BACKGROUND/AIMS: There have been only few studies on the population-adjusted seroprevalence of HBV and HCV and on the change of them for more than 10 years in Korea. Therefore, this study was performed to evaluate them at a single health center in Daegu and Gyeongbuk province considering the population composition ratio. METHODS: We analyzed the seromarkers of HBV and HCV of 6,237 randomly sampled adults who had received health screening at the health promotion center in Dongsan hospital during the periods from year 1997 to 1999 (Period A) and from 2007 to 2009 (Period B). RESULTS: The seroprevalences of HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc and anti-HCV were 4.8%, 70.2%, 47.4%, and 0.5%, respectively. There is no difference in the seroprevalence of HBsAg between period A and B. However, downward tendency of prevalence through A to B from 6.8% to 4.5% could be found in 40s, and upward tendency from 4.7% to 6.8% in 50s. As for the seroprevalence of anti-HCV, although there was no difference through A to B, for 50s, it decreasd from 2.0% to 0.3% (p=0.007). However, for 60s, it increased as much as decreasd for 50s. CONCLUSIONS: The seroprevalence of HBsAg in Daegu/Gyeongbuk province was 4.8% and showed no difference through the time period of 10 years. The seroprevalence of anti-HCV was 0.5% and also showed no difference through the time periods.
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Hepatitis B/*epidemiology ; Hepatitis B Antibodies/*blood ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens/*blood/immunology ; Hepatitis C/*epidemiology ; Hepatitis C Antibodies/*blood ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea ; Rural Population ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Urban Population

The typical radiographic findings of bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) are known to be patchy air-space consolidation that is often subpleural, and with or without ground-glass opacities. However, there are scant radiologic reports about the micronodular pattern of BOOP. We report here on a case of BOOP that manifested as diffusely scattered ill-defined centrilobular micronodules on HRCT.
Bronchiolitis Obliterans* ; Bronchiolitis* ; Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia*

Chemical pneumonitis is caused by the inhalation of noxious chemical substances and is a cause of occupational lung disease. Nitric acid, which is a one of the common air pollutants and a potential oxidant for refining and cleansing of metals, has a chance for occupational and environmental exposure. A 52-year-old man visited our hospital due to coughing and dyspnea after the inhalation of nitric acid fumes at his workplace. He had conditions of tachypnea (respiratory rate 26 /min) and hypoxemia (PaO2 42.6 mmHg, SaO2 80.2% in room air) in our emergency department. The chest radiographs showed diffuse interstitial infiltrates and ground glass opacity in both lungs. The patient made improvements in clinical symptoms and chest radiography after being given a supply of oxygen, antibiotics, and bronchodilator therapy without systemic glucocorticoid therapy. On his follow up visit after 4 weeks, he showed no symptoms and sequelae, and the pulmonary function test showed a normal pulmonary function.
Air Pollutants ; Anoxia ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cough ; Dyspnea ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Environmental Exposure ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glass ; Humans ; Inhalation* ; Lung ; Lung Diseases ; Metals ; Middle Aged ; Nitric Acid* ; Oxygen ; Pneumonia* ; Radiography ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Tachypnea ; Thorax

Premature ovarian failure is a condition causing amenorrhea, hypoestrogenism, and elevated gonadotropins in women younger than 40 years. A karyotype should be performed as part of basic laboratory evaluation for all patients with premature ovarian failure and prodromal premature ovarian failure. Gonadal dysgenesis represents a wide spectrum of clinical phenotypes, gonadal structures that include the presence of at least one streak gonad, and a variety of X chromosome abnormalities and mosaicism. Development of a malignancy in a dysgenetic gonad is of major concern. The presence of a fragment of the Y chromosome is thought to be a key to the oncogenic potential of these gonads. Malignant potential is clearly not linked to the testicular determining factor itself (SRY). Failure to display SRY or a closely related sequence does not rule out the presence of the segment of the Y chromosome postulated to be associated with the development of malignancies. Pregnancy in premature ovarian failure with chromosomal abnormality is rare. Furthermore, the incidence of pregnancy in patient with Y chromosome is very rare. We have experienced a case of premature ovarian failure with chromosomal abnormality involving Y chromosome fragment. She has got pregnant spontaneously and gave birth to male baby but he was found to have the same karyotype as his mother. So we report this case with a brief review of literatures.
Amenorrhea ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Female ; Gonadal Dysgenesis ; Gonadotropins ; Gonads ; Humans ; Incidence ; Karyotype ; Male ; Mosaicism ; Mothers ; Parturition ; Phenotype ; Pregnancy* ; Primary Ovarian Insufficiency* ; X Chromosome ; Y Chromosome*

Chromosomally derived sterility has long been recognized. A review of the literature of somatic chromosome investigations in infertile males has shown that 13.7% of azoospermic males and 4.6% of oligozoospermic males have an abnormal karyotype. In the first group, sex chromosome abnormalities predominate (mainly 47,XXY), whereas in the latter, autosome anomalies (i.e. Robertsonian and reciprocal translocations) are the most frequent. A similar review on meiotic studies revealed that meiotic chromosome anomalies can explain male infertility in 4.3-40.4% of patients. Recently, fluorescent in-situ hybridization studies on spermatozoa from infertile men were published; it was suggested that both X-Y pairing and pairing of the autosomes were impaired, resulting in spermatogenic disruption. It is estimated that there are 2,000 genes that regulate spermatogenesis, most of these being present on the autosomes, but there are approximately 30 genes on the Y chromosome. In general, autosomal genes that regulate spermatogenesis are concerned with regulation of metabolic processes in other cells in the body as well as in the cells of spermatogenesis, whereas Y genes are not essential for vital functions related to reproduction. To be able to provide proper counseling for those couples whose male infertility can now be treated by intracytoplasmic sperm injection, it is suggested that clinical investigations should include mitotic and meiotic studies, an analysis of the chromosome content of individual spermatozoa and a DNA analysis of blood and spermatozoa to detect partially deleted Y chromosome material. We have experienced a case of azoospermia associated with inversion of chromosome 1. So we report this case with a brief review of literatures.
Abnormal Karyotype ; Azoospermia* ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 1* ; Counseling ; DNA ; Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Infertility ; Infertility, Male ; Male ; Metabolism ; Reproduction ; Sex Chromosome Aberrations ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; Spermatogenesis ; Spermatozoa ; Y Chromosome

We report the case of a 32-year-old female who developed polymyositis associated with scrub typhus. She exhibited the eschar with high titer of anti-Rickettsia(R)-tsutsugamushi antibody, severe muscle weakness, markedly elevated serum levels of muscle enzymes, EMG changes, and infiltration of macrophages in a muscle biopsy specimen. Initiation of appropriate antibiotic therapy resulted in complete healing of scrub typhus and disappearance of symptoms and signs of polymyositis within 1 month after high dose steroid therapy. We suggest that scrub typhus also be included within the causes of idiopathic inflammatory polymyositis.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Female ; Humans ; Macrophages ; Muscle Weakness ; Polymyositis* ; Scrub Typhus*

PURPOSE: A relationship between thyroid disease and primary breast cancer remains controversial. Several studies have demonstrated there is an increased risk of breast cancer in patients with thyroid dysfunction and thyroid cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, relationship and clinical characteristics of thyroid nodules and cancer in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: Two hundred sixty one women ith primary breast cancer had an ultrasonogram of the thyroid prospectively performed at the Department of General Surgery of the Soonchunhyang University Hospital from April 1995 to December 1999. The thyroid nodules were identified by high-resolution ultrasonography before all patients had undergone breast cancer surgery. RESULTS: Among the 261 patients with breast cancer, thyroid nodules were found in 57 (21.8%). The most prevalent age group of the 57 thyroid nodules was the 5th decade. Twenty-one out of 57 patients with thyroid nodules had undergone thyroid surgery and 14 benign nodules and 7 thyroid cancers (5 papillary carcinoma & 2 follicular carcinoma) were discovered. The incidence of thyroid cancer in the patients with breast cancer was 2.7%. CONCLUSION: Although the factors associated with thyroid nodules and cancer in the patients with breast cancer were not demonstrated, these results were suggested that there may be a relationship between them. Therefore, ultrasonography of the thyroid in patients with breast cancer priorto breast cancer surgery operations is recommended.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Prospective Studies ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule* ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: A relationship between thyroid disease and primary breast cancer remains controversial. Several studies have demonstrated there is an increased risk of breast cancer in patients with thyroid dysfunction and thyroid cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, relationship and clinical characteristics of thyroid nodules and cancer in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: Two hundred sixty one women with primary breast cancer had an ultrasonogram of the thyroid prospectively performed at the Department of General Surgery of the Soonchunhyang University Hospital from April 1995 to December 1999. The thyroid nodules were identified by high- resolution ultrasonography before all patients had undergone breast cancer surgery. RESULTS: Among the 261 patients with breast cancer, thyroid nodules were found in 57 (21.8%). The most prevalent age group of the 57 thyroid nodules was the 5th decade. Twenty- one out of 57 patients with thyroid nodules had undergone thyroid surgery and 14 benign nodules and 7 thyroid cancers (5 papillary carcinoma & 2 follicular carcinoma) were discovered. The incidence of thyroid cancer in the patients with breast cancer was 2.7%. CONCLUSION: Although the factors associated with thyroid nodules and cancer in the patients with breast cancer were not demonstrated, these results were suggested that there may be a relationship between them. Therefore, ultrasonography of the thyroid in patients with breast cancer priorto breast cancer surgery operations is recommended.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Prospective Studies ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule* ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: A relationship between thyroid disease and primary breast cancer remains controversial. Several studies have demonstrated there is an increased risk of breast cancer in patients with thyroid dysfunction and thyroid cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence, relationship and clinical characteristics of thyroid nodules and cancer in patients with breast cancer. METHODS: Two hundred sixty one women with primary breast cancer had an ultrasonogram of the thyroid prospectively performed at the Department of General Surgery of the Soonchunhyang University Hospital from April 1995 to December 1999. The thyroid nodules were identified by high- resolution ultrasonography before all patients had undergone breast cancer surgery. RESULTS: Among the 261 patients with breast cancer, thyroid nodules were found in 57 (21.8%). The most prevalent age group of the 57 thyroid nodules was the 5th decade. Twenty- one out of 57 patients with thyroid nodules had undergone thyroid surgery and 14 benign nodules and 7 thyroid cancers (5 papillary carcinoma & 2 follicular carcinoma) were discovered. The incidence of thyroid cancer in the patients with breast cancer was 2.7%. CONCLUSION: Although the factors associated with thyroid nodules and cancer in the patients with breast cancer were not demonstrated, these results were suggested that there may be a relationship between them. Therefore, ultrasonography of the thyroid in patients with breast cancer priorto breast cancer surgery operations is recommended.
Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Papillary ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Prospective Studies ; Thyroid Diseases ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyroid Neoplasms ; Thyroid Nodule* ; Ultrasonography