Purpose: We aimed to determine the current application and survival trends of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) among Korean children and adolescents with cancer. Materials and Methods: Data of patients aged < 20 years with KCD-10 (Korean Classifications of Diseases, 10th revision) C codes and specific designation codes were collected from the National Health Insurance Service database. Thirty claim codes for HSCT were included, and data from 2009 to 2019 were analyzed. Results: The operational definition of pediatric cancer yielded an annual average of 2,000, with annual cases decreasing. In 2019, 221 HSCTs were performed, a decrease from the ten-year average of 276. Allografts outnumbered autografts with a ratio of 1.5:1. The source of allograft was bone marrow in 15% of patients in 2009; however, it substantially decreased to 3.3% in 2019. Furthermore, 70.5% of allogeneic HSCT used peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) grafts, which increased to 89.3% by 2015. Cord blood utilization markedly decreased to 2.7% in 2018. The 5-year overall survival (OS) rate of all patients was 85.1%. Overall mortality decreased among patients who underwent recent HSCT, and they exhibited a higher 5-year OS rate. Conclusion In Korea, the number of pediatric patients with cancer is declining; however, the ratio of transplants to all patients remains constant. Patients who recently underwent transplantation showed better survival rates, possibly due to HSCT optimization. Korea showed a substantially greater PBSC utilization in pediatric HSCT. An in-depth examination encompassing donor relations and cause of death with a prospective registry is required in future studies.

Background/Aims: Appropriate tissue tension and clear visibility of the dissection area using traction are essential for effective and safe endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). In this study, we developed a retractable robot-assisted traction device and evaluated its performance in colorectal ESD. Methods: An experienced endoscopist performed ESD 18 times on an ex vivo porcine colon using the robot and 18 times using the conventional method. The outcome measures were procedure time, dissection speed, procedure-related adverse events, and blind dissection rate. Results: Thirty-six colonic lesions were resected from ex vivo porcine colon samples. The total procedure time was significantly shorter in robot-assisted ESD (RESD) than in conventional ESD (CESD) (20.1±4.1 minutes vs 34.3±8.3 minutes, p<0.05). The submucosal dissection speed was significantly faster in the RESD group than in the CESD group (36.8±9.2 mm 2 /min vs 18.1±4.7 mm 2 /min, p<0.05). The blind dissection rate was also significantly lower in the RESD group (12.8%±3.4% vs 35.1%±3.9%, p<0.05). In an in vivo porcine feasibility study, the robotic device was attached to a colonoscope and successfully inserted into the proximal colon without damaging the colonic wall, and ESD was successfully performed. Conclusions The dissection speed and safety profile improved significantly with the retractable RESD. Thus, our robotic device has the potential to provide simple, effective, and safe multidirectional traction during colonic ESD.

Background: The Korean Society of Thoracic Radiology (KSTR) recently constructed a nation-wide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) database and imaging repository, referred to the Korean imaging cohort of COVID-19 (KICC-19) based on the collaborative efforts of its members. The purpose of this study was to provide a summary of the clinico-epidemiological data and imaging data of the KICC-19. Methods: The KSTR members at 17 COVID-19 referral centers retrospectively collected imaging data and clinical information of consecutive patients with reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction-proven COVID-19 in respiratory specimens from February 2020 through May 2020 who underwent diagnostic chest computed tomography (CT) or radiograph in each participating hospital. Results: The cohort consisted of 239 men and 283 women (mean age, 52.3 years; age range, 11–97 years). Of the 522 subjects, 201 (38.5%) had an underlying disease. The most common symptoms were fever (n = 292) and cough (n = 245). The 151 patients (28.9%) had lymphocytopenia, 86 had (16.5%) thrombocytopenia, and 227 patients (43.5%) had an elevated CRP at admission. The 121 (23.4%) needed nasal oxygen therapy or mechanical ventilation (n = 38; 7.3%), and 49 patients (9.4%) were admitted to an intensive care unit.Although most patients had cured, 21 patients (4.0%) died. The 465 (89.1%) subjects underwent a low to standard-dose chest CT scan at least once during hospitalization, resulting in a total of 658 CT scans. The 497 subjects (95.2%) underwent chest radiography at least once during hospitalization, which resulted in a total of 1,475 chest radiographs. Conclusion The KICC-19 was successfully established and comprised of 658 CT scans and 1,475 chest radiographs of 522 hospitalized Korean COVID-19 patients. The KICC-19 will provide a more comprehensive understanding of the clinical, epidemiological, and radiologic characteristics of patients with COVID-19.

No abstract available.
Cadaver

BACKGROUND/AIMS: There have been numerous efforts to reduce mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of hepatitis B virus (HBV) with antiviral agents during pregnancy. However, there are limited data regarding the outcomes of pregnant women after delivery. This study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of antiviral agents in preventing MTCT of HBV and maternal long-term outcomes. METHODS: The HBV-infected pregnant women treated with antiviral agents to prevent MTCT were retrospectively reviewed. Forty-one pregnant women who received telbivudine or tenofovir during late pregnancy (28-34 week) were analyzed. Hepatitis B virus surface antibody (HBsAb) positivity was tested in 43 infants after 7 months of birth. Eleven mothers were followed >1 year after delivery. RESULTS: The mean HBV DNA titer before antiviral therapy was 8.67 (6.60–9.49) log copies/mL, and the median age at delivery was 32 years (range, 22–40). Eleven patients were treated with tenofovir and 30 with telbivudine. The median duration was 57 days (range, 23–100), and the median HBV DNA titer at birth was 5.06 log copies/mL (range, 2.06–6.50). Antiviral treatments were associated with significant HBV DNA reduction (P < 0.001). Among 43 infants (two cases of twins), HBsAb was not detected in two, subsequently confirmed to have HBV infection. Biochemical flare was observed in two of 11 mothers followed >12 months, and an antiviral agent was administered. CONCLUSIONS: Antiviral treatment during late pregnancy effectively reduced MTCT. Long-term follow-up should be required in such cases. In addition, given that maternal biochemical flare occurred in 18% of mothers, re-administration of antiviral agents might be required.
Antiviral Agents ; DNA ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B virus* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Infant ; Mothers ; Parturition ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Retrospective Studies ; Tenofovir

