Publications by authors named "Suk-Kyung Hong"
Background: This study investigated the characteristics of mechanically ventilated patients in South Korean intensive care units (ICUs).
Methods: We conducted a subgroup analysis of a multinational observational study. Data from 271 mechanically ventilated patients in South Korean ICUs were analyzed for demographics, ventilation practices, and mortality, and were compared with those of 327 patients from other high-income Asian countries.
Background: The ongoing medical crisis in Korea has severely impacted the operational environment of intensive care units (ICU), posing significant challenges to quality care for critically ill patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of the ongoing crisis on ICUs.
Methods: A survey was conducted in July 2024 among intensivists in charge of ICUs at institutions accredited by the Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine for critical care.
Purpose: Target-controlled infusion (TCI) could provide a patient-tailored approach for vancomycin dosing. This study aimed to externally evaluate the predictive performance of a previously constructed pharmacokinetic model of vancomycin (Choi model) specifically optimized for TCI administration of vancomycin differing from the existing model, and to assess the feasibility of administering vancomycin via TCI in clinical practice. Additionally, clinical outcomes were exploratively compared between the TCI and intermittent infusion (standard) methods for vancomycin administration.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: In emergency general surgery (EGS), rapid judgement and prompt emergency surgery play a significant role in determining the patient's prognosis. This study aimed to evaluate whether implementing the acute care surgery (ACS) system in Korea has improved the clinical outcomes of patients.
Methods: This retrospective cohort study was conducted at three tertiary hospitals in Korea.
Purpose: Over the past 3 years, approximately 23,000 emergency surgeries were performed annually in South Korea, accounting for >1% of all surgeries nationwide. With the growing necessity for treating these emergency cases with dedication and proficiency, acute care surgery (ACS) teams were appointed at various hospitals. Regarding the implications of the ACS team, many studies showed promising results with a shorter time from the emergency department (ED) to the operating room (OR), shorter length of stay, and fewer complications.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- This study compared resting energy expenditure (REE) measured through indirect calorimetry to estimates from predictive equations in severe trauma patients to assess caloric needs.
- A total of 27 patients had their REE measured, finding that weight-based and Penn State 2003 equations provided the closest estimates, while Harris-Benedict and Ireton-Jones equations significantly differed from measured values.
- The findings suggest a crucial need for direct measurement of REE in severe trauma patients rather than relying on predictive equations, as the latter showed a 36.2% concordance rate with measured values.
Liberation from Mechanical Ventilation in Critically Ill Patients: Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine Clinical Practice Guidelines.
Tuberc Respir Dis (Seoul)
October 2024
Article Synopsis
- - Successful liberation from mechanical ventilation is essential for patients recovering from respiratory failure, marking their transition out of intensive care and towards normal life.
- - A thorough review of existing studies using the GRADE method resulted in evidence-based recommendations for clinicians, focusing on when patients are ready to breathe independently.
- - The guidelines include nine key questions about ventilator liberation, offering seven conditional recommendations, one expert consensus, and one deferred recommendation to improve patient outcomes.
Article Synopsis
- Successful liberation from mechanical ventilation is crucial for patients transitioning out of intensive care, and both individual healthcare experiences and systematic methods are important for this process.
- The Korean Society of Critical Care Medicine reviewed numerous studies using meta-analyses to create evidence-based recommendations for clinicians on how to determine when patients are ready to breathe on their own.
- The guidelines include recommendations on nine specific questions related to ventilator liberation, comprising seven conditional recommendations, one expert consensus, and one conditional deferred recommendation, aimed at optimizing patient care.
The effects of environmental interventions for delirium in critically ill surgical patients.
Acute Crit Care
November 2023
Background: Delirium occurs at high rates among patients in intensive care units and increases the risk of morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of environmental interventions on delirium.
Methods: This prospective cohort study enrolled 192 patients admitted to the surgical intensive care unit (SICU) during the pre-intervention (June 2013 to October 2013) and post-intervention (June 2014 to October 2014) periods.
Specialty impact on residents' perceived quality of life, stress, and job satisfaction: a comparative study.
Ann Surg Treat Res
October 2023
Purpose: Specialty choice in residency training has a significant impact on an individual's career and satisfaction, as well as the supply-demand imbalance in the healthcare system. The current study aimed to investigate the quality of life (QOL), stress, self-confidence, and job satisfaction of residents, and to explore factors associated with such variables, including postgraduate year, sex, and especially specialty, through a cross-sectional survey.
Methods: An online survey was administered to residents at 2 affiliated teaching hospitals.
Current status of laparoscopic emergency surgery in Korea: multicenter restrospective cohort study.
J Minim Invasive Surg
September 2023
Article Synopsis
- A nationwide study in Korea was conducted to compare laparoscopic emergency surgery (LES) with open abdominal emergency surgery (OES), analyzing data from 2,122 patients across three hospitals from 2014 to 2019.
- The results showed that 60.3% of patients underwent OES, with the small bowel being the most commonly operated organ, while the appendix was most common for LES, particularly in appendectomies (93.7% LES) and cholecystectomies (88.0% LES).
- The study found that while LES practices in Korea are similar to global trends for some surgeries, differences exist in gastric and colorectal surgeries, highlighting the need for further research to understand these vari
Background: Current international guidelines recommend against deep sedation as it is associated with worse outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, in Korea the prevalence of deep sedation and its impact on patients in the ICU are not well known.
Methods: From April 2020 to July 2021, a multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, noninterventional cohort study was performed in 20 Korean ICUs.
Purpose: One of the rare life-threatening fungal infections is pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP). Immunocompromised patients are the main vulnerable population. We investigate the risk factors associated with the development of severe PCP infection with acute respiratory failure after kidney transplantation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Sepsis is the most common cause of death in hospitals, and intra-abdominal infection (IAI) accounts for a large portion of the causes of sepsis. We investigated the clinical outcomes and factors influencing mortality of patients with sepsis due to IAI.
Methods: This post-hoc analysis of a prospective cohort study included 2126 patients with sepsis who visited 16 tertiary care hospitals in Korea (September 2019-February 2020).
Clinical Effect of Preoperative 25-OH-Vitamin D3 Level in Liver Transplant Recipients.
Transplant Proc
October 2022
Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common in patients with chronic liver disease and is associated with increased risk of infection and mortality. This study evaluated the effects of preoperative vitamin D levels on clinical outcomes after liver transplant.
Methods: This single-center retrospective study included liver transplant recipients from June to November 2017 who had preoperative 25-OH-vitamin D3 (25-OH-D3) data.
Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) has been used sporadically in adult orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) recipients for the treatment of acute cardiopulmonary failure. This retrospective study aimed to identify OLT patients who would benefit from ECMO support. We reviewed 109 OLT patients who received ECMO support for more than 24 h from January 2007 to December 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDevelopment of a new pharmacokinetic model for target-concentration controlled infusion of vancomycin in critically ill patients.
Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol
February 2022
The aim of this prospective study was to construct a new pharmacokinetic model of vancomycin for target-concentration controlled infusion (TCI). As the first loading dose, 25 mg/kg of vancomycin was administered during 60-90 min. Arterial blood samples were obtained at pre-set intervals to measure the serum concentrations of vancomycin.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The acute care surgery (ACS) system is a new model for the prompt management of diseases that require rapid treatment in patients with acute abdomen. This study compared the outcomes and characteristics of the ACS system and traditional on-call system (TROS) for acute appendicitis in South Korea.
Methods: This single-center, retrospective study included all patients (aged ≥18 years) who underwent surgery for acute appendicitis in 2016 and 2018.
Article Synopsis
- The study aimed to analyze the initial antibiotic therapy in patients with solitary abdominal trauma in Korea, focusing on the antibiotic type, duration, and infection rates during emergency surgery.
- Researchers examined medical records from 311 patients across 17 institutions, finding that antibiotics were administered to 96.4% of those with penetrating injuries and 79.7% with blunt injuries, typically for around 6 days.
- Though antibiotics were widely used, the study found that the duration of antibiotic therapy did not significantly impact infection rates; however, certain factors like injury severity and type of injury were associated with higher infection risks.
Article Synopsis
- Interest in using organs from non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) is growing due to organ shortages, but liver transplants from NHBDs are rare in Korea, limited by legal regulations.
- A case study highlights a successful liver transplant from a 47-year-old NHBD woman, who suffered cardiac arrest before brain death was confirmed, with ECMO support used until cardiac death was declared.
- The recipient, a 42-year-old man with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, recovered well and has been thriving for 9 years post-transplant, emphasizing the need for greater public awareness and legal support for NHBD organ donation.
Background: Although early identification of critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) is necessary, the established diagnostic criteria have several limitations in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. The purpose of this study was to define simplified diagnostic criteria of CIP that best predict clinical outcomes.
Methods: This prospective, single-center study included 41 ICU patients with prolonged mechanical ventilation (≥21 days).
Background: The development of the endoscopic technique has resulted in an increasing number of patients undergoing percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) insertion; however, the protocols for increasing the volume of feeding formula after PEG insertion have not been established. Therefore, we compared the clinical outcomes of patients receiving low- and high-volume increase in enteral feeding formula.
Methods: A total of 215 patients who underwent PEG insertion between January 2016 and March 2019 were included.
Comparison of Measured Energy Expenditure Using Indirect Calorimetry vs Predictive Equations for Liver Transplant Recipients.
JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr
May 2021
Article Synopsis
- - The study aimed to compare four predictive equations for estimating energy expenditure in liver transplant recipients against direct measurements taken via indirect calorimetry.
- - Conducted in a South Korean surgical ICU, the research involved 46 patients, finding that the Penn State equation provided the best agreement (65%) with measured energy needs, while other equations showed lower accuracy.
- - The results indicated that all predictive equations had fixed biases and were generally inaccurate, suggesting the necessity of using indirect calorimetry for precise measurement of metabolic needs in liver transplant patients.