Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · May 2013
Incidence and mortality rates of disasters and mass casualty incidents in Korea: a population-based cross-sectional study, 2000-2009.
The objective of study was to evaluate the incidence and mortality rates of disasters and mass casualty incidents (MCIs) over the past 10 yr in the administrative system of Korea administrative system and to examine their relationship with population characteristics. This was a population-based cross-sectional study. We calculated the nationwide incidence, as well as the crude mortality and injury incidence rates, of disasters and MCIs. ⋯ Over the past 10 yr, the crude mortality rates for disasters and MCIs were 2.36 deaths per 100,000 persons and 6.78 deaths per 100,000 persons, respectively. The crude injury incidence rates for disasters and MCIs were 25.47 injuries per 100,000 persons and 152 injuries per 100,000 persons, respectively. The incidence and mortality of disasters/MCIs in Korea seem to be low compared to that of trend around the world.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · May 2013
Comparative StudyInterobserver variability and accuracy of high-definition endoscopic diagnosis for gastric intestinal metaplasia among experienced and inexperienced endoscopists.
Accurate diagnosis of gastric intestinal metaplasia is important; however, conventional endoscopy is known to be an unreliable modality for diagnosing gastric intestinal metaplasia (IM). The aims of the study were to evaluate the interobserver variation in diagnosing IM by high-definition (HD) endoscopy and the diagnostic accuracy of this modality for IM among experienced and inexperienced endoscopists. Selected 50 cases, taken with HD endoscopy, were sent for a diagnostic inquiry of gastric IM through visual inspection to five experienced and five inexperienced endoscopists. ⋯ The diagnostic accuracy of the experienced endoscopists was superior to that of the inexperienced endoscopists (P = 0.003). Since diagnosis through visual inspection is unreliable in the diagnosis of IM, all suspicious areas for gastric IM should be considered to be biopsied. Furthermore, endoscopic experience and education are needed to raise the diagnostic accuracy of gastric IM.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · May 2013
Prevalence and risk factor of neck pain in elderly Korean community residents.
Neck pain is a common musculoskeletal condition, which causes substantial medical cost. In Korea, prevalence of neck pain in community based population, especially in elderly subjects, has scarcely been reported. We evaluated the prevalence, the severity and the risk factors of neck pain in elderly Korean community residents. ⋯ The prevalence of neck pain was significantly associated with female gender, obesity and smoking. This is the first large-scale Korean study estimating the prevalence of neck pain in elderly population. Although the majority of individuals had low-intensity/low-disability pain, subjects with neck pain had a significantly worse SF-12 score indicating that neck pain has significant health impact.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · May 2013
Case ReportsNarcolepsy with obstructive sleep apnea in a 4-year-old Korean girl: a case report.
A 4-yr-old girl has exhibited severe snoring, restless sleep and increasing daytime sleepiness over the last 3 months. The physical examination showed that she was not obese but had kissing tonsils. Polysomnography demonstrated increased apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of 5.2, and multiple sleep latency tests (MSLT) showed shortened mean sleep latency and one sleep-onset REM period (SOREMP). ⋯ Another sleep test showed normal AHI of 0.2, the mean sleep latency of 8 min, and two SOREMPs. Diagnosis of OSA to be effectively treated by surgery and narcolepsy without cataplexy was confirmed. Since young children exhibiting both OSA and narcolepsy can fail to be diagnosed with the latter, it's desirable to conduct MSLT when they have severe daytime sleepiness or fail to get better even with good treatment.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · May 2013
Case ReportsFirst Korean family with a mutation in TPM2 associated with Sheldon-Hall syndrome.
Sheldon-Hall syndrome (SHS) is a rare autosomal dominant, inherited arthrogryposis syndrome characterized by multiple congenital contractures of the distal limbs. To date, four genes that encode the skeletal muscle fiber complex have been confirmed as the causative genes. Mutations in MYH3 have been identified most frequently and few cases of SHS caused by TPM2 mutations have been reported worldwide. ⋯ R133W. The affected mother and daughter manifested typical facial features of SHS including a triangular face with downslanting palpebral fissures, small mouth, high arched palate, and prominent nasolabial folds, and showed camptodactyly of fingers and deformities of feet with congenital vertical tali. Generalized myopathy with relative sparing of the slow-twitch muscle fibers was also revealed by electromyography in the affected mother.