Objective: The increasing utilization of various molecular tests for diagnosing and selecting treatments for patients with malignancies has led to a rising trend in both the frequency of biopsies and the required tissue volume. We aimed to compare the safety of outpatient ultrasound (US)-guided percutaneous liver biopsy (PLB) between the coaxial method with needle track plugging (NTP) and the conventional method. Materials and Methods: This single-center, prospective, randomized controlled study was conducted from October 2022 to May 2023. Patients referred for US-guided PLB with target liver lesions measuring ≥1 cm and requiring ≥3 tissue cores were enrolled. Patients with severe coagulopathy or a substantial volume of ascites were excluded. Patients were randomly assigned to undergo PLB using either the coaxial method with NTP or the conventional method, in a 1:1 ratio, and were subsequently discharged after 2 hours. The primary endpoint was the presence of a patent track sign, defined as a linear color flow along the biopsy track on Doppler US, as an indication of bleeding. The secondary endpoints included clinically significant bleeding, delayed bleeding after discharge, and diagnostic yield. The incidences of these endpoints were compared between the two methods. Results: A total of 107 patients completed the study protocol. Patent track signs were observed significantly less frequently in the coaxial method with NTP group than in the conventional method group: 16.7% (9/54) vs. 35.8% (19/53; P = 0.042).Clinically significant bleeding and delayed bleeding did not occur in either group, and both methods achieved a high diagnostic yield: 94.4% (51/54) vs. 98.1% (52/53; P = 0.624). Conclusion Compared with the conventional method, the coaxial method with NTP may potentially be safer, with a reduced risk of overall bleeding complications after PLB when retrieving ≥3 tissue cores. The coaxial method with NTP could be considered a viable option for acquiring multiple liver tissues on an outpatient basis.

BACKGROUND: Research into the Baumann skin type (BST) has recently expanded, with growing interest in the development of an efficient and effective skin type classification system for better understanding of this skin condition. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to identify male-specific skin type characteristics with investigation into the distribution of BST by age and region in the Korean male population and to determine the intrinsic and extrinsic factors related to skin type. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered to collect information about age, region, working behavior, drinking behavior, smoking behavior, usual habit of sun protection, medical history, and the BST which consisted of four parameters; oily (O) or dry (D), sensitive (S) or resistant (R), pigmented (P) or non-pigmented (N), and wrinkled (W) or tight (T). RESULTS: We surveyed 1,000 Korean males aged between 20 and 60 years who were divided equally by age and region. Of the total respondents, OSNW type accounted for the largest percentage and ORPW type the lowest. In terms of Baumann parameters, O type was 53.5%, S type was 56.1%, N type was 84.4% and W type was 57.5%. Several behavioral factors were found to have various relationships with the skin type. CONCLUSION: The predominant skin type in the Korean male respondents was OSNW type, and the distribution of skin types with regards to age and region was reported to be distinct. Therefore, skin care should be customized based on detailed skin types considering the various environmental factors.
Classification ; Drinking Behavior ; Humans ; Male ; Skin Care ; Skin ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Solar System ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: To meet the need for a subspecialized skin type system, the Baumann skin type (BST) system was proposed. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the distribution of BST types and influencing factors among Korean women. METHODS: BST questionnaires were administered to 1,000 Korean women. The possible responses were as follows: oily (O) or dry (D), sensitive (S) or resistant (R), pigmented (P) or non-pigmented (N), and wrinkled (W) or tight (T). The correlations of the BST with the subjects' age, location, ultraviolet (UV) ray exposure, drinking and smoking habits, and blood type were assessed. RESULTS: The OSNT, DSNT, DRNT, and OSNW skin types were the most common skin types (55.3%). The O, S, P, and W types accounted for 46.6%, 68.8%, 23.2%, and 31.9%, respectively. The proportion of the O and S type was the highest in Gyeongsangbuk-do (55.0%) and Seoul (77.2%). The proportion of the P and W type was the highest in Gyeongsangbuk-do (33.0%) and Chungcheong-do (39.0%). The O type decreased in the higher age group, whereas the P and W type showed a reversed tendency. In smokers, the proportion of W type was significantly higher than in the non-smokers (66.3% vs. 24.1%, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The 4 most common BST types were OSNT, DSNT, DRNT, and OSNW. In the comparison across the 4 BST parameters according to the age, region, smoking and drinking habits, occupation, blood type, and UV exposure, significant differences were observed. Individualized and customized skin care is required according to the personal skin type.
Drinking ; Female* ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Occupations ; Seoul ; Skin Care ; Skin* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Treatments for pure ground-glass nodules (GGNs) include limited resection; however, surgery is not always possible in patients with limited pulmonary functional reserve. In such patients, cryoablation may be a suitable alternative to treat a pure GGN. Here, we report our initial experience with cryoablation of a pure GGN that remained after repeated surgical resection in a patient with multiple GGNs. A 5-mm-sized pure GGN in the left lower lobe was cryoablated successfully without recurrence at the 6-month follow-up.
Cryosurgery/*methods ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/radiography/*surgery ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Pulmonary Nodules/radiography/*surgery ; Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/radiography ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

