• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.46-53
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• 2014

Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a toxic metalloid found ubiquitously in the environment. In humans, exposure to iAs can result in toxicity and cause toxicological manifestations. Arsenic trioxide ($As_2O_3$) has been used in the treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia. The kidney is the critical target organ of trivalent inorganic As ($iAs^{III}$) toxicity. We examine if oral administration of astaxanthin (AST) has protective effects on nephrotoxicity and oxidative stress induced by $As_2O_3$ exposure (via intraperitoneal injection) in rats. Markers of renal function, histopathological changes, $Na^+-K^+$ ATPase, sulfydryl, oxidative stress, and As accumulation in kidneys were evaluated as indicators of $As_2O_3$ exposure. AST showed a significant protective effect against $As_2O_3$-induced nephrotoxicity. These results suggest that the mechanisms of action, by which AST reduces nephrotoxicity, may include antioxidant protection against oxidative injury and reduction of As accumulation. These findings might be of therapeutic benefit in humans or animals suffering from exposure to $iAs^{III}$ from natural sources or cancer therapy.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.251-259
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• 2022

Background: Intravenous fluid therapy is one of the most common interventions in critically ill patients. Normal saline is frequently used, but there have been some concerns about hyperchloremia. Due to closer to plasma composition, crystalloids have been used as alternatives to normal saline. However, the optimal choice of resuscitative fluids remains controversial. Methods: MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CENTRAL were comprehensively searched until July 2021 to compare balanced crystalloids with normal saline in critically ill patients with the risk factors for multiple organ dysfunction syndromes (MODS).The primary endpoint was composite mortality. Secondary outcomes were acute kidney injury (AKI)/acute renal failure (ARF), and new receipt of renal replacement therapy (RRT). Results: A total of 1,240 studies were searched, and finally, 8 randomized controlled trials and 5 cohort studies were included. In the meta-analysis of composite mortality of 30,710 patients, balanced crystalloids compared to normal saline were significantly associated with reduced mortality (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.68-0.95). In AKI/ARF, balanced crystalloids had a lower risk than normal saline (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84-0.99). There was no difference between balanced crystalloids and normal saline in risk of new receipt of RRT (OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.80-1.04). Conclusion: In fluid resuscitation for patients at high risk of MODS, the use of balanced crystalloids showed a significantly lower incidence of mortality compared to normal saline.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.71-77
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• 2015

Purpose: Acute endosulfan poisoning is rare but causes significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of our study is to describe complications and features of seizure and determine factors associated with mortality in acute endosulfan poisoning. Methods: Twenty-eight adult patients with acute endosulfan poisoning admitted to our emergency department during a 15-year period were studied retrospectively. The clinical features of seizure, use of antiepileptic drugs during seizure, and hospital courses were evaluated. Clinical factors between survived group and non-survived group were compared for identification of factors associated with mortality. Results: Of the 28 patients with endosulfan poisoning, 4 patients (14.3%) died and 15 (53.6%) patients developed generalized tonic-clonic seizure. Thirteen patients (46.4%) and 5 patients (17.9%) progressed to status epilepticus (SE) and refractory status epilepticus (RSE), respectively. SE and RSE were associated with mortality. Almost all significant complications including shock, acute renal failure, hepatic toxicity, rhabdomyolysis, and cardiac injury developed in SE and RSE patients. Conclusion: SE and RSE were important contributors to death in endosulfan poisoning. Emergency physicians treating endosulfan poisoning should make an effort not to progress seizure following endosulfan poisoning to SE and RSE using a rapid and aggressive antiepileptic drug.

