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*

Hysterosalpingography and Hysteroscopy have been used for the detection of intraute-rine pathology such as polyps, submucous myomas, intrauterine adhesion and endometrial hyperplasia or cancer. Recently the ultrasound has also been utilized for the detection of uterine pathology. Therefore the purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of SonoHysterography in detection of intrauterine pathology compared with HSG and Hysteroscopy. 32 patients underwent Sono-Hysterography and Hysteroscopy for the evaluation of the uterine pathology from september 1995 to January 1996. Nine of 32 patients had infertility problem and HSG performed prior to Sono-Hysterography and Hysteroscopy. The results are as follows : 1. The patients' ages ranged from 20 to 50 years(median 37.9). 2. All 9 patients with infertility who had positive HSG findings in uterine cavity showed the intrauterine pathology in Sono-Hysterography as well as Hysteroscopy. The detail findings are as follows :septated uterus(n=2), intrauterine adhesion :IUA(n=3), endometrial polyp(n=3), and IUA combined endmetrial hyperplasia(n=1). 3. Twenty two of 23 patients with abnormal uterine bleeding showed the intrauterne pathology and one patient had negative finding in Sono-Hysterography. However, Hysteroscopy revealed positive intrauterine pathology in 22 patients who had abnormal uterine bleeding. One patients who had positive finding in Sono-Hysterograply showed negative by Hysterography. In contrast, one patient who had negative finding in Sono-Hysterography had positive uterine pathology with polyp in Hysteroscopy. The histologic pathology in all 23 patients reported endometrial polyp(n=12), placental polyp(n=2), submucous myoma(n=1), endometrial hyperplasia(n=5), endometrial cancer(n=1), normal endometrial finding(n=2). 4. Sono-Hysterography, therefore, has a sensitivity and positive predictive value of 96.6%, 93.5% respectively. Our study showed a positive Sono-Hysterography is very predictive of the intrauterine pathology. Sono-Hysterography is safe, quick and minimal invasive procedure. So it is an invaluable technique in the evaluation of uterine cavity.
Endometrial Hyperplasia ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterosalpingography ; Hysteroscopy* ; Infertility ; Myoma ; Pathology* ; Polyps ; Ultrasonography ; Uterine Hemorrhage

PURPOSE: This study was performed to measure the level of nursing tasks and practice environment of nursing work (PENW) perceived by nurses working on comprehensive wards or general wards, and to investigate the relationship between these two variables. METHODS: This study was a cross-sectional survey. Participants were 97 nurses working on comprehensive or general wards of one general hospital in Gyeonggido, Korea. Data were collected from October 17 to 21, 2016 using the structured questionnaires and analyzed with SPSS/PC ver 18.0 programs. RESULTS: The scores for nursing tasks (performance, importance, and knowledge) perceived by nurses working on comprehensive wards were higher than nurses on general wards. The score for PENW perceived by nurses working on comprehensive wards was significantly higher than that of nurses on general wards. For comprehensive ward nurses, there was a relationship between nursing tasks and PENW, but no relationship was found for general ward nurses. CONCLUSION: This findings show that nurses working on comprehensive wards evaluate nursing tasks and PENW higher than nurses working on general wards indicating that nursing managers should work to raise the perception of general ward nursing tasks and PENW.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hospitals, General ; Korea ; Nursing ; Patients' Rooms ; Task Performance and Analysis

BACKGROUND: Keloids are characterized by excessive collagen deposition in the dermis, in which transforming growth factor β (TGF-β)/Smad signaling plays an important role. Low-level light therapy (LLLT) is reported as effective in preventing keloids in clinical reports, recently. To date, studies investigating the effect of LLLT on keloid fibroblasts are extremely rare. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effect of LLLT with blue (410 nm), red (630 nm), and infrared (830 nm) light on the collagen synthesis in keloid fibroblasts. METHODS: Keloid fibroblasts were isolated from keloid-revision surgery samples and irradiated using 410-, 630-, 830-nm light emitting diode twice, with a 24-hour interval at 10 J/cm². After irradiation, cells were incubated for 24 and 48 hours and real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction was performed. Western blot analysis was also performed in 48 hours after last irradiation. The genes and proteins of collagen type I, TGF-β1, Smad3, and Smad7 were analyzed. RESULTS: We observed no statistically significant change in the viability of keloid fibroblasts after irradiation. Collagen type I was the only gene whose expression significantly decreased after irradiation at 410 nm when compared to the non-irradiated control. Western blot analysis showed that LLLT at 410 nm lowered the protein levels of collagen type I compared to the control. CONCLUSION: LLLT at 410 nm decreased the expression of collagen type I in keloid fibroblasts and might be effective in preventing keloid formation in their initial stage.
Blotting, Western ; Collagen Type I ; Collagen* ; Dermis ; Fibroblasts* ; Humans* ; In Vitro Techniques* ; Keloid* ; Low-Level Light Therapy* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reverse Transcription ; Transforming Growth Factors

