• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.86 no.2
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• pp.133-141
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• 2023

Background: The present study evaluated the association between participation in a rehabilitation program during a hospital stay and 1-year survival of patients requiring at least 21 days of mechanical ventilation (prolonged mechanical ventilation [PMV]) with various respiratory diseases as their main diagnoses that led to mechanical ventilation. Methods: Retrospective data of 105 patients (71.4% male, mean age 70.1±11.3 years) who received PMV in the past 5 years were analyzed. Rehabilitation included physiotherapy, physical rehabilitation, and dysphagia treatment program that was individually provided by physiatrists. Results: The main diagnosis leading to mechanical ventilation was pneumonia (n=101, 96.2%) and the 1-year survival rate was 33.3% (n=35). One-year survivors had lower Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score (20.2±5.8 vs. 24.2±7.5, p=0.006) and Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (6.7±5.6 vs. 8.5±2.7, p=0.001) on the day of intubation than non-survivors. More survivors participated in a rehabilitation program during their hospital stays (88.6% vs. 57.1%, p=0.001). The rehabilitation program was an independent factor for 1-year survival based on the Cox proportional hazard model (hazard ratio, 3.513; 95% confidence interval, 1.785 to 6.930; p<0.001) in patients with APACHE II scores ≤23 (a cutoff value based on Youden's index). Conclusion: Our study showed that participation in a rehabilitation program during hospital stay was associated with an improvement of 1-year survival of PMV patients who had less severe illness on the day of intubation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.365-373
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• 1999

Background: Despite widespread use of tracheostomy in intensive care unit, it is still controversial to define the best timing from endotracheal intubation to tracheostomy under prolonged mechanical ventilation. Early tracheostomy has an advantage of easy airway maintenance and enhanced patient mobility whereas a disadvantage in view of nosocomial infection and tracheal stenosis. However, there is a controversy about the proper timing of tracheostomy. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of the 35 medical and 15 surgical ICU patients who had admitted to Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital from January 1996 to August 1998 with the observation of APACHE III score, occurrence of nosocomial infections, and clinical outcomes during 28 days from tracheostomy in terms of early (n=25) vs. late (n=25) tracheostomy. We defined the reference day of early and late tracheostomy as 7th day from intubation. Results: The number of patients were 25 each in early and late tracheostomy group. The mean age were $48{\pm}18$ years in early tracheostomy group and $63{\pm}17$ years in late tracheostomy group, showing younger in early tracheostomy group. The median duration of intubation prior to tracheostomy was 3 days and 13 days in early and late tracheostomy groups. Organs that caused primary problem were nervous system in 27 cases(54%), pulmonary 14(28%), cardiovascular 4(8%), gastrointestinal 4(8%) and genitourinary 1(2%) in the decreasing order. Prolonged ventilation was the most common reason for the purpose of tracheostomy in both groups. APACHE m scores at each time of intubation and tracheostomy were slightly higher in late tracheostomy group but not significant statistically. Day to day APACHE III scores were not different between two groups with observation upto 7th day after tracheostomy, Occurrence of nosocomial infections, weaning from mechanical ventilation, and mortality showed no significant difference between two groups with observation of 28 days from tracheostomy. The mortality was increased as the APACHE m score upto 7 days after tracheostomy increased, but there were no increment for the mortality in terms of the time of tracheostomy and the days of ventilator use before tracheostomy, Conclusion: The early tracheostomy seems to have no benefit with respect to severity of illness, nosocomial infection, duration of ventilatory support, and mortality. It suggests that the time of tracheostomy is better to be decided on clinical judgement in each case. And in near future, prospective, randomized case-control study is required to confirm these results.

• Journal of Gastric Cancer
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.167-176
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• 2016

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a prior gastrectomy on the difficulty of subsequent colonoscopy, and to identify the surgical factors related to difficult colonoscopies. Materials and Methods: Patients with a prior gastrectomy who had undergone a colonoscopy between 2011 and 2014 (n=482) were matched (1:6) to patients with no history of gastrectomy (n=2,892). Cecal insertion time, intubation failure, and bowel clearance score were compared between the gastrectomy and control groups, as was a newly generated comprehensive parameter for a difficult/incomplete colonoscopy (cecal intubation failure, cecal insertion time >12.9 minutes, or very poor bowel preparation scale). Surgical factors including surgical approach, extent of gastrectomy, extent of lymph node dissection, and reconstruction type, were analyzed to identify risk factors for colonoscopy performance. Results: A history of gastrectomy was associated with prolonged cecal insertion time ($8.7{\pm}6.4$ vs. $9.7{\pm}6.5$ minutes; P=0.002), an increased intubation failure rate (0.1% vs. 1.9%; P<0.001), and a poor bowel preparation rate (24.7 vs. 29.0; P=0.047). Age and total gastrectomy (vs. partial gastrectomy) were found to be independent risk factors for increased insertion time, which slowly increased throughout the postoperative duration (0.35 min/yr). Total gastrectomy was the only independent risk factor for the comprehensive parameter of difficult/incomplete colonoscopy. Conclusions: History of gastrectomy is related to difficult/incomplete colonoscopy performance, especially in cases of total gastrectomy. In any case, it may be that a pre-operative colonoscopy is desirable in selected patients scheduled for gastrectomy; however, it should be performed by an expert endoscopist each time.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.75-85
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• 2018