• Journal of Trauma and Injury
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.219-224
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• 2021

The aim of this review is to introduce the progress in trauma surgery made during war. In the 16th century, Paré reintroduced ligature of arteries, which had been introduced by Celsus and Galen, instead of cauterization during amputation. Larrey, a surgeon in Napoleon's military, adapted the "flying artillery" to serve as "flying ambulances" for rapid transport of the wounded. He established rules for the triage of war casualties, treating wounded soldiers according to the seriousness of their injuries and the urgency of medical care. To treat fractures and tuberculosis, Thomas created the "Thomas splint", which was used to stabilize fractured femurs and prevent infection; in World War I (WWI), use of this splint reduced the mortality of compound femur fractures from 87% to less than 8%. During WWI, Cushing systematized the treatment of head injuries, reducing mortality among head injury patients. Gillies repaired facial injuries, and his experiences became the basis of craniofacial and aesthetic surgery. In WWII, McIndoe discovered that immersion in saline promoted burn healing and improved survival rates, and thus began saline baths and early grafting instead of using tannic acid. A high mortality rate in patients with acute renal failure was noted in WWII and the Korean War. In the Korean War, Teschan used the Kolff-Brigham dialyzer. The first use of medevac with helicopters was the evacuation of three British pilot combat casualties by the US Army in Burma during WWII. As a lotus blooms in the mud, military surgeons have contributed to trauma surgery during wartime.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.176-180
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• 2018

Drug abuse and its related problems are increasing continuously in Korea. One of the most frequently abused drugs is methamphetamine, but there are few medical report in Korea. This is the first report of the identification of methamphetamine in the blood of a patient who had a return of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest and survived discharge. A 33-year-old male arrived at the emergency department presenting with chest pain and dyspnea. He had ingested methamphetamine and alcohol approximately 7 hours before arrival. One hour after arrival, he had seizure followed by cardiac arrest. Spontaneous circulation was recovered after 4 minutes of CPR. An analysis of the National Forensic Service identified plasma methamphetamine with an estimated average concentration of plasma methamphetamine at the time of arrival of 0.6 mg/L, a lethal dose. He had rhabdomyolysis and acute kidney injury but survived after continuous renal replacement therapy. Since then, he has suffered chronic kidney disease, and he is being followed up at the out-patient department. In Korea, although drug abuse is still uncommon, it is on the increase. Therefore, emergency physicians should be aware of the clinical characteristics of methamphetamine poisoning.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.61 no.2
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• pp.37-42
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• 2018

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is often encountered in children with acute kidney injury. Besides the well-known shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli-associated HUS, atypical HUS (aHUS) caused by genetic complement dysregulation has been studied recently. aHUS is a rare, chronic, and devastating disorder that progressively damages systemic organs, resulting in stroke, end-stage renal disease, and death. The traditional treatment for aHUS is mainly plasmapheresis or plasma infusion; however, many children with aHUS will progress to chronic kidney disease despite plasma therapy. Eculizumab is a newly developed biologic that blocks the terminal complement pathway and has been successfully used in the treatment of aHUS. Currently, several guidelines for aHUS, including the Korean guideline, recommend eculizumab as the first-line therapy in children with aHUS. Moreover, life-long eculizumab therapy is generally recommended. Further studies on discontinuation of eculizumab are needed.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.10
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• pp.791-797
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• 1993

We evaluated forty cases of traumatic diaphragmatic ruptures that we have experienced from Mar. 1976 to Mar. 1992. Thirty patients were male and 10 were female[M:F=3:1]. The age distribution was ranged from 2 to 76 years with the mean age of 35 years. The traumatic diaphragmatic ruptures were due to blunt trauma in 26 cases[traffic accident 20, fall down 4, others 2] and penetrating trauma in 14 cases[stab wound 13, gun shot 1]. In the blunt trauma, 21 of 26 cases were diagnosed within 24 hours after injury and all cases except one in penetrating trauma were diagnosed within 24 hours. In the blunt trauma, the rupture site was located in the left in 20 cases and in the right in 6 cases. In the penetrating trauma, the rupture site was located in the left in 10 cases and in the right in 4 cases. The repair of 40 cases were performed with thoracic approach in 19 cases, thoracoabdominal approach in 17 cases and abdominal approach in 4 cases. The postoperative mortality was 7.5 %[3/40]. The causes of death were septic shock[1], acute renal failure[1] and hypovolemic shock[1].

