• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.46 no.4
• /
• pp.359-367
• /
• 2020

Objectives: Exposure to mold is strongly associated with adverse health effects (development or exacerbation of allergic diseases). We reviewed the health effects of mold exposure and explored to determine the annual distribution of indoor mold in facilities with susceptible populations. Methods: The health effects of mold exposure were mainly summarized by reviewing related papers and WHO research reports. We selected 10 facilities, including daycare centers, postpartum care centers, medical institutions, and elderly care facilities within the Seoul Metropolitan. Mold sampling was performed once every week or once every quarter from February 2016 to 2017. In addition, fungal species analyses was performed, and distribution status by month and facility was analyzed in the same manner as concentration. Results: Adverse health effects attributed to fungal exposure are largely divided into allergic symptoms, toxic effects, and infectious effects. Monthly mean concentrations of mold indoors and outdoors was 368.8 CFU/㎥ (geometric mean 213.4 CFU/㎥) and 496.0 CFU/㎥ (327.9 CFU/㎥), respectively. The indoor concentration has begun to increase in February, peaked in July, declined in August, increased again until October, and then decreased in November. About 36 genera of indoor fungal species were found in each facility. Cladosporium sp., Penicillium sp., Fusarium sp., Aspergillus sp., Alternaria sp., and Arthrinium sp. were observed as the dominant species. Conclusions: Our findings showed that the overall level of indoor mold was below the 500 CFU/㎥ level recommended by the Ministry of Environment. The development of DNA-based assessment and expanding facilities to be monitored for mold would be necessary for preventive aspects.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.22 no.3
• /
• pp.131-135
• /
• 2015

Since April 2012, more than 1,600 laboratory-confirmed human infections with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) have been reported, occurring primarily in countries in the Arabian Peninsula; the majority in Saudi Arabia. The MERS outbreak in Korea, which began in May 2015 through the importation of a single case who had recently traveled to Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. As of November 28th, 186 secondary and tertiary cases had been reported; 38 deaths, mainly associated with underlying chronic illnesses, were reported. One case was exported to China and has been recorded as the first MERS case in China. Thirty-seven confirmed cases were associated with the index case, who was hospitalized from May 15 to May 17. Emergency room at one of the nation's largest hospitals had been affected by hospital-to-hospital and intra-hospital transmissions of MERS-CoV, resulting in an outbreak of 90 infected patients. The vast majority of 186 confirmed cases are linked to a single transmission chain associated with health facilities. The median age of patients is 55 years, with a range of 16 to 87 years. The majority (61%) of patients are men. Twenty-five (14%) of the cases involve healthcare workers. The overall median incubation period was six days, but it was four days for secondary cases and six days for tertiary cases. There has been no evidence of airborne transmission and sustained human-to-human transmission in communities. Intensified public health measures, including contact tracing, quarantine and isolation of all contacts and suspected cases, and infection prevention and control have brought the MERS-CoV under control in Korea. Since 4 July no new cases have been reported.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.17.1-17.13
• /
• 2021

Background: Klebsiella spp. is an important conditional pathogen in humans and animals. However, due to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, the incidence of antimicrobial resistance has increased. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate antimicrobial resistance in strains of Klebsiella strains and the phylogenetic relatedness of extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC)-resistance among Klebsiella strains isolated from clinically ill companion animals. Methods: A total of 336 clinical specimens were collected from animal hospitals. Identification of Klebsiella species, determination of minimum inhibitory concentrations, detection of ESC resistance genes, polymerase chain reaction-based replicon typing of plasmids by conjugation, and multilocus sequence typing were performed. Results: Forty-three Klebsiella strains were isolated and, subsequently, 28 were identified as K. pneumoniae, 11 as K. oxytoca, and 4 as K. aerogenes. Eleven strains were isolated from feces, followed by 10 from ear, 7 from the nasal cavity, 6 from urine, 5 from genitals, and 4 from skin. Klebsiella isolates showed more than 40% resistance to penicillin, cephalosporin, fluoroquinolone, and aminoglycoside. ESCresistance genes, CTX-M groups (CTX-M-3, CTX-M-15, and CTX-M-65), and AmpC (CMY-2 and DHA-1) were most common in the K. pneumoniae strains. Some K. pneumoniae carrying CTX-M or AmpC were transferred via IncFII plasmids. Two sequence types, ST709 and ST307, from K. pneumoniae were most common. Conclusions: In conclusion, this is the first report on the prevalence, ESCresistance genotypes, and sequence types of Klebsiella strains isolated from clinically ill companion animals. The combination of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance by Klebsiella in companion animals suggest that, in clinical veterinary, antibiotic selection should be made carefully and in conjunction with the disease diagnosis.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
• /
• v.38 no.4
• /
• pp.344-349
• /
• 2021

Background: Cancer patients have been disproportionally affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, with high rates of severe outcomes and mortality. Fever is the most common symptom in COVID-19 patients. During the COVID-19 pandemic, physicians may have difficulty in determining the cause of fever (COVID-19, another infection, or cancer fever) in cancer patients. Furthermore, there are no specific guidelines for managing cancer patients with fever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study evaluated the clinical characteristics and outcomes of cancer patients with fever during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 328 cancer patients with COVID-19 symptoms (fever) admitted to five hospitals in Daegu, Korea from January to October 2020. We obtained data on demographics, clinical manifestations, laboratory test results, chest computed tomography images, cancer history, cancer treatment, and outcomes of all enrolled patients from electronic medical records. Results: The most common COVID-19-like symptoms were fever (n=256, 78%). Among 256 patients with fever, only three (1.2%) were diagnosed with COVID-19. Most patients (253, 98.8%) with fever were not diagnosed with COVID-19. The most common solid malignancies were lung cancer (65, 19.8%) and hepatobiliary cancer (61, 18.6%). Twenty patients with fever experienced a delay in receiving cancer treatment. Eighteen patients discontinued active cancer treatment because of fever. Major events during the treatment delay period included death (2.7%), cancer progression (1.5%), and major organ dysfunction (2.7%). Conclusion: Considering that only 0.9% of patients tested for COVID-19 were positive, screening for COVID-19 in cancer patients with fever should be based on the physician's clinical decision, and patients might not be routinely tested.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.64-74
• /
• 2024

Purpose: Despite the recent increased number of nosocomial measles, the outbreak investigation reports are not usually standardized, thus posing unclear understanding of magnitude of its public health burden. We used the Outbreak Reports and Intervention Studies of Nosocomial Infection (ORION) statement, to compare nosocomial outbreaks and synthesize evidence to prevent hospital transmission of measles. Methods: A PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane search in English, using the medical subject headings "measles," "nosocomial," "hospital," and "healthcare," was performed. We evaluated the quality of outbreak reports of nosocomial measles infection worldwide using the ORION statement findings and recommendations. Results: We reviewed 24 studies in accordance to the ORION statement. Measles transmission in healthcare settings is a significant burden on the morbidity, mortality, and economy of measles. The healthcare workers' booster vaccination guidelines should be monitored and enhanced during the post-elimination period of measles. The outcomes of infections must be explicit for outbreak reports. Conclusions: This study identified the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of nosocomial measles infections and provided strong evidence for infection control policies in hospitals.

• Journal of Korean Clinical Nursing Research
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.24-34
• /
• 2024

Purpose: This study aimed to identify factors influencing nurses' intention to care for COVID-19 patients based on the theory of planned behavior, and to test the moderating effect of perceived behavior control between attitude, subjective norms, and nurses' intention to care. Methods: The participants were 167 nurses working at two designated hospitals for infectious diseases located in J and C city, South Korea. Data were collected from October 10th to 25th, 2020, and analyzed using independent t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient, and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The moderating effect was analyzed using the Process Macro model 1 (95% confidence interval, 10,000 bootstrapping), and a simple slope analysis was performed to identify the moderating effect of perceived behavior control. Results: The factors affecting nurses' intention to care for patients with COVID-19 were attitude toward the behavior (β=.32, p<.001) and perceived behavior control (β=.37, p<.001) in model 1, attitude toward the behavior (β=.28, p<.001) and perceived behavior control (β=.36, p<.001), and perspective taking (β=.26, p<.001) in model 2. The explanation power of this model was 65.0% (F=18.41, p<.001). The moderating effect of perceived behavioral control was statistically significant in the relationship between subjective norms and intention to care for patients with COVID-19 (F=16.37, p<.001). In the simple slope analysis, the reinforcement effect was greatest when the level of perceived behavioral control was at the mean (95% CI=0.46~0.67) and high (95% CI=0.70~1.08). Conclusion: Developing and applying a training program that enhances confidence and improves empathy is necessary to increase nurses' intention to care for COVID-19 patients.

