PURPOSE: Adherence is a major component of successful medical treatment. However, non-adherence remains a barrier to effective delivery of healthcare worldwide. METHODS: Twenty healthcare facilities (secondary or tertiary hospitals) belonging to the Korean Academy of Pediatric Allergy and Respiratory Diseases (KAPARD) participated. Questionnaires were given to patients currently receiving treatment in the form of inhalant useor oral intake or transdermal patch for mild to moderate asthma. RESULTS: A total of 1,838 patients responded to the questionnaire. Mean age was 5.98 ± 3.79 years (range: 0-18 years). With help from their caregivers, the percentage of patients that answered “taking as prescribed” was 38.04% for inhalant users, 50.09% for oral medication users and 67.42% for transdermal users. Transdermal patch users had significantly greater adherence compared to the other 2 groups (P < 0.001). The 34.15% of inhalant users, 70.33% of oral medication users and 93.00% of transdermal patch users felt that their medication delivery system was “Easy” or “Very easy” to use (P < 0.001). “Method of administration” was deemed to be the most difficult part of the treatment regimen to follow, and 76.7% of patients preferred once-daily administration (i.e., “Frequency of administration”). CONCLUSIONS: Asthma medication adherence in young children was found to be better in the transdermal patch group. This may be due to requiring fewer doses and easy to follow instructions. From an adherence point of view, the transdermal patch seems more useful for long-term asthma control in children compared to oral or inhaled medicine.
Asthma ; Caregivers ; Child ; Delivery of Health Care ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Korea ; Medication Adherence ; Transdermal Patch

Although rare, antihistamines can cause adverse effects, including drug-induced eruptions or anaphylaxis. A 4-year-old child visited the pediatric department of a hospital for skin eruptions after administration of antihistamines, (e.g., ucerax [hydroxyzine] or leptizine [levocetirizine]), for cholinergic rashes; he did not have pruritus. Skin prick, intradermal, and drug provocation tests were performed to determine the relationship between the antihistamines and eruptions. Levocetirizine induced wheals in the skin prick test and a rash in the oral drug provocation test. In contrast, ketotifen induced no reaction in the skin prick test but showed a positive reaction in the oral provocation test. Our case report highlights that children can experience the same types of adverse reactions as seen in adults, and cross-reactivity between various antihistamines can occur.
Adult ; Anaphylaxis ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Drug Eruptions ; Exanthema ; Histamine Antagonists ; Humans ; Ketotifen ; Pruritus ; Skin ; Urticaria

OBJECTIVE: The Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS), which was implemented in 2016, needs to be assessed for its validity and reliability. Here we evaluate the relevance of emergency level assessment by analyzing the validity of KTAS as a Korean standardized triage system. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of adults who presented to a local emergency room (ER) during an 18-month period. We compared medical resources used, life-saving interventions performed, length of stay (LOS) in ER, admission rate, and mortality at each KTAS level. RESULTS: Among a total of 40,339 patients, most patients were at KTAS 4 (n=19,532, 48.4%) and the longest median LOS in ER was 450 minutes at KTAS 2. As the KTAS level increased, the percentage of medical resources used and life-saving interventions performed increased significantly. The odds of total admission and intensive care unit admission were significantly higher at KTAS 1 through 4 compared to those at KTAS 5. The odds related to admission and mortality were also significantly higher at KTAS 3 than at KTAS 4. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the KTAS, as a Korean standardized triage system of emergency level assessment, is relevant. Further, KTAS 1-3 and KTAS 4-5 are appropriate criteria to distinguish emergency and non-emergency patients.
Adult* ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Length of Stay ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Reproducibility of Results ; Retrospective Studies ; Triage*

