Eosinophilic myenteric ganglionitis is a disorder characterized by infiltration of the Auerbach myenteric plexus by eosinophils. As a cause of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO), eosinophilic myenteric ganglionitis has been rarely reported and the majority of the reported cases in the literature were children. We experienced a case of eosinophilic myenteric ganglionitis associated with CIPO in a 53-year-old female patient. Histologic examination of the resected descending colon showed moderate eosinophilic infiltrates with hypogangliosis in the myenteric plexus. Immunohistochemical study revealed increased number of CD4-positive lymphocytes and stronger but scantier glial fibillary acid protein expression in the inflamed myenteric plexus.
CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes ; Child ; Colon, Descending ; Eosinophils* ; Female ; Ganglion Cysts* ; Humans ; Intestinal Pseudo-Obstruction ; Middle Aged ; Myenteric Plexus

BACKGROUND: The diseases that cause neonatal cholestasis display several overlapping clinical feature. Making the differential diagnosis using liver biopsy specimens from infants with neonatal cholestasis is important for delivering the proper treatment. METHODS: We assessed the clinical manifestations, laboratory data, and histopathologic features of the pretreatment liver biopsy specimens from patients suffering with biliary atresia (n=66), intrahepatic bile duct paucity (n=15), and neonatal hepatitis (n=21). RESULTS: The gender distribution was nearly equal for the patients with biliary atresia and intrahepatic bile duct paucity, whereas males predominated for the cases of neonatal hepatitis. Only the gamma-glutamyl transferase level differed significantly amongst the groups. The diagnostic features for making the differential diagnosis of bile duct lesions included marked bile ductular proliferation, severe fibrosis, and bile duct loss. The difference of the average percentage of portal tracts with bile duct loss was statistically significant between the patients with intrahepatic bile duct paucity (73.9%) and those patients with neonatal hepatitis (39.1%) (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Bile ductular proliferation, bile duct loss, and advanced fibrosis are useful for the differential diagnosis of neonatal cholestasis. Moreover, stricter diagnostic criteria for bile duct loss (more than 2/3 of bile ducts) should be applied for the definitive diagnosis of intrahepatic bile duct paucity, because bile duct loss also frequently occurs in infants suffering with neonatal hepatitis.
Bile ; Bile Ducts ; Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic ; Biliary Atresia ; Biopsy ; Cholestasis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Fibrosis ; Hepatitis ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Liver ; Male ; Stress, Psychological ; Transferases

Larvae, nymphs, and adult stages of 3 species of ixodid ticks were collected by tick drag methods in Seoul during June-October 2013, and their infection status with severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) virus was examined using RT-PCR. During the period, 732 Haemaphysalis longicornis, 62 Haemaphysalis flava, and 2 Ixodes nipponensis specimens were collected. Among the specimens of H. longicornis, the number of female adults, male adults, nymphs, and larvae were 53, 11, 240, and 446, respectively. Ticks were grouped into 63 pools according to the collection site, species, and developmental stage, and assayed for SFTS virus. None of the pools of ticks were found to be positive for SFTS virus gene.
Animals ; Female ; Fever/virology ; Humans ; Ixodidae/*classification/*virology ; Larva/pathogenicity ; Male ; Phlebotomus Fever/virology ; Phlebovirus/*isolation & purification ; Republic of Korea ; Thrombocytopenia/virology ; Tick Infestations/*virology

