To evaluate the pinhole scintigraphic findings and its significance, authors retros- pectively compared the pinhole bone scintigrams and corresponding radiograms of 16 lesions in 14 patients with fibrous dysplasia. They were diagnosed pathologically in 10 lesions and radiologically in 6 lesions. The mean age of patients was 41.1 years. The mean interval between two studies was 1.1 days. Locations were ribs 7, pelvic bone 4, clavicle l, long bones 4(femur 2, titbia 1, humerus 1). The radiographic findings were as follows: the central portions were radiolucent(n=9), ground-glass opacities(n=5) or sclerotic(n=2) and the peripheral appearance were sclerotic rim(n-5), septation(n=7), cortical perforation (n=10) and invisible cortical thinning(n=9). Pinhc>le scintigraphic findings were as follows: Central portions showed normal 1+ uptake in 6 cases(radiolucent 5, ground-glass opacity 1), slightly increased 2+ uptake in cases(radiolucent 4, ground-glass opacity 3), and marked 3+ uptake in,3 cases(ground-glass opacity 1, sclerotic 2). The 15 of 16 lesions showed more intense uptake in the peripheral portion: slightly increased 2+ uptake corresponding to the sclerotic rim(5/5) and unvisible cortical thinning(1/9), and irregular foci of marked 3 + uptake corresponding to septation(7/7), cortical perforation(10/10) and invisible cortical thinning (8/9). One of 16 lesions showed homogeneous 2t uptake. In conclusion, pinhole scintigram provides information on regional activity of the fibrous dysplasia, which would be helpful in diagnosis, prediction of prognosis and determination of treatment plan.
Clavicle ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Humerus ; Pelvic Bones ; Prognosis ; Ribs

No abstract available.
Chickenpox ; Herpesvirus 3, Human*

No abstract available.
Brain* ; Conus Snail* ; Dermoid Cyst* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Rupture

PURPOSE: The signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway might be a promising therapeutic target for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was a multicenter, open-label, non-comparative, dose escalating phase I study of OPB-111077, an oral STAT3 inhibitor, in patients with advanced HCC who failed on sorafenib. Continuous dosing (daily administration, 50 to 400 mg) and intermittent dosing (4-days on/3-days off administration: 300 to 900 mg) regimens were evaluated and the dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs), maximum tolerated dose (MTD), and recommended dose (RD) were the primary endpoints. RESULTS: A total of 33 patients (19 for continuous dosing and 14 for intermittent dosing) were enrolled. One patient experienced a DLT with grade 3 dizziness, but the MTD was identified in neither the continuous nor the intermittent dosing cohorts. The RDs were determined to be 250 mg for the continuous dosing regimen and 600 mg for the intermittent dosing regimen. There was no treatment-related death; five patients (15.2%) had grade 3-4 toxicities including thrombocytopenia (6%), fatigue (3%), and dizziness (3%). No patients achieved complete or partial responses and the median progression-free survival was 1.4 months (95% confidence interval, 0.8 to 2.8). CONCLUSION: OPB-111077 was well tolerated in patients with advanced HCC after sorafenib failure, but only showed limited preliminary efficacy outcomes. Further investigation of the role of the STAT3 signaling pathway in HCC and the development of biomarkers for STAT3 inhibitors are warranted.
Biomarkers ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cohort Studies ; Disease-Free Survival ; Dizziness ; Fatigue ; Humans ; Maximum Tolerated Dose ; STAT3 Transcription Factor ; Thrombocytopenia

Background: This study aimed to investigate whether respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and influenza virus (IFV) infections would occur in 2021–2022 as domestic nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are easing. Methods: Data were collected from the Korean Influenza and Respiratory Virus Monitoring System database. The weekly positivity rates of respiratory viruses and number of hospitalizations for acute respiratory infections were evaluated (January 2016–2022).The period from February 2020 to January 2022 was considered the NPI period. The autoregressive integrated moving average model and Poisson analysis were used for data analysis. Data from 14 countries/regions that reported positivity rates of RSV and IFV were also investigated. Results: Compared with the pre-NPI period, the positivity and hospitalization rates for IFV infection during 2021–2022 significantly decreased to 0.0% and 1.0%, respectively, at 0.0% and 1.2% of the predicted values, respectively. The RSV infection positivity rate in 2021–2022 was 1.8-fold higher than that in the pre-NPI period at 1.5-fold the predicted value. The hospitalization rate for RSV was 20.0% of that in the pre-NPI period at 17.6% of the predicted value. The re-emergence of RSV and IFV infections during 2020–2021 was observed in 13 and 4 countries, respectively. Conclusion During 2021–2022, endemic transmission of the RSV, but not IFV, was observed in Korea.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is involved in the pathogenesis of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma (AILT), but its precise role and prognostic impact are not clear. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence of EBV-postitivity in the tumor and bone marrow (BM) samples from AILT patients, and their correlations with the clinical variables and patient survival. METHODS: Seventy AILT cases were identified over a period of 8 years. Twenty seven cases were investigated for their EBV tumor status, and 10 BM samples of these patients were investigated for their EBV status with using in situ hybridization (ISH). EBV PCR was performed for the BM mononuclear cells in 8 cases. RESULTS: Among the 27 tumor specimens, ten (37%) were EBV-positive. Only CD20-negativity in tumor correlated with the EBV-positivity (p=0.035). In 13 (48%) patients, gross tumor involvement was recognized by hematoxylin-eosin staining at the time of diagnosis. Among the 10 patients who had additional BM slides available, there were 3 with BM involvement, and none showed EBV positive results on ISH. EBV PCR of the BM mononuclear cells revealed one-positive case among 8 patients. This patient was negative for both BM involvement and EBV ISH. The median overall survival of the 25 treated patients was 48.9 months (95% CI: 18.6~79.2 months). Neither overall survival nor progression-free survival was related with EBV-positivity of the tumor. CONCLUSIONS: EBV-positivity of tumor had no impact on the prognosis of AILT patients.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Bone Marrow/virology ; DNA, Viral/isolation & purification ; Female ; Herpesvirus 4, Human/*isolation & purification ; Humans ; Immunoblastic Lymphadenopathy/mortality/*virology ; In Situ Hybridization ; Lymphoma, T-Cell/mortality/*virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prognosis ; Survival Analysis

