• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.30 no.2
• /
• pp.73-83
• /
• 2023

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the viral load dynamics in children with underlying malignancies diagnosed with symptomatic coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods: This was a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of patients <19 years old with underlying hemato-oncologic malignancies that were diagnosed with their first symptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-confirmed COVID-19 infection during March 1 to August 30, 2022. Review of electronic medical records and telephone surveys were undertaken to assess the clinical presentations and transmission route of the patients. Thresholds of negligible likelihood of infectious virus was defined as E gene reverse transcription (RT)-PCR cycle threshold (Ct) value ≥25. Results: During the 6-month study period, a total of 43 children with 44 episodes of COVID-19 were included. Of the 44 episodes, the median age of the patients included was 8 years old (interquartile range [IQR], 4.9-10.5), and the most common underlying disease was acute lymphoid leukemia (n=30, 68.2%), followed by patients post-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (n=8, 18.2%). Majority of the patients had mild COVID-19 (n=32, 72.7%), and three patients (7.0%) had severe/critical COVID-19. Furthermore, 2.3% (n=1) died of COVID-19 associated acute respiratory distress syndrome. The largest percentage of the patients showed E gene RT-PCR Ct value ≥25 between 15-21 days (n=13, 39.4%), followed by 22-28 days (n=10, 30.3%). In 15.2% (n=5), E gene RT-PCR Ct value remained <25 beyond 28 days after initial positive PCR. Refractory malignancy status (β, 67.0; 95% confidence interval, 7.0-17.0; P=0.030) was significantly associated with prolonged duration of E gene RT-PCR <25. A patient with prolonged duration of E gene RT-PCR Ct value <25 was suspected to have infectivity shown by the transmission of the virus to his mother at day 86 after his initial positive test. Conclusions: Children that acquire symptomatic COVID-19 during refractory malignancy state are at a high risk for prolonged shedding warranting PCR-based transmission precautions in this cohort of patients.

• Proceedings of the KAIS Fall Conference
• /
• 2009.05a
• /
• pp.599-602
• /
• 2009

본 연구는 2006년 3월부터 2007년 2월까지 일개 대학병원에서 출생한 고위험군 신생아 121명을 대상으로 청각선별검사인 자동화 유발이음향방사와 확진검사인 청성뇌유발전위검사를 실시하여 임상양상과 청각장애 발생률, 검사소요 시간에 대해 조사하였다. 결과는 다음과 같다. 1. 청각장애발생률은 전체 고위험군 신생아 121명 중 5명의 신생아가 난청으로 조기에 진단되었다. 2. 난청으로 확진 받은 신생아 5명의 관련 질병을 살펴보면 고빌리루빈혈증 2명, 저체중 1명, 구개열 1명, 다운증후군 1명이었다. 3. 난청으로 확진 받은 신생아 5명의 청력손실정도는 양측 고도난청 1명(70dB), 양측 중도난청 2명(55dB), 편측성 난청 2명으로 나타났다. 4. 검사소요 시간은 선별검사인 유발이음향방사 검사를 실시하는 데 소요된 총 시간의 평균은 $107.5{\pm}65.2$초였고, 확진검사인 청성뇌유발전위 검사를 실시하는 데 소요된 총 시간의 평균은 $1,500{\pm}90.1$초가 소요되었다. 5. 연구를 진행하는 도중 11명의 고위험군 신생아가 이사, 연락처 변경, 경제적 사정으로 추적검사에 참여하지 않았다. 신생아 난청은 다른 질병에 비해 발병률이 높은 선천성 질환으로서 모든 신생아를 대상으로 청각검사를 실시하여 난청의 조기진단에 대한 선별검사의 정착이 필요하다고 생각된다.

