Kaohsiung J Med Sci
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Mar 2017
Quality of life and functional capacity are adversely affected in osteoarthritis patients with neuropathic pain.
The aim of this study was to examine the neuropathic pain component of knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients and to investigate the relationship between neuropathic pain, disease stage, functional state, depression, anxiety, and quality of life. This study included 60 patients with knee OA. All demographic data and radiological results were recorded. ⋯ To conclude, it should be kept in mind that patients with knee OA who describe intense pain may have a neuropathic component involved in the clinical condition. Quality of life and functional capacity are adversely affected in patients with knee OA who have neuropathic pain. This should be taken into account while planning the treatment of these patients.
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Jan 2017
Association of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 and vitamin D receptor expression with the risk of keloid disease in a Chinese population.
Keloid disease (KD) is a benign fibroproliferative scarring condition of unknown etiopathogenesis. Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) have been shown to play important roles in the progression of tissue fibrosis; therefore, both these genes are potential susceptibility genes for KD. We aimed to determine whether the gene expression levels of PAI-1 and VDR are altered in Chinese KD patients. ⋯ High levels of PAI-1 and low levels of VDR expression were significantly associated with an increased risk for KD. PAI-1 and VDR might play important roles in keloid development. Gene expression levels of PAI-1 and VDR may, therefore, be used as potential markers for the prediction of keloid development after scarring.
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Jul 2016
Evaluation of pleth variability index as a predictor of fluid responsiveness during orthotopic liver transplantation.
Fluid management is challenging and still remains controversial in orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The pleth variability index (PVI) has been shown to be a reliable predictor of fluid responsiveness of perioperative and critically ill patients; however, it has not been evaluated in OLT. This study was designed to examine whether the PVI can reliably predict fluid responsiveness in OLT and to compare PVI with other hemodynamic indexes that are measured using the PiCCO2 monitoring system. ⋯ Area under the curve for PVI was 0.56 (sensitivity 35%, specificity 90%, p = 0.58) at dissection phase, and was 0.55 (sensitivity 55%, specificity 66%, p = 0.58) at anhepatic phase. Of the parameters, a higher area under the curve value was found for SVV. We conclude that PVI was unable to predict fluid responsiveness with sufficient accuracy in patients undergoing OLT, but the SVV parameter was reliable.
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Jun 2016
Augmentation enterocystoplasty without reimplantation for patients with neurogenic bladder and vesicoureteral reflux.
The objective of this study was to assess the clinical outcome of vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) after augmentation cystoplasty alone in patients with a hypocompliant neurogenic bladder. Between January 2009 and December 2014, 29 patients with a hypocompliant bladder associated with VUR confirmed by videourodynamics (VUD) preoperatively were recruited in this study. All patients had undergone bladder augmentation with a generous detubularized segment of bowel at our institution. ⋯ Only one patient had symptomatic urinary infection after the surgery. Augmentation enterocystoplasty without ureteral reimplantation is thus effective and adequate for patients with high-pressure and hypocompliant neurogenic bladder. Therefore, ureteral reimplantation is not necessary when augmentation enterocystoplasty is recommended for patients with high-pressure, low-compliant bladder and VUR.
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Apr 2016
Ischemia-modified albumin levels in the prediction of acute critical neurological findings in carbon monoxide poisoning.
The aim of the study was to determine whether serum ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels in patients with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning were higher compared with a control group of healthy volunteers. In addition, the study sought to determine if there was a correlation between serum IMA levels and carboxyhemoglobin (COHB) levels and other critical neurological findings (CNFs). In this prospective study, the IMA levels of 100 patients with CO poisoning and 50 control individuals were compared. ⋯ However, when the multivariate model was created, it was observed that IMA level on admittance was a poor indicator for prediction of CNFs (odds ratio = 1.05; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.08). We therefore concluded that serum IMA levels could be helpful in the diagnosis of CO poisoning. However, we believe that IMA levels cannot be used to predict which patients will develop CNFs due to CO poisoning.