Early Seizure Prophylaxis in Mild and Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Importance: Guidelines recommend seizure prophylaxis for early posttraumatic seizures (PTS) after severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). Use of antiseizure medications for early seizure prophylaxis after mild or moderate TBI remains controversial. Objective: To determine the association between seizure prophylaxis and risk reduction for early PTS in mild and moderate TBI. Data Sources: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science (January 1, 1991, to April 18, 2023) were systematically searched. Study Selection: Observational studies of adult patients presenting to trauma centers in high-income countries with mild (Glasgow Coma Scale [GCS], 13-15) and moderate (GCS, 9-12) TBI comparing rates of early PTS among patients with seizure prophylaxis with those without seizure prophylaxis. Data Extraction and Synthesis: The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) reporting guidelines were used. Two authors independently reviewed all titles and abstracts, and 3 authors reviewed final studies for inclusion. A meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model with absolute risk reduction. Main Outcome Measures: The main outcome was absolute risk reduction of early PTS, defined as seizures within 7 days of initial injury, in patients with mild or moderate TBI receiving seizure prophylaxis in the first week after injury. A secondary analysis was performed in patients with only mild TBI. Results: A total of 64 full articles were reviewed after screening; 8 studies (including 5637 patients) were included for the mild and moderate TBI analysis, and 5 studies (including 3803 patients) were included for the mild TBI analysis. The absolute risk reduction of seizure prophylaxis for early PTS in mild to moderate TBI (GCS, 9-15) was 0.6% (95% CI, 0.1%-1.2%; P = .02). The absolute risk reduction for mild TBI alone was similar 0.6% (95% CI, 0.01%-1.2%; P = .04). The number needed to treat to prevent 1 seizure was 167 patients. Conclusion and Relevance: Seizure prophylaxis after mild and moderate TBI was associated with a small but statistically significant reduced risk of early posttraumatic seizures after mild and moderate TBI. The small absolute risk reduction and low prevalence of early seizures should be weighed against potential acute risks of antiseizure medications as well as the risk of inappropriate continuation beyond 7 days.

Effect of an automated dispensing cabinet system on drug distribution effectiveness in a surgical unit.

The use of the automated dispensing cabinet (ADC) for drug distribution in hospitals has become increasingly common and has numerous benefits. This retrospective study assessed the effectiveness of an ADC that uses integrated information technology in the drug distribution process in a surgical unit as part of a smart medical process improvement project at Taichung Veterans General Hospital in 2019. The outcomes include medicine delivery time, working time of healthcare professionals, transportation manpower, dispensing errors, and satisfaction of nursing staff with the medication distribution process. After ADC implementation, the average waiting time of standing orders decreased significantly for both on and off duty periods (40.0 ± 27.6 to 3.0 ± 3.9 min, P < 0.001; 45.2 ± 25.8 to 2.9 ± 2.9 min, P < 0.001; respectively). Similar results were observed with immediate or temporary medication orders (54.4 ± 31.5 to 2.0 ± 3.0 min, P < 0.001; 64.0 ± 47.5 to 1.5 ± 1.8 min, P < 0.001; respectively). The average time spent by operation room and post-operation room (OR/POR) nurses on communicating with ward nurses for medication delivery to OR/POR was shortened by 46.9 ± 4.4 h per month, and the average time pharmacists spent on dispensing immediate or temporary medication orders was shortened by 5.6 ± 0.2 h per month. The satisfaction of nursing staff with the OR/POR drug delivery process was significantly improved after ADC implementation (3.2 ± 0.8 vs 4.2 ± 0.7, P < 0.001). Our results showed that ADC implementation in surgical units simplified drug delivery processes, shortened drug delivery time, improved drug delivery timeliness for surgical patients, decreased dispensing errors, and increased nursing staff satisfaction. In conclusion, the implementation of ADC was beneficial for surgical units. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no studies on a similar ADC system.

