PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors influencing lifetime smoking and current smoking among adolescents in South Korea. METHODS: Hierarchical logistic regression was conducted based on complex sample analysis using statistics from the 10th (2014) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey. The study sample comprised 72,060 adolescents aged 12 to 18. RESULTS: The significant factors influencing adolescent lifetime smoking were female gender, older age, higher stress, higher weekly allowance, lower economic status, living apart from parents, parental smoking, sibling smoking, peer smoking, observation of school personnel smoking, and coed school compared to boys' school. The significant factors influencing adolescent current smoking were female gender, older age, higher stress, higher weekly allowance, both higher and lower economic status compared to middle economic status, living apart from parents, parental smoking, sibling smoking, peer smoking, observation of school personnel smoking, and coed school compared to boys' school. CONCLUSION: Factors identified in this study need to be considered in programs directed at prevention of adolescent smoking and smoking cessation programs, as well as policies.
Adolescent* ; Female ; Humans ; Korea* ; Logistic Models ; Parents ; Risk-Taking* ; Siblings ; Smoke* ; Smoking Cessation ; Smoking* ; Tobacco Use

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that influence sexual intercourse among middle school students in South Korea. METHODS: Using statistics from the 8th (2012) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted. The study sample comprised 37,297 middle school students aged primarily 12 to 15. RESULTS: The significant predictors of sexual intercourse were grade, ever smoking, ever drinking, habitual or purposeful drug use, economic status, weekly allowance, cohabitation with family, and type of school. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that intensified sex education is needed not only in the 1st grade of middle school, but also in the upper grades of elementary school. Sexual health interventions for high-risk groups may be needed, given the factors predicting sexual intercourse.
Adolescent ; Adolescent Behavior/*psychology ; Alcohol Drinking ; Child ; Family ; Female ; Humans ; Internet ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Republic of Korea ; Sexual Behavior/*psychology ; Smoking ; Social Class ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Parvovirus B19 has been recently identified as the cause of various diseases such as erythema infectiosum, transient aplastic crisis in patients with chronic hemolytic anemias, hydrops fetalis, bone marrow suppression in immunocompromised hosts, and lastly acute and chronic arthropathy mimicking rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and occasionally, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We describe a female patient who presented with fever, chills, polyarthralgia, serologic and PCR evidence of presence of Parvovirus B19, and expression of antinuclear antibody, anti- Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB. There has been no clinical findings suggestive or diagnostic of any diffuse connective tissue diseases in this patient. Although there has been reports of Parvovirus B19 infection mimicking RA and SLE with manifestations of various autoimmune antibodies including rheumatoid factor, antinuclear antibody, anti-dsDNA, antilymphocyte antibody, and antiphospholipid antibody, there has not been any report of anti-Ro/SSA and anti-La/SSB expression in the setting of parvoviral arthropathy and this is the first case report.
Anemia, Hemolytic ; Antibodies ; Antibodies, Antinuclear* ; Antibodies, Antiphospholipid ; Antilymphocyte Serum ; Arthralgia ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Bone Marrow ; Chills ; Connective Tissue Diseases ; Erythema Infectiosum ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Hydrops Fetalis ; Immunocompromised Host ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Parvovirus* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rheumatoid Factor

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Organized inpatient stroke care is one of the most effective therapies for improving patient outcomes. Many stroke centers have been established to meet this need, however, there are limited data on the effectiveness of these organized comprehensive stroke center (CSC) in the real-world setting. Our aim is to determine whether inpatient care following the establishment of CSC lowers mortality of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS). METHODS: Based on a prospective stroke registry, we identified AIS patients hospitalized before and after the establishment of a CSC. We observed all-cause mortality within 30 days from time of admission. Logistic regression was used to determine whether the establishment of the CSC affects independently the 30-day all-cause mortality. RESULTS: A total of 3,117 consecutive patients with AIS were admitted within seven days after the onset of the symptoms. Unadjusted 30-day mortality was lower for patients admitted to our hospital after the establishment of the CSC than before (5.9% vs. 8.2%, P=0.012). Advanced age, female gender, previous coronary artery disease, non-smoking, stroke subtype, admission on a holiday, referral from other hospitals, high NIHSS on admission, and admission before the establishment of CSC were associated with increased 30-day stroke case fatality. After adjustment for these factors, stroke inpatient care subsequent to the establishment of the CSC was independently associated with lower 30-day mortality (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.412-0.795). CONCLUSIONS: Patients treated after the establishment of a CSC had lower 30-mortality rates than ever before, even adjusting for the differences in the baseline characteristics. The present study reveals that organized stroke care in a CSC might improve the outcome after AIS.
Coronary Artery Disease ; Female ; Holidays ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Logistic Models ; Prospective Studies ; Referral and Consultation ; Stroke

No abstract available.
Craniocerebral Trauma* ; Head* ; Humans ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

