• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.167-177
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• 2023

Background: Pressure injuries are localized areas of damage to the skin and/or underlying tissue, usually over a bony prominence due to pressure. Cerebrovascular disease increases the risk of pressure injuries due to the immobility caused by physical paralysis. The general approach to managing a patient with pressure injuries should include pain relief, the treatment of the infection, optimizing nutritional intake, proper positioning, and contamination prevention. Nonetheless, the duration of treatment for pressure injuries varies from person to person. Case report: An 80-year-old female intracerebral hemorrhage patient developed a pressure injury. To improve the injury faster, a Radix Astragali pharmacoacupuncture solution was applied to the pressure sore. The pressure injury's width, length, and depth was assessed using a ruler, and the exudate amount and tissue types were assessed. The treatment was performed for 35 days. The rate at which the size of the pressure sore lessened increased since the Radix Astragali pharmacoacupuncture solution was applied to the pressure sore. In addition, the tissue type of the pressure injury improved, and the exudates decreased. There was no significant difference in the Pressure Ulcer Scale for Healing Tool 3.0, since the Radix Astragali pharmacoacupuncture solution was applied to the pressure injury. Conclusion: This clinical case study suggests that the Radix Astragali pharmacoacupuncture solution might be effective in speeding up the healing of pressure injuries.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.15 no.2
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• pp.239-248
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• 2001

The purpose of this study was to analyze risk factors for nosocomial pneumonia in patients admitted to NS ICU, and to provide a basic data to decrease respiratory nosocomial infection rate engendered from medical environments in NS ICU. The study site was the NS ICU at a university hospital located in Seoul, Korea. The subjects were 31 patients diagnosed with nosocomial pneumonia, who were selected from the initial list of 300 potential subjects who had been a) admitted between September 1999 and January 2000, and September 2000 and January 2001, b) resided at the NS ICU over 72 hours. The diagnostic standard of nosocomial pneumonia was based on the nosocomial infection guides of C university hospital. The data were analyzed using frequencies and logistic regression analysis. The sputums obtained from the subjects were cultivated and causal viruses were separated. The results were as follows: 1. The nosocomial pneumonia rate was $10.3\%$. There were 7 types of causal viruses separated from the sputum. and the most prevalent type of virus was MRSA as $62.2\%$. 2. The factors significantly influencing the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia included age, the residential duration at the NS ICU, GCS scores, diabetes mellitus, insertion of tracheal tube and its duration, tracheostomy and its length of insertion, the use of artificial ventilator and the length of its use, and the insertion of naso-gastic tube. The most significant risk factor among these was the insertion of tracheal tube (odds ratio=18.684. $95\%$ CI=6.849-50.974), followed by the use of tracheostomy (odds ratio=15.419, $95\%$ CI=6.615-35.942), the insertion of naso-gastric tube (odds ratio=14.875, $95\%$ CI=6.396-34.595), and the use of artificial ventilator (odds ratio=13.000. $95\%$ CI=5.633­30.001). 3. Regarding the use of the mechanical aids, the insertion of tracheal tube resulted in 12.968 times increase of the nosocomial pneumonia rate, and the use of artificial ventilator lead 6.714 times increase of the nosocomial pneumonia rate. One point increase of the GCS score resulted in the 1.210 times increase of the nosocomial pneumonia rate. For patients who had tracheal tube, tracheostomy, and artificial ventilator, one day increase of their residential duration at NS ICU lead 1.073 times increase of the nosocomial pneumonia rate. 4. In terms of duration of the mechanical aid usage, one day increase in the use of artificial ventilator engendered 1.080 times increase in the nosocomial pneumonia rate. One day increase of the residential duration at the NS ICU lead 1.604 times increase in the nosocomial pneumonia rate. As one point of the GCS score increased, 0.876 times decrease of the nosocomial pneumonia rate was reported. These study findings show that the risk factors significantly influencing the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia include the use of tracheal tube, tracheostomy, naso-gastic tube, and artificial ventilator. It is recommended that nurses working at NS ICU should pay more attention to the patients with these factors as the risky group for the nosocomial pneumonia, and thus make more active efforts to provide nosocomial pneumonia prevention strategies for them. In further studies patients admitted to the different types of ICUs such as internal medicine or surgery unit ICU will be also included, and more wide investigation of nosocomial pneumonia risk factors will be conducted through one-year longitudinal follow up.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.90-96
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• 1997

Purpose : Recently a shift in hepatitis A incidence from children to adults has been well noted. We experienced under 15-years old 31 patients who presented hepatitis A infection. In order to prepare for the prevention on hepatitis A outbreak in the future, we studied the clinical and epidemiologic manifestations of these patients. Methods : We enrolled patients from July to December in 1996 (6 months) and evaluated the monthly incidence, geographical distribution, age and sex, and clinical manfestations, including laboratory fadings. Results : Many cases of hepatitis A occured in the summer months, especially August (16/31 cases). Most of patients (87%) were living in the Seo-Ku area (northwest district of the city). In age distribution, there were no cases under 3 years of age, 3 cases from 4~5 years, 13 cases from 6~10 years, 15 cases from 11~15 years. Clinical profiles showed that dark urine, nausea and vomiting, anorexia, abdominal pain, fever, and fatigue were the common presenting symptoms. The initial presenting laboratory tests included total bilirubin 3.3mg/dl, alkaline phosphatase of 856units/L, and serum asparate aminotransferase and alanine aminolransferase levels of 910IU/L and 1239IU/L, respectively. No patient presented atypical clinical courses or complications. Conclusions : Hepatitis A in children shows benign clinical features. This study showed that the possibility of another outbreak of Hepatitis A in the TaeJon area or elsewhere in the near future Korea will be possible. To prevent an outbreak we will be concerned about the anti-HAV IgG prevalance rate in children and preventive modalities including vaccination against hepatitis A.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.191-198
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• 2014

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical manifestations, contact history, and status of tuberculosis contact investigations in school-age children and adolescents with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) at two centers. Methods: This study was conducted with 54 patients in the age ranging from 10 to 18 years, who were diagnosed with pulmonary TB at the Pusan National University Hospital and Pusan National University Children's Hospital, January 2008 to December 2012. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the patients. Results: The median age of the patients was 16 years old; 11 patients were aged 10 to 14 and 43 patients were aged 15 to 18. Among 54 patients, 19 had history of contact with pulmonary TB, 10 had contact with house members (household), and remaining 9 had contact with classmates (non-household). One out of 10 patients who had household contacts and 6 out of 9 patients who had non-household contacts were evaluated with contact investigation after the exposure to pulmonary TB. Among 7 patients who were evaluated with contact investigation, 3 were diagnosed with active pulmonary TB, 1 had latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), and 3 had no evidence of TB or LTBI. The median period of diagnosis after the exposure to active pulmonary TB was 2 years in patients with household contacts and 0.23 years in patients with non-household contacts. Conclusion: This study suggested that if the contact investigation conducted properly, it would be helpful for early diagnosis and prevention of pulmonary TB.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.6
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• pp.594-598
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• 2005

Purpose : Phimosis is the inability to retract the foreskin of the penis over the glans of the penis. Even though phimosis is not pathogenic, the presence of phimosis is known to increase the risk of urinary tract infection in infancy. The use of topical steroids has been advocated as a safe and economical alternative to surgical intervention. The purpose of the study was to assess the effectiveness of topical steroids for the treatment of phimosis in young boys. Methods : A total of 53 boys with phimosis were divided into two groups to distinguish between the efficacy of low-potency topical steroid(group 1, 27 cases) and of high-potency topical steroid (group 2, 26 cases). Results : The success rate increased in the process of time. After 6 weeks, the success rate was 21 cases in group 1 and 22 cases in group 2. There was no significant differences in treatment outcomes between the two groups. The age of the boys, the appearance of prepuce prior to treatment, and the presence of previous symptoms, including symptoms of UTI, and ballooning of the prepuce at micturation had no significant difference on treatment outcomes. Conclusion : Topical steroid was effective in treatment of phimosis in boys younger than 4 years old. Although treatment outcomes between low- and high-potency topical steroids were not significantly different, those treated with a high-potency steroid cream showed more fast improvement. Further studies are necessary to assess systemic side effects of steroid treatment, duration of treatment and prevention of genitourinary tract infection in male infants.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.736-741
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• 2008

