BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Wall shear stress contributes to atherosclerosis progression and plaque rupture. There are limited studies for statin as a major contributing factor on whole blood viscosity (WBV) in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). This study investigates the effect of statin on WBV in ACS patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We prospectively enrolled 189 consecutive patients (mean age, 61.3±10.9 years; 132 males; ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, n=52; non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction, n=84; unstable angina n=53). Patients were divided into two groups (group I: previous use of statins for at least 3 months, n=51; group II: statin-naïve patients, n=138). Blood viscosities at shear rates of 1 s-1 (diastolic blood viscosity; DBV) and 300 s-1 (systolic blood viscosity; SBV) were measured at baseline and one month after statin treatment. Rosuvastatin was administered to patients after enrollment (mean daily dose, 16.2±4.9 mg). RESULTS: Baseline WBV was significantly higher in group II ([SBV: group I vs group II, 40.8±5.9 mP vs. 44.2±7.4 mP, p=0.003], [DBV: 262.2±67.8 mP vs. 296.9±76.0 mP, p=0.002]). WBV in group II was significantly lower one month after statin treatment ([SBV: 42.0±4.7 mP, p=0.012, DBV: 281.4±52.6 mP, p=0.044]). However, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was not associated with WBV in both baseline (SBV: R2=0.074, p=0.326; DBV: R2=0.073, p=0.337) and after one month follow up (SBV: R2=0.104, p=0.265; DBV: R2=0.112, p=0.232). CONCLUSION: Previous statin medication is an important determinant in lowering WBV in patients with ACS. However, one month of rosuvastatin decreased WBV in statin-naïve ACS patients.
Acute Coronary Syndrome* ; Angina, Unstable ; Atherosclerosis ; Blood Viscosity* ; Cholesterol ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; Lipoproteins ; Male ; Myocardial Infarction ; Prospective Studies ; Rheology ; Rupture ; Rosuvastatin Calcium

A fixed drug eruption (FDE) is not difficult to diagnose, given its clinical characteristics. However, the causative agent can be difficult to identify, particularly when the patient denies ingestion of any drugs. To the best of our knowledge, we present herein the first reported case of an FDE caused by antibiotics taken in food; doxycycline and erythromycin contained in pork and fish. A 57-year-old female experienced repeated episodes of well-demarcated erythematous patches covering her entire body. She denied taking any medications, but she thought that the lesions appeared after consuming pork and/or fish. An oral provocation test showed positive results for doxycycline and erythromycin, commonly used antibiotics in live-stock farming and in the fishing industry. Because of the antibiotics' thermostability, cooking does not guarantee the elimination of residual drugs. From the patient's history, we concluded that doxycycline and erythromycin contained in the pork and fish that she ate were the cause of the FDE.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cooking ; Doxycycline ; Drug Eruptions ; Eating ; Erythromycin ; Female ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: There was a recent study to explore the cerebral regions associated with sexual arousal in depressed women using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The purpose of this neuroimaging study was to investigate the effects of antidepressant treatment on sexual arousal in depressed women. METHODS: Seven depressed women with sexual arousal dysfunction (mean age: 41.7+/-13.8, mean scores of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD-17): 35.6+/-7.1 and 34.9+/-3.1, respectively) and nine healthy women (mean age: 40.3+/-11.6) underwent fMRI before and after antidepressant treatment. The fMRI paradigm contrasted a 1 minute rest period viewing non-erotic film with 4 minutes of sexual stimulation viewing an erotic video film. Data were analyzed by SPM 2. The relative number of pixels activated in each period was used as an index of activation. All depressed women were treated with mirtazapine (mean dosage: 37.5 mg/day) for 8 to 10 weeks. RESULTS: Levels of brain activity during sexual arousal in depressed women significantly increased with antidepressant treatment (p<0.05) in the regions of the hypothalamus (3.0% to 11.2%), septal area (8.6% to 27.8%) and parahippocampal gyrus (5.8% to 14.6%). Self-reported sexual arousal during visual sexual stimulation also significantly increased post-treatment, and severity of depressive symptoms improved, as measured by the BDI and HAMD-17 (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: These results show that sexual arousal dysfunction of depressed women may improve after treatment of depression, and that this improvement is associated with increased activation of the hypothalamus, septal area, and parahippocampal gyrus during sexual arousal.
Arousal ; Brain ; Depression ; Female ; Humans ; Hypothalamus ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mianserin ; Neuroimaging ; Parahippocampal Gyrus ; Septum of Brain

BACKGROUND: We compared the LightCycler MRSA advanced test (Roche Diagnostics, Germany) with enrichment culture methods to evaluate the relative diagnostic performance of the LightCycler MRSA advanced test for active surveillance in a high-prevalence setting. METHODS: A total of 342 nasal swab specimens were obtained from patients in the intensive care unit at admission and on the seventh day for follow-up. The results of LightCycler MRSA advanced test were compared to those of the enrichment culture. For discrepant results, mecA gene PCR was performed. RESULTS: For the detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), the LightCycler MRSA advanced test showed 98.5% sensitivity and 78.6% specificity and had positive and negative predictive values of 75.0% and 98.8%, respectively. A total of 46 samples had discrepant results between the LightCycler MRSA advanced test and enrichment culture. Of the 44 specimens that were positive in the LightCycler MRSA advanced test but negative by enrichment culture, mecA genes were detected in 37 specimens. In addition, of the original 44 cases, 21 patients had a history of MRSA colonization or infection within the last month; of those 21 specimens, 20 were positive for mecA gene as shown by PCR. Seven mecA-negative discrepant specimens comprised 3 methicillin-sensitive S. aureus-culture positive and only 2 patients had MRSA infections. CONCLUSIONS: Despite its low specificity and positive predictive value, the LightCycler MRSA advanced test could serve as a rapid test for patients colonized with MRSA.

BACKGROUND: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a major nasocomial pathogen. The active surveillance of MRSA is essential to limit its transmission. The BD GeneOhm MRSA real-time PCR assay (Becton Dickinson Diagnostics, San Diego, USA) has been recently developed and used for same-day MRSA detection directly from nasal swab specimens. The authors of the present study compared GeneOhm MRSA PCR with culture methods to evaluate its diagnostic performance for MRSA active surveillance. METHODS: The present study was conducted on patients admitted to the ICU for six months. A total of 371 nasal swab specimens were obtained from patients at admission day and at the seven-day follow-up. The swab was streaked onto culture media, and presumptive S. aureus colonies were confirmed as MRSA using the BD Phoenix automated microbiology system (Becton Dickinson Diagnostic Systems, Sparks, USA). In addition, GeneOhm MRSA PCR was performed. For discrepant results between Gene-Ohm MRSA PCR and culture, the enrichment broth culture method was performed. RESULTS: There were 34 samples with discrepant results between the GeneOhm MRSA PCR and culture. The overall agreement was 90.7%. For the detection of MRSA, the GeneOhm MRSA PCR was 96.8% sensitive and 86.3% specific, with positive and negative predictive values of 83.9% and 97.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Identification of MRSA-colonized patients was achieved in as little as two hours, and the high negative predictive value of GeneOhm MRSA PCR suggests that the assay is a rapid method for the identification of persons who are not colonized with MRSA. However, due to the low positive predictive value, GeneOhm MRSA PCR combined with enrichment culture in cases of positive GeneOhm MRSA PCR is potentially useful for active MRSA surveillance activities.
Colon ; Culture Media ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

The followings are the results for external quality assessment (EQA) in immunoserology for 2009: Evaluation of EQA was done in 2 trials in April and November, about 99% of laboratories participating average 7.4 items. The results were collected via internet and about 98% of laboratories have sent their results via internet. Control materials used in EQA were pooled sera including commercial controls, MASR Immunology Control from Medical Analysis Systems (Camarillo, CA, USA), which were delivered refrigerated for stability of control materials, being received within 48 hours after sending. Latex agglutination tests for rheumatoid factor (RF) showed frequently false positive or false negative results especially in commercial controls, possibly due to matrix effect. False negative and positive results were frequently found in the laboratories using immunochromatography assay (ICA) for anti-HCV and anti-HIV. More careful quality control should be required for ICA tests. New tests measuring non-treponemal and trponemal antibody such as turbidoimmunoassay (TIA) and chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) were introduced. Standardization of instruments and reagents including calibrators for quantitative results should be required for the harmonization of results.
Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Immunoassay ; Immunochromatography ; Indicators and Reagents ; Internet ; Korea ; Latex Fixation Tests ; Luminescence ; Nephelometry and Turbidimetry ; Quality Control ; Rheumatoid Factor

