• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.17
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• pp.7235-7239
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• 2014

Cervical cancer, the third commonest cancer in women worldwide, can be prevented through early detection by cervical screening (Pap smear). The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes and practice of cervical cancer screening among female undergraduate university students from 25 low, middle income and emerging economy countries. Using anonymous questionnaires, data were collected from 9,194 female undergraduate university students aged 18-26 years (mean age 20.9, SD=2.0) from 26 universities in 25 countries across Asia, Africa and the Americas. Overall, 11.6% of the female students indicated that they had conducted one or more times a cervical (Pap) smear test; 8.3% among 18-20 year-olds and 15.6% among 21-26 year-old students. There was considerable country variation on having had a cervical (Pap) smear test among 21-26 year-old female university students, ranging from 59.2% in Colombia and 50.9% in Barbados to 0% in India and 1.0% in Tunesia. Logistic regression showed that cervical cancer screening importance or positive attitude were highly associated with the cervical screening practice. Moreover, risky sexual behaviour and tobacco use, two cervical cancer risk factors, were associated with screening. Cervical cancer screening practices were found to be inadequate and e fforts should be made to develop programmes that can increase the uptake of cervical cancer screening.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.47-52
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• 1988

The intradermal(ID) test has been widely used in Korea and several reports about the results of the ID test are known. We examined the egg of Clonorchis sinensis(C. s.) by ID test in 443, stool's egg-counting technique in 79 and direct smear(cellophane thick smear technique) in 1304 subjects. The results are as follows.: 1. The positive rate of C. s. was 3.8% out of 1304 persons. 2. The sensitivity of ID test was 82.1% out of 39 persons and, the specificity was 64.6% out of 404 persons. 3. The false positive of ID test 35.4% out of 404 persons and, the false negative was 17.9% out of 39 persons. Intradermal test is a rapid, sensitive and useful supplementary diagnostic tool for the detection of Clonorchiasis infection and must be used as screening test with direct smear of stool but cross reaction with other helminth infections and moderate false reaction are the main disadvantages in its practical application.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.43-46
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• 2008

Background and Objectives : Clinical suspicion and appropriate diagnostic procedures are essential for the timely management of extrapulmonary type of mycobacterial disease. In the hope of suggesting a suitable guideline for the early diagnosis of laryngeal tuberculosis, the authors reviewed their clinical pathways and the characteristics of patients with laryngeal tuberculosis who were managed in the recent 10 years at a single tertiary referral hospital, Samsung Medical Center. Subjects and Method : Retrospective chart review was performed for the 25 adult patients with laryngeal tuberculosis. Among 25 cases, 12 were pathologically confirmed by laryngeal biopsy and the other 13 were clinically diagnosed by cumulative clinical information; definite laryngitis on laryngoscopy, positive AFB (acid fast bacillus) smear/culture or active pulmonary tuberculosis on chest X-ray, and substantial response to anti-tuberculosis medication. Results : Chest X-ray revealed active pulmonary tuberculosis in 72% of patients (N=18/25). Sputum AFB smear/culture was positive in 95% of all tested patients (N=21/22) and in 100% of the tested patients who have stable or no evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis (N=5/5). All patients except one who had coexisting laryngeal malignancy showed considerable improvement in their subjective symptoms and laryngeal findings within the first 2 months of anti-tuberculosis medications and they achieved complete response on subsequent sputum studies, chest X-ray and laryngeal findings after $7.0{\pm}2.3$ months of the medications. Conclusion : We suggest that chest X-ray and sputum AFB smear/culture to be the first step of work-up for the patients having laryngeal tuberculosis in suspicion since laryngeal tuberculosis is largely associated with active pulmonary tuberculosis and/or sputum AFB study offers high yield even in case of primary laryngeal tuberculosis. However laryngeal biopsy must be considered in case showing unsatisfactory response to the anti-tuberculosis medication for more than 2 months.

