• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.81 no.3
• /
• pp.175-186
• /
• 2018

Pneumonia is an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Since 2014, the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) has assessed the overall quality of care among hospitalized adult patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) provided by all medical institutions in Korea. A committee of the Korea Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases developed the hospital inpatient quality measures set for CAP consisting of eight core measures and five monitoring measures. The composite measure score was calculated. The medical records of hospitalized adult patients ages 18 years or more with CAP from October to December 2014 were evaluated. The data of 523 hospitals (42 tertiary hospitals [8.0%], 256 general hospitals [49%], and 225 hospitals [43.0%]) and 15,432 cases (tertiary hospitals, 1,673 cases [10.8%]; general hospitals, 8,803 cases [57.1%]; hospitals, 4,956 cases [32.1%]) were analyzed. We found large variations among institutions in terms of performance of care measures for CAP. For the composite measure score, the mean value was 66.7 (tertiary hospitals, 98.5; general hospitals, 79.2; hospitals, 43.8). Despite significant differences in measure scores between tertiary, general hospitals and hospitals, no significant differences were found in mortality between hospitals. Further studies are needed to determine the care measures appropriate for CAP.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
• /
• v.36 no.5
• /
• pp.491-499
• /
• 2003

Selenium is a strong antioxidant trace mineral, scavenging free radicals. The prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases is increasing in Korean adults with increasing age. The increased cell damage from free radicals has been implicated in the etiology of these diseases, and evidence is accumulating that the low selenium status that comes with advanced aged is involved in the prevalence of age-associated diseases. However, little is known about the selenium status of Koreans, its age-related change and its relationship to dietary nutrient intake. In this study, the serum selenium levels of healthy adult females according to life cycle and its association with blood albumin levels and nutrient intake were examined. Serum selenium level was measured with the Huwo research reactor using the neutron activation analysis method (NAA). The overall proportion of women with selenium deficiency, serum selenium concentrations below 7.0 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dl, was 9.4%. The average serum selenium levels were 12.39 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dl, 9.45 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dl and 9.16 $\mu\textrm{g}$/dl in the young adult, middle-aged and elderly groups, respectively, showing a reduction of selenium status with advancing age. Selenium deficiency was seen only in the elderly group. Generally, serum selenium levels positively or negatively correlated with nutrient intake, but these association patterns differed depending on the age. The nutrients that showed positive correlations with selenium levels were proteins and phosphate in the young adult group (p < 0.05, p < 0.05), and total calcium, potassium and vegetable-origin calcium in the middle-aged group. Vitamin C and fiber were the negative correlated nutrients with serum selenium levels in the elderly group (p < 0.05, p < 0.05). Multiple stepwise regression analysis of the determining factors responsible for selenium status showed that age and serum albumin levels were important factors which explained up to 26.9% variances in serum selenium levels. The average selenium concentrations of Korean adult female subjects were above the deficiency levels in all three age groups. There was a tendency toward decreasing selenium levels as the age of the subjects increased. The factors with the strongest in-fluence on selenium status in healthy adult Korean females were age and serum protein status. (Korean J Nutrition 36(5): 491~499, 2003)

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• v.25 no.5
• /
• pp.406-412
• /
• 2022

Purpose: The role of endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in the management of hepatobiliary and pancreatic diseases in the pediatric population was not well defined until recently. Our aim was to determine the feasibility, outcomes, and safety of ERCP in a local pediatric population, particularly using standard adult endoscopes and accessories. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at the National Hospital of Sri Lanka. Pediatric patients (aged <16 years) who underwent ERCP from January 2015 to December 2020 were included in the study. Data, including patient demographics, indications for the procedure, technical details, and associated complications, were collected from the internal database and patient records maintained at the hospital. Results: The study included 62 patients who underwent a total of 98 ERCP procedures. All the procedures were performed by adult gastroenterologists using standard adult endoscopes and accessories. The mean age was 11.01±3.47 years. Pancreatic diseases were the major indications for most of the procedures (n=81, 82.7%), with chronic pancreatitis being the most common. Seventeen procedures (17.3%) were carried out for biliary diseases. Overall cannulation and technical success rates were 87.8% and 85.7%, respectively. Stent placement was the most common therapeutic intervention (n=66; 67.4%). Post-ERCP pancreatitis was the most common complication, occurring in eight patients (8.2%). Conclusion: ERCP can be successfully and safely performed in pediatric populations using standard adult endoscopes and accessories with complications similar to those of adults. Adult ERCP services can be offered to most pediatric patients without additional costs of pediatric endoscopes and accessories.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.73 no.2
• /
• pp.122-126
• /
• 2012

Plastic bronchitis is a rare disease characterized by marked airway obstruction, via the formation of large gelatinous or rigid airway cast. In Korea, there were a few case reports with plastic bronchitis not in adults, but in children. So we report a case of an adult who was diagnosed as plastic bronchitis with eosinophilic casts, with no history of atopic and cardiac disease.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.59 no.1
• /
• pp.47-53
• /
• 2021

Echinostoma mekongi was reported as a new species in 2020 based on specimens collected from humans in Kratie and Takeo Province, Cambodia. In the present study, its metacercarial stage has been discovered in Filopaludina martensi cambodjensis snails purchased from a local market nearby the Tonle Sap Lake, Pursat Province, Cambodia. The metacercariae were fed orally to an experimental hamster, and adult flukes were recovered at day 20 post-infection. They were morphologically examined using light and scanning electron microscopes and molecularly analyzed by sequencing of their mitochondrial cox1 and nad1 genes. A total of 115 metacercariae (1-8 per snail) were detected in 60 (60.0%) out of 100 Filopaludina snails examined. The metacercariae were round, 174 ㎛ in average diameter (163-190 ㎛ in range), having a thin cyst wall, a head collar armed with 37 collar spines, and characteristic excretory granules. The adult flukes were elongated, ventrally curved, 7.3 (6.4-8.2)×1.4 (1.1-1.7) mm in size, and equipped with 37 collar spines on the head collar (dorsal spines in 2 alternating rows), being consistent with E. mekongi. In phylogenetic analyses, the adult flukes showed 99.0-100% homology based on cox1 sequences and 98.9-99.7% homology based on nad1 sequences with E. mekongi. The results evidenced that F. martensi cambodjensis snails act as the second intermediate host of E. mekongi, and hamsters can be used as a suitable experimental definitive host. As local people favor to eat undercooked snails, these snails seem to be an important source of human infection with E. mekongi in Cambodia.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.287-295
• /
• 2002

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess social support, mood, and commitment to a plan for exercise of Korean adults with chronic diseases. Further, the relationships between social support, mood, and commitment to a plan for exercise were assessed. Method: The participants in this study were 230 Korean adults over 18 years of age with chronic diseases who were recruited in hospitals or health centers. The instruments used in this study were Exercise Social Support Scale, POMS (Profile of Mood States), and Commitment to a Plan for Exercise Scale. Result: The results of descriptive analysis showed that Korean adults with chronic diseases were perceived with relatively low commitment to a plan for exercise while they were perceived with moderate social support and mood states. Pearson's correlation coefficient showed significant relationship between these three variables. Stepwise regression indicated that 37% of the variance in commitment to a plan for exercise was explained by social support and vigor factor of the POMS. Conclusion: Health professionals can use this information for planning a targeted strategy to increase regular exercise among Korean adults with chronic diseases in order to improve their quality of life and control disease-related symptoms.

• BMB Reports
• /
• v.42 no.5
• /
• pp.239-244
• /
• 2009

New neurons are continually generated in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus and in the subventricular zone of the lateral ventricles of the adult brain. These neurons proliferate, differentiate, and become integrated into neuronal circuits, but how they are involved in brain function remains unknown. A deficit of adult hippocampal neurogenesis leads to defective spatial learning and memory, and the hippocampi in neuropsychiatric diseases show altered neurogenic patterns. Adult hippocampal neurogenesis is not only affected by external stimuli but also regulated by internal growth factors including BDNF, VEGF and IGF-1. These factors are implicated in a broad spectrum of pathophysiological changes in the human brain. Elucidation of the roles of such neurotropic factors should provide insight into how adult hippocampal neurogenesis is related to psychiatric disease and synaptic plasticity.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.296-301
• /
• 2011

This meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the difference of the therapeutic effi cacy and adverse effects of leukotriene receptor antagonist and theophylline added to inhaled corticosteroids in adult asthma. Databases were searched for studies published through Nov, 2010. Randomized-controlled trials containing inhaled corticosteroids plus leukotriene receptor antagonist and inhaled corticosteroids plus sustained-release theophylline for asthma therapy were selected. For each report, data were extracted to the outcomes analyzed: mean change in morning peak expiratory flow, mean change in evening peak expiratory flow, mean change in morning forced expiratory volume in 1 sec, mean change in daily short bete2-agonist use, asthma exacerbation and adverse effects. Four assessable trials including 182 asthmatic patients were identified. Inhaled corticosteroids plus leukotriene receptor antagonist was superior to inhaled corticosteroids plus theophylline therapy in improving morning peak expiratory flow in asthmatics (mean difference 19.08 [95% confidence interval 13.37-23.79] l/min, p<0.001) and morning forced expiratory volume in 1 sec in asthmatics (mean difference 0.09 [95% confidence interval 0.03-0.14] liter, p=0.001). In evening peak expiratory flow, daily short bete2-agonist use, asthma exacerbation and adverse effects, there was no significant difference between these two therapies (All p>0.05). Our meta-analysis showed that the combination of inhaled corticosteroids plus leukotriene receptor antagonist resulted in more improvement in both peak expiratory flow and forced expiratory volume in 1 sec in the morning than inhaled corticosteroids plus sustained-release theophylline in adult asthmatics. Further trials are necessary to evaluate the dominant effects of the former combination.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.58 no.3
• /
• pp.291-294
• /
• 2005

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Toxicology Conference
• /
• 2003.05a
• /
• pp.23-24
• /
• 2003

Oxidative stress is the hallmark of various inflammatory lung diseases/disorders such as asthma, adult respiratory distress syndrome, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, pneumonia, lung transplantation, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis, bronchiectasis, lung cancer and various occupational diseases. (omitted)