PURPOSE: The aim of this animal study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of a portable, ultrasonography-guided, high-intensity focused ultrasound (USg-HIFU) system to treat the pancreas. METHODS: Eight swine were included. Using a portable HIFU device (ALPIUS 900, Alpinion Medical Systems), ablations were performed on the pancreas in vivo. Different acoustic intensities were applied (1.7 kW/cm2 or 1.5 kW/cm2, n=2 [group A for a pilot study]; 1.5 kW/ cm2, n=3 [group B]; and 1.2 kW/cm2, n=3 [group C]). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed immediately (group A) or 7 days (groups B and C) after HIFU treatment. In groups B and C, serum amylase and lipase levels were measured on days 0 and 7, and performance status was observed every day. Necropsy was performed on days 0 (group A) or 7 (groups B and C) to assess the presence of unintended injuries and to obtain pancreatic and peripancreatic tissue for histological analysis. RESULTS: Ablation was noted in the pancreas in all swine on MRI, and all pathologic specimens showed coagulation necrosis in the treated area. The mean ablation areas on MRI were 85.3±38.1 mm2, 90.7±21.2 mm2, and 54.4±30.6 mm2 in groups A, B, and C, respectively (P>0.05). No animals showed evidence of complications, except for one case of a pseudocyst in group B. CONCLUSION: This study showed that pancreas ablation using a portable USg-HIFU system may be safe and feasible, and that coagulation necrosis of the pancreas was successfully achieved with a range of acoustic intensities.
Acoustics ; Amylases ; Animal Experimentation ; Animals ; Lipase ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Necrosis ; Pancreas* ; Swine* ; Ultrasonography*

PURPOSE: This study shows the change in emergency room use behavior by homeless patients after implementation of the ‘Seoul Type Citizen Sympathy Emergency Room Project’ in July 2015. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in a public hospital between January 2014 and December 2014 and January 2016 and December 2016. Homeless patients who visited the emergency room in 2014 and 2016 were compared based on age, gender, mode of insurance, admission, revisit within 48 hours, length of stay (LOS) in the emergency department (ED), total cost, and major diagnostic category. RESULTS: A total of 3,642 homeless patients were enrolled during the study period, of which 1,876 visited in 2014 and 1,766 in 2016. Fewer homeless patients in 2016 revisited within 48 hours (p=0.046). Homeless in 2016 had a shorter ED LOS (p < 0.001) and lower total cost (p=0.040). More homeless patients who visited due to alcohol revisited within 48 hours in 2016 (p=0.036). Moreover, these patients did not have a different ED LOS (p=0.060) or total cost (p=0.475). Medicaid homeless patients were less connected compared health insurance by screening, brief intervention, referral to treatment program. CONCLUSION: Comparison of homeless patients who visited the emergency room in 2014 and 2016 revealed fewer total homeless patients in 2016, as well as less revisits within 48 hours, shorter ED LOS and lower total cost. These findings indicate that the ‘Seoul Type Citizen Sympathy Emergency Room Project’ was effective in the emergency room, but improvements for alcohol and medicaid homeless patients are needed.
Alcoholics ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Health Policy ; Homeless Persons ; Hospitals, Public ; Humans ; Insurance ; Insurance, Health ; Length of Stay ; Mass Screening ; Medicaid ; Referral and Consultation ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: Abnormalities in hemostasis and coagulation have been suggested in chronic renal failure (CRF). In this study, we compared processes of thrombus formation between rats with CRF and those with normal kidney function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CRF was induced by 5/6 ablation/infarction of the kidneys in Sprague-Dawley rats, and surviving rats after 4 weeks were used. Ferric chloride (FeCl3)-induced thrombosis in the carotid artery was induced to assess thrombus formation. Whole blood clot formation was evaluated using rotational thromboelastometry (ROTEM). Platelet aggregation was assessed with impedance platelet aggregometry. RESULTS: FeCl3-induced thrombus formation was initiated faster in the CRF group than in the control group (13.2±1.1 sec vs. 17.8±1.0 sec, p=0.027). On histological examination, the maximal diameters of thrombi were larger in the CRF group than in the control group (394.2±201.1 µm vs. 114.0±145.1 µm, p=0.039). In extrinsic pathway ROTEM, the CRF group showed faster clot initiation (clotting time, 59.0±7.3 sec vs. 72.8±5.0 sec, p=0.032) and increased clot growth kinetics (α angle, 84.8±0.2° vs. 82.0±0.6°, p=0.008), compared to the control group. Maximal platelet aggregation rate was higher in the CRF group than in the control group (58.2±0.2% vs. 44.6±1.2%, p=0.006). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that thrombogenicity is increased in rats with CRF. An activated extrinsic coagulation pathway may play an important role in increasing thrombogenicity in CRF.
Animals ; Blood Platelets ; Carotid Arteries ; Electric Impedance ; Hemostasis ; Kidney ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Kinetics ; Models, Animal* ; Platelet Aggregation ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Thrombelastography ; Thrombosis

PURPOSE: In recent years, the number of elderly patients visiting from residential aged care facilities (RACFs) has been increasing. We analyzed a comparison of characteristics between patients who visited the ER with diseases from RACFs and those who visited from home. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in a public hospital between January 2013 and December 2014. The subjects included patients who visited the ED from RACFs and elderly patients who visited the ED from home. Comparisons of the following parameters were made between the two groups: gender, age, mode of insurance, mode of ED visit, mobile status, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), chief complaint, final results in the ED, and length of stay (LOS) in the ED and hospital. RESULTS: A total of 7,603 patients were enrolled during the study period. There were 6,401 elderly patients who visited from home and 1,202 patients who visited from RACFs. Patients from RACFs were older than those from home (79.90±8.01 vs. 75.78±7.26, p<0.001). More patients from RACFs were on Medicaid (56.6% vs. 27.9%, p<0.001), took more ambulance (86.3% vs. 49.4%, p<0.001), more bedridden (68.2% vs. 6.4%, p<0.001), and higher CCI (2.38±1.99 vs. 1.45±1.84, p<0.001). Compared with patients from home, those from RACFs showed a significantly higher proportion of admission (63.2% vs. 32.9%, p<0.001), ED LOS (403.03±361.77 vs. 277.07±258.82, p<0.001), and hospital LOS (19.65±18.58 vs. 15.67±15.63, p<0.001). Patients from RACFs showed especially longer ED LOS from discharged ED than those from home (388.87±422.88 vs. 221.90±215.30, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Compared with elderly patients from home, patients from RACFs also had higher admission rate and longer ED LOS, as well as hospital LOS. Patients from RACFs had long ED LOS. The findings in this study suggest that there could be ED overcrowding in the near future.
Aged* ; Ambulances ; Comorbidity ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Hospitals, Public ; Humans ; Insurance ; Length of Stay ; Medicaid ; Nursing Homes ; Residential Facilities ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the association between increased level of ambient particulate matter and emergency room visits for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted. We enrolled patients who lived in Seoul, Korea and were diagnosed with COPD in the emergency room between January 2012 and December 2014. Meteorological factors [daily highest temperature, lowest temperature, mean temperature, diurnal temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, amount of sunshine and particulate matter less than 10 µm (PM 10)] between December 2011 and December 2014 in Seoul were acquired from the Korea Meteorological Administration. We used a multiple Poisson regression model with daily patient's number of COPD as a response variable and meteorological factors as explanatory variable. Variable selection was done via an Elastic net. RESULTS: There was a total of 1,179 emergency visits for acute exacerbations of COPD patients. PM10 (before 4, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 22, 24, 27, 28 day), rainfall (before 1, 6, 8, 16, 18 day), relative humidity (before 2, 8), and daily temperature difference (5, 10, 15 day) had a relationship and a lag effect with COPD exacerbations. CONCLUSION: This study showed that an increased concentration of PM10 was associated with COPD exacerbations. A future study that reinforces the limitation of this study is necessary to get a helpful index for an adequate response of medical institution and efficient placement of medical personnel.
Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Humans ; Humidity ; Korea ; Lung Diseases ; Meteorological Concepts ; Particulate Matter* ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive* ; Regression Analysis ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul ; Sunlight

BACKGROUND: Hand eczema is one of the most common skin disorders and negatively affects quality of life. However, a large-scale multicenter study investigating the clinical features of patients with hand eczema has not yet been conducted in Korea. OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence of various hand diseases, which is defined as all cutaneous disease occurring in hands, and to investigate the clinical features of patients with hand eczema and the awareness about hand eczema in the general population and to compare the prevalence of hand eczema between health care providers and non-health care providers. METHODS: To estimate the prevalence of hand diseases, we analyzed the medical records of patients from 24 medical centers. Patients were assessed by online and offline questionnaires. A 1,000 from general population and 913 hand eczema patients answered the questionnaire, for a total of 1,913 subjects. RESULTS: The most common hand disease was irritant contact dermatitis. In an online survey, the lifetime prevalence of hand eczema was 31.2%. Hand eczema was more likely to occur in females (66.0%) and younger (20~39 years, 53.9%). Health care providers and housewives were the occupations most frequently associated with hand eczema. Winter (33.6%) was the most common season which people experienced aggravation. The 63.0% and 67.0% answered that hand eczema hinders their personal relationship and negatively affects daily living activities, respectively. CONCLUSION: Hand eczema is a very common disease and hinders the quality of life. The appropriate identification of hand eczema is necessary to implement effective and efficient treatment.
Activities of Daily Living ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Eczema* ; Female ; Hand* ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Korea* ; Medical Records ; Occupations ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Seasons ; Skin ; Surveys and Questionnaires

PURPOSE: There is no standard targeted therapy for the treatment of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). Therefore, its management heavily depends on adjuvant chemotherapy. Using core needle biopsy, this study evaluated the histological factors of TNBC predicting the response to chemotherapy. METHODS: One hundred forty-three TNBC patients who received single-regimen neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) with the combination of doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and docetaxel were enrolled. The core needle biopsy specimens acquired before NAC were used to analyze the clinicopathologic variables and overall performance of the predictive model for therapeutic response. RESULTS: Independent predictors of pathologic complete response after NAC were found to be higher number of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (p=0.007), absence of clear cytoplasm (p=0.008), low necrosis (p=0.018), and high histologic grade (p=0.039). In the receiver operating characteristics curve analysis, the area under curve for the combination of these four variables was 0.777. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrated that a predictive model using the above four variables can predict therapeutic response to single-regimen NAC with the combination of doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide, and docetaxel in TNBC. Therefore, adding these morphologic variables to clinical and genomic signatures might enhance the ability to predict the therapeutic response to NAC in TNBC.
Area Under Curve ; Biopsy, Large-Core Needle ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cyclophosphamide ; Cytoplasm ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Lymphocytes, Tumor-Infiltrating ; Necrosis ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; ROC Curve ; Treatment Outcome ; Triple Negative Breast Neoplasms*

Microorganisms found in bioaerosols from animal confinement buildings not only foster the risk of spreading diseases among livestock buildings, but also pose health hazards to farm workers and nearby residents. This study identified the various microorganisms present in the air of swine, chicken, and cattle farms with different kinds of ventilation conditions in Korea. Microbial air samples were collected onto Petri dishes with bacterial or fungal growth media using a cascade impactor. Endotoxin levels in total dust were determined by the limulus amebocyte lysate kinetic QCL method. Prevalent Gram-positive bacteria were Staphylococcus (S.) lentus, S. chromogenes, Bacillus (B.) cereus, B. licheniformis, and Enterococcus faecalis, while the dominant fungi and Gram-negative bacteria were Candida albicans and Sphingomonas paucimobilis, respectively. Considering no significant relationship between the indoor dust endotoxin levels and the isolation of Gram-negative bacteria from the indoor air, monitoring the indoor airborne endotoxin level was found to be also critical for risk assessment on health for animals or workers. The present study confirms the importance of microbiological monitoring and control on animal husbandry indoor air to ensure animal and worker welfare.
Agriculture ; Animal Husbandry ; Animals ; Bacillus ; Bacteria* ; Candida albicans ; Cattle ; Chickens* ; Dust ; Enterococcus faecalis ; Farmers ; Fungi* ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; Gram-Positive Bacteria ; Horseshoe Crabs ; Korea ; Livestock ; Methods ; Risk Assessment ; Sphingomonas ; Staphylococcus ; Swine ; Ventilation

BACKGROUND: Lead is a metal that has no biological function useful for the human body. In Korea, non-occupational exposure to lead has mostly occurred through taking oriental medicine. However, in this paper we report a case of lead poisoning caused by ingesting talisman material. CASE PRESENTATION: A 16-year-old male patient complained of severe abdominal pain after taking cinnabar, a talisman material. He was diagnosed with lead poisoning accompanied by acute hepatitis. We confirmed that the cinnabar the patient took contained about 10% elemental lead. After symptom management, the patients' symptoms, liver function test results, and blood lead concentration level improved. CONCLUSION: Lead poisoning can be accompanied by hepatitis, although rarely. As we have confirmed that cinnabar as a talisman material is harmful to the human body, measures to prevent its misuse are needed.
Abdominal Pain ; Adolescent ; Hepatitis ; Human Body ; Humans ; Korea ; Lead Poisoning* ; Liver Function Tests ; Male ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional