On May 1, 2024, the Republic of Korea lifted the infectious disease crisis alert for mpox, almost two years after the first case was reported. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) has led the response, which included diagnosis, epidemiological investigations, treatment, and vaccination. This article particularly reviews the vaccination strategy implemented and proposes suggestions for enhancing future response efforts. Initially, the KDCA recommended pre-exposure prophylaxis for high-risk groups, later expanding to include broader demographics as domestic cases rose. By April 2024, a total of 6,863 individuals had received their first vaccine dose, with 3,875 completing the second dose of third-generation vaccines. Strategies to improve future responses include addressing stigma, securing nationally representative safety data, and conducting vaccine cost-benefit analyses.These measures will help ensure a robust and effective response to future outbreaks.

Hairless scalp areas can occur due to trauma, tumors, or congenital disease. This aesthetically unpleasing condition can lead to psychosocial distress, and thin skin flaps may be prone to scarring. Treating the hairless scalp by simple excision is challenging because of skin tension. Tissue expanders are a good option for hairless scalp resurfacing. However, a single expansion may be inadequate to cover the entire defect. This report describes good results obtained using a serial resurfacing method involving re-expansion of the flap with a tissue expander to treat two patients with large lesions: one due to aplasia cutis congenital and another who underwent dermatofibrosarcoma protuberance resection. The results suggest that scalp resurfacing by serial tissue expansion using a tissue expander can be used for extensive lesions.
Alopecia ; Cicatrix ; Dermatofibrosarcoma ; Humans ; Methods ; Scalp ; Skin ; Tissue Expansion ; Tissue Expansion Devices

The aim of this study was to determine predictive risk factors implicated in complications in dogs with esophageal foreign bodies. Medical records of 72 dogs diagnosed with esophageal foreign bodies by endoscopy were reviewed retrospectively. Factors analyzed included age; breed; gender; body weight, location, dimension, and type of foreign body; and duration of impaction. To identify risk factors associated with complications after foreign body ingestion, categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square or Fisher's exact tests and multivariate analysis, as appropriate. Complications secondary to esophageal foreign body ingestion included megaesophagus, esophagitis, perforation, laceration, diverticulum, and pleuritis. Univariate analysis revealed that the location and duration of impaction after foreign body ingestion were associated with an increased risk of esophageal laceration and perforation. Multivariate analysis showed that age, duration of impaction, and foreign body dimension were significant independent risk factors associated with the development of complications in dogs with esophageal foreign bodies. In conclusion, these results showed that longer duration of impaction and larger foreign body dimensions may increase the risks of esophageal laceration, perforation, and plueritis in dogs.
Animals ; Body Weight ; Diverticulum ; Diverticulum, Esophageal ; Dogs ; Eating ; Endoscopy ; Esophageal Achalasia ; Esophageal Perforation ; Esophagitis ; Foreign Bodies ; Lacerations ; Medical Records ; Multivariate Analysis ; Pleurisy ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study were to design polycaprolactone nanofibers with a radial pattern using a modified electrospinning method and to evaluate the effect of radial nanofiber deposition on mechanical and biological properties compared to non-patterned samples. METHODS: Radially patterned polycaprolactone nanofibers were prepared with a modified electrospinning method and compared with randomly deposited nanofibers. The surface morphology of samples was observed under scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The tensile properties of nanofibrous mats were measured using a tabletop uniaxial testing machine. Fluorescence-stained human bone marrow stem cells were placed along the perimeter of the radially patterned and randomly deposited. Their migration toward the center was observed on days 1, 4, and 7, and quantitatively measured using ImageJ software. RESULTS: Overall, there were no statistically significant differences in mechanical properties between the two types of polycaprolactone nanofibrous mats. SEM images of the obtained samples suggested that the directionality of the nanofibers was toward the central area, regardless of where the nanofibers were located throughout the entire sample. Florescence images showed stronger fluorescence inside the circle in radially aligned nanofibers, with significant differences on days 4 and 7, indicating that migration was quicker along radially aligned nanofibers than along randomly deposited nanofibers. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we successfully used modified electrospinning to fabricate radially aligned nanofibers with similar mechanical properties to those of conventional randomly aligned nanofibers. In addition, we observed faster migration along radially aligned nanofibers than along randomly deposited nanofibers. Collectively, the radially aligned nanofibers may have the potential for tissue regeneration in combination with stem cells.
Bandages ; Bone Marrow ; Fluorescence ; Humans ; Methods ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Nanofibers ; Polymers ; Regeneration ; Stem Cells ; Wound Healing ; Wounds and Injuries

