early intervention. This study aimed to develop a prediction model for transfusion of ≥5 units of packed red blood cells (PRBCs) during cesarean section in women with placenta previa.MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a cohort study including 287 women with placenta previa who delivered between September 2011 and April 2018. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to test the association between clinical factors, ultrasound factors, and massive transfusion. For the external validation set, we obtained data (n=50) from another hospital.RESULTS: We formulated a scoring model for predicting transfusion of ≥5 units of PRBCs, including maternal age, degree of previa, grade of lacunae, presence of a hypoechoic layer, and anterior placentation. For example, total score of 223/260 had a probability of 0.7 for massive transfusion. Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test indicated that the model was suitable (p>0.05). The area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUC) was 0.922 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.89–0.95]. In external validation, the discrimination was good, with an AUC value of 0.833 (95% CI 0.70–0.92) for this model. Nomogram calibration plots indicated good agreement between the predicted and observed outcomes, exhibiting close approximation between the predicted and observed probability.CONCLUSION: We constructed a scoring model for predicting massive transfusion during cesarean section in women with placenta previa. This model may help in determining the need to prepare an appropriate amount of blood products and the optimal timing of blood transfusion.]]>
Area Under Curve ; Blood Transfusion ; Calibration ; Cesarean Section ; Cohort Studies ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Erythrocytes ; Female ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Maternal Age ; Nomograms ; Placenta Previa ; Placenta ; Placentation ; Postpartum Hemorrhage ; Pregnancy ; ROC Curve ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) continues to increase, and the disease burden is the highest of any medical condition in Korea. However, large-scale clinical studies have not yet conducted to establish the basis for diabetes prevention in Korea. METHODS: The hospital-based Korean Diabetes Prevention Study (H-KDPS) is a prospective, multi-center, randomized, open-label controlled study conducted at university hospitals for the purpose of gathering data to help in efforts to prevent type 2 DM. Ten university hospitals are participating, and 744 subjects will be recruited. The subjects are randomly assigned to the standard care group, lifestyle modification group, or metformin group, and their clinical course will be observed for 36 months. RESULTS: All intervention methodologies were developed, validated, and approved by Korean Diabetes Association (KDA) multi-disciplinary team members. The standard control group will engage in individual education based on the current KDA guidelines, and the lifestyle modification group will participate in a professionally guided healthcare intervention aiming for ≥5% weight loss. The metformin group will begin dosing at 250 mg/day, increasing to a maximum of 1,000 mg/day. The primary endpoint of this study is the cumulative incidence of DM during the 3 years after randomization. CONCLUSION: The H-KDPS study is the first large-scale clinical study to establish evidence-based interventions for the prevention of type 2 DM in Koreans. The evidence gathered by this study will be useful for enhancing the health of Koreans and improving the stability of the Korean healthcare system (Trial registration: CRIS KCT0002260, NCT02981121).
Clinical Study ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Education ; Hospitals, University ; Incidence ; Korea ; Life Style ; Metformin ; Prediabetic State ; Prevalence ; Primary Prevention ; Prospective Studies ; Random Allocation ; Risk Reduction Behavior ; Weight Loss

OBJECTIVE: Although early intervention from the beginning of a psychotic episode is essential for a better prognosis, biomarkers predictive of symptomatic and functional improvement in early psychotic disorders are lacking. This study aimed to investigate whether the spectral power of resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) can be used as a predictive marker of the 1-year prognosis in patients with first-episode psychosis (FEP). METHODS: Twenty-four patients with FEP and matched healthy control (HC) subjects were examined with resting-state EEG at baseline. The symptomatic severity and functional status of FEP patients were assessed at baseline and reassessed after 1 year of usual treatment. Repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted to compare EEG spectral powers across the groups. Multiple regression analysis revealed EEG spectral powers predictive of symptomatic and functional improvement in FEP patients at the 1-year follow-up. RESULTS: Delta band power in the frontal and posterior regions was significantly higher in patients with FEP than in HCs. Higher delta band power in the posterior region predicted later improvement of positive symptoms and general functional status. Lower delta band power in the frontal region predicted improvement of negative symptoms and general functioning after 1 year. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that increased delta absolute power is observed from the beginning of psychotic disorders. Furthermore, decreased delta power in the frontal region and increased delta power in the posterior region might be used as a predictive marker of a better prognosis of FEP, which would aid early intervention in clinical practice.
Biomarkers ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Electroencephalography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Prognosis ; Psychotic Disorders

Early identification and intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were reported to be important for outcomes or clinical courses. However, there have been a few robust evidences for effectiveness of early intervention until now. This review aims to identify the effectiveness of early intervention by investigating the randomized controlled trial (RCT) of early intervention for autism. There are some RCT studies using behavioral program. Although there are some significant findings, the outcome measurements and small sample size are the limitations. Further studies are needed.
Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Autistic Disorder ; Child ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Humans ; Sample Size

