This paper focuses on the criticism of tuberculosis statistics published by the Japanese Government-general in colonial Korea and a research on the reality of tuberculosis prevalence by medical doctors from the Department of Hygiene and Preventive Medicine at Keijo Imperial University (DHPMK). Recent studies have shown that colonial statistics shape the image of colonial subjects and justify the control to them. Following this perspective, this paper explores the process of producing the statistical knowledge of tuberculosis by medical scientists from DHPMK. Their goal was to find out the resistance to tuberculosis as biological characteristics of Korean race/ethnicity. In order to do so, they demonstrated the existence of errors in tuberculosis statistics by the Korean colonial government and devised a statistical method to correct them based on the conviction that the Western modern medicine was superior than Korean traditional medicine as well as the racist bias against Korean. By analyzing how the statistical concepts reflected these prejudices, this paper argues that the statistical knowledge of tuberculosis created images that Japanese people was healthier and stronger than the Korean people and justified the colonial government's control over Korean.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Disease Resistance ; History, Modern 1601- ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Korea ; Medicine, Korean Traditional ; Methods ; Population Characteristics ; Prejudice ; Prevalence ; Preventive Medicine ; Tuberculosis

Education, Medical ; history ; Family Practice ; history ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Medicine in the Arts ; Singapore ; Tuberculosis ; history

China ; epidemiology ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Mycobacterium bovis ; Tuberculosis ; epidemiology ; history ; prevention & control

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of Extra-pulmonary Tuberculosis (EPTB) cases that were admitted and diagnosed in a tertiary government hospital from January 2006 to December 2010.

METHODOLOGY: Records of pediatric patients who were admitted in a tertiary government hospital from January 2006 to December 2010 with a diagnosis of Extra-pulmonary Tuberculosis were reviewed. The following information was gathered: demographic profile, clinical profile, results of PPD, complications and mortality rate, and laboratory results.

RESULTS: The sixty-six cases constituted 7.8% of the total pediatric admissions during the same period. There was no significant difference as to sex distribution (53% males vs. 47% females, with 1:1 ratio). Majority of cases involved the meninges (72.7%) followed by lymph node (6.1%), liver (6.1%), bone (6.1%) and genitourinary (3.0%). The three most common symptoms were nonspecific: fever, anorexia and weight loss. The occurrence of fever was universal among all admitted cases of Extrapulmonary TB. With regards to prognosis, the majority (83%) of cases were discharged in improved condition. The case fatality rate was 16.7%.

CONCLUSION: The incidence of new cases of EPTB has remained constant, despite the decline in new cases of active pulmonary TB.

Human ; Male ; Female ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child Preschool ; Infant ; Infant Newborn ; Tuberculosis-prevalence, epidemiology, incidence, therapy, history, diagnosis ; Tuberculosis, Meningeal ; Tertiary Care Centers ; ;

BCG Vaccine ; history ; Bacteriology ; history ; France ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Philately ; Tuberculosis ; history ; prevention & control

A 24-year-old man presented with mental change, fever, abdominal pain, tenderness and palpable mass on the lower abdomen. He was a non-Korean engineer and did not accompany a legal guardian, so medical history taking was difficult due to his mental status. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple rim-enhanced lesions of the brain, and abdominal computed tomography showed huge paraspinal abscess. Chest X-ray and computed tomography showed poorly defined nodular opacities. We initially thought that this patient was infected with toxoplasmosis with typical cerebral image finding and immunoglobulin laboratory finding of cerebrospinal fluid and serum study. The abdominal abscess was confirmed as tuberculosis through the pathologic finding of caseous necrosis. We used anti-tuberculosis medication and anti-toxoplasmosis medication for almost 4 months, and then his clinical state and radiological findings were considerably improved.
Abdomen ; Abdominal Abscess ; Abdominal Pain ; Abscess ; Brain ; Fever ; Humans ; Immunoglobulins ; Legal Guardians ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Medical History Taking ; Necrosis ; Thorax ; Toxoplasmosis ; Toxoplasmosis, Cerebral ; Tuberculosis ; Young Adult

Objective: To describe a rare case of Kimura’s disease initially misdiagnosed as malignancy then tuberculosis. Methods: Design: Case report Setting: Tertiary Private Hospital Patient: One Results: A 30-year-old male with a 6-year history of gradually-enlarging right infra-auricular mass revealed an enlarged mass in the right infraauricular area and multiple cervical lymphadenopathies on physical examination. Initial fine-needle aspiration biopsy was interpreted as pleomorphic adenocarcinoma but succeeding work-ups and imaging studies led to treatment for tuberculosis. Subsequent biopsies finally led to the proper histopathologic diagnosis of Kimura’s disease and the patient was shifted to appropriate treatment with oral prednisone. Conclusion Kimura’s disease is rare and may be confused with other diseases such as malignancy or tuberculosis. Histopathologic diagnosis is necessary as its treatment differs from tuberculosis and other diseases.
Human ; Male ; Adult ; ANGIOLYMPHOID HYPERPLASIA WITH EOSINOPHILIA ; TUBERCULOSIS ; PHYSICAL EXAMINATION ; DIAGNOSIS ; DIAGNOSTIC TECHNIQUES AND PROCEDURES BIOPSY, FINE-NEEDLE ; BIOPSY ; PREDNISONE ; Diagnostic Errors ; history ; diagnosis

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine clinical characteristics that are associated with tuberculosis orchitis in patients who present with a testicular mass.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is an analytic retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent radical orchiectomy for a possible testicular malignancy based on a testicular mass from 2005 to 2009. The following data were derived from a review of the patient's charts: patient age, laterality of the disease, duration of symptoms, concomitant extra-testicular tuberculosis (TB), pre-operative anti-TB treatment received, pertinent pre-operative physical findings, pertinent diagnostics done pre-operatively, and intra-operative findings.