The purpose of this study was to conduct a survey of Dirofilaria immitis infection among stray cats in Korea using nested PCR. We included 235 stray cats (121 females and 114 males) and evaluated each for the presence of feline heartworm infection. Blood samples were collected from 135 cats in Daejeon, 50 cats in Seoul, and 50 cats from Gyeonggi-do (Province). Of the 235 DNA samples, 14 (6.0%) were positive for D. immitis. The prevalence of infection in male cats (8/114, 7.0%) tended to be higher than that in female cats (6/121, 5.0%), but the difference was not statistically significant. In each location, 8, 2, and 4 cats were positive for infection, respectively, based on DNA testing. No significant differences in the prevalence were observed among the geographic regions, although the rate of infection was higher in Gyeonggi-do (8.0%) than Daejeon (5.9%) and Seoul (4.0%). We submitted 7 of the 14 D. immitis DNA-positive samples for sequencing analysis. All samples corresponded to partial D. immitis cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences with 99% homology to the D. immitis sequence deposited in GenBank (accession no. FN391553). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first survey using nested PCR to analyze the prevalence of D. immitis in stray cats in Korea.
Animals ; Blood/parasitology ; Cat Diseases/*epidemiology/*parasitology ; Cats ; DNA, Helminth/chemistry/genetics ; Dirofilaria immitis/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Dirofilariasis/*epidemiology/*parasitology ; Electron Transport Complex IV/genetics ; Female ; Korea/epidemiology ; Male ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/methods ; Prevalence ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Sequence Homology

In this study, the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma (T.) gondii and Bartonella (B.) henselae infection among stray cats in Daejeon City, Korea was surveyed. A total of seven samples were positive (7/118, 5.93%) for T. gondii including three samples from female cats (3/58, 5.2%) and four samples from male cats (4/60, 6.7%). There was no significant difference between the genders. A total 22 samples (22/118, 18.6%) were positive for B. henselae; nine were from females and 13 were from males. There was no significant difference between genders. Nineteen samples had a titer of 1 : 50, two samples had a titer of 1 : 100, and one sample had a titer of 1 : 200. The present study is the first to use serological tests to analyze B. henselae prevalence among stray cats in Korea.
Animals ; Bartonella henselae ; Bartonella* ; Cats* ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Prevalence ; Seroepidemiologic Studies* ; Serologic Tests ; Toxoplasma*

BACKGROUND: Simian virus 40 (SV40), a polyomavirus, was discovered as a contaminant of a human polio vaccine in the 1960s. It is known that malignant mesothelioma (MM) is associated with SV40, and that the virus works as a cofactor to the carcinogenetic effects of asbestos. However, the reports about the correlation between SV40 and MM have not been consistent. The purpose of this study is to identify SV40 in MM tissue in Korea through detection of SV40 protein and DNA. METHODS: We analyzed 62 cases of available paraffin-blocks enrolled through the Korean Malignant Mesothelioma Surveillance System and performed immunohistochemistry for SV40 protein and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for SV40 DNA. RESULTS: Of 62 total cases, 40 had disease involving the pleura (64.5%), and 29 (46.8%) were found to be of the epithelioid subtype. Immunostaining demonstrated that all examined tissues were negative for SV40 protein. Sufficient DNA was extracted for real-time PCR analysis from 36 cases. Quantitative PCR of these samples showed no increase in SV40 transcript compared to the negative controls. CONCLUSIONS: SV40 is not associated with the development of MM in Korea.
Asbestos ; DNA ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Korea ; Mesothelioma ; Pleura ; Poliomyelitis ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polyomavirus ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Simian virus 40 ; Viruses

