• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.3-10
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• 2000

Objectives : The author wanted to summarize the psychiatric and social aspects of the patients with hepatitis B virus infection. Methods : The author reviewed all pertinent citations in the Medline database from 1966 to 1999. Results : Psychiatric problems in this population include delirium, psychotic disorder due to general medical condition(especially mania), anxiety, depression, adjustment disorder, alcohol abuse/dependence, and drug abuse/dependence. Social aspects of the patients with hepatitis B viral infection relate to the stigma of being a carrier, guilty feeling about infection, guilty feeling about increased family burden, impacts of having hepatitis on interpersonal relations, sexual difficulties, and job loss with increased financial burden, and health care worker's refusal. Conclusions : Appropriate early educational counseling interventions regarding the expected course and psychosocial intervention should be tailored to the sociocultural needs of special populations. Those interventions will increase compliance of treatment and prevent progression to hepatocellalar carcinoma from hepatitis.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.50 no.8
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• pp.794-798
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• 2007

Hepatopulmonary syndrome is a triad that includes: hepatic dysfunction, intrapulmonary vascular dilatation and abnormal arterial oxygenation. The incidence of intrapulmonary vascular dilatations, in adults with end-stage liver disease, has been reported to be 13% to 47%, however the incidence in children is unclear and the cases in Korean children have never been reported. The hepatopulmonary syndrome may occur as a result of chronic liver disease following nonalcoholic steatohepatitis in children with hypothalamic or pituitary dysfunction. We report a case of hepatopulmonary syndrome in a 13-year-old child who had rapidly progressive liver dysfunction secondary to panhypopituitarism after craniopharyngioma resection. Careful monitoring and treatment of endocrine abnormalities and metabolic status, as well as liver function, are required in all children undergoing pituitary tumor resection.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.81 no.5
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• pp.1069-1082
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• 2020

Coverage by National Health Insurance (NHI) was expanded in the abdominal imaging area as follows: upper abdominal ultrasound on April 1, 2018, lower abdominal ultrasound on February 1, 2019, and abdominal MRI on November 1, 2019. Many patients can benefit from the expansion of NHI coverage. Newly included diseases for NHI coverage includes liver cirrhosis, gallbladder polyps, hepatic adenoma/dysplastic nodules, pancreatic cysts, autoimmune pancreatitis and bile duct stone disease. However, the expansion of coverage made each examination more complex, including indications, follow-up strategy, the number of examination per patients, the standard images to be acquired, and the standard forms of the radiological report. Therefore, more careful consideration is mandatory when an abdominal imaging examination is prescribed and conducted.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Inherited Metabolic disease
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.55-62
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• 2020

A 22-month-old girl who had taken iron supplements due to iron deficiency anemia, presented bloody mucoid stool for one month. She had a bruise at the right periorbital area due to minor trauma and hepatosplenomegaly. Laboratory studies showed anemia, thrombocytopenia, elevated alkaline phosphatase (ALP), hypophosphatemia, decreased haptoglobin, hypocomplementemia, negative direct/indirect Coomb's test, normal vitamin D3 level and high PTHi. Wrist x-ray showed no signs of rickets. The abdominal ultrasound showed only accessory spleen. Tandem mass spectrometry was normal. During follow up, bloody stool regressed after seven days of withdrawal of iron supplement and cow milk, and the total CO2 level had been within 15-20 mEq/L with normal anion gap. NGS (next generation sequencing) panel test for evaluation of renal tubular acidosis showed negative results. After low dose steroid and vitamin D supplements under the impression of hypocomplementemic vasculitis, thrombocytopenia, C3/C4, decreased haptoglobin, and elevated ALP level became normal. At 57 months of age, laboratory findings showed elevated liver enzyme, ALP and gamma-glutamyl transferase again. And liver cirrhosis with splenomegaly and diffuse renal disease were reported with abdomen CT scan. Liver biopsy reported macro- and micronodular cirrhosis. Urine organic acid profile showed elevated succinylacetone level. Whole exome sequencing revealed novel compound heterozygous mutations (NM_00137.2:c.107T>C, NM_00137, 2:c.614T>C) in FAH gene and confirmed by Sanger sequencing. Consequently, the patient was diagnosed as chronic hereditary tyrosinemia type I. She started low phenylalanine/tyrosine diet and nitisinone treatment. Our case had presented symptoms very slowly, which is the first case of chronic tyrosinemia type I in South Korea.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.199-206
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• 2001

Purpose: To review the clinical and laboratory features of patients with Wilson disease at diagnosis. Methods: In this retrospective study, records of all 20 patients, who were diagnosed as having Wilson disease at the Paik hospital in Busan from 1990 to 2000, were reviewed. Results: Out of 20 patients, 12 pateints (60%) have hepatic presentation alone, 2 patients (10%) have neurologic presentation, 4 patients (20%) have hepatic and neuropsychiatric presentation, and one patient (5%) has hematologic presentation at diagnosis. One patient (5%) has neither symptom nor laboratory finding of Wilson disease except very low serum ceruloplasmin level and positive family history. Family screening test revealed 3 cases of Wilson disease. 12 patients were revealed to be combined with liver cirrhosis at diagnosis. Conclusion: Early diagnosis and treatment is very important in patients with Wilson disease. Children or adolescents who manifest symptoms of hepatitis, who has prolonged elevation of liver enzymes, and has family history of hapatitis of unknown origin, with mild hematologic or urinary abnormalities must be suspected to have Wilson disease. Also, in adolescents with extrapyramidal symptoms or other neuropsychiatric symptoms, liver function test should be done.

