Comparative Clinical Characteristics of Frail Older Adults in the Emergency Department: Long-Term Care Hospital versus Community Residence.

Background/objective: Older patients from long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) presenting to emergency departments (EDs) exhibit a higher prevalence of frailty than those from the community. However, no study has examined frailty in patients from LTCHs in the ED. This study compared frailty in older patients from LTCHs and the community.

The translesion polymerase Pol Y1 is a constitutive component of the B. subtilis replication machinery.

Unrepaired DNA damage encountered by the cellular replication machinery can stall DNA replication, ultimately leading to cell death. In the DNA damage tolerance pathway translesion synthesis (TLS), replication stalling is alleviated by the recruitment of specialized polymerases to synthesize short stretches of DNA near a lesion. Although TLS promotes cell survival, most TLS polymerases are low-fidelity and must be tightly regulated to avoid harmful mutagenesis.

Cluster analysis of thoracic muscle mass using artificial intelligence in severe pneumonia.

Severe pneumonia results in high morbidity and mortality despite advanced treatments. This study investigates thoracic muscle mass from chest CT scans as a biomarker for predicting clinical outcomes in ICU patients with severe pneumonia. Analyzing electronic medical records and chest CT scans of 778 ICU patients with severe community-acquired pneumonia from January 2016 to December 2021, AI-enhanced 3D segmentation was used to assess thoracic muscle mass.

Efficacy and Safety of Alogliptin-Pioglitazone Combination for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Poorly Controlled with Metformin: A Multicenter, Double-Blind Randomized Trial.

Backgruound: Guidelines for switching to triple combination therapy directly after monotherapy failure are limited. This study investigated the efficacy, long-term sustainability, and safety of either mono or dual add-on therapy using alogliptin and pioglitazone for patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) who did not achieve their target glycemic range with metformin monotherapy.

Methods: The Practical Evidence of Antidiabetic Combination Therapy in Korea (PEAK) was a multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized trial.

Automated Detection and Segmentation of Bone Metastases on Spine MRI Using U-Net: A Multicenter Study.

Objective: To develop and evaluate a deep learning model for automated segmentation and detection of bone metastasis on spinal MRI.

Materials And Methods: We included whole spine MRI scans of adult patients with bone metastasis: 662 MRI series from 302 patients (63.5 ± 11.

The Impact of Mental Practice on Motor Function in Patients With Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Mental practice (MP), the cognitive rehearsal of physical activities without overt movements, has recently emerged as a promising rehabilitation method for patients with stroke. This paper presents a systematic review and meta-analysis critically evaluating the existing evidence to offer a comprehensive estimate of the overall effect of MP on motor function in stroke patients. A systematic search of 3 international databases (PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library) was conducted for randomized controlled trials.

Cerebrospinal fluid flow artifact reduction with deep learning to optimize the evaluation of spinal canal stenosis on spine MRI.

Purpose: The aim of study was to employ the Cycle Generative Adversarial Network (CycleGAN) deep learning model to diminish the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow artifacts in cervical spine MRI. We also evaluate the agreement in quantifying spinal canal stenosis.

Methods: For training model, we collected 9633 axial MR image pairs from 399 subjects.

Clinical Practice Guideline for Stroke Rehabilitation in Korea-Part 1: Rehabilitation for Motor Function (2022).

This clinical practice guideline (CPG) is the fourth edition of the Korean guideline for stroke rehabilitation, which was last updated in 2016. The development approach has been changed from a consensus-based approach to an evidence-based approach using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) method. This change ensures that the guidelines are based on the latest and strongest evidence available.

Top Ten Tips Palliative Care Clinicians Should Know About Caring for Filipino American and Korean American Patients.

As of 2019, there are 4.2 million Filipino Americans (FAs) and 1.9 million Korean Americans (KAs) in the United States, largely concentrated in New York, California, Texas, Illinois, and Washington.

Current Status of Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy in Korea: Experience of a Single University-Affiliated Acute-Care Hospital.

Background: Systematic protocols for the management of outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy (OPAT) and information on the current status of a prescription of parenteral antibiotics for outpatients and referred patients are lacking in the Korea. This study aimed to describe the current status of OPAT at a tertiary care hospital in Korea.

Materials And Methods: This was a retrospective study of outpatients and referral patients who were prescribed parenteral antibiotics from July to December 2019.

Role of mass spectrometry-based serum proteomics signatures in predicting clinical outcomes and toxicity in patients with cancer treated with immunotherapy.

Immunotherapy has fundamentally changed the landscape of cancer treatment. However, only a subset of patients respond to immunotherapy, and a significant portion experience immune-related adverse events (irAEs). In addition, the predictive ability of current biomarkers such as programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) remains unreliable and establishing better potential candidate markers is of great importance in selecting patients who would benefit from immunotherapy.

Positive Effects on Emotional Stress and Sleep Quality of Forest Healing Program for Exhausted Medical Workers during the COVID-19 Outbreak.

This study targeted medical workers, who are currently being subjected to an excessive workload and emotional stress during the COVID-19 outbreak. Various treatment programs, such as a relaxation program to relieve stress, a walk in the forest, and woodworking were provided to the participants as forest healing therapies. We enrolled 13 medical workers (11 females, 2 males).

