• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.28 no.3
• /
• pp.357-363
• /
• 1994

We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of $^{99m}Tc$-DISIDA scintigrauhy as a mean of differentiating biliary atresia from neonatal hepatitis. $^{99m}Tc$-DISIDA scintigraphy was visually interpreted by assessing the presence or absence of radioactivity in the intestine or gall bladder. In patients without intestinal radioactivity, we measured the hepatic retention index and the hepatic uptake index. The hepatic retention Index was expressed as the amount of change of liver activity from 5 minutes to 30 minutes postinjection. The hepatic uptake Index was graded visually with 5 minute images using the following scoring scheme : grade 0(normal hepatic uptake), grade 1(decreased hepatic uptake), grade 2(hepatic uptake equal to cardiac uptake), and grade 3(hepatic uptake less than cardiac uptake). Age, total bilirubin, and hepatic uptake index were compared between the biliary atresia and the neonatal hepatitis group, between neonatal hepatitis patients with and without intestinal radioactivity, and between the biliary atresia and neonatal hepatitis patients with absent intestinal radioactivity. The results were as follows ; 1) None of the 30 biliary atresia patients showed intestinal radioactivity, while 31/40 neonatal hepatitis patients showed intestinal radioactivity. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the presence of intestinal radioactivity ?or the diagnosis of biliary atresia was 100%, 78%, and 87%, respectively. 2) In patients with absent intestinal radioactivity the mean hepatic retention index was $1.5{\pm}0.6$ in the 16 biliary atresia patients, and $1.1{\pm}0.2$ in the 7 neonatal hepatitis patients(p<0.01). All 7 patients with hepatic retention index over 1.5 had biliary atresia. But there were 9 patients with biliary atresia below 1.5. 3) No significant differences were found in age, total bilirubin, or hepatic uptake Index between biliary atresia and neonatal hepatitis patients. However there were differences in age, total bilirubin, and hepatic uptake index between neonatal hepatitis patients with and without intestinal radioactivity. The hepatic uptake index was significantly lower, age was old, and total bilirubin was low in the group with intestinal radioactivity compared the group without intestinal radioactivity(p<0.05). Relation between total bilirubin and the hepatic uptake index was that total bilirubin was relatively low at normal hepatic uptake index in biliary atresia and neonatal hepatitis patients. 4) When hepatic uptake index and hepatic retention index were high it suggest that biliary atresia is more likely, considered relation between hepatic uptake Index and the hepatic retention index. Thus, we conclude that $^{99m}Tc$-DISIDA scintigraphy is accurate in the differential diagnosis of biliary atresia and neonatal hepatitis. In patients without intestinal radioactivity, the hepatic retention index and hepatic uptake index, along with the patient's age and total bilirubin level may supplement diagnosis and improve diagnostic accuracy.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine
• /
• v.28 no.2
• /
• pp.220-226
• /
• 1994

This study was performed to evaluate the clinical applicability of the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR ) kit of HCV-RNA using biotinylated and radioiodinated primers. Study subjects were 118 patients with positive anti-HCV. HCV-RNA in patient's serum was extracted by guanidium thiocyanate method. After first amplification, the product was reamplified by primers labelled with biotin and I-125. The final amplification product was defected by counting the radioactivity after incubation in avidin coated tubes. In 51 samples, the test was repeated for evaluation of reproducibility. This new method was also compared with conventional RT-PCR methods in 34 samples from patients with chronic liver disease. The results were as follows ; 1) HCV-RNA was positive in 85(97%)of 88 patients with chronic liver disease, and in 23 (73%) of 30 patients with normal liver function. 2) In comparison with conventional method, HCV-RNA was detected in 32(94%) of 34 patients with new method, whereas in 27(79%) of the same group with conventional method. 3) Repeated test with new method in 52 samples demonstrated 82% of concordant result. In conclusion, new method with biotinylated and radioiodinated primers was more sensitive than conventional method. However, great care must be taken for quality control because there were considerable interassay variation and possiblity of false positivity and false negativity.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.341-348
• /
• 1993

