Heart failure (HF) is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in South Korea, imposing substantial physical, emotional, and financial burdens on patients and society. Despite the high burden of symptom and complex care needs of HF patients, palliative care and hospice services remain underutilized in South Korea due to cultural, institutional, and knowledge-related barriers. This position statement from the Korean Society of Heart Failure emphasizes the need for integrating palliative and hospice care into HF management to improve quality of life and support holistic care for patients and their families. By clarifying the role of palliative care in HF and proposing practical referral criteria, this position statement aims to bridge the gap between HF and palliative care services in South Korea, ultimately improving patient-centered outcomes and aligning treatment with the goals and values of HF patients.

Purpose: To analyze topographic progression of geographic atrophy with different concentric circles centered on the fovea in correlation with decrease of visual acuity. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 36 eyes of 26 patients diagnosed with geographic atrophy and followed at least 1 year. One millimeter circular area at the foveal center were defined as zone 1, and doughnut shape areas from between 1 and 2 mm to between 5 and 6 mm were defined as zone 2 to 6. Then, changes of geographic atrophy area in each zone were measured with semi-automatic software. Correlation analysis and regression analysis were performed to determine the relationship between changes in visual acuity and atrophic area in each zone. Results: Mean age was 76.9 years and follow-up period were 3.38 years. The mean atrophic area increased from 8.09 to 16.34 mm2 and visual acuity decreased from 0.39 to 0.69 on logarithm of the minimal angle of resolution. Mean change of total geographic atrophy area was not significantly correlated with visual acuity decrease. While geographic atrophy progression within zone 1, 2, and 3 showed significant causal relationship with decrease of visual acuity (all, p < 0.05). Conclusions In contrast to the total geographic atrophy area, progression of geographic atrophy in parafoveal area was significantly correlated with decrease of visual acuity.

Purpose: The aims of this study were (1) to investigate the relationship between the characteristics of allogenic bone block and the compressive strength of an allogenic bone block measured by biomechanical experiments, and (2) to compare the maximum pressure load of allogenic bone block with the gap pressure measured at the high tibial opening osteotomy. Materials and Methods: Ten patients who provided informed consent for gap pressure measurements during opening wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO) were included. The gap pressures were measured at 1 mm intervals while opening the osteotomy site from 8 mm to 14 mm. Seventeen U-shaped allogenous wedge bone blocks were made from the femur, tibia, and humerus. The height, width, cross-sectional area, and cortex thickness of the bone blocks were measured, along with the maximum compressive load just before breakage. The relationship between these characteristics and the maximum pressure load of the bone blocks was evaluated. The gap pressures measured in OWHTO were compared with the maximum pressure loads of the allogenous wedge bone blocks to evaluate the possibility of inserting allogenous wedge bone blocks into the osteotomy site without a distractor in OWHTO. Results: The OWHTO gap pressure increased with increasing osteotomy site opening. The mean gap pressure, which occurred at a 14-mm opening, was 282±93 N; the maximum pressure was 427 N. The maximum pressure load of the allografts was 13,379±6,469 N (minimum, 5,868; maximum, 29,130 N) and was correlated significantly with the cortical bone thickness (correlation coefficient=0.693, p=0.002) and cross-sectional area (correlation coefficient=0.826, p<0.001). Depending on the sterilization method, the maximum pressure loads for the bone blocks were 13,406±5,928 N for freeze-dried and 13,348±7,449 N for fresh frozen. The maximum compressive load of the allogenous wedge bone blocks was 13.7-times greater than that in OWHTO opened to 14 mm (5,868 N vs. 427 N). Conclusion The compressive strength of allogenous wedge bone blocks was sufficiently greater than the gap pressure in OWHTO. Therefore, allogenous wedge bone blocks can be inserted safely into the osteotomy site without a distractor.

