With the spread of the new SARS-CoV-2 variants, many countries have begun COVID-19 vaccine booster programs with the mix-and-match strategy. However, research on the adverse events (AE) of booster doses is still scarce. The aim of our study was to analyze the reported incidence rate (IR), and factors associated with AE, including short-term serious adverse events (SAE) and short-term non-serious adverse events (NSAE), among different vaccine products through the hospital-based Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). A total of 7432 records were collected during the three-month study period. While more than half of the responses (52.2%) reported the presence of AE after receiving a booster dose, only a few AE were considered SAE (2.4%). AE were significantly higher among women and people of younger age, and the brand of vaccines is the strongest factor associated with post-booster dose AE. The incidence of AE in mRNA1273 is higher than in BNT162b2 and MVC-COV1901 (IRR mRNA1273 vs. BNT162b2: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.11–1.34; BNT162b2 vs. MVC-COV1901: 2.77, 95% CI: 2.27–3.39). The IR of different groups were calculated to support the decision making of the booster vaccine. Although AE were not uncommon for booster vaccines, almost all AE were not serious and predictable using estimated IR. This result can be used to optimize booster vaccine decision making.

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a widespread condition with important effects on public health, in general. There is a lack of relevant research on possible sex differences in the relationship between MetS and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and also the sex differences in factors associated with HRQoL. The aims of this study were to identify: 1) whether women exhibit greater negative impacts on physical domain HRQoL from MetS compared with men; 2) whether women exhibit greater mental domain impacts compared with men; and 3) whether factors associated with HRQoL scores are different for men and women. This cross-sectional study was conducted in Taipei, Taiwan. Using random sampling, a total of 906 participants aged 35–55 years were recruited. MetS was defined according to the MetS criteria for the Taiwanese population, and HRQoL were assessed using physical component summary (PCS) and mental component summary (MCS) scores of the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), Taiwan version. Demographics, physical activity, medical history, and blood tests as covariates were recorded and checked. The associations were assessed by multiple linear regression. After adjusting for covariates, women but not men with more components of MetS had significantly lower PCS scores (β = − 0.542, p = 0.036). The number of components of MetS was not a significant factor in MCS score differences between the sexes. Furthermore, there were sex differences regarding age, education level, physical activity, and smoking status in association with PCS scores. For MCS scores, sex differences were found in education level, marital status, and habits of smoking and alcohol consumption. There were sex differences in the relationships between metabolic syndrome components and factors associated with HRQoL among middle-aged adults living in the community in Taiwan. Further research should be conducted to investigate mechanisms of these sex differences.

Background: Although more and more women are becoming physicians, their decisions regarding pregnancy may be affected by the lengthy period of medical education and postgraduate training. The aim of this study was to explore the birth trends among female physicians in Taiwan; Methods: Retrospective analyses of maternal ages at delivery from 1996 to 2013, both for physicians and the general population, were conducted using a nationwide dataset called National Health Insurance Research Database; Results: During the study period, 8540 female physicians were identified. The physicians delivered a total of 4940 births in that time, with a rise from 210 in 1996 to 440 in 2013. In addition, the mean maternal age of the physicians at delivery increased from 32.19 years (standard deviations (SD) 2.80) in 1996 to 33.61 (SD 3.21) in 2013, values significantly higher than those for non-physicians of 27.81 (SD 4.74) in 1996 (p < 0.001) and 31.36 (SD 4.78) in 2013 (p < 0.001); Conclusion: Female physicians usually gave birth at an older age than non-physicians, but the discrepancy between the two groups gradually declined over the 18-year course of the study. The establishment of a maternity-friendly environment for female physicians should be considered by those who determine healthcare system policies.

Percutaneous lung biopsy is a technique used for sampling peripherally located lung masses and has been gaining in popularity. However, its exact utilization is unknown, and its safety has not been well studied. The current study aimed to assess the trend of utilization and study the safety of this procedure. Using the National Health Insurance Research Database, we retrospectively determined the total number of procedures that were performed on subjects older than 20 years between 2001 and 2010. We also estimated the rates of major complications, such as pneumothorax, requiring intercostal drainage. A total of 630 percutaneous biopsies were performed in 2001, while 3814 were performed in 2010, representing a 6.1-fold increase. The compound annual growth rate was 22.1%. The number of hospitals that performed the procedure increased from 55 to 99. Pneumothorax requiring drainage occurred in 1.5% of the procedures. The factors associated with a higher complication rate included male gender, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, rural hospital, and low-volume hospital. Percutaneous lung biopsies are a relatively safe procedure, and their performance has been rapidly increasing. The number of procedures performed by a hospital was associated with the complication rate.

Background: OpenAI released versions ChatGPT-3.5 and GPT-4 between 2022 and 2023. GPT-3.5 has demonstrated proficiency in various examinations, particularly the United States Medical Licensing Examination. However, GPT-4 has more advanced capabilities. Objective: This study aims to examine the efficacy of GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 within the Taiwan National Pharmacist Licensing Examination and to ascertain their utility and potential application in clinical pharmacy and education. Methods: The pharmacist examination in Taiwan consists of 2 stages: basic subjects and clinical subjects. In this study, exam questions were manually fed into the GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 models, and their responses were recorded; graphic-based questions were excluded. This study encompassed three steps: (1) determining the answering accuracy of GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, (2) categorizing question types and observing differences in model performance across these categories, and (3) comparing model performance on calculation and situational questions. Microsoft Excel and R software were used for statistical analyses. Results: GPT-4 achieved an accuracy rate of 72.9%, overshadowing GPT-3.5, which achieved 59.1% (P<.001). In the basic subjects category, GPT-4 significantly outperformed GPT-3.5 (73.4% vs 53.2%; P<.001). However, in clinical subjects, only minor differences in accuracy were observed. Specifically, GPT-4 outperformed GPT-3.5 in the calculation and situational questions. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that GPT-4 outperforms GPT-3.5 in the Taiwan National Pharmacist Licensing Examination, particularly in basic subjects. While GPT-4 shows potential for use in clinical practice and pharmacy education, its limitations warrant caution. Future research should focus on refining prompts, improving model stability, integrating medical databases, and designing questions that better assess student competence and minimize guessing.

Although dispensing is usually separated from prescribing in healthcare service delivery worldwide, primary care clinics in some countries can hire pharmacists to offer in-house dispensing or point-of-care dispensing for patients’ convenience. This study aimed to provide a general overview of pharmacists working at primary care clinics in Taiwan. Special attention was paid to clarifying the relationship by location, scale, and specialty of clinics. The data source was the Government’s open database in Taiwan. In our study, a total of 8688 pharmacists were hired in 6020 (52.1%) 11,546 clinics. The result revealed significant differences in the number of pharmacists at different specialty clinics among levels of urbanization. Group practices did not have a higher probability of hiring pharmacists than solo practices. There was a higher prevalence of pharmacists practicing in clinics of non surgery-related specialties than in surgery-related specialties. Although the strict separation policy of dispensing and prescribing has been implemented for 2 decades in Taiwan, most primary care clinics seem to circumvent the regulation by hiring pharmacists to maintain dominant roles in dispensing drugs and retaining the financial benefits from drugs. More in-depth analyses are required to study the impact on pharmacies and the quality of pharmaceutical care.