Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of aripiprazole long-acting injection in patients with schizophrenia undergoing antipsychotics combination therapy. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis using electronic medical records of patients with schizophrenia who initiated aripiprazole long-acting injectable and were treated with antipsychotics combination therapy. These patients were either admitted to a psychiatric hospital or treated as outpatients between June, 2019 and December, 2019. Results: Seventeen patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean number of antipsychotics significantly decreased from 2.53 use to 1.81 at month 12 (p=0.018). Total antipsychotics olanzapine equivalent dose significantly decreased from 46.96 to 27.54 at month 12 (p=0.005). The number of combined medications including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, and anticholinergics did not significantly change. Both the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score and The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score significantly improved until month 24 (p=0.004, 0.038; respectively). Conclusions This observational study confirmed that aripiprazole long-acting injection is an effective treatment option for patients with schizophrenia undergoing antipsychotic combination therapy. Well-controlled clinical trials are necessary in the near future.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of aripiprazole long-acting injection in patients with schizophrenia undergoing antipsychotics combination therapy. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis using electronic medical records of patients with schizophrenia who initiated aripiprazole long-acting injectable and were treated with antipsychotics combination therapy. These patients were either admitted to a psychiatric hospital or treated as outpatients between June, 2019 and December, 2019. Results: Seventeen patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean number of antipsychotics significantly decreased from 2.53 use to 1.81 at month 12 (p=0.018). Total antipsychotics olanzapine equivalent dose significantly decreased from 46.96 to 27.54 at month 12 (p=0.005). The number of combined medications including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, and anticholinergics did not significantly change. Both the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score and The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score significantly improved until month 24 (p=0.004, 0.038; respectively). Conclusions This observational study confirmed that aripiprazole long-acting injection is an effective treatment option for patients with schizophrenia undergoing antipsychotic combination therapy. Well-controlled clinical trials are necessary in the near future.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of aripiprazole long-acting injection in patients with schizophrenia undergoing antipsychotics combination therapy. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis using electronic medical records of patients with schizophrenia who initiated aripiprazole long-acting injectable and were treated with antipsychotics combination therapy. These patients were either admitted to a psychiatric hospital or treated as outpatients between June, 2019 and December, 2019. Results: Seventeen patients met the inclusion criteria. The mean number of antipsychotics significantly decreased from 2.53 use to 1.81 at month 12 (p=0.018). Total antipsychotics olanzapine equivalent dose significantly decreased from 46.96 to 27.54 at month 12 (p=0.005). The number of combined medications including antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anxiolytics, and anticholinergics did not significantly change. Both the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) score and The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score significantly improved until month 24 (p=0.004, 0.038; respectively). Conclusions This observational study confirmed that aripiprazole long-acting injection is an effective treatment option for patients with schizophrenia undergoing antipsychotic combination therapy. Well-controlled clinical trials are necessary in the near future.

Purpose: The female sex is reported to have a higher risk of adverse events (AEs) from cytotoxic chemotherapy. Few studies examined the sex differences in AEs and their impact on the use of medical services during adjuvant chemotherapy. This sub-study aimed to compare the incidence of any grade and grade ≥ 3 AEs, healthcare utilization, chemotherapy completion rate, and dose intensity according to sex. Materials and Methods: This is a sub-study of a multicenter cohort conducted in Korea that evaluated the impact of healthcare reimbursement on AE evaluation in patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy between September 2013 and December 2016 at four hospitals in Korea. Results: A total of 1,170 patients with colorectal, gastric, or non–small cell lung cancer were included in the study. Female patients were younger, had fewer comorbidities, and experienced less postoperative weight loss of > 10%. Females had significantly higher rates of any grade AEs including nausea, abdominal pain, stomatitis, vomiting, and neutropenia, and experienced more grade ≥ 3 neutropenia, nausea, and vomiting. The dose intensity of chemotherapy was significantly lower in females, and they also experienced more frequent dose reduction after the first cycle. Moreover, female patients receiving platinum-containing regimens had significantly higher rates of unscheduled outpatient visits. Conclusion Our study found that females experienced a higher incidence of multiple any-grade AEs and severe neutropenia, nausea, and vomiting, across various cancer types, leading to more frequent dose reductions. Physicians should be aware of sex differences in AEs for chemotherapy decisions.

Viral load and the duration of viral shedding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are important determinants of the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019.In this study, we examined the effects of viral doses on the lung and spleen of K18-hACE2 transgenic mice by temporal histological and transcriptional analyses. Approximately, 1×105 plaque-forming units (PFU) of SARS-CoV-2 induced strong host responses in the lungs from 2 days post inoculation (dpi) which did not recover until the mice died, whereas responses to the virus were obvious at 5 days, recovering to the basal state by 14 dpi at 1×102 PFU. Further, flow cytometry showed that number of CD8+ T cells continuously increased in 1×102 PFU-virusinfected lungs from 2 dpi, but not in 1×105 PFU-virus-infected lungs. In spleens, responses to the virus were prominent from 2 dpi, and number of B cells was significantly decreased at 1×105PFU; however, 1×102 PFU of virus induced very weak responses from 2 dpi which recovered by 10 dpi. Although the defense responses returned to normal and the mice survived, lung histology showed evidence of fibrosis, suggesting sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our findings indicate that specific effectors of the immune response in the lung and spleen were either increased or depleted in response to doses of SARS-CoV-2. This study demonstrated that the response of local and systemic immune effectors to a viral infection varies with viral dose, which either exacerbates the severity of the infection or accelerates its elimination.

This manuscript represents the official position of the Korean Society of Echocardiography on valvular heart diseases.This position paper focuses on the clinical management of valvular heart diseases with reference to the guidelines recently published by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology. The committee tried to reflect the recently published results on the topic of valvular heart diseases and Korean data by a systematic literature search based on validity and relevance. In part I of this article, we will review and discuss the current position of aortic valve disease in Korea.

This manuscript represents the official position of the Korean Society of Echocardiography on valvular heart diseases.This position paper focuses on the diagnosis and management of valvular heart diseases with referring to the guide‑ lines recently published by the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology. The committee sought to reflect national data on the topic of valvular heart diseases published to date through a systematic literature search based on validity and relevance. In the part II of this article, we intend to pre‑ sent recommendations for diagnosis and treatment of mitral valve disease and tricuspid valve disease.