Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2014
Multicenter Study Controlled Clinical TrialSirolimus conversion efficacy for graft function improvement and histopathology in renal recipients with mild to moderate renal insufficiency.
This study was designed to evaluate whether sirolimus (SRL) conversion effectively improves renal function and histopathology in calcineurin inhibitor (CNI)-treated renal recipients with mild to moderate renal insufficiency. SRL conversion from CNI was performed in patients who underwent kidney transplantation from 6 months to 5 yr prior to screening. Forty-five patients were enrolled. ⋯ In contrast, protocol biopsies demonstrated no significant improvements in the modified "ah" score or other Banff scores after SRL conversion. Furthermore, the duration of CNI treatment prior to SRL conversion was not associated with histological findings 1 yr after SRL conversion. SRL conversion improved graft function in renal recipients with mild to moderate renal insufficiency, but this effect is not accompanied by histological improvement.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2014
Multicenter Study Observational StudyAssociation between bone mineral density and clinical consequences: cross-sectional study of Korean postmenopausal women in an orthopaedic outpatient clinic.
This study is to identify the characteristics of BMD and the related clinical consequences through a nationwide, consecutive, cross-sectional study. A total of 1,281 postmenopausal women was enrolled nationwide and underwent measurement for BMD using dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. Following the T-spine and L-spine plane radiography, they were evaluated for vertebral fracture by a semi-quantitative method using the Genant's method. ⋯ The femur neck and total hip BMDs were significantly lower in hip fracture group (0.646 g/cm(2) and 0.643 g/cm(2), respectively) and wrist fracture group (0.661 g/cm(2) and 0.712 g/cm(2), respectively) than in subjects without fracture (0.721 g/cm(2) and 0.712 g/cm(2), respectively). The BMD was significantly lower with more severe degree of deformity in vertebral fracture and lower scores in mobility, usual activities and pain/discomfort of the EQ-5D. In Korean postmenopausal women, the prevalence of osteoporosis and vertebral, hip and wrist fracture increase and quality of life decreases with lower BMD.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2014
Multicenter Study Comparative StudyComparison of Korean COPD guideline and GOLD initiative report in term of acute exacerbation: a validation study for Korean COPD guideline.
The purpose of this study was to compare the Korean COPD guideline to GOLD consensus report in terms of acute exacerbation. A total of 361 patients were enrolled in this study, and 16.9% of them experienced acute exacerbation during the follow-up. A total of 6.3% of patients in GOLD A, 9.5% in GOLD B, 7.7% in GOLD C and 17.0% of GOLD D experienced exacerbation during the first year of follow-up, respectively (P=0.09). ⋯ A total of 16.0% of the patients who were reclassified from GOLD A to Korean group 'da' experienced acute exacerbation,and 15.3% from GOLD B to Korean group 'da' experienced acute exacerbation. In summary, the Korean COPD guideline is useful to differentiate the high risk from low risk for exacerbation in terms of spirometry. This indicates that application of Korean COPD guideline is appropriate to treat Korean COPD patients.