An appendectomy increases the risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a five-year follow-up study.

Many studies have reported a possible association of an appendectomy with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, findings of the relationship between an appendectomy and RA remain inconsistent. Furthermore, all such studies were conducted in Western societies, and relevant studies on the relationship between an appendectomy and RA in Asian countries are still lacking. In this study, we investigated the relationship between an appendectomy and the subsequent risk of RA using a population-based dataset. We retrieved data for this retrospective cohort study from the Taiwan "Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005". We included 4,294 subjects who underwent an appendectomy in the study cohort and 12,882 matched subjects in the comparison cohort. We individually tracked each subject for a 5-year period from their index date to identify those who developed RA. A stratified Cox proportional hazard regression was performed to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) for the subsequent development of RA during the 5-year follow-up period between subjects who underwent an appendectomy and comparison subjects. Of the sampled subjects, 93 (0.54%) received a diagnosis of RA during the 5-year follow-up period: 33 from the study cohort (0.77% of subjects who underwent an appendectomy) and 60 from the comparison cohort (0.47% of comparison subjects) (p<0.001). After censoring individuals who died during the follow-up period and adjusting for subjects' monthly income and geographic region, the HR of RA during the 5-year follow-up period was 1.61 (95% CI = 1.05~2.48) for subjects who underwent an appendectomy compared to comparison subjects. We found that among females, the adjusted HR of RA was 1.76 (95% CI = 1.04~2.96) for subjects who underwent an appendectomy compared to comparison subjects. However, there was no increased hazard of RA for males who underwent an appendectomy compared to comparison subjects. We concluded that female subjects who undergo an appendectomy have a higher risk of RA than comparison female subjects

Correction: A sialoadenectomy is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease: A three-year follow-up study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0199135.]

A sialoadenectomy is associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease: A three-year follow-up study.

Little is known regarding the long-term adverse effects of a sialoadenectomy. The purpose of this study was to estimate the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) among patients receiving a sialoadenectomy procedure by utilizing a cohort study based on a population-based database in Taiwan. This study retrieved data of the study sample from the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database 2005. This retrospective cohort study included 608 patients who underwent a sialoadenectomy and 1824 propensity score-matched comparison patients. We individually tracked each sampled patient for a 3-year period from their index date to discriminate those who subsequently received a diagnosis of CHD during the follow-up period. We found that respective incidence rates of CHD during the 3-year follow-up period were 3.87 (95% confidence interval (CI): 3.01-4.91) and 1.79 (95% CI: 1.45-2.18) per 100 person-years for patients who did and those who did not undergo a sialoadenectomy. The stratified Cox proportional analysis revealed that the hazard ratio of CHD during the 3-year follow-up period was 2.43 (95% CI: 1.77-3.33) than comparison patients. This study demonstrates an association between sialoadenectomy and CHD

Factors associated with Taiwan anesthesiologists' intention to leave anesthesia practice

Anesthesiologists in Taiwan had the heaviest workload compared with other Taiwanese specialists. In a previous study, anesthesia-related mortality was >12 times the rate reported in the USA, UK, and Japan. Nine percent of Taiwanese anesthesiologists left their jobs to work as general practitioners in clinics. This study aims to assess the current working conditions of anesthesiologists in Taiwan and their satisfaction with their occupation, and to identify the factors associated with the intentions of anesthesiologists in Taiwan to leave anesthesia practice. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire was completed by 474 attending anesthesiologists in Taiwan. The Chi-square test was used for categorical variables and the t test for continuous variables. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to identify the factors significantly associated with the willingness of anesthesiologists to continue in anesthesiology. Results: The sample anesthesiologists worked 59.9 hours/week, however a reasonable length of time to work is 49.6 hours/week. They simultaneously covered four operating rooms daily, but three rooms is considered reasonable. Surprisingly, 54.9% of them expressed their unwillingness to practice clinical anesthesia. Those anesthesiologists dissatisfied with their overall working conditions had a substantially increased odds ratio (6.96) of deterring continuing to practice in anesthesia. Furthermore, an inability to take care of the family and a low salary significantly decreased the willingness to practice in anesthesia (odds ratio: 0.42 and 0.38, respectively). Conclusion: Unfavorable working conditions were considered to lower the satisfaction of anesthesiologists in Taiwan. In particular, an inability to take care of the family and a low salary were major factors in deterring anesthesiologists in Taiwan from continuing in anesthesia