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Background/Aims In serological tests for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (GENEDIA®) and a solid-phase, two-step chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay (IMMULITE®), which are easy to perform, inexpensive, and widely available, are commonly used. However, local validation of the test performance of IMMULITE® is required. This study aimed to examine the performance of IMMULITE® in comparison with that of GENEDIA® in a Korean health checkup population. Materials and Methods The sera of 300 subjects among those who underwent health checkup were analyzed using IMMULITE®, and results were compared with those of GENEDIA®. The two serological tests were compared for their ability to predict atrophic gastritis (AG) or intestinal metaplasia (IM) on endoscopy. Results We found significant correlation (Pearson correlation coefficient=0.903, P

Background/Aims: The aim of this study was to analyze the trend of the prevalences of atrophic gastritis (AG) and intestinal metaplasia (IM) from 2011 to 2016∼2017 in Korea. And, the risk factors of AG and IM were compared between 2011 and 2016∼2017. Materials and Methods: A total of 4,023 subjects in 2011 and 2,506 subjects in 2016∼2017 were enrolled. AG and IM were diagnosed on the basis of endoscopic findings. Multivariate analysis was performed for risk factors of AG and IM. Seventeen factors were analyzed. Results: The seroprevalence of Helicobacter pylori decreased from 2011 (59.8%; 2,407/4,023) to 2016∼2017 (51.6%; 1,293/2,506; P＜ 0.001). The prevalence of AG decreased from 2011 to 2016∼2017 (P=0.018), but that of IM increased (P＜ 0.001). The risk factors of AG in 2011 were male sex, old age, H. pylori immuoglobulin G (IgG) positivity, family history of gastric cancer (GC), and high-salt diet. For IM in 2011, the risk factors were male sex, old age, H. pylori IgG positivity, and family history of GC. Risk factors of AG in 2016∼2017 were old age, H. pylori IgG positivity, and country of residence. For IM in 2016∼2017, the risk factors were male sex, old age, family history of GC, high fasting glucose level (≥126 mg/dL), H. pylori IgG positivity, and low income level. Conclusions: The difference in prevalence trends of AG and IM between 2016∼2017 and 2011 could be the result of the different risk factors of AG and IM, such as decreased prevalence of H. pylori infection.

Gastric cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Because the gastric cancer-related mortality rate is expected to increase, chemo-preventive strategies for gastric cancer are required. Statins inhibit 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase, the enzyme involved in the rate-limiting step in cholesterol synthesis. Several studies have shown that statins have potential protective effects against gastric cancer; however, other studies have reported contradictory results. Therefore, further studies are needed to clarify the role of statins in the chemoprevention of gastric cancer.

Background/Aims: Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is an extraesophageal manifestation of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Endoscopic assessment of LPR is needed for convenient diagnosis and documentation of treatment efficacy. The aim of this study was to investigate the interrater reliability of LPR among endoscopists based on endoscopic laryngeal images. Materials and Methods: Nineteen endoscopists participated in this study. Before the test, they completed an intensive education program by an otorhinolaryngologist on the reflux finding score (RFS), which is a validated laryngoscopic assessment of LPR. A total of 100 endoscopic laryngeal images were used for 3 tests of RFS. Cohen’s and Fleiss’ kappa coefficients were used to determine the degree of interrater agreement in the diagnosis of LPR. Results: In the first test, the mean of Cohen’s kappa coefficients for LPR diagnosis between the otorhinolaryngologist and each of the 19 endoscopists was 0.3. In the second test, after additional education, the mean kappa value was 0.32. Fleiss’ kappa coefficients for diagnosis of LPR among the 19 endoscopists in the first and second tests were 0.30 and 0.26, respectively. Conclusions: A short-term education program for endoscopists did not result in an improvement of accuracy in the diagnosis of LPR. Further studies using advanced educational programs for endoscopists are required.

Background/Aims: Current production of knowledge and distribution of data is frequently mediated by social media in the form of unstructured text data rather than classical newspaper or journal format. Management of Helicobacter pylori infection is an important issue in Korea. However, there has been no study on the characteristics of information regarding H. pylori consumed and distributed in the social media by general population. Materials and Methods: This study evaluated characteristics of social media data regarding H. pylori in Korea using semantic network analysis with Textom and NodeXL Pro (2015.8.11∼2016.8.11, Naver, Daum, Youtube, and Twitter searching). Results: Total collected data in the Textom analysis about '헬리코박터' was 10,061. TF-IDF (term frequency × inverse document frequency) was as follows: ‘위암’, ‘위’, ‘감염’, ‘윌’, ‘균’, ‘치료’, ‘위궤양’, ‘원인’, ‘프로젝트’, ‘음식’, ‘세균’, ‘검사’, ‘예방’, ‘증상’, ‘건강’, ‘약’, ‘효과’. In the Twitter analysis, 96 nodes and 120 edges, and 86 unique edges were detected, suggesting low distribution of data. Misinformed data such as ‘헬리코박터-파이로리’, ‘라는-바이러스때문에’, ‘헬리코박터-프로젝트’, ‘위궤양이나-위’, ‘점막-출혈을’, ‘비롯하여-각종’, ‘부종을-억제하고’, ‘치료하는데-효과가’, ‘있습니다-또한’, ‘장티푸스-이질’, ‘등-전염성’, ‘세균이나-장’, ‘속의-세균들을’, ‘억제하는-효과가’, ‘프로젝트-윌’ were found. The most viewed movie in the Youtube analysis was ‘한국야쿠르트 헬리코박터 프로젝트 윌 그 한입을 경계하라_15초’ (210,577). Conclusions: Relative insufficiency, low distribution, and some misinformed data were found in some part of social media. Participation of healthcare professional is warranted to solve these issues.