J Formos Med Assoc
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Since the COVID-19 outbreak was detected in Wuhan in December 2019 by the event-based surveillance of Taiwan Centers for Disease Control, Taiwan has been aligning risk management to policy planning with the assistance of comprehensive surveillance and regular rapid risk assessments. Taiwan Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) promptly initiated stepwise border control for major cities and provinces in China, European and American countries, and eventually expanded it to the whole world in March 2020. ⋯ Digital technologies including digital fencing and government database linkage were adopted to facilitate the application of public health interventions and data collection. The experience of Taiwan's prompt and comprehensive response at the early stage may contribute to the preparedness for the next disease X outbreak.
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3D-printing technology is an important tool for the bone tissue engineering (BTE). The aim of this study was to investigate the interaction of polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffolds and modified mesh PCL coated with beta TCP (PCL/β-TCP) scaffolds with MG-63. ⋯ We concluded that both meshes structured PCL and PCL/β-TCP scaffolds could promote the MG-63 cell growth, and PCL/β-TCP was better than the PCL scaffolds for the outcome of MG63 cell differentiation and mineralization.
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Taiwan learned from its 2003 SARS experience and established multiple surveillance systems to be able to detect and respond to COVID-19. With the find, test, trace, isolate, and support (FTTIS) strategy, Taiwan was successful in containing SARS-CoV-2 from spreading for two years. During the surge of the Omicron variant in the community, COVID-19 control strategy shifted from containment to mitigation in April 2022, to reduce morbidity and mortality. Lessons learned from COVID-19 response re-emphasizes the importance of having sensitive public health surveillance and linking surveillance with public health actions.
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Since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, millions of people worldwide have passed away due to critical illness. Intensive care for severe COVID-19 infection remains one of the most important ways to save patients' lives. In Taiwan, the government-led critical care model and COVID-19 clinical rounds, grand rounds, and chief rounds by experts; critical care guidelines established by the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control and major professional societies; consensus and management recommendations among medical institutes; and research works in the field of critical care constitute the concrete basis of intensive care. This review article briefly summarizes the current achievements of critical care for COVID-19 in Taiwan and recommendations on future directions.
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Multicenter Study
Development of a prediction model for emergency medical service witnessed traumatic out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A multicenter cohort study.
To develop a prediction model for emergency medical technicians (EMTs) to identify trauma patients at high risk of deterioration to emergency medical service (EMS)-witnessed traumatic cardiac arrest (TCA) on the scene or en route. ⋯ We established a prediction model using variables from the PATOS database and measured them immediately after EMS personnel arrived to predict EMS-witnessed TCA. The model allows prehospital medical personnel to focus on high-risk patients and promptly administer optimal treatment.