The aim of this study was to determine predictive risk factors implicated in complications in dogs with esophageal foreign bodies. Medical records of 72 dogs diagnosed with esophageal foreign bodies by endoscopy were reviewed retrospectively. Factors analyzed included age; breed; gender; body weight, location, dimension, and type of foreign body; and duration of impaction. To identify risk factors associated with complications after foreign body ingestion, categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square or Fisher's exact tests and multivariate analysis, as appropriate. Complications secondary to esophageal foreign body ingestion included megaesophagus, esophagitis, perforation, laceration, diverticulum, and pleuritis. Univariate analysis revealed that the location and duration of impaction after foreign body ingestion were associated with an increased risk of esophageal laceration and perforation. Multivariate analysis showed that age, duration of impaction, and foreign body dimension were significant independent risk factors associated with the development of complications in dogs with esophageal foreign bodies. In conclusion, these results showed that longer duration of impaction and larger foreign body dimensions may increase the risks of esophageal laceration, perforation, and plueritis in dogs.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to investigate the association of total dietary antioxidant capacity (TAC) with oxidative stress and metabolic markers among patients with metabolic syndrome according to gender. METHODS: A total of 346 subjects aged 30~59 years with two or more risk factors of metabolic syndrome were recruited from a general hospital near Seoul in South Korea between 2010 and 2012 based on data from the medical checkup. Biochemical indices for oxidative stress and metabolic markers were measured. Food consumption data from 3-day food records were linked with the antioxidant capacity database for commonly consumed Korean foods to estimate individual's TAC. RESULTS: Average dietary TAC of the study subjects was 132.0 mg VCE/d/1,000 kcal in men and 196.4 mg VCE/d/1,000 kcal in women. Levels of γ-glutamyltransferase (GGT), systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and blood triglycerides were reduced significantly according to increasing TAC in men, but there was no significant trend in women. Intakes of total flavonoids and carotenoids were significantly negatively correlated with GGT (p < 0.05) and d-ROMs (p < 0.01) in men, whereas those of α-tocopherol (p < 0.05) and γ-tocopherol (p < 0.05) were positively correlated with biological antioxidant potential (BAP) in women. The odds ratio of high oxidative stress indices and abnormal metabolic markers according to TAC level were not significant in either men or women. CONCLUSION: The results show that dietary TAC was partially associated with oxidative stress and metabolic markers among patients with metabolic syndrome. Further research is required for elucidating the association between dietary TAC and incidence of metabolic syndrome and chronic diseases within a large population in prospective studies.
Blood Pressure ; Carotenoids ; Chronic Disease ; Female ; Flavonoids ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Odds Ratio ; Oxidative Stress* ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Seoul ; Triglycerides

Korea Ministry of Health and Welfare launched legislation for reimbursement for Nutrition Support Team (NST) activities from August 1st, 2014, which can be applied as a flat rate fee per day once a week. The indicated patients are those with hypoalbuminemia, on parenteral nutrition or enteral nutrition, critically ill patients in intensive care unit's, and any patient on suspicion of malnutrition by the physician in charge. NST should be comprised of a professional physician, an educated nurse, an educated pharmacist, and a professional and experienced dietitian. The maximum number of patients that can be treated by one NST is 30 per day. Such a reimbursement system has resulted in some complex problems with NSTs. The low price does not provide adequate reward for the team's workload because the output of NST belongs to the department in charge and there is no ensured incentive. The Department of Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service cannot detect the quality problem of NST, non-compliance of physicians in charge. There are no stratified codes according to severity of disease and no difference between the first visit and the repeated visit. Every NST should be certified with accreditation and should participate in a qualified education program. Korea Health Insurance does not cover the fees for feeding tubes, formulas, and pumps. Evidence that NST activities can reduce medical cost of hospital-admitted in-patients is needed. Cost-effectiveness can be achieved by quality improvement of NST.
Accreditation ; Critical Illness ; Education ; Enteral Nutrition ; Fees and Charges ; Humans ; Hypoalbuminemia ; Insurance, Health ; Critical Care ; Korea ; Malnutrition ; Motivation ; Nutritional Support* ; Nutritionists ; Parenteral Nutrition ; Pharmacists ; Quality Improvement ; Reward

OBJECTIVES: Breast cancer has been the most prevalent female cancer in South Korea since 2001. Early detection of this disease is the most effective strategy for reducing mortality. The objective of this study was to identify factors which could predict advanced stage at diagnosis of breast cancer. METHODS: Participants who were initially diagnosed with breast cancer and referred to the Stress Clinic of the Breast Cancer Center at Kyungpook National University Hospital were included. Through a semi-structured interview, the authors investigated psychosocial variables such as the extent of marital and family functioning and emotional-economic family burden as well as sociodemographic and health behavior-, health characteristic- and cancer-related variables. RESULTS: Data were collected from 219 participants. One hundred and twenty(54.8%) subjects were diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer. Variables that were significantly different between the advanced-stage and early-stage groups included : monthly breast self examination(p<0.000), annual mammographic screening(p< 0.000), mode of tumor detection(p<0.000), nature of the first symptoms(p<0.000), time to treatment after di-agnosis(p<0.000), overloaded economic and family burden(p=0.018), marital functioning(p<0.000) and family functioning(p<0.00). Logistic regression analysis indicated that irregular annual mammography screening(OR=7.431 ; 95% CI 2.407-22.944) or a lack of screening(OR=25.299 ; 95% CI 7.855-81.482) and a dysfunctional marital relationship(OR=4.772 ; 95% CI 2.244-10.145) were significantly associated with advanced stage at diagnosis of breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: We reconfirmed screening behavior to be a risk factor for delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. Our findings also emphasized the importance of psychosocial factors such as marital functioning in early detection of breast cancer. Psychiatric consultation in the area of martial functioning could be beneficial for increasing early detection in breast cancer.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Delayed Diagnosis* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mammography ; Marriage* ; Mass Screening ; Mortality ; Psychology* ; Risk Factors ; Time-to-Treatment

Malnutrition of hospitalized patients is a prevailing issue, especially in the perioperative period. As the elderly population increases progressively, surgeons should become more alert to preventing the risk of iatrogenic malnutrition. The consequences of malnutrition, such as delayed wound healing, exposure to infection, pressure sores, gastrointestinal bacterial overgrowth, and compromised immunity can be prevented or attenuated by vigorous nutritional support. Enhanced recovery after surgery is a multimodal perioperative care pathway designed to achieve early recovery for patients undergoing major surgery, in which nutritional intervention is the most important and integral part. Preoperative nutritional assessment, intraoperative considerations against postoperative nutritional problems, and an appropriate postoperative nutritional supply will result in better outcomes of surgery, and, in turn, in reduced postoperative complications, shorter hospital stays, and decreased medical costs. Though enteral nutrition is preferable over parenteral nutrition, parenteral nutrition should be supplemented selectively in those for whom enteral nutrition will inevitably be inadequate.
Aged ; Enteral Nutrition ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Malnutrition ; Nutrition Assessment ; Nutritional Support ; Parenteral Nutrition ; Perioperative Care ; Perioperative Period ; Postoperative Complications ; Pressure Ulcer ; Wound Healing

No abstract available.