Journal of Korean medical science
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2022
The Higher Incidence of COVID-19 in Patients With Non-Tuberculous Mycobacterial Pulmonary Disease: A Single Center Experience in Korea.
The aim of our study was to investigate the incidence of and risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with non-tuberculous mycobacterial-pulmonary disease (NTM-PD). A total of 3,866 patients with NTM-PD were retrospectively identified from a single center. ⋯ The odds of being infected with COVID-19 was particularly higher in patients who received treatment for NTM-PD than in those who did not receive treatment for NTM-PD (adjusted odd ratio = 1.99, 95% confidence interval = 1.09-3.64, P = 0.026). Patients with NTM-PD might be regarded as a high-risk group for COVID-19 and may need a more proactive preventive strategy for COVID-19 and other pandemics in the future.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2022
The Association Between Antihypertensive Drug Use and Hospitalization for Pneumonia in the General Population: A Case-Crossover Study Using the National Health Insurance Database of Korea.
Previous studies have reported an association between pneumonia risk and the use of certain drugs. We investigated the relationship between antihypertensive drugs and pneumonia in the general population. ⋯ All antihypertensive drug types were related to a lower risk of hospitalization for pneumonia in the general population. Our results implied that frequent medical service usage and protective immunity were primarily related to a reduced risk of pneumonia in the general population of South Korea.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2022
Case ReportsSuccessful mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination and Colonoscopy After Oral Desensitization in a Patient With Polyethylene Glycol Allergy.
Anaphylaxis to polyethylene glycol (PEG) is rare and mainly occurs with the use of laxatives containing PEG. Recently, an increasing number of PEG allergies have been reported, particularly those related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, such as the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccines, contain PEG2000 as an excipient and are contraindicated when allergy to a vaccine component exist. ⋯ Allergy to PEG was diagnosed based on clinical history, skin test results, and basophil histamine release testing. Oral desensitization effectively suppressed histamine release from basophils in response to PEG stimulation, suggesting that oral desensitization using PEG-based laxatives may be an effective treatment option for patients with allergy to the substance.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2022
Observational StudyNational Implementation of Emergency Department-Based Follow-up Program for Suicidal Attempts.
Death by suicide is a major public health problem. To provide multidisciplinary support to patients who attempted suicide, emergency department (ED)-based psychiatric screening and intervention programs were offered. We traced the long-term survival outcome of patients visiting the ED after suicide attempts using the national death certificate registration database. ⋯ Suicide resulted in a lower long-term mortality rate among patients who complied with the follow-up case management session in the ED-based brief psychiatric intervention and follow-up program.
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J. Korean Med. Sci. · Aug 2022
The Effect of Chronic Disease Management Program on the Risk of Complications in Patients With Hypertension in Korea.
A chronic disease management program was implemented in April 2012 to lower out-of-pocket costs for repeat visits to the same clinic. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between participating in this program and the onset of complications among patients with hypertension using whole-nation claims data. ⋯ The results showed that participants of the chronic disease management program were less likely to have hypertension complications compared to non-participants. Enhancing the participation rate may be related to better outcomes and reducing medical expenses among patients with chronic diseases.