Background: Pneumonia continues to be the most common major infection in trauma patients. Despite the advances in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for pneumonia, it remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality. The aim of this retrospective study is to identify the risk factors and clinical features of ventilator-associated pneumonia among chest trauma patients. Material and Method: The study population consisted of 78 mechanically ventilated patients admitted to the ICU of Chonnam National University Hospital between January, 2001, and December, 2006. The patients were divided into two groups: those with pneumonia (Group I) and without pneumonia (Group II). Clinical predictors of the occurrence and mortality for ventilator associated pneumonia were analyzed. Result: There were 57 men and 21 women, with a mean age of $48.3{\pm}19.9$ years. Almost half of the patients, 48.7% (38 of 78), had pneumonia. The mortality rate was 21.0% (8 of 38) in Group I and 2.5% (1 of 40) in Group II. The predictors of ventilator-associated pneumonia were the duration of mechanical ventilation (17.4 days vs 6.5 days, p<0.001), the mean stay in the ICU (21.7 days vs 9.7 days, p<0.001), the use of inotropics due to hemodynamic instability (63.1% vs 25.0%, p=0.001), and the serum level of CRP ($11.3{\pm}7.8$ vs $6.4{\pm}7.3$, p=0.006). Conclusion: Posttraumatic ventilator-associated pneumonia was significantly related with the duration of mechanical ventilation, the mean stay in ICU, and the use of inotropics due to hemodynamic instability. The serum level of CRP at admission was higher in the pneumonia group. Morbidity and mortality can be reduced by early identification of predictive factors for developing pneumonia in chest trauma patients.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.48 no.2
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• pp.93-101
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• 2012

We analyzed mupirocin resistance rates among staphylococcal isolates collected from a Korean hospital in 2003 (100 isolates), 2005 (195 isolates), 2006 (151 isolates), and 2009 (112 isolates). In Staphylococcus aureus, rates of high-level mupirocin resistance (MIC, minimal inhibitory concentration ${\geq}512{\mu}g/ml$) decreased and did not appear since 2005. In contrast, low-level mupirocin resistance (MIC $8-256{\mu}g/ml$) was not detected in 2003 and 2005 but its rates later increased to 6.9% in 2009. Total resistance rates of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) were significantly higher than those of S. aureus. The rates of high-level resistance of CNS increased from 16.0% in 2003 to 31.5% in 2009. The rate of low-level resistance of CNS was 8.0% in 2003 and around 11% later. In all high-level resistant isolates, the ileS-2 gene was detected. All low-level resistant isolates contained the known V588F mutation in ileS gene. Previously unknown mutations such as V458G in S. aureus and D172A, Y490H and I750V in CNS were identified additionally. One S. aureus isolate with high-level resistance was resistant to oxacillin and several topical antibiotics commonly used for the treatment of skin infection. Ten S. aureus isolates with low-level resistance were also resistant to all of these antibiotics except fusidic acid. CNS isolates with high-level (61 isolates) and low-level resistance (27 isolates) exhibited significantly higher resistance rates to these antibiotics than mupirocin-susceptible CNS isolates (167 isolates). In conclusion, prevention of the emergence of mupirocin resistance is necessary for the effective treatment of skin infection by staphylococci.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.190-196
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• 2010

Nowadays many people use antibiotics to protect processed foods from many pathogenic bacteria. The abuse of antibiotics, however, can run the risk of creating resistant forms of bacterium. Our study focus is on making new substances that can not only replace antibiotics but also be friendly to the environment. In our experiments, we used fermented citrus fruit, soil microbes and coenzyme Q10 as probiotics and prebiotics. Chickens in the experimental group were fed these substances via oral route while those in the control group were not. After specific time periods, blood and feces samples were collected to test for Salmonella spp.. It is interesting that fermented citrus fruit was the most effective in suppressing this bacterium. Furthermore, dissection of the experiment group chickens shows that their livers did not change to a yellow color, in contrast to the control group. The results confirmed our proposal that the chickens fed with these materials can be protected from infection by Salmonella and other pathogens. These probiotics and prebiotics are highly practical because they are natural substances that can be easily recycled in the environment. It can also be used as an animal feed ingredient because of its safety.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.49 no.4
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• pp.412-420
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• 2000