Machine learning approach for study on subway passenger flow.

We investigate regional features nearby the subway station using the clustering method called the funFEM and propose a two-step procedure to predict a subway passenger transport flow by incorporating the geographical information from the cluster analysis to functional time series prediction. A massive smart card transaction dataset is used to analyze the daily number of passengers for each station in Seoul Metro. First, we cluster the stations into six categories with respect to their patterns of passenger transport.

Predictive value of the videofluoroscopic swallowing study for long-term mortality in patients with subacute stroke.

To investigate the usefulness of the videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) for subacute stroke in predicting long-term all-cause mortality, including not only simple parameters obtained from VFSS results, but also recommended dietary type as an integrated parameter.This was a retrospective study of patients with subacute (<1 month) stroke at a university hospital between February 2014 and September 2019. The independent risk factors were investigated using stepwise Cox regression analysis, which increased the all-cause mortality of patients with stroke among VFSS parameters.

Decreased Maximal Tongue Protrusion Length May Predict the Presence of Dysphagia in Stroke Patients.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between maximal tongue protrusion length (MTPL) and dysphagia in post-stroke patients.

Methods: Free tongue length (FTL) was measured using the quick tongue-tie assessment tool and MTPL was measured using a transparent plastic ruler in 47 post-stroke patients. The MTPL-to-FTL (RMF) ratio was calculated.

Comparison of the Clinical Process and Outcomes in Patients after Coronavirus Infection 2019 Outbreak.

: The coronavirus infection 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected emergency department (ED) management. Its viral transmission necessitates the use of isolation rooms and personal protective equipment for treating suspected patients, such as those with fever. This delays the time until the first encounter with the patients, thereby increasing the length of stay (LOS) in the ED.

Shoulder pain in a patient with renal cell carcinoma? Suprascapular neuropathy caused by bone metastasis of renal cell carcinoma: A case report.

Background: Pain management is crucial in palliative care for patients with advanced cancer. Here, we report a case of shoulder pain in a patient with renal cell carcinoma.

Case Presentation: A 36-year-old male diagnosed metastatic renal cell carcinoma presented with pain and weakness on left shoulder for more than 6 months.

Postoperative morbidity and quality of life between totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy and laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy: a propensity-score matched analysis.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the surgical outcome and quality of life (QoL) of totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy (TLTG) compared with laparoscopy-assisted total gastrectomy (LATG) in patients with clinical stage I gastric cancer.

Methods: From 2012 to 2018, EGC patients who underwent TLTG (n = 223), including the first case with intracorporeal hemi-double stapling, were matched to those who underwent LATG (n = 114) with extracorporeal circular stapling, using 2:1 propensity score matching (PSM). Prospectively collected morbidity was compared between the TLTG and LATG groups in conjunction with the learning curve.

Anti-Obesity Effect of (L.) Pers. Extract Containing Phenolic Acids.

(L.) Pers. water extract (EAW) was investigated for its anti-obesity effects in C57BL/6J mice on a high-fat diet.

Spinal nerve signal intensity on Dixon T2-weighted water-only sequence: an important outcome predictor after lumbar transforaminal epidural injection.

Objectives: To evaluate the role of Dixon T2-weighted water-fat separation technique in predicting the outcome of lumbar transforaminal epidural injections (TFESIs).

Methods: Patients who underwent TFESI of a single spinal nerve within 3 months after magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) exam between August 2018 and April 2020 were identified. The patients were classified into positive or negative outcome groups based on the response to the TFESI procedure.

Pelvic Belt Wearing during Exercise Improves Balance of Patients with Stroke: A Randomized, Controlled, Preliminary Trial.

Objectives: To investigate whether wearing a pelvic belt during a trunk stability exercise program positively affects balance in patients with stroke.

Materials And Methods: Twenty-four patients with stroke were randomly allocated to the experimental or control group and performed a 60-min general physical therapy and an additional 30-min trunk stability exercise (five times/week for 6 weeks). Those in the experimental and control groups performed the trunk stability exercises with and without wearing the pelvic belt, respectively.

Long-term analgesic effects of peripheral nerve block in patients with central post-stroke pain: A retrospective series.

Background: Central post-stroke pain (CPSP) has a detrimental effect on the quality of life of post-stroke patients. However, no definitive and effective method has been established yet for the treatment of CPSP.

Objective: We aimed to examine the applicability of single-injection peripheral nerve blocks (PNBs) for the treatment of CPSP.

Comparison of training effects between underwater treadmill gait training and overground gait training on the walking ability and respiratory function in patients with chronic severe hemiplegic stroke: A randomized, controlled, preliminary trial.

Background: The need to develop a more effective intervention to obtain a functional recovery of stroke patients who are unable to perform land-based treadmill gait training has been widely reported. Thus, this pilot study aimed to identify a gait training type that could lead to improved gait and respiratory functioning in adult patients with chronic severe hemiplegic stroke.

Objectives: To examine whether underwater treadmill or/and overground gait training could be more effective in stroke patients.