Background: Worldwide, sepsis is the leading cause of death in hospitals. If mortality rates in patients with sepsis can be predicted early, medical resources can be allocated efficiently. We constructed machine learning (ML) models to predict the mortality of patients with sepsis in a hospital emergency department. Methods: This study prospectively collected nationwide data from an ongoing multicenter cohort of patients with sepsis identified in the emergency department. Patients were enrolled from 19 hospitals between September 2019 and December 2020. For acquired data from 3,657 survivors and 1,455 deaths, six ML models (logistic regression, support vector machine, random forest, extreme gradient boosting [XGBoost], light gradient boosting machine, and categorical boosting [CatBoost]) were constructed using fivefold cross-validation to predict mortality. Through these models, 44 clinical variables measured on the day of admission were compared with six sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) components (PaO 2 /FIO 2 [PF], platelets (PLT), bilirubin, cardiovascular, Glasgow Coma Scale score, and creatinine).The confidence interval (CI) was obtained by performing 10,000 repeated measurements via random sampling of the test dataset. All results were explained and interpreted using Shapley’s additive explanations (SHAP). Results: Of the 5,112 participants, CatBoost exhibited the highest area under the curve (AUC) of 0.800 (95% CI, 0.756–0.840) using clinical variables. Using the SOFA components for the same patient, XGBoost exhibited the highest AUC of 0.678 (95% CI, 0.626–0.730). As interpreted by SHAP, albumin, lactate, blood urea nitrogen, and international normalization ratio were determined to significantly affect the results. Additionally, PF and PLTs in the SOFA component significantly influenced the prediction results. Conclusion Newly established ML-based models achieved good prediction of mortality in patients with sepsis. Using several clinical variables acquired at the baseline can provide more accurate results for early predictions than using SOFA components. Additionally, the impact of each variable was identified.

Background: Coronary artery disease patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) often exhibit reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). However, the impact of LV dysfunction status in conjunction with platelet reactivity on clinical outcomes has not been previously investigated. Methods: From the multicenter PTRG-DES (Platelet function and genoType-Related long-term prognosis in DES-treated patients) consortium, the patients were classified as preserved-EF (PEF: LVEF ≥ 50%) and reduced-EF (REF: LVEF< 5 0%) group by echocardiography. Platelet reactivity was measured using VerifyNow P2Y 12 assay and high platelet reactivity (HPR) was defined as PRU ≥ 252. The major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) were a composite of death, myocardial infarction, stent thrombosis and stroke at 5 years after PCI. Major bleeding was defined as Bleeding Academic Research Consortium bleeding types 3–5. Results: A total of 13,160 patients from PTRG-DES, 9,319 (79.6%) patients with the results of both PRU and LVEF were analyzed. The incidence of MACCE and major bleeding was higher in REF group as compared with PEF group (MACCEs: hazard ratio [HR] 2.17, P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.85–2.55; major bleeding: HR 1.78, P < 0.001, 95% CI 1.39–2.78).The highest rate of MACCEs was found in patients with REF and HPR, and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (HR 3.14 in REF(+)/HPR(+) vs. PEF(+)/HPR(-) group,P <0.01, 95% CI 2.51–3.91). The frequency of major bleeding was not associated with the HPR in either group. Conclusion LV dysfunction was associated with an increased incidence of MACCEs and major bleeding in patients who underwent PCI. The HPR status further exhibited significant increase of MACCEs in patients with LV dysfunction in a large, real-world registry.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04734028