PURPOSE: It is challenging procedure to revise acetabular component in acetabulum with severe bone defect or deformity. The jumbo cup is good option for revisional arthroplasty in large bone defect. The purpose of this study is to compare the prognosis of revisional total hip arthroplasty using jumbo cup with peripheral rim fixation and no rim fixation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We included the patients who had performed acetabular revisional total hip arthroplasty from January 2002 to March 2015 in our institute. Total of 51 hips (51 patients) were included. The mean follow up period was 51 months (range, 12 to 154 months) and mean age was 60.7 years (range, 30 to 81 years). We divided into two groups (peripheral rim fixation group and no rim fixation group) by anteroposterior and lateral plain radiograph. We compared survival rate, hip center change and clinical outcomes between two groups. RESULTS: There were 37 patients in peripheral rim fixation group and 14 patients in no rim fixation group. There was one patient who had aseptic loosening necessary to re-revision in rim fixation group and 3 patients in no rim fixation group. And one patient had superficial infection in rim fixation group and one patient had periprosthetic fracture in no rim fixation group. Survival rate was higher in the peripheral rim fixation group (97.3%) than no rim fixation group (78.6%, P=0.028) CONCLUSION: Based on our findings, peripheral rim fixation might be recommended to improve short-term outcome after revision total hip arthroplasty using jumbo cup.
Acetabulum ; Arthroplasty* ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip* ; Humans ; Periprosthetic Fractures ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate

PURPOSE: As allergic diseases become common and their socio-economic burden increases, the government needs to develop measures to prevent and manage allergic diseases. Gyeonggi-do Atopy Asthma Education Information Center, funded by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Korean Center for Disease Control and Gyeonggi-do, was established in October 2011 to carry out the community-based programs for the patients with allergic diseases in Gyeonggi-do. We investigated the demand on learning, preferred topics and the way of learning about allergic diseases from the public health centers in Gyeonggi-do. METHODS: From March to May 2012, 54 administrators from 45 public health centers in Gyeonggi-do answered about their educational demand and preferred way of learning and having information. RESULTS: A total of 52 administrators (96%) from the public health centers answered that they wanted to participate in the education programs on allergic diseases from Gyeonggi-do Atopy Asthma Education Information Center. Forty eight percent of them had learned about allergic diseases at least once previously by lectures, followed by information brochures and by on-line searching. They wanted to learn about an overview of atopic eczema and how to care it, followed by overviews of asthma and allergic rhinitis. They preferred small group seminars with about 10 participants for learning and wanted to have video clips of lectures, followed by booklets for educational materials. CONCLUSION: This research on the educational demand from the public health centers will be useful in planning the future community-based allergy programs and enhancing communication with the administrators in Gyeonggi-do.
Administrative Personnel ; Asthma ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S.) ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Financial Management ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Information Centers ; Learning ; Lectures ; Pamphlets ; Public Health ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Perennial

To elucidate the genes responsible for constitutive human skin color, we measured the extent of skin pigmentation in the buttock, representative of lifelong non-sun-exposed skin, and conducted a gene mapping study on skin color in an isolated Mongolian population composed of 344 individuals from 59 families who lived in Dashbalbar, Mongolia. The heritability of constitutive skin color was 0.82, indicating significant genetic association on this trait. Through the linkage analysis using 1,039 short tandem repeat (STR) microsatellite markers, we identified a novel genomic region regulating constitutive skin color on 11q24.2 with an logarithm of odds (LOD) score of 3.39. In addition, we also found other candidate regions on 17q23.2, 6q25.1, and 13q33.2 (LOD > or = 2). Family-based association tests on these regions with suggestive linkage peaks revealed ten and two significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on the linkage regions of chromosome 11 and 17, respectively. We were able to discover four possible candidate genes that would be implicated to regulate human skin color: ETS1, UBASH3B, ASAM, and CLTC.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group/*genetics ; Child ; *Chromosome Mapping ; Color ; Female ; Genome-Wide Association Study ; Humans ; Male ; Mongolia ; Pedigree ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Skin/metabolism ; *Skin Pigmentation ; Young Adult

Cardiac metastases of renal cell carcinomas are rare, and usually clinically silent. A case of a 53-year-old man without a significant medical history, who presented with ventricular tachycardia, which resulted in a cardiac mass of the right ventricle is reported. On chest X-ray, echocardiography, CT scanning, esophagogastroduode-noscopy and MRI, multiple metastatic masses were observed in both lungs, and the kidneys, adrenal, stomach and right ventricle. The kidney mass and the gastric polyp were revealed on biopsy to be a renal cell carcinoma mixed with sarcomatoid and conventional types.
Adult* ; Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Echocardiography ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Kidney ; Lung ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Polyps ; Stomach ; Tachycardia, Ventricular* ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed