Welfare Genome Project: A Participatory Korean Personal Genome Project With Free Health Check-Up and Genetic Report Followed by Counseling.

The Welfare Genome Project (WGP) provided 1,000 healthy Korean volunteers with detailed genetic and health reports to test the social perception of integrating personal genetic and healthcare data at a large-scale. WGP was launched in 2016 in the Ulsan Metropolitan City as the first large-scale genome project with public participation in Korea. The project produced a set of genetic materials, genotype information, clinical data, and lifestyle survey answers from participants aged 20-96. As compensation, the participants received a free general health check-up on 110 clinical traits, accompanied by a genetic report of their genotypes followed by genetic counseling. In a follow-up survey, 91.0% of the participants indicated that their genetic reports motivated them to improve their health. Overall, WGP expanded not only the general awareness of genomics, DNA sequencing technologies, bioinformatics, and bioethics regulations among all the parties involved, but also the general public's understanding of how genome projects can indirectly benefit their health and lifestyle management. WGP established a data construction framework for not only scientific research but also the welfare of participants. In the future, the WGP framework can help lay the groundwork for a new personalized healthcare system that is seamlessly integrated with existing public medical infrastructure.

Correction to: Are there differences among operators in false-negative rates of endosonography with needle aspiration for mediastinal nodal staging of non-small cell lung cancer?

Following publication of the original.

Are there differences among operators in false-negative rates of endosonography with needle aspiration for mediastinal nodal staging of non-small cell lung cancer?

BACKGROUND: Endosonography with needle aspiration (EBUS/EUS-NA) is recommended as the first choice for mediastinal nodal assessment in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). It is important to maintain adequate negative predictive value of the procedure to avoid unnecessary additional surgical staging, but there are few studies on the influence of operator-related factors including competency on false negative results. This study aims to compare the false negative rate of individual operators and whether it changes according to accumulation of experience. METHODS: This is a retrospective study of NSCLC patients who were N0/N1 by EBUS/EUS-NA and confirmed by pathologic staging upon mediastinal lymph node dissection (n = 705). Patients were divided into a false negative group (finally confirmed as pN2/N3) and a true negative group (pN0/N1). False negative rates of six operators and whether these changed according to accumulated experience were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 111 (15.7%) false negative cases. False negative rates among six operators ranged from 8.3 to 21.4%; however, there were no statistical differences before and after adjustment for patient characteristics and procedure-related factors (P = 0.346 and P = 0.494, respectively). In addition, false negative rates did not change as each operator accumulated experience (P for trend = 0.632). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that there would be no difference in false negative rates regardless of which operator performs the procedure assuming that the operators have completed a certain period of observation and have performed procedures under the guidance of an expert.

Outcomes of pulmonary tuberculosis in patients with discordant phenotypic isoniazid resistance testing.

INTRODUCTION: The discrepancy rates of drug susceptibility testing (DST) results between solid and liquid media have been reported to range from 2.4 to 7.4% for isoniazid. Most isolate with isoniazid DST discrepancies between solid and liquid media test as susceptible on solid medium and resistant in liquid medium, however, the optimal management of patients with discordant testing is unknown. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of treatment regimen on treatment outcomes when patients with rifampicin-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis have isoniazid resistance (INH-R) in liquid medium but isoniazid susceptibility (INH-S) on solid medium. METHOD: This study was retrospectively conducted by reviewing patient medical records on the liquid compared to solid culture based phenotypic testing at Samsung Medical Center between January 2009 and December 2015. The study population which have INH-R in liquid medium and INH-S on solid medium was divided into two groups: group A (n = 30), which included patients treated for INH-S tuberculosis by discontinuing pyrazinamide (and ethambutol), and group B (n = 56), which included patients treated for INH-R tuberculosis by continuing pyrazinamide and/or adding fluoroquinolone. Unfavorable outcomes included treatment failure and relapse. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups including demographic data, comorbidities, radiologic data, and treatment duration. However, baseline smear positive rates were more frequent in group A (19/30, 63.3%) than in group B (22/56, 39.3%; P = 0.033). Only three patients had unfavorable outcomes; one was bacteriologically proven treatment failure and the other two were clinically judged as unfavorable outcomes. All of them were in the group A (3/30, 10%); no unfavorable outcomes occurred in the group B (0/56, 0%; P = 0.040). CONCLUSIONS: Unfavorable outcomes were less frequent in the group B than in the group A, indicating that treatment regimen modification according to DST results on liquid medium could improve treatment outcomes in patients with rifampicin-susceptible pulmonary tuberculosis. Further studies are required to confirm these findings to overcome the small number of unfavorable outcomes.

