A B S T R A C TBackground: Nursing staff spend long periods in high-risk working environments. Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the hospitalization risk between nursing staff and the general population. Design: This study adopted a retrospective observational design. Setting: Data from the Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database from 2011 to 2013 were analyzed. Method: The standardized hospitalization ratio model was used to analyze the relative risk of hospitalization for various diseases between nursing staff and the general population. Results: A total of 33,267 numbers of nursing staff in Taiwan were hospitalized, an overall crude hospitalization rate of 21.5%. After controlling for gender, calendar year, and age of nursing staff, the standardized hospitalization ratio of female nursing staff was significantly higher compared to the general population for infectious and parasitic diseases (SHR = 121.05, 95% CI = 112.66-129.89), diseases of the respiratory system (SHR = 105.12, 95% CI = 100.60-109.80), complications of pregnancy, childbirth, and the puerperium (SHR = 102.59, 95% CI = 100.85-104.35), and diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue (SHR = 109.71, 95% CI = 101.10-118.86). Conclusions: Nursing staff have a significantly higher hospitalization risk compared to the general population for infectious and parasitic diseases, diseases of the respiratory system, complications of pregnancy, childbirth, and puerperium, and diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. This may be associated with the job characteristics and environment of nursing staff.

Background and Objectives: The anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap is widely used in head and neck reconstruction, but the postoperative thigh sensory function lacks sufficient evaluation. The present study reports the postsurgical pain and cancer-related quality of life (QoL) in different stages of oral cancer patients receiving anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap reconstruction. Materials and Methods: Patients were subgrouped into postoperative early-, mid-, and late-recovery stages (postoperative 0.5–1 years, 1–2 years, and above 2 years) according to the time point of assessment. The QoL was examined using the EORTC C-30. Postsurgical donor and receipt site pain was evaluated through subjective reports and sensory tests. Results: Ninety-four patients were included in the final analysis. The functional and global health-related QoL significantly improved with time after surgery. However, spontaneous pain was reported in 57.7%, 72.3%, and 42% of patients in early-, mid-, and late-recovery stages, mainly in donor sites rather than in receipt sites. The highest incidence of donor site pain after ALT flap reconstruction in oral cancer surgery was in the mid-recovery stage but remained high in the late-recovery stage (56.8% and 36.7%, respectively). Conclusions: The postsurgical pain in the donor site might persist to or exhibit delayed onset one to two years postoperatively but is much improved after postoperatively two years later. A longer postsurgical follow-up for over two years for pain and sensory dysfunction is indicated.

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