• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.2037-2041
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• 2015

Background: Relationships between poor prognosis of ovarian malignancies and changes in complete blood count parameters have been proposed previously. In this work, we aimed to evaluate clinicopathologic features in adolescents with adnexal masses and sought to establish any predictive value of the platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in diagnosis. Materials and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted on 196 adolescent females with adnexal masses. Three groups were constituted with respect to clinical or histopathology results: group 1, non-neoplastic patients (n:65); group 2, neoplastic patients (n:68); and group 3 expectantly managed patients (n:63). The main parameters recorded from the hospital database and patient files were age, body mass index (BMI), chief symptoms, diameter of the mass (DOM), tumor marker levels, complete blood count values including absolute neutrophil, lymphocyte, and platelet counts, mean platelet volume, platelet distribution width, and platecrit, surgical features, and postoperative histopathology results. Results: The expectantly managed patients were younger than the other groups (p=0.007). The mean body mass index (BMI) was higher in the neoplastic group (p=0.016). Preoperative DOM, CA125, mean platelet volume and PLR were statistically significantly different between the groups (p<0.05). ROC curve analysis demonstrated that increased PLR (AUC, 0.609; p=0.011) and BMI (AUC, 0.611; p=0.011) may be discriminative factors in predicting ovarian neoplasms in adolescents preoperatively. When the cut-off point for the PLR level was set to 140, the sensitivity and specificity levels were found to be 65.7% and 57.6%, respectively. Conclusions: We suggest that beside a careful preoperative evaluation including clinical characteristics, ultrasonographic features and tumor markers, PLR may predict ovarian neoplasms in adolescents.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.396-403
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• 2012

Objective : The predictors of cranioplasty infection after decompressive craniectomy have not yet been fully characterized. The objective of the current study was to compare the long-term incidences of surgical site infection according to the graft material and cranioplasty timing after craniectomy, and to determine the associated factors of cranioplasty infection. Methods : A retrospective cohort study was conducted to assess graft infection in patients who underwent cranioplasty after decompressive craniectomy between 2001 and 2011 at a single-center. From a total of 197 eligible patients, 131 patients undergoing 134 cranioplasties were assessed for event-free survival according to graft material and cranioplasty timing after craniectomy. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis and Cox regression methods were employed, with cranioplasty infection identified as the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes were also evaluated, including autogenous bone resorption, epidural hematoma, subdural hematoma and brain contusion. Results : The median follow-up duration was 454 days (range 10 to 3900 days), during which 14 (10.7%) patients suffered cranioplasty infection. There was no significant difference between the two groups for event-free survival rate for cranioplasty infection with either a cryopreserved or artificial bone graft (p=0.074). Intergroup differences according to cranioplasty time after craniectomy were also not observed (p=0.083). Poor neurologic outcome at cranioplasty significantly affected the development of cranioplasty infection (hazard ratio 5.203, 95% CI 1.075 to 25.193, p=0.04). Conclusion : Neurologic status may influence cranioplasty infection after decompressive craniectomy. A further prospective study about predictors of cranioplasty infection including graft material and cranioplasty timing is necessary.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.117-128
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• 2003

Thallium-201 scintigraphy is used to discriminate the malignant bone tumor from the benign by qualitatively and quantitatively, and to predict the response of preoperative chemotherapy in osteosarcoma, by comparing the changes of thallium uptake ratio after chemotherapy to the tumor necrosis ratio. Thallium-201 scintigraphy scan should be done prior to surgical biopsy. PICKER Prism 2000 gamma camera with high resolution parallel hole collimator is usually used for scanning. The patient is injected with 2-3mCi of Tl-201 and the early phase is checked in 30 minutes and delayed phase in 3 hours. The scan images are visually evaluated by a blinded nuclear medicine physician. We could evaluate true positive, true negative, false positive and false negative by the comparison of results with those of biopsy, and calculate positive and negative predictive value(%), sensitivity(%), specificity(%) and diagnostic accuracy(%). For the quantitative analysis of thallium uptake, we drew the region of interest on the tumor side and contralateral normal side as mirror image, and calculated the uptake ratio with dividing the amount of gamma count in tumor side by normal side. We could calculate the percent changes of thallium uptake ratio in early and delayed phase, and compare them to the ratio of tumor necrosis. Thallium-201 scintigraphy proved as useful imaging study to discriminate malignant bone tumor from benign, but had exception in giant cell tumor and low grade malignant bone tumors. We can use T1-201 scan to differentiate the benign from the malignant tumor, and to evaluate the response of preoperative chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and to determine the residual tumor or local recurrence. For the better result, we need to have a more detail information about false positive cases and a more objective and quantitative reading technique.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.597-601
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• 2016

