Predictors for Failed Removal of Nasogastric Tube in Patients With Brain Insult.

Objective: To construct a prognostic model for unsuccessful removal of nasogastric tube (NGT) was the aim of our study. Methods: This study examined patients with swallowing disorders receiving NGT feeding due to stroke or traumatic brain injury in a regional hospital. Clinical data was collected, such as age, sex, body mass index (BMI), level of activities of daily living (ADLs) dependence. Additionally, gather information regarding the enhancement in Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) levels and the increase in food types according to the International Dysphagia Diet Standardization Initiative (IDDSI) after one month of swallowing training. A stepwise logistic regression analysis model was employed to predict NGT removal failure using these parameters. Results: Out of 203 patients, 53 patients (26.1%) had experienced a failed removal of NGT after six months of follow-up. The strongest predictors for failed removal were age over 60 years, underweight BMI, total dependence in ADLs, and ischemic stroke. The admission prediction model categorized patients into high, moderate, and low-risk groups for removal failure. The failure rate of NGT removal was high not only in the high-risk group but also in the moderate-risk groups when there was no improvement in FOIS levels and IDDSI food types. Conclusion: Our predictive model categorizes patients with brain insults into risk groups for swallowing disorders, enabling advanced interventions such as percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy for high-risk patients struggling with NGT removal, while follow-up assessments using FOIS and IDDSI aid in guiding rehabilitation decisions for those at moderate risk.

Maintenance chemotherapy for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after standard concurrent chemoradiotherapy: a national propensity score matching cohort study.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is a common and aggressive cancer, and its standard treatment is concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). Maintenance chemotherapy is often used to help prevent cancer recurrence, but its efficacy for patients with ESCC receiving CCRT remains unclear. We conducted a large head-to-head propensity score matching cohort study to estimate the effects of maintenance chemotherapy on overall survival and cancer-specific survival in patients with ESCC receiving standard CCRT. After propensity score matching (PSM), we recruited 2724 patients with ESCC (2177 in the maintenance chemotherapy group and 547 in the non-maintenance chemotherapy group). The adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of all-cause mortality and cancer-specific mortality for the maintenance chemotherapy group were 1.15 (1.06-1.26, P = 0.0014) and 1.08 (0.88-1.29, P = 0.1320), respectively, compared with the non-maintenance chemotherapy group. We also found that older age, relatively lower body mass index (BMI), higher American Joint Committee on Cancer clinical stage, and poor response to CCRT as measured using the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors were poor independent predictors of all-cause mortality and cancer-specific mortality. Our findings indicated that maintenance chemotherapy may not improve the survival of patients with ESCC who have received CCRT. Additionally, we identified several key prognostic factors for patients with ESCC receiving CCRT, including relatively low BMI and poor response to CCRT. Further research is needed to understand the benefits and risks of maintenance chemotherapy in similar patient populations in order to identify new therapies that could improve treatment responses.

Assessing mortality risk in Type 2 Diabetes patients with prolonged ASCVD risk factors: the inclusive Poh-Ai predictive scoring system with CAC Score integration.

PURPOSE: To enhance the predictive risk model for all-cause mortality in individuals with Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) and prolonged Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease (ASCVD) risk factors. Despite the utility of the Coronary Artery Calcium (CAC) score in assessing cardiovascular risk, its capacity to predict all-cause mortality remains limited. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study included 1929 asymptomatic T2DM patients with ASCVD risk factors, aged 40-80. Variables encompassed demographic attributes, clinical parameters, CAC scores, comorbidities, and medication usage. Factors predicting all-cause mortality were selected to create a predictive scoring system. By using stepwise selection in a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, we divided the patients into three risk groups. RESULTS: In our analysis of all-cause mortality in T2DM patients with extended ASCVD risk factors over 5 years, we identified significant risk factors, their adjusted hazard ratios (aHR), and scores: e.g., CAC score > 1000 (aHR: 1.57, score: 2), CAC score 401-1000 (aHR: 2.05, score: 2), and more. These factors strongly predict all-cause mortality, with varying risk groups (e.g., very low-risk: 2.0%, very high-risk: 24.0%). Significant differences in 5-year overall survival rates were observed among these groups (log-rank test < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The Poh-Ai Predictive Scoring System excels in forecasting mortality and cardiovascular events in individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and extended ASCVD risk factors.

Effects of SGLT2 inhibitors on clinical cancer survival in patients with type 2 diabetes.