• The Research Journal of the Costume Culture
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.441-446
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• 2003

Water-insoluble chitosan with molecular weight of 2,000,000, 500,000, 80,000, and 40,000 and more than 90% of degree of deacetylation were used to test antibacterial activity of chitosan against a pathogenic bacteria, methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA), which is being issued in the world. As experimental method, Agar plate Smear Method and Agar plate Contact Method were used. The moleculur weight of chitosan didn't exert significant influences on its antibacterial activity against MRSA but chitosan having molecular weight 40,000, 80,000 and 150,000 showed the excellent antibacterial activity. The antibacterial efHciency was excellent in applying it after chitosan was dissolved in acetic acid solution, while the antibacterial efficiency was not expressed nearly in case of applying after chitosan was dissolved in neutral water. Therefore, it is considered that chitosan can show the antibacterial efficiency only if a positive ion status of -NH₃/sup +/ is maintained. MIC of chitosan/acetic acid solution and cotton fabrics finished with chitosan/acetic acid solution showed in concentration of 0.05%.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.102-104
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• 1983

A total of 2,026 leprosy patients of the National Sorokdo Hospital was examined their infestparasites by cellophane thick smear method in January, 1983. The egg positive cases of Taenia spp. were treated with bithionol and the segments of Taenia were collected for species identification. The results were as follows: 1. Total egg Positive rate of any kind helminth was 78.2% and cumulative total was 85.2%. The egg positive rate for each helminth was as follow; Taenia spp. 3.4%, Ascaris lumbricoides 4.5%, Trichuris trichiura 72.1%, Clonorchis sinensis 2.8% and other 0.05%. 2. A total of 66 Taenia eggpPositive cases was treated; out of them proglottids of Taenia were collected from 26 cases. All of the collected worms were identified as T. saginata. The results revealed signiBicantly high egg positive rate of T. trichiura. However, A. lumbricoides was found to be controlled considerably by repeated chemotherapy during past 3 years. If chromotherapeutic agent is replaced with oxantel-pyrantel tablet, better result is expected. No clue was found for prevalence of T. sodium from both human and the pig in the island.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.72 no.5
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• pp.409-415
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• 2012

Background: The isolation of non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) has been increasing in South Korea. To date, however, the cause of this increase has not been determined, and it remains unclear whether the use of liquid media has contributed to this increase. The aim of this study was to evaluate the factors associated with NTM isolation and the impact of liquid media on NTM culture. Methods: Mycobacterial smear/culture results of respiratory specimens (sputum and bronchial aspirates), obtained during the years 2002, 2005, and 2010, were retrieved and analyzed retrospectively. Results: During the years 2002, 2005, and 2010, 83,096 sputum specimens were collected from 31,104 patients, and were cultured for mycobacteria, using solid media only in the 2002 and 2005 specimens and both solid and liquid media in the 2010. Of these, 3,516 (4.2%) specimens were smear-positive for acid-fast bacilli (AFB). The annual rate of NTM among positive culture specimens increased from 21% in 2002 to 57.8% in 2010 (p<0.001), as did the proportion of NTM, among AFB smear- and culture-positive specimens, from 12.2% in 2002 to 45.2% in 2010 (p<0.001). In 2010, the NTM culture rate was higher in the liquid than in the solid media (13.9% vs. 8.4%, p<0.001). The NTM rate among AFB-positive specimens was higher in patients aged >50 than ${\leq}$50 years. Conclusion: The rate of NTM isolation has steadily been increasing at the hospital in South Korea, likely due in part to the use of liquid media for the culture.

• The Korean Journal of Cytopathology
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.38-45
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• 2006

Bile duct brush cytology has been employed as a diagnostic tool for the evaluation of pancreatic and biliary tract strictures. The specificity of this method is high however, its sensitivity is quite low. A recent study employing liquid based cytology (LBC) reported results comparable to those achieved via conventional cytology. Therefore, we have attempted to prospectively evaluate the diagnostic utility of bile duct brush cytology in pancreaticobiliary diseases. A total of 46 cases with bile duct stricture were enrolled including 11 cases of benign stricture, 29 cases of bile duct carcinoma, 3 cases of gallbladder cancer, and 3 cases of pancreatic cancer. Both conventional smear and LBC using $MonoPrep2^{TM}$ system were conducted in each case. The cytological diagnosis of each case was classed into the following categories; benign, suspicious for malignancy, and malignancy. The diagnostic accuracy of both cytologic methods was investigated. LBC evidenced a high rate of material insufficiency (13/46), which was attributed to low cellularity. The kappa index of both cytological methods was 0.508. Cytological and tissue diagnoses were correlated in 25 cases conducted from biopsy or operation. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were 41.2% (7/17), 100% (8/8), 100% (7/7), and 44.4% (10/18) in conventional smear; 58.8% (10/17), 87.5% (7/8), 90.9% (10/11), and 50.0% (7/14) in LBC; and 94.1% (16/17), 87.5% (7/8), 94.1% (16/17), and 87.5% (7/8) in any one of both cytological methods, respectively. Based on these results, the sensitivity of LBC was found to be superior to that of conventional smear and we were able to obtain higher positive predictive value upto 94.1% by simultaneously conducting both cytologic methods.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.53 no.6
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• pp.635-643
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• 2002

