The flaviviruses are small single-stranded RNA viruses that are typically transmitted by mosquitoes or tick vectors and are etiological agents of acute zoonotic infections. The viruses are found around the world and account for significant cases of human diseases. We investigated population of culicine mosquitoes in central region of Korean Peninsula, Incheon Metropolitan City and Hwaseong-si. Aedes vexans nipponii was the most frequently collected mosquitoes (56.5%), followed by Ochlerotatus dorsalis (23.6%), Anopheles spp. (10.9%), and Culex pipiens complex (5.9%). In rural regions of Hwaseong, Aedes vexans nipponii was the highest population (62.9%), followed by Ochlerotatus dorsalis (23.9%) and Anopheles spp. (12.0%). In another rural region of Incheon (habitat of migratory birds), Culex pipiens complex was the highest population (31.4%), followed by Ochlerotatus dorsalis (30.5%), and Aedes vexans vexans (27.5%). Culex pipiens complex was the predominant species in the urban region (84.7%). Culicine mosquitoes were identified at the species level, pooled up to 30 mosquitoes each, and tested for flaviviral RNA using the SYBR Green-based RT-PCR and confirmed by cDNA sequencing. Three of the assayed 2,683 pools (989 pools without Anopheles spp.) were positive for Culex flaviviruses, an insect-specific virus, from Culex pipiens pallens collected at the habitats for migratory birds in Incheon. The maximum likelihood estimation (the estimated number) for Culex pipiens pallens positive for Culex flavivirus was 25. Although viruses responsible for mosquito-borne diseases were not identified, we encourage intensified monitoring and long-term surveillance of both vector and viruses in the interest of global public health.

Background: Tension pneumothorax on the contralateral lung during one-lung ventilation (OLV) can be life-threatening if not rapidly diagnosed and managed. However, diagnosis is often delayed because the classic signs of tension pneumothorax are similar to clinical manifestations commonly observed during OLV.Case: We report a case of contralateral tension pneumothorax in a patient undergoing right upper lobectomy during OLV. The patient suffered from sudden cardiac arrest and was assisted by extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation. Conclusions Contralateral pneumothorax during OLV is rare but can occur at any time. Therefore, anesthesiologists should consider this critical complication.

BACKGROUND: Psoriasis is an immune-mediated, chronic inflammatory disease affecting multiple aspects of patients' lives. Its epidemiology varies regionally; however, nationwide epidemiologic data on psoriasis depicting profile of Korean patients has not been available to date. OBJECTIVE: To understand nationwide epidemiologic characteristics and clinical features of adult patients with psoriasis visited university hospitals in Korea. METHODS: This multicenter, non-interventional, cross-sectional study recruited 1,278 adult patients with psoriasis across 25 centers in Korea in 2013. Various clinical data including PASI, BSA, DLQI, SF-36 and PASE were collected. RESULTS: A total of 1,260 patients completed the study (male:female=1.47:1). The mean age was 47.0 years with a distribution mostly in the 50s (24.9%). Early onset (<40 years) of psoriasis accounted for 53.9% of patients. The mean disease duration was 109.2 months; mean body mass index was 23.9 kg/m²; and 12.7% of patients had a family history of psoriasis. Plaque and guttate types of psoriasis accounted for 85.8% and 8.4%, respectively. Patients with PASI ≥10 accounted for 24.9%; patients with body surface area ≥10 were 45.9%. Patients with DLQI ≥6 accounted for 78.8%. Between PASI <10 and PASI ≥10 groups, significant difference was noted in age at diagnosis, disease duration, blood pressure, waist circumference of female, and treatment experiences with phototherapy, systemic agents, and biologics. CONCLUSION: This was the first nationwide epidemiologic study of patients with psoriasis in Korea and provides an overview of the epidemiologic characteristics and clinical profiles of this patient population.
Adult ; Biological Products ; Blood Pressure ; Body Mass Index ; Body Surface Area ; Cross-Sectional Studies* ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiologic Studies ; Epidemiology ; Female ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Korea* ; Phototherapy ; Psoriasis* ; Waist Circumference

