• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1035-1040
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• 1992

Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune disease in which the thymus gland is thought to play a central role in the pathogenesis. Thymectomy is now standard therapy, and improvements in surgical techniques, anesthesia, and respiratory care and the use of plasmapheresis have markedly reduced the operative morbidity. We experienced 7 myasthenia gravis with maximal thymectomy from November 1989. As compared with the results of previous classic transsternal thymectomy group the 25 patients who were operated from June 1979 to December 1991[Group B], excellent surgical result was obtained in maximal thymectomy group[Group A]. During follow-up period that ranged from a month to 10.7 years[mean 2 years], the remission rate for the entire group was 15.6 percent and an additional 71.9 percent had improvement[87.5 percent benefited]. In Group A, the remission rate was 42.9 percent with 100 percent of the patients benefiting from operations. But in Group B, 8 percent had remission and a total of 80 percent benefited. In both Groups, there was no operative mortality but there was one case`s mortality in Group B during follow-up period.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.64 no.12
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• pp.632-641
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• 2021

Background: Over the past few decades, various goals have been defined to reduce the mortality of children caused by acute lower respiratory infections (ALRIs) worldwide. However, few spatial studies to date have reported on ALRI deaths. Purpose: We aimed to assess the spatial modeling of mortality from ALRI in children under 5 years of age during 2000-2017 using a global data. Methods: The data on the mortality of children under 5 years old caused by ALRI were initially obtained from the official website of the World Health Organization. The income status of their home countries was also gathered from the Country Income Groups (World Bank Classification) website and divided into 5 categories. After that, in the ArcGIS 10.6 environment, a database was created and the statistical tests and related maps were extracted. The Global Moran's I statistic, Getis-Ord Gi statistic, and geographically weighted regression were used for the analyses. In this study, higher z scores indicated the hot spots, while lower z scores indicated the cold spots. Results: In 2000-2017, child mortality showed a downward trend from 17.6 per 100,000 children to 8.1 and had a clustered pattern. Hot spots were concentrated in Asia in 2000 but shifted toward African countries by 2017. A cold spot that formed in Europe in 2007 showed an ascending trend by 2017. Based on the results of geographically weighted regression test, the regions identified as the hot spots of mortality from ALRI in children under 5 years old were among the middle-income countries (R²=0.01, adjusted R²=8.77). Conclusion: While the total number of child deaths in 2000-2017 has decreased, the number of hot spots has increased among countries. This study also concluded that, during the study period, Central and Western Africa countries became the main new hot spots of deaths from ALRI.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.287-292
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• 1995

From March 1989 to June 1994, 24 casesof esophageal cancer were treated surgically. Among 24, male was 22 cases, female was 2 cases, and the age ranged from 46 to 75, the mean was 59.8. Symptoms were dysphagia[86.9% , weight loss[65.2% and retrosternal pain or discomfort[47.8% . The tumor was located cervical esophagus in two, upper esophagus in three, middle esophagus in 12 and lower esophagus in 7. Among 24 patients, 22 were curative resection, partial esophagectomy with esophagogastrostomy[18 cases or colon interposition [3 cases , with total esophagectomy with musculocutaneous flap[1 case , with feeding jejunostomy or gastrostomy in two cases.Postoperative complications revealed 10 patients[45.4% , as followed ; pleural effusion and pneumonia in 5, passage disturbance in 4, empyema and wound infection in 3, esophagopleural fistula and sepsis in 2, anastomotic site leakage and respiratory failure in each 1. The operative mortality was 13.6 % [3/22 and causes of death were respiratory failure in 1 case and sepsis in 2 cases.During follow-up work, 8 cases died during follow-up period, mean survival time was 15.2 months in curative resection group. One year survival rate was 55.3% in resected group. Also, cancer recurrence revealed in 1 cases.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.59-63
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• 1993

A clinical evaluation was performed with a population of 49 patients of chest trauma, who were diagnosed to undergo ventilator therapy, and had gone through ventilator therapy at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Kyungpook University Hospital. One of most common causes of chest trauma was vehicle accidents [77.5%] with the prevalent age group being their forties. The common findings were multiple rib fractures [89.8%], hemopneumothrax [81.6%], lung contusion [61.2%] and flail chest [44.9%]. Their common combined injuries were the orthopedics and neurosugical injuries [86.7%]. Complications caused by chest trauma were pneumonia, respiratory failure, atelectasis, barotrauma and empyema. Pulmonary infections were commonly associated with mechanical ventilation in the long term group and were best prevented by using bronchial hygiene therapy.The mortality rate was 5.8% of the total patients and that was 38.8% of the patients, who needed ventilator therapy. The causes of death were pneumonia, respiratory failure, acute renal failure and hypovolemic shock. Mechanical ventilation has an important place in the treatment of patients with severe chest trauma.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.26-33
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• 2020

Purpose: Agent Orange (AO) is a herbicide and defoliant used by the United States and its military allies during the Vietnam War. Pneumonia is a common cause of death among Vietnam veterans in our hospital. There have been no previous studies researching any association between AO exposure and the prognosis for pneumonia. The primary objective of this study was to investigate associations between AO exposure and 30-day mortality due to pneumonia. The secondary objective was to examine the clinical factors associated with therapeutic outcomes in veterans with pneumonia, and to assess the prevalence of combined diseases in AO-exposed veterans. Methods: This study retrospectively included veteran patients diagnosed with pneumonia in the emergency department and hospitalized between February 2014 and March 2018. The enrolled patients were grouped according to their defoliant exposure history, and the clinical information of defoliant-exposed and non-defoliant-exposed groups were compared. Patients were divided according to 30-day mortality, and significant factors influencing mortality were evaluated by using univariate analysis and multivariate analysis. The final multivariate model revealed the effect of AO exposure on therapeutic outcomes of pneumonia. Results: A total of 1006 patients were analyzed. Of these, 276 patients had a history of AO exposure, whereas 730 patients had not been exposed. Factors positively associated with 30-day mortality were malignancy, respiratory rate, blood urea nitrogen, and albumin which was negatively associated with mortality. Conclusion: Exposure to defoliant is not associated with 30-day mortality in patients with pneumonia. However, veterans with defoliant exposure are associated with a high prevalence of diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cerebrovascular accident, malignancy, and chronic kidney disease.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.542-551
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• 2023

Objectives: Prospective studies on vaccination status and mortality related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in low-resource settings are still limited. We assessed the association between vaccination status (full, partial, or none) and in-hospital mortality among COVID-19 patients at most hospitals in Jakarta, Indonesia during the Delta predomination wave. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study among hospitalized COVID-19 patients who met the study criteria (>18 years old and admitted for inpatient treatment because of laboratory-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection). We linked individual-level data in the hospital admission database with vaccination records. Several socio-demographic and clinical characteristics were also analyzed. A Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to explore the association between vaccination status and in-hospital mortality in this patient group. Results: In total, 40 827 patients were included in this study. Of these, 70% were unvaccinated (n=28 543) and 19.3% (n=7882) died during hospitalization. The mean age of the patients was 49 years (range, 35-59), 53.2% were female, 22.0% had hypertension, and 14.2% were treated in the intensive care unit, and the median hospital length of stay across the group was 9 days. Our study showed that the risk of in-hospital mortality among fully and partially vaccinated patients was lower than among unvaccinated adults (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.40 to 0.47 and aHR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.64 to 0.77, respectively). Conclusions: Vaccinated patients had fewer severe outcomes among hospitalized adults during the Delta wave in Jakarta. These features should be carefully considered by healthcare professionals in treating adults within this patient group.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.351-359
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• 2024

Background: Major pulmonary resection after neoadjuvant concurrent chemoradiation therapy (nCCRT) is associated with a substantial risk of postoperative complications. This study investigated postoperative complications and associated risk factors to facilitate the selection of suitable surgical candidates following nCCRT in stage IIIA-N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of patients diagnosed with clinical stage IIIA-N2 NSCLC who underwent surgical resection following nCCRT between 1997 and 2013. Perioperative characteristics and clinical factors associated with morbidity and mortality were analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Results: A total of 574 patients underwent major lung resection after induction CCRT. Thirty-day and 90-day postoperative mortality occurred in 8 patients (1.4%) and 41 patients (7.1%), respectively. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (n=6, 4.5%) was the primary cause of in-hospital mortality. Morbidity occurred in 199 patients (34.7%). Multivariable analysis identified significant predictors of morbidity, including patient age exceeding 70 years (odds ratio [OR], 1.8; p=0.04), low body mass index (OR, 2.6; p=0.02), and pneumonectomy (OR, 1.8; p=0.03). Patient age over 70 years (OR, 1.8; p=0.02) and pneumonectomy (OR, 3.26; p<0.01) were independent predictors of mortality in the multivariable analysis. Conclusion: In conclusion, the surgical outcomes following nCCRT are less favorable for individuals aged over 70 years or those undergoing pneumonectomy. Special attention is warranted for these patients due to their heightened risks of respiratory complications. In high-risk patients, such as elderly patients with decreased lung function, alternative treatment options like definitive CCRT should be considered instead of surgical resection.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.292-300
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• 2008

Background: Respiratory failure is a common condition that requires intensive care, and has a high mortality rate despite the recent improvements in respiratory care. Previous reports of patients with respiratory failure focused on the specific disease or included a large proportion of surgical patients. This study evaluated the clinical characteristics, outcomes and prognostic factors of adult patients receiving mechanical ventilation in a medical intensive care unit. Methods: Retrospective chart review was performed on 479 adult patients, who received mechanical ventilation for more than 48 hours in the medical ICU of one tertiary referral hospital. Results: The mean age of the patients was $60.3{\pm}15.6$ years and 34.0% were female. The initial mean APACHE III score was $72.3{\pm}25$. The cause of MV included acute respiratory failure (71.8%), acute exacerbation of chronic pulmonary disease (20.9%), coma (5.6%), and neuromuscular disorders (1.7%). Pressure controlled ventilation was used as the initial ventilator mode in 67.8% of patients, and pressure support ventilation was used as the initial weaning mode in 83.6% of the patients. The overall mortality rate in the ICU and hospital was 49.3% and 55.4%, respectively. The main cause of death in hospital was septic shock (32.5%), respiratory failure (11.7%), and multiorgan failure (10.2%). Males, an APACHE III score >70, the cause of respiratory failure (interstitial lung disease, coma, aspiration, pneumonia, sepsis and hemoptysis), the total ventilation time, and length of stay in hospital were independently associated with mortality. Conclusion: The cause of respiratory failure, severity of the patients, and gender appears to be significantly associated with the outcome of mechanical ventilatory support in patients with respiratory failure.

• Journal of Environmental Impact Assessment
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.747-755
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• 2011

This study was investigated the relationship between the temperature and the mortality of aged (${\geq}65$ yr) during the winter seasons from 1992 to 2007 in Seoul, Korea by utilizing climate data and death records. The study also estimated the future risks by employing the projections of the population in Seoul, Korea and climate change scenario of Korea from 2011 to 2030. The limitation of this study was the impossibility in the prediction of daily mortality counts. Therefore, daily death numbers could be predicted based on the future population projection for Korea and the death records of 2005. The result indicated that risks increased by 0.27%, 0.52%, 0.32% and 0.41% in association with the $1^{\circ}C$ decrease in daily minimum temperature from the mortality counts of total, respiratory, cardiovascular, and cardiorespiratory in the past date while 0.31%, 0.42%, 0.59% and 0.66% in the future. Based on the results obtained from this study, it is concluded that the risk in the future will be higher than the past date although there is an uncertainty in estimating death counts in the future.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.489-498
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• 2017

This study was conducted to compare the mortality number of swine between before and after HACCP implementation on swine farm. Also, we analyzed the reason for implementing HACCP system, advantage and disadvantage of HACCP system implemented swine farm. The study was carried out by randomly selected fifty swine farms located in all around Korea. The results were as follows: The mortality number of swine before HACCP system was found to be 288.30, 122.90, 91.08, 18.22, and 108.10 in respiratory, diarrhea, abortion (stillbirth), an accidental death and others, respectively. However, after HACCP implementation, it decreased, without significantly, to 261.60, 101.10, 85.91, 16.37, and 108.60, respectively. Therefore, Therefore, the total number of mortality pig decreased from 628.70 (before HACCP) to 573.60 (after HACCP). The enhancement of farm competitiveness (26.92%) and hygienic and safety pig production (23.43%) were ranked as the first and second proposes for implementing HACCP system on swine farm. The major advantage of implementing HACCP were improvement the farm sanitation management level (20.90%) and the major disadvantage was surveyed as HACCP records (23.10%). We are expecting that our results might be used for producing safer livestock products by improving livestock products HACCP policy.