This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

This research group (forensic research via omics markers in environmental health vulnerable areas: FROM) aimed to develop biomarkers for exposure to environmental hazards and diseases, assess environmental diseases, and apply and verify these biomarkers in environmentally vulnerable areas. Environmentally vulnerable areas—including refineries, abandoned metal mines, coal-fired power plants, waste incinerators, cement factories, and areas with high exposure to particulate matter—along with control areas, were selected for epidemiological investigations. A total of 1,157 adults, who had resided in these areas for over 10 years, were recruited between June 2021 and September 2023. Personal characteristics of the study participants were gathered through a survey. Biological samples, specifically blood and urine, were collected during the field investigations, separated under refrigerated conditions, and then transported to the laboratory for biomarker analysis. Analyses of heavy metals, environmental hazards, and adducts were conducted on these blood and urine samples. Additionally, omics analyses of epigenomes, proteomes, and metabolomes were performed using the blood samples. The biomarkers identified in this study will be utilized to assess the risk of environmental disease occurrence and to evaluate the impact on the health of residents in environmentally vulnerable areas, following the validation of diagnostic accuracy for these diseases.

Tetanus is a bacterial infection by Clostridium tetani. Its neurotoxin causes spastic paralysis and autonomic dysfunction. Intrathecal infusion of baclofen has been suggested as a pertinent treatment for generalized spasm. Our case describes a patient who had a severe generalized form of tetanus, and was effectively treated with intrathecal baclofen infusion. He showed cerebral and brainstem dysfunction during baclofen infusion, which were reversed without sequelae when baclofen was discontinued.

Background/Aims: We evaluated the feasibility and long-term efficacy of the combination of cytarabine, idarubicin, and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) for treating patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Methods: We included 87 patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia and a t(15;17) or promyelocytic leukemia/retinoic acid receptor alpha (PML-RARα) mutation. Patients received 12 mg/m2/day idarubicin intravenously for 3 days and 100 mg/m2/day cytarabine for 7 days, plus 45 mg/m2/day ATRA. Clinical outcomes included complete remission (CR), relapse-free survival (RFS), overall survival (OS), and the secondary malignancy incidence during a 20-year follow-up. Results: The CR, 10-year RFS, and 10-year OS rates were 89.7%, 94.1%, and 73.8%, respectively, for all patients. The 10-year OS rate was 100% for patients that achieved CR. Subjects were classified according to the white blood cell (WBC) count in peripheral blood at diagnosis (low-risk, WBC < 10,000/mm3; high-risk, WBC ≥ 10,000/mm3). The low-risk group had significantly higher RFS and OS rates than the high-risk group, but the outcomes were not superior to the current standard treatment (arsenic trioxide plus ATRA). Toxicities were similar to those observed with anthracycline plus ATRA, and higher than those observed with arsenic trioxide plus ATRA. The secondary malignancy incidence after APL treatment was 2.7%, among the 75 patients that achieved CR, and 5.0% among the 40 patients that survived more than 5 years after the APL diagnosis. Conclusions Adding cytarabine to anthracycline plus ATRA was not inferior to anthracycline plus ATRA alone, but it was not comparable to arsenic trioxide plus ATRA. The probability of secondary malignancy was low.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the characteristics and prognostic factors of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the emergency departments (EDs) in Daegu, Korea, the region with the second regional outbreak worldwide. Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational multicenter study using a population-based COVID-19 registry of EDs. We included the demographic, clinical and laboratory data. Cox proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to identify the prognostic factors of mortality. Results: A total of 241 patients were included in this study. In the Cox hazard regression model (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]), age (65-79 years: 3.531 [1.529-8.156], ≥80 years: 5.335 [2.229-12.770]), respiratory rate (RR) (>20 breaths/min: 2.025 [1.205-3.403], ≤11 breaths/min: 111.292 [30.845-401.555]), lymphocyte counts <1.0×109/L (2.611 [1.494-4.739]), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels>23 mg/dL (2.047 [1.233-3.399]), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels>40 IU/L (1.785 [1.009-3.158]) and neutrophil counts>6.3×109/L (1.638 [1.014-2.644]) were associated with mortality. Conclusion Age, RR, lymphocyte counts, BUN levels, AST levels and neutrophil counts were prognostic factors in COVID-19 patients in the ED. These factors can help effectively treat and reduce mortality through optimized management of COVID-19 patients, in places with limited emergency medical resources such as massive regional outbreaks.

Objective: The characteristics and prognosis of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients can vary due to a variety of factors, including the time of the day. We tried to identify the characteristics and prognosis of OHCA in a Korean metro city based on the time of the day. Methods: This citywide retrospective observational study was conducted from January 1, 2015, to November 31, 2020, in Daegu, Korea on patients over 18 years of age who were suspected of having a medical etiology of OHCA. We evaluated the characteristics and outcomes of OHCA, according to the time of day, divided into dawn (00:00-05:59), morning (06:00-11:59), afternoon (12:00-17:59), and night (18:00-23:59). The outcome variables were survival to hospital discharge and favorable neurological outcomes. Results: The median age of the total of 4,783 OHCA patients in the study was 72.0 years of which 3,096 (64.7%) were males. The number of patients who survived was 317 (7.8%) and 301 (6.3%) were discharged with favorable neurological outcomes. There were 672 (14.0%) patients admitted at dawn, 1,607 (33.6%) in the morning, 1,379 (28.8%) in the afternoon, and 1,125 (23.5%) at night. After adjusting for the possible confounding variables, compared with the morning group, the survival to hospital discharge was low in the afternoon and the night (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.69; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.48-0.98 and aOR, 0.48; 95% CI, 0.32-0.74). In addition, favorable neurological outcomes were also low in the afternoon and the night compared with the morning (aOR, 0.59; 95% CI, 0.40-0.85 and aOR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.41-0.93). Conclusion Diurnal differences in OHCA outcomes were observed. Identification of the diurnal OHCA characteristics will be necessary to devise an appropriate regional emergency medical services strategy.