Antimicrobial resistance threatens the effective treatment of bacterial infections and is a serious problem worldwide. Multidrug-resistant bacteria are difficult to treat and the treatment outcome is worse than with susceptible bacteria. In Korea, the antibiotic resistance rates of the major Gram-positive bacteria methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE), and penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (PRSP) are very high. Clinicians should know the risk factors for developing multidrug-resistant bacterial infection, update the changing local epidemiology of resistant bacteria, and choose appropriate antibiotics in clinical practice. The overuse and misuse of broad spectrum antibiotics should be avoided. This review focuses on the epidemiology and risk factors of MRSA, VRE, and PRSP, the major multidrug-resistant Gram-positive bacteria.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; Bacterial Infections ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Enterococcus ; Epidemiology ; Gram-Positive Bacteria ; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections* ; Korea ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Risk Factors ; Streptococcus pneumoniae ; Treatment Outcome

Background: The Continuous Quality Improvement program for cytopathology in 2020 was completed during the coronavirus pandemic. In this study, we report the result of the quality improvement program. Methods: Data related to cytopathology practice from each institute were collected and processed at the web-based portal. The proficiency test was conducted using glass slides and whole-slide images (WSIs). Evaluation of the adequacy of gynecology (GYN) slides from each institution and submission of case glass slides and WSIs for the next quality improvement program were performed. Results: A total of 214 institutions participated in the annual cytopathology survey in 2020. The number of entire cytopathology specimens was 8,220,650, a reduction of 19.0% from the 10,111,755 specimens evaluated in 2019. Notably, the number of respiratory cytopathology specimens, including sputum and bronchial washing/ brushing significantly decreased by 86.9% from 2019, which could be attributed to the global pandemic of coronavirus disease. The ratio of cases with atypical squamous cells to squamous intraepithelial lesions was 4.10. All participating institutions passed the proficiency test and the evaluation of adequacy of GYN slides. Conclusions Through the Continuous Quality Improvement program, the effect of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, manifesting with a reduction in the number of cytologic examinations, especially in respiratory-related specimen has been identified. The Continuous Quality Improvement Program of the Korean Society for Cytopathology can serve as the gold standard to evaluate the current status of cytopathology practice in Korea.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine the inter-method reliability and volumetric differences between NeuroQuant (NQ) and Freesurfer (FS) using T1 volume imaging sequence with different slice thicknesses in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Materials and Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 80 patients diagnosed with MCI at our memory clinic. NQ and FS were used for volumetric analysis of three-dimensional T1-weighted images with slice thickness of 1 and 1.2 mm. Inter-method reliability was measured with Pearson correlation coefficient (r), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and effect size (ES). Results: Overall, NQ volumes were larger than FS volumes in several locations: whole brain (0.78%), cortical gray matter (5.34%), and white matter (2.68%). Volume measures by NQ and FS showed good-to-excellent ICCs with both 1 and 1.2 mm slice thickness (ICC=0.75–0.97, ES=-1.0–0.73 vs. ICC=0.78–0.96, ES=-0.9–0.77, respectively), except for putamen, pallidum, thalamus, and total intracranial volumes. The ICCs in all locations, except the putamen and cerebellum, were slightly higher with a slice thickness of 1 mm compared to those of 1.2 mm. Conclusion Inter-method reliability between NQ and FS was good-to-excellent in most regions with improvement with a 1-mm slice thickness. This finding indicates that the potential effects of slice thickness should be considered when performing volumetric measurements for cognitive impairment.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate respiratory muscle strength in healthy Korean children in order to establish the criteria for normal reference values for future applications. In contrast with the other parameters for testing pulmonary function, normal values for respiratory muscle strength in healthy Korean children have not been assessed to date. METHODS: We conducted a complete survey of 263 students at Sinmyung Elementary School in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do, and measured their height and body weight, performed pulmonary function tests, and evaluated maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) as measures of respiratory muscle strength. We excluded the subjects with respiratory or cardiovascular diseases that could affect the results. The subjects were children aged 8–12 years, and they consisted of 124 boys and 139 girls. RESULTS: The MIP and MEP values (mean±standard deviation) for the entire subject group were 48.46±18.1 cmH₂O and 47.95±16 cmH₂O, respectively. Boys showed higher mean values for MIP and MEP in every age group. Korean children showed lower mean values for MIP and MEP compared to those in previous studies conducted in other countries (Brazil and USA). CONCLUSION: Our results showed that boys generally have greater respiratory muscle strength than girls. We found a significant difference between the results of our study and those of previous studies from other countries. We speculate that this may be attributed to differences in ethnicity, nutrition, or daily activities.
Body Weight ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Child* ; Female ; Gyeongsangnam-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Reference Values ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Respiratory Muscles

OBJECTIVE: Occupational medicine specialists in the Busan, Ulsan and Kyung-Nam areas established an area-based occupational disease surveillance system and used this system to collected case information for the purpose of preventing occupational diseases METHODS: 11 hospitals participated in this system. The authors selected five main diseases, which were hand-arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), work-related musculoskeletal disorder (WRMSD), occupational asthma, occupational skin disease and occupational lung cancer and established their case definitions. All cases were reported on the web, and real time analysis was conducted. RESULTS: Between Apri1 2001 and April 2003, 192 cases of HAVS, 118 cases of WRMSD, 33 cases of occupational asthma, 17 cases of occupational skin disease and 17 cases of occupational lung cancer (for a total of 377 cases of these five main diseases) were reported. Most of the HAVS cases came from shipbuilding, and 172 of them (92.7 %) were associated with grinding. Of the four main types of WRMSD, carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) was the most prevalent with 46 cases and shipbuilding was also the main industry involved (83.9 %). The ergonomic risk factors involved mainly associated with the hand. In 19 (57.6 %) and 4 (12.1 %) cases of occupational asthma, the agents included isocyanate and welding fume, respectively. 64.7 % of the cases of occupational skin diseases were contact dermatitis, and organic solvents and welding fume were the main agents involved. The causative agents of occupational lung cancer included Cr, welding fume, PAH, Ni, etc. 10 (58.8 %) of the cases were diagnosed as squamous cell carcinoma and 5 (29.4 %) as adenoma. CONCLUSION: This result showed that an area-based occupational disease surveillance system might provide an effective method of evaluating the prevalence of such diseases, however the Busan, Ulsan and Kyung-Nam provinces are too large to be treated as individual areas. Therefore, the authors suggest that each province should establish its own surveillance system.
Adenoma ; Asthma, Occupational ; Busan* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Hand ; Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome ; Lung Neoplasms ; Occupational Diseases* ; Occupational Medicine ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Skin Diseases ; Solvents ; Specialization ; Ulsan* ; Welding