• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.57 no.2
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• pp.184-194
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• 2024

Background: Left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) are widely employed as a therapeutic option for end-stage heart failure. We evaluated the outcomes associated with centrifugal-flow LVAD implantation, comparing 2 device models: the Heartmate 3 (HM3) and the Heartware Ventricular Assist Device (HVAD). Methods: Data were collected from patients who underwent LVAD implantation between June 1, 2015 and December 31, 2022. We analyzed overall survival, first rehospitalization, and early, late, and LVAD-related complications. Results: In total, 74 patients underwent LVAD implantation, with 42 receiving the HM3 and 32 the HVAD. A mild Interagency Registry for Mechanically Assisted Circulatory Support score was more common among HM3 than HVAD recipients (p=0.006), and patients receiving the HM3 exhibited lower rates of preoperative ventilator use (p=0.010) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (p=0.039). The overall early mortality rate was 5.4% (4 of 74 patients), with no significant difference between groups. Regarding early right ventricular (RV) failure, HM3 implantation was associated with a lower rate (13 of 42 [31.0%]) than HVAD implantation (18 of 32 [56.2%], p=0.051). The median rehospitalization-free period was longer for HM3 recipients (16.9 months) than HVAD recipients (5.3 months, p=0.013). Furthermore, HM3 recipients displayed a lower incidence of late hemorrhagic stroke (p=0.016). In the multivariable analysis, preoperative use of continuous renal replacement therapy (odds ratio, 22.31; p=0.002) was the only significant predictor of postoperative RV failure. Conclusion: The LVAD models (HM3 and HVAD) demonstrated comparable overall survival rates. However, the HM3 was associated with a lower risk of late hemorrhagic stroke.

• Annals of Clinical Neurophysiology
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 2016

Background: Moyamoya disease is characterized by a progressive stenosis or occlusion of the intracranial internal carotid artery and/or the proximal portion of the anterior cerebral artery and middle cerebral artery. Whether the onset time was childhood or adulthood, the bony carotid canal diameter might be different, but reflects the size of internal carotid artery passing through the bony carotid canal. In this study, we aimed to identify the relationship between bony carotid canal diameter and clinical manifestation. Methods: 146 consecutive patients diagnosed with moyamoya disease by brain imaging studies were included. We measured the diameter of a transverse portion of bony carotid canal on bone window of a brain computed tomography(CT) image. Patients were divided into two groups, ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke according to clinical manifestation. As a result, 115 patients were included. The Suzuki stage was used as criteria for disease progression. Results: Bony carotid canal diameter was $3.6{\pm}0.5$ (right) and $3.6{\pm}0.4$ (left) in the hemorrhagic stroke group, and $3.7{\pm}0.4$ (right) and $3.6{\pm}0.4$ (left) in the ischemic stroke group. The bony carotid canal diameter of the moyamoya vessels (3.6 mm) was smaller than the diameter of non-moyamoya vessels (3.8 mm), significantly (p = 0.042). However, there was no difference in the collateral patterns and clinical manifestation in a comparison of both groups. Conclusions: In our study, there was no significant difference of clinical manifestations and collateral patterns depend on the bony carotid canal diameter in patients with moyamoya disease. These findings suggest that the clinical presentations of moyamoya disease are not related to the onset time of the disease.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.40 no.5
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• pp.999-1006
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to report the improvement of symptoms by Korean medicine in acute hemorrhagic infarction. Method: The patient was diagnosed with a cerebral infarction of the right temporal lobe accompanied by cerebral hemorrhage of the left basal ganglia. He did not receive intravenous thrombolytic treatment. Sunghyangjungi-san-gamibang was initially administered, and Gami-daebo-tang was administered during the recovery phase, together with Uhwangchungsim-won, Simjeok-hwan, and acupuncture. The prognostic observation was conducted using the manual muscle test (MMT), the Korean version of the modified Bathel index (K-MBI), and subjective assessment. Results: After Korean medicine treatment, the K-MBI score was improved from 52 to 93. The MMT score and subjective assessment also showed improvement. Conclusions: For patients who cannot be treated with intravenous thrombolytic treatment, Korean medicine treatment is effective during the early and recovery stages of stroke.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.1611-1618
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• 2007

In this study we investigated the effect of medical history on the incidence of stroke in Korean population. 217 stroke patients were enrolled as a case group. 160 non-stroke patients and 146 normal and non-stroke patients were enrolled as a control and a normal group, respectively, from Jul. 2005 to Mar. 2007. Stroke patients were hospitalized within 2 weeks after the onset of stroke. Medical history was gathered by interviewing each patient. Clinical data were analyzed using SAS software (ver 9.1). Hypertension and diabetes mellitus (DM) were statistically significant in a case group when compared with control and normal groups. Other parameters, such as transient ischemic attack, hyperlipidemia, ischemic heart disease, facial palsy, migraine, and hypochondria, did not show any statistical significance. The same association pattern was observed in the ischemic stroke patients of case group. On the other hand, hemorrhagic stroke patients of case group showed a significant difference in DM when compared with other subject groups. More efficient therapeutic strategy should be considered for patients with medical history, especially hypertensin and DM, to reduce the stroke incidence in Korean population.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.29 no.3 s.54
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• pp.639-655
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• 1996

