• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.141-149
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• 2022

Background: The present study evaluated the clinical implications of adjuvant chemotherapy according to the mismatch repair (MMR) status and clinicopathologic features of patients with intermediate- and high-risk stage II colon cancer (CC). Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed 5,774 patients who were diagnosed with CC and underwent curative surgical resection at Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital. The patients were enrolled according to the following criteria: (1) pathologically diagnosed with primary CC; (2) stage II CC classified based on the 7th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system; (3) intermediate- and high-risk features; and (4) available test results for MMR status. A total of 286 patients met these criteria and were included in the study. Results: Among the 286 patients, 54 (18.9%) were identified as microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) or deficient MMR (dMMR). Although all the patients identified as MSI-H/dMMR showed better survival outcomes, T4 tumors and adjuvant chemotherapy were identified as independent prognostic factors for survival. For the intermediate-risk patients identified as MSI-low (MSI-L)/microsatellite stable (MSS) or proficient MMR (pMMR), adjuvant chemotherapy exhibited a significantly better disease-free survival (DFS) but had no impact on overall survival (OS). Oxaliplatin-containing regimens showed no association with DFS or OS. Adjuvant chemotherapy was not associated with DFS in intermediate-risk patients identified as MSI-H/dMMR. Conclusion: The current study found that the use of adjuvant chemotherapy was correlated with better DFS in MSI-L/MSS or pMMR intermediate-risk stage II CC patients.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.258-261
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• 1996

Objective : Several studies hove suggested that reduction of cholesterol concentration and low cholesterol level increases suicide, homicide, and depression. The authors sought to determine whether low cholesterol is associated with a history of suicidal attempts among major depression patients. Method : The subjects were 105 patients with major depression, diagnosed according to the DSM-III-R criteria, and 105 age, sex matched healthy controls. Blood was token following overnight fast and serum cholesterol concentration were measured by a enzymatic method Results : The serum cholesterol level was significantly lower in the patients with major depression than in healthy controls($180.4{\pm}43.4mg/dl$ vs $199.7{\pm}35.8mg/dl$). And the serum cholesterol level was significantly lower in major depression patients with suicidal attempt than in major depression patients without suicidal attempt($156.7{\pm}38.2mg/dl$ vs $ 187.8{\pm}42.5mg/dl$) Conclusion : It is hypothesized that low cholesterol level is associated with depression by modifying the serotonin metabolism and the production of interleukin-2, low cholesterol concentration should be further investigated as a potential biological marker of suicidal risk in major depression. Prospective study with serial cholesterol determinations should be done.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.298-305
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• 2010

Purpose: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence, incidence, and risk factors for postoperative surgical site infections (SSIs) after craniotomy. Methods: This study was a retrospective case-control study of 103 patients who had craniotomies between March 2007 and December 2008. A retrospective review of prospectively collected databases of consecutive patients who underwent craniotomy was done. SSIs were defined by using the Centers for Disease Control criteria. Twenty-six cases (infection) and 77 controls (no infection) were matched for age, gender and time of surgery. Descriptive analysis, t-test, $\chi^2$-test and logistic regression analyses were used for data analysis. Results: The statistical difference between cases and controls was significant for hospital length of stay (>14 days), intensive care unit stay more than 15 days, Glasgrow Coma Scale (GCS) score (${\leq}7$ days), extra-ventricular drainage and coexistent infection. Risk factors were identified by logistic regression and included hospital length of stay of more than 14 days (odds ratio [OR]=23.39, 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.53-216.11) and GCS score (${\leq}7$ scores) (OR=4.71, 95% CI=1.64-13.50). Conclusion: The results of this study show that patients are at high risk for infection when they have a low level of consciousness or their length hospital stay is long term. Nurses have to take an active and continuous approach to infection control to help with patients having these risk factors.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.153-162
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• 2016

Purpose: It is critical that evidence from research is applied to everyday nursing practice to improve the quality of care and health outcomes. Aims of this study were to review high-risk infant related studies published in major nursing and non-nursing journals in Korea and to assess the quality of intervention studies. Methods: Through the Korean literature search engine of RISS.KR the authors identified 132 studies, and two researchers evaluated each of these studies using the analysis criteria. The quality of intervention studies was assessed using the van Tulder Scale. Results: Among the studies, 40.2% were either thesis or dissertation and 86.4% were quantitative studies. Convenience sampling was the most commonly used sampling method. All experimental studies were quasi-experiment except one pre-experiment study. Sensory stimulation and kangaroo care were the most common interventions for high-risk infants. Over half of the intervention studies were assessed to be "low risk of bias" but both randomization and blinding processes were not adequately satisfied in most of the studies. Conclusion: Findings of this study suggest that high-risk infants are more likely to be recruited for experimental studies but types of interventions were very limited. To provide evidence-based care for high-risk infants, rigorously conducted experimental studies should be encouraged.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 2014