• Neonatal Medicine
• /
• v.18 no.2
• /
• pp.374-378
• /
• 2011

Noonan syndrome is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by typical facial features, congenital heart disease, and short stature. Diagnosis is difficult only with clinical symptoms and it is recently confirmed with gene study. The genotype-phenotype correlations have been reported. We report a newborn with KRAS gene mutation. This is the second report of case with KRAS gene mutation in Korea. So we hope this case will be a help to diagnosis and treatment of Noonan syndrome from birth.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.94-101
• /
• 2024

Purpose: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has posed a significant burden to infant and toddler's care globally, while the disease severity is generally mild in this age group. In this study, we aimed to assess epidemiological and clinical aspects of COVID-19 in infants and toddlers in Seoul, South Korea. Methods: We used Seoul Metropolitan Government's epidemiological investigation database to describe the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in infants and toddlers, between March 2020 to December 2021. Results: A total of 5,025 infants and toddlers aged <5 years was diagnosed between the observed period. 2,720 (54.1%) had symptoms, and fever was the most common symptom in 1,941 (74.1%). Of the diagnosed cases, 96.4% did not have underlying diseases. In a district level, extended opening of childcare facility was associated with increased risk of COVID-19 in infants and toddlers. Conclusions: An efficient monitoring system, resembling routine clinical care, is crucial, considering the low rates of severe progression and fatality among infants and toddlers. Moreover, a well-grounded intervention based on scientific evidence, rather than unconditional closures, is necessary to establish a suitable childcare policy that ensures safety from infectious diseases while not overlooking the developmental aspects of social skills.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2017

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the perception and emotional experiences in rare and intractable diseases for caregivers of pediatric patients with mitochondrial diseases in order to provide therapeutic interventions for patients, caregivers, and families. Methods: A total of 83 caregivers of pediatric patients with mitochondrial diseases were recruited from the pediatric mitochondrial disease clinics of the Gangnam Severance Hospital in South Korea. Participants completed the survey about their perception of mitochondrial disease and emotional experiences after the diagnosis, and these clinical data were analyzed accordingly. Results: Surveys from a total of 83 caregivers of patients were analyzed, and the patients' age ranged from 6 to 12 years (33%), followed by ages 1 to 6 years (30%). Children with mitochondrial diseases were between 0 and 0.5 years of age at the time of first symptom onset (43%), and the duration of illness lasted more than 10 years in most cases (42%). Prior to diagnosis of mitochondrial diseases, the amount of awareness the caregivers had was 'Not at all' for both rare and intractable diseases and mitochondrial diseases in 44 cases and 68 cases, respectively. For the caregivers' emotional experiences, the most common initial responses were 'Discouraged/despair', 'Helpless/lethargic', and 'Disconcerted'. 'Anxious', 'Committed to treatment', and 'Responsibility as family members' were the most common emotional responses from the caregivers, followed by 'Disconcerted' and 'Helpless/lethargic'. Conclusion: It is important to consider the level of perception and emotional experiences of caregivers and patients with rare and intractable mitochondrial diseases for planning treatment programs.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.40 no.5
• /
• pp.509-518
• /
• 1993

Background: By amplifying small amount of DNA, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) can be used for the detection of very small amount of microbial agent, and may be especially useful in certain cases which are difficult to be diagnosed microbiologically or serologically. Tuberculous pleurisy is a disease that can be diagnosed in only 70% of cases by conventional diagnostic tools, and PCR would be a very rapid, easy, and sensitive diagnostic method. Method: The specificity and sensitivity of PCR to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA were evaluated using various strains of Mycobacteria. To evaluate the diagnostic usefulness of PCR in tuberculous pleurisy, we used PCR to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA in pleural fluid. The amplification target was 123 base pair DNA, a part of IS6110 fragment, 10~16 copies of which are known to exist per genome. The diagnostic yield of PCR was compared with conventional methods, including pleural fluid adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity. Also, the significance of PCR in undiagnosed pleural effusion was evaluated prospectively with antituberculosis treatment. Results: 1) Using cultured Mycobacterium tuberculosis and other strains, PCR could detect upto 1 fg DNA and specific for only Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis. 2) Using pleural effusions of proven tuberculosis cases, the sensitivity of PCR was 80.0% (16/20), and the specificity 95.0% (19/20). 3) Among 13 undiagnosed, but suspected tuberculous effusion, the positive rate was 60% in 10 improved cases after antituberculosis medications, and 0% in 3 cases of proven malignancy later. 4) Adenosine deaminase level of proven and clinically diagnosed tuberculous pleurisy patients was significantly higher than that of excluded patients, and correlated well with PCR results. Conclusion: We can conclude that PCR detection of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in pleural effusion has acceptable sensitivity and specificity, and could be an additional diagnostic tool for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy.

