No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis*

PURPOSE: Human parechovirus (HPeV) and enterovirus (EV) are causative agents of a sepsis-like illness in neonates and of infections of the central nervous system in young children. The objectives of this study were to assess the prevalence of HPeV3 and EV infection in young children with a sepsis-like illness or with meningitis in Jinju, Korea. METHODS: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected from 267 patients (age range, 1 day to 5 years) and assessed for HPeV and EV by performing reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction assay. Amplification products of the VP3/VP1 region of HPeV and of the VP1 region of EV were sequenced to identify the virus type. RESULTS: HPeV and EV were detected in 3.4% and 7.5% of the total CSF samples assessed, respectively. The age distribution of EV-positive patients (median age, 1.4 months) had a significantly broader range than that of HPeV-positive patients (median age, 7.8 months). The peak seasons for HPeV and EV infection were spring and summer, respectively. The clinical symptoms for HPeV and EV infection were similar, and fever was the most common symptom. Pleocytosis was detected in 22.2% of HPeV-positive patients and 35.5% of EV-positive patients. The VP3/VP1 gene sequence of the nine Korean strains clustered most closely with the Japanese strain (AB759202). CONCLUSION: The data indicate that HPeV infection is predominant in young infants (<6 months) and that meningitis without pleocytosis was caused by both HPeV and EV infection in children.
Age Distribution ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Central Nervous System ; Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Child* ; Enterovirus* ; Fever ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Leukocytosis ; Meningitis ; Parechovirus* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence* ; Reverse Transcription ; Seasons

PURPOSE: This study is a descriptive research comparing the awareness of medical residents' power style, communication type and organizational effectiveness in nurses and technologists. METHODS: A standardized survey questionnaire was sent to 288 nurses, 85 radiological technologists, and 107 medical technologists working at 4 university hospitals in a metropolitan area. Collected data were analyzed using statistical methods including 2-test, t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation. RESULTS: There was a noticeable difference between the nurses and the technologists in their awareness of medical residents' power style and communication type. Power style and communication type correlates significantly with job satisfaction and organizational commitment. When residents exercised coercive power, downward communication took place between the residents and nurses and technologists. It also affected the overall amount of communication, job satisfaction and organizational commitment. CONCLUSION: To ensure active communication between medical residents and other allied health professionals and to promote mutually satisfying relationships, open and active communication channels should be provided. Communication skills training for every member of a hospital organization is needed to encourage effective horizontal communication.
Health Occupations ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Job Satisfaction ; Medical Laboratory Personnel ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Helicobacter pylori* ; Helicobacter* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

No abstract available.
Helicobacter pylori* ; Helicobacter* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to identify the predictive factors in the early laboratory findings for cardiac sequelae in Kawasaki disease(KD). METHODES: A retrospective review of the records was conducted of all children with KD who were admitted to the Ulsan Dongkang General Hospital, Masan Samsung Hospital, and Gyeongsang National University Hospital between January 1995 and December 1999. We analyzed and compared the early laboratory findings between the patients with and without coronary artery dilatation. RESULTS: A total of 981 patients were divided into two groups : 826 patients(84.3%) with normal coronary artery and 155 patients(15.7%) with coronary artery dilatation. Age and sex were not significantly different between the two groups. The mean serum C-reactive protein(CRP) in the coronary artery dilatation group and in the normal coronary artery group were 5.0 mg/dl(+/-5.3) and 4.1 mg/dl(+/-5.0), respectively, with a significant difference(P<0.05), whereas the other early laboratory findings had no difference between the groups. CONCLUSION: This study shows that the early serum CRP was higher in patients with KD who had coronary artery dilatation than in those with normal coronary artery. There may be a strong possibility of cardiac sequelae at a high level of serum CRP. However, the cut-off value of serum CRP could not be determined for the prediction of cardiac sequelae in patients with KD.
Child ; Coronary Vessels ; Dilatation ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome* ; Retrospective Studies ; Staphylococcal Protein A* ; Ulsan

In the present study, we report muscular atrophy of the right distal upper extremity in a 14-year-old boy. The disease progressed insidiously for about 2 years, and during our first examination, he exhibited weakness and wasting in the right hand, and paresthesia on the C6-8 dermatomal area in the right upper extremity. Electromyography revealed neurogenic changes in atrophic muscles. Conduction velocity of the ulnar nerve of the affected hand was decreased. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine in the neutral position revealed focal spinal cord atrophy and a small area of high signal intensity at C5-6 level. In the flexion-induced cervical spine MRI scan, the spinal cord was noticed to be compressed by the posterior dural sac with a forward shift and flow voids in the epidural space. All these parameters led to the diagnosis of Hirayama disease (HD). This is the first report of HD in Korea by pediatrician, even though it is characterized by juvenile onset.
Adolescent ; Atrophy ; Electromyography ; Epidural Space ; Hand ; Humans ; Korea ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Muscles ; Muscular Atrophy ; Paresthesia ; Spinal Cord ; Spinal Cord Compression ; Spinal Muscular Atrophies of Childhood ; Spine ; Ulnar Nerve ; Upper Extremity

We report a case of trisomy 22 in a liveborn male infant which was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH), macrocultures and GTG-banding, and RHA-banding procedures of peripheral white blood cells. The infant showed lung hypoplasia, which is a unique presentation, with other clinical manifestations of previously reported cases of trisomy 22, such as intrauterine growth retardation, cleft palate, micrognathia, large atrial septal defect, limb anomalies, imperforate anus, and hypospadias. Our report gives weight to the previously reported observation that pulmonary hypoplasia may be associated in trisomy 22.
Anus, Imperforate ; Cleft Palate ; Extremities ; Female ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Fluorescence ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; Humans ; Hypospadias ; Infant* ; Leukocytes ; Lung ; Male ; Trisomy*

PURPOSE: We aimed to compare the frequency of positive repeat urine cultures 48 hours after antimicrobial treatment between anatomically normal and abnormal urinary tract Infection (UTI) groups to determine the potential clinical usefulness of the tests. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of 930 patients under age 14, who had been admitted for UTI at Gyeongsang National University Hospital from January 1, 1998 to August 1, 2008. The eligible patients were divided into two groups the anatomically normal UTI group and the anatomically abnormal UTI group. Statistical analyses were performed with variables consisting of the sex ratio, age distribution and the frequency of positive repeat urine cultures of each group. RESULTS: The sex ratio of the anatomically normal UTI group was M:F=1.9:1, whereas that of the anatomically abnormal UTI group was M:F=3.5:1 (P=0.019). For age distribution, it was found that the mean age of the anatomically normal UTI group was 0.82+/-1.83 years, whereas that of the anatomically abnormal UTI group was 1.18+/-2.57 years (P=0.113). The frequency of positive repeat urine cultures in the anatomically normal UTI group was 3/279 (1.1%), whereas that of the anatomically abnormal UTI group was 1/90 (1.1%) (P=0.675). CONCLUSION: We conclude that performing a repeat urine culture is not justified in terms of clinical usefulness, and it is unreasonable to use the results as an index of therapeutic success. A follow-up urine culture is unnecessary in patients with both the anatomically normal and abnormal UTI group.
Age Distribution ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hydronephrosis ; Medical Records ; Sex Ratio ; Urinary Tract ; Urinary Tract Infections ; Vesico-Ureteral Reflux