National Medical Center

Multimodal Cataract Severity Classification from AS-OCT Examination Reports: Analyzing the Complementarity of B-Scan Images and A-Scan Profiles

Background/Objectives: Deep learning on anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) has been applied mainly to nuclear cataract. This study evaluated whether the A-scan profile in Anterion reports adds information to the B-scan image for classifying nuclear (N), cortic...

Prioritizing Emergency Medical Conditions for Health Policy Using a Stepwise Treatable-Death Framework: A Nationwide Analysis in Korea, 2018–2022

Background/Objectives: Limited emergency-care resources require priorities based not only on mortality rates or death counts but also on the potential mortality reduction under explicit targets. We applied the age- and sex-standardized domestic short- and mid-term components of a...

Development and Validation of Human-AI Collaborative Workflow in SNOMED CT Mapping of Bilingual Clinical Text

Abstract Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine–Clinical Terminology (SNOMED CT) is the principal international standard for semantic interoperability of clinical information, but mapping free-text clinical narratives to SNOMED CT concepts remains labor-intensive. We developed a l...

Acceptance of Organs From Deceased Donors: Results of a Global Survey.

Background: With <10% of transplantation needs being met, one contributing factor may be the potential subjectivity in transplant specialists' acceptance of organs. Such decisions, if influenced by knowledge and/or comfort gaps, warrant intervention. We assessed knowledge and com...

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii among animal-associated workers and companion animals in South Korea

Abstract Toxoplasma gondii is a widely distributed zoonotic parasite at the human–animal interface. However, studies simultaneously evaluating animal-associated workers and companion animals remain limited in South Korea. This multi-regional cross-sectional study aimed to estimat...

Does a Multi-Location CT Scan Provide a Survival Benefit as Surveillance after Curative-Intent Surgery in Early-Stage Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?

Purpose: The NCCN guidelines recommend a chest computed tomography (CT) scan every 6 months for 2-3 years for patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study aimed to evaluate whether multi-location CT scans offer a survival benefit. Materials and Methods...

Defining the problem of pandemic resource allocation: perspectives from healthcare providers and civil society advocates in South Korea

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic raised ethical questions about how scarce medical resources should be defined and allocated. Existing debates have largely focused on triage criteria and distributive principles, with less attention to how different social and institution...

Vagus nerve stimulation for obesity: an electrical-targeting perspective on physiological themes and translational challenges

Abstract Implantable vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) has been explored as a programmable bioelectronic approach for modulating feeding and metabolic function in obesity. However, obesity-related VNS is not a single uniform intervention. Studies differ in stimulation site, electrode...

Perioperative outcomes of robot-assisted, laparoscopic or thoracoscopic, and open surgery across 13 cancer operations: a single-institution cohort of 36,208 cases

Abstract To compare perioperative outcomes of robot-assisted surgery, video-assisted (laparoscopic or thoracoscopic) surgery and open surgery across 13 oncologic procedure groups, because aggregate technology-level comparison is confounded by procedure mix and by the calendar tim...

Prenatal PM2.5 exposure drives epigenetic reprogramming of fetal macrophages linked to atopic dermatitis

Abstract Prenatal environmental exposures are increasingly recognized as contributors to atopic dermatitis (AD), yet the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ), a complex mixture of airborne pollutants, has been associated with elevated risk of al...

Combined health risk factors and all-cause and cause-specific mortality in the Korean National Health Examination Baseline cohort

The World Health Organization underscores the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle to mitigate premature mortality. Key health risk factors (HRFs) are strongly linked to mortality. However, large-scale cohort studies examining the impact of HRFs on mortality remain scarc...

Absolute knee extensor strength, not limb symmetry, predicts outcomes and defines a rehabilitation threshold after medial opening‐wedge high tibial osteotomy

Abstract Purpose To identify a clinically relevant body mass‐normalised knee extensor strength threshold after high tibial osteotomy (HTO) and examine how absolute strength and limb symmetry index (LSI) relate to patient‐reported outcomes (PROMs), dynamic balance and longitudinal...