Publications by authors named "Min J Choi"

Pulmonary artery pseudoaneurysms (PAPs) are rare and can occasionally be overlooked as a cause of hemoptysis. The rupture of PAPs may lead to severe and massive hemoptysis and asphyxiation, necessitating prompt and accurate diagnostic measures, including CT angiography, in conjunction with clinical awareness for adequate management. The aim of this pictorial essay is to establish a strategy for endovascular intervention based on a comprehensive understanding of the etiology and hemodynamics of bronchopulmonary circulation for effective and rapid PAP treatment.

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Introduction: Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination rates in pregnant women remain low owing to safety concerns. When evaluating vaccine safety, comparisons with unvaccinated individuals may lead to healthy vaccinee bias. This study aimed to investigate the association between mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccination and pregnancy-related adverse outcomes compared with influenza vaccination.

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One of the major challenges in QLED research is improving the stability of the devices. In this study, we fabricated all inorganic quantum-dot light emitting diodes (QLEDs) using hafnium oxide (HfO) as the hole transport layer (HTL), a material commonly used for insulator. Oxygen vacancies in HfO create defect states below the Fermi level, providing a pathway for hole injection.

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  • A study was conducted to evaluate the safety of COVID-19 treatments nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (NMVr) and molnupiravir (MOL) by comparing acute complications in treated versus untreated patients.
  • Data from nationwide databases were used to analyze results from over 700,000 NMVr users and over 150,000 MOL users, focusing on specific cardiac and neurological events.
  • The findings revealed that both NMVr and MOL users had a lower risk of certain serious side effects like atrial fibrillation and dysgeusia, suggesting these treatments may be effective in reducing acute complications linked to COVID-19.
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The purpose of this study was to analyze the important medical events (IMEs) of anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) monoclonal antibodies using the reports from the United States Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) adverse event reporting system (FAERS) and to detect safety signals. In this study, data from the FAERS from January 2020 to December 2022 were used to investigate signals associated with five monoclonal antibody products (bamlanivimab, bamlanivimab/etesevimab, bebtelovimab, casirivimab/imdevimab, sotrovimab) in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and one monoclonal antibody product (tixagevimab/cilgavimab) in patients wherein COVID-19 vaccination was not recommended. Disproportionality analyses were conducted using the reporting odds ratio, and an information component to identify safety signals.

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Large-scale plasma proteomics studies have been transformed due to the multiplexing and automation of sample preparation workflows. However, these workflows can suffer from reproducibility issues, a lack of standardized quality control (QC) metrics, and the assessment of variation before liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. The incorporation of robust QC metrics in sample preparation workflows ensures better reproducibility, lower assay variation, and better-informed decisions for troubleshooting.

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  • The study focused on improving shockwave lithotripsy, a treatment for kidney stones, by considering how breathing affects targeting and safety.
  • They used a device to mimic kidney movement during breathing and tested artificial stones in a gel, measuring changes after shockwave exposure, along with clinical trials on patients wearing respiratory masks.
  • Results showed better treatment efficiency with regular breathing patterns, a 65.6% success rate in regular breathers compared to 40% in irregular breathers, suggesting that managing breathing can enhance the lithotripsy process and reduce patient discomfort.
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  • - The study examined the durability of immunity following the third dose of COVID-19 vaccines in 94 healthy adults, finding that antibody levels remained significantly higher even 9-12 months later compared to levels after the second dose.
  • - Anti-spike IgG antibody responses peaked after the third dose but gradually decreased over time; however, breakthrough infections during the Omicron period increased neutralizing antibodies against various strains.
  • - The results suggest that the mRNA vaccine booster leads to lasting humoral immunity for at least a year and maintains T-cell immunity, indicating the potential for an annual COVID-19 vaccination approach.
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  • - In Korea, there is currently no surveillance for vaccines outside the national immunization program (NIP), and adult vaccine safety monitoring is insufficient, prompting the need for a new safety monitoring system for non-NIP vaccines.
  • - The study involved monitoring the safety of four non-NIP vaccines (Tdap, PCV13, ZVL, and RZV) by collecting data on adverse events through questionnaires sent to individuals after vaccination at various healthcare institutions.
  • - Results showed high response rates for monitoring, with 555 identified adverse events over 10 months, leading to the establishment of a safety system that requires ongoing government support for effectiveness and improvement.
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  • * Methods: A clinical trial was conducted with 154 healthy adults who received either both vaccines at the same time or separately, with follow-ups for adverse events and immune response assessments over six months.
  • * Results: While the combined vaccine group showed slightly lower overall antibody response rates for some coronavirus strains compared to the separate vaccine group, it produced a stronger neutralizing antibody response against the Omicron variant, with mostly mild side effects reported in both groups.
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  • - The study aimed to compare the occurrence of adverse events of special interest (AESIs) between two types of COVID-19 vaccines: adenoviral vector-based (ChAdOx1) and mRNA-based (BNT162b2 or mRNA-1273).
  • - Researchers analyzed data from the National Health Insurance Service database, finding that both vaccine types had low incidences of AESIs, but noted higher rates of certain heart-related issues in those who received mRNA vaccines.
  • - Key findings highlighted significant differences in safety profiles between the two vaccine platforms, especially regarding myocarditis and Guillain-Barré syndrome, while overall adverse event risks were low for both.
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We analyzed the virulence traits and azole resistance mechanisms of 104 isolates collected from 13 Korean hospitals from 1996 to 2022. Of these 104 isolates, 96 (5 blood and 91 ear isolates) belonged to clade II, and 8 (6 blood and 2 other isolates) belonged to clade I. Fluconazole resistance (minimum inhibitory concentration ≥32 mg/L) was observed in 68.

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Background: Severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is an infectious disease caused by the Dabie bandavirus, [or SFTS virus (SFTSV)] that has become increasingly widespread since it was first reported in 2009. The SFTSV comprises three essential single-stranded RNA gene segments, with the S segment encoding the nucleocapsid (N) protein. Since the N protein is the most abundant and stable viral protein, it is a useful diagnostic marker of infection.

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Objective: To systematically assess credibility and certainty of associations between cannabis, cannabinoids, and cannabis based medicines and human health, from observational studies and randomised controlled trials (RCTs).

Design: Umbrella review.

Data Sources: PubMed, PsychInfo, Embase, up to 9 February 2022.

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  • The study investigated the link between COVID-19 vaccination (BNT162b2 and ChAdOx1) and the risk of reactivating herpes zoster, commonly known as shingles.
  • Researchers reviewed herpes zoster cases from February to June 2021 using matched case-control and propensity score matching analyses.
  • Findings indicated that the mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 raises the risk of herpes zoster within 18 days post-vaccination, particularly after the first and second doses, while the adenovirus-vectored vaccine ChAdOx1 showed no increased risk.
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Urinary tract infections (UTIs) are a common cause of sepsis worldwide. Annually, more than 60,000 US deaths can be attributed to sepsis secondary to UTIs, and African American/Black adults have higher incidence and case-fatality rates than non-Hispanic White adults. Molecular-level factors that may help partially explain differences in sepsis survival outcomes between African American/Black and Non-Hispanic White adults are not clear.

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  • Acquired fluconazole resistance (FR) in bloodstream infections (BSI) is uncommon, with a study analyzing 14 fluconazole non-susceptible (FNS) isolates from Korea over 15 years.
  • Mutations in key drug-target and transcription factor genes were identified, with Erg11p and Tac1p amino acid substitutions (AASs) found in several isolates, suggesting their role in resistance.
  • The study revealed that most FNS cases occurred without prior azole exposure, and the 30-day mortality rate among the patients was notably high at 57.1%.
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Background: Transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) has been widely used as an effective and a safe treatment method and was often used as an alternative to the surgical management, but there are limited studies on the efficacy and the safety for patients undergoing their secondary postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).

Aim: To evaluate the usefulness of TAE for secondary PPH focusing on the angiographic findings.

Methods: We conducted a research from January 2008 to July 2022 on all 83 patients (mean: 32 years, range: 24-43 years) presented with secondary PPH and they were treated with TAE in two university hospitals.

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The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for comparison of the effectiveness of pericapsular nerve group (PENG) block with that of other analgesic techniques for reduction of postoperative pain and consumption of opioids after total hip arthroplasty (THA). A search of records in the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases was conducted in order to identify studies comparing the effect of the PENG block with that of other analgesics on reduction of postoperative pain and consumption of opioids after THA.

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Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was used to determine the molecular mechanisms of multidrug resistance for 10 serial bloodstream isolates obtained from a neutropenic patient during 82 days of amphotericin B (AMB) or echinocandin therapy. For WGS, a library was prepared and sequenced using a Nextera DNA Flex Kit (Illumina) and the MiseqDx (Illumina) instrument. All isolates harbored the same Msh2p substitution, V239L, associated with multilocus sequence type 7 and a Pdr1p substitution, L825P, that caused azole resistance.

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  • - Proteomics research has evolved significantly due to advancements in high-throughput LC-MS/MS technology and automated workflows, enabling the analysis of large sample sizes but necessitating effective quality control (QC) measures for reliable results.
  • - A study analyzed 335 patient plasma samples using TMT 16-plex methods over 10 months, with 271 pooled QC results generated from a representative plasma sample to monitor instrument performance and normalize data across batches.
  • - Key metrics were assessed to develop a robust LC-MS/MS QC workflow, providing guidelines for ongoing QC checks and real-time troubleshooting to optimize instrument performance and enhance data reliability in future studies.
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  • Researchers discovered two new forms (sinking and floating) of Candida parapsilosis in bloodstream infections from Korean hospitals, with distinct microbiological and clinical traits.
  • The sinking phenotype is noted for its small, button-like appearance in lab tests, while the floating phenotype has dispersed cells, showing differences in antifungal resistance and genetic profiles.
  • The study found that Y132F-sinking isolates are increasingly common and associated with higher risks of severe infections, revealing important implications for treatment and understanding of C. parapsilosis bloodstream infections.
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Unlabelled: Opioids are the mainstay of pain management and sedation in critically ill patients, which can lead to the development of physiologic tolerance and dependency. The prevalence of iatrogenic opioid withdrawal syndrome (IWS) is reported as 17-32% in the ICU; however, limited evidence exists for the medical ICU patient population.

Objectives: To identify the and risk factors for IWS in adult patients admitted to critical care medicine services who received greater than or equal to 24 hours of continuous opioid infusion therapy.

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