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of early intervention with lipoxin A4 (LXA4) on septic mice. METHODS: Healthy male Balb/c mice aged 6-8 weeks were randomly divided into sham-operation group, sepsis group, 1-hour intervention group (intervention at 1 hour after sepsis), and 6-hour intervention group (intervention at 6 hours after sepsis) (n=8 each). A sepsis model was prepared by cecal ligation and puncture. The intervention groups received LXA4 at 0.01 μg/g body weight 1 or 6 hours after the model was established. Blood was taken from eyeballs at 24 hours after operation. Peritoneal lavage fluid and liver and lung tissue samples were collected. The bacterial colonies of whole blood and peritoneal lavage fluid were counted by dilution plating. The serum levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) were determined by cytometric bead array. The serum level of high mobility group box-1 (HGMB1) was determined using ELISA. The percentages of macrophages and neutrophils in peritoneal lavage fluid were determined by flow cytometry. Paraffin sectioning and hematoxylin-eosin staining were performed for the liver and lung tissue samples to observe pathological damage. RESULTS: Compared with the sham-operation group, the sepsis group had a significantly decreased percentage of macrophages and a significantly increased percentage of neutrophils in peritoneal lavage fluid (P<0.05), as well as significantly increased serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, MCP-1, and HMGB1 (P<0.05); in addition, the sepsis group showed more vacuolar degeneration, hepatocyte swelling, and inflammatory cell infiltration in liver tissue, and more capillary congestion, pulmonary septal thickening, inflammatory cell infiltration, and partial tissue destruction in lung tissue. Compared with the sepsis group, the 1-hour and 6-hour intervention groups had a significantly increased percentage of macrophages in peritoneal lavage fluid (P<0.05) and significantly reduced bacterial load in whole blood (P<0.05), serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, MCP-1, and HMGB1 (P<0.05), and degree of liver and lung tissue damage and inflammatory cell infiltration, but there was no significant difference in the percentage of neutrophils and bacterial load in peritoneal lavage fluid (P>0.05). Compared with the 6-hour intervention group, the 1-hour intervention group had a significantly decreased serum level of HMGB1 (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference in other indicators between the two groups (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS Early intervention with LXA4 may attenuate liver and lung injuries in septic mice, which may be explained by the decrease in serum levels of IL-6, TNF-α, MCP-1, and HMGB1, and it also may reduce the bacterial dissemination in the whole blood of septic mice, which may be explained by the increase in the percentage of peritoneal macrophages.
Animals ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Interleukin-6 ; Lipoxins ; Male ; Mice ; Sepsis ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Noninvasive markers of liver fibrosis in alcoholic liver disease (ALD) are crucial to establish early intervention. Previous studies have suggested that plasma levels of cleaved keratin-18 (K18; M30) fragments can predict the severity of liver disease. The aim of this study was to correlate plasma M30 levels with stages of liver fibrosis in ALD. METHODS: Patients with ALD (n=139, 79.1% males) and liver histology were included, and plasma samples were collected to quantify plasma M30 levels. Patients were stratified into five groups by fibrosis stage (F0=14; F1=15; F2=35; F3=17; and F4=58) according to the Kleiner score. Differences between groups were evaluated using the chi-square test or analysis of variance. Trends by fibrosis stage were calculated by logistic regression analysis, and sensitivity, specificity and positive and negative predictive values were determined. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in M30 levels among fibrosis stages. The correlation between plasma M30 levels and fibrosis was poor (Pearson’s correlation coefficient=0.13, Spearman rho=0.20 [p=0.02]), and M30 levels did not correlate with alcohol-specific histological features. However, significant correlations of M30 levels with aspartate aminotransferase (Spearman rho=0.653, p < 0.001) and alanine aminotransferase (Spearman rho=0.432, p < 0.001) were found. M30 levels of >200 U/L reveal a sensitivity for predicting cirrhosis of 84.5% with a negative predictive value of 73.5%. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma M30 levels are often elevated in ALD and correlate with serum transaminases but do not reflect fibrosis. The usefulness as a prognostic marker awaits evaluation in prospective studies.
Alanine Transaminase ; Alcoholics* ; Apoptosis ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Caspases ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Keratin-18 ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; Liver* ; Logistic Models ; Plasma* ; Prospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Transaminases

