• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.7
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• pp.313-321
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• 2021

Here we describe the neurodevelopmental outcomes of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (birth weight ≤1,500 g) at 3 years of age in the Neonatal Research Network of Japan (NRNJ) database in the past decade and review the methodological issues identified in follow-up studies. The follow-up protocol for children at 3 years of chronological age in the NRNJ consists of physical and comprehensive neurodevelopmental assessments in each participating center. Neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI)-moderate to severe neurological disability-is defined as cerebral palsy (CP) with a Gross Motor Function Classification System score ≥2, visual impairment such as uni- or bilateral blindness, hearing impairment requiring hearing amplification, or cognitive impairment with a developmental quotient (DQ) of Kyoto Scale of Psychological Development score <70 or judgment as delayed by pediatricians. We used death or NDI as an unfavorable outcome in all study subjects and NDI in survivors using number of assessed infants as the denominator. Follow-up data were collected from 49% of survivors in the database. Infants with follow-up data had lower birth weights and were of younger gestational age than those without follow-up data. Mortality rates of 40,728 VLBW infants born between 2003 and 2012 were 8.2% before discharge and 0.7% after discharge. The impairment rates in the assessed infants were 7.1% for CP, 1.8% for blindness, 0.9% for hearing impairment, 15.9% for a DQ <70, and 19.1% for NDI. The mortality or NDI rate in all study subjects, including infants without follow-up data, was 17.4%, while that in the subjects with outcome data was 32.5%. The NRNJ follow-up study results suggested that children born with a VLBW remained at high risk of NDI in early childhood. It is important to establish a network follow-up protocol and complete assessments with fewer dropouts to enable clarification of the outcomes of registered infants.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.710-718
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• 2022

Objective : Although endovascular treatment for intracranial aneurysms is considered effective and safe, its durability is still debated. Also, few studies have described angiographic follow-up plan after endovascular treatment of intracranial aneurysm, especially in ruptured cases. Hence, we report the long-term results of follow-up angiography protocol. Methods : Radiological records of 639 cases of coil embolization with ruptured aneurysms from March 2003 to December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. Patients who received treatment of a saccular aneurysm less than 7 mm resulted with near complete occlusion were included. Two hundred thirty-eight aneuryms which received the follow-up angiography at least once were enrolled. We classified four periods of follow-up as follows : post-treatment 1 year (defined as the first period), from 1 to 2 years (the second period), 2 to 5 years (the third period), and over 5 years (long-term). Results : We identified 14 cases (6.4%) of recurrence from 218 aneurysms in follow-up angiography in the first period. Among 143 aneurysms in the second period, five cases (3.5%) of recurrence were identified. There were no findings suspicious of recanalization in 97 patients in the third period. Of the total 238 cases, there were 19 recurrences, for a recurrence rate of 8.0%. Six (31.6%) out of 19 recurrences showed a tendency toward repeat recurrences even after additional treatment. Twenty-eight received long-term follow-up over 5 years and there was no recurrence. Conclusion : Most of the recurrence were found during the first and the second year. We suggest that at least one digital subtraction angiography examination may be necessary around post-treatment 2 years, especially in ruptured cases. If the angiographic results are favorable at 2 years post-treatment, long-term result should be favorable.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.21-29
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• 2022

Purpose: The objective of this study was to identify the significance of 24-hour post-reduction ultrasonography (US) in pediatric patients with intussusception. Methods: A total of 229 patients with intussusception who were treated with saline reduction at Severance Children's Hospital between January 2014 and September 2020 were retrospectively reviewed. The 229 patients with successful saline reduction were divided into two groups: a recurrence at 24 hours group (R, n=41) and a non-recurrence group (NR, n=188). The full patient sample was divided into two groups: follow-up US (FU) or no follow-up US (NFU); the recurrence group was divided into follow-up (R-FU) and non-follow-up (R-NFU) subgroups, and stratified analyses were performed. Results: There were no significant differences in age, sex, laboratory findings, symptoms, and sonographic findings between the NR and R groups. In the R group, 24 patients underwent follow-up US, and 17 patients did not. Specific sonographic findings were statistically significant in the R-FU group compared to the R-NFU group (p=0.002). The R-FU group had fewer admissions (p=0.012) and longer mean hospitalization times (p<0.001) than the R-NFU group. The NFU group had a 12.2% recurrence rate, while the R-FU group recurrence rate was 25.8% (p=0.0099), suggesting that the omission of some recurrent events and follow-up US was a significant variable in the recurrence of intussusception. The median time to recurrence was 21 hours which supports the 24-hour follow-up protocol. Conclusion: Twenty-four-hour follow-up US was shown to be valuable for detecting early recurrence of intussusception.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.1591-1597
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• 2015

