The effect of heated tobacco products on metabolic syndrome: A cohort study.

Introduction: Evidence concerning the health effects of using heated tobacco products is needed. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of conventional cigarettes (CCs), electronic vaping cigarettes (EVCs), and heated tobacco products (HTPs) on the development of metabolic syndrome.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study in South Korea using data from the Korea Medical Institute.

Metabolic changes preceding bladder cancer occurrence among Korean men: a nested case-control study from the KCPS-II cohort.

Background: Bladder cancer (BLCA) research in Koreans is still lacking, especially in focusing on the prediction of BLCA. The current study aimed to discover metabolic signatures related to BLCA onset and confirm its potential as a biomarker.

Methods: We designed two nested case-control studies using Korean Cancer Prevention Study (KCPS)-II.

Genetically determined alcohol consumption and cancer risk in Korea.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to determine the causal relationship between the genetically determined amount of alcohol consumption and the occurrence of major cancers.

Methods: The data used in this study were from 129,324 people selected from the Korean Cancer Prevention Study-II, the participants of which visited 18 health examination centers between 2004 and 2013. Cancer incidence was confirmed as of 2020 using data from the National Cancer Center.

Effect of night shift work on the reduction of glomerular filtration rate using data from Korea Medical Institute (2016-2020).

Background: Shift work increases the risk of chronic diseases, including metabolic diseases. However, studies on the relationship between shift work and renal function are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between shift work and a decreased glomerular filtration rate (GFR).

Prevalence of human papillomavirus genotypes and precancerous cervical lesions in a screening population in the Republic of Korea, 2014-2016.

Objective: Knowledge regarding the prevalence and distribution of human papillomavirus (HPV) genotyping in healthy women is important in establishing strategies for cervical cancer screening and HPV vaccination.

Methods: A total of 18,170 women who visited a Korean Medical Institute for health check-ups were recruited retrospectively; they underwent HPV genotyping and conventional cervical cytology. An HPV DNA test was performed using the Anyplex™ II HPV 28 detection system (Seegene) or HPV Liquid Bead Microarray (Osang Healthcare).

Imipenem-resistant Gram-negative bacterial isolates carried by persons upon medical examination in Korea.

Carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (CR-GNB) have emerged and disseminated worldwide, become a great concern worldwide including Korea. The prevalence of fecal carriage of imipenem-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (IR-GNB) in persons in Korea was investigated. Stool samples were collected from 300 persons upon medical examination.

Association of Kidney Disease Measures with Cause-Specific Mortality: The Korean Heart Study.

Background: The link of low estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and high proteinuria to cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality is well known. However, its link to mortality due to other causes is less clear.

Methods: We studied 367,932 adults (20-93 years old) in the Korean Heart Study (baseline between 1996-2004 and follow-up until 2011) and assessed the associations of creatinine-based eGFR and dipstick proteinuria with mortality due to CVD (1,608 cases), cancer (4,035 cases), and other (non-CVD/non-cancer) causes (3,152 cases) after adjusting for potential confounders.

Screening Prostate-specific Antigen Concentration and Prostate Cancer Mortality: The Korean Heart Study.

Objective: To evaluate the association between serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) concentration from a screening test and prostate cancer mortality in an Asian population.

Methods: We included 118,665 men in the Korean Heart Study, a large prospective cohort study of participants who voluntarily underwent private health examinations that included PSA-based prostate cancer screening. The baseline visit occurred between January 1994 and December 2004, and follow-up was through December 2011.

Optimal Interval for Repeated Gastric Cancer Screening in Normal-Risk Healthy Korean Adults: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: This retrospective cohort study was conducted to estimate the optimal interval for gastric cancer screening in Korean adults with initial negative screening results.

Materials And Methods: This study consisted of voluntary Korean screenees aged 40 to 69 years who underwent subsequent screening gastroscopies after testing negative in the baseline screening performed between January 2007 and December 2011. A new case was defined as the presence of gastric cancer cells in biopsy specimens obtained upon gastroscopy.

Rates of change to a positive result in subsequent screening mammography in Korean women: a retrospective observational study.

Objectives: This retrospective cohort study aimed at calculating some parameters of changes in the findings of the subsequent screening mammography (SSM) in female Korean volunteers.

Methods: The study included screenees aged 30 to 79 years who underwent SSM voluntarily after testing negative in the baseline screenings performed between January 2007 and December 2011. A change to a positive result was defined as category 4 or 5 by using the American College of Radiology Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System.

Distribution of dense breasts using screening mammography in Korean women: a retrospective observational study.

Objectives: This retrospective observational study evaluated the distribution of dense breasts by age group among healthy Korean women.

Methods: Participants were women aged 30 years and older who voluntarily underwent screening mammography between January 2007 and December 2011. Women who received the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System for mammographic density of 3 or 4 were defined as having dense breasts.

Mean sojourn time of preclinical gastric cancer in Korean men: a retrospective observational study.

Objectives: This retrospective cohort study aimed to estimate the mean sojourn time (MST) of preclinical gastric cancer in Korean men.

