PURPOSE: To determine the effect of changing practice guidelines designed to avoid hyperoxia or hypoxia in very low birth weight or very preterm infants. METHODS: We analyzed a database of <1,500 g birth weight or <32 weeks of gestation infants who were born and admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit of Chungnam National University Hospital from January 2007 to July 2010. First, we defined the relationship between arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) and pulse oxygen saturation (SpO2). When we evaluated 96 pairs of PaO2 and SpO2 measurements, oxygen saturation was 90-94% at a PaO2 of 43-79 mmHg on the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve, according to pulse oximetry. Based on this observation, a change in practice was instituted in August 2008 with the objective of avoiding hypoxia and hyperoxia in preterm infants with targeting a SpO2 90-94% (period II). Before the change in practice, high alarms for SpO2 were set at 100% and low alarms at 95% (period I). RESULTS: Sixty-eight infants the met enrollment criteria and 38 (56%) were born during period II, after the change in SpO2 targets. Demographic characteristics, except gender, were similar between the infants born in both periods. After correcting for the effect of confounding factors, the rates for mortality, severe retinopathy of prematurity, and IVH attended to be lower than those for infants in period II. No difference in the rate of patent ductus arteriosus needed to treat was observed. CONCLUSION: A change in the practice guidelines aimed at avoiding low oxygen saturation and hyperoxia did not increase neonatal complication rates and showed promising results, suggesting decreased mortality and improvements in short term morbidity. It is still unclear what range of oxygen saturation is appropriate for very preterm infants but the more careful saturation targeting guideline should be considered to prevent hypoxemic events and hyperoxia.
Anoxia ; Birth Weight ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Dissociative Disorders ; Ductus Arteriosus, Patent ; Humans ; Hyperoxia ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infant, Very Low Birth Weight ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Oximetry ; Oxygen ; Oxyhemoglobins ; Partial Pressure ; Pregnancy ; Retinopathy of Prematurity

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate silver in situ hybridization (SISH) as an effective test to identify HER2 gene amplification in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: A systematic literature review was used to evaluate the effectiveness of SISH. The literature review covered from October 27, 2009 to December 1, 2009, and eight domestic databases including KoreaMed and foreign databases including Ovid-MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library were used. Keywords, such as 'silver in situ hybridization' and 'SISH', were used to search 63 documents. Ten studies regarding the evaluation of diagnostics were included in the final evaluation. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) tool was used by two evaluators to independently evaluate the quality of the ten studies. RESULTS: A total of ten studies (nine diagnostic evaluation studies and one correlation study) were identified to evaluate SISH. The effectiveness of this test was evaluated based on diagnostic accuracy, concordance rate, and correlation with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) results. The sensitivity of SISH was 0.81-1.00, and the specificity was 0.82-1.00. The positive predictive value was 0.95-1.00, negative predictive value was 0.81-1.00, and the test accuracy was 0.90-1.00. The concordance rate of SISH was 87.0-100% and two studies reported a correlation with FISH results. The body of evidence as a whole suggests a Grade D for SISH. CONCLUSION: SISH is a safe and useful procedure in patients with breast cancer and at least grade D evidence based on existing positive studies.
Predictive Value of Tests ; Breast Neoplasms

PURPOSE: p16 gene, mapped to the 9p21 chromosomal region, has emerged as a candidate tumor suppressor gene in human neoplasm. It is an inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinase and inhibits Rb phosphorylation. In a variety of tumors including childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), deletion and/or mutation of the p16 gene has been found. Despite their high frequency, the prognostic importance of p16 alterations is still controversial in ALL and has been reported to be either unfavorable or similar to that of other patients. We studied the correlation between loss of p16 protein confirmed by immunohistochemical staining and clinical outcomes of patients diagnosed as ALL. METHODS: We performed an immunohistochemical staining for p16 protein in 74 cases of bone marrow biopsy slide initially diagnosed as ALL between January 1998 and December 2006. We reviewed the clinical manifestations, laboratory findings, treatment outcomes retrospectively. RESULTS: Of 74 slides, 12 were negative for p16 protein. Seven were males and 5 were females with a median age at diagnosis was 5.8 (1.3-18.8) years. Initial WBC were 17,225 (500-403,300)/microL. By immunologic surface marker analysis, 7 patients were early pre-B CALLA (+) and 5 patients were T-cell ALL. Two patients of intermediate risk group had relapsed and died. Three patients had family history of breast cancer. Four patients died and overall survival rates were 53.5+/-18.7%. CONCLUSION: Loss of p16 protein is supposed to be an independent risk factor of childhood ALL associated with poor outcomes. In clinical setting, the clinician must take into account p16 status, not only at the genomic but also at the protein level. Further clinical experience on thoroughly investigated cases will help a better understanding between p16 status and clinical outcomes.
Biopsy ; Bone Marrow ; Breast Neoplasms ; Female ; Genes, p16 ; Genes, Tumor Suppressor ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Male ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate ; T-Lymphocytes

PURPOSE: Neck masses, in pediatric population, derive from a multitude of congenital, inflammatory, or neoplastic diseases. The majority of these masses represent benign conditions. However, thorough clinical evaluation is required to rule out malignant diseases. We evaluated the causes, clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with neck masses who underwent tissue biopsy. METHODS: A total of 28 medical records of children with neck mass who underwent tissue biopsy at Chungnam National University Hospital, from January 2000 to March 2004 were retrospectively analyzed. The methods of biopsy were ultrasonography guided core biopsy (CB), fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and excisional biopsy. RESULTS: Out of 28 patients, half were boys. The most common location of the mass was the posterior cervical area (N=19, 67.9%). Laboratory findings of peripheral blood and serologic studies were nonspecific. In 25 (89.3%) cases, CB or FNAB was initially performed for neck masses. Among them 10 cases (40%) were reactive hyperplasia, 8 (32%) inflammatory granulation tissues, 4 (16%) necrotizing lymphadenitis, and 3 (12%) acute suppurative inflammations. Initially, excisional biopsy was performed for diagnosis in 3 (10.7%) cases. Diagnosis of these cases was thyroglossal duct cyst, dermoid cyst and lymphoblastic lymphoma, respectively. CONCLUSION: Most neck masses in children were benign. CB and FNAB were safe methods for tissue sampling, without need for general anesthesia.
Anesthesia, General ; Biopsy* ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Child* ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Dermoid Cyst ; Diagnosis ; Granulation Tissue ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Inflammation ; Lymphadenitis ; Medical Records ; Neck* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroglossal Cyst ; Ultrasonography

Aging has become a global problem, and the interest in healthy aging is growing. Healthy aging involves a focus on the maintenance of the function and well-being of elderly adults, rather than a specific disease. Thus, the management of frailty, which is an accumulated decline in function, is important for healthy aging. The adaptation method was used to develop clinical practice guidelines on frailty management that are applicable in primary care settings. The guidelines were developed in three phases: preparation (organization of committees and establishment of the scope of development), literature screening and evaluation (selection of the clinical practice guidelines to be adapted and evaluation of the guidelines using the Korean Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II tool), and confirmation of recommendations (three rounds of Delphi consensus and internal and external reviews). A total of 16 recommendations (five recommendations for diagnosis and assessment, 11 recommendations for intervention of frailty) were made through the guideline development process. These clinical practice guidelines provide overall guidance on the identification, evaluation, intervention, and monitoring of frailty, making them applicable in primary care settings. As aging and “healthy aging” become more and more important, these guidelines are also expected to increase in clinical usefulness.