Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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People may experience tinnitus after sudden hearing impairment. The details of the relationship between tinnitus improvement and hearing recovery are still unclear. Personality traits may play a role in the modulation of tinnitus sensation. We investigated the moderating effect of personality traits on pretreatment and posttreatment tinnitus sensation in patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL). ⋯ Neuroticism and openness may affect acute tinnitus stress in ISSHL patients. Practitioners should consider personality traits when managing ISSHL patients with bothersome tinnitus.
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The incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is significantly higher in men than women. Nonetheless, the impact of sex disparities on HCC outcomes remains unclear. We aimed to compare the clinical manifestations and prognoses between male and female patients with HCC. ⋯ Sex was not an independent predictor of the outcome of patients with HCC, especially for those aged more than 50 years.
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Opioids are effective for severe pain; however, the safety issue is also a primary concern. To better understand the opioid use in Taiwan, we conducted this study. ⋯ The total number of opioid prescriptions in Taiwan gradually increased annually, among which morphine was the most commonly used opioid. Cancer patients consumed more opioid prescriptions than noncancer patients and most of the prescriptions in noncancer patients were used in acute pain service. The number of prescriptions increased with the age of the patients in both cancer and noncancer patients. The low prescription rate of opioids in chronic pain in Taiwan is not similar as those in high opioid-consuming countries, such as United States.
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Compared with traditional computed tomography (CT), dual-layer spectral detector CT (SDCT) shows significant improvement in imaging soft tissues of the digestive tract. This work aimed to explore the application of SDCT to evaluate the expression of the molecular marker Ki-67 in colorectal cancer. ⋯ The SDCT parameters 40-keV VMI and AP-IC can be used for preliminary evaluation of the Ki-67 index in colorectal cancer.
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Observational Study
Morphometric and ultrasonographic determinants of difficult laryngoscopy in obese patients: A prospective observational study.
Obese people have a higher risk of difficult laryngoscopy due to their thick neck, large tongue, and redundant pharyngeal soft tissue. However, there is still no established predictive factor for difficult laryngoscopy in obese population. ⋯ Greater neck circumference was an independent risk factor for difficult laryngoscopy in obese patients. This finding provides a way of reducing unanticipated difficult airway in this high-risk population.