Background : There is increasing concern in many countries about the problem of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Prevalence of primary drug-resistant tuberculosis is the optimal epidemiological indicator for long term monitoring of national tuberculosis control program. Our purpose was The purpose of our study is to assess clinical characteristics and socioeconomic status of patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis. Method : We studied 68 cases with drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection diagnosed at the Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital from March, 1995 to February, 2000. Results : Patients with primary drug-resistant tuberculosis(PDR) were younger (39.6$\pm$16.3 years vs. 48.2$\pm$16.5 years ; p<0.05), had more population of less than more were under the age of 40 years aged -group(62.9% vs. 36.4% ; p<0.05) and were more highly educated than those with acquired drug-resistant tuberculosis(ADR)(38.9% vs. 11.1% ; p<0.05). In patients with ADR, the rates of familial history of tuberculosis and living in a rented house residence in a rented house were increased higher than compared with to those of patients with PDR. Patients with ADR had more involved lobes(2.0$\pm$0.8 vs. 1.4$\pm$0.7 ; p<0.01) and longer treatment duration than those with PDR(18.3$\pm$7.2 months vs. 10.6$\pm$6.3 months ; p<0.05). Patients with ADR showed larger numbers of resistant were resistant to more number of drugs, lower hospitalization rate and higher rate of self-interruption of medication than those with PDR. In patients with PDR, mono-drug resistance was increased, whereas poly- and multi-drug resistances were decreased compared with those with ADR. Resistance to isoniazid was the highest among antituberculosis drugs, and resistance to isoniazid in patients with ADR was higher than that in patients with PDR(90.9% vs. 71.4% ; p<0.05). Conclusions : Patients with ADR were more likely to include more population be of lower socioeconomic class, and patients with PDR seem seemed to be young and socially active population. For control of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection, proper isolation and prevention of patient with drug-resistant tuberculosis are needed.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.69-78
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• 1998

Purpose : The risk of severe tuberculous disease such as meningitis or miliary tuberculosis increases as younger is the child at the time of infection. Therefore, the early diagnosis and prompt treatment is mandatory for infants with tuberculosis. This study was undertaken to describe the epidemiology, clinical and radiographic manifestations, and response to therapy in infants with tuberculous disease. Methods : Medical records of 29 infants with tuberculosis diagnosed at the Seoul National University Children's Hospital from July, 1985, to April, 1997, were reviewed, retrospectively. A case of tuberculosis was confirmed if M. tuberculosis was isolated from any body site or if there was histologic proof of tuberculosis. Otherwise, the diagnoses were individualized considering history of contact with contagious adult case, clinical manifestations, chest X-ray findings, result of a Mantoux test reaction with 5 tuberculin unit of PPD, and the response to therapy. Results : The mean age at diagnosis was $7.00{\pm}2.65$ months (range, 3 to 12 months). Twelve cases had isolated pulmonary diseases, and the rest had pulmonary disease and meningitis, 5 cases; pulmonary disease and cervical lymphadenitis, 3; isolated meningitis, 3; and miliary tuberculosis, 6. Source case was identified in 19 cases, 7 of which were detected with retrograde manner. Twenty seven of 29 were symptomatic at their initial visit. The presenting symptoms were mainly respiratory or neurologic, and respiratory difficulty was accompanied in 7 cases. Physical examination revealed wheezing in 7 cases and decreased breath sounds in 9. Hepatomegaly or hepatosplenomegaly were frequent. Chest radiographs showed lung parenchymal disease with hilar lymphadenopathy in 18 cases, and focal or generalized emphysematous change in 7 cases. Conclusion : Most of the infants with tuberculosis are symptomatic at diagnosis, and many of infants with intrathoracic tuberculosis presented with symptoms of bronchial obstruction. When tuberculosis is suspected in an infant, the adult source case should be vigorously investigated to aid in diagnosis and for the prevention of further transmission of tuberculous disease. Almost half of infant tuberculosis are preventable if prophylaxis were given when adult cases were diagnosed.