The stethoscope has long been used for the examination of patients, but the importance of auscultation has declined due to its several limitations and the development of other diagnostic tools. However, auscultation is still recognized as a primary diagnostic device because it is non-invasive and provides valuable information in real-time. To supplement the limitations of existing stethoscopes, digital stethoscopes with machine learning (ML) algorithms have been developed. Thus, now we can record and share respiratory sounds and artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted auscultation using ML algorithms distinguishes the type of sounds. Recently, the demands for remote care and non-face-to-face treatment diseases requiring isolation such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection increased. To address these problems, wireless and wearable stethoscopes are being developed with the advances in battery technology and integrated sensors. This review provides the history of the stethoscope and classification of respiratory sounds, describes ML algorithms, and introduces new auscultation methods based on AI-assisted analysis and wireless or wearable stethoscopes.

ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) involving multivessel coronary arteries is extremely rare. Consecutive STEMI in a nonculprit vessel during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) of the culprit vessel has not been reported. A 53-year-old male presented to the emergency department with anterior wall STEMI. Just after successful primary PCI of the left anterior descending artery, inferior wall STEMI developed. PCI of the right coronary arteries was performed successfully. Five days later, the patient was discharged without symptoms of heart failure. This case underlines the high thrombogenicity along the coronary arteries in patients with STEMI.
Arteries ; Coronary Vessels ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention*

ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) caused by an acute aortic dissection is relatively rare. A diagnosis of dissection can be missed and the situation can become complicated. We report a patient who presented with acute aortic dissection responsible for STEMI related to a dissecting flap into the right coronary artery. This case emphasizes the need for careful assessment of the aorta in cases of atypical coronary occlusion in patients with STEMI without evidence of atherosclerosis in non-culprit coronary segments. The patient was discharged 7 days after primary percutaneous intervention for STEMI. However, she revisited the emergency department for recurrent chest pain and aortic dissection and was diagnosed and managed successfully with surgery.
Aorta ; Atherosclerosis ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Occlusion* ; Coronary Vessels ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; General Surgery ; Humans ; Masks* ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Revascularization

ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) caused by an acute aortic dissection is relatively rare. A diagnosis of dissection can be missed and the situation can become complicated. We report a patient who presented with acute aortic dissection responsible for STEMI related to a dissecting flap into the right coronary artery. This case emphasizes the need for careful assessment of the aorta in cases of atypical coronary occlusion in patients with STEMI without evidence of atherosclerosis in non-culprit coronary segments. The patient was discharged 7 days after primary percutaneous intervention for STEMI. However, she revisited the emergency department for recurrent chest pain and aortic dissection and was diagnosed and managed successfully with surgery.
Aorta ; Atherosclerosis ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Occlusion* ; Coronary Vessels ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; General Surgery ; Humans ; Masks* ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Revascularization

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of transradial percutaneous coronary intervention (TRI) compared with transfemoral percutaneous coronary intervention (TFI) in patients with ischemic heart disease. METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively the medical records including imaging data of the patients with ischemic heart disease who underwent TRI or TFI from January 2007 to December 2009 in Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital. We compared major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events (MACCEs) including death, myocardial infarction, revascularization, stent thrombosis, and cerebrovascular accident during follow-up period. We also compared procedure related vascular complications including hematoma, arteriovenous fistula, pseudoaneurysm, and infection. RESULTS: Total number of patients was 347 (256 patients of TRI and 91 patients of TFI). There were no significant differences in the rate of MACCEs between two groups. There were significantly less procedure-related vascular complications in TRI group (3.1% vs. 11.0%, P=0.010). CONCLUSION: TRI is as effective as TFI with no difference in the rate of MACCEs in patients with ischemic heart disease. TRI is superior to TFI in safety with reduction of vascular complications.
Aneurysm, False ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Femoral Artery ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Radial Artery ; Retrospective Studies ; Stents ; Stroke ; Thrombosis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of lacidipine in reducing blood pressure (BP) and to determine its effect on endothelial function in mild-to-moderate hypertensive patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This was a prospective, multicenter, open-label, single-arm study, enrolling 290 patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension and type 2 DM. Patients were initially treated with 2 mg lacidipine orally once daily for 4 weeks, which was then increased as necessary every 4 weeks to a maximal dose of 6 mg daily. The primary endpoint was the mean change in systolic blood pressure (SBP) from baseline after 12 weeks of treatment. Secondary endpoints included mean changes in diastolic blood pressure (DBP), flow-mediated vasodilatation (FMD), and serum concentrations of biochemical markers such as high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), monocyte chemo-attractant protein-1 (MCP-1), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). RESULTS: Lacidipine treatment significantly reduced SBP by -13.4+/-13.0 mmHg (p<0.001) and DBP by -6.2+/-9.3 mmHg (p<0.001). Lacidipine treatment did not improve endothelial-dependent vasodilatation, despite significantly improved nitroglycerin-induced, endothelial-independent vasodilatation. MCP-1 levels significantly decreased from 283.66+/-110.08 pg/mL to 257.83+/-100.23 pg/mL (p<0.001); whereas there were no significant changes in the levels of hs-CRP, MMP-9, or PAI-1. CONCLUSION: Twelve weeks of treatment with lacidipine was effective and well tolerated in mild-to-moderate hypertensive patients with type 2 DM. In spite of inducing a significant reduction in MCP-1 levels, lacidipine did not improve endothelial function.
Biomarkers ; Blood Pressure ; C-Reactive Protein ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Dihydropyridines ; Endothelium ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 ; Monocytes ; Plasminogen Activators ; Prospective Studies ; Vasodilation

