• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.152-159
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• 2007

Purpose: Recently, the use of laparoscopic assisted gastrectomy for early gastric cancer has been on the increase and the procedure has been quickly adopted by clincians. However, there are few reports regarding the safety and risk of this type of surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the morbidity and to verify the safety of laparoscopic assisted gastrectomy for early gastric cancer. Materials and Methods: A total of 376 patients that had undergone laparoscopic assisted gastrectomy for early gastric cancer between April 2004 and December 2006 were reviewed retrospectively. The clinicopathological characteristics, operative complications, and factors related to complications were evaluated. Results: The overall operative morbidity and mortality rates were 10.6% and 0%, intraoperative morbidity was 1.1% (4 of 376 patients) and post operative morbidity was 9.6% (36 of 376 patients). Most complications required no surgery except for an intestinal obstruction in two cases. Multivariate analysis of risk factors related to operative morbidity determined that age was an independent factor associated with morbidity (P=0.021). Conclusion: The complication rate of laparoscopic assisted gastrectomy is low and most complications can be managed by conservative methods rather than with surgery. There were no specific predicting factors for complications except old age. Laparoscopy is a technically feasible and acceptable surgical modality for early gastric cancer.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.40 no.2 s.271
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• pp.90-96
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• 2007

Background: Postoperative atrial fibrillation is the most frequently arrhythmic complication associated with coronary artery bypass graft surgery. This study was designed to investigate the incidence of atrial fibrillation in patients undergoing OPCAB and on-pump CABG and to identify the risk factors associated with its development. Material and Method: 247 consecutive patients were evaluated among 306 patients who underwent the coronary artery bypass graft surgery between January, 2002 and December, 2005. 178 patients underwent OPCAB (OPCAB group) and 69 patients underwent On-pump CABG (On-pump CABG group). The incidence and the risk factors of atrial fibrillation in two groups were determined. Result: There were no significant differences between two groups with respect to the preoperative demographic characteristics of the patients. The incidences of postoperative atrial fibrillation were 25 cases (14%) in OPCAB group and 15 cases (21%) in On-pump CABG group. Age over 65 years, net positive fluid imbalance for postoperative 3 days, and chest tube bleeding for postoperative 3 days were independent predictive factors in OPCAB group. Age over 65 years and net positive fluid imbalance for postoperative 3 days were independent predictive factors in On-pump CABG group. In multivariate analysis, age over 65 years was the only risk factor of postoperative atrial fibrillation in both groups. Conclusion: Atrial fibrillation is a common complication after procedures of myocardial revascularization. There wasn't a low incidence of postoperative atrial fibrillation in OPCAB, compared with On-pump CABG. Age over 65 years was associated with postoperative atrial fibrillation irrespective of the use of cardiopulmonary bypass.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.469-475
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• 1998

Purpose : To determine the role of Pelvic irradiation in stage I or IIA cervical carcinoma with pelvic nodal metastasis after hysterectomy and bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy. Materials and Methods : This is a retrospective study of 68 cervical carcinoma patients who were found to have pelvic nodal metastasis at hysterectomy and received pelvic irradiation from 1983 to 1996 at Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital. External beam radiation therapy to pelvis was delivered using 4 MeV Linac and intracavitary irradiation was given via vaginal ovoids or cylinders. Five-year survival and disease-free survival were estimated by Kaplan-Meier Method and prognostic factors related to survival were analysed by log-rank test and Cox proportional hazards regression model. Results : Median length of follow-up was 52months. Five-year overall survival and disease-free survival (DFS) were 81.8$\%$ and 81.7$\%$ respectively. Patients with endometrial invasion had a 57.1$\%$ 5-year DFS compared to 87.5$\%$ for those without endometrial invasion (p=0.0074). Multivariate analysis revealed endometrial invasion as an only statistically significant prognostic factor for 5-year DFS. Among total 15 (22$\%$) recurrences. pelvic recurrences occurred in 4 cases and distant metastases occurred in 13 cases. Conclusion : We have been able to confirm previous results demonstrating marked decrease in local recurrence after pelvic irradiation. In view of the high proportion of distant metastasis found in this study, a trial of aggressive adjuvant systemic therapy and irradiation in early stage cervical carcinoma patients with pelvic nodal metastasis, especially with endometrial invasion, appears to be warranted.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.94-101
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• 2018

