To develop the occupational cancer surveillance system in Korea, data linkage analysis was performed on the subjects of Health-monitoring-pocketbook (the list of subjects who were exposed to selected occupational carcinogens) and the retired workers of a cokes manufacturing factory using the Korean medical insurance data, Korean death certificate data and Korean cancer registry data. Study subjects comprised the 822 retired subjects and the 3101 present-post subjects of Health-monitoring-pocketbook and the 182 retired workers of a cokes manufacturing factory. The incidence of cancer of these study subjects was ascertained by linkage of Korean medical insurance data of year 1995-6, Korean death certificate data of year 1992-8 and Korean cancer registry data of year 1993-5. In the study subjects, Eighty seven percent were males and mean age was 39.3+/-8.9 year-old, Average work duration was 8.0+/-5.5 years. Chrome, asbestos and cokes were the most frequent exposed agents. In the study subjects, total 13 cancer cases were ascertained by data linkage analysis. In the ascertained cancer cases, 8 cases were male and 5 cases were female, and 7 cases were aged 40-49 yr, 5 cases were aged 50-59 yr and 1 cases were aged 30-39 yr. The commonest exposure agent in the ascertained cancer cases was asbestos and cokes. By the site of cancer, 3 stomach cancer cases, 2 hematopoietic cancer cases and 2 biliary tract cancer cases were ascertained. The occupational cancer surveillance system using data linkage analysis on the workers exposed to hazardous agents was the most feasible and efficient method in Korea. And to do this, establishment of occupational history information in several disease registry database is needed with the effort of estimating the proper size of workers exposed hazardous agents.
Asbestos ; Biliary Tract Neoplasms ; Coke ; Information Storage and Retrieval* ; Death Certificates ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Insurance ; Korea* ; Male ; Stomach Neoplasms

Background: Heart rate variability (HRV) extracted from electrocardiogram measured for a short period during a resting state is clinically used as a bio-signal reflecting the emotional state. However, as interest in wearable devices increases, greater attention is being paid to HRV extracted from long-term electrocardiogram, which may contain additional clinical information. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of HRV parameters extracted through long-term electrocardiogram and explore the differences between participants with and without depression and anxiety symptoms. Methods: Long-term electrocardiogram was acquired from 354 adults with no psychiatric history who underwent Holter monitoring. Evening and nighttime HRV and the ratio of nighttime-to-evening HRV were compared between 127 participants with depressive symptoms and 227 participants without depressive symptoms. Comparisons were also made between participants with and without anxiety symptoms. Results: Absolute values of HRV parameters did not differ between groups based on the presence of depressive or anxiety symptoms. Overall, HRV parameters increased at nighttime compared to evening. Participants with depressive symptoms showed a significantly higher nighttime-to-evening ratio of high-frequency HRV than participants without depressive symptoms. The nighttime-to-evening ratio of HRV parameters did not show a significant difference depending on the presence of anxiety symptoms. Conclusion HRV extracted through long-term electrocardiogram showed circadian rhythm. Depression may be associated with changes in the circadian rhythm of parasympathetic tone.

The present study was undertaken to produce monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against immunoglobulin (Ig) purified from black rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli Higendorf) serum using protein A, mannan binding protein, and goat IgG affinity columns. These three different ligands were found to possess high affinity for black rockfish serum Ig. All of the Igs purified eluted at only 0.46 M NaCl concentration in anion exchange column chromatography and consisted of two bands at 70 kDa and 25 kDa in SDS-PAGE; they also had similar antigenicity for MAbs to Ig heavy chain in immunoblot assays. Therefore, black rockfish Ig is believed to exist as a single isotype within serum. The MAbs produced against Ig heavy chain reacted specifically with spots distributed over the pI range from 4.8 to 5.6 with a molecular weight of 70 kDa on two dimensional gel electrophoresis immunoblot profiles.
Animals ; Antibodies, Monoclonal/*biosynthesis/immunology ; Chromatography, Affinity/veterinary ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional/veterinary ; Immunoblotting/veterinary ; Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains/immunology ; Immunoglobulin Light Chains/immunology ; Immunoglobulins/blood/*immunology ; Perciformes/blood/*immunology

