Objectives: To analyze the usefulness of flexion-extension radiographs in the diagnosis of degenerative cervical disease.Summary of Literature ReviewThere is little information about the efficacy of flexion-extension radiographs in the diagnosis of degenerative cervical disease. Methods: and MaterialsWe analyzed 1,062 patients with cervical degenerative disease who underwent flexion-extension radiographs and computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The range of motion of the cervical joints was measured. Segmental instability was evaluated using the sagittal translation (≥3.5 mm) between C2 and T1, the sagittal angulation (≥3.5°), the vertebral slip angle (≥ 10°), and the dynamic spinal canal stenosis (≤12 mm). The relationship between canal compromise on CT or MRI and radiological instability was also evaluated. Results: Cervical range of motion was 36.45°±17.63° (range, 2.1°–106.6°). Segmental instability was observed in 484 patients (nine cases of sagittal translation, 79 cases of sagittal plane rotation, 415 cases of a vertical slip angle, and 21 cases of dynamic spinal stenosis). Segmental instability was related with pathology in 218 patients with available CT or MRI (42%, including five cases of sagittal translation, 32 cases of sagittal plane rotation, 171 cases of vertical slip angle, and 10 cases of dynamic spinal stenosis. Conclusions Flexion-extension radiographs of the cervical spine were useful in diagnosing and evaluating subaxial segmental instability.

This nationwide, prospective cohort study evaluated pulmonary function and radiological sequelae according to infection severity in 73 survivors from the 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in Korea. Patients with severe pneumonia in MERS-coronavirus infection had more impaired pulmonary function than those with no or mild pneumonia at the 1-year follow-up, which was compatible with the radiological sequelae. Severe pneumonia significantly impairs pulmonary function and makes long radiological sequelae in MERS.
Cohort Studies ; Coronavirus ; Coronavirus Infections* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Middle East* ; Pneumonia* ; Prospective Studies ; Survivors

No abstract available.
Fathers* ; Humans

The anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties of artemisinin derived from water, methanol, ethanol, or acetone extracts of Artemisia annua L. were evaluated. All 4 artemisinin-containing extracts had anti-inflammatory effects. Of these, the acetone extract had the greatest inhibitory effect on lipopolysaccharide-induced nitric oxide (NO), prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), and proinflammatory cytokine (IL-1beta , IL-6, and IL-10) production. Antioxidant activity evaluations revealed that the ethanol extract had the highest free radical scavenging activity, (91.0+/-3.2%), similar to alpha-tocopherol (99.9%). The extracts had antimicrobial activity against the periodontopathic microorganisms Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. animalis, Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. polymorphum, and Prevotella intermedia. This study shows that Artemisia annua L. extracts contain anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial substances and should be considered for use in pharmaceutical products for the treatment of dental diseases.
Acetone ; Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans ; alpha-Tocopherol ; Artemisia annua* ; Dinoprostone ; Ethanol ; Fusobacterium nucleatum ; Interleukin-6 ; Methanol ; Nitric Oxide ; Pharmaceutical Preparations ; Prevotella intermedia ; Stomatognathic Diseases ; Water

Despite the prophylaxis and preemptive strategies using potent antiviral agents, cytomegalovirus (CMV) remains a major infectious cause of morbidity and mortality in allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) recipients. Delayed immune reconstitution after SCT, such as cord blood and T-cell depleted SCT with the use of alemtuzumab, has been associated with an increased frequency of CMV disease as well as CMV reactivation. CMV disease involving central nervous system is an unusual presentation in the setting of SCT. We report a case of CMV ventriculoencephalitis after unrelated double cord blood SCT with an alemtuzumab-containing preparative regimen for Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Antibodies, Monoclonal/pharmacology/*therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; Antibodies, Neoplasm/pharmacology/*therapeutic use ; Antineoplastic Agents/pharmacology/*therapeutic use ; Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation/*adverse effects ; Cytomegalovirus/drug effects ; Cytomegalovirus Infections/*drug therapy/*etiology/physiopathology ; *Encephalitis/etiology/pathology/virology ; Fatal Outcome ; Humans ; Male ; *Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma/complications/drug therapy/virology ; Transplantation Conditioning/methods

