This study aimed to establish infection control strategies for preventing the spread of scabies within a single institution by analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of patients diagnosed with scabies. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. The electronic medical records of 430 patients diagnosed with scabies at the dermatology outpatient department of Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were used to collect data on their characteristics. The subjects were divided into three groups: patients, family of confirmed patients, and healthcare workers. General and epidemiological characteristics were analyzed. Results: The average age was 60.89 ± 22.39 years. The number of days from symptom onset to diagnosis was unknown in many cases (65.3%), although the average was 63.42 ± 64.18 days. Repeated visits after treatment were observed in 193 patients (67.5%), 38 family members of confirmed patients (55.1%), and 35 healthcare workers (46.7%), showing a statistically significant difference (p = .002). The most common place of residence before the visit was home (56.2%), and the most common suspected origin of contagion was the home (38.3%), and the most common category of the suspected contagious person was family (49.6%). Conclusion: Cases of scabies were disproportionately common in women and older adults. The interval from symptom onset to diagnosis was long, and about half of the cases involved itching but no skin lesions. More than one-thirds of cases did not revisit for a follow-up after 2 weeks. In the overall results, unlike previous studies, factors related to home and family were frequently observed as epidemiological characteristics.

This study aimed to establish infection control strategies for preventing the spread of scabies within a single institution by analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of patients diagnosed with scabies. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. The electronic medical records of 430 patients diagnosed with scabies at the dermatology outpatient department of Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were used to collect data on their characteristics. The subjects were divided into three groups: patients, family of confirmed patients, and healthcare workers. General and epidemiological characteristics were analyzed. Results: The average age was 60.89 ± 22.39 years. The number of days from symptom onset to diagnosis was unknown in many cases (65.3%), although the average was 63.42 ± 64.18 days. Repeated visits after treatment were observed in 193 patients (67.5%), 38 family members of confirmed patients (55.1%), and 35 healthcare workers (46.7%), showing a statistically significant difference (p = .002). The most common place of residence before the visit was home (56.2%), and the most common suspected origin of contagion was the home (38.3%), and the most common category of the suspected contagious person was family (49.6%). Conclusion: Cases of scabies were disproportionately common in women and older adults. The interval from symptom onset to diagnosis was long, and about half of the cases involved itching but no skin lesions. More than one-thirds of cases did not revisit for a follow-up after 2 weeks. In the overall results, unlike previous studies, factors related to home and family were frequently observed as epidemiological characteristics.

This study aimed to establish infection control strategies for preventing the spread of scabies within a single institution by analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of patients diagnosed with scabies. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. The electronic medical records of 430 patients diagnosed with scabies at the dermatology outpatient department of Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were used to collect data on their characteristics. The subjects were divided into three groups: patients, family of confirmed patients, and healthcare workers. General and epidemiological characteristics were analyzed. Results: The average age was 60.89 ± 22.39 years. The number of days from symptom onset to diagnosis was unknown in many cases (65.3%), although the average was 63.42 ± 64.18 days. Repeated visits after treatment were observed in 193 patients (67.5%), 38 family members of confirmed patients (55.1%), and 35 healthcare workers (46.7%), showing a statistically significant difference (p = .002). The most common place of residence before the visit was home (56.2%), and the most common suspected origin of contagion was the home (38.3%), and the most common category of the suspected contagious person was family (49.6%). Conclusion: Cases of scabies were disproportionately common in women and older adults. The interval from symptom onset to diagnosis was long, and about half of the cases involved itching but no skin lesions. More than one-thirds of cases did not revisit for a follow-up after 2 weeks. In the overall results, unlike previous studies, factors related to home and family were frequently observed as epidemiological characteristics.

