• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.69 no.3
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• pp.163-170
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• 2010

Background: Pulmonary tuberculosis remains a health concern in Korea despite major progress in the development of new strategies for diagnosing and treating tuberculosis. In particular, the diagnosis of newly developed pulmonary tuberculosis is on the rise in elderly persons. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical, radiographic characteristics, and treatment outcomes of pulmonary tuberculosis in the elderly. Methods: The medical records of 113 young (<65 years old) and 112 elderly (${\geq}65$ years old) pulmonary tuberculosis patients diagnosed at Chungnam National University hospital between January 2007 and December 2008 were reviewed. Results: There was no difference in the prevalence of typical symptoms between the younger and the elderly group. Dypsnea was the only symptom that occurred more frequently in the elderly group (16.8% vs 5.5%, p=0.008). On radiological study, pneumonic infiltration type was more common in the elderly group (28.6% vs 16.8%, p=0.035). Sputum Acid fast bacilli smear positivity rate was similar between the 2 groups. Elderly patients with anti-tuberculosis medication had more frequent adverse drug reactions; however, there was no significant difference between the 2 groups in the number of patients required to stop medication due to an adverse drug reaction. There were more patients lost to follow-up in the elderly group (22/112, 19.6% vs 11/113, 9.7%, p=0.036). Conclusion: The majority of elderly patients did not complete the treatment, resulting in a poorer outcome. Therefore, we need to make an effort to support the continued screening of elderly patients by making this economically feasible.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.80-84
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• 2011

Empyema necessitatis refers to empyema that extends into the extrapleural space through a defect in the pleural surface. Tuberculous empyema necessitatis is a rare complication of tuberculosis. We experienced a 21-month-old boy with tuberculous empyema necessitatis with osteomyelitis in the right $7^{th}$ rib. He presented with a mass on the right lateral chest wall, which was soft and nontender, enlarging for one month. He also had mild fever. The plain radiograph of his chest revealed soft tissue swelling and calcified lymph node on the left axilla, and his PPD skin test was positive. CT scan of the chest showed empyema necessitatis at the right lower chest and upper abdominal walls with osteomyelitis of the right $7^{th}$ rib. He did not have concurrent pulmonary tuberculosis. Surgery was performed for diagnosis and treatment. In histopathologic findings, chronic granulomatous inflammation with caseation necrosis was shown and was positive for acid fast bacilli stain. In addition, M. tuberculosis complex was found as etiology by polymerase chain reaction. The patient has been treated with anti-tuberculous medication without any specific complication.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.75 no.6
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• pp.238-243
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• 2013

Background: The aim of our study was to evaluate the "diagnosis changed" rate in patients notified as tuberculosis (TB) on the Korean TB surveillance system (KTBS). Methods: A total of 1,273 patients notified as TB cases on the KTBS in one private tertiary hospital in 2011 were enrolled in the present study. Patients were classified into three groups: "diagnosis maintained", "diagnosis changed" (initially notified as TB, but ultimately diagnosed as non-TB), and "administrative error" (notified as TB due to administrative errors). Results: Excluding 17 patients in the "administrative error" group, the "diagnosis maintained" and "diagnosis changed" groups included 1,097 (87.3%) and 159 patients (12.7%), respectively. Common causes of "diagnosis changed" were nontuberculous mycobacterial (NTM) disease (51.7%, 61/118), and pneumonia (17.8%) in cases notified as pulmonary TB, and meningitis (19.5%, 8/41) and Crohn's disease (12.2%) in cases notified as extrapulmonary TB. Being older than 35 years of age (odds ratio [OR], 2.18) and a positive acid-fast bacilli stain (OR, 1.58) were positive predictors and a TB-related radiological finding (OR, 0.42) was a negative predictor for a "diagnosis changed" result via multivariate logistic regression analysis in pulmonary TB cases. Conclusion: Because of a high "diagnosis changed" rate in TB notifications to the KTBS, the TB incidence rate measured by the KTBS may be overestimated. Considering the worldwide trend toward increased NTM disease, the "diagnosis changed" rate may increase over time. Thus, when reporting the annual TB notification rate in Korea, the exclusion of "diagnosis changed" cases is desirable.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.52 no.4
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• pp.411-418
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• 2002

