Here, we aimed to evaluate the incidence and mortality of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and post-hemorrhagic hydrocephalus (PHH) among very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants in Korea and assess the associated factors of PHH. This cohort study used prospectively collected data from the Korean Neonatal Network (KNN). Among 2,386 VLBW infants in the KNN database born between January 2013 and June 2014, 63 infants who died without brain ultrasonography results were excluded. Maternal demographics and neonatal clinical characteristics were assessed. The overall incidence of IVH in all the VLBW infants was 42.2% (987 of 2,323), while those of IVH grade 1, 2, 3, and 4 were 25.1%, 7.0%, 4.8%, and 5.5%, respectively. The incidence and severity of IVH showed a negatively correlating trend with gestational age and birth weight. PHH developed in 0%, 3.5%, 36.1%, and 63.8% of the surviving infants with IVH grades 1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Overall, in the VLBW infants, the IVH-associated mortality rate was 1.0% (24/2,323). Only IVH grade severity was proven to be an associated with PHH development in infants with IVH grades 3-4. This is the first Korean national report of IVH and PHH incidences in VLBW infants. Further risk factor analyses or quality improvement studies to reduce IVH are warranted.
Birth Weight ; Cerebral Hemorrhage/*epidemiology/mortality/pathology ; Cohort Studies ; Databases, Factual ; Echoencephalography ; Female ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Hydrocephalus/*epidemiology/mortality/pathology ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant Mortality ; Infant, Newborn ; *Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Male ; Odds Ratio ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Severity of Illness Index

Inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) is a potent and selective pulmonary vasodilator agent that improves arterial oxygenation and subsequent clinical outcomes for newborn infants with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN). Along with beneficial pharmacological properties, iNO also shows toxicological effects. Although the side effects of iNO have not been fully understood, these need to be thoroughly considered and monitored for the safe and effective clinical use of iNO. This article presents a review of the side effects of iNO and short-term and long-term clinical prognosis in newborn infants > or =34 weeks' gestation with PPHN.
Female ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pulmonary* ; Infant, Newborn* ; Nitric Oxide* ; Oxygen ; Persistent Fetal Circulation Syndrome ; Pregnancy ; Prognosis*

No abstract available.
Gastroschisis*

No abstract available.

The degenerative arthritis following total menisectomy has led to consideration of the need for meniscal transplantation, this study evaluates the morphologic and histologic changes fol lowing fresh meniscal autograft and allograft in therabbits. Transplantation of the medial meniscus was carried out in two groups of 32 rabbits(autograft group=16 rabbits, allograft group=16 rabbits). The morphological and histological changes of the transplanted auto-and allografted menisci and the articular cartilage of the medial femoral and tibial condyle were observed at 2,4,6,8,10,12,22,28 weeks postoperatively. There were no significant differences between auto and allograft groups in gross appearance. Histologically, the fibrous adhesion was noted between grafted meniscus and joint capsule 2 weeks after operation, but complete healing was seen at the suture sites without rejection phenomenon at 6 weeks in both groups. There were prominent inflammatory reactions such as lymphocytes and inflammatory cells infiltration during early postoperative stages(2,4 weeks) only in the allograft group, and more prominent fibrotic reactions in the allograft group than auto-graft group. The results of this study suggest that meniscal allografts are able to adapt to the host tissues, survive within the joint environment, and provide a functional replacement for the removed meniscus, but further studies for graft-host immune response and a method to take the maintenance and deposits of graft must be needed to perform the meniscal allograft in human.
Allografts ; Autografts ; Cartilage, Articular ; Humans ; Joint Capsule ; Joints ; Knee Joint ; Knee ; Lymphocytes ; Menisci, Tibial ; Methods ; Osteoarthritis ; Rabbits ; Sutures ; Transplants

Background: Recent studies have shown that oral administration of probiotics may improve the immune imbalance caused by dysbiosis of the gut microbiome in atopic dermatitis (AD). This study aimed to investigate the clinical and immunological effects of Lactobacillus pentosus in children with mild to moderate AD. Methods: Children aged 2–13 years with AD were randomized to receive either 1.0 × 1010 colony-forming units of L. pentosus or placebo, daily, for 12 weeks. The clinical severity of AD and transepidermal water loss were evaluated. Blood eosinophil counts, serum total immunoglobulin E (IgE), and cytokine levels were measured. The diversity and composition of the gut microbiota were also analyzed. Results: Eighty-two children were recruited, and 41 were assigned to the probiotics intervention group. The mean scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD) indices at baseline were 30.4 and 34.3 for the probiotics and placebo groups, respectively. At week 12, the mean indices were 23.6 and 23.1 for the probiotics and placebo groups, respectively. Clinical severity decreased significantly over time in both groups, with no significant difference between the two groups. In both groups, there were no significant differences in cytokine levels, microbial diversity, or the relative abundance of the gut microbiota at week 12 compared with the corresponding baseline values. The mean subjective scores of SCORAD indices after intervention for the probiotics group were significantly lower than those for the placebo group in IgE sensitized AD (P = 0.019). Conclusion Our results show improved symptoms in the probiotics and placebo groups, and we could not find additional effects of L. pentosus in AD. However, the mean subjective scores of SCORAD indices for the probiotics group are significantly improved compared with those for the placebo group in allergen-sensitized AD.

