• Journal of Technologic Dentistry
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.173-185
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• 2020

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate dental technicians' awareness of infections and to enhance their interest and commitment towards infection prevention. Methods: A self-reported questionnaire survey was conducted among dental technicians. Total of 195 responses were used for analysis. A cross-tabulation analysis was used to compare dental technicians' awareness of infections according to their levels of education on infection prevention (α=0.05). Results: Dental technicians were educated on infection prevention (40.5%). Most participants received infection prevention education from school (29.8%). Dental laboratories had an infection control guideline (34.9%). Dental technicians were not aware of infection risks at their workplaces or believed that they were not at risk of infections at their workplaces (59.3%). Conclusion: Dental technicians must be consistently educated on infection prevention and control through systematic education at school and wider promotion through media. Research is needed to economically and efficiently improve equipment used by dental technicians and to protect them from infectious diseases. A budget for infection prevention must also be determined. Institutional measures such as providing support for dental technicians at the policy level and developing a basic infection prevention manual are necessary. Solving these issues not only protects dental technicians from infections but also allows them to provide high-quality medical services.

• The Journal of Pediatrics of Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.1-8
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• 2009

Objectives A purpose of this study is to report a case study of a child with urolithiasis and urinary tract infections. Methods A four-year-old female had been taken Korean traditional medicine for two weeks, and clinical symptoms had been observed. Results Treating with Korean traditional medicine, symptoms of urolithiasis with urinary tract infections has been improved. Conclusions This study supports that Korean traditional medicine can be an effective means of treating internal medicine for urolithiasis with urinary tract infections, and further case studies are needed for more accurate results.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.51 no.5
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• pp.603-606
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• 2013

To determine geographical patterns of natural parasite infections among wild rodents, a total of 46 wild rodents from 3 different localities in northern Gangwon-do (Province), Korea were examined for intestinal parasite infections. Along with nematodes such as hookworms and Syphacia spp., Plagiorchis muris (2 specimens) (Trematoda) were collected from striped field mice, Apodemus agrarius. In a Korean wood mouse, Apodemus peninsulae, the overall nematode infections were similar to A. agrarius, but an adult worm of Echinostoma hortense (Trematoda) was collected. In addition, 2 species of cestodes, i.e., Hymenolepis nana and Hymenolepis diminuta, were collected from A. agrarius. Through this survey, A. agrarius and A. peninsule were confirmed as the natural definite hosts for zoonotic intestinal helminths, i.e., P. muris, E. hortense, H. nana, and H. diminuta, in northern Gangwon-do, Korea. Considering increased leisure activities around these areas, seasonal and further comprehensive surveys on wild rodents seem to be needed to prevent zoonotic parasite infections.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.281-286
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• 2012

Helminthic infections afflict over 1.5 billion people worldwide, while Mycobacterium tuberculosis infects one third of the world's population, resulting in 2 million deaths per year. Although tuberculosis and helminthic infections coexist in many parts of the world, and it has been demonstrated that the T-helper 2 and T-regulatory cell responses elicited by helminths can affect the ability of the host to control mycobacterial infection, it is still unclear whether helminth infections in fact affect tuberculosis disease. In this review article, current progress in the knowledge about the immunomodulation induced by helminths to diminish the protective immune responses to bacille Calmette-Guerin vaccination is reviewed, and the knowledge about the types of immune responses modulated by helminths and the consequences for tuberculosis are summarized. In addition, recent data supporting the significant reduction of both M. tuberculosis antigen-specific Toll-like receptor (TLR) 2 and TLR9 expression, and pro-inflammatory cytokine responses to TLR2 and TLR9 ligands in individuals with M. tuberculosis and helminth co-infection were discussed. This examination will allow to improve understanding of the immune responses to mycobacterial infection and also be of great relevance in combating human tuberculosis.

• The Korean Journal of Health Service Management
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.93-102
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• 2020

Objectives: This study analyzed the prescription characteristics of medication for acute respiratory diseases before and after pay-for-performance to provide basic data on effective medical quality management policies. Methods: The research data were collected from the 2013-2014 sample cohort of the National Health Insurance Corporation, from Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Otorhinolaryngology, Family Medicine and General practitioner clinics (classification of disease codes: J00-J06, J20-J22, J40 outpatients). Results: The antibiotics prescription rates decreased from 43.9% in 2013 to 43.5% in 2014 when the major diagnosis was for upper respiratory infections and increased from 62.0% in 2013 to 62.5% in 2014 when the major diagnosis was for lower respiratory infections. Conclusions: There is a need to identify the correct antibiotic prescription method by expanding the current assessment standards. Such standards must include acute lower respiratory infections and minor diagnoses as the current evaluation techniques focus only on the major diagnosis of acute upper respiratory infections.

