Prognostic significance of initial platelet counts and fibrinogen level in advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Thrombocytosis and coagulation systems activation are commonly associated with disease progression and are suggested poor prognostic factors in patients with malignancies. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and prognostic significance of thrombocytosis and elevated fibrinogen levels in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Initial platelet counts and fibrinogen levels were reviewed in 854 patients with histologically proven NSCLC.

Treatment response and adverse reactions in older tuberculosis patients with immunocompromising comorbidities.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to elucidate the effects of immunocompromising comorbidities on treatment response and adverse reactions in older tuberculosis (TB) patients.

Materials And Methods: The medical records of 182 patients older than 65 years with proven TB by positive culture of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and with available drug susceptibility tests were reviewed retrospectively. These patients were subsequently assigned to either the comorbidity group (n=78) or non-comorbidity group (n=104) depending on whether they had immunocompromising comorbidities.

Prognosis for non-small cell lung cancer patients with brain metastases.

Purpose: Brain metastasis has a poor prognosis in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In this study, we evaluated the prognosis of NSCLC patients with brain metastases.

Methods: We analyzed a total of 313 NSCLC patients with brain metastasis.

Clinical implication of microscopic anthracotic pigment in mediastinal staging of non-small cell lung cancer by endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration.

Microscopic anthracotic pigment (MAP) is frequently observed in endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) specimen in non-small cell lung cancer, but its clinical interpretation is not well-known. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical implication of MAP in mediastinal staging of non-small cell lung cancer. From May 2010 to July 2011, consecutive potentially operable non-small cell lung cancer patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA for mediastinal staging were recruited.

CCL21 Chemokine Therapy for Lung Cancer.

Lung cancer remains a challenging health problem with more than 1.1 million deaths worldwide annually. With current therapy, the long term survival for the majority of lung cancer patients remains low, thus new therapeutic strategies are needed.

Effects of consumer-centered u-health service for the knowledge, skill, and attitude of the patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Through the use of ubiquitous health, or u-Health, services, medical information can be adapted and made accessible via computer and Internet to provide quality healthcare to anybody, any place, and any time. We developed and implemented u-Health services for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and studied their experiences with respect to their knowledge of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and skill and attitude toward the u-Health devices. The u-Health services were composed of telemonitoring and teleconsultation supplemented with home visits.

Clinical features of patients on home oxygen therapy due to chronic respiratory failure at one university hospital.

Background/aims: Home oxygen therapy (HOT) costs a great deal every year and demand for the service is growing. In Korea, health insurance has covered HOT since November 1, 2006. The objective of this study was to evaluate clinical features of patients who used long-term HOT due to chronic respiratory failure and to determine the appropriateness of oxygen prescriptions.

Positive tuberculin skin test or interferon-gamma release assay in patients with radiographic lesion suggesting old healed tuberculosis.

Radiographic lesions suggesting old healed tuberculosis (TB) is considered a risk factor for the subsequent development of active TB. The aim of this study was to estimate the positive rates of tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) in persons with old healed TB. Participants with lesions suggesting old healed TB on chest images and controls without such lesions were prospectively enrolled between January 1, 2010, and January 31, 2011.

Quantification of galantamine in human plasma by validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry using glimepride as an internal standard: application to bioavailability studies in 32 healthy Korean subjects.

A simple, rapid and selective liquid chromatography method coupled with tandem mass spectrometry is developed and validated for the quantification of galantamine in human plasma using a commercially available compound, glimepride, as an internal standard (IS). Following simple one-step liquid-liquid extraction by ethyl acetate, the analytes are separated using an isocratic mobile phase consisting of acetonitrile and 0.01M ammonium acetate (95/5, v/v) on a reverse-phase C18 column and analyzed by tandem mass spectrometry in the multiple reaction monitoring mode using the transitions of respective (M + H)(+) ions, m/z 288.

Prognosis in patients having chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with significant coronary artery lesion angina.

Background/aims: Many studies have investigated angina and its relationship with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, angina was diagnosed only by noninvasive tests or only by clinical symptoms in most of these studies. The aim of this study was to compare the prognosis, including rate of hospitalization and death from significant coronary artery lesion and nonsignificant coronary artery lesion angina, in patients with COPD.

Bacterial yield from quantitative cultures of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid in patients with pneumonia on antimicrobial therapy.

Background/aims: Early diagnosis and appropriate antimicrobial choice are crucial when managing pneumonia patients, and quantitative culture of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid is considered a useful method for identifying pneumonia pathogens. We evaluated the quantitative yield of BAL fluid bacterial cultures in patients being treated with antimicrobials and attempted to identify factors predictive of positive BAL cultures.

Methods: Patients over 18 years old and whose BAL fluid was subjected to quantitative culture to identify the organism causative of pneumonia between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2009, were included.

Treatment response and long term follow-up results of nonspecific interstitial pneumonia.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term clinical course of non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) and to determine which factors are associated with a response to steroid therapy and relapse. Thirty-five patients with pathologically proven NSIP were included. Clinical, radiological, and laboratory data were reviewed retrospectively.

Prognostic factors for non-small cell lung cancer with bone metastasis at the time of diagnosis.

Introduction: The skeletal system is one of the most common distant sites of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) which may lead to skeletal-related event (SRE). The purpose of this study was to assess the frequency of SRE and the prognostic factors of overall survival (OS) in patients presenting bone metastasis in NSCLC.

Methods: Two hundred and twenty NSCLC patients with skeletal metastases at the time of diagnosis between January 2000 and August 2007 were investigated retrospectively.

Differential sensitivities to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in NSCLC harboring EGFR mutation and ALK translocation.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) translocations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are mutually exclusive. However, several exceptional cases harboring both genetic alterations have been reported. In this study, a total of 444 patients with lung adenocarcinoma were examined for their EGFR and ALK status at Seoul National University Hospital between July 2008 and September 2011.

EGFR mutations as a predictive marker of cytotoxic chemotherapy.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) are important predictive markers for the response to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs). Whether EGFR mutations can also predict the clinical outcomes in NSCLC patients receiving chemotherapy has not yet been established.

Methods: We included 217 locally advanced/metastatic NSCLC cases in our study cohort.

Prognostic effect of age on survival of patients with stage I adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Aims And Background: It is still unclear whether age is an independent prognostic factor in patients with stage I NSCLC.

Methods: Five hundred and sixty-nine patients with stage I adenocarinoma who underwent surgical resection as first treatment were included. The effect on overall survival of age, gender, smoking habits, Charlson comorbidity index score (CCIS), type of surgery, tumor size and lymphatic or blood vessel invasion was analyzed.

Quantification of nimesulide in human plasma by high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV): application to pharmacokinetic studies in 28 healthy Korean subjects.

Nimesulide is a selective COX-2 inhibitor that is as effective as the classical non-acidic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the relief of various pain and inflammatory conditions, but is better tolerated with lower incidences of adverse effects than other drugs. After oral dose of 100 mg nimesulide to western subjects, a mean maximal concentration (C(max)) of 2.86 ∼ 6.

Vitamin D deficiency and changes in serum vitamin D levels with treatment among tuberculosis patients in South Korea.

Background And Objective: Vitamin D deficiency has been reported to be associated with the development of active tuberculosis (TB), but many discrepancies exist among studies. The aims of this study were to compare the frequency of vitamin D deficiency in a Korean population of TB patients and control subjects, and to monitor the changes in vitamin D levels during TB treatment.

Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed TB were prospectively enrolled.

Sound analysis in an in vitro endotracheal tube model.

Background/aims: Complete endotracheal tube obstruction is a medical emergency, and partial occlusion causes increased breathing rates and failure to wean off mechanical ventilation. Partial occlusion may be underestimated due to the lack of proper detection methods. We tested whether the sound of an endotracheal tube could be used to detect an endotracheal tube obstruction using an in vitro model.

The clinical implications of bronchoscopy in hemoptysis patients with no explainable lesions in computed tomography.

Introduction: Hemoptysis is observed frequently in patients, although chest computed tomography (CT) shows no explainable lesion as the cause of hemoptysis. However, the clinical course of these patients has not been reported fully.

Methods: This study included patients who visited Seoul National University Hospital and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital to be treated for hemoptysis from January 2003 through October 2009 and who had no lesion causing hemoptysis in chest CT.

Adverse pulmonary reactions associated with the use of monoclonal antibodies in cancer patients.

Background: The incidence and clinical characteristics of adverse pulmonary reactions resulting from anticancer monoclonal antibody (mAbs) therapy have not been well described. We determined the incidence and clinical characteristics of adverse pulmonary reactions in patients treated with anticancer chemotherapy including mAbs.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was performed including patients who were treated with a chemotherapeutic regimen that included rituximab, trastuzumab, cetuximab, or bevacizumab at Seoul National University Hospital between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2008.

Outcome of patients with connective tissue disease requiring intensive care for respiratory failure.

Occasionally acute respiratory failure (ARF) develops in patients with connective tissue disease (CTD), but the etiologies of ARF in these patients are not fully elucidated. The objective of this study is to find out the causes of ARF leading to intensive care unit (ICU) admission in these patients and to assess their clinical outcome. The medical records of 1,870 consecutive patients admitted to the ICU in Seoul National University Hospital since January 2005-September 2008 were reviewed.

Isolation of multiple nontuberculous mycobacteria species in the same patients.

Background: During the observation of many patients with nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections, we have often isolated different NTM species in the same patient. In this study we elucidated the patterns of multiple NTM species isolation.

Methods: The analysis included all patients from whom more than one species of mycobacteria were cultured from a respiratory specimen at Seoul National University Hospital, a tertiary referral hospital in South Korea, between January 2002 and December 2008.

Risk factors of postoperative pneumonia after lung cancer surgery.

The purpose of this study was to investigate risk factors of postoperative pneumonia (POP) after lung cancer surgery. The 417 lung cancer patients who underwent surgical resection in a tertiary referral hospital were included. Clinical, radiological and laboratory data were reviewed retrospectively.

Retrospective comparison of levofloxacin and moxifloxacin on multidrug-resistant tuberculosis treatment outcomes.

Background/aims: To compare the effect of levofloxacin and moxifloxacin on treatment outcomes among patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB).

Methods: A retrospective analysis of 171 patients with MDR-TB receiving either levofloxacin or moxifloxacin was performed. Treatment responses were categorized into treatment success (cured and treatment completed) or adverse treatment outcome (death, failure, and relapsed).