ABSTRACT
Background@#Many aspects are considered when selecting psoriasis treatments, such as psoriasis severity. In particular, patients’ subjective aspects, such as quality of life and treatment satisfaction, are important when planning treatment, and several studies on these aspects exist. However, studies on the direct thoughts of Korean patients with psoriasis, such as what patients value the most, are limited. @*Objective@#This study aimed to evaluate treatment satisfaction and perceptions regarding the importance or subjective achievement of goals in Korean patients with psoriasis treated with biologics or oral agents. @*Methods@#A total of 59 patients with psoriasis treated with biologics or oral agents for ＞16 weeks completed the questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of four main parts: patient information, past history and treatment experience associated with psoriasis, treatment satisfaction, and subjective importance and degree of achievement of treatment goals in daily life. @*Results@#Treatment satisfaction in the biologics group was higher in terms of effectiveness, improvement in symptoms, speed of improvement, method of administration, frequency of administration, and comprehensive aspects than that in the oral agents group (p＜0.05). However, in both groups, the degree of improvement did not reach the patients’ subjective importance, and “concerned with other people’s eyes due to lesions in exposed area” had the biggest difference. @*Conclusion@#Although biologics had higher treatment satisfaction than oral agents, in some parts of daily life, the degree of improvement did not reach the patients’ subjective importance; therefore, some points still needs to be improved.
ABSTRACT
Generalized pustular psoriasis of pregnancy (GPPP), characterized by widespread sterile pustules and erythematous patches with systemic symptoms such as fever, is a rare form of pustular psoriasis. GPPP typically occurs in the third trimester of pregnancy and can be triggered by various factors such as infections, hypocalcemia, and drugs including N-butyl-scopolammonium bromide. We report a rare case of new-onset GPPP in a 33-yearold multigravida female at 17 weeks’ gestation, which occurred earlier than usual, after taking hydroxychloroquine for 3 weeks to treat systemic lupus erythematosus. She stopped her medications and was treated with systemic corticosteroid, but without improvement.Her medication was changed to systemic cyclosporine; her skin lesions improved, which completely resolved after delivery. This is the first case of GPPP developed following hydroxychloroquine use for systemic lupus erythematosus, which occurred earlier than usual and completely resolved after delivery. This case demonstrates that hydroxychloroquine can induce GPPP before the third trimester of pregnancy.
ABSTRACT
Background and Objectives@#Although studies of test-retest reliability of the standard polysomnography has been reported numerous times, studies of portable sleep devices have been reported in very few cases to date. The purpose of this study is to investigate the test-retest reliability of level III devices, to examine the characteristics of patients with tendency of underestimation and to determine whether there are factors that can predict when retest is needed. Subjects and Method We enrolled 74 patients for this study from April 2014 to March 2019. Two indicators were used to assess night to night variability. If the difference of apneahypopnea index (AHI) score was less than 10 or there is no difference of severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) between two nights, we decided that the results have a reliability. @*Results@#Seventeen out of 57 patients with an AHI difference of less than 10 showed unreliable results based on severity, and 3 out of 17 patients with the AHI difference more than 10 showed reliable results based on severity. Eight out of 74 patients were diagnosed at Night 2 but not at Night 1. In other words, about 11% of the subjects needed retest. Based on the change in severity of OSA, subjective sleep scores showed a statistically significant difference, indicating that the subjective sleep score should be considered when deciding a retest. AHI differed by more than 10 in about 23% of the subjects in this study, falling within “15%- 32%,” which has been reported in the literature on the level I test. @*Conclusion@#This suggests that there is no significant difference in reliability between level I and III.
ABSTRACT
Collagenous fibroma (CF) is a rare benign tumor that occurs at various anatomical sites including the head and neck. CFs are often omitted from differential diagnosis before surgery. We describe a case of CF in a 54-year-old male who presented with a growing neck mass of 1-year duration at the site of previous right hemithyroidectomy for papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Although radiologic findings demonstrated a benign tumor, surgical excision was carried out per patient’s preference and to rule out recurrent thyroid cancer. The mass was severely adherent to the surrounding muscles, but was resected completely without any injury to the adjacent structures. Histological studies revealed CF. The postoperative course was uneventful without vocal fold paralysis. CFs can be a diagnostic challenge in preoperative evaluation. Conservative excision was sufficient in most cases without recurrence. Clinicians should be aware of CFs in diagnosis, especially in postoperative site.
ABSTRACT
Objectives@#The purpose of this study was to investigate the condylar morphology and position of Koreans using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. Analyzing the mean values of this study with reference to left and right sides, gender, and age will help to understand the size of the condyle and glenoid fossa, condylar morphology, and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) symmetry for establishing the standard temporomandibular joint structures of Koreans and then design the standard temporomandibular joint prosthesis for Koreans. @*Results@#There was no significant result in the condyle size, condyle axis angle, joint space, fossa depth, and mandibular body size between the left and right sides (p > 0.05). On the other hand, the mediolateral width of the condyle and mandibular body size show significantly different with the gender (P < 0.05). Also, significant differences were found in condyle size, joint space, fossa depth, and mandibular body size according to age groups (P < 0.05). @*Conclusions@#Condylar position and morphology vary according to side, age, and gender. The results of this study are expected to help in customizing a treatment for the patients who need TMJ reconstruction by predicting the TMJ morphology according to age and gender and design the standard temporomandibular joint prosthesis for the Koreans.