No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Lung*

BACKGROUND: Coal workers' pneumoconiosis is a fibrotic lung disease resulting from chronic inhalation of coal dust. The precise mechanism of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis is uncertain. However, a relationship between the stimulation of fibroblast proliferation and collagen production by mediators released from inflammatory and resident lung cells is thought to be a major factor. The transforming growth factor-β(TGF-β), a multifunctional cytokine and growth factor, plays a key role in the scarring and fibrotic processes due to its ability to induce extracellular matrix proteins and modulate the growth and immune function of many cell types. To determine the involvement of TGF-βin the development of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis, the TGF-β1 level in plasma was measured in patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis. METHODS: Plasma was collected from 40 patients with coal workers' pneumoconiosis (20 with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis and 20 with complicated coal workers' pneumoconiosis) and from 10 normal controls. The ELISA method was used to measure the plasma TGF-β1 concentration. RESULTS: Compared to the control group (0.63±0.18 ng/mL), there was no significant difference in the plasma TGF-β1 level in patients with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis (0.64±0.17 ng/mL) (p>.05). However, in patients with complicated coal workers' pneumoconiosis the plasma TGF-β1 level (0.79±0.18 ng/mL) was significantly higher than in patients with simple coal workers' pneumoconiosis and control group (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The data suggests that TGF-β1 has some influence in the development of lung fibrosis in coal workers' pneumoconiosis.
Cicatrix ; Coal* ; Collagen ; Dust ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Extracellular Matrix Proteins ; Fibroblasts ; Fibrosis ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Lung ; Lung Diseases ; Plasma* ; Pneumoconiosis* ; Pulmonary Fibrosis

BACKGROUNDS: Intestinal obstruction is one of the main causes of neonatal operations. It is caused by congenital factors, inherited diseases, and acquired diseases. A study was made to understand the status of neonatal intestinal obstruction cases at our hospital. METHODS: This was a clinical analysis of 53 cases of neonatal intestinal obstruction which had been experienced from March 1992 to February 1998 at the Department of General surgery, Sung-Ae General Hospital. RESULTS: 1) Operations for neonatal intestinal obstructions accounted for 42.4% of all neonatal operations. 2) There were 38 males and 15 females; the male-to-female ratio was 2.5:1. 3) Gestational period of 9 cases (16.9%) was less than 36 weeks and the weight in 10 cases (18.8%) wre below 2,500 gm at birth. 4) The main clinical symptoms on admission were vomiting or abdominal distension. 5) There were 49 cases (92.4%) of mechanical obstruction and 4 cases of a paralytic ileus. 6) Associated anomalies were present in 9 cases (16.9%). 7) The postoperative complication and motality rates were 30.1% and 7.5% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Our clinical data might provide clinical suspicisions leading to early diagnosis and treatment.
Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Intestinal Obstruction* ; Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction ; Male ; Parturition ; Postoperative Complications ; Vomiting

We made a mistake in our recently published article.

Objectives: An increasing emphasis has been placed on the integration of clinical data and patient-generated health data (PGHD), which are generated outside of hospitals. This study explored the possibility of using standard terminologies to represent PGHD for data integration. Methods: We chose the 2020 general health checkup questionnaire of the Korean Health Screening Program as a resource. We divided every component of the questionnaire into entities and values, which were mapped to standard terminologies—Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) version 2020-07-31 and Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) version 2.68. Results: Eighty-nine items were derived from the 17 questions of the 2020 health examination questionnaire, of which 76 (85.4%) were mapped to standard terms. Fifty-two items were mapped to SNOMED CT and 24 items were mapped to LOINC. Among the items mapped to SNOMED CT, 35 were mapped to pre-coordinated expressions and 17 to post-coordinated expressions. Forty items had one-to-one relationships, and 17 items had one-to-many relationships. Conclusions We achieved a high mapping rate (85.4%) by using both SNOMED CT and LOINC. However, we noticed some issues while mapping the Korean general health checkup questionnaire (i.e., lack of explanations, vague questions, and overly narrow concepts). In particular, items combining two or more concepts into a single item were not appropriate for mapping using standard terminologies. Although it is not the case that all items need to be expressed in standard terminology, essential items should be presented in a way suitable for mapping to standard terminology by revising the questionnaire in the future.

