Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2020
Multicenter StudyClinical Course and Outcomes of Patients with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection: a Preliminary Report of the First 28 Patients from the Korean Cohort Study on COVID-19.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-infected pneumonia emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019. In this retrospective multicenter study, we investigated the clinical course and outcomes of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from early cases in Republic of Korea. ⋯ The prodromal symptoms of COVID-19 were mild and most patients did not have limitations of daily activity. Viral shedding from URT was high from the prodromal phase. Radiological pneumonia was common from the early days of illness, but it was frequently not evident in simple CXR. These findings could be plausible explanations for the easy and rapid spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the community.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2020
Analysis of Risk Factors for Myringosclerosis Formation after Ventilation Tube Insertion.
This study examined possible risk factors for myringosclerosis formation after ventilation tube insertion (VTI). ⋯ Older age, serous effusion, type 2 VT, presence of post-VTI perforation, and frequent VTI may be risk factors for myringosclerosis after VTI; the severity of myringosclerosis may vary based on the duration of effusion and frequency of VTI.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2020
Out-of-Hospital Cohort Treatment of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Patients with Mild Symptoms in Korea: an Experience from a Single Community Treatment Center.
The outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a worldwide pandemic. Less than 6 weeks after the first confirmed cases in Korea, the patient number exceeded 5,000, which overcrowded limited hospital resources and forced confirmed patients to stay at home. To allocate medical resources efficiently, Korea implemented a novel institution for the purpose of treating patients with cohort isolation out of hospital, namely the Community Treatment Center (CTC). ⋯ A total of 309 patients were admitted to our CTC. During the first two weeks, 7 patients were transferred to the hospital because of symptom aggravation and 107 patients were discharged without any complication. Although it is a novel concept and may have some limitations, CTC may be a very cost-effective and resource-saving strategy in managing massive cases of COVID-19 or other emerging infectious diseases.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2020
School Opening Delay Effect on Transmission Dynamics of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Korea: Based on Mathematical Modeling and Simulation Study.
Nonpharmaceutical intervention strategy is significantly important to mitigate the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread. One of the interventions implemented by the government is a school closure. The Ministry of Education decided to postpone the school opening from March 2 to April 6 to minimize epidemic size. We aimed to quantify the school closure effect on the COVID-19 epidemic. ⋯ The simulation results show that the government could reduce at least 200 cases, with two announcements by the Ministry of education. After March 23, although the possibility of massive transmission in the children's age group is lower, group transmission is possible to occur.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Apr 2020
The Utility of the Random Urine Uric Acid-to-Creatinine Ratio for Patients with Gout Who Need Uricosuric Agents: Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.
The 24-hour uric acid excretion measurement is important in assessing disease status and helping to select the appropriate uric acid-lowering agent for patients with gout, however, it is inconvenient. The authors investigated the efficacy of the random urine uric acid-to-creatinine (UA/CR) ratio to screen the patients who under-secreted 24-hour urine uric acid. ⋯ There is a moderate positive correlation between the random urinary UA/CR ratio and 24-hour urine uric acid excretion, so that UA/CR ratio may not be a good predictor of 24-hour urine uric acid excretion. However, the random urine UA/CR ratio 0.2 can be a useful predictor to screen the gouty patients who need to be treated with uricosuric drugs.