No abstract available.
Heart* ; Thoracic Surgery* ; Thyroid Gland*

OBJECTIVES: To compare the performance of three comorbidity measurements (Charlson comorbidity index, Elixhauser's comorbidity and comorbidity selection) with the effect of different comorbidity lookback periods when predicting in-hospital mortality for patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention. METHODS: This was a retrospective study on patients aged 40 years and older who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention. To distinguish comorbidity from complications, the records of diagnosis were drawn from the National Health Insurance Database excluding diagnosis that admitted to the hospital. C-statistic values were used as measures for in comparing the predictability of comorbidity measures with lookback period, and a bootstrapping procedure with 1,000 replications was done to determine approximate 95% confidence interval. RESULTS: Of the 61,815 patients included in this study, the mean age was 63.3 years (standard deviation: +/-10.2) and 64.8% of the population was male. Among them, 1,598 (2.6%) had died in hospital. While the predictive ability of the Elixhauser s comorbidity and comorbidity selection was better than that of the Charlson comorbidity index, there was no significant difference among the three comorbidity measurements. Although the prevalence of comorbidity increased in 3 years of lookback periods, there was no significant improvement compared to 1 year of a lookback period. CONCLUSIONS: In a health outcome study for patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention using National Health Insurance Database, the Charlson comorbidity index was easy to apply without significant difference in predictability compared to the other methods. The one year of observation period was adequate to adjust the comorbidity. Further work to select adequate comorbidity measurements and lookback periods on other diseases and procedures are needed.
Adult ; *Angioplasty, Transluminal, Percutaneous Coronary ; *Comorbidity ; Female ; Hospital Mortality ; Humans ; Insurance Claim Review ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: The level of physical adaptation through active lifestyle can result in changes in appetite; and caused by physical activity and exercise, physical adaptation may change carbohydrate and fat metabolism during exercise. This study investigated the differences in carbohydrate and fat metabolism after moderate treadmill running and the difference in appetite response before and after exercise in active, regularly exercising individuals and those inactive. METHODS: We analyzed the effects of moderate physical activity (70% of oxygen uptake reserve, 30 minutes on the treadmill) on free fatty acids, glucose, growth hormone, insulin and an appetite visual analogue scale (VAS). Our subjects included 28 healthy males who were divided into two groups, the activity group (n=14) and the inactivity group (n=14) according to the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). The serum samples and VAS were collected at pre, post and 30 min post-exercise. RESULTS: The results of the serum analysis showed no significant effects on free fatty acids, glucose, growth hormone and insulin between the groups, but showed significant changes in free fatty acids and growth hormone between points of measurement. Significant increases in VAS were seen with moderate exercise in both groups, with the inactivity group expressing greater hunger than the activity group. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that inactive persons were hungrier than active persons after moderate exercise. This information might be useful to staff and participants of weight loss programs.
Appetite ; Energy Metabolism ; Exercise ; Fatty Acids, Nonesterified ; Glucose ; Growth Hormone ; Humans ; Hunger ; Insulin ; Life Style ; Male ; Motor Activity ; Oxygen ; Running ; Weight Reduction Programs ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Humans ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung*

No abstract available.
Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune*

No abstract available.
Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune*

No abstract available.
Heart Neoplasms*

Concurrent medical problem is common in dementia patients and critical to their care. Despite its importance, there was no bedside global rating scale for the seriousness of medical comorbidity. Lykestos et al. newly developed a reliable bedside scale, the General Medical Health Rating(GMHR). The objective of this study was to standardize the GMHR in form of Korean version(KGMHR). The study population consisted of 35 dementia patients in nursing home. Rating was performed by 1 physician and 2 nurses. Forty percent(14/35) of patients had one or more unstable medical illnesses. KGMHR ratings no more than 3 were 71.5%(25/35) of patients. The value of interrater reliability coefficient alpha was 0.9121. Correlations between KGMHR ratings and number of unstable medi-cal illnesses were high(r=-0.487, p<0.01). KGMHR ratings were also correlated with number of medications being taken for comorbid conditions(r=-0.542, p<0.01). In conclusion, KGMHR is a very reliable and simple rating scale for medical comorbidity in dementia patients. So the KGMHR could be a useful tool for evaluation of comorbidity in dementia patients. To verify the prognostic value of KGMHR, further large sized long-term study are needed.
Comorbidity ; Dementia* ; Humans ; Nursing Homes

OBJECTIVE: Lethality of the chosen method during a suicide attempt is a strong risk factor for completion of suicide. We examined whether annual changes in the pattern of suicide methods is related to annual changes in suicide rates among older adults in South Korea and Japan. METHODS: We analyzed annual the World Health Organization data on rates and methods of suicide from 2000 to 2011 in South Korea and Japan. RESULTS: For Korean older adults, there was a significant positive correlation between suicide rate and the rate of hanging or the rate of jumping, and a significant negative correlation between suicide rate and the rate of poisoning. Among older adults in Japan, annual changes in the suicide rate and the pattern of suicide methods were less conspicuous, and no correlation was found between them. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest that the increasing use of lethal suicide methods has contributed to the rise in suicide rates among older adults in South Korea. Targeted efforts to reduce the social acceptability and accessibility of lethal suicide methods might lead to lower suicide rate among older adults in South Korea.
Adult* ; Humans ; Japan* ; Korea* ; Methods* ; Poisoning ; Risk Factors ; Suicide* ; World Health Organization

A 69-year-old man was referred with left exophthalmos. Computed tomographic (CT) findings detected a well-circumscribed mass in the left side of the intraorbital cavity. At that time, he refused the further evaluation and treatment. About three years later, the size of the mass had enlarged, and the patient's symptoms were getting worse. The mass was completely removed with frontotemporal craniotomy and superolateral orbitotomy. In operative findings, the mass had originated in the lacrimal gland and was well-encapsulated without invasion to the surrounding tissue. In the pathologic findings, the tumor consisted of pleomorphic adenoma with osteosarcomatous change of stromal components. Postoperatively, the adjuvant radiotherapy was done four weeks later. The patient's symptoms were improved. The pleomorphic adenoma with osteosarcomatous change is extremely rare and appropriate treatment is not clearly established. We would like to report this rare case with a review of the literature.
Adenoma, Pleomorphic* ; Aged ; Craniotomy ; Exophthalmos ; Humans ; Lacrimal Apparatus* ; Mixed Tumor, Malignant ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Sarcoma