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Acute hepatitis A (HAV) is markedly increasing recently on. Some patients with acute hepatitis A show severe clinical course. The seroprevalence rate of IgG anti-HAV has been changing with the regions and the times. Vaccination and seroconversion rate of HAV are not well known. In this study, we aimed to study the difference of seroprevalence rate of IgG anti-HAV according to various clinical factors and to know the vaccination rate and seroconversion rate below 10 years old in the central region of South Korea including Cheonan city. METHODS: Seven hundred seventy two subjects were included in the study from January to September 2009. We analyzed seroprevalence rate of IgG anti-HAV according to sex, age, region, and other viral markers. We interviewed the history of vaccination(1st, 2nd) and analyzed seroconversion rate according to vaccination time below 10 years old. RESULTS: The total seroprevalence rate of IgG anti-HAV was 65.3%. The seroprevalence rate of IgG anti-HAV rate in 2nd, 3rd, and 4th decade was very low (1.9%, 18.8%, 44.8%). The vaccination rate of children was about 50%. The seroconversion rate after 1st, and 2nd vaccination were 85%, 96%. CONCLUSIONS: Catch-up vaccination for teenagers and young adults is needed. Immunizing children with HAV vaccine as a routine schedule should be considered.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Hepatitis A/*epidemiology/prevention & control ; Hepatitis A Antibodies/*blood ; *Hepatitis A Vaccines ; Hepatitis A Virus, Human/immunology ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G/blood ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea ; Seroepidemiologic Studies

Skin cancers require excision and reconstruction for achieving optimal functional and cosmetic results. There are numerous reconstructive options, which include primary repair, secondary intention healing, a local flap and a skin graft. Generally, a full-thickness skin graft is not considered applicable for reconstructing a nasal defect because a local flap is thought to be a superior alternative to a skin graft due to the unique nature of the lower third of the skin, which is often thick and fixed to the adjacent structures. But a defect on a lower third of the nose that includes the nasal ala can be well reconstructed by a skin graft in some cases. The donor site options include the preauricular, postauricular and supraclavicular areas etc. But in some cases, the forehead skin is a good match with the nasal ala area. We herein report the case of a 69-year-old female with a nasal ala defect that was induced by excision of basal cell carcinoma. The patient was reconstructed with a full-thickness skin graft using the redundant skin of the forehead.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Basal Cell ; Cosmetics ; Female ; Forehead ; Humans ; Intention ; Nose ; Skin ; Skin Neoplasms ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of otolaryngologic diseases in Korea. METHODS: We obtained data from the 2008 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES), which were cross-sectional surveys of the civilian, non-institutionalized population of South Korea (n=4,930). A field survey team that included an otolaryngologist, nurses, and interviewers moved with a mobile examination unit and performed otolaryngologic interviews and physical examinations. RESULTS: The prevalence of subjective hearing loss, tinnitus, preauricular fistua, tympanic membrane perforation, and cholesteatoma were 11.97%, 20.27%, 2.08%, 1.60%, and 1.18%, respectively. Dizziness and vestibular dysfunction were common among Korean adults, since 23.33% of the participants reported symptoms of dizziness or imbalance, and the prevalence of vestibular dysfunction was 3.86%. The prevalence of nasal diseases was relatively high, as the prevalence of allergic rhinitis, chronic rhinosinusitis, and a deviated nasal septum were 28.01%, 7.12%, and 42.94%, respectively. Subjective dysphonia was found in 6.60% of the participants, and the prevalence of subjective dysphonia increased with age. CONCLUSION: This is the first nation-wide epidemiologic study to assess the prevalence of otolaryngologic diseases by both the Korean Otolaryngologic Society and the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Considering the high prevalence of otolaryngologic diseases in Korea, the results call for additional studies to better prevent and manage otolaryngologic diseases.
Adult ; Cholesteatoma ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dizziness ; Dysphonia ; Ear Diseases ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Korea ; Laryngeal Diseases ; Nasal Septum ; Nose Diseases ; Nutrition Surveys ; Otorhinolaryngologic Diseases ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial ; Tinnitus ; Tympanic Membrane Perforation