• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.196-202
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• 1997

Background: Various pain treatments have been administered to relieve patients suffering from postoperative pain. Among these, epidural or intravenous opiate administration is by far the most widly applied treatment in recent times. However it was our objective to device a more effective and safe means of postoperative analgesia. Methods: We studied 110 healthy pregnant women scheduled for delivery by elective cesarean section. EPI(epidural)-group is administered morphine 1.5 mg and 0.25% bupivacaine 8 ml as bolus dose, then, a mixture of morphine 6 mg and 0.125% bupivacaine 95 ml as continuous dose via epidural route. IV(intravenous)-group is administered nalbuphine 6~7 mg as bolus dose and nalbuphine 60~70 mg with 0.9% normal saline 90 ml as continuous dose via intravenous route, at the rate of 2 ml/hr for 2 days. We compared the analgesic efficacy and side effects of these two groups using VAS pain score and time duration of constant pain level. Results: VAS pain score was similar between the two groups, but pain duration was significantly shorter in EPI-group. Incidence of pruritus was significantly lower with the IV-group, of nausea and vomiting were similar for both groups, no respiratory depression for either groups. Conclusions: Although the EPI-group had better analgesic efficacy, the IV-group had lower incidence of side effects, and simplicity and safety methods of operation. Therefore, We propose further research and consideration of administering the kinds and doses of those medications prescribe to the IV group in conjunction with other drugs for safer and better efficacy of postoperative analgesia.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.4-10
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• 2015

Etifoxine (etafenoxine, $Stresam^{(R)}$) is a non-benzodiazepine anxiolytic with an anticonvulsant effect. It was developed in the 1960s for anxiety disorders and is currently being studied for its ability to promote peripheral nerve healing and to treat chemotherapy-induced pain. In addition to being mediated by $GABA_A{\alpha}2$ receptors like benzodiazepines, etifoxine appears to produce anxiolytic effects directly by binding to ${\beta}2$ or ${\beta}3$ subunits of the $GABA_A$ receptor complex. It also modulates $GABA_A$ receptors indirectly via stimulation of neurosteroid production after etifoxine binds to the 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) of the outer mitochondrial membrane in the central and peripheral nervous systems, previously known as the peripheral benzodiazepine receptor (PBR). Therefore, the effects of etifoxine are not completely reversed by the benzodiazepine antagonist flumazenil. Etifoxine is used for various emotional and bodily reactions followed by anxiety. It is contraindicated in situations such as shock, severely impaired liver or kidney function, and severe respiratory failure. The average dosage is 150 mg per day for no more than 12 weeks. The most common adverse effect is drowsiness at the initial stage. It does not usually cause any withdrawal syndromes. In conclusion, etifoxine shows less adverse effects of anterograde amnesia, sedation, impaired psychomotor performance, and withdrawal syndromes than those of benzodiazepines. It potentiates $GABA_A$ receptor-function by a direct allosteric effect and by an indirect mechanism involving the activation of TSPO. It seems promising that non-benzodiazepine anxiolytics including etifoxine will replenish shortcomings of benzodiazepines and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors according to animated studies related to TSPO.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-8
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• 2018

Purpose: Extremely hazardous pesticides are classified as World Health Organization (WHO) hazard class Ia. However, data describing the clinical course of WHO class Ia OP (organophosphate) poisonings in humans are very scarce. Here, we compare the clinical features of patients who ingested hazard class Ia OPs. Methods: This retrospective observational case study included 75 patients with a history of ingesting ethyl p-nitrophenol thio-benzene phosphonate (EPN), phosphamidon, or terbufos. The patients were divided according to the chemical formulation of the ingested OP. Data regarding mortality and the development of complications were collected and compared among groups. Results: There were no differences in the baseline characteristics and severity scores at presentation between the three groups. No fatalities were observed in the terbufos group. The fatality rates in the EPN and phosphamidon groups were 11.8% and 28.6%, respectively. Patients poisoned with EPN developed respiratory failure later than those poisoned with phosphamidon and also tended to require longer mechanical ventilatory support than phosphamidon patients. The main cause of death was pneumonia in the EPN group and hypotensive shock in the phosphamidon group. Death occurred later in the EPN group than in the phosphamidon group. Conclusion: Even though all three drugs are classified as WHO class Ia OPs (extremely hazardous pesticides), their clinical courses and the related causes of death in humans varied. Their treatment protocols and predicted outcomes should therefore also be different based on the chemical formulation of the OP.

• Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.273-277
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• 2011

It's a threat for the public health that H1N1 (Influenza virus A) causes disease and transmits among humans. WHO (world health organization) declared that the infections caused by the new strain had reached pandemic proportions. The approved neuraminidase inhibitors (Zanamivir and Oseltamivir) and related investigative drug (BCX-1812) are potent, specific inhibitors of influenza A and B viruses. These drugs are highly effective to prevent influenza A and B infections. Early therapeutic use reduces illness duration and respiratory complications. Recently, we found one of the potent inhibitor of erystagallin A ($IC_{50}$ of 2.04 ${\mu}M$) for neuraminidase target, this inhibitor shows most similar structure to its natural substrate, sialic acid. Therefore, we chose 1l7f to get the receptor structure for docking study among many crystal structures. A docking study has been performed in Surflex-Dock module in SYBYL 8.1. In the present study, we attempt to compare the docking studies of pterocarpin and erystagallin A with neuraminidase receptor structure. In the previous report, the methoxy group of pterocarpin had H-bonding with Arg residues. The present docking results for erystagallin A showed the backbone of hydroxyl group shows significant H-bonding interactions with Arg152 and Arg292. The results showed that erystagallin A interacts more favorably with distinctive binding site rather than original active site. Therefore, we tried to reveal plausible binding mode and important amino acid for this inhibitor using docking and site id search calculations of Sybyl. The results obtained from this work may be utilized to design novel inhibitors for neuraminidase.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.23-27
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• 2013

Zoletil is a non-opioid, non-barbiturate animal anesthetic and proprietary combination of two drugs, a dissociative anesthetic drug, tiletamine, with the benzodiazepine anxiolytic drug, zolazepam. Zoletil has greater potency than ketamine. Zoletil is abused for recreational purposes, especially by people with easy access to medicine. However, in Korea, it is available over-the-counter. Here we report on a case of an 83-year-old woman who received injection of seven vials of "Zoletil 50" by her daughter and presented with an altered mental change. Her mental state was stupor and vital sign was hypotension, bradycardia. Her blood tests indicated metabolic and respiratory acidosis and hyperkalemia. She was treated with intravenous naloxone and flumazenil but was not responsive. She was admitted to the ICU and treated with supportive therapy. Her mental state showed transient recovery, however, her clinical manifestation worsened and she expired.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.116-123
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• 2018

Purpose: The social environment of easy access to medicines and arbitrary personal decisions leading to overdose aggravate unintentional medicine poisoning. This study aimed to investigate the characteristics of patients who visited emergency departments with unintentional medicine poisoning and reasons for poisoning based on age group. Methods: We retrospectively collected patients who experienced unintentional medicine poisoning based on data from the national injury surveillance system between 2013 and 2016. Subjects were classified into three groups based on age (0-14 years, 15-64 years, and ${\geq}65\;years$). We identified sex, insurance, time of poisoning, place, alcohol co-ingestion, hospitalization, death, and reason for poisoning in each age group. Results: A total of 27,472 patients visited an emergency department with poisoning during the study period; 1,958 patients who experienced unintentional poisoning were enrolled in this study. Respiratory medicine was the most frequent medicine in those younger than 15 years of age, and sedatives and antipsychotic drugs were the most common in patients older than 15 years of age. In total, 35.1% of patients older than 65 years were hospitalized. The most common reasons for poisoning were careless storage of medicine in those younger than 15 years of age and overdose due to arbitrary decisions in those older than 15 years of age. Conclusion: Unintentional medicine poisoning has distinct characteristics based on age group, and strategies to prevent poisoning should be approached differently based on age.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.249-262
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• 2021

The most effective way to control newly emerging infectious disease, such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, is to strengthen preventative or therapeutic public health strategies before the infection spreads worldwide. However, global health systems remain at the early stages in anticipating effective therapeutics or vaccines to combat the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. While maintaining social distance is the most crucial metric to avoid spreading the virus, symptomatic therapy given to patients on the clinical manifestations helps save lives. The molecular properties of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been quickly elucidated, paving the way to therapeutics, vaccine development, and other medical interventions. Despite this progress, the detailed biomolecular mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 infection remains elusive. Given virus invasion of cells is a determining factor for virulence, understanding the viral entry process can be a mainstay in controlling newly emerged viruses. Since viral entry is mediated by selective cellular proteases or proteins associated with receptors, identification and functional analysis of these proteins could provide a way to disrupt virus propagation. This review comprehensively discusses cellular machinery necessary for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Understanding multifactorial traits of the virus entry will provide a substantial guide to facilitate antiviral drug development.

