PURPOSE: A task force appointed by the Korean Society of Acute Care Surgery reviewed previously published guidelines on antibiotic use in patients with abdominal injuries and adapted guidelines for Korea. METHODS: Four guidelines were assessed using the Appraisal of Guidelines for Research and Evaluation II instrument. Five topics were considered: indication for antibiotics, time until first antibiotic use, antibiotic therapy duration, appropriate antibiotics, and antibiotic use in abdominal trauma patients with hemorrhagic shock. RESULTS: Patients requiring surgery need preoperative prophylactic antibiotics. Patients who do not require surgery do not need antibiotics. Antibiotics should be administered as soon as possible after injury. In the absence of hollow viscus injury, no additional antibiotic doses are needed. If hollow viscus injury is repaired within 12 hours, antibiotics should be continued for ≤ 24 hours. If hollow viscus injury is repaired after 12 hours, antibiotics should be limited to 7 days. Antibiotics can be administered for ≥7 days if hollow viscus injury is incompletely repaired or clinical signs persist. Broad-spectrum aerobic and anaerobic coverage antibiotics are preferred as the initial antibiotics. Second-generation cephalosporins are the recommended initial antibiotics. Third-generation cephalosporins are alternative choices. For hemorrhagic shock, the antibiotic dose may be increased twofold or threefold and repeated after transfusion of every 10 units of blood until there is no further blood loss. CONCLUSION: Although this guideline was drafted through adaptation of other guidelines, it may be meaningful in that it provides a consensus on the use of antibiotics in abdominal trauma patients in Korea.
Abdominal Injuries* ; Advisory Committees ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Antibiotic Prophylaxis ; Cephalosporins ; Consensus ; Humans ; Korea ; Shock, Hemorrhagic

Minimally invasive treatment of symptomatic thyroid nodules is now commonplace. Ethanol ablation (EA) of thyroid cystic nodules has been performed since the 1990s, but there is no global consensus or guideline. Although various limitations of EA have been described, recommendations for practical application are necessary. Therefore, the Task Force Committee of the Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology initiated the present consensus statement and here we provide recommendations for the role of EA in the management of symptomatic thyroid nodules. These recommendations are based on evidence to date from the literature and expert opinion.
Advisory Committees ; Consensus ; Ethanol ; Expert Testimony ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a new, minimally invasive modality that serves as an alternative to surgery in patients with thyroid tumors. The Task Force Committee of the Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology developed recommendations for the optimal use of RFA for thyroid tumors in 2012 and revised them in 2017. Herein, we review and summarize the 2017 thyroid RFA guideline and compare it with the 2012 thyroid RFA guideline.
Advisory Committees ; Catheter Ablation ; Humans ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: Systemic immunomodulatory treatment is actively recommended in the treatment for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis (AD) patients. However, consensus criteria for the classification of AD severity or treatment refractoriness have not been established yet. OBJECTIVE: To establish consensus criteria on the definition of severity classification and treatment refractoriness of AD to provide a basis for proper treatment strategy. METHODS: The Korean Atopic Dermatitis Association (KADA) comprised a task force team to establish a definition of moderate to severe AD. A draft of definition of moderate to severe AD was made on the basis of evidence. The recommendation was confirmed by KADA members through a web-based survey. RESULTS: KADA approved that AD with 16≤eczema area and severity index (EASI)<23 should be basically defined as moderate AD whereas AD with EASI score ≥23 should be considered as severe AD. They agreed that it would be reasonable to raise the severity level if patient's daytime or nighttime pruritus numerical rating scale is equal to or higher than 7 (≥7) or dermatology life quality index score exceeds 10. AD patients who do not reach EASI 50 after appropriate treatment for three months should be considered as a non-responder. Patients with recurrence (EASI ≥16) within three months after cessation of treatment should be considered as a recurrent AD. CONCLUSION: KADA built a consensus of definition of moderate and severe AD and treatment-refractoriness. These guidelines are expected to help physicians determine proper treatment options in need.
Advisory Committees ; Classification ; Consensus ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dermatology ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Pruritus ; Quality of Life ; Recurrence ; Treatment Failure ; Withholding Treatment

Korean Society of Thyroid-Head and Neck Surgery appointed a Task Force to provide guidance on the implementation of a surgical treatment of oral cancer. MEDLINE databases were searched for articles on subjects related to “surgical management of oral cancer” published in English. Results were restricted to systematic reviews, randomized control trials/controlled clinical trials, and observational studies. The quality of evidence was rated with use RoBANS (Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Nonrandomized Studies) and AMSTAR (A Measurement Tool to Assess the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews). Evidence-based recommendations for practice were ranked according to the American College of Physicians grading system. Additional directives are provided as expert opinions and Delphi questionnaire when insufficient evidence existed. The Committee developed 68 evidence-based recommendations in 34 categories intended to assist clinicians and patients and counselors, and health policy-makers. Proper surgical treatment selection for oral cancer, which is directed by patient- and subsite-specific factors, remains the greatest predictor of successful treatment outcomes. These guidelines are intended for use in conjunction with the individual patient's treatment goals.
Advisory Committees ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Counseling ; Expert Testimony ; Humans ; Mouth Neoplasms ; Neck ; Republic of Korea