Background : The Aim of this study was to compare the recovery of mycobacteria from sputum samples of pulmonary tuberculosis patients using the MB/BacT rapid culture system(Organon Teknika, USA) with that obtained using Lowenstein-Jensen solid medium. Methods : The two culture systems were compared using sputum samples of 99 pulmonary tuberculosis patients. Culture media were incubated at $35-37^{\circ}C$ for six weeks in the MB/BacT system and for 12 weeks in Lowenstein-Jensen solid medium. Solid media were examined macroscopically once a week, and the MB/BacT system positive vials were unloaded from the machine as soon as possible after positive signal from the connected computer was detected Confirmation of growth for mycobacteria was done by Ziehl-Neelson stained smears. Isolates were identified to differentiate Mycobacterium tuberculosis from mycobacterium other than tuberculosis(MOTT) by phenotypic and molecular methods. Results : Of the sputum samples of the 99 patients, 58 samples were smear positive and 41 in negative smear. Mycobacteria were recovered from 67(67.7%) samples by using both culture systems. The yield with MB/BacT was higher than that with Lowenstein-Jensen [67(67.7%) vs. 52(52.5%), p<0.001]. Moreover, 15(15.2%) samples were positive only in the MB/BacT, whereas none of samples was positive only in Lowenstein-Jensen. In smear-positive and smear-negative samples, the recovery rate with MB/BacT was also higher than that with Lowenstein-Jensen [sputum-positive; 56/58(96.6%) vs. 46/58(79.3%), p=0.005, sputum-negative; 6/41(14.6%) vs. 5/41(12.2%), p<0.001]. The mean times to detection of Mycobacteria were 13.3 and 27.2 days with MB/BacT and Lowenstein-Jensen respectively(p<0.001). Conclusion : This results indicate that the the MB/BacT is more efficient and faster than Lowenstein-Jensen for the recovery of mycobacteria.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.519-528
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• 1998

Background: Diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis is not easy when the sputum smear for Mycobacterium tuberculosis(M. Tb) is negative. We evaluated the clinical utility of polymerase chain reaction(PCR) for detecting M. Tb in bronchoalveolar lavage(BAL) samples. Methods: We recruited 84 patients whose sputum smear for M. Tb were negative or not available due to no production of sputum. We performed bronchoalveolar lavage for acid-fast stain, culture of mycobacteria, and PCR assay of BAL fluid. We analyzed the results of microbiologic examination. Results: The sensitivity of BAL fluid smear, culture, and PCR were 20%, 38%, and 40%, respectively. The specificity of BAL fluid PCR was 95%. The positive predictive value of PCR was 89%. The smear of BAL fluid was positive in 17%. The PCR of BAL fluid was the only diagnostic test in 17%. Therefore, the BAL fluid analysis including smear and PCR was diagnostic in 34 % within 24 hours. The BAL fluid analysis including smear, PCR, and culture was diagnostic in 55% within 2 month. Conclusion: The BAL fluid PCR was valuable method in the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in patients whose sputa were not available or reveal negative smear.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.16
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• pp.7381-7384
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• 2015

This study was conducted to 1206 women who had cervical cancer screening at Chonburi Cancer Hospital. The spilt-sample study aimed to compare the efficacy of abnormal cervical cells detection between liquid-based cytology (LBC) and conventional cytology (CC). The collection of cervical cells was performed by broom and directly smeared on a glass slide for CC then the rest of specimen was prepared for LBC. All slides were evaluated and classified by The Bethesda System. The results of the two cytological tests were compared to the gold standard. The LBC smear significantly decreased inflammatory cell and thick smear on slides. These two techniques were not difference in detection rate of abnormal cytology and had high cytological diagnostic agreement of 95.7%. The histologic diagnosis of cervical tissue was used as the gold standard in 103 cases. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, false positive, false negative and accuracy of LBC at ASC-US cut off were 81.4, 75.0, 70.0, 84.9, 25.0, 18.6 and 77.7%, respectively. CC had higher false positive and false negative than LBC. LBC had shown higher sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy than CC but no statistical significance. In conclusion, LBC method can improve specimen quality, more sensitive, specific and accurate at ASC-US cut off and as effective as CC in detecting cervical epithelial cell abnormalities.