BACKGROUND: Influenza transmission in households a subject of renewed interest especially in pandemic situation. We performed this study to investigate the laboratory-confirmatory rate in household contacts with index cases of pandemic influenza (H1N1 2009). MATERIALS AND METHODS: For three months from 1 September and 29 November 2009, people who had a history of close contact with confirmed cases of pandemic influenza (index case) were recruited. The information on the study participants was collected using a standardized questionnaire. Presence of the pandemic influenza (H1N1 2009) infection was confirmed by real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: A total of 113 index cases and 141 household contacts were investigated. One hundred and four index cases (92.0%) were younger than 20 years. The median age of household contacts was 40 years. Twenty eight household contacts (19.8%) had acute respiratory illness (ARI). Overall, 10.6% of enrolled household contacts were positive in RT-PCR for pandemic influenza (H1N1 2009). The positive rate of household contacts with ARI was 25.0% and it was 7.1% in household contacts without ARI. The positive rate was significantly higher in children and young adults under 30 years (28.3%) compared with that in household contacts older than 30 years (8.3%). CONCLUSIONS: This results showed a significant role of mild symptomatic or asymptomatic pandemic influenza (H1N1 2009) patients as a virus carriers in households.
Child ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; Pandemics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Viruses ; Young Adult ; Surveys and Questionnaires

The most feared complication of left ventricular thrombus (LVT) is the occurrence of systemic thromboembolic events, especially in the brain. Herein, we report a patient with severe sepsis who suffered recurrent devastating embolic stroke. Transthoracic echocardiography revealed apical ballooning of the left ventricle with a huge LVT, which had not been observed in chest computed tomography before the stroke. This case emphasizes the importance of serial cardiac evaluation in patients with stroke and severe medical illness.
Brain ; Echocardiography ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Sepsis ; Shock, Septic* ; Stroke* ; Thorax ; Thrombosis*

No abstract available.
Echocardiography ; Humans ; Stroke Volume ; Stroke

Coronary artery disease (CAD) remains the leading cause of mortality worldwide, driven primarily by atherogenesis. Recent efforts to understand sex differences in CAD have revealed distinct patterns in disease burden, risk factors, and clinical presentations. This review examines these sex differences in CAD, underscoring the importance of customized diagnostic and management strategies. Although men typically have higher rates of CAD prevalence and incidence, women face unique challenges, such as delayed diagnosis, atypical symptoms, and lower rates of medication prescription. Hormonal, genetic, and lifestyle factors all play a role in these disparities, with estrogen notably reducing CAD risk in women. Nontraditional risk factors, including chronic inflammation, psychological stress, socioeconomic status, and reproductive history, also contribute to CAD development and are often neglected in clinical settings. Addressing these differences requires increased awareness, more accurate diagnosis, and equitable healthcare access for both sexes. Furthermore, greater inclusion of women in CAD research is essential to better understand sex-specific mechanisms and optimize treatment outcomes. Personalizing CAD management based on sex-specific knowledge has the potential to improve prognosis and decrease disease incidence for both men and women.

This study was conducted to assess the relationship between estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and bone mineral density (BMD) in Korean postmenopausal women with mild renal dysfunction. A total of 328 postmenopausal women who underwent BMD measurement during health check-up was investigated. BMD was measured in lumbar spine (L1-L4), femoral neck, total proximal femur and femoral trochanteric areas by dual energy radiography absorptiometry and renal function was estimated by eGFR using Cockcroft-Gault equation. Of the 328 subjects, 317 (96.6%) had an eGFR > or =60 mL/min/1.73 m2. By using simple linear regression analysis, age, height, weight and eGFR were significantly associated with BMD for the 4 aforementioned anatomic sites, while serum levels of creatinine and blood urea nitrogen did not influence BMD. When multiple regression analyses were applied, age and body weight still had significant associations with BMD at 4 different anatomic sites (P < 0.001). A significant association of eGFR with BMD remained in the lumbar spine, femoral neck and proximal total femur (P < 0.05) but not in the trochanteric area (P = 0.300). Our study suggests that a decline of renal function is associated with lower BMD in the lumbar spine, femoral neck and total proximal femur areas in Korean menopausal women with mild renal dysfunction.
Absorptiometry, Photon ; Aged ; Blood Urea Nitrogen ; *Bone Density ; Creatinine/blood ; Female ; Femur Neck/physiology ; *Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Kidney Diseases/*physiopathology ; Kidney Function Tests ; Lumbar Vertebrae/physiology ; Middle Aged ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal/*physiopathology ; Republic of Korea

Interest in sex differences in coronary artery disease (CAD) has been steadily increasing.Concurrently, most of the data on these differences have primarily been Western-oriented.The KoRean wOmen’S chest pain rEgistry (KoROSE), started in 2011, has since published numerous research findings. This review aims to summarize the reported differences between men and women in CAD, integrating data from KoROSE. Cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women escalates dramatically due to the decrease in estrogen levels, which normally offer cardiovascular protective effects. Lower estrogen levels can lead to abdominal obesity, insulin resistance, increased blood pressure, and endothelial dysfunction in older women. Upon analyzing patients with CAD, women are typically older and exhibit more cardiovascular risk factors than men. Diagnosing CAD in women tends to be delayed due to their symptoms being more atypical than men’s. While in-hospital outcome was similar between sexes, bleeding complications after percutaneous coronary intervention occur more frequently in women. The differences in long-term prognosis for CAD patients between men and women are still a subject of ongoing debate. Pregnancy and reproductive factors also play a significant role as risk factors for cardiovascular disease in women. A notable sex disparity exists, with women found to use fewer cardiovascular protective drugs and undergo fewer interventional or surgical procedures than men. Additionally, women participate less frequently than men in clinical research. Through concerted efforts to increase awareness of sex differences and mitigate sex disparity, personalized treatment can be provided. This approach can ultimately improve patient prognosis.