Background: Dermatophyte infection is one of the most common skin diseases affecting the skin, hair, and nails. Despite widespread recognition of the disease, missing details and misperceptions are commonplace in the general population. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the public perception and behavior regarding dermatophytosis of the hands and feet. Methods: This results from an online survey conducted between July 2022 and August 2022. The survey included 1,000 Korean participants aged 20 to 69 years, of whom 60% experienced symptoms of tinea pedis or onychomycosis. The questionnaire focused on the awareness and personal experience of tinea pedis and perception of the treatment of dermatophytosis. Results: Of the 1,000 participants, nearly 80% regarded tinea pedis as a common skin condition by which anyone can be affected. Furthermore, 88.4% had heard that the treatment of tinea pedis could be harmful, causing skin rash (60.4%) and worsening liver function (48.5%). Among 896 participants who noticed suspicious symptoms, 81.2% did not visit the clinic because it was not severe (50.1%) and seemed easily manageable (25.7%). Of the respondents, 84.4% preferred to meet dermatologists rather than non-dermatologist doctors regarding skin diseases, mainly because of trust in experts and belief in a faster cure. Conclusion Providing accurate and detailed information via online media, educational campaigns, and medical papers can rectify misconceptions and improve patient appliance, contributing to public skin health.

Purpose: Endocrine therapy is the first-line treatment recommended for patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative metastatic breast cancer without visceral crisis. However, this recommendation has not been followed clinically because of efficacy issues. In this study, the survival of patients with HR-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer was evaluated based on the following first-line treatment regimens: the combination of palbociclib plus letrozole, conventional endocrine therapy, or chemotherapy. Methods: Medical records were reviewed for this retrospective analysis. Patients with HR-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer were included. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared based on first-line treatment regimens. Results: A total of 184 patients were included in the analysis. The first-line treatments were palbociclib plus letrozole in 46 patients (25.0%), endocrine therapy in 40 patients (21.7%), and chemotherapy in 98 patients (53.3%). The PFS of the palbociclib plus letrozole group was significantly longer than that of the endocrine therapy (hazard ratio=3.43, p<0.001) and chemotherapy (hazard ratio=2.88, p=0.001) groups. No significant difference was observed between the endocrine therapy and chemotherapy groups (p=0.430). The OS of the palbociclib plus letrozole group was significantly longer than that of the endocrine therapy (hazard ratio=5.34, p=0.009) and chemotherapy (hazard ratio 4.23, p=0.043) groups. No significant difference was observed between the endocrine therapy and chemotherapy groups (p=0.451). Conclusion The combination regimen of palbociclib and letrozole could be recommended as the first-line treatment of choice in patients with HR-positive/HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Unlike patterns observed in the general population, obesity is associated with better survival among hemodialysis patients, which could be explained by reverse causation or illness-related weight loss. However, the time-varying effect of body mass index (BMI) on hemodialysis survival has not been investigated. Therefore, this study investigated the time-varying effect of BMI on mortality after starting hemodialysis. METHODS: In the present study, we examined Korean Society of Nephrology data from 16,069 adult patients who started hemodialysis during or after the year 2000. Complete survival data were obtained from Statistics Korea. Survival analysis was performed using Cox regression and a non-proportional hazard fractional polynomial model. RESULTS: During the median follow-up of 8.6 years, 9,272 patients (57.7%) died. Compared to individuals with normal BMI (18.5–24.9 kg/m²), the underweight group (< 18.5 kg/m²) had a higer mortality hazard ratio (HR, 1.292; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.203–1.387; P < 0.001) and the overweight group (25.0–29.9 kg/m²) had a lower mortality HR (0.904; 95% CI, 0.829–0.985; P = 0.022). The underweight group had increasing HRs during the first 3 to 7 years after starting hemodialysis, which varied according to age group. The young obese group (< 40 years old) had a U-shaped temporal trend in their mortality HRs, which reflected increased mortality after 7 years. CONCLUSION: The obese hemodialysis group had better survival during the early post-dialysis period, although the beneficial effect of obesity disappeared 7 years after starting hemodialysis. The young obese group also had an increased mortality HR after 7 years.
Adult ; Body Mass Index ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Models, Statistical ; Mortality ; Nephrology ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Renal Dialysis ; Thinness ; Weight Loss

