• 기본간호학회지
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.22-32
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• 2018

Purpose: The study was done to examine hemodialysis unit nurses' knowledge on blood-borne infections, compliance and barriers to control and predictors of compliance. Methods: A descriptive correlational study was conducted with 122 nurses from hemodialysis units. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. The data collection period was May to September, 2017. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression. Results: The mean score for knowledge on blood-borne infections was $15.41{\pm}2.01$ out of 19 and the compliance with blood-borne infection control was $4.08{\pm}0.49$ out of 5. Barriers to the performance of blood-borne infections control were lack of time and personal protective devices. Knowledge on blood-borne infection did not correlate with compliance on blood-borne infection control (r=.13, p=.171). Predictors of compliance on blood-borne infections control were 1) infection control education on injuries caused by injection needles (${\beta}=.23$, p=.010), 2) infection control room (${\beta}=.24$, p=.006) and 3) blood exposure experience over the past week (${\beta}=-.24$, p=.005) and explained 22.2% of the variance (F=10.81, p<.001). Conclusion: Findings suggest that to improve the performance of blood-borne infectious disease management, customized education for nurses on blood-borne infection and systematic support related to the infection control room should be given priority.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• 제34권2호
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• pp.182-190
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• 2017

Background: Respiratory viruses play a significant role in the etiology of acute respiratory infections and exacerbation of chronic respiratory illnesses. This study was conducted to identify the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of children with acute viral lower respiratory infections. Methods: This study investigated 1,168 children diagnosed with acute viral lower respiratory tract infections (RTIs) between January 2012 and December 2014. Specimens of respiratory viruses were collected using a nasopharyngeal swab and analyzed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records and analyzed the clinical features of children hospitalized for acute lower respiratory infections. Results: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the main cause of infection in children aged <5 years, was the most commonly detected pathogen in children with bronchiolitis and pneumonia, and resulted in high proportions of children requiring oxygen treatment and intensive care unit admission. Rhinovirus was preceded by RSV as the second most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia, and was detected most frequently in the children aged ${\geq}6$ years. In addition, asthma was predominantly caused by rhinovirus in children aged ${\geq}6$ years, whereas croup was mostly caused by parainfluenza virus in those aged <5 years. Rhinovirus infection (p<0.001) and history of asthma (p=0.049) were identified as significant risk factors for readmission within a month. Conclusion: We identified the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of respiratory viruses in children with acute lower respiratory infections during the last 3 years. Our findings may provide useful clinical insight to comprehend the acute viral lower RTIs in children.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제20권10호
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• pp.1457-1462
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• 2010

Three types of serotypically atypical Shigella flexneri isolates were collected between 2007 and 2008 from Korean patients at the Korea National Institute of Health (NIH). These atypical isolates were characterized and compared with serologically typical S. flexneri. The first grouping of 11 atypical isolates displayed agglutination only with polyB antiserum and exhibited no reaction with any typing or grouping sera (PolyB:un). The second group of 3 isolates displayed reactions with typing sera IV, but also did not bind with any grouping sera (IV:un). The third group of 14 isolates exhibited a plural agglutination pattern, reacting with typing sera II, and two grouping sera (II:(3)4,7(8)). Amongst these atypical isolates, isolates belonging to IV:un and II:(3)4,7(8) exhibited greater antibiotic resistance, in particular to ampicillin, streptomycin, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, than typical S. flexneri strains. Furthermore, all II:(3)4,7(8) strains harbored integrons. This study suggests that these multiple antibiotic-resistant atypical S. flexneri are new subserotypes of S. flexneri that await further serological classification.

• Journal of Korean Dental Science
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• 제7권2호
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• pp.94-98
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• 2014

