• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제36권1호
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• pp.11-50
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• 2023

As the field of interventional pain management (IPM) grows, the risk of surgical site infections (SSIs) is increasing. SSI is defined as an infection of the incision or organ/space that occurs within one month after operation or three months after implantation. It is also common to find patients with suspected infection in an outpatient clinic. The most frequent IPM procedures are performed in the spine. Even though primary pyogenic spondylodiscitis via hematogenous spread is the most common type among spinal infections, secondary spinal infections from direct inoculation should be monitored after IPM procedures. Various preventive guidelines for SSI have been published. Cefazolin, followed by vancomycin, is the most commonly used surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in IPM. Diagnosis of SSI is confirmed by purulent discharge, isolation of causative organisms, pain/tenderness, swelling, redness, or heat, or diagnosis by a surgeon or attending physician. Inflammatory markers include traditional (C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and white blood cell count) and novel (procalcitonin, serum amyloid A, and presepsin) markers. Empirical antibiotic therapy is defined as the initial administration of antibiotics within at least 24 hours prior to the results of blood culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing. Definitive antibiotic therapy is initiated based on the above culture and testing. Combination antibiotic therapy for multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria infections appears to be superior to monotherapy in mortality with the risk of increasing antibiotic resistance rates. The never-ending war between bacterial resistance and new antibiotics is continuing. This article reviews prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of infection in pain medicine.

• 동아시아식생활학회지
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• 제23권6호
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• pp.713-722
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of dietary green tea powder supplementation on bone metabolism in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats (body weight $210{\pm}3g$) were divided into two groups, diabetic and non-diabetic groups. Each group was randomly divided into two subgroups which were fed with the control and 1% green tea powder diets. The serum and urine concentrations of calcium and phosphorus were determined. Serum osteocalcin and ALP and urinary DPD crosslinks value were measured in order to monitor bone formation and resorption. Bone mineral density (BMD) and bone mineral content (BMC) were estimated using PIXImus in the spine and femur. Body weight gain and FER were lower in the diabetic group than in the non-diabetic group regardless of diets. The serum concentration of calcium and phosphorus were not changed among all groups. Urinary calcium and phosphorus excretion were higher in the diabetic group than in the non-diabetic group regardless of diets; however, they were not significantly different by green tea powder intake. Serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was increased in the diabetic group than in thenon-diabetic group. Further, there were no significant differences in serum osteocalcin and urinary deoxypyridinoline crosslinks value among all groups. The levels of spine and femur bone mineral density of the diabetic group were significantly lower than that of the non-diabetic group. Within the diabetic group, spine BMD was significantly higher in rats fed with the green tea powder diet than in rats fed the control diet. Therefore, this study suggests that green tea powder has a beneficial effect on bone health, although it is not directly applicable to humans.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제17권3호
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• pp.939-944
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• 2016

Background: Cell-free DNA circulating in blood is a candidate biomarker for malignant tumors. Unlike uniformly truncated DNA released from apoptotic non diseased cells, DNA released from necrotic cancer cells varies in size. Objectives: To measure the DNA integrity index in serum and the absolute DNA concentration to assess their clinical utility as potential serum biomarkers for colorectal carcinoma (CRC) compared to CEA and CA19-9. Materials and Methods: Fifty patients with CRC, 10 with benign colonic polyps and 20 healthy sex and age matched volunteers, were investigated by real time PCR of ALU repeats (ALU q-PCR) using two sets of primers (115 and 247 bp) amplifying different lengths of DNA fragments. The DNA integrity index was calculated as the ratio of q-PCR results of ALU 247/ALU 115bp. Results: Serum DNA integrity was statistically significantly higher in CRC patients compared to the benign and control groups (p<0.001). ROC curves for differentiating CRC patients from normal controls and benign groups had areas under curves of 0.90 and 0.85 respectively. Conclusions: The DNA integrity index is superior to the absolute DNA concentration as a potential serum biomarker for screening and diagnosis of CRC. It may also serve as an indicator for monitoring the progression of CRC patients. Combining CEA and CA19-9 with either of the genetic markers studied is better than either of them alone.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권17호
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• pp.7141-7148
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• 2014

Background: Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is an important malignancy throughout the world; early detection is an important criterion for achieving high cure rate. Out of the many reported markers for OSCC, this study validated the efficacy of tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$ (TNF-${\alpha}$) in differentially diagnosing premalignant oral lesions and OSCC. Also, the study aimed to correlate the levels of salivary and serum TNF-${\alpha}$ with clinicopathologic factors. Materials and Methods: A prospective experimental laboratory study was designed. Serum and salivary samples from 100 subjects in each group of healthy control, premalignant disease (PMD) and OSCC were collected for the study following appropriate exclusion and inclusion criteria. Serum and salivary level of TNF-${\alpha}$ was analysed by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The data obtained were subjected to appropriate statistical analysis. Results: Increased level of both serum and salivary TNF-${\alpha}$ was observed in OSCC subjects compared to healthy control and PMD group. Receiver operator characteristic curve analysis and area under curve values showed high specificity and sensitivity for salivary TNF-${\alpha}$ in differentiating OSCC from PMD and healthy controls. There was significant increase in TNF-${\alpha}$ level in moderately and poorly differentiated lesion compared to well differentiated lesion and in stage IV of clinical stage. A positive correlation was observed only with histological grading of OSCC and TNF-${\alpha}$. Conclusions: Salivary TNF-${\alpha}$ is proved to be superior for detecting OSCC. Increase in TNF-${\alpha}$ with histological grading and clinical staging suggests a role in prognosis.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권21호
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• pp.9367-9373
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• 2014

