• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.122-130
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• 2017

Purpose: To evaluate the effects of low-dose intravenous N-acetylcysteine on the prevention of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN) in patients undergoing computed tomography (CT). Methods: All patients presenting to our emergency department and undergoing CT with intravenous contrast media between August 2014 and April 2016 were retrospectively enrolled. We included hospitalized patients with renal dysfunction [estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) between 30 and $89mL/min/1.73m^2$]. A 600-mg injection of N-acetylcysteine was given to patients once before and once immediately after CT, depending on the preference of physician. The primary outcome was CIN defined as an increase in creatinine level of ${\geq}25%$ or ${\geq}0.5mg/dL$ from the baseline within 48 to 72 hours after CT. A trained person blindly reviewed all medical records. Results: Of the 1903 admitted patients, CIN occurred in 9.8% of patients who received 1200 mg intravenous N-acetylcysteine (24/244) and 6.8% of patients who did not (113/1659, p=0.090). In a multivariable regression analysis, N-acetylcystine was not relevant to the prevention of CIN (odds ratio=1.42 [95% CI, 0.90-2.26]). Even in the stratified analysis using the propensity score matching, N-acetylcysteine was irrelevant (GFR 30-59: odds ratio=1.06 [95% CI, 0.43-2.60]; GFR 60-89: odds ratio=1.76 [95% CI, 0.75-4.14]). After adjustment, crystalloids were significantly associated with the reduction in CIN compared with dextrose water (odds ratio=0.60 [95% CI, 0.37-0.97]). Conclusion: No effect was found when low-dose intravenous N-acetylcysteine was used to prevent CIN. However, there seems to be an association between crystalloids and reduction in CIN.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.438-450
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• 2019

Purpose: Although linear-shaped gastroduodenostomy (LSGD) was reported to be a feasible and reliable method of Billroth I anastomosis in patients undergoing totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy (TLDG), the feasibility of LSGD for patients undergoing totally robotic distal gastrectomy (TRDG) has not been determined. This study compared the feasibility of LSGD in patients undergoing TRDG and TLDG. Materials and Methods: All c: onsecutive patients who underwent LSGD after distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer between January 2009 and December 2017 were analyzed retrospectively. Propensity score matching (PSM) analysis was performed to reduce the selection bias between TRDG and TLDG. Short-term outcomes, functional outcomes, learning curve, and risk factors for postoperative complications were analyzed. Results: This analysis included 414 patients, of whom 275 underwent laparoscopy and 139 underwent robotic surgery. PSM analysis showed that operation time was significantly longer (163.5 vs. 132.1 minutes, P<0.001) and postoperative hospital stay significantly shorter (6.2 vs. 7.5 days, P<0.003) in patients who underwent TRDG than in patients who underwent TLDG. Operation time was the independent risk factor for LSGD after intracorporeal gastroduodenostomy. Cumulative sum analysis showed no definitive turning point in the TRDG learning curve. Long-term endoscopic findings revealed similar results in the two groups, but bile reflux at 5 years showed significantly better improvement in the TLDG group than in the TRDG group (P=0.016). Conclusions: LSGD is feasible in TRDG, with short-term and long-term outcomes comparable to that in TLDG. LSGD may be a good option for intracorporeal Billroth I anastomosis in patients undergoing TRDG.

• Proceedings of the KAIS Fall Conference
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• 2003.11a
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• pp.223-230
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• 2003

Feature-based similarity retrieval has become an important research issue in multimedia database systems. The features of multimedia data are useful for discriminating between multimedia objects (e 'g', documents, images, video, music score, etc.). For example, images are represented by their color histograms, texture vectors, and shape descriptors, and are usually high-dimensional data. The performance of conventional multidimensional data structures(e'g', R- Tree family, K-D-B tree, grid file, TV-tree) tends to deteriorate as the number of dimensions of feature vectors increases. The R＊-tree is the most successful variant of the R-tree. In this paper, we propose a SOM-based R＊-tree as a new indexing method for high-dimensional feature vectors.The SOM-based R＊-tree combines SOM and R＊-tree to achieve search performance more scalable to high dimensionalities. Self-Organizing Maps (SOMs) provide mapping from high-dimensional feature vectors onto a two dimensional space. The mapping preserves the topology of the feature vectors. The map is called a topological of the feature map, and preserves the mutual relationship (similarity) in the feature spaces of input data, clustering mutually similar feature vectors in neighboring nodes. Each node of the topological feature map holds a codebook vector. A best-matching-image-list. (BMIL) holds similar images that are closest to each codebook vector. In a topological feature map, there are empty nodes in which no image is classified. When we build an R＊-tree, we use codebook vectors of topological feature map which eliminates the empty nodes that cause unnecessary disk access and degrade retrieval performance. We experimentally compare the retrieval time cost of a SOM-based R＊-tree with that of an SOM and an R＊-tree using color feature vectors extracted from 40, 000 images. The result show that the SOM-based R＊-tree outperforms both the SOM and R＊-tree due to the reduction of the number of nodes required to build R＊-tree and retrieval time cost.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.366-373
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• 2016