Glycemic control was associated with nonprostate cancer and overall mortalities in diabetic patients with prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Diabetes mellitus (DM) can worsen the prognosis or survival in prostate cancer (PC) patients. We investigated whether glycemic control impacts mortality in PC patients with existing diabetes. METHODS: All PC patients with or without preexisting DM were enrolled from 2006 to 2017. Mean hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values (<7%, 7%-9%, ≥9%) were used to represent glycemic control. Major outcomes included all-cause, PC-specific, and non-PC mortalities. Statistical analyses were performed using Cox regression models with adjusted mean HbA1c and other related confounders. RESULTS: A total of 831 PC patients were enrolled (non-DM group, n = 690; DM group with a record of mean HbA1c values, n = 141). Results showed that the DM group with mean HbA1c level ≥ 9% (n = 14) had significantly increased risk for all-cause and non-PC mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 3.09; 95% CIs, 1.15-8.32; p=0.025 and HR, 5.49; 95% CIs, 1.66-18.16; p = 0.005, respectively), but not for PC-specific mortality (HR, 1.03; 95% CIs, 0.13-8.44; p = 0.975), compared with the non-DM group. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that PC patients with DM who had a mean HbA1c level ≥ 9% had higher risks of all-cause and non-PC mortality compared with non-DM subjects. Further large and long-term studies are needed to verify the effect of glycemic control in PC patients with DM.

The effects of a pharmacist-led medication review in a nursing home: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: In this study, an intensive review of pharmaceutical care for elderly patients was conducted in a Veterans Administration nursing home in Taiwan and its effects were evaluated. METHODS: One hundred participants were enrolled in this randomized controlled study with even distribution. The inclusion criteria were age 65 years or older, prescriptions for at least 5 oral medicines daily, and ≥2 chronic diseases, for the period May 2013 to October 2014. Subjects were excluded if they had previously been included in an intensive medication review conducted by a pharmacist. The primary outcomes were numbers of drugs prescribed, potential inappropriate medications, and numbers of drug-related problems. The secondary outcomes were self-reported medical usages, measurements of quality of life, results of a satisfaction survey, and health status. RESULTS: A total of 80 cases (42 in the intervention group with medication reconciliation and 38 in the control group without medication reconciliation) completed the study. Baseline characteristics were not statistically different between the 2 groups. The overall prevalence of potential inappropriate medication was 74.3%. There were no differences between the 2 groups, with the exception of "medical problems," which showed a significantly higher prevalence in the intervention group (P < .05). The intervention group reported greater satisfaction regarding pharmacist visits and medication compliance (P < .01). The mean number of drug-related problems was significantly lower after the intervention (P < .01). CONCLUSION: In this study, the intensive review of the elderly patients' medications revealed that the only significant effect of pharmaceutical care was on "all outcomes." A possible reason for this is the rather advanced ages of some patients who needed a considerable number of medications to treat several chronic diseases. Another reason may be the small sample size. However, participants who received the pharmacist intervention did have higher satisfaction with medication reconciliation and fewer drug-related problems.

Efficacy of second-line regimens for Helicobacter pylori eradication treatment: a systemic review and network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Current guidelines recommend bismuth-containing quadruple therapy (BQT) and quinolone-containing therapy after failure of first-line Helicobacter pylori eradication therapy. However, the optimum regimen of second-line eradication therapy remains elusive. We conducted a network meta-analysis to compare the relative efficacy of 16 second-line H. pylori eradication regimens. METHODS: Three major bibliographic databases were reviewed to enrol relevant randomised controlled trials between January 2000 and September 2018. Network meta-analysis was conducted by STATA software and we performed subgroup analysis in countries with high clarithromycin resistance and high levofloxacin resistance, and in patients with documented failure of first-line triple therapy. RESULTS: Fifty-four studies totalling 8752 participants who received 16 regimens were eligible for analysis. Compared with a 7-day BQT, use of probiotic add-on therapy during, before, and after second-line antibiotic regimens, quinolone-based sequential therapy for 10-14 days, quinolone-based bismuth quadruple therapy for 10-14 days, bismuth quadruple therapy for 10-14 days, and quinolone-based triple therapy for 10-14 days were significantly superior to the other regimens. Subgroup analysis of countries with high clarithromycin resistance and high levofloxacin resistance revealed that the ranking of second-line eradication regimens was distributed similarly in each group, as well as in patients with failure of first-line triple therapy. CONCLUSION: We conducted a detailed comparison of second-line H. pylori regimens according to different antibiotic resistance rates and the results suggest alternative treatment choices with potential benefits beyond those that could be achieved using salvage therapies recommended by guidelines.

