Objectives: Electrocardiography (ECG)-based diagnosis by experts cannot maintain uniform quality because individual differences may occur. Previous public databases can be used for clinical studies, but there is no common standard that would allow databases to be combined. For this reason, it is difficult to conduct research that derives results by combining databases. Recent commercial ECG machines offer diagnoses similar to those of a physician. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to construct a standardized ECG database using computerized diagnoses. Methods: The constructed database was standardized using Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) and Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership–common data model (OMOP-CDM), and data were then categorized into 10 groups based on the Minnesota classification. In addition, to extract high-quality waveforms, poor-quality ECGs were removed, and database bias was minimized by extracting at least 2,000 cases for each group. To check database quality, the difference in baseline displacement according to whether poor ECGs were removed was analyzed, and the usefulness of the database was verified with seven classification models using waveforms. Results: The standardized KURIAS-ECG database consists of high-quality ECGs from 13,862 patients, with about 20,000 data points, making it possible to obtain more than 2,000 for each Minnesota classification. An artificial intelligence classification model using the data extracted through SNOMED-CT showed an average accuracy of 88.03%. Conclusions The KURIAS-ECG database contains standardized ECG data extracted from various machines. The proposed protocol should promote cardiovascular disease research using big data and artificial intelligence.

A 4-year-old Holstein cow with progressive atrophy and ataxia was submitted for diagnosis. The postmortem examination revealed multifocal yellowish nodules in the pulmonary parenchyma and vegetative masses in the mitral and tricuspid valve of the heart. Both kidneys were severely enlarged, with multiple yellow nodules on the parenchyma. Histopathologically, pulmonary abscesses, vegetative endocarditis, suppurative glomerulonephritis, and fibrino-purulent arthritis were observed. The tiny β-hemolytic bacterial colonies were isolated from the lesions and identified as Arcanobacterium haemolyticum by the Vitek 2 system (bioMérieux, USA). This is the first documented report of an A. haemolyticum infection in a Holstein cow in Korea.

Methods: Patients who completed a questionnaire on back-pain between October 2016 and October 2017 were enrolled in this study. Appendicular skeletal muscle index (ASMI), cross-sectional area (CSA) index, fatty infiltration (FI) rate of the paraspinal muscles, and lumbar extensor strength index (LESI) were measured and compared between no back-pain and back-pain group. Correlations between LESI and ASMI, CSA index, and FI rate were analyzed. The back-pain group was further divided according to ASMI into sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia subgroups and by our newly developed back muscle degeneration risk index based on correlation coefficients between LESI and CSA index, FI rate. Differences in ASMI, CSA index, FI rate, LESI, and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score between subgroups were analyzed. Results: The ASMI, CSA index, FI rate, and LESI differed significantly between back-pain and pain-free groups. The LESI demonstrated the strongest correlation with FI rate. There were no significant differences in VAS score and back muscle degeneration index in the back-pain group when divided according to the presence of sarcopenia. However, there was a significant difference in VAS score between back-pain patients when classified according to high and low back muscle degeneration risk index. Conclusions We suggest that the degree of back pain is more strongly associated with back muscle degeneration than with sarcopenia. This back muscle degeneration risk index, reflecting both back muscle morphology and function, could be a useful parameter for evaluation of back pain and muscle degeneration.

PURPOSE: This study compared the oncologic impact of postoperative chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy on patients with rectal cancer without preoperative chemoradiation. METHODS: This retrospective study analyzed 713 patients with a mean follow-up of 58 months who had undergone radical resection for stage II/III rectal cancer without preoperative treatment in nine hospitals from January 2004 to December 2009. The study population was categorized a chemotherapy group (CG, n = 460) and a chemoradiotherapy group (CRG, n = 253). Five-year overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed, and independent factors predicting survival were identified. RESULTS: The patients in the CRG were significantly younger (P < 0.001) and had greater incidences of low rectal cancer (P < 0.001) and stage III disease (P < 0.001). Five-year OS (P = 0.024) and DFS (P = 0.012) were significantly higher in the CG for stage II disease; however, they were not significantly different for stage III disease. In the multivariate analysis, independent predictive factors were male sex, low rectal cancer and stage III disease for OS and male sex, abdominoperineal resection, stage III disease and tumor-positive circumferential margin for DFS. However, adjuvant therapy type did not independently affect OS (hazard ratio [HR], 1.243; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.794–1.945; P = 0.341) and DFS (HR, 1.091; 95% CI, 0.810–1.470; P = 0.566). CONCLUSION: Adjuvant therapy type did not affect survival of stage II/III rectal cancer patients without neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy. These results suggest that adjuvant therapy can be chosen based on the patient’s condition and the policies of the surgeons and hospital facilities.
Chemoradiotherapy ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Rectal Neoplasms* ; Retrospective Studies* ; Surgeons