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to investigate the change pattern and the leading factors of delirium in the palliative ward from 2 weeks before to the end of life. Methods : From October 2015 to August 2017, a retrospective chart review was conducted on the final 180 patients of 207 patients with terminal cancer patients at the Inha University Hospital. Clinical records were collected during palliative care hospitalization. Patients were diagnosed with three subtypes of delirium through the Richmond Agitation Sedation Scale and the Nursing Delirium Screening Scale, which were evaluated daily. Results : The prevalence of delirium 13 days before death was 46%, of which 18.3% were hyperactive subtypes, 13.8% were hypoactive subtypes, and mixed subtypes were 13.8%. And hyperactive delirium gradually decreased with the approach to the end of the day, and the mixed subtype gradually increased until 4 days before the end of life. Of the patients, the day before death, 86.9% were diagnosed with delirium. In multivariate analysis, hematologic malignancy was associated with a lower rate of delirium at the end of life than gastrointestinal cancer. Overweight was associated with hyperactive, mixed, and hypoactive delirium. Conclusions : Most palliative care patients experienced delirium at the end of life. Overweight was considered as a protective factor that reduced the all subtypes of delirium at the end of life. Further prospective studies are needed to reveal the prevalence of terminal delirium, and their risk factors.

• The Korean Journal of Medicine
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• v.94 no.1
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• pp.96-106
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• 2019

Background/Aims: It is well known that gender differences are associated with clinical outcomes in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, it is not clear whether gender differences affect the prognosis of elderly patients with AMI. Methods: We analyzed the incidence of in-hospital complications and mortality in the Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institutes of Health from November 2011 to June 2015. This study included elderly patients (≥ 75 years) diagnosed with AMI. Results: A total of 2,953 patients were eligible for this study. Among them, 1,529 (51.8%) patients were female, and the mean age of the female group was older than that of the male group (80.7 ± 4.4 vs. 79.6 ± 4.0 years, respectively, p < 0.001). Elderly females utilized emergency medical services less frequently compared with elderly males (11.5 vs. 15.4%, respectively, p < 0.001). Elderly female AMI patients had a similar rate of in-hospital mortality compared with elderly males (7.1 vs. 8.4%, respectively, p = 0.196). The rate of major cardiac adverse events (MACEs) was lower in elderly females than males during a 12-month follow-up (hazard ratio [HR] 1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00-1.41, p = 0.045). According to multivariate analysis, the male gender is an independent factor for predicting 1-year MACEs (HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.14-1.65, p < 0.001). Conclusions: No significant differences in peri-procedural complications or in-hospital mortality were observed between male and female elderly patients with AMI. However, elderly female patients had a more favorable prognosis than male patients during a 1-year clinical follow-up.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.102-117
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• 2009

This study was carried out to investigate the extent to which benthic environment of Ulsan Bay was disturbed by organic materials and trace metals from the megacity and industrial complex. Field survey for benthic environment and macroinvertebrate community was seasonally conducted from February to November 2006 at nine stations covering the inside and outside of the bay. TOC was on average 1.7% while four (As, Cu, Pb, Zn) out of seven trace metals measured exceeded the Effects Range Low (ERL) in most of the stations. Total number of species sampled was 199 and mean density was 4,578 ind./$m^2$, both of which were greatly dominated by the polychaetes. Dominant species were Aphelochaeta monilaris (22.6%), Ruditapes philippinarum (17.1%), Magelona japonica (12.2%), Lumbrineris longifolia (9.9%) and their distribution was ruled by the difference in the benthic environmental condition of each station. From the multivariate analyses, four stational groups were identified: northern part of the bay, middle and lower part of the bay, the intersection of Taewha River and Gosa stream and outside of the bay. As a result, the community heterogeneity of inner bay was much more greater than that of outer bay. SIMPER analysis showed that four groups were represented by R. philippinarum-Capitella capitata, A. monilaris-Balanoglossus carnosus, Sinocorophium sinensis-Cyathura higoensis and M. japonica-Ampharete arctica, respectively. Spatio-temporal changes of macroinvertebrate communities in Ulsan Bay were closely related to those of depth, mean grain size and organic content, and Zn was also a meaningful factor in that context.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 1996

