Purpose: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected people's daily lives and increased their time spent at home. This study aims to investigate the changes in lifestyle factors and obesity among Korean adolescents before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: We used the data of 109,282 adolescents aged 12–18 years, from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted in 2019 and 2020 before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. The changes in the prevalence of obesity and lifestyle factors (diet, exercise, sitting time, and sleep duration) were assessed. The adjusted odds ratios (ORs) (95% confidence intervals [CIs]) of predictors for obesity were calculated. Results: The prevalence of overweight (10% to 10.5%) and obesity (11.5% to 12.7%) increased significantly, especially among males younger than 15 years, whereas significant differences were absent among females. The mean body mass index z-score increased from 0.28 to 0.39 in males but decreased from 0.08 to 0.04 in females. Fruit consumption, regular exercise, and average sleep duration decreased, whereas sitting time increased. After controlling for covariates, a short sleep duration (OR, 1.14) and an increased sitting time (OR, 1.14) were significantly associated with an elevated risk for overweight/obesity. Conclusion During the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of obesity and overweight increased, particularly in males, as did unfavorable trends in related lifestyle factors. Sex- and age-specific strategies to improve lifestyle factors associated with obesity are needed, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The incidence and prevalence rates of inf lammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been increasing in East Asian countries over the past few decades. Accordingly, the general understanding and awareness of IBD among healthcare professionals has increased considerably in this region. This increase is ultimately associated with the evolving focus of IBD clinicians devoted to comprehensive patient care, especially in establishing IBD clinics/centers capable of providing multidisciplinary counseling. Comprehensive IBD care at IBD clinics/centers usually includes surgical and medication decision-making, transition from pediatric to adult clinics, care of extraintestinal manifestations, care of infectious diseases in patients undergoing immunomodulatory or biologic therapies, and nutritional, psychosocial, socioeconomic, and pharmacological care. Team members comprise specialists from various departments related to IBD and can be divided into core and ad hoc members. Usually, the scope of work in IBD clinics/centers involves patient care, patient outreach, and system management. Considering the environmental changes in IBD treatment, it is necessary to perform comprehensive IBD patient care in the form of a program based on competencies, rather than simply following the organization of previous IBD centers. The present review summarizes recent trends in IBD patient care and offers perspectives regarding IBD center management.

The incidence and prevalence rates of inf lammatory bowel disease (IBD) have been increasing in East Asian countries over the past few decades. Accordingly, the general understanding and awareness of IBD among healthcare professionals has increased considerably in this region. This increase is ultimately associated with the evolving focus of IBD clinicians devoted to comprehensive patient care, especially in establishing IBD clinics/centers capable of providing multidisciplinary counseling. Comprehensive IBD care at IBD clinics/centers usually includes surgical and medication decision-making, transition from pediatric to adult clinics, care of extraintestinal manifestations, care of infectious diseases in patients undergoing immunomodulatory or biologic therapies, and nutritional, psychosocial, socioeconomic, and pharmacological care. Team members comprise specialists from various departments related to IBD and can be divided into core and ad hoc members. Usually, the scope of work in IBD clinics/centers involves patient care, patient outreach, and system management. Considering the environmental changes in IBD treatment, it is necessary to perform comprehensive IBD patient care in the form of a program based on competencies, rather than simply following the organization of previous IBD centers. The present review summarizes recent trends in IBD patient care and offers perspectives regarding IBD center management.

BACKGROUND: The domestic quantity of blood components consumed has been decreasing since 2002, but the rate of a single unit RBC transfusion (SUT) has been on the increase. In the past, a SUT was regarded as an uncesssary procedure, but currently is considered as an effective method to maintain a minimal hemoglobin concentration for physiological needs. We investigated the actual conditions of a SUT. METHODS: We analyzed 800 cases of SUTs performed at a tertiary care university hospital between March 2006 March and February 2007. The subjects of the study were divided into a surgical group (n=561) and medical group (n=239) for the purpose of RBC unit usage and were analyzed by groups and ordering departments, with an analysis of the pre and post-transfusion hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit values. The distribution according to the pre and post-transfusion hemoglobin ranges were calculated. RESULTS: The mean hemoglobin concentration increment of the surgical group was significantly lower than that of the medical group (P<0.0001) and the mean pre and post-transfusion hemoglobin concentrations of the medical group were lower than that of the surgical group (P<0.0001). Approximately 26% cases of the SUTs performed in the surgical group were appropriate, based on a post-transfusion hemoglobin concentration below 10 g/dL. In the medical group, about 75% of the SUTs were appropriate based on a pre-transfusion hemoglobin concentration below 9 g/dL. CONCLUSION: Most transfusions are decided based on various clinical situations and opinions of the clinicians. Therefore, continuous evaluation of the appropriateness of transfusion is necessary. In our study, the appropriateness of a SUT was estimated indirectly based on the pre and post-transfusion hemoglobin concentration. Consequently, policies and strategies for performing asingle unit RBC transfusion are required.
Hematocrit ; Tertiary Healthcare

