Safety and efficacy of fluoroscopy-guided urethral catheterization in case of failed blind or cystoscopy-assisted urethral catheterization.

This retrospective study evaluated the safety and efficacy of fluoroscopy-guided urethral catheterization in patients who failed blind or cystoscopy-assisted urethral catheterization. We utilized our institutional database between January 2011 and March 2023, and patients with failed blind or cystoscopy-assisted urethral catheterization and subsequent fluoroscopy-guided urethral catheterization were included. A 5-Fr catheter was inserted into the urethral orifice, and the retrograde urethrography (RGU) was acquired.

Association of Age- and Body Mass Index-Stratified High On-Treatment Platelet Reactivity With Coronary Intervention Outcomes in East Asian Patients.

Background: Although age and body mass index (BMI) significantly affect platelet reactivity units and clinical outcomes after percutaneous coronary intervention, there are limited data on the relationship between high on-treatment platelet reactivity (HPR) and clinical outcomes on age and BMI differences. Thus, we investigated the association of HPR with clinical outcomes according to age and BMI.

Methods And Results: The study analyzed 11 714 patients who underwent platelet function tests after percutaneous coronary intervention.

Intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention in patients with acute myocardial infarction and cardiogenic shock.

Introduction And Objectives: There are no clinical data on the efficacy of intravascular imaging-guided percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) compared with angiography-guided PCI in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and cardiogenic shock. The current study sought to evaluate the impact of intravascular imaging-guided PCI in patients with AMI and cardiogenic shock.

Methods: Among a total of 28 732 patients from the nationwide pooled registry of KAMIR-NIH (November, 2011 to December, 2015) and KAMIR-V (January, 2016 to June, 2020), we selected a total of 1833 patients (6.

Prognostic Implications of N-Terminal Pro-B-Type Natriuretic Peptide in Patients With Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction.

Background: Limited data exist regarding the prognostic implications of N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) in patients with non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods and results: Of 13,104 patients in the nationwide Korea Acute Myocardial Infarction Registry-National Institutes of Health, 3,083 patients with NSTEMI who underwent PCI were included in the present study. The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) at 3 years, a composite of all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction, unplanned repeat revascularization, and admission for heart failure.

Long-acting cilostazol versus isosorbide mononitrate for patients with vasospastic angina: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: Cilostazol has a vasodilatory function that may be beneficial for patients with vasospastic angina (VSA). We conducted a randomized, open-label, controlled trial to compare the efficacy and safety of long-acting cilostazol and isosorbide mononitrate (ISMN) for VSA.

Methods: The study included patients with confirmed VSA between September 2019 and May 2021.

Intravascular Imaging-Guided Optimization of Complex Percutaneous Coronary Intervention by Sex: A Subgroup Analysis of the RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI Trial.

Importance: There have been heterogeneous results related to sex differences in prognosis after percutaneous coronary artery intervention (PCI) for complex coronary artery lesions.

Objective: To evaluate potential differences in outcomes with intravascular imaging-guided PCI of complex coronary artery lesions between women and men.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This prespecified substudy evaluates the interaction of sex in the investigator-initiated, open-label, multicenter RENOVATE-COMPLEX-PCI randomized clinical trial, which demonstrated the superiority of intravascular imaging-guided PCI compared with angiography-guided PCI in patients with complex coronary artery lesions.

Real-world effectiveness of a single conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (cDMARD) plus an anti-TNF agent versus multiple cDMARDs in rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective observational study.

Objective: The objective of this prospective, observational multicenter study (NCT03264703) was to compare the effectiveness of single conventional disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug (cDMARD) plus anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy versus multiple cDMARD treatments in patients with moderate-to-severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) following cDMARD failure in the real-world setting in South Korea.

Methods: At the treating physicians' discretion, patients received single cDMARD plus anti-TNF therapy or multiple cDMARDs. Changes from baseline in disease activity score 28-joint count with erythrocyte sedimentation rate (DAS28-ESR), corticosteroid use, and Korean Health Assessment Questionnaire (KHAQ-20) scores were evaluated at 3, 6, and 12 months.

Noninvasive factors predicting the maintenance of pregnancy for more than 4 weeks after rescue cerclage in singleton pregnancies with cervical dilatation and prolapsed membrane.

Studies on noninvasive factors and predicting the maintenance of pregnancy, and those comparing the usefulness of these factors with invasive amniotic fluid markers in predicting the maintenance of pregnancy following rescue cerclage, are lacking. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, White blood cell (WBC) count, absolute neutrophil count (ANC), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in maternal blood, which are noninvasive and readily available clinical markers, can predict the maintenance of pregnancy following rescue cerclage in patients with cervical insufficiency (CI). A total of 142 singleton pregnant women (15-28 wk) who underwent rescue cerclage for CI were retrospectively evaluated.

A New Equation to Estimate Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Length.

: Peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) placement plays an important role in clinical practice. This study aimed to provide an equation for the proper estimation of catheter length in cases of PICC placement without imaging guidance in relation to patient height, weight, sex, and age. : For 1137 PICC placement cases in both arm veins of 954 patients at a single center, the elbow crease to the cavoatrial junction length (ECL) was calculated as follows: ECL = (PICC length) + (distance from the elbow crease to the puncture site).

Deep learning algorithm for the automated detection and classification of nasal cavity mass in nasal endoscopic images.

Nasal endoscopy is routinely performed to distinguish the pathological types of masses. There is a lack of studies on deep learning algorithms for discriminating a wide range of endoscopic nasal cavity mass lesions. Therefore, we aimed to develop an endoscopic-examination-based deep learning model to detect and classify nasal cavity mass lesions, including nasal polyps (NPs), benign tumors, and malignant tumors.

