• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.2
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• pp.147-152
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• 2018

This prospective study was aimed to detect acute and chronic ocular toxoplasmosis by comparison of anti-Toxoplasma gondii IgM and IgG antibody levels and IgG avidity test. One hundred and seventeen patients with ocular toxoplasmosis (OT) who referred to the Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran, Iran were included in this study. Of the patients, 77 cases were positive for anti-T. gondii IgG, and 8 cases were positive for anti-T. gondii IgM. IgG avidity test revealed 11, 4, and 102 cases were low, intermediate, and high, respectively, and 6.8% and 9.4% of cases were positive for IgM and IgG avidity tests, respectively (P=0.632). Agreement (Kappa value) between paired tests IgG-IgM, IgG-IgG avidity, and IgM-IgG avidity was 0.080, 0.099, and 0.721, respectively (P<0.05). This study showed that conventional serologic tests (IgM and IgG levels) and IgG avidity correlate well each other and can be used to differentiate recent infections from old OT. It seems that reactivated old infections rather than recently acquired infections are majority of Iranian OT patients.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.243-250
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• 2016

Purpose: We sought to examine the relationship between the clinical manifestations of nonspecific reactive hepatitis and respiratory virus infection in pediatric patients. Methods: Patients admitted to the pediatric unit of Konyang University Hospital for lower respiratory tract disease between January 1, 2014 and December 31, 2014 and who underwent reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction tests were examined. The patients were divided into those with increased levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) or aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and those with normal ALT or AST levels. Further, patients with increased ALT and AST levels were individually compared with patients in the normal group, and the blood test results were compared according to the type of respiratory virus. Results: Patients with increased ALT or AST levels had one more day of hospital stay, on average, compared with patients in the normal group ($5.3{\pm}3.1$ days vs. $4.4{\pm}3.0$ days, p=0.019). Patients in the increased ALT level group were younger and had a longer mean hospital stay, compared with patients in the normal group (p=0.022 and 0.003, respectively). The incidences of increased ALT or AST were the highest in adenovirus infections (6/24, 25.0%), followed by enterovirus (2/11, 18.2%) and respiratory syncytial virus A (21/131, 16.0%) infections. Conclusion: Nonspecific reactive hepatitis is more common among patients with adenovirus, enterovirus and respiratory syncytial virus infection, as well as among those infected at a younger age. Compared with AST levels, ALT levels are better indicators of the severity of nonspecific reactive hepatitis.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.101-106
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• 2017

Purpose: The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence and microbiological characteristics of urinary tract infection in infants aged younger three months and to compare with other infection with positive urine culture. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 425 infants with a tympanic temperature >$37.6^{\circ}C$, aged younger than three months, who were admitted to Cheil General Hospital in Seoul, Korea, from January 2013 to December 2016. Demographic and clinical features, laboratory findings, respiratory virus PCR and the pathogens of a urine culture were analyzed. Results: A total of 88 infants (63 males, 25 females) had urinary pathogens detected in the urine culture test. The incidence of UTI in febrile infants aged younger 3 months was 11%. The most common pathogen which causes UTI was E. coli as same as in previous studies. They were divided into a UTI group (n=48) and a non-UTI group (n=40). In comparison of both group, leukocytosis, C-reactive protein level, Absolute neutrophil count level, peak temperature is statistically significant. In both group, there were co-infections with viral pathogens in some cases, and the odd ratio of non-UTI group with viral infection was 3.28. Conclusion: The study determined the incidence and pathogen of UTI in febrile infants, aged younger three months. E. coli was responsible for the majority UTI. There were some viral co-infections in febrile infants with bacteriuria and incidence was higher in non-UTI group. WBC count, ANC count and CRP level were the differentiating factors of UTI from non-UTI group.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.728-733
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• 2005

To elucidate the question of whether biofilm formed by the intercellular adhesion (ica) gene cluster has influences on antibiotic resistance in Staphylococcus epidermidis, we compared 124 skin strains with strains isolated from 50 blood cultures that cause septicemic diseases. The results revealed that the blood culture isolates were more resistant to the antibiotics tested than the saprophytic isolates. Moreover, antibiotic multiresistance was more prevalent in the clinical isolates. In the blood culture isolates, $46\%$ of the strains were resistant to three or more antibiotics, whereas only $12\%$ of the saprophytic isolates were resistant to three or more antibiotics. Interestingly, these characteristics were highly correlated with the biofilm formed by the ica gene cluster. In biofilm-producing strains, $84\%$ of the blood culture isolates and $44\%$ of the saprophytic isolates were antibiotic multiresistant, whereas only $22\%=;and\;9\%$, respectively, were antibiotic multiresistant in biofilm-nonproducing strains. Additionally, in the biofilm-producing ica-positive strains, $89\%$ of the blood culture isolates and $57\%$ of the saprophytic isolates were antibiotic multiresistant. However, the rate of the antibiotic multiresistance in the ica-negative strains was very low, thus indicating that the biofim formed by the lea gene cluster in S. epidermidis is an important pathogenic factor in association with the antibiotic multiresistance.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.482-490
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• 2018

Candida albicans infections are often problematic to treat owing to antifungal resistance, as such infections are mostly associated with biofilms. The ability of C. albicans to switch from a budding yeast to filamentous hyphae and to adhere to host cells or various surfaces supports biofilm formation. Previously, the ethanol extract from Paeonia lactiflora was reported to inhibit cell wall synthesis and cause depolarization and permeabilization of the cell membrane in C. albicans. In this study, the P. lactiflora extract was found to significantly reduce the initial stage of C. albicans biofilms from 12 clinical isolates by 38.4%. Thus, to assess the action mechanism, the effect of the P. lactiflora extract on the adhesion of C. albicans cells to polystyrene and germ tube formation was investigated using a microscopic analysis. The density of the adherent cells was diminished following incubation with the P. lactiflora extract in an acidic medium. Additionally, the P. lactiflora-treated C. albicans cells were mostly composed of less virulent pseudohyphae, and ruptured debris was found in the serum-containing medium. A quantitative real-time PCR analysis indicated that P. lactiflora downregulated the expression of C. albicans hypha-specific genes: ALS3 by 65% (p = 0.004), ECE1 by 34.9% (p = 0.001), HWP1 by 29.2% (p = 0.002), and SAP1 by 37.5% (p = 0.001), matching the microscopic analysis of the P. lactiflora action on biofilm formation. Therefore, the current findings demonstrate that the P. lactiflora ethanol extract is effective in inhibiting C. albicans biofilms in vitro, suggesting its therapeutic potential for the treatment of biofilm-associated infections.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.58 no.4
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• pp.129-135
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• 2015

Purpose: This study investigated the long-term clinical outcomes of patients with $p22^{phox}$-deficient chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) on Jeju Island and retrospectively evaluated the effects of interferon-gamma (IFN-${\gamma}$) prophylaxis. Methods: The medical records of 15 patients with CGD were retrospectively reviewed. The efficacy of IFN-${\gamma}$ prophylaxis was evaluated by comparing the frequency of severe infections before and after starting continuous prophylaxis with IFN-${\gamma}$. Results: At the time of the analysis, 14 patients were alive, with a median age of 14.3 years. The diagnosis of CGD was made at a median age of 2.4 years, and the median age at onset of severe infection was 0.3 years. Thirteen of the 15 patients had their first severe infection within the first year of life. The overall incidence of severe infection was 1.36 infections per patient-year; pneumonia, suppurative lymphadenitis, and skin and subcutaneous abscesses were the most common infections. Aspergillus species were the most frequently isolated microorganisms, present in 15.8% of isolates. IFN-${\gamma}$ did not significantly change the rate of severe infection. The survival rate for patients after 2 years of age was 93%; there was a prolonged survival plateau beyond the age of 2. Conclusion: Compared with cases of X-linked CGD reported in other studies, patients with CGD on Jeju Island did not show obviously different clinical manifestations, but they had a significantly higher survival rate. Further studies with a substantially longer period of observation, and with more patients under intensive surveillance are necessary to elucidate the prophylactic efficiency of IFN-${\gamma}$.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Service
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• v.32 no.3
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• pp.189-200
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• 2009