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to prospectively validate the Korean Cancer Study Group Geriatric Score (KG)-7, a novel geriatric screening tool, in older patients with advanced cancer planned to undergo first-line palliative chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Participants answered the KG-7 questionnaire before undergoing geriatric assessment (GA) and first-line palliative chemotherapy. The performance of KG-7 was evaluated by calculating the sensitivity (SE), specificity (SP), positive and negative predictive value (PPV and NPV), balanced accuracy (BA), and area under the curve (AUC). RESULTS: The baseline GA and KG-7 results were collected from 301 patients. The median age was 75 years (range, 70 to 93 years). Abnormal GA was documented in 222 patients (73.8%). Based on the ≤ 5 cut-off value of KG-7 for abnormal GA, abnormal KG-7 score was shown in 200 patients (66.4%). KG-7 showed SE, SP, PPV, NPV, and BA of 75.7%, 59.7%, 84.4%, 46.0%, and 67.7%, respectively; AUC was 0.745 (95% confidence interval, 0.687 to 0.803). Furthermore, patients with higher KG-7 scores showed significantly longer survival (p=0.006). CONCLUSION: KG-7 appears to be adequate in identifying patients with abnormal GA prospectively. Hence, KG-7 can be a useful screening tool for Asian countries with limited resources and high patient volume.
Area Under Curve ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Drug Therapy ; Geriatric Assessment ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Prospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

Background: Current international guidelines recommend against deep sedation as it is associated with worse outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, in Korea the prevalence of deep sedation and its impact on patients in the ICU are not well known. Methods: From April 2020 to July 2021, a multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, noninterventional cohort study was performed in 20 Korean ICUs. Sedation depth extent was divided into light and deep using a mean Richmond Agitation–Sedation Scale value within the first 48 hours. Propensity score matching was used to balance covariables; the outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: Overall, 631 patients (418 [66.2%] and 213 [33.8%] in the deep and light sedation groups, respectively) were included. Mortality rates were 14.1% and 8.4% in the deep and light sedation groups (P = 0.039), respectively. Kaplan-Meier estimates showed that time to extubation (P < 0.001), ICU length of stay (P = 0.005), and death P = 0.041) differed between the groups. After adjusting for confounders, early deep sedation was only associated with delayed time to extubation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.66; 95% confidence inter val [CI], 0.55– 0.80; P < 0.001). In the matched cohort, deep sedation remained significantly associated with delayed time to extubation (HR, 0.68; 95% 0.56–0.83; P < 0.001) but was not associated with ICU length of stay (HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.79–1.13; P = 0.500) and in-hospital mortality (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.65–2.17; P = 0.582). Conclusion In many Korean ICUs, early deep sedation was highly prevalent in mechanically ventilated patients and was associated with delayed extubation, but not prolonged ICU stay or in-hospital death.

BACKGROUND: Onychomycosis, especially toenail onychomycosis has become one of the common fungal infection and has historically been regarded as a cosmetic rather than medical problem by many patients, even by physicians. Recently, however, there are several reports that this is a refractory disease which may cause a deleterious effect on patients' quality of life (QOL). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of toenail onychomycosis on QOL in Korea and to assess the changes of QOL after treatment. METHODS: Total 1004 patients with toenail onychomycosis which was confirmed by clinical findings and KOH preparation were enrolled at 47 dermatologic centers in Korea, and interviewed with standardized QOL questionnaire before and after systemic antifungal treatment. Responses to the questionnaire were scored by f-point scale (0~4) and averaged, and were analyzed for 5 dimensions of emotional impact, social impact, symptom and functional impact, patients' views concerning treatment, and relationship with doctor. RESULTS: 1. Before and after treatment, the most serious impact was emotional dimension showing 1.90 and 1.30 in average score (AS), and social (AS: 1.14 and 0.83) and symptom and functional impact (AS: 1.05 and 0.92) was also affected. 2. In female rather than male, statistically more significant impact on patients' QOL was observed in all dimensions. 3. After treatment, 3 of 5 dimensions were improved significantly - emotional dimension (AS: from 1.90 to 1.30), social dimension (AS: from 1.14 to 0.83), patients' view concerning treatment(AS: from 1.34 to 1.02) 4. The degree of patients' satisfaction at the therapeutic effect was very high - 62.4% (immediately after. treatment) and 65.8% (9 months after initiation of treatment) of patients answered excellent or good. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that toenail onychomycosis has significant Impact on the overall QOL of patients. Also the effect of antifungal therapy on patients' QOL were satisfactory. Therefore, both doctor and patient should pay more attention to the treatment of onychomycosis.
Female ; Humans ; Korea* ; Male ; Nails* ; Onychomycosis* ; Quality of Life* ; Social Change ; Surveys and Questionnaires