The Committee of Clinical Practice Guidelines of the Korean Diabetes Association (KDA) updated the previous clinical practice guidelines for Korean adults with diabetes and prediabetes and published the seventh edition in May 2021. We performed a comprehensive systematic review of recent clinical trials and evidence that could be applicable in real-world practice and suitable for the Korean population. The guideline is provided for all healthcare providers including physicians, diabetes experts, and certified diabetes educators across the country who manage patients with diabetes or the individuals at the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. The recommendations for screening diabetes and glucose-lowering agents have been revised and updated. New sections for continuous glucose monitoring, insulin pump use, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with diabetes mellitus have been added. The KDA recommends active vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 in patients with diabetes during the pandemic. An abridgement that contains practical information for patient education and systematic management in the clinic was published separately.

The Committee of Clinical Practice Guidelines of the Korean Diabetes Association (KDA) updated the previous clinical practice guidelines for Korean adults with diabetes and prediabetes and published the seventh edition in May 2021. We performed a comprehensive systematic review of recent clinical trials and evidence that could be applicable in real-world practice and suitable for the Korean population. The guideline is provided for all healthcare providers including physicians, diabetes experts, and certified diabetes educators across the country who manage patients with diabetes or the individuals at the risk of developing diabetes mellitus. The recommendations for screening diabetes and glucose-lowering agents have been revised and updated. New sections for continuous glucose monitoring, insulin pump use, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in patients with diabetes mellitus have been added. The KDA recommends active vaccination for coronavirus disease 2019 in patients with diabetes during the pandemic. An abridgement that contains practical information for patient education and systematic management in the clinic was published separately.

The objective of this study was to compare changes in the simplified disease activity index (SDAI) between biologic (b) and conventional (c) disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) users with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in daily clinical practice. Methods: This was a nationwide multicenter observational study. Patients who had three or more active joint counts and abnormal inf lammatory marker in blood test were enrolled. The selection of DMARDs was determined by the attending rheumatologist. Clinical parameters, laboratory findings, and Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) scores were obtained at baseline and at 6 and 12 months. Serial SDAI changes and clinical remission rate at 6 and 12 months were assessed. Results: A total of 850 patients participated in this study. The mean baseline SDAI score in bDMARD group was higher than that in cDMARD group (32.08 ± 12.98 vs 25.69 ± 10.97, p < 0.0001). Mean change of SDAI at 12 months was –19.0 in the bDMARD group and –12.6 in the cDMARD group (p < 0.0001). Clinical remission rates at 12 months in bDMARD and cDMARD groups were 15.4% and 14.6%, respectively. Patient global assessment and HAQ at 12 months were also significantly improved in both groups. Multivariate logistic regression showed that baseline HAQ score was the most notable factor associated with remission. Conclusions: There was a significant reduction in SDAI within 12 months after receiving DMARDs in Korean seropositive RA patients irrespective of bDMARD or cDMARD use in real-world practice. Clinical remission was achieved in those with lower baseline HAQ scores.

The Committee of Clinical Practice Guidelines of the Korean Diabetes Association revised and updated the 6th Clinical Practice Guidelines in 2019. Targets of glycemic, blood pressure, and lipid control in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) were updated. The obese and overweight population is increasing steadily in Korea, and half of the Koreans with diabetes are obese. Evidence-based recommendations for weight-loss therapy for obesity management as treatment for hyperglycemia in T2DM were provided. In addition, evidence from large clinical studies assessing cardiovascular outcomes following the use of sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists in patients with T2DM were incorporated into the recommendations.
Blood Pressure ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diagnosis ; Glucagon-Like Peptide 1 ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Korea ; Obesity ; Overweight

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Direct sequencing is the gold standard for the detection of drug-resistance mutations in hepatitis B virus (HBV); however, this procedure is time-consuming, labor-intensive, and difficult to adapt to high-throughput screening. In this study, we aimed to develop a dendron-modified DNA microarray for the detection of genotypic resistance mutations and evaluate its efficiency. METHODS: The specificity, sensitivity, and selectivity of dendron-modified slides for the detection of representative drug-resistance mutations were evaluated and compared to those of conventional slides. The diagnostic accuracy was validated using sera obtained from 13 patients who developed viral breakthrough during lamivudine, adefovir, or entecavir therapy and compared with the accuracy of restriction fragment mass polymorphism and direct sequencing data. RESULTS: The dendron-modified slides significantly outperformed the conventional microarray slides and were able to detect HBV DNA at a very low level (1 copy/μL). Notably, HBV mutants could be detected in the chronic hepatitis B patient sera without virus purification. The validation of our data revealed that this technique is fully compatible with sequencing data of drug-resistant HBV. CONCLUSIONS: We developed a novel diagnostic technique for the simultaneous detection of several drug-resistance mutations using a dendron-modified DNA microarray. This technique can be directly applied to sera from chronic hepatitis B patients who show resistance to several nucleos(t)ide analogues.
DNA ; Drug Resistance ; Hepatitis B virus* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Lamivudine ; Mass Screening ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis ; Sensitivity and Specificity

