BACKGROUND: Pregnancy considerably alters cardiovascular dynamics, and thereby affects the transition of blood pressure after delivery in women. We aimed to analyze the association between parity and blood pressure in Korean adult women. METHODS: We included 8,890 women who participated in Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2010 and 2012. We divided the population according to the menopause status and analyzed the association between parity and blood pressure by using multiple regression analysis, and on hypertension, by using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Systolic and diastolic blood pressures were significantly associated with parity in premenopausal women (beta=-0.091 [P<0.001] and beta=-0.069 [P<0.001], respectively). In the analysis that excluded women receiving antihypertensive medication, the systolic and diastolic blood pressure of postmenopausal women were significantly associated with parity (beta=-0.059 [P=0.022] and beta=-0.054 [P=0.044], respectively). Parity was found to prevent hypertension after adjustment for confounders in postmenopausal women (odds ratio, 0.55; 95% confidence interval, 0.310-0.985). CONCLUSION: We found that parity prevented hypertension in Korean women.
Adult ; Blood Pressure* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Logistic Models ; Menopause ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Parity* ; Pregnancy

Some studies have demonstrated that chemotherapy drugs enhance sensitivity to anesthetics owing to its systemic toxicity, while others have demonstrated that chemotherapy drugs have no effect. This study aimed to determine whether neoadjuvant chemotherapy influences the effect-site concentration (Ce) of propofol for sedation in patients withbreast cancer.Methods: This study included patients aged 19–75 years who were scheduled to undergobreast cancer surgery under general anesthesia. Patients who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy were assigned to group C, whereas those who never received chemotherapy wereassigned to group N. Propofol was administered through an effect-site target-controlled infusion, and the Modified Observer’s Assessment of Alertness/Sedation scale (MOAA/S) scoreand Bispectral Index (BIS) were recorded. When the plasma concentration and Ce wereequal to the target Ce, and if the MOAA/S score did not change, the target Ce was increasedby 0.2 μg/ml; otherwise, the Ce was maintained for 2 min and then increased. This processwas repeated until the MOAA/S score became 0.Results: No significant differences were observed in Ce values at each sedation level between both groups. Ce values for loss of consciousness (LOC) of groups C and N were 2.76± 0.29 and 2.67 ± 0.27 μg/ml (P = 0.285), respectively. However, the BIS value at LOC ofgroup C (63.87 ± 7.04) was lower than that (68.44 ± 6.01) of group N (P = 0.018).Conclusions: Neoadjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer has no effect on the Ce ofpropofol for sedation.

Tumor localization in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is challenging because substantial therapeutic remission of the original tumor after NACT is often noted.Currently, there is no guidance device that allows for an accurate estimation of the resection range in breast-conserving surgery after NACT. To increase the accuracy of tumor resection, we used a 3-dimensional-printed breast surgical guide based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the supine position for a breast cancer patient who underwent breast-conserving surgery after NACT. Using this device, the breast tumor with apparent therapeutic changes after NACT on imaging was successfully removed with clear resection margins by identifying the original tumor site in the affected breast. Irrespective of whether the residual tumor area after NACT is well defined, it is possible to confirm and target the tumor area on pre-NACT MRI using this device.

Forced-air warming is commonly utilized to prevent perioperative hypothermia. Underbody warming blankets are often employed to secure a larger area for patient warming. While forced-air warming systems are generally regarded as safe, improper usage poses a risk of cutaneous complications. Additionally, the influence of underbody blankets on cutaneous complications remains uncertain. We present a case of cutaneous complications resulting from the improper utilization of a forced-air warming device and an underbody blanket. A 79-year-old man presented to the hospital for robotic proctectomy under general anesthesia. The surgery lasted for 7 hours, and the forced-air warming device with underbody blanket operated continuously for 5 hours intraoperatively. The surgery was completed without any incidents. However, first-degree burns on the patient’s back, along with superficial decubitus ulcers on his right scapula, were observed after surgery. To prevent cutaneous complications, clinicians must adhere to the manufacturer's guidelines when utilizing a forced-air warming system. Compared to overbody blankets, underbody blankets have limitations in monitoring cutaneous responses. Ensuring patient safety requires selecting an appropriate blanket for scheduled operations.

