• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.37 no.4
• /
• pp.306-314
• /
• 2011

Objectives: Respiratory virus infections are the most common disease among all ages in all parts of the world and occur through airborne transmission. The purpose of this study was to detect and quantitate human respiratory viruses in residential environments. Methods: Air samples were collected from the residential space of apartments in the Seoul/Gyeonggi-do area. The samples were collected from indoor and outdoor air. Among respiratory viruses, influenza A virus, influenza B virus, parainfluenza virus, metapneumovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and adenovirus were investigated by multiplex polymerase chain reaction. Among the virus-positive samples, we performed adenovirus quantification by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Results: Virus detection rates were 44.0%, 3.8%, 3.4%, and 17.3% in spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. The virus detection rate was higher in winter and spring than in summer and autumn. Adenovirus was most commonly detected, followed by influenza A virus and parainfluenza virus. Virus distribution was not significantly different between indoor and outdoor environments. Conclusions: Although virus concentrations were not high in residential environments, residents in houses with detected viruses may have an increased risk of exposure to airborne respiratory viruses, especially in winter and spring.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
• /
• v.53 no.1
• /
• pp.11-18
• /
• 2021

Respiratory viruses (RVs) cause infections in hospital environments through direct contact with infected visitors. In infection control, it causes major problems of acquired infections in hospitals by respiratory viruses. The surveillance data derived from clinical laboratories are often used to properly allocate medical resources to hospitals and communities for treatment, consumables, and diagnostic product purchases in the institutions and public health sectors that provide health care. An early diagnosis is essential in infection with respiratory viruses, and methods that can be used in diagnostic methods using respiratory samples include virus culture, molecular diagnosis, and analysis. A microchip provides a new strategy for developing a more diverse and powerful technology called point-of-care testing. The importance of the respiratory system should be applied strictly to the infection control guidelines to ensure the occupational health and safety of health care workers. Evidence of clinical efficacy, including this study, is challenging the long-standing paradigm for infection propagation. Additional assistance will be needed for frequent tests to detect respiratory viruses in inpatients who have begun to show new respiratory symptoms indicating infections requiring efforts to control the infection.

• Safety and Health at Work
• /
• v.5 no.4
• /
• pp.222-226
• /
• 2014

Background: Focusing on the respiratory function for health effect indices, we conducted a cross-sectional study on workers who did and did not handle toner to compare the longitudinal changes. Methods: Among 116 individuals who worked for a Japanese business equipment manufacturer and participated in the study, the analysis included 69 male workers who we were able to follow up for 4 years. We categorized the 40 workers engaged in toner-handling work as the exposed group and the 29 workers not engaged in these tasks as the referent group, and compared their respiratory function test results: peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR), vital capacity (VC), predicted vital capacity (%VC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second ($FEV_1$), and forced expiratory volume in 1 second as a percent of forced vital capacity ($FEV_1%$). Results: The cross-sectional study of the respiratory function test results at the baseline and at the $5^{th}$ year showed no statistically significant differences in PEFR, VC, %VC, $FEV_1$, and $FEV_1%$ between the exposed and referent workers. Also, respiratory function time-course for 4 years was calculated and compared between the groups. No statistically significant differences were shown. Conclusion: Our study does not suggest any toner exposure effects on respiratory function. However, the number of subjects was small in our study; studies of larger populations will be desired in the future.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
• /
• v.24 no.1
• /
• pp.1-10
• /
• 2019

Purpose: To analyze the results of an online survey conducted to develop a user-friendly respiratory disease management mobile application. Methodology: The questionnaires were conducted from July 26, 2018 to October 23, 2018 for 90 days. A total of 267 respondents were used for the analysis. Chi-square test, t-test, and multivariate logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. Findings: As a result of the analysis, preference for functions related to medical services was high in all ages and the odds of positive intention to use respiratory disease management application was 4.76 times higher than 40 years old compared with less than 40 years old. The group with more than one effort was found to be significantly higher than those who did not. Practical Implication: It is expected that the functions derived from the main results in this study will be helpful for the effective health management of patients with chronic respiratory disease.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
• /
• v.28 no.5
• /
• pp.292-296
• /
• 2016

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of modified cervical exercise on respiratory functions in smartphone users with forward head posture. Methods: Thirty-three smartphone users with forward head posture participated in this study. Subjects were divided into three groups that performed modified cervical exercise one time a day (A group), two times a day (B group), and three times a day (C group). All subjects performed the exercise for four weeks, during which time respiratory functions were measured. Results: There were significant differences in respiratory functions such as forced vital capacity, forced expiratory volume at one second, and maximal voluntary ventilation in the C group after four weeks (p<0.05). Moreover, the forced vital capacity differed among groups, and the post hoc test revealed a significant difference between A group and C group (p<0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study confirmed that modified cervical exercise improved respiratory functions in smartphone users with forward head posture. These findings indicate that smartphone users with forward head posture should perform modified cervical exercise to build correct posture and respiratory functions.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
• /
• v.39 no.2
• /
• pp.178-186
• /
• 2013

