Validation of the Korean Version of the Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Impulse-control disorder is an important nonmotor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD) that can lead to financial and social problems, and be related to a poor quality of life. A nationwide multicenter prospective study was performed with the aim of validating the Korean Version of the Questionnaire for Impulsive-Compulsive Disorders in Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (K-QUIP-RS). METHODS: The K-QUIP-RS was constructed using forward and backward translation, and pretesting of the prefinal version. PD patients on stable medical condition were recruited from 27 movement-disorder clinics. Participants were assessed using the K-QUIP-RS and evaluated for parkinsonian motor and nonmotor statuses and for PD-related quality of life using a predefined evaluation battery. The test-retest reliability of the K-QUIP-RS was assessed over an interval of 10-14 days, and correlations between the KQUIP-RS and other clinical scales were analyzed. RESULTS: This study enrolled 136 patients. The internal consistency of the K-QUIP-RS was indicated by a Cronbach's α coefficient of 0.846, as was the test-retest reliability by a Guttman split-half coefficient of 0.808. The total K-QUIP-RS score was positively correlated with the scores for depression and motivation items on the Unified PD Rating Scale (UPDRS), Montgomery-Asberg Depression Scale, and Rapid-Eye-Movement Sleep-Behavior-Disorders Questionnaire. The total K-QUIP-RS score was also correlated with the scores on part II of the UPDRS and the PD Quality of Life-39 questionnaire, and the dopaminergic medication dose. CONCLUSIONS: The K-QUIP-RS appears to be a reliable assessment tool for impulse-control and related behavioral disturbances in the Korean PD population.

Subtypes of Sleep Disturbance in Parkinson's Disease Based on the Cross-Culturally Validated Korean Version of Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale-2.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study aimed to determine the clinimetric properties of the Korean version of Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale-2 (K-PDSS-2) and whether distinct subtypes of sleep disturbance can be empirically identified in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) using the cross-culturally validated K-PDSS-2. METHODS: The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, scale precision, and convergent validity of K-PDSS-2 were assessed in a nationwide, multicenter study of 122 patients with PD. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to derive subgroups of patients who experienced similar patterns of sleep-related problems and nocturnal disabilities. RESULTS: The total K-PDSS-2 score was 11.67±9.87 (mean±standard deviation) at baseline and 12.61±11.17 at the retest. Cronbach's α coefficients of the total K-PDSS-2 scores at baseline and follow-up were 0.851 and 0.880, respectively. The intraclass correlation coefficients over the 2-week study period ranged from 0.672 to 0.848. The total K-PDSS-2 score was strongly correlated with health-related quality of life measures and other corresponding nonmotor scales. LCA revealed three distinct subtypes of sleep disturbance in the study patients: "less-troubled sleepers," "PD-related nocturnal difficulties," and "disturbed sleepers." CONCLUSIONS: K-PDSS-2 showed good clinimetric attributes in accordance with previous studies that employed the original version of the PDSS-2, therefore confirming the cross-cultural usefulness of the scale. This study has further documented the first application of an LCA approach for identifying subtypes of sleep disturbance in patients with PD.

Correlation between computed tomography imaging and histopathology in pleomorphic adenoma of parotid gland.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to correlate the CT imaging features and histopathological findings of pleomorphic adenomas (PA), and also try to identify its clinical significance. METHODS: Totally 262 PAs in the parotid gland including 18 recurrent cases were retrospectively reviewed with preoperative CT and pathologic slides. Each pathologic slide was reviewed by two pathologists to calculate mean value of epithelial/mesenchymal component, and the results were correlated with features of CT scans. RESULTS: PAs showing high contrast enhancement were correlated with high proportion of epithelial components in histopathologic findings. PAs with smooth border tend to have high proportion of epithelial components. The margin on CT imaging did not consisted with pathologic margin of resected specimens. In recurrent PAs, there was a significant difference on CT contrast enhancement, not in proportion of epithelial component. CONCLUSION: The histopathology and CT imaging features of PAs were variable, but we can find the correlation of epithelial component and CT contrast enhancement. Further large scale study would be expected to identify the clinical significance of CT imaging features and histopathologic findings of PAs.

Validation of the Korean Version of the Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Sleep.

BACKGROUND: Sleep problems commonly occur in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), and are associated with a lower quality of life. The aim of the current study was to translate the English version of the Scales for Outcomes in Parkinson's Disease-Sleep (SCOPA-S) into the Korean version of SCOPA-S (K-SCOPA-S), and to evaluate its reliability and validity for use by Korean-speaking patients with PD. METHODS: In total, 136 patients with PD from 27 movement disorder centres of university-affiliated hospitals in Korea were enrolled in this study. They were assessed using SCOPA, Hoehn and Yahr Scale (HYS), Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), Parkinson's Disease Sleep Scale 2nd version (PDSS-2), Non-motor Symptoms Scale (NMSS), Montgomery Asberg Depression Scale (MADS), 39-item Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ39), Neurogenic Orthostatic Hypotension Questionnaire (NOHQ), and Rapid Eye Movement Sleep Behaviour Disorder Questionnaire (RBDQ). The test-retest reliability was assessed over a time interval of 10-14 days. RESULTS: The internal consistency (Cronbach's α-coefficients) of K-SCOPA-S was 0.88 for nighttime sleep (NS) and 0.75 for daytime sleepiness (DS). Test-retest reliability was 0.88 and 0.85 for the NS and DS, respectively. There was a moderate correlation between the NS sub-score and PDSS-2 total score. The NS and DS sub-scores of K-SCOPA-S were correlated with motor scale such as HYS, and non-motor scales such as UPDRS I, UPDRS II, MADS, NMSS, PDQ39, and NOHQ while the DS sub-score was with RBDQ. CONCLUSION: The K-SCOPA-S exhibited good reliability and validity for the assessment of sleep problems in the Korean patients with PD.

