Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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For decades, endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has been widely performed as a diagnostic and therapeutic procedure for biliary and pancreatic diseases. Complications of ERCP include pancreatitis, hemorrhage, perforation, cholangitis, and cholecystitis. There are few studies that focus on the incidence of post-ERCP cholecystitis and its potential risk factors. ⋯ The incidence of post-ERCP cholecystitis was 0.96% in the 1345 ERCP procedures performed. Cyst duct stones and ERBD were found to be risk factors for post-ERCP cholecystitis.
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Observational Study
Neonatal hospice care utilization in a tertiary hospital in Taiwan before and after the legalization of life-sustaining treatment withdrawal.
The advancements in neonatal critical care have not only improved the outcomes of extreme prematurity but also prolonged the process of death in terminally ill neonates. This study analyzed the characteristics of neonates who died at a single tertiary center in Taiwan. The utilization of neonatal hospice care before and after the legalization of life-sustaining treatment (LST) withdrawal in Taiwan in 2013 was also compared. ⋯ There was an increasing trend for written DNR consent and the utilization of neonatal hospice care. Renal failure, as a comorbidity, was significantly associated with the written DNR consent in the neonates. Further studies to evaluate the factors associated with neonatal hospice care utilization are suggested.
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In 2017 and 2018, Food and Drug Administration has approved YESCARTA (axicabtagene ciloleucel) and KYMRIAH (tisagenlecleucel), two chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-engineered T-cell products, for B-cell malignancies. It also marked a watershed moment in the development of immunotherapies for cancer. ⋯ With the growing consideration of the biological responses in the interaction of human immunity, the major technical obstacles such as on-target off-tumor toxicity in widespread solid tumors, antigenic heterogeneity, adaptive resistance, difficult T-cell (CD4/CD8) trafficking, and immunosuppressive environments in CNS are gradually approached and ameliorated. The new spotlights of this review are focusing on current development, and emerging treatments for pediatric CNS tumors integrating molecular research with the mainstream of CAR-T therapeutic strategies to sketch a main axis and pathway forward in the improvement of novel gene-modified-based cellular platform.
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The indocyanine green 15-minute retention (ICG-r15) test was considered as a noninvasive marker of esophageal varices (EV) in cirrhotic patients. However, the performance of ICG-r15 in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has rarely been assessed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the value of ICG-r15 as a noninvasive marker of EV in patients with HCC. ⋯ ICG-r15 is a practical noninvasive marker with cutoff values of 9.5% for excluding EV and 31.0% for identifying EV in patients with HCC.
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Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Despite the rapid evolution of cancer treatment, chemotherapy remains the mainstay in the management of cancer. Chemotherapy can result in various adverse drug reactions (ADRs), which may lead to hospitalization and even life-threatening side-effects. Hematologic ADRs are among the most severe forms of ADR following chemotherapy, as they generally lead to hospitalization. It is important to realize the predictors and outcome of hematologic ADRs in cancer patients. ⋯ Severe outcomes of hematologic ADRs may increase healthcare costs and decrease patient productivity. Therefore, the determinants of ADR-related hospitalization identified in this study may help improve the quality of healthcare for cancer patients.