Search

Background/Purpose: Emergency air medical transport (EAMT) of patients in remote areas with neurological emergencies to higher-level facilities is an integral part of the regionalized healthcare system. EAMT is safe and feasible for head injuries. Debates persist on the high cost, safety, and risk of EAMT, thereby calling for alternatives. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study by including all patients with intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) who visited the Kinmen Hospital from January 2006 to December 2016. Routine neurosurgical dispatch (RNSD) implemented since 2009, dispatches neurosurgeons to Kinmen. EAMT and 90-day mortality were assessed. Results: We enrolled 560 patients: 173 pre-stage and 387 post-stage. RNSD resulted in less EAMT deployment ([adjusted odds ratio AOR] = 0·23, p

HIV infection potentially increases coronary artery disease and heart failure risks. However, the association between HIV infection and sudden cardiac death (SCD) has not been extensively studied. This nationwide cohort study aimed to determine SCD risks in Taiwanese patients with and without HIV infection.Adult people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) since January 1, 2003, were identified from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control HIV surveillance system. HIV-infected individuals were defined as positive HIV-1 Western blot. A control cohort without HIV infection, matched for age and sex, was selected for comparison from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. All patients were followed up until SCD, mortality for another cause, or till December 31, 2014. A time-dependent Cox proportional hazards model was used to determine the association of HIV and antiretroviral therapy (ART) with SCD.During a mean 5.86-year follow-up, 5342 (4.40%) of 121,530 patients (24,306 PLWHA and 97,224 matched controls) died; among them, 150 (0.12%) died of SCD. Among 150 SCD events, 97 (64.7%) and 53 (33.3%) occurred in PLWHA and controls, respectively, which corresponded to incidences of 68.31 in PLWHA and 9.31 per 100,000 person-years in controls (P0.001). After adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities, HIV infection was an independent risk factor for SCD (adjusted hazard ratio, 8.15; 95% confidence interval: 5.58 to 11.90). SCD incidence was significantly lower in PLWHA receiving ART (adjusted hazard ratio 0.53; 95% confidence interval: 0.32 to 0.87).HIV infection is an independent risk factor for SCD. SCD rates are low in PLWHA receiving ART.

OBJECTIVE To identify factors associated with death before the start of anti-tuberculosis treatment, and early and late during treatment, among adult Taiwanese with culture-positive pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). METHOD All adult culture-positive PTB patients in Taipei, Taiwan, were included in a retrospective cohort study in 2005-2010. RESULTS Of 4438 patients (mean age 64.6 years, 70.6% male), 76.8% were successfully treated, 5.4% died before start of treatment, 9.0% died within 8 weeks of treatment initiation and 8.8% died >8 weeks after treatment initiation. After controlling for potential confounders, age ≥ 65 years and male sex were associated with higher risks of death at all time periods investigated. High school education or higher reduced the risk of death before the start of and during treatment, while unemployment increased the risk of mortality during treatment. Cavity on chest X-ray and positivity for acid-fast bacilli were associated with lower risk of mortality before the start of treatment. CONCLUSION To lower mortality among adult culture-positive PTB patients, it is imperative for clinicians to maintain high awareness of TB and provide more intensive care early, especially for men, the elderly and people with lower socio-economic status (e.g., the unemployed and less educated).

Summary This study was undertaken to identify factors associated with unfavorable outcomes in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) in Taipei, Taiwan in 2007–2008. Taiwanese adults with culture-positive PTB diagnosed in Taipei during the study period were included in this retrospective cohort study. Unfavorable outcomes were classified as treatment default, death, treatment failure, or transfer. Of 1616 eligible patients, 22.6% (365) had unfavorable outcomes, mainly death. After controlling for patient sociodemographic factors, clinical findings, and underlying disease, independent risk factors for unfavorable outcomes included advanced age, unemployment, end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis, malignancy, acid-fast bacilius smear–positivity, multidrug-resistant TB, and notification from ordinary ward or intensive care unit. In contrast, patients receiving directly observed treatment, and with a high school or higher education were significantly less likely to have unfavorable outcomes. This study advanced our understanding by revealing that a high school or higher education might lower the risk of an unfavorable outcome. Our results also confirmed the risk factors for unfavorable outcomes shown in previous research. Future TB control programmes in Taiwan should target particularly high-risk patients including those who had lower educational levels.

