Effective Timing of Introducing an Inpatient Smoking Cessation Program to Cancer Patients

Purpose@#We aimed to identify factors influencing smoking cessation success among cancer patients registered in an inpatient smoking cessation program at a single cancer center. @*Materials and Methods@#The electronic medical records of enrolled patients with solid cancer were retrospectively reviewed. We evaluated factors associated with 6-month smoking cessation. @*Results@#A total of 458 patients with cancer were included in this study. Their mean age was 62.9±10.3 years, and 56.3% of the participants had lung cancer. 193 (42.1%) had not yet begun their main treatment. The mean number of counseling sessions for the participants was 8.4±3.5, and 46 (10.0%) patients were prescribed smoking cessation medications. The 6-month smoking cessation success rate was 48.0%. Multivariate analysis showed that younger age (<65 years), cohabited status, early stage, and the number of counseling sessions were statistically significant factors affecting 6-month smoking cessation success (p<0.05). Initiation of a cessation program before cancer treatment was significantly associated with cessation success (odds ratio, 1.66; 95% confidence interval, 1.02–2.70; p=0.040). @*Conclusion@#Smoking cessation intervention must be considered when establishing a treatment plan immediately after a cancer diagnosis among smokers.

Relationship Between Post-exercise Heart Rate Recovery and Changing Ratio of Cardiopulmonary Exercise Capacity

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether heart rate recovery (HRR) following an exercise tolerance test (ETT) is correlated with a changing ratio of peak oxygen consumption (VO₂) and maximal metabolic equivalents (MET(max)). METHODS: A total of 60 acute myocardial infarction (AMI) patients who underwent ETT at both assessment points - 3 weeks (T0) after the AMI attack and 3 months after T0 (T1) were included. After achieving a peak workload, the treadmill was stopped with a 5-minute cooldown period, and the patients recovered in a comfortable and relaxed seated position. HRR was defined as the difference between the maximal heart rate (HR(max)) and the HR measured at specific time intervals - immediately after the cool down period (HRR-0) and 3 minutes after the completion of the ETT (HRR-3). RESULTS: HRR-0 and HRR-3 increased over time, whereas VO(2max) and METmax did not show significant changes. There was a positive correlation between HRR at T0 and the exercise capacity at T0. HRR at T0 also showed a positive correlation with the exercise capacity at T1. There was no significant correlation between HRR measured at T0 and the change in the ratio of VO(2max) and MET(max), as calculated by subtracting VO(2max) and MET(max) obtained at T0 from those obtained at T1, divided by VO(2max) at T0 and multiplied by 100. CONCLUSION: Post-exercise HRR measured at 3 weeks after the AMI onset can reflect the exercise capacity 3 months after the first ETT. However, it may be difficult to correlate post-exercise HRR at T0 with the degree of increase in cardiopulmonary exercise capacity in patients with AMI.

Comparison of the Effects of Cardiac Rehabilitation Between Obese and Non-obese Patients After Acute Myocardial Infarction

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on functional capacity in obese and non-obese patients who have suffered acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: Overall, 359 patients who have suffered AMI, and were referred for CR after percutaneous coronary intervention from 2010 to 2015 and underwent an exercise tolerance test before and after phase II CR were included in this study. The patients were divided into two groups: obese group with body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m² (n=170; age, 54.32±9.98 years; BMI, 27.52±2.92 kg/m²) and non-obese group with BMI <25 kg/m² (n=189; age, 59.12±11.50 years; BMI 22.86±2.01 kg/m²). The demographic characteristics and cardiopulmonary exercise capacity of all patients were analyzed before and after CR. RESULTS: There were significant changes in resting heart rate (HR(rest)) before and after CR between the obese and non-obese groups (before CR, p=0.028; after CR, p=0.046), but other cardiopulmonary exercise capacity before and after CR was not different between the groups. HR(rest) (p<0.001), maximal metabolic equivalents (METs, p<0.001), total exercise duration (TED, p<0.001), and maximal oxygen consumption (VO(2max), p<0.001) improved significantly in the obese and non-obese groups after CR. No difference in the change in the cardiopulmonary exercise capacity rate was detected between the groups. CONCLUSION: CR may improve functional capacity in patients who suffered AMI regardless of their obesity.

Successful Treatment of Phantom Limb Pain by 1 Hz Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation Over Affected Supplementary Motor Complex: A Case Report

A 37-year-old man with a right transfemoral amputation suffered from severe phantom limb pain (PLP). After targeting the affected supplementary motor complex (SMC) or primary motor cortex (PMC) using a neuro-navigation system with 800 stimuli of 1 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) at 85% of resting motor threshold, the 1 Hz rTMS over SMC dramatically reduced his visual analog scale (VAS) of PLP from 7 to 0. However, the 1 Hz rTMS over PMC failed to reduce pain. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a successfully treated severe PLP with a low frequency rTMS over SMC in affected hemisphere.

Comparison of Growth Hormone Treatment in Patients with Idiopathic Short Stature and Idiopathic Growth Hormone Deficiency / 전남의대학술지

After recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) was introduced in the treatment of patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and idiopathic short stature (ISS), many studies have addressed the effect of GH treatment and changes in the height standard deviation score (SDS) after GH treatment. However, few studies comparing the effect of GH in Korean patients with idiopathic GHD and ISS have been designed. Therefore, this study focused on the difference in effect of GH treatment between the two groups. We retrospectively reviewed the height SDS of 34 patients with idiopathic GHD and 12 patients with ISS. The mean ages of the patients with idiopathic GHD and ISS were 9.84+/-2.09 and 10.72+/-1.48 years, respectively. All patients were treated with GH for 1 year and body parameters were recorded before and after the GH treatment. Change in height SDS in patients with idiopathic GHD was significantly higher than that in patients with ISS (0.62+/-0.33 vs. 0.40+/-0.27, p=0.03). However, body mass index, insulin-like growth factor-1, and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 were not significantly different between the two groups after GH treatment. These results suggest that GH treatment has a more powerful effect on increasing height SDS in patients with idiopathic GHD than in patients with ISS.

Comparison of Growth Hormone Treatment in Patients with Idiopathic Short Stature and Idiopathic Growth Hormone Deficiency / 전남의대학술지

After recombinant human growth hormone (rhGH) was introduced in the treatment of patients with growth hormone deficiency (GHD) and idiopathic short stature (ISS), many studies have addressed the effect of GH treatment and changes in the height standard deviation score (SDS) after GH treatment. However, few studies comparing the effect of GH in Korean patients with idiopathic GHD and ISS have been designed. Therefore, this study focused on the difference in effect of GH treatment between the two groups. We retrospectively reviewed the height SDS of 34 patients with idiopathic GHD and 12 patients with ISS. The mean ages of the patients with idiopathic GHD and ISS were 9.84+/-2.09 and 10.72+/-1.48 years, respectively. All patients were treated with GH for 1 year and body parameters were recorded before and after the GH treatment. Change in height SDS in patients with idiopathic GHD was significantly higher than that in patients with ISS (0.62+/-0.33 vs. 0.40+/-0.27, p=0.03). However, body mass index, insulin-like growth factor-1, and insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 were not significantly different between the two groups after GH treatment. These results suggest that GH treatment has a more powerful effect on increasing height SDS in patients with idiopathic GHD than in patients with ISS.