Methods: The subjects consisted of voluntary male screenees aged 40 to 69 years who underwent subsequent screening gastroscopies after testing negative at a baseline screening performed between January 2007 and December 2011. A new case was defined if gastric cancer cells were present in the biopsy specimens obtained from gastroscopy.

Characteristics of community-onset NDM-1-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates.

Multilocus sequence typing and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing were performed for three community-onset New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase-1 (NDM-1)-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates from Korea. The genetic structure surrounding the blaNDM-1 gene was determined in blaNDM-1-harbouring plasmids. Three NDM-1-producing K.

Characteristics of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae isolates from Korea.

In this study, the characteristics of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) isolates from Korea was investigated. A total of 22 CRE isolates were investigated, and most were identified as Klebsiella pneumoniae (16 isolates). In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing, multilocus sequence typing, and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis were performed.

Clinical experience of tigecycline treatment in infections caused by extensively drug-resistant Acinetobacter spp.

Background: Tigecycline has broad spectrum antimicrobial activity and is approved for complicated intra-abdominal infections, complicated skin and soft tissue infections, and community-acquired pneumonia. There are few data on clinical experience of tigecycline in hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) and Acinetobacter spp. infection.

Fluoroquinolone resistance in uncomplicated acute pyelonephritis: epidemiology and clinical impact.

The objectives of this study were to investigate antibiotic resistance in urinary pathogens from Korean patients with uncomplicated acute pyelonephritis (UAPN), and to determine the effect of fluoroquinolone (FQ) resistance on clinical outcome in those patients with UAPN initially treated with FQ. Clinical and microbiologic data for all the APN patients attending 14 hospitals in South Korea in 2008 were collected retrospectively. Urinary pathogens were identified in 719 cases, and Escherichia coli was the most common pathogen (661/719, 91.

Is adjunctive corticosteroid beneficial in pneumococcal meningitis in a region with high rates of resistance to penicillin and ceftriaxone?

The role of adjunctive corticosteroids remains controversial in meningitis by penicillin-resistant pneumococci. We determined the effect of adjunctive corticosteroids in adults with pneumococcal meningitis in a region with a high rate of penicillin resistance. A multicenter, retrospective cohort study was conducted between 1998 and 2008 in Korea.

Analysis of first clinical skills examination in the korean medical licensing examination: focus on examinees' experience in a medical school.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the experience of examinees who took the first clinical skill examination in Korea.

Methods: The data were collected by written survey, telephone, and face-to-face interviews with 46 examinees who took a clinical skills examination test at Jeju National University School of Medicine. Thirty-two questionnaires were valid for analysis.

Bloodstream infections and clinical significance of healthcare-associated bacteremia: a multicenter surveillance study in Korean hospitals.

Recent changes in healthcare systems have changed the epidemiologic paradigms in many infectious fields including bloodstream infection (BSI). We compared clinical characteristics of community-acquired (CA), hospital-acquired (HA), and healthcare-associated (HCA) BSI. We performed a prospective nationwide multicenter surveillance study from 9 university hospitals in Korea.

Risk factors and treatment outcomes of community-onset bacteraemia caused by extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli.

The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors for extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Escherichia coli amongst community-onset bacteraemia and to evaluate treatment outcomes. From the database of a nationwide surveillance programme for bacteraemia, data from patients with community-onset E. coli bacteraemia were analysed.

Predominance of an ST11 extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae clone causing bacteraemia and urinary tract infections in Korea.

To investigate the antimicrobial resistance, extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) and clones of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates causing bacteraemia or urinary tract infection (UTI) in Korea, a total of 406 K. pneumoniae isolates from patients with bacteraemia (221 isolates) and UTI (185 isolates) were collected from 10 tertiary-care Korean hospitals from July 2006 to October 2007. In vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed for all isolates and ESBL production was tested.

Dissemination of ST131 and ST393 community-onset, ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli clones causing urinary tract infections in Korea.

Objective: Ciprofloxacin-resistant Escherichia coli is growing concern in clinical settings. In this study, we investigated the distribution of virulence determinants and phylogenetic groups among community-onset, ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli isolates causing urinary tract infections (UTIs) in Korea.

Imported malaria in Korea: a 13-year experience in a single center.

The incidence of imported malaria has been increasing in Korea. We reviewed data retrospectively to evaluate the epidemiology, clinical features, and outcomes of imported malaria from 1995 to 2007 in a university hospital. All patients diagnosed with imported malaria were included.

Scoring systems for prediction of mortality in patients with intensive care unit-acquired sepsis: a comparison of the Pitt bacteremia score and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II scoring systems.

This study compares the effectiveness of the Pitt bacteremia score, the Charlson weighted index of comorbidity, and the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) scoring systems for the prediction of mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients with sepsis using the retrospective observational method on 134 patients with ICU-acquired sepsis. The statistical analyses show several important findings. First, Pitt bacteremia score is significantly correlated with the APACHE II scoring system (correlation coefficient = 0.