Summary Aims The purpose of this study was to perform a cross-sectional population-based study of hospitalised cases due to acute spinal trauma in Taiwan, based on information from the nationwide National Health Insurance (NHI) database. Methods To calculate the annual incidence of hospitalised acute spinal trauma, evaluate the distribution of neurological injury and its surgical intervention, and analyse the use of medical resources and related factors in Taiwan, the entire inpatient datasets were selected between 2000 and 2003 for use in the present study. Results There were 13,371, 13,800, 13,728 and 13,585 cases identified in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003, respectively, the average incidence of hospitalised acute spinal trauma in Taiwan was 61.61/100,000, and it was similar in both genders (rate ratio of male to female: 0.99). There was a significant trend of increased incidence with increasing age in both genders, particularly after the age of 60. The decreasing incidence rate ratios of neurological deficit to neurological intactness are 0.75, 0.58, 0.45, 0.26 and 0.16 in the age strata of 0–19, 20–39, 40–59, 60–79 and 80 or more years, respectively. In general, the operation rate is only 17.3% of all acute spinal injury cases, but it would be up to a significant 29.5% if the patients had spinal fractures with neurological insufficiency. There is an obvious decreasing trend of operation rate in spinal bony trauma with age, but a reverse trend is noted in the group with spinal nerve injury without spinal fracture. Finally, the enrolled subjects of acute spinal injuries spent $NT 43336.3 ± 80270.2 (equal to US$ 1313 ± 2432) and stayed for 8.5 ± 8.9 days in hospital. The above two variables of hospitalised medical utilisation are significantly different when considering gender, neurological status, and surgical intervention or not. Noticeably, if operative treatment for acute spinal injury is necessary, the LOS would increase by two times and the medical cost by six times. Conclusion In Taiwan, the annual incidence of hospitalised acute spinal injuries was higher but the direct cost was much lower. The characterisation of gender ratio, neurological condition, and surgical performance had been significantly effected by age.

Objective To investigate whether tobacco smoking increases the risk of tuberculosis (TB) recurrence and identify factors associated with TB recurrence among adults who had successfully completed anti-tuberculosis treatment in Taipei, Taiwan. Methods Recurrence was defined as a new clinical or microbiological diagnosis of TB requiring the start of a new course of treatment in a patient who had satisfactorily completed treatment for a previous TB episode. Cox proportional hazard models were used to calculate adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) for recurrence. Results We followed 5567 adults for recurrence after successful anti-tuberculosis treatment. The mean age was 58.5 years; 62.9% were male. Overall, 84 (1.5%) had a recurrence of TB during follow-up. The incidence of TB recurrence was 4.9 episodes/1000 person-years of follow-up. Cox proportional hazards regression showed that after controlling for other variables, the risk of TB recurrence among subjects who smoked >10 cigarettes a day was double that of never/former smokers. Other independent risk factors significantly associated with TB recurrence were homelessness (aHR 3.75, 95%CI 1.17-12.07), presence of comorbidities (aHR 2.66, 95%CI 1.22-5.79) and a positive acid-fast bacilli smear (aHR 2.27, 95%CI 1.47-3.49). Conclusion Smoking >10 cigarettes a day was significantly associated with TB recurrence. To reduce the risk of recurrence, we recommend including effective measures of smoking cessation in TB control programmes, as recommended by the World Health Organization Stop TB Strategy.