Background/Aims: Human adenovirus type 55 (HAdV-55), an emerging epidemic strain, has caused several large outbreaks in the Korean military since 2014, and HAdV-associated acute respiratory illness (HAdV-ARI) has been continuously reported thereafter. Methods: To evaluate the epidemiologic characteristics of HAdV-ARI in the Korean military, we analyzed respiratory virus polymerase chain reaction (RV-PCR) results, pneumonia surveillance results, and severe HAdV cases from all 14 Korean military hospitals from January 2013 to May 2018 and compared these data with nationwide RV surveillance data for the civilian population. Results: A total of 14,630 RV-PCRs was performed at military hospitals. HAdV (45.4%) was the most frequently detected RV, followed by human rhinovirus (12.3%) and influenza virus (6.3%). The percentage of the military positive for HAdV was significantly greater than the percentage of civilians positive for HAdV throughout the study period, with a large outbreak occurring during the winter to spring of 2014 to 2015. The outbreak continued until the end of the study, and non-seasonal detections increased over time. The reported number of pneumonia patients also increased during the outbreak. Case fatality rate was 0.075% overall but 15.6% in patients with respiratory failure. The proportion of severe patients did not change significantly during the study period. Conclusions A large HAdV outbreak is currently ongoing in the Korean military, with a trend away from seasonality, and HAdV-55 is likely the predominant strain. Persistent efforts to control the outbreak, HAdV type-specific surveillance, and vaccine development are required.

Background and Objectives: Few studies have investigated the obesity paradox in clinical outcomes of peripheral artery disease (PAD). We investigated the association between body massindex (BMI) and clinical outcomes in PAD patients undergoing endovascular therapy (EVT). Methods: Patients (n=2,914) from the retrospective Korean Vascular Intervention Society Endovascular Therapy in Lower Limb Artery Disease registry were categorized according to BMI: underweight (<18.5 kg/m2 , n=204), normal weight (18.5–25 kg/m2 , n=1,818), overweight (25–30 kg/m2 , n=766), or obese (≥30 kg/m2 , n=126). Groups were compared for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and major adverse limb events (MALE). Results: The underweight and obese groups were older and had more frequent critical limb ischemia and infrapopliteal artery disease than the normal or overweight groups (all p<0.001). Hypertension and diabetes were more frequent and current smoking was less frequent in the overweight and obese groups than the underweight or normal weight groups (all p <0.001). The underweight group showed the higher rates of MACE and MALE at 3 years (17.2%, 15.7%) compared with the normal weight (10.8%, 11.7%), overweight (8.4%, 10.7%), or obese groups (8.7%, 14.3%) (log-rank p<0.001, p=0.015). In contrast, the risk of MACE was lower in the overweight than the normal weight group (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.706; 95% CI, 0.537–0.928). Conclusions In PAD patients undergoing EVT, underweight was an independent predictor for MACE and MALE, whereas MACE risk was lower for overweight than normal weight patients.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the factors that affect successful esophageal foreign body (FB) removal using a Foley catheter and to identify methods to increase the success rate. Methods: In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, we included pediatric patients who presented with esophageal FB impaction that was removed using a Foley catheter in the emergency departments of tertiary care and academic hospitals. We analyzed the effect of the patients’ age, sex, and symptoms; FB type, size, and location; Foley catheter size; complications during FB removal; duration between FB ingestion and removal; operator’s years of training; sedation; success rate of FB removal; endoscopy; and patient’s posture during FB removal on the success of Foley catheter-based FB removal. Results: Of the 43 patients we enrolled, Foley catheter-based FB removal was successful in 81.4% (35/43) but failed in 18.6% (8/43) of patients; no FB-removal-related complications were reported. There was no significant association between the success rate of Foley catheter-based FB removal and any study variable. A higher number of years in training tended to increase the success rate of Foley catheter-based FB removal, although statistical significance was not achieved. Conclusion Children’s esophageal FB removal is a practical challenge in the emergency rooms, and using a Foley catheter is associated with a high success rate of the removal and low occurrence of complications. In this study, no single variable was found correlated with the success rate of Foley catheter-based esophageal FB removal in pediatric patients, which may indicate multiple variables interacting with one another to affect the success rate.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the factors that affect successful esophageal foreign body (FB) removal using a Foley catheter and to identify methods to increase the success rate. Methods: In this retrospective, cross-sectional study, we included pediatric patients who presented with esophageal FB impaction that was removed using a Foley catheter in the emergency departments of tertiary care and academic hospitals. We analyzed the effect of the patients’ age, sex, and symptoms; FB type, size, and location; Foley catheter size; complications during FB removal; duration between FB ingestion and removal; operator’s years of training; sedation; success rate of FB removal; endoscopy; and patient’s posture during FB removal on the success of Foley catheter-based FB removal. Results: Of the 43 patients we enrolled, Foley catheter-based FB removal was successful in 81.4% (35/43) but failed in 18.6% (8/43) of patients; no FB-removal-related complications were reported. There was no significant association between the success rate of Foley catheter-based FB removal and any study variable. A higher number of years in training tended to increase the success rate of Foley catheter-based FB removal, although statistical significance was not achieved. Conclusion Children’s esophageal FB removal is a practical challenge in the emergency rooms, and using a Foley catheter is associated with a high success rate of the removal and low occurrence of complications. In this study, no single variable was found correlated with the success rate of Foley catheter-based esophageal FB removal in pediatric patients, which may indicate multiple variables interacting with one another to affect the success rate.

