In patients with dermatomyositis, chronic inflammation of the pharynx and esophagus results in coughing and difficulty in swallowing. These become important clinical symptoms, especially if they contribute to malnutrition or aspiration pneumonia. They can ultimately reduce the quality of life. In rare cases, if the symptoms worsen despite proper treatment, serious complications may arise, a reason to suspect an esophageal perforation or abscess. The authors report a case of dermatomyositis in an adult patient with rare complications of spontaneous esophageal perforation and hypopharyngeal abscess. The patient received non-surgical treatment and was able to resume oral intake of food.
Abscess* ; Adult* ; Cough ; Deglutition ; Dermatomyositis* ; Esophageal Perforation* ; Esophagus ; Humans ; Hypopharynx ; Inflammation ; Malnutrition ; Pharynx ; Pneumonia, Aspiration ; Quality of Life

PURPOSE: This study investigated the attitudes of Korean medical students about patient safety to determine which perspectives required increased focus in terms of educational development. METHODS: Attitudes were assessed using the Patient Safety Questionnaire, a tool designed to measure attitudes toward patient safety among medical students. Questionnaires were distributed to 580 clinical year students across four medical schools in December 2018. RESULTS: A total of 300 returned questionnaires were used in the final analysis. More than half of all respondents agreed (i.e., gave more than 4 out of 7 points) with most items and thoroughly considered the concept of patient safety. However, many students misperceived several items (e.g., professional incompetence as a cause of errors, disclosure responsibility, the importance of patient safety in the curriculum, and situational awareness). CONCLUSION Attitudes toward patient safety are highly important due to their substantial impacts on behavioral decisions in the clinical setting. As such, patient safety education should be designed to place greater emphasis on proper attitude. This study's findings should be useful for medical instructors who wish to determine the appropriate areas of curricular focus.

Concern for patient safety underlies the need for interprofessional education (IPE). One way to measure the effectiveness of IPE is by measuring attitude change toward other healthcare professionals; however, there are currently no valid Korean tools to measure such a change in attitudes. Therefore, this study aims to develop and test a Korean version of the Interprofessional Attitudes Scale (IPAS). The original IPAS was translated into Korean according to the World Health Organization’s guidelines after obtaining permission from the article’s corresponding author. A total of 414 questionnaires were collected from third- and fourth-year medical and nursing students at four Korean institutions in December 2018. To analyze the validity of the Korean IPAS, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. Cronbach’s α was used to evaluate reliability. Results from the exploratory factor analysis identified four functions: teamwork, community-centeredness, patient-centeredness, and respect for diversity. Significant cross-correlations were found among the four functions (r=0.438–0.631, p<0.001) along with overall reliability (Cronbach’s α=0.929) and reliability of each subfactor (Cronbach’s α=0.804–0.897). This study verified the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the IPAS, so this scale can be used in the future to measure the effectiveness of IPE in Korea.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the attitudes of Korean medical students about patient safety to determine which perspectives required increased focus in terms of educational development. METHODS: Attitudes were assessed using the Patient Safety Questionnaire, a tool designed to measure attitudes toward patient safety among medical students. Questionnaires were distributed to 580 clinical year students across four medical schools in December 2018. RESULTS: A total of 300 returned questionnaires were used in the final analysis. More than half of all respondents agreed (i.e., gave more than 4 out of 7 points) with most items and thoroughly considered the concept of patient safety. However, many students misperceived several items (e.g., professional incompetence as a cause of errors, disclosure responsibility, the importance of patient safety in the curriculum, and situational awareness). CONCLUSION: Attitudes toward patient safety are highly important due to their substantial impacts on behavioral decisions in the clinical setting. As such, patient safety education should be designed to place greater emphasis on proper attitude. This study's findings should be useful for medical instructors who wish to determine the appropriate areas of curricular focus.
Curriculum ; Disclosure ; Education ; Education, Medical ; Humans ; Patient Safety ; Schools, Medical ; Students, Medical ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: In this study, we evaluated the associations between intraocular pressure (IOP) and systemic and socioeconomic factors. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study using a nation-wide, stratified, multistage, clustered sampling method included 15,421 subjects aged ≥20 years with no history of ocular surgery or glaucoma who participated in the Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey 2008-2011. RESULTS: Univariate regression analyses showed statistically significant linear relationships between IOP and body mass index (BMI), smoking status, heavy drinking, systolic blood pressure, fasting blood glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), metabolic syndrome (p < 0.001, respectively), low density lipoprotein cholesterol (p = 0.003), refractive error (p < 0.001), and office work (p = 0.029). In addition, analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed statistically significant differences in IOP and refraction according to occupation (p < 0.001, all). CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that increased IOP was associated with age, BMI, heavy drinking, systolic blood pressure, total cholesterol, and refraction. There were statistically significant differences in IOP and refraction according to occupation.
Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Drinking ; Fasting ; Glaucoma ; Homeostasis ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Intraocular Pressure* ; Methods ; Occupations ; Refractive Errors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Triglycerides