PURPOSE: Community-associated methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections are increasing. Although gentamicin (GEN) is usually susceptible against CA-MRSA, GEN is rarely considered for treatment as monotherapy. We employed an in vitro pharmacodynamic model (IVPDM) to compare efficacies of GEN against CA-MRSA with two dosing regimens [thrice-daily (TD), once-daily (OD)]. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using two strains of CA-MRSA, we adopted IVPDM comprised of two-compartments with a surface-to-volume ratio of 5.34 cm-1. GEN regimens were simulated with human pharmacokinetic data of TD and OD. Experiments were performed over 48 hours in triplicate for each strain and dosing regimen. RESULTS: MICs of GEN for YSSA1 and YSSA15 were 1 and 2 mg/L, respectively. In OD, indices of peak/MIC were > 8.6 at least, in contrast to < 6.4 in TD. A > or = 3-log10 reduction in CFU/mL was demonstrated prior to 4 hours in TD and OD, and continued until 8 hours for both strains. However, reductions in the colony counts at 24 and 48 hours were significantly larger for OD compared to TD in both strains (p < 0.001). During TD, resistance developed in YSSA1 and small colony variants (SCVs) were documented in YSSA15. No resistance or SCVs were observed during OD in both strains. CONCLUSION: TD and OD showed the same killing slopes until 8 hours. After the 24 hours of experiments, OD of GEN would be advantageous not only in having more reductions in colony counts, but also suppressing the development of resistance or SCVs for 48 hours.
Anti-Bacterial Agents/*administration & dosage/pharmacokinetics/*pharmacology ; Drug Administration Schedule ; Gentamicins/*administration & dosage/pharmacokinetics/*pharmacology ; Humans ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/*drug effects ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests

BACKGROUND: Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality in patients with hematologic malignancies. We investigated the efficacy and safety of voriconazole (VCZ) when used as salvage therapy for IA in Korean adults with hematologic malignancies who had not responded to prior antifungal therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed data, collected from January 2007 to October 2008, from patients with proven or probable cases of IA. All were probable IA cases, except for one proven case. All cases were refractory or intolerant to antifungal therapy prior to administration of VCZ. Efficacy and safety were assessed in patients treated with VCZ for more than 3 days and for more than one dose, respectively. A favorable response [complete (CR) or partial (PR)] was defined by significant improvement of all clinical symptoms, signs, and radiologic abnormalities. RESULTS: Fifty patients who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled. There were 27 male and 23 female patients with mean age of 44.4 years (range, 15-65 years). Underlying diseases were acute leukemia (35 cases), chronic myelogenous leukemia (4 cases), myelodysplastic syndrome (3 cases), lymphoma (3 cases) and other hematologic diseases (5 cases). Twenty-two patients had received chemotherapy and 13 patients had undergone hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The lung was the main infection site (94%) followed by the sinus (6%). Amphotericin B deoxycholate alone was the most frequent previous antifungal therapy. The mean duration of antifungal therapy prior to VCZ therapy was 13.9+/-8.8 days (2-44 days). The median duration of VCZ therapy was 19 days (interquartile range, 49 days). Sixteen patients (32.0%) showed favorable responses (CR:PR=8:8) at the end of VCZ therapy. The numbers of patients with stable disease, progression and death were, 6 (12%), 6 (12%) and 22 (44%) respectively. Most of those with unfavorable responses had relapsed underlying malignancies or refractory graft versus host diseases. Twelve patients developed drug-related adverse events but only one patient stopped VCZ treatment prematurely. CONCLUSIONS: VCZ demonstrated an acceptable level of toxicity in patients with hematologic malignancies but further studies are required to prove its efficacy as salvage therapy.
Adult ; Amphotericin B ; Aspergillosis ; Deoxycholic Acid ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Hematologic Diseases ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Korea ; Leukemia ; Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive ; Lung ; Lymphoma ; Male ; Myelodysplastic Syndromes ; Pyrimidines ; Retrospective Studies ; Salvage Therapy ; Transplants ; Triazoles

Successful preemptive therapy for cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in transplant patients depends on the availability of sensitive, specific, and timely diagnostic tests for CMV infection. Although the pp65 antigenemia assay has been widely used for this purpose, real-time quantification of CMV DNA has recently been recognized as an alternative diagnostic approach. However, the guidelines for antiviral therapy based on real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) have yet to be established. From November 2004 to March 2005, a total of 555 whole blood samples from 131 hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients were prospectively collected. RQ-PCR was conducted using an Artus(R) CMV LC PCR kit (QIAGEN). Both qualitative and quantitative correlations were drawn between the two methods. Exposure to the antiviral agent influenced the results of the two assays. Additionally, the discrepancy was observed at low levels of antigenemia and CMV DNA load. Via ROC curve analysis, the tentative cutoff value for preemptive therapy was determined to be approximately 2x10(4) copies/mL (sensitivity, 80.0%; specificity, 50.0%) in the high risk patients, and approximately 3x10(4) copies/mL (sensitivity, 90.0%; specificity, 70.0%) in the patients at low risk for CMV disease. Further study to validate the optimal cutoff value for the initiation of preemptive therapy is currently underway.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cytomegalovirus/genetics/*isolation & purification ; Cytomegalovirus Infections/*diagnosis/therapy ; DNA, Viral/*blood ; Female ; *Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Phosphoproteins/analysis/immunology ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods ; ROC Curve ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Viral Matrix Proteins/analysis/immunology

Recently, the role of ciprofloxacin in the empirical treatment of typhoid fever has been limited with the increased incidence of nalidixic acid-resistant Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi in South-central and Southeast Asia, as well as multidrug-resistant strains. We experienced three cases of imported typhoid fever that did not respond to ciprofloxacin. All of the blood isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin in vitro, but the patients failed to achieve clinical improvement with ciprofloxacin and were treated with ceftriaxone or azithromycin. Although nalidixic acid-resistant strains may be reported as susceptible to ciprofloxacin on disk diffusion tests, they frequently show a poor clinical response to ciprofloxacin because of the increased minimum inhibitory concentration of ciprofloxacin. Therefore, if clinical improvement is delayed or fails with ciprofloxacin, imported typhoid fever from South-central or Southeast Asia should be considered as being due to nalidixic acid-resistant strains and should be treated with high-dose ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, or azithromycin.
Asia, Southeastern ; Azithromycin ; Ceftriaxone ; Ciprofloxacin ; Diffusion ; Drug Resistance ; Humans ; Incidence ; Microbial Sensitivity Tests ; Nalidixic Acid ; Salmonella typhi ; Treatment Failure ; Typhoid Fever

BACKGROUND: Studies on cytomegalovirus (CMV) diseases in Korean hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients are lacking and do not reflect the recent trends of advances and changes. Therefore, we tried to analyze the clinical features of CMV diseases in HSCT recipients over the past 10 years at a tertiary university hospital in Korea. METHODS: Retrospective review of medical records was done for all adult HSCT patients who received transplant at the Catholic HSCT Center from January 1998 to January 2008. RESULTS: Forty-four cases (2.2%) of CMV diseases were identified. CMV pneumonia was diagnosed in 17 patients, retinitis in 16 patients, enterocolitis in 7 patients, esophagitis 1 patient, gastritis in 1 patient, duodenitis in 1 patient, and hepatitis in 1 patient. The median onset of symptom was 90 days after transplantation. Late CMV diseases accounted for 47.7%. CMV related death varied from 0 to 58.8% according to the involved organ. CMV retinitis was diagnosed relatively later in the course of transplantation mostly in patients who had chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD). On the contrary, CMV enterocolitis mainly occurred in patients who suffered from acute GVHD. The overall concurrent CMV reactivation was documented to be 63.6%; the concurrent CMV reactivation was observed only in 37.5% of patients with retinitis. CONCLUSIONS: We observed some differences in the pattern of CMV disease manifestation according to the involved organ and reconfirmed the fact that CMV pneumonia is the most common and fatal disease in HSCT recipients. Additionally, CMV retinitis was not uncommon in HSCT recipients. Since specific marker does not exist in predicting retinitis, regular ocular examination should be done thoroughly, especially in patients with chronic GVHD.
Adult ; Cytomegalovirus ; Duodenitis ; Enterocolitis ; Esophagitis ; Gastritis ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Hepatitis ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Pneumonia ; Retinitis ; Retrospective Studies ; Transplants