Management of cardiovascular disease using an mHealth tool: a randomized clinical trial.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) is a leading cause of death and morbidity worldwide. This randomized controlled, single-center, open-label trial tested the impact of a mobile health (mHealth) service tool optimized for ASCVD patient care. Patients with clinical ASCVD were enrolled and randomly assigned to the intervention or control group.

Relation between secondhand smoke exposure and cardiovascular risk factors in never smokers.

Objective: Secondhand smoke exposure (SHSE) in nonsmokers has been associated with premature cardiovascular mortality and ischemic heart disease. We conducted a cross-sectional, population-based study evaluating the relationship between SHSE, measured by subjective and objective methods, and conventional cardiovascular risks such as blood pressure, lipid profiles, and fasting glucose.

Methods: We extracted information on 7376 healthy adults who had never smoked, for whom there were available urine cotinine levels, from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2008-2011.

Can a health information exchange save healthcare costs? Evidence from a pilot program in South Korea.

Objective: Governments and institutions across the world have made efforts to adopt and diffuse the health information exchange (HIE) technology with the expectation that the technology would improve the quality and efficiency of care by allowing providers online access to healthcare information generated by other providers at the point of care. However, evidence concerning the effectiveness of the technology is limited hindering the wide adoption of a HIE. The objective of this study was to assess impacts of a HIE on healthcare utilization and costs of patient episodes at a tertiary care hospital following referrals by clinic physicians.

Methods for derivation of human embryonic stem cells.

The expanded blastocysts, developed from 2PN-stage embryos, are generally divided into three categories: a good blastocyst containing a large and distinguishable inner cell mass (ICM), a blastocyst with a small and distinct ICM, and a blastocyst with a poorly defined ICM. In this study, we introduce methods for the derivation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) depending on the quality of the blastocysts. An immunosurgical method was used for the good expanded blastocysts.