Background: Pediatric alopecia areata (AA) can affect the quality of life (QoL) of patients and their family members. Research on the QoL and burden on family members in pediatric AA is limited. Objective: This nationwide multicenter questionnaire study described the QoL and burden of the family members of patients with pediatric AA. Methods: This nationwide multicenter questionnaire study enrolled AA patients between the ages of 5 and 18 years from March 1, 2017 to February 28, 2018. Enrolled patients and their parents completed the modified Children’s Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and the modified Dermatitis Family Impact (mDFI). The disease severity was measured using the Severity of Alopecia Tool (SALT) survey scores. Results: A total of 268 patients with AA from 22 hospitals participated in this study. Our study found that the efficacy and satisfaction of previous treatments of AA decreased as the severity of the disease increased. The use of home-based therapies and traditional medicines increased with the increasing severity of the disease, but the efficacy felt by patients was limited. CDLQI and mDFI scores were higher in patients with extensive AA than those with mild to moderate AA. The economic and time burden of the family members also increased as the severity of the disease increased. Conclusion The severity of the AA is indirectly proportional to the QoL of patients and their family members and directly proportional to the burden. Physicians need to understand these characteristics of pediatric AA and provide appropriate intervention to patients and their family members.

In cryptogenic stroke patients, early detection of new-onset atrial fibrillation (AF) and recurrent stroke is required to prevent poor clinical outcomes. Therefore, we investigated the predictors of new-onset AF and recurrent stroke in cryptogenic stroke patients without previously diagnosed AF. In total, 390 patients who were diagnosed with stroke and non-sustained atrial tachycardia (NSAT) on 24-hour Holter monitoring were followed up to assess new-onset AF and recurrent stroke. The 5-year event-free survival as well as the predictors of recurrent stroke or new-onset AF were investigated. Based on receiver operating characteristic analysis, frequent premature atrial contractions (PACs) were defined as PACs >44 beats/day. The median follow-up period was 35 months. The composite event rate was 11.5%. In Kaplan-Meier analysis, the 5-year cumulative incidence of composite events was higher in cryptogenic stroke patients with frequent PACs than in those without frequent PACs. Multivariate analysis revealed that current smoking, increased left atrial volume index, and frequent PACs were poor prognostic predictors of composite event, and frequent PACs were an independent poor prognostic factor of new-onset AF in cryptogenic stroke patients. Therefore, frequent PACs might be associated with poor clinical outcomes (new-onset AF and recurrent stroke) in cryptogenic stroke patients with concomitant NSAT.

The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which began in Wuhan, China, has rapidly flared up all over the world, evolving into a pandemic. During these critical times, we should give emphasis on infection prevention for the health care staff as well as appropriate patient management in order to maintain the health care system. We report our experience in protecting a surgical team from COVID-19 infection during a bipolar hemiarthroplasty in an infected patient. This case highlights the importance of appropriate protection of the health care staff and education in minimizing the risk of transmission of the infection and maintaining the health care system.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of COL2A1 affect the development of ankylosing spondylitis (AS).Summary of Literature Review: Many factors have been reported to be involved in the etiology of AS. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B27 has been established as a genetic factor involved in the development of AS; however, it has been reported in recent studies that various genetic polymorphisms may be related to the development of AS. The collagen, type II, alpha 1 gene (COL2A1 ) plays a role in cartilage formation and maintaining the vitreous humor in the eye. Several previous studies have investigated the associations of COL2A1 with spinal degenerative diseases, but no case-control comparative study has yet investigated the effect of COL2A1 variants on the development of AS. Materials and Methods: The study was planned with 96 AS patients in the study group and 330 healthy individuals in the control group. We searched the gene region of the COL2A1 gene in the NCBI SNP database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/snp), and 3 SNPs (rs3803183, rs2070739 and rs1793949) were found using sequencing to be significantly different between the AS and control groups. Multiple logistic regression models for genetic analysis were applied Results: Three SNPs (rs3803183, rs2070739 and rs1793949) of COL2A1 showed significant associations with AS patients compared to control subjects (p<0.05). Conclusions SNPs of COL2A1 may be associated with the development of AS in the Korean population.

