OBJECTIVES: We aimed to compare and distinguish the characteristics of anaphylaxis and angioedema, especially with oral mucosal involvement and treatment of patients who visited the Pediatric Emergency Department. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed patients under age 18-year-old who were diagnosed with anaphylaxis and angioedema with oral mucosal involvement and treated with epinephrine from May 2008 to May 2013 in a single Pediatric Emergency Department in Seoul, Korea. We evaluated their past history, possible triggering causes, symptoms, vital signs and treatment and discharge with education. RESULTS: During the study period the total cases of anaphylaxis were 79 and angioedema with oral mucosal involvement were 218. The age of patients with anaphylaxis was significantly higher (6.6+/-4.9 years vs. 4.1+/-3.3 years). The heart rate relative to age was significantly higher in the anaphylaxis group (49.4% vs. 36.2%). After discharge from the Emergency Center, 3.8% of anaphylaxis patients were prescribed an epinephrine injection. Education to avoid the triggering factor was provided in 32.9% of anaphylaxis group and 17.4% in the angioedema group. CONCLUSION: Besides blood pressure, we should pay attention to the heart rate in pediatric patients with severe allergic reactions. More active follow-up of anaphylaxis and angioedema with oral mucosal involvement is needed to educate parents and prescribe emergency medication.
Adolescent ; Anaphylaxis* ; Angioedema* ; Blood Pressure ; Child ; Education ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Epinephrine ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea ; Parents ; Retrospective Studies ; Seoul ; Vital Signs

Malignant salivary gland tumors only represent 0.08% of all childhood tumors and mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) is the most common histologic type. Although there are many reports describing second malignant neoplasm (SMN) in patients treated for childhood cancer, salivary gland tumors rarely appears. In Korea, there has been no report about MEC that developed in children as a SMN. We report a MEC in a 4 years and 8 months old female child that developed after completing treatment for yolk sac tumor of lower abdomen. The primary tumor presented with metastasis at the time of diagnosis, and therefore, the child underwent high-dose chemotherapy with autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation along with surgery and radiotherapy. Three years and five months after completing treatment, MEC developed in her submandibular gland. She was treated with surgery and radiotherapy and is in disease free state for 5 months at the time of this writing.
Abdomen ; Carcinoma, Mucoepidermoid ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Endodermal Sinus Tumor ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation ; Radiotherapy ; Salivary Gland Neoplasms ; Salivary Glands ; Submandibular Gland ; Writing

BACKGROUND: The cytokine-induced activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSC) plays a major role in liver fibrosis. Quiescent HSCs undergo phenotypic transformation called "transdifferentiation" in response to viral, chemical or immune insults to the liver. The cytokine TGF-beta1 plays a key role in progressive liver fibrosis. Since small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a powerful tool for silencing gene expression post-transcriptionally, the present study aimed to determine whether synthetic TGF-beta1 siRNA down-regulates the expression of the TGF-beta1 gene in immortalized and activated rat HSCs (HSC-T6s). The study examined whether synthetic TGF-beta1 siRNA prevents rat HSCs activation and extracellular matrix (ECM) production. METHODS: TGF-beta1 siRNA or a control (pU6) siRNA was added to HSC-T6 culture media. We then performed RT-PCR and western blot analyses for TGF-beta1 and ECM components (fibronectin, type-I collagen, and TIMP-1). RESULTS: TGF-beta1 siRNA significantly down-regulated expression of TGF-beta1 mRNA and protein and attenuated mRNA and protein expressions of type-I collagen, fibronectin, and TIMP-1, as compared to the control. CONCLUSIONS: TGF-beta1 siRNA can effectively down-regulate the expression of TGF-beta1 in rat HSC, resulting in significant inhibition of HSC activation and of ECM production. These data indicate that synthetic TGF-beta1 siRNA can be a useful treatment modality to prevent liver fibrosis.
Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Collagen ; Culture Media ; Extracellular Matrix ; Fibronectins ; Gene Expression ; Hepatic Stellate Cells ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Rats ; RNA, Messenger ; RNA, Small Interfering ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-1 ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1