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Objectives The ankle–brachial index is a noninvasive modality to evaluate atherosclerosis and is a predictive role for future cardiovascular events and mortality. However, few studies have evaluated its relation to long-term future ischemic stroke in hemodialysis patients. Therefore, we examined the relationship between ankle–brachial index and ischemic stroke events among hemodialysis patients in a seven-year follow-up. Methods A total of 84 patients were enrolled. Ankle–brachial index was assessed in January 2009. Primary outcomes included ischemic stroke. An ankle–brachial index Results Mean values for ankle–brachial index were 0.98 ± 0.21at study entrance. In addition, 28 patients encountered ischemic stroke in the seven-year follow-up. In univariate Cox regression analysis, old age (hazard ratio (HR): 1.065, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.030–1.102, p Conclusions These findings suggest that ankle–brachial index is an impressive predictor of future ischemic stroke among hemodialysis patients.

Hemodialysis patients have a high incidence of anti-platelet factor 4/heparin antibody (PF4-H Ab) and are at a high risk of cardiovascular disease. This study determines the association between PF4-H Ab and cardiovascular events including coronary artery disease (CAD), ischemic stroke (IS), and native arteriovenous fistula thrombosis (AVFT), in a longitudinal 7-year follow-up. 84 hemodialysis patients were enrolled. Data collection included chart reviews and assessments of laboratory records. PF4-H Ab was evaluated by ELISA and a titer ≥ 0.4 was defined to have PF4-H Ab. 30 patients were PF4-H Ab positive, 30 patients had CAD, 29 patients had IS, and 43 patients had AVFT. In Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, PF4-H Ab (HR 2.72, p = 0.01) was a significant risk factor for CAD. Age (HR 1.06, p = 0.003), PF4-H Ab (HR 4.53, p

Hemodialysis patients have a high incidence of ischemic stroke. However, the association between serum phosphate levels and ischemic stroke is controversial among hemodialysis patients. The present study is used to evaluate whether serum phosphate levels are associated with ischemic stroke among patients undergoing hemodialysis. A total of 84 hemodialysis patients were followed up for 8 years. Data collection included chart reviews and assessments of laboratory records. The ischemic stroke diagnosis was made on the basis of history, physical examination and neuroimaging (computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging) by neurologists. Cox proportional hazard regression models were used to analyze the data. During the follow-up period, 29 patients experienced ischemic stroke. According to Cox proportional hazard regression analysis, the risk of ischemic stroke decreased by 45.5% for each 1-mg/dL increase in averaged serum phosphate (HR 0.545, p = 0.011). The risk of ischemic stroke increased by 4.3% for each 1-year increase in age (HR 1.043, p = 0.018). The risk of ischemic stroke increased by 1.1% increase for each 103/μL increase in averaged blood platelet (HR 1.011, p = 0.009). The risk of ischemic stroke in patients with averaged serum phosphate

It is not uncommon for physicians to work through illness and to be reluctant to seek health care from their colleagues, which is detrimental for quality of care. This study sought to assess the risk of admission for coronary artery diseases (CADs) in diabetic physicians. A cohort of 995 diabetic physicians and 9950 age- and sex-matched controls with diabetes were identified in 2000 and were followed to the end of 2008. Over an 8-year period, 200 (20.1%) diabetic physicians and 2255 (22.7%) controls were admitted for CAD. After controlling for potential confounders, diabetic physicians experienced a reduced, but insignificantly, adjusted odds ratio (OR) of CAD admission (OR = 0.89; 95% confidence interval = 0.75-1.06). Diabetic physicians in Taiwan were not at a significantly reduced risk of CAD admission. Future studies are needed to further explore the barriers that impede diabetic physicians from appropriately managing their disease.

