Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
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Very few studies have focused on the correlation between structural heart disease and lower urinary tract symptoms. In this study, we applied echocardiography to explore the correlation between lower urinary tract symptoms and structural heart disease. ⋯ Moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms, especially storage symptoms, are an independent predictor of the co-existence of moderate-to-severe aortic regurgitation in women with cardiac symptoms. Early cardiological referral of patients with moderate-to-severe lower urinary tract symptoms and cardiac symptoms may improve their general health.
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Secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (sHLH) is a syndrome characterized by an excessive systemic inflammatory response, manifested by multiple organ dysfunction, lacking reliable immune biomarkers for predicting their inflammatory status and prognosis. Soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (sFlt-1) is associated with various inflammation-related diseases, including sepsis and severe organ failure. ⋯ Retrospective analysis showed that sFlt-1 was a promising prognostic factor.
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ChatGPT is an artificial intelligence model trained for conversations. ChatGPT has been widely applied in general medical education and cardiology, but its application in pharmacy has been lacking. This study examined the accuracy of ChatGPT on the Taiwanese Pharmacist Licensing Examination and investigated its potential role in pharmacy education. ⋯ ChatGPT 3.5 failed the Taiwanese Pharmacist Licensing Examination. Although it is not able to pass the examination, it can be improved quickly through deep learning. It reminds us that we should not only use multiple-choice questions to assess a pharmacist's ability, but also use more variety of evaluations in the future. Pharmacy education should be changed in line with the examination, and students must be able to use AI technology for self-learning. More importantly, we need to help students develop humanistic qualities and strengthen their ability to interact with patients, so that they can become warm-hearted healthcare professionals.
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Postradiotherapy carotid vasculopathy is a clinically relevant complication in patients with head and neck cancer receiving radiotherapy. In this study, we investigated the factors associated with the development and progression of carotid artery stenosis (CAS) in such patients. ⋯ Modifiable vascular risk factors, such as hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, appear to be significantly associated with the rapid progression of postradiotherapy CAS in patients with head and neck cancer.