• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.334-345
• /
• 2001

Background : Pulmonary tuberculosis(TB) is still prevalent and remains a significant clinical problem for the elderly. However, the disease presents in many ways, and there are frequent adverse drug reactions that may prevent the early diagnosis and treatment of elderly TB patients compared to the young. The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not there are any differences in the clinical feature of pulmonary tuberculosis(TB) in both the diagnosis and treatment between the young (less than 64 years) and the elderly (65 years and more). Methods : The medical records of 125 young and 70 elderly pulmonary TB patients, who were diagnosed with and treated for pulmonary TB at the Seoul Municipal Boramae Hospital from November 1991 to January 1997, were analyzed retrospectively. Results : Anorexia(12% vs. 31.4%), general weakness (20.0% vs. 54.3%), dyspnea(21.6% vs. 37.1%) and an abnormal mentality (0.8% vs. 15.7%) were more frequent presenting symptoms in elderly TB patients, whereas hemoptysis (32.8% vs. 10.0%) and fever (BT > $37^{\circ}C$, 58.4% vs. 35.7%) were more frequent in the young. The elderly had a higher number of cardiovascular and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases as underlying illnesses. In chest PA, there were no differences in the location of the TB lesion, but the appearances were initially diagnosed more frequently as pneumonia or lung cancer (8.8% vs. 30.0%, p<0.05) in the elderly. There was no difference in the detection rate of acid fast bacilli(AFB) in the sputum between the two groups. There were no differences in the treatment response and follow-up loss. However, adverse drug reactions (13.6% vs. 45.7%, p<0.05), and changes in medication (4.9% vs. 25.7%, p<0.05) during treatment occurred more frequently in the elderly. One among the 125 young patients died from tuberculosis whereas 6 among the 70 elderly patients died from the disease. Conclusion : Because the clinical and radiological presentations were more atypical, a sputum AFB smear and culture should be done immediately in the elderly who are TB. The elderly experienced more frequent adverse drug reactions and mortality during treatment, but the response to treatment was good and rapid.

• Korean Journal of Soil Science and Fertilizer
• /
• v.41 no.4
• /
• pp.260-266
• /
• 2008

Small lysimeter experiment under rain shelter plastic film house was conducted to investigate the effect of soil characteristics on the leaching and soil solution concentration of nitrate and phosphate. Three soils were obtained from different agricultural sites of Korea: Soil A (mesic family of Typic Dystrudepts), Soil B (mixed, mesic family of Typic Udifluvents), and Soil C (artificially disturbed soils under greenhouse). Organic-C contents were in the order of Soil C ($32.4g\;kg^{-1}$) > Soil B ($15.0g\;kg^{-1}$) > Soil A ($8.1g\;kg^{-1}$). Inorganic-N concentration also differed significantly among soils, decreasing in the order of Soil B > Soil C > Soil A. Degree of P saturation (DPS) of Soil C was 178%, about three and fifteen times of Soil B (38%) and Soil A (6%). Prior to treatment, soils in lysimeters (dia. 300 mm, soil length 450 mm) were tabilized by repeated drying and wetting procedures for two weeks. After urea at $150kg\;N\;ha^{-1}$ and $KH_2PO_4$ at $100kg\;P_2O_5\;ha^{-1}$ were applied on the surface of each soil, total volume of irrigation was 213 mm at seven occasions for 65 days. At 13, 25, 35, 37, and 65 days after treatment, soil solution was sampled using rhizosampler at 10, 20, and 30 cm depth and leachate was sampled by free drain out of lysimeter. The volume of leachate was the highest in Soil C, and followed by the order of Soils A and B, whereas the amount of leached nitrate had a reverse trend, i.e. Soil B > Soil A > Soil C. Soil A and B had a significant increase of the nitrate concentration of soil solution at depth of 10 cm after urea-N treatment, but Soil C did not. High nitrate mobility of Soil B, compared to other soils, is presumably due to relatively high clay content, which could induce high extraction of nitrate of soil matrix by anion exclusion effect and slow rate of water flow. Contrary to Soil B, high organic matter content of Soil C could be responsible for its low mobility of nitrate, inducing preferential flow by water-repellency and rapid immobilization of nitrate by a microbial community. Leached phosphate was detected in Soil C only, and continuously increased with increasing amount of leachate. The phosphate concentration of soil solution in Soil B was much lower than in Soil C, and Soil A was below detection limit ($0.01mg\;L^{-1}$), overall similar to the order of degree of P saturation of soils. Phosphate mobility, therefore, could be largely influenced by degree of P saturation of soils but connect with apparent leaching loss only more than any threshold of P accumulation.