• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• 제59권sup1호
• /
• pp.80-83
• /
• 2016

Isolated anomalous right coronary artery originating from the pulmonary artery (ARCAPA) is a rare congenital coronary anomaly that is asymptomatic and discovered incidentally in most cases. ARCAPA is generally not considered a fatal defect in infancy or childhood, although cases of sudden death have been reported. Here, we report a 2-month-old female infant who presented with a prolonged fever that was determined to be caused by rhinovirus infection. Myocardial ischemia of the left ventricular posterior wall was already seen on echocardiography, and ARCAPA was discovered incidentally. The patient underwent successful surgical reimplantation of the right coronary artery to the aortic root to re-establish dual ostial circulation.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• 제24권2호
• /
• pp.108-111
• /
• 2017

영아에서의 결핵은 소아나 성인의 결핵에 비해 더 심한 증상과 합병증을 초래할 수 있다. 하지만 증상이 전형적이지 않거나 균 검출이 잘 되지 않는 경우가 많아 진단에 어려움이 있다. 본 증례는 폐결핵으로 진단된 3개월 환아에 대한 보고이다. 환아는 광범위한 양측 폐의 병변에도 불구하고 발열이나 호흡곤란, 기침 등의 증상을 보이지 않았으며 항결핵제 투약 6개월째 폐병변이 호전되었다. 일부 영아 결핵에서 증상이 나타나지 않는 것은 면역반응의 미성숙으로 부분적으로 설명될 수 있을 것이다. 따라서 영아에서 결핵 접촉자 검진의 중요성이 강조된다.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• 제5권2호
• /
• pp.215-220
• /
• 1998

목 적 : A군 연쇄구균 무증상 감염자는 증상은 없지만 A군 연쇄구균이 분리되고 ASO(antistreptolysin O)치가 높은 사람으로서 이들은 류마티스열이나 사구체신염 등 후유증을 일으킬 수 있다. 저자들은 무증상 감염자를 대상으로 경구용 페니실린을 복용하게 하여 이들에서 페니실린 치료 효과를 조사하였다. 방 법 : 상기도 감염 증상이 없는 건강한 초등 학생들을 대상으로 인두배양과 ASO치를 정량적으로 측정하였다. A군 연쇄구균이 분리되고 ASO 치가 400IU/mL 이상인 아동 36명을 대상으로 하여 그 중 22명의 학생은 경구용 페니실린 제제(penicillin V, 500mg. 하루 2회)를 10일간 복용하게 하였고, 14명은 대조군으로 삼고 항생제를 복용하지 않았다. 한달 후 두 그둡 아동에서 동시에 인두배양을 시행하여 A군 연쇄구균 제거율을 비교하고 ASO치를 측정하여 농도 변화를 관찰하였다. 결 과 : 항생제를 복용한 그룹과 복용하지 않은 그음의 A군 연쇄구균 제거율은 각각 91%(20/22)와 50%(7/14)로서 항생제를 사용한 그룹에서 유의하게 높았다(P<0.05). 항생제를 사용한 그룹과 사용하지 않은 그룹에서 ASO치가 100IU/mL 이상 상승한 경우는 각각 22%(4/18)와 30%(3/10)이었고 200IU/mL이상 감소한 경우는 각각 44.4%(8/18)와 40%(4/10)로서 유의한 차이가 없었다. 결 론 : 무증상 감염자를 대상으로 페니실린을 투여했을 때 인두에서 균이 효과적으로 제거되어 페니실린 치료의 타당성을 확인하였다. 그러나 ASO치 감소는 두 그룹간에 유의한 차이가 없었는데, 이는 ASO의 반감기가 걸고 경구용 페니실린의 경우 순응도가 낮기 때문으로 사료된다. 항생제 치료에도 불구하고 ASO치가 상승한 것을 치료 실패로 판정할 때 22%의 치료 실패율을 보였다.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• 제23권1호
• /
• pp.1-9
• /
• 2016