In diagnosis of lung cancer, rapid distinction between small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) tumors is very important. Serum markers, including lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), C-reactive protein (CRP), carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), neurone specific enolase (NSE) and Cyfra21-1, are reported to reflect lung cancer characteristics. In this study classification of lung tumors was made based on biomarkers (measured in 120 NSCLC and 60 SCLC patients) by setting up optimal biomarker joint models with a powerful computerized tool - gene expression programming (GEP). GEP is a learning algorithm that combines the advantages of genetic programming (GP) and genetic algorithms (GA). It specifically focuses on relationships between variables in sets of data and then builds models to explain these relationships, and has been successfully used in formula finding and function mining. As a basis for defining a GEP environment for SCLC and NSCLC prediction, three explicit predictive models were constructed. CEA and NSE are requentlyused lung cancer markers in clinical trials, CRP, LDH and Cyfra21-1 have significant meaning in lung cancer, basis on CEA and NSE we set up three GEP models-GEP 1(CEA, NSE, Cyfra21-1), GEP2 (CEA, NSE, LDH), GEP3 (CEA, NSE, CRP). The best classification result of GEP gained when CEA, NSE and Cyfra21-1 were combined: 128 of 135 subjects in the training set and 40 of 45 subjects in the test set were classified correctly, the accuracy rate is 94.8% in training set; on collection of samples for testing, the accuracy rate is 88.9%. With GEP2, the accuracy was significantly decreased by 1.5% and 6.6% in training set and test set, in GEP3 was 0.82% and 4.45% respectively. Serum Cyfra21-1 is a useful and sensitive serum biomarker in discriminating between NSCLC and SCLC. GEP modeling is a promising and excellent tool in diagnosis of lung cancer.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권17호
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• pp.7433-7436
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• 2014

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is the second cause of cancer related death in the world. It may develop by progression from its precancerous condition, called gastric atrophy (GA) due to gastritis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of serum levels of pepsinogens (Pg) and gastrin-17 (G17) as non-invasive methods to discriminate GA or GC (GA/GC) patients. Materials and Methods: Subjects referred to gastrointestinal clinics of Golestan province of Iran during 2010 and 2011 were invited to participate. Serum levels of PgI, PgII and G17 were measured using a GastroPanel kit. Based on the pathological examination of endoscopic biopsy samples, subjects were classified into four groups: normal, non-atrophic gastritis, GA, and GC. Receiver operating curve (ROC) analysis was used to determine cut-off values. Indices of validity were calculated for serum markers. Results: Study groups were normal individuals (n=74), non-atrophic gastritis (n=90), GA (n=31) and GC patients (n=30). The best cut-off points for PgI, PgI/II ratio, G17 and HP were $80{\mu}g/L$, 10, 6 pmol/L, and 20 EIU, respectively. PgI could differentiate GA/GC with high accuracy (AUC=0.83; 95%CI: 0.76-0.89). The accuracy of a combination of PgI and PgI/II ratio for detecting GA/GC was also relatively high (AUC=0.78; 95%CI: 0.70-0.86). Conclusions: Our findings suggested PgI alone as well as a combination of PgI and PgI/II ratio are valid markers to differentiate GA/GC. Therefore, Pgs may be considered in conducting GC screening programs in high-risk areas.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제48권4호
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• pp.464-470
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• 2000

연구배경 : 기관지 천식은 기도의 과민성과 만성 염증반응을 보이는 질환이다. 저자들은 sIL-6R 및 IL-6 혈중치의 변화를 측정하여 이들의 변화가 증상 악화시 기관지 천식의 병인과 판련이 있는지에 대하여 연구하고자 하였다. 방 법 : 1998년 3월 부터 1999년 3월까지 기관지 천식으로 치료중인 환자중에서 증상 악화로 응급실을 경유하여 전북대학교 병원 내과에 입원한 급성 천식 환자 78예와 무증상 천식 환자 15예 그리고 정상인 10예를 대상으로 하였다. 환자의 병력과 임상 소견, 피부반응검사, 그리고 IgE 및 호산구수를 측정하고 endogen ELISA Kit ($Quantikine^{(R)}sIL$-6R, IL-6)를 이용하여 sIL-6R, IL-6을 측정하였다. 결 과 : 혈청내 IL-6와 sIL-6R농도는 급성 천식 환자에서 대조군에 비해 유의 있는 증가를 보였으며, 무증상 천식 환자와 비교할 때 IL-6의 의미있는 증가를 보였다. 또한 급성 천식 환자에서 혈청내 IL-6와 sIL-6R간에 유의한 상관 관계가 있었다. 하지만 급성 천식환자에서의 IgE와 호산구수는 IL-6 및 sIL-6R와 유의한 상관관계가 없었다. 결 론 : 혈청내 IL-6는 급성 천식의 병태 생리에 관여 할 수 있으며, IL-6와 sIL-6R의 혈청치는 기도 염증의 중증도를 예측하는 표식자로 유용할 것으로 생각된다.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제43권2호
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• pp.112-118
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• 2016

Objective: Ovarian reserve tests are commonly used to predict ovarian response in infertile patients undergoing ovarian stimulation. Although serum markers such as basal follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or random $anti-M{\ddot{u}}llerian$ hormone (AMH) level and ultrasonographic markers (antral follicle count, AFC) are good predictors, no single test has proven to be the best predictor. In this study, we developed appropriate equations and novel nomograms to predict the number of oocytes that will be retrieved using patients' age, serum levels of basal FSH and AMH, and AFC. Methods: We analyzed a database containing clinical and laboratory information of 141 stimulated in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles performed at a university-based hospital between September 2009 and December 2013. We used generalized linear models for prediction of the number of oocytes. Results: Age, basal serum FSH level, serum AMH level, and AFC were significantly related to the number of oocytes retrieved according to the univariate and multivariate analyses. The equations that predicted the number of oocytes retrieved (log scale) were as follows: model (1) $3.21-0.036{\times}(age)+0.089{\times}(AMH)$, model (2) $3.422-0.03{\times}(age)-0.049{\times}(FSH)+0.08{\times}(AMH)$, model (3) $2.32-0.017{\times}(age)+0.039{\times}(AMH)+0.03{\times}(AFC)$, model (4) $2.584-0.015{\times}(age)-0.035{\times}(FSH)+0.038{\times}(AMH)+0.026{\times}(AFC)$. model 4 showed the best performance. On the basis of these variables, we developed nomograms to predict the number of oocytes that can be retrieved. Conclusion: Our nomograms helped predict the number of oocytes retrieved in stimulated IVF cycles.

• 대한핵의학회지
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• 제28권3호
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• pp.391-396
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• 1994

건강 검진시 정상으로 판정된 한국 성인 2626명의 혈청 암태아성항원 농도를 이용하여 통계적 분석을 실시하였다. 1) 한국 정상 성인에서 혈청 암태아성항원의 경계치는 남자에서 9.28ng/m1, 여자에서 5.90ng/m1이었으며 이를 연령군별로 흡연력에 따른 분포를 보았더니 50세이상에선 남여 모두 항상 흡연자가 비흡연자보다 높았다. 각 연령별 흡연력에 따른 경계치는 Table 4와 같았다. 2) 혈청 암태아성항원은 연령이 증가함에 따라 증가하였다. 3) 혈청 암태아성항원은 흡연군에서 현재 비흡연군과 과거 흡연군 보다 높았다. 4) 혈청 암태아성항원은 남성에서 여성에서 보다 높았다. 5) 흉부 방사선 촬영에서 결핵 소견이 있으면 정상인 군보다 혈청 암태아성항원이 높았다. 6) 혈청 암태아성하원은 음주력과 비만도와는 연관이 없었다.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• 제46권6호
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• pp.521-530
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• 2013

Protein-energy malnutrition, PEM, and increased hs-CRP level are considered to be associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in hemodialysis (HD) patients. This is commonly referred to as the vicious circle of malnutrition-inflammation-atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease (MIA syndrome) in chronic kidney disease (CKD). Low protein intake can decrease the serum level of albumin and increase inflammational markers; further, both low serum albumin and high hs-CRP are independent risk factors for all-cause mortality in HD patients. The aim of this study is comparing the serum levels of albumin and hs-CRP in HD patients according to the protein intake levels. The total number of subjects was 60 hemodialysis patients; they were grouped by dietary protein intake: low protein intake group (LPI, protein intake < 1.0 g/kg IBW, 11 men and 19 women) and adequate protein intake group (API, protein intake ${\geq}$ 1.0g/kg IBW, 12 men and 18 women). Blood biochemical parameters, nutrient intake, and dietary behaviors were compared between the LPI and API groups. The LPI group showed a significantly lower serum level of albumin and higher serum level of hs-CRP than the API group (p < 0.05). The LPI group showed a significantly lower intake of most nutrients than the API group (p < 0.05). Index of Nutritional Quality of most nutrients of the LPI and API groups were lower than 1.0. Dietary protein intake was positively correlated with the serum level of albumin (r = 0.306, p < 0.05) and negatively correlated with the serum level of hs-CRP (r = -0.435, p < 0.01). The serum level of hs-CRP was negatively correlated with that of albumin (r = -0.393, p < 0.01). According to these result, serum albumin and hs-CRP in HD patients were influenced by the protein intake levels. To prevent MIA syndrome, it is necessary to improve nutritional status, especially in protein and energy.