A hospitalist-run acute medical unit (AMU) opened at a tertiary care hospital on August 2015 for the first time in Korea. Patients visiting the emergency department (ED) with acute medical problems are admitted to the AMU. They stay in that unit for less than 72 hours and are discharged or transferred to specialty wards if longer treatment is necessary. We reviewed 19,450 medical admissions through the ED from January 2014 to September 2016. The median length of stay (LOS) significantly decreased from 10.0 days (interquartile range [IQR], 5.5–16.7) to 9.1 days (IQR, 5.1–15.0) (P < 0.001) after the establishment of the AMU. The median waiting time in the ED significantly shortened by 40% (P < 0.001). Future studies on the impact of AMU on in-patient morbidity, mortality, re-admission rate, and patient or staff satisfaction are necessary.
Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Hospital Medicine ; Hospitalists ; Humans ; Korea ; Length of Stay* ; Mortality ; Tertiary Healthcare*

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine clinical practice patterns in the management of pregnant women admitted with threatened preterm labor (TPL) in Korea. METHODS: Data from women admitted with a diagnosis of TPL were collected from 22 hospitals. TPL was defined as regular uterine contractions with or without other symptoms such as pelvic pressure, backache, increased vaginal discharge, menstrual-like cramps, bleeding/show and cervical changes. Data on general patient information, clinical characteristics at admission, use of tocolytics, antibiotics, and corticosteroids, and pregnancy outcomes were collected using an online data collections system. RESULTS: A total of 947 women with TPL were enrolled. First-line tocolysis was administered to 822 (86.8%) patients. As a first-line tocolysis, beta-agonists were used most frequently (510/822, 62.0%), followed by magnesium sulfate (183/822, 22.3%), calcium channel blockers (91/822, 11.1%), and atosiban (38/822, 4.6%). Of the 822 women with first-line tocolysis, second-line tocolysis were required in 364 (44.3%). Of 364 with second-line, 199 had third-line tocolysis (37.4%). Antibiotics were administered to 29.9% of patients (284/947) with single (215, 22.7%), dual (26, 2.7%), and triple combinations (43, 4.5%). Corticosteroids were administered to 420 (44.4%) patients. Betamethasone was administered to 298 patients (71.0%), and dexamethasone was administered to 122 patients (29.0%). CONCLUSION: Practice patterns in the management of TPL in Korea were quite various. It is needed to develop standardized practice guidelines for TPL management.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Back Pain ; Betamethasone ; Calcium Channel Blockers ; Dexamethasone ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Magnesium Sulfate ; Muscle Cramp ; Obstetric Labor, Premature* ; Physician's Practice Patterns ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnant Women ; Premature Birth ; Retrospective Studies* ; Tocolysis ; Tocolytic Agents ; Uterine Contraction ; Vaginal Discharge

