• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.2091-2095
• /
• 2013

Background: The $7^{th}$ TNM staging is the first authoritative standard for evaluation of effectiveness of treatment of gastric cancer worldwide. However, revision of pN classification within TNM needs to be discussed. In particular, the N3 sub-stage is becoming more conspicuous. Methods: Clinical data of 302 pN3M0 stage gastric cancer patients who received radical gastrectomy in Tianjin Medical University Cancer Institute and Hospital from January 2001 to May 2006 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Location of tumor, depth of invasion, extranodal metastasis, gastric resection, combined organs resection, lymph node metastasis, rate of lymph node metastasis, negative lymph nodes count were important prognostic factors of pN3M0 stage gastric cancers. TNM stage was also associated with prognosis. Patients at T2N3M0 stage had a better prognosis than other sub-classification. T3N3M0 and T4aN3aM0 patients had equal prognosis which followed the T2N3M0. T4aN3bM0 and T4bN3aM0 had lower survival rate than the formers. T4bN3bM0 had worst prognosis. In multivariate analysis, TNM stage group and rate of lymph node metastasis were independent prognostic factors. Conclusions: The sub-stage of N3 may be useful for more accurate prediction of prognosis; it should therefore be applied in the TNM stage system.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.1-17
• /
• 2020

Three-dimensional microscopic approaches in histopathology display multiplex properties that present puzzling questions for specimens as related to their comprehensive volumetric information. This information includes spatial distribution of molecules, three-dimensional co-localization, structural formation and whole data set that cannot be determined by two-dimensional section slides due to the inevitable loss of spatial information. Advancement of optical instruments such as two-photon microscopy and high performance objectives with motorized correction collars have narrowed the gap between optical theories and the actual reality of deep tissue imaging. However, the benefits gained by a prolonged working distance, two-photon laser and optimized beam alignment are inevitably diminished because of the light scattering phenomenon that is deeply related to the refractive index mismatch between each cellular component and the surrounding medium. From the first approaches with simple crude refractive index matching techniques to the recent cutting-edge integrated tissue clearing methods, an achievement of transparency without morphological denaturation and eradication of natural and fixation-induced nonspecific autofluorescence out of real signal are key factors to determine the perfection of tissue clearing and the immunofluorescent staining for high contrast images. When performing integrated laboratory workflow of tissue for processing frozen and formalin-fixed tissues, clear lipid-exchanged acrylamide-hybridized rigid imaging/immunostaining/in situ hybridization-compatible tissue hydrogel (CLARITY), an equipment-based tissue clearing method, is compatible with routine procedures in a histopathology laboratory.

• Health Policy and Management
• /
• v.7 no.1
• /
• pp.125-154
• /
• 1997

The hospital, clinical department and the physician factor in explaining variations of hospital resource use in surgically admitted patients was compared. This analysis was based on 6, 361 discharges in 28 hospitals for three surgical conditions - lens procedures anal and stomal procedures, uterine and ovarian procedures using medical insurnce claim data. The results were as follows: 1. Regression analysis indicated that the hospital and clinical department characteristics, such as hospital ownership and size, were more significant predictors of the resource use indicators than the physician and patients' social characteristics. 2. Regarding to the physician factors, the hospital where the physician received the residency training and the medical shool where he/she graduated had less effect compared to the hospitals where he/she currently works. Between the residency trained hospital and medical school, the is more important than the latter. 3. When the hospital charges were divided into type of service provided i. e. room, drug, laboratory & radiologic, procedure & operation, and anesthesic charges, variance due to the hospital factor was larger than that due to the physician factor in each item. In summary, the hospital and clinical departmental factor played an important role than physician factor ; indicating to reduce the variation in hospital resource use, the policy that affects hospital behavior would be more effective than that targets individual physician behavior.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
• /
• v.32 no.5
• /
• pp.482-487
• /
• 2006