This study aimed to establish infection control strategies for preventing the spread of scabies within a single institution by analyzing the epidemiological characteristics of patients diagnosed with scabies. Methods: This was a retrospective descriptive study. The electronic medical records of 430 patients diagnosed with scabies at the dermatology outpatient department of Uijeongbu St. Mary’s Hospital from January 2020 to December 2022 were used to collect data on their characteristics. The subjects were divided into three groups: patients, family of confirmed patients, and healthcare workers. General and epidemiological characteristics were analyzed. Results: The average age was 60.89 ± 22.39 years. The number of days from symptom onset to diagnosis was unknown in many cases (65.3%), although the average was 63.42 ± 64.18 days. Repeated visits after treatment were observed in 193 patients (67.5%), 38 family members of confirmed patients (55.1%), and 35 healthcare workers (46.7%), showing a statistically significant difference (p = .002). The most common place of residence before the visit was home (56.2%), and the most common suspected origin of contagion was the home (38.3%), and the most common category of the suspected contagious person was family (49.6%). Conclusion: Cases of scabies were disproportionately common in women and older adults. The interval from symptom onset to diagnosis was long, and about half of the cases involved itching but no skin lesions. More than one-thirds of cases did not revisit for a follow-up after 2 weeks. In the overall results, unlike previous studies, factors related to home and family were frequently observed as epidemiological characteristics.

Background: This study used data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey of Korean adolescents to determine the current trends insecondhand smoke (SHS) among adolescents and to identify the association between the level of exposure to SHS and oral symptoms. Methods: This study employed data that were extracted from the 17th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey in 2021 andfinally analyzed data from 54,848 adolescents. Oral symptoms were classified into three classes to analyze subjective oral symptoms: Class I for tooth pain when eating or drinking hot or cold foods; Class II for throbbing tooth pain; and Class III for sore or bleeding gums during the recent 12 months. The frequency and place of SHS per week were analyzed for SHS variables. The analysis plan file was created by reflecting weight, stratification variables, and cluster variables for analysis. Results: Among the adolescents, 53.2% were exposed to SHS at least once a week, of which 23.3%, 7.9%, and 40.0% wereexposed at home, school, and in public indoor places. Subjective oral symptom classes I, II, and III were associated with sex, grade, educational level of their fathers and mothers, subjective economic class, and subject academic class. Compared to a group not exposed to SHS, the risk of subjective oral symptom classes I, II, and III was significantly higher in those who were exposed to SHS at least once a week. Conclusion This study identified the association between the level of exposure to SHS and oral symptoms among adolescents.Factors for SHS should be considered to prevent oral symptoms among adolescents, and plans that can control SHS of adolescents should be established.

Background: This study used data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey of Korean adolescents to determine the current trends insecondhand smoke (SHS) among adolescents and to identify the association between the level of exposure to SHS and oral symptoms. Methods: This study employed data that were extracted from the 17th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey in 2021 andfinally analyzed data from 54,848 adolescents. Oral symptoms were classified into three classes to analyze subjective oral symptoms: Class I for tooth pain when eating or drinking hot or cold foods; Class II for throbbing tooth pain; and Class III for sore or bleeding gums during the recent 12 months. The frequency and place of SHS per week were analyzed for SHS variables. The analysis plan file was created by reflecting weight, stratification variables, and cluster variables for analysis. Results: Among the adolescents, 53.2% were exposed to SHS at least once a week, of which 23.3%, 7.9%, and 40.0% wereexposed at home, school, and in public indoor places. Subjective oral symptom classes I, II, and III were associated with sex, grade, educational level of their fathers and mothers, subjective economic class, and subject academic class. Compared to a group not exposed to SHS, the risk of subjective oral symptom classes I, II, and III was significantly higher in those who were exposed to SHS at least once a week. Conclusion This study identified the association between the level of exposure to SHS and oral symptoms among adolescents.Factors for SHS should be considered to prevent oral symptoms among adolescents, and plans that can control SHS of adolescents should be established.

Background: This study used data from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey of Korean adolescents to determine the current trends insecondhand smoke (SHS) among adolescents and to identify the association between the level of exposure to SHS and oral symptoms. Methods: This study employed data that were extracted from the 17th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey in 2021 andfinally analyzed data from 54,848 adolescents. Oral symptoms were classified into three classes to analyze subjective oral symptoms: Class I for tooth pain when eating or drinking hot or cold foods; Class II for throbbing tooth pain; and Class III for sore or bleeding gums during the recent 12 months. The frequency and place of SHS per week were analyzed for SHS variables. The analysis plan file was created by reflecting weight, stratification variables, and cluster variables for analysis. Results: Among the adolescents, 53.2% were exposed to SHS at least once a week, of which 23.3%, 7.9%, and 40.0% wereexposed at home, school, and in public indoor places. Subjective oral symptom classes I, II, and III were associated with sex, grade, educational level of their fathers and mothers, subjective economic class, and subject academic class. Compared to a group not exposed to SHS, the risk of subjective oral symptom classes I, II, and III was significantly higher in those who were exposed to SHS at least once a week. Conclusion This study identified the association between the level of exposure to SHS and oral symptoms among adolescents.Factors for SHS should be considered to prevent oral symptoms among adolescents, and plans that can control SHS of adolescents should be established.