Background: Korea has experienced rapid economic development in a very short period of time. A mixture of traditional and modern risk factors coexists and the rapid change in non-genetic factors interacts with genetic constituents. With consideration of these unique aspects of Korean society, a large-scale genomic cohort study-the Health Examinees (HEXA) Study-has been conducted to investigate epidemiologic characteristics, genomic features, and gene-environment interactions of major chronic diseases including cancer in the Korean population. Materials and Methods: Following a standardized study protocol, the subjects were prospectively recruited from 38 health examination centers and training hospitals throughout the country. An interview-based questionnaire survey was conducted to collect information on socio-demographic characteristics, medical history, medication usage, family history, lifestyle factors, diet, physical activity, and reproductive factors for women. Various biological specimens (i.e., plasma, serum, buffy coat, blood cells, genomic DNA, and urine) were collected for biorepository according to the standardized protocol. Skilled medical staff also performed physical examinations. Results: Between 2004 and 2013, a total of 167,169 subjects aged 40-69 years were recruited for the HEXA study. Participants are being followed up utilizing active and passive methods. The first wave of active follow-up began in 2012 and it will be continued until 2015. The principal purpose of passive follow-up is based on data linkages with the National Death Certificate, the National Cancer Registry, and the National Health Insurance Claim data. Conclusions: The HEXA study will render an opportunity to investigate biomarkers of early health index and the chronological changes associated with chronic diseases.

• Journal of Acupuncture Research
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.127-137
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• 2008

Objectives : These days, herbal acupuncture therapy is widely applied to many diseases and symptoms by Korean medical doctors in Korea. The aim of this study was to demonstrate the effect of Carthami-Semen herbal acupuncture(CSHA) on chronic constipation. Methods : This single-blind placebo-controlled randomized parellel study enrolled 24 adults with chronic constipation. After one week's run-in period, they were randomly assigned to receive CSHA therapy, or placebo therapy for 4 weeks by 2 times per week. After completing 4 week's therapy, 2 week's follow-up period was continued. During study, defecation frequency, consistency and ease of evacuation were checked before study, every week and follow-up periods. Also, the VAS of constipation, quality of life(QoL) and heart rate variability(HRV : low frequency, high frequency) were checked 3 times totally. Finally, 21 subjects completed the protocol and 20 subjects were analyzed.(1 subject is excluded for analysis because of not following the protocol.) Results : In CSHA group, defecation frequency(continued after 1 week), consistency and ease of evacuation(at 1 week after and follow-up) were increased significantly. The VAS of constipation in CSHA group was significantly decreased. There was no significant change at QoL and HRV. Conclusions : CSHA therapy was effective in treating adults with chronic constipation. Study that have larger case number and longer follow up will be needed in the future.

• The Journal of Korean Institute of Communications and Information Sciences
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• v.36 no.8B
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• pp.996-1002
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• 2011

Recently Korea Army are developing the TICN(Tactical Information Communication Network) which is the next army tactical communication system. The TICN tactical backbone's ability is very important. So analysis of the standard protocol for the data transmission guarantee are obliged. For the TICN tactical backbone, previous paper analysed routing protocol efficiency index and compared to superiority of the OSPF and IS-IS protocols in the tactical environment. Conclusively IS-IS protocol was more suitable for TICN backbone routing protocol. As follow-up study of previous paper, this paper try to find the proper parameters of IS-IS protocol in order to improve the performance of IS-IS protocol as a TICN tactical backbone protocol under the tactical environments. Finally it selected four time-parameters of IS-IS protocol, those can improve performance of the protocol.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.107-118
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• 2018

