Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) and acute hemorrhagic conjunctivitis (AHC) are common diseases caused by human adenoviruses (HAdV) and enteroviruses, respectively, in South Korea. However, there are limited studies on the molecular epidemiology of viral conjunctivitis in South Korea. The main objective of this study was to characterize the genotypes of adenoviruses and enteroviruses causing viral conjunctivitis in the southwest region of South Korea. We collected conjunctival swabs from 492 patients with suspected cases of viral conjunctivitis from 6 ophthalmic hospitals in Gwangju Metropolitan City, in South Korea, between 2012 and 2016. Of the 492 samples tested, HAdVs and enteroviruses were detected in 249 samples (50.6%) and 19 samples (3.9%), respectively. The genotype analysis detected HAdV-8 in 183 samples (73.5%), HAdV-37 in 14 samples (5.6%), and HAdV-3, and HAdV-4 in 9 samples (3.6%) each. We detected coxsackievirus A24 (CVA24) and coxsackievirus B1 (CVB1) in 8 samples (42.0%) and 4 samples (21.0%), respectively. We also reported for the first time HAdV-56-infected cases of EKC in South Korea. Furthermore, we found three cases of coinfection with HAdV and enterovirus genotypes in our samples. HAdV-8 and CVA24, the main causes of EKC and AHC, respectively, worldwide, were also found to be the predominant genotypes in our study.
Adenoviridae ; Adenoviruses, Human ; Coinfection ; Conjunctivitis, Acute Hemorrhagic ; Conjunctivitis, Viral* ; Enterovirus ; Genotype ; Gwangju ; Humans ; Keratoconjunctivitis ; Korea* ; Molecular Epidemiology*

PURPOSE: The construction worker has diverse harmful factors such as noise, dust, and dealing with chemicals. Therefore this research aimed to examine the necessity of appointing a health manager in the construction industry by examining the cost-benefit analysis when the construction industry appoints a health manager. METHODS: In order to calculate the healthcare staff employment cost and the benefits from their activities in 1,425 construction companies with the staff of 300 or more people during 2011, this study analyzed existing data and existing research data, as well as national data. RESULTS: Total annual costs were 99,920,070,900 won and total annual benefits were 324,807,182,625 won. Benefits were found to be 224,887,111,725 won exceeding costs. Benefit/cost ratio resulting from appointing a health manager in the construction industry workplaces was 3.25 times. CONCLUSION: The findings of this research can be used as the base data to make rational decision to positively encourage the employment of healthcare staff in construction companies pursuant to relevant laws.
Construction Industry* ; Cost-Benefit Analysis* ; Delivery of Health Care* ; Dust ; Employment ; Jurisprudence ; Noise

OBJECTIVES: This study attempted to identify the factors that contribute to successful telemedicine service. This was done by analyzing the operational state of successful telemedicine services offered in Gangwon Province of Korea and their outcome for the last fifteen years. METHODS: A comparative analysis was made based on reports and a thesis on the satisfaction rate of patients and providers, patient compliance to treatment, and economic assessment of Gangwon telemedicine service, which were carried out in three periods: the years 2006, 2010, and 2012. RESULTS: The satisfaction surveys in all three periods showed similar results for patients (4.46+/-0.70 point) and healthcare practitioners, including nurses (3.82+/-0.62 point) and physicians (3.60+/-0.56 point), in decreasing order from the year 2012. Through the survey of patients' compliance with treatment, it was confirmed that telemedicine services increased patients' compliance with drug administration, facilitated improvement of lifestyle habits, improved glycated hemoglobin for patients with diabetes mellitus, and enhanced the rate of blood pressure control. In the survey conducted on patients' willingness to pay for telemedicine services in 2007, it was found that those patients were willing to pay about $3.5 for services. CONCLUSIONS: The telemedicine services of Gangwon Province increased patients' compliance with drug administration, improved blood glucose control, enhanced blood pressure control for patients with hypertension, and provided economic advantage.
Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Compliance ; Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Gangwon-do* ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Korea* ; Life Style ; Patient Compliance ; Patient Satisfaction ; Rural Health Services ; Telemedicine*