PURPOSE: Previous studies have shown that neurologic symptoms are dominant in patients with mitochondrial diseases, and most of these patients have seizure-related disorders. The epileptic classification of these patients as Lennox-Gastaut syndrome (LGS) is as high as 25%. This study aimed to investigate the clinical manifestations, diagnoses, treatments, and epilepsy in LGS, which is associated with mitochondrial disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on 372 patients who were diagnosed with mitochondrial disease between 2006 and 2016. Of these 372 patients, 40 patients diagnosed with LGS were selected, and they were classified into two groups based on the history of West syndrome. Patient characteristics were reviewed, and associations between clinical factors and outcomes after the treatment were analyzed. RESULTS: The proportion of individuals with mitochondrial disease with LGS with a history of West syndrome was 32.5%. Among the patients with mitochondrial disease with LGS, neonatal seizure (p=0.029), seizure as the first symptom (p=0.018), and generalized paroxysmal fast activity frequency on electroencephalogram (p=0.018) in the group with a history of West syndrome were statistically significantly high. The first symptom onset (0.6±0.4 yrs vs. 1.6±0.9 yrs, p=0.003) and first seizure onset (0.9±0.7 yrs vs. 3.9±3.1 yrs, p < 0.001) were significantly faster in patients with a history of West syndrome. CONCLUSION: Close monitoring of the medical condition and early intervention might improve the prognosis of individuals with mitochondrial disease with LGS and a history of West syndrome.
Child ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Electroencephalography ; Epilepsy ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Mitochondrial Diseases* ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures ; Spasms, Infantile

The Atopic march denotes the progression from atopic dermatitis (AD) to the development of other allergic disorders such as immunoglobulin (Ig) E-mediated food allergy, allergic rhinitis and asthma in later childhood. There is increasing evidence from prospective birth cohort studies that early-onset AD is a risk factor for other allergic diseases or is found in strong association with them. Animal studies now provide mechanistic insights into the pathways that may be responsible for triggering the progression from the skin barrier dysfunction seen in AD to epicutaneous sensitization, food allergy and allergic airway disorders. Recent large randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the efficacy of early interventions targeted at AD and food allergy prevention. These show great promise for research into future strategies aimed at prevention of the atopic march.
Animals ; Asthma ; Cohort Studies ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Food Hypersensitivity* ; Immunoglobulins ; Parturition ; Prospective Studies ; Rhinitis, Allergic ; Risk Factors ; Skin

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability humans have for recognizing the mental states of others and for predicting or explaining other people’s behavior. ToM is an essential ability people have for living with other people because it influences social relations, and the deaf children have been reported to have problems in ToM. As there are no ToM assessment tools in Korea, the purpose of this study was to establish such a version and to examine the early development of ToM of children with cochlear implant (CI). SUBJECTS AND METHOD: The original tools for ToM assessment were translated in Korean and the reliability and validity of the Korean version of ToM assessment tools were investigated with fifty normal hearing (NH) children. The early development of ToM of sixteen children with CI was compared with that of age-matched children with NH. RESULTS: The reliability of Korean version of ToM assessment tools was determined by tests for internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The validity of the tools was also evaluated by the tests for criterion-related validity and concurrent validity. There was no significant difference in ToM between children with CI and those with NH. CONCLUSION: The Korean version of ToM assessment tools was established and the assessment showed that the early development of ToM of deaf children, who received early intervention using CI, was comparable to that of NH children.
Child ; Cochlear Implants ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Hearing ; Humans ; Korea ; Methods ; Reproducibility of Results ; Theory of Mind

PURPOSE: Coronary artery abnormalities (CAA) are the most important complications of Kawasaki disease (KD). Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is a prevalent micronutrient deficiency and its association with KD remains unknown. We hypothesized that presence of IDA could be a predictor of CAA. METHODS: This retrospective study included 173 KD patients, divided into 2 groups according to absence (group 1) and presence (group 2) of CAA. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a logistic regression model to estimate the association between CAA and other indicators. Due to collinearity between indicators of IDA, each indicator was paired with anemia in 3 models. RESULTS: Serum iron, iron saturation, and ferritin concentration, the 3 indicators of IDA, were significantly higher in group 1 than in group 2. Three sets of models including anemia with iron indicators produced the OR of CAA of 3.513, 3.171, and 2.256, respectively. The 3 indicators of IDA were negatively associated with CAA, by OR of 0.965, 0.914, and 0.944, respectively. The areas under the curve (AUCs) of ferritin concentration, iron saturation, serum iron, anemia, and Kobayashi score were 0.907 (95% CI, 0.851–0.963), 0.729 (95% CI, 0.648–0.810), 0.711 (95% CI, 0.629–0.793), 0.638 (95% CI, 0.545–0.731), and 0.563 (95% CI, 0.489–0.636), respectively. CONCLUSION: Indicators of IDA, especially ferritin, were highly associated with CAA; therefore, they were stronger predictors of CAA than Kobayashi scores. IDA indicators can be used to predict CAA development and to suggest requirements for early interventions.
Anemia ; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; Coronary Vessels ; Early Intervention (Education) ; Ferritins ; Humans ; Iron ; Logistic Models ; Micronutrients ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; Odds Ratio ; Retrospective Studies