Research results found that the three different ice pack therapy durations could lower skin temperature and reduce partial pain. The different ice pack therapy durations would cause similar discomfort incidence rates in the three groups. Ice pack therapy for 10 minutes could reduce partial swelling and pain effectively. Accordingly, we suggest that 10 minutes is the optimal ice pack therapy duration for persons with soft tissue injuries. However, the ice pack therapy duration should be adjusted according to individual needs and situation.

The management of dengue fever (DF) has been suggested to be categorized into decision groups A, B, and C; however, its usefulness in predicting mortality is still unclear, and hence we conducted this study to clarify this issue. We conducted a study by recruiting 2,358 patients with DF from the 2015 outbreak in the Chi-Mei Medical Center. Demographic data, vital signs, clinical symptoms and signs, coexisting morbidities, laboratory data, decision groups categorized according to World Health Organization for clinical management of dengue in 2012, and 30-day mortality rates were included for analysis. The overall 30-day mortality rate was 1.4%. The 30-day mortality rates in decision groups A, B, and C were 0%, 0.5%, and 46.2%, respectively. Compared with Group A, there was a higher mortality risk in Group C (odds ratio [OR]: 1,480, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 195-11,200). The area under the curve of the variable of Group C was excellent (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.85-0.99). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for predicting 30-day mortality in Group C were 88.2%, 98.5%, 46.2%, and 99.8%, respectively. This study showed that decision Group C has a good predictive value for 30-day mortality. Further studies including validation in other nations are warranted.

Objectives Dentists may have a higher risk of developing lumbar herniated intervertebral disc (HIVD) due to prolonged sitting and improper postures during work. We conducted this study to delineate this issue, which is still unclear. Methods This nationwide population‐based study was conducted using Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database. We identified 10 734 dentists, 72 066 non‐dentist health‐care providers (HCPs), and an identical number of age‐ and gender‐matched participants from the general population. The risk of developing lumbar HIVD among dentists, non‐dentist HCPs, and general population was compared by tracing their medical histories between 2007 and 2011. Results The cumulative incidence rate of lumbar HIVD among dentists during the 5‐year follow‐up period was 1.40%. After adjusting for age, gender, and comorbidities, the risk of developing lumbar HIVD was found to be lower among dentists than that among the general population (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.80, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.64‐1.00) and non‐dentist HCPs (AOR: 0.81, 95% CI: 0.68‐0.96). Conclusions Dentists in Taiwan have a lower risk of developing lumbar HIVD than that among other occupations. Although this result is different from the general cognition, it does not imply that the prevention of lumbar HIVD in dentists is not important. Further studies are warranted to better address this issue.

Background: Because of the limited information available regarding peripheral vertigo (PV) in physicians, we conducted this study to clarify this issue. Methods: We used Taiwan National Health Insurance Research Database to identify 26,309 physicians and an identical number of general population matched by age and sex. All the participants who had PV before 2007 and residents were excluded. By tracing their medical histories between 2007 and 2013, comparisons of PV risk between physicians and general population and among physicians were performed. Results: Physicians had a significantly lower PV risk than the general population (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.811; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.662–0.994). In comparison among physicians, otolaryngologists had a significantly higher PV risk than other specialties. Physicians who were older or served in local hospitals or clinics had a significantly higher PV risk than physicians in medical centers. Conclusion: Physicians had a significantly lower PV risk than the general population. Better medical knowledge in physicians than in the general population may explain the findings; however, further studies are warranted for elucidating the detailed mechanisms.

S105 OBJECTIVES: Community pharmacy is a major link in the asthma therapy chain. However, community pharmacists have insufficient knowledge about asthma and asthma medications for counselling patients effectively in Vietnam. The study aimed to investigate improvement in knowledge and practice of community pharmacists in asthma counselling after attending a short training course. METHODS: 300 pharmacists consented to participate in a study using simulated patients. A knowledge questionnaire about asthma medications and a standardized inhaler checklist were designed to test before and after training. Pharmacists were invited to attend a short training course (3h) focused on counselling asthma patients (asthma control, distinguish relievers and controllers, side effects, medication adherence, inhaler technique teaching). After the training, 10 simulated patients trained with a standardized asthma case were sent to the community pharmacy to test the pharmacist's knowledge and practice. RESULTS: After the training, number of correct answer and score of asthma knowledge of pharmacists increased remarkably (p< 0.001). While there was no pharmacist performed correctly both metered-dose inhaler (MDI) and dry powder inhaler (DPI) in pre-training, > 50% performed correctly in post-training (p< 0.001). Regarding tested by simulated patients, knowledge and practice of pharmacists in the training group improved significantly. 94.3% of pharmacists in training group could distinguish relievers and controllers compared with under 50% in no-training group (p< 0.001). Percentage of pharmacists counselling correctly about controller adherence in training group was statistically higher than no-training group (91.8% vs 63.6%). Pharmacists attended training also performed better in counselling asthma patients about side effects of asthma medications (p< 0.001). When teaching patients in pharmacy, inhaler technique score of training group was significantly higher than the no-training group (6.1 vs 4.3, p< 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A short training course was effective in providing community pharmacists with necessary knowledge about asthma and medications to improve quality of counselling asthma patients in community pharmacy