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To analyze the future trends through the status of radiotherapy in the hepatobiliary cancer in Korea and related articles published in the world. METHODS: Science citation index (SCI) and science citation index expanded (SCIE) articles, published in the 20 years from 1995 until 2014, were searched that contain the keywords related hepatobiliary cancer and radiotherapy using the Scopus. The incidence of hepatobiliary cancer was analyzed using annual reports from the Korea Central Cancer Registry. The status of radiotherapy was analyzed using data obtained form the Korean Society for Radiation Oncology and the National Health Insurance Service. RESULTS: Total 2,302 papers related radiotherapy for hepatobiliary cancer were searched in the world. By 2014, the cumulative number of papers published by domestic authors was a total 221 pieces. In 1999, total 16,305 hepatobiliary cancer patients were developed, of which 729 patients have been treated with radiotherapy. In 2013, it was expected that total 22,482 hepatobiliary cancer patients would be developed, of which 3,075 patients have been treated with radiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Over the past 20 years, South Korea has made clinically and academically remarkable advances in the area of radiotherapy for hepatobiliary cancer. The researchers will continue to announce the results such as an objective status data and published papers in the future.
Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Liver Neoplasms ; National Health Programs ; Radiation Oncology ; Radiotherapy*

The prevalence of human astroviruses was tested in patients with acute gastroenteritis by using conventional duplex reverse transcription (RT)-PCR and electrophoresis. Diarrheal fecal samples were collected from 9,597 patients at local hospitals in Seoul. The prevalence of astroviruses was 1.0% (94/9,597 patients; mostly infants), and that of sapoviruses was 0.1% (14/9,597 patients). Age- and gender-wise analyses were carried out on 29 astrovirus-positive patients having complete information on file regarding their age, gender, and other particulars. The results were higher in patients of ages 0 to 14 yr, and 69.0% of the astrovirus-positive patients were females, of which 69.2% were infants (0 to 12 months), and 61.5% were 1-4 yr old. Notably, in the case of 5 to 78-yr-old acute gastroenteritis patients, 100% were females.
Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Astroviridae Infections/complications/*epidemiology/virology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; DNA, Viral/analysis ; Feces/virology ; Female ; Gastroenteritis/complications/*diagnosis ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Mamastrovirus/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sapovirus/genetics/isolation & purification ; Sex Factors ; Young Adult

Norovirus is an important cause of acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis in communities worldwide. It was evaluated the prevalence of norovirus infections in patients with acute gastroenteritis occurring in Seoul from May 2013 to April 2015, with regular surveillance. 7.3% (252/3,485) of the fecal specimens were determined to be positive for noroviruses by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Norovirus genogroup distribution was 19.1% (48/252) genogroup GI, 71.4% (180/252) genogroup GII, and 9.5% (24/252) genogroup G1+GII respectively. It was most norovirus detection rates from November 2013 to March 2015. And it was rotavirus 0.2% (7/3,485), astrovirus 0.03% (1/3,485), sapovirus 0.03% (1/3,485) and, it was non-detective on adenovirus. Norovirus genotypes identified were nine kinds of genogroup GI (GI-1, GI-2, GI-3, GI-4, GI-6, GI-7, GI-8, GI-12, GI-14) and eight kinds of genogroup GII (GII-2, GII-3, GII-4, GII-5, GII-6, GII-7, GII-14, GII-16, GII-17). The genetic characteristics of norovirus and the epidemiological patterns of a viral pathogen from acute gastroenteritis patients may give potentially effective data for epidemiological studies in Seoul, Korea.
Adenoviridae ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Gastroenteritis* ; Genotype* ; Humans* ; Korea ; Norovirus* ; Prevalence ; Rotavirus ; Sapovirus ; Seoul*

Korea declared in 2006 that measles had been eliminated; however, a measles outbreak occurred in the southeastern area of Korea in 2011. Active surveillance of measles patients was conducted in Seoul 3 cases were detected in 2013 and 103 cases in 2014. Of 106 confirmed measles patients, 32 cases were within one university in Seongbukgu, and 23 were within three schools in Yongsangu. Students 14~29 years old comprised 78.3% (83/106) of the cases, and 75.5% (80/106) of the measles viruses were of genotype B3. One foreign traveler played an important role in the measles outbreak in Seoul. This measles outbreak in Seoul may provide useful data for future epidemiological studies of measles.
Epidemiologic Studies ; Genotype ; Humans ; Korea ; Measles virus ; Measles* ; Seoul*

