A comparative effectiveness study of usual care, simple Chuna manual therapy, and complex Chuna manual therapy for the treatment of pelvic biomechanical lesions in patients with non-acute low back pain: a protocol for multicenter, randomized controlled trial.

Background: Chuna manual therapy (CMT), a Korean manual therapy technique predominantly used for treating low back pain (LBP) and related disorders, lacks well-conceived research focusing on its comparative effectiveness, safety, and economic evaluation, particularly with respect to complex CMT with established CMT diagnostic algorithms. This study aims to illustrate a protocol for a randomized clinical study for comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of complex CMT with simple CMT and usual care.

Methods: This is a protocol for a three-armed, multicenter, assessor-blinded, pragmatic, randomized controlled trial study.

Usefulness of Direct Magnitude Estimation (DME) and Acoustic Analysis in Measuring Dysphonia Severity.

Objectives: The purposes of this study were (1) to analyze the reliability of direct magnitude estimation (DME) in auditory perceptual assessments measuring dysphonia severity and (2) to analyze the relationship between DME and four acoustic parameters (cepstral peak prominence [CPP], cepstral peak prominence-smoothed [CPPs], Acoustic Voice Quality Index [AVQI], and Acoustic Breathiness Index [ABI]) and (3) to predict dysphonia severity based on DME using four acoustic parameters.

Study Design: One hundred and sixty-one voice samples for dysphonia patients were used. In this study, we combined sustained vowel samples and connected speech samples using the Praat software to make the concatenated samples for implementing acoustic analysis and auditory perceptual assessments.

The effects of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) data inequities in gynecologic oncology.

Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) are the fastest growing racial group in the United States. Data on AAPI communities, however, are significantly limited. The oversimplification and underreporting of this ethnically and socioeconomically heterogenous population through the use of aggregated data has deleterious effects and worsens disparities in patient treatment, outcomes, and experiences.

Chuna Manual Therapy or Electroacupuncture with Pregabalin for Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: A Randomized Controlled Pilot Study.

Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy, and effective treatments for CIPN are still lacking. For this reason, there is a growing interest in complementary and alternative medicine as a potential source of nonsurgical treatments for CIPN symptoms alongside pregabalin. One such option being explored is Chuna manual therapy (CMT), a traditional Korean manual therapy.

Validation and Development of Voice Handicap Index-Throat for Koreans.

Introduction: This study aimed to develop, validate, and analyze the reliability of the Korean version of the Voice Handicap Index-Throat (VHI-Tk).

Methods: This prospective study included 103 patients in the case group with voice problems (18 with functional dysphonia, 44 with mass in the larynx, 18 with neurological voice disorder, 23 with throat problems) and 27 in the control group without voice problems. All participants completed these questionnaires at their initial visit: the Korean version of the Voice Handicap Index (K-VHI), VHI-Tk, and the Korean version of the Voice Symptom Scale (K-VoiSS).

Estimating the Total Societal Cost of a Hexavalent Vaccine versus a Pentavalent Vaccine with Hepatitis B in South Korea.

In South Korea, the ready-to-use hexavalent vaccine (against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, poliovirus, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and hepatitis B) is not listed despite its facility of no need to reconstitute. It, therefore, has the potential to augment the efficiency of prevention against the six infectious diseases, and it may reduce vaccine-related errors of reconstitution when compared with the currently used vaccination scheme of the pentavalent vaccine with the additional shots against hepatitis B. Given the assumed clinical equivalence between the two vaccination schemes, a cost-minimization analysis has been performed from a societal perspective including all the medical and non-medical direct and indirect costs when vaccinating one birth cohort.

A Cepstral Analysis of Pathological Voice Quality in the Korean Population using Praat.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the reference values for cepstral peak prominence (CPP) and smoothed CPP (CPPS) measured using Praat in Korean speakers with the normal, healthy and pathological voice.

Methods: A total of 4,524 Korean participants with vocally healthy (n = 410) and dysphonic voices (n = 4,114) participated in this study. The speech task consisted of a sustained vowel /a/ and a sentence reading the Korean passage "Walk".

Identity-related experiences of Asian American trainees in gynecologic oncology.