Automated system to analyze liver function test results is presented based on fuzzy logic knowledge. Clinician's knowledge and experience was first expressed in linguistic terms fol- lowed by conversion to numerical values to create membership functions of disease possibility for each test item and liver disease. Membership functions were then compensated for different relative importances of test items. Liver diseases considered were acute viral hepatitis (AVH), chronic persistent hepatitis(CPH), chronic active hepatitis(CAH), and liver cirrhosis(LC), Liver function test results of alanine aminotransferase(ALT), aspartate amino- transferase(AST) , glutamate dehydrogenase(GDH), ornithine carbamyltransferase(OCT) , ALT/AST, and 10* GDH/ALT in 218 patients were analyzed by the present system, welch resulted in 80% accuracy. AVH and CAH showed the highest 93 % and the lowest 58% ac- curacies, respectively, which was similar to the clinician's expectation. The simple mathemat- ical formulation of the present system would enable an easy implementation in commercial analysis instruments. Also, the identical fuzzy logic can be applied to similar diagnostic envi- ronments in general.

• Journal of Veterinary Clinics
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.316-318
• /
• 2014

A 3-year-old castrated male domestic shorthair cat was presented with a chief complaint of sudden onset of intermittent seizures occurring five times a day. Physical examination revealed the copper colored iris and loss of menace response at both eyes. Abnormalities of blood works and serum chemistry revealed mild erythrocytosis, severe microcytosis, and threefold increase in ALT activity. Additional liver function tests results were increased bile acid and $NH_3$ concentration. Radiographic study revealed multifocal nodules of the liver and an extrahepatic shunt was noted by ultraonography, which was confirmed by computed tomography as multiple extrahepatic shunts. The cat was scheduled for surgery applying an ameloid ring to occlude the shunt gradually. Diazepam and lactulose were instituted to the patient. However, clinical signs worsened despite medical management with shortened interval of seizures and the patient died due to cardiac arrest.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
• /
• v.10 no.6
• /
• pp.65-71
• /
• 2019

The propose of this study has been conducted to examine expression of c-Myc and Thymosin-${\beta}4$ in liver cirrhosis model from liver fibrosis and For the method of study, the experiment was conducted in 2 groups; liver cirrhosis model experiment group due to liver fibrosis and control group with distilled water. This study outcome showed that liver cirrhosis model experiment group had significantly higher expression of c-Myc and Thymosin-${\beta}4$. with changes to hepatic tissue of special staining and electron microscopy. In conclusion, in clinical tests regarding liver function, molecular evaluation of c-Myc and Thymosin-${\beta}4$ and their expression along with serological change and histological assessment can be utilized as a reference for diagnosing liver disease for prevention and diagnosis of the disease, Based on this research in the future, we will carry out an in-depth study by adding the types of experimental groups and related genes.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
• /
• v.21 no.1
• /
• pp.1-5
• /
• 1983

Thin layer immunoassay was carried out to demonstrate antibodies against Clcnorchis sinensis in sera from clonorchiasis patients. Saline extract of adult worm was used as antigen. TIA technique was performed as described earlier by Elwing et at. (1976), but agarose was used instead of agar. The antibody titres of sera in 60 clonorchiasis casts were higher than that of 10 healthy and 10 amoebiasis cases, but not different comparing with that of 10 paragonimiasis cases. Antibody litres in clonorchiasis gave no differences according to the age, sex, EPG in feces, eosinophilia degree of blood, level of alkaline phosphatase and transaminase (SGOT, SGPT) in sera. It is suggested that, after evaluation, the TIA might supplement or be used as an alternative to other immunodiagnostic tests already in use for the diagnosis of clonorchiasis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.70 no.3
• /
• pp.247-250
• /
• 2011

The pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza outbreak coincided with the typical Scrub typhus season, which can lead to diagnostic difficulties due to their similar and non-specific symptoms. Here we describe a case of laboratory confirmed co-infection of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza and Scrub typhus and discuss the difficulties in distinguishing the two illnesses clinically.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.113-117
• /
• 2010

Objectives : in recent years, there have been some case reports about liver injuries suspected to be caused by Heshouwu, the root of Polygonum multiflorum. So, I investigated liver function tests of patients who had taken Heshouwu, to know whether Heshouwu was hepatotoxic. Methods : I surveyed whether Heshouwu caused liver injury in patients, who had been admitted and taken Heshouwu at Dongguk University International Hospital, from May 2005 to July 2008. I looked over all the liver function tests of those patients, done during medication and 30 days after. Results : Among 1,449 inpatients, there were 124 patients who had taken Heshouwu. Among those 124 patients, 14 cases whose liver function tests were abnormal before medication were excluded. 69 cases who did not take liver function test 30 days after were also excluded. As a result, 41 patients were enrolled, and their mean dosage was 14.04(8-24) g/day, and the mean medication period was 13.8 (1-89) days. During and after medication, there were no abnormal liver function test results at all, in the enrolled cases. Conclusions : Roughly speaking, according to the above results, it seems that taking Heshouwu for about two weeks as per the commonly taken dosage did not cause hepatotoxicity, though we needs more laboratory and clinical research to reach a more definitive conclusion.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.79-83
• /
• 2010

Herbal hepatotoxicity is a one of the most often encountered controversial issues in medical society. Some believe herbs are totally safe while others regard treatment with herbs as a very common cause of hepatotoxicity. But there are no comparative clinical hepatotoxicity studies between herbal and conventional medicines. We investigated incidence of patients with abnormal liver function who were treated with herbal or conventional medicine at Dongguk University International Hospital. Each group consisted of 300 patients, who were admitted for longer than 30 days during the year 2008. We compared albumin, total bilirubin, AST (aspartate aminotransferase), and ALT (alanine aminotransferase) levels, and excludes patients who had abnormal liver function test or liver-related disease when admitted. As a result, incidence of total bilirubin, AST, and ALT elevation in the CT (conventional treatment) group was more frequent than in the TKM (traditional Korean medicine) group (p<0.05) during admission. Albumin level also decreased more frequently in the CT group than in the TKM group (p<0.05). According to these results, herbal medicine is not more hepatotoxic than conventional medicine, and not a main cause of liver injury in inpatients.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Applied Pharmacology
• /
• 1993.04a
• /
• pp.163-163
• /
• 1993

대상환자는 모두 23명이였으여, 이중 12명은 fluconazole을, 11명은 nystatin을 투여받았다. 두 군사이에 연령, 남여비, 기저질환, 진균감염의 위험요소는 차이가 없었다. 투약기간은 fluconazole군(F)이 24일, nystatin군(N)이 23일이였다. 중도탈락은 3례로 F중 MRSA ？혈증 1례, N중 오심, 구토 1례외 Stevens-Johnson증후군 1례였다. 평가가능한 20례중, F 11례중 8례와, N 9례중 4례에서 진균감염중의 예방에 성공하였고, F 3례와 N 5례는 실패하였다. 실패한 F 3례는 코의 피부조직에서 aspergillus가 중명된 1례와 경험적으로 amphotericin을 투여한 2례였고, N 5례는 혈액배양에서 Candida tropicalis가 분리된 1례와 경험적 amphotericin을 받은 4례였다. 진균의 colonization은 F중 3균주는 치료중 소실되었으나, 2례는 증가하였다. N은 1균주가 소실된 반면, 3례는 증가하였다. Colonization이 증가한 F 2례는 C. albicans와 Trichosporon beigelli가 대변에서 분리된 경우이고. M 3례는 대변에서 C. albicans가 분리된 1례, 구강에서 aspergillus가 분리된 1례, 혈액배양에서 C. tropicalis가 분해된 1례였다. 부작용은 오심 구토가 F중 1례, N중 2례 였으며, 이중 N의 1례는 증상이 심하여 투약을 중지하였다. 간기능 검사상 SGOT/SGPT의 상승은 F 12중 3례, N 11중 2례에서 관찰되었으나, 두 군사이에 통계학적으로 유의한 차이는 없었다.