PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between tooth loss and sub-clinical atherosclerosis in Korean adults. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The subjects were part of a cohort study conducted in Ansan city by the Korea University medical school as part of the Korean Genome project. 749 subjects over than 40 years old were evaluated. After taking panoramic radiography, the amount of tooth loss was calculated. The intima-media thickness (IMT) was assessed by using ultrasonography at the common carotid artery. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors for atherosclerosis were also evaluated. The relationship between tooth loss and the IMT was evaluated using ANOVA with Scheffe's multiple comparison method in univariate analysis. Multiple regression analysis was also performed to determine the significance between the IMT and tooth loss. RESULTS: With age, tooth loss increased, but there was no significant increase in other traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Univariate analysis revealed the IMT to be positively related with the amount of tooth loss. Regression analysis of the IMT in the anterior and posterior tooth loss revealed that only the posterior tooth loss was significantly related with the IMT at all sites of the common carotid artery (right far wall, P = .015; left far wall, P = .008; right near wall, P < .001; left near wall, P = .001). CONCLUSION: This study verified the positive relationship between the increased tooth loss at the posterior area and the accumulation of atheroma in arteries.
Adult ; Arteries ; Atherosclerosis ; Carotid Artery, Common ; Carotid Intima-Media Thickness ; Cohort Studies ; Genome ; Humans ; Korea ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic ; Radiography, Panoramic ; Risk Factors ; Schools, Medical ; Tooth ; Tooth Loss

We report a 13-year-old girl with multiple angiokeratomas on lower extremity. Her skin lesions were asymptomatic but became larger and darker and bled intermittently with subtle trauma. Skin biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of angiokeratoma. We emphasize the importance of this lesion in the differential diagnosis of pigmented nevus or malignant melanoma.
Adolescent ; Angiokeratoma* ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Melanoma ; Nevus, Pigmented ; Skin

We report a 37-year-old man who had a cutaneous marker of tuberous sclerosis with angiofibromas, periungal fibromas and who also showed bilateral verrucous hemangiomas on buttock. It is not known whether there is association between verrucous hemangioma and tuberous sclerosis, but there are some evidence suggest a more than chance association. We describe a case of bilateral verrucous hemangiomas combined with tuberous sclerosis.
Adult ; Angiofibroma ; Buttocks ; Fibroma ; Hemangioma* ; Humans ; Tuberous Sclerosis*

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to analyze 7-year cumulative survival rate (CSR, %) of dental implants in the controlled diabetic patients and to evaluate the influence of the position, diameter and length of fixture, bone quality, age, gender and the method of maxillary sinus elevation on the survival rate. METHODS: The data of 342 placed implants in the 104 diabetic patients collected between 1995 and 2007 at the Department of Periodontology in Yonsei University Hospital were analyzed. RESULTS: Seven-year CSR of the 342 dental implants in the 104 controlled diabetic patients was 96.5%. The survival rates of the placed implants according the position have no statistically significant difference. The survival rates according to the length or diameter of the fixtures have no statistically significant difference. The survival rates according to the bone quality were 100% (Type I), 97.1% (Type II), 97.7% (Type III) and 85.7%(Type IV). The difference between the survival rate of Type I, II and III and that of Type IV was statistically significant. The survival rates according to patient gender were 96.8% (male), 95.5% (female). The survival rates according to patient age were 100% (< or = 59), 93.8% (> or = 60). The survival rates according to the method of sinus elevation in the maxillary posterior area were 96.8% (without sinus elevation), 92.9% (lateral approach) and 89.8% (crestal approach). CONCLUSIONS: Dental implants can be used successfully in the controlled diabetic patients. In case of upper posterior region which has poor bone density and older patients, the implant treatment should be more properly planed, executed, and followed-up.
Bone Density ; Dental Implants ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Maxillary Sinus ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUND: The role of clinical pharmacists in medication therapy to improve clinical and economic outcomes has been reported in the literature. This study was conducted to analyze the changes in details of medication interventions before and after the introduction of clinical pharmacists into the care of neurocritical care unit (NCU) patients, and to evaluate the economic effects of clinical pharmacists by calculating the avoidance cost. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted reviewing the electronic medical records from June 2013 to May 2014 (before), and from June 2016 to May 2017 (after). We calculated the number and rates of intervention, the acceptance rates of it, and also reviewed the list of interventions. We calculated avoidance cost if there was no intervention. RESULTS: The monthly mean number of interventions increased from 8.0 (±5.7) to 31.7 (±12.8) (P < 0.001) and the frequency of intervention also increased from 0.8% to 1.6% (P=0.003). The most frequently provided pharmacist intervention was nutritional support before introduction of clinical pharmacists and discussions on the medication plan after. The number of classified interventions was 14 before introduction of clinical pharmacist services and 33 after. The calculated cost avoidance associated with a clinical pharmacists' integration was 77,990,615 won per year. CONCLUSION: Introduction of clinicals pharmacist into the NCU was associated with increased intervention rates and expanded types of clinical interventions. The cost avoidance achieved by the pharmacists' interventions can be further explored to evaluate if similar expansions of pharmacists' services achieve similar results in other settings.
Costs and Cost Analysis ; Electronic Health Records ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Medication Reconciliation ; Nutritional Support ; Pharmacists ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: We conducted the immunoassay of pertussis according to ages, in order to evaluate protective immunity against pertussis in Korean populations. METHODS: Healthy subjects were enrolled at four university hospitals in Korea. The subjects were grouped as seven age groups (every 10 years). Antibodies against pertussis toxin (PT) in sera were measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Geometric mean concentrations (GMC) of antibodies and the ratios of the subjects with seroprotective antibody levels were determined. The subjects with antibody titers > or =24.0 EU/mL were considered to seroprotective as the manufacturer's protocol. RESULTS: Total 1,605 subjects (age: 2 months-65 years) participated in this study, and their GMC was 56.16+/-50.54 EU/mL. Among seven age groups, age group <11 year showed the highest GMC (64.78+/-53.24 EU/mL) (P<0.001). In the analysis of the ratios of the subjects with seroprotective antibody titers, 68.2% of the subjects were proven to seroprotective, and age group <11 year also showed the highest ratio (76.5%) (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: We found that adolescences or adults (age group > or =11 year) showed lower levels of antibody against pertussis and lower ratio of the subjects with seroprotective antibody titers than children (age group <11 year).
Adult ; Antibodies ; Child ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Immunization ; Immunoassay ; Korea ; Pertussis Toxin ; Whooping Cough

