Purpose: The incidence of mental disorders in young adults has been increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific characteristics of young adults with mental disorders can lead to significant caregiving challenges. Understanding these challenges can help healthcare professionals provide timely interventions and support. Thus, this study aimed to understand the caregiving experiences of parents of young adult children with mental disorders and to grasp their essential meaning. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological design was adopted. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with nine parents and the data were analyzed using the phenomenological method. Data collection was conducted by nine parents of young adult children with mental disorders from July to October 2023 at S General Hospital. Results: The analysis revealed the overarching theme of “A journey of finding hope in a dark tunnel,” supported by three main themes: 1) life feels like walking on eggshells with the child; 2) being aware of the changing family lifestyle and seeking balance; and 3) lifelong tasks for parents and society. Conclusion Parents experienced various difficulties intertwined with their own and their child’s developmental tasks. However, both the parents and children grew, discovering positive elements such as happiness and hope.

Purpose: The incidence of mental disorders in young adults has been increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific characteristics of young adults with mental disorders can lead to significant caregiving challenges. Understanding these challenges can help healthcare professionals provide timely interventions and support. Thus, this study aimed to understand the caregiving experiences of parents of young adult children with mental disorders and to grasp their essential meaning. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological design was adopted. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with nine parents and the data were analyzed using the phenomenological method. Data collection was conducted by nine parents of young adult children with mental disorders from July to October 2023 at S General Hospital. Results: The analysis revealed the overarching theme of “A journey of finding hope in a dark tunnel,” supported by three main themes: 1) life feels like walking on eggshells with the child; 2) being aware of the changing family lifestyle and seeking balance; and 3) lifelong tasks for parents and society. Conclusion Parents experienced various difficulties intertwined with their own and their child’s developmental tasks. However, both the parents and children grew, discovering positive elements such as happiness and hope.

Purpose: The incidence of mental disorders in young adults has been increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific characteristics of young adults with mental disorders can lead to significant caregiving challenges. Understanding these challenges can help healthcare professionals provide timely interventions and support. Thus, this study aimed to understand the caregiving experiences of parents of young adult children with mental disorders and to grasp their essential meaning. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological design was adopted. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with nine parents and the data were analyzed using the phenomenological method. Data collection was conducted by nine parents of young adult children with mental disorders from July to October 2023 at S General Hospital. Results: The analysis revealed the overarching theme of “A journey of finding hope in a dark tunnel,” supported by three main themes: 1) life feels like walking on eggshells with the child; 2) being aware of the changing family lifestyle and seeking balance; and 3) lifelong tasks for parents and society. Conclusion Parents experienced various difficulties intertwined with their own and their child’s developmental tasks. However, both the parents and children grew, discovering positive elements such as happiness and hope.

Purpose: The incidence of mental disorders in young adults has been increasing since the COVID-19 pandemic. The specific characteristics of young adults with mental disorders can lead to significant caregiving challenges. Understanding these challenges can help healthcare professionals provide timely interventions and support. Thus, this study aimed to understand the caregiving experiences of parents of young adult children with mental disorders and to grasp their essential meaning. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological design was adopted. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with nine parents and the data were analyzed using the phenomenological method. Data collection was conducted by nine parents of young adult children with mental disorders from July to October 2023 at S General Hospital. Results: The analysis revealed the overarching theme of “A journey of finding hope in a dark tunnel,” supported by three main themes: 1) life feels like walking on eggshells with the child; 2) being aware of the changing family lifestyle and seeking balance; and 3) lifelong tasks for parents and society. Conclusion Parents experienced various difficulties intertwined with their own and their child’s developmental tasks. However, both the parents and children grew, discovering positive elements such as happiness and hope.