• Child Health Nursing Research
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.227-235
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate disease prevalence, parent's educational needs, and disease management according to severity of respiratory infections in early childhood. Methods: Participants for this study were 173 mothers whose child was admitted to I university hospital in Seoul and whose child was an infant or toddler. Data were collected from December, 17, 2014 to February, 15, 2015 using self-report structured questionnaires. Data were analyzed using IBM/SPSS 21.0 program. Results: There were significant differences in the severity of respiratory infection according to neonatal admission due to dyspnea, feeding type, atopic dermatitis in the infant or allergic disease in father and siblings. Parent's educational needs for the severe respiratory infection group were higher than for the non-severe group. Parent's disease management for the severe respiratory infection group was lower than the non-severe group. Conclusion: As important care factors in neonatal admissions include dyspnea, cow milk feeding, eczema, family history of allergies, parent's educational needs and disease management, they should be considered when caring for young children with respiratory infections and their parents.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Fundamentals of Nursing
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.151-161
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the risk factors that influence surgical site infections after surgery. Methods: This study was a retrospective research utilizing Electronic Medical Records. Data collection targeted 4,510 adult patients who had 8 different kinds of surgery (gastric surgery, colon surgery, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, hip & knee replacement, hysterectomy, cesarean section, cardiac surgery) in 4 medical care departments, at one general hospital between January 2006 and December 2011. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify the risk factors affecting surgical site infections after surgery. Results: Risk factors for increased surgical site infection following surgery were confirmed to be age (OR=1.59, p<.001), BMI (Body Mass Index)(OR=1.25, p=.034), year of operation (OR=2.45, p<.001), length of operation (OR=3.06, p<.001), ASA (American Society of Anesthesiology) score (OR=1.36, p=.025), classification of antibiotic used (OR=2.77, p<.001), duration of the prophylactic antibiotics use (OR=1.85, p<.001), and interaction between classification of antibiotic used and duration of the prophylactic antibiotics use (OR=1.90, p=.016). Conclusions: Results suggest that risk factors affecting surgical site infections should be monitored before surgery. The results of this study should contribute to establishing effective infection management measures and implementing surveillance systems for patients who have actual risk factors.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.299-302
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• 2011

During experimental Eimeria infections in chickens, facilities are often contaminated by fecal oocysts known to be highly resistant to both chemical and enzymatic treatments. Thus, studies using experimental Eimeria infections have been limited due to the difficulty of complete elimination of residual oocysts from both cages and facilities. To overcome this limitation, simple, inexpensive, and disposable cages were constructed from cardboard boxes and tested during experimental Eimeria maxima infections. The cages were used in animal rooms with only a 1.7% evidence of coccidia contamination between adjacent cages. No significant differences in fecal oocyst output and body weight gain were noted between animals housed in disposable cages and animals housed in wire control cages. This cage design is a useful means for preventing oocyst contamination during experimental conditions, suggesting that this disposable cage design could be used for other avian infectious disease studies.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.245-250
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• 2021

Objectives: Jeju Province in Korea reported 627 coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases between January 20, 2020, and March 31, 2021. This study analyzed the sources of infection among confirmed cases in Jeju Province, a self-governed island. Methods: The sources of infection were broadly categorized as follows: (1) infections from overseas (confirmed patients who reported travel overseas or contact with overseas travelers); (2) infections from outside Jeju Province (confirmed patients who had visited other provinces or had contact with individuals who had traveled to other provinces in Korea); and (3) unknown sources of infection (confirmed patients who were infected following contact with an infected person whose source of infection was unknown). The chi-square test was used to analyze the differences in the distributions of related variables for each source of infection. Results: Of the 627 confirmed cases, 38 (6.1%) were infections from overseas sources, 199 (31.7%) were from outside of Jeju Province, and 390 (62.2%) were from unknown sources. Jeju Province had no cases with an unknown source of infection during the first and second waves of the nationwide outbreak. Conclusions: Infections from overseas sources could be blocked from spreading to local communities in Jeju Province by conducting screening at the airport, along with the preemptive suspension of visa-free entry. In addition, considering the scale of the nationwide outbreak, measures must be established to delay outbreaks from unknown sources of infection caused by sources outside Jeju Province.

• Microbiology and Biotechnology Letters
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.425-429
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• 2018

Ureaplasma urealyticum (UU) infection can spread rapidly across populations and is associated with cervical intraepithelial neoplasms, human papillomavirus infections, and newborn mortality. This study aimed to provide information that could be used to protect public health and decrease the incidence and transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), particularly among childbearing women. We examined the epidemiology of UU infection in Cheonan, South Korea. During 2006-2017, 4,050 specimens were submitted for STI screening using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. Data were analyzed for UU infection cases using the R statistical program and categorical data were analyzed using the chi-square test, and p-values <0.05 were considered statistically significant. Positive PCR results were shown in 17.8% of the total specimens, in 9.0% of men, and in 18.7% of women. Individuals in their teenaged years and individuals aged 20-29 years accounted for the largest proportions of UU-positive specimens. Although Mycoplasma hominis was the most prevalent bacterium in 2006, it was superseded by UU in 2017. Of the 870 UU-positive specimens, 50.1%, 33.1%, 13.4%, and 2.8% had single, double, triple, and quadruple infection, respectively. UU was most common among Korean individuals aged 20-29 years, indicating a high risk of maternal-to-infant transmission that should be addressed through rapid diagnosis, treatment, and management.