PURPOSE: To describe the early experience of analyzing variations and time trends in bladder volume of the rectal cancer patients who received bladder ultrasound scan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We identified 20 consecutive rectal cancer patients who received whole pelvic radiotherapy (RT) and bladder ultrasound scan between February and April 2012. Before simulation and during the entire course of treatment, patients were scanned with portable automated ultrasonic bladder scanner, 5 times consecutively, and the median value was reported. Then a radiation oncologist contoured the bladder inner wall shown on simulation computed tomography (CT) and calculated its volume. RESULTS: Before simulation, the median bladder volume measured using simulation CT and bladder ultrasound scan was 427 mL (range, 74 to 1,172 mL) and 417 mL (range, 147 to 1,245 mL), respectively. There was strong linear correlation (R = 0.93, p < 0.001) between the two results. During the course of treatment, there were wide variations in the bladder volume and every time, measurements were below the baseline with statistical significance (12/16). At 6 weeks after RT, the median volume was reduced by 59.3% to 175 mL. Compared to the baseline, bladder volume was reduced by 38% or 161 mL on average every week for 6 weeks. CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this study is the first to prove that there are bladder volume variations and a reduction in bladder volume in rectal cancer patients. Moreover, our results will serve as the basis for implementation of bladder training to patients receiving RT with full bladder.
Humans ; Observer Variation ; Rectal Neoplasms ; Ultrasonics ; Urinary Bladder

It is challenging to treat ventriculitis with parenteral treatment alone in some cases because of the difficulty involved in maintaining an appropriate level of antibiotics in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We report two cases of ventriculitis who did not respond to intravenous (IV) antibiotics but were successfully treated with intraventricular antibiotics using IV agents. The first case was a four-month-old male patient with X-linked hydrocephalus.He showed ventriculitis due to Klebsiella pneumoniae not producing extended-spectrum β-lactamase and susceptible to third-generation cephalosporins and gentamicin, following ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt. His condition did not improve during the 47 days of treatment with IV cefotaxime and meropenem. We achieved improvement in clinical presentation and CSF profile after three times of intraventricular gentamicin injection. The patient was discharged from the hospital with antiepileptic drugs. The second case was a six-month-old female patient with a history of neonatal meningitis complicated with hydrocephalus at one month of age, VP shunt at two months of age, followed by a methicillinresistant coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) shunt infection with ventriculitis after the shunt operation. CoNS ventriculitis recurred four weeks later. We failed to treat intractable methicillin-resistant CoNS ventriculitis with IV vancomycin for ten days, and thus intraventricular antimicrobial treatment was considered. Five times of intraventricular vancomycin administration led to improvement in clinical parameters. There were only neurological sequelae of delayed language development but no other major complications. Patients in these two cases responded well to intraventricular antibiotics, with negative CSF culture results, and were successfully treated for ventriculitis without serious complications.

PURPOSE: Lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) is one of the most common causes of hospitalization in the pediatric population. In this study, we investigated the clinical characteristics of LRTI, particularly in low birth weight children. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of children at ages 0–6 years with LRTI in Korea University Anam Hospital between January and December of 2014. Clinical data including age, sex, birth history, viral pathogens, blood test results, and clinical courses were collected. RESULTS: In the 828 eligible cases, 617 (74.5%) were pneumonia and followed by bronchiolitis 180 (21.7%) and bronchitis 31 (3.7%). The median age of the subjects was 17 months (interquartile range [IQR], 7–28 months), the median gestational age was 39.0 weeks (IQR, 38.0–40.0 weeks) and the median birth weight was 3,200 g (IQR, 2,900–3,480 g). Sixty-four children (7.7%) were low birth weight (< 2,500 g) and their median gestational age and birth weight were 33.0 weeks (IQR, 30.0–36.0 weeks) and 2,045 g (IQR, 1,565–2,300 g), respectively. The rates of oxygen supplement (17.2% vs. 4.6%, P < 0.001) and systemic steroid use (20.3% vs. 4.7%, P < 0.001) were significantly higher in low birth weight children than normal birth weight children. Respiratory viruses were identified in 82.6% (519 of 628 subjects); RSV was detected in 240 subjects (38.2%), followed by rhinovirus 168 (26.8%) and adenoviruses 75 (11.9%). The distribution of respiratory viruses was not different between normal birth weight children and low birth weight children. CONCLUSION: Low birth weight children show more severe clinical manifestations than normal birth weight children during hospitalization for LRTI, although respiratory viral pathogens were not different. Clinicians should be aware that the severity may be increased when low birth weight children were hospitalized due to low respiratory tract infection.
Adenoviridae ; Birth Weight ; Bronchiolitis ; Bronchitis ; Child* ; Gestational Age ; Hematologic Tests ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Infant, Low Birth Weight* ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Oxygen ; Pneumonia ; Reproductive History ; Respiratory System* ; Respiratory Tract Infections* ; Rhinovirus