Prognostic Implication of Platelet Reactivity According to Procedural Complexity After PCI: Subanalysis of PTRG-DES Consortium.

Background: Complex percutaneous coronary intervention (C-PCI) and high platelet reactivity (HPR) have been proposed as representative risk factors for the high ischemic phenotype. Uncertainty remains regarding the relative prognostic importance of these factors.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prognostic implication of HPR according to procedural complexity.

Job stress and burnout affecting the mental health of Korean medical faculty members: constructing causality among latent variables.

Purpose: This study aims to examine whether perceived levels of job stress, burnout, and mental health are different according to demographic characteristics and working conditions and to investigate the direct and indirect effects of job stress and burnout on the mental health of medical faculty members.

Methods: The study sample consists of 855 faculty members in 40 medical schools nationwide in the 2020 Burnout of Faculty Members of Medical Schools in Korea data with a grant from the Korean Association of Medical Colleges. This study employed structural equation modeling to construct causality among latent variables in addition to t-test, analysis of variance, and correlation coefficients for bivariate analyses.

Association of Depression With the Progression of Multimorbidity in Older Adults: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Background: The relationship between depression and the risk of multimorbidity progression has rarely been studied in older adults. This study was aimed to determine whether depression is associated with progression in the severity and complexity of multimorbidity, considering the influence of depression's severity and subtype.

Methods: As a part of the Korean Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging and Dementia, this population-based cohort study followed a random sample of community-dwelling Koreans aged 60 and older for 8 years at 2-year intervals starting in 2010.

Risk Factors for the Mortality of Patients With Coronavirus Disease 2019 Requiring Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation in a Non-Centralized Setting: A Nationwide Study.

Background: Limited data are available on the mortality rates of patients receiving extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). We aimed to analyze the relationship between COVID-19 and clinical outcomes for patients receiving ECMO.

Methods: We retrospectively investigated patients with COVID-19 pneumonia requiring ECMO in 19 hospitals across Korea from January 1, 2020 to August 31, 2021.

Case Report: Complete atrioventricular block in an elderly patient with acute pulmonary embolism.

Introduction: Multiple abnormal electrocardiographic findings have been documented in patients experiencing acute pulmonary embolism. Although sinus tachycardia is the most commonly encountered rhythmic disturbance, subsequent reports have highlighted other findings. These include right bundle branch block, right axis deviation, nonspecific ST segment/T wave changes, and T wave inversion in the right precordial leads.

Epiglottic retroversion as a cause of upper airway obstruction: A case report.

Rationale: Epiglottic retroversion is the abnormal movement of the epiglottis to the rima glottis, resulting in blockage of inspiratory airflow. Acute upper airway obstruction caused by epiglottic retroversion can lead to sudden respiratory failure. Epiglottic retroversion has occasionally been reported in horses and dogs; however it is extremely rare in humans.

Clinical Significance of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio and Platelet-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Acute Unilateral Vestibulopathy.

Background And Purpose: The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) have been identified as useful biomarkers for assessing the inflammatory response and for predicting the prognosis of various diseases. This study aimed to determine the clinical significance and effects on prognostic prediction of NLR and PLR in acute unilateral vestibulopathy (AUV).

Methods: We retrospectively recruited 128 patients who were diagnosed with AUV from July 2016 to April 2021, and compared NLR and PLR values between these patients with AUV and age- and sex-matched healthy subjects.

Quantitative Analysis of the Effect of Stereotactic Radiosurgery for Postoperative Residual Cervical Dumbbell Tumors: A Multicenter Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has been performed for spinal tumors. However, the quantitative effect of SRS on postoperative residual cervical dumbbell tumors remains unknown. This study aimed to quantitatively evaluate the efficacy of SRS for treating postoperative residual cervical dumbbell tumors.

Cost-Effectiveness of Fractional Flow Reserve-Guided Treatment for Acute Myocardial Infarction and Multivessel Disease: A Prespecified Analysis of the FRAME-AMI Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Complete revascularization by non-infarct-related artery (IRA) percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with acute myocardial infarction is standard practice to improve patient prognosis. However, it is unclear whether a fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided or angiography-guided treatment strategy for non-IRA PCI would be more cost-effective.

Objective: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of FFR-guided compared with angiography-guided PCI in patients with acute myocardial infarction and multivessel disease.

Prognostic Implication of Platelet Reactivity According to Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction Status in Patients Treated With Drug-Eluting Stent Implantation: Analysis of the PTRG-DES Consortium.

Background: Coronary artery disease patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) often exhibit reduced left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). However, the impact of LV dysfunction status in conjunction with platelet reactivity on clinical outcomes has not been previously investigated.

Methods: From the multicenter PTRG-DES (Platelet function and genoType-Related long-term prognosis in DES-treated patients) consortium, the patients were classified as preserved-EF (PEF: LVEF ≥ 50%) and reduced-EF (REF: LVEF< 5 0%) group by echocardiography.

Left-Side Contrast-Injection-Induced Pseudopathologic Vertebral Enhancement in Oncology Patients without Venous Obstruction: A Report of Two Cases.

The appearance of sclerotic bone lesions in contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scans is often a significant concern for the possible presence of metastatic disease, especially in individuals with a known history of cancer. Prior research has demonstrated that in cases where patients suffer from thrombosis in major veins like the superior vena cava or the brachiocephalic vein, vertebral venous congestion can create imaging patterns on CT scans that resemble sclerotic bone metastases. However, instances of such imaging findings in patients without any form of venous obstruction are not commonly reported.

Identification of Autoantigens in Pediatric Gastric Juices.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the presence of autoantigens in the gastric juices of children.

Methods: Gastric juice and serum samples were obtained from 53 children <15 years of age who underwent gastric endoscopy. Among these, 8, 22, and 23 participants were in the age groups 0-5, 6-10, and 11-15 years, respectively.