• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.543-549
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• 2000

The incidence of deep neck infection has been reduced by modern antibiotic therapy. Life-threatening deep neck infection of odontogenic or upper airway origin may extend to the thorax. Early diagnosis, administration of the potent antibiotics, and complete debridement and drainage are essential to improve the chances for survival in these very ill patients. We report two cases of deep neck infection which were complicated by thoracic infection such as mediastinitis, pericarditis, and empyema as a result of descending infection.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.87-94
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• 2017

Purpose: The inappropriate prescription of antibiotics in children with upper respiratory tract infection (URTI) is common. This study evaluated the factors that influence antibiotics use in hospitalized children with viral URTI confirmed by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR) assay. Methods: The medical records of admitted patients who performed RT-PCR assay for respiratory virus pathogens from January 2013 to November 2014 were examined. The demographic and clinical features were compared between patients who were administered antibiotics at admission and those who were not. We also investigated differences between children who continued antibiotics and those who stopped antibiotics after a viral pathogen was identified. Results: In the total 393 inpatients, the median age was 23 months (interquartile range, 13 to 41.3 months). Antimicrobial agents were prescribed in 79 patients (20.1%) at admission. Patients with acute otitis media (AOM) had higher rates of antibiotics prescription than those without AOM (48.1% vs. 2.2%, P<0.001), with an adjusted odds ratio of 91.1 (95% confidence interval, 30.5 to 271.7). Level of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein and the proportion of acute rhinosinusitis were also significantly associated with antibiotics use (P<0.001). Among the 44 patients with viruses identified using the RT-PCR method during hospitalization, antibiotic use was continued in 28 patients (63.6%). AOM was statistically associated with continued antibiotic use in the patients (P=0.002). Conclusions: Although the respiratory virus responsible for URTI etiology is identified, clinicians might not discontinue antibiotics if AOM is accompanying. Therefore, careful diagnosis and management of AOM could be a strategy to reduce unjustified antibiotic prescriptions for children with URTI.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.33-45
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• 2024

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Onion, particularly onion peel, is a quercetin-rich food with, anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. However, the effect of onion peel extract (OPE) in humans is unclear. Thus, the present study aimed to investigate whether OPE improves natural killer (NK) cell activity and cytokine concentration in a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Eighty participants aged 19-64 yrs old with a white blood cell count of 4,000-10,000 cells/µL, symptoms of upper respiratory infection at least once within the previous 12 mon, and perceived stress scale (PSS) over 14 were included. Participants were randomly assigned to take either 1,000 mg/day OPE or a placebo for 8 weeks. RESULTS: Compliance were 87.4 ± 8.6% and 86.9 ± 79.0% in OPE and placebo groups. Compared to the placebo, OPE supplementation improved "Hoarseness" (P = 0.038) of the Wisconsin Upper Respiratory Symptom Survey (WURSS)-21 symptom, and stress scores (P = 0.001; 0.021) of PSS. Supplementation of OPE had no significant effect on NK cell activity and concentrations of cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-2, IL-6, IL-12, IL-1β, interferon-γ, and tumor necrosis factor-α. At baseline, the WURSS-21 symptom and PSS score (P = 0.024; 0.026) were higher in the OPE group than the placebo group. Among participants with higher than median WURSS-21 symptom score, OPE supplementation increased NK cell activity (P = 0.038). Supplementation of OPE had no significant effects on safety measurements and adverse events. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggested that OPE supplementation improves NK cell activity in participants with moderate upper respiratory symptoms without any significant adverse effects.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.87-93
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• 2016

Purpose: An outbreak of influenza virus is uncommon in neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The clinical presentation of influenza virus infection in neonates is diverse. This study was aimed to report an outbreak of influenza A in a NICU and to investigate the clinical characteristics of influenza virus infection in neonates especially preterm infants during the 2011-2012 influenza season in Korea. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of 29 patients who were evaluated by respiratory virus multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) at NICU of Kosin University Gospel Hospital during the 2011-2012 seasonal influenza outbreak in Korea. Results: Eleven patients (37.9%) were influenza A virus RT-PCR positive during the survey periods. They were all preterm infants and three of them had no symptoms. Eight patients had symptoms and it was fever (18%, 2/11), respiratory difficulty (72.7%, 8/11) without symptoms of upper respiratory infection, and gastrointestinal symptoms (27.3%, 3/11). The median duration of symptom was 5 days. There were differences of duration of admission at the test of respiratory RT-PCR, Clinical Risk Index for Babies (CRIB) score, use of mechanical ventilation, and use of dexamethasone before infection between influenza A virus RT-PCR positive and negative group. All 11 patients with influenza A were discharged without any complications. Conclusions: The symptoms of influenza A virus infection in the preterm infants is nonspecific. Influenza A virus should be considered as a possible cause of infection in NICU during the influenza season in the community.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.39 no.2
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• pp.194-198
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• 1992

Mycoplasma pneumoniae produces illness in man ranging from mild upper respiratory tract infection to severe bronchitis and pneumonia. We experienced a case of mycoplasma pneumonia complicated with acute respiratory failure, cold agglutinin hemolytic anemia, pleural effusion, Raynaud's phenominon and hepatitis in 27-year-old female. She was diagnosed as having mycoplasma pneumonia by detecting mycoplasma antibody and cold agglutinin test and treated effectively with erythromycin.