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the radiologic outcomes of distal fibular fractures and to analyze the risk factors associated with nonunion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2009 and March 2016, 13 patients who had final nonunion with ankle fracture were included. In the control group, 370 patients who had undergone bony union and removed metal implants were included. All patients underwent the same surgical procedure and had the same treatment method, ultimately achieving satisfactory open reduction results with less than 2 mm fracture gap. Surgical treatment of fracture was considered to have the same effect on nonunion, and factors that might be associated with nonunion were evaluated. SPSS ver. 13.0 (SPSS Inc., USA) was used for all statistical analyses. Pearson's chi-square test and multi-variate regression analysis were performed to determine the factors affecting nonunion of distal fibular fracture. A p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant, and relative risk was assessed. RESULTS: The mean age of 13 patients was 46.9 years (range, 16~57 years); there were 8 men and 5 women. Among the 13 patients with nonunion, atrophic was the most common (12 cases). The association between the injury mechanism and the Lauge-Hansen classification and diabetes mellitus was not statistically significant. Distal fibular fractures with tibia shaft fracture (p=0.015) and Danis-Weber type C fracture (p=0.023), open fracture (p=0.011), and smoking (p=0.023) were significantly associated with nonunion. CONCLUSION: In this study, the combined injury of the ipsilateral tibia shaft fracture, open fracture, and Danis-Weber type C fracture may increase the possibility of nonunion. Therefore, caution is advised to prevent nonunion.
Ankle Fractures ; Classification ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Female ; Fractures, Open ; Humans ; Male ; Methods ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Tibia

Objective: The relationship among physical functional decline, low-grade inflammation, and depression remains unclear. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hand grip strength (HGS) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in a large sample with depression. Methods: This study used data obtained from a representative Korean sample of 9,402 people who participated in the seventh Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Physical function was assessed using a digital grip strength dynamometer. Depression was identified using a cutoff of 5 on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), and high hs-CPR level was defined as ≥ 3.0 mg/L. Results: In older adults (≥ 60 years) with depression, 43.8% of those with high hs-CRP levels had low HGS, compared to 21.8% of those with hs-CRP levels ＜ 3.0 mg/L (p = 0.002). Multivariate analysis revealed that, after adjustments for potentially confounding factors, high hs-CRP was independently associated with lower HGS (B = −2.25; 95% confidence interval = −4.49 to −0.02) in older adults with depression, but not in younger or middle-aged adults with depression. Conclusion These findings suggest a significant correlation between physical functional decline and low-grade inflammation in older adults with depression.

Polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a necrotizing vasculitis of the medium-sized arteries. The symptoms and signs of PAN include purpuric skin lesions, mononeuritis multiplex, symptoms of mesenteric ischemia, and renal involvement. We report the first case of PAN manifesting as a neuropathy after influenza infection in Korea. A 68-year-old woman had fever, myalgia, hyperesthesia of both hand and foot, and lower extremity weakness. EMG findings showed severe sensorimotor polyneuropathy, such as multiple mononeuritis. A sural nerve biopsy showed vasculitis and Influenza A (H1N1) were positive. Our patient was treated by glucocorticoid and oral cyclophosphamide, thereafter, symptoms and signs improved. No recurrence has been observed for five months.
Aged ; Arteries ; Biopsy ; Cyclophosphamide ; Female ; Fever ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Hyperesthesia ; Influenza, Human ; Ischemia ; Korea ; Lower Extremity ; Mononeuropathies ; Organic Chemicals ; Polyarteritis Nodosa ; Polyneuropathies ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Sural Nerve ; Vasculitis

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to investigate the incidence of serious infections among the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who were treated with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) antagonists. METHODS: We enrolled the 175 RA patients who were treated with TNF-alpha antagonists for at least 3 months during February 2003 to July 2008, and these patients were in the SMART-b cohort of Kangnam St. Mary's hospital. Patients were prescribed infliximab, etanercept or adalimumab. The data was retrospectively collected. RESULTS: The incidence of serious infections among the RA patients treated with TNF-alpha was significantly increased according to the survival analysis, as compared with that of those patient treated with conventional DMARDs (p<0.01). The most common serious infection was pneumonia. There was no significant difference in the incidence of serious infections among the three TNF-alpha antagonists used in this study (p=0.96). But the serious infections occurred more often in the patients who received more than 10 mg methotrexate (MTX) per week (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: RA patients treated with TNF-alpha antagonists had a higher incidence of serious infection. Therefore, close monitoring for serious infection is needed for RA patients who are receiving TNF-alpha antagonists.
Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; Antirheumatic Agents ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Incidence ; Methotrexate ; Pneumonia ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor ; Retrospective Studies ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to investigate the incidence of serious infections among the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who were treated with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) antagonists. METHODS: We enrolled the 175 RA patients who were treated with TNF-alpha antagonists for at least 3 months during February 2003 to July 2008, and these patients were in the SMART-b cohort of Kangnam St. Mary's hospital. Patients were prescribed infliximab, etanercept or adalimumab. The data was retrospectively collected. RESULTS: The incidence of serious infections among the RA patients treated with TNF-alpha was significantly increased according to the survival analysis, as compared with that of those patient treated with conventional DMARDs (p<0.01). The most common serious infection was pneumonia. There was no significant difference in the incidence of serious infections among the three TNF-alpha antagonists used in this study (p=0.96). But the serious infections occurred more often in the patients who received more than 10 mg methotrexate (MTX) per week (p=0.02). CONCLUSION: RA patients treated with TNF-alpha antagonists had a higher incidence of serious infection. Therefore, close monitoring for serious infection is needed for RA patients who are receiving TNF-alpha antagonists.
Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; Antirheumatic Agents ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Cohort Studies ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Incidence ; Methotrexate ; Pneumonia ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor ; Retrospective Studies ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha