BACKGROUND: It has been known that blood group antibodies are not produced in the neonatal period and that if the antibodies exist, they are probably maternal in origin which had crossed the placenta. There have been several studies conducted abroad on when these antibodies are formed but none has been done in Korea. This study was carried out to determine the ABO blood type and blood group antibodies in children from neonates up to 5 year old. We hoped to determine when and in what pattern blood group antibodies were produced. METHODS: We selected 337 children from neonates up to 5 year old who were admitted to Hanyang university Hospital in Seoul or Kuri from 1994 to 1996. Cell typing was done immediately by the slide method. The anti-A and anti-B used for cell typing were supplied by Immucor (Norcrosis, Ga) . Sera were stored at -70 degrees C until they were tested for ABO blood group antibodies by the standard saline test tube method. When uncertain results were obtained, a drop of the mixture was placed on a slide and observed under a microscope. RESULTS: ABO blood group antibodies were detected in 9 of 50 (18%) infants less than 1 week old and in 10 of 51 (20%) infants between 1 week and 3 months of age. The pattern of ABO blood group antibody production was similar to that of the fetal period up to 3 months after birth, after which antibody production increased rapidly to reach approximately 80% at 6 months of age, There was no difference in ABO antibody production between boys and girls. The antibody formation pattern of group A and group B infants less than 6 months of age showed anti-A to be 35% and anti-B to be 20%. In group O infants of the same age, anti-A was positive In 42% and antral-B In 33%. However, after 6 months of age, there was no difference in antibody production among groups A, B, or O. CONCLUSIONS: Antibodies directed toward ABO antigens were detected in 19 out of 101 (19%) infants less than 3 months old. We therefore believe it is necessary to Perform serologic typing as well as cell typing in these Infants. Furthermore, the emergency transfusion of type A or B blood to a type O infant under the impression that anti-A and anti-B do not exist should be forbidden.
Antibodies* ; Antibody Formation ; Child* ; Child, Preschool ; Emergencies ; Female ; Hope ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Parturition ; Placenta ; Seoul

BACKGROUND: Rotavirus activity in Korea has been reported beginning in October, peak in November, continuing in winter and ending in spring. But the peak month and the incidence of rotavirus seems to be changed recently. So we investigated the trends of rotavirus activity for the last 10 years in Hanyang University Hospital (HUH). Also latex agglutination test was compared with automated enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay for the detection of rotavirus in stool specimens. METHODS: Stool specimens (3,636 from HUH, 1989-1998; 1,171 from Hanyang University Kuri hospital, HUKH, 1996-1998) from pediatric patients with acute diarrhea were tested for rotavirus,. Sixty specimens were tested by latex agglutination test (Sliders Rota-kit 2, bioMerieux Vitek, France) and enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay (VIDAS Rotavirus, bioMerieux Vitek, France) according to the instructions from the manufacturer. RESULTS: The annual incidence of rotavirus diarrhea from 1989 to 1998 was 47%, 32%, 33%, 25%, 26%, 24%, 24%, 17%, 17%, 14%, respectively. Positive rate of rotavirus was 25% for the 10year period in HUH, 20% for the recent 3 years in HUKH. Peak month was November (46%) in the first 5 year, but November incidence decreased to 17% in the last 5 year, and the peak moved to January, February, and March (34%, 35%, 33%, respectively). Epidemic period was from October to February during the first 5 year, but from December to April during the last 5 year period. The agreement rate of the two methods was 90% and VIDAS Rotavirus showed significantly higher sensitivity compared to Sliders Rota-kit 2. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of rotavirus diarrhea decreased gradually for the last 10 years and the peak month of rotavirus activity was changed from November to January, February, and March. The VIDAS Rotavirus was more sensitive than the Sliders Rota-kit 2 for the detection of rotavirus in stool.
Diarrhea ; Epidemiology ; Gastroenteritis* ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Latex Fixation Tests ; Rotavirus*