Orofacial clefts, including cleft lip with or without palate (CL/P) and cleft palate (CP), are one of the most common congenital malformations in Asian populations, where the rate of incidence is higher than in European or other racial groups. A number of candidate genes have been identified for orofacial clefts, although no single candidate has been consistently identified in all studies. We performed case-parent trio and case- control studies on 6 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the MSX1 gene using a sample of 52 CL/P and CP probands from Korea. In the case-control study, the allele frequencies of 6 MSX1 SNPs were compared between 52 oral cleft cases and 96 unmatched controls. For the case-parent trio study, single-marker and haplotype-based tests of transmission disequilibrium using allelic and genotypic tests revealed significant evidence of linkage in the presence of disequilibrium for 1170 G/A of exon 2. With the GG genotype as a reference group among GG, GA, and AA genotypes at 1170G/A, the disease risk decreased with the presence of the A allele (AA genotype: OR=0.26, 95% CI=0.10-0.99). These results are consistent with evidence from other studies in the US and Chile and confirm the importance of the MSX1 genotype in determining the risk of CL/P and CP in Koreans.

BACKGROUND: Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a congenital disorder, which is clinically characterized by a short stature, muscular hypotonia, hypogonadism, mental retardation and hyperphagia, leading to early childhood obesity. Impaired growth hormone (GH) secretion, hypogonadism, and obesity are common in patients with PWS. The purpose of this study was to find the effects of growth hormone treatment in patients with PWS. METHODS: Six patients with PWS confirmed by a genetic study were recruited, and treated with growth hormone(Eutropin(R))(0.8-1 IU/kg/week) divided into five or seven day doses per week for six months. The heights and weights of the subjects were evaluated. GH status were evaluated using the serum insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I level, the L-dopa test, and insulin-induced hypoglycemia tess. Glucose metabolism was evaluated using the random serum glucose and HbA1c levels. RESULTS: GH was found to be deficient in 2 out of 6 subjects by the insulin test, in 3 out of 6 by the IGF-I level, and in 5 out of in 5 by the L-dopa test. After six months of GH treatment, the height percentile was increased and weight percentile decreased. The serum glucose and HbA1c levels remained unchanged. CONCLUSION: Six months of GH treatment in patients with PWS improved the height and degree of obesity. This study has shown the beneficial effects of GH treatment for patients with PWS, and without significant side effects.
Blood Glucose ; Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities ; Glucose ; Growth Hormone* ; Humans ; Hyperphagia ; Hypoglycemia ; Hypogonadism ; Insulin ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Intellectual Disability ; Levodopa ; Metabolism ; Muscle Hypotonia ; Obesity ; Pediatric Obesity ; Prader-Willi Syndrome* ; Weights and Measures

A medullary thyroid carcinoma, a neoplasm of parafollicular C cell origin, occurs as a sporadic or hereditary disease. A hereditary medullary thyroid carcinoma is an autosomal dominantly inherited disease, which is composed of multiple endocrine neoplasia 2A and 2B, with a familial medullary thyroid carcinoma. Germline mutations of the RET gene are the underlying cause of the majority of hereditary medullary carcinomas. Here, the case of a 42 years-old man with a familial medullary thyroid carcinoma, confirmed by the detection of a RET proto-oncogene mutation at exon 13 on codon 768 from a GAG(Glu) to a GAT(Asp), is described. The patient underwent a total thyroidectomy and modified radical neck dissection. His sister was found to have the same mutant gene.
Adult ; Carcinoma, Medullary ; Codon ; Exons ; Genetic Diseases, Inborn ; Germ-Line Mutation ; Humans ; Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia ; Neck Dissection ; Proto-Oncogenes* ; Siblings ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms* ; Thyroidectomy

BACKGROUND: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a congenital disorder of type I collagen, with variable phenotypes, due to increased bone fragility and low bone mass. Previous pharmacological treatments for OI have been attempted with calcitonin and growth hormone but with little beneficial effects. Recently, Glorieux reported the beneficial effects of bisphosphonates in OI. METHODS: In this study, the effects of pamidronate treatment were evaluated in 9 patients with OI. All patients received intravenous pamidronate infusions, which was dose adjusted according to the patients' age. The outcome measures included the biochemical bone markers; serum alkaline phosphatase, urine deoxy-pyridinoline, urine Ca/Cr ratio, and bone mineral density (BMD). RESULTS: Serum alkaline phosphatase, urine deoxypyridinoline, and urine Ca/Cr ratio were slightly decreased after 1 year of therapy, although these changes were not statistically significant. The BMDs of the lumbar spine and proximal femur were significantly increased after 1-year of pamidronate treatment. No fractures were reported during the 1 year treatment periods. CONCLUSION: Pamidronate treatment had an effect on the BMD in osteogenesis imperfecta, probably due to decreasing bone resorption
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Bone Density ; Bone Resorption ; Calcitonin ; Collagen Type I ; Congenital, Hereditary, and Neonatal Diseases and Abnormalities ; Diphosphonates ; Femur ; Growth Hormone ; Humans ; Osteogenesis Imperfecta* ; Osteogenesis* ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Phenotype ; Spine