PURPOSE: To evaluate the predictive value of the early response of 18F-flurodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG PET) during concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT) for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: FDG PET was performed before and during CCRT for 13 NSCLC patients. Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax), mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean), metabolic tumor volume (MTV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG) were measured and the changes were calculated. These early metabolic changes were compared with the standard tumor response by computed tomograms (CT) one month after CCRT. RESULTS: One month after the completion of CCRT, 9 patients had partial response (PR) of tumor and 4 patients had stable disease. The percent changes of SUVmax (%DeltaSUVmax) were larger in responder group than in non-responder group (55.7% +/- 15.6% vs. 23.1% +/- 19.0%, p = 0.01). The percent changes of SUVmean (%DeltaSUVmean) were also larger in responder group than in non-responder group (54.4% +/- 15.9% vs. 22.3% +/- 23.0%, p = 0.01). The percent changes of MTV (%DeltaMTV) or TLG (%DeltaTLG) had no correlation with the tumor response after treatment. All the 7 patients (100%) with %DeltaSUVmax > or = 50% had PR, but only 2 out of 6 patients (33%) with %DeltaSUVmax < 50% had PR after CCRT (p = 0.009). Likewise, all the 6 patients (100%) with %DeltaSUVmean > or = 50% had PR, but only 3 out of 7 patients (43%) with %DeltaSUVmean < 50% had PR after CCRT (p = 0.026). CONCLUSION: The degree of metabolic changes measured by PET-CT during CCRT was predictive for NSCLC tumor response after CCRT.
Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Chemoradiotherapy* ; Glycolysis ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Tumor Burden

PURPOSE: This study was done to describe the research trend of Complementary and Alternative Medicine(CAM) in Korea and internationally. METHOD: A Systematic review of CAM related literature published from 2000 to 2005 was done. A comprehensive search by using 34 CAM modalities as search terms to identify all articles dealing with CAM was undertaken from 4 databases: PubMed, RICHIS, KoreaMed, and Riss4U. A Total of 588 abstracts and 223 original articles were reviewed by two independent reviewers using systematic analysis guidelines. Data regarding the types of study design, characteristics of subjects and researchers, and classification of CAM modalities was recorded. The outcome measures of CAM were identified. RESULTS: CAM research has been rapidly increasing worldwide in the last decade. In Korea, nursing(53.5%) followed by medicine(42.7%) occupied the majority of CAM research in comparison to medicine(42.9%) and disciplines in CAM(25.0%), like homeopathy, internationally. Prevailing research designs in Korea were experimental and quasi-experimental, however, randomized clinical trials were found. Internationally, survey research was dominant, with the exception of randomized clinical trials that were mostly an experimental design. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that a robust research design in CAM research is needed to accumulate strong scientific evidence and to adopt nursing interventions from CAM modalities.
Biomedical Research/statistics & numerical data/*trends ; Complementary Therapies/statistics & numerical data/*trends ; Humans ; MEDLINE ; Models, Nursing ; PubMed ; Research Design

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial urinary tract infection (UTI) accounts for 35% of the nosocomial infection and 80-90% of them are associated with urethral catheters. Recently, we experienced an outbreak of nosocomial UTI caused by multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in neurosurgical intensive care unit (NSICU). METHODS: We investigated clinical records of the patients and observed the methods of care of urethral catheters in NSICU. Identification of P. aeruginose was done by API NE (API system; bioMerieux, France) and antibiotic susceptibility tests were done by disk diffusion method. Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assay was used as a genotyping method. RESULTS: Between November 1997 and January 1998, 11 P. aeruginosa strains were isolated from the urine of 11 patients hospitalized in NSICU of Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital. Routine regular bladder irrigation, and emptying urine with common urinal had been done falsely. Antibiogram of the isolates showed resistance to multiple antibiotics including imipenem, gentamicin. amikacin, piperacillin, ciprofloxacin, ceftazidime, and cefoperazone/sulbactam. RAPD of the outbreak strains showed clonal relatedness, which was different from those of other clinical strains, We instructed all the health care workers to stop bladder Irrigation, and to use the separate urinals for each patient. Thereafter, no further case of P. aeruginosa UTI has occurred. CONCLUSION: An outbreak of UTI, caused by a single clone of P. aeruginosa, was confirmed by RAPD and was eradicated after correction of false practice on care-of urinary catheter.
Amikacin ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ceftazidime ; Ciprofloxacin ; Clone Cells ; Cross Infection ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diffusion ; DNA ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Gentamicins ; Humans ; Imipenem ; Intensive Care Units ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Piperacillin ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa* ; Pseudomonas* ; Urinary Bladder ; Urinary Catheters ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract*

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted for development of the Korean version of the Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Checklist civilian version (PCL-C) by evaluating its reliability and validity for the North Korean defectors population. METHODS: A total of 69 North Korean defectors participated in this study. All patients were recruited from the psychiatric outpatient or inpatient ward. We categorized the participants into two groups according to the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) diagnosis of PTSD (PTSD, n=32 ; Non-PTSD, n=37). All Subjects completed psychometric assessments, including the PCL-C, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-PTSD), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). RESULTS: Findings provided support for psychometric properties of the Korean version of the PCL-C. The PCL-C showed good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha=0.93), and a significantly positive correlation with CAPS and MMPI-PTSD (r=0.47, r=0.61, respectively). The optimal cutoff point of PCL-C for the North Korean defectors was at a total score of 56 with sensitivity and specificity of 0.88, and 0.50, respectively. CONCLUSION: Overall, the Korean version of the PCL-C appears to be a valid and reliable measure of PTSD symptoms among the North Korean defectors.
Anxiety ; Depression ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Inpatients ; MMPI ; Outpatients ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*

