BACKGROUND: Serratia marcescens proliferates well in a humid environment or soil and is recently considered as an important pathogen for the severe nosocomial infections. this organism is spreads easily by hand-to-hand transmission, and contaminates medical equipment used for invasive procedures, working environment, medications, and soap. METHODS: We investigated the source of an outbreak of bloodstream infections by S. marcescens isolated that occurred during the period from July to December, 2004, at a university hospital in Gyeonggi Province and attempted to intervene in the outbreak and control it. RESULTS: From July to December, 2004, S. marcescens grew from 296 blood culture from 283 patients. The medical charts of the patients were reviewed, and surveillance cultures were taken to identify the outbreak of nosocomial infections and risk factors. Only four cases of infection were identified and all remaining positive blood cultures were due to contamination. Nine isolates randomly selected from the 296 S. marcescens showed an identical pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern. To identify the source of infection, environmental culture and hand cultures of the related medical workers were carried out, but S. marcescens was not isolated. CONCLUSION: As the result of aggressive infection control activities, such as re-education on environmental management methods, hand washing techniques, and blood culture sampling techniques, no more S. marcescens had been grown in blood culture since January, 2005.
Cross Infection ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hand ; Hand Disinfection ; Humans ; Infection Control ; Risk Factors ; Serratia marcescens ; Serratia* ; Soaps ; Soil

BACKGROUND: Hepatitis B vaccination schedule commonly used in Korea is divided largely into 0, 1, 2 month scheduled vaccination group(0, 1, 2 group) and 0, 1, 6 month scheduled vaccination gorup(0, 1, 6 group). The only difference bet.ween two groups is the interval from 2nd dose to 3rd dose. This st,udy had been carried out, to find whether t.he difference of vaccination interval influence the vaccination complet,ion rate or not. METHODS: Study objects are 135 persons over 20 years old who had heptitis B vaccination more than once in injection room of Dongkuk University Kyong-ju Hospital from Jan. 1st in 1996 to Dec. 31th in 1996. Data about vaccination completion were gathered from record book of injection room and telephone interview. RESULTS: Hepatitis B vaccination completion rate is 73.8% in 0, 1, 2 group and 72.5% in 0, 1, 6 group. The reasons for incomplete vaccination are forgetting vaccinat.ion date(36.4% in 0, 1, 2 group and 50% in 0, 1, 6 group), having no time to spare for vaccination(54.5% in 0, 1, 2 group and 43% in 0, 1, 6 group) and knowing positive HBsAb before completion of scheduled vaccination(9.1% in 0, 1, 2 group and 7% in 0, 1, 6 group). CONCLUSIONS: There is no difference in Hepatitis B vaccination complet,ion rate bet.ween 0, 1, 2 group and 0, 1, 6 group.
Appointments and Schedules ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Interviews as Topic ; Korea ; Vaccination* ; Young Adult

Although febrile convulsion (FC) is a common clinical entity with a high recurrence rate, no specific factors have been identified to be highly predictive of its recurrence. A total of 114 cases of FC identified during a 28 month period (January, 1989-May, 1991) was analysed. A slight predominance of boys over girls (1.3 to 1.0) was observed. the majority of cases (89.4%) were under 3 years of age and the most common age range for the onset of FC was 1~2 years. The most common form of FC was tonic type (54.0%), followed by tonic-clonic (32.5%), clonic (5.3%), and complex partial type (5.3%). Most FC episodes lasted less than 5 minutes (81.6%), and common clinical diagnosis underlying FC were as follows: pharyngotonsillitis (64.0%), bronchitis and/or pneumonia(16.7%), and gastroenteritis (9.7%). The family history for seizure disorder was present in 27.2% of the cases: FC in 21.1%, epiepsy in 4.4%, and both in 1.8%. Among 78 cases of the first FC, 43 cases were followed for 5 to 29 months without prophylactic anticonvulsant therapy. The overall recurrence rate of FC in this group was 67.4% and the highest incidence was observed in patients less than one year old (86.7%). A higher recurrence rate (80%) was observed in patients whose body temperature was lower than 39degrees C, as opposed to higher than 39degrees C (50%). It is concluded that the recurrence of FC is positively correlated with factors such as younger age (less than one year old), and lower body temperature at the time of onset of FC.
Body Temperature ; Bronchitis ; Diagnosis ; Epilepsy ; Female ; Gastroenteritis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Recurrence ; Seizures, Febrile*

BACKGROUND: It has been well known that patients with diabetes mellitus are prone to cutaneous infections, but whether superficial mycoses are truly more prevalent in diabetic patients is still controversial. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the true prevalence of superficial mycoses in diabetic patients as comparing with non-diabetic, non-immunocompromised individuals. METHODS: We examined for evidence of superficial fungal disease in 137 diabetic patients and compared it with 146 non-diabetic non-immunocompromised ones. Potassium hydroxide preparations and fungus cultures were performed from all suspected lesions. RESULTS: Superficial mycoses were more common in diabetic patients(50%) than controls(31%) (p=0.0004), especially in the age group of 4th and 5th decades9p=0.011). The duration of diabetes mallitus or blood sugar levels were not significantly correlated with the prevalence of superficial mycoses.The organism most commonly isolated was Trichophyton rubrum in both groups(53% vs 79%) and Candida albicans was more prevalent in diabetic patients(34% vs 7%). More than 2 kinds of superficial mycoses were mose common in diabetic patients than controls(38% vs 16%). CONCLUSION: This study shows that the prevalence rate of superficial mycoses in diabetic patients is higher than that in controls and the in controls and the duration of diabetes mellitus or blood sugar levels were not significantly correlated with it.
Blood Glucose ; Candida albicans ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Fungi ; Humans ; Mycoses* ; Potassium ; Prevalence ; Trichophyton

No abstract available.
Heart Defects, Congenital ; Umbilical Veins*

PURPOSE: Our study aimed to examine the relationship between intelligence and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in children (6-13 years old) diagnosed as having a brain tumor. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We administered a Korean version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, version 4.0 (PedsQL), the Korean version of the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, and the Korean Version of the Parenting Sense of Competence (K-PSOC) scale before or after initial radiotherapy (T1) and after treatment termination (T2). In total, 13 patients completed both the T1 and T2 interviews. RESULTS: Scores significantly declined between T1 and T2 on the full-scale intelligence quotients (FIQ), verbal intelligence quotients (VIQ), performance intelligence quotients (PIQ), similarity and coding tests, as well as the K-PSOC, which measures parental anxiety. FIQ scores at T1 were correlated with the self-reported PedsQL total scores (r=0.739) and the parent proxy-report PedsQL scores for school functioning (r=0.706) at T2. Also, the FIQ scores at T2 were correlated with the self-reported PedsQL total scores (r=0.748) and scores for physical health (r=0.728) at T2. CONCLUSION: The cognitive ability and intelligence level of the patients significantly declined between on and off treatment periods, and higher intelligence functioning at both on and off treatment was correlated with long-term higher HRQOL. Further investigations that monitor intelligence, HRQOL and parenting stress over a longer period, using a greater number of participants, are needed.
Adolescent ; Anxiety ; Brain Neoplasms/complications/physiopathology/*psychology ; Child ; *Cognition ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence Tests ; Longitudinal Studies ; Male ; Parenting ; Parents/psychology ; Prospective Studies ; *Quality of Life ; Stress, Psychological/*diagnosis ; Time Factors

BACKGROUND: Infection with certain Human Papillomavirus (HPV) type is strongly associated with the development of dysplasia and cancer of the cervix uteri. About 70 HPV types have been identified and some 25 of these have been found in the genital tract. HPV typing has diagnostic and prognostic importance to discriminate between 'low', 'intermediate', 'high' risk types. A Polymerase Chain Reaction-Reverse Dot Blot Hybridization (PCR-RDBH) method was developed for typing of HPV with consensus biotinylated primer generated PCR products in a single test. We attempted to know the clinical usefulness of PCR-RDBH and also compared PCR-RDBH with Hybrid captureTM system (HCS) method in same specimens. METHODS: HPV typing was performed on cervical swab samples obtained from 100 women with abnormal cervical cytology: 37 with Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance (ASCUS), 14 with Low Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (LGSIL), 44 with High Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions (HGSIL) and 5 with invasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix. HPV PCR screening was tested with consensus biotinylated primer. If HPV PCR screening was positive, RDBH was done for the typing of HPV. In RDBH, biotinylated PCR product was used in hybridization with a membrane on which 12 different oligonucleotide probes (type 6/11/16/18/ 31/33/35/39/45/51/52/56) of genital HPV types had been immobilized. Hybrid captureTM system (HCS, Digene Diagnostics) was used for screening of HPV. RESULTS: Of 100 abnormal cervical cytology specimens, the positivity of HPV PCR screening was 67%. In 52 specimens, HPV could be typed by RDBH. Type 16 was the most frequent and mixed infection was found in 6 cases, all combined with type 16. Among the 13 cervical cancer specimens confirmed by biopsy, 12 specimens was found to be infected high and intermediate risk types of HPV. In cervical swab, there was signifincant discrepancy in positivity of HPV infection between PCR-RDBH and HCS method. In 51 cases, negative for PCR-RDBH, 16 cases (31%) were positive by HCS. In 49 cases, positive for PCR-RDBH, 15 cases (31%) were negative by HCS. CONCLUSIONS: PCR-RDBH method can do HPV typing fast and easy with non-radioactive biotinylated primer in cervical swab specimens. It is shown to be useful method for HPV typing and have a high clinical applicability. The results between PCR-RDBH and HCS methods show a significant discrepancy, so further investigation is needed.
Biopsy ; Cervix Uteri ; Coinfection ; Consensus ; Female ; Humans* ; Mass Screening ; Membranes ; Oligonucleotide Probes ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Uterus

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Rheumatic Fever*

No abstract available.
Humans*

No abstract available.
Coronary Sinus* ; Mitral Valve* ; Tricuspid Atresia*