Pain in Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) is known as a common symptom, experienced by about 72% of patients. Various types of pain are associated with GBS, including paresthesia, dysesthesia, radicular pain, meningism, myalgia and visceral pain. Pain in GBS can vary from mild to severe, often under-recognized and poorly managed. This article reviews the various pains associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome and their management.

The Korean Neonatal Network (KNN), which is celebrating its 10th anniversary, currently has more than 100 staff and researchers from >70 neonatal intensive care units nationwide in Korea. More than 85% to 90% of the population of very low birth weight infants in Korea are registered yearly, and more than half are followed up for up to 3 years at the KNN. A total of >19,000 cases have been accumulated through a strict data quality management process of the KNN. Based on this, >100 research projects have been proposed, >70 peer-reviewed papers have been published in leading international journals, and the cornerstone of the quality improvement project has been launched. In addition, we recently expanded the number of subjects for registration to very premature infants <32 weeks of age and continue to provide essential evidence data for establishing national health policies, such as linking with government policy projects of the Ministry of Health and Welfare for preterm infants. In such manner, the KNN is confident to be successfully and actively moving toward reaching the ultimate goal of standardizing neonatal intensive care and management of preterm infants in Korea by providing essential data for national health policy establishment along with quality improvement through evidence-based interactive data.

Purpose: The standardized uptake value (SUV) is a key quantitative index in nuclear medicine imaging; however, variations in region‐of‐interest (ROI) determination exist across institutions. This study aims to standardize SUV evaluation by introducing a deep learning‐based quantitative analysis method that enhances diagnostic and prognostic accuracy. Methods: We used the Swin UNETR model to automatically segment key organs (breast, liver, spleen, and bone marrow) critical for breast cancer prognosis. Tumor segmentation was performed iteratively based on predefined SUV thresholds, and prognostic information was extracted from the liver, spleen, and bone marrow (reticuloendothelial system). The artificial intelligence training process employed 3 datasets: a test dataset (40 patients), a validation dataset (10 patients), and an independent test dataset (10 patients). To validate our approach, we compared the SUV values obtained using our method with those produced by commercial software. Results: In a dataset of 10 patients, our method achieved an auto‐segmentation accuracy of 0.9311 for all target organs. Comparison of maximum SUV and mean SUV values from our automated segmentation with those from traditional single‐ROI methods revealed differences of 0.19 and 0.16, respectively, demonstrating improved reliability and accuracy in whole‐organ SUV analysis. Conclusion This study successfully standardized SUV calculation in nuclear medicine imaging through deep learning‐based automated organ segmentation and SUV analysis, significantly enhancing accuracy in predicting breast cancer prognosis.

Purpose: The standardized uptake value (SUV) is a key quantitative index in nuclear medicine imaging; however, variations in region‐of‐interest (ROI) determination exist across institutions. This study aims to standardize SUV evaluation by introducing a deep learning‐based quantitative analysis method that enhances diagnostic and prognostic accuracy. Methods: We used the Swin UNETR model to automatically segment key organs (breast, liver, spleen, and bone marrow) critical for breast cancer prognosis. Tumor segmentation was performed iteratively based on predefined SUV thresholds, and prognostic information was extracted from the liver, spleen, and bone marrow (reticuloendothelial system). The artificial intelligence training process employed 3 datasets: a test dataset (40 patients), a validation dataset (10 patients), and an independent test dataset (10 patients). To validate our approach, we compared the SUV values obtained using our method with those produced by commercial software. Results: In a dataset of 10 patients, our method achieved an auto‐segmentation accuracy of 0.9311 for all target organs. Comparison of maximum SUV and mean SUV values from our automated segmentation with those from traditional single‐ROI methods revealed differences of 0.19 and 0.16, respectively, demonstrating improved reliability and accuracy in whole‐organ SUV analysis. Conclusion This study successfully standardized SUV calculation in nuclear medicine imaging through deep learning‐based automated organ segmentation and SUV analysis, significantly enhancing accuracy in predicting breast cancer prognosis.