This review examines the challenges associated with occupational disease surveillance in Korea, particularly emphasizing the limitations of current data sources such as the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) statistics and special health examinations. The IACI system undercounts cases due to its emphasis on severe diseases and restrictions on approvals. Special health examinations, although they cover a broad workforce, are constrained by their annual scheduling, which leads to missed acute illnesses and subclinical conditions. The paper also explores the history of occupational disease surveillance in Korea, highlighting the fragmented and disease-specific approach of earlier systems. The authors introduce the newly established Korea Occupational Disease Surveillance Center (KODSC), a comprehensive nationwide system designed to gather, analyze, and interpret data on occupational diseases through a network of regional centers. By incorporating hospital-based surveillance and focusing on acute poisonings and other sentinel events, the KODSC aims to overcome the limitations of previous systems and promote collaboration with various agencies. Although it is still in the early stages of implementation, the KODSC demonstrates potential for improving data accuracy and contributing valuable insights for public health policy.

This review examines the challenges associated with occupational disease surveillance in Korea, particularly emphasizing the limitations of current data sources such as the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) statistics and special health examinations. The IACI system undercounts cases due to its emphasis on severe diseases and restrictions on approvals. Special health examinations, although they cover a broad workforce, are constrained by their annual scheduling, which leads to missed acute illnesses and subclinical conditions. The paper also explores the history of occupational disease surveillance in Korea, highlighting the fragmented and disease-specific approach of earlier systems. The authors introduce the newly established Korea Occupational Disease Surveillance Center (KODSC), a comprehensive nationwide system designed to gather, analyze, and interpret data on occupational diseases through a network of regional centers. By incorporating hospital-based surveillance and focusing on acute poisonings and other sentinel events, the KODSC aims to overcome the limitations of previous systems and promote collaboration with various agencies. Although it is still in the early stages of implementation, the KODSC demonstrates potential for improving data accuracy and contributing valuable insights for public health policy.

This review examines the challenges associated with occupational disease surveillance in Korea, particularly emphasizing the limitations of current data sources such as the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) statistics and special health examinations. The IACI system undercounts cases due to its emphasis on severe diseases and restrictions on approvals. Special health examinations, although they cover a broad workforce, are constrained by their annual scheduling, which leads to missed acute illnesses and subclinical conditions. The paper also explores the history of occupational disease surveillance in Korea, highlighting the fragmented and disease-specific approach of earlier systems. The authors introduce the newly established Korea Occupational Disease Surveillance Center (KODSC), a comprehensive nationwide system designed to gather, analyze, and interpret data on occupational diseases through a network of regional centers. By incorporating hospital-based surveillance and focusing on acute poisonings and other sentinel events, the KODSC aims to overcome the limitations of previous systems and promote collaboration with various agencies. Although it is still in the early stages of implementation, the KODSC demonstrates potential for improving data accuracy and contributing valuable insights for public health policy.

This review examines the challenges associated with occupational disease surveillance in Korea, particularly emphasizing the limitations of current data sources such as the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) statistics and special health examinations. The IACI system undercounts cases due to its emphasis on severe diseases and restrictions on approvals. Special health examinations, although they cover a broad workforce, are constrained by their annual scheduling, which leads to missed acute illnesses and subclinical conditions. The paper also explores the history of occupational disease surveillance in Korea, highlighting the fragmented and disease-specific approach of earlier systems. The authors introduce the newly established Korea Occupational Disease Surveillance Center (KODSC), a comprehensive nationwide system designed to gather, analyze, and interpret data on occupational diseases through a network of regional centers. By incorporating hospital-based surveillance and focusing on acute poisonings and other sentinel events, the KODSC aims to overcome the limitations of previous systems and promote collaboration with various agencies. Although it is still in the early stages of implementation, the KODSC demonstrates potential for improving data accuracy and contributing valuable insights for public health policy.

This review examines the challenges associated with occupational disease surveillance in Korea, particularly emphasizing the limitations of current data sources such as the Industrial Accident Compensation Insurance (IACI) statistics and special health examinations. The IACI system undercounts cases due to its emphasis on severe diseases and restrictions on approvals. Special health examinations, although they cover a broad workforce, are constrained by their annual scheduling, which leads to missed acute illnesses and subclinical conditions. The paper also explores the history of occupational disease surveillance in Korea, highlighting the fragmented and disease-specific approach of earlier systems. The authors introduce the newly established Korea Occupational Disease Surveillance Center (KODSC), a comprehensive nationwide system designed to gather, analyze, and interpret data on occupational diseases through a network of regional centers. By incorporating hospital-based surveillance and focusing on acute poisonings and other sentinel events, the KODSC aims to overcome the limitations of previous systems and promote collaboration with various agencies. Although it is still in the early stages of implementation, the KODSC demonstrates potential for improving data accuracy and contributing valuable insights for public health policy.

Background: and Purpose We delineated the association between otolithic dysfunction and blood pressure (BP) variability. Methods: We prospectively recruited 145 consecutive patients (age=71 [59–79] years, median [interquartile range]; 76 females) with orthostatic intolerance between December 2021 and December 2023 at a tertiary hospital in South Korea. Each patient underwent evaluations of cervical and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs), 24-h noninvasive ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), and a head-up tilt-table test using the Finometer device. As measures of BP variability, the standard deviations (SDs) of the systolic BP (SBP SD) and the diastolic BP were calculated based on serial ABPM recordings. Patients were divided into those with orthostatic hypotension (OH, n=68) and those with a normal head-up tilt-table test despite orthostatic intolerance (NOI, n=77) groups. Results: A multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that OH was associated with bilateral oVEMP abnormalities (p=0.021), SBP SD (p=0.012), and female sex (p=0.004). SBP SD was higher in patients with OH than in those with NOI (p<0.001), and was not correlated with n1–p1 amplitude (p=0.491) or normalized p13–n23 amplitude (p=0.193) in patients with OH.The sensitivity and specificity for differentiating OH from NOI were 72.1% and 67.5%, respectively, at a cutoff value of 12.7 mm Hg for SBP SD, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.73. Conclusions Bilaterally deficient oVEMP responses may be associated with OH regardless of 24-h BP variability, reflecting the integrity of the otolith-autonomic reflex during orthostasis. Alternatively, 24-h BP variability is predominantly regulated by the baroreflex, which also participates in securing orthostatic tolerance complementary to the vestibulo-autonomic reflex.

Purpose: Recently, deep learning techniques have been introduced for age estimation, with automated methods based on radiographic analysis demonstrating high accuracy. In this study, we applied convolutional neural network (CNN) techniques to the lower dentition area on orthopantomograms (OPGs) of children to develop an automated age estimation model and evaluate its accuracy for use in forensic dentistry. Methods: In this study, OPGs of 2,856 subjects aged 3-14 years were analyzed. The You Only Look Once (YOLO) V8 object detection technique was applied to extract the mandibular dentition area on OPGs, designating it as the region of interest (ROI). First, 200 radiographs were randomly selected, and were used to train a model for extracting the ROI. The trained model was then applied to the entire dataset. For the CNN image classification task, 80% of OPGs were allocated to the training set, while the remaining 20% were used as the test set. A transfer learning approach was employed using the ResNet50 and VGG19 backbone models, with an ensemble technique combining these models to improve performance. The mean absolute error (MAE) on the test set was used as the validation metric, and the model with the lowest MAE was selected. Results: In this study, the age estimation model developed using mandibular dentition region from OPGs achieved MAE and root mean squared error (RMSE) values of 0.501 and 0.742, respectively, on the test set, and MAE and RMSE values of 0.273 and 0.354, respectively, on the training set. Conclusions The automated age estimation model developed in this study demonstrated accuracy comparable to that of previous research and shows potential for applications in forensic investigations. Increasing the sample size and incorporating diverse deep learning techniques are expected to further enhance the accuracy of future age estimation models.

