Purpose: Since 1995, the Korean Gastric Cancer Association (KGCA) has been periodically conducting nationwide surveys on patients with surgically treated gastric cancer. This study details the results of the survey conducted in 2023. Materials and Methods: The survey was conducted from March to December 2024 using a standardized case report form. Data were collected on 86 items, including patient demographics, tumor characteristics, surgical procedures, and surgical outcomes. The results of the 2023 survey were compared with those of previous surveys. Results: Data from 12,751 cases were collected from 66 institutions. The mean patient age was 64.6 years, and the proportion of patients aged ≥71 years increased from 9.1% in 1995 to 31.7% in 2023. The proportion of upper-third tumors slightly decreased to 16.8% compared to 20.9% in 2019. Early gastric cancer accounted for 63.1% of cases in 2023.Regarding operative procedures, a totally laparoscopic approach was most frequently applied (63.2%) in 2023, while robotic gastrectomy steadily increased to 9.5% from 2.1% in 2014.The most common anastomotic method was the Billroth II procedure (48.8%) after distal gastrectomy and double-tract reconstruction (51.9%) after proximal gastrectomy in 2023.However, the proportion of esophago-gastrostomy with anti-reflux procedures increased to 30.9%. The rates of post-operative mortality and overall complications were 1.0% and 15.3%, respectively. Conclusions The results of the 2023 nationwide survey demonstrate the current status of gastric cancer treatment in Korea. This information will provide a basis for future gastric cancer research.

Purpose: Since 1995, the Korean Gastric Cancer Association (KGCA) has been periodically conducting nationwide surveys on patients with surgically treated gastric cancer. This study details the results of the survey conducted in 2023. Materials and Methods: The survey was conducted from March to December 2024 using a standardized case report form. Data were collected on 86 items, including patient demographics, tumor characteristics, surgical procedures, and surgical outcomes. The results of the 2023 survey were compared with those of previous surveys. Results: Data from 12,751 cases were collected from 66 institutions. The mean patient age was 64.6 years, and the proportion of patients aged ≥71 years increased from 9.1% in 1995 to 31.7% in 2023. The proportion of upper-third tumors slightly decreased to 16.8% compared to 20.9% in 2019. Early gastric cancer accounted for 63.1% of cases in 2023.Regarding operative procedures, a totally laparoscopic approach was most frequently applied (63.2%) in 2023, while robotic gastrectomy steadily increased to 9.5% from 2.1% in 2014.The most common anastomotic method was the Billroth II procedure (48.8%) after distal gastrectomy and double-tract reconstruction (51.9%) after proximal gastrectomy in 2023.However, the proportion of esophago-gastrostomy with anti-reflux procedures increased to 30.9%. The rates of post-operative mortality and overall complications were 1.0% and 15.3%, respectively. Conclusions The results of the 2023 nationwide survey demonstrate the current status of gastric cancer treatment in Korea. This information will provide a basis for future gastric cancer research.

Purpose: Since 1995, the Korean Gastric Cancer Association (KGCA) has been periodically conducting nationwide surveys on patients with surgically treated gastric cancer. This study details the results of the survey conducted in 2023. Materials and Methods: The survey was conducted from March to December 2024 using a standardized case report form. Data were collected on 86 items, including patient demographics, tumor characteristics, surgical procedures, and surgical outcomes. The results of the 2023 survey were compared with those of previous surveys. Results: Data from 12,751 cases were collected from 66 institutions. The mean patient age was 64.6 years, and the proportion of patients aged ≥71 years increased from 9.1% in 1995 to 31.7% in 2023. The proportion of upper-third tumors slightly decreased to 16.8% compared to 20.9% in 2019. Early gastric cancer accounted for 63.1% of cases in 2023.Regarding operative procedures, a totally laparoscopic approach was most frequently applied (63.2%) in 2023, while robotic gastrectomy steadily increased to 9.5% from 2.1% in 2014.The most common anastomotic method was the Billroth II procedure (48.8%) after distal gastrectomy and double-tract reconstruction (51.9%) after proximal gastrectomy in 2023.However, the proportion of esophago-gastrostomy with anti-reflux procedures increased to 30.9%. The rates of post-operative mortality and overall complications were 1.0% and 15.3%, respectively. Conclusions The results of the 2023 nationwide survey demonstrate the current status of gastric cancer treatment in Korea. This information will provide a basis for future gastric cancer research.

