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Background@#Antimicrobial prescriptions for serious chronic or acute illness nearing its end stages raise concerns about the potential for futile use, adverse events, increased multidrugresistant organisms, and significant patient and social cost burdens. This study investigated the nationwide situation of how antibiotics are prescribed to patients during the last 14 days of life to guide future actions. @*Methods@#This nationwide multicenter retrospective cohort study was conducted at 13 hospitals in South Korea from November 1 to December 31, 2018. All decedents were included in the study. Antibiotic use during the last two weeks of their lives was investigated. @*Results@#A total of 1,201 (88.9%) patients received a median of two antimicrobial agents during the last two weeks of their lives. Carbapenems were prescribed to approximately half of the patients (44.4%) in the highest amount (301.2 days of therapy per 1,000 patient-days).Among the patients receiving antimicrobial agents, 63.6% were inappropriate and only 327 patients (27.2%) were referred by infectious disease specialists. The use of carbapenem (odds ratio [OR], 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.13–2.03; P = 0.006), underlying cancer (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.20–2.01, P = 0.047), underlying cerebrovascular disease (OR, 1.88; 95% CI, 1.23–2.89, P = 0.004), and no microbiological testing (OR, 1.79; 95% CI, 1.15–2.73; P = 0.010) were independent predictors for inappropriate antibiotic prescribing. @*Conclusion@#A considerable number of antimicrobial agents are administered to patients with chronic or acute illnesses nearing their end-of-life, a high proportion of which are prescribed inappropriately. Consultation with an infectious disease specialist, in addition to an antimicrobial stewardship program, may be necessary to induce the optimal use of antibiotics.
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Purpose@#This study was aimed to investigate the changes in pediatric injury-related visits at an emergency department (ED) during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. @*Methods@#We retrospectively compared injury-related visits to an ED in Korea by children aged 15 years or younger during February 2020-December 2021 (pandemic period), and the visits during February 2018-December 2019. Clinical characteristics, injury mechanisms, diagnostic codes, and ED outcomes were noted. We performed 2 sub-analyses of the pandemic period: biannual changes in the visits, and monthly trends of proportions of concussion and superficial injury as diagnostic codes using linear regression. @*Results@#Despite a 51.2% reduction in injury-related visits during the pandemic, the proportion of the visits increased (25.2% vs. 40.0%; P < 0.001). Overall, increases were noted in proportions of use of emergency medical services and high acuity (P < 0.001). Among the diagnostic codes, brain injuries, fracture and dislocation, and laceration increased while superficial injuries, burn, intoxication, and foreign body ingestion decreased (P < 0.001). As the pandemic prolonged, injury-to-ED time shortened and ED length of stay lengthened while the abovementioned trends remained unchanged. Linear regression showed that the proportions of concussion and superficial injury respectively increased and decreased by 0.01% per month (P < 0.001). @*Conclusion@#The changes in pediatric injury-related visits at the ED during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic may serve as a basis for distributing emergency medicine resources in future infectious disease outbreaks.
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Purpose@#Globally, concerns have grown regarding the long-term effects of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infection. Therefore, we evaluated the long-term course of persistent symptoms and patient quality of life. @*Materials and Methods@#This prospective cohort study was conducted at a single tertiary university hospital from August 31, 2020 to March 29, 2021 with adult patients followed at 6 and 12 months after acute COVID-19 symptom onset or diagnosis. Clinical characteristics, self-reported symptoms, EuroQol 5 dimension 5 level (EQ5D-5L) index scores, Korean version of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Korean version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-5 (PCL-5-K), and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) were investigated. Symptom persistent or non-persistent groups were defined according to persistency of COVID-19 related symptoms or signs after acute COVID-19 infection, respectively. @*Results@#Of all 235 patients, 170 (64.6%) patients were eligible for analysis. The median age was 51 (interquartile range, 37–61) years old, and 102 patients were female (60.0%). After 12 months from acute COVID-19 infection, in total, 83 (48.8%) patients still suffered from COVID-19-related symptoms. The most common symptoms included amnesia (24.1%), insomnia (14.7%), fatigue (13.5%), and anxiety (12.9%). Among the five EQ5D-5L categories, the average value of anxiety or depression was the most predominant. PHQ-9 and PCL-5-K scores were statistically higher in the COVID-19–related symptom persistent group than the non-persistent group (p=0.001). However, GAD-7 scores showed no statistical differences between the two groups (p=0.051). @*Conclusion@#Neuropsychiatric symptoms were the major COVID-19–related symptoms after 12 months from acute COVID-19 infection, reducing quality of life.
