• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.1 no.2
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• pp.155-160
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• 1997

Purpose : Tethered cord syndrome is characterized by progressive motor and sensory disturbances in lower extremities, foot deformities caused by a pathologic fixation of spinal cord resulting in excessive stretching of the spinal cord. It is also frequently associated with urological symptoms include urinary frequency, incontinence, enuresis, urgency and recurrent urinary tract infection. Because there is few report in the literature about urological manifestations of theterd cord syndrome, we conducted a retrospective study on the patients diagnosed as tethered cord syndrome to delineate the characteristics of urologic manifestations in tethered cord syndrome and to establish the policy to evaluate patients who is suspected of tethered cord syndrome. Method : A retrospective study was conducted by reviewing the medical records of nine patients who was diagnosed as tethered cord syndrome from November 1991 to July 1996 in Yeungnam University Hospital. Result : 1) The age distribution of nine patients was as follows; 5 patients were under 2 years, 1 case from 2 to 6 years and 3 cases from 6 to 10 years. 2) Of 9 patients 6 had voiding frequency, urinary incontinence, enuresis, urgency and loss of micturation sense. Radiologic urodynamic studies revealed neurogenic bladder in 5 patients, hydronephrosis and hydroureter in 3, vesicoureteral reflux in 3. 3) Of 6 patients with urological abnormal manifestations 4 underwent spinal cord surgery (detethering). In spite of surgical intervention, the urological manifestations improved in only one patient. Conclusion : Urological abnormalities were common in tethered cord syndrome. Abnormal laboratory findings including urodynamic study were found even before the onset of urological symptoms. We have to concern tethered cord syndrome as one of common causes of voiding frequency and enuresis and to evaluate urological abnormalities as thetered cord syndrome is diagnosed.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.7
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• pp.716-722
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• 2005

Purpose : A full view of the spectrum of all bacterial diseases in healthy children is essential to the establishment of public health priorities. Accurate information on the relative importance of the various pathogens in terms of the age of the affected patients, the site of infection and the case fatality rate are valuable to the clinician in choosing antimicrobial treatments. Methods : Fifty-nine episodes of bacteremia were analysed. Data were collected at Ilsan Paik Hospital from January 2000 to December 2003. Analysis of each collected episode included isolating pathogen from blood culture, diagnosis, hospital course, isolating pathogens from other tissue sites, and studying results of antimicrobial sensitivity tests. Results : Fifty-nine cases of community-acquired bacteremia were reviewed. The most common pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus(11 cases, 18.6 percent), followed by Salmonella(10 cases, 16.9 percent), E. coli(7 cases, 11.9 percent), Streptococcus pneumoniae(five cases, 8.5 percent), Streptococcus viridans(5 cases 8.5 percent). The most common diagnosis was bacteremia without an indentified focus(61 percent), followed by meningitis(12 percent), bacteremia with enteritis(10.2 percent) and bacteremia with urinary tract infection(8.5 percent). Salmonella was still an important causative agent of bacteremia. The relative importance of Haemophilus influenza and Streptococcus pneumoniae was lower than in other studies. The most common organism responsible for bacteremia without an identified focus was Staphylococcus aureus. The case-fatality was 3.4 percent for all cases of bacteremia. Conclusion : We reviewed the etiology of community-acquired bacteremia. These data may be useful in the establishment of public health priorities and serve as a reference for selection of antibiotics in the empirical therapy of suspected invasive bacterial infection.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.215-222
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• 2003

Purpose : This study was to analyze serious bacterial infections in infants younger than three months of age and to review the direction of treatments for these patients. Methods : 378 febrile infants with a rectal temperature ${\geq}38.0^{\circ}C$ visited from Jan. 2001 through Dec. 2002 were retrospectively studied. Infants with the following criteria belonged to the low risk group. WBC $5,000{\sim}15,000/mm^3$, WBC negative in urine stick test and negative for nitirite test, CSF WBC < $10/mm^3$ and negative in CSF gram stain, negative chest X-ray, stool WBC <5/HFP(high power field), and focal infection. If any of the above criteria were not met, they belonged to the high risk group. SBI was defined as a positive culture of urine, blood or CSF. SI was defined as aseptic meningitis or pneumonia including above laboratory tests of SBI. SBI patients were separately compared with two groups, high risk and low risk. Results : Of the 378 infants that were tested 216(57.1%) were in the high risk group and 162(42.9%) in the low risk group. Among 105 SBI(27.8%) and 172 SI(45.5%), there were 98 urinary tract infection(25.2%), 10 bacteremia(2.6%), 2 bacterial meningitis(0.6%), and 77 aseptic meningitis(22.8%). There were 76 SBI(35.2%) from the high risk group and 29 SBI(17.9%) from the low risk group identified. The results of the sensitivity(72.4%), the specificity(48.7%), the negative predictive value(82.1%) and the positive predictive value (35.2%) were calculated. Conclusion : Even though the probability of SBI in the low risk group is insignificant, it should still be considered in febrile infants younger than 3 months of age. I believe the CSF study is necessary because of the moderate high incidence of abnormal finding in our study.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.94-100
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• 2001