Clinical and Laboratory Differences between Lymphocyte- and Neutrophil-Predominant Pleural Tuberculosis.

Pleural tuberculosis (TB), a form of extrapulmonary TB, can be difficult to diagnose. High numbers of lymphocytes in pleural fluid have been considered part of the diagnostic criteria for pleural TB; however, in many cases, neutrophils rather than lymphocytes are the predominant cell type in pleural effusions, making diagnosis more complicated. Additionally, there is limited information on the clinical and laboratory characteristics of neutrophil-predominant pleural effusions caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). To investigate clinical and laboratory differences between lymphocyte- and neutrophil-predominant pleural TB, we retrospectively analyzed 200 patients with the two types of pleural TB. Of these patients, 9.5% had neutrophil-predominant pleural TB. Patients with lymphocyte-predominant and neutrophil-predominant pleural TB showed similar clinical signs and symptoms. However, neutrophil-predominant pleural TB was associated with significantly higher inflammatory serum markers, such as white blood cell count (P = 0.001) and C-reactive protein (P = 0.001). Moreover, MTB was more frequently detected in the pleural fluid from patients in the neutrophil-predominant group than the lymphocyte-predominant group, with the former group exhibiting significantly higher rates of positive results for acid-fast bacilli in sputum (36.8 versus 9.4%, P = 0.003), diagnostic yield of MTB culture (78.9% versus 22.7%, P < 0.001) and MTB detected by polymerase chain reaction (31.6% versus 5.0%, P = 0.001). Four of seven patients with repeated pleural fluid analyses revealed persistent neutrophil-predominant features, which does not support the traditional viewpoint that neutrophil-predominant pleural TB is a temporary form that rapidly develops into lymphocyte-predominant pleural TB. In conclusion, neutrophil-predominant pleural TB showed a more intense inflammatory response and a higher positive rate in microbiological testing compared to lymphocyte-predominant pleural TB. Pleural TB should be considered in neutrophil-predominant pleural effusions, and microbiological tests are warranted.

Drug utilization review of mupirocin ointment in a Korean university-affiliated hospital.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Intranasal mupirocin and chlorhexidine bathing are candidate strategies to prevent healthcare-associated infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). In Korea, intranasal mupirocin is not available, and mupirocin ointment, an over-the-counter drug, has been used indiscriminately. Furthermore, because it is covered by health insurance, mupirocin is easy to prescribe within hospitals. METHODS: We performed a mupirocin drug utilization review (DUR) within Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital. Annual use of mupirocin was investigated between 2003 and 2013, and monthly consumption of mupirocin was assessed during the final 2-year period. The DUR focused on August 2012, the period of highest use of mupirocin. Also, we investigated trends in mupirocin resistance in MRSA between 2011 and 2013. RESULTS: Annual consumption of mupirocin increased from 3,529 tubes in 2003 to 6,475 tubes in 2013. During August 2012, 817 tubes were prescribed to 598 patients; of these, 84.9% were prescribed to outpatients, and 77.6% at the dermatology department. The most common indication was prevention of skin infections (84.9%), and the ointment was combined with systemic antibiotics in 62.9% of cases. The average duration of systemic antibiotic administration was about 7.8 days. The rate of low-level mupirocin resistance in MRSA increased from 8.0% to 22.0%, and that of high-level mupirocin resistance increased from about 4.0% to about 7.5%. CONCLUSIONS: Inappropriate use of mupirocin is prevalent. Considering the increase in resistance and the future application of intranasal mupirocin, prophylactic use of mupirocin in dermatology departments should be reconsidered.