The impact of baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) on the risk of adverse outcomes according to metabolic parameter variabilities in chronic kidney disease has rarely been investigated. Methods: We conducted a retrospective nationwide cohort study using the National Health Insurance System data in Korea from 2007 to 2013 to identify individuals with three or more health screenings. The metabolic components variability was defined as intraindividual variability between measurements using the variability independent of the mean. The metabolic variability score was defined as the total number of high-variability metabolic components. Multivariable-adjusted Cox regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the risks of all-cause mortality, myocardial infarction, and ischemic stroke. Results: During a mean follow-up of 6.0 ± 0.7 years, 223,531 deaths, 107,140 myocardial infarctions, and 116,182 ischemic strokes were identified in 9,971,562 patients. Low eGFR categories and higher metabolic variability scores were associated with a higher risk of adverse outcomes. The degree of association between metabolic variability and adverse outcomes was significantly larger in those with low eGFR categories than in those with preserved eGFR (p for interaction < 0.001). Representatively, those with high metabolic variability in the eGFR of <15 mL/min/1.73 m2 group showed a prominently higher risk for all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 5.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.02–6.94) when the degree was compared to the findings in those with preserved (eGFR of ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2) kidney function (aHR, 2.55; 95% CI, 2.41–2.69). Conclusion: The degree of adverse association between metabolic variability and poor prognosis is accentuated in patients with impaired kidney function.

Early-onset diabetes mellitus has a significant lifetime burden and is associated with higher morbidity and mortality. Since insulin resistance is one of the mechanisms of podocyte injury, we aimed to evaluate the effect of albuminuria on newly developed early-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: We screened 6,891,399 subjects aged ≥20 and <40 years without a history of prediabetes or diabetes from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database between 2009 and 2012. A multivariate Cox proportional hazard model was used to identify the impact of albuminuria on early-onset T2DM. Results: Among a total of 5,383,779 subjects, 62,148 subjects (1.2%) developed early-onset diabetes over 7.3 ± 1.2 years. Albuminuria was significantly associated with early-onset T2DM (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 1.62; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.55–1.70) after adjustment for age, sex, anthropometric data, physical exercise status, serum glucose, and total cholesterol. The risk of early-onset T2DM increased more in subjects with more components of metabolic syndrome (MetS). Among each component of MetS, hypertriglyceridemia was prominently associated with early-onset T2DM (aHR, 2.02; 95% CI, 1.81–2.25) in subjects with albuminuria. Conclusion: Dipstick albuminuria was significantly associated with early-onset T2DM in young adult populations. Close monitoring of albuminuria is warranted for disease risk modification, especially in subjects with MetS.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of prophylactic abdominal drainage (AD) in laparoscopic hemicolectomy, focusing on assessing postoperative pain outcomes. Methods: Patients were categorized into two groups: those with and without AD (AD group vs.no-AD group). A numerical rating scale (NRS) was used to assess postoperative pain on each postoperative day (POD). Further, the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) method was used to reduce intergroup bias. Results: In total, 204 patients who underwent laparoscopic hemicolectomies by a single surgeon between June 2013 and September 2022 at a single institution were retrospectively reviewed. After adjusting for IPTW, NRS scores on POD 2 were significantly lower in the no-AD group (3.2 ± 0.8 vs. 3.4 ± 0.8, p = 0.043). Further examination of postoperative outcomes showed no statistically significant differences in complications between the AD (17.3%) and no-AD (12.4%) groups (p = 0.170). The postoperative length of hospital stay was 7.3 ± 2.8 days in the AD group and 6.9 ± 3.0 days in the no-AD group, with no significant difference (p = 0.298). Time to first flatus was 3.0 ± 0.9 days in the AD group and 2.7 ± 0.9 days in the no-AD group, with no significant difference (p = 0.078). Regarding readmission within 1 month, there were four cases each in the AD (2.3%) and no-AD (1.7%) groups, with no significant difference (p = 0.733). Conclusion Laparoscopic hemicolectomy without AD resulted in no significant differences in postoperative clinical outcomes, except for postoperative pain. This finding suggests that prophylactic AD may exacerbate postoperative pain.

As of September 3, 2022, 5,388,338 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and 46 deaths (3 in 2021 and 43 in 2022) were reported in children ≤ 18 years in Korea. Cumulative confirmed cases accounted for 67.3% of the population aged ≤ 18 years and case fatality rate was 0.85/100,000. Among 46 fatal cases, 58.7% were male and median age was 7 years.Underlying diseases were present in 47.8%; neurologic diseases (63.6%) and malignancy (13.6%) most common. Only four had history of COVID-19 immunization. COVID-19 associated deaths occurred at median 2 days from diagnosis (range: −1 to 21). Among COVID-19 deaths, 41.3% occurred before admission; 2 before hospital arrival and 17 in the emergency department. Among children whose cause was documented, myocarditis, respiratory and multiorgan failure were most common. COVID-19 associated death was seen early after diagnosis in children and public health policies to provide access to medical care for children with COVID-19 are essential during the pandemic.

