Do-not-resuscitate (DNR) is a legal order that demonstrates a patient's will to avoid further suffering from advanced treatment at the end of life. The concept of palliative care is increasingly ...accepted, but the impacts of different major illnesses, geographic regions, and health expenses on DNR rates remain unclear.
This study utilized the two-million National Health Insurance (NHI) Research Database to examine the percentage of DNR rates among all deaths in hospitals from 2001 to 2011. DNR in the study was defined as no resuscitation before death in hospitals. Death records were extracted from the database and correlated with healthcare information. Descriptive statistics were compiled to examine the relationships between DNR rates and variables including major illnesses, geographic regions, and NHI spending.
A total of 126,390 death records were extracted from the database for analysis. Among cancer-related deaths, pancreatic cancer patients had the highest DNR rate (86.99%) and esophageal cancer patients had the lowest DNR rate (71.62%). The higher DNR rate among cancer-only patients (79.53%) decreased with concomitant dialysis (66.07%) or ventilator use (57.85%). The lower DNR rates in patients with either chronic dialysis (51.27%) or ventilator use (59.10%) increased when patients experienced these two conditions concomitantly (61.31%). Although DNR rates have consistently increased over time across all regions of Taiwan, a persistent disparity was noted between the East and the South (76.89% vs. 70.78% in 2011, p < 0.01). After adjusting for potential confounders, DNR patients had significantly lower NHI spending one year prior to death ($67,553), compared with non-DNR patients.
Our study found that DNR rates varied across cancer types and decreased in cancer patients with concomitant chronic dialysis or ventilator use. Disparities in DNR rates were evident across geographic regions in Taiwan. A wider adoption of the DNR policy may achieve substantial savings in health expenses and improve patients' quality of life.
Periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) arising from joint arthroplasty are dreadful, yet difficult to diagnose in subtle cases. Definite diagnosis requires microbiological culture to confirm the ...causative pathogens. However, up to 40% of culture-negative PJI needs other surrogate biomarkers such as human neutrophil peptide 1 (HNP 1) to improve diagnostic accuracy or gauge therapeutic responses. To devise a diagnostic method, systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) (five rounds) was used to screen PJI biomarkers on a compact (20 × 20 × 35 cm), integrated microfluidic system equipped with two separate Peltier devices and one magnetic control module where an aptamer with high affinity and specificity for HNP 1, which has been used as one of the synovial fluid (SF) biomarkers for detecting PJI, was identified for the first time. Two rounds of negative selection (with immunoglobulin G & human serum album) on-chip followed by one round of unique "competitive selection" with SF extracted from PJI patients validated the specificity of the HNP 1 aptamer. The dissociation constant was measured to be 19 nM. The applicability of SF HNP 1 levels for diagnosing PJI was then verified by a new aptamer-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-like assay. It is envisioned that this new aptamer and the associated assay could be used in future clinical applications.
Variants of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) have evolved such that it may be challenging for diagnosis and clinical treatment of the pandemic coronavirus disease-19 ...(COVID-19). Compared with developed SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tools recently, aptamers may exhibit some advantages, including high specificity/affinity, longer shelf life (vs. antibodies), and could be easily prepared. Herein an integrated microfluidic system was developed to automatically carry out one novel screening process based on the systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) for screening aptamers specific with SARS-CoV-2. The new screening process started with five rounds of positive selection (with the S1 protein of SARS-CoV-2). In addition, including non-target viruses (influenza A and B), human respiratory tract-related cancer cells (adenocarcinoma human alveolar basal epithelial cells and dysplastic oral keratinocytes), and upper respiratory tract-related infectious bacteria (including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Klebsiella pneumoniae), and human saliva were involved to increase the specificity of the screened aptamer during the negative selection. Totally, all 10 rounds could be completed within 20 h. The dissociation constant of the selected aptamer was determined to be 63.0 nM with S1 protein. Limits of detection for Wuhan and Omicron clinical strains were found to be satisfactory for clinical applications (i.e. 4.80 × 101 and 1.95 × 102 copies/mL, respectively). Moreover, the developed aptamer was verified to be capable of capturing inactivated SARS-CoV-2 viruses, eight SARS-CoV-2 pseudo-viruses, and clinical isolates of SARS-CoV-2 viruses. For high-variable emerging viruses, this developed integrated microfluidic system can be used to rapidly select highly-specific aptamers based on the novel SELEX methods to deal with infectious diseases in the future.
An integrated, automatic microfluidic device for screening of aptamers against SARS-CoV-2 S1 proteins was developed. The screened aptamer with a high affinity and specificity was capable to SARS-CoV-2 viruses and could be used for diagnosis of COVID-19. Display omitted
•An integrated microfluidic system was developed to automatically carry out screening of aptamers specific to SARS-CoV-2.•All 10 rounds could be completed within 20 h.•Limits of detection for Wuhan and Omicron viral strains were found to be 4.80 × 101 and 1.95 × 102 copies/mL, respectively.
Data are limited on the efficacy and safety of pegylated interferon plus ribavirin for patients with hepatitis C virus genotype 1 (HCV-1) receiving hemodialysis.
To compare the efficacy and safety of ...combination therapy with pegylated interferon plus low-dose ribavirin and pegylated interferon monotherapy for treatment-naive patients with HCV-1 receiving hemodialysis.
Open-label, randomized, controlled trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00491244).
8 centers in Taiwan.
205 treatment-naive patients with HCV-1 receiving hemodialysis.
48 weeks of pegylated interferon-α2a, 135 µg weekly, plus ribavirin, 200 mg daily (n = 103), or pegylated interferon-α2a, 135 µg weekly (n = 102).
