Trends in Birth Weight and the Incidence of Low Birth Weight and Advanced Maternal Age in Korea between 1993 and 2016

BACKGROUND: As the aging society progresses, the average age of mothers is also increasing. Advanced maternal age has been known to be associated with perinatal outcomes, as well as birth weight (BW). In this study, we aimed to investigate the perinatal factors associated with low birth weight infants (LBWIs) using birth statistics of the Korean population. METHODS: Birth statistics between 1993 and 2016 from the Korean Statistical Information Service were reviewed. We investigated 12,856,614 data points, which included the number of births, BWs, percentage of preterm births and LBWIs, multiple pregnancies, and maternal age. RESULTS: The proportion of LBWIs delivered by mothers of advanced maternal age has gradually increased since 1993. In addition, the proportion of older mothers (≥ 35 years old) giving birth to LBWIs has increased over the years. Average BW has a negative correlation with the ratio of preterm births, LBW, multiple births, and advanced maternal age. The mean BW also has a negative correlation with maternal age. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the average BW continues to decline, and the incidence of LBWIs is increasing in Korea since 1993. This study also revealed that several perinatal factors, including percentage of preterm births, LBWIs, multiple births, and maternal age influence the mean BW. Although this study did not investigate the effects of decreasing mean BW on perinatal health, future research is worth discussing.

Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency Associated with Neonatal Septic Hip in a Late Preterm Infant

Leukocyte adhesion deficiency is a rare primary immunodeficiency and autosomal recessive disorder caused by a mutation in the gene encoding CD18, which is a constituent of leukocyte integrins. Clinical features usually begin with a delay in the separation of the umbilical cord in the neonatal period, and are characterized by marked leukocytosis with infection, delayed wound healing, and repeated bacterial and fungal infections. We experienced a case of leukocyte adhesion deficiency diagnosed in the neonatal period, in which a late preterm infant admitted to neonatal intensive care unit presented with a septic hip. Flow cytometry analysis of whole blood showed a decrease in the expression of CD11b/CD18. This is the first case of leukocyte adhesion deficiency with neonatal septic hip diagnosed in Korea.

Analysis of Stromal Vascular Fraction from Lipoaspirates: Our Institute's Experiences

Today, adipose tissue derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSC) have gained a great interest in various medical fields due to the characteristics of its self-renewal and multilineage differentiation capacity. The stromal vascular fraction (SVF) of adipose tissue is known to contain mesenchymal stem cells and it is obtained by processing the lipoaspirate which is usually collected from tumescent liposuction. In this study, we reviewed the records of patient epidemiology and results of SVF isolation. 30 patients (8 males and 22 females) had been underwent tumescent liposuction between April 2012 and January 2013, and the collected lipoaspirates were processed to isolate SVF in GMP facility in CHA Bundang Medical Center. The average stem cell count per 1 cc of lipoaspirate was 52,252 +/- 26,704 and cell count including red blood cells per 1cc of lipoaspirate was 970,607 +/- 873,436. The stem cell viability was proven to be 84 +/- 4%. Bacteria were not detected in all the SVF samples. Compared to previous reports concerning the yield of SVF, our results coincide well with the results of previous studies. Because there were no domestic report about the yield and viability of SVF, this report may provide a reference value of the Korean SVF for the clinicians who want to use SVF as a therapeutic purpose.

Clinical convergence angle and rounding radius on tooth preparation for zirconia all-ceramic crown / 대한치과보철학회지

PURPOSE: This article attempted to examine how teeth for restoration is made in a clinical practice and utilize it as future educational material of teeth formation and basic data for additional research. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This experiment investigated the models sent to milling center for production of zirconia crowns. After scanned with Lava CAD/CAM System (3M ESPE, Seefeld, Germany), they are measured on 'ImageJ (version 1.32j, National Institutes of Health, USA)' program and compared and analyzed. Convergence angle from mesio-distal surfaces and bucco-lingual surfaces of each teeth are measured. Also, bucco-lingual diameter of the region lowered as much as 0.4 mm from incisal edge in anterior teeth except canines.(This measure is defined as the Peak 0.4) The analysis of data between each group was conducted by Windows SPSS statistic program, and was proved significant on 95% confidence level by independent t-test, one-way ANOVA and multiple analysis (Sheffe test). RESULTS: The mean value of convergence angle was 18.67degrees. It is ranked as molar (26.70degrees) > premolar (16.87degrees) > anterior teeth (14.81degrees) in the order of mesio-distal convergence angle; anterior teeth (22.32degrees) > molar (20.93degrees) > premolar (15.41degrees) in the order of bucco-lingual convergence angle. The mean value of Peak 0.4 was 1.18 mm. CONCLUSION: Convergence angle of abutment of zirconia all ceramic crown has difference depending on the location in the arch. Due to the nature of production of zirconia all ceramic crown, convergence angle of abutment and line angle finishing degree can have an effect on internal suitability of restoration.

The Long-term Outcome of Esophageal Atresia

Children who underwent reparative operations for esophageal atresia (EA) with or without tracheoesophageal fistula (TEF), are confronted with many gastrointestinal or respiratory problems, especially during the early years of life. We reviewed the medical records of 50 patients who underwent repairs of EA with or without TEF at the Division of Pediatric Surgery, Samsung Medical Center, from December 1994 to December 2005. Current status of children was accessed by telephone-interview, but only 27 of them were accessible. Of 50 patients, 3 patients (6%) were type A, 45 patients (90%) were type C, and 2 patients (4%) were type E. The mean interval between primary operation and interview was 5.5 years. The incidences of growth retardation (<10 percentile of height/weight) were 39% and 21 % during the first 5 years after repairs, respectively. The incidences of dysphagia or gastroesophageal reflux and recurrent respiratory infections were 33% and 39 %, respectively. However, these problems were likely to improve as the children grew. The incidences of growth retardations (<10 percentile of height/weight) were 11% and 11% for the children more than five years postoperative. The incidences of dysphagia or gastroesophageal reflux and recurrent respiratory infections were 22% and 22%, respectively. Children with EA with or without TEF are faced with many obstacles. Close observation and adequate treatment for delayed postoperative complications are necessary to improve the quality of life for these children.

Liver Tumors in Children

Liver tumors in children are rare, relatively complex, and encompass a broad spectrum of disease processes. This study reviews our experience of liver tumors during the last 10 years. Medical records of 36 cases of liver tumors?in children, treated at Samsung Medical Centers, from October 1994 to December 2005, were reviewed in this study. We analyzed disease characters and survival rates as a whole and by specific disease. The median age was 3.6 years. Male and female ratio was 1:1. The most common symptom was the palpable mass in 15 cases. Others were abdominal distension in 9 cases, jaundice in 2, vomiting in 2, weight loss in 2, and pubic hair growth in 1. CT or US and liver biopsy were performed for diagnosis. There were 28 malignant tumors: malignant rhabdoid tumor (1 case), hepatocellular carcinoma (3 cases), hemangioendothelioma type II (3 cases), angiosarcoma (1 case), and hepatoblastoma (20 cases). Eight tumors were benign; hepatic adenoma (1 case), focal nodular hyperplasia (2 cases), hemangioendothelioma type I (2 cases), mesenchymal hamartoma (3 cases). In this study the clinical characteristics were not different from the other reports. Liver transplantation was performed in 3 cases-1 with hepatoblastoma and 2 with hepatocelleular carcinoma. Accurate and early diagnosis, and individualized multi- modality therapeutic approaches might be important for better outcome.

Dietary related risk factors and quality of life in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease / 대한내과학회지

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is increasing in Korea. The aim of this study is to evaluate the dietary habit which is commonly known as risk factor of GERD and the quality of life in GERD patients. METHODS: This study enrolled 52 patients (ERD; erosive reflux disease 38, NERD; non-erosive reflux disease 14) as patient group. They were completed the questionnaires about dietary habit and quality of life. All datas were compared with 23 healthy volunteer group who visited same hospital for health screening. RESULTS: Patient group had more dietary risk factors such as unbalanced diet, irregular diet, using lots of sauces, having snacks or meals within 3 hours of bedtime and suffering from epigastric discomfort after alcohol drinking (p<0.05). Patient group preferred to have spicy food, soft drink, coffee and tea, fried food, instant food and noodles (p<0.05). ERD group more frequently had snacks or meals just before sleep, suffered from discomfort after drinking, and preferred to have fried food (p<0.05). GERD patients reported significantly worse scores on 6 SF-36 scales, such as physical function, role limitations-physical, role limitations-emotional, mental health, social function, and general health perception. CONCLUSIONS: We found that ERD patients had more snacks or meals within 3 hours of bedtime and fried food. Also, they were suffering from epigastric discomfort after alcohol drinking. Patients with GERD experienced decrements in health-related quality of life compared with the control subjects.

Expression of CD43 in Colorectal Adenocarcinom

BACKGROUND: CD43 is a sialoglycoprotein that is highly expressed on most leukocytes, except on B lymphocytes and dendritic cells. CD43 has been reported to be involved in the adhesion and apoptosis of lymphocytes. Although the aberrant expression of CD43 antigen in non-lymphoid tissues has been reported, the expression of the CD43 antigen in gastrointestinal malignancies is not well studied. Here, we studied the expression of CD43 in colon adenocarcinoma using the anti-CD43 monoclonal antibody developed in our laboratory. METHODS: Thirty patients who had undergone surgical resection for colorectal carcinoma were recruited. The expression of CD43 molecule was determined by analyzing the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens immunohistochemically using our newly developed anti-CD43 mAb (K06). The results obtained by the immunohistochemical analysis correlated to the clinicopatho-logical parameters. RESULTS: The expression of CD43 were found in 20 out of 30 colorectal carcinoma cases. The expression of CD43 antigen is higher in well differentiated adenocarcinomas than poorly or moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas. CONCLUSIONS: The new anti-CD43 mAb might be helpful for the detection of the expression of CD43 on colorectal carcinoma cells. Further studies are required to assess the relationship between the CD43 expression and the colorectal carcinogenesis.