Background: We aimed to analyze the risk factors for sudden death after diagnosis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in South Korea and to provide evidence for informing prevention and control interventions for patients at risk of sudden death. Methods: We included 30,302 COVID-19 related deaths registered in the patient management information system (Central Disease Control Headquarters) between January 1, 2021, and December 15, 2022. We collected their epidemiological data recorded by the reporting city, province, or country. We performed multivariate logistic regression analysis to identify risk factors for sudden death after diagnosis of COVID-19. Results: Among the 30,302 deaths, there were 7,258 (24.0%) and 23,044 (76.0%) sudden and non-sudden deaths, respectively. Sudden death means a person who died within 2 days of diagnosis and who did not receive inpatient treatment. Underlying condition, vaccination status, and place of death were significantly associated with the survival period in all age groups. Moreover, region, sex, and prescription were significantly associated with the survival period only in certain age groups. However, reinfection was not significantly associated with the survival period in any age group. Conclusion To our knowledge, this is the first study on the risk factors for sudden death after a diagnosis of COVID-19, which included age, underlying condition, vaccination status, and place of death. Additionally, individuals aged < 60 years without an underlying condition were at high risk for sudden death. However, this group has relatively low interest in health, as can be seen from the high non-vaccination rate (16.1% of the general population vs. 61.6% of the corresponding group). Therefore, there is a possibility for the presence of an uncontrolled underlying disease in this population. In addition, many sudden deaths occurred due to delayed hospital visits to continue economic activities even after the onset of COVID-19 symptoms (7 days overall vs. 10 days average for the group). In conclusion, ‘continued interest in health’ is a key factor in avoiding sudden death in the economically active group (under 60 years of age).

Objectives: This study aimed to classify coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related deaths according to whether COVID-19 was listed as the cause of death, and to investigate thedifferences in demographic characteristics and risk factors for COVID-19 death classifications. Methods: A total of 5,625 deaths in South Korea among patients with confirmed COVID-19 from January 20, 2020 to December 31, 2021 were selected. Excluding false reports and unnatural deaths, 5,597 deaths were analyzed. Based on death report data, deaths were classified according to whether the cause of death was listed as COVID-19 (CD) or not (NCD). The epidemiological characteristics and causes of deaths were investigated using descriptive, univariate, and multivariate statistical analyses. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to analyze the risk factors. Results: The case fatality ratio was 0.89% and increased with age. Additionally, 96.4% of the subjects had an underlying disease, and 53.4% died in winter. The proportion of NCDs was 9.3%, of whom 19.1% died at home and 39.0% were confirmed to have COVID-19 after death. Malignant neoplasms (102/416 vs. 637/4,442; OR, 1.71; 95% CI, 1.36−2.16; p < 0.001) were significantly associated with NCD. Conclusion This is the first study to analyze risk factors by cause of death using COVID-19death report data in South Korea. These results are expected to be used as evidence forestablishing a death monitoring system that can collect timely information in a new infectiousdisease pandemic.

Background/Aims: Renal recovery of a kidney donor after undergoing nephrectomy though challenging is essential. We aimed to examine the effect of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) percent change at 1-month post-donation on insufficient kidney function after kidney donation. Methods: A total of 3,952 living kidney donors who underwent donor nephrectomy from 1982 to 2019 from eight different tertiary hospitals in Korea were initially screened. Percent changes in the eGFR from baseline to 1-month post-donation were calculated. The degree of percent changes was categorized by quartile, and the 1st quartile was regarded as the group with the lowest decreased eGFR at 1-month after donation. The remaining eGFR less than 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 was the end-point. The Cox proportional hazard model was used for evaluating the impact of initial eGFR and eGFR percent change at 1-month post-donation on the condition with remaining eGFR < 60 mL/ min/1.73 m2. In the multivariate analysis, we used variables with a p < 0.1 in the univariate analysis. Results: A total of 1,585 donors were included in the analysis. During 62.2 ± 49.3 months, 13.7% of donors showed renal insufficiency. The 4th (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 10.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 5.15 to 21.04) and the 3rd (aHR, 4.29; 95% CI, 2.15 to 8.56) quartiles of percent change in eGFR and the pre-donation eGFR (aHR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.88 to 0.92) were associated with the development of renal insufficiency. Conclusions The impact of worse initial renal recovery on renal insufficiency was pronounced in donors with lower pre-donation eGFRs. Additionally, worse initial renal recovery of remaining kidney affected the long-term development of renal insufficiency in kidney donors.

These guidelines were developed as a part of the 2021 Academic R&D Service Project of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency in response to requests from healthcare professionals in clinical practice for guidance on developing antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs). These guidelines were developed by means of a systematic literature review and a summary of recent literature, in which evidence-based intervention methods were used to address key questions about the appropriate use of antimicrobial agents and ASP expansion. These guidelines also provide evidence of the effectiveness of ASPs and describe intervention methods applicable in Korea.

Purpose: Acute kidney injury (AKI) in cancer patients is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The incidence of AKI in lung cancer seems to be relatively higher compared with other solid organ malignancies, although its impact on patient outcomes remains unclear. Materials and Methods: The patients newly diagnosed with lung cancer from 2004 to 2013 were enrolled in this retrospective cohort study. The patients were categorized according to the presence and severity of AKI. We compared all-cause mortality and long-term renal outcome according to AKI stage. Results: A total of 3,202 patients were included in the final analysis. AKI occurred in 1,783 (55.7%) patients during the follow-up period, with the majority having mild AKI stage 1 (75.8%). During the follow-up of 2.6±2.2 years, total 1,251 patients (53.7%) were died and 5-year survival rate was 46.9%. We found that both AKI development and severity were independent risk factors for all-cause mortality in lung cancer patients, even after adjustment for lung cancer-specific variables including the stage or pathological type. In addition, patients suffered from more severe AKI tend to encounter de novo chronic kidney disease development, worsening kidney function, and end-stage kidney disease progression. Conclusion In this study, more than half of the lung cancer patients experienced AKI during their diagnosis and treatment period. Moreover, AKI occurrence and more advanced AKI were associated with a higher mortality risk and adverse kidney outcomes.