Cerebrovascular disease and coronary heart disease are the first and the fourth common causes of death among adults in Korea. Reported risk factors of these diseases are mostly alike. But some risk factors of one of these diseases may prevent other diseases. Therefore, we tried to compare and discriminate the risk factors of these diseases. We recruited four case groups and four control groups among the inpatients who were admitted to Wonju Christian Hospital from March, 1994 to November, 1995. Four control groups were matched with each of four case groups by age and sex. The number of patients in each of four case and control groups were 106 and 168 for acute myocardial infarction(AMI), 84 and 133 for subarachnoid hemorrhage(SAH), 102 and 148 for intracerebral hemorrhage(ICH), and 91 and 182 for ischemic stroke(IS) respectively. Factors whose levels were significantly higher in AMI and IS than in responding control group (RCG) were education, economic status, and triglyceride. Factors whose levels were significantly lower in hemorrhagic stroke than in RCG were age of monarch, and prothrombin time. The factor whose level was higher in AMI than ill RCG was uric acid. The factor whose level was higher in AMI, ICH, and SAM than in RCG was blood sugar. Factors whose levels were significantly higher in all the case groups than in RCG were earlobe crease, Quetelet index, white blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and total cholesterol. The list of risk factors were somewhat different among the four diseases, though none of the risk factors to the one disease except prothrombin time acted as a preventive factor to the other diseases. The percent of grouped cases correctly classified was higher in the discrimination of ischemic diseases(AMI and IS) from hemorrhagic diseases(SAM and ICH) than in the discrimination of cerebrovascular disease from AMI. The factors concerned in the discrimination of ischemic diseases from hemorrhagic diseases were prothrombin time, earlobe crease, gender, age, uric acid, education, albumin, hemoglobin, the history of taking steroid, total cholesterol, and hematocrit according to the selection order through forward selection.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.166-178
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• 2024

Objective: This study aimed to determine the predictive performance of non-contrast CT (NCCT) signs for hemorrhagic growth after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) when stratified by onset-to-imaging time (OIT). Materials and Methods: 1488 supratentorial ICH within 6 h of onset were consecutively recruited from six centers between January 2018 and August 2022. NCCT signs were classified according to density (hypodensities, swirl sign, black hole sign, blend sign, fluid level, and heterogeneous density) and shape (island sign, satellite sign, and irregular shape) features. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between NCCT signs and three types of hemorrhagic growth: hematoma expansion (HE), intraventricular hemorrhage growth (IVHG), and revised HE (RHE). The performance of the NCCT signs was evaluated using the positive predictive value (PPV) stratified by OIT. Results: Multivariable analysis showed that hypodensities were an independent predictor of HE (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval] of 7.99 [4.87-13.40]), IVHG (3.64 [2.15-6.24]), and RHE (7.90 [4.93-12.90]). Similarly, OIT (for a 1-h increase) was an independent inverse predictor of HE (0.59 [0.52-0.66]), IVHG (0.72 [0.64-0.81]), and RHE (0.61 [0.54-0.67]). Blend and island signs were independently associated with HE and RHE (10.60 [7.36-15.30] and 10.10 [7.10-14.60], respectively, for the blend sign and 2.75 [1.64-4.67] and 2.62 [1.60-4.30], respectively, for the island sign). Hypodensities demonstrated low PPVs of 0.41 (110/269) or lower for IVHG when stratified by OIT. When OIT was ≤ 2 h, the PPVs of hypodensities, blend sign, and island sign for RHE were 0.80 (215/269), 0.90 (142/157), and 0.83 (103/124), respectively. Conclusion: Hypodensities, blend sign, and island sign were the best NCCT predictors of RHE when OIT was ≤ 2 h. NCCT signs may assist in earlier recognition of the risk of hemorrhagic growth and guide early intervention to prevent neurological deterioration resulting from hemorrhagic growth.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.422-430
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• 2009

Background : Stroke is the second leading cause of death in Korea, following cancer. Stroke consists of ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke, and ischemic stroke can be largely classified as atherothrombotic stroke or embolic stroke. Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) is an indicator of atherosclerosis used commonly as a screening test for abnormalities of the coronary artery. 24-hour ambulatory ECG is widely used to screen for underlying diseases that causes syncope, palpitation, arrhythmia, etc. Objectives : Since both carotid IMT and 24-hour ambulatory ECG are used to screen for cardiac problems, we endeavored to explore the correlation between carotid IMT and 24-hour ambulatory ECG of stroke patients. Methods : The records of ischemic stroke patients who were admitted to Kyunghee Medical Center Oriental Hospital ward from March 2006 to May 2009 were reviewed. 28 patients who had both carotid Doppler US and 24-hour ambulatory ECG test undertaken during their admission were analyzed. The relationship of abnormal ambulatory results and common carotid artery(CCA) IMT were statistically analyzed using Fisher's exact test and t-test. Results : The mean age of the abnormal ambulatory group was older than the normal group (74${\pm}$ 8.0 vs. 61${\pm}$12.1, p=0.0098). Although insignificant, the abnormal ambulatory group showed much thicker CCA-IMT than normal ambulatory group (2.l7${\pm}$ 1.16 vs. 1.51${\pm}$0.97. p=0.l389). Conclusion: No significant correlation was observed between abnormal ambulatory results and CCA-IMT. However, the difference in CCA-IMT between the two groups was too big to be ignored and further investigation with larger and better controlled trials are warranted.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.217-226
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• 2021

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the risk factors for brain reperfusion injury in ischemic stroke patients and to analyze the clinical outcomes. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted in 168 patients who underwent mechanical thrombectomy. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, Mann-Whitney U test, Chi-Square test, Fisher's exact test, and logistic regression with IBM SPSS/WIN 24.0. Results: Brain reperfusion injury occurred in 67 patients (39.9%) with a low favored outcome (𝛘²=6.01, p=.014). On multivariable analysis, blood urea nitrogen (Odds ratio [OR]=1.14, 95% Confidence interval [CI]=1.06-1.23), aphasia (OR=6.16, CI=1.62-23.40), anosognosia (OR=4.84, CI=1.13-20.79), presence of both aphasia and anosognosia (OR=7.33, CI=1.20-44.60), and time required to achieve targeted blood pressure (OR=1.00, CI=1.00-1.00) were identified as risk factors for brain reperfusion injury. A statistically significant difference was detected in clinical outcomes, including hemorrhagic transformation (𝛘²=6.32, p=.012), intensive care unit length of stay (Z=-2.08, p=.038), National Institute of Health Stroke scale score at discharge (Z=-3.14, p=.002), and modified Rankin Scale score at discharge (Z=-2.93, p=.003). Conclusion: This study identified the risk factors and presented the clinical outcomes of brain reperfusion injury. It is necessary to consider these risk factors for evaluating the patients and to establish nursing interventions and strategies.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.1
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• pp.22-29
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• 2022

Objective : Despite many advancements in endovascular treatment, the benefits of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) in patients with large infarctions remain uncertain due to hemorrhagic complications. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of recanalization via MT within 6 hours after stroke in patients with large cerebral infarction volumes (>70 mL). Methods : We retrospectively reviewed the medical data of 30 patients with large lesions on initial diffusion-weighted imaging (>70 mL) who underwent MT at our institution within 6 hours after stroke onset. Baseline data, recanalization rate, and 3-month clinical outcomes were analyzed. Successful recanalization was defined as a modified treatment in cerebral ischemia score of 2b or 3. Results : The recanalization rate was 63.3%, and symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage occurred in six patients (20%). The proportion of patients with modified Rankin Scale (mRS) scores of 0-3 was significantly higher in the recanalization group than in the non-recanalization group (47.4% vs. 9.1%, p=0.049). The mortality rate was higher in the non-recanalization group, this difference was not significant (15.8% vs. 36.4%, p=0.372). In the analysis of 3-month clinical outcomes, only successful recanalization was significantly associated with mRS scores of 0-3 (90% vs. 50%, p=0.049). The odds ratio of recanalization for favorable outcomes (mRS 0-3) was 9.00 (95% confidence interval, 0.95-84.90; p=0.055). Conclusion : Despite the risk of symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage, successful recanalization via MT 6 hours after stroke may improve clinical outcomes in patients with large vessel occlusion.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.67 no.5
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• pp.568-577
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• 2024

Objective : Post-stroke shoulder pain (PSSP) is a common complication that limits the range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder, the patient's rehabilitation and in turn, affects the patients' quality of life (QoL). Several treatment modalities such as sling, positioning, strapping, functional electrical stimulation, and nerve block have been suggested in literatures, however none of the treatments had long-term effects for PSSP. In this study, the authors evaluated clinical efficacy of pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) neuromodulation on the suprascapular nerve for PSSP, and suggested it as a potential treatment with long-term effect. Methods : This retrospective case series was conducted at a single center, a private practice institution. From 2013 to 2021, 13 patients with PSSP underwent PRF neuromodulation of the suprascapular nerve. The primary outcome measure was the Visual analog scale (VAS) score. The secondary outcome measurements included the shoulder ROM, Disability assessment scale (DAS), modified Ashworth scale, modified Rankin scale (mRS), and EuroQol-5 dimension-3L questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L) scores. These parameters were evaluated before PRF modulation, immediately after PRF modulation, and every 3 months until the final follow-up visit. Results : Six men and seven women were enrolled, and all patients were followed-up for a minimum of 12 months. The mean VAS score was 7.07 points before PRF neuromodulation and 2.38 points immediately post-procedure. Shoulder ROM for abduction and flexion, DAS for pain, mRS, and EQ-5D-3L demonstrated marked improvement. No complications were reported. Conclusion : PRF neuromodulation of the suprascapular nerve is an effective modality in patients with PSSP, and has long-term effect of pain relief, improvement of QoL.