PURPOSE: It is widely known that allergic diseases progress through a sequential course known as the allergic march. However, there have been no recent reports in Korea regarding the progress of allergic diseases based on the medical claim data of the National Health Insurance Corporation. METHODS: Medical claim data of 2005 and 2008 from the National Health Insurance Corporation were used. Data was classified according to the administrative districts of metropolitan cities and provinces, and divided according to age in increments of 5 years. RESULTS: According to the nationwide survey on the prevalence of allergic diseases according to region, the prevalence of allergic diseases increased in 2008 compared to 2005. Especially, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis significantly rises in all regions. When comparing the prevalence of allergic diseases according to age, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of atopic dermatitis and asthma between 2005 and 2008. In contrast, allergic rhinitis demonstrated a rise of more than 5% in all age groups. CONCLUSION: According to the nationwide survey on the prevalence of allergic diseases using the medical claim data from the National Health Insurance Corporation, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis had significantly increased in 2008 compared to 2005. More survey studies should be conducted in the future using the medical claim data of the National Health Insurance Corporation.
Asthma ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Korea ; National Health Programs ; Prevalence ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial

PURPOSE: To investigate the association between concentrations of air pollutants and the prevalence of allergic diseases/pulmonary function among elementary school students. METHODS: There were 1,262 students in the second grade of 11 elementary schools in Incheon. At each school, 5-year mean concentration of carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, sulfur dioxide and PM10 (particulate matter with diameter < or =10 microm) were calculated via the Geographic Information System through the database of the National Institute of Environmental Research. The association was compared by two ways of grouping. First, the schools were classified into adjacent and nonadjacent schools by whether the school was located within or away 1 km from air pollutant-emitting facilities. Second, the schools were divided into 2 groups: those with relatively high concentrations of air pollutants based on the median level of 5-year mean concentrations and those with low concentrations. RESULTS: The concentrations of air pollutants except ozone were higher in adjacent schools than nonadjacent schools. The students of adjacent schools showed a lower level of forced expiratory volume in one second and peak expiratory flow, and higher prevalence of 'difficulty of speaking due to dyspnea, within the last year' than those of nonadjacent schools. The prevalence of this speaking difficulty was higher in schools with relatively high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide and PM10 groups than in those with low concentrations of them. The relatively high level of PM10 group increased the prevalence of allergic rhinitis than the low level of PM10 group. CONCLUSION: Air pollutants may influence an increase in the prevalence of allergic diseases, especially allergic rhinitis, and a decrease in the pulmonary function in students.
Air Pollutants ; Asthma ; Carbon Monoxide ; Dyspnea ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Geographic Information Systems ; Humans ; Nitrogen Dioxide ; Ozone ; Prevalence ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Sulfur Dioxide

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is a useful tool for the diagnosis and management of diseases of the pancreas and biliary tract. However, ERCP has a high risk of procedure-related complications compared with other endoscopic procedures performed in the upper gastrointestinal tract. The most common complications are pancreatitis, cholangitis, hemorrhage, and perforation. Extraluminal hemorrhagic complications after ERCP are relatively rare but potentially life threatening and should be identified and treated immediately. We report a case of subcapsular hepatic hematoma after guidewire injury during ERCP in a 64-year-old woman with choledocholithiasis who had undergone ERCP with guidewire-assisted papillotomy for stone extraction. Although subcapsular hepatic hematoma is a very rare complication after ERCP, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients complaining of abdominal pain after ERCP.
Abdominal Pain ; Biliary Tract ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde* ; Cholangitis ; Choledocholithiasis ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Hematoma* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Pancreas ; Pancreatitis ; Upper Gastrointestinal Tract

