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Purpose@#Laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction (LPG-DTR) expectedly results in improved nutritional status and less body weight loss than conventional total gastrectomy in upper-third gastric cancer. This study aimed to investigate the food passage patterns following LPG-DTR and its effect on nutritional outcomes up to 1 year after surgery. @*Methods@#This prospective cohort study recruited 10 patients with early gastric cancer scheduled for LPG-DTR. Nutritional indices and body composition were assessed every 3 months up to 12 months. Liquid and solid food transits were evaluated with fluoroscopic upper gastrointestinal study and radionuclide scintigraphy, respectively. @*Results@#At 12 months, patients exhibited a body weight loss of 14.5% ± 3.6%. The main passage routes for liquid and solid foods differed, primarily via the interposed jejunum for liquids, whereas via both tracts for solids. The median half-life of solid food emptying from the remnant distal stomach was 105.1 minutes (range, 50.8–2,194.2 minutes), and duodenal passage of solid food was noted in 9 of 10 patients. Those with gastric half-emptying time >3 hours demonstrated greater weight loss (19.5% ± 1.4% vs. 12.5% ± 1.1%, P = 0.024) and more pronounced reduction in serum albumin levels (–0.5 ± 0.3 g/dL vs. 0.0 ± 0.2 g/dL, P = 0.024) after 12 months. @*Conclusion@#LPG-DTR demonstrated varying food passage patterns depending on the food contents and delayed solid food emptying from the remnant stomach was associated with more substantial weight loss.
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Purpose@#The programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) SP142 assay identifies patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who are most likely to respond to the anti–PD-L1 agent atezolizumab. We aimed to compare PD-L1 (SP142) expression between primary and recurrent/metastatic TNBCs and elucidate the clinicopathological features associated with its expression. @*Materials and Methods@#Primary and recurrent/metastatic TNBCs tested with PD-L1 (SP142) were collected, and clinicopathological information of these cases was obtained through a review of slides and medical records. @*Results@#PD-L1 (SP142) positivity was observed in 50.9% (144/283) of primary tumors and 37.8% (31/82) of recurrent/metastatic TNBCs with a significant difference. Recurrent or metastatic sites were associated with PD-L1 positivity, with high PD-L1 positivity in the lung, breast, and soft tissues, and low positivity in the bone, skin, liver, and brain. When comparing PD-L1 expression between primary and matched recurrent/metastatic TNBCs using 55 paired samples, 20 cases (36.4%) showed discordance; 10 cases revealed positive conversion, and another 10 cases revealed negative conversion during metastatic progression. In primary TNBCs, PD-L1 expression was associated with a higher histologic grade, lower T category, pushing border, and higher tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte infiltration. In survival analyses, PD-L1 positivity, especially high positivity, was found to be associated with favorable prognosis of patients. @*Conclusion@#PD-L1 (SP142) expression was lower in recurrent/metastatic TNBCs, and substantial cases showed discordance in its expression between primary and recurrent/metastatic sites, suggesting that multiple sites may need to be tested for PD-L1 (SP142) when considering atezolizumab therapy. PD-L1 (SP142)–positive TNBCs seems to be associated with favorable clinical outcomes.
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In recent years, next-generation sequencing (NGS)–based genetic testing has become crucial in cancer care. While its primary objective is to identify actionable genetic alterations to guide treatment decisions, its scope has broadened to encompass aiding in pathological diagnosis and exploring resistance mechanisms. With the ongoing expansion in NGS application and reliance, a compelling necessity arises for expert consensus on its application in solid cancers. To address this demand, the forthcoming recommendations not only provide pragmatic guidance for the clinical use of NGS but also systematically classify actionable genes based on specific cancer types. Additionally, these recommendations will incorporate expert perspectives on crucial biomarkers, ensuring informed decisions regarding circulating tumor DNA panel testing.
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Purpose@#This study investigated the relationship between allergic diseases, general anxiety disorder, and depressive symptoms among Korean adolescents. @*Methods@#A secondary analysis was conducted on the findings of the 18th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey (2022). The study included 51,850 adolescents and analyzed the relationships among allergic diseases, general anxiety disorder, and depressive symptoms using complex samples logistic regression analysis. @*Results@#Among the Korean adolescents, 12.7% experienced general anxiety disorder, while 28.7% experienced depressive symptoms. The prevalence of allergic diseases was 5.7% for asthma, 36.3% for allergic rhinitis, and 22.2% for atopic dermatitis. General anxiety disorder was associated with asthma and allergic rhinitis but not atopic dermatitis. Depressive symptoms were associated asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis. @*Conclusion@#Examining the correlation among allergic diseases, general anxiety disorder, and depressive symptoms in adolescents underscores the need for implementing suitable strategies. Moreover, when addressing general anxiety disorder and depressive symptoms in adolescents, it becomes crucial to consider the presence of allergic diseases.