• KOREAN POULTRY JOURNAL
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.222-223
• /
• 2021

• Proceedings of the KOR-BRONCHOESO Conference
• /
• 1991.06a
• /
• pp.44-44
• /
• 1991

선친성 경부 종양은 표재성, 무통성 종물로 임상적으로는 이차적 감염후 발견되는 경우가 많다. 이학적 검사 및 경부초음파 검사로 임상적 진단은 용이하나 확진을 위해서는 수술후 조직병리검사가 필수적이다. 저자들은 최근 2년간에 서울중앙병원에서 경부 종물을 주소로 내원하여 수술후 조직병리검사로 확진된 47례에 대해 후향적 조사를 실시하여 다음과 같은 결론을 얻었기에 문헌적 고찰과 함께 보고하는 바이다. 1)총 47례중 갑상설 낭종이 가장 많은 빈도를 차지하였고(31, 9%) 새성낭종(25.5%), 낭포성 히그로마(21.3%), 유표피낭포(14.9%), 혈관종(6.4% )순이었다. 2)성별 분포는 남녀간의 큰 차이 없었다. (남46.8%, 여 53.2%) 3)연령별 분포는 20대 이하에서 가장 많은 빈도를 보였다. (63.9%) 4)위치별 분포는 경부중앙(42.6%), 우측경부(38.3%), 좌측경부(19.1%)를 보였다. 5)주된 증상은 경부종물을 주소로 내원한 경우가 대부분이었으며, 증상의 기간은 1년 미만이(53.2%) 가장 많았다.

• The Korean Journal of Applied Statistics
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.435-443
• /
• 2022

In this paper, using Covid-19 diagnostic data provided by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), we examine the probability of confirmed cases and the probability of actually being confirmed when the rapid test is negative according to the sensitivity and specificity of the rapid diagnostic kit. When we know the conditional probability of confirmation given a positive test, we induce the relationship between sensitivity and specificity, and compute the actual sensitivity of the rapid diagnosis kit based on the data of KDCA.

• Monthly Duck's Village
• /
• s.210
• /
• pp.12-19
• /
• 2020

사육제한, 일명 휴지기제로 오리사육 자체를 포기하며 조류인플루엔자(AI)로부터 오리와 산업을 지켜온 오리업계가 결국 AI의 습격을 이겨내지 못했다. 11월 28일 전북 정읍소재 육용오리 농장에서 고병원성 AI(H5N8형)가 확진됐다. 이어 12월 1일 상주 산란계 농장에서, 12월 5일 전남 영암군 육용 오리 농장에서 고병원성 AI 확진이 났다. 전국 철새 도래지에서 채취한 야생조류 시료에 대한 중간검사 결과 H5·H7형 AI 항원이 다수 검출 되는 등 전국이 AI 공포에서 벗어날 수 없는 상황이다. AI는 현재 진행형일지, 어디에서 멈출지 아직 아무도 모른다. 확실한 것은 오리농가가 망연자실해서는 안 된다는 사실이다. 도끼를 갈아 바늘을 만든다는 '마부작침'의 자세로 꾸준히 노력해 AI로부터 벗어나기 위한 노력이 시작돼야 할 때다.