Tremor is one of the most common movement disorders. The classification of tremor disorders was originally proposed in 1998, but subsequent advances have highlighted the limitations of the original criteria. A task force on tremor was convened by the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society to review the previous criteria and to develop a revised classification scheme that will allow a more-comprehensive phenotype, thereby facilitating the discovery of specific etiologies. In this review we provide an overview of how to classify tremor disorders according to the new classification of tremors.
Advisory Committees ; Classification ; Movement Disorders ; Phenotype ; Tremor

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the process from occurrence of a hospital nurse's suicide to workers' compensation approval, responses of the parties involved, issues debated during approval deliberations, and significant policy changes resulting from the incident.METHODS: We conducted in-depth interviews with involved parties and collected various documents, including newspaper articles, forum proceedings, and the agency report on determination of workers' compensation. Content analysis was performed on the collected data.RESULTS: A Joint Task Force continuously reported its progress and findings through mass media such as newspaper, radio, and TV. These activities exerted pressure on a government agency to conduct an occupational disease review and significantly impacted the workers' compensation approval. The agency recognized associations between the hospital's inadequate nurse training and the suicide but did not confirm the excessive overtime and workplace harassment experienced by the nurse as causes of the suicide. This case's media coverage and impact resulted in a law prohibiting workplace harassment and a hospital system dedicating at least one nurse to training activities.CONCLUSION: This incident had a significant social impact as the first case of workers' compensation approval for a hospital nurse's suicide. However, the case produced no structural changes in nurses' working conditions such as heavy workloads.
Advisory Committees ; Government Agencies ; Joints ; Jurisprudence ; Mass Media ; Occupational Diseases ; Occupational Health ; Social Change ; Suicide ; Teaching ; Workers' Compensation

Thermal ablation using radiofrequency is a new, minimally invasive modality employed as an alternative to surgery in patients with benign thyroid nodules and recurrent thyroid cancers. The Task Force Committee of the Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology (KSThR) developed recommendations for the optimal use of radiofrequency ablation for thyroid tumors in 2012. As new meaningful evidences have accumulated, KSThR decided to revise the guidelines. The revised guideline is based on a comprehensive analysis of the current literature and expert consensus.
Advisory Committees ; Catheter Ablation* ; Consensus ; Humans ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule ; Ultrasonography

Deceased organ donation in Korea has increased steadily after legislation of transplantation law. Since last year, however, several obstacles resulting in a decrease in organ donation have been experienced. Among them, the reduced reporting of potential brain death from large size hospitals and reduced consent rate of medically available deceased donors are two main hurdles. The consent rate of organ donation was 41.9% in 2017 but has dropped to approximately 10% than 2016. Other strong family members overrode approximately 10% of donations initially consented by their next of kin. In addition to the medical points, difficulties in labor shortage are being experienced during donor management, testing and organ recovery in the hospital. Some end stage patients who are candidates as organ donor give up further management and decide to withdrawing life sustaining treatment, which deprive the chance of donation. Moreover, the national mortality rate of cerebrovascular and traffic accidents, which occupy a major part of brain death, have decreased over the recent 10 years. All of these events can cause a decrease in brain death development so it is important to find solutions to overcome all of them. Revising transplant law and donation system should be led by government. Efforts to increase the consent rate, procurement rate, and transplant rate and decrease the organ discard rate are all the responsibility of the medical team. Public awareness and a positive attitude towards organ donation are the most important basic requirements for increasing organ donation. A comprehensive task force team to overcome all of these problems is requested.
Accidents, Traffic ; Advisory Committees ; Brain Death ; Humans ; Informed Consent ; Jurisprudence ; Korea* ; Mortality ; Organ Transplantation ; Tissue and Organ Procurement* ; Tissue Donors ; Waiting Lists

OBJECTIVES: The demand for hospice has been increasing among patients with cancer. This study examined the current hospice referral scenario for terminally ill cancer patients and created a data form to collect hospice information and a modified health information exchange (HIE) form for a more efficient referral system for terminally ill cancer patients. METHODS: Surveys were conducted asking detailed information such as medical instruments and patient admission policies of hospices, and interviews were held to examine the current referral flow and any additional requirements. A task force team was organized to analyze the results of the interviews and surveys. RESULTS: Six hospices completed the survey, and 3 physicians, 2 nurses, and 2 hospital staff from a tertiary hospital were interviewed. Seven categories were defined as essential for establishing hospice data. Ten categories and 40 data items were newly suggested for the existing HIE document form. An implementation guide for the Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture developed by Health Level 7 (HL7 CCDA) was also proposed. It is an international standard for interoperability that provides a framework for the exchange, integration, sharing, and retrieval of electronic health information. Based on these changes, a hospice referral scenario for terminally ill cancer patients was designed. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show potential improvements that can be made to the current hospice referral system for terminally ill cancer patients. To make the referral system useful in practice, governmental efforts and investments are needed.
Advisory Committees ; Cancer Care Facilities ; Health Information Exchange* ; Health Level Seven ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Investments ; Methods ; Patient Admission ; Referral and Consultation* ; Terminally Ill* ; Tertiary Care Centers