Background and Objectives: Patients with voice disorders often face difficulties in managing their vocal health in daily life, highlighting the need for voice management and hygiene education without temporal or spatial limitations. This study aimed to evaluate the usability of a smartphone-based voice hygiene application developed for patients with voice disorders.Materials and Method Thirty patients diagnosed with voice disorders who underwent voice therapy participated in the study. After using the voice hygiene application for 4 weeks, participants completed a usability questionnaire composed of ten items across five key categories: aesthetics, functionality, engagement, usability, and reliability (two items per category). Results: The overall usability score of the voice hygiene application was 3.94 out of 5. The highest ratings were observed in aesthetic design and convenience. Engagement was positively influenced by the app’s reminder feature, and satisfaction regarding information reliability and system functionality was also generally high. Conclusion The voice hygiene application was found to be a useful tool for supporting self-management and maintaining vocal hygiene among patients with voice disorders through unrestricted accessibility. This study suggests that such applications can promote consistent voice hygiene practices and contribute to the improvement of vocal health.

Purpose: This study aimed to compare the short-term outcomes and safety profiles of androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT)+abiraterone/prednisone with those of ADT+docetaxel in patients with de novo metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). Materials and Methods: A web-based database system was established to collect prospective cohort data for patients with mHSPC in Korea. From May 2019 to November 2022, 928 patients with mHSPC from 15 institutions were enrolled. Among these patients, data from 122 patients who received ADT+abiraterone/prednisone or ADT+docetaxel as the primary systemic treatment for mHSPC were collected. The patients were divided into two groups: ADT+abiraterone/prednisone group (n=102) and ADT+docetaxel group (n=20). We compared the demographic characteristics, medical histories, baseline cancer status, initial laboratory tests, metastatic burden, oncological outcomes for mHSPC, progression after mHSPC treatment, adverse effects, follow-up, and survival data between the two groups. Results: No significant differences in the demographic characteristics, medical histories, metastatic burden, and baseline cancer status were observed between the two groups. The ADT+abiraterone/prednisone group had a lower prostate-specific antigen (PSA) progression rate (7.8% vs. 30.0%; p=0.011) and lower systemic treatment discontinuation rate (22.5% vs. 45.0%; p=0.037). No significant differences in adverse effects, oncological outcomes, and total follow-up period were observed between the two groups. Conclusions ADT+abiraterone/prednisone had lower PSA progression and systemic treatment discontinuation rates than ADT+docetaxel. In conclusion, further studies involving larger, double-blinded randomized trials with extended follow-up periods are necessary.

Purpose: The Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC) 2015 was based on topics withcontroversy in the field of advanced prostate cancer. To understand the Korean urologists perspective regardingthe issues, we have conducted a questionnaire named Prostate Cancer Summit (PCAS) 2016, with 9 importantsubtopics. Materials and Methods: Total 9 subtopics have been decided and questions were developed regarding eachsubtopic. The questions were based on that of APCCC 2015 and translated into Korean for better understanding.Total 51 panelists have voted online on 85 different questions. Results: The survey concluded that testosterone should be measured as a diagnostic criterion for castrationresistance prostate cancer (CRPC) and that consensus was reached on issues such as the use of androgenreceptor pathway inhibitors in the treatment of predocetaxel and postdocetaxel in CRPC patients. In addition,76% of the participants agreed that imaging tests were needed before new treatment in CRPC patients, anda majority of participants agreed that periodic imaging tests are necessary regardless of symptoms during treatmentfor CRPC. However, some issues, such as the use of prostate-specific antigen-based triggers for remediationin CRPC patients, the endocrine manipulation in nonmetastatic CRPC patients, and the onset of treatment inasymptomatic metastatic CRPC patients, were not agreed. Conclusions The results from PCAS 2016 has addressed some of the issues with controversy. Although thevoting results are subjective, it will help guide treatment decisions in topics with less evidence.