As the uses of dental implants are prevailing, the need for sinus bone graft is increasing. Deproteinized bovine bone mineral (DBBM) was not mentioned in 1996 Sinus Bone Graft because of the deficit of the available data. Since then, many clinical and laboratory reports support the use of DBBM in the sinus bone graft procedure. In this report, the histological and clinical successes of sinus bone grafting with DBBM is discussed with available literatures. After sinus bone grafts with DBBM, the proportion of new bone formed was similar or superior to natural maxillary posterior alveolar bone after healing period of 6 months to 1 year. It seems that the grafted DBBM is not be either resorbed nor replaced with bone, but this may not disturb the osseointegration of dental implants installed into it. The clinical survival rates of dental implants installed on the sinus grafted with DBBM was similar to those installed on the ungrafted posterior maxillary alveolar ridge or grafted with autogenous bone. So, it can be concluded that DBBM can be used successfully in the sinus bone graft.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• v.60 no.7
• /
• pp.216-220
• /
• 2017

Purpose: Vitamin D is associated with various pathological conditions such as cardiovascular diseases and cancer. We investigated the relationship between vitamin D and Kawasaki disease (KD). Methods: We performed a retrospective review of the medical records of patients with KD between February 2013 and March 2016 in Daegu Fatima Hospital. Study participants were grouped according to vitamin D serum concentration. Group 1 included patients with 25(OH)-vitamin D ${\geq}20ng/mL$. Group 2 included patients with 25(OH)-vitamin D <20 ng/mL. We analyzed the clinical characteristics and laboratory data of the 2 groups. Results: Of the 91 patients, 52 were included in group 1, and 39 in group 2. Group 1 patients had significantly higher levels of calcium, phosphate, albumin and sodium than group 2 patients did. There were no differences in clinical characteristics, but the proportion of patients with polymorphic rash was significantly higher in group 2. Resistance to intravenous immunoglobulin was more frequent in group 2 (P=0.023). No significant difference in the incidence of coronary artery complications was observed. Conclusion: Low vitamin D levels are associated with resistance to intravenous immunoglobulin therapy in KD. Vitamin D deficiency might be a risk factor for immunoglobulin resistance in KD.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.28-35
• /
• 2020

This study aimed to investigate the differences in the upper and lower limits of the 95% distribution of fasting blood glucose (FBG) by age groups. We also analyzed the changes in the mean values and dispersion of the data using the Korean Blood Glucose Reference Standard raw data published by the National Health Insurance Service (NHIS). Furthermore, the trends among 16 administrative districts were analyzed and any gender differences were determined. We also assessed whether the study results correlated with the relative standard uncertainty, as published by the NHIS. On the dispersion analysis using the differences between the upper and lower limits of the 95% distribution of FBG by age group, there were significant differences across gender and administrative districts (P<0.05). The gender differences in FBG measurements, as published by the NHIS, were significant across different administrative districts and age groups (P<0.001). This confirmed the need to recalculate the blood glucose reference standards for men and women. No significant correlation was observed between the relative standard uncertainty, as published by NHIS, and the dispersion and number of measurements analyzed in this study. However, it showed a high correlation with the measured mean value (R²=0.95). Therefore, further research on the reference standard and uncertainty is needed.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.56 no.3
• /
• pp.248-256
• /
• 2024

The purpose of this study was to identify the household air pollutants most significantly impacting hearing loss, using data from the 8th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Of the 1,980 participants, those with missing data were excluded from the study population, resulting in the final inclusion of 298 participants. Mild hearing loss is defined as a unilateral or bilateral pure-tone threshold average (PTA) of 26~40 dB, and moderate hearing loss is defined as a unilateral or bilateral PTA of 41 dB or higher. The mean of the PTAs for both ears is defined as the sum of the PTAs of the left and the right ears divided by 2. Complex samples multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that formaldehyde exposure independently significantly increased the risk of moderate hearing loss (odds ratio=1.050, P<0.001). Additionally, in the complex samples general linear model, toluene exposure (B=0.026, P<0.001) was found to be independently significantly associated with an increase in the mean of PTAs for both ears, where a higher mean of the PTAs for both ears indicates a decrease in hearing ability. These results suggest a strong association between hearing loss and the presence of toluene or formaldehyde in indoor air.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.1-7
• /
• 2005