The followings are the results for external quality assessment (EQA) in immunoserology for 2008:1.Evaluation of EQA was done in 2 trials in May and November, about 99% of laboratories participating average 7.7 items. The results were collected via internet and about 99% of laboratories have sent their results via internet. 2.Control materials used in the External Proficiecny Testing were pooled sera including Commercial controls, MAS(R) Immunology Control from Medical Analysis Systems (Camarillo, CA, USA), which were delivered refrigerated for stability of control materials, being received within 48 hours after sending. 3.Latex agglutination tests for rheumatoid factor (RF) showed frequently false positive or false negative results especially in Commercial controls, possibly due to matrix effect.4.False negative and positive results were frequently found in the laboratories using immunochromatography assay (ICA) for anti-HCV and anti-HIV. More careful quality control should be required for ICA tests. 5.New tests measuring non-treponemal and trponemal antibody such as turbidoimmunoassay (TIA) and chemiluminescence immunoassay (CLIA) were introduced.6.Standardization of instruments and reagents including calibrators for quantitative results should be required for the harmonization of results.
Agglutination Tests ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Immunoassay ; Immunochromatography ; Indicators and Reagents ; Internet ; Korea ; Luminescence ; Nephelometry and Turbidimetry ; Quality Control ; Rheumatoid Factor

BACKGROUND: Accurate measurement of blood glucose concentrations is essential for defining diabetes, and the minimization of ex vivo glycolysis has been recommended. Recent guidelines advocate two kinds of methods for sample collection and processing: either the sodium fluoride (NaF) method or immediate refrigeration using a serum separation tube (SST). We investigated the difference between the two methods in measuring subsequent glucose concentrations using blood specimens from participants recruited for the fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. METHODS: Paired venous blood samples were collected in an SST and a NaF tube from 1,103 men and women. SST serum was separated within 30 min, including standing for 15 min, and then refrigerated. The NaF samples were refrigerated, but not separated until immediately before analysis. We compared the blood glucose concentrations between the SST (SST glucose) and NaF (NaF glucose) methods. RESULTS: The mean SST glucose was significantly higher than NaF glucose (99.0 mg/dL vs 96.5 mg/dL, P<0.05). NaF glucose showed a negative mean bias of 2.6 mg/dL vs SST glucose but showed high correlation (R=0.9899). There was no significant correlation between the bias of blood glucose concentrations by two methods and the storage time of NaF glucose. CONCLUSIONS: The negative bias associated with the use of NaF tubes may significantly affect the prevalence of diabetes. Serum separation and refrigeration within 30 min after venous sampling is recommended over NaF method, not only to minimize the preanalytical impact on detecting diabetes but also to reduce sample volume and number of tubes.
Blood Glucose/*analysis ; Blood Specimen Collection/*methods ; Diabetes Mellitus/diagnosis ; Female ; Glycolysis/*drug effects ; Humans ; Male ; Nutrition Surveys ; Republic of Korea ; Sodium Fluoride/*pharmacology ; Specimen Handling