Background: Posterior spinal fusion (PSF), commonly used for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), causes severe postoperative pain. Intravenous (IV) administration of acetaminophen has shown promise for opioid-sparing analgesia; however, its analgesic effect and optimal timing for its standard use remain unclear. Our study aimed to evaluate the analgesic effect and optimal timing of IV acetaminophen administration in pediatric and adolescent patients undergoing PSF and requiring adequate pain control. Methods: This prospective, randomized, triple-blind trial was conducted in patients aged 11–20 undergoing PSF. Participants were randomized into three groups: the preemptive group (received IV acetaminophen 15 mg/kg after anesthetic induction/before surgical incision), the preventive group (received IV acetaminophen 15 mg/kg at the end of surgery/before skin closure), and the placebo group. The primary outcome was cumulative opioid consumption during the first 24 h postoperatively. Results: Among the 99 enrolled patients, the mean ± standard deviation (SD) amount of opioid consumption during the postoperative 24 h was 60.66 ± 23.84, 52.23 ± 22.43, and 66.70 ± 23.01 mg in the preemptive, preventive, and placebo groups, respectively (overall P = 0.043). A post hoc analysis revealed that the preventive group had significantly lower opioid consumption than the placebo group (P = 0.013). However, no significant differences between the groups were observed for the secondary outcomes. Conclusions The preventive administration of scheduled IV acetaminophen reduces cumulative opioid consumption without increasing the incidence of drug-induced adverse events in pediatric and adolescent patients undergoing PSF.

Background: Interleukin (IL)-17 and IL-23 inhibitors have helped achieve clear skin in many patients with psoriasis. However, real-world data to compare short- and long-term efficacy of these biologics in Korean patients are lacking. Objective: To compare short- and long-term efficacy of IL-17A and IL-23 inhibitors in patients with moderateto-severe psoriasis. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated efficacy of IL-17A and IL-23 inhibitors among patients treated at Ajou University Hospital from 2017 to 2022. The specific agents studied were as follows: secukinumab, 32 patients; ixekizumab, four patients; guselkumab, 13 patients; and risankizumab, 31 patients. Patients who were followed up for less than a year or changed biologics were excluded. Results: The rates of psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) 90 achievement of secukinumab were 62.5%, 86.7%, 89.3%, 80.8%, and 70.8% at weeks 16, 40, 88, 112, and 136, respectively. For ixekizumab, the PASI90 achievement rates were 75%, 100%, 75%, and 100% at weeks 16, 40, 64, and 88, respectively. The PASI90 achievement rates of guselkumab were 53.8%, 76.9%, 72.7%, and 77.8% at weeks 20, 44, 68, and 92, respectively. For risankizumab, PASI90 achievement rates were 69.7%, 90.0%, 93.7%, and 100% at weeks 28, 52, 76, and 100, respectively. Before 52 weeks, PASI90 achievement was significantly lower with guselkumab than with secukinumab (hazardratio=0.22). After 52 weeks, PASI90 achievement was significantly higher with risankizumab than with secukinumab (hazard ratio=2.00). Conclusion PASI90 was achieved faster with IL-17A inhibitors than with IL-23 inhibitors. However, IL-23 inhibitors afforded the maintenance of a higher PASI score after 52 weeks.

Background: Information on the effectiveness of nirmatrelvir/ritonavir against the omicron is limited. The clinical response and viral kinetics to therapy in the real world need to be evaluated. Methods: Mild to moderate coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with risk factors for severe illness were prospectively enrolled as a treatment group with nirmatrelvir/ritonavir therapy versus a control group with supportive care. Serial viral load and culture from the upper respiratory tract were evaluated for seven days, and clinical responses and adverse reactions were evaluated for 28 days. Results: A total of 51 patients were analyzed including 40 in the treatment group and 11 in the control group. Faster symptom resolution during hospitalization (P= 0.048) was observed in the treatment group. Only minor adverse reactions were reported in 27.5% of patients. The viral load on Day 7 was lower in the treatment group (P = 0.002). The viral culture showed a positivity of 67.6% (25/37) vs. 100% (6/6) on Day 1, 0% (0/37) vs. 16.7 (1/6) on Day 5, and 0% (0/16) vs. 50.0% (2/4) on Day 7 in the treatment and control groups, respectively. Conclusions Nirmatrelvir/ritonavir against the omicron was safe and resulted in negative viral culture conversion after Day 5 of treatment with better symptomatic resolution.

Objective: We investigated the impacts of computed tomography (CT) added to ultrasound (US) for preoperative evaluation of patients with papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) on staging, surgical extent, and postsurgical survival. Materials and Methods: Consecutive patients who underwent surgery for PTC between January 2015 and December 2015 were retrospectively identified. Of them, 584 had undergone preoperative additional thyroid CT imaging (CT + US group), and 859 had not (US group). Inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and propensity score matching (PSM) were used to adjust for 14 variables and balance the two groups. Changes in nodal staging and surgical extent caused by CT were recorded.The recurrence-free survival and distant metastasis-free survival after surgery were compared between the two groups. Results: In the CT + US group, discordant nodal staging results between CT and US were observed in 94 of 584 patients (16.1%). Of them, CT accurately diagnosed nodal staging in 54 patients (57.4%), while the US provided incorrect nodal staging. Ten patients (1.7%) had a change in the extent of surgery based on CT findings. Postsurgical recurrence developed in 3.6% (31 of 859) of the CT + US group and 2.9% (17 of 584) of the US group during the median follow-up of 59 months. After adjustment using IPTW (580 vs. 861 patients), the CT + US group showed significantly higher recurrence-free survival rates than the US group (hazard ratio [HR], 0.52 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 0.29–0.96]; P = 0.037). PSM analysis (535 patients in each group) showed similar HR without statistical significance (HR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.31–1.17]; P = 0.134). For distant metastasis-free survival, HRs after IPTW and PSM were 0.75 (95% CI, 0.17–3.36; P = 0.71) and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.20–3.80; P = 0.851), respectively. Conclusion The addition of CT imaging for preoperative evaluation changed nodal staging and surgical extent and might improve recurrence-free survival in patients with PTC.

Purpose: Our previous work demonstrated that miRNA-495 targets SOX9 to inhibit chondrogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells.In this study, we aimed to investigate whether miRNA-495-mediated SOX9 regulation could be a novel therapeutic target for osteoarthritis (OA) using an in vitro cell culture model. Materials and Methods: An in vitro model mimicking the OA environment was established using TC28a2 normal human chondrocyte cells. Interleukin-1β (IL-1β, 10 ng/mL) was utilized to induce inflammation-related changes in TC28a2 cells. Safranin O staining and glycosaminoglycan assay were used to detect changes in proteoglycans among TC28a2 cells. Expression levels of COX-2, ADAMTS5, MMP13, SOX9, CCL4, and COL2A1 were examined by qRT-PCR and/or Western blotting. Immunohistochemistry was performed to detect SOX9 and CCL4 proteins in human cartilage tissues obtained from patients with OA. Results: miRNA-495 was upregulated in IL-1β-treated TC28a2 cells and chondrocytes from damaged cartilage tissues of patients with OA. Anti-miR-495 abolished the effect of IL-1β in TC28a2 cells and rescued the protein levels of SOX9 and COL2A1, which were reduced by IL-1β. SOX9 was downregulated in the damaged cartilage tissues of patients with OA, and knockdown of SOX9 abolished the effect of anti-miR-495 on IL-1β-treated TC28a2 cells. Conclusion We demonstrated that inhibition of miRNA-495 alleviates IL-1β-induced inflammatory responses in chondrocytes by rescuing SOX9 expression. Accordingly, miRNA-495 could be a potential novel target for OA therapy, and the application of anti-miR-495 to chondrocytes could be a therapeutic strategy for treating OA.

In this case report, we present a rare case of lipoma of the tendon sheath localized to the wrist which caused median entrapment neuropathy and was successfully treated with surgical excision. Dynamic examination using ultrasonography revealed the exact location of the lipoma. Electrodiagnostic study (EDX) was done before surgery to elucidate combined neuropathy, and surgery for ulnar neuropathy around elbow was also performed simultaneously. Diagnostic ultrasound can be used for dynamic examinations with real-time visualization.