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Purpose@#This study aimed to identify the general characteristics and health behaviors of students with non-therapeutic substance use. @*Methods@#This secondary data analysis used data from the 17th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2021). Analyses of the 54,848 adolescents used descriptive statistics, the Rao–Scott χ2 test, and logistic regression. @*Results@#The risk factors for substance use among students were anxiety, loneliness, living separately from family, suicidal ideation, e-cigarette use, and high stress. @*Conclusion@#The findings help identify the risk factors for non-therapeutic drug use among adolescents. Since South Korea does not have a drug prevention program for its adolescent population, an educational plan based on these findings could help prevent adolescent substance abuse.
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Systemic inflammatory response (SIR) is a crucial determinant of disease progression and survival in patients with colorectal cancer. This study investigated the prognostic relevance of changes in the platelet count on survival and the predictive value of changes in the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) on the pathological tumor response to preoperative chemoradiotherapy (CRT) in patients with microsatellite instability-high (MSI-H) rectal cancer. From 2011 to 2022, data of 46 consecutive patients with MSI-H rectal cancer who were treated with preoperative CRT followed by curative surgery at Kyungpook National University Chilgok Hospital (Daegu, South Korea) were retrospectively analyzed. A 235 cut-off value was used to define whether PLR was high or low. Any change in the PLR or NLR was calculated on the basis of subtracting the pre-CRT PLR or NLR from the post-CRT values. Both pre-CRT and post-CRT values of the NLR and PLR were not significantly associated with clinical outcomes. Simple logistic regression analysis showed that a change in the PLR following CRT was not significantly associated with survival outcomes; however, patients who maintained a high change in the PLR following CRT showed significantly better pathologic T-stage. No statistically significant association was noted between changes in the platelet count and clinical outcomes of patients. The results suggested that changes in the PLR following CRT are associated with pathologic T-stage of the group. However, the SIR markers showed no prognostic values on the survival outcomes of the patients with MSI-H/mismatch repair-deficient (dMMR) locally advanced rectal cancer (LARC).
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Paragangliomas, a term used for tumors of extra-adrenal origin, are chromaffin cell tumors that secrete catecholamines. Approximately one in three patients with paraganglioma has a gene mutation associated with familial paraganglioma syndromes (FPGLs), resulting from mutations in one of the subunits of the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) gene. Most extraadrenal paragangliomas involve the head and neck, and only 2% of paragangliomas are found in the mediastinum. We report the case of a 37-year-old woman with a posterior mediastinal paraganglioma attached to the heart and recurrent glomus jugulare who underwent glomus tumor resection at the age of 17 years. Genetic testing revealed a mutation in the SDH subunit B gene associated with FPGL type 4 (FPGL4). This case report describes the features of multimodal imaging of a posterior mediastinal paraganglioma and explain how a multidisciplinary approach led to the diagnosis of FPGL4.
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Purpose@#This descriptive survey study aimed to examine the effects of grit, social support, job crafting, and evidence-based practice competency on job satisfaction among nurses. Methods: The participants of this study were 211 clinical nurses with experience of more than six months. Data were collected using through an online survey from February 1 to February 17, 2023. The questionnaires was consisted of general characteristics, grit, social support, job crafting, evidence-based practice competency, and job satisfaction. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics(frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation), t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple regression analysis with the SPSS/WIN 28.0 program. @*Results@#The average scores of the main variables were 3.08±0.44 out of four for grits, 3.67±0.52 out of five for social support, 4.20±0.64 out of five for job crafting, 4.84±0.71 out of seven for evidence-based practice competency, and 3.72±0.55 out of five for job satisfaction. In the regression model, the factors affecting the nurses’ job satisfaction were grit (β=0.66, p<.001) and social support (β=0.11, p=.046), which explained 78.7% of the variance in job satisfaction. Job crafting and evidence-based practice competency were correlated with job satisfaction; however, there was no statistically significant effects of these variables on job satisfaction. @*Conclusion@#Based on the findings of this study, grit and social support showed the most significant effects on the job satisfaction of nurses. Therefore, active support is needed to develop a strategy to improve nurses’ grit and to create a supportive work environment, which would be helpful to increase their job satisfaction.
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In recent years, next-generation sequencing (NGS)–based genetic testing has become crucial in cancer care. While its primary objective is to identify actionable genetic alterations to guide treatment decisions, its scope has broadened to encompass aiding in pathological diagnosis and exploring resistance mechanisms. With the ongoing expansion in NGS application and reliance, a compelling necessity arises for expert consensus on its application in solid cancers. To address this demand, the forthcoming recommendations not only provide pragmatic guidance for the clinical use of NGS but also systematically classify actionable genes based on specific cancer types. Additionally, these recommendations will incorporate expert perspectives on crucial biomarkers, ensuring informed decisions regarding circulating tumor DNA panel testing.
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The number of elderly in care facilities is increasing in parallel with a rapid increase in the elderly population in Korea. We analyzed the meal satisfaction ratings, food preferences, and nutritional intakes of 74 patients aged ≥65 years living in a nursing hospital in Daegu. Food preferences were high for cooked rice, rice gruel, meat soup, soybean paste stew, beef, frozen pollack, squid, egg, spinach, sea mustard, cabbage kimchi, apple, peanut, drinking yogurt, pickled perilla leaves, and salted squid. Preferences for duck (P＜0.01) and vegetable (P＜0.01) cooking method were significantly different for men and women, and preference for soybean paste stew increased with age (P＜0.05). Regarding nutrient intakes, men had higher energy (P＜0.01), carbohydrates (P＜0.05), and zinc (P＜0.05) intakes than women, while women had higher vitamin C (P＜0.05) intake than men. Furthermore, energy (P＜0.001), carbohydrates (P＜0.001), protein (P＜0.05), dietary fiber (P＜0.01), vitamin B 6 (P＜0.01), phosphorus (P＜0.05), and zinc (P＜0.001) intakes significantly decreased with age. Men had a significantly higher nutrient adequacy ratios (NARs) for carbohydrates (P＜0.05) and calcium (P＜0.01) than women, while women had a significantly higher NARs for protein (P＜0.05), vitamin A (P＜0.01), vitamin C (P＜0.05), thiamine (P＜0.01), riboflavin (P＜0.001), iron (P＜0.001), and zinc (P＜0.01).Mean adequacy ratios were 0.69 for men and 0.75 for women. In particular, NARs for carbohydrates (P＜0.01), vitamin B6 (P＜0.01), and calcium (P＜0.05) decreased significantly with age. In summary, the study shows that supplementing vitamin C, vitamin B 6, calcium, and iron, reducing sodium, and providing meals that reflect preferences will improve the nutritional statuses of elderly residents in a nursing hospital.
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The Smart Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) management system, which integrates information technology (IT) to automate and analyze big data, has been introduced into school food services.This study investigated the job performance, job satisfaction, and job stress of employees in school food services using Smart HACCP. Data were collected via questionnaires from 350 employees in school food services who utilized Smart HACCP and worked in Gyeonggi-do or Incheon. The questionnaire included general information, workplace characteristics, HACCP education status, job performance, and job satisfaction according to the use of Smart HACCP, and general job stress. The responses showed that 92.3% of the participants had received HACCP education in the workplace, and 66.6% understood the content of the education. Among the HACCP process stages, CCP2 (Food Handling and Cooking) and CCP3 (Cooking Completion and Distribution) were the stages at which all participants were using Smart HACCP. CCP3 had the highest percentage (61.4%) of participants who experienced feeling the maximum reduction in their tasks by using Smart HACCP. The Smart HACCP job performance at CCP1 (Inspection) and Smart HACCP job satisfaction were higher in workplaces with 6∼10 employees, compared to those with 10≤ employees (both P＜0.05). The Smart HACCP job performances at of CP1 (Refrigeration and Freezer Temperature Management) and CP2 (Cleaning and Disinfection of Food Contact Surfaces) were significantly affected by the work area. General job stress was significantly higher in cooks than in cook practitioners, higher in employees with cook certification than in those without it, and higher in employees with work experience (＜1 year), compared to those with 5∼10 years or 10∼15 years’ experience. In conclusion, employees’ job performance and satisfaction with Smart HACCP need to be enhanced to improve hygiene in school food service. This requires the effective management of their job stress.