BACKGROUND: Due to the slowing of population growth, population ageing, and more aggressive medical treatment, Korea will be faced with the challenge of blood shortage. One solution to the blood shortage problem is to take advantage of the multicomponent collection technique. However, clinical application is limited due to the low prices of blood products. In this study, we compared the prices of blood products in 6 major countries. METHODS: Prices of leukoreduced red blood cells (RBC), platelet concentrate (PC), fresh frozen plasma (FFP), cryoprecipitate (CRYO), and apheresis platelets (AP) were compiled from US, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, Spain, and Korea. Adjusted prices using per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and purchasing power parity (PPP) were estimated and analyzed. RESULTS: The RBC price in Korea was only 30% of the mean RBC price of the other 5 countries. Considering per capita GDP and PPP, the RBC prices in Korea were estimated up to 41% and 46%, respectively. The PPP adjusted price of PC, FFP, and AP of Korea was 70%, 72%, and 70% of mean price of the other 5 countries. Price ratios of PC, FFP, and CRYO to RBC were 0.59, 0.63, and 0.57, which were higher than the means of the other 5 countries (0.38, 0.47, and 0.32). CONCLUSION: Considering per capita GDP and PPP, blood product prices in Korea were cheaper than the mean prices of the other 5 countries. For adoption of multicomponent collection, the prices of blood products should be raised, especially the price of RBCs.
Adoption ; Australia ; Blood Component Removal ; Blood Platelets ; Erythrocytes ; Female ; Great Britain ; Gross Domestic Product ; Guanosine Diphosphate ; Imidazoles ; Japan ; Korea ; Nitro Compounds ; Parity ; Plasma ; Population Growth ; Spain

BACKGROUND: ABO antibody titration is important in cases such as ABO incompatible hemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn (HDFN), ABO incompatible bone marrow, or solid organ transplantation. This study was conducted in order to evaluate usability of ORTHO VISION (Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Raritan, USA) designed automated ABO antibody titration equipment. METHODS: The isoagglutination titers were determined in 80 subjects (20 A, 20 B, 40 O (anti-A 20, anti-B 20)) using a conventional tube technique, including a 30 minute room temperature phase (CTT), Dithiothreitol treated manual column agglutination technique (MCAT), and automated column agglutination technique (ACAT) by ORTHO VISION. The concordance of titer was compared within one dilution step between the two methods. RESULTS: The isoagglutinin titers measured by the ACAT with anti-human globulin poly cassette (ACAT_Poly) and anti-human globulin IgG cassette (ACAT_IgG) were the highest and the isoagglutinin titer measured by the MCAT was also higher than that by the CTT. The isoagglutinin titer measured by the ACAT with reverse diluents cassette (ACAT_Reverse) was similar to that measured by the CTT. The concordance of anti-A and anti-B titers between CTT and ACAT_Reverse was 83% and 68%. The concordance of anti-A and anti-B titers between MCAT and ACAT_Poly was 100% and 83%. The concordance of anti-A and anti-B titers between MCAT and ACAT_IgG was 98% and 88%. CONCLUSION: Automated isoagglutinin titration using ACAT_Poly or ACAT_IgG without DTT showed reliable concordance with DTT treated MCAT, and it appears to be a possible replacement for the conventional MCAT method.
ABO Blood-Group System ; Agglutination ; Automation ; Bone Marrow ; Dithiothreitol ; Fetus ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Infant, Newborn ; Organ Transplantation ; Transplants

BACKGROUND: The recent trends for blood collection and the blood supply were analyzed. METHODS: Data from the annual reports of the Korean Red Cross from 2002 to 2006 were analyzed. RESULTS: The number of donors in 2002~2003 was about 2,530,000, but this decreased to 2,300,000 in the past 3 years with the population's donation rate being 4.7%. By age, those donors between 16~29 years made up 83% of all the donors. As donor verification became possible in real-time, blood collection from the registered deferral donors was decreased. Blood drawn by the KRC made up 98% of all the blood collected in Korea. Plasma collection for fractionation had recently decreased because of the blood shortage for transfusion in hospitals. The collection of single donor platelets has increased to up to 25% of all the platelets used in Korea. The supply of pre-storage leuko-reduced RBCs had increased. The inventory levels of blood components were lower than the proper levels for most of the days in 2006. The rate of discarding outdated blood components was markedly decreased due to a shortage of blood. The positive rate in screening tests for transfusion-related infection was an average of 2.4%. By nucleic acid tests,which were initiated from 2005, 14 cases during the window period (10 cases of HCV and 4 cases of HIV) were detected. CONCLUSION: For insuring a safe supply of blood, the donor information systems and up-to-date tests were deemed to become of good quality. However, the blood shortage should be resolved as soon as possible to maintain a consistent blood supply.
Blood Donors ; Blood Platelets ; Blood Safety ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Plasma ; Red Cross ; Tissue Donors

BACKGROUND: The recent trends for blood collection and the blood supply were analyzed. METHODS: Data from the annual reports of the Korean Red Cross from 2002 to 2006 were analyzed. RESULTS: The number of donors in 2002~2003 was about 2,530,000, but this decreased to 2,300,000 in the past 3 years with the population's donation rate being 4.7%. By age, those donors between 16~29 years made up 83% of all the donors. As donor verification became possible in real-time, blood collection from the registered deferral donors was decreased. Blood drawn by the KRC made up 98% of all the blood collected in Korea. Plasma collection for fractionation had recently decreased because of the blood shortage for transfusion in hospitals. The collection of single donor platelets has increased to up to 25% of all the platelets used in Korea. The supply of pre-storage leuko-reduced RBCs had increased. The inventory levels of blood components were lower than the proper levels for most of the days in 2006. The rate of discarding outdated blood components was markedly decreased due to a shortage of blood. The positive rate in screening tests for transfusion-related infection was an average of 2.4%. By nucleic acid tests,which were initiated from 2005, 14 cases during the window period (10 cases of HCV and 4 cases of HIV) were detected. CONCLUSION: For insuring a safe supply of blood, the donor information systems and up-to-date tests were deemed to become of good quality. However, the blood shortage should be resolved as soon as possible to maintain a consistent blood supply.
Blood Donors ; Blood Platelets ; Blood Safety ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Plasma ; Red Cross ; Tissue Donors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The growing volume and the diversity of clinical research has led to related laws and regulations as well as the Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval process becoming more stringent. To conduct clinical research efficiently and while following regulations, information about the IRB approval process and feedback is important for investigators. This has yet to be studied. METHODS: We included 381 gastrointestinal disease research proposals (79 with inflammatory bowel disease [IBD], and 302 with non-IBD) reviewed by the IRB of Severance Hospital between January 2009 and December 2013. We retrospectively analyzed research characteristics including research risk levels, results of initial reviews, frequencies of continuing review, numbers of IRB comments, frequencies of IRB comments, and durations from submission to approval. RESULTS: Investigators' decisions on risk level were higher in the IBD group than in the non-IBD group (P<0.05). Results of initial reviews, frequencies of continuing reviews, the numbers of IRB review comments, and durations from submission to approval were not different between the two groups, but IRB decisions on risk level were higher in the IBD group (P<0.05). In subgroup analysis, the number of IRB comments from initial review on informed consent forms and procedures as well were quest of more information were significantly higher in the IBD group than in the non-IBD group (P<0.001 and 0.01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In Korea, rare diseases such as IBD require more information for the IRB process due to their distinct characteristics. IBD researchers should develop research protocols more carefully and make their research as subject-friendly as possible.
Consent Forms ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases* ; Jurisprudence ; Korea ; Rare Diseases ; Research Design ; Research Personnel ; Retrospective Studies ; Social Control, Formal

Here, we report two cases of identified anti-Di(b) antibodies with rare Di(a+b−) blood types from two different hospitals in Korea. Di(b) mismatched transfusion could cause a hemolytic transfusion reaction. However, it is extremely difficult to find compatible blood for patients with such a rare blood type. In this regard, we concluded that national level rare donor registry program, wherein rare blood types are indexed, needs to be established. Moreover, laboratory medicine specialists at each hospital should encourage donor registration and family testing through education for helping patients with rare blood types. These efforts will help establish a system that guarantees safe blood transfusion for patients.
Antibodies ; Blood Donors* ; Blood Transfusion ; Education ; Humans ; Korea* ; Phenotype* ; Specialization ; Tissue Donors ; Transfusion Reaction