The costliness index (CI) is an index that is used in various ways to improve the quality of medical care and the management of appropriate treatment in medical institutions. However, the current calculation method for CI has a limitation in reflecting the actual medical cost of the patient unit because the outpatient and inpatient costs are evaluated separately. It is desirable to calculate the CI by integrating the medical cost into the episode unit. We developed an episode-based CI method using the episode classification system of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to the National Inpatient Sample data in Korea, which can integrate the admission and ambulatory care cost to episode unit. Additionally, we compared our new method with the previous method. In some episodes, the correlation between previous and episode-based CI was low, and the proportion of outpatient treatment costs in total cost and readmission rates are high. As a result of regression analysis, it is possible that the level of total medical costs of the patient unit in low volume medical institute and rural area has been underestimated. High proportion of outpatient treatment cost in total medical cost means that some medical institutions may have provided medical services in the ambulatory care that are ancillary to inpatient treatment. In addition, a high readmission rate indicates insufficient treatment service for inpatients, which means that previous CI may not accurately reflect actual patient-based treatment costs. Therefore, an integrated patient-unit classification system which can be used as a more effective CI indicator is needed.

Background: s/Aims: Although cigarette smoking has been associated with an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its association with HCC mortality remains underexplored. We aimed to evaluate the effect of smoking on early mortality in HCC patients following curative treatment. Methods: Data from the Korean Primary Liver Cancer Registry were examined for HCC patients who underwent liver resection or radiofrequency ablation between 2015 and 2018. Smoking cumulative dose was assessed in pack-years. The primary outcome was the 3-year overall survival (OS). Results: Among 1,924 patients, 161 were classified as heavy smokers (≥40 pack-years). Heavy smokers exhibited a lower 3-year survival rate (77.1%) than nonsmokers (83.3%), with a significant difference observed in the 3-year OS (P=0.016). The assessment of smoking pack-years in relation to 3-year OS revealed a dose-dependent pattern, with the hazard ratio exceeding 1.0 at 20 pack-years and continuing to rise until 40 pack-years, reaching peak at 1.21 (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.45). Multivariate Cox-regression analysis revealed heavy smoking, age ≥60 years, underlying cirrhosis, tumor size >3 cm, vascular invasion, and Child-Pugh class B/C as risk factors for 3-year OS. Subgroup analyses of patients with a tumor size <3 cm, absence of vascular invasion, and meeting the Milan criteria also showed inferior outcomes for heavy smokers in all three subgroups. Conclusions Heavy smoking, defined as a history of >40 pack-years, was linked to poorer 3-year survival outcomes in HCC patients undergoing curative treatments, underscoring the importance of smoking cessation in this population.

Background: s/Aims: Although cigarette smoking has been associated with an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its association with HCC mortality remains underexplored. We aimed to evaluate the effect of smoking on early mortality in HCC patients following curative treatment. Methods: Data from the Korean Primary Liver Cancer Registry were examined for HCC patients who underwent liver resection or radiofrequency ablation between 2015 and 2018. Smoking cumulative dose was assessed in pack-years. The primary outcome was the 3-year overall survival (OS). Results: Among 1,924 patients, 161 were classified as heavy smokers (≥40 pack-years). Heavy smokers exhibited a lower 3-year survival rate (77.1%) than nonsmokers (83.3%), with a significant difference observed in the 3-year OS (P=0.016). The assessment of smoking pack-years in relation to 3-year OS revealed a dose-dependent pattern, with the hazard ratio exceeding 1.0 at 20 pack-years and continuing to rise until 40 pack-years, reaching peak at 1.21 (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.45). Multivariate Cox-regression analysis revealed heavy smoking, age ≥60 years, underlying cirrhosis, tumor size >3 cm, vascular invasion, and Child-Pugh class B/C as risk factors for 3-year OS. Subgroup analyses of patients with a tumor size <3 cm, absence of vascular invasion, and meeting the Milan criteria also showed inferior outcomes for heavy smokers in all three subgroups. Conclusions Heavy smoking, defined as a history of >40 pack-years, was linked to poorer 3-year survival outcomes in HCC patients undergoing curative treatments, underscoring the importance of smoking cessation in this population.

