Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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Candidemia is a life-threatening condition; however, the predictive markers for candidemia and mortality are inadequate in cirrhotic patients. This study was conducted to propose candidate predictors for the occurrence of candidemia and 30-day mortality in hospitalized cirrhotic patients with bloodstream infection (BSI) and review the related literature. ⋯ Candidemia had low incidence but high mortality in hospitalized cirrhotic patients with BSI. New predictors were proposed for the occurrence of candidemia and 30-day mortality in these patients.
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Early identification of fungal sinusitis remains a challenge. Previously, we observed a high false negative rate of using A-mode ultrasound to diagnose maxillary fungal sinusitis. This study aims to assess the accuracy of the diagnosis of fungal maxillary sinusitis using sinus plain film and ultrasound. ⋯ A high false negative rate of sinus ultrasound in patients with fungal sinusitis was found. A positive sinus plain film combined with a false negative sinus ultrasound can potentially become an easy and cost-effective screening tool for diagnosing fungal maxillary sinusitis before consideration of computed tomography scanning.
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Diabetes or hypertension contributes to erectile dysfunction (ED). We hypothesized that excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) production evoked by diabetes combined with hypertension may further suppress endothelial nitric oxide (NO) expression/activity and promote oxidative stress in the ED penis. ⋯ Diabetes combined with hypertension synergistically exacerbated ED through enhanced oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis and autophagy and depressed eNOS activity and NO production.
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The Diabetes Shared Care Program (DSCP) is an integrated care model in Taiwan to improve the care quality of patients with diabetes. Socioeconomic status (SES) is one of the important factors affecting health, and it is confirmed as a predictor of various diseases and deaths.This study aimed to determine the relationship between survival rate and SES among patients who participated in the DSCP. ⋯ In this study, we found that low individual SES, but not neighborhood SES, was associated with an increased mortality rate among DSCP participants.