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Background@#Since the disease burden of atopic dermatitis (AD) understandably increases with its disease severity, studies, especially on the baseline characteristics of severe AD, have been conducted in some countries to deepen the understanding of the disease and, by extension, formulate a relevant national policy. However, research on the baseline characteristics of severe AD in Korea remains insufficient. @*Objective@#To report the baseline demographics and describe the clinical characteristics of adult Korean patients with severe AD, including medical and treatment history, clinical manifestations, disease severity, and laboratory findings, in order to understand the characteristics of severe AD. @*Methods@#A single-center, prospective, non-interventional, observational, longitudinal study of 108 patients with severe AD was conducted between January 2021 and December 2022. Clinical data and patient-reported measures of signs and symptoms of AD were recorded at baseline. @*Results@#The mean Eczema Area and Severity Index score of the patients was 28.5±6.8. The mean pruritus numerical rating scale, Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure, Dermatology Life Quality Index, and Atopic Dermatitis Control Tool scores were 8.1±1.7, 23.6±4.8, 21.9±6.6, and 19.5±3.9, respectively. Although a larger proportion of the headeck and trunk are affected than both limbs, the key signs of AD were less severe in the headeck region than in the other regions. Erythema and lichenification were more representative clinical signs of severe AD than induration and excoriation. The baseline data on previous treatments reflected the AD treatment guidelines in Korea. @*Conclusion@#This real-world data will provide dermatologists with a better understanding of severe AD, which will eventually lead to better clinical and health policy decisions for patients with severe AD.
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Objective@#Automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) is a relevant imaging technique for early breast cancer diagnosis and is increasingly being used as a supplementary tool for mammography. This study compared the performance of ABUS and handheld ultrasound (HHUS) in detecting and characterizing the axillary lymph nodes (LNs) in patients with breast cancer. @*Materials and Methods@#We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of women with recently diagnosed early breast cancer (≤ T2) who underwent both ABUS and HHUS examinations for axilla (September 2017–May 2018). ABUS and HHUS findings were compared using pathological outcomes as reference standards. Diagnostic performance in predicting any axillary LN metastasis and heavy nodal-burden metastases (i.e., ≥ 3 LNs) was evaluated. The ABUS-HHUS agreement for visibility and US findings was calculated. @*Results@#The study included 377 women (53.1 ± 11.1 years). Among 385 breast cancers in 377 patients, 101 had axillary LN metastases and 30 had heavy nodal burden metastases. ABUS identified benign-looking or suspicious axillary LNs (average, 1.4 ± 0.8) in 246 axillae (63.9%, 246/385). According to the per-breast analysis, the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy of ABUS in predicting axillary LN metastases were 43.6% (44/101), 95.1% (270/284), 75.9% (44/58), 82.6% (270/327), and 81.6% (314/385), respectively. The corresponding results for HHUS were 41.6% (42/101), 95.1% (270/284), 75.0% (42/56), 82.1% (270/329), and 81.0% (312/385), respectively, which were not significantly different from those of ABUS (P ≥ 0.53). The performance results for heavy nodal-burden metastases were 70.0% (21/30), 89.6% (318/355), 36.2% (21/58), 97.3% (318/327), and 88.1% (339/385), respectively, for ABUS and 66.7% (20/30), 89.9% (319/355), 35.7% (20/56), 97.0% (319/329), and 88.1% (339/385), respectively, for HHUS, also not showing significant difference (P ≥ 0.57). The ABUS–HHUS agreement was 95.9% (236/246; Cohen’s kappa = 0.883). @*Conclusion@#Although ABUS showed limited sensitivity in diagnosing axillary LN metastasis in early breast cancer, it was still useful as the performance was comparable to that of HHUS.