Background: Components of the systemic inflammatory response, combined to form inflammation-based prognostic scores (mGPS, NLR, PLR, PI, PNI) have been associated with overall survival. The aim of the present study was to compare various prognostic factors including many previously established parameters and such systemic inflammation-based prognostic scores in a series of incurable stage IV colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. Materials and Methods: Patients (n=167) with stage IV CRC undergoing surgical procedures between 2005 and 2013 were enrolled. Preoperatively (7-30 days before surgery), routine laboratory examinations were performed on the same day. We calculated scores using these data and analyzed the association with cancer specific survival (CSS) statistically. Results: Univariate analysis revealed significant associations between CSS and WBC, albumin, CRP, CEA values, mGPS, PNI, and PI values among preoperative factors. On multivariate analysis, high mGPS and high CEA independently predicted shorter CSS (p=0.001 and p=0.018). A new scoring system was constructed using mGPS and CEA. When patients were separated into three categorized using this system, the new score accurately predicted CSS (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The present study indicates that a new scoring system, consisting of mGPS and CEA, is a simple and useful tool in predicting the survival of patients with incurable stage IV CRC, and should be included in the routine assessment of these patients for decision making of appropriate treatment.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.252-258
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• 2014

Purpose: The macroscopic diagnosis of tumor invasion through the serosa during surgery is not always distinct in patients with gastric cancer. The prognostic impact of the difference between macroscopic findings and pathological diagnosis of serosal invasion is not fully elucidated and needs to be re-evaluated. Materials and Methods: A total of 370 patients with locally advanced pT2 to pT4a gastric cancer who underwent curative surgery were enrolled in this study. Among them, 155 patients with pT3 were divided into three groups according to the intraoperative macroscopic diagnosis of serosal invasion, as follows: serosa exposure (SE)(-) (no invasion, 72 patients), SE(${\pm}$) (ambiguous, 47 patients), and SE(+) (definite invasion, 36 patients), and the clinicopathological features, surgical outcomes, and disease-free survival (DFS) were analyzed. Results: A comparison of the 5-year DFS between pT3_SE(-) and pT2 groups and between pT3_SE(+) and pT4a groups revealed that the differences were not statistically significant. In addition, in a subgroup analysis of pT3 patients, the 5-year DFS was 75.1% in SE(-), 68.5% in SE(${\pm}$), and 39.4% in SE(+) patients (P<0.05). In a multivariate analysis to evaluate risk factors for tumor recurrence, macroscopic diagnosis (hazard ratio [HR], SE(-) : SE(${\pm}$) : SE(+)=1 : 1.01 : 2.45, P=0.019) and lymph node metastasis (HR, N0 : N1 : N2 : N3=1 : 1.45 : 2.20 : 9.82, P<0.001) were independent risk factors for recurrence. Conclusions: Gross inspection of serosal invasion by the surgeon had a strong impact on tumor recurrence in gastric cancer patients. Consequently, the gross appearance of serosal invasion should be considered as a factor for predicting patients' prognosis.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.335-340
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• 2013

Background In patients with medial orbital wall fracture, predicting the correlation between the degree of enophthalmos and the extent of fracture is essential for deciding on surgical treatment. We conducted this retrospective study to identify the correlation between the two parameters. Methods We quantitatively analyzed the correlation between the area of the bone defect and the degree of enophthalmos on computed tomography scans in 81 patients with medial orbital wall fracture who had been left untreated for more than six months. Results There was a significant linear positive correlation between the area of the medial orbital wall fracture and the degree of enophthalmos with a formula of E=0.705A+0.061 (E, the degree of enophthalmos; A, the area of bone defect) (Pearson's correlation coefficient, 0.812) (P<0.05). In addition, that there were no cases in which the degree of enophthalmos was greater than 2 mm when the area of the medial orbital wall fracture was smaller than $1.90cm^2$. Conclusions Our results indicate not only that 2 mm of enophthalmos corresponds to a bone defect area of approximately $2.75cm^2$ in patients with medial orbital wall fracture but also that the degree of enophthalmos could be quantitatively predicted based on the area of the bone defect even more than six months after trauma.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.1251-1254
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• 2015

