Yonsei medical journal
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Yonsei medical journal · Sep 2011
ReviewAre you "tilting at windmills" or undertaking a valid clinical trial?
In this review, several aspects surrounding the choice of a therapeutic intervention and the conduct of clinical trials are discussed. Some of the background for why human studies have evolved to their current state is also included. Specifically, the following questions have been addressed: 1) What criteria should be used to determine whether a scientific discovery or invention is worthy of translation to human application? 2) What recent scientific advance warrants a deeper understanding of clinical trials by everyone? 3) What are the different types and phases of a clinical trial? 4) What characteristics of a human disorder should be noted, tracked, or stratified for a clinical trial and what inclusion /exclusion criteria are important to enrolling appropriate trial subjects? 5) What are the different study designs that can be used in a clinical trial program? 6) What confounding factors can alter the accurate interpretation of clinical trial outcomes? 7) What are the success rates of clinical trials and what can we learn from previous clinical trials? 8) What are the essential principles for the conduct of valid clinical trials?
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Yonsei medical journal · Sep 2011
The positive association between peripheral blood cell counts and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women.
Accumulating evidence has shown a close connection between hematopoiesis and bone formation. Our aim was to evaluate the association between peripheral blood cell counts and bone mineral density (BMD) in a sample of postmenopausal women. ⋯ The study results showed a positive relationship between blood cell counts and bone mineral density in postmenopausal women, supporting the idea of a close connection between hematopoiesis and bone formation. The study results also suggest that blood cell counts could be a putative marker for estimating BMD in postmenopausal women.
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Yonsei medical journal · Sep 2011
Further increases in carbapenem-, amikacin-, and fluoroquinolone-resistant isolates of Acinetobacter spp. and P. aeruginosa in Korea: KONSAR study 2009.
The increasing prevalence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria has become a serious worldwide problem. The aim of this study was to analyze antimicrobial resistance data generated in 2009 by hospitals and commercial laboratories participating in the Korean Nationwide Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance program. ⋯ Among the hospital isolates, ceftazidime-resistant K. pneumoniae and fluoroquinolone- resistant K. pneumoniae, Acinetobacter spp., and P. aeruginosa further increased. The increase in imipenem resistance was slight in P. aeruginosa, but drastic in Acinetobacter spp. The problematic antimicrobial-organism combinations were much more prevalent among ICU isolates.
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Yonsei medical journal · Sep 2011
Palpation device for the identification of kidney and bladder cancer: a pilot study.
To determine the ability of a novel palpation device to differentiate between benign and malignant tissues of the kidney and bladder by measuring tissue elasticity. ⋯ Our novel palpation device can potentially differentiate between malignant and benign kidney and bladder tissues. Further studies are necessary to verify our results and define its true clinical utility.
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Yonsei medical journal · Sep 2011
Case ReportsA case of pseudomembranous colitis after voriconazole therapy.
This is a case report on a 35-year-old man with acute myelogenous leukemia who presented fever and intermittent mucoid loose stool to the emergency center. He had been taking voriconazole for invasive pulmonary aspergillosis. The flexible sigmoidoscopy was consistent with the diagnosis of pseudomembranous colitis.