Sok Woo Park

BACKGROUND: Researchers have suggested models to predict the risk of postoperative AKI (PO-AKI), but an externally validated risk index that can be practically implemented before patients undergo noncardiac surgery is needed. METHODS: We performed a retrospective observational study of patients without preexisting renal failure who underwent a noncardiac operation (≥1 hour) at two tertiary hospitals in Korea. We fitted a proportional odds model for an ordinal outcome consisting of three categori

HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Congenital lymphatic malformations of the head and neck (LMHN) present special challenges to the otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeon. Recently, a number of sclerotherapy trials have shown promising results. In this study, we present our experiences with picibanil (OK-432) sclerotherapy for this lesion. STUDY DESIGN: Retrospectively review. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 21 patients who have undergone sclerotherapy with picibanil for LMHN. RESULTS: Satisfactory res

The overexpression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) has been previously reported in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), as well as in many cancers. We hypothesized that endogenous nitric oxide (NO) might increase the expression of COX-2 in cancer cells. Therefore, we investigated the cross-talk between NO and the prostaglandin (PG) pathways in HNSCC cell lines. We found that COX-2 and iNOS expressions were elevated simultaneously. On adding the NO

Metabolic acidosis (MA), indicated by low serum total CO 2 (TCO 2 ) concentration, is a risk factor for mortality and progressive renal dysfunction in CKD. However, the long-term effects of MA on kidney transplant recipients (KTRs) are unclear. We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of 2318 adult KTRs, from January 1, 1997 to March 31, 2015, to evaluate the prevalence of MA and the relationships between TCO 2 concentration and clinical outcomes. The prevalence of low TCO 2 concent

Maintaining residual renal function (RRF) is a crucial issue in peritoneal dialysis (PD). Incremental dialysis is the practice of initiating PD exchanges less than four times a day in consideration of RRF, and increasing dialysis dose in a step-wise manner as the RRF decreases. We aimed to compare the outcomes of incremental PD and full-dose PD in terms of RRF preservation and other outcomes. This was a single-center, observational study. Data were extracted retrospectively from a cohort of inci

BACKGROUND: We collected rare cases of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) undergoing malignant transformation. We sought to identify human papillomavirus (HPV) subtypes in areas of papilloma, dysplasia, and carcinoma and investigate the pattern of protein overexpression. METHODS: Three patients whose disease underwent malignant transformation from RRP to carcinoma were subjected to this study. Morphologically distinct areas in the pathology specimen of each patient were diagnosed as papi

BACKGROUND: The endocannabinoids, anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2-AG), are considered promising potential anticancer agents. In this study, we examined the anticancer effects of AEA and 2-AG in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines. METHODS AND RESULTS: Our results showed that AEA effectively inhibited proliferation of HNSCC cells whereas 2-AG did not. The anticancer effect of AEA seemed to be mediated by a receptor-independent mechanism. Inhibitors of AEA intr

BACKGROUND: Several researchers have observed that cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitors display anticancer effects only at higher concentrations than doses that block COX-2 activity in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells. METHODS: To better understand the exact anticancer mechanism of COX-2-inhibitors, we compared the effects of pharmacologic inhibitors to those of small-interfering RNA against COX-2 on cell-growth, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) production, and intrace

BACKGROUND: Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) is a lifesaving therapy used in critically ill patients with severe cardiopulmonary dysfunction. Continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is supplemented to treat fluid overload, acute kidney injury, and electrolyte disturbances during ECMO. However, the best time to initiate CRRT is not well-defined. We performed this study to identify the optimal timing of CRRT for ECMO. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter retrospective cohort study of

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a major impact on global communities and healthcare. Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) is an oral drug for the treatment of COVID-19 that has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In Korea, Paxlovid is the first-line drug for patients who are >60 years old or using immunosuppressants, or those who are >40 years old with chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, chronic kidney disease, or hypertension. One caveat of Paxlovid treatmen

BACKGROUND: Although p27 gene mutations are rarely found in cancer, the level of p27 protein expression decreases during tumor development. In several tumors, including laryngeal cancer, decreased expression of p27 is associated with a poor prognosis. METHODS: The proliferation-inhibitory effect of p27 gene transfer on human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines (SNU-1041, SNU-1066, and SNU-1076) by adenoviral vector was investigated. RESULTS: On transduction of the human HNSC

Conflicting data have been reported on the clinical significance of contrast-induced nephropathy after CT scan (CT-CIN). In addition, the epidemiologic characteristics and clinical outcomes of CT-CIN following proper prophylactic intervention remain elusive.We examined the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of CT-CIN in stable chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients using data collected from our outpatient CT-CIN prophylaxis program conducted between 2007 and 2014. The program recruited patient

Metformin is the primary treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) due to its effectiveness in improving clinical outcomes in patients with preserved renal function, however, the evidence on the effectiveness of metformin in various renal functions is lacking. We performed a retrospective, multicenter, observational study used data of patients with T2DM obtained from three tertiary hospitals' databases. Patients given metformin within run-in periods and with at least one additional prescript

It remains inconclusive whether hyperuricemia is a true risk factor for kidney graft failure. In the current study, we investigated the association of hyperuricemia and graft outcome. We performed a multi-center cohort study that included 2620 kidney transplant recipients. The patients were classified as either normouricemic or hyperuricemic at 3 months after transplantation. Hyperuricemia was defined as a serum uric acid level ≥ 7.0 mg/dL in males or ≥ 6.0 mg/dL in females or based on the use o