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Purpose@#We aimed to develop a novel mortality scoring system for inpatients with COVID-19 based on simple demographic factors and laboratory findings. @*Materials and Methods@#We reviewed and analyzed data from patients who were admitted and diagnosed with COVID-19 at 10 hospitals in Daegu, South Korea, between January and July 2020. We randomized and assigned patients to the development and validation groups at a 70% to 30% ratio. Each point scored for selected risk factors helped build a new mortality scoring system using Cox regression analysis. We evaluated the accuracy of the new scoring system in the development and validation groups using the area under the curve. @*Results@#The development group included 1232 patients, whereas the validation group included 528 patients. In the development group, predictors for the new scoring system as selected by Cox proportional hazards model were age ≥70 years, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, dementia, C-reactive protein levels >4 mg/dL, infiltration on chest X-rays at the initial diagnosis, and the need for oxygen support on admission. The areas under the curve for the development and validation groups were 0.914 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.891–0.937] and 0.898 (95% CI 0.854–0.941), respectively. According to our scoring system, COVID-19 mortality was 0.4% for the low-risk group (score 0–3) and 53.7% for the very high-risk group (score ≥11). @*Conclusion@#We developed a new scoring system for quickly and easily predicting COVID-19 mortality using simple predictors. This scoring system can help physicians provide the proper therapy and strategy for each patient.
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Purpose@#Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) have been considered effective in preventing and treating viral infections. However, until now, the duration and clinical implications of antibody-mediated nature immunity in Koreans have remained unknown.Therefore, we examined NAbs levels and clinical characteristics in recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. @*Materials and Methods@#Blood samples were collected from 143 adult patients who had been diagnosed with and had recovered from COVID-19 from February to March in 2020 at a tertiary-care university-affiliated hospital in Daegu, Korea. A plaque reduction neutralization test was conducted to analyze NAb titers. Individualized questionnaires were used to identify patient clinical information. @*Results@#The median number of days from symptom onset to the blood collection date was 109.0 (104.0; 115.0). The NAb titers ranged from 10 to 2560. The median NAb titer value was 40. Of the 143 patients, 68 (47.6%) patients had NAb titers ≥80, and 31 (21.7%) patients had NAb titers ≥160. The higher the age or disease severity, the higher the NAb titer. In univariate logistic regression, statistically significant predictors of high NAb titers (≥80) were age, myalgia, nausea or vomiting, dyspnea, and disease severity (p<0.05). Multivariable logistic regression showed that age ≥50 years (p=0.013) and moderate or higher disease severity (p<0.001) were factors associated with high NAb titers (≥80). None of the patients had reinfection of COVID-19. @*Conclusion@#All recovered patients were found to have NAbs regardless of the NAb titers maintained by natural immunity. Age and disease severity during COVID-19 infection were associated with high NAb titers.
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Background@#Remdesivir is widely used for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but controversies regarding its efficacy still remain. @*Methods@#A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the effect of remdesivir on clinical and virologic outcomes of severe COVID-19 patients from June to July 2020. Primary clinical endpoints included clinical recovery, additional mechanical ventilator (MV) support, and duration of oxygen or MV support. Viral load reduction by hospital day (HD) 15 was evaluated by calculating changes in cycle threshold (Ct) values. @*Results@#A total of 86 severe COVID-19 patients were evaluated including 48 remdesivirtreated patients. Baseline characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups. Remdesivir was administered an average of 7.42 days from symptom onset. The proportions of clinical recovery of the remdesivir and supportive care group at HD 14 (56.3% and 39.5%) and HD 28 (87.5% and 78.9%) were not statistically different. The proportion of patients requiring MV support by HD 28 was significantly lower in the remdesivir group than in the supportive care group (22.9% vs. 44.7%, P = 0.032), and MV duration was significantly shorter in the remdesivir group (average, 1.97 vs. 5.37 days; P = 0.017). Analysis of upper respiratory tract specimens demonstrated that increases of Ct value from HD 1–5 to 11–15 were significantly greater in the remdesivir group than the supportive care group (average, 10.19 vs. 5.36; P = 0.007), and the slope of the Ct value increase was also significantly steeper in the remdesivir group (average, 5.10 vs. 2.68; P = 0.007). @*Conclusion@#The remdesivir group showed clinical and virologic benefit in terms of MV requirement and viral load reduction, supporting remdesivir treatment for severe COVID-19.
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Background@#As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has progressed, there has been a growing awareness of the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 infection. However, until recently, there was no published study that investigated COVID-19-related sequelae and related factors for greater than six months from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms or the time of COVID-19 diagnosis in Korea. @*Materials and Methods@#Online survey and statistical analysis were conducted by Kyungpook National University Hospital on 5,252 patients diagnosed as COVID-19 between February 18, 2020 and March 14, 2020. Responders aged between 16 and 70 years were included. Longterm sequelae were defined as persistent symptoms or signs ≥ 6 months after acute COVID-19 infection. The survey was conducted from September 8, 2020 to September 10, 2020.Clinical characteristics and self-reported clinical sequelae of the responders were analyzed to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with sequelae using descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analysis. @*Results@#The median period from the date of the first symptom onset or COVID-19 diagnosis to the time of the survey was 195 (interquartile range [IQR] 191 - 200) days. The response rate was 17.1% (900 out of 5,252). The median age was 31 (IQR 24.0 - 47.0) years old, and 627 responders were female (69.7%). Regarding the disease severity, 29 (3.2%) were asymptomatic, 763 (84.8%) mild, 86 (9.6%) moderate, 17 (1.9%) severe, and 5 (0.6%) critical. In total, 591 (65.7%) responders suffered from COVID-19-related long-term sequelae and 78 (8.6%) responders were receiving outpatient treatment for COVID-19-related long-term sequelae. The most common symptoms identified during the isolation period were anosmia and ageusia at 44.5% and 43.5%, respectively. Fatigue was the most common long-term sequelae, accounting for 253 (26.2%) responders, followed by concentration difficulty, amnesia, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety, and depression, which accounted for over 20%. Female gender was identified as the factor associated with mental and psychological long-term sequelae (P <0.05). @*Conclusion@#The results showed that the rate of COVID-19-related long-term sequelae was 65.7%. The most common long-term sequela was fatigue. The risk factor identified was female gender. It was found that the long-term sequelae had various manifestations, including mental and psychological aspects. To improve the care of COVID-19 recovered patients with COVID-19-related long-term sequelae, the participation of a comprehensive and an interdisciplinary group of researchers is required.
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Purpose@#We aimed to develop a novel mortality scoring system for inpatients with COVID-19 based on simple demographic factors and laboratory findings. @*Materials and Methods@#We reviewed and analyzed data from patients who were admitted and diagnosed with COVID-19 at 10 hospitals in Daegu, South Korea, between January and July 2020. We randomized and assigned patients to the development and validation groups at a 70% to 30% ratio. Each point scored for selected risk factors helped build a new mortality scoring system using Cox regression analysis. We evaluated the accuracy of the new scoring system in the development and validation groups using the area under the curve. @*Results@#The development group included 1232 patients, whereas the validation group included 528 patients. In the development group, predictors for the new scoring system as selected by Cox proportional hazards model were age ≥70 years, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, dementia, C-reactive protein levels >4 mg/dL, infiltration on chest X-rays at the initial diagnosis, and the need for oxygen support on admission. The areas under the curve for the development and validation groups were 0.914 [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.891–0.937] and 0.898 (95% CI 0.854–0.941), respectively. According to our scoring system, COVID-19 mortality was 0.4% for the low-risk group (score 0–3) and 53.7% for the very high-risk group (score ≥11). @*Conclusion@#We developed a new scoring system for quickly and easily predicting COVID-19 mortality using simple predictors. This scoring system can help physicians provide the proper therapy and strategy for each patient.
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Purpose@#Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) have been considered effective in preventing and treating viral infections. However, until now, the duration and clinical implications of antibody-mediated nature immunity in Koreans have remained unknown.Therefore, we examined NAbs levels and clinical characteristics in recovered coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. @*Materials and Methods@#Blood samples were collected from 143 adult patients who had been diagnosed with and had recovered from COVID-19 from February to March in 2020 at a tertiary-care university-affiliated hospital in Daegu, Korea. A plaque reduction neutralization test was conducted to analyze NAb titers. Individualized questionnaires were used to identify patient clinical information. @*Results@#The median number of days from symptom onset to the blood collection date was 109.0 (104.0; 115.0). The NAb titers ranged from 10 to 2560. The median NAb titer value was 40. Of the 143 patients, 68 (47.6%) patients had NAb titers ≥80, and 31 (21.7%) patients had NAb titers ≥160. The higher the age or disease severity, the higher the NAb titer. In univariate logistic regression, statistically significant predictors of high NAb titers (≥80) were age, myalgia, nausea or vomiting, dyspnea, and disease severity (p<0.05). Multivariable logistic regression showed that age ≥50 years (p=0.013) and moderate or higher disease severity (p<0.001) were factors associated with high NAb titers (≥80). None of the patients had reinfection of COVID-19. @*Conclusion@#All recovered patients were found to have NAbs regardless of the NAb titers maintained by natural immunity. Age and disease severity during COVID-19 infection were associated with high NAb titers.
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Background@#Remdesivir is widely used for the treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), but controversies regarding its efficacy still remain. @*Methods@#A retrospective cohort study was conducted to evaluate the effect of remdesivir on clinical and virologic outcomes of severe COVID-19 patients from June to July 2020. Primary clinical endpoints included clinical recovery, additional mechanical ventilator (MV) support, and duration of oxygen or MV support. Viral load reduction by hospital day (HD) 15 was evaluated by calculating changes in cycle threshold (Ct) values. @*Results@#A total of 86 severe COVID-19 patients were evaluated including 48 remdesivirtreated patients. Baseline characteristics were not significantly different between the two groups. Remdesivir was administered an average of 7.42 days from symptom onset. The proportions of clinical recovery of the remdesivir and supportive care group at HD 14 (56.3% and 39.5%) and HD 28 (87.5% and 78.9%) were not statistically different. The proportion of patients requiring MV support by HD 28 was significantly lower in the remdesivir group than in the supportive care group (22.9% vs. 44.7%, P = 0.032), and MV duration was significantly shorter in the remdesivir group (average, 1.97 vs. 5.37 days; P = 0.017). Analysis of upper respiratory tract specimens demonstrated that increases of Ct value from HD 1–5 to 11–15 were significantly greater in the remdesivir group than the supportive care group (average, 10.19 vs. 5.36; P = 0.007), and the slope of the Ct value increase was also significantly steeper in the remdesivir group (average, 5.10 vs. 2.68; P = 0.007). @*Conclusion@#The remdesivir group showed clinical and virologic benefit in terms of MV requirement and viral load reduction, supporting remdesivir treatment for severe COVID-19.
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Background@#As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has progressed, there has been a growing awareness of the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 infection. However, until recently, there was no published study that investigated COVID-19-related sequelae and related factors for greater than six months from the onset of COVID-19 symptoms or the time of COVID-19 diagnosis in Korea. @*Materials and Methods@#Online survey and statistical analysis were conducted by Kyungpook National University Hospital on 5,252 patients diagnosed as COVID-19 between February 18, 2020 and March 14, 2020. Responders aged between 16 and 70 years were included. Longterm sequelae were defined as persistent symptoms or signs ≥ 6 months after acute COVID-19 infection. The survey was conducted from September 8, 2020 to September 10, 2020.Clinical characteristics and self-reported clinical sequelae of the responders were analyzed to investigate the prevalence and factors associated with sequelae using descriptive and multivariate logistic regression analysis. @*Results@#The median period from the date of the first symptom onset or COVID-19 diagnosis to the time of the survey was 195 (interquartile range [IQR] 191 - 200) days. The response rate was 17.1% (900 out of 5,252). The median age was 31 (IQR 24.0 - 47.0) years old, and 627 responders were female (69.7%). Regarding the disease severity, 29 (3.2%) were asymptomatic, 763 (84.8%) mild, 86 (9.6%) moderate, 17 (1.9%) severe, and 5 (0.6%) critical. In total, 591 (65.7%) responders suffered from COVID-19-related long-term sequelae and 78 (8.6%) responders were receiving outpatient treatment for COVID-19-related long-term sequelae. The most common symptoms identified during the isolation period were anosmia and ageusia at 44.5% and 43.5%, respectively. Fatigue was the most common long-term sequelae, accounting for 253 (26.2%) responders, followed by concentration difficulty, amnesia, cognitive dysfunction, anxiety, and depression, which accounted for over 20%. Female gender was identified as the factor associated with mental and psychological long-term sequelae (P <0.05). @*Conclusion@#The results showed that the rate of COVID-19-related long-term sequelae was 65.7%. The most common long-term sequela was fatigue. The risk factor identified was female gender. It was found that the long-term sequelae had various manifestations, including mental and psychological aspects. To improve the care of COVID-19 recovered patients with COVID-19-related long-term sequelae, the participation of a comprehensive and an interdisciplinary group of researchers is required.
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Background/Aims@#The aim of this study was to compare antimicrobial resistance, clinical features, and outcomes of community-onset Escherichia coli (COEC) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (COKP) bacteremia. @*Methods@#The medical records of patients diagnosed with E. coli or K. pneumoniae bacteremia in the emergency department of a 750-bed secondary care hospital in Daegu, Korea from January 2010 to December 2016 were retrospectively reviewed. @*Results@#A total of 866 patients with COEC bacteremia and 299 with COKP bacteremia were enrolled. COEC bacteremia, compared to COKP bacteremia, had higher rates of 3rd generation cephalosporin (3GC) (18.8% vs. 8.4%, p < 0.001) and f luoroquinolone (FQ) (30.4% vs. 8.0%, p < 0.001) resistance. The patients with COKP bacteremia had higher Charlson comorbidity indices (CCI) (1.8 ± 2.0 vs. 1.5 ± 1.8, p = 0.035), Pittsburgh bacteremia scores (PBS) (2.0 ± 2.6 vs. 1.3 ± 1.8, p < 0.001), and 30-day mortality (14.44% vs. 8.8%, p = 0.008) than the patients with COEC bacteremia. Age younger than 70 years, male sex, polymicrobial infections, pneumonia, intra-abdominal infection, PBS ≥ 2, and Foley catheter insertion were independent predictive factors for COKP bacteremia compared to COEC bacteremia in the multivariate analysis. CCI, PBS, and intensive care unit admission were independent risk factors for 30-day mortality in the multivariate analysis. @*Conclusions@#3GCs and FQs are still useful for the empirical treatment of patients with probable COKP bacteremia. The patients with COKP bacteremia had worse outcomes because of its greater severity and more frequent underlying comorbidities.
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Objective@#The purpose of this study is to report the activities of Disaster Medical Assistance Team and national emergency medical center in the fire at a women’s hospital on December 14, 2019, and to suggest an improvement plan for the special disastrous situation. @*Methods@#We reviewed the transfer records of national emergency medical center, medical records of regional emergency medical center, and records of each patient’s prognosis of the women’s hospital, retrospectively. Triage of casualties was conducted according to SALT (Sort, Assess, Lifesaving Interventions, Treatment/Transport) method. @*Results@#The fire was extinguished early and there was no victim with significant carbon monoxide intoxication. Among 228 casualties, there were 143 patients of the women’s hospital. Two patients were classified as immediate, 55 patients including pregnant women, newborns, and mothers were classified as delayed, and 171 casualties including newborns and mothers were classified as minimal. Among 66 newborns, 40 newborns were transferred to the regional Emergency Medical Center, and a second triage was conducted by doctors there. @*Conclusion@#Although there was no significant victim, physically and socially susceptible people such as pregnant women, newborns, and mothers were included in this accident. We recommend establishing a standard of disaster response for special population and improving our capability at a national level.