Background: The aim of the study was to test the hypothesis that in patients with chronic complex sternum dehiscence, the use of muscle flap repair minimizes the occurrence of paradoxical motion of the chest wall (CWPM) when compared to sternal rewiring, eventually leading to better respiratory function and clinical outcomes during follow-up. Methods: In a propensity score matching analysis, out of 94 patients who underwent sternal reconstruction, 20 patients were selected: 10 patients underwent sternal reconstruction with bilateral pectoralis muscle flaps (group 1) and 10 underwent sternal rewiring (group 2). Eligibility criteria included the presence of hemisternum diastases associated with multiple (${\geq}$3) bone fractures and radiologic evidence of synchronous chest wall motion (CWSM). We compared radiologically assessed (volumetric computed tomography) ventilatory mechanic indices such as single lung and global vital capacity (VC), diaphragm excursion, synchronous and paradoxical chest wall motion. Results: Follow-up was 100% complete (mean $85{\pm}24months$). CWPM was inversely correlated with single lung VC (Spearman R=-0.72, p=0.0003), global VC (R=-0.51, p=0.02) and diaphragm excursion (R=-0.80, p=0.0003), whereas it proved directly correlated with dyspnea grade (Spearman R=0.51, p=0.02) and pain (R=0.59, p=0.005). Mean CWPM and single lung VC were both better in group 1, whereas there was no difference in CWSM, diaphragm excursion and global VC. Conclusion: Our study suggests that in patients with complex chronic sternal dehiscence, pectoralis muscle flap reconstruction guarantees lower CWPM and greater single-lung VC when compared with sternal rewiring and it is associated with better clinical outcomes with less pain and dyspnea.

• Journal of Korean Medical Science
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• v.33 no.43
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• pp.268.1-268.11
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• 2018

Background: We aimed to compare the therapeutic efficacy of prolonged macrolide (PMC), corticosteroids (CST), doxycycline (DXC), and levofloxacin (LFX) against macrolide-unresponsive Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) pneumonia in children and to evaluate the safety of the secondary treatment agents. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data of patients with MP pneumonia hospitalized between January 2015 and April 2017. Macrolide-unresponsiveness was clinically defined with a persistent fever of ${\geq}38.0^{\circ}C$ at ${\geq}72$ hours after macrolide treatment. The cases were divided into four groups: PMC, CST, DXC, and LFX. We compared the time to defervescence (TTD) after secondary treatment and the TTD after initial macrolide treatment in each group with adjustment using propensity score-matching analysis. Results: Among 1,165 cases of MP pneumonia, 190 (16.3%) were unresponsive to macrolides. The proportion of patients who achieved defervescence within 48 hours in CST, DXC, and LFX groups were 96.9% (31/33), 85.7% (12/14), and 83.3% (5/6), respectively. The TTD after initial macrolide treatment did not differ between PMC and CST groups (5.1 vs. 4.2 days, P = 0.085), PMC and DXC groups (4.9 vs. 5.7 days, P = 0.453), and PMC and LFX groups (4.4 vs. 5.0 days, P = 0.283). No side effects were observed in the CST, DXC, and LFX groups. Conclusion: The change to secondary treatment did not show better efficacy compared to PMC in children with macrolide-unresponsive MP pneumonia. Further studies are needed to guide appropriate treatment in children with MP pneumonia.

• The Journal of Korean Diabetes
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.135-139
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• 2018

The sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) is a new anti-hyperglycemic agent that have function to concomitantly inhibit the reabsorption of glucose and sodium in the renal proximal convoluting tubule. Recent two cardiovascular outcome trials showed that a lower risk of cardiovascular events with SGLT2i in people with type 2 diabetes. In addition, prior real-world data demonstrated similar SGLT2i effects, but these studies were limited to the United States and Europe. Thus, the CVD-REAL (Comparative Effectiveness of Cardiovascular Outcomes in New Users of Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter-2 Inhibitors) 2 Study was investigated cardiovascular outcomes in those initiated on SGLT2i versus other glucose-lowering drugs (oGLDs) across 6 countries in the Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and North American regions. In Korea, 336,644 episodes of initiation in SGLT2i or oGLD group between September 2014 and December 2016 were identified in Korea National Health Insurance database after propensity score matching. SGLT2i users was associated with a lower risk of all-cause death (hazard ratio [HR], 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.67~0.77), hospitalization for heart failure (HHF) (HR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.82~0.92), all-cause death or HHF (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.78~0.85), myocardial infarction (HR, 0.81; 95% CI, 0.74~0.89), and stroke (HR, 0.82; 95% CI, 0.78~0.86) compared with oGLD users. In conclusion, initiation of SGLT2i had a lower risk of cardiovascular events in people with type 2 diabetes compared with oGLDs.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.12 no.12
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• pp.331-338
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• 2021

