• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.100-103
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• 2002

Streptococcus milleri Goup Bacteria(SMG) comprise three species, Streptococcus anginosus, Streptococcus intermedius, Streptococcus constellatus. Although they are commensal organism, they can be pathogenic. SMG can be aggressive pathogen in the head and neck with a propensity for abscess formation and local extension of the infection. SMG is culturally and biochemically variable, which makes it hard for the clinicians to recognize it. Hence, it seems that this organism has been relatively neglected. Most of the Lancefield F streptococci are SMG. We report one patient who had Group F streptococcal bacteremia and subdural abscess. According to his medical history, he was diagnosed as membranoproliperative glomerulonephritis three years ago. He complained headache although he was treated by appropiate antibiotics. Brain CT was used as a tool to identify the brain abscess. He had surgical drainage and was treated with IV antibiotics postoperatively.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.75-82
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• 2020

Objectives: We aimed to investigate the incidence, manifestations, and outcomes of malignancy after pediatric kidney transplantation (KT) at our center over 30 years. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 155 patients under 18 years of age who underwent KT between January 1990 and February 2020 at Asan Medical Center. Results: Twelve patients (7.7%) were diagnosed with a malignancy after KT. Malignancy was diagnosed after a mean period of 6.4±5.9 years (median 4.6, range 0.5-20.6 years) after KT. Nine (75.0%) of the 12 cancer patients were diagnosed with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disease (PTLD), and the other three had papillary thyroid cancer, mucoepidermoid cancer of the hard palate, and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, respectively. PTLD was diagnosed within a mean of 3.7±3.4 years (median 3.7, range 0.5-9.8 years) after KT. Five patients diagnosed with PTLD were cured without recurrence. Three patients with PTLD died from the disease, and one patient with mucoepidermoid cancer from a non-PTLD malignancy died after progression, despite surgical resection and chemotherapy. Three (33.3%) of the nine survivors progressed to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) after completing cancer treatment. No patient with post-transplant malignancy (PTM) experienced critical renal deterioration during cancer treatment. Conclusion: PTLD was the most common PTM, occurring at 5.8% of the pediatric KT patients after KT in our center. Careful follow up is needed particularly considering the risk of PTLD after KT in children.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.46-64
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• 1997

Background & Objectives : Korea is face with the social need for health care technology assessment so that it is urgently needed to found principles and methodology in technology assessment in health care. As a groundwork for health care technology assessment, we tried to prioritize medical technology for assessment. Among medical technologies, procedure is somewhat difficult to assess, compared to drug or equipment. In this study, we aimed at the prioritisation of medical procedure to be assessed, in terms of efficay, safety, and adequacy. Method : For the standardized classification of medical procedure, ICD-9-CM(International Classification of Diseases 9th edition - Clinical Modification) was used. Among the list the procedures coming under otorhinolaringjology and thoracic surgery were selected by three family physicians. The list of procedure was mailed to the board certified surgeons of both disciplines, with the question asking about the necessity for assessment in terms of efficay, safety, and adequacy. Replied questionnaires were analyzed in each procedure. Results : Of 560 otorhinolaryngologist and 480 thoracic surgeon, 114 surgeons replied. Of otorhinolaryngological procedure, incision, excision, and destruction of inner ear : fenestration of inner ear : stapedectomy and its revision were the most urgent technology to assess in the aspect of safety. For adequacy, operations on Eustachian tube: fenestration of inner ear: incision, excision, and destruction of inner ear were highly ranked in necessity, and for efficary, operations on Eustachian tube; external maxillary antrotomy; fenestration of inner ear. Thoracic surgeons replied thoracic procedures, lung transplantation; heart transplantation; implantation of heart assist system [pump] are most important for evaluation in terms of safety; and heart transplantation; Lung transplantation; Implantation of heart assist system [pump] in terms of adequacy, and surgical collapse of lung [Artificia니 pnemothorax or pnuexoperitoeum]; lung transplantation; periarterial sympathectomy in terms of efficacy. As a whole, surgeons regard safety evaluation is more urgent than adequacy or efficary. In addition, otorhinolaryngological surgeons regard evaluation of their procedures more urgent than thoracic surgeons regard theirs. Conclusion : By the questionnaire to board certified physicians, we get some preliminary data for prioritisation of technologies to assess. Through the questionnaire like this, much information would be gathered for technology assessment, especially for medical procedure, if not enough. In the near future, well structured expert opinion gathering research, such as modified Delphi or nominal group technique, should be done succeedingly.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.60 no.4
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• pp.397-403
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• 2017

