Background: Discontinuing growth hormone (GH) treatment during the transition to adulthood has been associated with adverse health outcomes in patients with childhood-onset growth hormone deficiency (CO-GHD). This study investigated the metabolic changes associated with interrupting GH treatment in adolescents with CO-GHD during the transition period. Methods: This study included 187 patients with CO-GHD who were confirmed to have adult GHD and were treated at six academic centers in Korea. Data on clinical parameters, including anthropometric measurements, metabolic profiles, and bone mineral density (BMD) at the end of childhood GH treatment, were collected at the time of re-evaluation for GHD and 1 year after treatment resumption. Results: Most patients (n=182, 97.3%) had organic GHD. The median age at treatment discontinuation and re-evaluation was 15.6 and 18.7 years, respectively. The median duration of treatment interruption was 2.8 years. During treatment discontinuation, body mass index Z-scores and total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and non-high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels increased, whereas fasting glucose levels decreased. One year after GH treatment resumption, fasting glucose levels, HDL cholesterol levels, and femoral neck BMD increased significantly. Longer GH interruption (>2 years, 60.4%) resulted in worse lipid profiles at re-evaluation. The duration of interruption was positively correlated with fasting glucose and non-HDL cholesterol levels after adjusting for covariates. Conclusion GH treatment interruption during the transition period resulted in worse metabolic parameters, and a longer interruption period was correlated with poorer outcomes. GH treatment should be resumed early in patients with CO-GHD during the transition period.

Purpose: The medical certification for pilots is required by the aviation safety authority based with the aviation safety act. Methods: In this study, medical examination items of the year of 2021 performed during the aviation medical examination in Korea were reviewed by retrospective analysis. Results: Data from a total of 27 hospitals were collected. The number of inspection items ranged from a minimum of 22 items to a maximum of 57 items, showing a difference of more than double. Data from tertiary general hospitals and large airlines showed a tendency to perform more items of test compared to clinic-level institutions. The ratios for each inspection item are as follows: 1) 100% inspection items: urine test, ophthalmic test (except fundus test), fasting blood sugar, general blood test (complete blood count), electrocardiogram, electoencephalography, chest posterior anterior, pure tone audiometry, and total cholesterol; 2) 65%–74% inspection items: triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen/creatinine, and hepatitis B surface antigen; 3) 57% inspection items: hepatitis B surface antibody, human immunodeficiency virus, and venereal disease research laboratory; 4) 50% inspection items: urate and fundus examination. Conclusion There have been many changes in the medical field over the past 40 years, but in terms of examination items, the aviation physical examination does not reflect the flow of change. Over the past years, the number of pilots has increased significantly, the flight environment has changed, and medical examination methods have been developed and diversified. In accordance with this, it is necessary to change the test items.

Adult ; Biopsy ; Cough ; Disinfectants ; Dyspnea ; Humans ; Humidifiers ; Intensive Care Units ; Judgment ; Korea ; Lung Diseases ; Lung Injury ; Lung ; Pathology ; Pulmonary Medicine ; Sputum ; Thorax

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the 3-item version of the Work Engagement Scale (WES-3), which is based on the Job DemandsResources (JD-R) model and was used in the 5 th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Methods: This study used data from the 5th KWCS (n = 50,205), which was conducted in 2017 with a sample of the Korean working population. The survey gathered comprehensive information on working conditions to define workforce changes and the quality of work and life. The reliability and internal consistency of the WES-3 were assessed using the corrected item-total correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the construct validity of work engagement. The convergent validity was assessed using the correlation with the WHO-5 well-being index. Correlations between work engagement and JD-R factors were also calculated. Results: The Cronbach's alpha for work engagement was 0.776, indicating acceptable internal consistency. The model comprising 3 work engagement and 2 burnout items showed an excellent fit (χ2 : 382.05, Tucker-Lewis index: 0.984, comparative fit index: 0.994, root mean square error of approximation: 0.043). The convergent validity was significant (correlation coefficient: 0.42). Correlations with burnout and job demands were negligible, whereas correlations with job resources and job satisfaction were weakly positive. Conclusions The results of our study confirm that the WES-3 has acceptable reliability and validity.

BACKGROUND: In Korea, to investigate the casual relationship between humidifier disinfectant and lung disease, four rounds of investigation and judgment were conducted. During this investigation, two adults who performed lung biopsy were recognized for their relevance between humidifier disinfectants and lung disease. At first, we did not think of the relationship to humidifier disinfectant because chest computed tomography (CT) finding of 2 cases were improved. However, they performed lung biopsy and it showed typical humidifier disinfectant lung injury (HDLI) pathologic findings, they could be recognized as HDLI. We report these cases here.
CASE PRESENTATION
We selected 2 cases from the fourth-round investigation at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. Patient of case 1 used humidifier disinfectants since September 2010. The patient was admitted 6 months later to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to severe dyspnea. Pathology following a lung biopsy revealed typical HDLI finding which was determined to be due to humidifier disinfectant exposure. Patient of case 2 used humidifier disinfectant from 2001 to 2008 for about 3 months each winter. The patient's cough and sputum production symptoms began in December of 2007. The patient was admitted to the respiratory medicine department due to worsening dyspnea. Pathology following a lung biopsy revealed typical HDLI finding. This was determined to have been caused by humidifier disinfectant exposure. CONCLUSIONS Because the typical radiologic findings associated with HDLI can improve over time, it is necessary to consider the revision of current diagnostic criteria that the presence of radiologic findings is important.

Background: The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of the 3-item version of the Work Engagement Scale (WES-3), which is based on the Job DemandsResources (JD-R) model and was used in the 5 th Korean Working Conditions Survey (KWCS). Methods: This study used data from the 5th KWCS (n = 50,205), which was conducted in 2017 with a sample of the Korean working population. The survey gathered comprehensive information on working conditions to define workforce changes and the quality of work and life. The reliability and internal consistency of the WES-3 were assessed using the corrected item-total correlation and Cronbach's alpha coefficient. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to test the construct validity of work engagement. The convergent validity was assessed using the correlation with the WHO-5 well-being index. Correlations between work engagement and JD-R factors were also calculated. Results: The Cronbach's alpha for work engagement was 0.776, indicating acceptable internal consistency. The model comprising 3 work engagement and 2 burnout items showed an excellent fit (χ2 : 382.05, Tucker-Lewis index: 0.984, comparative fit index: 0.994, root mean square error of approximation: 0.043). The convergent validity was significant (correlation coefficient: 0.42). Correlations with burnout and job demands were negligible, whereas correlations with job resources and job satisfaction were weakly positive. Conclusions The results of our study confirm that the WES-3 has acceptable reliability and validity.

BACKGROUND: In Korea, to investigate the casual relationship between humidifier disinfectant and lung disease, four rounds of investigation and judgment were conducted. During this investigation, two adults who performed lung biopsy were recognized for their relevance between humidifier disinfectants and lung disease. At first, we did not think of the relationship to humidifier disinfectant because chest computed tomography (CT) finding of 2 cases were improved. However, they performed lung biopsy and it showed typical humidifier disinfectant lung injury (HDLI) pathologic findings, they could be recognized as HDLI. We report these cases here.
CASE PRESENTATION
We selected 2 cases from the fourth-round investigation at Kangbuk Samsung Hospital. Patient of case 1 used humidifier disinfectants since September 2010. The patient was admitted 6 months later to the intensive care unit (ICU) due to severe dyspnea. Pathology following a lung biopsy revealed typical HDLI finding which was determined to be due to humidifier disinfectant exposure. Patient of case 2 used humidifier disinfectant from 2001 to 2008 for about 3 months each winter. The patient's cough and sputum production symptoms began in December of 2007. The patient was admitted to the respiratory medicine department due to worsening dyspnea. Pathology following a lung biopsy revealed typical HDLI finding. This was determined to have been caused by humidifier disinfectant exposure. CONCLUSIONS Because the typical radiologic findings associated with HDLI can improve over time, it is necessary to consider the revision of current diagnostic criteria that the presence of radiologic findings is important.