Coinfection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) with other respiratory pathogens may complicate diagnosis and treatment. Since the risk of coinfection with SARS-CoV-2 is expected to increase during the influenza epidemic period, it is necessary to study the clinical course of coinfection. To our knowledge, there have been a few cases of coinfection between SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus in neonates. Here, we report the clinical course of a neonate who was coinfected with the influenza virus and SARS-CoV-2. A 20-day-old boy born with low birth weight presented with a fever. The patient was confirmed as positive with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and influenza B by real-time polymerase chain reaction at admission, whereas his mother was only COVID-19 positive at that time. Initial chest x-ray revealed hyperinflation and increased peribronchial markings at the right lower lung bronchus, but slightly decreased lung sounds without crackle or wheezing at admission. We administered empirical antibiotics for neonatal sepsis and oseltamivir for influenza B. On the chest x-ray follow-up, the findings showed improvement. After discharge, the patient showed a stable general condition. Children ineligible for COVID-19 vaccination who are coinfected with SARS-CoV-2 and the influenza virus are more likely to develop severe symptoms. It is necessary to detect coinfections as some can be treated with antibiotics and antivirals in young infants.

Background: Data on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 transmission from a pediatric index patient to others at the school setting are limited. Epidemiological data on pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases after school opening are warranted. Methods: We analyzed data of the pediatric patients with COVID-19 collected from the press release of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Information on the school opening delay and re-opening policies were achieved from the press release of the Korean Ministry of Education. Results: The school openings were delayed three times in March 2020. Online classes started from April 9, and off-line (in-person) classes started from May 20 to June 8 at four steps in different grades of students. There was no sudden increase in pediatric cases after the school opening, and the proportion of pediatric cases among total confirmed cases in the nation around 7.0%. As of July 31, 44 children from 38 schools and kindergartens were diagnosed with COVID-19 after off-line classes started. More than 13,000 students and staffs were tested; only one additional student was found to be infected in the same classroom. The proportions of pediatric patients without information on infection sources were higher in older age groups than in younger age groups (17.4% vs. 52.4%, P = 0.014). In the younger age group, 78.3% of children were infected by family members, while only 23.8% of adolescents in the older age group were infected by family members (P < 0.001). Conclusion Korea had a successful transition from school closure to online and off-line school opening, which did not cause significant school-related outbreak among the pediatric population.

Purpose: A 2-dose varicella vaccination strategy has been introduced in many countries worldwide, aiming to increase vaccine effectiveness (VE) against varicella infection. In this network meta-analysis, we aimed to provide a comprehensive evaluation and an overall estimated effect of varicella vaccination strategies, via a Bayesian model. Methods: For each eligible study, we collected trial characteristics, such as: 1-dose vs. 2-dose, demographic characteristics, and outcomes of interest. For studies involving different doses, we aggregated the data for the same number of doses delivered into one arm. The preventive effect of 1-dose vs. 2-dose of varicella vaccine were evaluated in terms of the odds ratio (OR) and corresponding equal-tailed 95% confidence interval (95% CI). Results: A total of 903 studies were retrieved during our literature search, and 25 interventional or observational studies were selected for the Bayesian network metaanalysis. A total of 49,265 observed individuals were included in this network meta-analysis.Compared to the 0-dose control group, the OR of all varicella infections were 0.087 (95% CI, 0.046–0.164) and 0.310 (95% CI, 0.198–0.484) for 2-doses and one-dose, respectively, which corresponded to VE of 69.0% (95% CI, 51.6–81.2) and VE of 91.3% (95% CI, 83.6–95.4) for 1- and 2-doses, respectively. Conclusions A 2-dose vaccine strategy was able to significantly reduce varicella burden.The effectiveness of 2-dose vaccination on reducing the risk of infection was demonstrated by sound statistical evidence, which highlights the public health need for a 2-dose vaccine recommendation.