Background: Anti-Asian violence increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Asian American/Pacific Islanders (AAPI) represent a diverse population experiencing a long history of stereotyping and exclusionism; however, this group is often left out of diversity/inclusion conversations. In academic medicine, AAPI are under-represented in leadership.

Underscreening, overscreening, and guideline-adherent cervical cancer screening in a national cohort.

Objective: To explore rates of under- and overscreening for cervical cancer among a national cohort.

Methods: The MarketScan database, a national administrative database of employee-sponsored insurance, was queried for elements relevant to cervical cancer screening among women aged 21-65 with 6 years of continuous enrollment (2015-2019). Average-risk women were defined as those without high-risk medical conditions or abnormal screening histories, and without evidence of hysterectomy with removal of the cervix for benign indications.

Trusted contraception information sources for individuals with opioid use disorder.

Objective (study Question): To identify trusted sources of contraception information among pregnancy-capable individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD).

Data Sources/study Setting: We conducted interviews between October 2018 and January 2019 at Boston Medical Center, a university-based tertiary care center.

Study Design: Data were drawn from semi-structured qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of 20 pregnant or recently pregnant individuals with OUD.

Vasomotor symptoms and carotid artery intima-media thickness among Korean midlife women.

Objectives: To evaluate the association between vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) in Korean midlife women.

Study Design: This cross-sectional study included 918 Korean women aged 45-65 years who attended their routine health checkup at a single institution between 2013 and 2016.

Main Outcome Measures: All participants' results on the Menopause Rating Scale were used to assess the VMS.

Resonance Characteristics in Epiglottic Cyst: Formant Frequency, Vowel Space Area, Vowel Articulatory Index, and Formant Centralization Ratio.

Objectives: Resonance characteristics can change due to alterations in the shape of the vocal tract in patients with epiglottic cysts. This study aimed to analyze the resonance characteristics before and after the surgical excision of epiglottic cysts.

Methods: Twelve male patients with epiglottic cysts were enrolled in this study.

The Usefulness of Multi Voice Evaluation for Measuring Voice Recovery After Endolaryngeal Phonomicrosurgery in Patients with Vocal Fold Polyps.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to the usefulness of a five-variable model predicting perceived voice severity and incorporating acoustic analysis based on cepstral analysis and self-reported questionnaires, for measuring voice recovery after endolaryngeal phonomicrosurgery in patients with vocal fold polyps.

Methods: In this study, 72 patients with vocal fold polyps were included. Two voice evaluations, including acoustic analysis, self-reported questionnaires, and auditory perceptual assessments for each patient, were implemented before and after endolaryngeal phonomicrosurgery.

Contraceptive decision making among pregnancy-capable individuals with opioid use disorder at a tertiary care center in Massachusetts.

Objective: To explore contraceptive decision making among recently pregnant patients with a history of opioid use disorder.

Study Design: We conducted semi-structured qualitative interviews, based on principles of the Ottawa Decision Support Framework, with 20 recently pregnant individuals diagnosed with opioid use disorder at a tertiary care medical center in Massachusetts. We audio-recorded the interviews and they were transcribed verbatim.

The usefulness of multi voice evaluation: Development of a model for predicting a degree of dysphonia.

Objectives: The purposes of this study were (1) to analyze the usefulness of self-report questionnaires, acoustic analysis, and auditory perceptual assessment for screening voice problems; and (2) to develop a new model for predicting a comprehensive voice severity using multi-assessment.

Methods: A total of 306 voice samples were analyzed in this study (typical group, n = 72; dysphonia group, n = 234). We performed a receiver operating characteristic analysis to determine the cutoff values of auditory perceptual assessments (visual analog scale), acoustic parameters (spectral- and cepstral-based analyses), and self-report questionnaires for screening voice disorders.

Simple technique to preserve the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve during thyroidectomy: Clinical practicability of an attachable nerve stimulator.

Objective: This study aimed to demonstrate the usefulness of an attachable magnetic nerve stimulator for preservation of the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (EBSLN) during thyroidectomy.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 120 female patients, of which 60 underwent thyroidectomy with an attachable magnetic nerve stimulator (magnetic group) and the remaining 60 underwent thyroidectomy with a conventional method without EBSLN identification (control group). For both groups, objective and subjective voice parameters were investigated on the day before surgery and at 2 weeks and 2 months after surgery.