No abstract available.
Urinary Tract*

Meningioma is usually known to occur stuck to the dura mater, but extradural meningioma occurs rarely. Most of the extradural meningiomas are located in the head and neck and we report a case of the primary intraosseous meningioma in the orbit. A 50-year old woman presented with the left eye hyperemia and exophthalmos. Neuroimaging modalities showed hyperostosis at the left sphenoid and orbital wall. On microscopic view, spindle cells and psammoma bodies between the woven bones were observed. The origin of the intraosseous meningioma is explained with various potent possibilities and differential diagnosis thoroughly explored.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Dura Mater ; Exophthalmos ; Female ; Head ; Humans ; Hyperemia ; Hyperostosis ; Meningioma* ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; Neuroimaging ; Orbit

The aim of this systematic review was to describe the characteristics of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-targeting PET and their clinical applications in prostate cancer patients. There have been major strides in the design, synthesis of PSMA-targeting PET tracers over the past several years. PSMA-targeting PET tracers can be categorized, according to positron emitters and targeting strategies for the PSMA. The majority of PSMA PET studies has been focused on patients with biochemical recurrence, but additional values of PSMA PET have also been investigated for use in primary staging, treatment planning, response evaluation, and PSMA radioligand therapy. PSMA PET is expected to bring improvements in the management of patients, but the impact of improved diagnosis by PSMA on overall survival remains unanswered. Many challenges still await PSMA PET to expedite the use in the clinical practice. At this early stage, prospective multicenter trials are needed to validate the effectiveness and usefulness of PSMA PET.
Diagnosis ; Electrons ; Humans ; Membranes* ; Multicenter Studies as Topic ; Prospective Studies ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Recurrence

In 2018, The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced its first comprehensive plan for patient safety, which included the imperative to develop a patient safety curriculum for students studying to become health professionals. The aim of this study is to assess current patient safety education and points of consideration for introducing new curriculum. An online survey was used to understand the status of patient safety education in medical schools, and key informant interviews and focus group interviews were used to collect qualitative data on the experience of patient safety education. The results of the online survey from 16 out of 40 medical schools (40% response rate) and the qualitative data analysis were integrated and analyzed. Twelve schools (75%) had established courses related to patient safety. The qualitative responses suggest that patient safety education is appropriate both before and after clinical training through a variety of educational methods, and that the topics should be linked with clinical training. The challenge of securing lecture time to address patient safety was mentioned as a realistic obstacle. When patient safety education is integrated in future curriculum, it is necessary to consider it as a priority. Moreover, in the early stages of introducing patient safety education, a step-by-step, policy-based approach is required for seamless adoption and settlement.

Prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) is highly expressed in PCa, which gradually increases in high-grade tumors, metastatic tumors, and tumors nonresponsive to androgen deprivation therapy. PSMA has been a topic of interest during the past decade for both diagnostic and therapeutic targets. Radioligand therapy (RLT) utilizes the delivery of radioactive nuclides to tumors and tumor-associated targets, and it has shown better efficacy with minimal toxicity compared to other systemic cancer therapies. Nuclear medicine has faced a new turning point claiming theranosis as the core of academic identity, since new RLTs have been introduced to clinics through the official new drug development processes for approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or European Medical Agency. Recently, PSMA targeting RLT was approved by the US FDA in March 2022. This review introduces PSMA RLT focusing on ongoing clinical trials to enhance our understanding of nuclear medicine theranosis and strive for the development of new radiopharmaceuticals.

BACKGROUND: In the Korean Red Cross, anti-HTLV (Human T-cell lymphotropic virus)-1/2 screening assay has been performed in all donated blood except plasmapheresis since April 2009. For anti-HTLV-1/2 positive donors, both Western blot (WB) and nucleic acid amplification test (NAT) are performed as confirmatory assays. In this study, we evalutated the efficiency of the current confirmatory assay scheme to improve the confirmatory assay scheme for anti-HTLV1/2. METHODS: The results of the HTLV confirmatory assay from April 15th 2009 to April 14th 2015 were analyzed using the Blood Information Management System of the Korean Red Cross. We also investigated the current situation in other countries. RESULTS: Of 12,923,854 donations, 3,483 (0.027%) showed positive results in anti-HTLV-1/2. Of the 3,483 donations, 499 (14.3%) showed positive results in WB or NAT or both. The number of positive cases in both was 461. Therefore, the concordance rate was 92.4%. In the cases of positive results only in NAT, the WB results were all indeterminate (ID). Most countries are using immunoblot assay as a confirmatory assay for anti-HTLV positive blood donors. In the results, there were no cases of positive result in only NAT with a negative result in immunoblot assay. CONCLUSION: It was considered that the accomplishment of only WB as a confirmatory assay for anti-HTLV-1/2 positive donors may be sufficient in the aspect of safety and economics. However, in the case of WB ID result, it may be better to perform NAT as a supplemental test.
Blood Donors* ; Blotting, Western ; Humans ; Information Management ; Mass Screening ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques ; Plasmapheresis ; Red Cross ; T-Lymphocytes ; Tissue Donors