No abstract available.
Pregnancy*

To understand the seroepidemiological patterns of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Korea, a nation-wide survey collaborated with fourteen clinics was carried out from 1994 to 1996. Sera of 4,547 patients with acute febrile episodes were tested by indirect immunofluorescent antibody test and the seroepidemiological analysis including sex, age, seasonal and regional distributions were performed. According to the results obtained in this study, the epidemiological characteristics of haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Korea were summarized as follows: 1. Seropositive rate of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome among the patients with acute febrile episodes was 6.4% by the cut-off point of 1:40. 2. Among the seropositives, male outnumbered female and the ratio of males to females was 2.0:1.0. 3. Seventy six % of the seropositive patients were 21-60 years old. 4. The number of seropositive cases increased from October and reached maximum in December and began to decrease gradually from January. 5. The geographical distribution of the seropositives cover most areas including Cheju province in Korea.
Female ; Fever ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome* ; Humans ; Jeju-do ; Korea* ; Male ; Seasons

This is the first report of papillary thyroid carcinoma combined with multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN 1). It is an hereditary syndrome characterized by neoplastic disorders such as pituitary adenoma, parathyroid adenoma or hyperplasia and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, such as gastrinoma just like in our case. But sometimes pheochromocytoma, mucosal ganglioneuromas, lipoma, forgut carcinoid and thyroid disease could be accompany the disease, but coincidental papillary thyroid carcinoma was never reported before in Korea. Herein we represent a 39-year-old woman who manifested typical features of MEN 1 with coincidental papillary thyroid carcinoma. Despite with definite family history of MEN 1, her genetic analysis of DNA had not found any germline mutation in MEN 1 gene. Unidentified culprit gene unable further genetic study of finding LOH (loss of heterogeneity) in 11q13, the possible explanation of papillary thyroid carcinoma as a new component of MEN 1. As we have experienced a case of MEN 1 combined with papillary thyroid carcinoma, we report it with the review of literature.
Adult ; Carcinoid Tumor ; DNA ; Female ; Ganglioneuroma ; Gastrinoma ; Germ-Line Mutation ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Korea ; Lipoma ; Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia Type 1* ; Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia* ; Neuroendocrine Tumors ; Parathyroid Neoplasms ; Pheochromocytoma ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Prolactinoma ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The ability to study microvessels of a beating heart in real time at the level of the capillary is essential for research. However, there are no proven methods currently available to achieve this. The conventional absorption-contrast agents have limitations for studying capillaries. Microangiography with using synchrotron phase-contrast X-ray technology and no contrast agent has recently been reported on. We tried to verify this previous report, and we wanted to visualize the microvessels of a rat heart using air as a contrast agent. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We made the Langendorff apparatus in a hutch of the Pohang Accelerator Laboratory. The images were obtained with a white beam and a monochromatic beam. The visual images were magnified using 3x and 20x optical microscope lenses, and the images were captured with a charge-coupled device camera. RESULTS: We could not duplicate the previously reported findings in which microvessels were visualized without the use of contrast agent. But with using air as a contrast agent, the microvasculature of rat hearts was clearly identified at a spatial resolution of 1.2 microm. Air being absorbed inside a capillary was also observed. Vessels under 10 microm diameter were unable to be visualized with using iodine as a contrast agent. CONCLUSION: Phase contrast imaging already allows spatial resolution of 1 microm, which is enough to inspect capillaries. We were able to obtain images of cardiac capillaries with using air as a contrast agent. Yet air has the fatal limitations in that it causes embolism and ischemia. A more suitable contrast agent or imaging method needs to be developed in order to study the microvessels of a beating heart.
Animals ; Capillaries ; Contrast Media ; Embolism ; Heart ; Humans ; Iodine ; Ischemia ; Microvessels ; Rats ; Synchrotrons

BACKGROUND: Comprehensive geriatric assessment is identified as a dynamic process responsive to the changes on health status that occurs over time in the context of extremely increasing trend in the numbers of the elderly people, their office visit, and the medical cost universally. We completed the comprehensive geriatric assessment and applied it to the Korean elderly through the multi-center trials. METHODS: We performed studies variables using questionnaires, with interviewing, physical examination to the number of total 312 elderly people who visited the department of family medicine or physical medicine and rehabilitation of the 11 university hospital or general hospital in Korea from July 1, 1999 through October 31, 1999. We, the geriatrician, met and discussed 3 times to complete the comprehensive geriatric assessment through the consensus panel. RESULTS: We found the sex ratio of 312 subjects was 1 to 2 (104 males and 208 females) and the average age was 73.2 years old. The orders of more frequency of self-reported health status of the respondents were hypertension, arthritis, cataract, gastrointestinal disturbance, diabetes mellitus, urinary/fecal incontinence, depression, cerebrovascular accident, anemia, and heart disease. Nearly 15% of those showed depression, 41.6% of those were in the status of socially isolation. We found 43.1% of those showed hypertension, 3.7% isolated systolic hypertension, and 20.2% orthostatic hypotension. Of those, cognitive impairment were measured in 37.1%, gait disturbance 13.0%, and the risk of malnutrition 39.6%. Geriatrician spent 21.1 minutes per person during the process of comprehensive geriatric assessment. CONCLUSION: We realized we could diagnose and intervene effectively certain hidden conditions/diseases, particularly urinary incontinence, falls, visual impairment, hearing impairment, pain, depression, social isolation, cognitive impairment, and orthostatic hypotension, with using the comprehensive geriatric assessment. These results reflected the fact that the comprehensive geriatric assessment might be necessary for the care of the elderly.
Aged* ; Anemia ; Arthritis ; Cataract ; Consensus ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Depression ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Gait ; Geriatric Assessment* ; Hearing Loss ; Heart Diseases ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypotension, Orthostatic ; Korea ; Male ; Malnutrition ; Office Visits ; Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine ; Physical Examination ; Sex Ratio ; Social Isolation ; Stroke ; Urinary Incontinence ; Vision Disorders

Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CNS) that is commonly found on the human perineal skin. Contrary to other CNS, S. lugdunensis is a rare contaminant in cultures and has the potential to cause clinically significant infections, including infective endocarditis. Infective endocarditis due to S. lugdunensis have been known to resemble endocarditis due to S. aureus because of its aggressive clinical course and high mortality. We report a case of infective endocarditis caused by S. lugdunensis in a 21-year-old woman. She was cured of the infection with surgical and antibiotic therapy.
Endocarditis* ; Female ; Humans ; Mortality ; Skin ; Staphylococcus lugdunensis* ; Staphylococcus* ; Young Adult

Staphylococcus lugdunensis is a coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CNS) that is commonly found on the human perineal skin. Contrary to other CNS, S. lugdunensis is a rare contaminant in cultures and has the potential to cause clinically significant infections, including infective endocarditis. Infective endocarditis due to S. lugdunensis have been known to resemble endocarditis due to S. aureus because of its aggressive clinical course and high mortality. We report a case of infective endocarditis caused by S. lugdunensis in a 21-year-old woman. She was cured of the infection with surgical and antibiotic therapy.
Endocarditis* ; Female ; Humans ; Mortality ; Skin ; Staphylococcus lugdunensis* ; Staphylococcus* ; Young Adult

Background/Aims: Data on the trends in the prevalence of chronic liver disease (CLD) in Korea are scarce. This study aimed to evaluate whether the CLD prevalence changed between 1998–2001 and 2016–2017. Methods: Data were extracted from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1998–2001 to 2016– 2017; n=25,893). Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was defined as a hepatic steatosis index >36 in the absence of any other evidence of CLD. The definition of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) was excessive alcohol consumption (≥210 g/week for men and ≥140 g/week for women) and an ALD/NAFLD index >0. Results: The prevalence of NAFLD increased from 18.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 17.8–19.5%) in 1998–2001 to 21.5% (95% CI, 20.6–22.6%) in 2016–2017. During the same time period, increases were observed in the prevalence of obesity (27.0 vs. 35.1%), central obesity (29.4 vs. 36.0%), diabetes (7.5 vs. 10.6%), and excessive drinking (7.3 vs. 10.5%). ALD prevalence also increased from 3.8% (95% CI, 3.4–4.2%) to 7.0% (95% CI, 6.4–7.6%). In contrast, chronic hepatitis B decreased from 5.1% (95% CI, 4.6–5.5%) to 3.4% (95% CI, 3.0–3.8%). The prevalence of chronic hepatitis C was approximately 0.3% in 2016–2017. Conclusions The prevalence of NAFLD and ALD increase among Korean adults. Our results suggest potential targets for interventions to reduce the future burden of CLD.

Background: Current international guidelines recommend against deep sedation as it is associated with worse outcomes in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, in Korea the prevalence of deep sedation and its impact on patients in the ICU are not well known. Methods: From April 2020 to July 2021, a multicenter, prospective, longitudinal, noninterventional cohort study was performed in 20 Korean ICUs. Sedation depth extent was divided into light and deep using a mean Richmond Agitation–Sedation Scale value within the first 48 hours. Propensity score matching was used to balance covariables; the outcomes were compared between the two groups. Results: Overall, 631 patients (418 [66.2%] and 213 [33.8%] in the deep and light sedation groups, respectively) were included. Mortality rates were 14.1% and 8.4% in the deep and light sedation groups (P = 0.039), respectively. Kaplan-Meier estimates showed that time to extubation (P < 0.001), ICU length of stay (P = 0.005), and death P = 0.041) differed between the groups. After adjusting for confounders, early deep sedation was only associated with delayed time to extubation (hazard ratio [HR], 0.66; 95% confidence inter val [CI], 0.55– 0.80; P < 0.001). In the matched cohort, deep sedation remained significantly associated with delayed time to extubation (HR, 0.68; 95% 0.56–0.83; P < 0.001) but was not associated with ICU length of stay (HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.79–1.13; P = 0.500) and in-hospital mortality (HR, 1.19; 95% CI, 0.65–2.17; P = 0.582). Conclusion In many Korean ICUs, early deep sedation was highly prevalent in mechanically ventilated patients and was associated with delayed extubation, but not prolonged ICU stay or in-hospital death.