How Does Chronic Back Pain Influence Quality of Life in Koreans: A Cross-Sectional Study

Study DesignA cross-sectional study.PurposeTo explore the impact of chronic low back pain (CLBP) on individuals' quality of life; to understand current treatment practices and level of satisfaction with treatment in patients with CLBP.Overview of LiteratureAssessing subjective, patient-reported outcomes such as quality of life is essential to health care research.MethodsInfluences of the CLBP were analyzed via a questionnaire, which contained the character of CLBP, effect of pain management, Korean version Oswestry Disability Index (K-ODI) and Korean version of 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12v2).ResultsOf 3,121 subjects who responded, 67.3% had moderate to severe pain; 43.5% presented prolonged CLBP of more than two years; and 32.4% had suffered from sleep disturbance due to pain. 22.8% of the patients were not satisfied with current pain management. The mean K-ODI score was 37.63; and it was positively correlated with the mean pain intensity (r=0.6, p<0.001). The SF-12v2 result was negatively correlated with mean pain intensity (PCS: r=-0.5, p<0.001; MCS: r=-0.4, p<0.001) and also negatively correlated with the K-ODI score (PCS: r=-0.75, p<0.001; MCS: r=-0.5, p<0.001). The conformity between patients and doctors in pain assessment was fair (κ=0.2463).ConclusionsCLBP negatively affects quality of life. Of total 22.8% of the patients were not satisfied with current pain management. Such needs to be taken more seriously by doctors for improvement of satisfaction and quality of life in patients with CLBP

Difference of clinical features in childhood Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>M. pneumoniae </it>pneumonia (MP) has been reported in 10-40% of community-acquired pneumonia cases. We aimed to evaluate the difference of clinical features in children with MP, according to their age and chest radiographic patterns.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The diagnosis of MP was made by examinations at both admission and discharge and by two serologic tests: the indirect microparticle agglutinin assay (≥1:40) and the cold agglutinins titer (≥1:32). A total of 191 children with MP were grouped by age: ≤2 years of age (29 patients), 3-5 years of age (81 patients), and ≥6 years of age (81 patients). They were also grouped by pneumonia pattern: bronchopneumonia group (96 patients) and segmental/lobar pneumonia group (95 patients).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Eighty-six patients (45%) were seroconverters, and the others showed increased antibody titers during hospitalization. Among the three age groups, the oldest children showed the longest duration of fever, highest C-reactive protein (CRP) values, and the most severe pneumonia pattern. The patients with segmental/lobar pneumonia were older and had longer fever duration and lower white blood cell (WBC) and lymphocyte counts, compared with those with bronchopneumonia. The patient group with the most severe pulmonary lesions had the most prolonged fever, highest CRP, highest rate of seroconverters, and lowest lymphocyte counts. Thrombocytosis was observed in 8% of patients at admission, but in 33% of patients at discharge.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In MP, older children had more prolonged fever and more severe pulmonary lesions. The severity of pulmonary lesions was associated with the absence of diagnostic IgM antibodies at presentation and lymphocyte count. Short-term paired IgM serologic test may be mandatory for early and definitive diagnosis of MP.</p

Radiofrequency Ablation of Benign Thyroid Nodules and Recurrent Thyroid Cancers: Consensus Statement and Recommendations

Thermal ablation using radiofrequency is a new, minimally invasive modality employed as an alternative to surgery in patients with benign thyroid nodules and recurrent thyroid cancers. The Task Force Committee of the Korean Society of Thyroid Radiology has developed recommendations for the optimal use of radiofrequency ablation for thyroid nodules. These recommendations are based on a comprehensive analysis of the current literature, the results of multicenter studies, and expert consensus

Systematic Review of Randomized Trials for Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treated with Percutaneous Ablation Therapies

