Background: Recent reports have suggested that pneumonitis is a rare complication following vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).However, its clinical features and outcomes are not well known. The aim of this study was to identify the clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients with vaccine-associated pneumonitis following vaccination against SARS-CoV-2. Methods: In this nationwide multicenter survey study, questionnaires were distributed to pulmonary physicians in referral hospitals. They were asked to report cases of development or exacerbation of interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine. Vaccine-associated pneumonitis was defined as new pulmonary infiltrates documented on chest computed tomography within 4 weeks of vaccination and exclusion of other possible etiologies. Results: From the survey, 49 cases of vaccine-associated pneumonitis were identified between February 27 and October 30, 2021. After multidisciplinary discussion, 46 cases were analyzed. The median age was 66 years and 28 (61%) were male. The median interval between vaccination and respiratory symptoms was 5 days. There were 20 (43%), 17 (37%), and nine (19%) patients with newly identified pneumonitis, exacerbation of pre-diagnosed ILD, and undetermined pre-existing ILD, respectively. The administered vaccines were BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1 nCov-19/AZD1222 each in 21 patients followed by mRNA-1273 in three, and Ad26.COV2.S in one patient. Except for five patients with mild disease, 41 (89%) patients were treated with corticosteroid. Significant improvement was observed in 26 (57%) patients including four patients who did not receive treatment. However, ILD aggravated in 9 (20%) patients despite treatment. Mortality was observed in eight (17%) patients. Conclusion These results suggest pneumonitis as a potentially significant safety concern for vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Clinical awareness and patient education are necessary for early recognition and prompt management. Additional research is warranted to identify the epidemiology and characterize the pathophysiology of vaccine-associated pneumonitis.

Purpose: This study aimed to report the final analysis of time-on-treatment (TOT) and overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced-stage epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)+ non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who received sequential afatinib and osimertinib and to compare the outcomes with other second-line regimens (comparator group). Materials and Methods: In this updated report, the existing medical records were reviewed and rechecked. TOT and OS were updated and analyzed according to clinical features using the Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. TOT and OS were compared with those of the comparator group, in which most patients received pemetrexed-based treatments. A multivariable Cox proportional hazard model was used to evaluate features that could affect survival outcomes. Results: The median observation time was 31.0 months. The follow-up period was extended to 20 months. A total of 401 patients who received first-line afatinib were analyzed (166 with T790M+ and second-line osimertinib, and 235 with unproven T790M and other second-line agents). Median TOTs on afatinib and osimertinib were 15.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.0 to 16.1) and 11.9 months (95% CI, 8.9 to 14.6), respectively. The median OS in the osimertinib group was 54.3 months (95% CI, 46.7 to 61.9), much longer than that in the comparator group. In patients who received osimertinib, the OS was longest with Del19+ (median, 59.1; 95% CI, 48.7 to 69.5). Conclusion This is one of the largest real-world studies reporting the encouraging activity of sequential afatinib and osimertinib in Asian patients with EGFR+ NSCLC who acquired the T790M mutation, particularly Del19+.

Purpose: Although osimertinib is the standard-of-care treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation–positive non–small cell lung cancer, real-world evidence on the efficacy of osimertinib is not enough to reflect the complexity of the entire course of treatment. Herein, we report on the use of osimertinib in patients with EGFR T790M mutation–positive non–small cell lung cancer who had previously received EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment in Korea. Materials and Methods: Patients with confirmed EGFR T790M after disease progression of prior EGFR-TKI were enrolled and administered osimertinib 80 mg daily. The primary effectiveness outcome was progression-free survival, with time-to-treatment discontinuation, treatment and adverse effects leading to treatment discontinuation, and overall survival being the secondary endpoints. Results: A total of 558 individuals were enrolled, and 55.2% had investigator-assessed responses. The median progression-free survival was 14.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 13.0 to 16.4), and the median time-to-treatment discontinuation was 15.0 months (95% CI, 14.1 to 15.9). The median overall survival was 36.7 months (95% CI, 30.9 to not reached). The benefit with osimertinib was consistent regardless of the age, sex, smoking history, and primary EGFR mutation subtype. However, hepatic metastases at the time of diagnosis, the presence of plasma EGFR T790M, and the shorter duration of prior EGFR-TKI treatment were poor predictors of osimertinib treatment. Ten patients (1.8%), including three with pneumonitis, had to discontinue osimertinib due to severe adverse effects. Conclusion Osimertinib demonstrated its clinical effectiveness and survival benefit for EGFR T790M mutation–positive in Korean patients with no new safety signals.

