Background: AML is a heterogeneous disease, and despite intensive therapy, recurrence is still high in AML patients who achieve the criterion for cytomorphologic remission (residual tumor burden [measurable residual disease, MRD]<5%). This study aimed to develop a targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel to detect MRD in AML patients and validate its performance. Methods: We designed an error-corrected, targeted MRD-NGS panel without using physical molecular barcodes, including 24 genes. Fifty-four bone marrow and peripheral blood samples from 23 AML patients were sequenced using the panel. The panel design was validated using reference material, and accuracy was assessed using droplet digital PCR. Results: Dilution tests showed excellent linearity and a strong correlation between expected and observed clonal frequencies (R>0.99). The test reproducibly detected MRD in three dilution series samples, with a sensitivity of 0.25% for single-nucleotide variants. More than half of samples from patients with morphologic remission after one month of chemotherapy had detectable mutations. NGS-MRD positivity for samples collected after one month of chemotherapy tended to be associated with poor overall survival and progression-free survival. Conclusions Our highly sensitive and accurate NGS-MRD panel can be readily used to monitor most AML patients in clinical practice, including patients without gene rearrangement. In addition, this NGS-MRD panel may allow the detection of newly emerging clones during clinical relapse, leading to more reliable prognoses of AML.

Background and Objectives: Given the major changes in spread of COVID-19 and the contribution of technological innovation, the objective of the current study was to compare the educational needs of thyroid cancer patients between 2012 and 2020. Materials and Methods: The subject of this study were 159 patients in 2012 and 149 patients in 2020 who underwent thyroid cancer surgery. Data were collected from September 2020 to December 2020. Their responses were compared with response for the 2012 survey. The survey contained 36 questions regarding demographics and 5 areas of educational needs (Treatment plan after discharge, Management of the symptom and the complication after surgery, Medication management, Postoperative wound and dietary management, Daily life). Results: The most preferred teaching method for thyroid cancer surgery patients has changed from small group education to self-study with videos. The Internet accounted for the largest proportion of source of information and the preferred educator for the patient were doctors and nurses in both 2012 and 2020. ‘Current disease condition and surgical result’ was the highest ranked in both 2012 and 2020. Conclusion It is necessary to develop and utilize an educational method using video centered on medical team including doctors and nurses.

Purpose: This study evaluated the impact of auricular acupressure on depression among nurses. Methods: This study used a randomized control group pretest-posttest design. Shift-work nurses with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score over 5 points were randomized to the experimental group(n=20) or the control group(n=20). For the experimental group, auricular acupressure was conducted at the corresponding points of depression (TGI, AH1) weekly for seven days as well as for two weeks. The PHQ-9 was completed before intervention, as well as two weeks after intervention. Results: The mean difference in the PHQ-9 score before and after auricular acupressure in the experimental group (-4.11±2.27), was more significant than in the control group (-1.72±3.82) (t=2.28, p=.03). Conclusion Result showed that nurses who received auricular acupressure had a decrease in depression, compared to those who did not receive auricular acupressure. Further research is required, to apply the other auricular acupressure points, to evaluate the impact on depressive symptoms.

Objective: To compare the lumen parameters measured by the location-adaptive threshold method (LATM), in which the inter- and intra-scan attenuation variabilities of coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) were corrected, and the scan-adaptive threshold method (SATM), in which only the inter-scan variability was corrected, with the reference standard measurement by intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS). Materials and Methods: The Hounsfield unit (HU) values of whole voxels and the centerline in each of the cross-sections of the 22 target coronary artery segments were obtained from 15 patients between March 2009 and June 2010, in addition to the corresponding voxel size. Lumen volume was calculated mathematically as the voxel volume multiplied by the number of voxels with HU within a given range, defined as the lumen for each method, and compared with the IVUS-derived reference standard. Subgroup analysis of the lumen area was performed to investigate the effect of lumen size on the studied methods.Bland-Altman plots were used to evaluate the agreement between the measurements. Results: Lumen volumes measured by SATM was significantly smaller than that measured by IVUS (mean difference, 14.6 ㎣ ; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.9–24.3 ㎣ ); the lumen volumes measured by LATM and IVUS were not significantly different (mean difference, -0.7 ㎣ ; 95% CI, -9.1–7.7 ㎣ ). The lumen area measured by SATM was significantly smaller than that measured by LATM in the smaller lumen area group (mean of difference, 1.07 ㎟ ; 95% CI, 0.89–1.25 ㎟ ) but not in the larger lumen area group (mean of difference, -0.07 ㎟ ; 95% CI, -0.22–0.08 ㎟ ). In the smaller lumen group, the mean difference was lower in the Bland-Altman plot of IVUS and LATM (0.46 ㎟ ; 95% CI, 0.27–0.65 ㎟ ) than in that of IVUS and SATM (1.53 ㎟ ; 95% CI, 1.27–1.79㎟ ). Conclusion SATM underestimated the lumen parameters for computed lumen segmentation in CCTA, and this may be overcome by using LATM.

