Objectives: In May 2025, clusters of salmonellosis were identified in 7 cities in the Republic of Korea, all associated with consumption of identical bakery products. This investigation aimed to characterize the outbreak, identify potential contributing factors, and inform strategies for preventing similar multi-facility foodborne outbreaks. Methods: A case series study was conducted among individuals who consumed Manufacturer H’s Product I and Product II on May 15–16, 2025 at 7 facilities (n = 1,235). Clinical specimens from symptomatic individuals, retained food samples, and environmental samples were collected and tested. Food-exposure histories were assessed, and active case finding was implemented across all supplied facilities. Traceback investigations were conducted at the manufacturer, distributor, and egg farms. Human and food isolates underwent pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Results: A total of 323 cases met the outbreak case definition (attack rate, 26.2%), of which 48 were laboratory-confirmed. Salmonella Enteritidis was isolated from both clinical specimens and retained bakery products. PFGE patterns were indistinguishable between human and food isolates, and WGS demonstrated high genetic relatedness. These findings confirmed a common-source outbreak linked to the implicated bakery products. Conclusion This outbreak underscores the value of integrating epidemiological investigation, active case finding, and molecular typing to identify common food vehicles in outbreaks involving widely distributed manufactured foods. Coordinated collaboration between public health and food safety authorities is essential for the effective detection, response, and prevention of multi-facility foodborne outbreaks.

Background: With the aging population and advancements in medical care worldwide, the number of older patients with end-stage kidney disease continues to rise. This study aimed to identify factors associated with osteoporosis and osteopenia in older patients undergoing incident hemodialysis and assess their impact on mortality. Methods: We analyzed a large multicenter retrospective cohort of patients aged ≥70 years undergoing incident hemodialysis to identify factors associated with osteoporosis using logistic regression analysis and to assess the association of death with osteoporosis and osteopenia using Cox multivariable analysis. Results: Among 710 patients, 39.0% and 19.6% had osteoporosis and osteopenia, respectively. Osteoporosis was significantly associated with female sex, a history of fractures, and the absence of phosphate binder use. During a median follow-up of 36.8 months, 348 participants (58.8%) died. Mortality rates were the highest in the osteoporosis group (79.8%), followed by the osteopenia (77.2%) and normal bone mineral density (BMD) groups (35.2%). Cox regression analysis revealed that even after adjusting for covariates, the osteoporosis group was significantly associated with a higher mortality risk than the normal BMD group. Osteoporosis at the start of hemodialysis was significantly associated with higher mortality. Conclusion We should consider the importance of bone health in patients undergoing incident hemodialysis and pay attention to the use of phosphate binders and fracture prevention.

Background: Obesity is a well-known risk factor for chronic kidney disease and its progression. However, the impact of obesity on the renal function of the elderly population is uncertain. We investigated the association between obesity and renal outcomes in the elderly. Methods: We analyzed 130,504 participants from the Korean National Health Insurance Service-Senior cohort. Obesity was classified according to body mass index (BMI), sex-specific waist circumference (WC), and the presence of metabolic syndrome. The primary outcome was renal function decline, defined as a decline in the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of at least 50% from baseline or new-onset end-stage renal disease. Results: During a follow-up period of 559,531.1 person-years (median, 4.3 years), 2,486 participants (19.0%; incidence rate of 4.44 per 1,000 person-years) showed renal function decline. A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model revealed that BMI/WC was not associated with renal function decline. However, the group with metabolic syndrome had a significantly increased risk of renal function decline compared to the group without metabolic syndrome (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.24; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13–1.36). Compared with the non-metabolic syndrome group, the adjusted HRs (95% CI) for participants with one through five components were 0.96 (0.84–1.11), 1.10 (0.96–1.27), 1.24 (1.06–1.45), 1.37 (1.12–1.66), and 1.99 (1.42–2.79), respectively (p for trend < 0.001). Conclusion In elderly Korean adults, metabolic syndrome and the number of its components were associated with a higher risk of renal function decline, but BMI or WC was not significant.

Reliable preclinical models for assessing drug-induced cardiotoxicity are essential to reduce the high rate of drug withdrawals during development. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) have emerged as a promising platform for such assessments due to their expression of cardiacspecific ion channels and electrophysiological properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of eight arrhythmogenic drugs—E4031, nifedipine, mexiletine, JNJ303, flecainide, moxifloxacin, quinidine, and ranolazine—on hiPSC-CMs derived from both healthy individuals and a long QT syndrome (LQTS) patient using multielectrode array systems. The results demonstrated dose-dependent changes in field potential duration and arrhythmogenic risk, with LQTS-derived hiPSC-CMs showing increased sensitivity to hERG channel blockers such as E4031. Furthermore, the study highlights the potential of hiPSC-CMs to model disease-specific cardiac responses, providing insights into genetic predispositions and personalized drug responses.Despite challenges related to the immaturity of hiPSC-CMs, their ability to recapitulate human cardiac electrophysiology makes them a valuable tool for preclinical cardiotoxicity assessments. This study underscores the utility of integrating patientderived hiPSC-CMs with advanced analytical platforms, such as multi-electrode array systems, to evaluate drug-induced electrophysiological changes. These findings reinforce the role of hiPSC-CMs in drug development, facilitating safer and more efficient screening methods while supporting precision medicine applications.

Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) 3.0 for predicting mortality and liver-related complications compared with the Child-Pugh classification, albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, the MELD, and the MELD sodium (MELDNa) score. Methods: We evaluated a multicenter retrospective cohort of incorporated patients with cirrhosis between 2013 and 2019. We conducted comparisons of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of the MELD3.0 and other models for predicting 3-month mortality. Additionally, we assessed the risk of cirrhosis-related complications according to the MELD3.0 score. Results: A total of 3,314 patients were included. The mean age was 55.9±11.3 years, and 70.2% of the patients were male. Within the initial 3 months, 220 patients (6.6%) died, and the MELD3.0had the best predictive performance among the tested models, with an AUROC of 0.851, outperforming the Child-Pugh classification, ALBI grade, MELD, and MELDNa. A high MELD3.0score was associated with an increased risk of mortality. Compared with that of the group with a MELD3.0 score <10 points, the adjusted hazard ratio of the group with a score of 10–20 pointswas 2.176, and that for the group with a score of ≥20 points was 4.892. Each 1-point increase inthe MELD3.0 score increased the risk of cirrhosis-related complications by 1.033-fold. The risk of hepatorenal syndrome showed the highest increase, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.149, followed by hepatic encephalopathy and ascites. Conclusions The MELD3.0 demonstrated robust prognostic performance in predicting mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Moreover, the MELD3.0 score was linked to cirrhosis-related complications, particularly those involving kidney function, such as hepatorenal syndrome and ascites.

Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) 3.0 for predicting mortality and liver-related complications compared with the Child-Pugh classification, albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, the MELD, and the MELD sodium (MELDNa) score. Methods: We evaluated a multicenter retrospective cohort of incorporated patients with cirrhosis between 2013 and 2019. We conducted comparisons of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of the MELD3.0 and other models for predicting 3-month mortality. Additionally, we assessed the risk of cirrhosis-related complications according to the MELD3.0 score. Results: A total of 3,314 patients were included. The mean age was 55.9±11.3 years, and 70.2% of the patients were male. Within the initial 3 months, 220 patients (6.6%) died, and the MELD3.0had the best predictive performance among the tested models, with an AUROC of 0.851, outperforming the Child-Pugh classification, ALBI grade, MELD, and MELDNa. A high MELD3.0score was associated with an increased risk of mortality. Compared with that of the group with a MELD3.0 score <10 points, the adjusted hazard ratio of the group with a score of 10–20 pointswas 2.176, and that for the group with a score of ≥20 points was 4.892. Each 1-point increase inthe MELD3.0 score increased the risk of cirrhosis-related complications by 1.033-fold. The risk of hepatorenal syndrome showed the highest increase, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.149, followed by hepatic encephalopathy and ascites. Conclusions The MELD3.0 demonstrated robust prognostic performance in predicting mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Moreover, the MELD3.0 score was linked to cirrhosis-related complications, particularly those involving kidney function, such as hepatorenal syndrome and ascites.

Reliable preclinical models for assessing drug-induced cardiotoxicity are essential to reduce the high rate of drug withdrawals during development. Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) have emerged as a promising platform for such assessments due to their expression of cardiacspecific ion channels and electrophysiological properties. In this study, we investigated the effects of eight arrhythmogenic drugs—E4031, nifedipine, mexiletine, JNJ303, flecainide, moxifloxacin, quinidine, and ranolazine—on hiPSC-CMs derived from both healthy individuals and a long QT syndrome (LQTS) patient using multielectrode array systems. The results demonstrated dose-dependent changes in field potential duration and arrhythmogenic risk, with LQTS-derived hiPSC-CMs showing increased sensitivity to hERG channel blockers such as E4031. Furthermore, the study highlights the potential of hiPSC-CMs to model disease-specific cardiac responses, providing insights into genetic predispositions and personalized drug responses.Despite challenges related to the immaturity of hiPSC-CMs, their ability to recapitulate human cardiac electrophysiology makes them a valuable tool for preclinical cardiotoxicity assessments. This study underscores the utility of integrating patientderived hiPSC-CMs with advanced analytical platforms, such as multi-electrode array systems, to evaluate drug-induced electrophysiological changes. These findings reinforce the role of hiPSC-CMs in drug development, facilitating safer and more efficient screening methods while supporting precision medicine applications.

Background/Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) 3.0 for predicting mortality and liver-related complications compared with the Child-Pugh classification, albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, the MELD, and the MELD sodium (MELDNa) score. Methods: We evaluated a multicenter retrospective cohort of incorporated patients with cirrhosis between 2013 and 2019. We conducted comparisons of the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of the MELD3.0 and other models for predicting 3-month mortality. Additionally, we assessed the risk of cirrhosis-related complications according to the MELD3.0 score. Results: A total of 3,314 patients were included. The mean age was 55.9±11.3 years, and 70.2% of the patients were male. Within the initial 3 months, 220 patients (6.6%) died, and the MELD3.0had the best predictive performance among the tested models, with an AUROC of 0.851, outperforming the Child-Pugh classification, ALBI grade, MELD, and MELDNa. A high MELD3.0score was associated with an increased risk of mortality. Compared with that of the group with a MELD3.0 score <10 points, the adjusted hazard ratio of the group with a score of 10–20 pointswas 2.176, and that for the group with a score of ≥20 points was 4.892. Each 1-point increase inthe MELD3.0 score increased the risk of cirrhosis-related complications by 1.033-fold. The risk of hepatorenal syndrome showed the highest increase, with an adjusted hazard ratio of 1.149, followed by hepatic encephalopathy and ascites. Conclusions The MELD3.0 demonstrated robust prognostic performance in predicting mortality in patients with cirrhosis. Moreover, the MELD3.0 score was linked to cirrhosis-related complications, particularly those involving kidney function, such as hepatorenal syndrome and ascites.