• 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.

• BMB Reports
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.703-708
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• 2006

During infection, the common respiratory tract pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae encounters several environmental conditions, such as upper respiratory tract, lung tissue, and blood stream, etc. In this study, we examined the effects of blood on S. pneumoniae protein expression using a combination of highly sensitive 2-dimensional electrophoresis (DE) and MALDI-TOF MS and/or LC/ESI-MS/MS. A comparison of expression profiles between the growth in THY medium and THY supplemented with blood allowed us to identify 7 spots, which increased or decreased two times or more compared with the control group: tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase, lactate oxidase, glutamyl-aminopeptidase, L-lactate dehydrogenase, cysteine synthase, ribose-phosphate pyrophosphokinase, and orotate phosphoribosyltransferase. This global approach can provide a better understanding of S. pneumoniae adaptation to its human host and a clue for its pathogenicity.

• Medical Lasers
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.126-133
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• 2020

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a benign tumor that occurs in the respiratory tract, especially in the larynx. The etiology of RRP is human papillomavirus (HPV). According to the age of occurrence, RRP is divided into childhood-onset and adult-onset types. Generally, childhood-onset RRP shows a high recurrence rate and diffuse involvement in the respiratory tract. Adult-onset RRP is more localized and appears more frequently as a solitary lesion. It may be the result of sexual transmission or the proliferation of latent HPV infections. At present, the treatment of choice for RRP is CO₂ laser ablation. In addition, pulse dye laser or KTP (KTiOPO: potassium-titanyl-phosphate) lasers are also used. Non-surgical adjuvant therapies can be applied in cases requiring repetitive surgery or with diffuse extensions. This review will introduce the clinical features of RRP and various treatment options including lasers.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.102-113
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• 2003

Purpose : Acute respiratory tract infections are the most common illnesses in children. The great majority of these infections involving lower respiratory tracts infections(LRTI) are caused by respiratory viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus(RSV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), influenza virus(INF), adenovirus(ADV), etc. Our purpose of this study was to examine the seasonal occurrence, clinical and laboratory features of each viral infections. Methods : Nasopharyngeal aspirates(NPA) were collected from 913 hospitalized children on the first day of admission. They were all admitted to Hangang Sacred Heart hospital and diagnosed as LRTIs. The study period was from September 1998 to August 2002. Specimens were inoculated onto HEp-2 cell, LLC-MK2 cell and MDCK cell. Viruses were detected by immunofluorescent method performed at day 10 postinoculation. Respiratory viruses were detected in 251(27%) cases. Medical records of 208 cases diagnosed as acute LRTIs were all taken reviewed and analyzed. Results : The identified pathogens were RSV 122 cases(58%), PIV 30 cases(14%), INFA 20 cases(10%), INFB 21 cases(11%) and ADV 15 cases(7%) during the study period. Outbreaks of RSV infections occurred every year but mostly on December, 1998 and November, 1999. LRTIs by PIV and ADV occurred during all seasons of the year. INFA was isolated moslty on March, 1999 and January, 2000. INFB infections occurred largely on April, 2002. The clinical diagnoses were bronchiolitis 88 cases(43%), pneumonia 87 cases(42%), croup 19 cases(9%) and tracheobronchitis 14 cases(6%). Common symptoms and signs were cough, rhinorrhea, sputum and fever. WBC counts in peripheral blood showed normal findings in 123 cases(59%). Each viral infections also showed some differences in auscultatory findings and chest X-ray findings. Conclusion : We learned that viruses are one of the major and important etiologic agents of acute LRTIs of children in Korea. However, we still need to find out more about its characteristic clinical features and continue studying on their seasonal occurrence to focus on their management and also prevention.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.87-94
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• 2003

Purpose : Respiratory viruses are one of the most infectious agent in human. Acute lower respiratory tract infection(ALRTIs) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in children. This study is performed to investigate the etiologic organism, age and sex distribution, clinical manifestations and seasonal occurrence of ALRTIs in children. Methods : Viral agent was evaluated with nasopharyngeal aspirates, rhinorrhea and saliva collected from 568 patients. We confirmed viral agents in 54 patients who were younger than 15 year old. They had visited Maryknoll Hospital, Busan in Korea from January, 2002 to December, 2002 for ALRTIs. Results : The viral pathogens identified were Influenza A virus(59.3%), Enterovirus(33.3%), Adenovirus(5.6%), and Influenza B virus(1.9%). Parainfluenza virus and Respiratory syncytial virus were not detected. The occurrence of acute lower respiratory infections was high between 3 & 6 years old. The clinical patterns include pneumonia(51.9%), bronchitis(31.5%), croup(9.3%), bronchiolitis(7.4%). The respiratory viral agents had their characteristic seasonal patterns. Conclusion : Influenza A virus was the most common cause of acute lower respiratory tract infections in Busan area during the 2002. ALRTIs had high occurrence between 3 to 6 years old. And the most common clinical patterns were pneumonia and bronchitis.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.49-55
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• 2010

Purpose : The Purposes of this study are to identify the circulating etiologic viruses of acute lower respiratory tract infection in children and to understand the relation with clinical diagnosis. Methods : We obtained a total of 418 nasopharyngeal aspirates from children admitted for their acute lower respiratory tract infections at three tertiary hospitals in Seoul from September 2008 to March 2009. We performed multiplex RT-PCR to identify 14 etiologic viruses and analyzed their emerging patterns and clinical features. Results : Average age of patients was 16.4 months old and the ratio of male to female was 1.36. Viruses were detected in 56.2% of a total of 418 samples. Respiratory syncytial virus (35%) was the most frequently detected and followed by human rhinovirus (22%), human bocavirus, adenovirus, human metapneumovirus, parainfluenza virus, influenza virus and human coronavirus. Co-infection reached 21.9 % of positive patients. Conclusion : When we manage the patients with acute lower respiratory infectious diseases, we should remind the role of various viral pathogens, which might be circulating by seasons and by local areas.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.95-100
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• 2013

