This study aimed to assess the competency of artificial intelligence (AI) in pediatric dentistry and compare it with that of dentists. We used open-source data obtained from the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute. A total of 32 item multiple-choice pediatric dentistry exam questions were included. Two AI-based chatbots (ChatGPT 3.5 and Gemini) were evaluated. Each chatbot received the same questions seven times in separate chat sessions initiated on April 25, 2024. The accuracy was assessed by measuring the percentage of correct answers, and consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Both ChatGPT 3.5 and Gemini demonstrated similar accuracy, with no significant differences observed between them. However, neither chatbot achieved the minimum passing score set by the Pediatric Dentistry National Examination. However, both chatbots exhibited acceptable consistency in their responses. Within the limits of this study, both AI-based chatbots did not sufficiently answer the pediatric dentistry exam questions. This finding suggests that pediatric dentists should be aware of the advantages and limitations of this new tool and effectively utilize it to promote patient health.

This study aimed to assess the competency of artificial intelligence (AI) in pediatric dentistry and compare it with that of dentists. We used open-source data obtained from the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute. A total of 32 item multiple-choice pediatric dentistry exam questions were included. Two AI-based chatbots (ChatGPT 3.5 and Gemini) were evaluated. Each chatbot received the same questions seven times in separate chat sessions initiated on April 25, 2024. The accuracy was assessed by measuring the percentage of correct answers, and consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Both ChatGPT 3.5 and Gemini demonstrated similar accuracy, with no significant differences observed between them. However, neither chatbot achieved the minimum passing score set by the Pediatric Dentistry National Examination. However, both chatbots exhibited acceptable consistency in their responses. Within the limits of this study, both AI-based chatbots did not sufficiently answer the pediatric dentistry exam questions. This finding suggests that pediatric dentists should be aware of the advantages and limitations of this new tool and effectively utilize it to promote patient health.

Rare endocrine diseases are complex conditions that require lifelong specialized care due to their chronic nature and associated long-term complications. In Korea, a lack of nationwide data on clinical practice and outcomes has limited progress in patient care. Therefore, the Multicenter Networks for Ideal Outcomes of Pediatric Rare Endocrine and Metabolic Disease (OUTSPREAD) study was initiated. This study involves 30 centers across Korea. The study aims to improve the long-term prognosis of Korean patients with rare endocrine diseases by collecting comprehensive clinical data, biospecimens, and patient-reported outcomes to identify complications and unmet needs in patient care. Patients with childhood-onset pituitary, adrenal, or gonadal disorders, such as craniopharyngioma, congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), and Turner syndrome were prioritized. The planned enrollment is 1,300 patients during the first study phase (2022–2024). Clinical, biochemical, and imaging data from diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up during 1980–2023 were retrospectively reviewed. For patients who agreed to participate in the prospective cohort, clinical data and biospecimens will be prospectively collected to discover ideal biomarkers that predict the effectiveness of disease control measures and prognosis. Patient-reported outcomes, including quality of life and depression scales, will be evaluated to assess psychosocial outcomes. Additionally, a substudy on CAH patients will develop a steroid hormone profiling method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to improve diagnosis and monitoring of treatment outcomes. This study will address unmet clinical needs by discovering ideal biomarkers, introducing evidence-based treatment guidelines, and ultimately improving long-term outcomes in the areas of rare endocrine and metabolic diseases.

Rare endocrine diseases are complex conditions that require lifelong specialized care due to their chronic nature and associated long-term complications. In Korea, a lack of nationwide data on clinical practice and outcomes has limited progress in patient care. Therefore, the Multicenter Networks for Ideal Outcomes of Pediatric Rare Endocrine and Metabolic Disease (OUTSPREAD) study was initiated. This study involves 30 centers across Korea. The study aims to improve the long-term prognosis of Korean patients with rare endocrine diseases by collecting comprehensive clinical data, biospecimens, and patient-reported outcomes to identify complications and unmet needs in patient care. Patients with childhood-onset pituitary, adrenal, or gonadal disorders, such as craniopharyngioma, congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), and Turner syndrome were prioritized. The planned enrollment is 1,300 patients during the first study phase (2022–2024). Clinical, biochemical, and imaging data from diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up during 1980–2023 were retrospectively reviewed. For patients who agreed to participate in the prospective cohort, clinical data and biospecimens will be prospectively collected to discover ideal biomarkers that predict the effectiveness of disease control measures and prognosis. Patient-reported outcomes, including quality of life and depression scales, will be evaluated to assess psychosocial outcomes. Additionally, a substudy on CAH patients will develop a steroid hormone profiling method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to improve diagnosis and monitoring of treatment outcomes. This study will address unmet clinical needs by discovering ideal biomarkers, introducing evidence-based treatment guidelines, and ultimately improving long-term outcomes in the areas of rare endocrine and metabolic diseases.