The task force of the Korean Society for Reproductive Immunology recommends intravenous immunoglobulin G treatment in women with reproductive failure, including recurrent pregnancy loss and/or repeated implantation failure, who show cellular immune factors such as abnormal natural killer cell levels, natural killer cell cytotoxicity, and/or type 1 T helper immunity.
Abortion, Habitual ; Advisory Committees ; Allergy and Immunology* ; Female ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Immunoglobulins* ; Immunologic Factors ; Infertility ; Killer Cells, Natural ; Pregnancy

Artery to artery embolism is one of the main causes of cerebral infarction, and it can originate from many locations. Here we report a case of cerebral infarction in which calcified cerebral emboli were detected in brain computed tomography (CT). The calcified emboli were thought to originate from a carotid plaque that showed calcification and ulceration. We present histologic and micro-CT findings of a carotid plaque as a source of artery to artery embolism.
Arteries* ; Brain ; Carotid Arteries* ; Cerebral Infarction ; Embolism* ; Intracranial Embolism ; Plaque, Atherosclerotic* ; Ulcer

No abstract available.
Mycobacterium marinum* ; Mycobacterium* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine clinical practice patterns in the management of pregnant women admitted with threatened preterm labor (TPL) in Korea. METHODS: Data from women admitted with a diagnosis of TPL were collected from 22 hospitals. TPL was defined as regular uterine contractions with or without other symptoms such as pelvic pressure, backache, increased vaginal discharge, menstrual-like cramps, bleeding/show and cervical changes. Data on general patient information, clinical characteristics at admission, use of tocolytics, antibiotics, and corticosteroids, and pregnancy outcomes were collected using an online data collections system. RESULTS: A total of 947 women with TPL were enrolled. First-line tocolysis was administered to 822 (86.8%) patients. As a first-line tocolysis, beta-agonists were used most frequently (510/822, 62.0%), followed by magnesium sulfate (183/822, 22.3%), calcium channel blockers (91/822, 11.1%), and atosiban (38/822, 4.6%). Of the 822 women with first-line tocolysis, second-line tocolysis were required in 364 (44.3%). Of 364 with second-line, 199 had third-line tocolysis (37.4%). Antibiotics were administered to 29.9% of patients (284/947) with single (215, 22.7%), dual (26, 2.7%), and triple combinations (43, 4.5%). Corticosteroids were administered to 420 (44.4%) patients. Betamethasone was administered to 298 patients (71.0%), and dexamethasone was administered to 122 patients (29.0%). CONCLUSION: Practice patterns in the management of TPL in Korea were quite various. It is needed to develop standardized practice guidelines for TPL management.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Back Pain ; Betamethasone ; Calcium Channel Blockers ; Dexamethasone ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Magnesium Sulfate ; Muscle Cramp ; Obstetric Labor, Premature* ; Physician's Practice Patterns ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnant Women ; Premature Birth ; Retrospective Studies* ; Tocolysis ; Tocolytic Agents ; Uterine Contraction ; Vaginal Discharge

PURPOSE: To introduce a nation-based endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) registry in South Korea and to analyze the anatomical features and early clinical outcomes of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) in patients who underwent EVAR. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The Korean EVAR registry (KER) was a template-based online registry developed and established in 2009. The KER recruited 389 patients who underwent EVAR from 13 medical centers in South Korea from January 2010 to June 2010. We retrospectively reviewed the anatomic features and 30-day clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Initial deployment without open conversion was achieved in all cases and procedure-related 30-day mortality rate was 1.9%. Anatomic features showed the following variables: proximal aortic neck angle 48.8+/-25.7degrees (mean+/-standard deviation), vertical neck length 35.0+/-17.2 mm, aneurysmal sac diameter 57.2+/-14.2 mm, common iliac artery (CIA) involvement in 218 (56.3%) patients, and median right CIA length 34.9 mm. Two hundred and nineteen (56.3%) patients showed neck calcification, 98 patients (25.2%) had neck thrombus, and the inferior mesenteric arteries of 91 patients (23.4%) were occluded. CONCLUSION: Anatomical features of AAA in patients from the KER were characterized as having angulated proximal neck, tortuous iliac artery, and a higher rate of CIA involvement. Long-term follow-up and ongoing studies are required.
Aneurysm ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Iliac Artery ; Korea ; Mesenteric Artery, Inferior ; Mortality ; Neck ; Retrospective Studies ; Thrombosis