RESULTS: The prevalence of testicular tuberculosis in persons who underwent radical orchiectomy for a scrotal mass is 31.8%. TB orchitis occurs more often in younger patients, those who have had tuberculosis in the past, or have received treatment, those with larger testicular masses, those with scrotal skin sinus and tenderness or swelling, tunica, vaginalis invasion, scrotal skin invasion, and epididymal enlargement, and those with cheesy substance noted in intraoperative findings. There were no significant differences between testicular tuberculosis and testicular tumor in terms of ultrasound findings.

CONCLUSION: Testicular tuberculosis is prevalent among patients who underwent radical orchiectomy due to a scrotal mass. Several clinical characteristics preoperatively and intraoperatively may predict TB orchitis in these patients.

Human ; Male ; Aged 80 and over ; Aged ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Young Adult ; Adolescent ; Child ; Child Preschool ; Infant ; Orchitis ; Testicular Diseases ; Male Urogenital Diseases ; Orchiectomy ; Tuberculosis-history

BACKGROUND: During the last decade, the reports of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Korea were not common. Therefore, we investigated the anti-tuberculosis drug resistance rate according to medical history and radiological findings, as well as the relationship between the drug resistance and treatment outcomes to provide guidelines for selection of drug regimen before drug sensitivity test. METHODS: The study population was composed of 745 hospitalized patients who received drug susceptibility test for M. tuberculosis and anti-tuberculosis chemotherapy for the last 5 years. RESULTS: The majority had resistance to at least one drug (91.3%; 3.8+/-2.6 drugs). Drug resistance rate of first line drugs was 25~55%; especially higher in retreatment cases and those with the cavity on chest X-ray. Drug resistance was not correlated with radiographic finding. The success rate for treatment was higher in new cases, patients with less severe disease status and those without cavity on chest X-ray. When new cases had no resistance to all of EHR (84.1%), the negative conversion rate by first line drugs was above 70~90%. For retreatment patients, the negative conversion rate was above 70% only when they were susceptible to all of EHR (31%). The relapse rate was 4~13%. CONCLUSIONS: Probably the prevalence of drug-resistant tuberculosis in Korea will be considerably high. The drug resistance and treatment outcome was affected more by history of previous medical treatment than radiological findings. The previous EHRZ regimen is very effective as the initial treatment in new case, but revised retreatment regimen composed of at least 4 drugs is needed in the previously treated patients.
Drug Resistance ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical History Taking ; Prevalence ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Recurrence ; Retreatment ; Thorax ; Treatment Outcome ; Tuberculosis* ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant*

BACKGROUND: The frequency of MOTT has risen as the prevalence of tuberculosis has been declining. Our country has been also. The most of MOTT was resistant to the major anti-tuberculous drugs. METHOD: To compare clinical characteristics and frequencies of MDR tuverculosis with MOTT, the author studied 65 patients showing AFB culture positive with sputum. The data were collected from 176 patients who had been admitted at the National Masan Tuberculosis Hospital from May to June, 1997 to April, 1998. RESULTS: The frequency of MDR tuberculosis was 43.1% and that of MOTT was 9.2%. Among 65 isolated my-cobacteria, 3 cases were M. intracellulare, 2 cases were M. fortuitum, and 1 case was unidentified MOTT. The most frequent age group in 65 culture positive patients was 4th decade and the mean age was 44. The mean age was 61 in MOTT and 42 in M. tuberculosis and bad significant difference(p<0.01). The numbers with past history of treatment were 2.3 in MDR tuberculosis and 1.7 in non-MDR tuberculosis and had significant difference(p<0.05). At the time of admisson, the most frequent regiment for the theatment of MDR tuberculosis was 24 months regimen(85.7%) with the 2nd line anti-tuberculosis drugs. For non-MDR tuberculosis, 9 or 12 months regimen (72.9%) with the 1st line anti-tuberculosis drugs and had significant difference(p<0.01). At the time of admission, the symptom of weight loss was shown in 84.7% of M. tuberculosis and 50.0% in MOTT and there was significant difference(p<0.05) between them. All of the MOTT were identified to be resistant against INH and PAS. Drug resistane rates to INH, OFX(p<0.01) and PAS(p<0.05) in MOTT were higher than in MDR. All of three M. intracellulare strains were resistant to INH, RFP, PAS and OFX. All of two M. fortuitum strains were resistant to most anti-tuberculosis drugs. And the other MOTT was resistant to INH, EMB and PAS. CONCLUSION: MOTT was more common in elderly patients than M. tuberculosis. MOTT cases should be considered to be the probability of multiple drug resistance and treatment failure during the 1st treatment because they showed more resistance to anti-tuberculosis drugs than M. tuberculosis cases. Therefore, there should be more careful investigations for clinical characteristics, natural history of disease, and efficient management for MOTT.
Aged ; Drug Resistance, Multiple ; Hospitals, Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Natural History ; Prevalence ; Sputum ; Treatment Failure ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Multidrug-Resistant* ; Weight Loss