Rare endocrine diseases are complex conditions that require lifelong specialized care due to their chronic nature and associated long-term complications. In Korea, a lack of nationwide data on clinical practice and outcomes has limited progress in patient care. Therefore, the Multicenter Networks for Ideal Outcomes of Pediatric Rare Endocrine and Metabolic Disease (OUTSPREAD) study was initiated. This study involves 30 centers across Korea. The study aims to improve the long-term prognosis of Korean patients with rare endocrine diseases by collecting comprehensive clinical data, biospecimens, and patient-reported outcomes to identify complications and unmet needs in patient care. Patients with childhood-onset pituitary, adrenal, or gonadal disorders, such as craniopharyngioma, congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), and Turner syndrome were prioritized. The planned enrollment is 1,300 patients during the first study phase (2022–2024). Clinical, biochemical, and imaging data from diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up during 1980–2023 were retrospectively reviewed. For patients who agreed to participate in the prospective cohort, clinical data and biospecimens will be prospectively collected to discover ideal biomarkers that predict the effectiveness of disease control measures and prognosis. Patient-reported outcomes, including quality of life and depression scales, will be evaluated to assess psychosocial outcomes. Additionally, a substudy on CAH patients will develop a steroid hormone profiling method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry to improve diagnosis and monitoring of treatment outcomes. This study will address unmet clinical needs by discovering ideal biomarkers, introducing evidence-based treatment guidelines, and ultimately improving long-term outcomes in the areas of rare endocrine and metabolic diseases.

This study aimed to assess the competency of artificial intelligence (AI) in pediatric dentistry and compare it with that of dentists. We used open-source data obtained from the Korea Health Personnel Licensing Examination Institute. A total of 32 item multiple-choice pediatric dentistry exam questions were included. Two AI-based chatbots (ChatGPT 3.5 and Gemini) were evaluated. Each chatbot received the same questions seven times in separate chat sessions initiated on April 25, 2024. The accuracy was assessed by measuring the percentage of correct answers, and consistency was evaluated using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. Both ChatGPT 3.5 and Gemini demonstrated similar accuracy, with no significant differences observed between them. However, neither chatbot achieved the minimum passing score set by the Pediatric Dentistry National Examination. However, both chatbots exhibited acceptable consistency in their responses. Within the limits of this study, both AI-based chatbots did not sufficiently answer the pediatric dentistry exam questions. This finding suggests that pediatric dentists should be aware of the advantages and limitations of this new tool and effectively utilize it to promote patient health.

In recent years, next-generation sequencing (NGS)–based genetic testing has become crucial in cancer care. While its primary objective is to identify actionable genetic alterations to guide treatment decisions, its scope has broadened to encompass aiding in pathological diagnosis and exploring resistance mechanisms. With the ongoing expansion in NGS application and reliance, a compelling necessity arises for expert consensus on its application in solid cancers. To address this demand, the forthcoming recommendations not only provide pragmatic guidance for the clinical use of NGS but also systematically classify actionable genes based on specific cancer types. Additionally, these recommendations will incorporate expert perspectives on crucial biomarkers, ensuring informed decisions regarding circulating tumor DNA panel testing.