Amebic liver abscess (ALA) has been diagnosed in travelers to endemic areas or in patients with immunosuppression secondary to human immunodeficiency virus infection since the late 1990s. Further, it is a rare disease in Korea. ALA should be considered in patients present with fever and right upper quadrant pain along with a risk of exposure to amebiasis. We report an 82-year-old man with symptoms of fever, gross hematuria and severe renal impairment as having amebic liver abscess complicated with the obstruction of the inferior vena cava. Amebic liver abscess was successfully treated with antibiotics alone. Also, hematuria disappeared and renal dysfunction improved after treatment.
Aged, 80 and over ; Amebiasis ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Fever ; Hematuria ; HIV ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Korea ; Liver Abscess, Amebic* ; Rare Diseases ; Renal Insufficiency ; Vena Cava, Inferior*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Recent works have demonstrated the existence of ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (OVEMPs), which reflects otolith-ocular reflex. The purpose of this study was to identify an appropriate gaze position to detect OVEMPs produced by air-conducted sound stimulation in healthy subjects. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Twenty four healthy subjects (35 ears) were included in this study. Surface electromyographic activity was recorded from active electrodes placed inferior to each eye. Stimulation with 500 Hz short tone bursts was used to activate the vestibular end-organs. RESULTS: Sound stimulation evoked negative-positive biphasic responses on both ipsilateral and contralateral eyes, while responses were contralateral eye-dominant. Contralateral eye responses had higher response incidence and larger amplitudes. Altering the direction of gaze generally changed the incidence and size of the inter-peak amplitudes. The higher incidence and larger amplitudes were recorded when the eyes are directed to the superior and ipsilateral side to the sound stimulation. In that gaze position, the amplitude was 5.3 micronV, the first negative peak latency was 10.5 ms and the following positive peak latency was 15.4 ms on the average. CONCLUSION: OVEMPs can be evoked using an air-conducted 500 Hz tone burst and are best recorded contralaterally with a upward gaze towards the source of sound stimulation. Further changes of the test parameters are needed for higher and consistent responses.
Electrodes ; Evoked Potentials ; Eye ; Incidence ; Reflex ; Reflex, Vestibulo-Ocular ; Saccule and Utricle ; Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To report the hearing results of tympanoplasty for chronic otitis media with or without cholesteatoma. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: One hundred and seventy-five patients presenting chronic otitis media with or without cholesteatoma were involved in a retrospective study. Tympanoplasties were performed by the same surgeon over a 30-month period. Audiometric results were reviewed. Audiometric results according to the following techniques were measured: tympanoplasty type 1 (T1), interposition (Si) and/or columella (Sc) over stapedial head, and interposition or columella (Fic) over footplate. The follow-up period ranged from 6 to 32 months. Audiological parameters using the average of four frequencies were assessed pre- and post-operatively. RESULTS: Overall hearing results showed postoperative air-bone gaps (ABG) < or =20 dB in 69% of cases. ABG was closed to within 20 dB in 89% for T1, 67% for Sc, 58% for Si, and 30% for Fic. ABG was closed to within 30 dB in 95% for T1, 67% for Sc, 83% for Si, and 70% for Fic. There was a significant improvement between preoperative and postoperative ABGs. The overall improvement of the air-bone gap was 8+/-13 dB. There was no significant functional difference between different surgical techniques. CONCLUSION: Our hearing results after tympanoplasties were similar to those from other studies. The hearing results observed in this study confirmed that successful results can be obtained by applying the current principles and approach to ossicular reconstruction.
Cholesteatoma ; Follow-Up Studies ; Head ; Hearing ; Humans ; Otitis ; Otitis Media ; Retrospective Studies ; Tympanoplasty

Many classes of drug, such as antineoplastic drugs and antiarrhythmic drugs, have potential to induce interstitial lung disease. Herbal medicines are also believed to have the potential to induce pneumonitis. However, to our knowledge, there are no reports of pneumonitis caused by herbal medications in the Korean medical database. We report a case of recurrent pneumonitis caused by a self rechallenge of the Herbal medicine Bojungikgitang (Bu-Zhong-Yi-Qi-Tang : Hochu-ekki-to).
Anti-Arrhythmia Agents ; Antineoplastic Agents ; Herbal Medicine ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; Pneumonia

OBJECTIVES: The goals of the study were to compare the middle ear (ME) volumes from both normal and lesioned ears, and these ME volumes were measured by a digital image processing computed tomography (CT) program in patients with unilateral chronic otitis media, and we wanted to compare the ME volumes of the lesioned ears by comparing the ME volumes obtained by tympanometry with those ME volumes measured by the digital image processing CT program. METHODS: Forty-four patients who had unilateral chronic otitis media (COM) and contralateral normal tympanic membranes (TM) and 100 subjects with normal TMs were included in the study. The normal volumes of the external auditory canal (EAC) were measured in the normal group. The tympanometric ME volumes in the ears with a perforated TM were calculated as the difference of the tympanometric volumes measured from the both ears in patients with unilateral COM. The CT ME volumes were measured by a digital image processing program. RESULTS: The tympanometric volumes of the EACs in the ears with normal TMs were 1.4+/-0.3 mL. There were no significant differences according to gender, age and the side of the face the ear was on. The tympanometric volumes of the EAC in the normal-side ear of the patients with unilateral COM showed no significant differences when compared with those from the normal group. The ME volumes of the intact ears, as measured by CT, showed significantly higher values than those ME volumes of the lesioned ears. The ME volumes of the lesioned ears, as measured by tympanometry, showed a strong, significant linear correlation with those ME volumes calculated by CT; however, the ME volumes of the lesioned ears, as measured by tympanometry (1.5+/-1.4 mL), were significantly larger than those ME volumes measured by CT (1.1+/-0.8 mL). CONCLUSION: Our results show that chronic otitis media causes reduced ME volumes compared to those ME volumes of the contralateral normal ears. Tympanometry can provide a valuable estimation of the ME volumes in chronic ears, although it tends to overestimate the ME volumes, and especially for the ears with a larger ME volume.
Acoustic Impedance Tests ; Aminocaproic Acids ; Ear ; Ear Canal ; Ear, Middle ; Humans ; Mastoid ; Otitis ; Otitis Media ; Tympanic Membrane

