PURPOSE: To evaluate the methods and results of the surgical treatment in the trimalleolar fracture of the ankle. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed the results of the ankle trimalleolar fracture which were treated with open reduction and internal fixation from January 1999 till September 2003. There were 45 patients who had at least six months follow up, 16 men, and 29 women. We have analysed the mechanism of injury, methods of operation and postoperative complications. RESULTS: The results were assessed on ankle AP, lateral and mortise X-rays and retrospective chart review. There were 30 supination-external rotation, 13 pronation-external rotation, 2 pronation-abduction in the mechanism of injury by Lauge-Hansen classification. Cases of the posterior malleolar fracture which involved more than 25% of the weight bearing surface were 7 (15.6%). Medial malleolar mono-fixation was done in 5 cases, fibular mono-fixation in 2 cases, bimalleolar fixation in 32 cases, trimalleolar fixation in 6 cases. 38 cases (84.4%) were good or excellent in clincal assessment and 39 cases (86.7%) were good or excellent in radiological assessment according to the criteria of the Meyer. There was no difference of results among the surgical treatment methods. CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicate that the rigid fixation with early ankle motion and weight bearing is needed in ankle trimalleolar fracture. But minimal fixation is not bad in slight displaced fracture. Both anterior approach and posterior approach were useful methods to stabilization the posterior malleolar fracture. And pre-operative evaluation to detect the hidden soft tissue injuries and fracture mechanism is very important to avoid the failure.
Ankle ; Ankle Fractures* ; Classification ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; Weight-Bearing

The authors analized statistically 403 cases of C.N.S. tumors confirmed by pathology in the boundary of Daegu city and Kyungbook province from January 1984 to December 1986. The results were as follows: 1) The each cases of male and female were 220(54.6%) and 183(45.4%). 2) Intracranial tumors were 288 cases(71.5%), spinal tumors 75(18.6%), and others 40(9.9%). 3) Numbers of C.N.S. tumors were 8.7/100,000 population in city and 6.3/100,000 in country. 4) Among the intracranial tumors, glioma(30.9%) was the most common and followed by meningioma(16.3%) and metastatic tumor(8.7%). Among the spinal tumors, metastatic tumors was 34.6%, neurofibroma 30.7%, and meningioma 5.3%. 5) The majority of intracranial tumors were found in supratentorial region(76.3%), in which area frequency of tumor incidence were as follows; glioma, meningioma, metastatic tumor. Among the infratentorial area(22.6%), the sequence of tumor incidence were glioma, medulloblastoma, and neurilemmoma, 6) Tumors predominantly in male were oligodendroglioma(2:1), metastatic tumor(1.8:1), and medulloblastoma(1.7:1), and in female were meningioma(1:2), neurilemmoma(1:1.7), and pituitary tumor(1:1.5). 7) Peak age incidence of glioma, meningioma, and neurilemmoma were from 40 to 60 years, pituitary tumor and oligodendroglioma were 30 to 50 years, craniopharyngioma and ependymoma were around 10 years old, and metastatic tumor was 50 to 70 years old. 8) In the spinal tumors, the most favorable site of longitudinal axis was thoracic area(62.7%) and transverse location was epidural space(45.3%). 9) The most common site of metastatic tumor were came from lung(29.1%) in brain metastasis and prostate(19.2%) in spine.
Aged ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Brain ; Brain Neoplasms ; Central Nervous System Neoplasms* ; Central Nervous System* ; Child ; Craniopharyngioma ; Daegu ; Ependymoma ; Female ; Glioma ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Medulloblastoma ; Meningioma ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neurilemmoma ; Neurofibroma ; Oligodendroglioma ; Pathology ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Spine

In 2016, the World Health Organization revised the diagnostic criteria for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) based on the discovery of disease-driving genetic aberrations and extensive analysis of the clinical characteristics of patients with MPNs. Recent studies have suggested that additional somatic mutations have a clinical impact on the prognosis of patients harboring these genetic abnormalities. Treatment strategies have also advanced with the introduction of JAK inhibitors, one of which has been approved for the treatment of patients with myelofibrosis and those with hydroxyurea-resistant or intolerant polycythemia vera. Recently developed drugs aim to elicit hematologic responses, as well as symptomatic and molecular responses, and the response criteria were refined accordingly. Based on these changes, we have revised the guidelines and present the diagnosis, treatment, and risk stratification of MPNs encountered in Korea.

Management options for patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) have evolved substantially over the past decades. The American Society of Hematology published a treatment guideline for clinicians referring to the management of ITP in 2011. This evidence-based practice guideline for ITP enables the appropriate treatment of a larger proportion of patients and the maintenance of normal platelet counts. Korean authority operates a unified mandatory national health insurance system. Even though we have a uniform standard guideline enforced by insurance reimbursement, there are several unsolved issues in real practice in ITP treatment. To optimize the management of Korean ITP patients, the Korean Society of Hematology Aplastic Anemia Working Party (KSHAAWP) reviewed the consensus and the Korean data on the clinical practices of ITP therapy. Here, we report a Korean expert recommendation guide for the management of ITP.
Anemia, Aplastic ; Clothing ; Consensus ; Evidence-Based Practice ; Hematology ; Humans ; Insurance ; National Health Programs ; Platelet Count ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic*