BACKGROUND: Hand eczema is one of the most common skin disorders and negatively affects quality of life. However, a large-scale multicenter study investigating the clinical features of patients with hand eczema has not yet been conducted in Korea. OBJECTIVE: To identify the prevalence of various hand diseases, which is defined as all cutaneous disease occurring in hands, and to investigate the clinical features of patients with hand eczema and the awareness about hand eczema in the general population and to compare the prevalence of hand eczema between health care providers and non-health care providers. METHODS: To estimate the prevalence of hand diseases, we analyzed the medical records of patients from 24 medical centers. Patients were assessed by online and offline questionnaires. A 1,000 from general population and 913 hand eczema patients answered the questionnaire, for a total of 1,913 subjects. RESULTS: The most common hand disease was irritant contact dermatitis. In an online survey, the lifetime prevalence of hand eczema was 31.2%. Hand eczema was more likely to occur in females (66.0%) and younger (20~39 years, 53.9%). Health care providers and housewives were the occupations most frequently associated with hand eczema. Winter (33.6%) was the most common season which people experienced aggravation. The 63.0% and 67.0% answered that hand eczema hinders their personal relationship and negatively affects daily living activities, respectively. CONCLUSION: Hand eczema is a very common disease and hinders the quality of life. The appropriate identification of hand eczema is necessary to implement effective and efficient treatment.
Activities of Daily Living ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Eczema* ; Female ; Hand* ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Korea* ; Medical Records ; Occupations ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Seasons ; Skin ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Erdheim-Chester disease is a rare non-Langerhans-cell histiocytosis involving bones and multiple organs. Its clinical course can vary, from an asymptomatic state to a fatal disease, with renal involvement being a common cause of death. A 41-year-old man presented with a 10-month history of bilateral lower limb pain. Left perirenal soft-tissue infiltration had been found incidentally two years earlier. No progression of the lesion or deterioration of renal function was observed for a period of two years. At admission, plain radiography and magnetic resonance imaging of the patient's lower limbs showed patchy osteosclerosis. Biopsy of the tibia revealed histiocytic infiltration, which was found to be positive for CD68 and negative for CD1a. This report describes an unusual case of Erdheim-Chester disease involving a stationary course of disease with no specific treatment for a long period of time.
Adult ; Asymptomatic Diseases ; Biopsy ; Cause of Death ; Erdheim-Chester Disease ; Histiocytosis, Non-Langerhans-Cell ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Osteosclerosis ; Retroperitoneal Fibrosis ; Tibia

Voriconazole is a triazole with broad spectrum antifungal activity, and it is currently considered to be the first-line agent for the treatment of invasive aspergillosis. We report here on a case of visual and auditory hallucinations during intravenous treatment with voriconazole in association with a high trough level. A 28-year-old man with acute myelogenous leukemia was admitted for re-induction remission chemotherapy. During the persistent neutropenic fever, intravenous voriconazole was administered for the suspected invasive fungal pneumonia. He began to have visual hallucinations on the 1st day and auditory hallucinations on the 3rd day of voriconazole therapy. The plasma peak and trough concentration levels of voriconazole were 9.9 and 7.4 microg/ml, respectively, on the 3rd day. The hallucinations resolved after changing to amphotericin B deoxycholate, and the plasma concentration of voriconazole dropped to less than 0.5 microg/ml. The genotype of the CYP2C19 alleles was classified as a heterozygous extensive metabolizer. We suggest that therapeutic drug monitoring of voriconazole is indicated for a case that is suspicious for a voriconazole-related adverse event.
Adult ; Alleles ; Amphotericin B ; Aspergillosis ; Deoxycholic Acid ; Drug Combinations ; Drug Monitoring ; Fever ; Genotype ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute ; Plasma ; Pneumonia ; Pyrimidines ; Triazoles