The presence of anti-dsDNA is included in diagnostic criteria for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) according to the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). It has been the most useful factor in the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic monitoring of patients with SLE. A number of methods are available but radioimmunoassay (RIA) has been regarded as standard method. A shift from RIAs to nonisotopic assay has been observed with other tests. Still, RIA assays are standard methods for anti-nDNA antibodies. A comparative study of the Crithidia luciliae immunofluorescence (CLIF) assay and an RIA was made. METHOD: Sera from 144 patients were tested by an indirect immunofluorescent antibody technique employing Crithidia luciliae and IT-1 cell lines as a substrate and radioimmunoassay was based on the Farr technique. RESULTS: 1. Thirty-nine of 122 sera with positive antinuclear antibody (ANA) tests had the possibility of positive anti-nDNA antibodies. 2. The RIA was positive in 54 sera, and 37 of these showed a discrepancy between the RIA and the ANA pattern (false positive rate 25.7%). 3. The CLIF was positive in 15 sera, and 5 of these showed a discrepancy between CLIF and the ANA pattern (false positive rate 3.5%). 4. Only CLIF was positive in 2 sera of which one showed a discrepancy between CLIF and the ANA pattern. 5. Only RIA was positive in 41 sera, and 33 of these showed a discrepancy between RIA amp; the ANA pattern. CONCLUSION: The immunofluorescence assay using Crithidia luciliae is a valid method to detect anti-dsDNA antibodies and has a much lower false positive rate compared with RIA. The simple and inexpensive CLIF test could either replace the RIA in clinical laboratories or be used in conjunction with the ANA pattern as a confirmatory test for antibodies to nDNA.
Antibodies* ; Antibodies, Antinuclear ; Cell Line* ; Crithidia* ; Diagnosis ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Prognosis ; Radioimmunoassay ; Rheumatology

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to review evaluation studies of nursing management information systems (NMISs) and their outcome measures to examine system effectiveness. METHODS: For the systematic review, a literature search of the PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases was conducted to retrieve original articles published between 1970 and 2014. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms included informatics, medical informatics, nursing informatics, medical informatics application, and management information systems for information systems and evaluation studies and nursing evaluation research for evaluation research. Additionally, manag* and admin*, and nurs* were combined. Title, abstract, and full-text reviews were completed by two reviewers. And then, year, author, type of management system, study purpose, study design, data source, system users, study subjects, and outcomes were extracted from the selected articles. The quality and risk of bias of the studies that were finally selected were assessed with the Risk of Bias Assessment Tool for Non-randomized Studies (RoBANS) criteria. RESULTS: Out of the 2,257 retrieved articles, a total of six articles were selected. These included two scheduling programs, two nursing cost-related programs, and two patient care management programs. For the outcome measurements, usefulness, time saving, satisfaction, cost, attitude, usability, data quality/completeness/accuracy, and personnel work patterns were included. User satisfaction, time saving, and usefulness mostly showed positive findings. CONCLUSIONS: The study results suggest that NMISs were effective in time saving and useful in nursing care. Because there was a lack of quality in the reviewed studies, well-designed research, such as randomized controlled trials, should be conducted to more objectively evaluate the effectiveness of NMISs.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Informatics ; Information Storage and Retrieval ; Information Systems ; Management Information Systems* ; Medical Informatics ; Medical Subject Headings ; Nursing Care ; Nursing Evaluation Research ; Nursing Informatics ; Nursing* ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Patient Care Management

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of allergic rhinitis between urban areas in the adjacent areas to a steel industrial complex and rural areas and the impact of pollutants in the industrialized city on allergic rhinitis. METHODS: From July 28 to August 9 of 2008, 1,043 residents of urban and rural areas in a local community had enrolled in health screening and questionnaire survey. One thousand thirty-three patients also underwent a skin prick test. Prevalence rates of allergic rhinitis were calculated according to residential areas, and the used statistical analysis were Fisher's exact test and chi-square test. RESULTS: In a survey, the fraction of adults, who complained of sneezing, nasal obstruction and rhinorrhea, during a recent 1 year period, showed the significant difference between urban (30.5%) and rural areas (22.4%). The fractions of positive skin prick tests were not different between two areas in each age group. The prevalence of allergic rhinitis was 8.4% in urban areas and 6.9% in rural areas. Considering the age groups, the adults group only showed the significantly higher prevalence of allergic rhinitis in urban areas (8.2% vs. 3.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Unlike the children and adolescents groups, the prevalence of allergic rhinitis in adults group was higher in the industrialized urban areas.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Nasal Obstruction ; Prevalence* ; Rhinitis* ; Skin ; Skin Tests ; Sneezing ; Steel

