Disease Outbreaks ; Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola ; epidemiology ; history ; prevention & control ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Sierra Leone ; epidemiology

To make a systematic analysis on literatures concerning traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) advices in Treatise on Febrile Diseases, and summarize the main connotations of traditional Chinese medicine advices, relevant TCM advices in Treatise on Febrile Diseases were collected, screened, compared, summarized and analyzed according to TCM dosage form preparation methods, TCM administration methods, medication contraindications and nursing after TCM administration. The literatures concerning medications in Treatise on Febrile Diseases were consulted, summarized and compared to standardize medicine advices and facilitate rational clinical application of TCMs. The standard medicine advices were as follows. The boiling water for TCMs shall be tap water and well water. The decoctions that have effects in promoting blood and meridians can be boiled with wine. The decoctions containing toxic components can be boiled with honey. Some TCMs shall be boiled with special methods, e. g. Herba Ephedra that could be boiled before other medicine and skimmed. Japonica rice could be added in decoctions to measure the duration of decoctions. Different dosages were required for different forms (litre, pill, medicine spoon). Administration times, temperature and frequency shall be adjusted according to target positions, functions and stage of illness. As for dietary contraindications during medication, thick porridges are recommended, where foods impacting medicine efficacy are prohibited. Regarding nursing after medication is important to recover physical functions, particularly warm porridges can go with diaphoretic recipes, while thick porridges can go with purgative recipes. And drug efficacies shall be defined by observing urine and excrements, and blood form. In conclusion, Treatise on Febrile Diseases is the first book that discusses TCM advices and records them in details. In this study, new standard medicine advices were proposed to provide important basis for improving clinical advices of TCMs and supports for developing the TCM dispensing technology.
Chin ; Cooking ; Drug Administration Routes ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Drug Interactions ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; administration & dosage ; chemistry ; history ; Fever ; drug therapy ; history ; History, Ancient ; Humans ; Medicine in Literature

1793 Yellow fever in Philadelphia was the most severe epidemics in the late 18th century in the United States. More than 10% of the population in the city died and many people fled to other cities. The cause of yellow fever in the United States had close relationship with slaves and sugar in Philadelphia. Sugarcane plantation had needed many labors to produce sugar and lots of Africans had to move to America as slaves. In this process, Aedes aegypti, the vector of yellow fever had migrated to America and the circumstances of ships or cities provided appropriate conditions for its breeding. In this period, the cause of yellow fever could not be established exactly, so suggestions of doctors became entangled in political and intellectual discourses in American society. There was a critical conflict between Jeffersonian Republicanism and Federalism about the origin and treatment of yellow fever. Benjamin Rush, a Jeffersonian Republican, suggested urban sanitation reform and bloodletting. He believed the infectious disease happened because of unsanitary city condition, so he thought the United States could be a healthy nation by improvement of the public health and sanitation. He would like to cope with national crisis and develop American society on the basis of republicanism. While Rush suggested the improvement of public health and sanitation, the city government of Philadelphia suggested isolation of yellow fever patients and quarantine. City government isolated the patients from healthy people and it reconstructed space of hospital. Also, it built orphanages to take care of children who lost their parents during the epidemic and implemented power to control people put in the state of exception. Of course, city government tried to protect the city and nation by quarantine of every ship to Philadelphia. Control policies of yellow fever in 1793 showed different conflicts and interactions. Through the yellow fever, Jeffersonian Republicanism and Federalism had conflicted in politically, but they had interactions for control of the infectious disease. And with these kinds of infectious diseases policies, we can see interactions in local, national and global level.
Government Regulation/*history ; Health Policy/*history ; History, 18th Century ; Humans ; Philadelphia ; *Politics ; Yellow Fever/epidemiology/etiology/*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

PURPOSE: Natural history and consequences of the novel 2009 influenza A H1N1 (2009 H1N1) infection in immunocompromised pediatric patients are not yet fully understood. In this study, we investigated the clinical features and outcomes of the 2009 H1N1 infection in pediatric patients with hematological and oncological diseases. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 528 patients who had hematological and oncological diseases and who were treated at 7 referral centers located in the Yeungnam region. Among the 528 patients, 27 with definite diagnosis of 2009 H1N1 infection were the subjects of this study. All patients were divided into the following 3 groups: patients who were receiving chemotherapy (group 1), patients who were immunosuppressed due to a non-malignant hematological disease (group 2), and patients who were off chemotherapy and had undergone their last chemotherapy course within 2 years from the influenza A pandemic (group 3). RESULTS: All 28 episodes of 2009 H1N1 infection were treated with the antiviral agent oseltamivir (Tamiflu(R)), and 20 episodes were treated after hospitalization. Group 1 patients had higher frequencies of lower respiratory tract infection and longer durations of fever and hospitalization as compared to those in group 2. Ultimately, all episodes resolved completely with no complications. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that early antiviral therapy did not influence the morbidity or mortality of pediatric patients with hematological and oncological diseases in the Yeungnam region of Korea after the 2009 H1N1 infection. However, no definite conclusions can be drawn because of the small sample size.
Child ; Fever ; Hematologic Diseases ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Influenza A virus ; Influenza, Human ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Natural History ; Oseltamivir ; Pandemics ; Referral and Consultation ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Retrospective Studies ; Sample Size