PURPOSE: To provide the morphometric data about the Korean proximal tibia to design a total knee prosthesis for Korean population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We measured morphologic data from the proximal part of the tibia from 60 knees of 30 male and 30 female cadavers. The 3D images were reconstructed from the data obtained by computed tomography scanning from femoral head to ankle joint. These image were processed as a ideal tibial resection surface which was made during a total knee arthroplasty operation. Then, antero-posterior lengths, medio-lateral lengths and aspect ratios of the cut surface were measured. Measurements were analyzed and compared with those of five popular total knee prosthesis models. RESULTS: The average medio-lateral length, lateral antero-posterior length, aspect ratio of male was 79.4 +/- 3.8 mm, 39.6 +/- 5.0 mm, 49.8 +/- 5.1% respectively. And that of female was 70.4 +/- 3.7 mm, 34.3 +/- 3.6 mm, 48.8 +/- 4.7% respectively. Component size of medio-lateral length of 65~85 mm and lateral antero-posterior length of 30~45 mm, would be required for the Korean population. Aspect ratios were correlated to antero-posterior lengths positively (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: No prostheses had fulfilled all the requirements for Korean knees in this study. These data could be used for design the optimal components for Korean.
Ankle Joint ; Arthroplasty* ; Cadaver ; Female ; Head ; Humans ; Knee Prosthesis ; Knee* ; Korea* ; Male ; Prostheses and Implants ; Tibia*

PURPOSE: To provide the morphometric data about the Korean proximal tibia to design a total knee prosthesis for Korean population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We measured morphologic data from the proximal part of the tibia from 60 knees of 30 male and 30 female cadavers. The 3D images were reconstructed from the data obtained by computed tomography scanning from femoral head to ankle joint. These image were processed as a ideal tibial resection surface which was made during a total knee arthroplasty operation. Then, antero-posterior lengths, medio-lateral lengths and aspect ratios of the cut surface were measured. Measurements were analyzed and compared with those of five popular total knee prosthesis models. RESULTS: The average medio-lateral length, lateral antero-posterior length, aspect ratio of male was 79.4 +/- 3.8 mm, 39.6 +/- 5.0 mm, 49.8 +/- 5.1% respectively. And that of female was 70.4 +/- 3.7 mm, 34.3 +/- 3.6 mm, 48.8 +/- 4.7% respectively. Component size of medio-lateral length of 65~85 mm and lateral antero-posterior length of 30~45 mm, would be required for the Korean population. Aspect ratios were correlated to antero-posterior lengths positively (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: No prostheses had fulfilled all the requirements for Korean knees in this study. These data could be used for design the optimal components for Korean.
Ankle Joint ; Arthroplasty* ; Cadaver ; Female ; Head ; Humans ; Knee Prosthesis ; Knee* ; Korea* ; Male ; Prostheses and Implants ; Tibia*

PURPOSE: The endoscopic surgery has been widely used and developed in operations of the thyroid and parathyroid gland because of the cosmetic advantage and the development of laparoscopic instrument. Since the first endoscopic thyroid surgery in late 1990's, many endoscopic operations for thyroid tumors have been performed in Korea. The authors analyzed the current status of endoscopic thyroid surgery performed in Korea. METHODS: We have collected and analyzed the data of endoscopic thyroid operations using survey. RESULTS: The surgeons working in 16 hospitals answered the questions in survey. The total endoscopic thyroid operations were performed over 1,200 cases until the end of 2004. In the pathologic diagnosis, nodular hyperplasia was most frequent in 64.5%. The axillary approach was most frequently applied in 9 hospitals (56.2%). Most of endoscopic thyroid operations were performed in 2~3 hours. The operation time was decreased according to the experience. The endoscopic surgery for malignant tumors were also performed in 11 hospitals, The hospital stay was usually 3~4 days. The most common complications in endoscopic thyroid surgery were temporary recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis and anteior chest wall discomfort or paresthesia. The most common reason for conversion to conventional surgery was the intraoperative diagnosis as for a malignancy. CONCLUSION: Endoscopic thyroid surgery has been perfomed in many hospitals not only special thyroid clinic in Korea. The operation cases are increasing rapidly in these days. According to the development of technique and instrument, the endoscopic surgery are applied to various neck disease involving malignancy. The safety and efficacy of endoscopic surgery for malignancy should be further evaluated with accumulation of experience of endoscopic operation and long term follow-up of thyroid cancer patients.
Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Korea* ; Length of Stay ; Neck ; Paralysis ; Parathyroid Glands ; Paresthesia ; Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve ; Surgeons ; Thoracic Wall ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroidectomy*