Esophageal Stricture Caused by the Ingestion of Undissolved Picosulfate Powder

Picosulfate solution is widely used as a small volume bowel cleansing agent and is considered to be effective and relatively safe. A case of a 75-year-old woman ingested picosulfate powder and drank a small volume of water, subsequently experienced severe burning pain in the chest. Endoscopy was performed and showed a submucosal hemorrhage and exudative ulcers at the mid to lower esophagus. At 2 weeks, her symptoms improved with conservative treatment. However, liquid food dysphagia developed 11 weeks after ingestion. A follow-up endoscopy revealed multiple esophageal strictures, which were treated with a fully covered metal stent and esophageal balloon dilation. Consequently, the esophageal strictures improved after one year. As this case demonstrates, detailed information about picosulfate powder ingestion after dissolving it in more than 200 mL of water should be presented to patients to avoid esophageal injury.

Clinical Characteristics of Mild Coronavirus Disease 2019 Inpatients / 계명의대학술지

About 30~50% COVID-19 hospital inpatients is reported to have mild clinical presentation, and the clinical course is known to be good even in the older population. In order to compare the clinical symptoms of mild patients with COVID-19 infection by age, the clinical symptoms and laboratory results were analyzed by dividing mild patients admitted to a dedicated hospital into three groups: under the age of 64, 65-84, and above 85 years of age.There was no difference in gender ratio by age among 555 mild cases. Concomitant diseases with significant differences by age were hypertension, diabetes, stroke, and coronary artery disease.Among the symptoms, cough and sore throat were different by age, and cough was significantly higher in the group under 64 years of age. Among the symptoms, cough and sore throat were different by age, and cough was significantly higher in the group under 64 years of age.The white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil count, monocyte, blood sugar, procalcitonin, and creatinine were significantly higher in the 85 years old or older group, and the hemoglobin, albumin, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were significantly lower in the 85 years old or older group.

Clinical Characteristics of Mild Coronavirus Disease 2019 Inpatients / 계명의대학술지

About 30~50% COVID-19 hospital inpatients is reported to have mild clinical presentation, and the clinical course is known to be good even in the older population. In order to compare the clinical symptoms of mild patients with COVID-19 infection by age, the clinical symptoms and laboratory results were analyzed by dividing mild patients admitted to a dedicated hospital into three groups: under the age of 64, 65-84, and above 85 years of age.There was no difference in gender ratio by age among 555 mild cases. Concomitant diseases with significant differences by age were hypertension, diabetes, stroke, and coronary artery disease.Among the symptoms, cough and sore throat were different by age, and cough was significantly higher in the group under 64 years of age. Among the symptoms, cough and sore throat were different by age, and cough was significantly higher in the group under 64 years of age.The white blood cell count (WBC), neutrophil count, monocyte, blood sugar, procalcitonin, and creatinine were significantly higher in the 85 years old or older group, and the hemoglobin, albumin, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were significantly lower in the 85 years old or older group.

Impact of Osteoarthritis on Household Catastrophic Health Expenditures in Korea

BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a disease of old age whose prevalence is increasing. This study explored the impact of OA on household catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) in Korea. METHODS: We used data on 5,200 households from the Korea Health Panel Survey in 2013 and estimated annual living expenses and out-of-pocket (OOP) payments. Household CHE was defined when a household's total OOP health payments exceeded 10%, 20%, 30%, or 40% of the household's capacity to pay. To compare the OOP payments of households with OA individuals and those without OA, OA households were matched 1:1 with households containing a member with other chronic disease such as neoplasm, hypertension, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, or osteoporosis. The impact of OA on CHE was determined by multivariable logistic analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1,289 households were included, and households with and without OA patients paid mean annual OOP payments of $2,789 and $2,607, respectively. The prevalence of household CHE at thresholds of 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% were higher in households with OA patients than in those without OA patients (P < 0.001). The presence of OA patients in each household contributed significantly to CHE at thresholds of 10% (odds ratio [OR], 1.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.16–1.87), 20% (OR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.01–1.66), and 30% (OR, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.05–1.78), but not of 40% (OR, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.87–1.57). CONCLUSION: The presence of OA patients in Korean households is significantly related to CHE. Policy makers should try to reduce OOP payments in households with OA patients.

Comparative Proteomic Study of Spinal Cord after Applying Pulsed Radiofrequency to Dorsal Root Ganglion in the Rat

BACKGROUND: Pulsed radiofrequency treatment (pulsed RF) has recently been described as a non-neurodestructive or minimally neurodestructive alternative to radiofrequency heat lesions. However, there are few data to evaluate the mechanism of this therapy. The aim of this study is to explore the underlying mechanism of pulsed RF on spinal nervous system using comparative proteomic analysis. METHODS: L5 dorsal root ganglion was exposed to pulsed RF and sham treatment. Protein extracts from the spinal cord of both groups were analyzed using comparative proteomics to identify differentially expressed proteins. To validate the differential expression of proteins, we utilized western blotting and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The spinal cord taken from pulsed RF treated rats was found to underexpress 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase, mitochondrial [Precursor]. Immunostaining density of gamma-aminobutyric acid measured from the spinal cord taken from pulsed RF treated rats was significantly increased compared with sham treated rats. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated that the decreased expression of 4-aminobutyrate aminotransferase, mitochondrial [Precursor] and increased expression of gamma-aminobutyric acid in the spinal cord after exposure of the lumbar dorsal root ganglion to pulsed RF. That might be the possible underlying mechanism of the analgesic effect of pulsed RF.