course and management of a patient who underwent EEA for encephalocele repair whose course was complicated by postoperative subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH) and cerebral vasospasm. Methods n/a Results Case Presentation: 40 year old female with past medical history significant for cerebral venous sinus stent on aspirin, CSF rhinorrhea secondary to right nasal encephalocele s/p endoscopic transnasal transethmoidal repair with nasoseptal flap reconstruction and lumbar drain placement eleven days prior presented with speech difficulties and right sided weakness. On exam, patient was noted to have mild right hemiparesis and expressive aphasia. MRI brain showed subacute infarcts in left greater than right frontal lobes, corpus collosum and right anterior perforated substance. MRA head demonstrated multifocal arterial stenosis. In light of postoperative CT head showing SAH in the basilar, perimesencephalic, prepontine cisterns, interhemispheric fissure and right frontal sulci as well as intraventricular hemorrhage in fourth ventricle, her presentation was thought to be secondary to cerebral vasospasm in the setting of postoperative SAH. She was treated with intravenous hydration, permissive hypertension with head of bed in flat position and transferred for further evaluation. On arrival, she continued have mild right hemiparesis and aphasia. Repeat CTA head/neck and CT perfusion showed severe stenosis of bilateral M1 segments and left greater than right A1 segments as well as ischemic penumbra in left ACA/MCA watershed territory. Diagnostic cerebral angiogram showed bilateral severe A1 stenosis and mild to moderate bilateral M1 and supraclinoid ICA stenosis which improved with intra‐arterial verapamil. She was started on nimodipine. Systolic blood pressure was augmented with vasopressors for goal of 150‐180mmHg. Daily TCDs were followed. She developed worsening right leg weakness following day, thus she was taken for repeat diagnostic cerebral angiogram during which time she was re‐administered intra‐arterial verapamil with improvement in vasospasm. After the second treatment, she had improvement in speech and motor strength. Systolic blood pressure goal was gradually normalized. She was noted to have incidental left internal jugular (IJ) vein thrombosis for which anticoagulation was held in the setting of recent neurosurgical procedure and SAH. Workup for vasculitis and hypercoagulability was unrevealing. Lumbar puncture demonstrated 13 WBC/cu mm with lymphocytic predominance(90%), 23 RBC/cu mm, glucose 89mg/dl, protein 30mg/dl. CSF cultures were negative. Pleocytosis in CSF was attributed to recent neurosurgical procedure. Her neurological exam improved to baseline on hospital day(HD) 9.On HD12, she was found to have left common femoral deep venous thrombus in addition to the left IJ thrombus. Anticoagulation with low dose heparin infusion was started which was transitioned to apixaban on discharge. She was discharged home on HD20. Conclusion We report a case of EEA associated with severe multifocal cerebral vasospasm secondary to postoperative SAH that was successfully treated with induced hypertension, oral nimodipine and intra‐arterial verapamil as an adjunct therapy with an excellent outcome.

Bibliometric analysis has gained popularity as a quantitative research methodology to evaluate scholarly productivity and identify trends within specific research areas. However, there are currently no established reporting guidelines for bibliometric studies. The present study aimed to investigate the reporting practices of bibliometric research related to health and medicine based on a guidelines “Preferred Reporting Items for Bibliometric Analysis (PRIBA)” proposed in this study. The Science Citation Index, Expanded of the Web of Science was used to identify the top 100 articles with the highest normalized citation counts per year. The search was conducted on April 9, 2022, using the search topic “bibliometric” and including publications from 2019 to 2021. The results substantiated the need for a standardized reporting guideline for bibliometric research. Specifically, among the 25 proposed items in the PRIBA, only five were consistently reported across all articles examined. Further, 11 items were reported by at least 80% of the articles, while nine items were reported by less than 80% of the articles. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the reporting practices of bibliometric studies in the field of health and medicine are in need of improvement. Future research should be conducted to refine the PRIBA guidelines.

To provide coordinate information for the use of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs) and autonomous vehicles (AVs), the global positioning system (GPS) is commonly used in vehicle localization as a cheap and easily accessible solution for global positioning. However, several factors contribute to GPS errors, decreasing the safety and precision of AV and ITS applications, respectively. Extensive research has been conducted to address this problem. More specifically, several optimization-based cooperative vehicle localization algorithms have been developed to improve the localization results by exchanging information with neighboring vehicles to acquire additional information. Nevertheless, existing optimization-based algorithms still suffer from an unacceptable performance and poor scalability. In this study, we investigated the development of deep learning (DL) based cooperative vehicle localization algorithms to provide GPS refinement solutions with low complexity, high performance, and flexibility. Specifically, we propose three DL models to address the problem of interest by emphasizing the temporal and spatial correlations of the extra given information. The simulation results confirm that the developed algorithms outperform existing optimization-based algorithms in terms of refined error statistics. Moreover, a comparison of the three proposed algorithms also demonstrates that the proposed graph convolution network-based cooperative vehicle localization algorithm can effectively utilize temporal and spatial correlations in the extra information, leading to a better performance and lower training overhead.

Objective We aimed to investigate factors associated with nonadherence to antihypertensive medication among middle-aged Taiwanese adults with hypertension. Methods We used data from the 2009 Taiwan National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) to identify adults age 40 to 65 years with hypertension. We used logistic regression analyses to investigate factors associated with nonadherence to antihypertensive medication. Results A total 1,256 respondents with hypertension taking antihypertensive medication were included in this study. Multiple logistic regression analyses revealed that six factors were significantly and independently associated with nonadherence to medication: younger age (odds ratio, [OR] = 1.85), mean monthly personal income

Background Adolescents with brain stem dysfunction may undergo many invasive treatments, and parents are often faced with making the decision to withdraw treatment. However, in the face of their child’s death, the spiritual practices of parents dealing with end-of-life decision-making remain under investigated. Purpose This study explores the spiritual practices in parents making end-of-life decisions for adolescents on life support with brain stem dysfunction. Method A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted through in-depth interviews with three parents of two adolescents in Taiwan. Data were analysed using Colaizzi’s seven-step protocol. Results Three main themes emerged: (1) faith during decision-making, (2) struggles during decision-making, (3) transformation during decision-making. The findings indicate that “transforming the nature of hope” is the essence of the experience. Conclusion Family-centred care, gaining insight into parental spiritual practices, and developing culturally-appropriate care are recommended.

Abstract Background Previous studies have shown that depressive symptoms in middle-aged women were associated with a number of factors such as climacteric symptoms. Nevertheless, studies based on population-based data with a wide range of potential correlates are still scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the correlates of depressive symptoms in late middle-aged Taiwanese women using data from a nationally-representative, population-based survey. Methods Women aged 50.0–65.0 years were identified from the dataset of the 2009 Taiwan National Health Interview Survey. The outcome measure was depressive symptoms in the past week, evaluated using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D 10) with a cut-off score of 10 or greater. Univariate and multiple logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate the correlates of depressive symptoms. Results The mean age of the 533 respondents was 56.7 years. Depressive symptoms were present in 53 respondents (9.9%). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that an education level of elementary school or below (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 3.19, P = 0.003), nulliparity (AOR = 8.10, P = 0.001), living alone (AOR = 5.47, P = 0.003), never having worked (AOR = 4.14, P = 0.008), lack of regular exercise (AOR = 3.01, P = 0.003), a perceived health status of fair or bad (AOR = 4.34, P