• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1077-1088
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• 2018

Objective: To correlate CT parameters on detector-based dual-energy CT enterography (DECTE) with Crohn's disease activity index (CDAI) and externally validate quantitative CT parameters. Materials and Methods: Thirty-nine patients with CD were retrospectively enrolled. Two radiologists reviewed DECTE images by consensus for qualitative and quantitative CT features. CT attenuation and iodine concentration for the diseased bowel were also measured. Univariate statistical tests were used to evaluate whether there was a significant difference in CTE features between remission and active groups, on the basis of the CDAI score. Pearson's correlation test and multiple linear regression analyses were used to assess the correlation between quantitative CT parameters and CDAI. For external validation, an additional 33 consecutive patients were recruited. The correlation and concordance rate were calculated between real and estimated CDAI. Results: There were significant differences between remission and active groups in the bowel enhancement pattern, subjective degree of enhancement, mesenteric fat infiltration, comb sign, and obstruction (p < 0.05). Significant correlations were found between CDAI and quantitative CT parameters, including number of lesions (correlation coefficient, r = 0.573), bowel wall thickness (r = 0.477), iodine concentration (r = 0.744), and relative degree of enhancement (r = 0.541; p < 0.05). Iodine concentration remained the sole independent variable associated with CDAI in multivariate analysis (p = 0.001). The linear regression equation for CDAI (y) and iodine concentration (x) was y = 53.549x + 55.111. For validation patients, a significant correlation (r = 0.925; p < 0.001) and high concordance rate (87.9%, 29/33) were observed between real and estimated CDAIs. Conclusion: Iodine concentration, measured on detector-based DECTE, represents a convenient and reproducible biomarker to monitor disease activity in CD.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.20 no.4
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• pp.236-243
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• 2017

Purpose: Studies on the efficacy of infliximab (IFX) in a large population of pediatric patients with Crohn's disease (CD) are limited, and prognostic factors are not well-known. The aim of this study was to evaluate outcomes of IFX in pediatric patients with CD and to identify factors associated with poor prognosis. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed medical data of 594 pediatric patients with CD between 1987 and 2013 in a tertiary center. Of these, 156 children treated with IFX were enrolled and were followed up for at least a year with intact data. Outcomes of induction and maintenance, classified as failure or clinical response, were evaluated on the tenth and 54th week of IFX therapy. Results: We treated 156 pediatric patients with CD with IFX, and the median duration of IFX therapy was 47 months. For IFX induction therapy, 134 (85.9%) patients experienced clinical response on the 10th week. Among the 134 patients who showed response to induction, 111 (82.8%) patients maintained the clinical response on the 54th week. In multivariate analysis, low hematocrit (p=0.046) at the time of IFX initiation was associated with the failure of IFX induction. For IFX maintenance therapy, longer duration from the initial diagnosis to IFX therapy (p=0.017) was associated with maintenance failure on the 54th week. Conclusion: We have shown the acceptable outcomes of IFX in a large cohort of pediatric CD patients in Korea. Hematocrit and early introduction of IFX may be prognostic factors for the outcomes of IFX.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.163-169
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• 2018

Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the involvement of the upper gastrointestinal system (GIS) in patients diagnosed with Crohn's disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and non-inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and to compare their differences. Methods: This study included patients aged between 2 and 18 years who underwent colonoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) for the first time due to the prediagnosis of IBD. In EGD, samples were taken from duodenum, antrum, corpus, and esophagus; and gastritis, duodenitis, and esophagitis were identified through histopathologic examination. The data gathered the ends of the research were compared between IBD with non-IBD groups and between CD-UC with non-IBD groups, and the presence of significant differences between groups were determined. Results: In our study, 16 patients were diagnosed with CD, 13 with UC, 3 with undeterminate colitis, and 13 with non-IBD. In the histopathological examination of the groups, GIS involvement was found in 94.1% of patients diagnosed with IBD and in 38.5% of non-IBD patients. Moreover, the difference was found to be statistically significant (p=0.032). No significant difference was found between the CD and UC groups. Gastritis was mostly observed in 93.8% of CD-diagnosed patients, 76.8% of UC-diagnosed patients, 81.2% of IBD-diagnosed patients, and 38.5% of non-IBD-diagnosed patients. On the other hand, significant differences were found between CD and non-IBD groups (p=0.03), UC and non-IBD groups (p=0.047), and IBD and non-IBD groups (p=0.03). Conclusion: The results of the study show that gastritis was highly observed in UC- and CD-diagnosed patients than in non-IBD-diagnosed patients.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.11 no.sup2
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• pp.72-79
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• 2008

The incidence of inflammatory bowel disease is increasing rapidly in Korea and one quarter of the new patients present in childhood. Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis are incurable conditions associated with significant morbidity, therefore the focus of treatment in children should be to reduce or eliminate symptoms, optimize nutritional status and growth, prevent complications. This review will deal with the evidence supporting the treatments currently used in children with inflammatory bowel disease.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.334-340
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• 2018