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Purpose@#Assessing the metastasis status of the sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) for hematoxylin and eosin–stained frozen tissue sections by pathologists is an essential but tedious and time-consuming task that contributes to accurate breast cancer staging. This study aimed to review a challenge competition (HeLP 2019) for the development of automated solutions for classifying the metastasis status of breast cancer patients. @*Materials and Methods@#A total of 524 digital slides were obtained from frozen SLN sections: 297 (56.7%) from Asan Medical Center (AMC) and 227 (43.4%) from Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH), South Korea. The slides were divided into training, development, and validation sets, where the development set comprised slides from both institutions and training and validation set included slides from only AMC and SNUBH, respectively. The algorithms were assessed for area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) and measurement of the longest metastatic tumor diameter. The final total scores were calculated as the mean of the two metrics, and the three teams with AUC values greater than 0.500 were selected for review and analysis in this study. @*Results@#The top three teams showed AUC values of 0.891, 0.809, and 0.736 and major axis prediction scores of 0.525, 0.459, and 0.387 for the validation set. The major factor that lowered the diagnostic accuracy was micro-metastasis. @*Conclusion@#In this challenge competition, accurate deep learning algorithms were developed that can be helpful for making a diagnosis on intraoperative SLN biopsy. The clinical utility of this approach was evaluated by including an external validation set from SNUBH.
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Objective@#This study evaluated the clinical usefulness of mean platelet volume (MPV) for predicting functional outcomes in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) patients. @*Methods@#This is a retrospective analysis of patients who were diagnosed with SAH in the emergency room. Based on their modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score, patients were divided into two groups: 0-2 (good outcome) and 3-6 (poor outcome). Univariable and multivariable analyses were performed to investigate whether MPV, along with other multiple factors, was associated with poor prognosis. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to determine the value of MPV as a predicting factor of neurological prognosis. Compared to other factors, Hunt Hess grade (HHG) and modified Fisher grade (mFG) considerably influenced the outcomes in both groups (Model 1; model including all factors). Hence, a new model (Model 2) was constructed, comprising multiple factors excluding these two factors. @*Results@#A total of 143 patients were included in this study. Although MPV was different between the two groups, it was not a significant factor in Model 1 in the multivariable analysis. In Model 2, MPV (odds ration [OR], 1.71; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.05-2.8), age (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 1.03-1.1), and surgical treatment (OR, 0.37; 95% CI, 0.15-0.87) were significant factors related to poor outcomes. Area under the curve (AUC) of Model 1 was 0.93, 0.85 in HHG; 0.78 in Model 2, 0.65 in mFG, and 0.62 in MPV. @*Conclusion@#Although MPV differed significantly between the good and poor outcome groups, it is insufficient to predict poor outcomes in SAH patients as an independent biomarker.
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Purpose@#Although its efficacy is uncertain, an intraoperative air leak test (ALT) is commonly used to detect mechanical defects following bowel anastomosis. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ALT to detect anastomotic leakage (AL) following rectal excision. @*Methods@#We reviewed our database for patients with rectal cancers who had undergone curative surgery between January 2012 and January 2018. Patients were grouped according to whether or not an ALT was performed. Propensity score analyses were performed to compare outcomes for groups in a 1:1 case-matched cohort. @*Results@#In total, 1,191 patients underwent rectal excision; 438 (219 in each group) formed the case-matched cohort for analysis. The protective stoma rate was 16.0% and 14.6% in the ALT and the no-ALT groups, respectively (P = 0.791). In the ALT group, 2 patients (0.9%) showed a positive result and were treated with rectal tube drainage, resulting in no leakage.There was no significant difference in postoperative AL rate between the groups (ALT group: 4.6% vs. no-ALT group: 4.1%, P > 0.999). @*Conclusion@#ALT played a minimal role in detecting AL following rectal excision. Further studies are warranted to validate our results and clarify whether AL can be prevented with ALT or alternative methods.
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Background@#Chronic glucocorticoid exposure is associated with resistance to nondepolarizing neuromuscular blocking agents. Therefore, we hypothesized that sugammadex-induced recovery would occur more rapidly in subjects exposed to chronic dexamethasone compared to those who were not exposed. This study evaluated the sugammadex-induced recovery profile after neuromuscular blockade (NMB) in rats exposed to chronic dexamethasone. @*Methods@#Sprague–Dawley rats were allocated to three groups (dexamethasone, control, and pair-fed group) for the in vivo study. The mice received daily intraperitoneal dexamethasone injections (500 μg/kg) or 0.9% saline for 15 days. To achieve complete NMB, 3.5 mg/kg rocuronium was administered on the sixteenth day. The recovery time to a train-of-four ratio ≥ 0.9 was measured to evaluate the complete recovery following the sugammadex injection. @*Results@#Among the groups, no significant differences were observed in the recovery time to a train-of-four ratio ≥ 0.9 following sugammadex administration (P = 0.531). The time to the second twitch of the train-of-four recovery following rocuronium administration indicated that the duration of NMB was significantly shorter in Group D than that in Groups C and P (P = 0.001). @*Conclusions@#Chronic exposure to dexamethasone did not shorten the recovery time of sugammadex-induced NMB reversal. However, the findings of this study indicated that no adjustments to sugammadex dosage or route of administration is required, even in patients undergoing long-term steroid treatment.
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Purpose@#Several predictive models have been developed to predict the pathological complete response (pCR) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC); however, few are broadly applicable owing to radiologic complexity and institution-specific clinical variables, and none have been externally validated. This study aimed to develop and externally validate a machine learning model that predicts pCR after NAC in patients with breast cancer using routinely collected clinical and demographic variables. @*Methods@#The electronic medical records of patients with advanced breast cancer who underwent NAC before surgical resection between January 2017 and December 2020 were reviewed. Patient data from Seoul National University Bundang Hospital were divided into training and internal validation cohorts. Five machine learning techniques, including gradient boosting machine (GBM), support vector machine, random forest, decision tree, and neural network, were used to build predictive models, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was compared to select the best model. Finally, the model was validated using an independent cohort from Seoul National University Hospital. @*Results@#A total of 1,003 patients were included in the study: 287, 71, and 645 in the training, internal validation, and external validation cohorts, respectively. Overall, 36.3% of the patients achieved pCR. Among the five machine learning models, the GBM showed the highest AUC for pCR prediction (AUC, 0.903; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.833–0.972).External validation confirmed an AUC of 0.833 (95% CI, 0.800–0.865). @*Conclusion@#Commonly available clinical and demographic variables were used to develop a machine learning model for predicting pCR following NAC. External validation of the model demonstrated good discrimination power, indicating that routinely collected variables were sufficient to build a good prediction model.
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Background@#This study aimed to compare the stress-coping measurement scales used in the nursing field in South Korea through a literature review based on the types of tools assessed, their characteristics, frequency of use, target stress, target population, and coping outcomes. @*Methods@#The data base periodical information academic, Korea citation index, Korean studies information sharing service, Korean medical database, National discovery for science leaders, KoreaMed, National assemble library, and National library of Korea databases were searched for articles related to coping with stress and nursing published between 2009 and 2018 in South Korea. Of the total 1,666 articles searched, 59 articles that were aligned with the study purpose were finally selected after reviewing the original texts and excluding duplicates. @*Results@#The study identified six stress-coping scales used by Korean nurses, among which the ways of coping (WCQ) was the most frequently used. Most of the studies involved nursing students, followed by patients and health workers (nurses and caregivers). Regarding the types of stress, the WCQ was used the most by studies on work-related and daily living stress, followed by those focusing on health-related stress and clinical practice stress. Secondary analysis of WCQ usage showed that 48.5% of the studies interpreted the scale results for individual coping methods, and the remaining 45.5% interpreted the results based on the overall score. @*Conclusions@#Researchers need to appropriately use and interpret the results of scales that have been translated into Korean and validated for each situation and participant.
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BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES@#Maintaining total muscle mass in the older adults with swallowing difficulty (dysphagia) is important for preserving swallowing function. Increasing protein intake can help sustain lean body mass in the older adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of various high-protein texture-modified foods (HPTMFs) on muscle mass and perform dietary assessment in ≥ 65-yrs-old patients with dysphagia. @*SUBJECTS/METHODS@#Participants (n = 10) received the newly developed HPTMFs (average 595.23 ± 66.75 kcal/day of energy, 54.22 ± 6.32 g/day of protein) for 10 days. Relative handgrip strength (RHS), mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC), body composition, mini nutritional assessment (MNA), mini dietary assessment (MDA), and Euro Quality-of-Life questionnaire 5-dimensional classification (EQ-5D) were assessed. @*RESULTS@#After 10 days, an increase in MUAC (26.36 ± 2.35 cm to 28.50 ± 3.17 cm, P = 0.013) and RHS (0.38 ± 0.24 kg/kg body weight to 0.42 ± 0.22 kg/kg body weight, P = 0.046) was observed. Although MNA, MDA, EQ-5D, subjective health status, muscle mass, and calf circumference showed a tendency to increase after intervention, no significant differences were found. @*CONCLUSIONS@#These results suggest that the HPTMFs can be used for improving the nutritional and health status in patients with dysphagia.