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of sleep apnea headache has not been established and its possible mechanism is unclear. This study evaluated the frequency of sleep apnea headache in Korean patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) with the aim of identifying their clinical characteristics as well as the sleep parameters that are correlated with headache intensity. METHODS: Between January 2005 and December 2014, 2000 patients who were referred to our sleep clinic underwent overnight polysomnography and were interviewed by a neurologist. The neurologist also reviewed the medical records and headache questionnaires of 1659 patients with OSA. We selected patients with sleep apnea headache based on diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (III beta version). Descriptive statistics were applied to analyze clinical characteristics and various sleep parameters. Pearson's correlation coefficient and single/multivariate linear regression analysis were used to identify predictors of headache intensity. RESULTS: Sleep apnea headache was diagnosed in 139 (8.4%) of the patients in this single-center study. The diagnosed patients had male dominancy (87.8%), severe sleep apnea (mean apnea-hypopnea index [AHI]>30), and were middle-aged (mean of 43.5 years old). The ratio of the apnea-hypopnea time to the total sleep time, AHI, the oxygen desaturation index, and the arousal index were positively correlated with headache intensity. AHI was the best predictor of headache intensity in the patients with sleep apnea headache. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency of sleep apnea headache among the Korean patients in this study was lower than in previous studies. We found that there was a strong positive correlation between OSA severity (mostly, AHI) and headache intensity in patients with sleep apnea headache.
Arousal ; Classification ; Headache Disorders ; Headache* ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Male ; Medical Records ; Oxygen ; Polysomnography ; Prevalence ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes* ; Sleep Apnea, Obstructive*

PURPOSE: We analyzed the surgical result of schwannoma occurring in the major peripheral nerves of the extremity and factors that influence these surgical results. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifty-one patients, who were followed for more than 1 year, were included. The mean age was 51 years. There were 23 male cases and 28 female cases. There were 27 cases of schwannoma in the upper extremity and 24 cases in the lower extremity. The involved nerves were classified. The maximal diameter of excised tumors was measured. Clinical and neurological symptoms were analyzed at preoperative, postoperative, and final follow-up. Risk factors of neurological complications were also analyzed. RESULTS: The mean follow-up period was 20 months. The average maximal diameter of tumors was 2.9 cm. The most affected nerve in the upper extremity was the ulnar nerve in 10 cases, and tibial nerve in the lower extremity in 10 cases. The most prevalent preoperative symptom was Tinel in 38 cases. Clinical symptoms were improved in more than 90% of patients following the surgery. There were 13 cases with preoperative sensory deficits. Symptom improvement after surgery was observed in 9 cases; and symptoms persisted in 4 cases following surgery. At the final follow-up, sensory deficits disappeared in 2 cases and persisted in 2 cases. There were 2 cases of preoperative motor deficits. There was improvement in 1 case following the surgery and persisted in 1 case until the final follow-up. There was a statistical significance between maximal diameter of schwannoma and postoperative neurological deficits (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Schwannoma at the major peripheral nerves of the extremity can be excised with acceptable risk for neurological deficits. Meticulous dissection is required to avoid injuries of the involved nerves.
Extremities* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Neurilemmoma* ; Peripheral Nerves* ; Risk Factors ; Tibial Nerve ; Ulnar Nerve ; Upper Extremity

BACKGROUND: Hemolysis, icterus, and lipemia (HIL) cause preanalytical interference and vary unpredictably with different analytical equipments and measurement methods. We developed an integrated reporting system for verifying HIL status in order to identify the extent of interference by HIL on clinical chemistry results. METHODS: HIL interference data from 30 chemical analytes were provided by the manufacturers and were used to generate a table of clinically relevant interference values that indicated the extent of bias at specific index values (alert index values). The HIL results generated by the Vista 1500 system (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics, USA), Advia 2400 system (Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics), and Modular DPE system (Roche Diagnostics, Switzerland) were analyzed and displayed on physicians' personal computers. RESULTS: Analytes 11 and 29 among the 30 chemical analytes were affected by interference due to hemolysis, when measured using the Vista and Modular systems, respectively. The hemolysis alert indices for the Vista and Modular systems were 0.1-25.8% and 0.1-64.7%, respectively. The alert indices for icterus and lipemia were <1.4% and 0.7% in the Vista system and 0.7% and 1.0% in the Modular system, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The HIL alert index values for chemical analytes varied depending on the chemistry analyzer. This integrated HIL reporting system provides an effective screening tool for verifying specimen quality with regard to HIL and simplifies the laboratory workflow.
Blood Chemical Analysis/instrumentation/*methods/standards ; Female ; Hemoglobins/analysis ; *Hemolysis ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias/metabolism/*pathology ; Jaundice/metabolism/*pathology ; Male ; Quality Control ; Reproducibility of Results

PURPOSE: To evaluate clinical effects of intracameral voriconazole injection in fungal keratitis refractory to conventional therapy. METHODS: Thirty-eight eyes of 38 patients with fungal keratitis were included in this study. The patients were divided into 3 groups: 13 patients with intracameral voriconazole injection (50 microg/0.1 ml; group A), 11 patients with intracameral amphotericin B injection (10 microg/0.1 ml; group B), and 14 patients with conventional therapy only (group C). Clinical factors including treatment success rate and time to successful treatment were evaluated. RESULTS: Treatment success was accomplished in 12 eyes in group A (92.3%), 10 eyes in group B (90.9%), and 12 eyes in group C (85.7%). Time to treatment success in group A, B, and C was 36.1 +/- 10.4 days (p = 0.04), 34.2 +/- 7.8 days (p = 0.03), and 49.5 +/- 16.7 days, respectively. Patients who had received intracameral voriconazole injection or amphotericin B showed faster fungal keratitis improvement than patients who received conventional treatment. Time to re-epithelialization and time to disappearance of hypopyon showed a similar clinical course. CONCLUSIONS: Intracameral voriconazole injection, which has a similar therapeutic effect as intracameral amphotericin B injection in the management of fungal keratitis, can be helpful in the treatment of intractable fungal keratitis.
Amphotericin B ; Eye ; Humans ; Keratitis ; Pyrimidines ; Re-Epithelialization ; Time-to-Treatment ; Triazoles

PURPOSE: Ureteral calculi are commonly encountered in the emergency department. Ureteral calculi influence the quality of life of patients, causing pain and economic burden. The optimal management of ureteral calculi remains a challenge for practicing physicians; therefore, this study was designed to determine which factors are related to the failure of their spontaneous passage. METHODS: This study was a retrospective review of the medical records of one hundred ninety-five patients who visited the emergency department complaining of renal colic from February 2012 to December 2012. Bivariate analyses were conducted relating physical, laboratory, and radiological methods to predict the failure of spontaneous passage. A multivariate logistic regression model was then derived, with all variables in the final model significant at p<0.05. RESULTS: One hundred twenty-eight stones were spontaneously expelled and sixty-seven were not. The mean stone size was significantly larger in the non-passage group than the passage group (p<0.001). When the stones were located in the upper ureter, or on the right side, the spontaneous passage rate was lower (p<0.001, p=0.035). Increased neutrophils and positive tests for urinary protein and bilirubin were also associated with the decreased likelihood of spontaneous passage (p=0.046, p=0.029, and p=0.048, respectively). In addition, the longer duration of symptoms and a previous history of ureteral calculi were related to a lower chance of spontaneous passage (p=0.005, p=0.019). CONCLUSION: Prognostic factors of failure, after the initial expectant management of ureteral calculi, included: calculi size, location (e.g., side), the duration of symptoms, the previous history, neutrophil levels, urinary bilirubin levels, and urinary protein levels. Therefore, emergency physicians need to cautiously decide between watchful waiting and interventions in these patients.
Bilirubin ; Calculi ; Emergencies ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Neutrophils ; Quality of Life ; Renal Colic ; Retrospective Studies ; Ureter ; Ureteral Calculi ; Watchful Waiting