In this study, we propose a rehabilitation protocol involving Korean medicine for patients after high tibial osteotomy (HTO) and report its effectiveness. Three patients underwent HTO using the rehabilitation protocol involving Korean medicine. We estimated the outcome evaluating physical examination findings of the knee joint, numeric rating scale, pain disability index, Lysholm knee score, and walking state. After the treatment, we observed that knee movement and muscular strength were improved. In addition, the numeric rating scale, pain disability index, Lysholm knee score, and walking state of patients were improved. Therefore, a rehabilitation protocol involving Korean medicine can be effectively used for patients after HTO. The limitation of this study was the insufficient number of cases and the difficulty of follow-up because of the characteristics of this operation and the long periods of time that are needed for each phase of the protocol. Further studies are needed to design a rehabilitation protocol involving Korean medicine.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.4977-4980
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• 2015

Background: ASC-US cases are managed according to the current American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) guideline in which a human papillomavirus (HPV) test and repeat Pap smear are performed in the next 1 year. Colposcopy in cases of positive high risk HPV and persistent ASC-US or more in subsequent Pap smear is recommended. The HPV test is more expensive and still not currently a routine practice in Thailand. Objective: To identify the risk factors of persisted abnormal Pap smear and the colposcopic requirement rate in women with ASC-US. Materials and Methods: During 2008-2013, this study was conducted in Prapokklao Hospital, Chanthaburi, Thailand. Participants were women who attended gynaecology clinic for cervical cancer screening. Women who had cytological reports with ASC-US were recruited. During the study period, 503 cases were enrolled. Colposcopic requirement was defined as those who were detected with an ASC-US or more in subsequent Pap smears up to 1 year follow-up. Results: The colposcopic referral rate was 23.2 (85/365) percent at 12 months. Prevalence of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) 2/3 was 3.3 (12/365) percent. Loss follow-up rate of subsequent Pap smear and colposcopic appointment were 27.4 (138/503) and 48.2 (41/85) percent, respectively. There was no invasive cancer. High risk factors for persisted abnormal Pap smears in subsequent test were premenopausal status, HIV infected patients and non-oral contraceptive pills (COC) users. Conclusions: Referral rate for colposcopy in women with ASC-US reports was rather high. Loss to follow-up rate was the major limitation. Immediate colposcopy should be offered for women who had high risk for silent CIN.

• Archives of Craniofacial Surgery
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.205-209
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• 2018

Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is an uncommon neuroendocrine cutaneous tumor with poor prognosis. It has the high rate of recurrence, mortality, regional nodal involvement, and distant metastases. It is difficult to diagnose MCC because of its non-specific clinical findings. It usually occurs on sun-exposed areas of the skin, mostly at head and neck. There is a difference in the incidence and prognosis according to site in the head and neck. However, there is no consented site-specific diagnosis, treatment or follow-up protocol for MCC at the head and neck. We herein report a case of MCC arising in the right earlobe of an otherwise healthy young man who has been diagnosed early, thereby successfully treated. With our closed follow-up, there was no tumor recurrence or complication at 33 months after diagnosis.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.30 no.4
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• pp.219-231
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• 2020

The objective of this study is to propose a Korean medical rehabilitation protocol for total knee replacement (TKR) and to report its effectiveness. This study was conducted as a retrospective study which analyzes the medical records of 4 patients undergoing Korean medical rehabilitation with protocol and continuous passive motion exercise for more than two weeks after TKR. We evaluated the outcome checking physical examination findings of the knee joint, numeric rating scale (NRS), Lysholm knee score (LKS) and walking state. After the treatment, we observed that the function of knee joint, NRS, LKS, walking state of patients were improved. This study showed that Korean medical rehabilitation protocol has effect on knee joint recovery after TKR. The limitation of this study was the insufficient number of cases and short-term follow up. Further studies should be done steadily to report the effectiveness of a Korean Medical rehabilitation protocol for TKR.