PURPOSE: Nutritional therapy (NT), such as enteral nutrition (EN) or parenteral nutrition (PN), is essential for the malnourished patients. Although the complications related to NT has been well described, multicenter data on symptoms in the patients with receiving NT during hospitalization are still lacking. METHODS: Nutrition support team (NST) consultations, on which NT-related complications were described, were collected retrospectively for one year. The inclusion criteria were patients who were (1) older than 18 years, (2) hospitalized, and (3) receiving EN or PN at the time of NST consultation. The patients' demographics (age, sex, body mass index [BMI]), type of NT and type of complication were collected. To compare the severity of each complication, the intensive care unit (ICU) admission, hospital stay, and type of discharge were also collected. RESULTS: A total of 14,600 NT-related complications were collected from 13,418 cases from 27 hospitals in Korea. The mean age and BMI were 65.4 years and 21.8 kg/m2. The complications according to the type of NT, calorie deficiency (32.4%, n=1,229) and diarrhea (21.6%, n=820) were most common in EN. Similarly, calorie deficiency (56.8%, n=4,030) and GI problem except for diarrhea (8.6%, n=611) were most common in PN. Regarding the clinical outcomes, 18.7% (n=2,158) finally expired, 58.1% (n=7,027) were admitted to ICU, and the mean hospital days after NT-related complication were 31.3 days. Volume overload (odds ratio [OR]=3.48) and renal abnormality (OR=2.50) were closely associated with hospital death; hyperammonemia (OR=3.09) and renal abnormality (OR=2.77) were associated with ICU admission; “micronutrient and vitamin deficiency” (geometric mean [GM]=2.23) and volume overload (GM=1.61) were associated with a longer hospital stay. CONCLUSION: NT may induce or be associated with several complications, and some of them may seriously affect the patient's outcome. NST personnel in each hospital should be aware of each problem during nutritional support.
Adult ; Body Mass Index ; Demography ; Diarrhea ; Enteral Nutrition ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Hyperammonemia ; Intensive Care Units ; Korea ; Length of Stay ; Multicenter Studies as Topic ; Nutrition Therapy ; Nutritional Support ; Parenteral Nutrition ; Referral and Consultation ; Retrospective Studies ; Vitamins

Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) is an important and increasing threat to global health. From July to September 2017, 20 inpatients at a tertiary care hospital in Korea were either colonized or infected with carbapenem-resistant Escherichia coli strains. All of E. coli isolates co-produced bla(NDM-5) and bla(OXA-181) carbapenemase genes and shared ≥88% clonal relatedness on the basis of a cladistic calculation of the distribution of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis patterns. Rapid detection of CPE is one of the most important factors to prevent CPE dissemination because it takes long time for CPE to become negative.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Increased arterial stiffness is a well-known risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Cilostazol, a phosphodiesterase type 3 inhibitor, is a unique antiplatelet agent with vasodilatory and vasoprotective effects. Therefore, we hypothesized that cilostazol may affect arterial stiffness. METHODS: We enrolled 161 patients (112 males; mean age, 63 years) who had undergone percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for ischemic heart disease. The brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), radial augmentation index (rAI), rAI adjusted for a heart rate of 75 beats/min (rAI75), central systolic blood pressure (cSBP), and central pulse pressure (cPP), were measured at baseline and at the 30-day follow-up. Parameter changes were compared between the cilostazol group (n = 51) and the control group (n = 110). RESULTS: In the cilostazol group, the values for rAI, cSBP, and cPP all improved after 30 days, while the control group displayed no significant interval changes in these parameters. The changes in rAI75 and baPWV did not differ significantly between the two groups. The changes in rAI, cSBP, and cPP were related to brachial systolic blood pressure, brachial diastolic blood pressure, heart rate, and the use of cilostazol and beta-blockers. In a multivariate analysis, the use of cilostazol was identified an independent factor associated with changes in rAI, cSBP, and cPP. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of cilostazol to conventional antiplatelet therapy in patients undergoing PCI may be associated with improvements in rAI, cSBP, and cPP, but not in rAI75 or baPWV. Therefore, the effects of cilostazol might be related to an increased heart rate.
Blood Pressure ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Male ; Multivariate Analysis ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention* ; Pulse Wave Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Vascular Stiffness*

PURPOSE: This study was to examine the effects of tailored drug-related side effects management program using video designed to help patients with schizophrenia with self-control ability of drug-related side effects, attitude, and adherence to medication. METHODS: A non-equivalent control group, pretest-posttest design was used. The participants were 51 patients with schizophrenia, 26 in the experimental group and 25 in the control group. The tailored drug-related side effects management program using video was conducted for the experimental group twice a week for 60 minutes/session for 4 weeks. The self-control ability for drug-related side effects, attitude and adherence of medication were measured before and after the experiment. Data were analyzed by using IBM SPSS/WIN 20.0 program. RESULTS: At follow-up, we found statistically significant increases in self-control ability for drug-related side effects, attitude and adherence of medication for the experimental group. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that tailored drug-related side effects management program using video was to increase self-control ability for drug-related side effects, attitude and adherence of medication in patients with schizophrenia.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Medication Adherence ; Schizophrenia*