Alveolar ridge defects may limit or restrict placement of implants. The purpose of this study was to evaluate clinical and histopathologic results which occur following guided bone regeneration using platelet-rich plasma, bovine bone powder and e-PTFE membrane in the localized alveolar bone defects. Ten patients who required guided bone regeneration in implant placemnet, were slelected. Alveolar crest height and width were measured at baseline and, afer 2nd surgery 5 months later At 5 months , we obtained histopathological results as follows: 1. Alveolar crest height was an average of 8.20+/-3.74 mm preoperatively and decreased to an average of 7.40 +/-1.84 mm postoperatively. There was no significant difference. 2. Alveolar crest width was an average of 4.25+/-2.03 mm preoperatively and significantly increased to an average of 7.20+/-2.44 mm postoperatively (P<0.01) 3. The change of Alveolar crest height and width were 0.80+/-1.40 mm, 2.95+/-1.09 mm 4. Histopathological evaluations revealed new bone formation with graft material and laminated bone containing the presence of osteocyte-like cell In conclusion, guided bone regeneration using platelet-rich plasma, bovine bone powder and e-PTFE membrane would provide a viable therapeutic alternative for implant placement in the localized alveolar defect or implant failure
Alveolar Process ; Bone Regeneration ; Humans ; Membranes ; Osteogenesis ; Platelet-Rich Plasma* ; Transplants*

Pyogenic liver abscess with metastatic septic complications is a rare and serious infectious disease if not treated properly. Pyogenic liver abscesses are caused by bacterial, fungal, or parasitic organisms. Escherichia coli used to be the predominant causative agent, but Klebsiella pneumoniae emerged as a major cause in the 1990s. Liver abscesses are caused by hepatic invasion via many routes, such as, the biliary tree, portal vein, hepatic artery, direct extension, or penetrating trauma. Furthermore, diabetes mellitus and malignant conditions are established important risk factors of K. pneumoniae liver abscesses and of septic metastasis, and several recent studies have asserted that K. pneumoniae liver abscess might be a presentation of occult or silent colon cancer. We report a case of K. pneumoniae liver abscess, metastatic septic pulmonary embolism, and endophthalmitis associated with diabetes and advanced gastric cancer.
Biliary Tract ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Communicable Diseases ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Endophthalmitis ; Escherichia coli ; Hepatic Artery ; Klebsiella pneumoniae ; Liver Abscess* ; Liver Abscess, Pyogenic ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pneumonia ; Portal Vein ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Risk Factors ; Stomach Neoplasms*

The publication of this article unfortunately contained several mistakes.
Humans ; Orthognathic Surgery ; Publications ; Snoring

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is unlikely to end soon, and hospitals face a high risk of exposure to COVID-19 and nosocomial infections. Therefore, strengthened infection control and prevention (ICP) strategies are crucial. Here, we share our experience of activities implemented by an infection control surveillance-working group (ICS-WG) and the introduction of a hospital emergency code for patients requiring screening for COVID-19, which were established at a university-affiliated hospital. This hospital applies multi-step processes to identify patients who must visit the outdoor screening clinic for COVID-19 testing, instead of entering the hospital building. However, some of these patients inevitably end up inside the hospital building. To solve this issue, we implemented a process to announce the emergency code (“code apple”) and have the medical personnel escort such patients to the outdoor screening clinic. This process was useful in protecting the hospital from unnecessary exposure to COVID-19. The ICS-WG was assigned to conduct the surveillance of ICP practices, patrol the hospital, and recommend improvements for any practices that did not adhere to the guidelines. The ICS-WG also developed a checklist as a monitoring tool for ICP practices. The checklists were distributed to the infection control coordinators who were assigned to monitor their team’s ICP practices and report to the ICS-WG. Overall, we believe that code apple and the ICS-WG are effective strategies in improving ICP practices of COVID-19 at hospitals.