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

No abstract available.
Epstein-Barr Virus Infections* ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans ; Lymphoma*

PURPOSE: Ultrasound is most effective study for evaluating thyroid nodules. In this review, we discuss that sonographic findings to differentiate benign from malignant nodules and suggest recommendations for indications of fine needle aspiration biopsy and thyroid nodule management. METHODS: Sonographic scans of 206 thyroid nodules in 164 patients were candidated for this study. We evaluated sonographic findings by shape, calcification, margin, and echogenicity, retrospectively. Sonographic findings that suggested malignancy included microcalcifications, a speculated margin, marked hypoechogenicity and a shape that was taller than wide. The final diagnosis of lesion as benign (n=180) or malignant (n=26) was confirmed by fine needle aspiration biopsy and follow-up (>6 months). We demonstrated the difference of the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy. RESULTS: Of 206 thyroid nodules, 26 were malignant. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy based on our sonographic classification method were 84.6%, 73.9%, 31.9%, 97.0% and 75.2%. CONCLUSION: Sonography can be helpful for making the differentiation between and malignant nodules. So, when well trained surgeon find thyroid nodules on sonography, we can make correct diagnosis of malignant nodules.
Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Nodule* ; Ultrasonography*

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to investigate the agreement between medical history questionnaire data and claims data and to identify the factors that were associated with discrepancies between these data types. METHODS: Data from self-reported questionnaires that assessed an individual's history of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, stroke, heart disease, and pulmonary tuberculosis were collected from a general health screening database for 2014. Data for these diseases were collected from a healthcare utilization claims database between 2009 and 2014. Overall agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and kappa values were calculated. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors associated with discrepancies and was adjusted for age, gender, insurance type, insurance contribution, residential area, and comorbidities. RESULTS: Agreement was highest between questionnaire data and claims data based on primary codes up to 1 year before the completion of self-reported questionnaires and was lowest for claims data based on primary and secondary codes up to 5 years before the completion of self-reported questionnaires. When comparing data based on primary codes up to 1 year before the completion of self-reported questionnaires, the overall agreement, sensitivity, specificity, and kappa values ranged from 93.2 to 98.8%, 26.2 to 84.3%, 95.7 to 99.6%, and 0.09 to 0.78, respectively. Agreement was excellent for hypertension and diabetes, fair to good for stroke and heart disease, and poor for pulmonary tuberculosis and dyslipidemia. Women, younger individuals, and employed individuals were most likely to under-report disease. CONCLUSIONS: Detailed patient characteristics that had an impact on information bias were identified through the differing levels of agreement.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Comorbidity ; Data Accuracy ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Dyslipidemias ; Female ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Insurance ; Logistic Models ; Mass Screening ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stroke ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

BACKGROUND: There is a need to prepare an adequate blood supply because of the imbalance between the blood supply and demand and the advent of an aging society. This paper presents the basic data for the blood supply and demand through an estimation of the blood donation and blood usage over the next ten years. METHODS: Data analysis was carried out using time-series methods. The data for the monthly blood donation from the Korean Red Cross from 1992 to 2004 was used to estimate the blood donation, and data of the blood supply from the Korean Red Cross and hospitals from 2000 to 2004 for the estimation of the blood supply for transfusion. In order to overcome the limits of the time-series methods, one prospect excluding the data from the year 2004 and the other prospect including the data from the year 2004 were analyzed simultaneously. RESULTS: According to the analysis performed with data from the year 2004 excluded, blood donation rate is expected to decrease to 2.5% in 2015 and the total blood demand (1,435,903 units), which is composed of RBC and single donor platelet, is expected to exceed the total blood donation (1,408,244 donors) by 2015. According to the analysis performed with the data from the year 2004 included, the blood donation rate is expected to decrease to 1.3% in 2015 and the total blood demand (1,760,219 units) is expected to exceed the total blood donation (1,639,042 donors) in 2009. CONCLUSION: A shortage of blood supply is expected to occur during the next ten years. In order to eliminate this blood shortage, a national data management system for blood collection and usage will be needed. In addition, adequate donor resources as well as a monitoring system will be needed to improve the efficiency of blood usage.
Aging ; Blood Donors ; Blood Platelets ; Humans ; Red Cross ; Statistics as Topic ; Tissue Donors