Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jun 2022
A Survey on Public Perceptions of Low Fertility: A Social Research Panel Study.
It was reported that South Korea showed the greatest decline in the fertility rate among the entire OECD countries over the last 30 years with the total fertility rate (TFR) of 0.84 persons in 2020. Despite the efforts of the Korean government, the TFR has decreased constantly. This study intended to analyze the perception of Koreans toward pregnancy and childbirth regarding the low fertility rate in South Korea for understanding the causes of constantly decreased low fertility. ⋯ This study found that a decrease in the TFR was affected mainly by the negative perception of women in their 20s and 30s toward marriage, childbirth, and the necessity of children. Therefore, further research should be conducted to develop policies that focus on these significant variables to overcome the worsening low fertility problem.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jun 2022
Impact of COVID-19 on Clinicopathological Spectrum of Pityriasis Rosea in Korea.
Pityriasis rosea (PR) is a papulosquamous eruption with generally unknown origin but suspected to be related to viral etiologies. The clinicopathological spectrum of several disorders with viral etiologies has been altered after the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The author group could experience coherent histological alterations in PR after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate how the clinicopathological findings of PR were changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. ⋯ In conclusion, PR demonstrated a significant histopathological alteration with more frequent pruritus during the COVID-19 pandemic. The comparative results about clinicopathological findings of PR will provide a useful reference for dermatologists in the diagnostic process of PR in the COVID-19 pandemic.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jun 2022
The Changes in Epidemiology of Imipenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Bacteremia in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for 17 Years.
Acinetobacter baumannii infections cause high morbidity and mortality in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. However, there are limited data on the changes of long-term epidemiology of imipenem resistance in A. baumannii bacteremia among pediatric ICU (PICU) patients. ⋯ IRAB bacteremia causes serious threat in patients in PICU. Proactive infection control measures and antimicrobial stewardship are crucial for managing IRAB infection in PICU.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jun 2022
MicroRNA Expression in Plasma of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma Patients.
Patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) have a poor prognosis and there are no effective clinical biomarkers. Recently, stable microRNAs detected in the blood have been suggested as potential biomarkers in various cancers. Therefore, we investigated whether plasma microRNAs could be feasible biomarkers for ESCC. ⋯ Our study demonstrated that plasma miR-21, miR-31, and miR-375 could be potential biomarkers for the diagnosis of ESCC. Particularly, plasma miR-31 and miR-375 showed high sensitivity and specificity for differentiating ESCC patients from healthy controls.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Jun 2022
Development of the Korean Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratio as a Tool for Benchmarking Antimicrobial Use in Each Hospital.
The Korea National Antimicrobial Use Analysis System (KONAS), a benchmarking system for antimicrobial use in hospitals, provides Korean Standardized Antimicrobial Administration Ratio (K-SAAR) for benchmarking. This article describes K-SAAR predictive models to enhance the understanding of K-SAAR, an important benchmarking strategy for antimicrobial usage in KONAS. ⋯ We developed a model to predict antimicrobial use rates in Korean hospitals, and the model was used as the denominator of the K-SAAR.