OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to determine the prevalence and age-adjusted prevalence of anti-HCV antibody among the employees and their partners in Korea, and whether prevalence varies with job type. METHOD: The blood serum of 29, 278 people, employees and their partners aged between 20 and 60 residing in Seoul or Kyung-gee province, were tested with Immunoradiometric Assay (IRMA) method using third generation anti-HCV serum. RESULTS: Twenty-five among the 29, 278 people tested positive; a prevalence rate of 0.9 per 1, 000 (95% CI 0.6-1.3). The prevalences of different age groups were 0, 0.5, 1.3, and 4.2 per 1, 000 among the subjects in their 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s respectively, which shows the increasing rate of prevalence with age. Age adjusted prevalence among employees was 1.3 per 1, 000. The prevalences among different kinds of job were 1.9 per 1, 000 (95% CI: 0.5~7.0) for construction, 1.7 per 1, 000 (95% CI: 0.7~3.9) for finance, and 1.2 per 1, 000 (95% CI: 0.2~6.6) for telecommunication. No significant statistical difference was found in the prevalence according to job type(p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Employees in Korea showed a lower prevalence rate of anti-HCV antibody than that of blood donors, health screening examinees and the general population. This result is in line with that of other studies abroad and is considered to be because employees may have lower rates of Hepatitis C risk activities, such as needle sharing, than unemployed.
Blood Donors ; Hepacivirus* ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Immunoradiometric Assay ; Korea* ; Mass Screening ; Needle Sharing ; Prevalence* ; Seoul ; Serum ; Telecommunications

PURPOSE: Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) is known to decrease hepatic injury by promoting the biliary secretion of retained toxic endogenous bile acids in hepatobiliary diseases complicated by total parenteral nutrition (TPN). However, most studies have focused on treatment for complications after TPN. We investigated the preventive role of early administration of UDCA in TPN-induced hepatobiliary complications by a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. METHODS: Between May 2000 and May 2002, thirteen patients, who were given TPN more than 10 days in the hospital, were assigned randomly to two groups. One was the case group (7 patients) who were given UDCA simultaneously with TPN regimen, and the other, the control group (6 patients) who were given placebo. Their age ranged from 1 day to 13 years. They were affected with diseases impossible for enteral nutrition, such as prematurity, cerebral palsy, chronic diarrhea, anorexia nervosa, pancreatitis, and cyclic vomiting. The duration of TPN ranged from 10 to 70 days. Hematologic parameters including liver function test were measured at regular intervals, and the duration, composition, administration rate, total calorie of TPN were recorded. The serum levels of total bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and alkaline phosphatase were compared between groups after cessation of the study. RESULTS: The autoregressive coefficient of the control group was 0.4419 (p=0.0651) in bilirubin, -0.0431 (p=0.7923) in AST, 0.2398 (p=0.2416) in ALT, and 0.2459 (p=0.1922) in alkaline phosphatase by mixed procedure model when the parameters were referred to the case group. CONCLUSION: The serum level of total bilirubin did not increase in comparison with that of the control group, but statistically insignificant, when both TPN and UDCA were administered simultaneously from the beginning.
Alanine Transaminase ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; Anorexia Nervosa ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Bile Acids and Salts ; Bilirubin ; Cerebral Palsy ; Diarrhea ; Enteral Nutrition ; Humans ; Liver Function Tests ; Pancreatitis ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Ursodeoxycholic Acid* ; Vomiting

Considering general public as potential patients, identifying factors that hinder public participation poses great importance, especially in a research environment where demands for clinical trial participants outpace the supply. Hence, the aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge and perception about clinical research in general public. A total of 400 Seoul residents with no previous experience of clinical trial participation were selected, as representative of population in Seoul in terms of age and sex. To minimize selection bias, every fifth passer-by was invited to interview, and if in a cluster, person on the very right side was asked. To ensure the uniform use of survey, written instructions have been added to the questionnaire. Followed by pilot test in 40 subjects, the survey was administered face-to-face in December 2014. To investigate how perception shapes behavior, we compared perception scores in those who expressed willingness to participate and those who did not. Remarkably higher percentage of responders stated that they have heard of clinical research, and knew someone who participated (both, P < 0.001) compared to India. Yet, the percentage of responders expressed willingness to participate was 39.3%, a significantly lower rate than the result of the India (58.9% vs. 39.3%, P < 0.001). Treatment benefit was the single most influential reason for participation, followed by financial gain. Concern about safety was the main reason for refusal, succeeded by fear and lack of trust. Public awareness and educational programs addressing these negative perceptions and lack of knowledge will be effective in enhancing public engaged in clinical research.
Adult ; Aged ; Awareness ; *Biomedical Research ; Clinical Trials as Topic ; Demography ; Female ; *Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; India ; Interviews as Topic ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Perception ; Republic of Korea ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Young Adult

Hyperhomocysteinemia, an independent risk factor of vascular disease, is common in patients with chronic renal failure(CRF) patients including dialysis patients. We measured fasting plasma concentrations of total homocysteine(tHcy) by high-performance liquid chromatography in 114 chronic renal patients and 37 healthy controls. The CRF patients were divided into four groups : chronic renal failure with serum creatinine >1.4mg/dl and creatinine clearance >10ml/min(CRF group, n=27), non-dialyzed ESRD patients with creatinine clearance <10ml/min(ESRD group, n=38), patients on maintenance hemodialysis(HD group, n=20) and patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis(PD group, n=29). Mean(+/-SD) tHcy in each of CRF(14.2+/-5.6micromol/L), ESRD(21.6+/-14.1micromol/L), HD(21.0+/-9.2micromol/L) and PD(17.2+/-7.7micromol/L) group was significantly higher than that in controls(9.0+/-3.1micromol/L, P=0.001). In 87 ESRD, HD and PD patients, mean(SD) tHcy in 45 patients who received routine folate supplementation (1mg/day) was lower(17.5+/-8.3micromol/L) than that in 42 patients without supplementation(22.6+/-13.4micromol/ L, P=0.03), but was higher than that in controls (9.13.1micromol/L, P=0.001). In conclusion, hyperhomocysteinemia was present in patients with varying degree of chronic renal failure and increased in parallel with progression or renal failure.
Chromatography, Liquid ; Creatinine ; Dialysis ; Fasting ; Folic Acid ; Homocysteine* ; Humans ; Hyperhomocysteinemia ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Plasma* ; Renal Insufficiency ; Risk Factors ; Vascular Diseases

Eosinophilic peritonitis is defined as when there are more than 100 eosinophils present per milliliter of peritoneal effluent, of which eosinophils constitute more than 10% of its total WBC count. Most cases occur within the first 4 weeks of peritoneal catheter insertion and they usually have a benign and self-limited course. We report a patient of eosinophilic peritonitis that was successfully resolved without special treatment. An 84-year-old man with end stage renal disease secondary to diabetic nephropathy was admitted for dyspnea and poor oral intake. Allergic history was negative. and physical examination was unremarkable. Complete blood count showed a hemoglobin level of 11.1 g/dL, WBC count was 24, 500/mm3 (neutrophil, 93%; lymphocyte, 5%; monocyte, 2%), platelet count was 216, 000/mm3, serum BUN was 143 mg/dL, Cr was 5.7 mg/dL and albumin was 3.5 g/dL. Creatinine clearance was 5.4 mL/min. Three weeks after peritoneal catheter insertion, he was started on peritoneal dialysis with a 6-hour exchange of 2L 1.5% peritoneal dialysate. After nine days, he developed turbid peritoneal effluents with fever (38.4degrees C), abdominal pain and tenderness. Dialysate WBC count was 180/mm3 (neutrophil, 20%; lymphocyte, 4%; eosinophil, 76% [eosinophil count: 136/mm3]). Cultures of peritoneal fluid showed no growth of aerobic or anaerobic bacteria, or of fungus. Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) was commenced, and he was started on intraperitoneal ceftazidime (1.0 g/day) and cefazolin (1.0 g/day). After two weeksr, the dialysate had cleared up and clinical symptoms were improved. Dialysate WBC count decreased to 8/mm3 and eosinophils were not detected in peritoneal fluid. There was no recurrence of eosinophilic peritonitis on follow-up evaluation, but he died of sepsis and pneumonia fifteen weeks after admission.
Aged, 80 and over ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use ; Cefazolin/therapeutic use ; Ceftazidime/therapeutic use ; Diabetic Nephropathies/complications ; Eosinophilia/drug therapy/*etiology ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/etiology/therapy ; Male ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory/*adverse effects ; Peritonitis/drug therapy/*etiology

Although hemodialysis using heparin bound Hemophan(HBH-HD) has been reported to be a possible modality that can be used in patients at high risk of bleeding, the efficiency of HBH-HD is not certain. To investigate the efficiency of HBH- HD, we compared the total blood compartment volume(TBCV), Kt/V and urea clearance of dialyzer(K) of HBH-HD with those of routine hemodialysis with systemic heparinization(R-HD) in the same patients. HBH-HD was switched to R-HD as soon as the bleeding risk had ceased. Before each HBH-HD, heparin solution(1liter, 20IU/ml saline) was recirculated through the Hemophan(Gambro dialyzer, GFS Plus 11) for 1 hour while removing saline solution(700ml/hr) by applying transmembrane pressure gradient, followed by a single pass rinse with 1 liter of saline solution. Then we performed 10 HBH-HD on 10 patients at risk of bleeding. The dilayzer had to be changed due to severe clotting in one patient during HBH-HD so the comparison of above parameters was possible in 9 patients. The duration of each dialysis was possible in 9 patients. The duration of each dialysis was standardized to 4 hours at blood flow of 200 to 250ml/min. During HBH-HD, there was a slight increase in activated partial thromboplastin time(aPTT)(45.02.6 sec) at 15 min after initiation of dialysis from predialysis level (35.81.3 sec), but no increase in aPTT was observed at 60min, 120min, and the end of dialyses. The loss of TBCV(%) of dialyzers was greater in HBH-HD (174%) than in R-HD(51%). The Kt/V and K of HBH-HD, however, were 1.25+/-0.10 and 143+/-3ml/ min, respectively, which did not differ from those of R-HD which were 1.28+/-0.07 and 145+/-4ml/min, respectively. We conclude that the use of heparin bound Hemophan can be an efficient hemodialysis technique in patients at high risk of bleeding, but clotting of the dialyzer should be observed carefully during hemodialysis(values are mean+/-SE).
Dialysis* ; Hemorrhage ; Heparin* ; Humans ; Renal Dialysis* ; Sodium Chloride ; Thromboplastin ; Urea

BACKGROUND: It is known that depression and anxiety tendency causes physical or social dysfunction. Nowadays, the air travel is increasing as the life condition has been improved so the health of pilots who are in charge of passengers become a very important issue. However, few studies have been done on this issue, especially the relationship between depression & anxiety and medical diseases among them. This study was performed to know the factors affection pilots' sick leave and the correlation between depression & anxiety and sick leave. METHODS: Self administered questionaires were obtained from 123 pilots of one of the airline companies at Seoul from 1st April to 30th may 2003. Depression tendency was measured based upon BDI, the level of anxiety was measured by the standardised STAI and obesity was diagnosed if a BMI is over 25 kg/m2. The data on the subjects' age, position, airlines and the days of sick leave were obtained from personal record. RESULTS: All the study subjects were male with the average age of 40.23+/-7.48 (ranging from 30 to 60). The average age for those who had sick leave was 34.58+/-3.50 and that for those who had not was 40.48+/-7.55 and these two average ages showed difference with statistical significance (P value <0.001), and the odd ratio of sick leave about age was 0.796 (95% CI: 0.645-0.938). Whether a pilot had sick leave or not, however, was not statistically related to the level of BDI, STAI, flying duty, flying route, and body mass index (P value >0.05). CONCLUSION: This study shows that the average age of sick leave group was lower than that of non-sick leave group (P<0.001). The level of depression and anxiety were not related to the sick leave. The reasons for this seems to be the fact that pilots are healthier than general population and also they pay more attention to their own health. The younger pilots tended to have more days of sick leave, which might be explain that the older pilots were more cautious about the disadvantages of having sick leave but, the younger pilots tend to have strong individualistic personalities.
Anxiety* ; Body Mass Index ; Depression* ; Diptera ; Humans ; Male ; Obesity ; Seoul ; Sick Leave*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: There is growing evidence that inflammation plays an important role in atherosclerosis and in the elevation of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) after coronary intervention. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between inflammatory markers and the elevation of cTnI after coronary intervention in patients with stable angina. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty-three patients who underwent successful percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty with stent were examined as the subjects. Serial blood samples were obtained for High Sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), which served as markers of systemic inflammation, and cTnI. The difference of cTnI before and 24 hours after coronary intervention was defined as the gradient of cTnI. RESULTS: The mean gradient of cTnI was 1.77+/-3.4 ng/mL. The concentrations of baseline and post-procedural hs-CRP were 1.57+/-1.3 mg/L and 6.31+/-3.8 mg/L, respectively (p=0.001). There were no significant differences in the gradient of cTnI with hypertention, diabetes, smoking, and hypercholesterolemia. The variable that significantly correlated with the gradient of cTnI was the baseline hs-CRP (R2=0.374, p=0.048). CONCLUSION: Systemic inflammation correlated with periprocedural elevation of cTnI in stable angina patients. These results suggest that inflammation plays a pivotal role in the predictive value of myocardial injury after coronary intervention.
Angina Pectoris ; Angina, Stable* ; Angioplasty, Balloon, Coronary* ; Atherosclerosis ; C-Reactive Protein ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia ; Inflammation* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Stents* ; Troponin I* ; Troponin*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to, 1) evaluate the diagnostic value of the Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP), which is known to be present in the heart ventricle, for patients with dyspnea for the assessing its causes;diastolic or systolic heart failure or pulmonary disease, and 2) find if the BNP is correlated with the distance walked in 6 minutes, which is known to be a prognostic indicator for heart failure. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty-seven patients who admitted to the Kangbuk Samsung Medical Center, with the chief complaint of dyspnea, were enrolled in the study. The subjects were classified into three groups according to the causes of their dyspnea, which were systolic heart failure, diastolic heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The plasma BNP levels were measured by a radioimmunoassay, both at admission and discharge. The BNP levels at admission were compared among the three groups. The presence of a correlation between the distance walked in 6 minutes and the BNP at discharge were also evaluated. RESULTS: The patients group with systolic heart failure had the highest mean BNP concentration of 934.6+/-386.7 pg/mL. The other two groups had significantly lower levels of BNP. The patients group with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease had significantly lower level than the group with diastolic heart failure (33.2+/-25.6 vs. 181.8+/-222.2 pg/mL). The BNP concentrations at discharge, and the distance walked in 6 minutes, between the three groups showed no statistical significance (p=0.69). CONCLUSION: This study showed that the mean plasma BNP level was highest in the group with systolic heart failure, followed by diastolic heart failure and lastly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. These findings suggest that diagnostic value of the plasma BNP concentration in the assessment of the causes of dyspnea. Although this study has failed to show a correlation between the plasma BNP concentration at discharge and the distance walked in 6 minutes, prospective cohort studies, with larger sample sizes, need to be performed to establish the relationship, if any.
Cohort Studies ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Dyspnea* ; Heart Failure ; Heart Failure, Diastolic ; Heart Failure, Systolic ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Lung Diseases ; Natriuretic Peptide, Brain* ; Plasma ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive ; Radioimmunoassay ; Sample Size

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The relationship between serum uric acid and metabolic syndrome variables has not been reported in Korea. Therefore, whether the circulating levels of serum uric acid are independently related to hypertension, insulin resistance and the variables of metabolic syndrome were assessed. SUCJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 53,477 health screen examinees were enrolled and divided into four groups (Quartile 1:<4.2 mg/dL, Quartile 2:4.2-5.29 mg/dL, Quartile 3:5.3-6.29 mg/dL, Quartile 4:>6.29 mg/dL) according to their serum uric acid level. The blood pressure, lipid profiles, fasting plasma glucose, waist circumference, HOMA, high sensitivity CRP and apolipoprotein were compared between the four groups. RESULTS: There was a positive association between blood pressure and the serum uric acid level (p<0.001). After adjustment for covariates the prevalence of hypertension due to uric acid was 1.192 (95% CI, 1.038-1.368 p=0.013), and 1.408 (95% CI, 1.221-1.623 p<0.001) times higher in subjects in the third and fourth uric acid level quartiles, respectively, compared to the subjects in the first quartile. Insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome variables were positively correlated with the serum uric acid level. The number of metabolic syndrome variables was also increased with an elevated serum uric acid level. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that serum uric acid levels were independently associated with hypertension, insulin resistance and the variables of metabolic syndrome in the Korean population. Although the serum uric acid level was normal value, the risk of metabolic syndrome was increased with an elevated serum uric acid level. However, because of the cross-sectional nature of our study, these findings should be confirmed in prospective cohort studies.
Apolipoproteins ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Cohort Studies ; Fasting ; Hypertension* ; Insulin Resistance* ; Insulin* ; Korea ; Prevalence ; Reference Values ; Uric Acid* ; Waist Circumference