Objective: Human enteroviruses (HEVs) are a common causative agent of gastrointestinal or respiratory infections. In this study, to examine the genotypic diversity and characteristics of HEVs associated with patients in Seoul, we collected and analyzed stool and throat swab samples taken from patients with acute gastroenteritis or a common cold from 2011 to 2012. We researched the difference in genetic characteristics of HEVs from gastroenteritis and respiratory patients. Methods: For genetic analysis, we amplified the 5'-noncoding region and partial VP1 region of HEVs by RT-PCR. The genotypes of HEVs were further identified based on nucleotide sequences of the VP1 region. Results: The majority of the HEV infections in Seoul occurred from June to August. The molecular characteristic assay showed that although the majority of HEVs can be propagated by a fecal-oral route, Coxsackievirus A2 (n=13, 19.4%), A4 (n=8, 11.9%), and A5 (n=4, 6.0%) can be preferentially transmitted by a respiratory route. Conclusions: This Enterovirus surveillance system plays an important role in preparing for a severe outbreak. The genotypic characteristics of HEV may provide potentially useful data needed for epidemiological studies.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Integrative Medicine
• /
• v.10 no.4
• /
• pp.229-240
• /
• 2022

Purpose : In this study, using Oyster Shell Thermal Therapy for metabolic diseases, we analyzed the effect of immune and inflammation-related variables and respiratory health-related variables of test subjects to verify the effect of improving respiratory health. Methods : In this study, 26 patients with metabolic diseases were divided into an experimental group (N=13) and a control group (N=13). After Oyster Shell Thermal Therapy (four weeks/three times a week/1 hour per time), metabolic disease-related variables and immune and respiratory health-related variables were measured and compared between the two groups. The conclusion of this study is as follows: Results : After the four-week Oyster Shell Thermal Therapy, in terms of changes in the metabolic disease-related variables, the control group exhibited a higher increase in TC and LDL-C levels than the experimental group. In the case of glucose, the experimental group showed a decrease after the experiment (p<.05). After the four-week thermotherapy, a statistically significant interactive effect occurred in natural killer (NK) cells among the immune-related variables. According to the results of a post-experimental analysis, the control group showed a higher decrease in NK cells than the experimental group (p<.05). After the 4-weeks thermotherapy, the experimental group showed a greater increase in maximum oxygen intake of the respiratory health-related variables than the control group. Conclusion : Based on a comprehensive review of the study results, the subjects who underwent the four-week Oyster Shell Thermal Therapy exhibited positive physical changes in metabolic disease-related variables as well as immune and respiratory health-related variables, which demonstrates the effectiveness of Oyster Shell Thermal Therapy on immune and respiratory health. Accordingly, it is recommended to conduct long-term Oyster Shell Thermal Therapy with various models in terms of the size and shape.

• Journal of the Optical Society of Korea
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.235-239
• /
• 2010

In this study, we have fabricated two types of non-invasive fiber-optic respiration sensors that can measure respiratory signals during magnetic resonance (MR) image acquisition. One is a nasal-cavity attached sensor that can measure the temperature variation of air-flow using a thermochromic pigment. The other is an abdomen attached sensor that can measure the abdominal circumference change using a sensing part composed of polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA) tubes, a mirror and a spring. We have measured modulated light guided to detectors in the MRI control room via optical fibers due to the respiratory movements of the patient in the MR room, and the respiratory signals of the fiber-optic respiration sensors are compared with those of the BIOPAC$^{(R)}$ system. We have verified that respiratory signals can be obtained without deteriorating the MR image. It is anticipated that the proposed fiber-optic respiration sensors would be highly suitable for respiratory monitoring during surgical procedures performed inside an MRI system.

• 대한예방의학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2000.10a
• /
• pp.89-89
• /
• 2000

• Perinatology
• /
• v.29 no.4
• /
• pp.159-164
• /
• 2018

Objective: To compare neonatal respiratory morbidity of twins according to birth order related to gestational age and mode of delivery. Methods: We performed the retrospective research of the medical records of 3,224 neonates (1,612 twin pairs) born in a single center from January 2011 to December 2015. Subjects were classified into four gestational age groups: very (<32 weeks), moderate (32-33 weeks), late (34-36 weeks) preterm, and term (${\geq}37weeks$) groups. We investigated clinical characteristics and respiratory morbidity according to birth order related to gestational age group and mode of delivery. Results: We found increased risk of respiratory morbidity in second-born twin than first-born twin (P=0.039). Second-born twin was associated with increased risk of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) in late preterm group (odds ratio [OR] 2.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.30-5.95), and transient tachypnea of newborn in term group (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.03-1.81). In vaginal delivery mode, there was no difference of respiratory morbidity between first and second-born twin in each group, but in cases of Cesarean delivery, second-born twin was related with a greater risk of RDS in late preterm group (OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.07-5.09). Birth order and Cesarean section independently increased the risk of RDS (adjusted OR [aOR] 1.69, 95% CI 1.12-2.54; aOR 2.14, 95% CI 1.25-3.66, respectively). Conclusion: Second-born twin and Cesarean delivery are associated with increased risk of RDS, especially in late preterm twins.