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Background: Currently, the association between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and subsequent development of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) remains unclear. This nationwide population-based cohort study aimed to determine the association between incident AIHA and HIV infection in Taiwan.Methods: During 2000-2012, we identified people aged ≧15 years living with HIV (PLWH) from the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control HIV Surveillance System. Individuals were considered to be infected with HIV on the basis of positive results of an HIV type 1 Western blot. Age- and sex-matched controls without HIV infection were selected from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database for comparison. All patients were followed until 31 December 2012 and observed for occurrence of AIHA.Results: Of 171468 subjects (19052 PLWH and 152416 controls), 30 (0.02%) had incident AIHA during a mean follow-up of 5.45 years, including 23 PLWH (0.12%) and 7 controls (0.01%). After adjustment for age, sex, and comorbidities, HIV infection was found to be an independent risk factor of incident AIHA (adjusted hazard ratio, 20.9; 95% confidence interval, 8.34-52.3). Moreover, PLWH who were receiving highly active antiretroviral therapy were more likely to develop AIHA than those who were not receiving these drugs (adjusted hazard ratio, 16.2; 95% confidence interval, 3.52-74.2).Conclusions: Our study suggests that HIV infection is an independent risk factor for incident AIHA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reactivated cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection has been known to cause significant morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised patients. However, CMV disease rarely develops in immunocompetent patients, and reported cases often present with a mild, self-limiting course, without severe life-threatening sequelae. While the colon is the most common gastrointestinal site affected by CMV disease in immunocompetent patients, rectal involvement is rarely reported. CMV proctitis can present in two distinct forms, primary and reactivated. However, reactivated CMV proctitis is rarely reported as a causative etiology of nosocomial diarrhea, except in transplant patients. Herein we present a case of reactivated CMV proctitis in an immunocompetent patient, presenting as nosocomial diarrhea. Previously reported cases of reactivated CMV proctitis in immunocompetent patients are also reviewed.Case Presentation: A 79-year-old female was admitted because of metabolic encephalopathy caused by dehydration and hypernatremia. The patient's consciousness level returned rapidly after fluid supplementation. However, she subsequently presented with abdominal pain and diarrhea on day 8 of admission. Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography on day 10 of admission demonstrated inflammation around the rectum, suggesting proctitis. Colonoscopy on day 16 of admission showed a giant ulcer at the rectum. Pathology of rectal biopsy confirmed CMV infection. The patient recovered without sequelae after 38 days of valganciclovir treatment. Follow-up colonoscopy revealed a healed ulcer over the rectum. Ten cases in the literature, plus our case, with reactivated CMV proctitis in immunocompetent patients were reviewed. We found that most patients were elderly (mean, 72 years) with a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus (54.5%). Cardinal manifestations are often non-specific (diarrhea, hematochezia, tenesmus), and eight (72.7%) developed CMV proctitis following a preceding acute, life-threatening disease, rather than as an initial presentation on admission. These manifestations frequently develop during hospitalization, and are thus often regarded as nosocomial diarrhea.Conclusions: Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of nosocomial onset of reactivated CMV proctitis in patients hospitalized due to a preceding critical illness, although the benefits of antiviral therapy remain unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cellulitis is a common infectious disease. Although blood culture is frequently used in the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of cellulitis, it is a contentious diagnostic test. To help clinicians determine which patients should undergo blood culture for the management of cellulitis, a diagnostic scoring system referred to as the Bacteremia Score of Cellulitis was developed. Methods: Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed as part of a retrospective cohort study of all adults diagnosed with cellulitis in a tertiary teaching hospital in Taiwan in 2013. Patients who underwent blood culture were used to develop a diagnostic prediction model where the main outcome measures were true bacteremia in cellulitis cases. Area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) was used to demonstrate the predictive power of the model, and bootstrapping was then used to validate the performance. Results: Three hundred fifty one cases with cellulitis who underwent blood culture were enrolled. The overall prevalence of true bacteremia was 33/351 cases (9.4 %). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed optimal diagnostic discrimination for the combination of age ⩾65 years (odds ratio [OR] = 3.9; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.5–10.1), involvement of non-lower extremities (OR = 4.0; 95 % CI, 1.5–10.6), liver cirrhosis (OR = 6.8; 95 % CI, 1.8–25.3), and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) (OR=15.2; 95 % CI, 4.8–48.0). These four independent factors were included in the initial formula, and the AUC for this combination of factors was 0.867 (95 % CI, 0.806–0.928). The rounded formula was 1 × (age ⩾65 years) + 1.5 × (involvement of non-lower extremities) + 2 × (liver cirrhosis) + 2.5 × (SIRS). The overall prevalence of true bacteremia (9.4 %) in this study could be lowered to 1.0 % (low risk group, score ⩽1.5) or raised to 14.7 % (medium risk group, score 2–3.5) and 41.2 % (high risk group, score ⩾4.0), depending on different clinical scores. Conclusions: Determining the risk of bacteremia in patients with cellulitis will allow a more efficient use of blood cultures in the diagnosis and treatment of this condition. External validation of this preliminary scoring system in future trials is needed to optimize the test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The risk factors, microbial etiology, differentiation, and clinical features of purulent and non-purulent cellulitis are not well defined in Taiwan. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of hospitalized adults with cellulitis in Taiwan in 2013. The demographic characteristics, underlying diseases, clinical manifestations, laboratory and microbiological findings, treatments, and outcomes were compared for patients with purulent and non-purulent cellulitis. Results: Of the 465 patients, 369 had non-purulent cellulitis and 96 had purulent cellulitis. The non-purulent group was significantly older (p = 0.001) and was more likely to have lower limb involvement (p < 0.001), tinea pedis (p = 0.003), stasis dermatitis (p = 0.025), a higher Charlson comorbidity score (p = 0.03), and recurrence at 6 months post-infection (p = 0.001) than the purulent group. The purulent group was more likely to have a wound (p < 0.001) and a longer hospital stay (p = 0.001) and duration of antimicrobial therapy (p = 0.003) than the non-purulent group. The etiological agent was identified in 35.5 % of the non-purulent cases, with β-hemolytic streptococci the most frequent cause (70.2 %). The etiological agent was identified in 83.3 % of the purulent cases, with Staphylococcus aureus the predominant pathogen (60 %): 50 % of these were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). In multivariable analysis, purulent group (odds ratio (OR), 5.188; 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.995-13.493; p = 0.001) was a positive predictor of MRSA. The prescribed antimicrobial agents were significantly different between the purulent and non-purulent groups, with penicillin the most frequently used antimicrobial agent in the non-purulent group (35.2 %), and oxacillin the most frequent in the purulent group (39.6 %). The appropriate antimicrobial agent was more frequently prescribed in the non-purulent group than in the purulent group (83.2 % vs. 53.8 %, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The epidemiology, clinical features, and microbiology of purulent and non-purulent cellulitis were significantly different in hospitalized Taiwanese adults. Purulence was a positive predictor of MRSA as the causal agent of cellulitis. These findings provide added support for the adoption of the IDSA guidelines for empirical antimicrobial therapy of cellulitis in Taiwan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Herpes zoster ophthalmicus is defined as herpes zoster involvement of the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve. Ocular involvement occurs in 20-70% of patients with herpes zoster ophthalmicus and may include blepharitis, keratoconjunctivitis, iritis, scleritis, and acute retinal necrosis. Orbital apex syndrome is a rare but severe ocular complication of herpes zoster ophthalmicus. We present here the first reported case of herpes zoster ophthalmicus complicated by orbital apex syndrome in a patient from Taiwan. Case presentation: A 78-year-old man initially presented with patchy erythema and herpetiform vesicles on his left forehead and upper eyelid. He subsequently developed left-sided ocular complications including reduced visual acuity, anisocoria, ptosis, and complete ophthalmoplegia. Orbital magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on day 6 of admission to search for signs of the common causes of orbital apex syndrome such as hemorrhage, neoplasm, and cavernous sinus thrombosis. The MRI showed only orbital myositis and enhancement of the retro-orbital optic nerve sheath. The patient was diagnosed with herpes zoster ophthalmicus complicated by orbital apex syndrome. Although the ocular complications partially resolved after systemic antiviral therapy for 15 days and steroid therapy tapered over 12 weeks, there was residual limitation of abduction and paralysis of the left upper eyelid at follow-up at 180 days after the onset of symptoms. The orbital MRI findings at 180 days showed no significant changes compared with the MRI findings on day 6 of admission. Conclusions: Primary care physicians should be aware of this rare but potentially sight-threatening complication of herpes zoster ophthalmicus. The appropriate therapy for orbital apex syndrome due to herpes zoster ophthalmicus and the potential outcomes of this condition require further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sporadic non-clustered hospital-associated listeriosis is an emerging infectious disease in immunocompromised hosts. The current study was designed to determine the impact of long-term and precipitating immunosuppressive agents and underlying diseases on triggering the expression of the disease, and to compare the clinical features and outcome of hospital-associated and community-associated listeriosis. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of all patients with Listeria monocytogenes isolated from sterile body sites at a large medical center in southern Taiwan during 1992–2013. Non-clustered cases were defined as those unrelated to any other in time or place. Multivariable regression analysis was used to determine factors associated with prognosis. Results: Thirty-five non-clustered cases of listeriosis were identified. Twelve (34.2%) were hospital-associated, and 23 (65.7%) were community-associated. The 60-day mortality was significantly greater in hospital-associated than in community-associated cases (66.7% vs. 17.4%, p = 0.007). Significantly more hospital-associated than community-associated cases were treated with a precipitating immunosuppressive agent within 4 weeks prior to onset of listeriosis (91.7% vs. 4.3%, respectively p < 0.001). The median period from the start of precipitating immunosuppressive treatment to the onset of listeriosis-related symptoms was 12 days (range, 4–27 days) in 11 of the 12 hospital-associated cases. In the multivariable analysis, APACHE II score >21 (p = 0.04) and receipt of precipitating immunosuppressive therapy (p = 0.02) were independent risk factors for 60-day mortality. Conclusions: Sporadic non-clustered hospital-associated listeriosis needs to be considered in the differential diagnosis of sepsis in immunocompromised patients, particularly in those treated with new or increased doses of immunosuppressive agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using data from Taiwan's Manpower Utilization Survey (1979–2000), this paper finds evidence that supports the industry-specific human capital effect on wage tenure profiles. Work experience is used as an indirect measure for testing industry-specific human capital by comparing the effect between stayers and movers. Other things being equal and holding firm tenure constant, movers actually incur a wage loss measured by the wage premium of the work experience. However, a greater than average firm tenure effect, especially for movers in the voluntary group, reflects an underlying job-related matching process. We also find that the effect of work experience declines with education, while the effect of industry-specific human capital increases with education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]