Background: The incidence of skin cancers has been continuously increasing in Korea. Therefore, it is important to perform repetitive statistical research investigating the distribution and incidence of skin cancers in the same region. Objective: We aimed to analyze the recent trends and changes in the incidence and clinical patterns of skin cancers observed in Gwangju and Chonnam provinces. Methods: We reviewed clinical data and histopathology reports from 3,615 cases of skin cancers out of a total of 102,953 new outpatients during a 10-year period between January 2007 and December 2016. The incidence of tumor and its changes, age, sex, and anatomical site distribution were investigated. We also compared these results with those of our previous skin cancer analysis performed with data obtained over 40 years from the same region. Results: The incidence of skin cancers was 3.51% and steadily increased with time from 2.76% to 4.29%. Basal cell carcinoma (41.08%) was the most common, followed by squamous cell carcinoma (30.95%), malignant melanoma (10.26%), and sarcoma (6.51%). Conclusion The incidence and the average age of skin cancer patients continuously increased compared to that in previous studies. Particularly, squamous cell carcinoma markedly increased and it is thought to be due to the increase in the number of the elderly population and the diagnosis of premalignant lesions.

Objective: We aimed to investigate diagnostic accuracy of the STONE score and the modified STONE score by external validation in a large-scale cohort. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients with suspected urinary stones who underwent computed tomography in the emergency center of a single tertiary hospital from 2014 to 2015. We compared and analyzed our cohort and two original studies with each other. Patients were categorized into three risk groups (low, moderate, and high) according to both scoring systems. The prevalence of urinary stones and alternative diagnoses was evaluated in each group. We calculated sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) with our data for each score performance. Results: Eight hundred fifty-six patients out of a total of 1,013 were diagnosed with urinary stones. The prevalence of urinary stones in the high-risk group of the STONE and the modified STONE scores were 91.1% and 91.2%, respectively. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve of both scores were 0.71 and 0.73, respectively. The optimal cutoff value for predicting urinary stones using the STONE score was 9, with 87.9% sensitivity, 45.9% specificity, 89.8% PPV, and 40.9% NPV. In the case of the modified STONE score, the optimal cutoff value was 10, which was the same as that of the original study with 85.9% sensitivity, 54.8% specificity, 91.2% PPV, and 41.6% NPV. Conclusion The STONE and the modified STONE scores showed good diagnostic accuracy in high-risk groups of patients with suspected urinary stones. These scoring systems would be helpful to physicians in their diagnoses and in reducing radiation exposure.

Objective: Bacteremia is a common cause of increased morbidity and mortality in elderly patients, but early diagnosis and identification are complex. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte count ratio (NLR) is suggested as a useful indicator for diagnosing bloodstream infections. This study evaluated whether the NLR at admission is associated with bloodstream infections in older patients admitted to the emergency department. Methods: A retrospective, multicenter analysis was performed on patients admitted to the emergency department from November 2016 to February 2017. We included patients aged 65 years and older who visited the emergency department with medical problems. Baseline NLR values were measured upon admission to the emergency department. The primary outcome was a positive blood culture. Results: A total of 1,815 patients were included in this study. The median age was 77.25±7.38 years, and bacteremia was identified in 290 older patients (15.9%). The NLR was significantly higher in the bacteremia group (15.95±22.03) than in the non-bacteremia group (8.76±8.74, P<0.001). In the multivariate logistic regression analysis, the NLR was associated with bacteremia after adjusting for confounding factors as continuous variables (odds ratio [OR], 1.033; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.009-1.057) and categorical variables (NLR ≥10; OR, 2.018; 95% CI, 1.246-3.268). The area under the curve of the NLR was determined to be 0.667 (95% CI, 0.639-0.694). Conclusion These results indicate that the NLR at admission to the emergency department is associated with bloodstream infections. Early suspicion of bacteremia, by determining the initial NLR value, will help treat bacteremia in elderly patients.

Campylobacter infection causes gastrointestinal symptoms such as abdominal pain or diarrhea. Occasionally, Campylobacter bacteremia affects immunocompromised patients; however, serious outcomes are known to be rare. Here, we present a case of a patient with Campylobacter bacteremia who had underlying liver cirrhosis. The patient had fever and diarrhea. These symptoms subsided after treatment with cefotaxime. Campylobacter jejuni was isolated in the blood culture after 10 days. In addition, previously reported cases of Campylobacter bacteremia in Asian countries were reviewed with respect to antimicrobial sensitivities.
Abdominal Pain ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bacteremia* ; Campylobacter Infections ; Campylobacter jejuni* ; Campylobacter* ; Cefotaxime ; Diarrhea ; Fever ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver*