Background: The advent of the omicron variant and the formulation of diverse therapeutic strategies marked a new epoch in the realm of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Studies have compared the clinical outcomes between COVID-19 and seasonal influenza, but such studies were conducted during the early stages of the pandemic when effective treatment strategies had not yet been developed, which limits the generalizability of the findings.Therefore, an updated evaluation of the comparative analysis of clinical outcomes between COVID-19 and seasonal influenza is requisite. Methods: This study used data from the severe acute respiratory infection surveillance system of South Korea. We extracted data for influenza patients who were infected between 2018 and 2019 and COVID-19 patients who were infected in 2021 (pre-omicron period) and 2022 (omicron period). Comparisons of outcomes were conducted among the pre-omicron, omicron, and influenza cohorts utilizing propensity score matching. The adjusted covariates in the propensity score matching included age, sex, smoking, and comorbidities. Results: The study incorporated 1,227 patients in the pre-omicron cohort, 1,948 patients in the omicron cohort, and 920 patients in the influenza cohort. Following propensity score matching, 491 patients were included in each respective group. Clinical presentations exhibited similarities between the pre-omicron and omicron cohorts; however, COVID-19 patients demonstrated a higher prevalence of dyspnea and pulmonary infiltrates compared to their influenza counterparts. Both COVID-19 groups exhibited higher in-hospital mortality and longer hospital length of stay than the influenza group. The omicron group showed no significant improvement in clinical outcomes compared to the pre-omicron group. Conclusion The omicron group did not demonstrate better clinical outcomes than the pre-omicron group, and exhibited significant disease severity compared to the influenza group. Considering the likely persistence of COVID-19 infections, it is imperative to sustain comprehensive studies and ongoing policy support for the virus to enhance the prognosis for individuals affected by COVID-19.

Respiratory infections, which are caused by airborne pathogens, are the most common disease of all ages worldwide. This study was conducted to characterize the airborne respiratory pathogens in the public facilities in Busan, South Korea. A total of 260 public facilities were investigated in 2017, 52 seasonal indoor air from 2 hospitals and 208 indoor air samples from 208 randomly selected daycare centers. Among respiratory pathogen, 8 viral pathogens including human adenovirus (HAdV), human bocavirus (HBoV), human rhinovirus (HRV), human parainfluenza virus (HPIV), human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), human coronavirus (HCoV) and influenza virus (IFV), and 3 bacterial pathogens including Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Bordetella pertussis, and Chlamydophila pneumoniae, were investigated by multiplex real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Pathogens were detected in 9 cases (3.4%). Among 9 positive samples, 6 (2.3%) cases were positive for HBoV and 3 (1.2%) cases were positive for IFV. All the positive cases were detected in daycare centers. Additionally, the concentration of HBoV was determined. In HBoV-positive samples, the cycle threshold (Ct) values of HBoV were 29.73~36.84, which are corresponding to the viral concentration of 4.91 × 10⁰ ~ 9.57 × 10² copies/ml. Serotype distribution of isolated HBoV was analyzed by sequencing of VP1/VP2 gene. All of the HBoV isolates were identified as HBoV type 1 with a high similarity among the isolates (>97%). No bacterial pathogen was identified in indoor air samples. Although virus concentration was not high in public facilities (daycare center), the presence of respiratory viral pathogens has been identified. Effective ventilation and air purification strategies are needed to reduce the indoor concentration of respiratory pathogens. A long-term and ongoing surveillance plan for respiratory pathogen management should be established.
Adenoviruses, Human ; Bordetella pertussis ; Busan ; Chlamydial Pneumonia ; Chlamydophila pneumoniae ; Coronavirus ; Human bocavirus ; Humans ; Korea ; Metapneumovirus ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Orthomyxoviridae ; Paramyxoviridae Infections ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Public Facilities* ; Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Reverse Transcription ; Rhinovirus ; Seasons ; Serogroup ; Ventilation

PURPOSE: Despite the high prevalence of headaches in students, their lifestyles have not been well examined. We examined correlation between lifestyle and headache in Korean students. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional, school-based study from a randomized and proportional sample of 5,360 male and female students. The questionnaires include demographic data, lifestyle, in addition to specific questions about headache according to International Classification of Headache Disorder II (ICHD-II) criteria. Valid questionnaires were returned by 94.1% (5,039, boys 2,405, girls 2,634) of the sample. Modified criteria changed the item 'duration' in migraine (>1 hour instead of 4 hours). We analyzed the data in terms of exercise, regular eating, sleep time, fluid intake, and caffeine intake. RESULTS: Students on regular exercise have less headache (P=0.03). Students who eat regularly have less recurrent headache (P<0.0001, odds ratio=0.5). Students sleep more have less headache (P<0.0001). Students take more fluid have less headache (P=0.0002). Students take more caffeine have more headache (P=0.0001). CONCLUSION: There seem to be a significant relationship between life style and headache in school children in South Korea. We suggest that changing the lifestyles or habits should be considered to manage and prevent headaches in school children.
Caffeine ; Child ; Eating ; Female ; Headache ; Headache Disorders ; Humans ; Life Style ; Male ; Migraine Disorders ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Republic of Korea

OBJECTIVES: Cognitive behavioral therapy of schizophrenia has been developed as a psychological therapy for drug resistant patients with schizophrenia. However, there are some controversial issues regarding the size and mode of the therapeutic effect. The aim of this study is to compare the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy with supportive therapy after treatment. METHODS: Patients with drug resistant schizophrenia were randomly allocated, and stratified according to two mental health institutes to two different therapy groups. We used four assessment scales to evaluate residual symptoms of patients in detail. Patients were assessed twice by a blind rater, at baseline and after treatment. RESULTS: No significant differences in the change of PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) scores were observed between the cognitive behavioral therapy and supportive therapy groups at one month after treatment. There was no significant difference in change of K-PSYRATS (Korean-Psychotic Symptom Rating Scale)-Delusion score, however, a trend toward significance in K-PSYRATS - Hallucination was observed between the two groups. In the aspect of insight, a significant difference in the change of SDMD-K (The Scale to assessment Unawareness of Mental Disorder-Korean version) score was observed between the two groups after treatment. CONCLUSION: Despite remarkable development of pharmacotherapy for schizophrenia, many patients still suffer from residual symptoms. Findings of this study showed that cognitive behavioral therapy can improve the insight of patients and reduce the severity of residual positive symptoms, especially hallucination. Cognitive behavioral therapy should be practiced effectively in the psychiatric clinic and community mental health system.
Academies and Institutes ; Cognitive Therapy ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Schizophrenia ; Weights and Measures

Traumatic thoracic aortic injury is typically fatal. However, recent improvements in pre-hospital care and diagnostic modalities have resulted in an increased number of patients with traumatic aortic injury arriving alive at the hospital. Also, the morbidity and mortality associated with endovascular repair are significantly lower than with conventional open surgery in traumatic thoracic aorta injury. We experienced two cases of successful management of traumatic thoracic aortic dissection with endovascular stents caused by traffic accidents.
Accidents, Traffic ; Aorta, Thoracic ; Aortography ; Humans ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Stents

BACKGROUND: Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is a common hair loss disease with genetic predisposition among men and women, and it may commence at any age after puberty. It may significantly affect a variety of psychological and social aspects of one's life and the individual's overall quality of life (QoL). OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the QoL of AGA patients and discover the factors that can influence the QoL of AGA patients, including previous experience in non-medical hair care, reasons for hospital visits, age, duration, and the severity of AGA. METHODS: A total of 998 male patients with AGA were interviewed, using the Hair Specific Skindex-29 to evaluate the QoL of AGA patients. RESULTS: The results of the Hair Specific Skindex-29 on patients with AGA were as follows: symptom scale: 26.3+/-19.5, function scale: 24.0+/-20.1, emotion scale: 32.1+/-21.8, and global score: 27.3+/-19.1. According to this assessment, QoL was more damaged if the patient had severe alopecia, a longer duration of AGA, younger age, had received previous non-medical hair care, and visited the hospital for AGA treatment. CONCLUSION: This study showed that AGA could harmfully affect the patients' QoL. These findings indicate that dermatologists should address these QoL issues when treating patients with alopecia.
Alopecia ; Female ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Hair ; Humans ; Male ; Prospective Studies ; Puberty ; Quality of Life

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the time course of the development of acquired and experimental lymphedema. METHODS: We studied an experimental model of acute post - surgical lymphedema in the tails of female hairless mice. The procedures that remove the skin and subcutaneous tissue in tails of the mice (5-10 mm from tail base) were performed, and then the murine has acquired lymphatic insufficiency. We measured volume of the tails in 2 times per week for 5 weeks, histological biopsy, and lymphoscintigraphy to assess lymphatic flow. RESULTS: There was gradually increased volume of the tails and observed twice volume at post - surgical 18 days. In lymphoscintigraphy, we identified decreased lymphatic flow and dermal back flow in the tails. Histological biopsy showed inflammatory response that was edema and increased neutrophils in epidermis and subdermis, and lymphatic microvascular dilatation. CONCLUSIONS: We have a mouse model of acute acquired lymphedema. This post - surgical murine tail model of lymphedema can be used to simulate an attribute of human lymphedema and provides knowledge about functional and structural alterations of lymphedema.
Animals ; Biopsy ; Edema ; Epidermis ; Female ; Humans ; Lymphedema ; Lymphoscintigraphy ; Mice ; Mice, Hairless ; Models, Animal ; Models, Theoretical ; Neutrophils ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Tail