PURPOSE: According to the preclinical data, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors (SGLT2is) may exert anticancer effects. Here, we clarified the cancer-specific mortality (primary outcome) and all-cause mortality (secondary outcome) of SGLT2is and their dose-dependency in patients with cancer undergoing standard curative treatments. METHODS: We analyzed data from patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) diagnosed with cancer between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2018, enrolled from the Taiwan Cancer Registry database. Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate all-cause mortality and cancer-specific mortality, comparing survival curves between SGLT2i users and nonusers using the stratified log-rank test. Cox proportional hazards regression was conducted to identify independent predictors for all-cause and cancer-specific mortality among the covariates. RESULTS: We performed 1:2 propensity score matching of our data, which yielded a final cohort of 50,133 patients with cancer; of them, 16,711 and 33,422 were in the SGLT2i user and nonuser groups, respectively. The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for cancer-specific and all-cause mortality in SGLT2i users compared with nonusers was 0.21 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 0.20-0.22) and 0.22 (95 % CI: 0.21-0.23). We divided the patients into four subgroups stratified by quartiles (Q) of cumulative defined daily doses per year (cDDDs), and all-cause and cancer-specific mortality was noted to significantly decrease with increases in dosage (from Q1 to Q4 cDDDs) in SGLT2i users compared with in nonusers (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: SGLT2is increase overall survival and cancer-specific survival in patients with cancer in a dose-dependent manner.

The Protective Effect of Vitamin D on Dementia Risk in Hemodialysis Patients.

BACKGROUND: Patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis are at an elevated risk of developing dementia, potentially linked to the high prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in this population, which may contribute to cognitive impairment. Nevertheless, the impact of vitamin D supplementation on the risk of dementia in hemodialysis patients remains uncertain, necessitating further investigation to elucidate the potential benefits of vitamin D intervention in this vulnerable group. METHODS: In this propensity-score-matched comparative cohort study, we sought to assess the impact of vitamin D supplementation on the occurrence of dementia in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis. A total of 1424 patients were included and matched 1:1 using propensity scores. The study population was divided into two groups: those receiving vitamin D supplementation at a dose of ≥70 µg/week and those without any supplementation. The primary outcome of interest was the incidence of dementia. We calculated adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs) to examine the association between vitamin D supplementation and the risk of dementia while controlling for relevant covariates. RESULTS: The adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) comparing vitamin D supplementation to no supplementation was 0.44 (95% CI 0.29-0.69; p < 0.0001), demonstrating a significant decrease in the risk of dementia associated with vitamin D supplementation. The aHRs for vitamin D supplementation at different dose ranges (70-105, 106-350, 351-1000, and >1000 µg/week) were 0.51, 0.49, 0.43, and 0.41, respectively (p for trend < 0.0001). These findings suggest a potential dose-dependent relationship between vitamin D supplementation and the reduction of dementia risk. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, we found that vitamin D supplementation at doses of ≥70 µg/week significantly reduced the risk of dementia in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing hemodialysis. Furthermore, our results indicated a dose-dependent effect, with higher doses of supplementation correlating with a greater reduction in dementia risk. These findings underscore the potential of vitamin D supplementation as a preventive approach for cognitive impairment in this high-risk population.

Predicting Hepatocellular Carcinoma Risk in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients Receiving Finite Periods of Antiviral Therapy.

PURPOSE: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most severe complications in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. HCC can still develop in patients with chronic HBV (CHB) infection undergoing antiviral therapy. Several effective scoring systems for the prediction of HCC risk in CHB patients have been established. However, very few of them are designed for CHB patients receiving nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs) therapy. Furthermore, none are available for HCC risk prediction in CHB patients receiving finite periods of antiviral therapy. METHODS: This study enrolled 790 consecutive treatment-naïve patients with CHB infection who had visited our liver clinics from 2008 to 2012 for pretreatment assessment before receiving antiviral therapies. The treatments were provided at finite periods according to the National Health Insurance Policy in Taiwan. The last follow-up date was 31 December 2021. We analyzed the virological and clinical factors in these 790 CHB patients receiving finite periods of NA treatments and identified the most significant risk factors for HCC to establish a novel predictive scoring system. By using stepwise selection in a multivariate Cox proportional hazards model, we divided the patients into three risk groups. RESULTS: Our predictive scoring system included five independent variables: genotype C (adjusted HR [aHR] = 2.23), NA-withdraw-related hepatitis relapse (aHR = 6.96), male (aHR = 4.19), liver cirrhosis (aHR = 11.14), and T1768A core promoter mutation (aHR = 3.21). This model revealed significant differences in HCC incidence among the three risk groups. The 5-year cumulative HCC risk significantly differed among the three risk groups (low risk: 1.33%, moderate risk: 4.99%, and high risk: 17.46%), with log-rank test p < 0.001. CONCLUSION: Our predictive scoring system is a promising tool for the prediction of HCC in CHB patients receiving finite NA treatments. Genotype C, NA-withdraw-related hepatitis relapse, male gender, liver cirrhosis, and the T1768A HBV core promoter mutation were significant independent risk factors.