Purpose: To report a nationwide survey on neuroblastoma conducted by the Korean Association of Pediatric Surgeons (KAPS) in 2020. Methods: The clinical data of pediatric patients diagnosed with and treated for neuroblastoma from 2005 to 2019 in 19 hospitals of KAPS members were collected. Survival and prognostic factor analyses were performed using the log rank test and Cox proportional hazard analysis. A p-value <0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 669 patients with neuroblastoma were registered for the study. The results were presented and discussed at the 36th annual meeting of the KAPS, which was held in Seoul on August 21, 2020. Conclusion This study provides information on patient demographics, prognostic outcomes, and comprehensive treatment outcomes for neuroblastoma. The study is expected to be an important reference for improving pediatric surgeons’ understanding and treatment of neuroblastoma.

Purpose: This study provides insights into the prevalence at birth, clinical characteristics, and outcomes of gastroschisis and omphalocele in Korea over the past decade, addressing the lack of localized data despite advanced healthcare capabilities. Methods: The study retrospectively analyzed data from 20 pediatric surgical centers in Korea from January 2012 to December 2021, including 269 patients diagnosed with gastroschisis or omphalocele. Data variables included gender, gestational age, birth weight, associated anomalies, type of defect, surgical interventions, and outcomes. Results: The study covered 269 patients, with 80 gastroschisis and 189 omphalocele cases. Gastroschisis prevalence at birth remained stable at 2.15 per 100,000 live births, while omphalocele increased to 5.08 per 100,000. Both conditions had similar gender ratios (0.95). Gastroschisis patients had lower birth weights (2,463.90±505.50 g) and smaller head circumferences (31.97±1.86 cm) compared to omphalocele patients (2,757.65±761.24 g, 32.78±2.64 cm). Omphalocele cases had more associated anomalies, especially cardiovascular issues. Prenatal diagnosis rates were high: 93.7% for gastroschisis and 86.4% for omphalocele. About 96.3% of gastroschisis and 84.1% of omphalocele patients were born in their treatment hospitals. Gastroschisis patients underwent surgery sooner (average 3.5 days) and started feeding later (16.5 days) than omphalocele patients (average 56.5 days to surgery, 6.6 days to start feeding). Hospital stays and follow-up durations were similar, averaging around 782.6 days for gastroschisis and 800.3 days for omphalocele patients. Survival rates were 89.7% for gastroschisis and 87.1% for omphalocele. Conclusion The study highlights the need for early diagnosis, centralized care, and specialized surgical approaches to optimize outcomes for gastroschisis and omphalocele patients in Korea. Enhanced prenatal screening and surgical protocols are recommended to improve these patients' prognosis.

Purpose: Although adjuvant chemotherapy (CTx) is still recommended for high-risk patients with hormone receptorpositive and human epidermal receptor (HER)-2-negative breast cancer, recent studies found that selected patients with low disease burden may be spared from CTx and receive hormonal treatment (HT) alone. This study aims to evaluate the trends of treatment (CTx + HT vs. HT alone) in Korea and to assess the impact on overall survival (OS) according to treatment pattern. Methods: The Korean Breast Cancer Society Registry was queried (2000 to 2018) for women with pT1-2N0-1 hormone receptor-positive and HER2-negative disease who underwent surgery and adjuvant systemic treatment (CTx and HT). Clinicopathologic factors, change in pattern of treatment over time, and OS for each treatment option were analyzed. Results: A total of 40,938 women were included in the study; 20,880 (51.0%) received CTx + HT, while 20,058 (49.0%) received HT only. In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the use of HT alone, from 21.0% (2000) to 64.6% (2018). In Cox regression analysis, age, type of breast and axillary operations, T and N stages, body mass index, histologic grade,and presence of lymphovascular invasion were prognostic indicators for OS. There was no significant difference between CTx + HT and HT alone in terms of OS (P = 0.126). Conclusion Over the years, there has been a shift from CTx + HT to HT alone without a significant difference in OS. Therefore, HT alone could be a safe treatment option in selected patients, even those with T2N1 disease.

Purpose: This study was performed to verify reliability and validity of the Korean Pediatric Patient Classification System (KPPCS) and estimate nursing time conversion index. Methods: The study was conducted in 9 children’s hospital which included various areas and size of bed settings. To verify intraclass correlation reliability and construct validity, staff nurses and nurse managers of 21 wards classified 575 patients according to KPPCS comparing differences by age, days of stay, type of stay and medical department. Direct and indirect nursing time of 575 patients were measured by 284 nursing staffs by stopwatch observation and self reports for 24 hours. Results: KPPCS has 12 categories, 55 nursing activities and 80 criterions. High agreement among nurses (r=.91, p<.001) suggested substantial reliability. Construct validity was verified by comparing differences in age, days of stay, type of stay and medical department (p<.05). The correlation of nursing time and classification score was also statistically significant (r=.59, p<.001). The nursing time conversion index was 10.78 minutes per 1 classification score. The entire patient group were classified to four groups using KPPCS. Conclusion The findings suggest that KPPCS would be a useful tool for estimating nursing demands related to the complexity of pediatric patients.