BACKGROUND: As a leading cause of death in Korea, cancer is known to be related to lifestyle including diet. In 2007, the World Cancer Research Fund announced 10 evidence-based guidelines for reducing the number of cancers. The purpose of this paper was to produce guidelines specific to and relevant to the people of Korea. METHODS: Ranging over 6 categories, 15 dietary factors known to be associated with cancers were selected after reviewing the results of relevant researches including Korean subjects and evidence-based research documents regarding the relationships between cancer and diet. The levels of intake of these selected dietary factors by Koreans were compared to the established dietary guidelines and detailed practices for cancer prevention. RESULTS: The Korean dietary guidelines for cancer prevention consists of 8 detailed recommendations along with multiple specific practices based on the analyses of data and documents on weight and intake of cereals, fruits, vegetables, meat, salt, dairy products, alcohol, and nutrient supplements. CONCLUSIONS: The Korean dietary guidelines for cancer prevention were established based on valid scientific approach by analyzing the most recent available data. For some dietary factors, however, sufficient analysis for intake levels in Koreans was not possible. Therefore, fundamental data for the establishment of national strategy and for guideline amendments for preventing cancers need to be gathered through the analyses of relationships between cause and deaths due to cancer, database reinforcement, additional research including Korean subjects, and assessment of usual intake.
Cause of Death ; Edible Grain ; Dairy Products ; Diet ; Financial Management ; Fruit ; Korea ; Life Style ; Meat ; Nutrition Policy ; Reinforcement (Psychology) ; Vegetables

PURPOSE: With the increase in vancomycin use, adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with vancomycin have been reported increasingly more often. However, the characteristics of cutaneous ADRs with and without systemic reactions (SRs) have not been described. This study investigated the characteristics of spontaneously reported and assessed ADRs associated with vancomycin by a pharmacovigilance center. METHODS: ADRs (n=121) associated with vancomycin in 96 patients were collected from 2008 to 2009. Records from physician- and nurse-reported suspected cases of vancomycin ADRs, ADR type, latent period, and laboratory results were compared between cutaneous ADRs with and without SRs. RESULTS: The main vancomycin-related ADRs were skin rashes (47.9%), hematologic abnormalities (17.36%), fever (12.4%), and elevated serum creatinine (12.4%). Significant differences were observed in latent period (days) and the mean change in eosinophils (%) between cutaneous (9.21+/-9.71 and 1.4+/-3.4, respectively) and other ADRs (14.03+/-11.71 and -0.5+/-3.5, respectively). Twelve cases of cutaneous ADRs with SRs had been initially reported as cutaneous ADRs only. Mean changes in the eosinophil count were significantly higher for cutaneous ADRs with SRs compared to those without SRs. CONCLUSIONS: Skin rashes accompanied by peripheral eosinophilia, representing suspected immune-mediated delayed hypersensitivity reactions, are a common vancomycin ADR. For the early and exact detection of ADRs associated with vancomycin administration, close monitoring of laboratory tests, including complete blood counts with differential analysis, is recommended.
Blood Cell Count ; Creatinine ; Drug Toxicity ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Exanthema ; Fever ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity, Delayed ; Pharmacovigilance ; Vancomycin

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Symptom-to-door time is associated with the prognosis for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction. However, this value has not been a concern in patients with non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI). The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between symptom-to-door time and clinical outcomes in patients with NSTEMI. METHODS: In total, 1,971 patients with NSTEMI (64.8+/-12.1 years, 23.6% women) were enrolled between Nov. 2005 and Jan. 2008. The patients were divided into two groups according to the time difference between the presentation of symptoms and first medical contact: group I (<12 hours, n=1433) and group II (>12 hours, n=538). One-year mortality rates were compared between the groups. Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) and Global Registry of Acute Coronary Events (GRACE) risk scores were calculated in all study patients. RESULTS: The mean age was 64.4+/-12.2 years in group I and 65.6+/-12.0 years in group II (p=0.046). No significant differences existed between the two groups, except for the prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, initial systolic blood pressure, and initial serum creatinine levels. One-year mortality rates decreased significantly in group I patients [hazard ratio (HR)=1.35, 95% CI (confidential interval): 1.03~1.75, p=0.028] based on a multivariate Cox proportional analysis, which was adjusted by GRACE score, baseline characteristic variables, and predictors of a 1-year mortality in a univariate analysis. In intermediate-to high-risk patients (n=1,184, defined as having a TIMI risk score above 3 points), significant differences were observed in mortality rates between the two groups (HR=1.35, 95% CI: 1.02~1.80, p=0.037); the low-risk patients (n=787, HR=1.57, 95% CI: 0.80~3.05, p=0.188), however, showed no such differences. CONCLUSIONS: Symptom-to-door time was an independent long-term clinical predictor in patients with NSTEMI, especially in intermediate-to high-risk groups.
Blood Pressure ; Creatinine ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Myocardial Infarction ; Prevalence ; Prognosis