Objective : Cranioplasty using a cryopreserved skull flap is a wide spread practice. The most well-known complications of cranioplasty are postoperative surgical infections and bone flap resorption. In order to find biological evidence of cryopreserved cranioplasty, we investigated microorganism contamination of cryopreserved skulls and cultured osteoblasts from cryopreserved skulls. Methods : Cryopreserved skull flaps of expired patients stored in a bone bank were used. Cryopreserved skulls were packaged in a plastic bag and wrapped with cotton cloth twice. After being crushed by a hammer, cancellous bone between the inner and outer table was obtained. The cancellous bone chips were thawed in a water bath of $30^{\circ}C$ rapidly. After this, osteoblast culture and general microorganism culture were executed. Osteoblast cultures were done for 3 weeks. Microorganism cultures were done for 72 hours. Results : A total of 47 cryopreserved skull flaps obtained from craniectomy was enrolled. Of the sample, 11 people were women, and the average age of patients was 55.8 years. Twenty four people had traumatic brain injuries, and 23 people had vascular diseases. Among the patients with traumatic brain injuries, two had fracture compound comminuted depressed. The duration of cryopreservation was, on average, 83.2 months (9 to 161 months). No cultured osteoblast was observed. No microorganisms were cultured. Conclusion : In this study, neither microorganisms nor osteoblasts were cultured. The biological validity of cryopreserved skulls cranioplasty was considered low. However, the usage of cryopreserved skulls for cranioplasty is worthy of further investigation in the aspect of cost-effectiveness and risk-benefit of post-cranioplasty infection.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.116-123
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• 2021

Purpose: The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of targeting risk factors for the control of central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) among high-risk infants in a tertiary neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Methods: Infants admitted to the NICU and diagnosed with CLABSI from January to December 2013 were eligible for inclusion to the study. The CLABSI group (n=47) was matched in a 1:2 ratio to the control group (n=94) based on gestational age, birth weight, and Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology-II. Risk factors for CLABSI were identified using the Cox proportional hazard model, and analysis of the effect of these risk factors targeting infection control was performed. Results: The risk factors associated with CLABSI were prolonged central line dwell days (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.028; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.011 to 1.045; P=0.001), use of a silicone catheter (adjusted HR, 5.895; 95% CI, 1.893 to 18.355; P=0.002), surgical treatment (adjusted HR, 3.793; 95% CI, 1.467 to 9.805; P=0.006), and less probiotic supplementation (adjusted HR, 0.254; 95% CI, 0.068 to 0.949; P=0.042). By targeting these risk factors with a quality improvement initiative, the mean CLABSI incidence rate per 1,000 catheter-days decreased from 6.6 to 3.1 (P=0.004). Conclusion: Targeting risk factors for infection control significantly reduced the rate of CLABSI among high-risk infants in the NICU.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Oncology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.102-107
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• 2018

Purpose: Cardiotoxicity is a serious late complication of breast cancer treatment. Individual treatment risk of specific drugs has been investigated. However, studies on the evaluation of the composite risk of chemotherapeutic agents are limited. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of breast cancer patients who received adjuvant treatment and had available serial echocardiography results. Patients were assigned to subgroups based on chemotherapy containing anthracyclines (A), anthracyclines and taxanes (A+T), and radiotherapy (RT). The development of cardiac disease and serial ejection fraction (EF) were reviewed. EF decline up to 10% from baseline was considered grade 1 cardiotoxicity and EF decline >20% or absolute value <50% was considered grade 2 cardiotoxicity. The most recent medical records and echocardiography results over 1 year of chemotherapy completion were also reviewed. Late cardiotoxicity was defined as a lack of recovery of EF decline or aggravated EF decline from baseline. Results: In total, 123 patients were evaluated. A small reduction in EF was observed after chemotherapy in both chemotherapy groups. There were no significant differences between groups A and A+T in EF decline following chemotherapy. We could not find any differences in composite risk between the chemotherapy groups and the RT group during follow-up. Late cardiotoxicity was seen in 15.45% of patients. During follow-up, three patients were diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy. Conclusion: There was no significant composite risk elevation following adjuvant treatment of breast cancer. However, late cardiotoxicity was considerable and further research in this direction is necessary.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Oncology
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.135-141
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• 2018