The prevalence of heart failure (HF) is on the rise due to the aging of society. Furthermore, the continuous progress and widespread adoption of screening and diagnostic strategies have led to an increase in the detection rate of HF, effectively increasing the number of patients requiring monitoring and treatment. Because HF is associated with substantial rates of mortality and morbidity, as well as high socioeconomic burden, there is an increasing need for developing specific guidelines for HF management. The Korean guidelines for the diagnosis and management of chronic HF were introduced in March 2016. However, chronic and acute heart failure (AHF) represent distinct disease entities. Here, we introduce the Korean guidelines for the management of AHF with reduced or preserved ejection fraction. Part I of this guideline covers the definition, epidemiology, and diagnosis of AHF.
Aging ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Heart Failure ; Heart ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Mortality ; Prevalence

The prevalence of heart failure (HF) is on the rise due to the aging of society. Furthermore, the continuous progress and widespread adoption of screening and diagnostic strategies have led to an increase in the detection rate of HF, effectively increasing the number of patients requiring monitoring and treatment. Because HF is associated with substantial rates of mortality and morbidity, as well as high socioeconomic burden, there is an increasing need for developing specific guidelines for HF management. The Korean guidelines for the diagnosis and management of chronic HF were introduced in March 2016. However, chronic and acute heart failure (AHF) represent distinct disease entities. Here, we introduce the Korean guidelines for the management of AHF with reduced or preserved ejection fraction. Part I of this guideline covers the definition, epidemiology, and diagnosis of AHF.

The prevalence of heart failure (HF) is skyrocketing worldwide, and is closely associated with serious morbidity and mortality. In particular, HF is one of the main causes for the hospitalization and mortality in elderly individuals. Korea also has these epidemiological problems, and HF is responsible for huge socioeconomic burden. However, there has been no clinical guideline for HF management in Korea. 
The present guideline provides the first set of practical guidelines for the management of HF in Korea and was developed using the guideline adaptation process while including as many data from Korean studies as possible. The scope of the present guideline includes the definition, diagnosis, and treatment of chronic HF with reduced/preserved ejection fraction of various etiologies.
Aged ; Diagnosis* ; Heart Failure* ; Heart* ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Korea ; Mortality ; Prevalence

PURPOSE: To compare macular thickness measurements obtained from time domain optical coherence tomography (TD-OCT) and 2 spectral domain (SD) OCTs and to evaluate their repeatability and agreement in normal subjects and diabetic macular edema patients. METHODS: Fifty-four healthy, normal subjects and 26 diabetic macular edema patients were participated in this study. In a randomly selected eye from each subject, two serial macular measurements were obtained from TD-OCT (Stratus OCT) and SD-OCTs (Cirrus HD-OCT, Spectralis HRA+OCT) by an experienced technician in random order. Nine areas of macular thickness map and repeatabilities obtained by the 3 OCTs were compared. RESULTS: In relative repeatability, SD-OCT showed better results overall compared to TD-OCT. Macular thickness was greatest in the Spectralis HRA+OCT in both normal subjects and diabetic macular edema patients, followed by Cirrus HD-OCT and Stratus OCT. In normal subjects, regardless of the type of comparison between the machines there was a statistically significant difference in all 9 areas. CONCLUSIONS: While the TD-OCT and the 2 SD-OCTs are reliable for macular thickness measurement, SD-OCT has better measurement repeatability compared with TD-OCT. Because macular measurements obtained from the 3 OCT systems cannot be interchanged, an effort should be made to standardize the measurement of each system.
Eye ; Humans ; Macular Edema ; Tomography, Optical Coherence

PURPOSE: To compare the effects of early and late intravitreal injection of bevacizumab in patients with macular edema (ME) due to branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). METHODS: The study sample included 56 eyes of 56 patients who received intravitreal bevacizumab injection for ME due to BRVO and were followed up with at least six months of observation. We retrospectively divided eyes into two classes that included 36 eyes with a disease duration of < or= 3 months (early treatment group) and 20 eyes with a disease duration of > 3 months (late treatment group). We assessed the effects of injection on the best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), central retinal thickness and IOP at one, three, and six months after treatment. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant differences in terms of sex, age, number of injections, ischemia, pre-injection visual acuity and central retinal thickness between the two treatment groups. Improvements in central retinal thickness were observed in both groups but were not significantly different between the groups. Visual acuity improved in both groups after treatment; the improvement was significantly better in the early treatment group observed three and six months after treatment. IOP did not change after treatment in either group. CONCLUSIONS: In cases of ME due to BRVO, early intravitreal bevacizumab injection is more effective than late injection for maintaining and improving visual acuity.
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; Eye ; Humans ; Intravitreal Injections ; Ischemia ; Macular Edema ; Retinal Vein ; Retinal Vein Occlusion ; Retinaldehyde ; Retrospective Studies ; Visual Acuity ; Bevacizumab