Preventing epilepsy after traumatic brain injury: A propensity score analysis.

BACKGROUND: Due to the potential consequences of post-traumatic epilepsy (PTE) exacerbating secondary injury following traumatic brain injury (TBI), the use of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) is an accepted option for seizure prophylaxis. However, there is only a paucity of data that can be found regarding outcomes surrounding the use of AEDs. The purpose of this retrospective study is to evaluate whether the prophylactic administration of AEDs significantly decreased the incidence of PTE, when considering the severity of TBI. METHODS: All trauma patients who had been newly diagnosed with TBI from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Statistical comparisons were made using the chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and Cox regression modeling. After excluding any exposed subjects with no appropriate match, patients who had received AED prophylaxis were matched by propensity score with those who did not receive AEDs. All of the TBI populations were followed up until June 30, 2018. RESULTS: We identified 1316 patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria in our matched cohort through their propensity scores, where 138 patients had been receiving prophylactic AEDs and 138 patients had not. Baseline characteristics were similar in gender, age, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores, and risk factors of PTE including skull fracture, chronic alcoholism, subdural hematoma, epidural hematoma, and intracerebral hematoma. After adjusting for those risk factors, the relative incidence of seizure was not statistically significant in either of the groups (p = 0.566). CONCLUSION: In our cohort analysis, AED prophylaxis was ineffective in preventing seizures, as the rate of seizures was similar whether patients had been receiving the drugs or not. We therefore concluded that the benefits of routine prophylactic anticonvulsant therapy in patients with TBI need to be re-evaluated.

Hazards of Stroke in Renal Transplant Recipients and Patients With End-Stage Renal Disease.

BACKGROUND: Several comparison studies have suggested that kidney transplant (KT) could reduce stroke risk in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). To avoid the selection criteria bias of using dialysis patients as control groups, we compared the risk of stroke between KT recipients and comparable propensity score-matched dialysis patients. METHODS: We used Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database to identify patients with newly diagnosed ESRD between 2000 and 2009. We separated them into 2 groups: a KT group and a non-KT dialysis-only group. To evaluate the stroke outcome, we compared each patient with KT to a patient on dialysis without KT using propensity score matching. RESULTS: In total, 2735 KT recipients and 10,940 propensity score-matched dialysis patients were identified. The incidence rates of overall stroke were 9.1 and 23.4 per 1000 person-years in KT recipients and non-KT dialysis patients. Compared with the propensity score-matched dialysis patients, the patients who received KT exhibited significantly lower overall stroke risk, hemorrhagic stroke, and ischemic stroke, the adjusted hazard ratios were 0.37 (95% CI, 0.31-0.45), 0.19 (95% CI, 0.12-0.29), and 0.46 (95% CI, 0.37-0.56), respectively (all P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Through a propensity score-matched cohort, this study confirms that KT is associated with a reduced risk of stroke more than dialysis alone in patients with newly diagnosed ESRD.

Improving medication safety by cloud technology: Progression and value-added applications in Taiwan.

OBJECTIVES: To develop and implement an integrated cloud technology with the aim of ensuring medication reconciliation during transitions of care and improve medication safety in aged societies. METHODS: PharmaCloud is a new technical platform adopted by the National Health Insurance Administration of Taiwan to collect patients' medication information via cloud technology. Using this platform, healthcare providers can access patients' medication-related information with patient consent. Our hospital applied this technology and developed several approaches to collect and detect medication-related information and alert physicians for the purpose of enhancing patients' medication safety. In addition, pharmacists were involved in the admission process to access medication data and provide optimal suggestions to physicians. Several indicators, including a reduction in the number of drug items in each prescription and medication expenditure, were employed to evaluate the overall effects of the cloud inquiry. RESULTS: After the application of PharmaCloud, the average number of prescribed drug items significantly decreased (change of 0.04 to -0.35 per prescription, p < 0.05), and the median medication expenditure significantly decreased by an average of 3.55 USD, (p < 0.05) per prescription. Intra-hospital medication duplication rates also showed a downward trend. CONCLUSIONS: The use of the cloud technology and value-added applications significantly improved patient medication safety. Further long-term beneficial effects in terms of medication safety and medical cost savings are expected.

Good glycaemic control is associated with a better prognosis in breast cancer patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Although diabetes mellitus (DM) is one of the risk factors associated with increased breast cancer (BC) mortality, the effects of glycaemic control on the prognosis of BC have not been thoroughly evaluated. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate the relationship between glycaemic control and BC prognosis and to determine an optimal target of glycaemic control for BC patients with diabetes. We included 2812 stage 0-3 BC women, of whom 145 were diabetic and were 2667 non-diabetic. In those with diabetes, a mean haemoglobin A1C (HbA1C) < 7% (n = 77) was defined as well-controlled diabetes, while a mean HbA1C > 9% (n = 16) was defined as poorly controlled diabetes. All of the BC populations were followed from the date on which BC was diagnosed until 31 December 2015. Cox regression analysis was performed to estimate the adjusted hazards for all-cause mortality and BC-specific mortality. After controlling for the baseline and BC-related confounders, the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for all-cause mortality and the HR for BC-specific mortality were 3.65 (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.13-11.82) and 8.37 (95% CI 1.90-36.91), respectively, for poorly controlled diabetic women and non-DM women. However, for the diabetic women with good glycaemic control, the HRs of all-cause mortality and BC-specific mortality were not significantly different (HR 0.91, 95% CI 0.42-1.01; HR 0.77, 95% CI 0.18-3.32, respectively) from those for both mortalities in non-DM patients. For moderate controlled diabetic women, the HRs for all-cause mortality and BC-specific mortality were 1.95 (95% CI 0.89-4.27) and 3.55 (95% CI 1.369-9.30), respectively. This pilot and retrospective cohort study reveals a relationship between glycaemic control and BC prognosis in diabetic women. In addition, well-controlled HbA1C, with maintained mean HbA1C values under 7%, may be associated with a better progression outcome of BC.

Brand name or generic? What are the health professionals prescribed for treating diabetes? A longitudinal analysis of the National Health Insurance reimbursement database.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore whether physicians prescribe more brand-name oral hypoglycemic agents (OHA) for diabetic patients with medical training background (MP) than for general patients (GP). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A longitudinal analysis of 1,000,000 National Health Insurance cohorts of 1998-2008 was conducted. Univariate and multivariate models were performed to assess the associations of the outcome (the ratio of brand-name/generic odds in the MP group to that in the GP group) and the covariates, including patient medical training background, characteristics of patient, prescriber, and medical settings, and market competition. A generalized estimating equation method was used to control the dependency of longitudinal data. RESULTS: A total of 46,850 diabetic patients were prescribed with 2,703,149 OHA prescriptions during the study period. Compared with GP, MP had 1.37 times greater odds of being prescribed with brand-name instead of generic OHA, among whom pharmacists and physicians had the highest odds ratios of 2.78 (95%CI, 1.05-7.36) and 1.68 (95%CI, 0.99-2.85), respectively. Patients' diabetes severity, prescribers' level of experience, medical settings that were publicly owned, had a higher accreditation level, and were located in a higher urbanized area, lower market competition, and earlier dates of prescription were positively associated with brand-name prescription. Among all medical sub-specialties, cardiologists were more likely to prescribe brand-name OHA. CONCLUSIONS: This study is the first to demonstrate how a patients' medical training background, in addition to the characteristics of patients, prescribers, and medical settings, and market competition might influence physicians' prescribing choice of brand-name or generic OHA.

Prevalence, incidence, and factor concentrate usage trends of hemophiliacs in Taiwan.