Purpose : Enterovirus is a common cause of aseptic meningitis and nonspecific febrile illness in young children. During the summer and fall months, enterovirus-infected young children are frequently admitted and evaluated to rule out bacterial sepsis and/or meningitis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between nonpolio enterovirus infection and febrile illness in infants under 3 months of age during the summer, fall months by using a stool culture to identify the presence of enterovirus. Methods : Patients included febrile infants under 3 months of age admitted to Masan Fatima Hospital for sepsis evaluation from May 1999 to September 1999. Cultures were performed from stool and Cerebrospinal fluid samples and then were tested for enterovirus infection. Viral isolation and serotype identification were performed by cell culture and immunofluorescent testing. Enteroviruses not typed by immunofluorescent testing were confirmed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. Results : A total of 44 febrile infants were enrolled; of those, 20(45%) were positive for enterovirus. Two enterovirus culture-positive infants had concomitant urinary tract infection and one had Kawasaki disease. All infants infected with an enterovirus recovered without complications. Serotype of 20 enteroviruses were isolated from stool, 3 of echovirus type 9, 1 of echovirus type 11, 1 Coxsachievirus type B4, 15 of untyped enteroviruses. One untyped enterovirus was isolated in the CSF. Conclusion : Nonpolio enterovirus infections are associated with nonspecific febrile illnesses in infants under 3 months of age.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.82-90
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• 2018

Purpose: Survival after liver transplantation (LT) has improved over the years, but infection is still a major complication. We aimed to identify the characteristics of bacterial infections in pediatric LT recipients. Methods: This study is a retrospective review of 189 consecutive children undergoing LT between 2000 and 2015 at a single center. In this study, the incidence of infection was determined for the following periods: within 1 month, between 1-5 months, and between 6-12 months. Patients who underwent liver transplants more than once or multiple organ transplants were excluded. Results: All patients had received postoperative antibiotic for 3 days. Only the maintenance immunosuppression with oral tacrolimus and steroids were performed. As a result, 132 bacterial infections developed in 87 (46.0%) patients (0.70 events per person-year). Bacterial infections occurred most frequently within the first month (n=84, 63.6%) after LT. In the pathogens, Staphylococcus aureus (15.2%), Enterococcus species (15.2%), and Klebsiella species (13.6%) were most common. Regarding the organ infected, bloodstream was most common (n=39, 29.5%), followed by peritoneum (n=28, 21.2%), urinary tract (n=25, 18.9%), and lungs (n=20, 15.2%). We changed prophylactic antibiotics from ampicillin-sulbactam to piperacillin-tazobactam at 2011, October, there were no significant effects in the prevalence of antibiotics resistant bacterial infections. The 1-year mortality was 9.0% (n=17), in which 41.2% (n=7) was attributable to bacterial infection; septicemia (n=4), pneumonia (n=2), and peritonitis (n=1). Conclusions: The incidence and type of bacterial infectious complications after LT in pediatric patients were similar to those of previous studies. Bacterial complications affecting mortality occur within 6 months after transplantation, so proper prophylaxis and treatment in this period may improve the prognosis of LT.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.217-224
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• 2000