• IMMUNE NETWORK
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.48.1-48.13
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• 2022

With the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) variants, which are randomly mutated, the dominant strains in regions are changing globally. The development of preclinical animal models is imperative to validate vaccines and therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2 variants. The objective of this study was to develop a non-human primate (NHP) model for SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant infection. Cynomolgus macaques infected with Delta variants showed infectious viruses and viral RNA in the upper (nasal and throat) and lower respiratory (lung) tracts during the acute phase of infection. After 3 days of infection, lesions consistent with diffuse alveolar damage were observed in the lungs. For cellular immune responses, all macaques displayed transient lymphopenia and neutrophilia in the early stages of infection. SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant spike protein-specific IgM, IgG, and IgA levels were significantly increased in the plasma of these animals 14 days after infection. This new NHP Delta variant infection model can be used for comparative analysis of the difference in severity between SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and may be useful in the efficacy evaluation of vaccines and universal therapeutic drugs for mutations.

• Journal of Society of Preventive Korean Medicine
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.181-197
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• 2013

Objectives : This study aimed to assess the differences in treatment behavior by reviewing data of a medical institution that studies treatment behavior in URI and assessing the treatment efficacy in Korea. Methods : We analyzed the behavior of medical customers and providers of upper respiratory infection medications using the NPS published by the Health Insurance Review Assessment Service. We created an operational definition for complications, and confirmed the difference in complication distribution between medical specialties. We also performed a multivariate analysis using a mixed model to elucidate the factors influencing the occurrence of complications. Results : The outcomes of analyzing factors to influence the difference in practice patterns of the diagnosing URI between the physicians are as follows; (1) Analysis of antibiotics prescriptions rate showed significant difference from medical departments (pediatrics; 49.7%, internal medicine; 54.2%, otorhinolaryngology; 69.6%, family medicine; 61.6%, general surgery; 57.5%, p<0.001). Analysis of steroid prescriptions rate showed significant difference from medical departments (pediatrics; 3.8%, internal medicine; 4.5%, otorhinolaryngology; 5.4%, family medicine; 3.0%, general surgery; 11.2%, p<0.001). (2) In patients who visited medical institutes with the common cold, the complication distribution differed according to the medical specialty, which suggests that specific complications arise depending on the particular medical specialty (p<0.001). (3) Moreover, through multivariate analysis, we found that the complication rate is higher in clinics than in hospitals, depending on the institute's size. (p<0.001; odds ratio of 4.67 in clinics than in hospitals, 95% CI 2.66-8.21) Conclusions : We observe a deviation between the behavior of patients diagnosed with URI and medication providers. This may arise from the interaction between providers and consumers, wherein the complications are associated with the choice of outpatient department and the prevention of cutting incentives. These findings suggest that the health policies should be improved to prevent inappropriate medical practice in the treatment of pediatric URI.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.55 no.2
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• pp.42-47
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• 2012

$Mycoplasma$ $pneumoniae$ (MP), the smallest self-replicating biological system, is a common cause of upper and lower respiratory tract infections, leading to a wide range of pulmonary and extra-pulmonary manifestations. MP pneumonia has been reported in 10 to 40% of cases of community-acquired pneumonia and shows an even higher proportion during epidemics. MP infection is endemic in larger communities of the world with cyclic epidemics every 3 to 7 years. In Korea, 3 to 4-year cycles have been observed from the mid-1980s to present. Although a variety of serologic assays and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques are available for the diagnosis of MP infections, early diagnosis of MP pneumonia is limited by the lack of immunoglobulin (Ig) M antibodies and variable PCR results in the early stages of the infection. Thus, short-term paired IgM serologic tests may be mandatory for an early and definitive diagnosis. MP infection is usually a mild and self-limiting disease without specific treatment, and if needed, macrolides are generally used as a first-choice drug for children. Recently, macrolide-resistant MP strains have been reported worldwide. However, there are few reports of apparent treatment failure, such as progression of pneumonia to acute respiratory distress syndrome despite macrolide treatment. The immunopathogenesis of MP pneumonia is believed to be a hyperimmune reaction of the host to the insults from MP infection, including cytokine overproduction and immune cell activation (T cells). In this context, immunomodulatory treatment (corticosteroids or/and intravenous Ig), in addition to antibiotic treatment, might be considered for patients with severe infection.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.47-53
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• 1975

Pan-Korean multi-center trial of doxycycline in the treatment of upper and lower respiratory infection was carried out in the summer(from May to October) of 1975. A total of 204 patients between the ages of 3 and 75 was treated by 37 physicians including the internal medicine, pediatrics and ENT specialist in 17 general hospitals and 2 private clinics all-over the country. The dosage recommended was 200 mg on the first day of therapy followed by 100 mg daily thereafter. The pediatric dosage was 4 mg/kg on the first day and then 2mg/kg on each successive day. The subjective and objective signs of respiratory infection such as temperature, cough, sputum, pain and associated inflammatory symptoms were assessed using the carefully designed protocols and it showed rapid improvement by the fifth day (80%) of therapy. Only minor side-effects were reported and these were mild and mainly limited to gastrointestinal tract. The overall evaluation of the trial showed that 170 patients(83.3%) had a very good or good result, 13 patients (6.4%) a moderate and another 13 patients (6.4%) a negative result.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.143-147
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• 1976

A case of congenital funnel chest which was observed in 6 year old male was reported. The patient represented clinical status of depression of lower sternum, recurrent upper respiratory tract infection, and slight exertional dyspnea. The treatment was carried out by "turnover" method, and it was easy to do viable on sternum, costal cartilage, and intercostal muscles. And it is fit to reimplantation by free autograft when repair was indicated. The plane of the manubrium, an acute hump on the sternum, and asymmetry constitute limiting factors in the cosmetic results.