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tinnitus is commonly known to occur in the elderly, while presbytinnitus is not known as well. This study compared the clinical characteristics of tinnitus between the elderly and adults. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: This prospective case-control study enrolled 148 patients who had subjective tinnitus. Demographic data, otologic history, tinnitus questionnaires, the tinnitus handicap inventory (THI), a visual analogue scale, and audiological examinations were evaluated. RESULTS: The effect of tinnitus on the quality of life and the severity of tinnitus in the elderly were not different from those in adults. The elderly were more annoyed with the tinnitus than adults. The elderly had louder and longer tinnitus. Nevertheless, the elderly had a lower THI score. The effect of tinnitus on the quality of life was not correlated with tinnitus loudness, duration, or hearing threshold. In the elderly, the effect of tinnitus on the quality of life was correlated more with the emotional score of the THI than the other subscales of the THI. CONCLUSION: Tinnitus has a great effect on the quality of life of the elderly. This is related more to psychological factors than to otological factors.
Adult ; Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Hearing ; Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tinnitus

No abstract available.
Amphotericin B/therapeutic use ; Antifungal Agents/pharmacology/therapeutic use ; Cryptococcosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/microbiology ; Cryptococcus/classification/drug effects/*isolation & purification ; DNA, Ribosomal/chemistry/metabolism ; Fluconazole/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Middle Aged ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory ; Peritonitis/*diagnosis/etiology ; Phylogeny ; Saccharomyces cerevisiae/drug effects/isolation & purification ; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid

Background: Although lymph node metastasis is a poor prognostic factor in patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), our understanding of lymph node size in association with PDAC is limited. Increased nodal size in preoperative imaging has been used to detect node metastasis. We evaluated whether lymph node size can be used as a surrogate preoperative marker of lymph node metastasis. Methods: We assessed nodal size and compared it to the nodal metastatic status of 200 patients with surgically resected PDAC. The size of all lymph nodes and metastatic nodal foci were measured along the long and short axis, and the relationships between nodal size and metastatic status were compared at six cutoff points. Results: A total of 4,525 lymph nodes were examined, 9.1% of which were metastatic. The mean size of the metastatic nodes (long axis, 6.9±5.0 mm; short axis, 4.3±3.1 mm) was significantly larger than that of the non-metastatic nodes (long axis, 5.0±4.0 mm; short axis, 3.0±2.0 mm; all p<.001). Using a 10 mm cutoff, the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, overall accuracy, and area under curve was 24.8%, 88.0%, 17.1%, 82.3%, and 0.60 for the long axis and 7.0%, 99.0%, 40.3%, 90.6%, and 0.61 for the short axis, respectively. Conclusions The metastatic nodes are larger than the non-metastatic nodes in PDAC patients. However, the difference in nodal size was too small to be identified with preoperative imaging. The performance of preoperative radiologic imaging to predict lymph nodal metastasis was not good. Therefore, nodal size cannot be used a surrogate preoperative marker of lymph node metastasis.