Background: This study aimed to establish an image evaluation grading criteria for experimental stifle joint osteoar‑ thritis (OA) in anterior cruciate ligament transection induced OA beagle dog models. The severity of OA was assessed using X-ray and computed tomography (CT) imaging. Results: A total of 32 dogs (8 controls and 24 OA-induced dogs) were included in the study. The OA-induced group showed significantly higher manual joint palpation, gait analysis, and OA severity scores than the control group. Based on these two results, we calculated correlation coefficients. There was a strong positive correlation between manual joint palpation scores and OA severity on diagnostic imaging and between gait analysis scores and OA severity. Conclusions The developed grading criteria based on radiographic evaluation correlated with clinical assessments. The study also employed CT imaging to enhance the accuracy and sensitivity of early-stage OA change detec‑ tion in the stifle joint. However, further studies with larger sample sizes and multiple evaluators are recommended for the validation and generalizability of this grading system. These established image evaluation grading criteria can help evaluate and monitor the efficacy of interventions and changes in OA lesions in canine models.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of magnetic resonance (MR) radiomics-based machine learning algorithms in differentiating squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) from lymphoma in the oropharynx. MR images from 87 patients with oropharyngeal SCC (n=68) and lymphoma (n=19) were reviewed retrospectively. Tumors were semi-automatically segmented on contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images registered to T2-weighted images, and radiomic features (n=202) were extracted from contrast-enhanced T1- and T2-weighted images. The radiomics classifier was built using elastic-net regularized generalized linear model analyses with nested five-fold cross-validation. The diagnostic abilities of the radiomics classifier and visual assessment by two head and neck radiologists were evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses for distinguishing SCC from lymphoma. Nineteen radiomics features were selected at least twice during the five-fold cross-validation. The mean area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the radiomics classifier was 0.750 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.613–0.887], with a sensitivity of 84.2%, specificity of 60.3%, and an accuracy of 65.5%. Two human readers yielded AUCs of 0.613 (95% CI, 0.467–0.759) and 0.663 (95% CI, 0.531–0.795), respectively. The radiomics-based machine learning model can be useful for differentiating SCC from lymphoma of the oropharynx.

Tumor localization in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) is challenging because substantial therapeutic remission of the original tumor after NACT is often noted.Currently, there is no guidance device that allows for an accurate estimation of the resection range in breast-conserving surgery after NACT. To increase the accuracy of tumor resection, we used a 3-dimensional-printed breast surgical guide based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the supine position for a breast cancer patient who underwent breast-conserving surgery after NACT. Using this device, the breast tumor with apparent therapeutic changes after NACT on imaging was successfully removed with clear resection margins by identifying the original tumor site in the affected breast. Irrespective of whether the residual tumor area after NACT is well defined, it is possible to confirm and target the tumor area on pre-NACT MRI using this device.

Purpose: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used for assessing the morphology of the pituitary gland in children with short stature. The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine if pituitary volume (PV) can distinguish patients with growth hormone (GH) deficiency from those with idiopathic short stature (ISS), (2) to validate an association between PV and severity of GH deficiency, and (3) to compare PV between good and poor response groups in children with GH deficiency or ISS after 1 year of treatment. Methods: Data were collected from the medical records of 152 children with GH deficiency or ISS who underwent GH stimulation test, sella MRI, and GH treatment for at least 1 year. Estimated PVs were calculated using the formula of an ellipsoid. We compared the PVs in patients with GH deficiency with those of patients with ISS. In addition, we assessed the association between PV and severity of GH deficiency, and we assessed growth response after treatment. Results: No difference was observed in PV between patients with GH deficiency and those with ISS. The severity of the GH deficiency seemed to be associated with PV (P=0.082), and the height of the pituitary gland was associated with severity of GH deficiency (P<0.005). The PV in the good response group was less than that of the poor response group in patients with GH deficiency (P<0.005), and PV showed no association with responsiveness to GH treatment in patients with ISS (P=0.073). Conclusion The measurement of PV cannot be used for differential diagnosis between GH deficiency and ISS. In patients with GH deficiency, PV tended to be smaller as the severity of GH deficiency increased, but the difference was not significant. PV may be a good response predictor for GH treatment. Further studies, including a radiomics-based approach, will be helpful in elucidating the clinical implications of pituitary morphology in patients with short stature.