The Zika virus, a flavivirus related to dengue and Japanese encephalitis was discovered in the Zika forest in Uganda, 1947. Since Zika virus was first reported in Brazil in May 2015, infections have occurred in at least 40 countries, especially in the Americas. Zika virus infection usually is asymptomatic or causes mild illness, but may be related to severe clinical manifestations, particularly microcephaly and Guillain-$Barr{\acute{e}}$ syndrome. Although the possibility of autochthonous Zika virus transmission in South Korea is low, the imported cases and Zika virus-transmitting mosquito should be adequately monitored and promptly managed. In addition, enhancing preparedness for Zika virus infection are needed.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
• /
• 제19권2호
• /
• pp.83-95
• /
• 2016

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major medical challenge affecting around 200 million people worldwide. The main site of HCV replication is the hepatocytes of the liver. HCV is a positive enveloped RNA virus from the flaviviridae family. Six major HCV genotypes are implicated in the human infection. In developed countries the children are infected mainly through vertical transmission during deliveries, while in developing countries it is still due to horizontal transmission from adults. Minimal nonspecific and brief symptoms are initially found in approximately 15% of children. Acute and chronic HCV infection is diagnosed through the recognition of HCV RNA. The main objective for treatment of chronic HCV is to convert detected HCV viremia to below the detection limit. Children with chronic HCV infection are usually asymptomatic and rarely develop severe liver damage. Therefore, the benefits from current therapies, pegylated-Interferon plus ribavirin, must be weighed against their adverse effects. This combined treatment offers a 50-90% chance of clearing HCV infection according to several studies and on different HCV genotype. Recent direct acting antiviral (DAA) drugs which are well established for adults have not yet been approved for children and young adults below 18 years. The most important field for the prevention of HCV infection in children would be the prevention of perinatal and parenteral transmission. There are areas of focus for new lines of research in pediatric HCV-related disease that can be addressed in the near future.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• 제15권20호
• /
• pp.8837-8842
• /
• 2014

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is an important cause of liver cancer in Thailand. The highest prevalence of anti-HCV positive among Thai blood donors is found in the northeastern region. The present analysis of the genotype distribution among anti-HCV positive northeastern-Thai blood donors was conducted to provide a base for the epidemiological pattern of HCV infection in this region. Materials and Methods: A total of 112 HCV seropositive healthy blood donors were randomly selected and tested for the presence of HCV-RNA by RT-PCR. HCV-RNA positive samples were genotyped by direct sequencing at core region genomes and confirmed by phylogenetic analysis. Results: HCV viremia was found in 94.6% (106/112) of HCV seropositive blood donors. There were 3 major genotypes distributed among this population. HCV genotype 3a was the most prevalent (71.7%) followed by genotypes 1a (7.5%), 1b (7.5%), 6i (3.8%), 6f (2.8%) and 6n (1.9%). Conclusions: HCV genotype 3a in asymptomatic infections in northeastern Thailand is significantly higher than other previous reports. Subgenotype 6 prevalence is less than in neighboring countries and distribution patterns differ. The findings are relevant as predictors for using interferon therapy in this population.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• 제60권1호
• /
• pp.118-124
• /
• 2017

Brain abscess commonly occurs secondary to an adjacent infection (mostly in the middle ear or paranasal sinuses) or due to hematogenous spread from a distant infection or trauma. Pulmonary arteriovenous fistulas (AVFs) are abnormal direct communications between the pulmonary artery and vein. We present two cases of brain abscess associated with asymptomatic pulmonary AVF. A 65-year-old woman was admitted with a headache and cognitive impairment that aggravated 10 days prior. An magnetic resonance (MR) imaging revealed a brain abscess with severe edema in the right frontal lobe. We performed a craniotomy and abscess removal. Bacteriological culture proved negative. Her chest computed tomography (CT) showed multiple AVFs. Therapeutic embolization of multiple pulmonary AVFs was performed and antibiotics were administered for 8 weeks. A 45-year-old woman presented with a 7-day history of progressive left hemiparesis. She had no remarkable past medical history or family history. On admission, blood examination showed a white blood cell count of 6290 cells/uL and a high sensitive C-reactive protein of 2.62 mg/L. CT and MR imaging with MR spectroscopy revealed an enhancing lesion involving the right motor and sensory cortex with marked perilesional edema that suggested a brain abscess. A chest CT revealed a pulmonary AVF in the right upper lung. The pulmonary AVF was obliterated with embolization. There needs to consider pulmonary AVF as an etiology of cerebral abscess when routine investigations fail to detect a source.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
• /
• 제64권12호
• /
• pp.652-660
• /
• 2021

