- The top three research areas for this month comprise a total of 7 publications on tumors, 6 publications on the circulatory system, and 6 publications on musculoskeletal issues. These findings have been published in "Medicine," "General & Internal," "Health Policy & Services; Health Care Sciences & Services" journals.
- Selected Paper in July：People who contract the influenza before surgery are at higher risk for postoperative complications.
The association between preoperative influenza infection and an increased risk of postoperative complications is not yet clearly understood. The Taipei Medical University research team used health insurance claims data from 2008 to 2013 to identify patients who underwent surgery, and matched about 20,000 patients who were infected with influenza in the 30 days before surgery and about 10,000 people who were not infected with influenza based on propensity scores. The result showed that the patients who were infected with influenza were at a higher risk of postoperative complications, especially those who were infected within seven days before surgery. Those who had pneumonia, sepsis, and acute renal failure was about twice risk of postoperative complications than that of people who were not infected.
There were some limitations in the study. Many people with influenza infection without influenza diagnosis code, and it may misclassify those who was infected with influenza into control group and underestimate the risk of postoperative complications. Some patients with influenza infection canceled surgery because of severe symptoms, and these cases did not be included in this study, which will also underestimate the risk. Furthermore, the study was unable to identify the severity of influenza and the complexity of surgeries, which need to be further explored in subsequent studies.
Lam F, Liao CC, Chen TL, et al. Outcomes after surgery in patients with and without recent influenza: a nationwide population-based study. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023:10:1117885.
Highlight of JUL (2023) ：This month's primary research focuses on the risk of cardiovascular disease complications, occupational diseases affecting hand joints, and the prevention of influenza and infectious diseases.
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