Purpose: This study examined the Poisoning Severity Score (PSS) from acute poisoning patients, to determine the relationships among the PSS, PSSsum, the primary outcome (prolonged stay at the ER over 24 hours, general ward and ICU admission and the application of intubation and mechanical ventilator, and the administration of inotropes). Methods: A retrospective study was conducted through the EMR for 15 months. The PSS grade was classified according to the evidence of symptoms and signs. The differences in the primary outcomes between the PSS of when a single organ was damaged, and the PSS, PSSsum combined with the grade of when multiple organs were damaged, were studied. The cutoff value was calculated using the receiving operating characteristics (ROC) curve. Results: Of the 284 patients; 85 (29.9%) were men with a mean age of 48.8 years, and their average arrival time to the ER was $4.4{\pm}6.7\;hours$. The most frequently used drug was hypnotics. The number of patients with PSS grade 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 was 17, 129, 122, 24, and one, respectively. No ICU admissions, application of intubation and mechanical ventilators, administration of inotropes were observed among the patients with PSS grades 0 and 1 but only on patients with PSS grades 2 to 4. At PSS, when separating the patients according to the number of damaged organs, 17 had no symptoms, 133 had one organ damaged, 75 had two organs damaged, 36 had three organs damaged, and 23 had four organs damaged. Significant differences were observed between increasing number of damaged organs and the primary outcome. Conclusion: Among the acute poisoning patients, the PSS was higher in severity when the grade was higher. The number of damaged organs and the primary outcome showed meaningful statistical differences. This study confirmed that when the patients' PSS>2 and PSSsum>5, the frequency of ICU admission was higher, and they were considered to be severe with an increased prescription risk of application of intubation and mechanical ventilator, and the administration of inotropes.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.235-238
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• 1996

Acquired tracheoesophageal fistula, a life threatening lesion, is rare but occurs most frequently alter prolonged mechanical ven ilation using a cuffed endotracheal tube. The mechanism of injury seems to be ischemia and inflammation of compressed trachea and esophagus by cuffed endotracheal tube. The patient was a 25 years old pregnant woman who was on prolonged mechanical ventilation for bacterial meningitis secondary to untreated otitis media. 40 days after mechanical ventilation, sudden subcutaneous empysema and pneumomediastinum ocurred and these were due to tracheoesophageal fistula. It was diagnosed with bronchoscopy and CT We performed tracheal repair with TA 60mm stapler and esophageal repair by interruted two layer suture with 410 vicryl and 510 prolene. A flap of sternocleidomastoid muscle was inserted between trachea and esophagus. Postoperative course was uneventful and the result of operation was acceptable by esophagography.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.83 no.2
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• pp.167-174
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• 2020

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of early tracheostomy on clinical outcomes in patients requiring prolonged acute mechanical ventilation (≥96 hours). Methods: Data from 575 patients (69.4% male; median age, 68 years), hospitalized in the medical intensive care unit (ICU) of a university-affiliated tertiary care hospital March 2008-February 2017, were retrospectively evaluated. Early and late tracheostomy were designated as 2-10 days and >10 days after translaryngeal intubation, respectively. Results: The 90-day cumulative mortality rate was 47.5% (n=273) and 258 patients (44.9%) underwent tracheostomy. In comparison with the late group (n=115), the early group (n=125) had lower 90-day mortality (31.2% vs. 47.8%, p=0.012), shorter stays in hospital and ICU, shorter ventilator length of stay (median, 43 vs. 54; 24 vs. 33; 23 vs. 28 days; all p<0.001), and a higher rate of transfer to secondary care hospitals with post-intensive care settings (67.2% vs. 43.5% p<0.001). Also, the total medical costs of the early group were lower during hospital stays than those of the late group (26,609 vs. 36,973 USD, p<0.001). Conclusion: Early tracheostomy was associated with lower 90-day mortality, shorter ventilator length of stay and shorter lengths of stays in hospital and ICU, as well as lower hospital costs than late tracheostomy.

