PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to investigate communication function using classification systems and its association with other functional profiles, including gross motor function, manual ability, intellectual functioning, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics in children with cerebral palsy (CP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study recruited 117 individuals with CP aged from 4 to 16 years. The Communication Function Classification System (CFCS), Viking Speech Scale (VSS), Speech Language Profile Groups (SLPG), Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS), Manual Ability Classification System (MACS), and intellectual functioning were assessed in the children along with brain MRI categorization. RESULTS: Very strong relationships were noted among the VSS, CFCS, and SLPG, although these three communication systems provide complementary information, especially for children with mid-range communication impairment. These three communication classification systems were strongly related with the MACS, but moderately related with the GMFCS. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that manual ability and intellectual functioning were significantly related with VSS and CFCS function, whereas only intellectual functioning was significantly related with SLPG functioning in children with CP. Communication function in children with a periventricular white matter lesion (PVWL) varied widely. In the cases with a PVWL, poor functioning was more common on the SLPG, compared to the VSS and CFCS. CONCLUSION: Very strong relationships were noted among three communication classification systems that are closely related with intellectual ability. Compared to gross motor function, manual ability seemed more closely related with communication function in these children.
Brain ; Cerebral Palsy* ; Child* ; Classification ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; White Matter

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to evaluate the impact of supraclavicular lymph node radiotherapy (SCNRT) on N1 breast cancer patients receiving post-lumpectomy whole-breast irradiation (WBI) and anthracycline plus taxane-based (AT) chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a case-control analysis to compare the outcomes of WBI and WBI plus SCNRT (WBI+SCNRT). Among 1,147 patients with N1 breast cancer who received post-lumpectomy radiotherapy and AT-based chemotherapy in 12 hospitals, 542 were selected after propensity score matching. Patterns of failure, disease-free survival (DFS), distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS), and treatment-related toxicity were compared between groups. RESULTS: A total of 41 patients (7.6%) were found to have recurrence. Supraclavicular lymph node (SCN) failure was detected in three patients, two in WBI and one in WBI+SCNRT. All SCN failures were found simultaneously with distant metastasis. There was no significant difference in patterns of failure or survival between groups. The 5-year DFS and DMFS for patients with WBI and WBI+SCNRT were 94.4% versus 92.6% (p=0.50) and 95.1% versus 94.5% (p=0.99), respectively. The rates of lymphedema and radiation pneumonitis were significantly higher in the WBI+SCNRT than in the WBI. CONCLUSION: We did not find a benefit of SCNRT for N1 breast cancer patients receiving AT-based chemotherapy.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Case-Control Studies* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Lymphatic Irradiation ; Lymphedema ; Mastectomy, Segmental* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Propensity Score ; Radiation Pneumonitis ; Radiotherapy ; Radiotherapy, Adjuvant ; Recurrence

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) on loco-regional recurrence-free survival (LRRFS), disease-free survival (DFS), and overall survival (OS) in pT1-2N1 patients treated with taxane-based chemotherapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical data of pathological N1 patients who were treated with modified radical mastectomy and adjuvant taxane-based chemotherapy in 12 hospitals between January 2006 and December 2010. RESULTS: We identified 714 consecutive patients. The median follow-up duration was 69 months (range, 1 to 114 months) and the 5-year LRRFS, DFS, and OS rates were 97%, 94%, and 98%, respectively, in patients who received PMRT (PMRT [+]). The corresponding figures were 96%, 90%, and 96%, respectively, in patients who did not receive PMRT (PMRT [–]). PMRT had no significant impact on survival. Upon multivariable analysis, only the histological grade (HG) was statistically significant as a prognostic factor for LRRFS and DFS. In a subgroup analysis of HG 3 patients, PMRT (+) showed better DFS (p=0.081). CONCLUSION: PMRT had no significant impact on LRRFS, DFS, or OS in pT1-2N1 patients treated with taxane-based chemotherapy. PMRT showed a marginal benefit for DFS in HG 3 patients. Randomized studies are needed to confirm the benefit of PMRT in high risk patients, such as those with HG 3.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mastectomy, Modified Radical ; Radiotherapy* ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies*

PURPOSE: Infliximab is currently used for the treatment of active Crohn's disease (CD). We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of infliximab therapy and to determine the predictors of response in Korean patients with CD. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 317 patients who received at least one infliximab infusion for active luminal CD (n=198) and fistulizing CD (n=86) or both (n=33) were reviewed retrospectively in 29 Korean referral centers. Clinical outcomes of induction and maintenance therapy with infliximab, predictors of response, and adverse events were evaluated. RESULTS: In patients with luminal CD, the rates of clinical response and remission at week 14 were 89.2% and 60.0%, respectively. Male gender and isolated colonic disease were associated with higher remission rates at week 14. In week-14 responders, the probabilities of sustained response and remission were 96.2% and 93.3% at week 30 and 88.0% and 77.0% at week 54, respectively. In patients with fistulizing CD, clinical response and remission were observed in 85.0% and 56.2% of patients, respectively, at week 14. In week-14 responders, the probabilities of sustained response and remission were 94.0% and 97.1%, respectively, at both week 30 and week 54. Thirty-nine patients (12.3%) experienced adverse events related to infliximab. Serious adverse events developed in 19 (6.0%) patients including seven cases of active pulmonary tuberculosis. CONCLUSION: Infliximab induction and maintenance therapy are effective and well tolerable in Korean patients with luminal and fistulizing CD. However, clinicians must be aware of the risk of rare yet critical adverse events.
Colonic Diseases ; Crohn Disease* ; Humans ; Infliximab* ; Male ; Phenobarbital ; Referral and Consultation ; Retrospective Studies ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

PURPOSE: To develop and test the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Moral Distress Scale-Revised (KMDS-R) to assess its applicability to Korean hospital nurses. METHODS: The KMDS-R was articulated through forward-backward translation methods. Internal consistency reliability, construct and criterion validity was calculated using SPSSWIN(19.0). Survey data were collected from 188 nurses from a university hospital in Gangwon-do, South Korea. RESULTS: The KMDS-R showed reliable internal consistency with a Cronbach's alpha of .69-.87 and a Guttman Split-half of .69-.82 for the total scale. Factor loading of the 21 items on the five subscales ranged from .41-.80. The KMDS-R was validated by factor analysis and explained 63% of moral distress for Korean hospital nurses. Criterion validity compared to Yoo's MDS showed significant correlation. CONCLUSION: The results suggest promising evidence of the KMDS-R's reliability and validity. It is used to measure moral distress for Korean hospital nurses.
Gangwon-do ; Korea ; Reproducibility of Results*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare health habit, physical health status, and perceived health status between young Korean and Korean-Chinese women. METHODS: This study was conducted as a cross-sectional comparative survey. For this study, 114 Korean women were recruited in Seoul, South Korea and 64 Korean-Chinese women in Jilin Province, China through convenience sampling. RESULTS: A positive correlation was found between health habit and perceived health status. Perceived health status, WHR, body density, flexibility, and muscle endurance were significantly lower in Korean women than in Korean-Chinese ones. Knee flexion and ankle dorsal flexion was significantly higher in Korean women than in Korean-Chinese ones. CONCLUSION: Further investigation is required to compare the two different groups that share the same ethnicity and similar culture but were born into different countries. A study such as this may provide answers regarding the influence of migrated transition on health.
Ankle ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; China ; Female ; Humans ; Knee ; Korea ; Pliability ; Seoul

