J Formos Med Assoc
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Multicenter Study
Impact of pretreatment quality of life on tolerance and survival outcome in head and neck cancer patients undergoing definitive CCRT.
Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is a predictor of treatment outcomes in cancer patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of pretreatment HRQoL on treatment tolerance and survival outcomes in patients with HNC planned for concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) in Taiwan. ⋯ In patients with HNC planned for definitive CCRT, pre-treatment HRQoL was significantly associated with treatment-related complications, tolerance, and survival outcomes. Furthermore, our results validated the clinical value of QLQ-HN35 as an indicator for predicting treatment tolerance and outcomes.
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Non-intubated video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery combines a minimally invasive technique with multimodal locoregional analgesia to enhance recovery. The mainstay sedation protocol involves propofol and fentanyl. Dexmedetomidine, given its opioid-sparing effect with minimal respiratory depression, facilitates sedation in non-intubated patients. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of dexmedetomidine during non-intubated video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. ⋯ Adding adjuvant dexmedetomidine to propofol and fentanyl is safe and feasible for non-intubated video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. With its opioid-sparing effect and shorter postoperative length of stay, dexmedetomidine may enhance recovery after surgery.
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Exosomes are membrane vesicles that are actively secreted in response to microenvironmental stimuli. In this study, we quantified the amount of exosomes in patients with significant coronary artery disease (CAD) and evaluated its relationship with myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) results. ⋯ Patients with compromised poststress myocardial perfusion on MPI tended to have fewer exosomes in association with CAD-related miRNAs. This is the first study to clarify the fundamental and pathophysiological causes of CAD using radiographic examinations.
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Comparative Study
Development of a tool for monitoring the jaw-opening pace and preliminary comparison the pace between young and old ages.
Studies have demonstrated that high-speed jaw-opening exercises are effective in improving swallowing function. However, there has been no objective tool available for monitoring jaw-opening pace. This study aimed to develop an objective tool for monitoring and validating jaw-opening pace and compare it between young and old ages from different age groups. ⋯ A jaw-opening motion monitoring tool with reliable automatic pace analysis software was validated in young and old ages The jaw-opening pace demonstrated a tendency to decline with age.