Purpose: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a particularly challenging subtype of breast cancer, with a poorer prognosis compared to other subtypes. Unfortunately, unlike luminal-type cancers, there is no validated biomarker to predict the prognosis of patients with early-stage TNBC. Accurate biomarkers are needed to establish effective therapeutic strategies. Materials and Methods: In this study, we analyzed gene expression profiles of tumor samples from 184 TNBC patients (training cohort, n=76; validation cohort, n=108) using RNA sequencing. Results: By combining weighted gene expression, we identified a 10-gene signature (DGKH, GADD45B, KLF7, LYST, NR6A1, PYCARD, ROBO1, SLC22A20P, SLC24A3, and SLC45A4) that stratified patients by risk score with high sensitivity (92.31%), specificity (92.06%), and accuracy (92.11%) for invasive disease-free survival. The 10-gene signature was validated in a separate institution cohort and supported by meta-analysis for biological relevance to well-known driving pathways in TNBC. Furthermore, the 10-gene signature was the only independent factor for invasive disease-free survival in multivariate analysis when compared to other potential biomarkers of TNBC molecular subtypes and T-cell receptor β diversity. 10-gene signature also further categorized patients classified as molecular subtypes according to risk scores. Conclusion Our novel findings may help address the prognostic challenges in TNBC and the 10-gene signature could serve as a novel biomarker for risk-based patient care.

Background: The risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission during the endemic phase may vary from that during the previous pandemic phase. We evaluated the risk of infection in a general population with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in a community setting in Korea. Materials and Methods: This study included 1,286 individuals who had been in contact with an index COVID-19 case between January 24, 2020, and June 30, 2022. Variables such as age, sex, nationality, place of contact, level of contact, the status of exposed cases, period, and level of mask-wearing were assessed. Results: Among 1,286 participants, 132 (10.30%) were confirmed to have COVID-19. With increasing age, the risk of the exposed persons contracting COVID-19 from index cases tended to increase (P <0.001), especially for people in their 70s (odds ratio, 1.24; 95% confidence interval, 1.11–1.40; P <0.001). We found an increasing trend in the risk of a COVID-19 exposed case becoming a secondary infection case (P <0.001) in long-term care facilities where the attack rate was high. Conclusion The risk of COVID-19 transmission is high in long-term care facilities where many older adults reside. Intensive management of facilities at risk of infection and strict mask-wearing of confirmed COVID-19 cases are necessary to prevent the risk of COVID-19 infection.

Methods: The mixture of IB and DJ extracts was analyzed for its total flavonoid content (TFC), total polyphenol content (TPC), and radical scavenging activities. Gastric lesions were induced by treating rats with 1 mL of a solution containing 60% ethanol and 150 mM HCl.The rats were then divided into 5 groups: CON (normal control), HEC (treated with 150 mM HCl-60% ethanol and distilled water), IBE (treated with 150 mM HCl-60% ethanol and IB extract at 350 mg/kg body weight [BW]), ID30 (treated with 150 mM HCl-60% ethanol and a mixture of IB and DJ extracts in a 7:3 ratio at 350 mg/kg BW), and DJE (treated with 150 mM HCl-60% ethanol and DJ extract at 350 mg/kg BW). Results: The ID30 group exhibited significantly higher TFC, TPC, and radical scavenging activities than the groups treated with single extracts. This group also showed a notable decrease in the formation of gastric lesions and preservation of gastric wall mucus. In addition, the serum levels of the inflammatory marker tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were significantly lower in the ID30 group than in the HEC group. Conclusion The antioxidants present in the ID30 mixture effectively reduced oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species, mitigating gastric mucosal irritation induced by alcohol and acid. Furthermore, the mixture inhibited gastric acid secretion and inflammatory marker expression, such as TNF-α, preventing tissue damage. These findings suggest that the ID30 mixture is a potential preventative treatment for gastritis.