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Background: In South Korea, COVID-19 vaccination has been recommended to adolescents aged 12 − 17 since October, 2021. We aimed to assess the rate of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in South Korea, using national cohort data. Methods: We retrieved the clinical information of adolescents 12 − 17 years old from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency-COVID19-National Health Insurance Service (K-COV-N) database, to calculate incidence rates of purpura and other hemorrhagic conditions, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), Kawasaki disease/multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), myocarditis and/or pericarditis, and anaphylaxis in adolescents with CKD, after BNT162b2 vaccination. Results: Among the 2306 adolescents with CKD, 62.7% (n = 1446) had received the BNT-162b2 vaccine. GBS, Kawasaki disease/MIS-C, and anaphylaxis or anaphylactic shock did not occur during the observation period. Purpura and hemorrhagic conditions were more frequent in the unvaccinated group (7/860 vs. 1/1446), while myocarditis/pericarditis was observed only in the vaccinated group (0/860 vs. 1/1446). Adjusted odds ratio for any of the two adverse events was lower in vaccinated adolescents than in the unvaccinated group which did not reach statistical significance (adjusted odds ratio = 0.14, 95% confidence interval: 0.02, 1.16, P = 0.068). Conclusions: In this national cohort study of adolescents with CKD in South Korea, we observed no evidence of increased risk of adverse events following BNT162b2 vaccination. Our finding offers insights into the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, empowering adolescent patients with CKD and their caregivers to make informed decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contradictory findings exist about association of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) and angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) with lung cancer development. This was a retrospective observational cohort study that used data from 7 hospitals in Korea, converted to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership Common Data Model. The primary outcome was occurrence of lung cancer. A total of 207,794 patients across the 7 databases was included in the final analysis; 33,230 (16%) were prescribed ACEi and 174,564 (84%) were prescribed ARB. Crude analysis adjusted for sex and age showed higher incidence of lung cancer in the ACEi group compared to the ARB group (hazard ratio [HR], 1.46; 95% confidence rate [CI], 1.08–1.97). After propensity-score matching, 30,445 pairs were generated, and there was no difference in incidence of lung cancer between the two groups (HR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.64–1.35). Patients prescribed ACEi showed no difference in incidence of lung cancer development compared to those using ARB. This finding provides evidence on the association between ACEi and occurrence of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been widely used in patients with respiratory infection, but their safety in coronavirus disease 19 (Covid-19) patients has not been fully investigated. We evaluated an association between NSAID use and outcomes of Covid-19. This study was a retrospective observational cohort study based on insurance benefit claims sent to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service of Korea by May 15, 2020. These claims comprised all Covid-19-tested cases and history of medical service use for the past 3 years in these patients. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality, and the secondary outcome was need for ventilator care. Among 7590 patients diagnosed with Covid-19, two distinct cohorts were generated based on NSAID or acetaminophen prescription within 2 weeks before Covid-19 diagnosis. A total of 398 patients was prescribed NSAIDs, and 2365 patients were prescribed acetaminophen. After propensity score matching, 397 pairs of data set were generated, and all-cause mortality of the NSAIDs group showed no significant difference compared with the acetaminophen group (4.0% vs. 3.0%; hazard ratio [HR], 1.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.63–2.88; P = 0.46). The rate of ventilator care also did not show significantly different results between the two groups (2.0% vs. 1.3%; HR, 1.60; 95% CI 0.53–5.30; P = 0.42). Use of NSAIDs was not associated with mortality or ventilator care in Covid-19 patients. NSAIDs may be safely used to relieve symptoms in patients with suspicion of Covid-19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]