Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in Korea and the third leading cause of death from cancer. Treatment outcomes for colon cancer are steadily improving due to national health screening programs with advances in diagnostic methods, surgical techniques, and therapeutic agents.. The Korea Colon Cancer Multidisciplinary (KCCM) Committee intends to provide professionals who treat colon cancer with the most up-to-date, evidence-based practice guidelines to improve outcomes and help them make decisions that reflect their patients’ values and preferences. These guidelines have been established by consensus reached by the KCCM Guideline Committee based on a systematic literature review and evidence synthesis and by considering the national health insurance system in real clinical practice settings. Each recommendation is presented with a recommendation strength and level of evidence based on the consensus of the committee.

Burnout among radiologists has recently emerged as an issue that poses a threat to patient safety. Burnout adversely effects the quality of patient care and may lead to health problems in physicians. Approximately 84% of board-certified radiologists working in large hospitals in Korea responded that they had experienced burnout at least once. To overcome this, the standardization of physicians’ workloads, as well as improvements in the professional workflow are necessary to ensure a healthy lifestyle balance.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between the severity of hyperechoic pancreas (HP) on ultrasonography (US) and glycemic progression. Methods: In total, 1,386 participants who underwent abdominal US as part of health examinations between December 2008 and May 2014 were included in this retrospective study. We classified pancreatic echogenicity on a 4-point scale, and compared it using two distinct criteria: fatty pancreas (FP) 1 criterion (normal vs. ≥mild HP) and FP2 criterion (normal/mild HP vs. ≥moderate HP). According to the presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), participants were subdivided into four groups: non-NAFLD and non-HP, isolated NAFLD, isolated HP, and HP with NAFLD. Glycemic progression was defined as progression from normoglycemia to prediabetes or diabetes or progression from prediabetes to diabetes. Results: During the follow-up (median, 5.9 years), 262 of the 1,386 participants developed glycemic progression. Using FP2, the probability of glycemic progression across the four subgroups showed cumulative aggravation for NAFLD and HP (all P<0.05). Isolated HP showed a higher probability of glycemic progression than isolated NAFLD according to FP2 (P<0.001). The highest probability of glycemic progression was observed in patients with both NAFLD and HP (P<0.001). The hazard ratio for glycemic progression increased with the severity of HP. Conclusion Increasing severity of HP on US was found to be significantly correlated with glycemic progression. Moreover, isolated HP of moderate or greater severity predicted glycemic progression independent of NAFLD.

Objective: The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate whether liver stiffness (LS) assessments, obtained by twodimensional (2D)-shear wave elastography (SWE) with a propagation map, can evaluate liver fibrosis stage using histopathology as the reference standard. Materials and Methods: We prospectively enrolled 123 patients who had undergone percutaneous liver biopsy from two tertiary referral hospitals. All patients underwent 2D-SWE examination prior to biopsy, and LS values (kilopascal [kPa]) were obtained. On histopathologic examination, fibrosis stage (F0–F4) and necroinflammatory activity grade (A0–A4) were assessed. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to determine the significant factors affecting the LS value.The diagnostic performance of the LS value for staging fibrosis was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and the optimal cut-off value was determined by the Youden index. Results: Reliable measurements of LS values were obtained in 114 patients (92.7%, 114/123). LS values obtained from 2D-SWE with the propagation map positively correlated with the progression of liver fibrosis reported from histopathology (p < 0.001). According to the multivariate linear regression analysis, fibrosis stage was the only factor significantly associated with LS (p < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve of LS from 2D-SWE with the propagation map was 0.773, 0.865, 0.946, and 0.950 for detecting F ≥ 1, F ≥ 2, F ≥ 3, and F = 4, respectively. The optimal cut-off LS values were 5.4, 7.8, 9.4, and 12.2 kPa for F ≥ 1, F ≥ 2, F ≥ 3, and F = 4, respectively. The corresponding sensitivity and specificity of the LS value for detecting cirrhosis were 90.9% and 88.4%, respectively. Conclusion The LS value obtained from 2D-SWE with a propagation map provides excellent diagnostic performance in evaluating liver fibrosis stage, determined by histopathology.