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a subsequent infection of PCV2 on piglets with PEDV. In clinical signs, the signs observed in dual-infected with PEDV and PCV2 piglets and alone infected with PEDV piglets ranged from diarrhoea to vomiting and dehydration. Dual-infected piglets developed signs of anorexia, vomiting and watery diarrhoea within 12 hpi. Nevertheless alone -infected piglets caused pasty diarrhea at first. In mortality, dual infections showed 25%, but alone -infections showed 8.3%, respectively. In gross findings, piglets dual-infected with PEDV and PCV2 appeared the severe findings of congestion, distension of lumen, milder curdes of undigested milk in stomach than those of single-infected piglets. In histopathological findings, piglets of dual-infection group appeared the more severe findings of villous atrophy and fusion, congesion, exfoliation, vacuolation, squamation, loss of cilia and proliferation of crypt. Significant (P<0.05) decrease in VH:CD ratio in dually infected piglets compared to piglets from alone-PEDV infections. In immunohistochemical findings, strong hybridization signals in dual-infected piglets observed moderate to severe villous atrophy or vacuolation with positive cells arranged continuously over the villi. In the lumen, exfoliated enterocytes were strongly positive in dual-infected piglets. A number of PEDV-positive cells in dual-infected pigs were significantly higher than that in alone PEDV-infected piglets.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing Administration
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.64-76
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• 2015

Purpose: To implement evidence-based nursing, it is important to know where and how to find the best available evidence. This study was conducted to identify the results of a search from Ovid MEDLINE and to compare the results from Ovid MEDLINE with those from PubMed MEDLINE. Methods: Four different approaches via Ovid MEDLINE were used to search for guidelines on preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infections. Outcomes of this study were the number of records and relevant literature, and the sensitivity and precision of the search methods via Ovid MEDLINE. Results: The number of retrieved items ranged 23 to 6,005 and that of relevant studies, 5 to 8 of 8. Simple searches resulted in the highest sensitivity of 100.0%. When using MeSH terms and limits feature, the precision was highest (21.7%) among four approaches for literature searches. Simple searches in Ovid had higher sensitivity and lower precision than those in PubMed. Conclusion: Simple searches in Ovid may be inefficient for busy clinicians compared to PubMed. However, to ensure a comprehensive and systematic literature search, using Ovid MEDLINE in addition to PubMed is recommended.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.175-181
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• 2013

Objectives: This retrospective study was performed to evaluate the clinical impact of diabetes mellitus on the prognosis in secondary space infection. Materials and Methods: Medical records, radiographic images, computed tomography, and microbial studies of 51 patients (25 diabetic patients and 26 non-diabetic patients) were reviewed. Patients were diagnosed as secondary fascial space infections with odontogenic origin and underwent treatment at Chonnam National University Hospital, in Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, from January 2007 to February 2009. Results: Compared to patients without diabetes, patients with diabetes were presented with the following characteristics: older age (diabetic patients: 62.9 years, non-diabetic patients, 47.8 years), more spaces involved (diabetic patients, 60%; non-diabetic patients, 27.3%), more intense treatment, longer hospitalization (diabetic patients, 28.9 days; non-diabetic patients, 15.4 days), higher white blood cell and C-reactive protein values, higher incidence of complication (diabetic patients, 40%; non-diabetic patients, 7.7%), and distinctive main causative microorganisms. Conclusion: These results suggest that the prognosis of diabetic patients is poorer than that of non-diabetic patients in secondary space infections since they had greater incidence rates of involved spaces, abnormal hematologic findings, more complications, and additional procedures, such as tracheostomy.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.15 no.10
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• pp.315-326
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• 2017

This purpose of this study was to identify factors influencing performance about practice of infections management by child care center teachers about respiratory tract infection. The participant were 432 teachers working in child care center. Data were collected from July 2 to August 20, 2015 through a self-report questionnaire survey. The data was analyzed using the SPSS/WIN 18.0 program with descriptive analysis, t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficient and Stepwise multiple regression analysis. Knowledge about causes and symptom of respiratory tract infections(${\beta}=.096$, p<.001),parenting experience(${\beta}=-1.993$, p<.001), and nursing knowledge(${\beta}=-.371$, p<.001) had significant positive effects on the practice of infection management. Explained variance for the practice of infection management was 43.4% and nursing knowledge was the most significant factor in the practice of infection management of child care center teachers.