In 2010, we proposed the first Korean Guidelines for the Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE). It was applicable to Korean patients, by modifying the contents of the second edition of the Japanese guidelines for the prevention of VTE and the 8th edition of the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) evidence-based clinical practice guidelines. From 2007 to 2011, we conducted a nationwide study regarding the incidence of VTE after major surgery using the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) database. In addition, we have considered the 9th edition of the ACCP Evidenced-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines, published in 2012. It emphasized the importance of clinically relevant events as opposed to asymptomatic outcomes with preferences for both thrombotic and bleeding outcomes. Thus, in the development of the new Korean guidelines, three major points were addressed: 1) the new guidelines stratify patients into 4 risk groups (very low, low, moderate, and high) according to the actual incidence of symptomatic VTE from the HIRA databases; 2) the recommended optimal VTE prophylaxis for each group was modified according to condition-specific thrombotic and bleeding risks; 3) guidelines are intended for general information only, are not medical advice, and do not replace professional medical care and/or physician advice.
Age Factors ; Anticoagulants/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Heparin, Low-Molecular-Weight/therapeutic use ; Humans ; *Mechanical Thrombolysis ; Neoplasms/complications/surgery ; Republic of Korea ; Risk Assessment ; Surgical Procedures, Operative/adverse effects ; Venous Thromboembolism/etiology/prevention & control/*therapy

Background: Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare hematologic disorder characterized by uncontrolled terminal complement activation. Eculizumab, a monoclonal antibody C5 inhibitor was introduced in Korea in 2009 and has been the standard treatment option for PNH. Methods: This study assessed the long-term efficacy/safety of eculizumab in PNH using real-world data from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service. Eighty patients who initiated eculizumab from 2009–2020 were enrolled. Results: At eculizumab initiation, the median age was 51.5 years, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) 6.8 × upper limit of normal, and granulocyte clone size 93.0%. All patients had at least one PNH-related complication before eculizumab initiation, including renal failure (n = 36), smooth muscle spasm (n = 24), thromboembolism (n = 20), and pulmonary hypertension (n = 15). The median (range) duration of eculizumab treatment was 52.7 (1.0, 127.3) months (338.6 total treated patient-years). Despite high disease activity in the study population before treatment initiation, overall survival was 96.2% and LDH levels were stabilized in most patients during treatment. PNH-related complications at treatment initiation were resolved in 44.4% of patients with renal failure, 95.8% with smooth muscle spasm, 70.0% with thromboembolism, and 26.7% with pulmonary hypertension. Extravascular hemolysis occurred in 28.8% of patients (n = 23; 0.09 per patient-year) and breakthrough hemolysis in 18.8% (n = 15; 0.06 per patient-year). No treatment discontinuation cases related to eculizumab were observed. Conclusion These data provided evidence for the long-term efficacy and safety of eculizumab in Korean PNH patients with high disease burdens.

We assessed the success rate of empirical antifungal therapy with itraconazole and evaluated risk factors for predicting the failure of empirical antifungal therapy. A multicenter, prospective, observational study was performed in patients with hematological malignancies who had neutropenic fever and received empirical antifungal therapy with itraconazole at 22 centers. A total of 391 patients who had abnormal findings on chest imaging tests (31.0%) or a positive result of enzyme immunoassay for serum galactomannan (17.6%) showed a 56.5% overall success rate. Positive galactomannan tests before the initiation of the empirical antifungal therapy (P=0.026, hazard ratio [HR], 2.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.10-4.69) and abnormal findings on the chest imaging tests before initiation of the empirical antifungal therapy (P=0.022, HR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.11-3.71) were significantly associated with poor outcomes for the empirical antifungal therapy. Eight patients (2.0%) had premature discontinuation of itraconazole therapy due to toxicity. It is suggested that positive galactomannan tests and abnormal findings on the chest imaging tests at the time of initiation of the empirical antifungal therapy are risk factors for predicting the failure of the empirical antifungal therapy with itraconazole. (Clinical Trial Registration on National Cancer Institute website, NCT01060462)
14-alpha Demethylase Inhibitors/adverse effects/therapeutic use ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Antifungal Agents/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Aspergillosis/complications/*drug therapy ; Candidiasis/complications/*drug therapy ; Coccidioidomycosis/complications/drug therapy ; Febrile Neutropenia/complications/drug therapy ; Female ; Hematologic Neoplasms/complications/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Humans ; Itraconazole/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Male ; Mannans/blood ; Middle Aged ; Prospective Studies ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

Venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes pulmonary embolism and deep vein thrombosis, is a condition characterized by abnormal blood clot formation in the pulmonary arteries and the deep venous vasculature. It is often serious and sometimes even fatal if not promptly and appropriately treated. Moreover, the later consequences of VTE may result in reduced quality of life. The treatment of VTE depends on various factors, including the type, cause, and patient comorbidities. Furthermore, bleeding may occur as a side effect of VTE treatment. Thus, it is necessary to carefully weigh the benefits versus the risks of VTE treatment and to actively monitor patients undergoing treatment. Asian populations are known to have lower VTE incidences than Western populations, but recent studies have shown an increase in the incidence of VTE in Asia. A variety of treatment options are currently available owing to the introduction of direct oral anticoagulants.The current VTE treatment recommendation is based on evidence from previous studies, but it should be applied with careful consideration of the racial, genetic, and social characteristics in the Korean population.