Audiologic Patterns of Otic Capsule Preserving Temporal Bone Fracture: Effects of the Affected Subsites.

OBJECTIVES: This study was aimed to assess the relationship between the type of temporal bone area involved and conductive hearing loss. METHODS: We enrolled 97 patients who visited the otolaryngology clinics of Seoul National University Hospital or Boramae Medical Center, Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University with temporal bone fracture between January 2004 and January 2014. Audiometric parameters, including initial and improved air-bone (AB) conduction gap values, were reviewed in accordance with the temporal bone computed tomography (external auditory canal [EAC], middle ear [ME], mastoid [M], and ossicle [O]). RESULTS: Patients with ossicular chain involvement exhibited a larger AB gap compared to those with no ossicular chain involvement at 250, 1,000, 2,000, and 4,000 Hz. Among the groups without ossicular chain involvement, the initial AB gap was largest in patients with EAC+ME+M involvement, followed by the ME+M and M-only involvement groups. The greatest improvement in the AB gap was observed in the EAC+ME+M group followed by the ME+M and M-only groups, irrespective of ossicular chain involvement. Improvements in AB gap values were smallest at 2,000 Hz. CONCLUSION: Conductive hearing loss pattern differed according to the temporal bone area involved. Therefore, areas such as the hematoma and hemotympanum, as well as the fracture line of the temporal bone area, must be evaluated to predict audiologic patterns with otic capsule preserving temporal bone fracture.

Effect of Celecoxib on Survival of Mobile Tongue Cancer.

AIM: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effects of celecoxib on treatment outcomes of squamous cell carcinoma of the mobile tongue. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Among 158 patients who were diagnosed with mobile tongue cancer, 19 received celecoxib during the preoperative, postoperative, or post-recurrence phase. Differences in disease-specific survival (DSS) and recurrence-free survival (RFS) between patients who received celecoxib (study group) and those who did not (control group) were analyzed. RESULTS: For the entire cohort, DSS and RFS were not significantly different according to duration of celecoxib treatment (p=0.293 and 0.703, respectively). Among patients who received chemotherapy, DSS was significantly higher in the study group than in the control group (p=0.048), but RFS was not different between the two groups (p=0.117). CONCLUSION: When combined with chemotherapy, celecoxib may have a beneficial effect on the survival of patients with mobile tongue cancer.

Neck computed tomography in pediatric neck mass as initial evaluation in ED: is it malpractice?

BACKGROUND: Although ultrasound is regarded as the first choice imaging modality for evaluating a pediatric neck mass, neck computed tomography (CT) is necessary for urgent surgical conditions such as deep neck infections. Our aim was to evaluate the diagnostic effectiveness of and proper patient selection for neck CT as a method for the initial evaluation of pediatric neck masses in the emergency department. METHODS: We analyzed the medical records of 105 pediatric patients who visited the emergency department with neck mass whose initial imaging work-up was a neck CT and who visited the emergency department with a neck mass. The parameters investigated included the patient's age, sex, symptom duration, clinical impression, CT interpretation, final diagnosis, and treatment. The positive predictive value (PPV) for CT was calculated, and the parameters that correlated with an urgent surgical condition post-CT were evaluated. RESULTS: The median age was 6.5 years (1 month to 12 years), and the male-to-female ratio was 2:1. The most common initial impression was acute cervical lymphadenopathy. A comparison of the final diagnosis and CT scan demonstrated that the overall PPV was 96.2%. If the initial impression was a deep neck infection, a salivary gland infection, or tonsillitis, the PPV for CT was 100%. Fever (>38.0°C) and severe tenderness were significant between patients with and without urgent surgical conditions on CT. CONCLUSIONS: Computed tomography could be considered as the first diagnostic modality when an urgent surgical condition such as a deep neck infection is highly suspected.

Lattice parameter determination of mullite by energy-filtered needle-texture electron diffraction pattern.

The thermal transformations of pyrophyllite to mullite by heating were re-examined using mainly energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy and, for the first time, the texture electron diffraction pattern of the mullite was completely interpreted. Through a temperature range in which pyrophyllite dehydroxylate maintained a long-range order with a fluctuation of approximately 1% in d-spacings of (100) and (010) planes at 1000 degrees C, without prominent exothermic feature, pyrophyllite dehydroxylate was gradually decomposed and transformed into mullite through topotaxy. Pyrophyllite dehydroxylate did not collapse completely until 1100 degrees C, which promoted the rapid growth of mullite in random orientation at 1200 degrees C and the crystallization of amorphous silica to cristobalite at 1300 degrees C. The mullite needles, having their c-axis (texture axis) parallel to the elongation direction, lined up along the b(*)-axis of the pyrophyllite dehydroxylate in the needle-texture electron diffraction patterns. The mullite needles had monoclinic symmetry with lattice parameters of 7.27 A (a), 7.75 A (b), 2.90 A (c), 90 degrees (alpha), 90 degrees (beta) and 88.41 degrees (gamma), which, because of the structural affiliation to the parent pyrophyllite dehydroxylate, differ to the orthorhombic 3/2-mullite.