No abstract available.
Fluconazole* ; Tinea Capitis* ; Tinea*

BACKGROUND: Necrotizing fasciitis is a life-threatening soft tissue infection involving the fascia and subcutaneous tissues. Diagnosis of necrotizing fasciitis is often delayed because of an underestimation or an overlap between it and cellulitis. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate and compare the clinical, laboratory, and microbiological characteristics of cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of patients diagnosed as having cellulitis or necrotizing fasciitis and hospitalized at our hospital between January 2011 and December 2016. RESULTS: The study included data from 185 patients having cellulitis and 33 patients having necrotizing fasciitis. There were significant differences between cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis regarding clinical and laboratory factors. Necrotizing fasciitis was primarily associated with the following features at the time of admission: A thigh/buttock location [odds ratio (OR) 9.04, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.72∼47.64, p=0.009], pain not controlled with use of non-opioid analgesics (OR 6.26, 95% CI 2.21∼17.71, p<0.001), serum sodium level <135 mEq/L (OR 17.44, 95% CI 7.27∼41.84, p<0.001), and a serum procalcitonin level >0.32 ng/mL (OR 9.41, 95% CI 4.18∼21.93, p <0.001). Additionally, polymicrobial infections and Gram-negative organisms were more commonly associated with necrotizing fasciitis compared to cellulitis. CONCLUSION: We found several differences between cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis in terms of clinical, laboratory, and microbiological characteristics. When patients showing symptoms of cellulitis present with lesions on the thigh or buttock, pain not controlled with use of non-opioid analgesics, a serum sodium level <135 mEq/L, or a procalcitonin level >0.32 ng/mL, it would be appropriate to evaluate for the possibility of necrotizing fasciitis and use broad-spectrum antibiotics to cover for Gram-negative organisms.
Analgesics ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Buttocks ; Cellulitis* ; Coinfection ; Diagnosis ; Fascia ; Fasciitis, Necrotizing* ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Sodium ; Soft Tissue Infections ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Thigh

Oral allergy syndrome (OAS) is a subtype of food allergy composing of itching sense and edema in the oral cavity, lips, throat, pharynx, and larynx following ingestion of some fresh fruits or vegetables. Although the major pathogenic mechanism of OAS is known to be IgE-mediated response, here we experienced a case of OAS due to crown daisy (CD) and sesame leaf (SL) mediated by a non-IgE antibody mediated mechanism. A 33-year-old female visited our clinic to evaluate numbness of the tongue and gingiva after eating fresh CD and SL for 2 years. The patient had suffered from allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis for 20 years and took medications intermittently. There had been a history of food allergy to crab and shrimp. The serum total IgE level was elevated (404 kU/mL). The skin prick test showed strong positive reactions to tree and weed pollens, but not to CD and SL extracts. Enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay for detecting serum specific IgE to crude extracts of CD and SL showed negative results. The basophil activation test performed with crude extracts of CD or SL showed significant up-regulation of CD63-positive basophils by both CD and SL. In conclusion, we report a case of OAS due to CD and SL, not associated with pollen allergy, which is shown to be mediated by a non-IgE mediated mechanism.
Adult ; Basophils ; Complex Mixtures ; Crowns* ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Eating ; Edema ; Female ; Food Hypersensitivity ; Fruit ; Gingiva ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity* ; Hypesthesia ; Immunoglobulin E ; Larynx ; Lip ; Mouth ; Pharynx ; Pollen ; Pruritus ; Rhinitis ; Rhinitis, Allergic, Seasonal ; Sesamum* ; Skin ; Tongue ; Up-Regulation ; Vegetables

No abstract available.
Cellulitis* ; Scedosporium*

This study was performed to examine 1) Whether hypothermic cardiac arrest produces myocardial HSP72 expression; 2) And if, whether it serves to protect the heart against the subsequent hypothermic arrest. In the present study, neonatal rats were placed in an icebath to induce hypothermia. To determine whether hypothermic cardiac arrest produces myocardial HSP72, experimental animals were subjected to 10-min hypothermic insult before the extraction of the heart. The intervals between the insult and extraction were 1 (1 HR), 4 (4 HR), 8 (8 HR), 24 (24 HR) or 72 (72HR) hours. A minimal amount of HSP72 was detected in control, 1 HR and 72 HR groups. In contrast, 8 HR and 24 HR groups showed a significant level of HSP72 expressions. To assess the cardioprotective effect of HSP72 against hypothermic cardiac arrest, we compared the proportion of recovery from the arrest between control and preconditioned (PREC) animals. Control animals were subjected to 20-min hypothermic insult, while PREC group was preconditioned by 10-min hypothermic insult 8 hours before the 20-min test hypothermic insult. Resuscitation rate from cardiac arrest induced by the 20-min hypothermic insult in PREC group was significantly higher than that in controls. These results suggest that the cardioprotective effect of hypothermic preconditioning is associated with an increase in HSP72 expression.
Animals ; Heart ; Heart Arrest ; Hypothermia ; Incidence* ; Rats* ; Resuscitation

OBJECTIVE: Psychobiological traits may be associated with excessive Internet use. This study assessed the relationships between biogenetic traits, the amount of time spent in online game playing, and the genre of the online game being played. METHODS: Five hundred sixty five students who enjoyed one of the four types of games included in this study were recruited. The types of games examined included role playing games (RPG), real-time strategy games (RTS), first person shooting games (FPS), and sports games. Behavioral patterns of game play, academic performance, and player biogenetic characteristics were assessed. RESULTS: The amount of time that the participants spent playing online games was significantly greater on weekends than on weekdays. On weekends, the types of games with the largest numbers of participants who played games for more than three hours were ranked as follows: RPG and FPS, RTS, and sports games. The Young's Internet Addiction Scale (YIAS)score for the RPG group was the highest among the groups of the four types of game players. The time that participants spent playing games on weekdays was negatively associated with academic performance, especially for the RPG and FPS groups. Compared with the other groups, the RPG and RTS groups had higher novelty seeking (NS) scores and self-directedness (SD) scores, respectively. Additionally, the sports game group had higher reward dependency scores than the other groups. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that RPGs may have specific factors that are attractive to latent game addicts with higher NS scores. Additionally, excessive playing of online games is related to impaired academic performance.
Dependency (Psychology) ; Humans ; Internet ; Reward ; Role Playing ; Sports

OBJECTIVES: Nurses and social workers are key persons connecting patients with psychotic disorders to psychiatric treatment. This study investigated the attitude of college students majoring in nursing science and social welfare toward psychiatric medication and stigma toward the mentally ill. METHODS: The study enrolled 553 college students (369 nursing science, 184 social welfare). We administered a five-item questionnaire to assess attitude toward psychiatric medication and a 20-item scale to assess stigma (prejudice regarding the dangerousness of the mentally ill and discrimination against the mentally ill). Factors associated with attitude toward psychiatric medication were identified. In addition, the stigma scale scores were compared with each item on attitude toward psychiatric medication. RESULTS: In the multivariate analysis, students majoring in social welfare had a significantly poorer attitude toward psychiatric medication than those majoring in nursing science. Age, senior grade, and experience to contact the mentally ill were also significantly associated with a good attitude toward medication, while attending psychiatry lectures, having a religion, and gender were not significantly associated with attitude toward psychiatric medication, although they showed relationships in the univariate analyses. For three of the five items, a negative attitude toward psychiatric medication was significantly associated with higher scores on the prejudice and discrimination scales. CONCLUSION: Prejudice toward and discrimination against the mentally ill are closely associated with a negative attitude toward psychiatric medication. An anti-stigma campaign should be developed that includes education to promote knowledge about psychiatric medications and reduce the stigma against the mentally ill. In addition, our findings suggest that experience to contact the mentally ill might improve attitudes toward psychiatric medication.
Dangerous Behavior ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Education ; Humans ; Lectures ; Mentally Ill Persons ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nursing* ; Prejudice ; Psychotic Disorders ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Schizophrenia ; Social Welfare* ; Social Workers ; Weights and Measures

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a education nurse specialist-led educational satisfaction scale for nurses working at comprehensive nursing care service wards. Methods: A methodological study was conducted. A total of 237 nurses working at comprehensive nursing care service wards in a general hospital participated in this study. The scale was developed through literature reviews, in-depth interview, development of preliminary items, verification of content validity, development of secondary items, evaluation of construct validity, and extraction of final items. Analysis included exploratory factor analysis, pearson's analysis, and reliability analysis using cronbach's ⍺. Results: The education nurse specialist-led educational satisfaction scale for nurses working at comprehensive nursing care service ward consisted of 21 items. Two factors (critical thinking disposition and clinical competency) were identified which explained 63.5% of the total variance.Cronbach's ⍺ of each factors were >.95. Conclusion The results suggested that the education nurse specialist-led educational satisfaction scale for nurses working at comprehensive nursing care service wards demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. Items of the instrument can assess the level of satisfaction with regards to education led by education nurse specialist among nurses working at comprehensive nursing care service wards.