OBJECTIVES: In Korea, a national coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination program was implemented, including 4 vaccines against COVID-19. A text messaging-based survey, in addition to a passive adverse event reporting system, was launched to quickly report unusual symptoms post-vaccination. This study compared the frequency of adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination based on the vaccine type and the type of 2-dose regimen (homologous or heterologous). METHODS: Self-reported adverse events were collected through a text-message survey for 7 days after each vaccination. This study included 50,950 vaccine recipients who responded to the survey at least once. Informed consent to receive surveys via text was obtained from the vaccine recipients on the date of first vaccination. RESULTS: The recipients of mRNA vaccines reported local and systemic reactions 1.6 times to 2.8 times more frequently after dose 2 than after dose 1 (p<0.001), whereas ChAdOx1-S recipients reported significantly fewer local and systemic reactions after dose 2 than after dose 1 (p<0.001). Local and systemic reactions were approximately 2 times and 4 times more frequent for heterologous vaccination than for BNT162b2/BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1-S/ChAdOx1-S regimens, respectively. Young individuals, female, and those receiving heterologous vaccine regimens including ChAdOx1-S/BNT162b2 vaccines reported more adverse events than older participants, male, and those with homologous vaccine regimens. CONCLUSIONS Although a heterologous regimen, youth, and female sex were associated with a higher risk of adverse reactions after COVID-19 vaccination, no critical issues were noted. Active consideration of heterologous schedules based on the evidence of efficacy and safety appears desirable.

Palonosetron is a 5-hydroxytryptamine-3 (5-HT-3) receptor antagonist used for preventing postoperative nausea and vomiting. Compared with ondansetron and granisetron, it is a better drug because of prolonged action and minimal side effects. Some adverse effects of palonosetron have been reported. In this report, we describe a 37-year-old male who developed severe hypersensitivity reactions to palonosetron during surgery for kidney donation. His medical history was unremarkable, except for inguinal hernia with herniorrhaphy 8 years ago. The surgery was uneventful until 2 hours 20 minutes. After palonosetron injection, his blood pressure dropped to 80/50 mm Hg, and facial edema, rash, conjunctival swelling, and wheezing developed. The patient was resuscitated by administration of ephedrine, hydrocortisone, and peniramine. Following the surgery, the patient was monitored for 3 days, and there were no subsequent anaphylactic reactions or other complications. The skin test on postoperative day 54 was positive for hypersensitivity to palonosetron. Although palonosetron is known for its safety, other hypersensitivity events have been reported. Ondansetron is another widely used 5-HT-3 antagonist, which has been reported to cause anaphylaxis. Therefore, clinicians should be aware of the possibility of patients experiencing severe adverse reactions to palonosetron.
Adult ; Anaphylaxis* ; Anesthesia, General* ; Blood Pressure ; Drug Hypersensitivity ; Edema ; Ephedrine ; Exanthema ; Granisetron ; Hernia, Inguinal ; Herniorrhaphy ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Hypersensitivity ; Kidney ; Male ; Ondansetron ; Postoperative Nausea and Vomiting ; Respiratory Sounds ; Skin Tests

Objective: High-quality intensive care, including targeted temperature management (TTM) for patients with postcardiac arrest syndrome, is a key element for improving outcomes after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). We aimed to assess the status of postcardiac arrest syndrome care, including TTM and 6-month survival with neurologically favorable outcomes, after adult OHCA patients were treated with TTM, using data from the Korean Hypothermia Network prospective registry. Methods: We used the Korean Hypothermia Network prospective registry, a web-based multicenter registry that includes data from 22 participating hospitals throughout the Republic of Korea. Adult comatose OHCA survivors treated with TTM between October 2015 and December 2018 were included. The primary outcome was neurological outcome at 6 months. Results: Of the 1,354 registered OHCA survivors treated with TTM, 550 (40.6%) survived 6 months, and 413 (30.5%) had good neurological outcomes. We identified 839 (62.0%) patients with preClinsumed cardiac etiology. A total of 937 (69.2%) collapses were witnessed, shockable rhythms were demonstrated in 482 (35.6%) patients, and 421 (31.1%) patients arrived at the emergency department with prehospital return of spontaneous circulation. The most common target temperature was 33°C, and the most common target duration was 24 hours. Conclusion The survival and good neurologic outcome rates of this prospective registry show great improvements compared with those of an earlier registry. While the optimal target temperature and duration are still unknown, the most common target temperature was 33°C, and the most common target duration was 24 hours.