Hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HIFRS), scrub typhus, murine typhus and leptospirosis have been the principal acute febrile diseases in Korea. To evaluate the seroepidemiologic patterns of acute febrile illness, sera collected from 2,423 patients in 1996 were examined for antibodies against Hantaan virus, Orientia tsutsugamushi, Rickettsia typhi, and Borrelia burgdorferi by indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique (IFA) and macroscopic agglutination test for Leptospira interogans. Seropositive cases against O. tsutsugamushi, Rickettsia typhi, Leptispira interogans and Hantaan virus were 192 (7.9%), 193 (8.0%), 12 (0.5%) and 324 (13.4%), respectively. Male was more affected in HFRS and murine typhus contrasting to scrub typhus and leptospirosis in female. Most positive cases occurred during October and November for scrub typhus, and during November and December for HFRS. These results showed similar patterns with previous epidemical data for recent couple of years, and possibly implied no significant changes occurred in ecologic situations for acute febrile diseases in Korea.
Agglutination Tests ; Antibodies ; Borrelia burgdorferi ; Female ; Hantaan virus ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Humans ; Korea* ; Leptospira ; Leptospirosis ; Male ; Orientia tsutsugamushi ; Rickettsia typhi ; Scrub Typhus ; Typhus, Endemic Flea-Borne

Multiple species of muridae and arvicolidae rodents serve as the natural reserviors of hantaviruses. Hantaviruses are distributed in rodent populations world-widely even in geographical areas where hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) has not been reported. Serologic diagnosis of infection, using hantaviral antigen, indicates that hantaviruses are wider distributed in wild rodents. This study was designed to intended the hantavirus infection among wild rodents captured in Kyebang mountain, Kangwon-do in Korea. A total of 216 wild rodents in 3 species were trapped in July and September in 1995. Serological evidence for hantaviruses infection were tested against five hantavirus antigens by indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique (IFA). Among 100 Eothenomys regulus, 78 Apodemus peninsulae and 38 Apodemus agrarius (IFA). Among 100 Eothenomys regulus, 78 Apodemus peninsulae and 38 Apodemus agrarius; 12 C. regulus, 15 A. peninsulae and 6 A. agrarius were IF antibody positive against hantaviruses. This data suggest that Eothnomys regulus and Apodemus peninsulae would be a natural reservoir of hantaviruses.
Animals ; Diagnosis ; Gangwon-do ; Hantavirus Infections* ; Hantavirus* ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Korea ; Muridae ; Murinae ; Rodentia*

Hantaviruses are distributed in rodent population world-widely even in geographical areas where hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS) has not been reported. Va.ictus species of Family Muridae and Arvicolidae serve as the natural reservoirs of hantaviruses. Hantaan virus, Seoul virus, Puumala virus, Prospect Hll virus, Sin Hombre virus and New York virus are members of genus Hantavirus and isolated from lungs of A. agrarius, C glareolus, M. pennsylvanicus, P. maniculatus and P. leucopus respectively. This experiment was intended to find the distribution of hantavirus infection among wild rodents and isolate the hantavirus from lung tissue of seropositve Apodemus peninsulae, and compared the nucleotide and amino acid sequences with prototype of hantaan virus 76-118 strain. Hantaviral sequences were amplified from lung tissues of A. peninsulae by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Alignment and comparison of the 324 nucleotide of G2 region of M-genomic segment diverged 4.6% and 0% at the nucleotide and amino acid levels, and complete N protein-coding region of S-genomic segment diverged 3.7% and 1.4% nucleotide and amino acid levels, respectively. This is the report to spill-over on the hantaan virus from A. peninsulae to A. peninsulae in Korea.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Gyeonggi-do* ; Hantaan virus ; Hantavirus Infections ; Hantavirus* ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung ; Muridae ; Murinae* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Puumala virus ; Rodentia ; Seoul virus

The anterior cruciate ligament(ACL) is one of the major stabilizers of knee motion. The ACL does not heal once torn, unlike many other biological tissues. Its absence can lead to severe joint instability which can lead to disruptions of secondary restraints around the knee and then progress to degenerative joint disease. Thus many authors advocate surgical intervention for a torn ACL in order to restore stability to the joint. Yet, there is still controversy as to best treatment for the ACL injuries. It is desirable to be considered for the patients age, the severity of the injury, and the future activity level of the patient to decide treatment. We analyzed thirty ACL acute injuries of twenty seven patients who had an ACL injury and treated surgically between Apr. 1986 and Dec. 1991 at St. Pauls Hospital. The results were as follows: 1. There were twenty five males and two females. The mean age was 33.4 years ranged, 15 to 52 years. 2. The anterior cruciate ligaments were torn at proximal portion in twenty two cases, at midportion and distal portion in four, respectively. 3. Two knees had isolated ACL injuries and twenty eight had combined injuries. 4. Twenty one out of twenty six cases treated with primary repair, and three out of four cases treated with reconstruction had good-excellent results.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament ; Female ; Humans ; Joint Diseases ; Joint Instability ; Joints ; Knee ; Male

STUDY DESIGN: A review of all presentations at the Korean Society of Spine Surgery(KSSS) congress from 2001 to 2005. OBJECTIVES: To determine the presentation to publication rate in peer-reviewed journals of abstracts presented at the KSSS congress and evaluate the consistency between the presented abstract and published full-text counterpart. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: The rate of publication for presentation at international meetings has been determined but there has been no study for the KSSS. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This study reviewed all podium presentations of the past KSSS Spring and Fall meetings from 2001 to 2005. A computer search for each abstract was performed. The final published journal, time to publication and publication rate were evaluated according to subspecialty. The published full-text article was compared with the original abstract and evaluated for consistency with respect to the author, material and method, and result. RESULTS: A total of 288 free-papers were identified, of which 167 of them were published as full-text articles. The mean time to publication was 12.15 months. The publication rates according to the subspecialty were basic 67%, lumbar 68%, cervical 64%, deformity 50%, trauma 53%, minimal 14% and others 51%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The presentation to publication rate of the Korean society of spine surgery podium presentations was lower than other international meetings but the articles showed a high consistency rate.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Publications ; Spine

PURPOSE: Neonatal hyperbilirubinemia has benign courses in most cases, but the possibility of toxicity of hyperbilirubinemia required courses examination of every newborn infant to identify the severity of hyperbilirubinemia progress. This study aims to see how the body surface area of newborns influences the decline rate of serum bilirubin level in conventional phototherapy. METHODS: Based on the charts of the Pediatrics Department, Dae-Dong Hospital from January 2003 to December 2006, we analyzed 168 neonates diagnosed as neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (serum bilirubin > or =15 mg/dL) in retrospective way. We excluded newborn infants under 37 weeks of gestation and under 2,500 g birth weight and classified neonates into four groups by the calculation results of body surface area:males above 75 percentile (group A), males below 25 (group B), females above 75 (group C), and females below 25 (group D). RESULTS: Out of 168 samples, the number of group A, B, C, D was 30, 20, 20, 15 respectively. In conventional phototherapy, the mean decline rates of serum bilirubin of group B and D recording 2.09 mg/dL/day and 1.77 mg/dL/day, were significantly faster than those of group A and C recording 1.63 mg/dL/day and 1.41 mg/dL/day (P<0.01). No significant differences were found in different duration of phototherapy between groups below 25 percentile and those above 75 in both genders. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, body surface area influences of infants the decline rate of serum bilirubin level in conventional phototherapy.
Bilirubin* ; Birth Weight ; Body Surface Area* ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Pediatrics ; Phototherapy* ; Pregnancy ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.
Hypersensitivity ; Influenza, Human ; Vaccination ; Vasculitis ; Vasculitis, Leukocytoclastic, Cutaneous

In order to assess the efficiency of Percoll gradient centrifugation(PGC) as a method of sperm selection, we have examined morphological characteristics of spermatozoa from 40 teratozoospermic patients attending the Infertility Clinic of Inchon Gil Gerneral Hospital. Patients were divided into three groups according to percentage normal morphology in the fresh sample : group A(n=5), < 5% normal morphology : group B(n=21), 5~14% normal morphology : and group C(n=14), > 14% normal morphology. Morphology slides were perpared using Diff-Quik staining techniques and evaulated by Kruger strict criteria, under oil immersion at a magnification of X 1000, specific defects, head, neck and tail were assesed individualy. The results were as follows. 1. Following PGC, sperm samples with enhanced morphology were recovered for all groups. 2. For group A, PGC did not select a sample with significantly improved morphological characteristics. 3. Usually, sperm defects affected by PGC was head and neck. No significant difference was found for tail abnormality. In conclusion, Percoll gradient centrifugation is an efficient sperm preparation technique when the semen sample exhibits teratozoospermia, especially head or neck abnormality. However, in sample with < 5% normal form or tail abnormality, There is not significant improvement following PGC.
Centrifugation* ; Equidae ; Head ; Humans* ; Immersion ; Incheon ; Infertility ; Neck ; Semen ; Spermatozoa*

No abstract available.
Humans

No abstract available.
Humans