Dystonia is an abnormal movement characterized by sustained muscle contractions, frequently causing twisting and repetitive movements or abnormal postures. Torsion dystonia is characterized by torsion spasms of muscle contraction, which distorts the limbs and trunk into dystonic postures. We present a case of a patient with torsion dystonia who was recalcitrant to oral medication or even surgical operations. This patient was treated with motor point block using 5% phenol solution. Using electromyographical guidance, phenol was injected into the paraspinal and upper extremity muscles, respectively. He showed reduction of dystonia and improvement of functional abilities. Motor point block using phenol can be considered as a tool of the management for patients with torsion dystonia. MDVAQ@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr
Dyskinesias ; Dystonia ; Dystonia Musculorum Deformans* ; Extremities ; Humans ; Muscle Contraction ; Muscles ; Phenol* ; Posture ; Spasm ; Upper Extremity

BACKGROUND: Microdeletion syndromes not detectable by conventional cytogenetic analysis have been reported to occur in approximately 5% of patients with unexplained mental retardation (MR). Therefore, it is essential to ensure that patients with MR are screened for these microdeletion syndromes. Mental retardation syndrome multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification (MRS-MLPA) is a new technique for measuring sequence dosages that allows for the detection of copy number changes of several microdeletion syndromes (1p36 deletion syndrome, Williams syndrome, Smith-Magenis syndrome, Miller-Dieker syndrome, DiGeorge syndrome, Prader-Willi/Angelman syndrome, Alagille syndrome, Saethre-Chotzen syndrome, and Sotos syndrome) to be processed simultaneously, thus significantly reducing the amount of laboratory work. METHODS: We assessed the performance of MLPA (MRC-Holland, The Netherlands) for the detection of microdeletion syndromes by comparing the results with those generated using FISH assays. MLPA analysis was carried out on 12 patients with microdeletion confirmed by FISH (three DiGeorge syndrome, four Williams syndrome, four Prader-Willi syndrome, and one Miller-Dieker syndrome). RESULTS: The results of MLPA analysis showed a complete concordance with FISH in 12 patients with microdeletion syndromes. CONCLUSIONS: On the basis of these results, we conclude that MLPA is an accurate, reliable, and cost-effective alternative to FISH in the screening for microdeletion syndromes.
*Chromosome Deletion ; Classical Lissencephalies and Subcortical Band Heterotopias/genetics ; DiGeorge Syndrome/genetics ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence/*methods ; Laboratories, Hospital ; Mental Retardation/*diagnosis/genetics ; Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques/*methods ; Prader-Willi Syndrome/genetics ; Williams Syndrome/genetics