Purpose: We tried to evaluate the role of conventional radiotherapy alone or with neoadjuvant chemotherapy in oropharyngeal cancer in terms of survival rates and to identify prognostic factors affecting survival by retrospective analysis. Materials and Methods: Forty seven patients of oropharyngeal cancer were treated by conventional radiotherapy in our hospital from Nov. 1985 to APr. 1993. Of these, twenty six patients were treated by conventional radio-therapy alone, and 21 patients with neoadjuvant chemotherapy of mostly two or more cycles of cisplatin and pepleomycin. The Patient characteristics of radiotherapy alone group and neoadjuvant chemotherapy group were not different generally. Radiotherapy was performed by 6MV-LINAC and the total radiation doses of Primary tumors were 54.0-79.2 Gy and cervical lymph nodes were 55.8-90.0 Gy with a fraction size of 1.8 or 2.0 Gy per day. The range of follow-up periods was 3-102 months and median was 20 months. The range of a9e was 33-79 years old and median was 58 years old. Results : Overall 3-year actuarial survival rate (3YSR) of all patients was $39\%$. The 3YSRS of stage I (n=5), II (n=11), III (n=12) and IV (n=19) were 60, 55, 33 and $32\%$, respectively The 3YSRS of Tl+2, T3+4 and No, N+ were 55, $18\%$ (p=0.005) and 43, $36\%$ (p>0.1), respectively. There was no difference in 3YSRS between radiotherapy alone group and neoadjuvant chemotherapy group (38 vs $43\%$, p>0.1). According to the original site of primary tumor, the 3YSRS of tonsil (n=32), base of tongue (n=8), soft palate or uvula (n=6) and pharyngeal wall (n=1) were 36 38, 67 and $0\%$, respectively The Patients of soft palate or uvular cancer had longer survival than other primaries but the difference was not significant statistically (p>0.1). Of 32 patients of tonsillar cancer, 22 Patients who had primary extension to adjacent tissue showed inferior survival rate to the ones who had not Primary extension, but the difference was marginally significant statistically (24 vs $60\%$, p=0.08). On Cox multivariate analysis in entire patients with variables of age, T stage, N stage, total duration of radiotherapy, the site of primary tumor and the use of neoadjuvant chemotherapy, only T stage was a significant Prognostic factor affecting 3YSR. Conclusion : The difference of 3YASRS of conventional radiotherapy alone group and neoadjuvant chemotherapy group was not significant statistically. These treatments could be effective in oropharyngeal cancer of early stage, especially such as soft palate, uvular or tonsillar cancer which did not extend to adjacent tissue. But in order to improve the survival of patients of most advanced oropharyngeal cancer, other altered fractionated radiotherapy such as hyperfractionation rather than conventional fractionation or multi-modal approach combining radiotherapy and accessible surgery or concurrent chemotherapy might be beneficial.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.126-132
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• 2009

Purpose: We wanted to evaluate the prognostic factors for the pathologic N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients who were treated by postoperative radiotherapy. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 112 pN2 NSCLC patients who underwent surgery and postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) From January 1999 to February 2008. Seventy-five (67%) patients received segmentectomy or lobectomy and 37 (33%) patients received pneumonectomy. The resection margin was negative in 94 patients, and it was positive or close in 18 patients. Chemotherapy was administered to 103 (92%) patients. Nine (8%) patients received PORT alone. The median radiation dose was 54 Gy (range, 45 to 66), and the fraction size was 1.8~2 Gy. Results: The 2-year overall survival (OS) rate was 60.2% and the disease free survival (DFS) rate was 44.7% for all the patients. Univariate analysis showed that the patients with multiple-station N2 disease had significantly reduced OS and DFS (p=0.047, p=0.007) and the patients with an advanced T stage ($\geq$T3) had significantly reduced OS and DFS (p<0.001, p=0.025). A large tumor size ($\geq$5 cm) and positive lymphovascular invasion reduced the OS (p=0.035, 0.034). Using multivariate analysis, we found that multiple-station N2 disease and an advanced T stage ($\geq$T3) significantly reduced the OS and DFS. Seventy one patients (63.4%) had recurrence of disease. The patterns of failure were loco-regional in 23 (20.5%) patients, distant failure in 62 (55.4%) and combined loco-regional and distant failure in 14 (12.5%) patients. Conclusion: Multiple involvement of mediastinal nodal stations for the pN2 NSCLC patients with PORT was a poor prognostic factor in this study. A prospective study is necessary to evaluate the N2 subclassification and to optimize the adjuvant treatment.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.522-529
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• 2005

