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.

Efficacy and safety of switching from oral cholinesterase inhibitors to the rivastigmine transdermal patch in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease.

Background And Purpose: The goal of this study was to estimate the efficacy and safety of the rivastigmine transdermal patch in patients with probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) who cannot tolerate or do not respond to oral cholinesterase inhibitors (ChEIs).

Methods: A 24-week, prospective, open-label, single-arm, multicenter study was conducted from June 2009 to June 2010 in patients with probable AD. The enrolled patients had either a poor response or a decline in global function after treatment with oral ChEIs, or they were not able to tolerate treatment with oral ChEIs due to adverse events such as nausea or vomiting.

Fraction of exhaled nitric oxide in patients with acute eosinophilic pneumonia.

Background: Acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP) is an idiopathic disease characterized by pulmonary eosinophilia. Because the fraction of exhaled nitric oxide (Feno) is a surrogate of eosinophilic inflammation, we evaluated the levels, changed treatments, and the diagnostic role of Feno in patients with AEP.

Methods: Between June 2010 and March 2011, we prospectively enrolled patients at the Armed Forces Capital Hospital who had pulmonary infiltrates and a febrile illness and who were clinically suspected to have AEP.

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.

A promoter SNP rs4073T>A in the common allele of the interleukin 8 gene is associated with the development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis via the IL-8 protein enhancing mode.

Background: Interleukin-8 (IL-8) is a potent chemo-attractant cytokine responsible for neutrophil infiltration in lungs with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The IL-8 protein and mRNA expression are increased in the lung with IPF. We evaluated the effect of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the IL-8 gene on the risk of IPF.

Translation and validation of the Korean Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit.

Background: Delirium is a common problem and associated with poor outcomes in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Diagnosis of delirium in ICU patients is limited and usually underdiagnosed by physicians. The Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit (CAM-ICU) is one of the most widely used screening methods for detection of ICU delirium.

Detection of primary sites in unknown primary tumors using FDG-PET or FDG-PET/CT.

Background: Carcinoma of unknown primary tumors (CUP) is present in 0.5%-9% of all patients with malignant neoplasms; only 20%-27% of primary sites are identified before the patients die. Currently, 18F-fluorodeoxy-glucose positron-emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) or PET combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) is widely used for the diagnosis of CUP.

Incidence and risk factors of steroid-induced diabetes in patients with respiratory disease.

Glucocorticoids are effective for treating several respiratory diseases. However, they can cause hyperglycemia. This study determined the incidence and risk factors of steroid-induced diabetes mellitus (S-DM) in patients treated with glucocorticoid for respiratory diseases.

Impact of parenchymal tuberculosis sequelae on mediastinal lymph node staging in patients with lung cancer.

Because tuberculous (TB) involvement of mediastinal lymph nodes (LN) could cause false positive results in nodal staging of lung cancer, we examined the accuracy of nodal staging in lung cancer patients with radiographic sequelae of healed TB. A total of 54 lung cancer patients with radiographic TB sequelae in the lung parenchyma ipsilateral to the resected lung, who had undergone at least ipsilateral 4- and 7-lymph node dissection after both chest computed tomography (CT) and fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/CT were included for the analysis. The median age of 54 subjects was 66 yr and 48 were males.

Influence of additional post-bronchoscopy visit on patient satisfaction after flexible bronchoscopy.

Background/aims: Many patients undergoing a flexible bronchoscopy (FB) experience anxiety and discomfort during the procedure. We assessed whether an additional patient visit after a FB would improve patient satisfaction.

Methods: The study patients were randomly assigned to a control and post-visit groups.

Factors associated with recurrence in patients with curatively resected stage I-II lung cancer.

Background: Patients with stage I-II non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) show variability in recurrence after curative resection. Several factors have been proposed as prognostic of recurrence in previous studies. However, because of the heterogeneity of the populations studied, these reports did not yield consistent results.

The immune modulation of Clara cell-10 in human peripheral monocytes and dendritic cells.

Although Clara cell secretory protein (CC-10, CC-16 or uteroglobin, secretoglobin 1A1) has been ascribed anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and anti-cancer activity roles in lung diseases including lung cancer, its precise function remains unclear. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the role of CC-10 in the immunomodulation of human monocytes and dendritic cells (DCs). The human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549, was used to examine PGE2 production after cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibition and adenovirus encoding human CC-10 cDNA (Ad-CC-10) transfection.

Impact of whole-body ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography on therapeutic management of non-small cell lung cancer.

Background And Objective: Accurate staging at the time of diagnosis is very important in deciding on the appropriate treatment for cancer patients. FDG PET indicates metabolic changes in cancer cells, enabling the early detection of lesions. This has the advantage of allowing more accurate staging than is possible with conventional staging tools, and has led to the incorporation of FDG PET in the initial work-up protocols for lung cancer patients.

Clinical characteristics and risk factors for nosocomial candidemia in medical intensive care units: experience in a single hospital in Korea for 6.6 years.