• Kidney Research and Clinical Practice
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.338-346
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• 2018

Background: The most common cause of acute kidney injury (AKI) in pregnancy is preeclampsia. Serum cystatin C (CysC) is a potential biomarker of early kidney damage as its levels are not disturbed by volume status changes in pregnancy, and serum CysC levels could serve as a replacement for conventionally used creatinine. In this study, we investigated the serum levels of CysC in severe preeclampsia cases and the associations between CysC levels and poor obstetric outcomes. Methods: Our cohort included severe preeclampsia patients with a normal serum creatinine level. Creatinine was measured to calculate estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) based on the Cockcroft and Gault, Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study (MDRD), and Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equations, while CysC was measured to calculated eGFR based on a CysC-based equation. We then evaluated the correlations between serum CysC level, eGFR, and obstetric outcomes. Results: Twenty-six patients were evaluated of which 38.5% delivered preterm and 30.8% had low-birth weight babies. Unlike creatinine-based eGFR and CysC-based eGFR, serum CysC demonstrate significant negative correlation with gestational age. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that serum CysC is a potential biomarker of preterm delivery with a cut-off serum level of 1.48 mg/L with 80% sensitivity and 75% specificity. Conclusion: GFR estimation using CysC is likely to be inaccurate in pregnancy. However, we found a significant correlation between preterm delivery and serum CysC level. Our results suggest that serum CysC level has the potential to predict preterm delivery in severe preeclampsia patients.

• Journal of Korean Critical Care Nursing
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.40-50
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• 2016

Purpose: Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) has become the preferred dialysis method to support critically ill children and neonates with acute kidney injury. Using CRRT on neonates has increased, but reports about experience are limited. The aim of this study is to describe the clinical application, outcomes, and complications of CRRT in children and neonates. Methods: A retrospective review was performed in 135 children and 36 neonates who underwent CRRT at a tertiary hospital from 2008 to 2015. Results: At the initiation of CRRT, the median age of children was 72 months and the corrected age of neonates was 37.1 weeks. Median body weight of neonates was 3.2 kg. In neonates, initial degree of fluid overload [FO%], blood flow rate [BFR] and ultrafiltration rate [UFR] rate during CRRT were higher than in children. Median real time of CRRT was 90.5 and 53.5 hours in children and neonates, respectively. Downtime of CRRT was 0.7 and 1.3 hours/day. Median mortality rates (44.4% vs.47.2%) and complication rates were similar between the groups. Conclusion: CRRT can be used for a wide range of critically ill children and neonates. Different application methods of CRRT can contribute to increased survival of neonates.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.136-141
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• 2021

Background: Postoperative acute kidney injury (AKI), which increases the risk of postoperative morbidity and mortality, poses a major concern to surgeons. We conducted this study to analyze the risk factors associated with the occurrence of AKI after orthopedic surgery. Methods: This was a retrospective study that included 351 patients who underwent total hip or knee replacement surgery at Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital between January 2012 and December 2016. Results: AKI occurred in 13 (3.7%) of the 351 patients. The patients' preoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 66.66 ±34.02 mL/min/1.73 m² in the AKI group and 78.07±21.23 mL/min/1.73 m² in the non-AKI group. The hemoglobin levels were 11.21±1.65 g/dL in the AKI group and 12.39±1.52 g/dL in the non-AKI group. Hemoglobin level was related to increased risk of AKI (odds ratio [OR], 0.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.02-0.68; p=0.016). Administration of crystalloid or colloid fluid alone and the perioperative amount of fluid did not show any significant relationship with AKI. Further analysis of the changes in eGFR was performed using a cutoff value of 7.54. The changes in eGFR were significantly related to decreased risk of AKI (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.61-0.89; p=0.002). Conclusion: Renal function should be monitored closely after orthopedic surgery if patients have chronic kidney disease and low hemoglobin level. Predicting the likelihood of AKI occurrence, early treatment of high-risk patients, and monitoring perioperative laboratory test results, including eGFR, will help improve patient prognosis.