Background : Several national societies have published guidelines for empirical antimicrobial therapy in patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP). This study investigated the etiologies of SCAP in the Asan Medical Center and assessed the relationship between the initial empirical antimicrobial regimen and 30 day mortality rate. Method : retrospective analysis was performed on patients with SCAP admitted to the ICU between March 2002 and February 2004 in the Asan Medical Center. The basic demographic data, bacteriologic study results and initial antimicrobial regimen were examined for all patients. The clinical outcomes including the ICU length of stay, the ICU mortality rate, and 30 days mortality rates were assessed by the initial antimicrobial regimen. Results : One hundred sixteen consecutive patients were admitted to the ICU (mean age 66.5 years, 81.9 % male, 30 days mortality 28.4 %). The microbiologic diagnosis was established in 58 patients (50 %). The most common pathogens were S. pneumoniae (n=12), P. aeruginosae (n=9), K. pneumonia (n=9) and S. aureus (n=8). The initial empirical antimicrobial regimens were classified as: ${\beta}$-lactam plus macrolide; ${\beta}$-lactam plus fluoroquinolone; anti-Pseudomonal ${\beta}$-lactam plus fluoroquinolone; Aminoglycoside combination regimen; ${\beta}$-lactam plus clindamycin; and ${\beta}$-lactam alone. There were no statistical significant differences in the 30-day mortality rate according to the initial antimicrobial regimen (p = 0.682). Multivariate analysis revealed that acute renal failure, acute respiratory distress syndrome and K. pneumonae were independent risk factors related to the 30 day mortality rate. Conclusion : S. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosae, K. pneumonia and S. aureus were the most common causative pathogens in patients with SCAP and K. pneumoniae was an independent risk factor for 30 day mortality. The initial antimicrobial regimen was not associated with the 30-day mortality.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.181-188
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• 2009

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the results of postoperative radiotherapy in a case of perihilar cholagiocarcinoma by analyzing overall survival rate, patterns of failure, prognostic factors for overall survival, and toxicity. Materials and Methods: Between January 1998 and March 2008, 38 patients with perihilar cholangiocarcinoma underwent a surgical resection and adjuvant radiotherapy. The median patient age was 59 years (range, 28 to 72 years), which included 23 men and 15 women. The extent of surgery was complete resection in 9 patients, microscopically positive margins in 25 patients, and a subtotal resection in 4 patients. The tumor bed and regional lymphatics initially received 45 Gy or 50 Gy, but was subsequently boosted to a total dose of 59.4 Gy or 60 Gy in incompletely resected patients. The median radiotherapy dose was 59.4 Gy. Concurrent chemotherapy was administered in 30 patients. The median follow-up period was 14 months (range, 6 to 45 months). Results: The 3-year overall survival and 3-year progression free survival rates were 30% and 8%, respectively. The median survival time was 28 months. A multivariate analysis showed that differentiation was the only significant factor for overall survival. The 3-year overall survival was 34% in R0 patients and 20% in R1 patients. No statistically significant differences in survival were found between the 2 groups (p=0.3067). The first site of failure was local in 18 patients (47%). No patient experienced grade 3 or higher acute toxicity and duodenal bleeding developed in 2 patients. Conclusion: Our results suggest that adjuvant RT might be a significant factor in patients with a positive margin following a radical resection. However, there was still a high locoregional recurrence rate following surgery and postoperative radiotherapy. Further study is necessary to enhance the effect of the adjuvant radiotherapy.