Background: There has been no comparison of the determinants of admission route between acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI). We examined whether factors associated with direct versus transferred-in admission to regional cardiocerebrovascular centers (RCVCs) differed between AIS and AMI. Methods: Using a nationwide RCVC registry, we identified consecutive patients presenting with AMI and AIS between July 2016 and December 2018. We explored factors associated with direct admission to RCVCs in patients with AIS and AMI and examined whether those associations differed between AIS and AMI, including interaction terms between each factor and disease type in multivariable models. To explore the influence of emergency medical service (EMS) paramedics on hospital selection, stratified analyses according to use of EMS were also performed. Results: Among the 17,897 and 8,927 AIS and AMI patients, 66.6% and 48.2% were directly admitted to RCVCs, respectively. Multivariable analysis showed that previous coronary heart disease, prehospital awareness, higher education level, and EMS use increased the odds of direct admission to RCVCs, but the odds ratio (OR) was different between AIS and AMI (for the first 3 factors, AMI > AIS; for EMS use, AMI < AIS). EMS use was the single most important factor for both AIS and AMI (OR, 4.72 vs. 3.90). Hypertension and hyperlipidemia increased, while living alone decreased the odds of direct admission only in AMI;additionally, age (65–74 years), previous stroke, and presentation during non-working hours increased the odds only in AIS. EMS use weakened the associations between direct admission and most factors in both AIS and AMI. Conclusions Various patient factors were differentially associated with direct admission to RCVCs between AIS and AMI. Public education for symptom awareness and use of EMS is essential in optimizing the transportation and hospitalization of patients with AMI and AIS.

BACKGROUND: Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) is a rare disease that involves a clonal proliferation of Langerhans cells. LCH has a predilection for hypothalamo-pituitary axis (HPA) dysfunction, and this leads to diabetes insipidus (DI) and/or anterior pituitary dysfunction. Here, we describe the endocrine dysfunction and clinical characteristics of adult patients with LCH and we analyzed the differences between an adult-onset type and a childhood-onset type. METHODS: The data was obtained from a retrospective chart review of the patients with LCH that involved the HPA and who attended Seoul National University Hospital. The patients were classified into the adult-onset type (age at the time of diagnosis > or = 16) and the childhood-onset type (age at the time of diagnosis < or = 15). RESULTS: Ten patients (9 males and 1 female) were diagnosed with LCH involving the HPA. Five patients were classified as an adultonset type and the other five patients were classified as a childhood-onset type. The median follow-up duration was 6 (3-12) years for the adult-onset type and 16 (15-22) years for the childhood-onset type. All the patients presented with DI as the initial manifestation of HPA involvement. Four adult-onset patients and three childhood-onset patients had a multi-system disease. Panhypopituitarism developed in three adult-onset patients and in one childhood-onset patient. The pituitary lesion of the three adult-onset patients had spread to the brain during the follow-up duration. In contrast, the pituitary lesion of the other two adult-onset patients without panhypopituitarism and all the childhood-onset patients had not changed. CONCLUSION: DI was the initial presentation symptom of HPA involvement. Anterior pituitary hormone deficiency followed in some patients. Compared with the childhood-onset patients, the adult-onset patients were more likely to have panhypopituitarism and a poor prognosis.
Adult ; Brain ; Diabetes Insipidus ; Follow-Up Studies ; Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell ; Humans ; Hypopituitarism ; Langerhans Cells ; Male ; Prognosis ; Rare Diseases ; Retrospective Studies ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra

Scanning with whole-body 131I scintigraphy after surgery has been a valuable diagnostic modality in the surveillance of patients with differentiated thyroid cancer. Radioiodine uptake is rarely observed in non-lactating breast tissue, which mimics thyroid cancer metastasis. We now report a case of a 45-year-old female thyroid cancer patient who underwent radioiodine therapy, and in whom breast uptake of radioiodine was observed on a post-therapy whole body scan. Her serum prolactin level was elevated to 328 ng/mL at the time of the radioiodine uptake, and the hyperprolactinemia was induced by her antipsychotic medications. Six months after she discontinued that medication, her serum prolactin level was normalized to 12.6 ng/mL and breast uptake of iodine was no longer present in a follow-up whole body scan.
Antipsychotic Agents ; Breast ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyperprolactinemia ; Iodine ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prolactin ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Whole Body Imaging