Background: Viral load and shedding duration are highly associated with the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. However, limited studies have reported on viral load or shedding in children and adolescents infected with sudden acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the natural course of viral load in asymptomatic or mild pediatric cases. Methods: Thirty-one children (<18 years) with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were hospitalized and enrolled in this study. Viral loads were evaluated in nasopharyngeal swab samples using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (E, RdRp, N genes). cycle threshold (Ct) values were measured when patients met the clinical criteria to be released from quarantine. Results: The mean age of the patients was 9.8 years, 18 (58%) had mild disease, and 13 (42%) were asymptomatic. Most children were infected by adult family members, most commonly by their mothers. The most common symptoms were fever and sputum (26%), followed by cough and runny nose. Nine patients (29%) had a high or intermediate viral load (Ct value≤30) when they had no clinical symptoms. Viral load showed no difference between symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. Viral rebounds were found in 15 cases (48%), which contributed to prolonged viral detection. The mean duration of viral detection was 25.6 days. Viral loads were significantly lower in patients with viral rebounds than in those with no rebound (E, P=0.003; RdRp, P=0.01; N, P=0.02). Conclusion: Our study showed that many pediatric patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) experienced viral rebound and showed viral detection for more than 3 weeks. Further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between viral rebound and infectiousness in COVID-19.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• 제83권2호
• /
• pp.132-140
• /
• 2020

In human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PCP) is a well-known opportunistic infection and its management has been established. However, PCP is an emerging threat to immunocompromised patients without HIV infection, such as those receiving novel immunosuppressive therapeutics for malignancy, organ transplantation, or connective tissue diseases. Clinical manifestations of PCP are quite different between patients with and without HIV infections. In patients without HIV infection, PCP rapidly progresses, is difficult to diagnose correctly, and causes severe respiratory failure with a poor prognosis. High-resolution computed tomography findings are different between PCP patients with HIV infection and those without. These differences in clinical and radiological features are due to severe or dysregulated inflammatory responses that are evoked by a relatively small number of Pneumocystis organisms in patients without HIV infection. In recent years, the usefulness of polymerase chain reaction and serum β-D-glucan assay for rapid and non-invasive diagnosis of PCP has been revealed. Although corticosteroid adjunctive to anti-Pneumocystis agents has been shown to be beneficial in some populations, the optimal dose and duration remain to be determined. Recent investigations revealed that Pneumocystis colonization is prevalent and that asymptomatic carriers are at risk for developing PCP and can serve as the reservoir for the spread of Pneumocystis by airborne transmission. These findings suggest the need for chemoprophylaxis in immunocompromised patients as well as infection control measures, although the indications remain controversial. Because a variety of novel immunosuppressive therapeutics have been emerging in medical practice, further innovations in the diagnosis and treatment of PCP are needed.

• Neonatal Medicine
• /
• 제17권1호
• /
• pp.123-126
• /
• 2010

성인에서 A형 간염은 현증 감염이 대부분이지만, 소아에서는 무증상 또는 경한 증상을 보이는 경우가 많았다. 그동안 외국에서는 임신 및 분만 기간 동안에 발생한 A형 간염의 산모와 이로 인한 신생아 A형 간염에 대한 증례 보고가 드물지 않게 있었다. 국내에서는 20대와 30대의 젊은 성인에서 A형 간염에 대한 항체 양성률이 낮아지고 있는 가운데, 이들 산모들의 A형 간염에 대한 위험성이 증가하고 있는 상황이며, 아직까지 국내에서는 A형 간염에 이환된 신생아에 대한 증례 보고가 없었다. 이에 저자들은 A형 간염 산모로부터 이환된 것으로 보이는 급성 A형 간염 신생아를 경험하였기에 문헌 고찰과 함께 보고하는 바이다.