Background and Objectives: Few studies have investigated the obesity paradox in clinical outcomes of peripheral artery disease (PAD). We investigated the association between body massindex (BMI) and clinical outcomes in PAD patients undergoing endovascular therapy (EVT). Methods: Patients (n=2,914) from the retrospective Korean Vascular Intervention Society Endovascular Therapy in Lower Limb Artery Disease registry were categorized according to BMI: underweight (<18.5 kg/m2 , n=204), normal weight (18.5–25 kg/m2 , n=1,818), overweight (25–30 kg/m2 , n=766), or obese (≥30 kg/m2 , n=126). Groups were compared for major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and major adverse limb events (MALE). Results: The underweight and obese groups were older and had more frequent critical limb ischemia and infrapopliteal artery disease than the normal or overweight groups (all p<0.001). Hypertension and diabetes were more frequent and current smoking was less frequent in the overweight and obese groups than the underweight or normal weight groups (all p <0.001). The underweight group showed the higher rates of MACE and MALE at 3 years (17.2%, 15.7%) compared with the normal weight (10.8%, 11.7%), overweight (8.4%, 10.7%), or obese groups (8.7%, 14.3%) (log-rank p<0.001, p=0.015). In contrast, the risk of MACE was lower in the overweight than the normal weight group (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.706; 95% CI, 0.537–0.928). Conclusions In PAD patients undergoing EVT, underweight was an independent predictor for MACE and MALE, whereas MACE risk was lower for overweight than normal weight patients.

Adolescent ; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hemorrhage ; Hemorrhoids ; Humans ; Klippel-Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome ; Male ; Polyps ; Port-Wine Stain ; Vascular Malformations

BACKGROUND: Tigecycline resistance has emerged recently and has shown diverse mechanisms. The aim of this study was to assess the role of efflux activity in tigecycline resistance in 120 clinical isolates of A. baumannii using two methods: the H33342 accumulation assay and adeB real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. In addition, we analyzed the correlation between the expression level of adeB and H33342 accumulation level. METHODS: A. baumannii clinical isolates was divided into tigecycline-resistant (49 strains), intermediate (40 strains), and susceptible (31 strains) groups. The H33342 accumulation was measured in the absence or presence of the efflux pump inhibitor carbonyl cyanide 3-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). Real-time RT-PCR was performed to determine the relative expression of the adeB gene in A. baumannii clinical isolates. RESULTS: The level of H33342 accumulation in the resistant group was relatively lower than those in the other groups. The addition of CCCP caused a significantly increased fold change in H33342 accumulation in the tigecycline-resistant group. Significant difference in the fold change level in H33342 accumulation was found between tigecycline-susceptible and resistant isolates. Those findings support the role of efflux pumps of which substrates are H33342 in the resistance of tigecycline. Significant differences in the relative expression levels of adeB were shown between tigecycline-susceptible and resistant groups also. CONCLUSION: The results showed that several efflux pumps of which substrates were H33342 can contribute to tigecycline resistance. The adeB overexpression can also contribute to tigecycline resistance. It is possible that efflux pumps other than adeB efflux pumps contribute to tigecycline resistance because there was no correlation between fold change level in H33342 accumulation and adeB expression level.
Acinetobacter baumannii* ; Acinetobacter* ; Carbonyl Cyanide m-Chlorophenyl Hydrazone ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction