BACKGROUND: Silver has been used for disinfection and sterilization. We aimed to confirm the in-vitro antibacterial effects of nanocrystalline silver-coated gauze. METHODS: Fourteen clinical isolates each of Escherichia coli and Acinetobacter baumannii were used. Bacterial suspensions made in tryptic soy broth were exposed to Ordinary and silver-coated gauze. Bacteria were then harvested from the gauze immediately and after 24 h incubation, cultured on blood agar plates and eunmerated for viable counts. The number of colonies was converted into common logarithms for comparison. RESULTS: The number of colonies recovered from silver-coated gauze was significantly lower than those recovered from ordinary gauze when harvested immediately after exposure (E. coli, 3.06 vs 1.73; A. baumannii, 3.13 vs 1.98; P<0.001). After 24 h incubation of exposed gauze, silver-coated gauze produced less than 1 CFU/mL, whereas ordinary gauze produced a number of colonies significantly higher than it did immediately after exposure (E. coli, 4.13; A. baumannii, 4.46; P<0.001). Conclusion: Compared with ordinary gauze, silver-coated gauze was shown to have 99.99% antibacterial effect.
Acinetobacter baumannii ; Agar ; Bacteria ; Disinfection ; Escherichia coli ; Silver ; Sterilization ; Suspensions

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: The degree and the nature of performance deficit in confrontation naming tasks of patients with dementia of the Alzheimer type (DAT) are multifaceted depending on the stage of illness. Quantative analysis of patients responses may reveal the gradual deterioration of naming ability as the illness exacerbrates. In addition, based on the cognitive model proposed by Ellis and Young (1988), functional components and network involved in naming can be scrutinized for their integrity. The aim of this study is then two fold: first, it is to determine whether thee are quantitative differences in naming performance among the normal control and three DAT groups of different severities. Secondary it is to observe whether there are qualitative differences among the groups and if so, what categories of errors could differentiate one group from the others. METHOD: The DAT patients were trichotomized (CDR 0.5, CDR 1, and CDR 2) according to the severity of the illness based clinical dementia rating (CDR) scale. The Korean version of Boston Naming Test (K BNT) was administered to each DAT group and the normal. The responses were analysed according to six categories and then by detailed subcategories under each of the six categories. RESULTS & CONCLUSION: The results revealed significant mean value differences between the normal and CDR I & 2 groups. The CDR 0.5 group differentiated from the normal group since indefinite response were more evident in the former. Moreover, semantically unrelated errors and no-response errors became predominant as the illness worsens. These findings explicate that qualitative analysis of naming errors may be a valuable tool for us to understand the nature of naming deficits in DAT patients.
Dementia* ; Humans

BACKGROUND: The mortality rate from tuberculosis in Korea is the highest among OECD countries. However, general public's knowledge of tuberculosis is limited. Currently, exposure to tuberculosis in high school students is a big problem. METHODS: A written questionnaire was distributed to 78 high school students in Busan. RESULTS: Almost all the students had heard of tuberculosis (95%). However, their knowledge of tuberculosis was very superficial and limited. The attitude about tuberculosis was 'nothing to worry about' and there was no systemic education in the school or home. CONCLUSION: Although tuberculosis is quite serious in Korea, most people know little about it and have the wrong attitude. In particular, high school students are easily exposed to tuberculosis because they spend most of their time as a group. Therefore, education of high school students on tuberculosis is strongly recommended in schools and the home. In addition, medical practitioners should play a role in education and prevention programs.
Humans ; Korea ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis is globally the most important cause of death from single pathogen. Rapid and accurate identification of mycobacteria is essential for the control of tuberculosis. We evaluated a fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) method using peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes for the differentiation of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in direct smears of sputum specimens. METHODS: The cross-reactivity of MTB- and NTM-specific PNA probes was examined with reference strains of M. tuberculosis ATCC 13950, Mycobacterium kansasii ATCC 12479, Mycobacterium fortuitum ATCC 6841, several clinical isolates of mycobacteria (Mycobacterium abscessus, Mycobacterium avium, Mycobacterium intracellulare, Mycobacterium gordonae and Mycobacterium chelonae), and 11 frequently isolated respiratory bacterial species other than mycobacteria. A series of 128 sputa (89 MTB culture positive, 29 NTM culture positive, and 10 under treatment culture negative) with grades of trace to 4+ were used to evaluate the performance of the method. RESULTS: The MTB- and NTM-specific PNA probes showed specific reactions with the reference strains of MTB and M. kansasii and clinical isolates of mycobacteria except M. fortuitum ATCC 6841, and no cross-reactivity with other tested bacteria. The PNA probe-based FISH assay for detection of MTB had a sensitivity and specificity of 100%, respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of the NTM-specific PNA probe was 100%. The smear grades of the PNA FISH test were same as with those of the fluorescence AFB stain in 2+ or higher grade. CONCLUSION: Detection and differentiation based on PNA FISH is sensitive and accurate for detecting mycobacteria and for differentiating MTB from NTM in clinical sputum smears.
Bacteria ; Cause of Death ; Fluorescence* ; In Situ Hybridization* ; Mycobacterium ; Mycobacterium avium ; Mycobacterium avium Complex ; Mycobacterium fortuitum ; Mycobacterium kansasii ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria* ; Peptide Nucleic Acids ; Sputum ; Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: The frequent outbreak of legionellosis makes it critical to identify infection sources for the prevention and blockade of transmission of the disease. METHODS: Thirty-one strains of Legionella pneumophila isolated from the cooling towers of big buildings in Busan and Gyungsangnamdo Province areas, 12 strains of L. pneumophila from patients in Japan, and one type strain (L. pneumophila ATCC 33152) were used for molecular strain typing by using an infrequent-restriction-site polymerase chain reaction (IRS-PCR). RESULTS: Each strain revealed to have 7-16 bands of 200-1000 bp size. All 44 strains showed band patterns different from each other, except two strains sharing 90% homology. CONCLUSION: The molecular typing of Legionellaby IRS-PCR is an excellent and rapid method for discriminating strains; therefore, it should be useful in demonstrating the identity of possible outbreak strains.
Busan ; Humans ; Japan ; Legionella pneumophila* ; Legionella* ; Legionellosis ; Molecular Typing ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial susceptibility of Legionella spp. has rarely been studied in Korea. Therefore, we aimed to determine the susceptibility of Legionella spp. to various antibiotics. METHODS: We assessed the antimicrobial susceptibility of 66 environmental and clinical Legionella isolates collected between January 2001 and December 2008 from Korea and Japan. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of 6 antibiotics, namely, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, clarithromycin, clindamycin, gatifloxacin, and gemifloxacin were determined by the broth microdilution method using buffered starch yeast extract broth. RESULTS: The MIC ranges of the 6 antibiotics used against the Legionella isolates were as follows: 0.004-0.062 microgram/mL (azithromycin), 0.002-0.5 microgram/mL (ciprofloxacin), 0.004-0.5 microgram/mL (clarithromycin), 0.12-4 microgram/mL (clindamycin), 0.002-0.12 microgram/mL (gatifloxacin), and 0.008-1 microgram/mL (gemifloxacin). CONCLUSIONS: Legionella spp. isolates from Korea and Japan were most susceptible to gatifloxacin. Azithromycin, clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, and gemifloxacin were also effective for treating legionellosis.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/*pharmacology ; Azithromycin/pharmacology ; Ciprofloxacin/pharmacology ; Clarithromycin/pharmacology ; Clindamycin/pharmacology ; Drug Resistance, Bacterial ; Fluoroquinolones/pharmacology ; Humans ; Legionella/*drug effects/isolation & purification ; Legionellosis/diagnosis/microbiology ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Naphthyridines/pharmacology

No abstract available.

BACKGROUND: In vitro measurement of allergen-specific IgE has become an important part of allergy diagnoses. HYTEC 288 system (Hycor Biomedical Inc., USA), which was recently introduced in Korea, is a fully automated immunoassay for quantitative measurements of allergen-specific IgE. In this study, we compared the clinical utility of this in vitro allergy test with that of ImmunoCAP assay (ImmunoDiagnostics, Sweden). METHODS: To evaluate the reproducibility of HYTEC 288 system, 50 serum samples were tested in duplicate each for Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (d1) and D. farinae (d2) specific IgE. To assess the agreement between ImmunoCAP and HYTEC 288 assays, 56 serum samples were tested for the other 21 allergen-specific IgE. RESULTS: No significant differences within the range of quantitative analysis were observed between HYTEC 288 and ImmunoCAP assays for d1 and d2 (P=0.65 and 0.55, respectively). The agreements of HYTEC allergen-specific IgE assay with ImmunoCAP within +/-1 class grade were 80% and 100% for d1 and d2, respectively. The correlation coefficients between HYTEC 288 and ImmunoCAP results within the range of quantitative analysis were overally 0.90, regardless of allergen, for d1 and d2 specific IgE, 0.91 and 0.98, respectively. Running times for the HYTEC 288 and Phardia 100 were 5.5 and 4.6 min per test, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Hycor HYTEC 288 showed a favorable agreement with ImmunoCAP and can be used for fully automated quantitative measurements of allergen-specific IgE in the clinical laboratory.
Automation ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus ; Diagnosis ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunoassay ; Immunoglobulin E* ; Korea ; Running

BACKGROUND: This study compared the estimated costs and times required for ABO/Rh(D) typing and unexpected antibody screening using an automated system and manual methods. METHODS: The total cost included direct and labor costs. Labor costs were calculated on the basis of the average operator salaries and unit values (minutes), which was the hands-on time required to test one sample. To estimate unit values, workflows were recorded on video, and the time required for each process was analyzed separately. RESULTS: The unit values of ABO/Rh(D) typing using the manual method were 5.65 and 8.1 min during regular and unsocial working hours, respectively. The unit value was less than 3.5 min when several samples were tested simultaneously. The unit value for unexpected antibody screening was 2.6 min. The unit values using the automated method for ABO/Rh(D) typing, unexpected antibody screening, and both simultaneously were all 1.5 min. The total cost of ABO/Rh(D) typing of only one sample using the automated analyzer was lower than that of testing only one sample using the manual technique but higher than that of testing several samples simultaneously. The total cost of unexpected antibody screening using an automated analyzer was less than that using the manual method. CONCLUSIONS: ABO/Rh(D) typing using an automated analyzer incurs a lower unit value and cost than that using the manual technique when only one sample is tested at a time. Unexpected antibody screening using an automated analyzer always incurs a lower unit value and cost than that using the manual technique.
ABO Blood-Group System/blood ; Antibodies/analysis ; Automation ; Blood Banks/*economics/*standards ; Blood Grouping and Crossmatching/*economics/instrumentation ; Costs and Cost Analysis ; Humans ; Rh-Hr Blood-Group System/blood ; *Workflow ; Workload

A 38-year old man was admitted to our hospital due to a 5x6 cm sized pulsating mass in the right neck. He suffered from intermittent neck pain and hoarseness for two months due to the rapidly growing mass. The radiological examinations revealed an aneurysm of the right common carotid artery near the bifurcation, and it was compressing the internal and external carotid arteries. Endarterectomy of the right internal carotid artery, aneurysmectomy of the right common carotid artery and graft interposition were done, while the cerebral circulation was maintained by an internal shunt. Intraoperative injury to the nerve tissue around the aneurysm was avoided. He was discharged on the postoperative 7th day without any complications.
Aneurysm ; Carotid Arteries ; Carotid Artery, Common ; Carotid Artery, External ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Endarterectomy ; Hoarseness ; Neck ; Neck Pain ; Nerve Tissue ; Transplants