Objective: To compare the lumen parameters measured by the location-adaptive threshold method (LATM), in which the inter- and intra-scan attenuation variabilities of coronary computed tomographic angiography (CCTA) were corrected, and the scan-adaptive threshold method (SATM), in which only the inter-scan variability was corrected, with the reference standard measurement by intravascular ultrasonography (IVUS). Materials and Methods: The Hounsfield unit (HU) values of whole voxels and the centerline in each of the cross-sections of the 22 target coronary artery segments were obtained from 15 patients between March 2009 and June 2010, in addition to the corresponding voxel size. Lumen volume was calculated mathematically as the voxel volume multiplied by the number of voxels with HU within a given range, defined as the lumen for each method, and compared with the IVUS-derived reference standard. Subgroup analysis of the lumen area was performed to investigate the effect of lumen size on the studied methods.Bland-Altman plots were used to evaluate the agreement between the measurements. Results: Lumen volumes measured by SATM was significantly smaller than that measured by IVUS (mean difference, 14.6 ㎣ ; 95% confidence interval [CI], 4.9–24.3 ㎣ ); the lumen volumes measured by LATM and IVUS were not significantly different (mean difference, -0.7 ㎣ ; 95% CI, -9.1–7.7 ㎣ ). The lumen area measured by SATM was significantly smaller than that measured by LATM in the smaller lumen area group (mean of difference, 1.07 ㎟ ; 95% CI, 0.89–1.25 ㎟ ) but not in the larger lumen area group (mean of difference, -0.07 ㎟ ; 95% CI, -0.22–0.08 ㎟ ). In the smaller lumen group, the mean difference was lower in the Bland-Altman plot of IVUS and LATM (0.46 ㎟ ; 95% CI, 0.27–0.65 ㎟ ) than in that of IVUS and SATM (1.53 ㎟ ; 95% CI, 1.27–1.79㎟ ). Conclusion SATM underestimated the lumen parameters for computed lumen segmentation in CCTA, and this may be overcome by using LATM.

To develop a clinical practice guideline for vaccination in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic disease (AIIRD), the Korean College of Rheumatology and theKorean Society of Infectious Diseases developed a clinical practice guideline according to the clinical practice guideline development manual. Since vaccination is unlikely to cause AIIRD or worsen disease activities, required vaccinations are recommended. Once patients are diagnosed with AIIRD, treatment strategies should be established and, at the same time, monitor their vaccination history. It is recommended to administer vaccines when the disease enters the stabilized stage. Administering live attenuated vaccines in patients with AIIRD who are taking immunosuppressants should be avoided. Vaccination should be considered in patients with AIIRD, prior to initiating immunosuppressants. It is recommended to administer influenza, Streptococcus pneumoniae, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, herpes zoster, measlesmumps- rubella virus, human papillomavirus, and tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis vaccines in patients with AIIRD; such patients who planned to travel are generally recommended to be vaccinated at the recommended vaccine level of healthy adults. Those who live in a household with patients with AIIRD and their caregivers should also be vaccinated at levels that are generally recommended for healthy adults.

Background and Objectives: Many patients with thyroid cancer are participating in the online community. Thyroid cancer patients write and read a variety of posts in the online community, and there is a great deal of data generated in the digital environment. However, few studies have analyzed the online community of thyroid cancer patients. The purpose of this study is to analyze the online community to understand the interests and information seeking behavior of thyroid cancer patients. Materials and Methods: Data were collected from August 2017 to September 2019 using statistics from an online community of thyroid cancer patients. The frequency analysis was performed by collecting the members’ gender, age, average usage time, time-of-day views, average monthly visits, device distribution, online community inflow query, query within online community, and content of a post with more than 1000 views per month. Results: Analyzing the online community of thyroid cancer patients, women accounted for 80.4% of the total, and the age group of people in their 30s and 40s accounted for 77.5%. Online community subscribers averaged 0.7 visits a day using mobile, with the most frequent use time between 10pm and 12pm. Frequently used queries are medical staff names, surgery, recurrence and scar. Posts showed informational and emotional exchanges. Conclusion Patients with thyroid cancer have searched for a lot of information about surgery and recurrence. Analyzing the online community will help to understand the experience of thyroid cancer patients and contribute to the development of online community intervention.