BACKGROUND: Recently, the incidence of hepatitis A has increased in Korea and an outbreak among healthcare workers (HCWs) has also been reported. This study was performed to evaluate the seroepidemiology of hepatitis A among HCWs and their response to vaccination recommendation at a Korean hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HCWs aged 20-39 years were tested for IgG antibodies against hepatitis A virus (HAV) using ARCHITECT HAVAb-IgG (Abbott Diagnostics Division, Wiesbaden, Germany) during July, 2008. Vaccination was recommended for the seronegative HCWs. Data on age, sex, place of birth, number of siblings, number of children, travel history to endemic areas, occupations, and vaccination history were collected. Statistical analyses were conducted to identify variables related to HAV seropositivity. RESULTS: Among a total of 391 HCWs enrolled, 75 (19%) were males and 316 (81%) were females. The percentages of HCWs aged 20 to 24 years, 25 to 29 years, 30 to 34 years, and 35 to 39 years were 23%, 48%, 17%, and 12%, respectively. The study population comprised of physicians (11%), nurses (62%), nurse aides (5%), paramedical technicians (13%), and administrative staff (9%). Seropositivity for HAV significantly increased with age (P<0.05):1.1% for 20-24, 8.6% for 25-29, 35.8% for 30-34, and 60.9% for 35-39 years-of-age. Multivariate analysis revealed that HAV seroprevalence correlated significantly with age, HCWs born in the non-metropolitan areas, and having > or = 3 children (P<0.05). The types of work the HCWs do at the hospital were not significantly associated with HAV seropositivity in multivariate analyses. Of a total of 322 seronegative HCWs, 121 (38%) were not vaccinated in spite of recommendation. The reasons for non-compliance were lack of understanding on the necessity of vaccination (39%), lack of time (26%), expensive costs (16%), fear of injection (15%), and some other reasons including pregnancy (4%). CONCLUSIONS: Since the seropositivity for HAV is low, vaccination against Hepatitis A should be considered for all HCWs aged 20-39 years in Korea. Education on the necessity of vaccination is warranted to increase compliance.
Aged ; Antibodies ; Child ; Compliance ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis A ; Hepatitis A virus ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Immunoglobulin G ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nurses' Aides ; Occupations ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Pregnancy ; Residence Characteristics ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Siblings ; Vaccination

BACKGROUND: Recently, the incidence of hepatitis A has increased in Korea and an outbreak among healthcare workers (HCWs) has also been reported. This study was performed to evaluate the seroepidemiology of hepatitis A among HCWs and their response to vaccination recommendation at a Korean hospital. MATERIALS AND METHODS: HCWs aged 20-39 years were tested for IgG antibodies against hepatitis A virus (HAV) using ARCHITECT HAVAb-IgG (Abbott Diagnostics Division, Wiesbaden, Germany) during July, 2008. Vaccination was recommended for the seronegative HCWs. Data on age, sex, place of birth, number of siblings, number of children, travel history to endemic areas, occupations, and vaccination history were collected. Statistical analyses were conducted to identify variables related to HAV seropositivity. RESULTS: Among a total of 391 HCWs enrolled, 75 (19%) were males and 316 (81%) were females. The percentages of HCWs aged 20 to 24 years, 25 to 29 years, 30 to 34 years, and 35 to 39 years were 23%, 48%, 17%, and 12%, respectively. The study population comprised of physicians (11%), nurses (62%), nurse aides (5%), paramedical technicians (13%), and administrative staff (9%). Seropositivity for HAV significantly increased with age (P<0.05):1.1% for 20-24, 8.6% for 25-29, 35.8% for 30-34, and 60.9% for 35-39 years-of-age. Multivariate analysis revealed that HAV seroprevalence correlated significantly with age, HCWs born in the non-metropolitan areas, and having > or = 3 children (P<0.05). The types of work the HCWs do at the hospital were not significantly associated with HAV seropositivity in multivariate analyses. Of a total of 322 seronegative HCWs, 121 (38%) were not vaccinated in spite of recommendation. The reasons for non-compliance were lack of understanding on the necessity of vaccination (39%), lack of time (26%), expensive costs (16%), fear of injection (15%), and some other reasons including pregnancy (4%). CONCLUSIONS: Since the seropositivity for HAV is low, vaccination against Hepatitis A should be considered for all HCWs aged 20-39 years in Korea. Education on the necessity of vaccination is warranted to increase compliance.
Aged ; Antibodies ; Child ; Compliance ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis A ; Hepatitis A virus ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Immunoglobulin G ; Incidence ; Korea ; Male ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nurses' Aides ; Occupations ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Pregnancy ; Residence Characteristics ; Seroepidemiologic Studies ; Siblings ; Vaccination