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Background@#Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) has become more common in nosocomial infections, especially in urine samples. However, until now, no treatment regimen has been proven to effectively eradicate urine VRE colonization. Therefore, to evaluate the efficacy of doxycycline in eradicating urine VRE and shortening VRE isolation period, we compared VRE colony detection period between doxycycline-treated and untreated patients. @*Methods@#A retrospective cohort study of 83 patients with VRE colonization in urine cultures was conducted at a tertiary academic hospital from January 2011 to February 2018. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to evaluate eradication rates in the treatment and non-treatment groups. Factors affecting urine VRE colonization persistence were analyzed by multiple logistic regression analysis. @*Results@#The overall rate of VRE eradication during the entire hospital stay was higher in the doxycycline treatment group (90.5%) than in the non-treatment group (58.1%, p=0.014). Survival analysis showed that the 5-, 10-, and 20-day cumulative eradication rates were 78.3%, 100%, and 100% in the doxycycline treatment group, and 18.5%, 45.7%, and 67.8% in the non-treatment group, respectively, thereby indicating that eradication rates were higher in the doxycycline treatment group than in the non-treatment group (p<0.001). Only doxycycline treatment was shown to affect urine VRE colonization persistence in multivariate logistic regression analysis @*Conclusion@#Doxycycline treatment enhanced the eradication rate of urine VRE colonization and appeared to be useful in shortening VRE isolation period.
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Background@#Monitoring the full spectrum of causes of death among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) patients has become increasingly important as survival improves because of highly active antiretroviral therapy. However, there are no recently published data regarding the changes in the causes of death among HIV patients based on year of HIV diagnosis, and the impact of low CD4 count at the time of HIV diagnosis on the clinical outcome is still unclear in Korea. @*Methods@#A retrospective cohort study was conducted with 801 patients with HIV infection who were followed up at a tertiary university hospital and diagnosed with HIV between July 1984 and October 2019. The causes of death were analyzed by descriptive analysis based on CD4 count and the year of HIV diagnosis. Kaplan–Meier and log rank tests were performed to compare the prognosis between the CD4 < 200 cells/mm 3 and CD4 ≥ 200 cells/mm 3 groups. @*Results@#Among 801 patients, 67 patients were eligible for the death cause analysis.Infection-related death accounted for 44 patients (65.7%) and non-infection related death accounted for 23 patients (32.4%). Pneumocystis pneumonia (29.9%) was the single most common cause of death in both past and present cases, and tuberculosis (19.4%) was the second leading cause of death from infections, but the frequency has declined in recent years. Causes of infection-related death have decreased, whereas non-infection related causes of death have increased remarkably. Malignancy-related death was the most common cause of non-infection related death. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) non-related malignancy accounted for 11.9%, whereas AIDS-related malignancy accounted for 6.0% of the total death among HIV patients. No significant statistical differences were found in mortality rate (P = 0.228), causes of death (P = 0.771), or survival analysis (P = 0.089) between the CD4 < 200 cells/mm3 and CD4 ≥ 200 cells/mm3 groups. @*Conclusion@#Being diagnosed with CD4 < 200 cells/mm3 at the time of HIV diagnosis was not an indicator of greater risk of death compared with the CD4 ≥ 200 cells/mm3 group. Malignant tumors have become an important cause of death in recent years, and an increasing tendency of AIDS-non-related malignancy causes has been observed.
