Background/Aims: Neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) can serve as biomarkers for diagnosing and assessing disease activity in ulcerative colitis (UC). We investigated their clinical significance in UC. Methods: We analyzed 48 patients with UC who underwent measurement of fecal calprotectin (FC) and endoscopy and 96 age- and sex-matched healthy controls. NLR and PLR were compared between the patients and healthy controls. The endoscopic activity was divided into 2 groups: group 1 (mild to moderate inflammation) and group 2 (severe inflammation) according to the Mayo endoscopic subscore in UC. Results: To diagnose UC, the optimal cutoff of NLR and PLR was 2.26 (sensitivity 54.2%; specificity 90.6%; positive likelihood ratio 5.778, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.944–11.339; area under the curve [AUC] 0.774, 95% CI, 0.690–0.859) and 179.8 (sensitivity 35.4%; specificity 90.6%; positive likelihood ratio 3.778, 95% CI 1.821–7.838; AUC 0.654, 95% CI 0.556–0.753), respectively. The optimal cutoff to differentiate group 1 and group 2 was 3.44, 175.9, and 453 µg/g for NLR, PLR, and FC, respectively (sensitivity, 63.6% vs. 90.9% vs. 81.8%; specificity, 81.1% vs. 78.4% vs. 73.0%; positive likelihood ratio, 3.364 vs. 4.205 vs. 3.027; AUC, 0.714 vs. 0.897 vs. 0.813). PLR had the highest AUC and positive likelihood ratio. Conclusions NLR and PLR help differentiate patients with UC from healthy controls. NLR, PLR, and FC indicate endoscopic activity and may reflect intestinal mucosal conditions.

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a useful tool that is widely used in the emergency and intensive care areas. In Korea, insurance coverage of ultrasound examination has been gradually expanding in accordance with measures to enhance Korean National Insurance Coverage since 2017 to 2021, and which will continue until 2021. Full coverage of health insurance for POCUS in the emergency and critical care areas was implemented in July 2019. The National Health Insurance Act classified POCUS as a single or multiple-targeted ultrasound examination (STU vs. MTU). STU scans are conducted of one organ at a time, while MTU includes scanning of multiple organs simultaneously to determine each clinical situation. POCUS can be performed even if a diagnostic ultrasound examination is conducted, based on the physician's decision. However, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service plans to monitor the prescription status of whether the POCUS and diagnostic ultrasound examinations are prescribed simultaneously and repeatedly. Additionally, MTU is allowed only in cases of trauma, cardiac arrest, shock, chest pain, and dyspnea and should be performed by a qualified physician. Although physicians should scan all parts of the chest, heart, and abdomen when they prescribe MTU, they are not required to record all findings in the medical record. Therefore, appropriate prescription, application, and recording of POCUS are needed to enhance the quality of patient care and avoid unnecessary cut of medical budget spending. The present article provides background and clinical guidance for POCUS based on the implementation of full health insurance coverage for POCUS that began in July 2019 in Korea.
Abdomen ; Budgets ; Chest Pain ; Critical Care ; Dyspnea ; Emergencies ; Heart ; Heart Arrest ; Insurance Coverage ; Insurance ; Insurance, Health ; Korea ; Medical Records ; National Health Programs ; Patient Care ; Point-of-Care Systems ; Prescriptions ; Shock ; Thorax ; Ultrasonography

Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a useful tool that is widely used in the emergency and intensive care areas. In Korea, insurance coverage of ultrasound examination has been gradually expanding in accordance with measures to enhance Korean National Insurance Coverage since 2017 to 2021, and which will continue until 2021. Full coverage of health insurance for POCUS in the emergency and critical care areas was implemented in July 2019. The National Health Insurance Act classified POCUS as a single or multiple-targeted ultrasound examination (STU vs. MTU). STU scans are conducted of one organ at a time, while MTU includes scanning of multiple organs simultaneously to determine each clinical situation. POCUS can be performed even if a diagnostic ultrasound examination is conducted, based on the physician's decision. However, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service plans to monitor the prescription status of whether the POCUS and diagnostic ultrasound examinations are prescribed simultaneously and repeatedly. Additionally, MTU is allowed only in cases of trauma, cardiac arrest, shock, chest pain, and dyspnea and should be performed by a qualified physician. Although physicians should scan all parts of the chest, heart, and abdomen when they prescribe MTU, they are not required to record all findings in the medical record. Therefore, appropriate prescription, application, and recording of POCUS are needed to enhance the quality of patient care and avoid unnecessary cut of medical budget spending. The present article provides background and clinical guidance for POCUS based on the implementation of full health insurance coverage for POCUS that began in July 2019 in Korea.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and risk factors of upper extremity musculoskeletal diseases (MSDs) among Korean farmers. METHODS: The study was carried out from June 2013 to August 2015 on 850 farmers and 203 non-farmers (controls) in Gyeongnam Province. Physical examinations were performed by rheumatologists, orthopedists, and rehabilitation specialists. Plain radiography, a nerve conduction examination, and magnetic resonance imaging were performed, and the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) questionnaire was used to assess upper extremity function. RESULTS: Thirty-four different types of upper extremity MSDs were detected in the 1,053 study subjects. The prevalence of any MSD in farmers was 8.96-fold higher than in control (p<0.001). The most obvious difference in prevalence between farmers and non-farmers was hand osteoarthritis (48.2% vs. 4.9%). Mean total DASH score was higher for farmers than non-farmers (14.29+/-13.66 vs. 10.03+/-10.85, p<0.001). Among farmers, myofascial pain syndrome, rotator cuff tear, and epicondylitis were more prevalent among overhead workers (growing persimmons, pears, and grapes) than in non-overhead workers (growing rice and upland crops). The following factors were associated with a rotator cuff tear; older age, overhead work, high waist circumference, and lower level of education. Hand osteoarthritis was found to be associated with older age, a female gender, high waist circumference, and longer total work time. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of upper extremity MSDs is much higher in farmers than non-farmers and greater still for farmers doing overhead work. Various factors contribute to the occurrence of upper extremity MSDs, and thus, the authors suggest an efficient preventive strategy, which involves consideration of type of work and risk factors, be established for farmers to reduce upper extremity MSDs.
Arm ; Diospyros ; Education ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Musculoskeletal Diseases* ; Myofascial Pain Syndromes ; Neural Conduction ; Osteoarthritis ; Physical Examination ; Prevalence* ; Pyrus ; Radiography ; Rehabilitation ; Risk Factors* ; Rotator Cuff ; Shoulder ; Specialization ; Tears ; Upper Extremity* ; Waist Circumference