The role of atypical bacteria and the effect of antibiotic treatments in acute bronchitis are still not clear. This study was conducted at 22 hospitals (17 primary care clinics and 5 university hospitals) in Korea. Outpatients (aged > or = 18 yr) who had an acute illness with a new cough and sputum (< or = 30 days) were enrolled in 2013. Multiplex real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect five atypical bacteria. A total of 435 patients were diagnosed as having acute bronchitis (vs. probable pneumonia, n = 75), and 1.8% (n = 8) were positive for atypical pathogens (Bordetella pertussis, n = 3; B. parapertussis, n = 0; Mycoplasma pneumoniae, n = 1; Chlamydophila pneumoniae, n = 3; Legionella pneumophila, n = 1). Among clinical symptoms and signs, only post-tussive vomiting was more frequent in patients with atypical pathogens than those without (P = 0.024). In all, 72.2% of the enrolled patients received antibiotic treatment at their first visits, and beta-lactams (29.4%) and quinolones (20.5%) were the most commonly prescribed agents. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that the incidence of atypical pathogens is low in patients with acute bronchitis, and the rate of antibiotic prescriptions is high.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Bordetella parapertussis/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Bordetella pertussis/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Bronchitis/drug therapy/*microbiology ; Chlamydophila pneumoniae/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Community-Acquired Infections/microbiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension/complications ; Legionella pneumophila/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Republic of Korea ; Sputum/microbiology

BACKGROUND: Providing an educational program as part of a health care program for the management of atopic dermatitis (AD) patients has rapidly become popular. AD educational programs can be of benefit in measured outcomes for both dermatology specialists and patients. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effects of programmed education delivered by dermatology specialists on the management and knowledge of AD, we assessed the effectiveness of patient/parental education at improving AD knowledge, and determined the usefulness of the education. METHODS: The program consisted of five, 20-minutes sessions which were prepared, discussed, reviewed, and delivered by professors of dermatology. At the end of the program, AD knowledge was assessed using a standardized questionnaire. A total of 148 people were included. Fifty-eight patients/parents received the programmed education and the remaining 90 did not receive the programmed education. RESULTS: The mean questionnaire scores from both groups were compared. Mean knowledge scores were significantly higher for those who received the education (p=0.00). We analyzed the knowledge score according to factors such as gender, education level, marital status, and occupation. The data indicated that education level influences the subjects' knowledge level of AD, but gender, occupation, and marital status do not. CONCLUSION: An educational program can be an effective tool to improve patient quality of life and treatment compliance by providing psychological support to the patients and their parents.
Compliance ; Delivery of Health Care ; Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Dermatology ; Education ; Humans ; Marital Status ; Occupations ; Parents* ; Quality of Life ; Specialization ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Epidemiological data of Bordetella pertussis infection among adolescents and adults are limited in Korea. Patients (> or = 11 yr of age) with a bothersome cough for less than 30 days were enrolled during a 1-yr period at 22 hospitals in Korea. Nasopharyngeal swabs were collected for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and for bacteriologic culture. In total, 490 patients were finally enrolled, and 34 (6.9%) patients tested positive for B. pertussis; cough duration (14.0 days [7.0-21.0 days]) and age distribution were diverse. The incidence was the highest in secondary referral hospitals, compared to primary care clinics or tertiary referral hospitals (24/226 [10.6%] vs. 3/88 [3.4%] vs. 7/176 [4.0%], P = 0.012), and the peak incidence was observed in February and August (15.8% and 15.9%), with no confirmed cases between March and June. In the multivariate analysis, post-tussive vomiting was significantly associated with pertussis (odds ratio, 2.508; 95% confidence interval, 1.146-5.486) and secondary referral hospital showed a borderline significance. In conclusion, using a PCR-based method, 6.9% of adolescent and adult patients with an acute cough illness had pertussis infection in an outpatient setting. However, hospital levels and seasonal trends must be taken into account to develop a better strategy for controlling pertussis.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Bordetella pertussis/*genetics ; Child ; DNA, Bacterial/*analysis ; Demography ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Multivariate Analysis ; Odds Ratio ; *Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Seasons ; Vomiting/etiology ; Whooping Cough/*epidemiology/microbiology/pathology ; Young Adult

Tinea incognito (TI) is a dermatophytic infection which has lost its typical clinical appearance because of improper use of steroids or calcineurin inhibitors. The incidence of TI is increasing nowadays. We conducted retrospective review on 283 patients with TI from 25 dermatology training hospitals in Korea from 2002-2010 to investigate the demographical, clinical, and mycological characteristics of TI, and to determine the associated risk factors. More than half (59.3%) patients were previously treated by non-dermatologists or self-treated. The mean duration of TI was 15.0 +/- 25.3 months. The most common clinical manifestations were eczema-like lesion, psoriasis-like, and lupus erythematosus-like lesion. The trunk and face were frequently involved, and 91 patients (32.2%) also had coexisting fungal infections. Among 67 isolated strains, Trichophyton rubrum was the most frequently detected (73.1%). This is the largest study of TI reported to date and the first investigational report concerning TI in Korea. We suggest that doctors should consider TI when a patient has intractable eczema-like lesions accompanied by tinea pedis/unguium. Furthermore, there should be a policy change, which would make over-the-counter high-potency topical steroids less accessible in some countries, including Korea.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Demography ; Eczema/pathology ; Face/pathology ; Female ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Cutaneous/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Psoriasis/pathology ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Tinea/*diagnosis/microbiology ; Trichophyton/isolation & purification ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: There are no serologic markers that accurately reflect the severity of atopic dermatitis (AD), many different scoring systems used in clinical practice and for research purposes have been developed for assessing the severity of AD. OBJECTIVE: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the correlations between severity scoring systems of AD and clinical assessments of physicians and patients. METHODS: We graded the severity of 418 AD patients, applying the SCORing of Atopic Dermtaitis (SCORAD), Objective SCORAD (oSCORAD), Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI), Three Item Severity score, Rajka and Langeland score. Also, we evaluated the Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) and Visual Analog Scale (VAS) of pruritus and sleep loss. RESULTS: here was significant positive correlation between oSCORAD and EASI and oSCORAD showed a good correlation with the other severity scoring systems. oSCORAD was highly correlated with PGA and VAS of pruritus and sleep loss. oSCORAD demonstrated the greatest correlation with body surface area, showing a linear relation. CONCLUSION: oSCORAD can assess the severity of AD with reflecting clinical assessments of physicians and patients and disease extent.
Body Surface Area ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Eczema ; Humans ; Prostaglandins A ; Pruritus

BACKGROUND: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic, relapsing inflammatory skin disease with genetic and environmental backgrounds. While the prevalence of AD is increasing, many patients lack accurate information and understanding about AD. OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to investigate the understanding of AD among Korean AD patients. METHODS: We developed a survey instrument to assess patient understanding of AD. Surveys were conducted over a 6-month period (from May 2010 to October 2010) among 415 patients with AD who visited 10 dermatology clinics at a university teaching hospital affiliated with the Korean Atopic Dermatitis Association. RESULTS: We identified points of understanding in Korean AD patients, such as knowledge and attitudes about AD, awareness of AD treatment, reliability of health care providers and information sources, and acting with AD treatment. As the results of this survey, it was confirmed that the patients' understanding of the cause and prognosis of AD was relatively inadequate, and it could be seen that the perception of the negative attitude toward the medical treatment of AD and inconveniences caused by AD was high. However, the results of the survey on the perception about the medical treatment methods of AD showed that they perceived medical doctors' treatment and prescriptions to have the best curative value, and as the criteria for choosing the treatment methods for AD, they chose the curative value rather than safety and cost. With regard to the information source for AD, they evaluated the treatment postscript on the internet sites and reliability of news media more highly than other information sources, and they responded that the main channel through which they obtain information related to AD was the medical doctors' explanations. CONCLUSION: We conducted the first systematic questionnaire survey to assess the understanding of AD among Korean AD patients. The results of this survey indicate that in the education and promotion on AD patients, additional education with regard to the cause and prognosis of AD is needed, and it is considered that efforts should be made to reduce the negative perception of AD through smooth communication with the medical team. In education and promotion related to AD, treatment postscripts on news media and the internet sites should also be addressed. Ultimately, the patients' self-discipline capabilities should be reinforced through proper education and development of programs related to AD.
Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dermatology ; Health Personnel ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Internet ; Prescriptions ; Prevalence ; Prognosis ; Skin Diseases ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Quantification of quality of life (QOL) related to disease severity is important in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), because the assessment provides additional information to the traditional objective clinical scoring systems. To document the impact of AD on QOL for both children and adults as well as to quantify the relationship with disease severity, QOL assessments were performed over a 6-month period on 415 patients with AD. A questionnaire derived from the Infants' Dermatitis Quality of Life Index (IDQOL), the Children's Dermatology Life Quality Index (CDLQI) and the Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) was used to determine the QOL for 71 infants, 197 children and 147 adults, respectively. To measure AD severity, both the Rajka & Langeland scoring system and the Scoring of Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD) index were used. The mean scores were as follows: 7.7 +/- 5.5 for IDQOL, 6.6 +/- 6.3 for CDLQI, and 10.7 +/- 7.9 for DLQI. In conclusion, these QOL scores are correlated with AD severity scores as estimated by the Rajka & Langeland severity score and the SCORAD. The outcome of the QOL instruments in this study demonstrates that atopic dermatitis of both children and adults affects their QOL.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Dermatitis, Atopic/pathology/*psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Quality of Life ; Questionnaires ; *Severity of Illness Index ; Young Adult