J Formos Med Assoc
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Of the risk factors for suicide, prior attempt is regarded as one of the strongest for subsequent attempts or completed suicide. This large-scale cohort study aims to examine whether the distress level of individual mental symptoms and general psychopathology measured at the index attempt can predict subsequent suicide death within one year. ⋯ The study revealed that self-rated psychological distress was a significant and sustained predictor of re-attempted suicide death within one year after the index attempt. These results imply that suicide is not only an issue of acute crisis, but also a prolonged problem of lasting psychological distress. The BSRS-5 assessment could provide a symptom profile on which to develop a pertinent person-centered approach to prevent subsequent suicide attempts.
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Predicting the mortality in patients admitted to the ICU is important for determining a treatment strategy and public health policy. Although many scores have been developed to predict the mortality, these scores were based on Caucasian population. We aimed to develop a new prognostic index, the New nutritional index (NNI), to predict 90-days mortality after ICU admission based on Korean population. ⋯ The NNI has advantages as a predictor of 90 days mortality based on nutritional status in the Korean population.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
The efficacy of pentosan polysulfate monotherapy for preventing recurrent urinary tract infections in women: A multicenter open-label randomized controlled trial.
Pentosan polysulfate sodium (PPS), a semi-synthetic polysaccharide that adheres to bladder mucosa, is effective in treating interstitial cystitis. We evaluated the clinical benefit of PPS for the prevention of recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) in women. ⋯ Among women with recurrent UTI, 16-week PPS monotherapy significantly reduced UTI recurrence when compared with the control group.
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The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of antenatal corticosteroids for preventing very low birth weight (VLBW) infants with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) from surfactant use at different gestational ages (GA). ⋯ For VLBW infants with RDS at 34 weeks' gestation and more, the beneficial effect of antenatal corticosteroids on preventing surfactant use was not evident. In conclusion, completion of two doses or more of antenatal corticosteroids is of great importance for VLBW infants with RDS at gestational age between 26 and 33 weeks on preventing surfactant use.
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Enteral feeding, mainly by using a nasogastric tube (NGT), is generally favored over parenteral supplementation in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients with dysphagia. However, the placement of a NGT, either blindly or by endoscopy, is technically challenging in these patients due to the obstructive mass and the altered regional anatomy. The aim of this retrospective study was to estimate the clinical feasibility and safety of fluoroscopic-guided NGT placement in patients with advanced HNC. ⋯ Our results show that fluoroscopic-guided NGT placement is a highly safe and effective procedure for patients with advanced HNC requiring enteral feeding.