Although WHO declared the end of the public health emergency for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2), XBB lineages continue to evolve and emerge globally. In particular, XBB.1.5 and XBB.1.16 are raising concerns because of their high immune evasion, leading to apprehensions regarding vaccine efficacy reduction and potential reinfection. We aimed to investigate the COVID-19 outbreak in Korea and predict the likelihood of reinfection by testing neutralizing activity against live viruses from the S clade and 19 Omicron sublineages.We found a significant risk of infection with the currently prevalent XBB lineage for individuals who were either vaccinated early or infected during the initial Omicron outbreak. Vaccinated individuals were better equipped than unvaccinated individuals to produce neutralizing antibodies for other SARS-CoV-2 variants upon infection. Therefore, unvaccinated individuals do not easily develop neutralizing activity against other variants and face the highest risk of reinfection by the XBB lineage. Our study provides important information to facilitate the development of strategies for monitoring populations that would be the most susceptible to new COVID-19 outbreaks.

Following the previous study, which investigated the pharmacological properties of the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m), the toxicity of a single intravenous administration of the Technekittyinjection (Tc-99m) and the side effects that may occur at the diagnostic dose were confirmed.The Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) was administered intravenously once at a dose of 0, 0.67, 2.0, and 6.0 mCi/kg to 5 male and female rats per group. Mortality, general symptom obser-vation, and weight measurement were performed for 2 weeks, followed by observation of autopsy findings. There were no deaths, and no statistically significant weight change was observed. No abnormal systemic signs related to the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) were observed. These results confirmed that Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) can be safely admin-istered intravenously at doses up to 6.0 mCi/kg. Additionally, technetium-99m at an average dose of 2 mCi (74 MBq) has been verified as a diagnostic dose without adverse effects, al-lowing the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) to be used safely without side effects at this dosage.This study demonstrates that the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) has a wide safety margin, supporting its potential for clinical application. Moreover, these findings align with the nonclin-ical safety standards for radiopharmaceuticals, reinforcing its utility in veterinary medicine.The Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) is expected to be applicable for clinical diagnosis as a vet-erinary drug in Korea.

Thyroid scanning using technetium-99m ( 99mTc) is the gold standard for diagnosing feline hyperthyroidism. In cats with an overactive thyroid, a thyroid scan is the most appropriate imaging technique to detect and localize any hyperfunctional adenomatous thyroid tissue. In this study, the pharmacological properties of the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m), developed as a diagnostic agent for feline hyperthyroidism using 99mTc as an active ingredient, were tested in FRTL-5 thyroid follicular cell line and ICR mice. The percentage of cell uptake of the Tc-99m in FRTL-5 thyroid cells was 0.182 ± 0.018%, which was about 6 times higher compared to Clone 9 hepatocytes. This uptake decreased by 38.2% due to competitive inhibition by iodine (sodium iodide). In tissue distribution tests by using ICR mice, the highest distribution was observed in the liver, kidneys, spleen, lungs, and femur at 0.083 hours after administration, and this distribution decreased as the compound was excreted through the kidneys, the pri-mary excretory organ. Maximum distribution was confirmed at 1 hour in the small intestine, 6hours in the large intestine, and 2 hours in the thyroid gland. Additionally, the total amount excreted through urine and feces over 48 hours (2 days) was 78.80% of the injected dose, with 37.70% (47.84% of the total excretion) excreted through urine and 41.10% (52.16% of the total excretion) through feces. In conclusion, the Tc-99m has the same mechanism of action, potency, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion characteristics as 99mTc used for feline hyperthyroidism in the United States, Europe, and other countries, because the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) contains 99mTc as its sole active ingredient. Based on these results, the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) is expected to be safely used in the clinical diagnosis of feline hyperthyroidism.

Following the previous study, which investigated the pharmacological properties of the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m), the toxicity of a single intravenous administration of the Technekittyinjection (Tc-99m) and the side effects that may occur at the diagnostic dose were confirmed.The Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) was administered intravenously once at a dose of 0, 0.67, 2.0, and 6.0 mCi/kg to 5 male and female rats per group. Mortality, general symptom obser-vation, and weight measurement were performed for 2 weeks, followed by observation of autopsy findings. There were no deaths, and no statistically significant weight change was observed. No abnormal systemic signs related to the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) were observed. These results confirmed that Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) can be safely admin-istered intravenously at doses up to 6.0 mCi/kg. Additionally, technetium-99m at an average dose of 2 mCi (74 MBq) has been verified as a diagnostic dose without adverse effects, al-lowing the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) to be used safely without side effects at this dosage.This study demonstrates that the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) has a wide safety margin, supporting its potential for clinical application. Moreover, these findings align with the nonclin-ical safety standards for radiopharmaceuticals, reinforcing its utility in veterinary medicine.The Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) is expected to be applicable for clinical diagnosis as a vet-erinary drug in Korea.

Thyroid scanning using technetium-99m ( 99mTc) is the gold standard for diagnosing feline hyperthyroidism. In cats with an overactive thyroid, a thyroid scan is the most appropriate imaging technique to detect and localize any hyperfunctional adenomatous thyroid tissue. In this study, the pharmacological properties of the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m), developed as a diagnostic agent for feline hyperthyroidism using 99mTc as an active ingredient, were tested in FRTL-5 thyroid follicular cell line and ICR mice. The percentage of cell uptake of the Tc-99m in FRTL-5 thyroid cells was 0.182 ± 0.018%, which was about 6 times higher compared to Clone 9 hepatocytes. This uptake decreased by 38.2% due to competitive inhibition by iodine (sodium iodide). In tissue distribution tests by using ICR mice, the highest distribution was observed in the liver, kidneys, spleen, lungs, and femur at 0.083 hours after administration, and this distribution decreased as the compound was excreted through the kidneys, the pri-mary excretory organ. Maximum distribution was confirmed at 1 hour in the small intestine, 6hours in the large intestine, and 2 hours in the thyroid gland. Additionally, the total amount excreted through urine and feces over 48 hours (2 days) was 78.80% of the injected dose, with 37.70% (47.84% of the total excretion) excreted through urine and 41.10% (52.16% of the total excretion) through feces. In conclusion, the Tc-99m has the same mechanism of action, potency, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion characteristics as 99mTc used for feline hyperthyroidism in the United States, Europe, and other countries, because the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) contains 99mTc as its sole active ingredient. Based on these results, the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) is expected to be safely used in the clinical diagnosis of feline hyperthyroidism.

Following the previous study, which investigated the pharmacological properties of the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m), the toxicity of a single intravenous administration of the Technekittyinjection (Tc-99m) and the side effects that may occur at the diagnostic dose were confirmed.The Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) was administered intravenously once at a dose of 0, 0.67, 2.0, and 6.0 mCi/kg to 5 male and female rats per group. Mortality, general symptom obser-vation, and weight measurement were performed for 2 weeks, followed by observation of autopsy findings. There were no deaths, and no statistically significant weight change was observed. No abnormal systemic signs related to the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) were observed. These results confirmed that Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) can be safely admin-istered intravenously at doses up to 6.0 mCi/kg. Additionally, technetium-99m at an average dose of 2 mCi (74 MBq) has been verified as a diagnostic dose without adverse effects, al-lowing the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) to be used safely without side effects at this dosage.This study demonstrates that the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) has a wide safety margin, supporting its potential for clinical application. Moreover, these findings align with the nonclin-ical safety standards for radiopharmaceuticals, reinforcing its utility in veterinary medicine.The Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) is expected to be applicable for clinical diagnosis as a vet-erinary drug in Korea.

Thyroid scanning using technetium-99m ( 99mTc) is the gold standard for diagnosing feline hyperthyroidism. In cats with an overactive thyroid, a thyroid scan is the most appropriate imaging technique to detect and localize any hyperfunctional adenomatous thyroid tissue. In this study, the pharmacological properties of the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m), developed as a diagnostic agent for feline hyperthyroidism using 99mTc as an active ingredient, were tested in FRTL-5 thyroid follicular cell line and ICR mice. The percentage of cell uptake of the Tc-99m in FRTL-5 thyroid cells was 0.182 ± 0.018%, which was about 6 times higher compared to Clone 9 hepatocytes. This uptake decreased by 38.2% due to competitive inhibition by iodine (sodium iodide). In tissue distribution tests by using ICR mice, the highest distribution was observed in the liver, kidneys, spleen, lungs, and femur at 0.083 hours after administration, and this distribution decreased as the compound was excreted through the kidneys, the pri-mary excretory organ. Maximum distribution was confirmed at 1 hour in the small intestine, 6hours in the large intestine, and 2 hours in the thyroid gland. Additionally, the total amount excreted through urine and feces over 48 hours (2 days) was 78.80% of the injected dose, with 37.70% (47.84% of the total excretion) excreted through urine and 41.10% (52.16% of the total excretion) through feces. In conclusion, the Tc-99m has the same mechanism of action, potency, absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion characteristics as 99mTc used for feline hyperthyroidism in the United States, Europe, and other countries, because the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) contains 99mTc as its sole active ingredient. Based on these results, the Technekitty injection (Tc-99m) is expected to be safely used in the clinical diagnosis of feline hyperthyroidism.

