Journal of Yeungnam medical science最新文献

Background: Perirenal fat is an important endocrine organ that produces and secretes bioactive cytokines and adipokines involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. The association of perirenal and pararenal fat tissue thickness (PPRFT) with subclinical atherosclerosis and myocardial function in patients with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (ND-T2DM) was investigated in this study.

Methods: The study included 111 patients with ND-T2DM (59 men; mean age, 49.7±9.6 years) and 57 individuals without any disease diagnosis as the control group (23 men; mean age, 48.5±7.2 years). PPRFT and carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) were measured using ultrasonography. Conventional parameters, including epicardial fat tissue (EFT) thickness, were measured using transthoracic echocardiography and myocardial velocities were measured using tissue Doppler echocardiography.

Results: CIMT, EFT thickness, and PPRFT were higher in patients with ND-T2DM than in controls (p<0.001). While the E/A ratio was significantly lower in patients with ND-T2DM than in controls (p<0.001), the E wave deceleration time, and E/E' septal and lateral ratios were significantly higher in the former (p<0.001, p<0.001, and p=0.002, respectively). PPRFT values were significantly correlated with CIMT and EFT thickness (ρ=0.490, ρ=0.517; p<0.001 and ρ=0.588, ρ=0.574; p<0.001, respectively) and negatively correlated with ejection fraction and mitral E/A ratio (ρ=-0.549, ρ=-0.530; p<0.001 and ρ=-0.512, ρ=-0.465; p<0.001, respectively).

Conclusion: PPRFT values measured using ultrasonography in patients with ND-T2DM are significantly associated with CIMT and EFT, which are indicators of subclinical atherosclerosis.

Background: Blunt trauma is a major cause of mortality in the working-age population. Patients who develop hypotension shortly after an injury are at a particularly high risk of death. This nationwide study aimed to identify the factors associated with mortality in patients with hypotension after blunt trauma.

Methods: We analyzed nationwide data from the National Emergency Department Information System for patients aged 15 to 69 years who presented to regional or higher-level emergency medical centers between 2019 and 2023 after blunt trauma. Patients with an initial systolic blood pressure ≤90 mmHg and classified as high acuity (Korean Triage and Acuity Scale ≤3) were included.

Results: Among the 2,713,014 trauma cases, 25,107 met the inclusion criteria, and 16,823 (67.0%) were male. Traffic accidents were the most common reason for injury (38.8%). Mortality was significantly associated with brain injury (hazard ratio, 1.906; 95% confidence interval, 1.661-2.186). The median time from emergency department visit to death was 45.0 hours (interquartile range [IQR], 9.0-188.0 hours), and non-survivors had a median hospital stay of 2.0 days (IQR, 0.0-8.0 days).

Conclusion: Most deaths following blunt trauma occurred within 48 hours of injury, with brain injury being strongly associated with mortality. However, the contribution of other injured body regions may not have been fully captured. These findings underscore the importance of early recognition and comprehensive management of patients with hypotensive blunt trauma.

Background: Japan and South Korea, two advanced East Asian nations with universal health coverage and similar demographic challenges, have developed markedly different emergency medical services (EMS) systems. Despite growing interest in international benchmarking, structured, comparative studies that yield policy-relevant insights remain limited.

Methods: We conducted a multisource comparative health-systems analysis using statutory laws, government publications, academic society reports, peer-reviewed literature, and national statistics. Key domains included EMS governance, workforce, prehospital organization, hospital-based emergency care, legal obligations for EMS patient transport and hospital acceptance, and governance and quality assurance mechanisms. Data were synthesized in comparative tables and narrative summaries to highlight structural and operational differences.

Results: Japan's EMS operates under decentralized municipal control through 722 fire departments, serving 4,100 designated emergency institutions with 6,139 board-certified emergency physicians. In 2023, over 6.64 million ambulance dispatches occurred, and 8.6% were classified as critical cases (1.3% death and 7.3% severe). Korea's EMS is centrally governed with 412 designated facilities in a tiered system and 2,464 specialists. Annual ambulance activations exceeded 3.5 million, with severe cases accounting for approximately 5% to 10%. Japan employs dual statutory frameworks (Fire Service Act and Medical Practitioners Act), allowing clinical discretion, whereas Korea enforces unified regulations with stricter obligations and criminal penalties for hospital refusal of emergency patients.