BACKGROUND: Decision in mediastinal lymph node involvement of lung cancer by CT scan is very important and valuable for the treatment planning and prognosis prediction. In general, long diameter of mediastinal lymph node more than 15mm is used as criterion of lung cancer involvement. Adenocarcinoma has a tendency of early distant metastasis and micrometastasis, so adenocarcinoma may involve lymph node earlier and cannot be detected before lymph nodes are enlarged enough. The authors tried to determine the difference between two size criteria (15mm, 10mm) in adenocarcinoma for the detection of cancer involvement. METHODS: Numbers of sample are 60 cases (male 46, female 14, median age: 61.5 years). According to pathology, squamous cancer 41, large cell cancer 2, adenocarcinoma 17. According to TNM stage, I 23, II 24, IIIA 13. RESULTS: Mean long diameter of lymph node involvement is 16.0(+/-8.0) mm in non-adenocarcinoma group, and that of adenocarcinoma group is 12.0(+/-3.2) mm(p<0.05). If long diameter of lymph node larger than 15mm as involvement criterion is applied, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive index, negative predictive index, accuracy of nonadenocarcinoma group are 54%, 100%, 100%, 83%, 86%, and those of adenocarcinoma group are 43%, 90%, 75%, 69%, 71%. If long diameter of lymph node larger than 10mm as involvement criterion is applied, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive index, negative predictive index, accuracy of nonadenocarcinoma group are 65%, 77%, 61%, 92%, 79%, and those of adenocarcinoma group are 100%, 80%, 78%, 100%, 88%. CONCLUSION: Long diameter of lymph node larger than 10mm is more valuable criterion as lymph node involvement in adenocarcinoma of lungs.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung* ; Lymph Nodes* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Micrometastasis ; Pathology ; Prognosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: Decision in mediastinal lymph node involvement of lung cancer by CT scan is very important and valuable for the treatment planning and prognosis prediction. In general, long diameter of mediastinal lymph node more than 15mm is used as criterion of lung cancer involvement. Adenocarcinoma has a tendency of early distant metastasis and micrometastasis, so adenocarcinoma may involve lymph node earlier and cannot be detected before lymph nodes are enlarged enough. The authors tried to determine the difference between two size criteria (15mm, 10mm) in adenocarcinoma for the detection of cancer involvement. METHODS: Numbers of sample are 60 cases (male 46, female 14, median age: 61.5 years). According to pathology, squamous cancer 41, large cell cancer 2, adenocarcinoma 17. According to TNM stage, I 23, II 24, IIIA 13. RESULTS: Mean long diameter of lymph node involvement is 16.0(+/-8.0) mm in non-adenocarcinoma group, and that of adenocarcinoma group is 12.0(+/-3.2) mm(p<0.05). If long diameter of lymph node larger than 15mm as involvement criterion is applied, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive index, negative predictive index, accuracy of nonadenocarcinoma group are 54%, 100%, 100%, 83%, 86%, and those of adenocarcinoma group are 43%, 90%, 75%, 69%, 71%. If long diameter of lymph node larger than 10mm as involvement criterion is applied, sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive index, negative predictive index, accuracy of nonadenocarcinoma group are 65%, 77%, 61%, 92%, 79%, and those of adenocarcinoma group are 100%, 80%, 78%, 100%, 88%. CONCLUSION: Long diameter of lymph node larger than 10mm is more valuable criterion as lymph node involvement in adenocarcinoma of lungs.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung* ; Lymph Nodes* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Micrometastasis ; Pathology ; Prognosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of clonidine on the experimental neuropathic pain model and to observe whether neuropathic pain is related to the sympathetic nervous system in this model by reversal of allodynia with administration of epinephrine. METHOD: The neuropathic pain was produced by unilateral transection of the superior caudal trunk innervating the rat's tail. Tail withdrawal responses based on mechanical (withdrawal frequency to bending force of von Frey hair 2.0 g) and the thermal (withdrawal latency to tail immersion in a 4degrees C or 40degrees C water with a cut-off time of 15 seconds) stimuli were used. Experiments were performed two weeks after surgery when neuropathic pain had fully been developed. Experimental group by administration of clonidine was examined by tail withdrawal responses at Day 1, Day 3 and Day 5. After one week of wash-out period, reversal of allodynia by administration of epinephrine was examined by the same test. RESULTS: Clonidine significantly decreased the frequency of withdrawal with the mechanical stimuli compared with control (P<0.01), but did not significantly decrease with the cold or warm stimuli. Epinephrine tended to aggravate the mechanical allodynia, but it was not significant compared with the control. CONCLUSION: Clonidine may relieve mechanical allodynia in neuropathic pain, but the mechanism of neuropathic pain that is related to the sympathetic nervous system in this experimental model may be unreliable.
Clonidine* ; Epinephrine* ; Hair ; Hyperalgesia ; Immersion ; Models, Animal* ; Models, Theoretical ; Neuralgia* ; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases* ; Sympathetic Nervous System ; Tail ; Water

Myopericarditis is an uncommon manifestation, but can be reaely a lethal complication of infectious mononucleosis. We experienced a case of infectious mononucleosis complicated by myopericarditis in which the clinical pictur was confused as acute myocarddial infarction. A 25-year-old male who presented with syncope and chest pain. The diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis was comfirmed by both a positive heterophil antibody test and a high titer of Epstein-Barr virus antibody. He was found to have completely normal findings at cardiac catheterization, including coronary arteriography. Pathologic specimen from right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy demonstrated extensive lymphocytic and eosinophilic infiltration of the myocardium.
Adult ; Angiography ; Biopsy ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Chest Pain ; Diagnosis ; Eosinophils ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Humans ; Infarction ; Infectious Mononucleosis* ; Male ; Myocardium ; Syncope