Background: The benefits of transradial access (TRA) over transfemoral access (TFA) for bifurcation percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) are uncertain because of the limited availability of device selection. This study aimed to compare the procedural differences and the in-hospital and long-term outcomes of TRA and TFA for bifurcation PCI using secondgeneration drug-eluting stents (DESs). Methods: Based on data from the Coronary Bifurcation Stenting Registry III, a retrospective registry of 2,648 patients undergoing bifurcation PCI with second-generation DES from 21 centers in South Korea, patients were categorized into the TRA group (n = 1,507) or the TFA group (n = 1,141). After propensity score matching (PSM), procedural differences, in-hospital outcomes, and device-oriented composite outcomes (DOCOs; a composite of cardiac death, target vessel-related myocardial infarction, and target lesion revascularization) were compared between the two groups (772 matched patients each group). Results: Despite well-balanced baseline clinical and lesion characteristics after PSM, the use of the two-stent strategy (14.2% vs. 23.7%, P = 0.001) and the incidence of in-hospital adverse outcomes, primarily driven by access site complications (2.2% vs. 4.4%, P = 0.015), were significantly lower in the TRA group than in the TFA group. At the 5-year follow-up, the incidence of DOCOs was similar between the groups (6.3% vs. 7.1%, P = 0.639). Conclusion The findings suggested that TRA may be safer than TFA for bifurcation PCI using second-generation DESs. Despite differences in treatment strategy, TRA was associated with similar long-term clinical outcomes as those of TFA. Therefore, TRA might be the preferred access for bifurcation PCI using second-generation DES.

Background: Current international guidelines recommend against deep sedation as it is associated with worse outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, in Korea the prevalence of deep sedation and its impact on patients in the ICU are not well known. Methods: From April 2020 to July 2021, a multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, noninterventional cohort study was performed in 20 Korean ICUs. Sedation depth extent was divided into light and deep using a mean Richmond Agitation–Sedation Scale value within the first 48 hours. Propensity score matching was used to balance covariables; the outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: Overall, 631 patients (418 [66.2%] and 213 [33.8%] in the deep and light sedation groups, respectively) were included. Mortality rates were 14.1% and 8.4% in the deep and light sedation groups (P = 0.039), respectively. Kaplan-Meier estimates showed that time to extubation (P < 0.001), ICU length of stay (P = 0.005), and death P = 0.041) differed between the groups. After adjusting for confounders, early deep sedation was only associated with delayed time to extubation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.66; 95% confidence inter val [CI], 0.55– 0.80; P < 0.001). In the matched cohort, deep sedation remained significantly associated with delayed time to extubation (HR, 0.68; 95% 0.56–0.83; P < 0.001) but was not associated with ICU length of stay (HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.79–1.13; P = 0.500) and in-hospital mortality (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.65–2.17; P = 0.582). Conclusion In many Korean ICUs, early deep sedation was highly prevalent in mechanically ventilated patients and was associated with delayed extubation, but not prolonged ICU stay or in-hospital death.

Background: This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of research articles and research trends in computer-assisted orthopedic surgery (CAOS) by conducting bibliometric analyses. Methods: CAOS-related research articles published in international journals from 2002 to 2021 were collected using the PubMed database and analyzed using the bibliometric method. Their publication year, journal name, corresponding author’s country name, and the number of citations of all collected articles were noted. Contents of the articles were analyzed to evaluate the time point and anatomical site at which the digital technique was applied. Further, the 20-year period was divided into two halves of 10 years each to analyze the research trends. Results: A total of 639 CAOS-related articles were identified. An average of 32.0 CAOS-related articles were published annually, with an average of 20.6 and 43.3 published in the first half and second half, respectively. Of all articles, 47.6% were published in the top 10 journals, and 81.2% were written in the top 10 countries. The total numbers of citations were 11.7 and 6.3 in the first and second halves, respectively, but the average annual number of citations was higher in the second half than in the first one.Articles on application of digital techniques during surgery were 62.3% and those on pre-surgery application were 36.9%. Further, articles in the knee (39.0%), spine (28.5%), and hip and pelvis (21.5%) fields accounted for 89.0% of the total publications. But the increase in publications in the said period was highest in the fields of the hand and wrist (+1,300.0%), ankle (+466.7%), and shoulder (+366.7%). Conclusions Over the last 20 years, the publication of CAOS-related research articles in international journals has grown steadily. Although the knee, spine, hip, and pelvis fields account for most CAOS-related research, research in new fields is also increasing. This study analyzed the types of articles and trends in CAOS-related research and provided useful information for future research in the field of CAOS.