This paper aims at clarifying the relationship of physiological heat and pathological heat(fever) using the theoretical scheme of Georges Canguilhem as is argued in his famous book The Normal and the Pathologic. Ancient authors had presented various views on the innate heat and pathological heat. Some argued that there is only pathological heat while others, like Galen, distinguished two different kinds of heat. Galen was the first medial author who had the clear notion of the relationship between the normal heat and the pathological heat. He conceptualized their difference as the heat conforming to nature (kata phusin) and the heat against nature (para phusin). However, the Peripatetic authors, such as ps-Alexander Aphrodisias, who laid more emphasis on physiology tended to regard pathology in continuation with physiology as Claude Bernard attempted to do it. Therefore, Canguilhem's theoretical scheme turns out to be very useful in analysing the relationship of normal heat and pathological heat as is manifested in ancient Greek physiology.
Fever/*history ; Greek World/history ; History, Ancient ; *Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Physiology/*history

PURPOSE: Anastomotic leakage is a serious and life- threatening complication after colorectal surgery. The management of clinical anastomotic leakage remains largely operative. The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical characteristics and the natural history of percutaneous catheter drainage (PCD) for anastomotic leakage after colorectal surgery. METHODS: Twenty patients who were managed by PCD after anastomotic leakage between January 2002 and December 2006 were studied. Charts were reviewed for information on clinical characteristics and biolologic finding prePCD and postPCD. RESULTS: Anastomotic leakage was managed by using only PCD in 16 of 20 patients (80%), and twenty percent of patients (4/20) were managed by using a loop ileostomy after PCD. Nine patients (45%) had peritoneal drains left in place at diagnosis. Before PCD, the mean of the peak white blood cell (WBC) was 12,800/mm3, and the mean period of fever (>38degrees C) was 3.4 (2~5) days. After PCD, the mean time until the body temperature dropped below 37oC was 3.1 (1~5) days, the mean time until the WBC count dropped below 10,000/mm3 was 3.2 (0~6) days, the mean duration of ileus and diarrhea was 3.3 (0~6) days, the mean total amount of drainage during 6 days was 880 cc, and the mean length of stay after PCD was 14.9 days. CONCLUSIONS: PCD is a safe and effective method for treating anastomtic leakage in patients without sepsis or diffuse peritonitis and with CT scans that reveal no diffuse fluid collection.
Anastomotic Leak ; Body Temperature ; Catheters ; Colorectal Surgery ; Diarrhea ; Drainage ; Fever ; Humans ; Hypogonadism ; Ileostomy ; Ileus ; Length of Stay ; Leukocytes ; Mitochondrial Diseases ; Natural History ; Ophthalmoplegia ; Peritonitis ; Sepsis

A mysterious disease was first reported from Korea when it had been observed during late spring 1951 in UN Forces operating in the central area close to the 38th parallel. The disease showed distinctive features which included high fever, low blood pressure, hemorrhagic tendency and acute renal failure. Historically it was apparently a similar disease to a clinical entity designated as Epidemic hemorrhagic fever in Manchuria or Hemorrhagic nephrosonephritis in Far Eastern Russia. After Lee Ho-Wang succeeded in demonstrating Hantaan virus which caused hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), many studies has revealed various biological and epidemiological aspects of the disease. But the origin of the disease in Korea still remains unknown. This article tests some hypotheses which explain the origin of the disease and reviews the relation between the Korean War and HFRS. It is concluded that the emerging of HFRS would be closely related with the establishment of the munitions supply network in early 1951 in Chinese troop.
China ; English Abstract ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome/*history ; History of Medicine, 20th Cent. ; Korea ; Military Medicine/*history ; Siberia ; War

BACKGROUND: Platelet refractoriness is associated with immune and nonimmune factors. It has been shown that the incidence of platelet refractoriness caused by HLA alloimmunization is decreased by using of leukocyte-depleted blood components. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of platelet refractoriness in relation to the use of leukocyte removal filter and the relative importance of immune and nonimmune factors. METHODS: One hundred and eighty-five patients with thrombocytopenia, treated with multiple transfusion were classified into three groups according to use of leukocyte removal filters (group I: no filter, II: Asahi filter, III: Pall filter). Patients were considered to be refractory when the 20-hour posttransfusion corrected count increment (CCI) was less than 4.5 x 109/L on three subsequent platelet transfusions. Nonimmune factors analyzed were fever, sepsis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, splenomegaly, bone marrow transplantation, and administration of amphotericin-B. RESLUTS: The overall incidence of platelet refractoriness was 45% in group I, 44% in group II, and 47% in group III. In more than 90%, platelet refractoriness was associated with the presence of nonimmune factors. The incidence of platelet refractoriness presumably caused by alloimmunization was less than 5% and is much higher in aplastic anemia than in leukemia. Patients with pregnancy history developed platelet refractoriness with an increased incidence compared to patients without pregnancy history. CONCLUSION: This study revealed that nonimmune factors were predominant causes of platelet refractoriness regardless of transfusion of leukocyte-depleted blood components.
Anemia, Aplastic ; Blood Platelets* ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; Fever ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leukemia ; Leukocytes ; Platelet Transfusion ; Reproductive History ; Sepsis ; Splenomegaly ; Thrombocytopenia

The major presenting manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Korea are known to be cutaneous manifestations, arthritis, nephritis, and fever. The ascites due to peritoneal involvement in SLE is quite common. However, it is unusual for massive ascites to be major presenting manifestations of SLE. In this report, we describe a case of SLE patient whose disease manifested as intractable ascites. This illustrates an unusual presentation and natural history of a complex autoimmune disease.
Arthritis ; Ascites* ; Autoimmune Diseases ; Fever ; Humans ; Korea ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Natural History ; Nephritis