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It has been reported that vibration applied either on the mastoid or the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles induces nystagmus in patients after unilateral vestibular neuritis. The aims of the study were to characterize the vibration-induced nystagmus (VIN) in patients with various vestibular disorders and to compare the results of VIN to unilateral weakness in caloric test. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Fifthy-four patients with Meniere's disease, 58 patients with unilateral vestibular neuritis, 170 patients with migraine-associated dizziness, and 78 patients with chronic recurrent vestibulopathy were included. We recorded eye movements during unilateral 100-Hz vibration on the mastoids and SCM muscles. The bithermal caloric test was also performed. Abnormal criteria of VIN were slow-phase slow-phase velocity (SPV) at 4 all different conditions > or = 2degrees/s with the same directions or mean of SPV at vibration on both mastoids or both SCM muscles > or = 5degrees/s with the same directions. RESULTS: In Meniere's disease, 28 of 57 (49.1%) of patients show pathologic VIN, 21 of 57 (36.8%) show pathologic canal paresis. 14 of 57 (24.6%) show abnormalities in both tests, and 35 of 57 (61.4%) show any abnormalities in either test. In unilateral vestibular neuritis, 43 of 58 (77.6%) showed pathologic VIN, 58 of 58 (100%) show canal paresis. In migraine-associated dizziness, 48 of 170 (28.2%) showed pathologic VIN, 58 of 170 (18.8%) show canal paresis. 15 of 170 (8.8%) showed abnormalities in both tests, and 65 of 170 (38.2%) show any abnormalities in either test. In chronic recurrent vestibulopathy, 23 of 78 (29.5%) of patients show pathologic VIN and 17 of 78 (21.8%) show pathologic canal paresis. Seven of 78 (9.0%) showed abnormalities in both tests, and 33 of 78 (42.3%) show any abnormalities in either test. CONCLUSION: VIN test can increase the sensitivity in detecting vestibular imbalance in vestibular disorders when combined with caloric test.
Caloric Tests ; Dizziness ; Eye Movements ; Humans ; Mastoid ; Meniere Disease ; Muscles ; Paresis ; Vestibular Neuronitis ; Vibration

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It has been reported that vibration applied either on the mastoid or on the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscles induces nystagmus in normal subjects. The aims of the study were to characterize the direction and velocity of slow-phase eye movement which is induced by vibration in normal subjects and to propose the mechanism of vibration-induced nystagmus (VIN) in normal subjects. MATERIALS AND METHOD: We recorded eye movements during unilateral 100-Hz vibration on the mastoid bone and SCM muscles in 56 normal subjects. The subjects were divided into 4 groups in ages (20s, 30s, 40s, 50~60s). The directions of VIN, the degree of maximal slow-phase eye velocities were analyzed according to age. Positive value means slow-phase velocity (SPV) to the right side. RESULTS: In 20s, vibration on right/left mastoids induced SPV of 1.2+/-2.0degrees/sec, 0+/-2.1degrees/sec and on right/left SCM muscles, 1.1+/-1.9degrees/sec, -1.2+/-2.5degrees/sec. In 30s, vibration on right/left mastoids induced SPV of 3.3+/-3.8degrees/sec, -0.3+/-1.4degrees/sec and on right/left SCM muscles, 2.8+/-4.2degrees/sec, -1.0+/-1.5degrees/sec. In 40s, vibration on right/left mastoids induced SPV of 0+/-1.7degrees/sec, -0.2+/-1.2degrees/sec and on right/left SCM muscles, 0+/-1.8degrees/sec, 0+/-1.0degrees/sec. In 50~60s, vibration on the right/left mastoids induced SPV of -1.3+/-1.3degrees/sec, 1.2+/-1.3degrees/sec and on right/left SCM muscles, -0.6+/-0.9degrees/sec, 0.9 +/-1.5degrees/sec. The directional preponderance of the slow-phase eye movement to the vibrated side was statistically significant in 20s and 30s, however, the preponderance of the slow-phase eye movement changed into the non-vibrated side in 50~60s. CONCLUSION: The proprioceptive input, changing major rotator from the inferior oblique muscle to the sternocleidomastoid muscles might explain the change of the directional preponderance of the slow-phase eye movements in normal subjects according to ages. Although this directional preponderance is not consistent in all age groups, it is still important in discriminating normal responses from abnormal responses which can be induced by vibration.
Eye Movements ; Humans ; Mastoid ; Muscles ; Vibration