• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.194-202
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• 1999

Background : Group B ${\beta}$-hemolytic Streptococcus(GBS) has been the major pathogen of neonatal sepsis in western country. In contrast, GBS has played little role in neonatal sepsis in Korea. But recently, neonatal GBS infections are encountered more frequently. It is important to characterize the clinical and epidemiological features of GBS infection in Korean children. Methods: We reviewed retrospectively the medical records of twenty-seven infants and children with GBS infection experienced at the Seoul National University Children's Hospital during 14 year-period from June, 1985 to June, 1999. Fourteen strains isolated from blood and cerebrospinal fluid were serotyped. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of 10 strains were determined by agar dilution method for penicillin, ampicillin, ampicillin with sulbactam, cefarolin, cefuroxime, and cefuiaxone. Results: The numbers of cases with GBS infection increased in 1990s. Among twenty seven cases, twenty-five cases were under three months of age and both of two cases with underlying disease occurred at three years of age. All neonatal infections were late-onset type and meningitis predominated. Serotypes were III(6 strain), Ib(4), Ia(l) and V(2). All of the strain were susceptible to all of the antibiotics tested. Conclusion: GBS infections in infants were increasingly recognized. GBS should be considered as an etiological agent of neonatal sepsis or meningitis in Korea. Maternal screening and prophylactic antibiotic therapy may be considered.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.447-455
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• 2021

Vivax malaria incidence in Korea is now decreased and showing a low plateau. Nowadays, vivax malaria in Korea is expected to be successfully eliminated with anti-malaria chemotherapy, primaquine, and vector control. The glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is associated with potential hemolytic anemia after primaquine administration. This inborn disorder has a pivotal polymorphism with genetic variants and is the most prevalent X-chromosome-linked disorder. The prevalence of G6PD deficiency was previously reported negligible in Korea. As the population of multicultural families pertaining marriage immigrants and their adolescents increases, it is necessary to check G6PD deficiency for them prior to primaquine treatment for vivax malaria. The prevalence of G6PD variants and G6PD deficiency in multicultural families was performed in 7 counties and 2 cities of Jeollanam-do (Province), Gyeonggi-do, and Gangwon-do. A total of 733 blood samples of multicultural family participants were subjected to test the phenotypic and genetic G6PD deficiency status using G6PD enzyme activity quantitation kit and PCR-based G6PD genotyping kit. The G6PD phenotypic deficiency was observed in 7.8% of male adolescent participants and 3.2% of materfamilias population. Based on the PCR-based genotyping, we observed total 35 participants carrying the mutated alleles. It is proposed that primaquine prescription should seriously be considered prior to malaria treatment.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.87-92
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• 2016

Porcine edema disease (ED) is a communicable disease of pigs caused by infection with Shiga toxin (Stx)-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) which expresses F18 fimbriae and/or Stx type 2e (Stx2e). While STEC causes a severe illness including hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome in humans, it induces damage to the vascular endothelium, which results in edema, hemorrhage, and microthrombosis, leading in high mortality in pigs. In the present study, we cultured Stx2e-producing E. coli field isolates from conventional pig farms that experienced sudden deaths previously with symptoms similar to porcine edema disease, which were further investigated with Shiga toxin profiles. A total of 43 strains were identified from the collected samples by F18 or Stx2e specific PCR. Based on the PCR, 42 isolates out of 43 isolates were proved to carry one of F18 or Stx2e genes and 14 isolates to carry both F18 and Stx2e genes. All of the 30 isolates that harbored Stx2e gene induced the cytopathic effect (CPE) in vero cells and especially, the isolate 150229 produced the highest level of Shiga toxin. Therefore, we identified the virulence genes (F18 and Stx2e) and demonstrated Shiga toxin-producing abilities from porcine edema disease causing E. coli filed isolates. These results suggested that one of the isolates could be a vaccine antigen candidate against STEC through further investigating to elicit an immune response.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.405-410
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• 2018

Pseudomonas tolaasii strain No. 6264 has been isolated from mushroom tissue and identified as one of the major pathogen causing brown blotch disease. It secretes peptide toxins, known as tolaasin and its analogue peptides. P. tolaasii 6264 has been used as a typical pathogenic strain to study the brown blotch disease for last 20 years after confirming its blotch-forming ability, hemolytic activity, and white line formation. In this study, the characteristics of P. tolaasii 6264 strain were analyzed and compared according to storage period. Strains of P. tolaasii 6264 stored annually since 2012 were cultured and their pathogenic characters were analyzed. When the 16S rRNA sequences were compared, all strains were divided into two groups. Pathogenic characters including hemolytic activity, blotch-forming ability, and white line test were also investigated. The strains, P. tolaasii 6264-15-2 and P. tolaasii 6264-17, had all three activities; however, the rest of stored strains showed only blotch-forming ability losing other pathogenic characters. Tolaasin peptides were purified from the bacterial cultures and analyzed by mass spectrometry. The strains, P. tolaasii 6264-15-2 and P. tolaasii 6264-17, secreted Tol I (1987 Da), Tol II (1943 Da), and its analogues (1973 Da, 2005 Da) while some of these peptides were not found in the media cultured other strains. These results indicate that the pathogenicity of P. tolaasii could be varied during the storage period.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.184-189
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• 2015

Poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN) is one of the most well-known and important infectious renal diseases resulting from a prior infection with group A ${\beta}$-hemolytic streptococcus. The typical clinical characteristics of the disease reflect acute onset with gross hematuria, edema, hypertension and moderate proteinuria after the antecedent streptococcal infection. In children, usually PSGN is healed spontaneously but if it combines with fast progressing glomerulonephritis, it would be developed to chronic renal failure. Therefore, it is important to make a fast diagnosis and treatment by simple tools to predict the course and the prognosis of disease. Sonography is a simple tool for diagnosis but there is no typical renal sonographic finding in PSGN, so it is difficult to predict the course and the prognosis of disease by sonographic findings. In comparison between two cases of renal sonographic findings in PSGN, a patient who showed more increased echogenicity in more extended area of renal sonography had the severe results of renal pathology, prolonged treatment period and low serum C3 level. Here, we report the different findings of renal sonography and pathology depending on the degree of severity between two patients. Thus, it is necessary to gather more information from further studies to make a consensus about the relationship between the renal sonography and the prognosis of disease in PSGN.

• Annals of Laboratory Medicine
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.599-603
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• 2018

Frequencies of red blood cell (RBC) blood group antigens differ by ethnicity. Since the number of immigrants is increasing in Korea, RBC antigens should be assessed in children/youths with parents of different ethnicities to ensure safe transfusions. We investigated the frequency of RBC antigens, except for ABO and RhD, in 382 children and youths with parents having Korean and non-Korean ethnicities. Subjects were divided into those with ethnically Korean parents (Korean group; N=252) and those with at least one parent of non-Korean ethnicity (non-Korean group; N=130). The 37 RBC antigens were genotyped using the ID CORE XT system (Progenika Biopharma-Grifols, Bizkaia, Spain). The frequencies of the Rh (E, C, e, $hr^S$, and $hr^B$), Duffy ($Fy^a$), MNS ($Mi^a$), and Cartwright ($Yt^b$) antigens differed significantly between the two groups. Eight and 11 subjects in the Korean and non-Korean groups, respectively, exhibited negative expression of high-frequency antigens, whereas 14 subjects in the non-Korean group showed positive expression of low-frequency antigens. The frequency of RBC antigens has altered alongside demographic changes in Korea and might lead to changes in distribution of RBC antibodies that cause acute or delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.266-269
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• 2010

Gilbert's syndrome is caused by a reduction in the activity of uridine diphosphate glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) and induces chronic, non-hemolytic unconjugated hyperbilirubinemia. It has been suggested that 3-10% of the population has Gilbert's syndrome. Commonly, Gilbert's syndrome causes mild symptoms. However, a case of Gilbert's syndrome with severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia is presented here. The patient developed jaundice three days after birth. Five days after birth, the patient's total serum bilirubin level was 34 mg/dL. The patient received intensive phototherapy and was given oral phenobarbital. Hemolytic hyperbilirubinemia was excluded on the basis of laboratory tests. Heterozygote polymorphisms of the promoter region (-3279T>G) and exon 1 (211G>A) were found in UGT1A1 gene. After discharge, the patient did not require any further treatment. This is the first case of proven Gilbert's syndrome with severe neonatal hyperbilirubinemia in Korea.

• The Korean Journal of Food And Nutrition
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.213-218
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• 2014

The enterotoxin production and antimicrobial susceptibility on hemolytic strains from stools of diarrheal pigs was investigated in this study. Through morphological observation, gyrB nucleotide sequence, and API kit analysis, the selected potential pathogenic strain BY06 was identified as Bacillus cereus. Because the characteristic of enterotoxin symptoms were widely caused by Bacillus cereus strains, a PCR test was carried out in order to check the enterotoxin genes (hblA) in this strain. According to the results, this strain was an enterotoxin positive strain containing the hblA gene. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of 10 different antimicrobial agents were screened by the agar dilution test, indicating that this strain was resistant to penicillin G and intermediate to erythromycin; however, it susceptible to cephalothin, vancomycin, clindamycin, fusidic acid, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline and rifampin. These results suggest that the B. cereus BY06 isolated from pig feces has a potential risk of producing enterotoxin and is resistant to penicillin G, but susceptible to various antimicrobial agents.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.25 no.7
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• pp.693-701
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• 1992

Extracorporeal cardiopulmonary bypass[CPB] has been associated with a wide variety of hematologic derangements, including a transient deformation and hemolysis of red blood cells[RBCs], which is supposed to be due to mechanical trauma and/or metabolic alterations. Since membrane integrity is, in part, maintained by energy requiring process, inadequate function of erythrocyte glycolytic pathway, which is inevitalble during CPB, may cause depletion of high energy phosphate pool and result in hemolysis. The authors performed an investigation to assess whether administration of Fructose-l, 6-diphsphate [FDP], which has been known to enhance intracellular glycolytic activities, could counteract erythrocyte hemolytic events caused by CPB. Sixty pateints with cyanotic congenital heart diseases, who underwent open heart surgery under CPB longer than 60 minutes, were randomly divided into two groups depending on whether use of FDP[Group FDP] or not[Group Control]. The age, sex, CPB time, preoperative hemoglobin level, disease entities were all similar[Table 1], and membrane type oxygenators were used in all patients. In Group, FDP, a dose of 250mg/kg body weight of FDP was administered by intravenous dripping every 12 hours from the morning of the operation to postoperative 48 hours, To demonstrate the degree and pattern of hemolysis of erythrocyte, reticulocyte count, indirect /direct bilirubin, haptoglobin, plasma hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase were measured every 12 hours from the time of cessation of CPB to 48 hours and RBC morphologic study, osmotic fragility test were done every 24 hours. All parameters revealed less hemolytic in group FDP [Fig. 1~5], though the differences between two groups were not significant, except plasma hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase changes. A pattern of sequential changes of plasma hemoglobin, lactate deh-ydrogenase showed the highest level at the time of CPB stop and abrupt decrease in following 24 hours in both groups, and statistically significant differences were demonstrated in group FDP at least for the first 12 hours postoperatively[p<0.05]. The authors conclude that they can expect the benificial effect of FDP on the maintenance of membrane stability of RBC probably by energy enhancement during the shock status of CPB, but FDP could not completely prevent the damaging effect on RBC by cardiopulmonary bypass

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.156-158
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• 2013

Thoracic extramedullary hematopoiesis (EMH) is a rare disease entity that is usually associated with hematologic disorders, such as myelodysplastic or hemolytic disease. Because thoracic EMH is usually encountered as a mass during radiologic examinations, it should be differentiated from posterior mediastinal neurogenic tumors. Here, the authors report a case of EMH associated with hereditary spherocytosis. The patient underwent a complete excision by thoracoscopic surgery to differentiate it from other mediastinal tumors.