Objectives: Public health workers have been at the forefront of treating patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and managing the pandemic. The redeployment of this workforce has limited or interrupted other public health services, including testing for humanimmunodeficiency virus (HIV). This study aims to examine the impact of COVID-19 on HIVtesting and diagnosis in the Republic of Korea from 2016 to 2021, comparing data before and after the onset of COVID-19. Methods: Annual HIV testing data were collected from each institution through direct communication or from open-source databases. The annual number of new HIV cases was obtained from the official report of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Data on healthcare visits for HIV diagnosis or treatment were extracted from the open-source database of the National Insurance Health Service of Korea. Interrupted time series regression was conducted, stratified by institution type. Results: In 2020, HIV tests, diagnoses, and visits decreased. Notably, public health centers experienced a substantial reduction in 2020−2021 compared to previous years. The annual percentage change in HIV tests was −53.0%, while for HIV diagnoses, it was −31.6%. The decrease in visits for HIV was also most pronounced for public facilities: −33.3% in 2020 and −45.6% in 2021 relative to 2019. Conclusion The numbers of tests, diagnoses, and healthcare visits for HIV at public healthcenters in the Republic of Korea substantially decreased in 2020 and 2021. The impacts of thesechanges on the early diagnosis and treatment of HIV necessitate further monitoring.

Ewing sarcoma and peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor (ES/pPNET) is an undifferentiated malignant tumor that is most prevalent in children and young adults and often radiologically mimics a meningioma. A 38-year-old female patient visited our hospital with complaints of right-sided tinnitus, right hemiparesis, and imbalance. She underwent preoperative imaging and was subsequently diagnosed as having a meningioma on the petrous ridge. After partial resection, EWSR1-FLI1 gene fusion was confirmed, and she was diagnosed with ES/pPNET. The tumor was successfully treated using a multidisciplinary approach of adjuvant chemo- and radiotherapy. This case is noteworthy because it is an extremely rare case of an intracranial ES/pPNET, and it is worth sharing our clinical experience that the tumor was successfully treated through a multidisciplinary therapeutic approach even though complete resection was not achieved.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the factors influencing the wellness of call center employees. Methods: From December 2018 to October 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted with 155 workers recruited from the call centers in Seoul, South Korea. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. The questionnaires were used to measure the following scales: Korean occupational stress scale, emotional labor scale, work-life balance scale and wellness scale. Using the SPSS 26.0 program, the descriptive statistics, independent t-test, ANOVA, correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results: The mean score of the wellness level of call center employees was 3.05 out of a maximum of 5.00. More wellness level of call center employees was associated with gender, psychiatric diagnosis, and call characteristics. A multiple regression analysis indicated that the total scores on the wellness scale were predicted by call characteristics, occupational stress and work-life balance, with an explanatory power of 42.2%. Conclusion Study findings show that it is necessary to promote wellness in call center workers with differentiated strategies according to call characteristics, occupational stress and work-life balance. This implies that it is necessary to understand the call characteristics and patterns of workers and to provide an innovative wellness program tailored to individual characteristics for an effective management of the emotional labor and occupational stress.

The variant B.1.1.7 of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the RNA virus causing the pandemic more than a year worldwide, was reported from United Kingdom (UK) in late December 2020. It was reported that mortality increases by 65% and transmissibility increases by 70%, which may result in an increase of reproduction number to 1.13−1.55 from 0.75−0.85. To analyze the global increasing trend of the variant B.1.1.7, we extracted results of B.1.1.7 from GISAID on May 11 and May 12, 2021, and conducted a doseresponse regression. It took 47 days to reach 20% and 121 days to reach 50% among the sequence submitted from UK. In Korea, cases of B.1.1.7 have increased since the first report of three cases on December 28, 2020. Positive rate of B.1.1.7 in Korea was 21.6% in the week from May 9 to May 15, 2021. Detection rate of the variants is expected to increase further and new variants of SARS-CoV-2 are emerging, so a close monitoring and control would be maintained for months.

The variant B.1.1.7 of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the RNA virus causing the pandemic more than a year worldwide, was reported from United Kingdom (UK) in late December 2020. It was reported that mortality increases by 65% and transmissibility increases by 70%, which may result in an increase of reproduction number to 1.13−1.55 from 0.75−0.85. To analyze the global increasing trend of the variant B.1.1.7, we extracted results of B.1.1.7 from GISAID on May 11 and May 12, 2021, and conducted a doseresponse regression. It took 47 days to reach 20% and 121 days to reach 50% among the sequence submitted from UK. In Korea, cases of B.1.1.7 have increased since the first report of three cases on December 28, 2020. Positive rate of B.1.1.7 in Korea was 21.6% in the week from May 9 to May 15, 2021. Detection rate of the variants is expected to increase further and new variants of SARS-CoV-2 are emerging, so a close monitoring and control would be maintained for months.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has shown excellent clinical effectiveness; however, adverse events of the vaccine remain a concern in Korea. We surveyed adverse events in 2498 healthcare workers vaccinated with the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at a university hospital. The survey was conducted using a diary card for 7 days following each injection. The questionnaire response rate was 75.1% (1876/2498) for the first dose and 73.8% (1840/2493) for the second dose. Among local reactions, pain was the most commonly reported (84.9% after the first dose and 90.4% after the second dose). After the second dose, two people visited the emergency room due to severe local pain, but no hospitalization or skin necrosis occurred. Among systemic reactions, fatigue was most frequently reported (52.8% after the first dose and 77.0% after the second dose), followed by myalgia (49.0% and 76.1%), headache (28.7% and 59.2%), chills (16.7% and 54.0%), and arthralgia (11.4% and 39.2%). One or more critical adverse events occurred in 0.2% and 0.7% of the vaccinees. Except for urticaria, more adverse events were reported after the second dose than after the first dose. In the future, adverse events should be investigated in older adults, and a future study with a longer observation period should be conducted.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the immediate effects of mandibular posterior displacement on the pharyngeal airway space (PAS) by using cephalometric evaluations and to investigate how the surrounding structures are schematically involved. METHODS: In this retrospective study, 38 subjects with functional Class III malocclusion and two lateral cephalograms were selected. The first lateral cephalogram was taken with the mandible in the habitual occlusal position, and the second in anterior edge-to-edge bite. Paired t-test was used to analyze changes in the PAS, hyoid bone, tongue, and soft palate, followed by mandibular posterior displacement. Pearson's correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the amount of mandibular posterior displacement and other variables. RESULTS: A statistically significant decrease was observed in the PAS following mandibular posterior displacement. Along with mandibular posterior displacement, the tongue decreased in length (p < 0.001) and increased in height (p < 0.05), while the soft palate increased in length, decreased in thickness, and was posteriorly displaced (p < 0.001). The hyoid bone was also posteriorly displaced (p < 0.05). There was no correlation between the amount of mandibular posterior displacement and the measured variables. CONCLUSIONS The PAS showed a statistically significant decrease following mandibular posterior displacement, which was a consequence of retraction of the surrounding structures. However, there were individual variances between the amount of mandibular posterior displacement and the measured variables.