Purpose: Axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) and sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) are important for staging of patients with node-positive breast cancer. However, these can be avoided in select micrometastatic diseases, preventing postoperative complications. The present study evaluated the ability of axillary lymph node maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) on positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) to predict axillary metastasis of breast cancer. Methods: The records of invasive breast cancer patients who underwent pretreatment (surgery and/or chemotherapy) PET-CT between January 2006 and December 2014 were reviewed. ALNs were preoperatively evaluated by PET-CT. Lymph nodes were dissected by SLNB or ALND. SUVmax was measured in both the axillary lymph node and primary tumor. Student t-test and chi-square test were used to analyze sensitivity and specificity. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) and area under the ROC curve (AUC) analyses were performed. Results: SUV-tumor (SUV-T) and SUV-lymph node (SUV-LN) were significantly higher in the triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) group than in other groups (SUV-T: 5.99, P<0.01; SUV-LN: 1.29, P=0.014). The sensitivity (0.881) and accuracy (0.804) for initial ALN staging were higher in fine needle aspiration+PET-CT than in other methods. For PET-CT alone, the subtype with the highest sensitivity (0.870) and negative predictive value (0.917) was TNBC. The AUC for SUV-LN was greatest in TNBC (0.797). Conclusion: The characteristics of SUV-T and SUV-LN differed according to immunohistochemistry subtype. Compared to other subtypes, the true positivity of axillary metastasis on PET-CT was highest in TNBC. These findings could help tailor management for therapeutic and diagnostic purposes.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.344-349
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• 2019

Background Lymphaticovenous anastomosis is an important surgical treatment for lymphedema, with lymphaticovenous side-to-end anastomosis (LVSEA) and lymphaticovenous end-to-end anastomosis being the most frequently performed procedures. However, LVSEA can cause lymphatic flow obstruction because of regurgitation and tension in the anastomosis. In this study, we introduce a novel and simple procedure to overcome this problem. Methods Thirty-five female patients with lower extremity lymphedema who underwent lymphaticovenous anastomosis at our hospital were included in this study. Eighty-five LVSEA procedures were performed, of which 12 resulted in insufficient venous blood flow. For these 12 anastomoses, the proximal lymphatic vessel underwent clipping after the anastomotic procedure and the venous inflow was monitored. Subsequently, the proximal ligation after side-to-end anastomosis recovery (PLASTER) technique, which involves ligating the proximal side of the lymphatic vessel, was applied. A postoperative evaluation was performed using indocyanine green 6 months after surgery. Results Despite the clipping procedure, three of the 12 anastomoses still showed poor venous inflow. Therefore, it was not possible to apply the PLASTER technique in those cases. Among the nine remaining anastomoses in which the PLASTER technique was applied, three (33%) were patent. Conclusions Our findings show that achieving patent anastomosis is challenging when postoperative venous inflow is poor. We achieved good results by performing proximal ligation after LVSEA. Thus, the PLASTER technique is a particularly useful recovery technique when LVSEA does not result in good run-off.

• Journal of Korean Medicine Rehabilitation
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.141-148
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• 2019

Cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) is a severe disease that usually needs surgical treatment. We have treated two CSM patients with Korean traditonal medicine, which includes acupuncture, pharmacopuncture, herbal medicine and manual treatment (Chuna). For objective evaluation, we used Nurick's classification, JOA (Japanses Orthopedic Association) score, grip and release test and hand grasping power measurement. Post-treatment analysis has shown that grip and release test score and grasping power of two patients were both remarkably improved, along with the improvements on both Nurick's classification and JOA score. This study showed that Korean traditional medicine could be effective conservative treatment for CSM.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.325-336
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• 2021

The occurrence of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGIDs) is a formidable challenge for infants, parents, and healthcare professionals. Although data from the Middle East are scarce, experts consider FGIDs a prevalent condition in everyday clinical practice. The new Rome IV criteria revisited the definitions from a clinical perspective to provide a practical and consistent diagnostic protocol for FGIDs. However, the treatment practices for functional disorders vary considerably among Middle Eastern countries, often resulting in mismanagement with unnecessary investigations and treatments. In addition, the role of various treatment modalities, including probiotics such as Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938, in FGIDs requires further discussion and evaluation. During a consensus meeting, a locally relevant approach for treating common FGIDs such as infant regurgitation, infant colic, and functional constipation was discussed and approved by regional experts. The participants suggested a simplified treatment plan and protocol for general pediatricians and other primary care physicians managing FGIDs. This easy-to-follow standardized protocol will help streamline the initial management of this complex disorder in the Middle East region and even globally.