Both immediate and delayed hypersensitivity reactions to iodinated contrast media (ICM) are relatively common. However, there are few data to determine the clinical utility of immunologic evaluation of ICM. To evaluate the utility of ICM skin testing in patients with ICM hypersensitivity, 23 patients (17 immediate and 6 delayed reactions) were enrolled from 3 university hospitals in Korea. With 6 commonly used ICM including iopromide, iohexol, ioversol, iomeprol, iopamidol and iodixanol, skin prick (SPT), intradermal (IDT) and patch tests were performed. Of 10 patients with anaphylaxis, 3 (30.0%) and 6 (60.0%) were positive respectively on SPTs and IDTs with the culprit ICM. Three of 6 patients with urticaria showed positive IDTs. In total, 11 (64.7%) had positive on either SPT or IDT. Three of 6 patients with delayed rashes had positive response to patch test and/or delayed IDT. Among 5 patients (3 anaphylaxis, 1 urticaria and 1 delayed rash) taken subsequent radiological examinations, 3 patients administered safe alternatives according to the results of skin testing had no adverse reaction. However, anaphylaxis developed in the other 2 patients administered the culprit ICM again. With 64.7% (11/17) and 50% (3/6) of the sensitivities of corresponding allergic skin tests with culprit ICM for immediate and delayed hypersensitivity reactions, the present study suggests that skin tests is useful for the diagnosis of ICM hypersensitivity and for selecting safe ICM and preventing a recurrence of anaphylaxis caused by the same ICM.
Anaphylaxis/chemically induced/diagnosis/immunology ; Contrast Media/*adverse effects ; Cross Reactions/immunology ; Dermatitis, Contact/*diagnosis/*immunology ; Drug Hypersensitivity/diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Iodides/*immunology ; Iohexol/analogs & derivatives ; Iopamidol/analogs & derivatives ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea ; Skin Tests/*methods ; Triiodobenzoic Acids ; Urticaria/diagnosis/immunology

PURPOSE: Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) recognizes to viral double-stranded RNA and is involved in antiviral defenses. A probable role of TLR3 gene variants in the pathogenesis of aspirin-intolerant asthma (AIA) has been suggested. AIA patients present more frequent asthma exacerbations in which respiratory viral infections could be an exacerbating factor. IgG subclass deficiency was commonly present with bronchial asthma. Based on previous findings, we investigated whether TLR3 variants could affect IgG3 subclass deficiency in AIA. METHODS: We enrolled 279 AIA patients, 403 aspirin-tolerant asthma (ATA) patients, and 315 normal healthy controls (NC) in this study. TLR3 polymorphism at the promoter region -299698G>T was genotyped. The serum levels of IgG subclasses were determined by the single radial immunodiffusion method. Expressions of IgG3 and TLR3 on Epstein-Barr virus transformed-B cells isolated from asthmatic patients were evaluated by flow cytometry to investigate B-cell functions. RESULTS: The TLR3 -299698 T allele was significantly associated with severity and IgG3 deficiency in the AIA group (P=0.044 and P=0.010, respectively), but not in the ATA group. IgG3 expression on B cells from asthmatics with IgG3 deficiency was significantly lower compared to those without (P=0.025). There was a positive correlation between IgG3 expression levels on B cells and serum IgG3 levels (r 2=0.434, P=0.002). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the TLR3 -299698G>T polymorphism may be associated with IgG3 subclass deficiency and severity in AIA.
Alleles ; Asthma* ; B-Lymphocytes ; Flow Cytometry ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Humans ; Immunodiffusion ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Methods ; Polymorphism, Genetic ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; RNA, Double-Stranded ; Toll-Like Receptor 3