Background : It is well known that when macrophages are stimulated with endotoxin, they produce a wide variety of cytokine mediators, including TNF-$\alpha$ and IL-1$\beta$. However, there is an alteration in the macrophages' responsiveness when they are challenged with repeated bouts of endotoxin, termed "endotoxin tolerance" which is regarded as a self-protective phenomenon from continuous stimulation. In this study, endotoxin tolerance in the peripheral blood monocytes of sepsis patients was evaluated. Methods : Fourteen patients with organism-documented sepsis were included. The severity of illness was evaluated by APACHE II score. Peripheral blood monocytes were isolated from the patients and diluted to $1{\times}10^5$ well. After stimulation with endotoxin (LPS of E. coli O114 : B4, 100 ng/ml), they were incubated at $37^{\circ}C$ in 5% $CO_2$ incubator for 24 hours. Supernatant was collected for the measurement of TNF-$\alpha$ and IL-1$\beta$ with ELISA method. Peripheral blood monocytes of seven healthy volunteers were used as control. Results : The APACHE II score (mean$\pm$SD) of the patients at the time of blood sampling was 12.2$\pm$5.7. The primary infection foci were urinary tract infection, pneumonia, subacute bacterial endocarditis, and catheter related infection, etc. The causative organisms were gram negative rods (10 cases), gram positive cocci (6 cases) with two cases of mixed infection. Serum TNF-$\alpha$ could be measured in 4 cases with 29.9$\pm$27.7 pg/ml. Serum IL-1$\beta$was measurable in only one patient. The TNF-$\alpha$ level of supernatant of cultured peripheral blood monocytes was 2,703$\pm$2,066 pg/ml in patients and 2,102$\pm$1914 pg/ml in controls. The IL-1$\beta$level of supernatant was 884$\pm$1,050 pg/ml in patients and 575$\pm$558 pg/ml in controls. There was no difference of TNF-$\alpha$ and IL-1$\beta$ level between patients and controls. Conclusion : We cannot prove the phenomenon of endotoxin tolerance in this study. Future study needs to be focused on the more severe sepsis patients who were taken for sampling earlier. Addition of serum to the culture medium could be an another valuable option for the success of this study.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.24-30
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• 1997

Purpose: To evaluate the diagnositc value of the absolute and relative renal uptake rates on $^{99m}Tc-DMSA$ renal scan of children with febrile UTI. Method: The absolute and relative renal uptake rates of $^{99m}Tc-DMSA$ were checked in 68 children with febrile urinary tract infection (35 with unilateral focal defect; 13 with bilateral focal defect; and 20 with diffuse bilateral defect) and 49 children with afebrile UTI and normal $^{99m}Tc-DMSA$ renal scan as control. Results: The renal absolute uptake rate in the control group were $21.8{\pm}3.9%(right),\;22.2{\pm}3.9%(left),\;and\;44.2{\pm}7.8%(total)$. The absolute uptake rate gradually increased until the age 12 months and then was stationary. In febrile UTI with unilateral focal defect on the $^{99m}Tc-DMSA$ renal scan, both relative and absolute uptake rates were similarly diagnostic ($41.2{\pm}9.7%,\;16.5{\pm}5.4%$ vs $50.0{\pm}2.6%,\;22.0{\pm}3.9%$, p<0.01). In acute pyelonephritis with bilateral focal defect on the $^{99m}Tc-DMSA$ renal scan, the absolute uptake rate was significantly more diagnostic than the relative uptake rate[$17.3{\pm}5.3%$ (right), $17.4{\pm}5.3%\;(left),\;vs\;21.8{\pm}3.9%,\;(right)\;22.2{\pm}3.9%$, (left)% p<0.01]. In febrile UTI with bilateral diffuse defects on the $^{99m}Tc-DMSA$ renal scan, the absolute uptake rate was significantly diagnostic than the relative uptake rate [$18.1{\pm}3.9%\;(right),\;18.4{\pm}3.8%\;(left),\;vs\;21.8{\pm}3.9%,\;(right)\;22.2{\pm}3.9%$(left), p<0.01]. Conclusion: In the $^{99m}Tc-DMSA$ renal scan, the absolute uptake rate was more useful than the relative uptake rate to evaluate bilateral acute pyelonephritis.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.28 no.3 s.71
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• pp.207-215
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• 2007

