Background/Aims: The occurrence of gout attacks at the start of uric acid lowering treatment worsens compliance. We aimed to determine the appropriate dose of febuxostat to reduce the occurrence of gout attacks during the initial treatment period. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients diagnosed with gout who underwent treatment at Jeju National University Hospital between May 2018 and May 2020. Results: Two-hundred and twenty-seven patients were included, with a mean age of 53.2 ± 16.4 years, and 219 (96.5%) were male. The patients were divided into two groups according to the starting dose of febuxostat (20 mg vs. 40 mg). There were no significant differences in mean age, disease duration, colchicine, estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), initial uric acid levels, and presence of subcutaneous tophi between the two groups. Gout attacks occurred more frequently in the 20 mg group than in the 40 mg group during the first 3 months of treatment (32.0% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.002), particularly during the first month (21.3% vs. 7.5%, p = 0.005). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted adjusting for the effects of disease duration, the presence of subcutaneous tophi, eGFR, and initial uric acid levels. A febuxostat starting dose of 40 mg (odds ratio, 0.464; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.246 to 0.862; p = 0.015) and anti-inflammatory prophylaxis (odds ratio, 0.359; 95% CI, 0.158 to 0.813; p = 0.014) were found to be independent factors associated with a gout attack. Conclusions Starting uric acid lowering treatment with febuxostat 40 mg rather than 20 mg may reduce the incidence of gout attacks in the early period of treatment in Korean patients with gout.

Congenital stapes fixation showing normal finding of external auditory canal and tympanic membrane causes non-progressive conductive hearing loss in the range of 40 to 60 dB since childhood. It is a rare disease, but most commonly found among the isolated ossicular anomalies. Patients with this disease are very suitable candidates for stapes surgery, and successful hearing improvement can be expected by an appropriate surgical procedure. We report 2 cases of congenital stapes fixation which had been operated improperly. One case showed interposed homologous ossicle between the stapes head and the incus, and the other case showed transposed incus between the malleus handle and the stapes head along with the anterior crus fracture. They showed hearing improvements of more than 30 dB after stapedotomy with placement of the Fisch type stapes prosthesis. We are reporting two cases of misdiagnosed congenital stapes fixation with a discussion.
Ear Canal ; Head ; Hearing ; Hearing Loss, Conductive ; Humans ; Incus ; Malleus ; Prostheses and Implants ; Rare Diseases ; Stapes Surgery ; Stapes* ; Tympanic Membrane

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive motor neuron degeneration with phenotypic heterogeneity, including age at onset. Juvenile ALS (JALS) includes ALS patients aged less than 25 years who typically show slow progression. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of juvenile ALS from Korean ALS cohorts. Methods: We retrospectively investigated the clinical characteristics of JALS patients, who met the revised El Escorial-Airlie House criteria, in the Korean motor neuron disease cohort om January 2002 to November 2018. To evaluate the genetic background ofin JALS, we screened the SOD1 mutation in all JALS patients using PCR. Results: Among the seven JALS patients, the mean age was 22.1 years (± 2.19 years) and 4 patients were male. Most patients were diagnosed within less than 12 months, but in one patient, it took 96 months to make the initial diagnosis. On assessing the cognitive function, none of the patients had dementia. The progression rate of JALS during follow-up was usually low (median [IQR], 0.31 [0.11-0.52]), except in patients with SOD1 mutation (3.40) and CLEC4C mutation (1.12). One patient revealed a family history of ALS with SOD1 mutation, but we also detected the SOD1 mutation among sporadic JALS patients. Conclusions Although JALS patients with genetic mutations (SOD1-p.Asn87Ser and CLEC4C-p.Lys210*) showed faster progression than other JALS patients, one patient with SOD1 mutation (p.Gly17Ala) showed slow progression. Familial ALS was rare; however, it might be caused by low or incomplete penetrance of the genes or by small number of JALS patients. To investigate the other genetic causes of JALS without the SOD1 mutation, a further study including detailed genetic analysis is needed.

Anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) encephalitis is a neuroinflammatory disease mediated by autoantibodies against the NMDAR, typically presenting with psychiatric symptoms, cognitive dysfunction, and motor dysfunction. These neuropsychiatric symptoms may be mimicked by drug abuse, and the development of anti-NMDAR encephalitis may be triggered by certain substance use. Here we report a case of anti-NMDAR encephalitis who developed neuropsychiatric symptoms after illicit substance use, the first report in Korea.

Objectives: Early hemorrhage detection in intensive care units (ICUs) enables timely intervention and reduces the risk of irreversible outcomes. In this study, we aimed to develop a machine learning model to predict hemorrhage by learning the patterns of continuously changing, real-world clinical data. Methods: We used the Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care databases (MIMIC-III and MIMIC-IV). A recurrent neural network was used to predict severe hemorrhage in the ICU. We developed three machine learning models with an increasing number of input features and levels of complexity: model 1 (11 features), model 2 (18 features), and model 3 (27 features). MIMIC-III was used for model training, and MIMIC-IV was split for internal validation. Using the model with the highest performance, external verification was performed using data from a subgroup extracted from the eICU Collaborative Research Database. Results: We included 5,670 ICU admissions, with 3,150 in the training set and 2,520 in the internal test set. A positive correlation was found between model complexity and performance. As a measure of performance, three models developed with an increasing number of features showed area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve values of 0.61–0.94 according to the range of input data. In the subgroup extracted from the eICU database for external validation, an AUROC value of 0.74 was observed. Conclusions Machine learning models that rely on real clinical data can be used to predict patients at high risk of bleeding in the ICU.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive motor neuron degeneration with phenotypic heterogeneity, including age at onset. Juvenile ALS (JALS) includes ALS patients aged less than 25 years who typically show slow progression. This study aimed to identify the characteristics of juvenile ALS from Korean ALS cohorts. Methods: We retrospectively investigated the clinical characteristics of JALS patients, who met the revised El Escorial-Airlie House criteria, in the Korean motor neuron disease cohort om January 2002 to November 2018. To evaluate the genetic background ofin JALS, we screened the SOD1 mutation in all JALS patients using PCR. Results: Among the seven JALS patients, the mean age was 22.1 years (± 2.19 years) and 4 patients were male. Most patients were diagnosed within less than 12 months, but in one patient, it took 96 months to make the initial diagnosis. On assessing the cognitive function, none of the patients had dementia. The progression rate of JALS during follow-up was usually low (median [IQR], 0.31 [0.11-0.52]), except in patients with SOD1 mutation (3.40) and CLEC4C mutation (1.12). One patient revealed a family history of ALS with SOD1 mutation, but we also detected the SOD1 mutation among sporadic JALS patients. Conclusions Although JALS patients with genetic mutations (SOD1-p.Asn87Ser and CLEC4C-p.Lys210*) showed faster progression than other JALS patients, one patient with SOD1 mutation (p.Gly17Ala) showed slow progression. Familial ALS was rare; however, it might be caused by low or incomplete penetrance of the genes or by small number of JALS patients. To investigate the other genetic causes of JALS without the SOD1 mutation, a further study including detailed genetic analysis is needed.

Background: and purpose: The anti-aging standard forest healing program (ASFHP), which uses forest therapy, was reported to be effective in improving psychological, physical, and cognitive functions. However, there are several challenges to directly visiting the forest. This study aimed to investigate the impact of multi-session ASFHP with forest visit on the mental and physical health of the older people with visits to forest facilities and compared them with those of the same program conducted indoors. Methods: Individuals aged over 70 years with concerns about cognitive decline were recruited at dementia relief centers and divided into control and experimental groups. A total of 33 people were administered ASFHP under the supervision of a forest therapy instructor. The control group stayed indoors, while the experimental group visited a forest healing center and repeated the program 20 weeks. Results: The multiple-session ASFHP positively affected cognitive impairment screening test (CIST) total scores (p=0.002), memory (p=0.014), Korean version of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status total scores (p<0.001), immediate recall (p=0.001), visuospatial/construction (p<0.001), language (p<0.001), forest healing standard questionnaire total scores (p=0.002), and cognitive function (p=0.019), regardless of location. The forest visits during the ASFHP showed positive effects on orientation (p=0.035), delayed recall (p=0.042), emotional stability (p=0.032), physical activity (p=0.005), and health (p=0.022). The CIST scores of the memory domain were the strongest indicator of the multiple-session ASFHP effects. Conclusions The 20-week multi-session ASFHP with forest visit showed effects on cognitive improvement and physical and emotional stability compared to indoor education.

During the pandemic, few patients have suffered from severe pneumonia leading to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and multiple organ dysfunction necessitating prolonged intensive care with higher mortality. Although sepsis and ARDS represent hypercoagulable states, acute pulmonary thromboembolism is rarely encountered in influenza infection. Fifty five year old female patient admitted with pneumonia associated with influenza A infection, progressed into ARDS. Pulmonary thromboembolism was detected by CT scan and treated with anticoagulants. This is the first case report of acute pulmonary thromboembolism in a patient with pandemic influenza (H1N1 2009) in Korea.
Anticoagulants ; Critical Care ; Cyclopentanes ; Female ; Guanidines ; Humans ; Influenza A virus ; Influenza, Human ; Korea ; Pandemics ; Pneumonia ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; Sepsis