J Formos Med Assoc
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Quality of life (QOL) is the paramount goal of end-of-life care. However, there is no Chinese language instrument for measuring QOL that has been shown to have adequate psychometric properties for Taiwanese patients with terminal cancer. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of a Chinese language version of the McGill Quality of Life questionnaire (MQOL-Taiwan version) in this population. ⋯ The MQOL-Taiwan version demonstrated an acceptable level of reliability, validity and equivalency in the initial cross-cultural validation. These findings indicate the suitability of this QOL measure for clinical and research use in Taiwanese patients with terminal cancer.
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Pyogenic liver abscess in Taiwan is most commonly due to Klebsiella pneumoniae infection in diabetic patients, and less frequently due to biliary tract infections. Liver abscess caused by ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt is very rare. We report a case of liver abscess caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which developed as a complication of an infected VP shunt. ⋯ Liver abscess in patients with a VP shunt should be considered a possible abdominal complication of the VP shunt, and may be caused by unusual pathogens. Diagnosis requires CT scan and direct aspiration and culture of the liver abscess. Treatment requires management of both the liver abscess and the infected shunt.