Background: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common work-related peripheral neuropathy. In addition to grip force and repetitive hand exertions, wrist posture (hyperextension and hyperflexion) may be a risk factor for CTS among workers. However, findings of studies evaluating the relationship between wrist posture and CTS are inconsistent. The purpose of this paper was to conduct a meta-analysis of existing studies to evaluate the evidence of the relationship between wrist posture at work and risk of CTS. Methods: PubMed and Google Scholar were searched to identify relevant studies published between 1980 and 2012. The following search terms were used: "work related", "carpal tunnel syndrome", "wrist posture", and "epidemiology". The studies defined wrist posture as the deviation of the wrist in extension or flexion from a neutral wrist posture. Relative risk (RR) of individual studies for postural risk was pooled to evaluate the overall risk of wrist posture on CTS. Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria. All were cross-sectional or case-control designs and relied on self-report or observer's estimates for wrist posture assessment. The pooled RR of work-related CTS increased with increasing hours of exposure to wrist deviation or extension/flexion [RR = 2.01; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.646-2.43; p < 0.01: Shore-adjusted 95% CI: 1.32-2.97]. Conclusion: We found evidence that prolonged exposure to non-neutral wrist postures is associated with a twofold increased risk for CTS compared with low hours of exposure to non-neutral wrist postures. Workplace interventions to prevent CTS should incorporate training and engineering interventions that reduce sustained non-neutral wrist postures.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.185-192
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• 2010

Objectives: We conducted a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between low external doses of ionizing radiation exposure and the risk of cancer mortality among nuclear power plant workers. Methods: We searched MEDLINE using key words related to low dose and cancer risk. The selected articles were restricted to those written in English from 1990 to January 2009. We excluded those studies with no fit to the selection criteria and we included the cited references in published articles to minimize publication bias. Through this process, a total of 11 epidemiologic studies were finally included. A publication bias was tested for using Egger's test. The homogeneity test was performed before the integration of each of the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and the result proved that the studies were heterogeneous. Results: We found significant decreased deaths from all cancers (SMR = 0.75, 95% CI = 0.62 - 0.90), all cancers excluding leukemia, solid cancer, mouth and pharynx, esophagus, stomach, rectum, liver and gallbladder, pancreas, lung, prostate, lymphopoietic and hematopoitic cancer. The findings of this meta-analysis were similar with those of the 15 Country Collaborative Study conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. A publication bias was found only for liver and gallbladder cancer (p = 0.015). Heterogeneity was observed for all cancers, all cancers excluding leukemia, solid cancer, esophagus, colon and lung cancer. Conclusions: Our findings of low mortality for stomach, rectum, liver and gallbladder cancers may explained by the health worker effect. Yet further studies are needed to clarify the low SMR of cancers, for which there is no useful screening tool, in nuclear power plant workers.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1188-1196
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• 2016

This study evaluated the risk of Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) foodborne illness from natural and processed cheeses. Microbial risk assessment in this study was conducted according to four steps: hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment, and risk characterization. The hazard identification of C. perfringens on cheese was identified through literature, and dose response models were utilized for hazard characterization of the pathogen. For exposure assessment, the prevalence of C. perfringens, storage temperatures, storage time, and annual amounts of cheese consumption were surveyed. Eventually, a simulation model was developed using the collected data and the simulation result was used to estimate the probability of C. perfringens foodborne illness by cheese consumption with @RISK. C. perfringens was determined to be low risk on cheese based on hazard identification, and the exponential model ($r=1.82{\times}10^{-11}$) was deemed appropriate for hazard characterization. Annual amounts of natural and processed cheese consumption were $12.40{\pm}19.43g$ and $19.46{\pm}14.39g$, respectively. Since the contamination levels of C. perfringens on natural (0.30 Log CFU/g) and processed cheeses (0.45 Log CFU/g) were below the detection limit, the initial contamination levels of natural and processed cheeses were estimated by beta distribution (${\alpha}1=1$, ${\alpha}2=91$; ${\alpha}1=1$, ${\alpha}2=309$)${\times}$uniform distribution (a = 0, b = 2; a = 0, b = 2.8) to be -2.35 and -2.73 Log CFU/g, respectively. Moreover, no growth of C. perfringens was observed for exposure assessment to simulated conditions of distribution and storage. These data were used for risk characterization by a simulation model, and the mean values of the probability of C. perfringens foodborne illness by cheese consumption per person per day for natural and processed cheeses were $9.57{\times}10^{-14}$ and $3.58{\times}10^{-14}$, respectively. These results indicate that probability of C. perfringens foodborne illness by consumption cheese is low, and it can be used to establish microbial criteria for C. perfringens on natural and processed cheeses.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2527-2530
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• 2015