Numerous oral and maxillofacial surgeons have found facial space infections after tooth extraction. Most of these infections can be managed easily, but some of them could be life-threatening. Among the facial infections, temporal space infections are rare. Most temporal space infections could be observed as secondary to maxillary third molar infections, maxillary sinusitis, and maxillary sinus fractures. Note, however, that there are insufficient studies on temporal space abscess due to mandibular second molars, especially with acupuncture. A 74-year-old female came to our hospital with severe trismus and facial swelling on the right temporal, buccal, posterior auricular, and cervical regions. The patient had undergone extraction of tooth #47 secondary to dental caries by a general dentist about a month ago. After the dental procedure, the patient had been treated with acupuncture therapy around the right temporomandibular joint area at the oriental medicine clinic. We performed emergency incision and drainage under general anesthesia and started antibiotic treatment with IV ampicillin/sulbactam 3 g every 24 hours and vancomycin 1 g every 24 hours for 5 days. The patient's symptoms subsided and ultimately disappeared. Temporal space abscess after mandibular molar extraction is quite rare. In this case, the spreading mechanism against gravity is considered to be acupuncture therapy.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제57권3호
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• pp.233-242
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• 2019

Detailed description of malaria in low transmission areas is crucial for elimination. The current study aimed to provide a comprehensive description for malaria transmission in Jazan, a low transmission district, southwestern Saudi Arabia. Patients at a tertiary care hospital were recruited in our study between August 2016 and September 2018. Malaria diagnosis was performed through a species-specific nested polymerase chain reaction (nested PCR), microscopy and Paramax-$3^{TM}$ rapid detection test (RDT). Malaria was detected in 30 patients by the PCR, with point prevalence of 10.9%. Of these malaria infections, 80% was imported, 26.6% was asymptomatic and 23.3% was sub-microscopic. Malaria was reported throughout the year, with February/March and September/October peaks. Infection was significantly more in males than in females (P=0.01). Likewise, infections were detected more in febrile than in non-febrile patients (P=0.01). Adult aged 15-24 years, fever and travel were identified as high-risk factors. Malaria was primarily attributed to Plasmodium falciparum mono-infections, followed by P. vivax mono-infections and lastly to falciparum/vivax mixed infections accounting 76.6%, 16.6%, and 6.6% of PCR-confirmed malaria cases, respectively. The nested PCR was superior to the smear microscopy (sensitivity 76.6%; specificity 100%) and the RDT (sensitivity 83.3%, specificity 94.2%). The overall percent agreement between microscopy and the RDT was 92.7% (kappa=0.63). High proportion of imported malaria including sub-microscopic and sub-patent cases were described. We suggest that incorporation of molecular tool into the conventional malaria diagnosis is beneficial in Jazan district.

• 가정간호학회지
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.321-329
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• 2020

Purpose: This study was conducted to assess the factors that affect the confidence of nurses at small and medium-sized hospitals in the control of infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms and to establish basic data for the interventional strategy to improve the nurses' execution of the control of infection caused by multidrug-resistant organisms. Methods: A total of 154 nurses working at four small and medium-sized hospitals situated in City C were selected as participants of this study. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire and analyzed using the IBM SPSS 21.0 software. Results: Confidence in controlling infections caused by multdrug-resistant organisms had a positive correlation with the level of knowledge of this control and the health beliefs of the nurses. Factors that affect nurses' confidence in controlling infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms included perceived benefits (β=.431, p<.001) and knowledge (β=.354, p<.001) with an explanatory power of 36.4%. Conclusion: It was found that the nurses have higher confidence in executing their duties with higher perceived benefits of and knowledge about the control of infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms. As such, it is deemed necessary to establish strategies to elevate the advantages of and knowledge about infection prevention activities at the time of training/education on controlling infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• 제47권3호
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• pp.197-208
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• 2021

Objectives: The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the variables associated with length of stay (LOS), hospital costs, intensive care unit (ICU) use, and treatment outcomes in patients hospitalized for maxillofacial infections at a tertiary medical center in South Korea. Materials and Methods: A retrospective chart review was conducted for patients admitted for treatment of maxillofacial infections at Dankook University Hospital from January 1, 2011 through September 30, 2020. A total of 390 patient charts were reviewed and included in the final statistical analyses. Results: Average LOS and hospital bill per patient of this study was 11.47 days, and ₩4,710,017.25 ($4,216.67), respectively. Of the 390 subjects, 97.3% were discharged routinely following complete recovery, 1.0% expired following treatment, and 0.8% were transferred to another hospital. In multivariate linear regression analyses to determine variables associated with LOS, admission year, infection side, Flynn score, deep neck infection, cardiovascular disease, admission C-reactive protein (CRP) and glucose levels, number and length of surgical interventions, tracheostomy, time elapsed from admission to first surgery, and length of ICU stay accounted for 85.8% of the variation. With regard to the total hospital bill, significantly associated variables were age, type of insurance, Flynn score, number of comorbidities, admission CRP, white blood cell, and glucose levels, admission temperature, peak temperature, surgical intervention, the length, type, and location of surgery, tracheostomy, time elapsed from admission to first surgery, and length of ICU use, which accounted for 90.4% of the variation. Age and ICU use were the only variables significantly associated with unfavorable discharge outcomes in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: For successful and cost-effective management of maxillofacial infections, clinicians to be vigilant about the decision to admit patients with maxillofacial infections, perform appropriate surgery at an adequate time, and admit them to the ICU.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제60권5호
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• pp.317-325
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• 2022

Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1α) is one of the master regulators of immune and metabolic cellular functions. HIF-1α, a transcriptional factor whose activity is closely related to oxygen levels, is a target for understanding infectious disease control. Several studies have demonstrated that HIF-1α plays an important role during the infectious process, while its role in relation to parasite virulence has not been addressed. In this work, we studied the expression levels of HIF-1α and related angiogenic vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF-A) in human macrophages infected with promastigotes of hypo- or hyper-virulent Leishmania major human isolates. L. major parasites readily subverted host macrophage functions for their survival and induced local oxygen consumption at the site of infection. In contrast to hypo-virulent parasites that induce high HIF-1α expression levels, hyper-virulent L. major reduced HIF-1α expression in macrophages under normoxic or hypoxic conditions, and consequently impeded the expression of VEGF-A mRNA. HIF-1α may play a key role during control of disease chronicity, severity, or outcome.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제46권6호
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• pp.731-737
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• 2022

Background: The number of primary human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 non-B subtype infections (non-B) and that of reports regarding the differences in the pathogenesis of subtype B and non-B infections are increasing. However, to the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports on gross deletion in the nef gene (g∆nef) in non-B infections. Methods: To determine whether there is a difference in the change in CD4⁺ T cells after treatment with Korean Red Ginseng (KRG) between patients with subtype B and non-B infections, we retrospectively analyzed and compared the annual decrease in CD4⁺ T cells (AD) and the proportion of g∆nef in 77 patients who were followed for more than 10 years in the absence of combination antiretroviral therapy. Results: Overall, AD was significantly faster in patients with non-B infections than in those with subtype B infections. Survival analysis showed that the survival probability was significantly higher in subtype B than in non B-infected patients. These differences mainly resulted from significant differences in the amount of KRG and age. In the patients treated with KRG, there was a significant correlation between the amount of KRG and the AD in both subtypes. Interestingly, there was a significant correlation between the amount of KRG and the proportion of g∆nef in patients infected with subtype B, but not in those infected with non-B. The same phenomenon was observed when the KRG dose was adjusted. Conclusion: Our results suggest that non-B may be biologically more stable than subtype B.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제21권3호
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• pp.34.1-34.10
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• 2023

Nosocomial infections, commonly referred to as healthcare-associated infections, are illnesses that patients get while hospitalized and are typically either not yet manifest or may develop. One of the most prevalent nosocomial diseases in hospitalized patients is pneumonia, among the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. Viral, bacterial, and fungal pathogens cause pneumonia. More severe introductions commonly included Staphylococcus aureus, which is at the top of bacterial infections, per World Health Organization reports. The staphylococci, S. aureus, strain RMI-014804, mesophile, on-sporulating, and non-motile bacterium, was isolated from the sputum of a pulmonary patient in Pakistan. Many characteristics of S. aureus strain RMI-014804 have been revealed in this paper, with complete genome sequence and annotation. Our findings indicate that the genome is a single circular 2.82 Mbp long genome with 1,962 protein-coding genes, 15 rRNA, 49 tRNA, 62 pseudogenes, and a GC content of 28.76%. As a result of this genome sequencing analysis, researchers will fully understand the genetic and molecular basis of the virulence of the S. aureus bacteria, which could help prevent the spread of nosocomial infections like pneumonia. Genome analysis of this strain was necessary to identify the specific genes and molecular mechanisms that contribute to its pathogenicity, antibiotic resistance, and genetic diversity, allowing for a more in-depth investigation of its pathogenesis to develop new treatments and preventive measures against infections caused by this bacterium.