• Journal of Practical Agriculture & Fisheries Research
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.117-123
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• 2018

The purpose of this report is to describe the diagnosed case of a large colonic impaction in an adult donkey. An adult female donkey (Equus africanus asinus; 6-years-old) was admitted to the Equine Hospital of Jeju Race Park with signs of anorexia, which had started 1 day previously. Clinical examination revealed: weak gut sounds, dehydration, and severe abdominal distension, but normal respiratory and heart rates and no signs of pain. Transrectal palpation identified an impaction in the colon. The patient was treated with nasogastric siphonage, fluid therapy, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Over the course of a day, her condition worsened; she started trembling, could not stand, and 2 hours later she died. Upon necropsy, a vast amount of ingesta was found in the large colon, particularly in the left ventral colon. The cecum and small colon were normal. Eleven days prior to presentation, the stable management and diet of the donkey had changed. We suspect that the change of feed, reduced water consumption, and lack of exercise precipitated the illness. However, the exact cause of the sudden death of the donkey requires further investigation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.5
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• pp.975-991
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• 1997

Background : Many patients with isoniazid and rifampin-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis have organisms that are also resistant to other first-line drugs. Despite of aggressive retreatment chemotherapy, the results are often unsuccessful, with a failure rate approaching 40%. Recently, there has been a revival of resectional surgery for the treatment of multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis. Methods : A retrospective analyses of the case records and radiographic findings were done. Between January 1991 and December 1995, 14 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-seronegative patients with multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis were selected for resection to supplement chemotherapy. All patients had organisms resistant to many of the first-line drugs, including both isoniazid and rifampin. Results : Despite of aggressive therapy for median duration of 9.5 months, 12 of the 14 patients (86%) were still sputum smear and/or culture positive at the time of surgery. The disease was generally extensive. Although main lesions of the disease including thick-walled cavities were localized in one lung, lesser amounts of contralateral disease were demonstrated in 10 of 14 (71%). Types of surgery performed were pneumonectomy including extrapleural pneumonectomy in six patients, lobectomy or lobectomy plus in six patients, and segmentectomy in two patients. The resected lung appeared to have poor function ; preoperative perfusion lung scan showed only 4.8% of the total perfusion to the resected portion of the lung. There were no operative deaths. Two patients had major postoperative complications including empyema with bronchopleural fistula and prolonged air leak, respectively. Of the 14 patients, 13 (93%) remained sputum-culture-negative for M. tuberculosis for a median duration of 23 months and one remained continuously sputum smear and culture positive for M. tuberculosis. Conclusion : On the basis of comparison with historical controls, adjunctive resectional surgery appears to play a significant beneficial role in the management of patients with multidrug-resistant pulmonary tuberculosis if the disease is localized and there are adequate reserve in pulmonary function.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.39 no.5
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• pp.425-432
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• 1992

Background: The prevalence of tuberculosis in Korea decreased remarkably for the past 30 years, while for at least the recent 10 years, the frequency of disease attributable to mycobacteria other than tuberculosis (MOTT) began to increase both in actual numbers and in the proportion of the total burden of mycobacterioses. Method: Twenty nine cases, diagnosed as having pulmonary disease due to MOTT on the basis of repeated isolations of the relevant organisms from sputum specimens and chest X-ray findings from Jan. 1982 throught Dec. 1991 at the Chest Clinic of the Korean Institute of Tuberculosis, were reviewed in terms of clinical features and courses. Results: 1) Nineteen cases (66%) were infected with Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare, 5 cases (17%) with M. fortuitum, 4 cases (14%) with M. chelonei, and 1 cases (3%) with M. szulgai. 2) The ratio of male versus female patients was 1.9:1. 3) The peak incidence was in the fifth decade. 4) Eighteen cases (62%) had moderately advanced disease and 11 cases (38%) had far advanced disease on chest P-A film. 5) The common symptoms were cough (59%), sputum (52%), and dyspnea (34%). 6) All cases had a previous history of tuberculosis. 7) Most of the isolates were highly resistant to the major antituberculosis drugs and 48~52% showed a sensitivity to cycloserine, kanamycin or enviomycin. 8) Of 19 cases which were treated and followed-up for over 12 months, 3 cases attained negative conversion on cultures (2 M. fortuitum infections, 1 M. szulgai infection). Sixteen cases failed in attaining negative conversion on cultures. However, their clinical courses were chronic and indolent despite of persistant culture positivity. Conclusion: Treatment of these patients has been difficult because of the frequency of severe underlying conditions and the natural resistance of most of the nontuberculous mycobacteria to the presently available drugs.