PURPOSE: Hemophilia A and B (HA, HB) are the most common X-linked inherited bleeding disorders. The introduction of factor concentrates has allowed for control of the lifelong chronic disease. However, no studies have been published regarding the epidemiology of hemophilia in Taiwan. Our aim was to determine the prevalence, incidence, and mortality rate, as well as trends in the use of factor concentrates, in individuals with hemophilia in Taiwan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted using the National Health Insurance Research Database between 1997 and 2007. RESULTS: We identified 988 males with hemophilia (HA : HB ratio=5.4 : 1). The mean prevalence per 100000 males was 6.7 ± 0.1 for HA and 1.2 ± 0.1 for HB. The estimated mean annual incidence per live male birth was 1 in 10752 for HA and 1 in 47619 for HB. Standardized mortality ratios for males with hemophilia (all severities) or severe hemophilia were 1.3- and 2.1-fold higher than that of the general male population, respectively. Mean factor VIII (FVIII) and factor IX (FIX) usage was 1.5003 ± 0.4029 and 0.3126 ± 0.0904 international units (IUs) per capita, respectively. Mean FVIII and FIX usage per patient with hemophilia (all severities) or severe hemophilia was 44027 ± 11532 and 72341 ± 17298, respectively, and 49407 ± 13015 and 74369 ± 18411 IUs per person with HA or HB, respectively. CONCLUSION: Our data revealed epidemiologic and factor concentrate usage trends in males with hemophilia in Taiwan, highlighting a need for improvements in the mandatory National Health Insurance registry. A better- designed, patient-centered registry system would enable more detailed patient information collection and analysis, improving subsequent care.

Taiwanese version of the EQ-5D: validation in a representative sample of the Taiwanese population.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: We know of no validated Taiwanese-language instrument to measure a utility of the patient's health. Our aim was to evaluate the reliability and validity of a Taiwanese version of the EuroQol instrument (EQ-5D) in a Taiwanese population. METHODS: Questionnaires containing the Taiwanese versions of the EQ-5D and the Short-Form 12 Health Survey (SF-12) were sent to 12,923 people in Taiwan in December 2002. Concurrent validity of the EQ-5D was analyzed by assuming that subjects with problems in any EQ-5D dimensions had decreased SF-12 scores. Discriminant validity of the EQ-5D was analyzed by assuming that subjects with the following characteristics had lowered EQ-5D indexes and scores on the EQ-5D visual analog scale (VAS): more chronic diseases than others, serious illness, more hospitalizations in the past year than others, poor general health, and more outpatient visits than others. Test-retest reliability was analyzed in a subgroup of respondents who were evaluated twice within a month by using the intraclass correlation coefficient and the kappa method. RESULTS: The general survey response rate was 12.7% (1644 of 12,923). SF-12 scores were lower in subjects reporting problems on EQ-5D dimensions than in others without such problems (p < 0.01). Subjects with more health problems than others had lower EQ-5D indexes and VAS scores (p < 0.01). The physical dimension of the EQ-5D was more strongly correlated with the SF-12 Physical Component Summary than with the Mental Component Summary; this finding satisfied the a priori hypothesis. For test-retest reliability of items on the EQ-5D, kappa values ranged from 0.49 to 1 (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The Taiwanese EQ-5D instrument appears to be a moderately valid and reliable tool for measuring the health status of the general population in Taiwan.

Minocycline partially inhibits caspase-3 activation and photoreceptor degeneration after photic injury.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the possible role of caspase-3 in retinal photic injury, and to investigate whether minocycline can ameliorate light-induced photoreceptor degeneration. METHODS: Retinal photic injury was induced in rats by exposure to intense light. Expression of caspase-3 was studied using Western blot analysis, immunohistochemical staining and enzyme activity assay. Apoptotic photoreceptor cells were detected by the TdT-dUTP terminal nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method. Minocycline (15, 30 or 45 mg/kg) was administered before or after photic injury in rats randomly assigned to pretreatment and posttreatment groups. Minocycline and vehicle-treated retinas subjected to photic injury were compared with respect to Western blotting, enzyme activity assay, quantitative counts of TUNEL stains, morphometry of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) thickness and histopathological examination. RESULTS: After light exposure, active caspase-3 and poly-adenosine diphosphate-ribose-polymerase were upregulated in the retinas and increased caspase-3 immunoreactivity was observed in the ONL. Caspase-3 enzyme activity increased in the retinas that underwent photic injury, and this increase was significantly reduced in minocycline pretreated (30 and 45 mg/kg) and posttreated (45 mg/kg) groups. Intraperitoneal administration of minocycline before or after photic injury in rats also resulted in less TUNEL-positive photoreceptors, as assessed by the quantitative TUNEL counts. The degree of retinal degeneration, measured by the ONL thickness 14 days after photic injury, was significantly improved in minocycline pretreatment (45 mg/kg) rats. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrate that increased caspase-3 activities localize specifically within the ONL after photic injury, and that minocycline partially inhibits caspase-3 activation and photoreceptor degeneration in this animal model.