• The Journal of the Convergence on Culture Technology
• /
• v.8 no.6
• /
• pp.107-119
• /
• 2022

This study was a descriptive research study to identify the effects of related knowledge to COVID-19, infection control performance, and job stress in emergency department nurses due to COVID-19 on nursing performance, to improve emergency department nurses' ability to cope with emerging infectious diseases and to prepare basic data for effective nursing work. This study was collected data from August, 10 until September, 10, 2021, for 165 emergency department nurses in 26 hospitals, which were located in G province and designated as regional emergency medical institutions, and total 150 copies were finally analyzed. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, correlation, and multiple regression. As a result of analyzing the variables affecting the subject's nursing job performance by multiple regression using the hierarchical selection method, the higher the infection control performance and the higher the job stress, the more higher the nursing job performance, and the explanatory power was 18.4%. The study results showed that infection control performance, job stress, and non-shift work had an effect on nursing performance. It was thought that various plans to protect them, reduced tasks to efficiently perform and the nursing ability to cope with emerging infectious disease should be prepared to improve and reduce the job stress of emergency department nurses.

• The Journal of the Institute of Internet, Broadcasting and Communication
• /
• v.17 no.2
• /
• pp.141-146
• /
• 2017

New infectious diseases such as MERS have been in need of many measures such as initial discovery, isolation, and crisis response. In addition, the culture of hospitals is changing, such as the general public 's visiting and Nursing Care Integration Services. However, as the qualifications and regulations of medical personnel in hospitals become rigid, overseas such as linens, wastes movements are replacing possible works with robots. we have developed a hospital logistics robot that can carry out various goods delivery within a hospital, and can move various kinds of objects safely to a desired location. In this thesis, we have studied a hospital logistics robot that can carry out various kinds of goods delivery within the hospital, and can move various kinds of objects such as waste, and linen safely to a desired location. The movement of a robot in a hospital may cause a collision between a person and an object, so that the collision must be prevented. In order to prevent collision, it is necessary to recognize whether or not an object exists in the movement path of the robot. And if there is an object, it should recognize whether it moves or not. In order to recognize human beings and objects, we recognize the person with face/body recognition technology and generate the context awareness of the object using 3D Vision image segmentation technology. We use the generated information to create a map that considers objects and person in the robot moving range. Thus, the robot can be operated safely and efficiently.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.19 no.6
• /
• pp.334-344
• /
• 2018

This study was conducted to identify the relationship between knowledge, attitude, and compliance regarding infection preventive behaviors among long-term care hospital staff during a Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) epidemic. The subjects were 211 staff members of a long-term care hospital in J province evaluated using a structured survey. Data were collected between June 15 and July 15, 2015 and analyzed using SPSS/WIN 24.0 based on an independent t-test, ANOVA, and Welch test, while post-hoc tests were conducted using the Scheffe test and the Grames-Hawell test. The MERS knowledge score of the staff at the long-term care hospital was high for nurses and nurse aids, who had experienced infection management when they received influenza vaccine in the previous year and were provided with easy access to hand sanitizers. Attitude towards MERS was more positive for nurses than nurse aids and caregivers. The degree of execution of infection preventive behaviors in terms of daily activity was high when influenza shots were received in the prior year; in terms of caring for patients, it was high when influenza shots were received in the previous year and they had easy access to hand sanitizers. The relationship between knowledge, attitude, and infection preventive behavior regarding MERS was such that high knowledge and positive attitude led to a higher degree of execution of infection preventive behavior. Therefore, during periods of high prevalence of newly infectious diseases such as MERS, it is important for the long-term care hospitals to conduct infection management education including the characteristics of the MERS disease, its transmission, and its prevention to enhance knowledge regarding MERS and induce positive change in attitude to improve the level of infection preventive behaviors.

• Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.159-166
• /
• 2017

According to the advance of antiretroviral regimen and the early treatment strategy, people living with human immunodeficiency virus (PLWH) are achieving the goal of virologic suppression and immune restoration. Most of them no more die of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) defining illnesses, and become older with chronic comorbidities such as cardiovascular, metabolic, hepatic, renal and neurological diseases. However some PLWH still visit hospitals as late presenters with very low CD4+ T cell counts, so that they suffer AIDS defining illnesses to die or experience severe neurological complications resulting in disabilities. Early palliative interventions are needed on the various symptoms of PLWH. Thus far chronic pains such as distal symmetric sensory polyneuropathies have been underevaluated. Active pain-relieving interventions are important to them. Recently we define end of life condition of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or eligibility to hospice care after adjusting current status of HIV treatment. Hospice teams should pay attention to the specific medical conditions, psychological needs, and social circumstances of PLWH. With just standard precautions as common infection control measures, general hospice cares can be provided to them like to other hospices subjects. For giving PLWH opportunities to have the end of life with value and dignity, hospice multidisciplinary team should intervene them early and aggressively. Now we need more clinical experiences and institutional improvements.