BACKGROUND: After the resurgence of endemic malaria case in 1993, the number of malaria cases is increasing in succeeding years and most of patients were soldiers who served in the northern parts of Kyeonggi-do and Kangwon-do. Because group donations of blood from soldiers are frequent in these area, it is possible that donated blood from these area cause malaria. So we examined blood donation history of malaria patients to know their donation behavior. METHODS: The subject was 1,671 malaria patients who were diagnosed in 1997 and referred to blood transfusion research institute and their past donation history, time and frequency of donation were examined. The database consisted of malaria patients and blood donors who are known to be related with transfusion-transmitted malaria has been retrieved at each red cross blood center for every blood donors. The results were analyzed from January to December, 1998. RESULTS: About 60% (1,017) of 1,691 malaria patients in 1997 had donated their blood before diagnosis. The number of one time donation was 268; two time 289; more than three time was 460. Two hundred thirty six donors were checked by malaria registry file. In 236 donors, 92 cases were diagnosed with malaria, 96 cases were suspected to have malaria, 48 cases were namesakes. Conclusion: Because some malaria patients donate their blood after their diagnosis, it would be necessary to operate 'the computerized retrieving programme'to detect their donation after the diagnosis. Also, an education for malaria patients for their risk of transmitting malaria and strict history taking from donors for malaria will be required.
Academies and Institutes ; Blood Donors* ; Blood Transfusion ; Diagnosis ; Education ; Gangwon-do ; Gyeonggi-do ; Humans ; Malaria* ; Military Personnel ; Red Cross ; Tissue Donors

PURPOSE: Many studies on the time course of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene expression have been performed in the LPS (Lipopolysaccharide)-induced endotoxemic model, but there have been few experimental approaches to continuous peritonitis-induced sepsis model. We conducted this study to establish basic data for future sepsis-related research by investigating the time course of iNOS gene expression and the relationship with the production of inflammatory mediators in the early sepsis model induced by cecal ligation and puncture (CLP). METHODS: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were operated on by sing the CLP method to induce of peritonitis; and then, they were sacrificed and samples of blood and lung tissues were obtained at various times (1,2,3,6,9 and 12 h after CLP). We observed the expression of iNOS mRNA from lung tissues and measured the synthesis of nitric oxide, IL-1beta , and TNF-alpha from the blood. RESULTS: iNOS mRNA began to be expressed at 3 h and was maintained untill 12 h after CLP. The nitric oxide concentration was increased significantly at 6 h, reached its peak level at 9 h, and maintained a plateau untill 12 h after CLP. TNF-alpha began to be detected at 3 h, increased gradually, and decreased steeply from 9 h after CLP. IL-1beta showed its peak level at 6 h after CLP, and tended to decrease without significance. CONCLUSION: We observed that the iNOS gene was expressed later in peritonitis-induced sepsis than in LPSinduced sepsis. Nitric oxide and key inflammatory mediators were also expressed later in peritonitis-induced sepsis than in LPS-induced sepsis.
Animals ; Gene Expression ; Humans ; Inflammation Mediators ; Ligation ; Lung ; Male ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II ; Peritonitis ; Punctures ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; RNA, Messenger ; Sepsis ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

PURPOSE: TATA box mutation/polymorphism in the promoter region of the bilirubin uridinediphosphoglucuronate glucuronosyltransferase 1A1 (UGT-1A1) gene is known to be an etiology of hyperbilirubinemia. This study examined if a TATA box mutation/polymorphism in UGT-1A1 gene promoter could be associated with the development of severe early neonatal jaundice in Korean infants. METHODS: Thirty-nine neonatal jaundice patients and 40 controlled infants were analyzed for UGT-1A1 promoter genotypes by using DNA sequencing. RESULTS: The homozygote for (TA)7TAA mutation was not found in this study. Comparison of the prevalence of UGT-1A1 promoter (TA)7TAA heterozygotes revealed no difference between the group with jaundice and the controlled group (15.4% vs. 10%). The peak bilirubin level was higher and the onset of jaundice was earlier in the jaundice group with (TA)7TAA heterozygote compared to the jaundice group without (TA)7TAA heterozygote (23.2+/-1.0 mg/dL vs. 19.7+/-2.4 mg/dL, P=0.004, 5.0+/-1.5 days vs. 8.3+/-4.1 days, P= 0.057). CONCLUSION: The results of this study showed that TATA box polymorphism in UGT-1A1 gene promoter did not increase the prevalence of severe early neonatal jaundice in Korean infants.
Bilirubin ; Genotype ; Glucuronosyltransferase ; Heterozygote ; Homozygote ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal* ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Jaundice ; Jaundice, Neonatal ; Prevalence ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; TATA Box

