• Korean Journal of Radiology
• /
• 제24권5호
• /
• pp.384-394
• /
• 2023

Objective: Mammographic density is an independent risk factor for breast cancer that can change after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT). This study aimed to evaluate percent changes in volumetric breast density (ΔVbd%) before and after NCT measured automatically and determine its value as a predictive marker of pathological response to NCT. Materials and Methods: A total of 357 patients with breast cancer treated between January 2014 and December 2016 were included. An automated volumetric breast density (Vbd) measurement method was used to calculate Vbd on mammography before and after NCT. Patients were divided into three groups according to ΔVbd%, calculated as follows: Vbd (post-NCT - pre-NCT)/pre-NCT Vbd × 100 (%). The stable, decreased, and increased groups were defined as -20% ≤ ΔVbd% ≤ 20%, ΔVbd% < -20%, and ΔVbd% > 20%, respectively. Pathological complete response (pCR) was considered to be achieved after NCT if there was no evidence of invasive carcinoma in the breast or metastatic tumors in the axillary and regional lymph nodes on surgical pathology. The association between ΔVbd% grouping and pCR was analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results: The interval between the pre-NCT and post-NCT mammograms ranged from 79 to 250 days (median, 170 days). In the multivariable analysis, ΔVbd% grouping (odds ratio for pCR of 0.420 [95% confidence interval, 0.195-0.905; P = 0.027] for the decreased group compared with the stable group), N stage at diagnosis, histologic grade, and breast cancer subtype were significantly associated with pCR. This tendency was more evident in the luminal B-like and triple-negative subtypes. Conclusion: ΔVbd% was associated with pCR in breast cancer after NCT, with the decreased group showing a lower rate of pCR than the stable group. Automated measurement of ΔVbd% may help predict the NCT response and prognosis in breast cancer.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• 제34권4호
• /
• pp.466-470
• /
• 2007

Purpose: Active prevention is an essential component in reducing the development of pressure sores. For the high-risk patient group, following the certified pressure sore screening scale as well as educating the patient and the nurses who care for them can lead to optimal management of these patients. Applying a risk assessment scale along with a prevention strategy can reduce medical costs and length of stays at the hospital. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of a new pressure sore risk assessment scale based on the universally recommended Braden scale and our prevention program. Methods: From June to August, 2003, our pressure ulcer risk assessment scale was applied to a total of 1882 patients admitted to the experimental group (intensive care unit, neurosurgery, general surgery, and oncology units). It was based on Braden scale. We analysed sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value and ROC curve to evaluate its efficacy. Pressure ulcer prevention program was composed of patient's education using protocol and specific nursing care. The incidence of pressure ulcers was also measured during the 3 months period, and those were compared to the control group of 1789 patients from March to May, 2002. Results: 118(6.27%) of the experimental group were high-risk with an incidence of pressure ulcers measuring 4 (0.21%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of our scale were 100%, 94%, 4%, 100%, respectively, and AUC(area under the curve) was 0.992. In the control group, the incidence of pressure ulcers was 11(0.61%). Statistical analyses using chisquared tests with a significance level of 5%, the results were such that ${\chi }^2=3.6482$(p=0.0561). The results proved to be statistically significant in borderline. Conclusion: The results from this study proved that pressure sore risk assessment scale based on Braden scale has an excellent efficacy, and shows that our pressure ulcer prevention program is partially effective in reducing pressure ulcer incidence.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
• /
• 제37권4호
• /
• pp.335-339
• /
• 2010

Purpose: Diabetic foot ulcer with osteomyelitis is notorious with its complexity and healing difficulties. Bone biopsy is considered to be the gold standard method of guidance for antibiotic therapy. However, it is often replaced by cultures of ulcer swabs or by superficial samples because of the technical difficulties and possible adverse events. In this study, we compared microbiologic results of bone biopsy with those of superficial tissue biopsy or swab culture to investigate concordance and diagnostic value in bone involved diabetic foot ulcers. Methods: This study involved 106 patients with diabetic foot ulcers who showed positive results in bone probing test. Tissue samples for microbiologic tests were collected from all the patients by using superficial cotton swab, superficial tissue biopsy, and bone biopsy. The microbiologic results of bone biopsy were compared with swab culture and superficial tissue biopsy statistically. Results: The positive predictive value of bone probing test for underlying osteomyelitis was 82.1%. Microbiology of the bone biopsy showed same results with those of the swab culture and superficial tissue in 64% and 63%, respectively. Statistical analysis demonstrated that the microbiology of the swab culture or superficial tissue did not coincide with that of the bone biopsy. Conclusion: These results suggest that the microbiologic results of superficial tissue or swab culture do not coincide with those of bony tissue. To select appropriate antibiotic regimen for diabetic ulcer with bone involvement, the specimen for the microbiologic test should be obtained from involved bone.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제17권6호
• /
• pp.2857-2860
• /
• 2016

