J Formos Med Assoc
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Multicenter Study
Microbial dynamics, risk factors and outcomes of secondary pneumonia in critically ill patients with COVID-19: A multicenter retrospective cohort study.
Secondary pneumonia has a significant clinical impact on critically ill patients with COVID-19. ⋯ Secondary pneumonia in critical COVID-19 patients significantly raised in-hospital mortality and extended hospital and ICU stays. Moreover, the presence of GNB notably predicted an unfavorable prognosis.
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Comparative Study
Prehospital neurologic assessment using mobile phones: Comparison between neurologists and emergency physicians.
Ambulance-based telestroke may be a promising solution to improving stroke care. We assessed the technical feasibility and reliability of prehospital evaluations using commercial mobile phones with fifth-generation wireless communication technology. ⋯ Prehospital evaluation using commercial mobile phones with fifth-generation wireless communication technology is feasible and reliable during ambulance transport in urban areas. Emergency physicians and neurologists performed similarly in stroke evaluations.
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Risk stratification for patients with a higher risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is crucial. We aimed to investigate the role of the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index in predicting chronic hepatitis C (CHC)-related HCC. ⋯ The baseline FIB-4 index can stratify the risks of HCC in untreated CHC patients, even those without viremia. The FIB-4 index should thus be included in the management of CHC.
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In the health-care system within hospitals, Taiwanese patients usually play the role of passively cooperating with health-care professionals. Therefore, patients rarely make their own treatment decisions. This study evaluated the level of patient education and patient satisfaction in relation to empowerment level in Taiwan. ⋯ To move more toward highly patient empowerment, we suggest that health-care professionals advocate a patient-empowerment approach and to provide more counselling related to patients' illnesses and possible treatments.