Inflammatory pseudotumor is a infrequent, benign tumor that affects at all ages and involves the lung, gastrointestinal tract, and salivary gland. They are the most common, isolated, primary lesion of the lung in children, and usually present as circumscribed, peripheral, parenchymal tumors or endobronchial tumors, which may be usually static or increase slowly in size without causing symptoms. Surgical excision is the treatment of choice because of the location and benign nature of this lesion. The prognosis after resection is excellent. Other therapeutic modalities include radiation and steroid therapy. We experienced two cases of inflammatory pseudotumor of the lung parenchyme and endobronchus. We report these cases with a review of literatures.
Child ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Granuloma, Plasma Cell* ; Humans ; Lung ; Prognosis ; Respiratory System* ; Salivary Glands

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, with additive manufacturing, can aid in the production of various kinds of patient-specific medical devices and implants in medical fields, which cannot be covered by mass production systems for producing conventional devices/implants. The simulator-based medical image demonstrates the anatomical structure of the disease, which can be used for education, diagnosis, preparation of treatment plan and preoperative surgical guide, etc. The surgical guide is used as a patient-specific medical device for guiding incision, resection, insertion, and marking. As 3D printers can output materials that can be inserted into the human body, the patient-specific implant device that reflects the patient's anatomy and surgical plan could be of relevance. In addition, patient-specific aids, including gibs, splints, prostheses, and epitheses, could be used for a better outcome. Finally, bio-printing is also used to cultivate cells to produce functional artificial tissues.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Tilt training as a non pharmacological therapy was recently introduced to treat the patients with neurocardiogenic syncope. Tilt training has been known to prevent neurocardiogenic syncope by desensitizing abnormal autonomic reflex. Herein, the early effect of tilt training and the preventive effect on the relapse of syncope were studied during a long-term follow-up period. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients (11 males) who experienced recurrent syncope, despite drug treatment or were intolerant to drug treatment, among those diagnosed as neurocardiogenic syncope by the head-up tilt test at Samsung Medical Center between March 2000 and May 2003 were recruited. Each patient underwent tilt training after admission and was educated to continue self-tilt training after discharge. Data for recurrences after discharge were obtained via questionnaires on outpatient visits or by telephone interviews. RESULTS: Eleven (73%) of the 15 who underwent tilt training on admission showed therapeutic effects. The mean follow-up period was 21+/-10 months (5-40 months). Only one patient was excluded due to follow-up loss. Ten of the above patients underwent training by themselves for an average of 4 months after discharge, and experience no relapse of syncope during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: Tilt training maintained its therapeutic effect during long-term follow-up. This could be a new treatment for patients non responsive or intolerant to medical therapy.
Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Outpatients ; Recurrence ; Reflex ; Syncope ; Syncope, Vasovagal* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

21-year-old male was admitted for evaluation of a mass shadow on chest film. On chest computed tomography showed 5 cm sized homogeneous low density based on the second thoracic vertebral body in the posterior mediastinum. The patient had been performed thoracic sympathectomy 6 months before admission and oxidized cellulose was used for hemostasis at that operation Surgical resection was performed and microscopic result was foreign body granuloma caused by oxidized cellulose. Oxidized cellulose is an absorbable sterile mesh and used to control capillary or venous bleeding. Although the manufacturer recommends its removal after hemostasis is achieved, in clinical practice it is usually left in situ to reabsorb spontaneously, usually with no untoward effect.
Capillaries ; Cellulose, Oxidized ; Foreign Bodies* ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body* ; Hemorrhage ; Hemostasis ; Humans ; Male ; Mediastinum* ; Sympathectomy ; Thorax ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Neurocardiogenic syncope is the major type of syncope and beta-blocker is initial drug of choice. However, the data generated from the studies so far could not represent the beneficial effects of beta-blocker, and the recurrence rate in the long term was not established. This study examined the long-term follow-up on patients with neurocardiogenic syncope with or without therapy and campared among the therapeutic strategies in preventing the relapse of syncope. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Among the 197 patients with neurocardiogenic syncope or presyncope, who underwent head-up tilt test (HUT) from Oct. 1994 to Sep. 1996, we investigated 125 patients (59 males and 66 females). They were either interviewed on the phone or answered the questionnaire. The mean age was 3916 years old and the mean duration of follow-up was 195.9 months. RESULTS: Out of the 125 patients, 85 patients (68%) turned out to be HUT-positive and 40 patients (32%), negative. In the course of the follow-up on the HUT-positive patients, the symptoms recurred in 2 (10%) of the 20 patients who continued medication, 4 (25%) of the 16 patients who had no medication, and 11 (22.4%) of the 49 patients who discontinued medication on the way. Out of the 20 HUT-positive patients who continued medication, the symptom recurred in 1 (7.1%) of the 14 patients who received head-up tilt guided therapy, and 1 (16.1%) of the 6 patients in empirical therapy group. CONCLUSION: The outcome of the group who had gone through the long-term treatment of neurocardiogenic syncope, was found to be more favorable than the one of no therapy group, and this implies that the tilt-guided therapy may be more effective than the empirical therapy in order to prevent neurocardiogenic syncope. However, there would be more radomized, placebo-controlled and larger scale research to be desired at this point.
Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Male ; Recurrence ; Syncope ; Syncope, Vasovagal* ; Surveys and Questionnaires