To develop a clinical practice guideline for vaccination in patients with autoimmune inflammatory rheumatic disease (AIIRD), the Korean College of Rheumatology and the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases developed a clinical practice guideline according to the clinical practice guideline development manual. Since vaccination is unlikely to cause AIIRD or worsen disease activities, required vaccinations are recommended. Once patients are diagnosed with AIIRD, treatment strategies should be established and, at the same time, monitor their vaccination history. It is recommended to administer vaccines when the disease enters the stabilized stage. Administering live attenuated vaccines in patients with AIIRD who are taking immunosuppressants should be avoided. Vaccination should be considered in patients with AIIRD, prior to initiating immunosuppressants. It is recommended to administer influenza, Streptococcus pneumoniae, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, herpes zoster, measles-mumps-rubella virus, human papillomavirus, and tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis vaccines in patients with AIIRD; such patients who planned to travel are generally recommended to be vaccinated at the recommended vaccine level of healthy adults. Those who live in a household with patients with AIIRD and their caregivers should also be vaccinated at levels that are generally recommended for healthy adults.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Most thyroid cancers progress slowly, have high survival rates, and have good prognosis. Therefore, the management of patients with thyroid cancer should be viewed from a long-term perspective, taking into account a return to normal social life. Cancer patients have a higher risk of unemployment than the general population, and so unemployment can be an economic problem for thyroid cancer patients. However, there have been few studies on factors affecting return to work in thyroid cancer patients. The purpose of this study is to investigate occupational changes and the period of leave of absence for patients with thyroid cancer and to identify factors that affect the return to work after surgery.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 427 questionnaires of thyroid cancer patients were used for the analysis. The occupational changes and sick leave periods were analyzed according to general characteristics, disease-related characteristics, and side effects.RESULTS: The factors related to occupational change and leave of absence in thyroid cancer patients were sex and type of occupation. Women had more occupational changes and longer leave of absence than men, office workers had the least change in occupation, and professional workers had a longer period of sick leave. Fatigue was the primary side effect that affected the leave of absence.CONCLUSION: Occupation is very important in the life of a thyroid cancer patient. Informing the patient of possible complications and planning proper leave of absence will help the patient return to work and improve the quality of life.
Fatigue ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Occupations ; Prognosis ; Quality of Life ; Return to Work ; Sick Leave ; Survival Rate ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Unemployment

Extracellular interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1α) released from keratinocytes is one of the endpoints for in vitro assessments of skin irritancy. Although cells dying via primary skin irritation undergo apoptosis as well as necrosis, IL-1α is not released in apoptotic cells. On the other hand, active secretion has been identified in interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1ra), which was discovered to be a common, upregulated, differentially-expressed gene in a microarray analysis performed with keratinocytes treated using cytotoxic doses of chemicals. This study examined whether and how IL-1ra, particularly extracellularly released IL-1ra, was involved in chemically-induced keratinocyte cytotoxicity and skin irritation. Primary cultured normal adult skin keratinocytes were treated with cytotoxic doses of chemicals (hydroquinone, retinoic acid, sodium lauryl sulfate, or urshiol) with or without recombinant IL-1ra treatment. Mouse skin was administered irritant concentrations of hydroquinone or retinoic acid. IL-1ra (mRNA and/or intracellular/extracellularly released protein) levels increased in the chemically treated cultured keratinocytes with IL-1α and IL-1β mRNAs and in the chemically exposed epidermis of the mouse skin. Recombinant IL-1ra treatment significantly reduced the chemically-induced apoptotic death and intracellular/extracellularly released IL-1α and IL-1β in keratinocytes. Collectively, extracellular IL-1ra released from keratinocytes could be a compensatory mechanism to reduce the chemically-induced keratinocyte apoptosis by antagonism to IL-1α and IL-1β, suggesting potential applications to predict skin irritation.
Adult ; Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Epidermis ; Hand ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein ; Interleukin-1* ; Interleukin-1alpha ; Keratinocytes* ; Mice ; Microarray Analysis ; Necrosis ; RNA, Messenger ; Skin ; Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate ; Tretinoin