• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.153-155
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• 2004

Primary infection of the larynx with aspergillus spp. with immunocompetent patient is extremely rare, few cases have been reported in the literature. It is more commonly seen as a part of a wider infection involving the respiratory system in immunocompromised patients. We present one case of primary laryngeal aspergillosis without any other airway tract extension and without any generalized immune deficit in a 69 year-old woman with history of hoarseness. Direct laryngoscopy and biopsy confirmed the diagnosis of aspergillosis.

• Journal of Korean Foot and Ankle Society
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.39-43
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• 2011

Non-tuberculous mycobacterium has a wide-spread occurrence in nature, and skin, soft tissue, bone, lung and disseminated infection can be involved. Non-tuberculous mycobacterium infection occurs both in immunocompetent patients without underlying diseases and in immunocompromised hosts. Non-tuberculous mycobactrial osteomyelitis is a rare cause of granulomatous osteomyelitis, and has been previously reported in the sternum, spine, humerus, femur, tibia or metatarsal. Mycobacterium abscessus osteomyelitis is a very rare infection in the foot and only 1 case has been reported. Authors report a case of Mycobacterium abscessus osteomyelitis involving the tarsal and metatarsal bones in a non-immunocompromized middle aged women.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.53 no.5
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• pp.666-668
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• 2010

Pyogenic liver abscesses are rare in children. In pediatric patients, altered host defences seem to play an important role. However, pyogenic liver abscess also occurs in healthy children. We experienced a case of pyogenic liver abscess in a healthy immunocompetent 10-year-old-girl. The patient presented two distinct abscesses: one subphrenic and the other intrahepatic. The intrahepatic abscess resolved with percutaneous drainage and 3 weeks of parenteral antibiotic therapy but the subphrenic abscess which could not be drained needed prolonged parenteral antibiotic therapy in addition to oral antibiotic therapy. We performed follow-up serial CT scan of the abscess cavity to decide on the duration of antibiotic therapy. Here we present this case with a brief review of the literature.

• Journal of Clinical Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.264-268
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• 2018

Chronic invasive fungal sinusitis (CIFS) is a relatively rare disease which occurs in immunocompetent or immunocompromised patients. We report a case of CIFS in ethmoid sinus with concurrent fungal ball in maxillary sinus. After surgical debridement and antifungal therapy, CIFS recurred with submucosal invasion in nasopharynx and osteomyelitis of clivus. Although CIFS encompasses a slowly progressing invasive fungal disease but potentially aggressive. It should be noted that CIFS could progress and extend through submucosal route without evidence of mucosal lesion.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.79 no.2
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• pp.74-84
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• 2016

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are emerging pathogens that affect both immunocompromised and immunocompetent patients. The incidence and prevalence of NTM lung disease are increasing worldwide and rapidly becoming a major public health problem. For the diagnosis of NTM lung disease, patients suspected to have NTM lung disease are required to meet all clinical and microbiologic criteria. The development of molecular methods allows the characterization of new species and NTM identification at a subspecies level. Even after the identification of NTM species from respiratory specimens, clinicians should consider the clinical significance of such findings. Besides the limited options, treatment is lengthy and varies by species, and therefore a challenge. Treatment may be complicated by potential toxicity with discouraging outcomes. The decision to start treatment for NTM lung disease is not easy and requires careful individualized analysis of risks and benefits. Clinicians should be alert to those unique aspects of NTM lung disease concerning diagnosis with advanced molecular methods and treatment with limited options. Current recommendations and recent advances for diagnosis and treatment of NTM lung disease are summarized in this article.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.123-126
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• 2009

Cryptococcosis is a subacute or chronic inflammation that's caused by infection from cryptococcus neoformans in the soil or dust that's contaminated by pigeon droppings. Pulmonary cryptococcosis occurs in immunocompromised patients, and particularly in HIV positive patients, but it rarely occurs in immunocompetent individuals. It is most often detected as asymptomatic single or multiple nodules that are found by chest X-ray examination. In these situations, the diagnosis for most cases is made by the histology of the resected lesion. We report here on a case of solitary nodular pulmonary cryptococcosis that occurred in a 32 years old female patient who underwent thyroidectomy for treating her thyroid cancer.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.620-627
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• 2000

To determine the prevalence of genetic polymorphisms in Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) strains in the Korean population, the restriction site polymorphisms for BamHI and XhoI enzymes were analyzed with 16 EBV isolates from cancer patients and 7 EBV isolates from healthy carriers, using polymerase chain reaction techniques. None of the 23 isolates were found to carry an extra BamHI site in the BamHI F-fragment (f-variant). Of the 12 type-1 isolates from the cancer patients, 10 lost both the LMP1 XhoI site and the BamHI site between the BamHi W1* and I1* fragments (a W1*I1* fusion variant or type C). The latter W1*I1* fusion variant was due to a mutation of thymidine to adenine, as evidenced by a sequence analysis. The remaining two type-1 isolates showed either no variation at both sites or the loss of only the XhoI site. In contrast, two type-2 isolates and two intertypic recombinants with a type-1 allele at the EBNA2 locus and type-2 alleles at all or some of the EBNA3 loci retained both enzyme sites. In similar analyses of the 7 isolates from the healthy carriers, five of six type-1 isolates lost these two sites, however, one type-2 isolate did not. These results clearly indicate a strong association of both the LMP1 XhoI site loss and the W1*I1* fusion variant with the type-1 rather than the type-2 EBV strains circulating in the immunocompetent Korean carriers.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.210-213
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• 2005

Acute viral meningitis and myositis are rare complications of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) reactivation. A 71-years-old immunocompetent man, who presented with lower back pain radiating to the left lower extremities, developed vesicles on the L5 dermatomal area. The next day, he had complained of aberrant vesicles on the trunk, face and scalp, with generalized myalgia, headache and dizziness. He was confirmed with VZV meningitis and myositis, as demonstrated by the presence of VZV DNA in the blood and cerebral spinal fluid using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. PCR has been used in patients with a VZV infection associated neurological symptoms, and provides a useful tool for the early diagnosis of VZV-associated neurological disease. The patient was treated with bed rest, with intravenous acyclovir for the VZV infection, and intravenous Patient-controlled Analgesia for pain management and the prevention of postherpetic neuralgia. When he visited the outpatient department 3 months later, the skin lesion, leg pain, headache and myalgia had all improved, without sequelae. Here, this case is reported, with a discussion of the relevant literature on its diagnosis and management.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.65 no.5
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• pp.400-404
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• 2008

Aspergillus tracheobronchitis (ATB), a variant of invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, is characterized by extensive tracheobronchitis and pseudomembrane formation. ATB usually occurs in immunocompromised patients with a high fatality rate. We report a case of ATB in a previously healthy patient who responded well to antifungal therapy.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.3
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• pp.353-355
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• 2013

There are approximately 20 known species of the genus Cryptosporidium, and among these, 8 infect immunocompetent or immunocompromised humans. C. hominis and C. parvum most commonly infect humans. Differentiating between them is important for evaluating potential sources of infection. We report here the development of a simple and accurate real-time PCR-based restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method to distinguish between C. parvum and C. hominis. Using the CP2 gene as the target, we found that both Cryptosporidium species yielded 224 bp products. In the subsequent RFLP method using TaqI, 2 bands (99 and 125 bp) specific to C. hominis were detected. Using this method, we detected C. hominis infection in 1 of 21 patients with diarrhea, suggesting that this method could facilitate the detection of C. hominis infections.