Objectives: Estimating the number of deaths caused by smoking is crucial for developing and evaluating tobacco control and smoking cessation policies. This study aimed to determine smoking-attributable mortality (SAM) in Korea in 2020. Methods: Four large-scale cohorts from Korea were analyzed. A Cox proportional-hazards model was used to determine the hazard ratios (HRs) of smoking-related death. By conducting a meta-analysis of these HRs, the pooled HRs of smoking-related death for 41 diseases were estimated. Population-attributable fractions (PAFs) were calculated based on the smoking prevalence for 1995 in conjunction with the pooled HRs. Subsequently, SAM was derived using the PAF and the number of deaths recorded for each disease in 2020. Results: The pooled HR for all-cause mortality attributable to smoking was 1.73 for current men smokers (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.53 to 1.95) and 1.63 for current women smokers (95% CI, 1.37 to 1.94). Smoking accounted for 33.2% of all-cause deaths in men and 4.6% in women. Additionally, it was a factor in 71.8% of men lung cancer deaths and 11.9% of women lung cancer deaths. In 2020, smoking was responsible for 53 930 men deaths and 6283 women deaths, totaling 60 213 deaths. Conclusions Cigarette smoking was responsible for a significant number of deaths in Korea in 2020. Monitoring the impact and societal burden of smoking is essential for effective tobacco control and harm prevention policies.

Tolvaptan reduces height-adjusted total kidney volume (htTKV) and renal function decline in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). This study was aimed at investigating the efficacy and safety of tolvaptan in Korean patients with ADPKD during the titration period. Methods: This study is a multicenter, single-arm, open-label phase 4 study. We enrolled 108 patients with ADPKD (age, 19–50 years) with an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of >30 mL/min/1.73 m2 and factors defined as indicative of rapid disease progression. After tolvaptan titration, we evaluated efficacy and side effects and assessed factors associated with the effects. Results: After titration for 4 weeks, eGFR and htTKV decreased by 6.4 ± 7.9 mL/min/1.73 m2 and 16 ± 45 mL/m, respectively. No serious adverse drug reactions were observed during the titration period. The greatest eGFR decline was observed in the first week, with a starting tolvaptan dose of 45 mg. Multivariate linear regression for htTKV decline showed that the greater the change in urine osmolality (Uosm), the greater the decrease in htTKV (β, 0.436; p = 0.009) in the 1D group stratified by the Mayo Clinic image classification. Higher baseline eGFR was related to a higher htTKV reduction rate in the 1E group (β, –0.642; p = 0.009). Conclusion: We observed short-term effects and safety during the tolvaptan titration period. The decline of htTKV can be predicted as a short-term effect of tolvaptan by observing Uosm changes from baseline to end of titration in 1D and baseline eGFR in 1E groups.

The clinical course and prognosis of patients with elderly-onset Crohn’s disease (CD) remain unclear. This study aimed to analyze the clinical characteristics and outcomes of elderly-onset CD patients from the prospective CONNECT study cohort, a nationwide, multicenter cohort study of patients with CD in Korea. Among a total of 1,175 patients in the prospective CONNECT study cohort, 94 patients (Montreal age A3) were included and divided into two groups according to their age at diagnosis: the elderly-onset group (diagnosed with CD after 60 years of age, n=26, 67.54±6.7 years) and late adult-onset group (diagnosed as CD at age 41 to 59 years, n=68, 48.06±5.1 years). The elderly-onset group was characterized by a lower Crohn’s disease activity index at diagnosis (124.89±101.9 vs 189.55±128.6, p=0.023) and higher rates of previous antituberculosis treatment (34.6% vs 4.4%, p<0.001) than the late adult-onset group. Compared with the late adult-onset group, the elderly-onset group showed a significantly less use of thiopurines (p=0.003), as well as anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha agents (p=0.047). Additionally, the elderlyonset group was less likely to require bowel resection than the late adult-onset group (p=0.067), suggesting that elderly-onset CD patients in Korea appear to have more favorable clinical outcomes than late adult-onset CD patients.

The authors diagnosed femoral component fracture after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) using an anterior-posterior glide mobile-bearing system in a 78-year-old female patient who visited with severe pain and flexion limitations in the left knee and performed revision TKA. The fracture of the femoral component after TKA is a rare complication, and various factors cause the fracture of the femoral component. This case is reported along with a literature review.