• Herbal Formula Science
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.119-139
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• 1998

This study was to investigate the protective and effects of Ikgukwhan and Ikgukbowhawhan on the liver cirrhosis or fibrosis induced by prolonged bile duct ligation; a new experimental model for cirrhosis and the intraperitoneal injection of dimethylnitrosamine in the rat. The development of fibrosis or cirrhosis and its inhibition by the two prescriptions were examined by the chemical analysis of AST, ALT, and hydroxyproline. The results obtained were as follows. 1. The increase of serum asparate aminotransferase induced by bile ductligation was inhibited by the administration of Ikgukwhan and Ikgukbowhawn extract. 2. The increase of serum alanine aminotransferase induced by bile duct ligation was inhibited by the administration of Ikgukwhan and Ikgukbowhawhan extract. 3. The increase level of serum AST and ALT induced by the intraperitoneal injection of dimethylnitrosamine was inhibited by the administration of Ikgukwhan and Ikgukbowhawhan extract. 4. The increase level of hydroxyproline volume in the damaged liver tissues in the rat was decreased by the oral administration of Ikgukwhan and Ikgukbowhawhan extract. But there were no significant differences in the inhibition rate between the two experimental groups.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.51 no.1
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• pp.17-24
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• 2001

Background : Community-acquired pneumonia(CAP) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Recently, the evolution of drug-resistant microorganisms has become a serious problem in CAP management. Specific antimicrobial therapy is the cornerstone of CAP management. However, obtaining an accurate etiologic diagnosis clinically is not easy and empirical antimicrobial treatment is usually administered prior to the correct microbiologic diagnosis. In this study, the clinical usefulness of empirical CAP treatment was investigated. Methods : A total 35 cases were studied prospectively over a 16-month period in Mokpo Catholic Hospital from Dec. 1995 to Mar. 1997. The microbiologic diagnosis was made by sputum, blood culture, a specific serum antibody test and an immunologic study. Results : The causative organisms were isolated in 10 (30%) out of 33 cases: 8 cases and 1 case on the sputum culture and blood culture respectively, and 1 case by an indirect hemagglutinin test. 12 cases had underlying diseases: pulmonary tuberculosis 4, alcoholism 4, diabetes mellitus 3, and liver cirrhosis 1. Antimicrobial treatment was given empirically and all cases recovered. Conclusion : A definite microbiologic diagnosis before commencing the appropriate treatment in CAP is not straightforward. Empirical therapy according to a clinical assessment is important and helpful. However, every effort to make the correct etiologic diagnosis should be taken.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.205-212
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• 2017

Chronic diffuse hepatopathy is one of the important clinical tasks to reduce mortality and morbidity due to liver cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the criteria for predicting liver and chronic liver disease using Fibroscan based on ultrasound diagnosis. Serum and liver stiffness measurement(kPa) were analyzed in 280 patients and cut-off values of liver stiffness measurement for predicting fatty liver and chronic diffuse hepatopathy were determined using ROC curve analysis. Bilirubin and PT(prothrombin time) were not related to disease prediction(p=0.243, p=0.115). Serum glucose and triglyceride levels were significantly higher in the liver (p<0.05). The cut-off value for predicting chronic diffuse hepatopathy was determined as 10.3 kPa(AUC 0.98, sensitivity 94.94%, specificity 94.93%) in the order of control group, fatty liver and chronic diffuse hepatopathy. Therefore, it will be used as a primary tool for the diagnosis of chronic liver disease patients with quantitative evaluation.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.337-343
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• 2020

An enlarged spleen can be caused by infections, cirrhosis and other liver diseases, blood diseases characterized by abnormal blood cells, problems with the lymph system, immune diseases, or other conditions. Therefore, knowing the normal size of the spleen is helpful for the diagnosis of spleen and may be useful for follow-up. Ultrasonographic examination may be considered normal size if the maximum length is less than 12 cm and less than 5 cm in thickness, but may vary depending on sex and race. We aimed to present the normal range of spleen size by measuring the spleen size by ultrasonography in 20's normal adult Korean. The length of the male spleen was 10.95±1.07 cm and the width was 4.48±0.61 cm. The female length was 9.20±1.30 cm and the width was 3.55±0.44 cm. There was a significant difference (p<0.001). The spleen length increased with increasing height (r=.57) and there was a significant positive linear relationship with increasing spleen length as body weight increased(r=.63). In normal adults, 5 men and 2 women had a spleen length of more than 12 cm and 2 men with a size exceeding 13 cm.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1360-1367
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• 2009

Liver fibrosis is a process of healing and scarring in response to chronic liver injury. Following injury, an acute inflammation response takes place resulting in moderate cell necrosis and extracellular matrix damage. To develop a novel therapeutic approach in hepatic fibrogenesis, we examined the simultaneous suppression of the transcription factors NF-$\kappa$B and Sp1, which regulate acute inflammation and continuous deposition of extracellular matrix in liver fibrosis. We employed chimeric decoy oligodeoxynucleotide containing the consensus sequences of both NF-$\kappa$B and Sp1 binding sites, to suppress these transcription factors simultaneously. Treatment of chimeric decoy oligodeoxynucleotide reduced the activity of hepatic stellate cells in vitro, and decreased the expression of fibrotic and proinflammatory gene responses in a mouse model of liver fibrosis. These results suggest that chimeric decoy oligodeoxynucleotide strategy can be a potential therapeutic application to prevent liver fibrosis.