• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.28 no.2 s.50
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• pp.406-420
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• 1995

To study the health hazards and exposure status of manganese among female manganese workers, authors conducted airborne, blood and urine manganese concentration measurements, questionnaire and neurological examinations on 80 manganese-handling productive female workers(exposed group) in a manganese manufacturing facto in Pohang city and 127 productive female workers not handling manganese(control group) in other factories in the Pohang city. The results are; 1. Geometric mean concentrations of manganese in air and urine were $0.98mg/m^3\;and\;4.12{\mu}g/l$ and arithmetic mean concentration of manganese in blood was $6.94{\mu}g/dl$ in exposed group, significantly higher than those of control group(p<0.05). However, clinical and laboratory findings in exposed group were not statistically different from those of control group. 2. As age increase, positive rates of clinical symptoms also increased in the exposed group. However, in older aged group, the positive rates of symptoms and signs were statistically different from those of control group. We observed the same tendency in the positive rates of the neurological examinations. 3. There was statistically significant correlation between airborne and urine manganese concentrations(r=0.61, p<0.01) while there was no statistically significant correlation between airborne and blood manganese concentrations(r=0.29, p>0.05). The results suggest that urine manganese concentration was the best appropriate biomarker to estimate the exposure to manganese in respect to clinical symptoms and signs. In the analysis of correlation between urine and airborne manganese concentrations, it is required to adjust the present permissible exposure level(PEL) of airborne manganese.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.20-22
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• 2004

Acute mercury inhalation poisoning is a rare cause of acute peripheral neuropathy. A 44-year-old female inhaled the fume from heating mercury to treat her palmar dermatitis. For 4 days, this procedure was done for 2-3 minutes after each meal. She subsequently complained flu like symptoms, such as headache, toothache, myalgia and arthralgia. She was admitted for 9 days and then symptoms disappeared. About 3 weeks after exposure, both knee pain developed and then she could not walk. To treat mercury intoxication, she was referred to our hospital. At that time, initial laboratory data were within normal limits, but blood and urinary mercury level were 5.6 11$\mu$g/dl, 132.8 $\mu$g/L. After treatment with D-penicillamine for 7 days, blood and urinary mercury level were 3.9 1$\mu$g/dl, 177.3 $\mu$g/L. During the following 1 month, both leg symptoms remained. Nerve conduction studies were performed, both leg sensory nerve amplitude decreased. These findings were suggestive of peripheral polyneuropathy.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.113-121
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• 2010

Purpose: Drug-induced non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema has been reported on in a drug case series. For most of the agents that cause pulmonary edema, the pathogenic mechanisms that are responsible for the pulmonary edema remain unknown. We report here on the cases of suspected drug-induced pulmonary edema and we analyze the clinical characteristics. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 1,345 patients who had drug adverse effects and drug poisoning from January 2005 to July 2010, and 480 of these patients were admitted to the EM Department. Among them, 17 patients developed abnormal chest radiological findings and they were analyzed for any clinical characteristics, the initial symptoms, securing the airway and the clinical results. Results: Seventeen patients out of 480 (3.54%) developed drug-induced abnormal chest radiographic pulmonary edema; they displayed initial symptoms that included mental change (41.2%), dyspnea (17.6%), vomiting (11.8%), etc, and some displayed no symptoms at all (11.8%). Only 3 patients out of the 11 who died or had severe pulmonary edema were able to obtain an advanced airway prior to their arrival to the EM Department. Clinical recovery was generally rapid and this was mostly completed within 6 hours. The mortality rate was 11.8% (2 of 17 patients), and the causative drugs were found to be propofol (35.3%, 6 of 17 patients), multiple drugs (41.2% or 7 out of 17) and one patient each with ephedrine, ethylene glycol, doxylamine and an unknown drug, respectively. Conclusion: Drug-induced pulmonary edema and deaths are not uncommon, and recovery is typically rapid with few long-term sequelae when drug administration is discontinued. Oxygen therapy and securing the airway must be performed during transportation for patients with pulmonary edema.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.83-89
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• 2004

