Chronic Hepatitis B Infection Is Significantly Associated with Chronic Kidney Disease: a Population-based, Matched Case-control Study

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection leads to hepatic and extrahepatic manifestations including chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, the association between HBV and CKD is not clear. This study investigated the association between chronic HBV infection and CKD in a nationwide multicenter study. METHODS: A total of 265,086 subjects who underwent health-check examinations in 33 hospitals from January 2015 to December 2015 were enrolled. HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) positive cases (n = 10,048), and age- and gender-matched HBsAg negative controls (n = 40,192) were identified. CKD was defined as a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² or proteinuria as at least grade 2+ of urine protein. RESULTS: HBsAg positive cases showed a significantly higher prevalence of GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² (3.3%), and proteinuria (18.9%) than that of the controls (2.6%, P < 0.001, and 14.1%, P < 0.001, respectively). In the multivariate analysis, HBsAg positivity was an independent factor associated with GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² along with age, blood levels of albumin, bilirubin, anemia, and hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c). Likewise, HBsAg positivity was an independent factor for proteinuria along with age, male, blood levels of bilirubin, protein, albumin, and HbA1c. A subgroup analysis showed that HBsAg positive men but not women had a significantly increased risk for GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m². CONCLUSION: Chronic HBV infection was significantly associated with a GFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m² and proteinuria (≥ 2+). Therefore, clinical concern about CKD in chronic HBV infected patients, especially in male, is warranted.

Validation of the finger counting method using the Monte Carlo simulation

PURPOSE: The dose of drug and the size of instrument are determined based on children's weight. We aimed to validate the finger counting method (FCM) for weight estimation in Korean children using the Monte Carlo simulation. METHODS: We estimated the weight of Korean children aged 1 to 9 years by the FCM. These measurements were compared with the weight extracted by the Monte Carlo simulation applied to the “2007 Korean Children and Adolescents Growth Standard”. Pearson correlation coefficients (r) were measured to assess the correlation between the weight extracted by the simulation and that estimated by FCM. Bland-Altman analyses were performed to assess the agreement between the weight extracted by the simulation and that estimated by FCM and 2 other well-known pediatric weight estimation formulas (the Advanced Pediatric Life Support and Luscombe formulas). RESULTS: Data regarding 9,000 children's weight selected by age and gender was randomly extracted using the simulation. We found a positive correlation between the weight estimated by the FCM and the weight extracted (in boys, r = 0.896, P < 0.001; in girls, r = 0.899, P < 0.001). The FCM tended to underestimate weight in the children aged 7 years or old. CONCLUSION: This article suggests the usefulness of FCM in weight estimation, particularly in children younger than 7 years. With appreciation of the limitation in older children, the FCM could be applied to emergency practice.

The Recognition Capability of Cardiac Arrest for Lay Person, Nurse and Dispatcher: A Comparison Study through the Video Question

PURPOSE: The rapid recognition of cardiac arrest is an important factor for survival in cardiac arrest patients, and gasping is a primary barrier to the recognition of a cardiac arrest. This study examined differences in capability of recognizing a cardiac arrest and gasping among lay people, hospital nurses, and medical dispatchers. METHODS: From January to July 2016, 193 participants (65 lay people 62 hospital nurses, and 66 medical dispatchers) watched video clips of a collapsed virtual patient with unresponsiveness, gasping or seizure and answered a questionnaire asking whether the patient was in cardiac arrest or not. The results of the questionnaire were analyzed and compared among the groups. RESULTS: The total score of the questionnaire on the determination of cardiac arrest among lay people, nurses, and medical dispatchers were significant (3.09±1.43 vs. 4.15±1.22 vs. 4.45±1.29 points, p < 0.01). In the questions regarding cardiac arrest with gasping, the correct answer rate was highest in the dispatchers, followed in order by nurses and lay people (82.5% vs. 54.8% vs. 29.7%, p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: In this study, lay people had the lowest recognition capability of a cardiac arrest and gasping among the groups. In addition, gasping is a meaningful barrier to cardiac arrest recognition for both lay people and healthcare providers.

Comparison of Age of Onset and Frequency of Diabetic Complications in the Very Elderly Patients with Type 2 Diabetes

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of type 2 diabetes in elderly people has increased dramatically in the last few decades. This study was designed to clarify the clinical characteristics of type 2 diabetes in patients aged ≥80 years according to age of onset. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 289 patients aged ≥80 years with type 2 diabetes at the outpatient diabetes clinics of Kangwon National University Hospital from September 2010 to June 2014. We divided the patients into middle-age-onset diabetes (onset before 65 years of age) and elderly-onset diabetes (onset at 65+ years of age). RESULTS: There were 141 male and 148 female patients. The patients had a mean age of 83.2±2.9 years and the mean duration of diabetes was 14.3±10.4 years. One hundred and ninety-nine patients had elderly-onset diabetes. The patients with elderly-onset diabetes had a significantly lower frequency of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy, lower serum creatinine levels, lower glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels, and similar coronary revascularization and cerebral infarction rates compared to those with middle-age-onset diabetes. There was no frequency difference in coronary revascularization and cerebral infarction and HbA1c levels between three subgroups (<5, 5 to 15, and ≥15 years) of diabetes duration in elderly onset diabetes. However, both in the elderly onset diabetes and middle-age-onset diabetes, the cumulative incidence of retinopathy was increasing rapidly according to the duration of diabetes. CONCLUSION: We report that individuals with elderly-onset diabetes have a lower frequency of diabetic retinopathy and nephropathy and similar cardiovascular complications compared to those with middle-age-onset diabetes.

Primary Aortoenteric Fistula to the Sigmoid Colon in Association with Intra-abdominal Abscess / 대한소화기학회지

Primary aortoenteric fistula (PAEF) is a rare but catastrophic cause of massive gastrointestinal bleeding. Diagnosis of PAEF is difficult to make and is frequently delayed without strong clinical suspicion. Timely surgical intervention is essential for patient's survival. We report on a case of an 86-year-old woman with no history of abdominal surgery, who presented with abdominal pain. Initially, computed tomography scan showed an intra-abdominal abscess, located anterior to the aortic bifurcation. However, she was discharged without treatment because of spontaneous improvement on a follow-up computed tomography scan, which showed a newly developed right common iliac artery aneurysm. One week later, she was readmitted due to recurrent abdominal pain. On the second day of admission, sudden onset of gastrointestinal bleeding occurred for the first time. After several endoscopic examinations, an aortoenteric fistula bleeding site was found in the sigmoid colon, and aortography showed progression of a right common iliac artery aneurysm. We finally concluded that intra-abdominal abscess induced an infected aortic aneurysm and enteric fistula to the sigmoid colon. This case demonstrated an extremely rare type of PAEF to the sigmoid colon caused by an infected abdominal aortic aneurysm, which has rarely been reported.