Kosin Medical Journal

Original articles

A single-center analysis of guideline-directed medical therapy in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction according to current heart failure guidelines: Bong-Joon Kim, Suhyun Bae, Soo-Jin Kim, Sung-Il Im, Jung-Ho Heo; Kosin Med J. 2025;40(4):280-289. Published online December 26, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7180/kmj.25.124

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Background
Recent landmark trials have shown that several pharmacologic therapies improve outcomes in patients with heart failure with mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFmrEF) and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), leading to updates in heart failure (HF) management guidelines. However, real-world adherence to guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) in these populations remains uncertain. This study evaluated GDMT prescription patterns in patients with HFmrEF or HFpEF based on the 2022 Korean Heart Failure Society guidelines.
Methods
This single-center observational study included patients newly diagnosed with HF between January and December 2023, identified using International Classification of Diseases codes. Patients without recent echocardiographic or N-terminal pro–brain natriuretic peptide data, those with reduced ejection fraction, or those with end-stage renal disease were excluded. Electronic medical records were reviewed to assess GDMT prescription rates.
Results
Among 615 patients (mean age, 68.9 years; 52.4% female), 568 had HFpEF and 47 had HFmrEF. Common comorbidities included hypertension (75.5%), diabetes mellitus (50.9%), ischemic heart disease (43.7%), and chronic kidney disease (22.6%). Overall prescription rates were 73.3% for renin–angiotensin system inhibitors, 83.7% for beta-blockers, 41.1% for mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRAs), and 42.9% for sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is). SGLT2i use was significantly higher in patients with diabetes than in those without (71.6% vs. 13.2%; p<0.001). Angiotensin receptor–neprilysin inhibitors and MRAs were more frequently prescribed in HFmrEF than HFpEF. Beta-blocker use was lower in patients aged ≥75 years.
Conclusions
A substantial gap persists between guideline recommendations and real-world GDMT use in patients with HFmrEF and HFpEF, particularly for SGLT2is. Multicenter studies are warranted to further characterize and address this treatment gap.

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Bridging the gap between guidelines and real-world practice for heart failure with mildly reduced or preserved ejection fraction
Hidenori Yaku
Kosin Medical Journal.2025; 40(4): 239. CrossRef

Early effects of PCSK9 inhibitors: evolocumab versus alirocumab: Su-Hyun Bae, Bong-Joon Kim, Soo-Jin Kim, Sung-Il Im, Hyun-Su Kim, Jung-Ho Heo; Kosin Med J. 2025;40(1):49-54. Published online March 27, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7180/kmj.24.145

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Background
The significance of risk modification in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is well recognized; however, the optimal timing for adminstering PCSK9 inhibitors remains unclear. Additionally, the lipid-lowering efficacy of evolocumab and alirocumab has not been fully established. This study evaluated the lipid-lowering effects of these two PCSK9 inhibitors.
Methods
Patients diagnosed with ACS, including unstable angina, ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, who were treated with a PCSK9 inhibitor (evolocumab or alirocumab) during hospitalization for ACS between 2021 and 2023 were retrospectively analyzed. Baseline low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were assessed, and changes in LDL-C levels during the acute and subacute phases after PCSK9 inhibitor administration were compared between the evolocumab and alirocumab groups.
Results
Among 80 patients diagnosed with ACS, 36 received evolocumab, while 44 were treated with alirocumab. The mean baseline LDL-C level was 123 mg/dL in the evolocumab group and 128 mg/dL in the alirocumab group (p=0.456). In the subacute phase, the mean follow-up LDL-C levels were 47.05 mg/dL in the evolocumab group and 49.5 mg/dL in the alirocumab group (p=0.585). The mean percentage reduction in LDL-C levels during the subacute phase was 60.41% in the evolocumab group and 58.51% in the alirocumab group (p=0.431). These differences were not statistically significant.
Conclusions
No significant differences were observed between evolocumab and alirocumab. LDL-C levels exhibited a similar trend, characterized by a rapid decline in the acute phase, followed by a slight rebound in the subacute phase.

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Efficacy and safety of proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 inhibitors for adults with familial hypercholesterolemia: A network meta-analysis
Weiwei Ding, Lingyao Sun, Yun Shi, Lei Tian
International Journal of Cardiology Cardiovascular Risk and Prevention.2026; 28: 200568. CrossRef

Troponin I and D-dimer levels as triaging biomarkers to distinguish acute pulmonary thromboembolism from myocardial infarction: Soo-Jin Kim, Moo Hyun Kim, Kwang Min Lee, Jin Woo Lee, Young Shin Cha, Da Eun Koh, Joo Yeong Hwang, Jong Sung Park; Kosin Med J. 2023;38(4):252-258. Published online December 20, 2023; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7180/kmj.23.133

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Background
Acute pulmonary thromboembolism (APTE) is often confused with myocardial infarction. Previous studies have shown that patients with APTE exhibit lower initial and peak cardiac troponin I (CTI) levels, but higher D-dimer (DD) levels, than patients with myocardial infarction. The present study aimed to reaffirm the tree model algorithm using an entirely new set of data.
Methods
We reviewed retrospective clinical and laboratory data from patients who were diagnosed with APTE or non-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) between 2015 and 2016. Subjects who were not classified with a diagnosis or did not have their CTI or DD levels assessed were excluded. We categorized patients according to the previous algorithm and compared the outcomes with the previous test dataset.
Results
The analysis involved data from 156 patients with APTE and 363 patients with NSTEMI. In the validation data set, the APTE group showed higher initial DD levels (9.80±10.84 μg/mL) and lower initial CTI levels (0.17±0.54 μg/mL) than the NSTEMI group. The accuracy rate for the test dataset and the validation set were similar. The test set accuracy rate was 91.0%, while the accuracy rate in the validation set improved to 88.6%.
Conclusions
Patients with APTE exhibited lower initial and peak CTI levels, but higher DD levels than NSTEMI patients. The accuracy rate estimates were similar between the test set obtained from the tree model algorithm and the validation set. The study findings demonstrate that the assessment of cardiac biomarkers can be useful for differentiating between APTE and NSTEMI.

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The old biomarkers you know are still useful: D-dimer and troponin I
Sanghyun Lee
Kosin Medical Journal.2023; 38(4): 229. CrossRef

Case report

Disseminated Staphylococcus aureus infection and acute bacterial pericarditis: a case report: Su Hyun Bae, Song-Hyun Lee, Joon-Young Choi, Bong-Joon Kim, Soo-Jin Kim, Sung-Il Im, Hyun-Su Kim, Jung-Ho Heo; Kosin Med J. 2023;38(2):134-137. Published online August 16, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7180/kmj.22.021

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We experienced a case of disseminated Staphylococcus aureus infection with bacterial pericarditis that progressed to septic shock and multiorgan failure despite pericardiocentesis and surgical removal of the original abscess with intensive antibiotic therapy. We report this case because of the patient’s very rare and remarkable echocardiographic findings and highly turbid pericardial effusion.

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Case Report: Acute methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus pericarditis in a diabetic patient
Daniel J. Lim, Richard Lu, Edwin C. Y. Sng, Felix M. Uy, Wei L. Huang, Siang C. Chai, Anthony Yii, Ing X. Soo, Jenn N. Khoo, X. Ruan
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine.2025;[Epub] CrossRef

Original article

Comparison of the radiation dose between dual-acquisition coronary computed tomography angiography and coronary angiography for coronary spasm: Soo-Jin Kim, Moo Hyun Kim, Eun-Ju Kang; Kosin Med J. 2022;37(1):46-51. Published online March 16, 2022; DOI: https://doi.org/10.7180/kmj.21.035

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Abstract PDF PubReader ePub: Background
Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is an imaging technique that can be used to evaluate and diagnose coronary artery stenosis. Dual-acquisition CCTA (DA-CCTA) with additional nitrate infusion is a promising alternative noninvasive diagnostic tool, as conventional CCTA has limitations in the diagnosis of variant angina compared to conventional angiographic coronary spasm tests. However, DA-CCTA may pose a potential risk due to radiation exposure. We compared the radiation dose between DA-CCTA and the coronary angiographic spasm provocation test.
Methods
Patients with clinically suspected variant angina at a single hospital between March 2013 and October 2018 were screened and underwent DA-CCTA or a coronary angiographic spasm provocation test. The effective radiation dose required for each approach was compared.
Results
In total, 211 suspected variant angina patients underwent DA-CCTA or the coronary angiographic spasm provocation test. Of these, 49 patients (mean age, 59.8 years; 67.3% men) received DA-CCTA and 162 patients (mean age, 60.5 years; 66.2% men) received a coronary angiographic spasm provocation test. There was a significant difference in the effective radiation dose, with a median dose of 5.1 mSv (interquartile range [IQR], 4.1–9.2 mSv) required for DA-CCTA and a median dose of 10.9 mSv (IQR, 8.4–15.2 mSv) for the coronary angiographic spasm provocation test (p<0.001).
Conclusion
DA-CCTA showed a significantly lower effective radiation dose than the coronary angiographic spasm provocation test required to diagnose variant angina.

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