OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine how comorbidities were associated with outcomes (illness severity or death) among hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: Data were provided by the National Medical Center of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. These data included the clinical and epidemiological information of all patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who were discharged on or before April 30, 2020 in Korea. We conducted comorbidity network and multinomial logistic regression analyses to identify risk factors associated with COVID-19 disease severity and mortality. The outcome variable was the clinical severity score (CSS), categorized as mild (oxygen treatment not needed), severe (oxygen treatment needed), or death. RESULTS: In total, 5,771 patients were included. In the fully adjusted model, chronic kidney disease (CKD) (odds ratio [OR], 2.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19 to 5.61) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR, 3.19; 95% CI, 1.35 to 7.52) were significantly associated with disease severity. CKD (OR, 5.35; 95% CI, 2.00 to 14.31), heart failure (HF) (OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 1.22 to 8.15), malignancy (OR, 3.38; 95% CI, 1.59 to 7.17), dementia (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.45 to 4.72), and diabetes mellitus (OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.46 to 3.49) were associated with an increased risk of death. Asthma and hypertension showed statistically insignificant associations with an increased risk of death. CONCLUSIONS Underlying diseases contribute differently to the severity of COVID-19. To efficiently allocate limited medical resources, underlying comorbidities should be closely monitored, particularly CKD, COPD, and HF.

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to examine how comorbidities were associated with outcomes (illness severity or death) among hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). METHODS: Data were provided by the National Medical Center of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. These data included the clinical and epidemiological information of all patients hospitalized with COVID-19 who were discharged on or before April 30, 2020 in Korea. We conducted comorbidity network and multinomial logistic regression analyses to identify risk factors associated with COVID-19 disease severity and mortality. The outcome variable was the clinical severity score (CSS), categorized as mild (oxygen treatment not needed), severe (oxygen treatment needed), or death. RESULTS: In total, 5,771 patients were included. In the fully adjusted model, chronic kidney disease (CKD) (odds ratio [OR], 2.58; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.19 to 5.61) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (OR, 3.19; 95% CI, 1.35 to 7.52) were significantly associated with disease severity. CKD (OR, 5.35; 95% CI, 2.00 to 14.31), heart failure (HF) (OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 1.22 to 8.15), malignancy (OR, 3.38; 95% CI, 1.59 to 7.17), dementia (OR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.45 to 4.72), and diabetes mellitus (OR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.46 to 3.49) were associated with an increased risk of death. Asthma and hypertension showed statistically insignificant associations with an increased risk of death. CONCLUSIONS Underlying diseases contribute differently to the severity of COVID-19. To efficiently allocate limited medical resources, underlying comorbidities should be closely monitored, particularly CKD, COPD, and HF.

Purpose: The aims of this study were to test the efficacy of vapocoolant spray to decrease the symptoms associated with pain in newborns undergoing heel stick and intramuscular injection and compare the pain relief effect of oral glucose. Methods: Randomized, controlled study including sixty newborns undergoing heel stick and intramuscular injection. Group 1 was heelsticked, Group 2 was intramuscular injected, Group A did not recieve any treatment, Group B recieved 30% glucose solution orally, Group C was applied vapocoolant spray symptoms and signs associated with pain at heel stick and intramuscular injection were measured with the premature Infant Pain Profile (PIPP) scale. Results: There was no significant difference in the PIPP score between intramuscular injected group control and heel stick group control (P=0.07). The mean PIPP score of Group 1A (control) 10.6+/-2.4, Group 1B 5.5+/-2.0, Group 1C 5.2+/-1.8. The mean PIPP score 1B and 1C were significantly lower than control (1B P<0.001, 1C P<0.001). The mean PIPP score of Group 2A (control) 12.5+/-1.4, Group 2B 7.0+/-1.7, Group 2C 6.4+/-1.6. The mean PIPP score 2B and 2C were significantly lower than control (2B P<0.001, 2C P<0.001). Conclusion: The antinociceptive effect of vapocoolant sparay is as effective as 30% oral glucose solution for pain control. So this study support the use of vapocoolant spray for reducing pain during painful procedure in the neonatal intensive care units.
Glucose ; Heel ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Injections, Intramuscular ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal

PURPOSE: We investigated the causative organism and its antibiotic susceptibility of community acquired urinary tract infection (UTI) in children at a secondary hospital to test the adequacy of the current guidelines. METHODS: Children diagnosed with UTI at the Department of Pediatrics, Kwandong University Myongji Hospital by pyuria and bacterial growth of greater than 1.0x10(5) CFU/mL on clean catch midstream urine from January 2005 to December 2008 were studied retrospectively. The epidemiologic data, causative organism, and the antibiotic susceptibility were analyzed. RESULTS: Sixty two children were diagnosed with sixty four cases of UTI's. Two bacteria were isolated in one case and thus data on 65 urine cultures were analyzed. The male:female ratio was 1.6:1 and 78.1% were less than 12 months of age. Escherichia coli was the predominant cause consisting of 53 cases (82.8%) of the cases. K. pneumoniae (5), Enterobacter (4), Enterococcus (1), beta-streptococcus (1), Diphtheroides (1) were isolated. The antibiotic resistance of E. coli were as follows; ampicillin 69.8%, cefotaxime 1.9%, gentamicin 15.1%, amikacin 0.0%, levofloxacin 1.9%, and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole 26.4%. Only one case of the E. coli was extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) positive. CONCLUSION: Compared to prior reports from other tertiary hospitals in Korea, E. coli was the predominant cause in childhood UTI and the rate of ESBL positivity was low. The antibiotic resistance was also different compared to prior reports. We conclude that a difference in the cause and antibiotic resistance of childhood UTI exists between centers and this should be taken into consideration when prescribing antibiotics for childhood UTIs.
Amikacin ; Ampicillin ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; beta-Lactamases ; Cefotaxime ; Child ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Enterobacter ; Enterococcus ; Escherichia coli ; Gentamicins ; Humans ; Korea ; Ofloxacin ; Pediatrics ; Pneumonia ; Pyuria ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers ; Urinary Tract ; Urinary Tract Infections

Streptococcus pneumoniae remains a leading cause of invasive infections including bacteremia and meningitis, as well as mucosal infections such as otitis media and pneumonia among children and adults. The 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV7) was licensed for use among infants and young children in many countries including Korea. The routine use of PCV7 has resulted in a decreased incidence of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) by the vaccine serotypes among the vaccinees and substantial declines in IPD among unvaccinated populations such as older children and adults as well. In addition, there are increasing evidences to suggest that routine immunization with PCV7 is changing the epidemiology of pneumococcal diseases such as serotype distribution of IPD, nasopharyngeal colonization, and antibiotic resistance patterns. In contrast, there is an increase in the number of IPDs caused by nonvaccine serotypes, though it is much smaller than overall declines of vaccine serotype diseases. Several vaccines containing additional serotypes have been developed and tested clinically in order to expand the range of serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Recently two new pneumococcal protein conjugate vaccines, 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) and 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13), have been approved for use in several countries including Korea. This report summarizes the recommendations approved by the Committee on Infectious Diseases, the Korean Pediatric Society.
Adult ; Bacteremia ; Child ; Colon ; Communicable Diseases ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Humans ; Immunization ; Incidence ; Infant ; Korea ; Meningitis ; Otitis Media ; Pneumonia ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Vaccines ; Vaccines, Conjugate

Pertussis is an acute respiratory infection characterized by paroxysmal cough and inspiratory whoop for over 2 weeks. The incidence of pertussis has decreased markedly after the introduction of DTwP/DTaP vaccine, but the incidence of pertussis has increased steadily among young infant and among adolescents and adults in many countries. Td vaccine was used in this age group but the increase in pertussis has lead to the development of a Tdap vaccine. The Tdap vaccine is a Td vaccine with a pertussis vaccine added and is thought to decrease the incidence and transmission of pertussis in the respective age group. In Korea, two products are approved by the KOREA FOOD & DRUG ADMINISTRATION, which are ADACEL(TM) (Sanofi-Pasteur, Totonto, Ontario, Canada) and BOOSTRIX(R) (GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals, Rixensart, Belgium) for those aged between 11-64. This report summarizes the recommendations approved by the Committee on Infectious Diseases, the Korean Pediatric Society.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Communicable Diseases ; Cough ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Korea ; Ontario ; Pertussis Vaccine ; Whooping Cough

OBJECTIVES: The relationship between substance dependence and poor decision making has received much attention in recent years. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that alcohol dependent subjects would demonstrate a more perseverative decision-making pattern, during ambiguous situations. METHODS: 15 alcohol dependent patients and 15 healthy normal controls performed a novel computerized decision-making task, which presented figures of coins. The subjects were instructed to guess whether the total number of coins was 'odd' or 'even'. Besides these two response, one could select a third alternative - 'pass' - in case the chances were assumed to be low. RESULTS: There was significant difference in performance between the two groups (F=4.339, p=0.008). The control group gained 15.4+/-14.4 points, whereas the alcohol dependent group lost 0.6+/-5.3 points. The normal control group demonstrated a tendency to make more pass responses as the trials were repeated. In contrast, the alcohol dependent group didn't make use of the alternative, but kept challenging between 'odd' and 'even', although they sensed that the chances were low. CONCLUSION: The alcohol dependent patients demonstrated a more rigid and perseverative response pattern and showed deficits in making use of compromise alternatives.
Alcoholism ; Decision Making ; Humans ; Numismatics ; Substance-Related Disorders

OBJECTIVES: In the present study, we aimed to develop an oral examination smart chart application for tablet personal computers (PC). We evaluated the time required to perform an oral examination and assessed the degree of user's convenience by using this application. We determined to make our application cost and human resource effective by automatically computerizing the statistics to facilitate its application in oral health services such as national oral health research. The development of this application for tablet PCs was aimed at recording the results of oral examinations. METHODS: We produced flow charts and designed the program screen, which would replace the existing paper chart. To evaluate the efficiency of the application, 1 preventive dentistry professor and 6 dentistry students performed an oral examination on 41 subjects. We performed the oral examination in duplicate using a tablet PC and a paper chart. The data collected were analyzed using the SPSS 18.0 program. P-values less than 0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS: The time required for oral examination by the study group (the group using the application) and the control group (the group using paper) were 131.93+/-10.14 and 151.85+/-7.77, respectively; the difference between these values was statistically significant (P-value=0.002). The oral examination could be performed faster in the study group (the group using the application) than in the control group; therefore, we noted that the time taken for oral examination was reduced by using the application. CONCLUSIONS: The tablet-based system has been shown to save time by omitting the step of entering the paper chart data into a computer. Further, the findings of this study can be used to establish an oral health index database with the help of additional resources. Moreover, it would facilitate creating awareness among the patients with regard to their oral health indices through the use of visual aids.
Audiovisual Aids ; Dentistry ; Diagnosis, Oral ; Humans ; Microcomputers ; Oral Health ; Preventive Dentistry

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The most important treatment for subcortical vascular dementia (SVaD) is controlling the blood pressure (BP). However, the few studies that have investigated the relationships between diurnal BP rhythm and subcortical ischemic vascular cognitive impairment have produced inconclusive results. In the study presented here, the 24-hour BP values of three groups of subjects-patients with subcortical vascular mild cognitive impairment (SvMCI), patients with SVaD, and normal controls-were compared using working criteria and 24-hour ambulatory BP (ABP) monitoring. METHODS: The subjects (42 patients with SVaD, 37 patients with SvMCI, and 30 controls) were selected according to the study's inclusion/exclusion criteria. All subjects underwent brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and MR angiography, detailed neuropsychological testing, and 24-hour ABP monitoring. RESULTS: The prevalence of nondippers differed markedly between the control group and both the SVaD and SvMCI groups. Loss of nocturnal dipping was significantly associated with SVaD [odds ratio (OR), 4.827; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.07-12.05]. CONCLUSIONS: It was found that SVaD is associated with loss of nocturnal BP dipping combined with increased pulse pressure and systolic BP (SBP) variability. Correction of these factors could therefore be important in the prevention of SVaD, independent of measures used to reduce BP.
Angiography ; Blood Pressure ; Brain ; Dementia, Vascular ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy ; Mild Cognitive Impairment ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Prevalence

OBJECTIVE: Endocervical infection of Chlamydia trachomatis is one of the most common sexually transmitted diseases(STD) in women, and it usually disseminates into the upper genital tract, especially at the uterine exploration. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence rate of endocervical Chlamydia trachomatis in infertile women with the application of polymerase chain reaction(PCR) for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis DNA. METHODS: From March, 1996 to October, 1999, endocervical swabs were obtained in 101 infertile patients at SNUH. Chlamydia trachomatis DNA was extracted and amplified by a commercially available Amplicor Chlamydia trachomatis PCR kit(Roche Diagnostics, Branch burg, USA). The clinical characteristics of infertile patients were reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: The mean age was 31.0 years old, and the mean duration of infertility was 43.4 months. The prevalence rate of endocervical Chlamydia trachomatis in infertile patients was 4.0%(4/101). There was no significant difference in the prevalence rate of Chlamydia trachomatis infection among the different infertility factor groups: 7.1%(2/28) in tubal-peritoneal factor group, 8.3%(1/12) in cervical factor group, and 8.3%(1/12) in unexplained infertility group. Two patients suffered from chronic cervicitis. CONCLUSION: The application of PCR for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis DNA was a rather rapid and accurate diagnostic method. Therefore, it could be recommended as a diagnostic test applicable to the routine infertility work-up.
Chlamydia Infections* ; Chlamydia trachomatis* ; Chlamydia* ; Diagnostic Tests, Routine ; DNA* ; Female ; Humans ; Infertility ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Prevalence* ; Uterine Cervicitis