Background: The cancer of the prostate risk assessment (CAPRA) score has been defined to predict prostate cancer recurrence based on the pre-clinical data, then pathological data have also been incorporated. Thus, CAPRA post-surgical (CAPRA-S) score has been developed based on six criteria (prostate specific antigen (PSA) at diagnosis, pathological Gleason score, and information on surgical margin, seminal vesicle invasion, extracapsular extension and lymph node involvement) for the prediction of post-surgical recurrences. In the present study, biochemical recurrence (BCR)-free probabilities after open retropubic radical prostatectomy (RP) were evaluated by the CAPRA-S scoring system and its three-risk level model. Materials and Methods: CAPRA-S scores (0-12) of our 240 radical prostatectomies performed between January 2000-May 2011 were calculated. Patients were distributed into CAPRA-S score groups and also into three-risk groups as low, intermediate and high. BCR-free probabilities were assessed and compared using Kaplan-Meier analysis and Cox proportional hazards regression. Ability of CAPRA-S in BCR detection was evaluated by concordance index (c-index). Results: BCR was present in 41 of total 240 patients (17.1%) and the mean follow-up time was $51.7{\pm}33.0$ months. Mean BCR-free survival time was 98.3 months (95% CI: 92.3-104.2). Of the patients in low, intermediate and high risk groups, 5.4%, 22.0% and 58.8% had BCR, respectively and the difference among the three groups was significant (P = 0.0001). C-indices of CAPRA-S score and three-risk groups for detecting BCR-free probabilities in 5-yr were 0.87 and 0.81, respectively. Conclusions: Both CAPRA-S score and its three-risk level model well predicted BCR after RP with high c-index levels in our center. Therefore, it is a clinically reliable post-operative risk stratifier and disease recurrence predictor for prostate cancer.

• Journal of Sasang Constitutional Medicine
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.98-109
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• 2010

1. Objectives: This study is to investigate the association of Sasang Constitution and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD). 2. Methods: One thousand five hundred forty five persons, more than 40 years old, participated in the community based cohort in Wonju City and Pyeongchang City of South Korea from October 29th in 2007 to February 26th in 2008. The diagnosis of COPD was confirmed by spirometry and based on the diagnostic criteria developed by GOLD (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease) standard. Relating items like height, weight, BMI(Body Mass Index), martial status, income, drinking, smoking and education were checked using questionnaires and Sasang Constitution was diagnosed by a specialist using PSSC(Phonetic System for Sasang Constitution), facial photos and check-up lists. 3. Results: There were 88 persons(5.7%) who had mild COPD. Old age(more than 60's) and male were significant risk factors of COPD. But smoking, drinking and Sasang Constitution were not risk factors of COPD. But there were many Soeumin who had mild COPD in terms of Sasang Constitution irrespective of sex. 4. Conclusions: Low BMI(<23kg/m2) and low income also were significant risk factors. And Sasang Constitution might be the variable to manage COPD patients, but more researches are needed.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.2795-2799
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• 2016

Purpose: To study histomorphological and immunohistochemical patterns of gastro-intestinal stromal tumours (GISTs) in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A total of 29 GIST cases from Hospital Tuanku Ja'afar, Seremban, were studied retrospectively over a period of 10 years from January 2002 to December 2011. Patient demographic data like age, sex and etnicity were collected. Tumour characteristics like site, maximum dimension and specimen type were analysed. Evaluation was according to established criteria into very low, low, intermediate and high-risk categories. Immunohistochemical characteristics were also analysed. Results: The mean age of patients was 59.7 years. Males (59%) were found to be more commonly affected than females (41%). The Chinese (45%) were commonly affected than Malays (41%), and Indians (10%). The most common symptom was pain in the abdomen (13.8%). More than half of the cases were seen in stomach (53%). The tumour size ranged from 1.5 cm to 17 cm with a mean of 6.94cm. Microscopic findings revealed that the spindle cell type was the most common (76%). It was observed that the majority of the cases (48%) were categorised in the intermediate risk group. Immunohistochemical staining showed positivity for CD117 (78.6%), CD34 (71.4%), vimentin (86.2%), S-100 (27.6%), SMA (35.7%), PKC THETA (46.4%) and PDGRFA (67.9%).