Acute poisoning is one of the diseases which need the most fastest emergency measures at the very beginning. However, at present, The Korea doesn't manage the toxication all over the country, and in particular, there is no guide to medical cure paying due regard to the traits of each area. This paper focused on the issue that the necessary data in preparing the facilities for the treatment of the poisoned patients and materials for medical treatment including antidote would have to be collected, after finding the special features of the symptoms by searching the present conditions of the poisoning in small towns next to farm villages in the North area of Youngseo, Kangwon province. This study was based on the questionnaires from 111 patients who were carried into the emergency room by the poisoning in two university hospitals of the North area of Youngseo, Kangwon, for one year, 2002. Upon investigation, the patients(111) visiting emergency room by the acute poisoning during the research period was found to be 0.37 percent of all patients(30,085) visiting emergency room. Among them, the most high percentage was given in their twenties and thirties at the rate of $39.6\%$, and the ratio($40.5\%$) of the poisoned patients after their fifties was much higher than a research($10\%$) of other areas. Many poisoned patients came to their rescue in an emergency room generally in spring and in winter, from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Agricultural chemical of the toxic materials had a majority at a ratio of $57.7\%$, and paraquat of the agricultural chemicals was found to have a lot of toxicity by $31.7\%$. As the trace of the toxication, the oral poisoning was common by $89.2\%$, and $55.9\%$ in the case of operating gastric lavage and nasogastric irrigation, but only $14.4\%$ for prescribing antidote. The mortality of the acute poisoned patients was $17.2\%$, and the toxication by paraquat held a majority. As a result, the acute poisoning of the North area in Youngseo, Kangwon had both of the characteristics of the rural and the city, and the patients over their fifties by the population aging had more attack of the disease than other regions. Also, with the high ratio of the toxication by the agricultural chemicals, especially, the lethal agricultural chemical was used frequently. Therefore, these dangerous situations need to find the ways to cope with.

• Korean Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.665-675
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitude toward food safety and the HACCP of college students in Daejeon. 51.9% of respondents had experienced food poisoning. The main symptoms of food poisoning were diarrhea(73.4%), stomachache(57.3%), and vomiting(24.7%). Most students answered that food hygiene was important and more students in private residences recognized the importance of food hygiene than in non-private residences (p<0.05). More information about hygine was obtained from TV & radio(44.9%) than the internet(38.1%). Half of them were afraid of food safety and more females felt unsafe about food sold than males(p<0.01). 37.6% of them were aware of HACCP, more females(44.6%) than males(28.4%) had such knowledge(p<0.001). The more information they had on HACCP, the higher the perception of the HACCP mark(p<0.001). 45.4% of them had seen HACCP mark on food packages and more females had seen it than males(p<0.001), 64% of them purchased HACCP products, The more information they had on HACCP, the more experience they had with HACCP consumption(p<0.001), 44% of them were willing to buy HACCP products. Males(32.3%) wanted to buy HACCP products for their health and females(49.6%) wanted to buy HACCP products if they were the same price (p<0.001). Education about food hygiene and HACCP should be conducted for collage students' health though TV, radio, and the internet.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.29 no.2 s.53
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• pp.227-238
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• 1996

This study was conducted to evaluate the accuracy of the official death registry in rural area. The base data used for the study was 379 deaths registered during the period of 1993 and 1994 in 4 rural townships of Chonnam province. The interview survey for cause-of-death was performed on the next of kin and/or neighbor. Additional medical informations were collected from hospitals and medical insurance associations for the purpose of verification. The underlying cause-of-death of 278 cases presumed by the survey was compared to the cause on official death registry. There was a prominent disagreement of cause-of-death between the survey data and the registry data(agreement rate: $38.9\sim44.6%$, according to disease classification method). These results may be caused by extremely low rates of physicians' certification, which were mostly confined to the poisoning and injury. Symptoms, signs, and ill defined conditions on death registry could be classified into circulatory disease(32.3%), neoplasm(21.2%), digestive disease(7.1%), injury and poisoning(7.1%) and so on. These results suggest that careful attention and verification be required on utilization of death registry data in rural area.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.8-13
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• 2011

Purpose: Although glyphosate-surfactant herbicide intoxication is relatively mild toxic in humans, we encountered an atypical clinical presentation. We performed this study to understand the atypical clinical course and factors associated with severe intoxication after glyphosate ingestion. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study of 61 patients (male 43, mean age $54{\pm}18.8$ years) who were presented with glyphosate ingestion between March 1997 and March 2011. The severe intoxication group was defined as patients with systolic blood pressure less than 90 mmHg, respiratory distress needing intubation, or altered mental state. Results: Of the 61 patients, 22 patients (36.1%) had a severe clinical course, 1 patient (1.6%) had died and 1 patient (1.6%) had moribund discharge. The most common symptoms were nausea with or without vomiting which occurred in 30 patients (49.2%). Twenty-seven patients had metabolic acidosis that was the second most common medical complication. Advanced age, pH, base excess, $HCO_3$, Sat, creatinine, X-ray abnormalities and ECG abnormalities were significant factors. Hemoglobin, platelet, $pO_2$, $pCO_2$, BUN, sodium, potassium and AST levels were not different comparing the laboratory characteristics between the severe and mild intoxication groups. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that severe intoxication occurred in 22 patients (36.1%) after glyphosate intoxication. Advanced age, pH, base excess, $HCO_3$, Sat, creatinine, X-ray abnormality and ECG abnormalities were significant predictive factors for severe intoxication in patients with glyphosate surfactant herbicide poisoning.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.308-313
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• 2006

Amygdalin is a cyanogenic glycoside compound which is commonly found in the pits of many fruits and raw nuts. Although amygdalin itself is not toxic, it can release cyanide (CN) after hydrolysis when the pits and nuts are crushed, moistened and incubated, possibly within the gastrointestinal tract. CN reversibly inhibits cellular oxidizing enzymes and cyanide poisoning generates a range of clinical symptoms. As some pits and nuts may contain unusually high levels of amygdalin such that there is a sufficient amount to induce critical CN poisoning in humans, the detection of abnormal content of amygdalin in those pits and nuts can be a life-saving measure. Although there are various methods to detect amygdalin in food extracts, an enzyme immunoassay has not been developed for this purpose. In this study we immunized New Zealand White rabbits with an amygdalin-KLH (keyhole limpet hemocyanin) conjugate and succeeded in raising anti-sera reactive to amygdalin, proving that amygdalin can behave as a hapten in rabbits. Using this polyclonal antibody, we developed a competition enzyme immunoassay for determination of amygdalin concentration in aqueous solutions. This technique was able to effectively detect abnormally high amygdalin content in various seeds and nuts. In conclusion, we proved that enzyme immunoassay can be used to determine the amount of amygdalin in food extracts, which will allow automated analysis with high throughput.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.1-25
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• 2000

We were trying to study the validity of Puffer fish's poison(Tetrodotoxin- TTX) to make a traditional Korean Medical treatment. The following conclusions were made after literary studies. 1. The first record of the puffer fish dates back 2000 years ago in the Chinese text Book of Mountain and Sea and other texts from the similar period. 2. Puffer fish's poison IS known as tetrodotoxin which is an amino perhydroquinazoline compound. It has a chemical formula of $C_{11}H_{17}N_3O_8$ in the hemiacetal structure and has the molecular weight of 319. 3. Tetrodotoxin (TTX) plays a role as potent neurotransmitter blocker by blocking the $Na^+$ -gate channel which hinders the influx of $Na^+$ ion into the cell. 4. Symptoms of the puffer fish poisoning ranges from blunted sense in the lips and tongue, occasional vomiting in the first degree to sudden descending of the blood pressure, apnea, and other critical conditions in the fourth degree. Intoxication of the puffer fish poison progresses at a rapid pace as death may occur after an hour and half up to eight hours in maximum. Typical death occurs after four to six hours. 5. Ways to treat the puffer fish poisoning include gastric irrigation, induce vomiting, purgation, intravenous fluid injection, and correcting electrolytic imbalance and acidosis. In cases of dyspnea, apply oxygen inhalation and conduct artificial respiration. 6. Tetrodotoxin (TTX) may be applied in treating brain disorders, ocular pain, excess pain in the large intestine and ileum, and relieving tension of the skeletal museles, neuralgia, rheumatism, arthritis, and etc. 7. In terms of Oriental medicine, the puffer fish poison has characteristics of sweet, warm, and poisonous. It's known efficacies are to tonify weakness, dispel damp, benefit the lower back, relieve hemorrhoid, kills parasites, remove edema, and so forth. And the puffer fish eggs processed with ginger are said to be effective against tuberculosis and lung cancer, thus, it's validity must be investigated and further research should be followed.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.43 no.2
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• pp.159-165
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• 2022

Objective: This clinical study describes the effect of Korean medicine on a patient with Delayed Neuropsychiatric Sequelae after Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. Case presentation: A patient with the delayed neuropsychiatric effects of carbon monoxide exposure was treated with herbal medicine, acupuncture, moxibustion, and cupping. Clinical symptoms were measured with the Korean Mini Mental State Examination (K-MMSE), Functional Independence Measure (FIM), and the Modified Barthel Index (MBI). After 32 days of treatment, the patient's K-MMSE score increased from 11 to 21 points, the FIM score from 52 to 94 points, and the MBI score from 46 to 84 points. There were no side effects. Conclusion: According to this case study, Korean medicine may be considered an effective treatment for delayed neuropsychiatric sequelae, although more studies are needed to confirm its validity.