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.63-67
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• 2004

Tracheomalacia can be a life threatening upper air way obstructive disease in an infant and vascular rings can be also a major rare cause of tracheoesophageal obstruction. These two rare entities can be combined in one patient because the vascular ring can cause secondary tracheomalacia during development of fetus. The diagnosis of this combination and adequate surgical correction is occasionally difficult. This is a report of an infant who had not diagnosed tracheomalacia associated with vascular ring until 5 months of age because of the prolonged tracheal intubation. The rigid bronchoscopic examination performed under impression of tracheomalacia revealed a concentric tracheal collapse, an unusual bronchoscopic findings of tracheomalacia, which raised a suspicion of the tracheal compression by vascular rings. The 3-D reconstructive DT aortography clearly demonstrated the double aortic arch. The patient was treated surgically by simple division of the left aortic arch and aortopexy with good result. The vascular ring such as double aortic arch should be considered during the diagnosis of tracheomalacia in infants. If the tracheomalacia is associated with vascular ring, simultaneous surgical correction should be performed.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.75-81
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• 1997

The clinical investigation was done in the 42 patients with bilateral vocal cord palsy who visited the otorhinolaryngologic department of the Yongdong Severance Hospital during the 10-year period between August 1986 to August 1996. On the sex and age distribution, the ratio of male to female patients was 2.8 : 1 and the age was evenly distributed and average was 46 years old. Of their chief complaints, dyspnea was the most common symptom. Among the position of the paralyzed vocal cords, paramedian position was most common. The most common causes of the bilateral vocal cord palsy was idiopathic Other causes include iatrogenic, prolonged intubation, head ＆ neck trauma, brain tumor, Myasthenia Gravis, and mediastinitis. Our treament results were as follows. Recovery rate of idiopathic bilateral vocal cord palsy was 77.7% and recovery period after bilateral vocal cord palsy was shortened remarkedly after use with steroid. We performed laser arytenoidectomy in patients with irreversible idiopathic vocal cord palsy, neural injury, and cricoarytenoid joint fixation. Decannualtion was possible to be carried out in 86% of the patients and none of complication except for 1 case of aspiration developed. Thus we concluded that it was meaningful surgical treatment of bilateral vocal cord palsy.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.1299-1304
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• 1992

We experienced 5 cases of tracheal stenosis and 7 cases bronchial stenosis treated surgically at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, School of Medicine, Hanyang University during 5 years. The causes of tracheal stenosis were prolonged endotracheal intubation 1 case, tracheostomy 1 case, the sequela of endobronchial tuberculosis 2 cases and tracheomalacia 1 case. The causes of bronchial stenosis were all endobronchial tuberculosis. The managements of tracheal stenosis were tracheal resection and end to end anastomosis. The resected lengths of trachea were 1.5cm, 3cm and 7.5cm. One case of suglottic stenosis was underwent the resection of trachea, 8cm in length, and the laryngotracheal anastomosis was done, but the re-stenosis of trachea was developed after 4 weeks post-operatively. One case of tracheomalacia was done permanent tracheostomy only, because the entire trachea was adhered to the surrounding tissue. The managements of bronchial stenosis were resection of involved lobe or one lung, in the 5 case. One case with Lt. main bronchial stenosis and atelectasis of Lt. upper lobe was done the lobectomy of Lt. upper lobe only and then, the Lt. pneumonectomy was done re-operatively because the atelectasis of Lt. lower lobe had continued. The other one case with stenosis of Rt. main bronchus, failed the insertion of metalic stent, was underwent the Rt. upper lobe lobectomy, sleeve resection and side to end anastomosis

• Korean Journal of Bronchoesophagology
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.122-128
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• 1995

The experience with treatment of acquired subglottic stenosis in 20 adults is reviewed. Nine of the 20 patients (45%) had opeated by other institues before treatment. Causes of the disease were 10(50%) of blunt neck trauama and 10(50%) of prolonged intubation. The most common associated airway diseases were nine patients (45%) of bilateral vocal cord fixations. Twelve patients (60%) underwent anterior cartilage grafts, five patients (25%) had anterior and posterior cartilage grafts and three patients (15%) had end to end anastomosis according to the severity of cricoid deformities and mucosal defects. Associated procedures were 9 patients (45%) of arytenoidectomy. Thirteen of 20 patients (65%) have been decannulated. Fe-male group was significantly higher decannulation rate than male group (p=0.0074). Decannulation rates were decreased from anterior cartilage graft group to anterior and posterior cartilage grafts group and to end to end anastomosis group (p= 0.00247), this finding suggested the patients with severe cricoid deformitiy were higher likely hood of failure because we selected the method used in this study according to the severity of cricoid deformities and mucosal defects. Our results support the more aggressive treatment is indicated for subglottic stenosis in adults.