Conclusion: The contrasting systems suggest that hybrid governance that combines centralized standard settings with local operational flexibility may optimize EMS performance. These findings provide lessons for EMS reform, cross-border collaboration, and disaster preparedness in high-income nations facing similar demographic and healthcare challenges.

Acute postoperative pain results from tissue injury during surgery and subsequent inflammatory responses. The incidence of chronic postsurgical pain ranges from 10% to 30%, and its development is influenced by various clinical factors, including psychological, biological, and social determinants. Optimal management of acute postoperative pain is crucial for enhancing patient satisfaction, preventing adverse outcomes in the immediate postoperative period, and minimizing progression to chronic postoperative pain. In particular, postoperative pain in pediatric patients is often underestimated and inadequately managed because of developmental differences in pain perception, expression, and challenges in assessment. Therefore, age-appropriate and validated assessment tools that consider cognitive development and situational factors are required. Given age-related variability in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, individualized multimodal analgesic strategies with careful dose adjustments should be utilized. These approaches have demonstrated improved analgesic efficacy and enhanced recovery outcomes in pediatric surgical patients. A comprehensive understanding of pediatric pain pathophysiology, combined with appropriate methods of pain assessment and management strategies, should be selected to promote postoperative recovery and reduce morbidity.

The 7q terminal deletion syndrome is a rare genetic disorder caused by the deletion of the long arm of chromosome 7 between 7q32 and 7q36.3. It is characterized by various clinical symptoms, such as abnormal facial features and impaired mental and physical development. Currarino syndrome is defined by a triad of sacral bone defects, anorectal malformations, and presacral masses and is often associated with mutations in the MNX1 gene located at 7q36.3. Only a few cases of 7q terminal deletion syndrome have been reported in Korea. In one of these familial cases, Currarino syndrome was associated with a complex chromosomal rearrangement involving a 7q deletion and an 8q duplication. However, to our knowledge, cases of isolated 7q terminal deletions without other structural chromosomal abnormalities have not been described in the literature. We report the case of a 9-month-old girl who presented with the complete Currarino syndrome triad and a 7q35 to 7q36.3 (12 Mb) deletion identified by chromosomal microarray analysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first Korean case report of the Currarino triad caused by an isolated terminal 7q deletion.

Background: Early oral switch (EOS) has been proposed as an alternative to prolonged intravenous (IV) therapy for Enterobacterales bacteremia; however, its safety and effectiveness have not been clearly established. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated whether EOS reduces treatment failure in uncomplicated Enterobacterales bacteremia and examined how the timing of switching affects outcomes.

Methods: We conducted a systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials and observational studies that compared EOS with continued IV therapy in adults with uncomplicated Enterobacterales bacteremia. Pooled risk ratios (RRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using random-effects models. The primary outcome was treatment failure by ≤90 days. Prespecified analyses evaluated the timing of the switch.

Results: Across 10 studies that met the inclusion criteria, EOS was associated with lower treatment failure than continued IV therapy (RR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.58-0.89; I²=26%). Switching within 4 days reduced the failure (RR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.44-0.76; I²=0%), whereas switching after 4 days showed no clear advantage (RR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.71-1.06; I²=0%). No evidence of small study effects was observed.

Conclusion: EOS was associated with a lower risk of treatment failure than prolonged IV therapy, with the greatest benefit observed when the switch occurred within 4 days. These findings should be interpreted with clinical caution given that most of the evidence is observational.

Background: This study aimed to examine the effect of artificial intelligence (AI) literacy on attitudes toward digital technology and the mediating effect of technostress on this relationship among health profession students.

Methods: An online survey was conducted from May to October 2025 with 1,314 students enrolled in medical schools, nursing schools, dental schools, and graduate schools of dentistry nationwide. Structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analyses were performed.

Results: The analysis revealed that AI literacy significantly reduced technostress and enhanced attitudes toward digital technology. Technostress also had a negative effect on attitudes toward digital technology, and a partial mediating effect was identified in the relationship between AI literacy and attitudes toward digital technology. In other words, higher levels of AI literacy were associated with lower technostress, which, in turn, led to more positive attitudes toward digital technology. Multigroup analysis further showed that the effect of AI literacy on technostress differed across majors, being significant for medical and nursing students, but not for dental students.