Objective: To analyze the characteristics and trends of scientific publications on thyroid ultrasound (US) from 2001 to 2020, specifically examining the differences among disciplines. Materials and Methods: The MEDLINE database was searched for scientific articles on thyroid US published between 2001 and 2020 using the PubMed online service. The evaluated parameters included year of publication, type of document, topic, funding, first author’s specialty, journal name, subject category, impact factor, and quartile ranking of the publishing journal, country, and language. Relationships between the first author’s specialty (radiology, internal medicine, surgery, otorhinolaryngology, and miscellaneous) and other parameters were analyzed. Results: A total of 2917 thyroid US publications were published between 2001 and 2020, which followed an exponential growth pattern, with an annual growth rate of 11.6%. Radiology produced the most publications (n = 1290, 44.2%), followed by internal medicine (n = 716, 24.5%), surgery (n = 409, 14.0%), and otorhinolaryngology (n = 171, 5.9%). Otorhinolaryngology and internal medicine published significantly more case reports than radiology (p < 0.001, each). Radiology published a significantly higher proportion of publications on imaging diagnosis (p < 0.001 for all) and a significantly lower proportion of publications on biopsy (p < 0.001 for all) than the other disciplines. Publications produced by radiology authors were less frequently published in Q1 journals than those from other disciplines (p < 0.005 for internal medicine and miscellaneous disciplines and < 0.01 for surgery and otorhinolaryngology). China contributed the greatest number of publications (n = 622, 21.3%), followed by South Korea (n = 478, 16.4%) and the United States (n = 468, 16.0%). Conclusion Radiology produced the most publications for thyroid US than any other discipline. Radiology authors published more notably on imaging diagnosis compared to other topics and in journals with lower impact factors compared to authors in other disciplines.

Objective: To compare the convenience and effectiveness of the existing lumbosacral orthoses (LSO) (classic LSO and Cybertech) and a newly developed LSO (V-LSO) by analyzing postoperative data. Methods: This prospective cohort study was performed from May 2019 to November 2019 and enrolled and analyzed 88 patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease scheduled for elective lumbar surgery. Three types of LSO that were provided according to the time of patient registration were applied for 6 weeks. Patients were randomized into the classic LSO group (n=31), Cybertech group (n=26), and V-LSO group (n=31). All patients were assessed using the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) preoperatively and underwent plain lumbar radiography (anteroposterior and lateral views) 10 days postoperatively. Lumbar lordosis (LS angle) and frontal imbalance were measured with and without LSO. At the sixth postoperative week, a follow-up assessment with the ODI and orthosis questionnaire was conducted. Results: No significant differences were found among the three groups in terms of the LS angle, frontal imbalance, ODI, and orthosis questionnaire results. When the change in the LS angle and frontal imbalance toward the reference value was defined as a positive change with and without LSO, the rate of positive change was significantly different in the V-LSO group (LS angle: 41.94% vs. 61.54% vs. 83.87%; p=0.003). Conclusion The newly developed LSO showed no difference regarding its effectiveness and compliance when compared with the existing LSO, but it was more effective in correcting lumbar lordosis.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) and osteoporosis (OP) are the 2 most common bone disorders associated with aging. We can simply assume that older patients have a higher incidence of OA and OP with more severity. Although several papers have conducted studies on the relationship between OA and OP, none of them has demonstrated a conclusive link. In this study, we used radiological knee OA and bone mineral density (BMD; T-score of the total hip and lumbar spine) to analyze the incidence of OA and OP in a large population. We aimed to determine the relationship between OA and OP and investigate the associated risk factors. Methods: This cross-sectional study used data extracted from the 2010–2012 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We evaluated a total of 4,250 participants aged ≥ 50 years who underwent knee radiography and dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and their laboratory results. The relationship between radiological knee OA and BMD was assessed. The generalized linear model was used to evaluate the relationship between BMD and Kellgren-Lawrence (KL) grade. Results: The higher KL grade was associated with older age, higher body mass index (BMI), female sex, and lower hemoglobin level (p < 0.001). No significant association was found between OA and the following variables: white blood cell, platelet, total cholesterol, vitamin D, alkaline phosphatase, parathyroid hormone, hypertension, diabetes, asthma, dyslipidemia, smoking status, alcohol consumption, and regular exercise (p > 0.05). After adjusting for confounding factors (age, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and alcohol consumption), the average T-scores of total hip and lumbar spine were the highest in the mild OA group with KL grade 2 (–0.22 ± 1.08 and –0.89 ± 1.46, respectively,p < 0.001). The average T-scores of the total hip and lumbar spine significantly decreased as OA progressed from moderate (KL grade 3; –0.49 ± 1.05 and –1.33 ± 1.38, respectively, p < 0.001) to severe (KL grade 4; –0.73 ± 1.13 and –1.74 ± 1.75, respectively, p < 0.001). T-scores of the moderate-to-severe OA group were significantly lower than those of the non-OA group (KL grades 0 and 1, p < 0.001). Conclusions Compared with the non-OA group, BMD (T-scores of the total hip and lumbar spine) was higher in the mild OA group and lower in the moderate-to-severe OA group.