Purpose: Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MP) is a major cause of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children and is associated with extrapulmonary manifestations (EPM). The incidence and risk factors for EPM in children are unknown. Methods: This was a retrospective study involving 65,243 pediatric patients with CAP between 2010 and 2015 at 23 nationwide hospitals in South Korea. Medical records were reviewed to collect information regarding the clinical characteristics, radiological results, and laboratory findings. Logistic regression with multivariate analysis was performed to evaluate the risk factors associated with EPM in MP. Results: The incidence of EPM was 23.9%, including elevation of liver enzymes (18.1%), mucocutaneous manifestations (4.4%), proteinuria (4.1%), cardiovascular and neurological manifestations (0.4%), hematologic manifestations (0.2%), and arthritis (0.2%). Statistical analysis showed that mucocutaneous manifestations significantly increased with elevated alanine aminotransferase (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 3.623; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.933-6.790) and atopic sensitization (aOR, 2.973; 95% CI, 1.615–5.475) and decreased with respiratory virus coinfection (aOR, 0.273; 95% CI, 0.084–0.887). Elevated liver enzymes were significantly associated with elevated lactate dehydrogenase (aOR, 3.055; 95% CI, 2.257–4.137), presence of pleural effusion (aOR, 2.635; 95% CI, 1.767–3.930), and proteinuria with respiratory virus coinfection (aOR, 2.245; 95% CI, 1.113–4.527). Conclusion Approximately 24% of pediatric patients with MP had various EPM. As the risk factors associated with each EPM were different, it is necessary to evaluate the various clinical aspects and findings of MP to predict and prepare for the occurrence of EPM.

Purpose: This study evaluated the usefulness of a silicone ring tourniquet by analyzing the changes in the perioperative hemoglobin (Hb) levels or amount of perioperative bleeding compared to those of a pneumatic tourniquet or no usage during minimally invasive plate fixation for distal femoral fractures. Materials and Methods: From January 2017 to December 2019, 30 patients who underwent minimally invasive plate fixation using a locking compression plate for distal femoral fractures were evaluated and classified as a silicone ring tourniquet (Group 1), a pneumatic tourniquet (Group 2), and no usage (Group 3). The variables for analysis were age, sex, preoperative Hb (preHb), postoperative 72-hour Hb (postHb), differences between preHb and postHb (preHb-postHb), amount of intraoperative and overall transfusion, estimated unit of transfusion corrected by preHb-postHb and total transfusion (Hb-lost), amount of intraoperative and postoperative and total bleeding. One-way ANOVA was used to identify the differences between the groups. Results: The age, sex, operation time, preHb, preHb-postHb, amount of intraoperative and overall transfusion and Hb-lost were similar in the two groups. The amount of intraoperative bleeding was significantly lower in Group 1 than Group 3 (p=0.004), but there was no difference in the amount of postoperative and total bleeding between the two groups. Conclusion The use of a silicone ring tourniquet in the minimally invasive plate fixation for distal femoral fractures decreased the amount of intraoperative bleeding compared to no use of a tourniquet.

Objective: To investigate the differences of spinal curvature, thoracic sagittal mobility, and respiratory strength between patients with chronic neck pain (CNP) and people without cervical pain, and to determine the correlation between respiratory strength and thoracic mobility in CNP patients. Methods: A total of 78 participants were finally included in this study, of whom 30 had no cervical pain and 48 had CNP. The Neck Disability Index (NDI), cervical lordotic curvature, thoracic kyphotic curvature, thoracic sagittal range of motion (ROM), maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) were measured and analyzed. Results: In males, thoracic sagittal ROMMEP-MIP and MEP showed a significant difference between the no cervical pain group and the CNP group. In females, thoracic kyphotic curvature, thoracic sagittal ROMMEP-MIP, MIP, and MEP were significantly different between the no cervical pain group and the CNP group. Thoracic kyphotic curvature was significantly correlated with MEP and MIP in all population groups, and significantly correlated with NDI in the female group. Thoracic sagittal ROMMEP-MIP had a significant linear relationship with NDI, MEP, and MIP in all population groups. Conclusion The thoracic mobility during forced respiration was reduced in patients with CNP and was correlated with respiratory strength. Changes in the biomechanics of the cervicothoracic spine and rib cage due to CNP may contribute to impairment of respiratory strength.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: In Alzheimer's continuum (a comprehensive of preclinical Alzheimer's disease [AD], mild cognitive impairment [MCI] due to AD, and AD dementia), cognitive dysfunctions are often related to cortical atrophy in specific brain regions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between anatomical pattern of cortical atrophy and specific neuropsychological deficits. METHODS: A total of 249 participants with Alzheimer's continuum (125 AD dementia, 103 MCI due to AD, and 21 preclinical AD) who were confirmed to be positive for amyloid deposits were collected from the memory disorder clinic in the department of neurology at Samsung Medical Center in Korea between September 2013 and March 2018. To analyze neuropsychological test-specific neural correlates representing the relationship between cortical atrophy measured by cortical thickness and performance in specific neuropsychological tests, a linear regression analysis was performed. Two neural correlates acquired by 2 different standardized scores in neuropsychological tests were also compared. RESULTS: Cortical atrophy in several specific brain regions was associated with most neuropsychological deficits, including digit span backward, naming, drawing-copying, verbal and visual recall, semantic fluency, phonemic fluency, and response inhibition. There were a few differences between 2 neural correlates obtained by different z-scores. CONCLUSIONS: The poor performance of most neuropsychological tests is closely related to cortical thinning in specific brain areas in Alzheimer's continuum. Therefore, the brain atrophy pattern in patients with Alzheimer's continuum can be predict by an accurate analysis of neuropsychological tests in clinical practice.
Alzheimer Disease ; Atrophy ; Brain ; Cognition ; Dementia ; Humans ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Memory Disorders ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Neuroanatomy ; Neurology ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Plaque, Amyloid ; Semantics