Background: Primary cutaneous CD30+ lymphoproliferative disorders (pcCD30-LPDs) are a diseases with various clinical and prognostic characteristics. Objective: Increasing our knowledge of the clinical characteristics of pcCD30-LPDs and identifying potential prognostic variables in an Asian population. Methods: Clinicopathological features and survival data of pcCD30-LPD cases obtained from 22 hospitals in South Korea were examined. Results: A total of 413 cases of pcCD30-LPDs (lymphomatoid papulosis [LYP], n=237; primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma [C-ALCL], n=176) were included. Ninety percent of LYP patients and roughly 50% of C-ALCL patients presented with multiple skin lesions. Both LYP and C-ALCL affected the lower limbs most frequently. Multiplicity and advanced T stage of LYP lesions were associated with a chronic course longer than 6 months. Clinical morphology with patch lesions and elevated serum lactate dehydrogenase were significantly associated with LPDs during follow-up in LYP patients. Extracutaneous involvement of C-ALCL occurred in 13.2% of patients. Lesions larger than 5 cm and increased serum lactate dehydrogenase were associated with a poor prognosis in C-ALCL. The survival of patients with C-ALCL was unaffected by the anatomical locations of skin lesions or other pathological factors. Conclusion The multiplicity or size of skin lesions was associated with a chronic course of LYP and survival among patients with C-ALCL.

Background: Hand hygiene is considered the simplest and most cost-effective method of infection prevention. Regular observation and feedback on hand hygiene compliance are key strategies for its enhancement. This study evaluated the effectiveness of hand hygiene surveillance, including direct observation and feedback, by comprehensively analyzing the reported hand hygiene compliance within the Korean National Healthcare-Associated Infections Surveillance System from 2019 to 2022. Methods: Participating medical institutions included general hospitals and hospitals with infection control departments that consented to participate. Hand hygiene surveillance was conducted using direct observation. Collected data, including healthcare workers, clinical areas, hand hygiene moments, and hand hygiene compliance, were recorded to calculate hand hygiene compliance rates. Additionally, the volume of alcohol-based hand sanitizers used per patient per day was investigated as an indirect indicator of hand hygiene compliance. The study was conducted from July 2019 to December 2022. Results: Hand hygiene compliance increased from 87.2% in Q3 2019 to 89.9% in 2022. Nurses and medical technologists showed the highest compliance rates, whereas doctors showed the lowest compliance rates. Intensive care units excelled in compliance, whereas emergency de partments lagged. Compliance was highest after patient contact and lowest when the patient’s surroundings were touched. Larger hospitals consumed more alcohol-based hand sanitizers than smaller hospitals did. Conclusion This study confirmed an improvement in hand hygiene compliance through sustained surveillance, indicating its contribution not only to preventing infection transfer within healthcare facilities but also to fostering a culture of hand hygiene in the country.

In the rapidly evolving healthcare environment, radiologists strive to establish their rightful place.Thus, there is a need for enhanced outpatient and clinical education within the Department of Radiology and exploration of its methodologies. Accordingly, the Korean Society of Radiology established a task force to investigate the clinical and outpatient practice status of radiologists overseas, current state of related education, involvement of other specialties in radiologic practices and education in Korea, and clinical and outpatient practice status among Korean radiologists. Furthermore, a survey on clinical competency enhancement was conducted among the members of the Korean Society of Radiology. These findings suggest the need for visibility and clinical competency enhancement in radiologists and methodologies for strengthening clinical competencies.

In the rapidly evolving healthcare environment, radiologists strive to establish their rightful place.Thus, there is a need for enhanced outpatient and clinical education within the Department of Radiology and exploration of its methodologies. Accordingly, the Korean Society of Radiology established a task force to investigate the clinical and outpatient practice status of radiologists overseas, current state of related education, involvement of other specialties in radiologic practices and education in Korea, and clinical and outpatient practice status among Korean radiologists. Furthermore, a survey on clinical competency enhancement was conducted among the members of the Korean Society of Radiology. These findings suggest the need for visibility and clinical competency enhancement in radiologists and methodologies for strengthening clinical competencies.

In the rapidly evolving healthcare environment, radiologists strive to establish their rightful place.Thus, there is a need for enhanced outpatient and clinical education within the Department of Radiology and exploration of its methodologies. Accordingly, the Korean Society of Radiology established a task force to investigate the clinical and outpatient practice status of radiologists overseas, current state of related education, involvement of other specialties in radiologic practices and education in Korea, and clinical and outpatient practice status among Korean radiologists. Furthermore, a survey on clinical competency enhancement was conducted among the members of the Korean Society of Radiology. These findings suggest the need for visibility and clinical competency enhancement in radiologists and methodologies for strengthening clinical competencies.

Purpose: Although the taller-than-wide (TTW) sign has been regarded as one of the most specific ultrasound (US) features of thyroid malignancy, uncertainty still exists regarding the US probe’s orientation when evaluating it. This study investigated which US plane would be optimal to identify the TTW sign based on malignancy risk stratification using a registry-based imaging dataset. Methods: A previous study by 17 academic radiologists retrospectively analyzed the US images of 5,601 thyroid nodules (≥1 cm, 1,089 malignant and 4,512 benign) collected in the webbased registry of Thyroid Imaging Network of Korea through the collaboration of 26 centers. The present study assessed the diagnostic performance of the TTW sign itself and fine needle aspiration (FNA) indications via a comparison of four international guidelines, depending on the orientation of the US probe (criterion 1, transverse plane; criterion 2, either transverse or longitudinal plane). Results: Overall, the TTW sign was more frequent in malignant than in benign thyroid nodules (25.3% vs. 4.6%). However, the statistical differences between criteria 1 and 2 were negligible for sensitivity, specificity, and area under the curve (AUC) based on the size effect (all P<0.05, Cohen’s d=0.19, 0.10, and 0.07, respectively). Moreover, the sensitivity, specificity, and AUC of the four FNA guidelines were similar between criteria 1 and 2 (all P>0.05, respectively). Conclusion A longitudinal US probe orientation provided little additional diagnostic value over the transverse orientation in detecting the TTW sign of thyroid nodules.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean Adult Patients Delirium Screening Tool (K-APDS) for those admitted to general wards, and to verify its reliability and validity. Methods: For the development of the tool, 12 items were derived through the results of literature review and focus group interviews with general ward nurses, and the content validity was confirmed by experts. To verify the reliability and validity of the developed tool, 317 adult patients who were admitted to general wards of three tertiary general hospitals from October to November 2022 were evaluated by the attending nurse and data were collected. Results: After factor analysis for construct validity verification, two factors were extracted, which explained 60.1% of the total variance. After the validation of the control group, the difference in the delirium incidence scores calculated using the K-APDS between the delirium group and non-delirium group was very significant (Z=-10.82, p<.001).To verify the criterion validity, K-APDS, Delirium Observation Screening, and Pearson's correlation coefficient were checked and found to be .94 (p<.001). The predictive validity test reported that the sensitivity was 91.1%, specificity was 82.4%, positive predictive value was 52.6%, and negative predictive value was 97.8%. The reliability of K-APDS was found to be high with Cronbach’s ⍺=.91. Conclusion K-APDS can screen for delirium with 2 or more points, excellent validity and reliability have been verified. Therefore, this tool could be applied immediately in the clinical field, and will contribute to the early detection of delirium, enabling rapid interventions.