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis(PAP) is a disorder in which an insoluble, proteinaceous material, rich in phospholipids, is deposited in the alveoli and bronchioles. The deficiency in the clearance and degradation of the intra-alveolar phospholipoproteinaceous material in PAP most likely represents a dysfunction of the type II pneumocytes. Although the pathogenesis and causative treatment of PAP is unclear a whole lung bronchopulmonary lavage is a relatively safe and effective treatment. Here we experienced a case of pulmonary alveolar proteinosis in a 62 year old female patient who had pulmonary tuberculosis approximately 20 years ago. She complained of aggravated dyspnea and chronic cough, and presented fine inspiratory crackles at both lung fields, diffuse ground glass opacity with some area of consolidation and smooth interlobular septal thickenings in both upper, right middled lobes, and a portion of right lower lobe. Optical microscopy of the lung tissue obtained by and open lung biopsy revealed many granulomas containing acid-fast smear positive bacilli and diffuse homogeneous PAS-positive fluid in the alveolar space. Immunohistochemical stain showed surfactant. A in the alveolar space. Antituberculosis drugs with bronchoalveolar lavage were used to treat the disease. Thereafter she showed improvement in her symptoms and a partial improvement in the chest X-ray and HRCT findings. We present a case of PAP associated with pulmonary tuberculosis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.68 no.5
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• pp.280-285
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• 2010

Background: $QuantiFERON^{(R)}$-TB Gold In Tube (QFT-G IT) has been used for diagnosing latent tuberculosis infection and active tuberculosis (TB) since 2007. However, there has not been enough data on QFT-G IT for universal use in children. In this study, we evaluated the clinical usefulness of the QFT-G IT in pediatric practice. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 70 patients younger than 18 years of age who had taken QFT-G IT and had a tuberculin skin test (TST) between July 2007 and July 2009 at Wonju Christian Hospital. The subjects were divided into two groups, asymptomatic TB exposure group and disease group. Four patients who were taking immunosuppressants during the study period were excluded. Results: A total of 66 immunocompetent children were included in this study. Among 27 asymptomatic children who had contact histories of TB, 6 (22.2%) were found to be positive by QFT-G IT. Eleven (40.7%) and 5 (18.5%) children were found to be positive by TST with cutoff values of ${\geq}5mm$ and ${\geq}10mm$, respectively. Agreement was fair to good between QFT-G IT and TST (${\kappa}=0.59$: cutoff value ${\geq}5mm$, ${\kappa}=0.7$: cutoff value ${\geq}10mm$). In disease group, 14 patients (35.9%) were diagnosed with active tuberculosis, 8/14 (57.1%) were positive on TST and 9/14 (64.3%) on QFT-G IT. The positive rate of acid-fast bacilli smear, TB-polymerase chain reaction, and culture for tuberculosis was 11% (1/9), 27.3% (3/11) and 33.3% (3/9), respectively. Conclusion: Our data support that the QFT-G IT can be used as an additional diagnostic tool for latent and active tuberculosis infection in children.

• Korean Journal of Head & Neck Oncology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.169-176
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• 1996

Tuberculous cervical lymphadenitis is still an important cause of neck mass in Korea. Tuberculosis is an important differential diagnosis in patients of cervical lymphadenopathy. Rapid and sensitive test for the diagnosis of tuberculosis is essential for the approapiate treatment. Up to now, conventional diagnostic methods for M. tuberculosis were acid-fast bacilli(AFB) stain and culture of M. tuberculosis. The direct microscopic examination of AFB by Ziehl-Neelsen stain is rapid, but often negative. The culture for M. tuberculosis is time-consuming, taking 4 to 8 weeks. Recently various methods to detect Mycobacterial DNA, including PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism(RFLP) analysis have been reported. Here we represent a simple method for the confirmation of M. tuberculosis and exclusion of the other Mycobacterial species by RFLP analysis and silver staining of polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis after nested PCR for a repetitive DNA sequence(IS986) specific for M. tuberculosis from fresh or paraffin-embedded biopsy specimens. This result leads us to conclude that this method is simple, rapid and possibly applicable to confirm M. tuberculosis and rule out the other Mycobacteria species from the clinical specimens in the clinical laboratories.