Objective Auditory evoked potential (AEP) index is one of the several physiological parameters for assessing the depth of anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the AEP monitoring could provide a better information for assessment of anesthesia level in classic laryngeal mask airway (C-LMA) insertion than the use of clinical signs in general anesthesia with single standard dose of intravenous propofol and fentanyl. Methods One hundred and seventy adult patients requiring general anesthesia for minor surgery were recruited and randomized to receive AEP monitoring (group A) or judgment of clinical signs (group B) for assessment of anesthesia depth and optimal condition to insert the C-LMA. The insertion conditions, including jaw relaxation, movements, presence of airway trauma and airway reflex, successful insertion rate and induction time were recorded and compared. Results The two groups were demographically similar. In group A, baseline heart rate was slower than group B (74 ± 14 vs. 78 ± 14 beats/min, p = 0.0267) and persisted throughout the whole study period. There was no significant difference in the change of heart rate during induction of general anesthesia between both groups. The incidence of movement was reduced in group A patients with AEP monitoring in comparison with group B patients (2.4% vs. 28.2%, p p = 0.0126; laryngospasm was 0% versus 4.7%, p = 0.0430 and emergence of airway reflex was 1.2% versus 11.8%, p = 0.0050; the successful insertion rate was 100% versus 94.1%, p = 0.0232; and jaw relaxation was 83.5% versus 70.6%, p = 0.0448. There were no differences between both groups in trauma and induction time. Conclusion This study demonstrated that AEP index provided better information for C-LMA insertion with higher successful rate, less emergence of airway reflex and lower incidence of movement during induction of general anesthesia with single dose of intravenous propofol and fentanyl.

Aims This study aims to investigate the distribution of underlying-causes-of-death (UCOD) among deceased patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in Taiwan and assess the influence of socio-demographic characteristics on mortality in type 2 DM patients. Methods A cohort study on patients who sought medical care for type 2 DM from 2000 to 2008 was conducted on 65,599 type 2 DM patients retrieved from the 1-million beneficiaries randomly selected from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Database. The study cohort was then linked to Taiwan's Mortality Registry to ascertain the patients who died between 2000 and 2009. We examined the distribution of UCOD in the deceased subjects. The hazard ratios of mortality in relation to socio-demographic characteristics were estimated from Cox proportional hazard model. Results The leading causes of death in type 2 DM included neoplasm (22.68%), cardiovascular diseases (21.46%), and endocrine diseases (20.78%). Male gender and older ages were associated with significantly increased risk of mortality. In addition, lower urbanization and greater co-morbidity score were also significantly associated with an increased risk of mortality with a dose-gradient pattern. Conclusions Neoplasm accounts for the largest portion (22.68%) of deaths in type 2 DM patients closely followed by with cardiovascular diseases (21.46%). An increased risk of mortality in type 2 DM patients in lower urbanized areas may reflect poor diabetes care in these areas.

Increased pulse wave velocity (PWV) is a marker of increased arterial stiffness and is correlated with cardiovascular mortality and mortality of all causes in the elderly and in patients with essential hypertension and type 2 diabetes. There is also a positive correlation between PWV and arterial blood pressure. The changes of PWV in response to general anesthesia and surgical stimulation remain unclear. The aim of this study was to continuously monitor the PWV, blood pressure and heart rate, and to assess their correlations during general anesthesia in women receiving gynecologic surgery.The values of PWV were obtained from calculation of the finger-to-toe distance divided by the transit time using dual-channel photoplethysmography system. The values of PWV, systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP) and heart rate were recorded before anesthesia induction, 5 min before incision, at incision, in continuation for at least 30 min thereafter, and 5 min after discontinuation of sevoflurane. The correlations between PWV and SBP, DBP and heart rate during the general anesthesia were analyzed using Pearson's correlation test.The serial records of PWV and hemodynamic parameters showed that PWV, SBP, DBP, and heart rate decreased after induction of anesthesia. SBP and DBP increased after surgical incision. There was a trend of progressively declining of PWV and DBP during the general anesthesia but SBP and heart rate remained stationary. All the values of PWV, SBP, DBP, and heart rate increased after discontinuation of anesthesia. There were significant correlations between PWV and SBP (r = 0.4558, P0.0001), between PWV and DBP (r = 0.2719, P0.0001), between PWV and pulse pressure (r = 0.2067, P0.0001), and between PWV and mean arterial pressure (r = 0.3969, P0.0001).We could evaluate the serial changes of PWV in response to general anesthesia and surgical stimulation using a simple and noninvasive dual-channel photoplethysmography system. The value of PWV, an index of arterial stiffness, has significant correlation with arterial blood pressure.