BACKGROUND: Alopecia areata patients has recently increased in number. The clinical features and therapeutic results of alopecia areata are diverse and unpredictable. OBJECTIVE: We, the authors, performed a study on alopecia areata in order to evaluate the clinical manifestations and compare the efficacies of treatment with intralesional injection of triamcinolone acetonide suspension, immunotherapy with diphenylcyclopropenone(DPCP), and photochemotherapy with psoralen plus UVA(PUVA). METHODS: A clinical study of 732 patients with alopecia areata including 33 cases of alopecia totalis and 46 cases of alopecia universalis was performed for 5 years, since March, 1996 to February, 2001 who visited to Alopecia Clinic at the Department of Dermatology, Collage of Medicine, Chung-Ang University. RESULTS: 1) The age distribution showed a peak incidence in the third decade(29.1%) and the mean age was 26.8 years and 136 cases(18.6%) showed alopecia areata in patients below 10 years old. 2) Previous episodes of alopecia were observed in 173 cases(23.6%) and 58 cases(7,9%) had family history of alopecia areata. 3) The most common site was the occipital region in both male and female patients, which were 251 cases(38.4%) and 218 cases(33.4%) respectively. 4) Associated diseases with alopecia areata included seborrheic dermatitis(97 cases), allergic contact dermatitis(25 cases), liver disease(22 cases), hypertension(18 cases), diabetes mellitus(16 cases), urticaria(16 cases), atopic dermatitis(14 cases) and thyroid disease(8 cases). 5) The efficacies of treatment modality had no statistical differences in DPCP immunotherapy, intralesional triamcinolone injection or photochemothrapy. CONCLUSION: There was no noticeable differences compared to previous studies on alopecia areata, except that increasing tendency of severe, recurrent, and refractory alopecia areata and number of chilclhood patients.
Age Distribution ; Alopecia Areata* ; Alopecia* ; Child ; Dermatology ; Female ; Ficusin ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Incidence ; Injections, Intralesional ; Liver ; Male ; Photochemotherapy ; Thyroid Gland ; Triamcinolone ; Triamcinolone Acetonide

To determine the ventricular looping pattern in relation to cardiac laterality, we studied rat embryos treated with retinoic acid (RA). A total of 243 Wistar rat embryos from an in vivo treated group (a single dose of 20-40 mg/kg all-trans RA administered to pregnant rats on day 6.5 to 9.5) and 29 control embryos were examined on day 13 of gestation. Twenty-nine embryos from the in-vitro treated group (treated by all-trans RA at 2 x 10(-7) M for 6 hr on day 9.0 or 9.5 during the entire embryo culture for 72 hr) and seven control embryos were examined on day 12 of gestation. Abnormalities in cardiac laterality and ventricular looping were found in the in-vivo groups treated on day 8.5 and 8.75 and in the in-vitro group on day 9.0. Among 25 animals with abnormal laterality, right isomerism was the most common feature (22 cases), while the type of ventricular looping varied. Cases with normal laterality had a low incidence of abnormal looping (1.4%). In rat embryos treated with all-trans RA, normal cardiac looping was expected when cardiac laterality was normal. But in cases with abnormal laterality, the type of abnormal ventricular looping was unexpected.
Animal ; Cell Division ; Female ; Heart/drug effects* ; Heart Defects, Congenital/pathology ; Heart Defects, Congenital/chemically induced* ; Heart Ventricle/pathology ; Heart Ventricle/abnormalities* ; Incidence ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Tretinoin/pharmacology*

PURPOSE: A fibroadenoma is a very common benign breast tumor, which has been reported to be present in 7 to 13% of patients examined in breast clinics. This study was carried out, at a university hospital in Daegu, Korea, to find the clinical manifestations and characteristics of fibroadenomas in Korean women. METHODS: Four hundred and sixty-four patients, with pathological diagnosis of fibroadenomas, who underwent excisional biopsies, between January 1996 and December 2001, were included in this study. Clinical manifestations, diagnoses, including the sonographic findings, and the clinical characteristics, including the mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis, tumor siz and location, and the solitary or multiple nature of the tumor, were analysed. RESULTS: The most common symptom was a palpable mass in the breast. In the majority of patients (81.5%), a mass was the only symptom, but the breast mass was associated with breast pain in only 8.8% of patients. Diagnosis was usually made from the characteristic clinical and sonographic findings. Frozen section examinations were rarely necessary for the differentiation from a carcinoma. The mean age of the patients was 34 years, but 34% of the women were aged 40 or older. Left sided fibroadenomas were slightly more common than those of the right. Bilateral tumors were found in 9.3% of patients. The most common locations of the breast tumors were the upper outer quadrant, followed by the center and upper inner quadrant. The mean size of the tumor was 2.35 cm. CONCLUSION: The clinical manifestations in Korean women were similar to those in Western reports, but the age at diagnosis was older in this study.
Biopsy ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Daegu ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Fibroadenoma* ; Frozen Sections ; Humans ; Korea ; Mastodynia ; Ultrasonography

No abstract available.
Clostridium difficile* ; Clostridium* ; Critical Illness* ; Humans ; Proton Pump Inhibitors* ; Proton Pumps* ; Protons*