OBJECTIVES: We estimated the population prevalence of antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), including unreported infections, through a Korea Seroprevalence Study of Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Retention and Transmission (K-SEROSMART) in 258 communities throughout Korea. METHODS: In August 2022, a survey was conducted among 10,000 household members aged 5 years and older, in households selected through two stage probability random sampling. During face-to-face household interviews, participants self-reported their health status, COVID-19 diagnosis and vaccination history, and general characteristics. Subsequently, participants visited a community health center or medical clinic for blood sampling. Blood samples were analyzed for the presence of antibodies to spike proteins (anti-S) and antibodies to nucleocapsid proteins (anti-N) SARS-CoV-2 proteins using an electrochemiluminescence immunoassay. To estimate the population prevalence, the PROC SURVEYMEANS statistical procedure was employed, with weighting to reflect demographic data from July 2022. RESULTS: In total, 9,945 individuals from 5,041 households were surveyed across 258 communities, representing all basic local governments in Korea. The overall population-adjusted prevalence rates of anti-S and anti-N were 97.6% and 57.1%, respectively. Since the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has reported a cumulative incidence of confirmed cases of 37.8% through July 31, 2022, the proportion of unreported infections among all COVID-19 infection was suggested to be 33.9%. CONCLUSIONS The K-SEROSMART represents the first nationwide, community-based seroepidemiologic survey of COVID-19, confirming that most individuals possess antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 and that a significant number of unreported cases existed. Furthermore, this study lays the foundation for a surveillance system to continuously monitor transmission at the community level and the response to COVID-19.

The surgical treatment of extensive urethral strictures remains a controversial topic; although techniques have evolved, there is still no definite method of choice. Since 1968, when Orandi presented an original technique for one-stage urethroplasty using a penile skin flap, the Orandi technique has become the most prevalently used one-stage procedure for anterior urethral strictures. We present a 20-year follow-up experience with one-stage reconstruction of long urethral strictures using a longitudinal ventral tubed flap of penile skin, with some important technical changes to Orandi’s original technique to overcome the deficient vascularity caused by periurethral scar tissue. In 1997, a 55-year-old male patient complained of severe voiding difficulty and a weak urinary stream because of transurethral resection of the prostate due to benign prostatic hyperplasia. Another 47-year-old male patient had the same problem due to self-removal of a Foley catheter in 2002. In both patients, a urethrogram demonstrated extensive strictures involving the long segment of the anterior urethra. A rectangular skin flap on the ventral surface of the penis was used considering the appropriate length, diameter, and depth of the neourethra. The modified Orandi flap provided a pedicled strip of penile skin measuring an average of 8 cm. The mean duration of follow-up was 20.5 years. A long-term evaluation revealed stable performance characteristics without any complications.

Recently, there is a growing interest of hyperbaric oxygen therapy in many fields of medicine. We had a 43-year-old female patient presented with severe necrosis of the nose, philtrum, and upper lip due to retrograde arterial occlusion after nasolabial fold hyaluronic acid filler injection. Our patient went through 43 sessions of systemic hyperbaric oxygen therapy from December 2, 2017 to January 18, 2018. We administered 2.8 atmosphere absolute (ATA) for 135 minutes in the first session and the remaining sessions consisted of 2.0 ATA for 110 minutes. In reporting this case, we wish to provide a warning regarding the latent risk of filler injections and share our experience about minimizing soft tissue damage in the early stages with systemic hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
Adult ; Atmosphere ; Female ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; Hyperbaric Oxygenation ; Lip ; Nasolabial Fold ; Necrosis ; Nose

BACKGROUND: Neurosensory changes are frequently observed in the patients with mid-face fractures, and these symptoms are often caused by infraorbital nerve (ION) damage. Although ION damage is a relatively common phenomenon, there are no established and objective methods to evaluate it. The aim of this study was to test whether trigeminal somatosensory evoked potential (TSEP) could be used as a prognostic predictor of ION damage and TSEP testing was an objective method to evaluate ION injury. METHODS: In this prospective TSEP study, 48 patients with unilateral mid-face fracture (only unilateral blow out fracture and unilateral zygomaticomaxillary fracture were included) and potential ION damages were enrolled. Both sides of the face were examined with TSEP and the non-traumatized side of the face was used as control. We calculated the latency difference between the affected and the unaffected sides. RESULTS: Twenty-four patients recovered within 3 months, and 21 patients took more than 3 months to recover. The average latency difference between the affected side and unaffected side was 1.4 and 4.1 ms for the group that recovered within 3 months and the group that recovered after 3 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: Patients who suffered ION damage showed prolonged latency when examined using the TSEP test. TSEP is an effective tool for evaluation of nerve injury and predicting the recovery of patients with ION damage.
Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory ; Humans ; Methods ; Orbital Fractures ; Prospective Studies ; Trigeminal Nerve Injuries

The Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology International Workshop 2018 on gynecologic oncology was held in the Ajou University Hospital, Suwon, Korea on the 24th to 25th August 2018. The workshop was an opportunity for Asian doctors to discuss the latest findings of gynecologic cancer, including cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancers, as well as the future of fertility-sparing treatments, minimally invasive/radical/debulking surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Clinical guidelines and position statement of Asian countries were presented by experts. Asian clinical trials for gynecologic cancers were reviewed and experts emphasized the point that original Asian study is beneficial for Asian patients. In Junior session, young gynecologic oncologists presented their latest research on gynecologic cancers.
Antineoplastic Agents ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Drug Therapy ; Education ; Endometrial Neoplasms ; Female ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Korea ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Radiotherapy ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

PURPOSE: This purpose of this study was to develop evidence-based practice guideline for isolation in health care settings to prevent transmission of infectious diseases utilizing guideline adaption process. METHODS: The process of guideline adaptation was performed according to the Korean hospital nurses association's guideline adaptation manual which consisted of three main phases, 9 modules, and 24 steps. RESULTS: The adapted isolation guideline consisted of introduction, overview of isolation guideline, summary of recommendations, recommendations, references, and appendices. The guideline includes 224 recommendations in 4 sections which are organizational administration, standard precautions, transmission-based precautions, and education/counselling. CONCLUSION: The adapted isolation guideline is recommended to be disseminated and utilized by nurses and clinicians nationwide to improve the isolation practices for infected or colonized patients with communicable diseases and to decrease the transmission of infections in the healthcare settings.
Colon ; Communicable Diseases ; Delivery of Health Care ; Disease Transmission, Infectious ; Evidence-Based Nursing ; Evidence-Based Practice ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Patient Isolation

PURPOSE: This study was implemented to develop and validate the semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (SQ-FFQ) to assess energy, carbohydrates, fat, protein, minerals, and vitamins as well as fatty acids and alcohol in Korean adults. METHODS: The SQ-FFQ consisted of 88 food items, and 12 food groups were selected based on information of frequently consumed foods from the Korean Health and Nutrition Examination survey. Each portion size was categorized as one of three amounts: small (0.5 times), medium (1 time), and large (1.5 times). A total of 111 subjects finished 3-day diet records and the SQ-FFQ. The relative validity of SQ-FFQ was assessed by comparison with the 3-day diet records. RESULTS: The mean nutrient intakes obtained from the SQ-FFQ were estimated to be greater than those of the two 3-day dietary records. Spearman's correlation coefficient between the two methods was the highest for energy (r = 0.583; p < 0.001) and lowest for saturated fatty acid (r = 0.121). Correlation coefficients were energy (r = 0.583; p < 0.001), carbohydrates (r = 0.500; p < 0.001), protein (r = 0.466; p < 0.001), fat (r = 0.411; p < 0.001), dietary fiber (r = 0.467; p < 0.001), alcohol (r = 0.527; p < 0.001), calcium (r = 0.409; p < 0.001), phosphorus (r = 0.499; p < 0.001), potassium (r = 0.418; p < 0.001), magnesium (r = 0.427; p < 0.001), and zinc (r = 0.464; p < 0.001), respectively, for all subjects. CONCLUSION: The developed SQ-FFQ in this study seems to be useful for estimating nutritional status, particularly energy, carbohydrates, protein, fat, dietary fiber, alcohol, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and zinc of Korean adults.
Adult ; Calcium ; Carbohydrates ; Diet Records ; Dietary Fats ; Dietary Fiber ; Fatty Acids ; Humans ; Magnesium ; Minerals ; Miners ; Nutritional Status ; Phosphorus ; Portion Size ; Potassium ; Vitamins ; Zinc