PURPOSE: Ultrarush immunotherapy (ultra-RIT) is more convenient and higher compliant than conventional immunotherapy, but it has rarely used in clinical practice due to severe systemic reactions. This study aimed to determine the safety of ultra-RIT in children and adolescents. METHODS: We investigated 19 patients who received ultra-RIT with the same schedule between January 2011 and May 2016. They were sensitized to house dust mites (HDMs) and/or pollen and had their symptoms associated with positive allergens. Over a 1-day hospitalization period, all patients received ultra-RIT subcutaneously 3 times, increasing at hourly intervals. Systemic reactions were classified according to the World Allergy Organization grade system. RESULTS: Systemic reactions occurred in 14 patients (73.7%). The mean time to adverse reactions after the last injection was 36 minutes, and the majority of systemic reactions were pruritus and urticaria. In addition, the injection of HDM alone or HDM plus pollen caused more than grade 2 systemic reactions in about 50% each of the patients. CONCLUSION: Since ultra-RIT caused a higher incidence of systemic reactions in children and adolescents, it should be carried out cautiously in the hospitalization rather than the office.
Adolescent ; Allergens ; Appointments and Schedules ; Child* ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Immunotherapy* ; Incidence ; Injections, Subcutaneous ; Pediatrics ; Pollen ; Pruritus ; Pyroglyphidae ; Urticaria

Hypertensive brainstem encephalopathy is a rare variant of hypertensive encephalopathy. A 54-year-old female with chronic kidney disease visited our hospital because of comatose mentality. Her blood pressure was 256/206 mmHg. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed multifocal vasogenic edema in the brainstem, cerebellum, and bilateral cerebral cortical, subcortical, and deep nuclear areas. Her symptoms and radiological lesions improved when the blood pressure was decreased. This case demonstrates that these extensive lesions can be associated with an acute hypertensive crisis.
Blood Pressure ; Brain Stem* ; Cerebellum ; Coma ; Edema ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Hypertensive Encephalopathy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic

Apicoectomy ; Busan ; Classification ; Dentigerous Cyst ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Jaw ; Male ; Methods ; Observational Study ; Odontogenic Cysts ; Prevalence ; Radicular Cyst ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgery, Oral ; Tooth

Airway Obstruction ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Blood Cells ; C-Reactive Protein ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Drainage ; Early Diagnosis ; Fasciitis, Necrotizing ; Hematologic Tests ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Inflammation ; Critical Care ; Mediastinitis ; Neutrophils ; Retrospective Studies

Palinopsia means a visual image persisting for minutes to hours or reappearing episodically after the exciting stimulus has been removed. The anatomic correlation of palinopsia is not clear, whereas occipito-parietal and occipito-temporal lesions have been implicated. We describe a patient presenting palinopsia prior to motor seizures which was related to left posterior temporal lesion. A 36-year-old man had a generalized tonic clonic seizure after palinoptic positive visual afterimages. Brain MRI and Transfemoral cerebral angiography (TFCA) revealed an arteriovenous malformation of 1x1.5x2 cm3. We used oxcarbazepine for preventing recurrent seizures and planned gamma knife radiosurgery. Palinopsia is a very rare clinical manifestation as an aura of seizures. Palinopsia preceding clinical seizure as a localizing value, so that neuroimaging is mandatory in this clinical situation. This is the first reported case of palinopsia in Korea.
Afterimage ; Arteriovenous Malformations ; Brain ; Carbamazepine ; Cerebral Angiography ; Epilepsy ; Humans ; Korea ; Neuroimaging ; Radiosurgery ; Seizures ; Visual Perception

The successful treatment of community-acquired pneumonia requires appropriate, empirical antimicrobial therapy. The etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility of major pneumonia pathogens can differ by country. Therefore, the ideal treatment guidelines for community-acquired pneumonia should be based on the studies performed in each country. We developed a treatment guideline for community-acquired pneumonia for immunocompetent adults in Korea. This guideline was developed by the joint committee of the Korean Society for Chemotherapy, the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, and the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory diseases.
Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Communicable Diseases ; Humans ; Joints ; Korea ; Pneumonia ; Tuberculosis

A successful therapy of community-acquired pneumonia requires appropriate empirical antimicrobial therapy. Etiology and antimicrobial susceptibility of major pathogens of pneumonia can differ by country. Therefore, an ideal treatment guideline of community-acquired pneumonia should be based on the studies performed in each country. We developed a treatment guideline for community-acquired pneumonia in immunocompetent adults in Korea. This guideline was developed by the joint committee of the Korean Society for Chemotherapy, the Korean Society of Infectious Diseases, and the Korean Academy of Tuberculosis and Respiratory diseases.
Adult ; Communicable Diseases ; Community-Acquired Infections ; Humans ; Joints ; Korea ; Pneumonia ; Tuberculosis