Viral load and the duration of viral shedding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are important determinants of the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019.In this study, we examined the effects of viral doses on the lung and spleen of K18-hACE2 transgenic mice by temporal histological and transcriptional analyses. Approximately, 1×105 plaque-forming units (PFU) of SARS-CoV-2 induced strong host responses in the lungs from 2 days post inoculation (dpi) which did not recover until the mice died, whereas responses to the virus were obvious at 5 days, recovering to the basal state by 14 dpi at 1×102 PFU. Further, flow cytometry showed that number of CD8+ T cells continuously increased in 1×102 PFU-virusinfected lungs from 2 dpi, but not in 1×105 PFU-virus-infected lungs. In spleens, responses to the virus were prominent from 2 dpi, and number of B cells was significantly decreased at 1×105PFU; however, 1×102 PFU of virus induced very weak responses from 2 dpi which recovered by 10 dpi. Although the defense responses returned to normal and the mice survived, lung histology showed evidence of fibrosis, suggesting sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our findings indicate that specific effectors of the immune response in the lung and spleen were either increased or depleted in response to doses of SARS-CoV-2. This study demonstrated that the response of local and systemic immune effectors to a viral infection varies with viral dose, which either exacerbates the severity of the infection or accelerates its elimination.

Background: The benefits of transradial access (TRA) over transfemoral access (TFA) for bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are uncertain because of the limited availability of device selection. This study aimed to compare the procedural differences and the in-hospital and long-term outcomes of TRA and TFA for bifurcation PCI using secondgeneration drug-eluting stents (DESs). Methods: Based on data from the Coronary Bifurcation Stenting Registry III, a retrospective registry of 2,648 patients undergoing bifurcation PCI with second-generation DES from 21 centers in South Korea, patients were categorized into the TRA group (n = 1,507) or the TFA group (n = 1,141). After propensity score matching (PSM), procedural differences, in-hospital outcomes, and device-oriented composite outcomes (DOCOs; a composite of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization) were compared between the two groups (772 matched patients each group). Results: Despite well-balanced baseline clinical and lesion characteristics after PSM, the use of the two-stent strategy (14.2% vs. 23.7%, P = 0.001) and the incidence of in-hospital adverse outcomes, primarily driven by access site complications (2.2% vs. 4.4%, P = 0.015), were significantly lower in the TRA group than in the TFA group. At the 5-year follow-up, the incidence of DOCOs was similar between the groups (6.3% vs. 7.1%, P = 0.639). Conclusion The findings suggested that TRA may be safer than TFA for bifurcation PCI using second-generation DESs. Despite differences in treatment strategy, TRA was associated with similar long-term clinical outcomes as those of TFA. Therefore, TRA might be the preferred access for bifurcation PCI using second-generation DES.

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to a decrease in the seasonal incidence of many respiratory viruses worldwide due to the impact of nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs). However, as NPI measures were relaxed, respiratory viral infections re-emerged. We aimed to characterize the epidemiology of respiratory viruses in Korean children during post-COVID-19 pandemic years compared to that before the pandemic. Methods: A nationwide prospective ongoing surveillance study has been conducted for detection of respiratory viruses between January 2017 and June 2023. We included data on adenovirus (AdV), human bocavirus (HBoV), human coronavirus (HCoV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), human rhinovirus (HRV), influenza virus (IFV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which were detected in children and adolescents younger than 20 years. We analyzed the weekly detection frequency of individual viruses and the age distribution of the affected children. The study period was divided into prepandemic (2017–2019) and postpandemic (2021–2023) periods. Results: A total of 19,589 and 14,068 samples were collected in the pre- and postpandemic periods, respectively. The overall detection rate of any virus throughout the study period was 63.1%, with the lowest occurring in the 2nd half of 2020 (50.6%) and the highest occurring in the 2nd half of 2021 (72.3%). Enveloped viruses (HCoV, HMPV, IFV, PIV, and RSV) almost disappeared, but nonenveloped viruses (AdV, HBoV, and HRV) were detected even during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The codetection rate increased from 15.0% prepandemic to 19.1% postpandemic (P < 0.001). During the postpandemic period, a large out-of-season PIV and HMPV epidemic occurred, but the usual seasonality began to be restored in 2023.The mean age of children with each virus detected in 2023 was significantly greater than that in prepandemic years (P = 0.003 and 0.007 for AdV and HCoV, respectively; P < 0.001 for others). The mean age of children with IFV increased in 2022 (11.1 ± 5.2 years) from prepandemic years (7.9 ± 4.6 years) but decreased to 8.7 ± 4.1 years in 2023. Conclusion With the relaxation of NPI measures, several seasonal respiratory viruses cocirculated with unusual seasonal epidemic patterns and were associated with increasing age of infected children.