Clinical Significance of the Preoperative Thyroidectomy-Related Voice Questionnaire Score in Thyroid Surgery.

Background: The thyroidectomy-related voice questionnaire (TVQ) is an efficient screening tool for detecting postoperative vocal dysfunction. The aim of this study was to confirm the significance of the preoperative TVQ score in thyroid surgery.

Methods: We examined 180 women who underwent total thyroidectomy with central lymph node dissection from March 2014 to May 2016.

The Usefulness of Auditory Perceptual Assessment and Acoustic Analysis as a Screening Test for Voice Problems.

Background/aims: The aims of study were (1) to determine the cut-off values of parameters related to auditory perceptual assessment (visual analog scale [VAS]) and acoustic analysis (cepstral peak prominence [CPP], low-frequency/high-frequency [L/H] ratio, CPP SD, L/H ratio SD, acoustic voice quality index [AVQI], and cepstral spectral index of dysphonia [CSID]) for predicting voice problems within a Korean population, and (2) to verify the discriminative power of these cut-off values.

Methods: 1,113 voice samples were analyzed in this study. Perceptual assessments (VAS) were performed by 5 speech-language pathologists.

Validation of Acoustic Voice Quality Index Version 3.01 and Acoustic Breathiness Index in Korean Population.

Objectives: This study aimed to verify the Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) version 3.01 and the Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI) as tools for acoustic analyses in the Korean language.

Methods: Concatenated voice samples of sustained vowels (SV) and continuous speech (CS) were collected from 151 subjects with dysphonia and 71 vocally healthy subjects.

Comparison of Cepstral Analysis Based on Voiced-Segment Extraction and Voice Tasks for Discriminating Dysphonic and Normophonic Korean Speakers.

Objectives: This study investigated whether there are differences in the discriminatory power of cepstral analysis according to the voiced-segment extraction method and voice tasks used for identifying dysphonic and normophonic Korean individuals.

Materials And Methods: A total of 2,863 subjects (2,595 subjects with and 268 subjects without dysphonia) were included in this study. The 3-second sustained vowel (SV) /a/ and one sentence of "Sanchaek" were edited and analyzed using Praat scripts.

Korean Voice Catastrophization Index (K-VCI): Validation of the Voice Catastrophization Index for Koreans.

Objective: The purpose of present study was to validate a Korean version of the Voice Catastrophization Index for assessing catastrophization in patients with voice problems in a Korean population.

Methods: Case group patients with voice problems (n = 80) and control group patients without voice problems (n = 25) participated in the study. They were asked to complete three questionnaires: Korean Voice Handicap Index, Korean Voice-Related Quality of Life, and Korean Voice Catastrophization Index (K-VCI).

The Usefulness of Auditory Perceptual Assessment and Acoustic Analysis for Classifying the Voice Severity.

Objective: The aims of this study were to (1) to determine the cut-off values of parameters related to auditory perceptual assessment (visual analog scale) and acoustic analysis (cepstral peak prominence, low frequency/high frequency ratio, cepstral peak prominence standard deviation, low frequency/high frequency ratio standard deviation, acoustic voice quality index, and cepstral spectral index of dysphonia) for predicting the voice severity within a Korean population; and (2) to verify the discriminative power of these cut-off values.

Methods: Voice samples of 1,029 subjects who visited Pusan National University Hospital, South Korea to be treated for swallowing or voice evaluation from January 2018 to December 2018 were analyzed in this retrospective study. The acoustic analysis of cepstral parameters, cepstral spectral index of dysphonia, and acoustic voice quality index were calculated using the Computerized Speech Lab and Praat software.

Voice Recovery in a Patient with Inhaled Laryngeal Burns.

Introduction: Laryngeal burns cause long-term voice disorders due to mucosal changes of the vocal folds. Inhalation injuries affect voice production and result in changes in the mucosal thickness and voice quality.

Case Report: A 47-year-old woman was transferred to our department with laryngeal burns sustained during a house fire.