Objective: The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate whether liver stiffness (LS) assessments, obtained by twodimensional (2D)-shear wave elastography (SWE) with a propagation map, can evaluate liver fibrosis stage using histopathology as the reference standard. Materials and Methods: We prospectively enrolled 123 patients who had undergone percutaneous liver biopsy from two tertiary referral hospitals. All patients underwent 2D-SWE examination prior to biopsy, and LS values (kilopascal [kPa]) were obtained. On histopathologic examination, fibrosis stage (F0–F4) and necroinflammatory activity grade (A0–A4) were assessed. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to determine the significant factors affecting the LS value.The diagnostic performance of the LS value for staging fibrosis was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, and the optimal cut-off value was determined by the Youden index. Results: Reliable measurements of LS values were obtained in 114 patients (92.7%, 114/123). LS values obtained from 2D-SWE with the propagation map positively correlated with the progression of liver fibrosis reported from histopathology (p < 0.001). According to the multivariate linear regression analysis, fibrosis stage was the only factor significantly associated with LS (p < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve of LS from 2D-SWE with the propagation map was 0.773, 0.865, 0.946, and 0.950 for detecting F ≥ 1, F ≥ 2, F ≥ 3, and F = 4, respectively. The optimal cut-off LS values were 5.4, 7.8, 9.4, and 12.2 kPa for F ≥ 1, F ≥ 2, F ≥ 3, and F = 4, respectively. The corresponding sensitivity and specificity of the LS value for detecting cirrhosis were 90.9% and 88.4%, respectively. Conclusion The LS value obtained from 2D-SWE with a propagation map provides excellent diagnostic performance in evaluating liver fibrosis stage, determined by histopathology.

The first edition of the guidelines for the use of ultrasound contrast agents was published in 2004, dealing with liver applications. The second edition of the guidelines in 2008 reflected changes in the available contrast agents and updated the guidelines for the liver, as well as implementing some nonliver applications. The third edition of the contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) guidelines was the joint World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology-European Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB-EFSUMB) venture in conjunction with other regional US societies such as Asian Federation of Societies for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology, resulting in a simultaneous duplicate on liver CEUS in the official journals of both WFUMB and EFSUMB in 2013. However, no guidelines were described mainly for Sonazoid due to limited clinical experience only in Japan and Korea. The new proposed consensus statements and recommendations provide general advice on the use of Sonazoid and are intended to create standard protocols for the use and administration of Sonazoid in hepatic and pancreatobiliary applications in Asian patients and to improve patient management.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether shear wave elastography (SWE) and the shear wave dispersion slope (SWD) obtained from 2-dimensional shear wave imaging (2D-SWI) of the gallbladder (GB) bed of the liver could be helpful in the diagnosis of acute cholecystitis. Methods: We included 44 patients referred for abdominal ultrasonography (US) under the impression of acute cholecystitis from April 2018 to March 2019. Patients with chronic liver disease were excluded from this study. In addition to routine upper abdominal US, we performed 2D-SWI including liver stiffness measurements by SWE and SWD, which reflects tissue viscosity. 2D-SWI was performed at the GB bed of the liver through the right intercostal approach at least 3 times with different frames. We assessed typical US findings and the added value of 2D-SWI in diagnosing acute cholecystitis. Histopathologic results of surgical specimens were used as the standard of reference. If a surgical specimen was unavailable, a bile fluid test or clinical followup for more than 3 months served as the reference standard. Results: The optimal cutoff values for SWE and SWD were 8 kPa and 10.9 (m/sec)/kHz, respectively. In the univariate analysis, SWE, GB distension, and sludge were predictive factors of acute cholecystitis. In the multivariate analysis, categorized SWE was the only significant predictor (P<0.01). By using 2D-SWI, the diagnostic performance of two readers did not significantly increase, although the inter-reader agreement improved (k=0.654-0.778). Conclusion 2D-SWI of the GB bed of the liver could be helpful for diagnosing acute cholecystitis.

Abdomen ; Asia ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Cooperative Behavior ; Education ; Humans

Arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is a lesion involving a high-flow vascular malformation, which is one of the causes of massive gastrointestinal bleeding. In the pediatric population, AVM is quite rare in the gastrointestinal tract, and the most common primary site is the colon. A small bowel is a rare primary site of AVM, and only 1 case has been reported in Korea. Here, we report on a case of AVM found in the distal ileum of a 14-year-old girl who complained about recurrent lower abdominal pain only without a gastrointestinal hemorrhage. In the previous research literature, a small bowel AVM can be diagnosed through detecting the existence of an enhancing nidus of the intestinal wall at the arterial phase, accompanied by an early draining vein as it appeared on a dynamic contrast-enhanced abdominal computed tomography. In our case, the pathologically confirmed AVM of the distal ileum showed a dot-like enhancement within the thick low-attenuating submucosal layer of the terminal ileum.

Zinner's syndrome is a rare congenital abnormality of the mesonephric duct. Unilateral renal agenesis, ipsilateral seminal vesicle cyst, and ipsilateral ejaculatory duct obstruction are the triad of maldevelopment of the mesonephric duct which comprises Zinner's syndrome. It is an extremely rare case, in that approximately 100 cases only have been reported worldwide. We discovered a rare developmental anomaly with other mesonephric duct-associated abnormalities, Zinner's syndrome with a presumed ectopic prostate and triorchidism and do report here.