The cytoplasmic elicitor, nucleotide-binding domain and leucine-rich repeat containing domain receptors (NLRs) is well established molecules in its role in inflammatory response. Among 22 NLR receptors, NOD2 is one of the intensively studied genes of elucidating for the inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease as well. Recent research have accumulated that common genetic mutations in Parkinson's disease (PD) are increasingly related to the susceptibility to Crohn's disease. In this study, with the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study, we aimed to perform the association between NOD2 polymorphisms and blood cell counts [WBC (white blood cell) count, RBC (red blood cell) count, platelet count], which linked supposedly to cytoplasmic inflammatory responses with clinical specialty. Linear regression analyses were performed, controlling for residential area, sex, and age as covariates. As a results, 12 SNPs from NOD2 gene were significantly associated with WBC counts (Bonferroni correction P-value criteria < 0.05/23=0.00218). In this study, we could ensure an association with NOD2 gene and WBC counts. This is the first report to have relationship between SNPs of NOD2 gene and WBC counts.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.218-228
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• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to identify clinical characteristics of South Korean pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in a children's hospital over the past 5 years, with a specific focus on comparing the features observed between Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Additionally, it aimed to examine the nursing diagnoses given to patients. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the medical records of Korean pediatric patients under 18 years of age who were diagnosed with IBD and hospitalized at a children's hospital in Seoul, South Korea, from January 2017 to December 2021. Results: The number of pediatric patients diagnosed with IBD steadily increased. This finding was particularly prominent for CD patients, the majority of whom were male. Pediatric patients with CD had significantly higher rates of abdominal pain and perianal lesions, while pediatric patients with UC had a higher rate of bloody stool. Laboratory findings indicated that CD patients had higher levels of inflammatory markers and lower albumin levels than UC patients. The nursing diagnoses given during hospitalization mostly related to safety and protection, physical comfort, and gastrointestinal function. Conclusion: This study provides insights into Korean pediatric IBD patients, enabling early detection and the development of nursing intervention strategies. From a comprehensive perspective, nursing care should not only address patients' physical needs but also their psychosocial needs.

• Journal of Magnetics
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.421-424
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• 2016

The purpose of this study is to evaluate an effectiveness of switching turbo direction to improve motion artifacts of small bowels and aorta. From June to October 2015, 60 patients suspected of having Crohn's disease were enrolled. The MR Enterography scans were performed using same protocol other than the turbo direction: with the Z phase encoding (group A) and with Y phase encoding (group B). Qualitative analysis of each group was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of switching turbo direction from Z to Y. As a result, the 5-point Likert scale for paired observers were $2.33{\pm}0.88$ for group A and $3.80{\pm}0.85$ for group B on dynamic contrast enhanced coronal images. In conclusion, group B is proved to be superior to group A and can lessen the motion artifacts derived from phase shifts.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.1346-1351
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• 2007

Crohn' disease is an auto-immune disease characterized by intermittent chronic diarrhea, high fever, weight loss, abdominal spastic pain or abdominal discomfort which is followed by granulomatous necrosis and cicatrical inflammation. It is also called segmental enteritis or granulomatous enteritis. In western medicine the exact cause is undefined, however it is presumed as an immunological unbalance in alimentary tract commoonly occured in ileum portion of small intestitine or ascending colon and therefore immuno suppressive agents(usually steroids) and anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed. In case of emergency such as ileus, perforation of intestinal wall surgical methods are considered. In oriental medicine this falls under the category of diarrhea(泄瀉), dysentery(痢疾), splenic diarrhea(脾泄). As to the pathological mechanism the abnormal ascending and descending circulation of stomach and splenic energy(脾不升淸, 胃不下降) the hepatic stagnation(肝鬱氣滯) and dysfunction of small intestine in expelling urine and feces(小陽淸獨不利) all together causes such condition. Main treatments are inducing diuresis(利小便), warming kindey to reinforce yang(溫賢助陽), nourishing the middle energy to invigorate spleen(補中健脾), elimination of the dampness by cooling(淸熱燥濕). In this case the patient was diagnosed as soyangyin(少陽人) constitution and herb medicine soyangyin Hyongbangjihwan-tang(少陽人 荊防地黃湯), Sa-am acupuncture Sojangjeonggyeok(小腸政格) was applied. There was an significant improve in chief complaints and general conditions.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.582-595
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• 2021

Researchers have endeavored to identify the etiology of inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Though the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases remains unknown, dysregulation of the immune system in the host gastrointestinal tract is believed to be the major causative factor. Omics is a powerful methodological tool that can reveal biochemical information stored in clinical samples. Lipidomics is a subset of omics that explores the lipid classes associated with inflammation. One objective of the present systematic review was to facilitate the identification of biochemical targets for use in future lipidomic studies on inflammatory bowel diseases. The use of high-resolution mass spectrometry to observe alterations in global lipidomics might help elucidate the immunoregulatory mechanisms involved in inflammatory bowel diseases and discover novel biomarkers for them. Assessment of the characteristics of previous clinical trials on inflammatory bowel diseases could help researchers design and establish patient selection and analytical method criteria for future studies on these conditions. In this study, we curated literature exclusively from four databases and extracted lipidomics-related data from literature, considering criteria. This paper suggests that the lipidomics approach toward research in inflammatory bowel diseases can clarify their pathogenesis and identify clinically valuable biomarkers to predict and monitor their progression.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.308-321
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• 2022

Transabdominal ultrasound (TAUS) is useful in all aspects of lesion screening, monitoring activity, or treating/diagnosing any related complications of inflammatory bowel disease. Its ability to screen or diagnose complications is almost the same as that of other methods, such as CT or MRI. Moreover, its noninvasiveness makes it a first-line examination method. A TAUS image depicting ulcerative colitis will show large intestinal wall thickening that is continuous from the rectum, which is mainly due to mucosal layer thickening, while for Crohn's disease, a TAUS image is characterized by a diversity in the areas affected, distribution, and layer structure. Indicators of activity monitoring include wall thickness, wall structure, and vascular tests that use Doppler ultrasound or contrast agents. While all of these have been reported to be useful, at this time, no single parameter has been established as superior to others; therefore, a comprehensive evaluation of these parameters is justified. In addition, evaluating the elasticity of lesions using elastography is particularly useful for distinguishing between fibrous and inflammatory stenoses. However, the lack of objectivity is the biggest drawback of using ultrasound. Standardizing and popularizing the ultrasound process will be necessary, including scanning methods, equipment settings, and image analysis.