BACKGROUND: Carefully switching from intravenous to oral antibiotic therapy has shown to reduce treatment costs and lengths of hospital stay as well as increase safety and comfort in patients with infections. The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy and safety between the patients treated with glycopeptides (case group), and the patients given oral antibiotics, as the initial or step-down therapy (control group), in the treatment of patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A multicenter observational study was retrospectively performed in 7 teaching hospitals in Korea from January to December 2012. The study included adult patients (> or = 18 years) with infection caused by MRSA isolates, susceptible to clindamycin, erythromycin, and ciprofloxacin. The primary end point was treatment outcome, including all-cause mortality and switching of antibiotics. Drug-related adverse events and the lengths of hospital stay were also compared between the two treatment groups. RESULTS: During the study period, 107 patients (43 cases and 64 controls) with MRSA infections were enrolled from the participating hospitals. The most common sites of MRSA infection were skin and soft tissue (n = 28) and bone and joint (n = 26). The median Charlson comorbidity index (P = 0. 560), the frequency of severe sepsis (P = 0.682) or thrombocytopenia (P = 1.000), and median level of serum C-reactive protein (P = 0.157) at the onset of MRSA infections were not significantly different between the case and control groups. The oral antibiotics most frequently prescribed in the case group, were fluoroquinolones (n = 29) and clindamycin (n = 8). The median duration of antibiotic treatment (P = 0.090) and the occurrence of drug-related adverse events (P = 0.460) did not reach statistically significant difference between the two groups, whereas the total length of hospital stay after the onset of MRSA infection was significantly shorter in the case group than the control group [median (interquartile range), 23 days (8-41) vs. 32 days (15-54), P = 0.017]. In multivariate analyses, the type of antibiotic used was not an independent risk factor for treatment failure. The statistically significant factors associated with treatment failure included underlying hepatic diseases, prior receipt of antibiotics, and foreign body retention. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that oral antibiotic therapy with active agents against MRSA isolates can be considered as the initial or step-down therapy for the treatment of MRSA infections and also reduce the length of hospital stay.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; C-Reactive Protein ; Ciprofloxacin ; Clindamycin ; Comorbidity ; Erythromycin ; Fluoroquinolones ; Foreign Bodies ; Glycopeptides ; Health Care Costs ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Joints ; Korea ; Length of Stay* ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* ; Mortality ; Multivariate Analysis ; Observational Study ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Sepsis ; Skin ; Thrombocytopenia ; Treatment Failure ; Treatment Outcome

Mitochondrial dysfunction in dopaminergic neurons of patients with idiopathic and familial Parkinson's disease (PD) is well known although the underlying mechanism is not clear. We established a homogeneous population of human adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hAD-MSCs) from human adult patients with early-onset hereditary familial Parkin-defect PD as well as late-onset idiopathic PD by immortalizing cells with the hTERT gene to better understand the underlying mechanism of PD. The hAD-MSCs from patients with idiopathic PD were designated as "PD", from patients with Parkin-defect PD as "Parkin" and from patients with pituitary adenomas as "non-PD" in short. The pGRN145 plasmid containing hTERT was introduced to establish telomerase immortalized cells. The established hTERT-immortalized cell lines showed chromosomal aneuploidy sustained stably over two-years. The morphological study of mitochondria in the primary and immortalized hAD-MSCs showed that the mitochondria of the non-PD were normal; however, those of the PD and Parkin were gradually damaged. A striking decrease in mitochondrial complex I, II, and IV activities was observed in the hTERT-immortalized cells from the patients with idiopathic and Parkin-defect PD. Comparative Western blot analyses were performed to investigate the expressions of PD specific marker proteins in the hTERT-immortalized cell lines. This study suggests that the hTERT-immortalized hAD-MSC cell lines established from patients with idiopathic and familial Parkin-defect PD could be good cellular models to evaluate mitochondrial dysfunction to better understand the pathogenesis of PD and to develop early diagnostic markers and effective therapy targets for the treatment of PD.
Adult ; Aneuploidy ; Blotting, Western ; Cell Line ; Diagnosis ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; Humans* ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells* ; Mitochondria ; Parkinson Disease* ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Plasmids ; Strikes, Employee ; Telomerase

OBJECTIVE: To know the effectiveness of a custom molded fitting chair between pre- and post-chair status through comparison of musculoskeletal indices in severely disabled children. METHODS: We researched 34 severely disabled patients who had used a custom molded fitting chair continuously for more than a year. There were 27 cerebral palsy patients and 7 patients with other kinds of diseases that affect the brain such as chromosomal disease or metabolic disease. By radiographic studies, Cobb's angle, the femoral neck-shaft angle of the femur, and Reimers migration percentage were measured. The indices are analyzed before and after application. RESULTS: The average period of application was 24 months. There was a significant reduction in the angles of femur neck-shaft, 163.4 degree before and 158.2 degree after the use of the chair (p<0.05), and 23 of 34 had demonstrated a reduced angle. Cobb's angle and Reimers migration percentage increased but the difference of pre- and post-chair status was not statistically significant. Seventeen of 33 children showed reduced Cobb's angle. Also, 19 of 37 showed a reduced degree of dislocation of the hip joints. CONCLUSION: In spite of the use of a custom molded fitting chair, a significant improvement did not emerge for musculoskeletal deformity indices in severely disabled children. However, there was no significant aggravation of Cobb's angle or Reimers migration percentage in developing children. Therefore, it is thought be helpful to prevent rapid aggravation of musculoskeletal deformities.
Brain ; Cerebral Palsy ; Child ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Disabled Children ; Dislocations ; Femur ; Fungi ; Hip ; Humans ; Metabolic Diseases ; Musculoskeletal System ; Orthotic Devices