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In this study, we investigated playground equipment related injuries in preschool-aged children. This was a retrospective observational study using Emergency Department based Injury In-depth Surveillance, (2011–2014). We included the preschool-aged children with playground equipment related injuries. We surveyed the mechanism and incidence of injuries, and estimated the odds ratio (OR) of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and upper/lower extremities fracture. There were 6,110 patients, mean age was 4.14 ± 1.95 years old. Slide and swing related injuries were 2,475 (40.5%) and 1,102 (18.0%). Fall down (48.5%) was the most common mechanism. The OR of TBI in children 0–2 years old was 1.88 times higher than children 3–7 years old, and in swing was 4.72 (OR, 4.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.37–9.40) times higher than seesaw. The OR of upper extremity fracture in children 3–7 years old was 3.07 times higher than children 0–2 years old, and in climbing was 2.03 (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.63–2.52) times higher than swing. The OR of lower extremity fractures in horizontal bars, tightropes, and trampolines was 2.95 (OR, 2.95; 95% CI, 1.55–5.61) times higher than swing. The most common mechanism and playground equipment were fall down and slide. TBI was associated to younger children (0–2 years old) and swing. Fracture of upper extremities was associated to older children (3–7 years old) and climbing. Fracture of lower extremities was associated to others such as horizontal bars, tightropes, and trampolines.
Subject(s)
Child , Child, Preschool , Humans , Brain Injuries , Emergencies , Emergency Service, Hospital , Extremities , Fractures, Bone , Incidence , Lower Extremity , Observational Study , Odds Ratio , Play and Playthings , Retrospective Studies , Upper Extremity , Wounds and InjuriesABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was conducted to describe the characteristics of patients with carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. METHODS: We retrospectively surveyed data from the Emergency Department based Injury In-depth Surveillance of 20 hospitals (2011-2014). We included patients whose mechanism of injury was acute CO poisoning caused by inhalation of gases from charcoal or briquettes. We surveyed the annual frequency, gender, age, result of emergency treatment, rate of intensive care unit (ICU) admission, result of admission, association with alcohol, and place of accident. We also surveyed the cause and experience of past suicide attempts by intentional poisoning. RESULTS: A total of 3,405 patients were included (2,015 (59.2%) and 1,390 (40.8%) males and females, respectively) with a mean age of 39.83±18.51 year old. The results revealed that the annual frequency of CO poisoning had increased and the frequency of unintentional CO poisoning was higher than that of intentional CO poisoning in January, February and December. The mean age of intentional CO poisoning was younger than that of unintentional CO poisoning (38.41±13.03 vs 40.95±21.83) (p<0.001). The rates of discharge against medical advice (DAMA), ICU care and alcohol association for intentional CO poisoning were higher than for unintentional CO poisoning (36.4% vs 14.0%, 17.8% vs 4.7%, 45.2% vs 5.6%) (p<0.001). The most common place of CO poisoning was in one's residence. CONCLUSION: The annual frequency of total CO poisoning has increased, and unintentional CO poisoning showed seasonal variation. DAMA, ICU care, and alcohol association of intentional CO poisoning were higher than those of unintentional CO poisoning.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Male , Carbon Monoxide Poisoning , Carbon Monoxide , Carbon , Charcoal , Emergency Service, Hospital , Emergency Treatment , Gases , Inhalation , Intensive Care Units , Intention , Poisoning , Retrospective Studies , Seasons , SuicideABSTRACT
Poly-L-lysine (PLL) was reported to suppress mucin release from airway goblet cells during 30 min treatment period. In this study, we investigated whether PLL consistently suppresses mucin release from cultured airway goblet cells during 24 h after 30 min treatment and also specifically suppresses the release of mucin without any effects on the other releasable glycoproteins. Confluent primary hamster tracheal surface epithelial (HTSE) cells were metabolically radiolabeled with 3H-glucosamine for 24 h and chased for 30 min in the presence of varying concentrations of PLL to assess the effects on 3H-mucin release and on the total elution profile of the treated culture medium. The total mucin content during 24 h after 30 min treatment of PLL was assesed to investigate the consistency of effects. PLL did not affect the release of the other releasable glycoproteins whose molecular weights were less than mucin, and decreased the total mucin content during 24 h after 30 min treatment. We conclude that PLL can specifically suppress mucin release from cultured airway goblet cells and the suppression on mucin release is consistent. This finding suggests that PLL might be used as a specific airway mucin-regulating agent by directly acting on airway mucin-secreting cells.