Background: s/Aims: Although cigarette smoking has been associated with an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its association with HCC mortality remains underexplored. We aimed to evaluate the effect of smoking on early mortality in HCC patients following curative treatment. Methods: Data from the Korean Primary Liver Cancer Registry were examined for HCC patients who underwent liver resection or radiofrequency ablation between 2015 and 2018. Smoking cumulative dose was assessed in pack-years. The primary outcome was the 3-year overall survival (OS). Results: Among 1,924 patients, 161 were classified as heavy smokers (≥40 pack-years). Heavy smokers exhibited a lower 3-year survival rate (77.1%) than nonsmokers (83.3%), with a significant difference observed in the 3-year OS (P=0.016). The assessment of smoking pack-years in relation to 3-year OS revealed a dose-dependent pattern, with the hazard ratio exceeding 1.0 at 20 pack-years and continuing to rise until 40 pack-years, reaching peak at 1.21 (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.45). Multivariate Cox-regression analysis revealed heavy smoking, age ≥60 years, underlying cirrhosis, tumor size >3 cm, vascular invasion, and Child-Pugh class B/C as risk factors for 3-year OS. Subgroup analyses of patients with a tumor size <3 cm, absence of vascular invasion, and meeting the Milan criteria also showed inferior outcomes for heavy smokers in all three subgroups. Conclusions Heavy smoking, defined as a history of >40 pack-years, was linked to poorer 3-year survival outcomes in HCC patients undergoing curative treatments, underscoring the importance of smoking cessation in this population.

Background: s/Aims: Although cigarette smoking has been associated with an increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), its association with HCC mortality remains underexplored. We aimed to evaluate the effect of smoking on early mortality in HCC patients following curative treatment. Methods: Data from the Korean Primary Liver Cancer Registry were examined for HCC patients who underwent liver resection or radiofrequency ablation between 2015 and 2018. Smoking cumulative dose was assessed in pack-years. The primary outcome was the 3-year overall survival (OS). Results: Among 1,924 patients, 161 were classified as heavy smokers (≥40 pack-years). Heavy smokers exhibited a lower 3-year survival rate (77.1%) than nonsmokers (83.3%), with a significant difference observed in the 3-year OS (P=0.016). The assessment of smoking pack-years in relation to 3-year OS revealed a dose-dependent pattern, with the hazard ratio exceeding 1.0 at 20 pack-years and continuing to rise until 40 pack-years, reaching peak at 1.21 (95% confidence interval, 1.01-1.45). Multivariate Cox-regression analysis revealed heavy smoking, age ≥60 years, underlying cirrhosis, tumor size >3 cm, vascular invasion, and Child-Pugh class B/C as risk factors for 3-year OS. Subgroup analyses of patients with a tumor size <3 cm, absence of vascular invasion, and meeting the Milan criteria also showed inferior outcomes for heavy smokers in all three subgroups. Conclusions Heavy smoking, defined as a history of >40 pack-years, was linked to poorer 3-year survival outcomes in HCC patients undergoing curative treatments, underscoring the importance of smoking cessation in this population.

BACKGROUND: Cervical foraminal stenosis (CFS) is one of the degenerative changes of the cervical spine; however, correlations between the severity of stenosis and that of symptoms are not consistent in the literature. Studies to date on the prevalence of stenosis are based on images obtained from the departments treating cervical lesions, and thus patient selection bias may have occurred. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of CFS according to the site, extent, and morphology of stenosis using cervical computed tomography (CT) images obtained from patients who were visiting not because of symptoms related to the cervical spine, cervical pain, or upper limb pain. METHODS: Among patients who underwent CT from January 2016 to March 2016 for reasons other than cervical spine symptoms, a total of 438 subjects were enrolled, and 2,628 cervical disc images (C4–5, C5–6, and C6–7; left and right sides) were examined. Three orthopedic surgeons performed two measurements each at 4-week intervals. Values were used for analysis if matched by more than two surgeons; if no match was found, the median values were used for analysis. The left and right sides on the same axial image were independently classified. RESULTS: Left C5–6 stenosis was most common (24.66%) among patients. At the left C6–7, there were 20 focal types and 33 diffuse types. At bilateral C4–5 and right C6–7, the focal type was more common, whereas at bilateral C5–6 and left C6–7, the diffuse type was more common. Age and the severity of stenosis showed statistically significant correlation at all cervical levels. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CFS was highest at the C5–6 level (19.06%). Compared to other levels, focal stenosis was more frequent at C4–5 and diffuse stenosis was more common at C5–6. At C6–7, the incidence of focal stenosis was higher on the right side and that of diffuse stenosis was higher on the left side.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Cervical Vertebrae ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Neck Pain ; Orthopedics ; Patient Selection ; Prevalence* ; Spinal Stenosis ; Spine ; Surgeons ; Upper Extremity