In an effort to identify the chemical constituents of fruiting bodies of Fomitopsis pinicola, a new lanostane triterpene glycoside, designated as fomitoside K, has been isolated from its methanolic extract. Its chemical structure was assigned on the basis of various spectroscopic studies.
Coriolaceae ; Fruit ; Methanol

BACKGROUND: There are several reports on outbreaks of V. paraphaemolyticus enteritis, however, these are only complicated cases or microbiologic surveillance in marine environment. We experienced an outbreak associated with eating flavored crabs and investigated the magnitude of the outbreak on a large scale located in Inchon. METHOD: We took medical history and stool cultures from patients with diarrhea, visited the Inha University Hospital from September 14 to September 30, 1998. Pulsed-field gel electrophereis of isolates from stool culture performed to identify the relation. We counted the number of diarrheal patients visited the emergency rooms of 5 other general hospitals and 9 private clinics in Inchon from August 16 to September 30, 1998. We bought 6 crabs and 2 flavored crabs at a nearby market and cooked 6 crabs flavored at our hospital. Cultures from the flavored crabs stored at a refrigerator were done daily for consecutive 5 days. RESULTS: The outbreak began on September 5 and ended on September 29, 1998. The numbers of patients visiting ERs of 6 general hospitals and private clinics during outbreak were estimated 1,033 and 4,530, respectively. All 8 crabs revealed Vibrio spp., but identification up to species level was not possible. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis of 12 isolates showed different patterns and suggested different sources. CONCLUSION: In 1998, an outbreak estimated more than 5,000 patients of V. parahaemolyticus enteritis occurred in Inchon, Korea. Because the magnitude of food-associated enteritis is enormous, that surpass the number which we assumed from clinical practice, early report and prompt investigation of such cases are necessary.
Diarrhea ; Disease Outbreaks ; Eating ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Enteritis* ; Hospitals, General ; Humans ; Incheon* ; Korea* ; Vibrio parahaemolyticus* ; Vibrio*

PURPOSE: Recently radiotherapy is applied alone or in conjunction with transcatheter arterial chemoembolizaion (TACE) or percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) for locally advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The purpose of this study was to evaluate dose-response relationship of radiotherapy for local control and toxicity in inoperable HCC. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight patients who were not eligible for TACE and PEIT or had showed no response to these treatment were treated with a total dose of 40 Gy with 2 Gy per fraction or 30 Gy with 3 Gy per fraction (low dose group, 18 patients) or 45 Gy with 3 Gy per fraction (high dose group, 10 patients). RESULTS: The median survival duration was 8 months and 1-year survival rate was 37%. The treatment results were as follows; partial response in 11% and 70% (p=0.001), stable disease in 56% and 30%, and progressive disease in 33% and 0% in low dose group and high dose group, respectively. The incidence of gastrointestinal (G-I) toxicity by the criteria of Southwest Oncology Group was as follows; grade 1 in 22% and 40%, grade 2 in 17% and 10%, respectively (p=0.56). There was no patient with severe G-I toxicity above grade 3. The incidence of G-I toxicity by site was as follows; grade 1 in 24% and 29%, and grade 2 in 0% and 57% in patients with right lobe and left lobe lesion, respectively (p=0.001). CONCLUSION: This study indicates that there is clear dose-response relationship in local control. The G-I toxicity does not increase significantly with increment of radiation dose within the dose range tested in this study. And careful attention should be paid for G-I toxicity when the tumor is located in left lobe.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Ethanol ; Humans ; Incidence ; Liver Neoplasms ; Radiotherapy* ; Survival Rate

Background: There is difference in the incidence of multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in patients with different variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, however, little is known about the epidemiology in Asian countries. We investigated and compared the epidemiology of the MIS-C during omicron-dominant period with that of previous periods in South Korea. Methods: We obtained clinical, epidemiological and laboratory data on MIS-C cases from national MIS-C surveillance in South Korea. We defined pre-delta period as January 2020–May 2021; delta period as June 2021–December 2021; and omicron period as January 2022–April 2022. We describe the clinical characteristics and outcomes of MIS-C patients by period. Results: A total of 91 cases were assessed to be MIS-C cases. Number of MIS-C cases have increased from six cases during pre-delta period to 66 cases during omicron period, while the incidence rate (the number of MIS-C cases per 100,000 cases of reported coronavirus disease 2019) has decreased from 38.5 cases per 100,000 (95% confidence interval [CI], 14.1–83.9) during pre-delta period to 1.6 cases per 100,000 (95% CI, 1.2–2.0) during omicron periods. During pre-delta period, 66.7% and 100% had hypotension and gastrointestinal involvement, respectively; while during omicron period, 12.1% and 6.1% had such clinical manifestations. Fifty percent of pre-delta MIS-C patients were taken intensive care unit (ICU) cares, while 10.6% of patients during omicron periods were in ICUs. Conclusion Omicron period were associated with less severe clinical manifestation compared to pre-delta and delta periods. Although incidence rate of MIS-C was lower for the omicron period than pre-delta and delta periods, number of patients reported with MIS-C may pose a substantial clinical burden.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aims of this study were to determine subgoups of functional dyspesia and to evaluate the short-term effect of cisapride in patients with functional dyspepsia in Korea. METHODS: 1025 patients, with a mean age of 42.6 years, with symptoms of functional dyspepsia, were recruited consecutively and upper gastrointestinal symptoms were investigated by interview in 41 hospitals in Korea. In an open, multicenter trial, 1025 patients received Smg of cisapride three times a day (TID) for at least .2 weeks for the treatment of symptoms of functional dyspepsia. When necessary, the dose of cisapride was increased to 10mg TID and the duration of therapy was extended to 4 weeks. RESULTS: The most frequently reported symptoms of functional dyspepsia were epigastric discomfort or fullness (85%), bloating (70%), belching (53%), early satiety (52%) and epigastric pain (46%) retrospectively. Subgroups of functional dyspepsia were as follows; dysmotility-like 73.5%, ulcer-like 39.7%, reflux-like 13.0%, and unspecified dyspepsia 14.0%. However, 33.2% of subjects with functional dyspepsia could be classified into more than one subgroup. Upper gastrointestinal symptoms were decreased to average 50.3% (range; 42.2 to 59.2%) after 2 weeks of cisapride treatment and to 25% (19.2 to 29.9%) after 4 weeks. cisapride therapy resulted in good or excellent improvement in 59.0% of the patients after two weeks, in 75% of patients after 4 weeks. Adverse events were occurred in 52 patients (5.8% of all patients), most commonly, loose stools or diarrhea (3.5%), abdominal pain (1.1%), and dizziness (0.3%). The majority of adverse events was mild and transient in nature and led to premature discontinuation of treatment in 4 patients. CONCLUSIONS: Although the majorities of patients with functional dyspepsia have dysmotility like symptoms in Korea, there is such overlap among the dyspepsia subgroups. Most patients responded well to a short therapeutic trial with cisapride without significant side effects.
Abdominal Pain ; Cisapride* ; Diarrhea ; Dizziness ; Dyspepsia* ; Eructation ; Humans ; Korea* ; Retrospective Studies