BACKGROUND: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a new marker of severe systemic bacterial infection. PCT consists of fragments katacalcin and calcitonin, which are precursors of calcitonin in thyroid. The source and role of PCT in pathogenesis of sepsis remains clarified. This study was focused on which subsets of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) can induce PCT when they are stimulated with endotoxin or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), and how the PCT production is controlled. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PBMC were isolated and incubated overnight in each media containing 1 ug/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or 5 ng/mL PMA. Intracellular PCT was detected using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled anti-katacalcin antibody (Ab). Monocytes and lymphocytes were identified by phycoerythrin-conjugated CD14 Ab and CyChrome-conjugated CD3 Ab, respectively. Ten micrograms of soluble TNF receptor (sTNFR) were pretreated in PBMC 1 hr prior to adding the stimuli. Then, PBMC were analyzed using a flow cytometer. RESULTS: LPS increased intracellular PCT from 10.0 % to 27.2% in CD14-positive monocytes from healthy donors, but PMA induced more PCT production from 10.0% to 40.8%. (one representative, n=8). For CD3-p ositive lymphocytes, LPS did not stimulate PCT, but PMA increased PCT production by 2.35 fold (P<0.05, n=8). In the PBMC from the same donor, sTNFR highly decreased LPS-stimulated PCT (control 10.0%, LPS 27.2%, sTNFR 12.3%), but it did not significantly affect PMA-stimulated PCT. For sepsis patients, PMA stimulated more PCT than LPS did and PCT was more expressed compared with healthy donors. CONCLUSION: The PCT was produced in both monocytes and lymphocytes. PMA stimulated more PCT production than LPS did. The LPS-induced PCT production is partly mediated through TNF-alpha production.
Bacterial Infections ; Calcitonin ; Fluorescein ; Humans* ; Lymphocytes ; Monocytes ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor ; Sepsis ; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate ; Thyroid Gland ; Tissue Donors ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

BACKGROUND: Procalcitonin (PCT) is a new marker of severe systemic bacterial infection. PCT consists of fragments katacalcin and calcitonin, which are precursors of calcitonin in thyroid. The source and role of PCT in pathogenesis of sepsis remains clarified. This study was focused on which subsets of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) can induce PCT when they are stimulated with endotoxin or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), and how the PCT production is controlled. MATERIALS AND METHODS: PBMC were isolated and incubated overnight in each media containing 1 ug/mL lipopolysaccharide (LPS), or 5 ng/mL PMA. Intracellular PCT was detected using fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) labeled anti-katacalcin antibody (Ab). Monocytes and lymphocytes were identified by phycoerythrin-conjugated CD14 Ab and CyChrome-conjugated CD3 Ab, respectively. Ten micrograms of soluble TNF receptor (sTNFR) were pretreated in PBMC 1 hr prior to adding the stimuli. Then, PBMC were analyzed using a flow cytometer. RESULTS: LPS increased intracellular PCT from 10.0 % to 27.2% in CD14-positive monocytes from healthy donors, but PMA induced more PCT production from 10.0% to 40.8%. (one representative, n=8). For CD3-p ositive lymphocytes, LPS did not stimulate PCT, but PMA increased PCT production by 2.35 fold (P<0.05, n=8). In the PBMC from the same donor, sTNFR highly decreased LPS-stimulated PCT (control 10.0%, LPS 27.2%, sTNFR 12.3%), but it did not significantly affect PMA-stimulated PCT. For sepsis patients, PMA stimulated more PCT than LPS did and PCT was more expressed compared with healthy donors. CONCLUSION: The PCT was produced in both monocytes and lymphocytes. PMA stimulated more PCT production than LPS did. The LPS-induced PCT production is partly mediated through TNF-alpha production.
Bacterial Infections ; Calcitonin ; Fluorescein ; Humans* ; Lymphocytes ; Monocytes ; Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor ; Sepsis ; Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate ; Thyroid Gland ; Tissue Donors ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