Background/Aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has become a major concern in Korea since its emergence as a dominant cause of chronic liver disease. However, no study has explored its prevalence in adults under 30 years of age. Therefore, we performed a cross-sectional study to investigate the prevalence of NAFLD in Korean men in their early 20s. Methods: We collected data of 596,359 Korean soldiers who participated in a health examination between January 2015 and July 2021. A total of 571,872 individuals were analyzed after excluding those with missing data and hepatitis B antigen positivity. Hepatic steatosis was determined using the hepatic steatosis index (HSI). Participants with HSI >36 were considered to have NAFLD. Results: All participants were men, and the mean age was 20.9±1.3 years. Of the 571,872 participants screened, 77,020 (13.47%) were classified as having NAFLD. The prevalence of NAFLD consistently increased from 2015 to 2021 (10.66% vs. 16.44%, P<0.001). Increases from 2015 to 2021 were also noted in the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, hyperglycemia, and hypertension (P<0.001 for all). The mean body mass index also increased from 23.3±3.0 kg/m2 to 23.9±3.1 kg/m2 between 2015 and 2021 (P<0.001). Conclusions The prevalence of NAFLD and of other metabolic dysfunctions in Korean men in their early 20s increased from 2015 to 2021.

PURPOSE: Aim of this study was to assess the safety and effectiveness of Keraheal-Allo® (Biosolution Co., Ltd., Korea) in patients with deep second-degree burn as a part of post marketing surveillance. METHODS: Seventy-five patients with deep second-degree burn were enrolled from April 2017 to October 2017. Keraheal-Allo, a thermos-sensitive hydrogel-type allogeneic keratinocytes, was applied to 90 deep second-degree burn sites of 75 patients. After application of Keraheal-Allo, the efficacy was assessed as the period of 100% re-epithelialization that was evaluated every time dressing was changed. RESULTS: The mean re-epithelialization period in the treated sites with KeraHeal-allo was 13.67±5.11 days. There was no severe adverse event. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, this thermo-sensitive hydrogel-type allogeneic keratinocytes have the clinical usefulness in terms of the safety, efficacy and ease of use.
Bandages ; Burns* ; Humans ; Keratinocytes* ; Marketing ; Re-Epithelialization

Although post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD) after liver transplantation is very rare, its prognosis is worse than that of PTLD following other types of solid organ transplantation. Here, we report a rare case of early onset polymorphic PTLD in a graft liver occurring five months after deceased-donor liver transplantation due to hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis C virus infection. Initially, findings from contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging mistakenly suspected the lesion was a necrotizing abscess with central necrosis. However, ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and biopsy findings confirmed an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated, B cell type polymorphic PTLD with central necrosis. Our case suggests regular monitoring of EBV serologic status for liver transplant recipients who were initially in an EBV seronegative state. Although early-onset PTLD is very rare after liver transplantation, PTLD should be suspected when recipients show the seroconversion for EBV proteins and the development of new tumors with various clinical presentations.
Abscess ; Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Hepacivirus ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Liver Transplantation ; Liver ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Necrosis ; Organ Transplantation ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Prognosis ; Seroconversion ; Transplant Recipients ; Transplants

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Although the thyroid cancer occurs in every one of 1000 pregnant women, the optimal timing of surgery is still uncertain. The aim of this study is to propose the timing of surgical management of papillary thyroid cancer in pregnant woman. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors reviewed the medical records of papillary thyroid cancer patients diagnosed during pregnancy in our hospital from May 1st, 2013 to April 30th, 2015. We analyzed the changes of radiologic and pathologic findings during prenatal and postpartum period. RESULTS: 17 of 4978 patients were diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer. 10 of 17 patients enrolled in this study. Each size of thyroid cancer in 1st trimester, in 2nd trimester, in 3rd trimester, and after delivery was 11.30±6.01 mm, 12.74±7.79 mm, 13.82±9.93 mm, and 13.82±8.19 mm, respectively. No patient showed the recurrence or death after surgery. CONCLUSION: There was no statistical significance on the prognosis of papillary thyroid cancer during prenatal and postpartum period. The authors propose that the surgical treatment of papillary thyroid cancer diagnosed during pregnancy could be delayed after delivery.
Female ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms*