Continuous increase of bacterial resistance to antibiotics causes many problems such as the advent of resistance to pathogenic bacteria, difficulty of microbial disease treatments, environmental pollution and others. It is inevitable to find potential substitutes for antibiotics in order to solve the above mentioned problems. Recently many literatures have shown that probiotics could be applied to the treatment or amelioration of respiratory diseases in addition to intensively studied gut related diseases. Target diseases for collecting data and analysis of the efficacies were chosen because viral respiratory infections are the most common diseases in humans. They were mainly viral diseases like common colds, pneumonia in addition to allergies and asthma. Papers on clinical efficacies, safety risks and mechanisms of microbial action of respiratory diseases were secured through known information sites and analyzed for their exact evaluations. The present analysis of research results on probiotics efficacies for respiratory diseases showed discrepancies in efficacies. On the whole, half to one third of papers reviewed only showed certain level of efficacies against respiratory viral diseases. It is very difficult to compare the results directly because the studies varied highly in study design, outcome measures, probiotics, dose, and matrices used. However, the results obtained so far show the potential applications of probiotics to the prevention or amelioration of the diseases. Conclusively, further well organized studies using randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials are needed to elucidate the realities of probiotics on respiratory related diseases and to obtain more definite efficacy results.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Asthma ; Bacteria ; Common Cold ; Environmental Pollution ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Pneumonia ; Probiotics* ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Virus Diseases

PURPOSE: TUNA is a new minimally invasive treatment modality for the patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia of prostate utilizing low levels of radiofrequency energy. We presented our early experiences of TUNA for the treatment of BPH to evaluate its clinical outcome. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From July 1995 to March 1997, 36 patients were treated with TUNA(15 with manual system, 21 with automatic system). Mean age of the patients was 63.5 years. All patients were evaluated preoperatively with PSA, AUA symptom score, uroflowmetry and transrectal ultrasonography(TRUS). AUA symptom score at 1, 3, 12 month and uroflowmetry at 1, 3 month postoperatively were available for analysis. RESULTS: Mean PSA value was 3.4ng/ml and mean prostate volume by TRUS was 35.5gram preoperatively. Nine out of 36 procedures were performed with local anesthesia. Mean operating time was 45.6 minutes. At postoperative 3 and 12 month, symptom score was improved from 22.0+/-1.5 to 11.7+/-1.6 and 11.0+/-1.9(p<0.05), respectively and maximal flow rate was increased from 11.2+/-0.7ml/sec to 14.4+/-1.5ml/sec at postoperative 3 month(p<0.05). Results have been far better since using automatic system. Complications were observed in one patient with clot retention and in 11 patients with postoperative urinary retention. CONCLUSIONS: TUNA is a simple, safe, efficacious and minimally invasive treatment procedure with short hospital stay, less morbidity for treatment of the patients with BPH. It could also be performed with local anesthesia. We suggest that TUNA would be a new promising treatment modality for BPH.
Anesthesia, Local ; Humans ; Hyperthermia, Induced ; Length of Stay ; Needles* ; Prostate ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; Tuna ; Urinary Retention

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection is common among immunocompromised hosts; however, its cutaneous manifestation is considered rare in comparison to internal organ involvement. Clinical manifestations of cutaneous CMV infection generally include perioral or perianal ulcerations. On the other hand, autoimmune bullous dermatosis can have bullae and ulcerations similar to those caused by cutaneous CMV infection. Autoimmune bullous dermatosis requires treatment with immunosuppressive agents for relatively long periods, which may cause reduction of immunocompetence. Because of this iatrogenic immunosuppression, patients with autoimmune bullous dermatosis subsequently acquire increased risk for opportunistic infections. However, cases of bullous pemphigoid (BP) complicated by cutaneous CMV infection are rarely reported. Herein, we report the case of an 88-year-old male who had BP and subsequently recalcitrant perianal skin lesions, which were eventually diagnosed as cutaneous CMV infections.

Intralymphatic histiocytosis (ILH) is a rare cutaneous condition with uncertain pathogenesis. It is characterized by dilated lymphatic vessels that contain histiocytes within their lumina. Although the etiology of ILH remains unknown, it has been associated with various inflammatory and neoplastic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), reaction to metal joint implants and Merkel cell carcinoma, breast cancer and colon cancer. An 83-year-old female presented with an erythematous patch on the left forearm that had appeared six months previous. She had suffered from osteoarthritis (OA) and the cutaneous lesion was located in the vicinity of the affected joint. Skin biopsy from the lesion showed dilated dermal vessels and some ectatic vessels that contained many mononuclear histiocytes. Based on the clinical and histopathological findings, we diagnosed her with ILH with OA. Two sessions of intralesional triamcinolone acetonide injection (5 mg/ml) were administered to treat the skin lesion, which gradually improved over a period of a few months. We here report a rare case of ILH associated with degenerative OA.

We evaluated the role of clinical symptoms, biochemical studies and metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scan in the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma. From August 1991 to June 1997, 42 patients with complaints of hypertension or adrenal mass were evaluated with MIBG scan, 24 hour urinary vanillylmandelic acid (VMA), serum and 24 hour urinary catecholamine and radiologic studies such as CT, MRI or ultrasonography. Initial 9 patients were evaluated with 131 I-MIBG scan and the rest 33 patients with 123 I-MIBG scan. Of 42 patients, histologic diagnosis was obtained in 32 patients including 23 patients with pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma and 9 patients with other adrenal or extra-adrenal tumors. Remaining 10 patients had no evidence of adrenal disease on radiologic studies. Paroxysmal symptoms or hypertension was noted in 14 patients with pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma, while it was also found in 12 out of 19 patients without pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma. Sensitivity, specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) of each diagnostic modality were 60.9%, 92.9% and 93.3% in 24 hour urinary VMA, 61.9%, 75.0%, and 81.3% in 24 hour urinary catecholamine, 82.6%, 94.7%, and 95.0% in MIBG scan, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity were improved to 86.9% and 100% when 24 hour urinary VMA and MIBG scan were combined. In conclusion, MIBG scan was the most useful single screening method for the diagnosis of pheochromocytoma, and combination of MIBG scan and 24 hour urinary VMA would enhance the diagnostic accuracy.
3-Iodobenzylguanidine* ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mass Screening ; Paraganglioma ; Pheochromocytoma* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Ultrasonography ; Vanilmandelic Acid

Background: A direct potassium hydroxide (KOH) smear is used to diagnose onychomycosis despite its broad sensitivity range. For a more accurate diagnosis, histopathologic examination can be used and consistently show high sensitivity. Objective: We investigated the value of histopathologic examination of the nail plate as a diagnostic tool for onychomycosis. We proposed effective routine diagnostic staining to compare sensitivity between periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and Gomori’s methenamine silver (GMS) staining. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted from January 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020, and included 97 patients who showed negative results on direct KOH smear but had clinical manifestations that implied onychomycosis. We performed nail plate biopsy and PAS or GMS staining to identify fungal hyphae missed in the direct KOH smear. Sensitivity comparison between PAS and GMS was performed in co-stained samples. Results: Among 97 patients with 102 cases, 55 cases (53.9%) of onychomycosis were confirmed by histopathologic examination. A total of 68 patients (70.1%) had a previous medical history of antifungal agents within previous six months. PAS and GMS staining were concurrently performed in 73 cases, and onychomycosis was confirmed in 41 cases. The sensitivity of PAS was 100% (41/41), while that of GMS was 87.8% (36/41); this difference was not significant. Conclusion This study suggests that histologic examination of the nail plate is an effective tool to diagnose onychomycosis and can be performed with a direct KOH smear. Two staining methods, PAS and GMS, are recommended for concurrent performance to enhance the identification of fungal hyphae.

Background: A direct potassium hydroxide (KOH) smear is used to diagnose onychomycosis despite its broad sensitivity range. For a more accurate diagnosis, histopathologic examination can be used and consistently show high sensitivity. Objective: We investigated the value of histopathologic examination of the nail plate as a diagnostic tool for onychomycosis. We proposed effective routine diagnostic staining to compare sensitivity between periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and Gomori’s methenamine silver (GMS) staining. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted from January 1, 2019 to May 31, 2020, and included 97 patients who showed negative results on direct KOH smear but had clinical manifestations that implied onychomycosis. We performed nail plate biopsy and PAS or GMS staining to identify fungal hyphae missed in the direct KOH smear. Sensitivity comparison between PAS and GMS was performed in co-stained samples. Results: Among 97 patients with 102 cases, 55 cases (53.9%) of onychomycosis were confirmed by histopathologic examination. A total of 68 patients (70.1%) had a previous medical history of antifungal agents within previous six months. PAS and GMS staining were concurrently performed in 73 cases, and onychomycosis was confirmed in 41 cases. The sensitivity of PAS was 100% (41/41), while that of GMS was 87.8% (36/41); this difference was not significant. Conclusion This study suggests that histologic examination of the nail plate is an effective tool to diagnose onychomycosis and can be performed with a direct KOH smear. Two staining methods, PAS and GMS, are recommended for concurrent performance to enhance the identification of fungal hyphae.

PURPOSE: The interest has been growing in the investigation and management of lower urinary tract symptoms, but their prevalence in the general population has so far been based on the estimates made in selected groups of women in Korea. The object of this study was to determine the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence and bladder irritative symptoms of women in rural region in Korea through a community based survey. Also, we investigated the relationship between age, parity, oral contraception, smoking, menopause and obesity and the prevalence of stress urinary incontinence. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire survey was performed in a sample of randomly selected 1162 women aged 30 years and over, in 31 villages in the town of Jeong-Eup, Korea. From February 4th to February 22nd, 1997, trained field workers visited every home and interviewed every eligible individual with the questionnaires, which included data on stress urinary incontinence, bladder irritative symptoms, quality of life, reproductive and menstrual history, and use of oral contraceptives. Among 1162 women, 857 responded to questionnaires, and 827 questionnaires were available for analysis. The response rate was 73.5%. The prevalence of stress urinary incontinence was defined as the proportion of the women in the population surveyed who experienced stress urinary incontinence at least twice a week. We defined diurnal frequency as the episodes of voiding again within 2 hours after initial voiding in the series of 5 consecutive voidings during one month period. The urgency was defined as she found it difficult to hold urination, once or more in the series of 5 consecutive voidings and nocturia twice or more per night. RESULTS: The prevalence of stress urinary incontinence was 20.4%. Only seven(4.1%) women carried a sanitary towel or diaper as protection against urinary leakage. The prevalence of stress incontinence among age groups revealed no significant difference. Statistically significant correlation was noted between obesity and the prevalence of stress incontinence. Diurnal frequency was recorded by 375 women(45.3%); 171(20.6%) experienced this symptom more than three times. Urgency was reported by 268 women(32.4%) and 63(7.6%) were always troubled by this symptom. Nocturia 3 times or more every night was recorded by 341 women(42.2%) and 83(10.0%) had nocturia 5 times or more. The severity of nocturia increased significantly with age. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of stress urinary incontinence and irritative symptoms in this study is similar to previous studies performed in other countries while the rate of nocturia is much higher in this study. Although stress urinary incontinence and bladder irritative symptoms are relatively common in this community, only few people are seeking for care of these symptoms. Therefore, it is very important to educate the public and promote awareness of this medical problem in this community.
Contraception ; Contraceptives, Oral ; Female ; Health Personnel ; Humans ; Jeollabuk-do ; Korea ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Menopause ; Nocturia ; Obesity ; Parity ; Prevalence* ; Quality of Life ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Urinary Bladder* ; Urinary Incontinence* ; Urination