The purpose of this study was to verify (i) a consistent calibration verification for the assessment of method linearity and (ii) calibration agreement with calibration settings. We validated calibration verification through method linearity with different lot number of individual calibrators that span the working range for 9 tests except salicylate with control sample in test. We evaluated that it covered broad analyte range to assay from near zero to the top of the measuring range with 5 or 6 points every three times for 10 analytes in TDM test. Target values were plotted on X-axis with assigned or observed values on the Y-axis. Working range were as follows. Calibration verification of the measuring range (maximum to minimum values) has been validated asetaminophen 0.1 to $304.6_{\mu}g/mL$, salicylate 0 to $1005_{\mu}g/mL$, valproic acid 3.2 to $154.19_{\mu}g/mL$, digoxin 0.17 to 5.65 ng/mL, vancomycine 1.3 to $80.51_{\mu}g/mL$, carbarmazepine 0.1 to $22.3_{\mu}g/mL$, phenytonin 0.6 to $40.21_{\mu}g/mL$, theophyline 0.2 to $40.21_{\mu}g/mL$, primidone 0 to $24.07_{\mu}g/mL$, phenobarbital 0.6 to $60.0_{\mu}g/mL$. Drawing a straight line through five or six points of these data showed good linearity. We are sure that it is important to assess the calibration verification of a test method to ascertain the lowest and highest test results that are reliable.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.69 no.1
• /
• pp.31-38
• /
• 2010

Background: Data comparing the clinical characteristics and outcomes in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients hospitalized with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP-COPD) and acute exacerbation (AECOPD) are very limited. Methods: Eighty episodes of hospitalization in 65 CAP-COPD patients, and 111 episodes of hospitalization in 82 AE-COPD patients were included in this study. The baseline characteristics, clinical presentations, potential bacterial pathogens and clinical outcomes in these patients were retrospectively reviewed and compared. Results: No significant differences were found between the two groups in parameters related to COPD and co-morbidities, except a higher rate of male among CAP-COPD patients. Clinical presentations by symptoms and laboratory findings on admission were significantly more severe in CAP-COPD patients, who showed higher rates of fever and crepitation, but less wheezing than AE-COPD patients. S. pneumoniae and P. aeruginosae were the most common bacterial pathogens in both groups. With no difference in the overall hospital mortality between both groups, the mean length of hospital stay was significantly longer in the CAP-COPD patients than in AE-COPD patients (15.3 vs. 9.8 days, respectively, p<0.01). Additional analysis on CAP-COPD patients showed that systemic steroid use did not influence the length of hospital stay. Conclusion: Although there was no significant difference in bacterial pathogens and overall hospital mortality between the two groups, CAP-COPD patients had more severe clinical symptoms and laboratory findings at presentation, and longer hospital stay than AE-COPD patients.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.141-146
• /
• 2007

Obstructive Sleep Apnea-Hypopnea Syndrome (OSAHS) is a disorder characterized by the repetitive collapse of the pharyngeal airway during sleep, which leads to oxygen desaturation, sleep fragmentation, daytime sleepiness, and increased risk for hypertension and stroke. We investigated the clinical factors related to the severity of OSAHS. Polysomnography was performed in three hundred and ninety five consecutive adult patients with clinical symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. All patients completed the sleep questionnaire and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale before polysomnography. Patients were classified into four groups based on the severity of their polysomnographic data: Non-OSA group, characterized by Apnea-Hypopnea Index (AHI) < 5; mild OSA group, by AHI 5-15; moderate OSA group, by AHI 16-30; and severe OSA group, by AHI > 30. Neck circumference was also measured at the cricothyroid level. A total of 395 patients (336 men and 59 women) were studied. In the non-OSA group, there were 55 patients; their mean neck circumference was $39.63{\pm}4.24cm$ and mean BMI was $24.48{\pm}3.53$. In the mild group, there were 101 patients; their mean neck circumference was $41.93{\pm}3.75cm$ and mean BMI was $25.33{\pm}2.94$. In the moderated group, there were 93 patients; their mean neck circumference was $43.27{\pm}3.50cm$ and BMI was $25.90{\pm}2.88$. In the severe group, there were 146 patients; their mean neck circumference was $44.94{\pm}3.93cm$ and mean BMI was $26.81{\pm}3.76$. Men had significantly larger neck circumference than women ($Mean{\pm}SD$, $43.72{\pm}3.83$ vs $39.17{\pm}4.30$, p < 0.001), and higher AHI than women ($29.12{\pm}22.65$ vs $14.63{\pm}14.11$, p < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that neck circumference was the most significant predictor of AHI. Neck circumference and BMI were positively correlated with the severity of OSAHS. The severity of OSAHS was greater in men than in women.