Lower back pain (LBP) is the most common musculoskeletal complaint and significantly reduces the quality of life. Muscle weakness is a major cause of LBP. Handgrip strength (HGS) is widely used to determine general muscle strength. Relative HGS (RHGS) incorporates body mass and provides a more accurate estimation of muscle strength and health status. We analyzed the data from Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to investigate the association between RHGS and chronic LBP. We identified 14,930 participants and excluded a total of 9553 participants with age < 50 years, with incomplete LBP information, and with incomplete HGS information. We analyzed the data of 5377 participants: 1086 (20.19%) with chronic LBP and 4291 (79.8%) without chronic LBP. Multivariate regression analysis with adjustment for covariates identified an association between weak RHGS and chronic LBP (odds ratio 1.31; CI 1.07–1.61; p = 0.01). This article demonstrated a significant association between RHGS and chronic LBP. Therefore, RHGS should be measured for patients with chronic LBP.

Introduction: Carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can result in delayed neurological sequelae (DNS). Factors predicting DNS are still controversial. This study aims to determine whether acute brain lesions observed using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) following acute CO poisoning are related to the subsequent development of DNS. Methods: This prospective study was conducted on patients with CO poisoning treated at a university hospital in Bucheon, Korea. From August 2016 to July 2019, a total of 283 patients visited the hospital because of CO poisoning. Exclusion criteria included age under 18 years, refusing hyperbaric oxygen therapy, refusing MRI, being discharged against medical advice, being lost to follow-up, having persistent neurological symptoms at discharge, and being transferred from another hospital 24 h after exposure. Results: Of the 154 patients included in the final study, acute brain lesions on MRI (ABLM) were observed in 49 patients (31.8%) and DNS occurred in 30 patients (19.5%). In a logistic regression analysis, lower Glasgow coma scale score and higher exposure time were associated with DNS, and the presence of ABLM in white matter was significantly associated with DNS (OR 6.741; 95% CI, 1.843–24.660; p = 0.004). Conclusion: The presence of ABLM in white matter was significantly related to the occurrence of DNS. Early prediction of the risk of developing DNS through MRI may be helpful in treating patients with CO poisoning.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is one of the most common causes of intoxication. Delayed neurologic sequelae (DNS) have a major impact on prognosis of CO poisoning patients. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is widely used to treat DNS. However, there is no consensus regarding the optimal timing of HBOT. This prospective study enrolled patients who visited the hospital from November 2019 to October 2022. The cutoff value for the latency to HBOT after CO exposure was determined, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was estimated. In total, 167 patients were divided into non-DNS and DNS groups. The initial Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, CO exposure time, latency to HBOT after CO exposure, median length of hospital stay (p < 0.001) and creatine kinase (p = 0.016) showed significant differences. A GCS score ≤ 9 had an odds ratio (OR) of 5.059 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.602–15.976, p = 0.006), and latency to HBOT after CO exposure ≥ 200 min had an OR of 18.971 (95% CI: 4.310–83.508, p < 0.001). The AUC was 0.8235 (95% CI: 0.7504–0.8966). A GCS score ≤ 9 and latency to HBOT ≥ 200 min may be significant risk factors for DNS.

Delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae are major complications of carbon monoxide poisoning; carbon monoxide triggers brain oxidation and inflammation. Corticosteroids such as dexamethasone modulate neu...

Pediatric drug dosages are based on body weight, so accurate measurement thereof is essential. However, this is not possible in emergencies. When using weight-estimating tapes, World Health Organization (WHO) growth charts serve as reference weights; however, local growth charts might be more accurate. This study developed a tape based on 2017 Korean National Growth Charts, which are more suitable for the Korean population than WHO growth charts, and evaluated its performance in a Korean pediatric population. This prospective cross-sectional study analyzed 792 pediatric patients who had visited the emergency department from June 2021 to December 2021. Weights were estimated using the Broselow tape (BT), Pediatric Advanced Weight Prediction in the Emergency Room XL (PAWPER XL), and Body Habitus-based Pediatric Emergency Tape (BHPET). The performance and measurement agreement of the tapes were analyzed. Among the tapes, the BHPET had the smallest mean absolute percentage error (MAPE), of 10.23%, and a root mean square percentage error (RMSPE) of 14.14%. Also, the percentage of weight estimations within 10% of the actual weight (PW10) was 59.6%, indicating better accuracy than the BT and PAWPER XL in all age groups. The intraclass correlation coefficients of the BT, PAWPER XL, and BHPET were 0.931, 0.977, and 0.985, respectively (p < 0.001). The performance and accuracy of the BHPET was similar or slightly superior to that of the other tapes. The body weight estimated using the BHPET for a local pediatric population was sufficiently correlated with the actual body weight.