According to the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases guidelines, percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) is a safe and highly effective treatment for small hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) and should he the standard against which any new therapy is compared. The primary purpose of this study was to identify survival benefit of any percutaneous ablation therapy as compared with PEI in the treatment of patients with unresectable HCC. The secondary endpoints were initial tumor response, local tumor progression, and complications. Randomized controlled trials that compared pecutaneous ablative therapies with PEI were included. MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, CANCERLIT, and manual search from 1978 to July 2008 were used. To control the potential heterogeneity, the random effects model of DerSimonian and Laird was used for a meta-analysis. Egger`s test was performed to test a potential publication bias. We identified seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs), but only four RCTs including 652 patients that compared radiofrequency ablation (RFA) with PEI met the inclusion criteria to perform a meta-analysis assessing 3-year survival. A meta-analysis of the four RCTs demonstrated a significant improvement in 3-year survival favoring RFA over PEI (odds ratio 0.477, 95% confidence interval 0.340-0.670; P < 0.001). Heterogeneity among the four trials was not significant (Q = 4.586; P = 0.205). Egger`s test revealed that the publication bias was not significant (P = 0.647). However, the number of patients included in the analysis was insufficient for a robust meta-analysis of initial tumor response. The definition of local tumor progression or major complication was not unified among the trials included in the meta-analysis. Conclusion: RFA demonstrated significantly improved 3-year survival status for patients with HCC, when compared to PEI.Brunello F, 2008, SCAND J GASTROENTERO, V43, P727, DOI 10.1080/00365520701885481Levine RS, 2007, AM J PUBLIC HEALTH, V97, P1884, DOI 10.2105/AJPH.2005.081489Lopez PM, 2006, ALIMENT PHARM THERAP, V23, P1535, DOI 10.1111/j.1365-2036.2006.02932.xSutherland LM, 2006, ARCH SURG-CHICAGO, V141, P181Bruix J, 2005, HEPATOLOGY, V42, P1208, DOI 10.1002/hep20933Lin SM, 2005, GUT, V54, P1151, DOI 10.1136/gut.2004.045203Shiina S, 2005, GASTROENTEROLOGY, V129, P122, DOI 10.1053/j.gastro.2005.04.009Liang P, 2005, RADIOLOGY, V235, P299, DOI 10.1148/radiol.2351031944JUNGRAITHMAYR W, 2005, HEPATOB PANCREAT DIS, V4, P554Lin SM, 2004, GASTROENTEROLOGY, V127, P1714, DOI 10.1053/j.gastro.2004.09.003Llovet JM, 2003, LANCET, V362, P1907Huo TI, 2003, SCAND J GASTROENTERO, V38, P770, DOI 10.1080/00365520310003048Lencioni RA, 2003, RADIOLOGY, V228, P235, DOI 10.1148/radiol.2281020718Izzo F, 2003, ANN SURG ONCOL, V10, P491, DOI 10.1245/ASO.2003.07.016Llovet JM, 2003, HEPATOLOGY, V37, P429, DOI 10.1053/jhep.2003.50047RYDER SD, 2003, GUT, V52, pS1Okusaka T, 2002, CANCER, V95, P1931Shibata T, 2002, RADIOLOGY, V223, P331, DOI 10.1148/radiol.2232010775Bruix J, 2001, J HEPATOL, V35, P421GOLDBERG SN, 2001, EUR J ULTRASOUND, V13, P129Livraghi T, 2001, HEPATO-GASTROENTEROL, V48, P20Cha CH, 2000, AM J ROENTGENOL, V175, P705Moher D, 2000, J CLIN EPIDEMIOL, V53, P964BUCHAN IE, 2000, BRIT MED J, V321, P1536Moher D, 1999, LANCET, V354, P1896Horigome H, 1999, AM J GASTROENTEROL, V94, P1914El-Serag HB, 1999, NEW ENGL J MED, V340, P745Livraghi T, 1999, RADIOLOGY, V210, P655Okada S, 1999, SEMIN LIVER DIS, V19, P323Pogue J, 1998, LANCET, V351, P47Ohnishi K, 1998, HEPATOLOGY, V27, P67Pogue JM, 1997, CONTROL CLIN TRIALS, V18, P580TaylorRobinson SD, 1997, LANCET, V350, P1142Adam R, 1997, ANN SURG, V225, P39JAHAD AR, 1996, CONTROLLED CLIN TRIA, V17, P1LIVRAGHI T, 1995, RADIOLOGY, V197, P101VOGL TJ, 1995, RADIOLOGY, V196, P257ROSSI S, 1995, CANCER J SCI AM, V1, P73SHIINA S, 1991, CANCER, V68, P1524OKUDA K, 1991, OXFORD TXB CLIN HEPA, V2, P1019DERSIMONIAN R, 1986, CONTROL CLIN TRIALS, V7, P177COCHRANE COLLABORATI7

Similarities and Differences between Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) and Kawasaki Disease Shock Syndrome

This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of COVID-19-associated multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and Kawasaki disease shock syndrome (KDSS) and to compare the similarities and differences between the two diseases. The incidence of KDSS and MIS-C was also estimated. Medical records of patients diagnosed with MIS-C or KDSS at four hospitals from January 2013 to December 2022 were retrospectively reviewed. Thirty-one patients were enrolled in the study in either an MIS-C group (n = 22) or a KDSS group (n = 9). The incidence of KDSS in KD was 0.8% (9/1095) and the incidence of MIS-C versus KD was 10.2% (22/216). Compared with the MIS-C group, the KDSS group had longer hospital stays and more severe systemic inflammation (e.g., anemia, elevated C-reactive protein, hypoalbuminemia, and pyuria) and organ dysfunction (e.g., number of involved organs, shock, vasoactive infusion, and intensive care unit admission). All patients in the MIS-C group, but none in the KDSS group, including two patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, had laboratory evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection. MIS-C and KDSS shared demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics; organ dysfunction; treatment; and outcomes. Overall severity was more severe in patients with KDSS than in those with MIS-C. The most important difference between MIS-C and KDSS was whether SARS-CoV-2 was identified as an infectious trigger

Screening Patients with Early Stage Parkinson’s Disease Using a Machine Learning Technique: Measuring the Amount of Iron in the Basal Ganglia

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a support vector machine (SVM) model based on quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM) can be used to differentiate iron accumulation in the deep grey matter of early Parkinson&rsquo;s disease (PD) patients from healthy controls (HC) and Non-Motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS) scores in early PD patients. QSM values on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were obtained for 24 early PD patients and 27 age-matched HCs. The mean QSM values in deep grey matter areas were used to construct SVM and logistic regression (LR) models to differentiate between early PD patients and HCs. Additional SVM and LR models were constructed to differentiate between low and high NMSS scores groups. A paired t-test was used to assess the classification results. For the differentiation between early PD patients and HCs, SVM had an accuracy of 0.79 &plusmn; 0.07, and LR had an accuracy of 0.73 &plusmn; 0.03 (p = 0.027). SVM for NMSS classification had a fairly high accuracy of 0.79 &plusmn; 0.03, while LR had 0.76 &plusmn; 0.04. An SVM model based on QSM offers competitive accuracy for screening early PD patients and evaluates non-motor symptoms, which may offer clinicians the ability to assess the progression of motor symptoms in the patient population