Background: and Purpose We delineated the association between otolithic dysfunction and blood pressure (BP) variability. Methods: We prospectively recruited 145 consecutive patients (age=71 [59–79] years, median [interquartile range]; 76 females) with orthostatic intolerance between December 2021 and December 2023 at a tertiary hospital in South Korea. Each patient underwent evaluations of cervical and ocular vestibular-evoked myogenic potentials (oVEMPs), 24-h noninvasive ambulatory BP monitoring (ABPM), and a head-up tilt-table test using the Finometer device. As measures of BP variability, the standard deviations (SDs) of the systolic BP (SBP SD) and the diastolic BP were calculated based on serial ABPM recordings. Patients were divided into those with orthostatic hypotension (OH, n=68) and those with a normal head-up tilt-table test despite orthostatic intolerance (NOI, n=77) groups. Results: A multivariable logistic regression analysis showed that OH was associated with bilateral oVEMP abnormalities (p=0.021), SBP SD (p=0.012), and female sex (p=0.004). SBP SD was higher in patients with OH than in those with NOI (p<0.001), and was not correlated with n1–p1 amplitude (p=0.491) or normalized p13–n23 amplitude (p=0.193) in patients with OH.The sensitivity and specificity for differentiating OH from NOI were 72.1% and 67.5%, respectively, at a cutoff value of 12.7 mm Hg for SBP SD, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.73. Conclusions Bilaterally deficient oVEMP responses may be associated with OH regardless of 24-h BP variability, reflecting the integrity of the otolith-autonomic reflex during orthostasis. Alternatively, 24-h BP variability is predominantly regulated by the baroreflex, which also participates in securing orthostatic tolerance complementary to the vestibulo-autonomic reflex.

Stimulator of interferon gene (STING)-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI) is an extremely rare autoinflammatory disease. We present the case of a female Korean patient with early-onset interstitial lung disease who was initially suspected to have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) but was ultimately diagnosed with SAVI. The patient exhibited signs of interstitial lung disease and cutaneous manifestations before the age of 1 year and continued to have recurrent fever accompanied by pulmonary infiltrates. Based on positive findings for antibodies associated with SLE, such as antinuclear antibodies and anti-double-stranded DNA, the pulmonary involvement was considered a manifestation of SLE. Another significant symptom was recurrent skin ulceration, which led to partial spontaneous amputation of most of the toes due to inflammation. Given the early onset of interstitial lung disease, severe skin ulcers, and symptoms resembling SLE, autoinflammatory syndrome, especially SAVI was suspected.Following confirmation by genetic testing at age 29 years, the patient was started on tofacitinib, a Janus kinase inhibitor. Despite the prolonged use of multiple immunosuppressive therapies, the patient’s lung condition continued to worsen, ultimately requiring lung transplantation. This observational report highlights the importance of considering SAVI as a potential diagnosis when manifestations of interstitial lung disease are observed during infancy. Early proactive treatment is crucial for lung involvement, as this can have long-term effects on patient’s prognosis.

Teriparatide has been effective in treating people diagnosed with medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ). However, its efficacy is not well established to be accepted as a standard of care. The objective of this paper was to investigate the efficacy of recombinant human parathyroid hormone for the treatment of MRONJ. We report three cases of MRONJ patients with osteoporosis as the primary disease who were treated with a teriparatide agent along with other adjunctive measures. Each patient was administered a teriparatide injection subcutaneously for 16 weeks, 36 weeks, or 60 weeks. Surgical intervention including partial resection, sequestrectomy, decortication, and saucerization took place during the teriparatide administration. Complete lesion resolution was identified clinically and radiographically in all three patients. In patients diagnosed with MRONJ, teriparatide therapy is an efficacious and safe therapeutic option to improve healing of bone lesions. These findings demonstrate that teriparatide in combination with another therapy, especially bone morphogenetic protein, platelet-rich fibrin, or antibiotic therapy, can be an effective protocol for MRONJ.