Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Mar 2014
Long term outcomes of pediatric liver transplantation according to age.
Liver transplantation (LT) has been the key therapy for end stage liver diseases. However, LT in infancy is still understudied. From 1992 to 2010, 152 children had undergone LT in Seoul National University Hospital. ⋯ However, the 1, 5, and 10 yr patient survival rates were 93%, 93%, and 93%, in Group A and 92%, 90%, and 88% in Group B (P = 0.212). The survival outcome of pediatric LT is excellent and similar regardless of age. LTs in infancy are not riskier than those of children.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Mar 2014
Validity of the Korean version of the fear of Alzheimer's disease scale for the assessment of anticipatory dementia.
Anticipatory dementia is related to anxiety, which is a clinical predictor of early conversion to Alzheimer's disease. The Fear of Alzheimer's Disease Scale (FADS) is a reliable and valid instrument to address anticipatory dementia. The aim of the present investigation was to develop the Korean version of the Fear of Alzheimer's Disease Scale (K-FADS) and to verify its reliability and validity. ⋯ The K-FADS revealed good reliability (Cronbach α=0.96) and good validity as compared to the Korean version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory Form (r=0.242, P=0.013). Test-retest reliability was excellent, as the intra-class correlation coefficient comparing the retest to test was 0.98 (95% confidence interval, 0.96-0.99). Our results show that the K-FADS is a suitable and valuable scale to assess anticipatory dementia in elderly Koreans.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Mar 2014
Recent trends of antigenic variation in Bordetella pertussis isolates in Korea.
Pertussis is a representative vaccine-preventable disease. However, there have been recent outbreaks in countries where even higher vaccination against the disease. One reason is the emergence of antigenic variants, which are different to vaccine type. ⋯ This ptxP3 type emerged from 2009 and its frequency had increased to 100% in 2012. Based on these results, it can be inferred that the genotypic changes in the currently circulating strains are strongly associated with the recent increasing of pertussis in Korea. Therefore, the surveillance system should be strengthened, and genetic characterization of the isolates should be expanded to the whole genome sequence level.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Mar 2014
The extended rapid response system: 1-year experience in a university hospital.
The rapid response system (RRS) is an innovative system designed for in-hospital, at-risk patients but underutilization of the RRS generally results in unexpected cardiopulmonary arrests. We implemented an extended RRS (E-RRS) that was triggered by actively screening at-risk patients prior to calls from primary medical attendants. These patients were identified from laboratory data, emergency consults, and step-down units. ⋯ There were a total of 1,996 E-RRS activations of simple consultations for invasive procedures. After E-RRS implementation, the mean hospital code rate decreased by 31.1% and the mean in-hospital mortality rate was reduced by 15.3%. In conclusion, the implementation of E-RRS is associated with a reduction in the in-hospital code and mortality rates.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Mar 2014
Non-spine bone metastasis as an initial manifestation of cancer in Korea.
Non-spine bone metastasis accounts for approximately 20% of all skeletal metastases, but little data have been published that focused on bone metastasis to the pelvis and extremities as an initial manifestation of cancer. We determined 1) clinicopathologic characteristics of patients who presented with non-spine bone metastasis of unknown primary malignancy, and 2) process by which the diagnosis of primary cancer was made. We retrospectively reviewed 84 patients with bone metastasis of unknown primary cancer site at the time of presentation. ⋯ Multiple bone metastases, distant organ metastasis, and multiple bone with organ metastases were the significant prognostic factors in univariate analysis. Multiple bone metastases remained significant after multivariate analysis (P = 0.008). Lung cancer is the most common site of primary cancer, and patients with multiple bone metastases have a poor prognosis, possibly due to disseminated cancer and a greater tumor burden.