Schwannomas are the most common type of benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors. They typically present as a solitary lesion, but multiple schwannomas rarely occur in patients with neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), or patients without the other hallmarks of NF2. The latter is termed schwannomatosis. They most commonly occur in the head and neck involving the brachial plexus and spinal nerves. Although rarely found in the extremities, when these masses occur peripherally, they most commonly affect the sciatic, ulnar, and tibial nerve. It is reported that 2.4% to 5% of all patients undergoing schwannoma excision present as schwannomatosis. One-third of patients with schwannomatosis show tumors limited to a single extremity or segment of the spine and it is referred to as segmental schwannomatosis. We report a case of recurred segmental schwannomatosis of the posterior tibial nerve without features of NF2 after schwannoma excision.
Brachial Plexus ; Extremities ; Head ; Humans ; Neck ; Nerve Sheath Neoplasms ; Neurilemmoma ; Neurofibromatoses* ; Neurofibromatosis 2* ; Spinal Nerves ; Spine ; Tibial Nerve

Various types of tumor can occur in the subungual space, including glomus tumors, subungual exostosis, hemangioma, epidermal cysts, and malignant tumors. While fibromatosis can occur at various sites throughout the body, it is very rarely seen in the toe. Here, we are the first to report a case of superficial fibromatosis mimicking a glomus tumor in the subungual space of the second toe. The presentation of this condition shows the possibility of encountering uncommon superficial fibromatosis in the distal phalanx of the toe, and suggests that superficial fibromatosis should be included in the differential diagnosis of a glomus tumor in the toe.
Adult ; *Fibroma ; *Glomus Tumor ; Humans ; Male ; *Osteochondroma ; *Toes/pathology/surgery

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There are few data supporting the diagnostic yield of brush cytology depending on the order of cytologic preparation method or the location or shape of tumors in biliary strictures. We investigated diagnostic yields and variations in brush cytology with direct smear and cell-block preparations according to sampling preparation sequence and tumor location and shape in biliary strictures. METHODS: Patients who had undergone ERCP with tissue sampling between August 2009 and April 2013 were analyzed retrospectively. Group A was examined using brush cytology with direct smear followed by cell-block with or without biopsy, while the reverse order was performed for group B. RESULTS: Among 138 enrolled patients, 92 patients (A: 36, B: 56) underwent both brush cytology with direct smear and cell-block preparations. No differences in sensitivity, specificity, or accuracy were observed according to the sampling preparation method and the location or shape of tumors in biliary strictures. The cellularity observed from brush cytology with direct smear was better than that from cell-block according to the location of the tumor (p<0.01). The diagnostic yield was increased in both groups with addition of an endobiliary biopsy. CONCLUSIONS: No difference in diagnostic accuracy was observed between the sequences of preparation for brush cytology with direct smear and cell-block techniques. Brush cytology showed better cellularity for diagnosis.
Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Bile Duct Neoplasms/*pathology ; Cholangiocarcinoma/pathology ; Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde ; *Cytodiagnosis ; Female ; Gallbladder Neoplasms/pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Staging ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/pathology ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the fistulographic features of malfunctioning axillary loop-configured arteriovenous grafts and the efficacy of percutaneous interventions in failed axillary loop-configured arteriovenous grafts. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten patients with axillary loop-configured arteriovenous grafts were referred for evaluation of graft patency or upper arm swelling. Fistulography and percutaneous intervention, including thrombolysis, percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stent placement, were performed. Statistical analysis of the procedure success rate and the primary and secondary patency rates was done. RESULTS: Four patients had graft related and subclavian venous stenosis, two patients had graft related stenosis and another four patients had subclavian venous stenosis only. Sixteen sessions of interventional procedures were performed in eight patients (average: 2 sessions / patient) until the end of follow-up. An interventional procedure was not done in two patients with central venous stenosis. The overall procedure success rate was 69% (11 of 16 sessions). The post-intervention primary and secondary patency rates were 50% and 63% at three months, 38% and 63% at six months and 25% and 63% at one year, respectively. CONCLUSION: Dysfunctional axillary loop-configured arteriovenous grafts almost always had subclavian venous and graft-related stenosis. Interventional treatments are helpful to overcome this and these treatments are expected to play a major role in restoring and maintaining the axillary loop-configured arteriovenous loop grafts.
Adult ; Aged ; Angioplasty, Balloon/*methods ; Arteriovenous Shunt, Surgical/*methods ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis Implantation/*methods ; Chronic Disease ; Constriction, Pathologic/therapy/ultrasonography ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft Occlusion, Vascular/*therapy/ultrasonography ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/*complications/therapy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Renal Dialysis ; Subclavian Vein/ultrasonography ; Survival Analysis ; Treatment Outcome ; Vascular Patency

BACKGROUND/AIMS: In Korea, few studies have examined primary cardiac tumors, which have a reported incidence of 0.0017~0.19% in autopsy series. This study surveyed the status of primary cardiac tumors over the past 7 years in one region. METHODS: A retrospective review examined all patients with primary cardiac tumors, except for confirmed thrombus, using hospital medical records from 2000 to 2006 at six community hospitals. Identified cases undergoing biopsy and surgery were selected for the study. RESULTS: The operative mortality was 7.7%. Of the 71 patients (26 males) with identified primary cardiac tumors, 65 (91.5%) tumors were benign and 6 (8.5%) were malignant. The benign tumors were myxoma (78.9%), rhabdomyoma (4.2%), fibroelastoma (2.8%), fibroma (1.4%), and leiomyoma (1.4%). Two of the myxomas were present at multiple locations. The malignant tumors included sarcomas (67%) and lymphomas (33%). Most of the tumors were located in the left atrium (76%). The majority of patients presented with chest pain and dyspnea. During follow-up for an average of 26.8+/-21.3 months, all but one patient with benign tumors was alive; one myxoma patient died perioperatively (1.5%). Four of the patients with malignant tumors (67%) died. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiac myxomas and sarcomas were the most common primary benign and malignant tumors, respectively. Benign tumors had excellent postoperative survival rates, while malignant tumors had high mortality.
Autopsy ; Biopsy ; Chest Pain ; Dyspnea ; Fibroma ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Atria ; Heart Neoplasms ; Hospitals, Community ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Leiomyoma ; Lymphoma ; Medical Records ; Myxoma ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhabdomyoma ; Sarcoma ; Survival Rate ; Thrombosis

Advances in chemotherapy and radiation therapies for malignant tumors have resulted in the identifications of various novel features of intestinal metastasis. The common causes of small bowel metastasis are malignant melanoma and lung cancer, and this has also been rarely reported to uterine cervical cancer, malignant lymphoma of the larynx, malignant lymphoma of soft palate, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The Combined HCC-cholangiocarcinoma (HCC-CC) is a rare primary liver malignancy, and is composed of cells with the histopathological features of both HCC and CC, but metastatic small bowel perforation by CC in a patient with combined HCC-CC has not been reported previously. The authors describe the case of a 51-year-old man with a metastatic small bowel perforation caused by an intrahepatic CC in combined HCC-CC with a review of the literature.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Cholangiocarcinoma ; Humans ; Larynx ; Liver ; Liver Neoplasms ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lymphoma ; Melanoma ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Palate, Soft ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Movement of mitral valve during diastole and blood flow velocity through the valve can be accurately measured using M-mode and pulsed wave Doppler technique, respectively. However, the relationship between mechanical excursion and flow phenomenon at the same cardiac cycle has not been seriously investigated. METHOD: The subjects of this study included twenty cases with normal mitral flow pattern in Doppler echocardiography (Group I, mean age:44+/-20.8years, mean ejection fraction (EF):52+/-20.9%), twenty three cases with relaxation abnormality (Group II, mean age:59+/-11.4years, mean EF:43+/-18.2%) and seventeen cases with restrictive physiology (Group III, mean age: 47+/-15.9years, mean EF: 24+/-11.0%). We measured excursion of mitral leaflets at early (DE) and late (DA) diastole, area of mitral valvular opening using two dimensional calibration on M mode images, and transmitral inflow velocity (E (early ventricular filling)-, A (atrial contraction)-velocity), TVI (time velocity integral) on Doppler echocardiography. RESULTS: DE-excursions (mm) in group I, II, III were 16.8+/-4.7, 14.2+/-3.5, 15.3+/-4.1, DA-excursions (mm) were 9.8+/-3.2, 10.7+/-3.0, 8.3+/-2.7, E-areas (cm2) were 2.8+/-1.3, 2.6+/-0.8, 2.5+/-1.0, A-areas (cm2) were 1.7+/-0.8, 1.7+/-0.7, 2.0+/-0.6, respectively. In E-, A-velocity, deceleration time, E-TVI and A-TVI, there were significant differences among three groups. However, in DE-, DA-excursion, E-, A-area, there were no significant differences among three groups. Between DE excursion and E velocity, DA excursion and A velocity, and total opening area and total TVI in total subjects, significant correlations were absent. CONCLUSION: The mitral excursions and mitral opening areas on M mode images did not show any significant correlations with the mitral inflow velocities and TVI by pulsed Doppler, which suggests that the excursion of mitral leaflets is independent of transmitral inflow.
Blood Flow Velocity ; Calibration ; Deceleration ; Diastole ; Echocardiography* ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Mitral Valve* ; Physiology ; Relaxation