Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jul 2020
Multicenter StudyChanges in Characteristics of Patients with Liver Cirrhosis Visiting a Tertiary Hospital over 15 Years: a Retrospective Multi-Center Study in Korea.
Liver cirrhosis has become a heavy burden not only for patients, but also for our society. However, little is known about the recent changes in clinical outcomes and characteristics of patients with cirrhosis-related complications in Korea. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate changes in characteristics of patients with liver cirrhosis in Daegu-Gyeongbuk province in Korea over the past 15 years. ⋯ In recent years, the overall number of cirrhosis patients has decreased. This study confirmed the recent trend in decrease of cirrhosis, especially of cirrhosis due to HBV, and the increase of HCV, alcoholic and NAFLD cirrhosis. Targeted screening for at-risk patients will facilitate early detection of liver diseases allowing effective intervention and may have decreased the development of cirrhosis and its complications.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jul 2020
IgG Seroprevalence of COVID-19 among Individuals without a History of the Coronavirus Disease Infection in Daegu, Korea.
Seroprevalence studies of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from many countries have shown that the number of undiagnosed missing cases is much larger than that of confirmed cases, irrespective of seroprevalence levels. Considering the strategy of Korea entailing massive testing and contact tracing from the beginning of epidemic, the number of undiagnosed missing cases in Korea may be negligible. This study was conducted to estimate the seroprevalence of COVID-19 among individuals who were never diagnosed with COVID-19 in Daegu, the epicenter of COVID-19 epidemic in Korea. ⋯ Despite the limitation of a small and unrepresentative sample, this is the first study on seroprevalence of COVID-19 in Korea. Our study suggested that the number of undiagnosed missing cases was substantial even with the stringent strategy adopted in Korea, similar to that of other countries.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jul 2020
Meta AnalysisSupervised Physical Rehabilitation in the Treatment of Patients with Advanced Cancer: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
As the survival rate of cancer patients increases, the clinical importance of rehabilitation provided by healthcare professionals also increases. However, the evidence supporting the relevance of rehabilitation programs is insufficient. This study aimed to review the literature on effectiveness in physical function, quality of life (QOL) or fatigue of supervised physical rehabilitation in patients with advanced cancer. ⋯ Supervised physical rehabilitation for patients with advanced cancer is effective in improving physical activity, strength, and QOL. However, more trials are needed to prove the effectiveness of supervised exercise and to strengthen the evidence.