Search

Jeju is the largest island in Korea and one of its key tourist attractions. As the number of foreign tourists steadily increases, so does the number of injuries incurred there. Accordingly, this study aimed to describe and compare the characteristics of injuries suffered by foreign tourists versus those of domestic tourists. As a cross-sectional study of a retrospective medical record survey, the study was conducted with reference to the Jeju Injury Surveillance System from the 11-year period of January 2008 to December 2018. The following factors were investigated: demographic data, mechanism of injury, place of occurrence, activity when injured, patient outcome, and mortality. A total of 92,095 injured Jeju Island visitors was recorded during this time, a number that included 88,050 Koreans and 4,045 foreigners. The gender ratio showed similar patterns between the two groups and there were no significant age differences. In both groups, the most common mechanism of injury was collisions/cuts. Also, more foreigners experienced falls than Koreans. Regarding the location, Koreans had the most road accidents, while foreigners were most likely to be injured at outdoor locations, such as seas and rivers. Furthermore, more foreigners experienced severe injuries requiring hospitalization. Notably, this study showed the differences in injury between foreign and Korean tourists visiting Jeju Island and its findings lend support to targeted safety promotion programs.

Background Follicular lymphoma (FL) is the second most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in Western countries. However, it is relatively rare in Asia. This study examined epidemiologic characteristics of FL in South Korea, with an emphasis on recent trends of increase in cases. Methods We retrospectively examined 239 cases of newly diagnosed FL at a large tertiary institution in Korea (Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea) between 2008 and 2017. Age-adjusted incidence rates and clinicopathological variables were analyzed, and joinpoint regression analysis was used to identify the changes. Results The age-adjusted incidence of FL significantly increased during the study period (p = .034), and the ratio of (relative incidence) patients with FL to patients with NHL increased from 4.28% to 9.35% in the same period. Over the 10-year study assessment duration, the proportion of patients with stage III/IV FL (p = .035) and expression of BCL2 (p = .022) or BCL6 (p = .039) significantly increased. From 2013–2017, the proportion of patients with highrisk Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) score increased (21.5% to 28.7%), whereas that of low-risk FLIPI decreased (55.4% to 38.6%), although those results were not statistically significant (p = .066). Conclusions We found an increasing incidence of FL, with a disproportionate increase in the incidence of high-stage disease and recent changes in the clinicopathologic features of the Korean patient population.

Background and Objectives Following the transsphenoidal approach (TSA), appropriate sphenoid sinus fat packing has been preferred to prevent postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage; however, studies on the behavior of fat tissue transplanted in the sphenoid sinus are lacking. This study aimed to determine the long-term fate of these fat grafts using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Subjects and Method A total of 139 postoperative MRI scans of 41 patients who underwent sphenoid sinus fat packing using the standard TSA were evaluated. Additionally, MRI time series indicating the vital fat volumes were assessed postoperatively. Results In 82.9% of cases, the fat volumes measured in the final MRI scans declined to 60% of the initial volume. The fat tissue volume decreased significantly with time, with a median half-life of 18 months. Typically, the sphenoid sinus was eventually almost filled with air rather than transplanted fat. In the subgroup analysis, the fat clearance rate was significantly lower in patients with residual tumors than in those without such remnants (p=0.013). Conclusion Long-term MRI surveillance of fat grafts in the sphenoid sinus revealed that the transplanted fat graft had degraded and was gradually eliminated.

Background Ductal adenocarcinoma (DAC) of the prostate is an uncommon histologic subtype whose prognostic factors and immunoprofile have not been fully defined. Methods To define its prognostic factors and immunoprofile, the clinicopathological features, including biochemical recurrence (BCR), of 61 cases of DAC were analyzed. Immunohistochemistry was performed on tissue microarray constructs to assess the expression of prostate cancer-related and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling-related proteins. Results During the median follow-up period of 19.3 months, BCR occurred in 26 cases (42.6%). DAC demonstrated a wide expression range of prostate cancer-related proteins, including nine cases (14.8%) that were totally negative for pan-cytokeratin (PanCK) immunostaining. The mTOR signaling-related proteins also showed diverse expression. On univariate analysis, BCR was associated with high preoperative serum levels of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), large tumor volume, predominant ductal component, high Gleason score (GS), comedo-necrosis, high tumor stage (pT), lymphovascular invasion, and positive surgical margin. High expressions of phospho-mTOR (p-mTOR) as well as low expressions of PSA, phospho-S6 ribosomal protein (pS6) and PanCK were associated with BCR. On multivariable analysis, GS, pT, and immunohistochemical expressions of PanCK and p-mTOR remained independent prognostic factors for BCR. Conclusions These results suggest GS, pT, and immunohistochemical expressions of PanCK and p-mTOR as independent prognostic factors for BCR in DAC. Since DAC showed diverse expression of prostate cancer–related proteins, this should be recognized in interpreting the immunoprofile of DAC. The diverse expression of mTOR-related proteins implicates their potential utility as predictive markers for mTOR targeted therapy.

Background/Aims: A quick and accurate diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infections is vital for effectively managing many upper gastrointestinal tract diseases. Many diagnostic methods have been developed for rapid and accurate diagnosis, including invasive and non-invasive methods, but each tool has some limitations. Among the invasive diagnostic methods, the rapid urease test (RUT) is a relatively time-saving and accurate method, but a variation in the reaction time range causes inconvenience and inefficiency in the clinical field. This study developed a liquid-type medium, Helicotest®, to enable faster detection. This study examined the reaction time of a new liquid-type RUT kit with other commercial kits. Methods: Two H. pylori strains were cultured (H. pylori ATCC 700392 and 43504), and the urease activity of H. pylori was measured using a urease activity assay kit (MAK120, Sigma Aldrich). Four RUT kits were used to compare the time of H. pylori detection, including Helicotest® (Won Medical, Bucheon, Korea), Hp kit (Chong Kun Dang, Seoul, Korea), CLO kit (Halyard, Alpharetta, GA, USA), and ASAN Helicobacter Test® (ASAN, Seoul, Korea). Results: The detection of H. pylori was possible in bacterial amounts less than 10 μL. The color change was detected from five minutes with bacterial densities of 5 μL and 10 μL for both strains, whereas 30 minutes and one hour were required for 0.5 μL and a 1 μL bacterial density of ATCC 43504 and 700392 strains, respectively. Conclusions: Compared to other RUT kits, Helicotest® showed the fastest reaction. Therefore, faster diagnosis in clinical practice is expected.