Kaohsiung J Med Sci
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Mar 2015
Usefulness of admission hematologic parameters as diagnostic tools in acute pulmonary embolism.
The purpose of this study was to determine the role of red cell distribution width (RDW), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in the diagnostic phase of acute pulmonary embolism (PE). We screened 248 consecutive patients who were admitted to the emergency service with PE foremost in the differential diagnosis. Based on spiral computed chest tomography, the patients were divided into two groups. ⋯ In multivariate logistic regression analysis, troponin I, D-dimer, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, and RDW were found to be independent predictors of PE [odds ratio (95% confidence interval) respectively: 5.208 (2.534-10.704), 1.242 (1.094-1.409), 1.005 (1.000-1.010), 1.175 (1.052-1.312)]. In receiver operating characteristic analysis of the patients in the study, RDW >18.9 predicted acute PE with a sensitivity of 20.7% and a specificity of 93.4%. In conclusion, RDW can be considered useful as a diagnostic measure for patients with suspected acute PE.
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Mar 2015
Utilization of 18F-FDG PET/CT as a staging tool in patients with newly diagnosed lymphoma.
The aim of this study was to investigate the role of 2-fluorine-18-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ((18)F-FDG) positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) in the initial staging and prediction of bone marrow involvement in patients with newly diagnosed lymphoma. A total of 185 patients with newly diagnosed lymphoma were enrolled. All patients received PET/CT and bone marrow biopsy as part of a staging work-up. ⋯ PET/CT had a high PPV for aggressive B-cell lymphoma with diffuse bone marrow FDG uptake and high NPVs for excluding bone marrow involvement in aggressive B-cell lymphoma and Hodgkin's lymphoma. Bone marrow biopsy may be omitted for the above subgroups of patients with medical conditions not suitable for this procedure. For patients with indolent B-cell lymphoma, bone marrow biopsy is still an indispensable procedure for staging.
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Feb 2015
Polysomnographic predictors of persistent continuous positive airway pressure adherence in patients with moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea.
Extensive use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) has positive clinical benefits for most patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). However, patient adherence is a major limiting factor to the effectiveness of CPAP treatment. This study determined the potential and quantifiable factors affecting the willingness of patients with OSA to undertake CPAP treatment by comparing the polysomnographic parameters recorded during diagnosis and titration. ⋯ A 10% improvement of oxygen desaturation index (ODI) and a 10% increment in deep sleep percentage increased the chance of persistent CPAP use 1.18-fold and 1.07-fold, respectively. In addition, the improved ODI and deep sleep during CPAP titration increased the chance of persistent CPAP user. The polysomnographic parameters obtained from diagnosis and during titration can facilitate the prediction of persistent CPAP use.
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Kaohsiung J Med Sci · Nov 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialThe effect of intravenous paracetamol for the prevention of rocuronium injection pain.
Rocuronium is a nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking agent used in anesthesia induction and is associated with considerable discomfort and burning pain during injection, which is reported to occur in 50-80% of patients. This study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of intravenous paracetamol pretreatment compared with lidocaine and normal saline to prevent rocuronium injection pain. The study included 150 ASA I-II patients undergoing elective orthopedic, gastrointestinal, and gynecological procedures under general anesthesia. ⋯ The level of pain on injection was statistically lower in those who had received paracetamol compared to normal saline (p = 0.009). There were more patients in the saline group with severe pain (p < 0.001). Paracetamol relieved the rocuronium injection pain better than normal saline but lidocaine was the best of the three drugs (p < 0.001).