PURPOSE: This study was conducted to investigate the epidemic pyrogenic reactions that occurred hospital-widely in 51 patients on 30-31 Mar. 1995 at a tertiary, educational, and acute care hospital. METHODS: The remained intravenous (IV) drugs and IV fluids that were infused to patients (N=51) who developed pyrogenic reactions were cultured and tested pyrogenic matter. Pyrogenic test was done by Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (PyrotellRMA,USA). RESULTS: IV normal saline 50 cc bottles (AAXSAT and AAX5AV) those were collected being used from case patients, and new bottles stocked in the drug storage were positive to pyrogenic test. Used normal saline collected from case patients were cultured coagulase-negative Staphylococus. Moreover the company, manufacturer of these fluids reported the positive pyrogenic test on these IV fluids (AAXSAT and AAX5AV). CONCLUSION: This epidemic was a pyrogenic reaction for infused the intrinsic contaminated fluid with pyrogen. We could prevent not the additional pyrogenic reactions in study hospital but national wide epidemics to apply the rapid and well-designed epidemic investigation and infection control.
Bacteremia ; Cross Infection ; Drug Storage ; Horseshoe Crabs ; Humans ; Infection Control

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Pneumoperitoneum*

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to investigate whether the preoperative nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was a risk factor for surgical site infections and nosocomial infections in open heart surgery patients. METHODS: From June 10, 2002 to October 30, 2002, data were collected by prospective surveillance carried out by infection control nurses. Nasal swabs were taken from patients (N= 106) on the day before surgery. The swabs were incubated in staphylococcal broth for 24 hours, and then it was incubated on mannitol salt agar for 24 hours. Muller-Hinton agar supplemented with oxacillin (6 microgram/mL) was used to identify MRSA. RESULTS: Among the study patients (N=106), four(4/106, 3.8%) were identified as MRSA carriers and nine (9/103 , 8.7%) developed nosocomial infections, including three patients (3/103 , 2.9%) who had postoperative mediastinitis Preoperative nasal carriage of MRSA was not associated with nosocomial infections nor surgical site infections (P>0.05). However, the length of hospital stay prior to nasal swab or surgery was found to be associated with MRSA carriage (OR=1.108, 95%CI: 1.026-1.197) or nosocomial infections (OR=1.087, 95%CI: 1.017-1.161). Additionally, the patients with nosocomial infections were more likely than those without to stay in the hospital for a longer period after surgery (P<0.00l). CONCLUSION: Preoperative nasal carriage of MRSA by the patient was not identified as a risk factor for surgical site infection and nosocomial infections in open heart surgery.
Agar ; Cross Infection* ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Length of Stay ; Mannitol ; Mediastinitis ; Methicillin Resistance* ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus* ; Oxacillin ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Thoracic Surgery*

No abstract available.
Prescriptions*

No abstract available.
Lymphoma, T-Cell* ; T-Lymphocytes*

Pregnancy with scrub typhus is a rare condition. A 30-year-old woman was infected with scrub typhus at the 35th week of gestation. She was treated successfully with azithromycin, and delivered her baby uneventfully. The baby developed no signs for scrub typhus, and thrived well. IgM antibodies to O. tsutsugamushi were undetectable in the baby's sera, and titers of IgG antibodies did not rise. The polymerase chain reaction of the cord blood for O. tsutsugamushi was also negative. We concluded that transplacental infection did not occur in this pregnant woman.
Adult ; Antibodies ; Azithromycin ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women* ; Scrub Typhus*

OBJECTIVE: A number of disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) have been shown to be more effective than placebo in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, most course of DMARDs, except methotrexate, are discontinued after 2 or 3 years, because of toxicity, lack of efficacy or escape from control. The multi-drug resistance (MDR) is a phenomenon in which cells develop cross-resistance to many agents such as anthracyclin, vinca alkaloids and colchicine. In our hypothesis, MDR phenomenon could be implicated in acquired resistance to DMARDs in RA. We have established a mdr1 cell line and tested whether DMARDs are substrate for P-glycoprotein (P-gp). METHODS: The mdr1-cDNA was cloned into retroviral vector, and the recombinant retroviral vector was transfected into PA317 cells. The target cells, NIH3T3, were infected with recombinant retroviruses. A colony most resistant to vinblastin was selected for the following experiments; expression of mdr1 gene in NIH3T3 cells was confirmed by RT-PCR, and biological function of mdr1 gene product, P-gp, was tested using Rhodamine-123 (Rh123) efflux assay. Resistance of the target cells expression P-gp which can survive against hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) and methotrxate (MTX) were measured by MTT assay. RESULTS: RT-PCR for mdr1 gene showed successful transfer of the gene into the NIH3T3 cells. Rh123 assay revealed expression of P-gp on the selected cells as follows; Rh123 efflux activity of uninfected NIH3T3 cells was 6%, that of PLXSN was 0.2%, and that of selected cells was 44%. The 50% proliferation inhibitory capacity of the selected cells were twice for HCQ but there was no difference of that for MTX. CONCLUSION: We established a mdr1 cell line and using the cell line, HCQ was a substrate of MDR, but MTX was not related to MDR.
Antirheumatic Agents* ; Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Cell Line ; Clone Cells ; Colchicine ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Hydroxychloroquine ; Methotrexate ; P-Glycoprotein ; Retroviridae ; United Nations ; Vinca Alkaloids ; Zidovudine

Trichophyton(T.) rubrum is known to be the most common causative agent of tinea cruris, tinea corporis, and tinea pedis, and hygiene, nutritional status, and high temperature/humidity are known to play an important role in pathogenesis. Although there has been a report on a case of co-infection in which tinea pedis subsequently developing tinea cruris with the foot lesion being a reservoir of the later lesion, there is of yet no report which confirmed co-infection of two different lesions through identification of definite causative organisms. This case concerns a 32 year-old patient who presented with erythematous annular scaly patches on the groin and axilla. Although no organism was identified on mycosel culture, DNA base sequence and RFLP analysis of the scales revealed T. rubrum in both of the lesions. Considering that this is a rare case of tinea cruris accompanied by tinea corporis in the axilla and groin confirmed by molecular biological techniques, the authors present it with review of literature.
Axilla ; Base Sequence ; Coinfection ; DNA ; Foot ; Groin ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Nutritional Status ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Tinea ; Tinea Pedis ; Weights and Measures