Background: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection is one of the important causes of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Thailand, involved in the pathogenesis and leading to a development of HCC with or without cirrhotic changes of the liver. This study was aimed to investigate the predictive factors for HCC among CHB patients in a tertiary care center in Thailand. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of CHB patients with or without HCC during the period of January 2009 and December 2014 at Thammasat University Hospital, Pathumthani, Thailand. Data on clinical characteristics, biochemical tests and radiologic findings were collected from review of medical records. Results: A total of 266 patients were diagnosed with CHB in Thammasat university hospital during the study period. However, clinical information of only 164/266 CHB patients (98 males, 66 females with mean age of 49.4 years) could be completely retrieved in this study. The prevalence of HCC in CHB infection in this study was 38/164 (23.2%). CHB patients with HCC had a mean age older than those without HCC (59.5 vs 47 years, P-value = 0.01). Furthermore, history of upper GI bleeding, tattooing, blood transfusion, and chronic alcoholism were significantly more common in CHB patients with HCC than patients without HCC (13.2% vs 3.2% P-value 0.03, OR = 4.6, 95%CI = 1.2-18.1, 20% vs 3.9%, P-value = 0.01, OR= 6.1, 95% CI= 1.6-23.6, 20% vs 6.3%, P-value = 0.03, OR = 3.8, 95%CI =1.1-12.7, 62.2% vs 30.3%, P-value <0.0001, OR = 3.7, 95%CI= 1.7-8.1 respectively). Interestingly, more CHB patients with HCC had evidence of cirrhosis than those without HCC (78.9% vs 20.4%, P-value <0.0001, OR = 14.6, 95%CI = 5.8-36.7). In CHB patients with HCC, surgical therapy provided longer survival than radiofrequency ablation (RFA) (72 vs 46.5 months, P-value= 0.04). The mean survival time after HCC diagnosis was 17.2 months. Conclusions: HCC remains a major problem among patients with CHB infection in Thailand. Possible risk factors are male gender, history of upper GI bleeding, chronic alcoholism, tattooing, blood transfusion and evidence of cirrhosis. For early stage HCC patients, surgical treatment provided longer survival time than RFA. Most HCC patients presented with advanced disease and had a grave prognosis. Appropriate screening of CHB patients at risk for HCC might be an appropriate approach for early detection and improvement of long-term outcomes.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• 제51권4호
• /
• pp.377-382
• /
• 2008

목 적 : 수두에 대한 개체 면역력을 평가하는데 있어서 약독화 수두백신을 불활성화 시킨 후 희석시켜 만든 용액을 이용한 피부시험이 유용한지를 알아보고자 하였다. 방 법 : 2005년도 7월에서 8월까지 한림대의료원 강동성심병원 의료진 19명과 입원한 소아 22명을 포함한 총 41명(남자 22명, 여자 19명, 만 1-32세)을 대상으로 하였다. 수두 감염의 과거력, 수두 예방접종 여부에 대한 사항은 설문지를 통해 이루어졌고 피부시험을 위한 용액은 Oka 균주의 약독화 수두백신을 상온에 10일간 방치하여 불활성화 시킨 후, 이를 다시 생리식염수로 50배 희석하여 사용하였다. 이 용액을 우측 상완 전박부에 피내 주사하였고 대조액으로 반대편 상완 전박부에 생리식염수액을 피내 주사하였다. 48시간 이후 경결의 직경 5 mm 이상일 때 양성으로 판독하였다. 또한 효소면역분석법을 이용하여 혈청 VZV 특이 IgG 항체가를 측정하여 피부시험 결과와 비교 분석하였다. 결 과 : 효소면역분석법을 이용한 항체 검사에 대한 성인에서의 수두 피부시험의 민감도는 94.7%이고 양성 예측도는 100%였다. 동일한 판정 기준을 소아에 적용하였을 때 양성 예측도와 특이도는 100%로 높았으나 민감도와 음성 예측도는 각각 50%, 30.7%로 낮았다. 소아에서의 VZV 피부반응도는 성인에 비해 낮았다. 결 론 : 약독화 수두백신을 불활성화, 희석시켜 만든 용액을 이용한 피부시험은 수두에 대한 면역력을 예측하는데 있어, 간편하고 안전한 저가의 유용한 검사이다. 그러나 피부시험에서 양성판정기준을 결정할 때 조사목적, 대상연령 등을 고려하여 신중히 판단하여야 할 것이며, 이에 대해서는 향후 더 많은 대상에서 추가 연구가 이루어져야 할 것으로 사료된다.

• Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
• /
• 제42권6호
• /
• pp.444-450
• /
• 2008

목적 : 이 연구에서는 암병력이 없는 무증상 건강인을 대상으로 $^{18}F-FDG$ PET의 암 선별검사로서의 유용성에 대하여 알아보고자 하였다. 대상 및 방법: 2000년 1월부터 2005년 12월까지 삼성서울병원 건강의학센터에서 건강 검진 프로그램중의 하나로 시행된 $^{18}F-FDG$ PET 검사 2,021건을 연구 대상으로 하였다. 종양 유무에 최종 진단은 건강 검진 프로그램에 포함된 다른 검사, 추가적인 진단 검사, 병리진단 결과 또는 1년 이상의 임상적 추적관찰을 통하여 정해졌다. 결과: 대상군에서 40건(2.0%)의 악성 종양이 최종적으로 진단되었다. $^{18}F-FDG$ PET에서는 악성 종양중 21건(전체 대상의 1.0%)이 발견되었다. PET으로 진단된 암의 42.9%(9/21)는 다른 건강 건진 프로그램에서 발견하지 못한 암이었다. 악성 종양을 진단하는 $^{18}F-FDG$ PET검사의 민감도는 52.5%(21/40), 특이도 95.9%(1900/1981), 양성 예측도 20.6%(21/102), 음성 예측도 99.0%(1900/1919)로 측정되었다. $^{18}F-FDG$ PET 위음성(n=19)을 보인 암은 갑상선 암이 6건으로 가장 많은 부분을 차지하고 있었고, 결장함과 전립선암이 각각 3건, 폐암과 위암이 각각2건, 방광암과 악성 흑색종(malignant melanoma), 직장암이 각각 1건이었다. 결론 : $^{18}F-FDG$ PET은 아주 높은 특이도와 음성 예측도로 인하여 악성 종양을 발견하는 암 선별검사로서 유용한 것으로 보인다. 그렇지만, $^{18}F-FDG$ PET은 비뇨 부인과계 종양, 당대사가 낮은 종양과 표재성 종양 발견에 민감도가 떨어지므로 단독보다는 다른 암 선별검사와 함께 시행하는 것이 유용하다.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• 제80권2호
• /
• pp.105-112
• /
• 2017

Spirometry is a physiological test for assessing the functional aspect of the lungs using an objective indicator to measure the maximum amount of air that a patient can inhale and exhale. Acceptable spirometry testing needs to be conducted three times by an acceptable and reproducible method for determining forced vital capacity (FVC). Until the results of three tests meet the criteria of reproducibility, the test should be repeated up to eight times. Interpretation of spirometry should be clear, concise, and informative. Additionally, spirometry should guarantee optimal quality prior to the interpreting spirometry results. Our guideline adopts a fixed normal predictive value instead of the lower limit of normal as the reference value because fixed value is more convenient and also accepts FVC instead of vital capacity (VC) because measurement of VC using a spirometer is impossible. The bronchodilator test is a method for measuring the changes in lung capacity after inhaling a short-acting ${\beta}-agonist$ that dilates the airway. When an obstructive ventilatory defect is observed, this test helps to diagnose and evaluate asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by measuring reversibility with the use of an inhaled bronchodilator. A positive response to a bronchodilator is generally defined as an increase of ${\geq}12%$ and ${\geq}200mL$ as an absolute value compared with a baseline in either forced expiratory volume at 1 second or FVC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제17권4호
• /
• pp.1861-1864
• /
• 2016

Although early diagnosis of thyroid nodule type is very important, the diagnostic accuracy of standard tests is a challenging issue. We here aimed to find an optimal combination of factors to improve diagnostic accuracy for distinguishing malignant from benign thyroid nodules before surgery. In a prospective study from 2008 to 2012, 345 patients referred for thyroidectomy were enrolled. The sample size was split into a training set and testing set as a ratio of 7:3. The former was used for estimation and variable selection and obtaining a linear combination of factors. We utilized smoothly clipped absolute deviation (SCAD) logistic regression to achieve the sparse optimal combination of factors. To evaluate the performance of the estimated model in the testing set, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was utilized. The mean age of the examined patients (66 male and 279 female) was $40.9{\pm}13.4years$ (range 15- 90 years). Some 54.8% of the patients (24.3% male and 75.7% female) had benign and 45.2% (14% male and 86% female) malignant thyroid nodules. In addition to maximum diameters of nodules and lobes, their volumes were considered as related factors for malignancy prediction (a total of 16 factors). However, the SCAD method estimated the coefficients of 8 factors to be zero and eliminated them from the model. Hence a sparse model which combined the effects of 8 factors to distinguish malignant from benign thyroid nodules was generated. An optimal cut off point of the ROC curve for our estimated model was obtained (p=0.44) and the area under the curve (AUC) was equal to 77% (95% CI: 68%-85%). Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive values for this model were 70%, 72%, 71% and 76%, respectively. An increase of 10 percent and a greater accuracy rate in early diagnosis of thyroid nodule type by statistical methods (SCAD and ANN methods) compared with the results of FNA testing revealed that the statistical modeling methods are helpful in disease diagnosis. In addition, the factor ranking offered by these methods is valuable in the clinical context.

• 대한임상독성학회지
• /
• 제19권2호
• /
• pp.72-82
• /
• 2021

Purpose: A high anion gap (AG) is known to be a significant risk factor for serious acid-base imbalances and death in acute poisoning cases. The strong ion difference (SID), or strong ion gap (SIG), has recently been used to predict in-hospital mortality or acute kidney injury (AKI) in patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome. This study presents a comprehensive acid-base analysis in order to identify the predictive value of the SIG for disease severity in severe poisoning. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted on acute poisoning patients treated in the emergency intensive care unit (ICU) between December 2015 and November 2020. Initial serum electrolytes, base deficit (BD), AG, SIG, and laboratory parameters were concurrently measured upon hospital arrival and were subsequently used along with Stewart's approach to acid-base analysis to predict AKI development and in-hospital death. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and logistic regression analysis were used as statistical tests. Results: Overall, 343 patients who were treated in the intensive care unit were enrolled. The initial levels of lactate, AG, and BD were significantly higher in the AKI group (n=62). Both effective SID [SIDe] (20.3 vs. 26.4 mEq/L, p<0.001) and SIG (20.2 vs. 16.5 mEq/L, p<0.001) were significantly higher in the AKI group; however, the AUC of serum SIDe was 0.842 (95% confidence interval [CI]=0.799-0.879). Serum SIDe had a higher predictive capacity for AKI than initial creatinine (AUC=0.796, 95% CI=0.749-0.837), BD (AUC=0.761, 95% CI=0.712-0.805), and AG (AUC=0.660, 95% CI=0.607-0.711). Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed that diabetes, lactic acidosis, high SIG, and low SIDe were significant risk factors for in-hospital mortality. Conclusion: Initial SIDe and SIG were identified as useful predictors of AKI and in-hospital mortality in intoxicated patients who were critically ill. Further research is necessary to evaluate the physiological nature of the toxicant or unmeasured anions in such patients.

• Toxicological Research
• /
• 제21권2호
• /
• pp.99-105
• /
• 2005

Photo-mutagenic compounds have been known to alter skin cancer rates by acting as initiators or by affecting subsequent steps in carcinogenesis. The objectives of this study are to investigate the utility of photo-chromosomal aberration (photo-CA) assay for detecting photo-clastogens, and to evaluate its ability to predict rodent photocarcinogenicity. Photo-CA assay was performed with five test substances that demonstrated positive results in photo-carcinogenicity tests: 8-Methoxypsoralen (photoactive substance that forms DNA adducts in the presence of ultraviolet A irradiation), chlorpromazine (an aliphatic phenothiazine an alpha-adrenergic blocking agent), lomefloxacin (an antibiotic in a class of drugs called fluoroquinolones), anthracene (a tricyclic aromatic hydrocarbon a basic substance for production of anthraquinone, dyes, pigments, insecticides, wood preservatives and coating materials) and Retinoic acid (a retinoid compound closely related to vitamin A). For the best discrimination between the test substance-mediated genotoxicity and the undesirable genotoxicity caused by direct DNA absorption, a UV dose-response of the cells in the absence of the test substances was firstly analyzed. All 5 test substances showed a positive outcome in photo-CA assay, indicating that the photo-CA test is very sensitive to the photo-genotoxic effect of UV irradiation. With this limited data-set, an investigation into the predictive value of this photo-CA test for determining the photo-carcinogenicity showed that photo-CA assay has the high ability of a test to predict carcinogenicity. Therefore, the photo-CA test using mammalian cells seems to be a sensitive method to evaluate the photo-carcinogenic potential of new compounds.