Sustained virologic response rate and adverse event-related withdrawal rate.
Compared with monotherapy, combination therapy had a greater sustained virologic response rate (64% vs. 33%; relative risk, 1.92 95% CI, 1.41 to 2.62; P < 0.001). More patients receiving combination therapy had hemoglobin levels less than 8.5 g/dL than those receiving monotherapy (72% vs. 6%; risk difference, 66% CI, 56% to 76%; P < 0.001). Patients receiving combination therapy required a higher dosage (mean, 13 946 IU per week SD, 6449 vs. 5833 IU per week SD, 1169; P = 0.006) and longer duration (mean, 29 weeks SD, 9 vs. 18 weeks SD, 7; P = 0.004) of epoetin-β than patients receiving monotherapy. The adverse event-related withdrawal rates were 7% in the combination therapy group and 4% in the monotherapy group (risk difference, 3% CI, -3% to 9%).
Open-label trial; results may not be generalizable to patients on peritoneal dialysis.
In treatment-naive patients with HCV-1 receiving hemodialysis, combination therapy with pegylated interferon plus low-dose ribavirin achieved a greater sustained virologic response rate than pegylated interferon monotherapy.
National Center of Excellence for Clinical Trial and Research.
Existing chronic kidney disease (CKD) is among the most potent predictors of postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI). Here we quantified this risk in a multicenter, observational study of 9425 ...patients who survived to hospital discharge after major surgery. CKD was defined as a baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate <45ml/min per 1.73m2. AKI was stratified according to the maximum simplified RIFLE classification at hospitalization and unresolved AKI defined as a persistent increase in serum creatinine of more than half above the baseline or the need for dialysis at discharge. A Cox proportional hazard model showed that patients with AKI-on-CKD during hospitalization had significantly worse long-term survival over a median follow-up of 4.8 years (hazard ratio, 3.3) than patients with AKI but without CKD. The incidence of long-term dialysis was 22.4 and 0.17 per 100 person-years among patients with and without existing CKD, respectively. The adjusted hazard ratio for long-term dialysis in patients with AKI-on-CKD was 19.8 compared to patients who developed AKI without existing CKD. Furthermore, AKI-on-CKD but without kidney recovery at discharge had a worse outcome (hazard ratios of 4.6 and 213, respectively) for mortality and long-term dialysis as compared to patients without CKD or AKI. Thus, in a large cohort of postoperative patients who developed AKI, those with existing CKD were at higher risk for long-term mortality and dialysis after hospital discharge than those without. These outcomes were significantly worse in those with unresolved AKI at discharge.
Purpose Despite a growing understanding of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and its determinants in hemodialysis (HD) patients, little is known about the effects and interrelationships ...concerning the perception of autonomy support and basic need satisfaction of HD patients on their HRQOL. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), this study examines whether HD patients' perceived autonomy support from health care practitioners (physicians and nurses) relates to the satisfaction of HD patients' basic needs and in turn influences their HRQOL. Methods A questionnaire was administered to 250 Taiwanese HD patients recruited from multiclinical centers and regional hospitals in northern Taiwan. Structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis was conducted to examine the causal relationships between patient perceptions of autonomy support and HRQOL through basic need satisfaction. Results The empirical results of SEM indicated that the HD patients' perceived autonomy support increased the satisfaction of their basic needs (autonomy, competency, and relatedness), as expected. The higher degree of basic need satisfaction led to higher HRQOL, as measured by physical and mental component scores. Conclusion Autonomy support from physicians and nurses contributes to improving HD patients' HRQOL through basic need satisfaction. This indicates that staff caring for patients with severe chronic diseases should offer considerable support for patient autonomy.
Sepsis is the leading cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) in critical patients. The optimal timing of initiating renal replacement therapy (RRT) in septic AKI patients remains controversial. The ...objective of this study is to determine the impact of early or late initiation of RRT, as defined using the simplified RIFLE (risk, injury, failure, loss of kidney function, and end-stage renal failure) classification (sRIFLE), on hospital mortality among septic AKI patients.
Patient with sepsis and AKI requiring RRT in surgical intensive care units were enrolled between January 2002 and October 2009. The patients were divided into early (sRIFLE-0 or -Risk) or late (sRIFLE-Injury or -Failure) initiation of RRT by sRIFLE criteria. Cox proportional hazard ratios for in hospital mortality were determined to assess the impact of timing of RRT.
Among the 370 patients, 192 (51.9%) underwent early RRT and 259 (70.0%) died during hospitalization. The mortality rate in early and late RRT groups were 70.8% and 69.7% respectively (P > 0.05). Early dialysis did not relate to hospital mortality by Cox proportional hazard model (P > 0.05). Patients with heart failure, male gender, higher admission creatinine, and operation were more likely to be in the late RRT group. Cox proportional hazard model, after adjustment with propensity score including all patients based on the probability of late RRT, showed early dialysis was not related to hospital mortality. Further model matched patients by 1:1 fashion according to each patient's propensity to late RRT showed no differences in hospital mortality according to head-to-head comparison of demographic data (P > 0.05).
Use of sRIFLE classification as a marker poorly predicted the benefits of early or late RRT in the context of septic AKI. In the future, more physiologically meaningful markers with which to determine the optimal timing of RRT initiation should be identified.
Man with tarry stools Tsai, Hung‐Bin; Hsu, Chia‐Hao; Chen, Chien‐Lun ...
Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open,
December 2021, Volume:
2, Issue:
6
Journal Article
PDF