Background: This study was performed to investigate the epidemiologic and clinical features of acute respiratory viral infection in hospitalized children. Methods: From 2010 to 2012, we tested nasopharyngeal swab specimen in 1,584 hospitalized children with multiple real-time polymerase chain reactions to identify 10 kinds of respiratory viruses (including influenza virus A, B (FluA, FluB), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (MPV), adenovirus (AdV), human coronavirus (CoronaV), human enterovirus (HEV), human bocavirus (HBoV), parainfluenza virus (PIV), and human rhinovirus (Rhinovirus)). We analyzed the positive rate, annual and seasonal variations, and clinical features (respiratory tract and non-respiratory tract) according to the retrospective review of medical records. Results: Respiratory viruses were detected from 678 (42.8%) of 1,584 patients. The most common detected virus was RSV (35.0%), and then AdV (19.0%), HEV (18.1%). The critical period of the respiratory viral infection was during the first 12 months of a child's life. PIV increased by 8.4%, 12.1%, and 21.1% annually. Bronchiolitis was most frequently caused by RSV, and croup was frequently caused by PIV. The most common cause of meningitis was HEV. Hepatitis-associated respiratory virus was developed 111 in 678 cases. Conclusion: Although this study was confined to a single medical center for three years, we identified the epidemiology and clinical feature of respiratory viruses in Daegu from 2010 to 2012. Future surveillance will be necessary for annual and seasonal variations.

• Journal of Dairy Science and Biotechnology
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• v.41 no.2
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• pp.57-66
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• 2023

Majority of the respiratory infectious diseases that are generally prevalent in Korea from autumn to winter are caused by viruses such as respiratory syncytial virus and influenza A virus. Therefore, there is rapidly rising interest in determining the antiviral effects of probiotics against respiratory viruses and elucidating the probable mechanism behind it. Various human clinical trials as well as animal experiments have shown that some probiotics potentially have antiviral activity based on their immunomodulatory effect. Hence, this review describes in detail the various possibilities of using probiotics as antiviral agents against respiratory viruses and their potential effects. Also, it provides basic data regarding the availability of different probiotics relevant for their production by dairy and food industries.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.117-126
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• 2020

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Vitamin D and zinc are recognized for their roles in immune-modulation, and their deficiencies are suggested to be important risk factors for childhood infections. This study, therefore, undertook to assess the occurrence of infections in rural Indian schoolchildren, subsequent to daily supplementation with vitamin D-calcium or zinc for 6 months. SUBJECTS/METHODS: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in apparently healthy 6-12 year-old rural Indian children, recruited to 3 study arms: vitamin D arm (1,000 IU D3 - 500 mg calcium, n = 135), zinc arm (10 mg, n = 150) and placebo arm (n = 150). The infection status was assessed using a validated questionnaire, and the biochemical parameters of serum 25(OH)D and serum zinc were measured by ELISA and colorimetry, respectively. The primary outcome variable was occurrence of infections (upper respiratory and total infections). RESULTS: Serum 25(OH)D concentration in the vitamin D arm improved significantly by 34%, from 59.7 ± 10.9 nmol/L to 80 ± 23.3 nmol/L (P < 0.0001), but no improvement was observed for serum zinc concentration. While there was significant increase in the percentage of children reporting no or mild upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) and total infections (TI) in all three groups, improvements in the supplemented groups were similar to the placebo group. However, the vitamin D arm reported lower URTI and TI status in the vitamin D sufficient versus insufficient children. Also, URTI and TI status were found to be significantly (P < 0.0001) lower in children with improved 25(OH)D versus unchanged 25(OH)D. CONCLUSIONS: Vitamin D-calcium supplementation helped to improve the vitamin D status but exerts no effect on the occurrence of infections when compared to the placebo group. Improvement in the serum 25(OH)D concentrations and attainment of vitamin D sufficiency may exert a beneficial effect on the infection status and needs to be investigated further. To evaluate the efficacy of zinc supplementation, higher dosages need to be administered in future studies.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.825-831
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• 1999

This study was performed to determine the etiological agents in concurrent disorders in gastrointestinal and respiratory tract. Most of dogs had clinical signs including nasal and ocular discharge, coughing, vomiting, and diarrhea. Of the 22 dogs, seropositive rates of each virus were 54.5% (12/22) against canine distemper virus, 90.9% (20/22) against canine adenovirus 1, 36.4% (8/22) against canine adenovirus 2, 18.2% (4/22) against canine parvovirus, 81.8% (18/22) against canine hepatitis virus and 59.1% (13/22) against canine coronavirus. Canine distemper virus and canine parvovirus infection were 54.6% (12/22) in histopathological examination. In addition, mixed infections of canine distemper virus and adenovirus 2 were 9.1% (2/22). While simple infection of canine adenovirus 2 were 9.1% (2/22). E coli and Staphylococcus spp were isolated in facts as a rate of 72.7% (16/22) and 40.9% (9/22), respectively. Conclusionally, it is also estimated that environmental stress might be one of the causative factors.