Yonsei University · Medicine
Professor Nam Su Ku's research lab specializes in critical care medicine and infectious diseases, with a primary focus on identifying prognostic biomarkers and optimizing treatment strategies for severe bacterial infections in critically ill patients. The lab investigates clinical predictors of mortality—such as CRP/albumin ratio, RDW, and hematologic parameters—in conditions like sepsis, Gram-negative bacteremia, and *Stenotrophomonas maltophilia* bacteremia. It also explores novel antibiotic combinations, particularly for multidrug-resistant pathogens like *Acinetobacter baumannii*, using preclinical models to evaluate therapeutic efficacy. Additionally, the lab contributes to understanding neurological comorbidities in HIV-infected populations and adverse drug reactions, especially those involving skin manifestations.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is known to be a predictor of severe morbidity and mortality in some chronic diseases such as congestive heart failure. However, to our knowledge, little is known about RDW as a predictor of mortality in patients with Gram-negative bacteremia, a major nosocomial cause of intra-abdominal infections, urinary tract infections, and primary bacteremia. Therefore, we investigated whether RDW is an independent predictor of mortality in patients with Gram-negative
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a nosocomial pathogen associated with high morbidity and mortality, particularly in immunocompromised or critically ill patients. In this study, we investigated the risk factors for mortality in patients with S. maltophilia bacteremia.Retrospectively, medical records from all patients with S. maltophilia bacteremia between December 2005 and 2014 at Severance Hospital, a 2000-bed tertiary care hospital in Seoul, Korea, were reviewed. Analysis was performed to ident
Unfortunately, the options for treating multidrug-resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) infections are extremely limited. Recently, fosfomycin and minocycline were newly introduced as a treatment option for MDR A. baumannii infection. Therefore, we investigated the efficacy of the combination of colistin with fosfomycin and minocycline, respectively, as therapeutic options in MDR A. baumannii pneumonia. We examined a carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii isolated from clinical speci
HAND is a prevalent comorbidity in HIV-infected Koreans. Active screening and diagnosis with effective tools, such as the IHDS, MoCA-K and Grooved Pegboard Test, could be used to identify this important complication.
In this study, the sensitivity of the GMA for the diagnosis of IA was very low in non-haematological patients. Although the GMA test is considered useful for the diagnosis of IA in haematological patients, it had low diagnostic value for IA in non-haematological patients.
Our new scoring system using the RDW, DNI, and platelet count was useful for predicting the mortality in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.
The incidence of IE is increasing in South Korea. Although the mortality rate has slightly decreased, it remains high. Surgery has a protective effect with respect to both in-hospital mortality and long-term prognosis in patients with IE.
Sarcopenia was associated with both short-term and long-term mortality in patients with septic shock. In clinical settings, close attention should be paid to these patients for both short-term and long-term outcomes.
An elevated SOFA score and inappropriate initial empirical antimicrobial therapy were significantly associated with adverse outcome in patients with B. cepacia complex bacteraemia.
Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) in patients with cirrhosis is typically caused by gram-negative bacteria. However, the number of SBP cases due to gram-positive bacteria is steadily increasing. To date, little is known about the predictive factors involved in SBP infections.We performed a retrospective cohort study of patients (>18 years) with SBP due to gram-positive and -negative bacteria who were enrolled from January 2006 to December 2013 at Severance Hospital in Seoul, Korea where th
The modified scoring system was a good predictor of the 28-day mortality and was more useful than the previous scoring system for predicting mortality in patients with sepsis.
Surgical site infection (SSI) is a well-known complication in older adults. However, there have been no studies on SSI after gastrectomy in older adults. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the incidence, risk factors, and outcomes of SSIs after gastrectomy in older adults.We performed a retrospective cohort study of older adults, aged 65 years or older, who underwent gastrectomy between January 2015 and December 2015 at the Severance Hospital in Seoul, Korea. The incidence and outcomes of SSIs a
The effects of tuberculosis (TB) on the kinetics of CD4(+) T cells among HIV-infected individuals with early combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) after TB therapy initiation are poorly characterized. We conducted a case-control study with 15 HIV-TB-coinfected patients who initiated TB treatment and early cART, and 30 controls without TB who had similar CD4(+) T cell counts and viral loads at the time of starting cART. We compared the rate of CD4(+) T cell increase for 5 years after cART. Th
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