PURPOSE: To compare the perioperative outcomes of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) and robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) for moderately or highly complex tumors (RENAL nephrometry score> or =7). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed for 127 consecutive patients who underwent either LPN (n=38) or RPN (n=89) between 2007 and 2013. Perioperative outcomes were compared. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the two groups with respect to patient gender, laterality, RENAL nephrometry score, or body mass index. The RPN group had a slightly higher RENAL nephrometry score (7.8 vs. 7.5, p=0.061) and larger tumor size (3.0 cm vs. 2.5 cm, p=0.044) but had a lower Charlson comorbidity index (3.7 vs. 4.4, p=0.017) than did the LPN group. There were no significant differences with respect to warm ischemia time, estimated blood loss, intraoperative complications, or operative time. Only one patient who underwent LPN had a positive surgical margin. There were statistically significant differences in surgical marginal width between the LPN and RPN groups (0.6 cm vs. 0.4 cm, p=0.001). No significant differences in postoperative complications were found between the two groups. Owing to potential baseline differences between the two groups, we performed a propensity-based matching analysis, in which differences in surgical margin width between the LPN and RPN groups remained statistically significant (0.6 cm vs. 0.4 cm, p=0.029). CONCLUSIONS: RPN provides perioperative outcomes comparable to those of LPN and has the advantage of healthy parenchymal preservation for complex renal tumors (RENAL score> or =7).
Adult ; Aged ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell/*surgery ; Female ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Kidney Neoplasms/*surgery ; Laparoscopy/adverse effects/*methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nephrectomy/adverse effects/*methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/adverse effects/*methods ; Severity of Illness Index ; Treatment Outcome

Cystoderma amianthinum, one of edible fungi belongs to Agaricaceae of Basidiomycota, has a good taste and flavor. This study was carried out to obtain the basic informations for the optimum mycelial growth of C. amianthinum. The optimal conditions for the mycelial growth were 25degrees C and pH 5 in potato dextrose agar (PDA). C. amianthinum showed the favorable growth in the PDA and yeast malt extract agar (YMA). The favorable carbon and nitrogen sources promoting mycelial growth were fructose and histidine, respectively. The optimum C/N ratio was about 30 : 1 in case that 1% glucose was supplemented to the basal medium as a carbon source.
Agar ; Agaricales ; Basidiomycota ; Carbon ; Fructose ; Fungi ; Glucose ; Histidine ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Nitrogen ; Solanum tuberosum ; Yeasts

Macrolepiota procera, one of edible mushrooms belongs to Agaricaceae of Basidiomycota, has a good taste and good medicinal value. As a preliminary study for the development of artificial cultivation method of edible mushroom, cultural characteristics of M. procera was investigated on various culture media under different environmental conditions. Mycelial growth was compared on culture media composed of various carbon and nitrogen sources, and C/N ratios. The optimal conditions for the mycelial growth were 30degrees C and pH 7. M. procera showed the rapid mycelial growth in the PDA media. The optimal carbon and nitrogen sources were maltose and glycine, respectively. The optimum C/N ratio was about 10 : 1 in case that 1% glucose was supplemented to the basal media as carbon source.
Agaricales ; Basidiomycota ; Carbon ; Cultural Characteristics ; Culture Media ; Glucose ; Glycine ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Maltose ; Nitrogen

Objectives: Limited information is available concerning the epidemiology of stroke and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the Republic of Korea. This study aimed to develop a national surveillance system to monitor the incidence of stroke and AMI using national claims data. Methods: We developed and validated identification algorithms for stroke and AMI using claims data. This validation involved a 2-stage stratified sampling method with a review of medical records for sampled cases. The weighted positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated based on the sampling structure and the correspondingsampling rates. Incident cases and the incidence rates of stroke and AMI in the Republic ofKorea were estimated by applying the algorithms and weighted PPV and NPV to the 2018National Health Insurance Service claims data. Results: In total, 2,200 cases (1,086 stroke cases and 1,114 AMI cases) were sampled from the 2018 claims database. The sensitivity and specificity of the algorithms were 94.3% and 88.6% for stroke and 97.9% and 90.1% for AMI, respectively. The estimated number of cases, including recurrent events, was 150,837 for stroke and 40,529 for AMI in 2018. The age- and sex-standardized incidence rate for stroke and AMI was 180.2 and 46.1 cases per 100,000 person-years, respectively, in 2018. Conclusion This study demonstrates the feasibility of developing a national surveillance system based on claims data and identification algorithms for stroke and AMI to monitor their incidence rates.