Beyond reducing direct medical cost: examining health outcomes in tuberculosis through a difference-in-differences analysis of South Korea's out-of-pocket payment exception policy.

Background: Universal health coverage and social protection are major global goals for tuberculosis. This study aimed to investigate the effects of an expanded policy to guarantee out-of-pocket costs on the treatment outcomes of patients with tuberculosis.

Methods: By linking the national tuberculosis report and health insurance data and performing covariate-adjusted propensity-score matching, we constructed data on health insurance beneficiaries (treatment group) who benefited from the out-of-pocket payment exemption policy and medical aid beneficiaries as the control group.

A Quasi-experimental Study on the Effect of Pre-entry Tuberculosis Screening for Immigrants on Treatment Outcomes in South Korea: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis.

Objective: This study ascertains the effects of the pre-entry tuberculosis (TB) screening policy, which was implemented as a strategy for managing TB among immigrants, on the treatment outcomes of immigrants in South Korea.

Methods: This study linked three different datasets from 2013 to 2018, namely (1) Korean National Tuberculosis Surveillance System; (2) National Health Information Database for patients diagnosed with TB with ICD code A15-A19, B90, or U84.3; and (3) Statistics Korea database related to cause of deaths.

A simple spectrophotometric determination of hydrogen peroxide solution via spectral delta from redox reaction with sodium hypochlorite.

Hydrogen peroxide (HO) is widely used in the synthesis of organic chemicals, bleaching of paper pulp, and the treatment of wastewater and as a food additive, important mediator of redox processes in natural water, and a disinfectant. However, HO stock solution is unstable and slowly decomposes when exposed to, for example, light, elevated temperatures, or metal compounds. Therefore, the ability to measure the exact concentration of HO stock solution is important for its proper use in diverse applications.

Risk Factors and Molecular Features of Sequence Type (ST) 131 Extended-spectrum β-Lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in Community-onset Bacteremia.

Due to the spread of a single CTX-M-type extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) clone of sequence type (ST) 131, community-onset bacteremia caused by ESBL-producing Escherichia coli has increased dramatically. We evaluated the risk factors and molecular features of ESBL-producing E. coli ST131 clones isolated from Korean patients with community-onset bacteremia.

Prevalence and associated factors for four sexually transmissible microorganisms in middle-aged men receiving general prostate health checkups: a polymerase chain reaction-based study in Korea.

Purpose: To investigate the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis (CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG), Mycoplasma genitalium (MG), and Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) in first-voided urine samples and to determine the factors associated with positivity for sexually transmissible microorganisms in healthy, middle-aged Korean men.

Materials And Methods: Five hundred fifty-one men who came to the hospital for a general prostate health checkup were tested between August 2011 and December 2011. PCR assays for CT, NG, MG, and UU were done with first-voided urine samples and the prevalence of microorganism positivity and association with several clinical parameters were evaluated.

A comparison of oligonucleotide-based microarray and real-time PCR for the detection of sexually transmitted infections.

Many diagnostic methods for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have been developed. Because various infection agents are associated with STIs, and because infected persons sometimes show no symptoms, the diagnosis of STIs using nucleic acid amplification tests(NAATs) has required not only simultaneous multi-targeting, but also sensitive detection. Here, we compare microarray and real-time PCR for the detection of three common STIs agents, , , and , using human urine samples.

A Case of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma in Patient with Coombs' Negative Hemolytic Anemia and Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura.

Coombs' negative autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is a rare disease which shares similar clinical and hematological features with Coombs' positive AIHA, but its exact frequency remains unknown. There have been few reports of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and Coombs' negative AIHA associated with other lymphoproliferative disorders (LPDs). Since there is a well known association between LPDs and autoimmune phenomena, it is important to investigate the possibility of an underlying malignancy.