This study used data from the 10rd and 15th year of the Korean Welfare Panel to evaluate the effects of the Energy Voucher Program(EVP) on the consumption and expenditure of EVP users' households. The study consisted of program group using EVP and control group not using. Chi-square and t-test were used for the characteristic differences among the groups, and the difference of consumption expenditure was identified by multiple regression analysis. As a result, EVP had a statistically significant effect on the health care costs of EVP users' households, resulting in an increase in health care costs(𝛽=3.06). However, there was no statistically significant effect on the total cost of living, basic cost, education cost, and recreation/entertainment cost. Therefore, in order to increase the effectiveness of the EVP system, it is required to improve the EVP system by expanding the level of benefits and easing the qualification standards for the eligibility for benefits.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.279-297
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• 2021

Purpose: Various changes in nutrition, metabolism, immunity, and psychological status occur through multiple mechanisms after gastrectomy. The purpose of this study was to predict disease status after gastrectomy by analyzing diseases pattern that occur or change after gastrectomy. Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using nationwide claims data. Patients with gastric cancer who underwent gastrectomy or endoscopic resection were included in the study. Eighteen target diseases were selected and categorized based on their underlying mechanism. The incidence of each target disease was compared by dividing the study sample into those who underwent gastrectomy (cases) and those who underwent endoscopic resection for early gastric cancer (controls). The cases were matched with controls using propensity score matching. Thereafter, Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate intergroup differences in disease incidence after gastrectomy. Results: A total of 97,634 patients who underwent gastrectomy (84,830) or endoscopic resection (12,804) were included. The incidence of cholecystitis (P<0.0001), pancreatitis (P=0.034), acute kidney injury (P=0.0083), anemia (P<0.0001), and inguinal hernia (P=0.0007) were higher after gastrectomy, while incidence of dyslipidemia (P<0.0001), vascular diseases (ischemic heart disease, stroke, and atherosclerosis; P<0.0001, P<0.0001, and P=0.0005), and Parkinson's disease (P=0.0093) were lower after gastrectomy. Conclusions: This study identifies diseases that may occur after gastrectomy in patients with gastric cancer.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.206-214
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• 2019

Background: Although case reports have suggested that the erector spinae plane block (ESPB) may help analgesia for patients after breast surgery, no study to date has assessed its effectiveness. This retrospective observational study analyzed the analgesic effects of the ESPB after total mastectomy. Methods: Forty-eight patients were divided into an ESPB group (n = 20) and a control group (n = 28). Twenty patients in the control group were selected by their propensity score matching the twenty patients in the ESPB group. Patients in the ESPB group were injected with 30 mL 0.375% ropivacaine, followed by catheter insertion for further injections of local anesthetics every 12 hours. Primarily, total fentanyl consumption was compared between the two groups during the first 24 hours postoperatively. Secondary outcomes included pain intensity levels (visual analogue scale) and incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). Results: Median cumulative fentanyl consumption during the first 24 hours was significantly lower in the ESPB ($33.0{\mu}g$; interquartile range [IQR], $27.0-69.5{\mu}g$) than in the control group ($92.8{\mu}g$; IQR, $40.0-155.0{\mu}g$) (P = 0.004). Pain level in the early postoperative stage (<3 hr) and incidence of PONV (0% vs. 55%) were also significantly lower in the ESPB group compared to the control (P = 0.001). Conclusions: Intermittent ESPB after total mastectomy reduces fentanyl consumption and early postoperative pain. ESPB is a good option for multimodal analgesia after breast surgery.

• Dementia and Neurocognitive Disorders
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.156-162
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• 2018

Background and Purpose: Previous studies have reported conflicting results about the prevalence of seizures in Alzheimer's disease (AD). There are few epidemiological studies on this topic in Asia. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine demographic and clinical characteristics as well as incidence for seizures in AD patients compared to non-AD patients in a prospective, longitudinal, community-based cohort with a long follow-up. Methods: Data were collected from National Health Insurance Service-National Elderly Cohort (NHIS-elderly) Database to define patients with AD from 2004-2006 using Korean Classification Diseases codes G30 and F00. We performed a 1:5 case-control propensity score matching based on age, sex, and household income. We conducted Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to estimate the risk of epilepsy in AD patients. Results: In the cohort study, patients with AD had higher risk for epilepsy than those without AD, with hazard ratio of 2.773 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.515-3.057). This study also showed that male gender and comorbidities such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease increased the risk of developing epilepsy. Patients with AD had 1.527 (95% CI, 1.375-1.695) times higher mortality rate than those in the control group. Conclusions: AD patients have significantly higher risk of developing epilepsy than non-AD patients.