Although congenital syphilis can be prevented with prenatal screening, the disease remains problematic. Currently, there are no cases that describe hematuria and pneumonia related to congenital syphilis. We report a case of congenital syphilis that involved nephrotic syndrome and pneumonia alba in a 22-day-old male infant whose mother did not receive adequate prenatal care. The congenital syphilis diagnosis was confirmed with a serologic test and the patient recovered with penicillin treatment. Clinical findings may be subtle in neonates and delayed recognition occurs frequently, thus complete prenatal screening is critical for congenital syphilis prevention. Immediate serologic testing should be performed to obtain a differential diagnosis if an infant is delivered by a mother that has not received appropriate prenatal examinations.
Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Exanthema* ; Hematuria* ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Mothers ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Penicillins ; Pneumonia* ; Prenatal Care ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Serologic Tests ; Syphilis, Congenital*

No abstract available.
Endometriosis* ; Exons* ; Female ; Humans ; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome*

Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) is an inherited X-linked disorder. The WAS gene is located on the X chromosome and undergoes mutations, which affect various domains of the WAS protein, resulting in recurrent infection, eczema, and thrombocytopenia. However, the clinical features and severity of the disease vary according to the type of mutations in the WAS gene. Here, we describe the case of a 4-year-old boy with a history of marked thrombocytopenia since birth, who presented with recurrent herpes simplex infection and late onset of eczema. Examination of his family history revealed that older brother, who died from intracranial hemorrhage, had chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenia. Therefore, we proceeded with genetic analysis and found a new deletion mutation in the WAS gene: c.858delC (p.ser287Leufs*21) as a hemizygous form.
Eczema ; Herpes Simplex ; Humans ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; Methylmethacrylates ; Parturition ; Polystyrenes ; Sequence Deletion ; Siblings ; Thrombocytopenia ; Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome ; X Chromosome

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has rapidly spread worldwide, there are growing concerns about patients' mental health. We investigated psychological problems in COVID-19 patients assessed with self-reported questionnaires including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 scale, and Impact of Event ScaleRevised Korean version. Ten patients who recovered from COVID-19 pneumonia without complications underwent self-reported questionnaires about 1 month after discharge. Of them, 10% reported depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while 50% had depression during the treatment. Perceived stigma and history of psychiatric treatment affected PTSD symptom severity, consistent with previous emerging infectious diseases. Survivors also reported that they were concerned about infecting others and being discriminated and that they chose to avoid others after discharge. Further support and strategy to minimize their psychosocial difficulties after discharge should be considered.

BACKGROUND: Early conversion from intravenous to oral antibiotics plays an important role in lowering the risk of catheter-associated infections, reducing the workload of nurses, decreasing direct and indirect costs, and shortening hospital stays. In August 2015, an antimicrobial stewardship program (ASP) was implemented to facilitate conversion from intravenous to oral administration of fluoroquinolones in our institute. This study evaluated the clinical and economic impact of the intervention. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data were retrospectively collected by reviewing electronic medical records. All hospitalized patients aged 18 and older who met the study inclusion criteria for the conversion were included between August and November 2015. We computed the physicians’ adherence rate to the ASP recommendations. We also measured the total use of fluoroquinolones, length of hospital stay, and medication costs. RESULTS: During 4 months, 129 cases were enrolled in the study. The adherence rate was 79.8%. The average total prescription volume of intravenous fluoroquinolones, the length of hospital stay, and the total cost of the fluoroquinolones statistically significantly decreased in the intervention-adherent group. CONCLUSION: Intervention to facilitate conversion from intravenous to oral administration has reduced excess use of intravenous fluoroquinolones and length of hospital stay. With these findings, further implementations of the ASP extending to other antibiotics may be warranted.
Administration, Oral ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Catheter-Related Infections ; Electronic Health Records ; Fluoroquinolones* ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Prescriptions ; Retrospective Studies ; Viperidae

PURPOSE: This study was to evaluate the effect of flexible bronchoscopy for the treatment of secondary atelectasis of children following respiratory infection. METHODS: The medical records for a total of 19 cases of flexible bronchoscopy were reviewed retrospectively, which were performed for the treatment of secondary atelectasis at the Department of Pediatrics of the Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's Hospital from April 2007 to January 2013. RESULTS: A total of 18 patients (11 males and 7 females) were involved in the study. The range of age was 4 months to 15 years old. The causative underlying diseases were 17 cases of pneumonia, 1 case of bronchiolitis and 1 case of bronchial asthma. The most common location of atelectasis was right middle lobe and right middle lobe with left lower lobe was next. Bronchoscopy revealed inflammatory changes in 12 cases (63.2%) such as mucus plug (n=4), profuse secretion (n=4), mucosal edema (n=3), and bronchial narrowing (n=1), although 7 cases (36.8%) showed normal airway. Other additional findings were bronchomalacia, tracheomalacia, and bronchial tree abnormality. Seven out of 19 cases who received therapeutic intervention had complete or partial reexpansion of their atelectasis. Cases who occurred atelectasis within 6 weeks showed significantly higher improvement than cases occurred after 6 weeks (70% vs. 11.1%, P=0.019). Complications including seizure, fever, hypoxia, mucous bleeding, and hypotension were observed in 6 cases. CONCLUSION: Flexible bronchoscopy revealed to be effective and safe treatment modality in treatment of secondary atelectasis of children. Timely therapeutic intervention in pediatric patients should be considered.
Anoxia ; Asthma ; Bronchiolitis ; Bronchomalacia ; Bronchoscopy ; Child ; Edema ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Korea ; Male ; Medical Records ; Mucus ; Pediatrics ; Pneumonia ; Pulmonary Atelectasis ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures, Febrile ; Tracheomalacia

Immature teratoma is composed of varying quantities of immature differentiating among anyone or all three germ layer. The pure immature teratoma accounts for fewer than 1% of all ovarian cancer, but it is the second most common germ cell malignancy. About 50% of pure immature teratomas of the ovary occur in women between the ages of 10 and 20 years, and they rarely occur in postmenopausal women. The most frequent site of dissemination is the peritoneum, and much less commonly, the retroperitoneal lymph node. Among the tumors with embryonal elements, those containing neural tissues demonstrate most clearly the importance of the ability to mature. Gliomatosis peritonei is the most dramatic demonstration of the significance of maturation, because most patients with these tumors have survived, even with this disseminated disease. The purpose of this paper is to report on a immature ovarian teratoma with predominantly mature glial tissues in peritoneum which we have experienced in this hospital recently with brief review of the literature.
Female ; Germ Cells ; Germ Layers ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; Ovary* ; Peritoneum ; Teratoma*

BACKGROUND: Co-administration of two or more antimicrobials with anti-anaerobic activity is not recommended except in certain circumstances. We therefore conducted an intervention to reduce unnecessary double anaerobic coverage (DAC) prescription. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The intervention consisted of education using an institutional intranet and prospective audits and feedback provided through collaboration between a pharmacist and an infectious diseases physician in Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, a tertiary hospital in Seongnam, Republic of Korea, in 2013. The study period was 1 year which contained 6 months of pre-intervention period and 6 months of intervention period. To estimate the overall effect of the intervention, we compared the monthly number of patients receiving unnecessary DAC for more than 3 days and the proportion of patients receiving unnecessary DAC for more than 3 days among all patients receiving DAC. RESULTS: The average monthly number of patients receiving unnecessary DAC for more than 3 days after screening decreased by 73.9% in the intervention period from 26.8 to 7.0. Wilcoxon rank sum test revealed there was a significant statistical difference in the monthly number of patients receiving unnecessary DAC for more than 3 days (P = 0.005). The proportion of patients receiving unnecessary DAC for more than 3 days after screening among all patients identified as receiving necessary or unnecessary DAC also decreased by 67.8% in the intervention period from 42.3% to 13.6% (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The multidisciplinary antimicrobial stewardship program with combined methods reduced unnecessary DAC prescription successfully.
Bacteria, Anaerobic ; Communicable Diseases ; Computer Communication Networks ; Cooperative Behavior ; Education ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Inappropriate Prescribing ; Mass Screening ; Pharmacists ; Prescriptions* ; Republic of Korea ; Seoul ; Tertiary Care Centers

Background: The clinical features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients in the COVID-19 vaccination era need to be clarified because breakthrough infection after vaccination is not uncommon. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed hospitalized COVID-19 patients during a delta variantdominant period 6 months after the national COVID-19 vaccination rollout. The clinical characteristics and risk factors for severe progression were assessed and subclassified according to vaccination status. Results: A total of 438 COVID-19 patients were included; the numbers of patients in the unvaccinated, partially vaccinated and fully vaccinated groups were 188 (42.9%), 117 (26.7%) and 133 (30.4%), respectively. The vaccinated group was older, less symptomatic and had a higher Charlson comorbidity index at presentation. The proportions of patients who experienced severe progression in the unvaccinated and fully vaccinated groups were 20.3% (31/153) and 10.8% (13/120), respectively. Older age, diabetes mellitus, solid cancer, elevated levels of lactate dehydrogenase and chest X-ray abnormalities were associated with severe progression, and the vaccination at least once was the only protective factor for severe progression. Chest X-ray abnormalities at presentation were the only predictor for severe progression among fully vaccinated patients. Conclusion In the hospitalized setting, vaccinated and unvaccinated COVID-19 patients showed different clinical features and risk of oxygen demand despite a relatively high proportion of patients in the two groups. Vaccination needs to be assessed as an initial checkpoint, and chest X-ray may be helpful for predicting severe progression in vaccinated patients.

As hospitals cater to elderly and vulnerable patients, a high mortality rate is expected if a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak occurs. Consequently, policies to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in hospital settings are essential. This study was conducted to investigate how effectively national and international guidelines provide recommendations for infection control issues in hospitals. After selecting important issues in infection control, we performed a systematic review and analysis of recommendations and guidelines for preventing COVID-19 transmission within medical institutions at national and international levels. We analyzed guidelines from the World Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. Recent guidelines do not provide specific solutions to infection control issues. Therefore, efforts need to be made to devise consistent advice and guidelines for COVID-19 control.