BACKGROUND: Although acute myeloid leukemia occurring in patients with Down syndrome (AML-DS) is generally chemosensitive, these patients are more susceptible to regimen-related toxicities, and the optimal post-remission therapy for AML-DS is unknown. This study aimed to evaluate the outcome of post-remission chemotherapy using low dose cytarabine for AML-DS.METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 142 patients who were newly diagnosed as de novo AML between 1996 and 2011. Among them, 8 patients (5.6%) had Down syndrome. Seven patients received standard induction therapy composed of cytarabine (or behenoyl cytarabine) and anthracycline. Once complete remission (CR) was achieved, repetitive courses of low dose cytarabine were given.RESULTS: Patients' median age at diagnosis was 1.3 years (range, 0.4-1.9). All but one showed French-American-British (FAB) M7 morphology. Six patients achieved CR (75%) after induction therapy and then received 9 to 20 courses (median, 14) of low dose cytarabine. One patient had 2 episodes of neutropenic fever, whereas the other 5 patients did not suffer from any complication. All six patients are alive event-free with a median follow-up of 118 months (range, 33-208). The estimated 5-year overall survival of all 8 AML-DS patients was 87.5%, while that of non-DS de novo AML patients was 58.6% (P=0.18).CONCLUSION: Low dose cytarabine was safe and effective as a post-remission therapy for AML-DS. Due to the rarity of AML-DS, a multicenter cooperative study is essential to identify the optimal duration of treatment and to further determine the feasibility of low dose cytarabine for these patients.
Cytarabine ; Diagnosis ; Down Syndrome ; Drug Therapy ; Fever ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Medical Records

BACKGROUND: The increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with the rapid spread of obesity. Obesity induces insulin resistance, resulting in beta-cell dysfunction and thus T2DM. Green tea extract (GTE) has been known to prevent obesity and T2DM, but this effect is still being debated. Our previous results suggested that circulating green tea gallated catechins (GCs) hinders postprandial blood glucose lowering, regardless of reducing glucose and cholesterol absorption when GCs are present in the intestinal lumen. This study aimed to compare the effect of GTE with that of GTE coadministered with poly-gamma-glutamic acid (gamma-PGA), which is likely to inhibit the intestinal absorption of GCs. METHODS: The db/db mice and age-matched nondiabetic mice were provided with normal chow diet containing GTE (1%), gamma-PGA (0.1%), or GTE+gamma-PGA (1%:0.1%) for 4 weeks. RESULTS: In nondiabetic mice, none of the drugs showed any effects after 4 weeks. In db/db mice, however, weight gain and body fat gain were significantly reduced in the GTE+gamma-PGA group compared to nondrug-treated db/db control mice without the corresponding changes in food intake and appetite. Glucose intolerance was also ameliorated in the GTE+gamma-PGA group. Histopathological analyses showed that GTE+gamma-PGA-treated db/db mice had a significantly reduced incidence of fatty liver and decreased pancreatic islet size. Neither GTE nor gamma-PGA treatment showed any significant results. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that GTE+gamma-PGA treatment than GTE or gamma-PGA alone may be a useful tool for preventing both obesity and obesity-induced T2DM.
Absorption ; Adipose Tissue ; Animals ; Appetite ; Blood Glucose ; Catechin ; Cholesterol ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diet ; Eating ; Fatty Liver ; Glucose ; Glucose Intolerance ; Incidence ; Insulin Resistance ; Intestinal Absorption ; Islets of Langerhans ; Mice ; Obesity ; Polyglutamic Acid ; Prevalence ; Tea ; Weight Gain