Increased risk of cancer in chronic dialysis patients is confirmed in the Taiwanese population and it is necessary to develop different strategies for cancer screening in chronic dialysis patients among different ethnicities.

IntroductionAbdominal surgery is probably associated with more likelihood to cause acute kidney injury (AKI). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether early or late start of renal replacement therapy (RRT) defined by simplified RIFLE (sRIFLE) classification in AKI patients after major abdominal surgery will affect outcome.MethodsA multicenter prospective observational study based on the NSARF (National Taiwan University Surgical ICU Associated Renal Failure) Study Group database. 98 patients (41 female, mean age 66.4 ± 13.9 years) who underwent acute RRT according to local indications for post-major abdominal surgery AKI between 1 January, 2002 and 31 December, 2005 were enrolled The demographic data, comorbid diseases, types of surgery and RRT, as well as the indications for RRT were documented. The patients were divided into early dialysis (sRIFLE-0 or Risk) and late dialysis (LD, sRIFLE -Injury or Failure) groups. Then we measured and recorded patients' outcome including in-hospital mortality and RRT wean-off until 30 June, 2006.ResultsThe in-hospital mortality was compared as endpoint. Fifty-seven patients (58.2%) died during hospitalization. LD (hazard ratio (HR) 1.846; P = 0.027), old age (HR 2.090; P = 0.010), cardiac failure (HR 4.620; P < 0.001), pre-RRT SOFA score (HR 1.152; P < 0.001) were independent indicators for in-hospital mortality.ConclusionsThe findings of this study support earlier initiation of acute RRT, and also underscore the importance of predicting prognoses of major abdominal surgical patients with AKI by using RIFLE classification.

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Background The Tokyo Guidelines 2007 (TG07) first presented the diagnostic and severity grading criteria for acute cholangitis. Subsequently updated in 2013, the Tokyo Guidelines (TG13) have been widely adopted throughout the world as global standard guidelines. We set out to verify the efficacy of these TG13 criteria in an international multicenter study. Methods We reviewed 6,063 patients who were clinically diagnosed with acute cholangitis in Japan and Taiwan over a 2-year period. The TG13 diagnostic and severity grading criteria were retrospectively applied, and 30-day mortality was investigated. Results A diagnosis of acute cholangitis was made in 5,454 (90.0%) patients on the basis of the TG13 criteria, and in 4,815 (79.4%) patients on the basis of the TG07 criteria. The 30-day mortality rates of patients with Grade III, Grade II, and Grade I were 5.1%, 2.6%, and 1.2%, respectively, and increased significantly along with disease severity. The mortality rate in the 1,272 Grade II cases where urgent or early biliary drainage was performed was 2.0% (n = 25), which was significantly lower than that of 3.7% (n = 28) in the other 748 cases. Conclusion By using the TG13 diagnostic and severity grading criteria, more patients with possible acute cholangitis can be diagnosed, and patients whose prognosis can potentially be improved by early biliary drainage can be identified. The TG13 criteria are appropriate and useful for clinical practice.

Background The international practice guidelines for patients with acute cholangitis and cholecystitis were released in 2007 (TG07) and revised in 2013 (TG13). This study investigated updated epidemiology and outcomes among patients with acute cholangitis on a larger scale for the first time. Methods This is an international multi-center retrospective observational study in Japan and Taiwan. All consecutive patients older than 18 years of age and given a clinical diagnosis of acute cholangitis by clinicians between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2012 were enrolled. Those who met the diagnostic criteria of acute cholangitis by TG13 were statistically analyzed. Results A total of 7,294 patients were enrolled and 6,433 patients met the TG13 diagnostic criteria. The severity distribution was Grade I (37.5%), Grade II (36.2%), and Grade III (26.2%). The 30-day all-cause mortality was 2.4%, 4.7%, and 8.4% in Grade I, II, III severity, respectively (P < 0.001). The incidence of liver abscess and endocarditis as complications of acute cholangitis was 2.0% and 0.26%, respectively. Conclusions This is the first large scale study to investigate patients with acute cholangitis. This study provides the basis to define the best practices to manage patients with acute cholangitis in future studies.