J Formos Med Assoc
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Behcet's disease (BD) patients should have recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) but they may or may not have atrophic glossitis (AG). This study mainly assessed whether 30 AG-positive RAS/BD (AG+RAS/BD) patients had significantly higher frequencies of hemoglobin, iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid deficiencies and of hyperhomocysteinemia than 33 AG-negative RAS/BD (AG־RAS/BD) patients or 126 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. ⋯ We conclude that AG+RAS/BD patients do have significantly higher frequencies of hemoglobin, iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid deficiencies and of hyperhomocysteinemia than healthy control subjects and have significantly higher frequencies of hemoglobin and vitamin B12 deficiencies than AG־RAS/BD patients.
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Candida auris is a recently identified multi-resistant Candida species, first reported in Japan in 2009, and poses a serious global health threat. Lack of awareness of this new Candida species and difficulties with laboratory identification have impacted significantly on outbreak detection and management, and compromised patient outcome. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to raise awareness of healthcare personnel to this emerging pathogen and determine its prevalence, impact, and challenges to the Taiwan healthcare system. ⋯ In this report, we review the key epidemiological, microbiological and clinical characteristics of C. auris and provide the results of a multicenter surveillance study of C. auris in Taiwan. We also conducted a web-based survey to determine awareness of the medical community to C. auris and the capability of Taiwanese hospital laboratories to identify this microorganism. C. auris has not yet been isolated from humans in Taiwan, but the unique features of this microorganism and its ability to reach across international boundaries justify the importance of these initiatives in Taiwan.
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The registered trial has demonstrated that paritaprevir/ritonavir/ombitasvir plus dasabuvir (PrOD) with ribavirin was effective for recurrent hepatitis C virus genotype 1 (HCV-1) infection after liver transplantation in patients with mild fibrosis; however, the real-world efficacy and safety of this regimen have not been determined. ⋯ PrOD plus ribavirin had a highly satisfactory real-world efficacy and safety profile in the treatment of recurrent HCV-1 infection after liver transplantation in Asian patients.
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Surgery followed by radioiodine is a mainstay of treatment for thyroid cancers of follicular origins. However, about 5% of the thyroid cancers are non-operable and/or radioiodine-refractory diseases, which are either locally advanced or metastatic and result in a survival of less than 5 years. How to treat this population of thyroid cancer patients becomes a critical issue requiring further understanding of the tumor's genetic information. ⋯ The extensive genetic studies provide new insights to future targeted therapy in these patients. IT-PGM proved to be valuable for comprehensively searching genetic mutations in potentially fatal thyroid cancers.
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Gastric parietal cell antibody (GPCA), thyroglobulin antibody (TGA), and thyroid microsomal antibody (TMA) were rarely examined in Behcet's disease (BD) patients. This study mainly assessed the frequencies of serum GPCA, TGA, and TMA positivities in 63 BD patients. ⋯ Approximately 35% BD patients have serum GPCA/TGA/TMA positivity. However, BD patients do not have significantly higher frequencies of serum GPCA, TGA, and TMA positivities than RAS patients.