For our survey of the infection frequency and mixed infection of the viruses causing acute respiratory syndromes, we analyzed those viruses from acute respiratory patients in Seoul. Total 1,038 specimens of oropharyngeal swab were tested by the real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) kit (Kogenebiotech, Korea) from Jan. to Dec. in 2013. Virus detection rate causing acute respiratory infection was 46% (476/1,038). The most frequently isolated virus was only hRV (21.6%, 103/476), followed by only ADV (8.96%, 93/476), only IFV A (H3N2) (18.1%, 86/476), and only hCoV (7.8%, 37/476) etc. Most of acute respiratory viruses had severe fever. Infection frequency information and mixed infection status on respiratory viruses circulating in Seoul will be helpful for the management of acute respiratory infection and for epidemiological continuous studies.
Coinfection* ; Fever ; Humans ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Seoul

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Medical insurance claims (MIC) data are one of the largest sources of outcome data in the form of International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. We evaluated the validity of the ICD codes from the Korean National MIC data with respect to the outcomes from acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the Korean Heart Study. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Baseline information was obtained from health examinations conducted from 1994 to 2001. Outcome information regarding the incidence of AMI came from hospital admission discharge records from 1994 to 2007. Structured questionnaires were sent to 98 hospitals. In total, 107 cases of AMI with ICD codes of I21- (93 men, 26-73 years of age) were included in the final analyses. ICD code accuracy and reliability (kappa) for AMI were calculated. RESULTS: A large number of AMI cases were from hospitals located in the Seoul area (75.9%). The accuracy of AMI was 71.4%, according to World Health Organization criteria (1997-2000, n=24, kappa=0.46) and 73.1% according to the European Society of Cardiology/American College of Cardiology (ESC/ACC) criteria (2001-2007, n=83, kappa=0.74). An age of 50 years or older was the only factor related to inaccuracy of codes for AMI (odds ratio, 4.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.2-17.7) in patients diagnosed since January 2001 using ESC/ACC criteria (n=83). CONCLUSION: The accuracy for diagnosing AMI using the ICD-10 codes in Korean MIC data was >70%, and reliability was fair to good; however, more attention is required for recoding ICD codes in older patients.
Cardiology ; Heart ; Humans ; Incidence ; Insurance ; Insurance, Health ; International Classification of Diseases ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; Porphyrins ; World Health Organization ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Viruses that cause acute respiratory infection include adenovirus (ADV), respiratory syncytial virus A and B (RSV(A), RSV(B)), influenza virus A and B (FluA, FluB), parainfluenza virus 1, 2 and 3 (PIV1, PIV2, PIV3), human metapneumovirus (hMPV), human coronavirus (hCoV), human rhinovirus (hRV), and enterovirus, among others. METHODS: Viral incidence was evaluated in acute respiratory patients in Seoul, Korea from 2010 to 2012. A total of 2,544 oropharyngeal swab specimens were tested by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. RNA viruses (hRV, PIV, RSV, hCoV, and hMPV) and DNA viruses (ADV and bocavirus) were detected using the one-step reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) premix kit (SolGent, Korea) from January 2010 to June 2011, and using the real-time PCR kit (Kogenebiotech, Korea) from July 2011 to December 2012. RESULTS: Thirty-two percent (813/2,544) of specimens were positive; 31.9% (294/923) in 2010, 31.4% (232/738) in 2011, and 32.5% (287/883) in 2012. The most frequently isolated virus was hRV (40.7%, 331/813), followed by ADV (23.9%, 194/813), RSV (14.1%, 115/813), PIV (12.3%, 100/813), and hCoV (8.7%, 71/813). PIV1 was the most commonly isolated PIV, followed by PIV3 and PIV2, respectively. hCo OC43 was the most commonly isolated hCoV, followed by hCoV NL63 and hCoV 229E, respectively. CONCLUSION: Information on respiratory viruses circulating in Seoul, Korea over the last three years will be helpful in the management of acute respiratory infections, and for larger-scale epidemiological studies.