Objective: Elevated levels of cardiac troponin in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients admitted to the emergency department (ED) is not well understood and is often ignored. This study aimed to investigate the impact of cardiac troponin I (TnI) levels on the clinical outcome of patients visiting the ED with or without CKD. Methods: In this retrospective single-center cohort study, we enrolled patients visiting the ED without a diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD). Elevated cardiac TnI was defined as being ≥99th percentile of the normal population (Siemens ADVIA Centaur TnI-Ultra≥0.040 ng/mL). The clinical outcomes of patients with CKD stage≤2 and CKD stage ≥3 were compared. The primary endpoint was the 180-day all-cause death, including cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular deaths. Results: Among a total of 30,472 patients (median age, 61 years; male sex, 54.3%), elevated TnI was found in 4,377 patients (14.4%). There were 3,634 deaths (11.9%) including 584 cardiovascular (1.9%) and 3,050 non-cardiovascular deaths (10.0%). The risk of all-cause death increased in patients with elevated TnI in both CKD stage≤2 (hazard ratio [HR], 2.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.9-2.3) and CKD stage≥3 (HR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.4-1.7), and so did the risks of cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular death (HR, 1.2-4.7) (P<0.05, all). The association of elevated TnI with death risk was consistent in multivariate analyses and in most clinical subgroup analyses. Conclusion Elevated TnI was associated with higher 180-day mortality irrespective of renal function among patients visiting the ED without documented CAD. CKD patients visiting the ED with elevated TnI may warrant additional evaluation or careful follow-up even without the presence of CAD.

Incidental thyroid nodules are commonly detected on ultrasonography (US). This has contributed to the rapidly rising incidence of low-risk papillary thyroid carcinoma over the last 20 years. The appropriate diagnosis and management of these patients is based on the risk factors related to the patients as well as the thyroid nodules. The Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology (KSThR) published consensus recommendations for US-based management of thyroid nodules in 2011 and revised them in 2016. These guidelines have been used as the standard guidelines in Korea. However, recent advances in the diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules have necessitated the revision of the original recommendations. The task force of the KSThR has revised the Korean Thyroid Imaging Reporting and Data System and recommendations for US lexicon, biopsy criteria, US criteria of extrathyroidal extension, optimal thyroid computed tomography protocol, and US follow-up of thyroid nodules before and after biopsy. The biopsy criteria were revised to reduce unnecessary biopsies for benign nodules while maintaining an appropriate sensitivity for the detection of malignant tumors in small (1–2 cm) thyroid nodules. The goal of these recommendations is to provide the optimal scientific evidence and expert opinion consensus regarding US-based diagnosis and management of thyroid nodules.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to propose a common scope of practice (SOP) for 13 specialties of Advanced Practice Nurses (APNs) in Korea.METHODS: The first draft of a common SOP was extracted from domestic and international laws with a literature review by 17 experts from the Korean Association of Advanced Practice Nurses (KAAPN). Then, the common SOP was finalized after comparing the activities of APNs in clinical settings.RESULTS: A total of 70 duties were identified and six categories were suggested for the common SOP. The SOP proposed by the KAAPN featured the following: 1) identification of and discrimination between health problems; 2) prescription and implementation of diagnostic tests; 3) treatment of injuries and diseases while implementing measures to prevent exacerbation; 4) prescription of medicinal products in line with 1) to 3); 5) referral and consultation; and 6) education and counseling. It was then confirmed that the proposed six categories in the common SOP reflected all the duties performed by APNs in clinical practice, including all 40 activities.CONCLUSION: The results of this study can be used as evidence for the legalization of a common SOP for APNs. Given the increasing multidisciplinary team approach adopted in Korean hospitals, it may be desirable to establish a broader SOP to reflect the diverse duties of APNs.
Counseling ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Education ; International Law ; Korea ; Prescriptions ; Professional Practice ; Referral and Consultation