Background Methadone treatment was introduced in Taiwan in 2006 as a harm-reduction program for injection drug users (IDUs), among whom HIV was endemic. We examined the association of HIV serostatus with demographic characteristics, substance use, and sexual behaviors among IDUs at methadone clinics in Taipei, Taiwan. Methods During 2012–2013, IDUs at methadone clinics in Taipei were recruited to complete a risk assessment interview and undergo serologic testing for HIV infection. Correlates of HIV infection were identified by multivariate logistic regression. Results Of the 827 eligible participants, 85.9% were male, median age was 45 years, and mean years of injecting was 18.0 (range 1–56). The prevalence of HIV infection was 17.7%. In multivariate analysis, HIV infection was significantly associated with age ≤45 years (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–2.62), being divorced (AOR = 1.67, 95% CI 1.06–2.62), deriving the majority of income during the previous 6 months from temporary jobs or other noncriminal sources (AOR = 1.53, 95% CI 1.02–2.30), unstable housing during the previous 6 months (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI 1.003–2.15), higher number of incarcerations (AOR = 1.14, 95% CI 1.03–1.26), and a history of overdose (AOR = 1.51, 95% CI 1.01–2.28). Conclusions Taiwanese IDUs at methadone clinics have a relatively high HIV prevalence, which was associated with younger age and history of overdose. It is imperative to educate IDUs’ about HIV transmission, particularly for the younger and overdosed IDUs.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of directly observed therapy (DOT) on tuberculosis-specific mortality and non-TB-specific mortality and identify prognostic factors associated with mortality among adults with culture-positive pulmonary TB (PTB). METHODS: All adult Taiwanese with PTB in Taipei, Taiwan were included in a retrospective cohort study in 2006-2010. Backward stepwise multinomial logistic regression was used to identify risk factors associated with each mortality outcome. RESULTS: Mean age of the 3,487 patients was 64.2 years and 70.4% were male. Among 2471 patients on DOT, 4.2% (105) died of TB-specific causes and 15.4% (381) died of non-TB-specific causes. Among 1016 patients on SAT, 4.4% (45) died of TB-specific causes and 11.8% (120) died of non-TB-specific causes. , After adjustment for potential confounders, the odds ratio for TB-specific mortality was 0.45 (95% CI: 0.30-0.69) among patients treated with DOT as compared with those on self-administered treatment. Independent predictors of TB-specific and non-TB-specific mortality included older age (ie, 65-79 and ≥80 years vs. 18-49 years), being unemployed, a positive sputum smear for acid-fast bacilli, and TB notification from a general ward or intensive care unit (reference: outpatient services). Male sex, end-stage renal disease requiring dialysis, malignancy, and pleural effusion on chest radiography were associated with increased risk of non-TB-specific mortality, while presence of lung cavities on chest radiography was associated with lower risk. CONCLUSIONS: DOT reduced TB-specific mortality by 55% among patients with PTB, after controlling for confounders. DOT should be given to all TB patients to further reduce TB-specific mortality.

Background The tuberculosis reporting enquiry system was launched in Taiwan in 2001. Tuberculosis has been categorized as the third most important notifiable disease in Taiwan and the time required for reporting has been shortened to 7 days. Methods A total of 114,827 cases were reported using the Taiwan enquiry system between 2002 and 2006; of these, 26,027 (22.7%) were finally diagnosed as not being tuberculosis, 7,005 (8.2%) were diagnosed as extra-pulmonary tuberculosis and 3,677 (3.2%) were not a first-time diagnosis of tuberculosis, and these cases were hence excluded. Diagnosis time was defined as the length of time between the first medical examination (including chest radiography, sputum smear or sputum culture) to the diagnosis of PTB; treatment time was defined as the period from the diagnosis of PTB to the initiation of treatment. Using the cut-off at the 75th percentile, a period of longer than 9 days was defined as a diagnosis delay and a period of longer than 2 days as a treatment delay. Multiple logistic regression analysis was applied to analyze the risk factors associated with these delays. Results During the five-year study period, among the 78,118 new PTB patients reported in Taiwan, the mean diagnosis and treatment times were 12 and 5 days and the median times 1 day and 0 days, respectively. In total, 24.9% of the new PTB patients' diagnosis time delays were longer than 9 days and 20.3% of the patients' treatment time delays were longer than 2 days. The main factors associated with diagnosis delay included age, reporting year, living with family and a positive sputum culture (p < 0.0001); the risk factors significantly associated with treatment delay were increased age, an aboriginal ethnic background, a positive sputum culture and diagnosis at a non-medical center (p < 0.0001). Conclusion The Taiwan TB reporting enquiry system has successfully increased the confirmed PTB reporting rate from 64.4% to 71.5%. Greater age and a positive sputum culture were both found to significantly increase both diagnosis and treatment delays; treatment delay is also significantly affected by the patient having an aboriginal ethnic background and being diagnosed at a non-medical center.