Food-dependent exercise-induced anaphylaxis (FDEIAn) is induced by different types and various intensities of physical activity, and is distinct from food allergies. It has been shown that consumption of allergenic food followed by exercise causes FDEIAn symptoms. Intake of allergenic food or medication before exercise is a major predisposing factor for FDEIAn. Urticaria and severe allergic reactions are general symptoms of FDEIAn. Dermatological tests and serum IgE assays are the typical prescreening methods, and have been used for several decades. However, these screening tests are not sufficient for detecting or preventing FDEIAn. It has been found that exercise may stimulate the release of mediators from IgE-dependent mast cells that can result in FDEIAn when a certain threshold level has been exceeded. Mast cell degradation might be a major factor to induce FDEIAn but this has not been determined. A number of foods have been reported to be involved in the onset of FDEIAn including wheat, eggs, chicken, shrimp, shellfish, nuts, fruits, and vegetables. It is also known that aspirin increases the occurrence of type I allergy symptoms when combined with specific foods. Moreover, high intensity and frequent exercise are more likely to provoke an attack than low intensity and less frequent exercise. In this paper, we present the current views of the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying FDEIAn within the context of exercise immunology. We also present a detailed FDEIAn definition along with etiologic factors and medical treatment for cholinergic urticaria (UC) and exercise-induced anaphylaxis (EIA).
Anaphylaxis ; Aspirin ; Chickens ; Eggs ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Fruit ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoglobulin E ; Mass Screening ; Mast Cells ; Motor Activity ; Nuts ; Ovum ; Shellfish ; Triticum ; Urticaria ; Vegetables

There has been a mistake, claimed and confirmed by all the authors of Vol 50(1), 2012, p10-20 issue, that first author should have been Chang-Gyu Lee instead of Jang-Hyun Paek.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the stress distribution in mandibular implant-supported overdentures and tooth-supported overdentures with telescopic crowns. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The assumption of this study was that there were 2, 3, 4 natural teeth and implants which are located in the second premolar and canine regions in various distributed conditions. The mandible, teeth (or implants and abutments), and connectors are modeled, and analyzed with the commercial software, ANSYS Version 10.1. Stress distribution was evaluated under 150 N vertical load bilaterally on 3 experimental conditions - between canine areas, canine and 2nd premolars, 10 mm posterior to 2nd premolars. RESULTS: Overall, the case of the implant group showed more stress than the case of the teeth group in stress distribution to bone. In stress distribution to superstructures of tooth and implants, there was no significant difference between TH group and IM group and the highest stress appeared in TH-IV and IM-IV. The stress caused from bar was much higher than those of implant and tooth. TH group showed less stress than IM group in stress distribution to abutment teeth and implant. CONCLUSION: The results shows that it is crucial to make sure that distance between impact loading point and abutment tooth does not get too far apart, and if it does, it is at best to set abutment tooth on premolar tooth region. It will be necessary to conduct more experiments on effects on implants, natural teeth and bone, in order to apply these results to a clinical treatment.
Bicuspid ; Crowns ; Denture, Overlay ; Mandible ; Tooth

BACKGROUND: Patients with diabetes mellitus are highly sensitive to infections, including tuberculosis, and the longer the duration of DM, the greater is the prevalance of tuberculosis. We studied the difference of the clinical manifestations, radiologic findings, resistance and others factors of patients with diabetic and non-diabetic pulmonary tuberculosis. METHODS: The patients we enrolled in this study were newly diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis from January 2003 to December 2005. RESULTS: 159 patients were enrolled in this study. There were 30 pulmonary tuberculosis patients with diabetic mellitus (DMTB) and 129 pulmonary tuberculosis patients without diabetic mellitus (non-DMTB). There was no difference in the basic characteristics and clinical manifestation between both the groups. For the chest X-ray findings, the moderately advanced tuberculosis patients were the most common (43.3% in the DMTB group and 49.6% in the non-DMTB group). There was no relation between the severity of tuberculosis activity on chest x-ray and the presence of diabetes. The prevalence of cavitory lesions in the DMTB group was significantly higher than that in the non-DMTB group, but the prevalence of atelectasis was higher in the non-DMTB group (p<0.05). There was no difference in the incidence of lower lung involvement, the number of involved lobes, the number of treatment days and the radiological sequelae in both groups. CONCLUSION: The DMTB patients had a higher incidence of cavitory lesions and a higher incidence of atelectasis than the non-DMTB patients.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lung ; Prevalence ; Pulmonary Atelectasis ; Retrospective Studies ; Thorax ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Making the noninvasive diagnosis of coronary artery disease in patients with a permanent pacemaker is difficult because of the inability to interpret electrocardiograms and the low specificity of perfusion scintigraphy. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of noninvasive pacemaker stress echocardiography (PASE) as a screening test for coronary artery disease in patients with atypical angina and a permanent pacemaker. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This a prospective study, and transthoracic stress-pacing echocardiography was performed on 15 patients (9 men and 6 women; age, mean age: 71.1+/-11.0 years) with atypical angina and a permanent pacemaker. All the patients underwent noninvasive pacemaker-stress echocardiography by external programming (pacing the heart rate up to 150 beats per minute). Coronary angiography was performed on the 8 patients with positive PASE results. Significant coronary artery disease was defined as > or =70% stenosis in at least one major coronary artery. RESULTS: The echocardiographic images were interpretable for all the patients. No significant side effects were observed. The left ventricular systolic function was preserved in all the patients (left ventricular ejection fraction; 63.5+/-8%). Only 5 (62.5%) of 8 patients showed significant coronary artery disease, as documented by coronary angiography. CONCLUSION: Noninvasive PASE is a simple, rapid, safe and diagnostically efficient test for detecting coronary artery disease in patients with atypical angina and a permanent pacemaker. Larger studies are necessary to validate our findings.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Stenosis ; Coronary Vessels ; Echocardiography ; Echocardiography, Stress ; Electrocardiography ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Pacemaker, Artificial ; Perfusion Imaging ; Prospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

PURPOSE: For decades dental implants have been used widely in the field of prosthetic dentistry. However there is confusion when establishing treatment plans in cases where some teeth are remained but an insufficient number of implants can be used due to limited anatomical status and ecomomical problems. Many clinicians have tried to connect natural teeth and implants, and it still has controversy. But, there have been few studies on mechanical analysis of connecting natural teeth and implants with konus telescopic removable partial dentures. The purpose of this study was to analyze the stress distribution of prosthesis, abutment and alveolar bone when teeth and implants were connected with the konus telescopic denture, by means of 3-dimensional finite element analysis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The assumption of this study was that there were 2 mandibular canine (11 mm in length, 4 mm in diameter) and 2 implants(10 mm in length, 4 mm in diameter) which are located in the second premolar region. The mandible, teeth, implants, abutments, and connectors are modeled, and analyzed with the commercial software, ANSYS Version 8.1(Swanson, Inc., USA). The control group used implants instead of natural teeth. 21038 elements, 23544 nodes were used in experimental group and 107595 elements, 21963 nodes were used in control group, Stress distribution was evaluated under 150 N vertical load on 3 experimental conditions - between teeth and implants (Load case 1), posterior to implants (Load case 2), between natural teeth (Load case 3). RESULTS: 1. In all load cases, higher von mises stress value was observed in the experimental group. 2. Maximum von miss stress observed in all load cases and all locations were as follows ; a. 929.44 Mpa in the experimental group, 640.044 Mpa in the control group in outer crown and connector - The experimental group showed 1.45 times high value compared with the control group. b. 145,051 Mpa in the experimental group, 142.338 Mpa in the control group in abutment - The experimental group showed 1.02times high value compared with the control group. c. 32.489 Mpa in the experimental group, 25.765 Mpa in the control group in alveolar bone - The experimental group showed 1.26times higher value compared with the control group. 3. All maximum von mises stress was observed in load case 2, and maxim von mises stress in alveolar bone was 32.489 Mpa at which implant failure cannot occur. 4. If maximum von mises stress is compared between two groups, the value of the experimental group is 1.02 times higher than the control group in abutment, 1.26 times higher than the control group in alveolar bone. CONCLUSION: If natural teeth and implants are connected with the konus telescopic denture, maximum stress will be similar in abutment, 1.26 times higher in alveolar bone than the control group. With this result, there may be possible to make to avoid konus telescopic dentures where natural teeth and implants exist together.
Bicuspid ; Crowns ; Dental Implants ; Dentistry ; Denture, Partial, Removable ; Dentures ; Finite Element Analysis ; Mandible ; Prostheses and Implants ; Telescopes ; Tooth