PURPOSE: The imaging findings of complex fibroadenoma have been rarely reported even though the risk of developing breast carcinoma in a patient with complex fibroadenoma is higher than that for a patient with simple fibroadenoma. We reviewed the imaging features and pathologic findings of complex fibroadenomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between April 2003 and April 2010, the mammographic and sonographic findings of five patients with complex fibroadenomas were retrospectively reviewed according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BIRADS). The pathologic findings were retrospectively reviewed for all 5 patients. RESULTS: The mammography findings showed masses (3 cases) and asymmetry (1 case). On ultrasonography, complex echo patterns were noted in all the patients, and all the lesions were assigned to BI-RADS category 4, suspicious for abnormality. The complex echoic patterns showed two types; 1) a mixture of a heterogeneous hypoechoic central portion and a fuzzy hyperechoic peripheral area in 2 cases, 2) a mixture of tiny anechoic and hypoehoic lesions in 3 cases. Multiple cystic changes were noted in all the cases on the pathologic analysis. CONCLUSION: Complex fibroadenomas showed different ultrasonographic findings from simple fibroadenomas such as two types of complex echo patterns, even though the other findings were similar to those of simple fibroadenoma. Cystic changes were noted in all the cases on the pathologic analysis. Awareness of these imaging findings will help us to properly diagnose complex fibroadenoma.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Fibroadenoma ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Mammography ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Systemic contact dermatitis commonly occurs with the intake of rhus (boiled chicken with rhus) as a health food and a folk medicine to cure gastrointestinal diseases in Korea. Rhus companies insist they have the technology for rhus detoxification. However, the numbers of systemic allergic contact dermatitis patients, caused by rhus, have not decreased. The principle of present techniques for rhus detoxification is the induction of the polymerization of urushiol, but polymerized urushiol may still have antigenicity, although to a diminished degree. The Korean Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) has a regulation to control urushiol use as a food. However, the laboratory method that KFDA uses for detection of rhus can only detect the urushiol monomer. OBJECTIVE: We conducted experiments to detect polymerized urushiol in rhus products, which were considered not to include urushiol by the KFDA. METHODS: Rhus product approved by the KFDA was separated with chloroform. The chloroform fractionation was accomplished on a recycle HPLC system. Four peaks were achieved and evaporated to give an amorphous powder. Each powder was analyzed on a NMR system and mass spectrometer. RESULTS: The material considered to be urushiol dimer, with a 638 molecular weight (MW), was detected in one of the four powders as per the HPLC peaks. CONCLUSION: We concluded that commercially available rhus product is comprised of material considered to be urushiol dimer. Therefore, even if the antigenicity of the rhus products is low, this product may cause adverse effects and is not completely detoxified.
Catechols ; Chickens ; Chloroform ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Food, Organic ; Humans ; Korea ; Medicine, Traditional ; Molecular Weight ; Polymerization ; Polymers ; Powders ; Rhus ; United States Food and Drug Administration

Acute gastroenteritis due to Salmonella species, which usually improves on conservative treatment, can progress to sepsis and extraintestinal focal infection in very young infants. Frequent sites for extraintestinal infections are meninges, bone, joints, spleen and intravascular sites but scrotal abscess due to salmonella in children has been very rare. Literature search revealed only one newborn case of scrotal abscess with bacteremia due to salmonella group D which developed after circumcision. We, herein, report a 42 day old infant who initally presented with diarrhea that progressed to sepsis and scrotal abscess. Despite the use of susceptible antibiotics, the patient improved only after surgical drainage.
Abscess* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteremia ; Child ; Circumcision, Male ; Diarrhea ; Drainage ; Female ; Focal Infection ; Gastroenteritis* ; Humans ; Infant* ; Infant, Newborn ; Joints ; Male ; Meninges ; Salmonella* ; Sepsis* ; Spleen