Primary colorectal choriocarcinoma is a rare neoplasm. Only 19 cases have been reported worldwide, most of which involved adenocarcinomas. The prognosis is usually poor, and the standard therapy for this tumor has not been established. A 61-year-old woman presented with constipation and lower abdominal discomfort. She was diagnosed with primary adenocarcinoma with focal choriocarcinomatous differentiation in the sigmoid colon and liver metastasis. Because the serum beta-human chorionic gonadotropin level was not significantly elevated, and because only focal choriocarcinomatous differentiation was diagnosed, we selected the chemotherapy regimen that is used for the treatment of metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma. The patient survived for 13 months after the initial diagnosis. This is the first case in Korea to assess the suppressive effects of the standard chemotherapy for colorectal adenocarcinoma against coexisting colorectal choriocarcinoma and adenocarcinoma.
Adenocarcinoma/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology ; Antineoplastic Agents/administration & dosage ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/therapeutic use ; CA-19-9 Antigen/analysis ; Chorionic Gonadotropin, beta Subunit, Human/blood ; Colon, Sigmoid/pathology ; Colonic Neoplasms/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology ; Colonoscopy ; Constipation/etiology ; Female ; Fluorouracil/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Leucovorin/therapeutic use ; Liver Neoplasms/secondary ; Middle Aged ; Organoplatinum Compounds/therapeutic use ; Prognosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Trichomonas vaginalis, a causative agent of trichomoniasis, may trigger symptomatic or asymptomatic nongonococcal urethritis and chronic prostatitis in men. Despite the availability of highly sensitive diagnostic tests, such as nucleic acid amplification tests, including PCR, few prospective studies present data on male T. vaginalis infection in South Korea. In the present study, the prevalence of T. vaginalis and associated clinical conditions were evaluated in 201 male patients from a primary care urology clinic in South Korea. The prevalence of T. vaginalis infection in our cohort was 4% (8/201) by PCR. T. vaginalis infection was common in men older than 40 years (median age, 52 years). Among the 8 Trichomonas-positive patients, 87.5% (7/8) had prostatic diseases, such as prostatitis and benign prostatic hyperplasia, and 25.0% (2/8) and 12.5% (1/8) were coinfected with Chlamydia trachomatis and Mycoplasma genitalium, respectively. Our results suggest that T. vaginalis infection is not rare in men attending primary care urology clinics in South Korea, especially in those older than 40 years, in whom it may explain the presence of prostatic disease. The possibility of T. vaginalis infection should be routinely considered in older male patients with prostatic diseases in South Korea.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Chlamydia Infections/parasitology ; Chlamydia trachomatis/isolation & purification ; Coinfection ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycoplasma Infections/parasitology ; Mycoplasma genitalium/isolation & purification ; *Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prostatitis/epidemiology/*parasitology ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Trichomonas Infections/*diagnosis ; Trichomonas vaginalis/*isolation & purification ; Young Adult

Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) is an acute neuropsychiatric syndrome resulting from thiamine deficiency. Traditionally, diagnosis of WE rests on a clinical symptom triad consisting of ocular signs, altered consciousness, and ataxia. However, the complete triad is only present in a fraction of cases, which means that WE tends to be under-diagnosed, especially in nonalcoholic patients. Brain MRI of WE patients usually shows symmetrical signal intensity alterations in the thalami, mammillary bodies, and periaqueductal area, because of cytotoxic edema in the same region. These typical findings are useful diagnostic leads in WE patients with atypical symptoms. However, atypical findings can occasionally be seen in the vermis of cerebellum and cerebellar nuclei. Notably, alterations of signal intensity in the cerebellar dentate nuclei, which is a typical finding of metronidazole-induced encephalopathy (MIE), need to be distinguished according to medication history and response to thiamine.
Ataxia ; Brain ; Cerebellar Nuclei ; Cerebellum ; Consciousness ; Edema ; Humans ; Mamillary Bodies ; Metronidazole ; Thiamine ; Thiamine Deficiency ; Wernicke Encephalopathy

Reed's syndrome is characterized by multiple cutaneous and uterine leiomyomas. The pattern of inheritance is consistent with autosomal dominant transmission. The affected families often reveal uterine leiomyomas and they have a predisposition to renal cell carcinoma. Here, we report a 51 year-old woman diagnosed with Reed's syndrome and renal angiomyolipoma. Due to the possibility of renal cell carcinoma, Reed's syndrome patients should be evaluated on the basis of renal disease.
Angiomyolipoma ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Female ; Humans ; Leiomyoma ; Leiomyomatosis ; Skin Neoplasms ; Uterine Neoplasms ; Wills