The aim of this study was to determine candidemia incidence among patients in a medical intensive-care unit (MICU) and the associated mortality rate and to identify risk factors associated with candidemia. We retrospectively performed a 1:3 matched case-control study of MICU patients with candidemia. Controls were matched for sex, age, and Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II score.

14th congress of the APSR and 3rd Joint Congress of the APSR/ACCP.

The Asian Pacific Society of Respirology (APSR) held its 14th Congress and 3rd Joint Congress of the APSR/American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) in Seoul, Korea, between 14 and 18 November 2009. It was attended by 1906 delegates from around the world and was particularly well represented by people from the Asia-Pacific Rim. The Congress was highlighted by an excellent scientific program, preceded by an educational course on manuscript preparation and several postgraduate courses.

Clinical characteristics of pulmonary embolism with underlying malignancy.

Background/aims: The risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), which encompasses deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism (PE), increases in patients with cancer. Anticancer treatment is also associated with an increased risk for VTE. We conducted this study to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients with cancer and PE related to anticancer treatment in a tertiary care hospital in Korea.

Sequential bilateral lung resection in a patient with Mycobacterium abscessus lung disease refractory to medical treatment.

Mycobacterium abscessus (M. abscessus) is the second most common nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in South Korea. Nevertheless, the diagnosis and treatment of M.

Association between the -159C/T CD14 gene polymorphism and tuberculosis in a Korean population.

The aim of the present study was to confirm the association between the CD14-159C/T polymorphism and tuberculosis in the Korean population and to elucidate the functional basis for this putative association. CD14-159C/T genotypes were determined by PCR - restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis in 274 tuberculosis patients and 422 healthy controls. Recombinant CD14 promoter-luciferase reporter constructs, including the -159T or -159C allele, were transfected into K562 and BEAS-2B cells, and luciferase activities were measured and compared.

Clinical significance of non-diagnostic pathology results from percutaneous transthoracic needle lung biopsy: experience of a tertiary hospital without an on-site cytopathologist.

Background And Objective: More non-diagnostic pathology results may be reported following transthoracic needle lung biopsy (TTNB) when no on-site cytopathologist is available. This study was conducted to analyse the final outcomes in patients with non-diagnostic pathology results, and the factors related to the adequacy of specimens.

Methods: The medical records of consecutive patients who had undergone TTNB from January 2004 to January 2005 were retrospectively analysed.

Costs for 5-year lung cancer survivors in a tertiary care hospital in South Korea.

Introduction: As the population of patients with lung cancer increases, the expenditure on lung cancer treatment will become a huge economic burden in many countries. To support public health services for the treatment of lung cancer, the calculation of lung cancer-specific costs is important.

Methods: This study included newly diagnosed 76 lung cancer patients who had survived for at least 5 years after the diagnosis in a tertiary care hospital in South Korea.

Blockade of NF-κB activation by IκBα gene therapy enhances radiation sensitivity and abolishes acquired resistance to radiation.

Radiation is one of the main treatment modalities in lung cancer, but low sensitivity and acquired resistance of lung cancer cells to radiation frequently result in treatment failure. The activation of nuclear factor (NF)-κB is reportedly the main mechanism by which cancer cells exhibit resistance to external stresses, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy. In this study, we blocked the activation of NF-κB by adenovirus-expressing IκBα-SR and investigated the effect this had on radiation sensitivity.

Increased CA 19-9 level in patients without malignant disease.

Background: The measurement of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9) is recommended for the diagnosis and follow-up of pancreatic cancer. However, increased CA 19-9 has also been reported in patients with various benign diseases of the lung. We aimed to elucidate the pulmonary radiographic abnormalities and laboratory results associated with increased concentrations of CA 19-9.

The role of whole-body FDG PET/CT, Tc 99m MDP bone scintigraphy, and serum alkaline phosphatase in detecting bone metastasis in patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer.

Bone scan (BS) and serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) concentration are used to detect bone metastasis in malignancy, although whole-body fluoro-D-glucose positron emission tomography computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) is being used increasingly. But BS is still used for the detection of metastatic bone lesion. So we compared the usefulness of PET/CT, BS, and serum ALP in detecting bone metastases in patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer.

Prevalence and its predictors of extrapulmonary involvement in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Extrapulmonary organ involvement in human immunodefiaency virus (HIV)-infected patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) is reported to be 26%, however, the clinical predictors of extrapulmonary involvement in pulmonary TB patients has not been reported yet. We tried to determine the clinical predictors of presence of extrapulmonary involvement in patients with pulmonary TB. Cross-sectional study was performed including all adult patients with culture-proven pulmonary TB diagnosed between January 1, 2004 and July 30, 2006, at a tertiary referral hospital in South Korea.

Radiographic improvement and its predictors in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyze changes in the extent of radiographic lesions with treatment in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) and, further, to identify clinical and radiographic factors related to radiographic response.

Methods: A prospective cohort study including patients with culture-proven pulmonary TB was performed. The posterior-anterior view films of the chest that had been taken at the time of diagnosis and at 6 months after the initiation of treatment were compared.