BACKGROUND: Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) contributes to poor outcome in the early phase of trauma. We aimed to analyze and compare the prognostic performances of the International Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis (ISTH) and the Korean Society on Thrombosis and Hemostasis (KSTH) scores in the early phase of trauma. METHODS: Receiver operating characteristics analysis was used to examine the prognostic performance of both scores, and multivariate analysis was used to estimate the prognostic impact of the ISTH and KSTH scores in the early phase of trauma. The primary outcome was 24-hour mortality and the secondary outcome was massive transfusion. RESULTS: Of 1,229 patients included in the study, the 24-hour mortality rate was 7.6% (n = 93), and 8.1% (n = 99) of patients who received massive transfusions. The area under the curves (AUCs) of the KSTH and ISTH scores for 24-hour mortality were 0.784 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.760–0.807) and 0.744 (95% CI, 0.718–0.768), respectively. The AUC of KSTH and ISTH scores for massive transfusion were 0.758 (95% CI, 0.734–0.782) and 0.646 (95% CI, 0.619–0.673), respectively. The AUCs of the KSTH score was significantly different from those of the ISTH score. Overt DIC according to KSTH criteria only, was independently associated with 24-hour mortality (odds ratio [OR], 2.630; 95% CI, 1.456–4.752). Only the KSTH score was independently associated with massive transfusion (OR, 1.563; 95% CI, 1.182–2.068). CONCLUSION: The KSTH score demonstrates a better prognostic performance for outcomes than the ISTH score in the early phase of trauma.
Area Under Curve ; Dacarbazine ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; Hemostasis ; Humans ; Mortality ; Multivariate Analysis ; Prognosis ; ROC Curve ; Thrombosis

PURPOSE: To analyze the types of medical malpractice, medical errors, and medical disputes in a university hospital for the proposal of countermeasures that maximize the efficiency of hospital management, medical departments, and healthcare providers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study retrospectively reviewed and analyzed 55 closed civil lawsuits among 64 medical lawsuit cases carried out in Pusan National University Hospital from January 2000 to April 2013 using medical records, petitions, briefs, and data from the Medical Dispute Mediation Committee. RESULTS: Of 55 civil lawsuits, men were the main plaintiffs in 31 cases (56.4%). The average period from medical malpractice to malpractice proceeding was 16.5 months (range, 1 month to 6.4 years), and the average period from malpractice proceeding to the disposition of a lawsuit was 21.7 months (range, 1 month to 4 years and 11 months). CONCLUSIONS: Hospitals can effectively manage their legal risks by implementing a systematic medical system, eliminating risk factors in administrative service, educating all hospital employees on preventative strategies, and improving customer service. Furthermore, efforts should be made to establish standard coping strategies to manage medical disputes and malpractice lawsuits, operate alternative dispute resolution methods including the Medical Dispute Mediation Committee, create a compliance support center, deploy a specialized workforce including improved legal services for employees, and specialize the management-level tasks of the hospital.
Busan ; Compliance ; Dissent and Disputes ; Financial Management, Hospital ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Male ; Malpractice ; Medical Errors ; Medical Records ; Negotiating ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Behcet's disease is a systemic inflammatory disorder of unknown etiology, characterized by recurrent oral aphthous ulcers, genital ulcers, uveitis, and skin lesions. Renal involvement is rare in patients with Behcet's disease particularly immunoglobulin A (IgA) nephropathy. Other autoimmune diseases have been associated with increased risk of malignancy, but not Behcet's disease. Some cases of Behcet's disease accompanied by bladder cancer, thyroid cancer, stomach cancer, or hematologic malignancies have been reported. However, to the best of our knowledge, co-occurrence of Behcet's diseases with thymic carcinoma has not yet been reported. We experienced a 49-year-old male patient who had been treated for Behcet disease and IgA nephropathy, who presented with a large mediastinal mass on chest x-ray. After thymectomy, he was diagnosed with thymic carcinoma with complete resection.
Autoimmune Diseases ; Behcet Syndrome ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA* ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Skin ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Stomatitis, Aphthous ; Thorax ; Thymectomy ; Thymoma* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Ulcer ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; Uveitis