Background: To compare prevalence of anxiety in ovarian cancer patients following primary treatment to that of normal women and to examine predicting factor. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 56 ovarian cancer patients who had primary surgical treatment within the past five years (cancer group) and 56 age-matched women who attended an outpatient clinic for check-ups (non-cancer group) were recruited from June 2013 to January 2014. The hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS), was used to determine anxiety level of the participants with the score of ${\geq}11$ suggestive of anxiety. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms and mean HADS scores for anxiety were compared between the study groups. For those with ovarian cancer, associations of demographic and clinical factors with anxiety was examined. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results: Participants in the non-cancer group had higher rate of medical comorbidity, higher salary, and more frequent university education. The prevalence of anxiety was not different between the groups, at 7.1% each. The mean HADS scores for anxiety subscale were not significantly different between the groups, 5.0 in the cancer group vs 6.1 in the non-cancer group (p=0.09). On multivariable analysis, no demographic or clinical factors significantly associated with anxiety were identified. For the cancer group, no association between any particular factors and anxiety was demonstrated. Conclusions: The prevalence of anxiety in women with ovarian cancer following primary treatment was comparable to that of normal women seeking routine check-up.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• v.37
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• pp.19.1-19.7
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• 2015

Background: The purpose of this retrospective study was to investigate the usefulness of tracheostomy scoring system in the decision of postoperative airway management in oral cancer patients. Materials and methods: A total of 104 patients were reviewed in this retrospective study, who underwent radical resection with or without neck dissection and free flap reconstruction due to oral cancer. The patients were classified into three groups according to the timing of the extubation; extubated groups (n = 51), overnight intubation group (n = 45), and tracheostomy group (n = 8). Cameron's score was used to evaluate the relation between the state of the patient's airway and the type of the operation. Results: Tracheostomy was performed in eight patients (8/104, 7.7 %). A total of 22 patients (21.2 %) had more than 5 points of which 17 patients (77.3 %) did not have a tracheostomy and any postoperative emergency airway problems. The tracheostomy scores were significantly different among the three groups. Hospital stay showed a significant correlation with the tracheostomy score. Conclusions: The scoring system did not quite agree with the airway management of the authors' clinic; however, it can be one of the clinical factors predicting the degree of the postoperative airway obstruction and surgical aggressiveness for recovery. The further studies are needed for clinically more reliable scoring systems.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.354-359
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• 2012

Background During the planning of a thoracodorsal artery perforator (TDAP) free flap, preoperative multidetector-row computed tomographic (MDCT) angiography is valuable for predicting the locations of perforators. However, CT-based perforator mapping of the thoracodorsal artery is not easy because of its small diameter. Thus, we evaluated 1-mm-thick MDCT images in multiple planes to search for reliable perforators accurately. Methods Between July 2010 and October 2011, 19 consecutive patients (13 males, 6 females) who underwent MDCT prior to TDAP free flap operations were enrolled in this study. Patients ranged in age from 10 to 75 years (mean, 39.3 years). MDCT images were acquired at a thickness of 1 mm in the axial, coronal, and sagittal planes. Results The thoracodorsal artery perforators were detected in all 19 cases. The reliable perforators originating from the descending branch were found in 14 cases, of which 6 had transverse branches. The former were well identified in the coronal view, and the latter in the axial view. The location of the most reliable perforators on MDCT images corresponded well with the surgical findings. Conclusions Though MDCT has been widely used in performing the abdominal perforator free flap for detecting reliable perforating vessels, it is not popular in the TDAP free flap. The results of this study suggest that multiple planes of MDCT may increase the probability of detecting the most reliable perforators, along with decreasing the probability of missing available vessels.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
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• v.28 no.2
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• pp.198-209
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to shorten the KPCS-1 (Korean Patient Classification System-1) for predicting nursing care need level and to explore whether the patients can be clustered by their acuity and dependency. Methods: The participants were inpatients in two surgical wards and two internal medicine wards at a teritory hospital during 14 days investigations. The KPCS-1 was evaluated once a day for all inpatients and 2,082 cases of data from a total of 411 patients were analyzed. Results: The items were reducted from 50 items to 26 items by partial least squares analysis and expert review. Through factor analysis, it was confirmed that hygiene, diet, elimination, and exercise were categorized as dependence factors. Patients were clustered with low acuity/low dependency (average score: 7.68±2.81/1.05±1.33), high acuity/low dependency (average score: 17.20±4.15/1.94±2.40), medium acuity/high dependency (average score: 13.56±5.30/9.66±2.64) through cluster analysis. The total score of the three groups for their nursing care needs was 8.73±3.36, 19.14±5.74, and 23.24±6.31 in order, and the results showed a statistically significant difference (F=1712.12, p<.001). Conclusion: The shortening of the KPCS-1 and the new criteria for categorizing patients according to acuity and dependence will increase clinical utility and be useful for manpower assignment criteria in detail.