Objectives : The objective of this study was to assess whether there were sex differences in stroke types, risk factors, warning signs, and stroke complications among patients with first-ever stroke. Methods : Six-hundred seventy six patients with first-ever stroke were recruited at the Department Cardiovascular and Neurologic Diseases (Stroke center) of KyungHee University Oriental Hospital, DongGuk University International Hospital, and Kyungwon University In-cheon Oriental Medical Hospital from September 2005 to June 2007. Patients were hospitalized within 28 days after the onset of stroke. We investigated their stroke types, ischemic stroke subtypes by TOAST classification, risk factors, warning signs, stroke complications, general characteristics such as age, sex, etc. Results : Overall, 347 patients were male and 279 female. Compared with males, female patients were significantly older (mean age 67.3${\pm}$1.1 versus 62.4${\pm}$1.6 years) (P=0.000). We did not find significant sex differences in stroke types or ischemic stroke subtypes by TOAST classification. History of hypertension was significantly more frequent in female than male patients (P=0.000). Among stroke complications, urinary tract infection was significantly more frequent in female than male patients (P=0.003). Among warning signs, blepharospasm was significantly more frequent in female than male patients (P=0.006). Conclusions : Knowledge of sex differences of stroke patients can help us gain better insights on the characteristics of stroke patients. We need further and larger scale research to acquire more concrete conclusions on this theme.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.201-212
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• 2006

Purpose : Vesicoureteral reflux(VUR) is the major risk factor of urinary tract infection(UTI) in children and may result in serious complications such as renal scarring and chronic renal failure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between VUR and renal scar formation, the usefulness and correlation of various imaging studies in reflux nephropathy, and the spontaneous resolution of VUR. Methods : We retrospectively reviewed 106 patients with VUR with no accompanying urogenital anomalies in the Department of Pediatrics, Bundang CHA Hospital during the period from Jan. 1996 to Mar. 2005. Ultrasonography and $^{99m}Tc$-dimercaptosuccinic acid(DMSA) scan were performed in the acute period of UTI. Voiding cystourethrography(VCUG) was performed 1 to 3 weeks after treatment with UTI. Follow-up DMSA scan was performed 4 to 6 months after treatment and a follow-up VCUG was performed every 12 months. Results : The mean age at detection of VUR was $13.8{\pm}22.2$ months and the male to female ratio was 2:1. The incidence of renal scarring showed a tendency of direct correlation between severity of VUR(P<0.001) and abnormal findings of renal ultrasonography(P<0.01). 63.2%(24 of 38 renal units) of renal parenchymal defects present in the first DMSA scan disappeared on follow-up DMSA scans. Follow-up DMSA scans detected renal scars in 7(14%) of 50 renal units with ultrasonographically normal kidneys. Meanwhile, ultrasonography did not show parenchymal defects in 7(36.8%) of 19 renal units where renal scarring was demonstrated on a follow-up DMSA scan. The spontaneous resolution rate of VUR was higher(75%) in cases with low grade(I to III) VUR(P<0.01). Conclusions : The presence and severity of VUR and abnormal findings of renal ultrasonography significantly correlated with renal scar formation. DMSA scan was useful in the diagnosis of renal defects. Meanwhile renal ultrasonography was an inadequate method for evaluating renal parenchymal damage. Therefore, follow-up DMSA scans should be performed to detect renal scars even in children with low-grade VUR and normal renal ultrasonography.

• The Korean Journal of Pharmacology
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.34-48
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• 1985

In vitro effects of nitrofurantoin, an antimicrobial agent for acute and chronic urinary tract infection, on the lung microsomal lipid peroxidation and the generation of reactive oxygen radicals were investigated to elucidate the biochemical mechanisms of its in vivopulmonary toxicity. The interaction of nitrofurantoin with porcine lung microsome resulted in significant lipid peroxidation. In addition, nitrofurantoin stimulated the generation of reactive oxygen radicals, $O^{-}_{2}{\cdot},\;H_2O_2$ as well as a highly reactive secondary oxygen species, $OH{\cdot}$. The stimulation of lipid peroxidation was inhibited not only by superoxide dismutase and catalase, but also by hydroxyl radical scavengers, mannitol and thiourea. Neither singlet oxygen $({^1}O_{2})$ was detected during the incubation of microsome with nitrofurantoin, nor lipid peroxidation was inhibited by singlet oxygen scavengers. When incubated anaerobically under the nitrogen atmosphere, the ability of nitrofurantoin to stimulatle lipid peroxidation was abolished. It appears that NADPH-dependent metaboliam of nitrofurantoin in pulmonary microsome under aerobic condition is accompanied by the stimulation of lipid peroxidation through the mediation of reactive oxygen radicals, particularly hydroxyl radical. It is strongly suggested from these results that the stimulation of pulmonary microsomal lipid peroxidation by the reactive oxygen radical may be a in vivo mechanism of pulmonary toxicity caused by nitrofurantoin.