Conclusion: This study confirmed that improving AI literacy reduces technology-related stress and promotes positive attitudes toward digital technology. These findings suggest the need for AI and digital technology education designs that consider the psychological factors of learners in medical education. Furthermore, the observed group differences suggest that AI literacy may function differently depending on discipline-specific technological and educational contexts.

Background: Intravitreal ganciclovir is widely used to achieve effective local antiviral concentrations for cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis; however, to our knowledge, standardized dosing strategies have not been established, and the reported regimens vary considerably across studies. In this study, we evaluated dose-dependent treatment outcomes of intravitreal ganciclovir for CMV retinitis.

Methods: The PubMed, Embase, Cochrane, and Scopus databases were searched through November 2025. Eligible studies included intravitreal ganciclovir monotherapy, with or without systemic antiviral therapy. Cumulative first-week intravitreal dose was calculated and classified as low dose (<4,000 µg) or high dose (≥4,000 µg). The pooled proportions for resolution, visual outcomes, recurrence, and retinal detachment were estimated using a random-effects model.

Results: Eighteen studies comprising 1132 eyes were included across all outcomes. The pooled proportion of anatomical resolution was 89% (95% confidence interval, 0.77-0.95), and 74% of eyes maintained stable or improved vision. Recurrence and retinal detachment occurred in 12% and 9% of the eyes, respectively. High-dose regimens achieved a significantly higher resolution than low-dose regimens (94% vs. 73%, p=0.019). Visual outcomes did not differ according to dose (77% vs. 73%, p=0.646). Recurrence also showed no dose-dependent difference (14% vs. 8%, p=0.654) and was observed predominantly in patients before the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy. The retinal detachment rates were similar (9% vs. 10%, p=0.780).

Conclusion: Initial intravitreal dosing at ≥4,000 µg within the first week achieved better retinitis resolution, supporting the benefit of a higher local ganciclovir concentration in the treatment of CMV retinitis.

Background: Large language models (LLMs), the most recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), have profoundly affected academic publishing and raised important ethical and practical concerns. This study examined the prevalence and content of AI guidelines in Korean medical journals to assess the current landscape and inform future policy implementation.

Methods: The top 100 Korean medical journals determined by Hirsh index were surveyed. Author guidelines were collected and screened by a human researcher and AI chatbot to identify AI-related content. The key components of LLM policies were extracted and compared across journals. The journal characteristics associated with the adoption of AI guidelines were also analyzed.

Results: Only 18% of the surveyed journals had LLM guidelines, which is much lower than previously reported in international journals. However, the adoption rates increased over time, reaching 57.1% in the first quarter of 2024. High-impact journals were more likely to have AI guidelines. All journals with LLM guidelines required authors to declare LLM tool use and 94.4% prohibited AI authorship. The key policy components included emphasizing human responsibility (72.2%), discouraging AI-generated content (44.4%), and exempting basic AI tools (38.9%).

Conclusion: While the adoption of LLM guidelines among Korean medical journals is lower than the global trend, there has been a clear increase in implementation over time. The key components of these guidelines align with international standards, but greater standardization and collaboration are needed to ensure the responsible and ethical use of LLMs in medical research and writing.

Ischemic monomelic neuropathy (IMN) is an uncommon complication of arteriovenous fistula (AVF) surgery that presents with pain, motor weakness, and sensory changes without critical ischemia. This report describes a rare case of successful IMN treatment after AVF surgery. A 61-year-old man with diabetic end-stage kidney disease was admitted for left brachiocephalic AVF surgery. Postoperatively, the patient complained of pain, motor weakness, and numbness in the left hand. However, the radial pulse remained palpable, and the overlying skin remained intact. A nerve conduction study above the wrist revealed reduced compound muscle action potential (CMAP) of the left ulnar nerve and no CMAP of the left median nerve. This study also showed the absence of sensory amplitude in both the left median and left ulnar nerves. Therefore, the patient was diagnosed with IMN. Proximalization of the arterial inflow surgery was performed to redistribute blood flow while maintaining the AVF. The patient's neurological symptoms resolved postoperatively. Various conditions can cause hand pain after AVF surgery; however, IMN has rarely been reported. A multidisciplinary approach is needed to avoid this rare complication in patients presenting with hand pain after AVF surgery.