• Journal of Yeungnam Medical Science
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.71-79
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• 2015

Background: Recent studies have shown that the nontuberculosis mycobacterium (NTM) recovery rate in clinical cultures has increased within Korea. However, another study conducted by a secondary hospital within Daegu reported different results. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand and evaluate the microbiological distribution and clinical features of NTM in Daegu. Methods: A retrospective study was conducted on 11,672 respiratory specimens undergoing acid fast bacilli (AFB) culture from 6,685 subjects who visited Yeungnam University Respiratory Center from January 2012 to December 2013. Results: Of the 11,672 specimens undergoing AFB culture, 1,310 specimens (11.2%) showed positive results. Of these specimens, NTM was recovered from 587 specimens, showing a recovery rate of 44.8%. Identification test for NTM was performed on 191 subjects; the results were as follows: M. avium-intracellulare complex (MAC) 123 (64.4%), M. abscessus 20 (10.5%), M. kansasii 12 (6.3%), and 33 other NTM germ strains. Of the 382 subjects with NTM, 167 were diagnosed with pulmonary NTM disease (43.7%), however virulence differed depending on NTM strain. Multivariate analysis showed that nodular bronchiectasis, the nodules, and finding consistent with cavity under imaging study were statistically significant for triggering pulmonary NTM disease. AFB culture showing MAC and M. abscessus was statistically significant as well. Positive predictive value for NTM polymerase chain reaction (NTM-PCR) was 88.6%. Conclusion: Results for NTM recovery rate within the Daegu area were similar to those for the Seoul metropolitan area. We can assume that NTM infection is increasing in our community, therefore AFB-positive subjects (1) should undergo NTM-PCR, (2) should have their culture results checked for differentiation of mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) from NTM, and (3) undergo NTM identification test to confirm its type. Administration of treatment with the above results should be helpful in improving the patients' prognosis.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.151-158
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• 1976

The tuberculin test have been widely utilized to diagnose tuberculosis of the dairy cattle. It was reported that approximately 70% of the dairy cattle with positive tuberculin reaction in Korea had been non-pathogenic lesion. So the studies on the specific method to diagnose tuberculosis of them is really need in Korea. Therefore this study investigated upon the diagnostic method for cattle tuberculosis in the aspect of cellular-immunology. The results obtained in this investigation are summarized as follows: 1. All the tuberculin tests to the swine inoculated with BCG.(B group), Mycobacterium avium (A group) and Mycobacterium smegmatis (S group), respectively, were represented high positive reaction and were no differences in the species of inoculated bacteria. 2. In the migration inhibition test using Iymphocyte in circulating blood of the swine inoculated with three species of acid-fast bacteria respectively, the test to A group was represented slight positive for migration in the presence of $15{\mu}g/ml$-PPD and the other reaction were clear and total positive for migration inhibition in the presence of $25{\mu}g/ml$-PPD or more, and the test to B group was the same results as to A group approximately. The test to S group was represented slight positive for migration inhibition in the presence of $15{\mu}g/ml$-PPD, but the results were the same in the presence of $25{\mu}g/ml$-PPD and $35{\mu}g/ml$-PPD. These results showed that there were remarkable differences between group A, B and group S in the presence of $25{\mu}g/ml$-PPD and $35{\mu}g/ml$-PPD. 3. The transformation rates of lymphocyte in PPD treated tissue culture had no significance without any relation between PPD treatment and non-treatment but A group and B group showed significance. And A group and B group showed high significance in comparison with N group and S group in the LSD examination. 4. The infection rated in lymphocyte of BCG inoculated after 3 days tissue culturing were represented those of high infection but its cellular degeneration rates almost did not change. The infection rates in bacilli in N group and S group were low but after 3 days inoculation it shewed higher cellular degeneration.

• Korean Journal of Microbiology
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• v.45 no.3
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• pp.281-285
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• 2009

In this study, we compared the BacT/Alert liquid culture system with Ogawa and $L\ddot{o}wenstein$-Jensen (L-J) media for sputum culture and drug susceptibility test (DST) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Rapid liquid culture systems have been widely employed both for primary cultures of M. tuberculosis from clinical specimens and for drug susceptibility test because of its greater sensitivity and faster turn-around time than the conventional egg-based culture methods (Ogawa, $L\ddot{o}wenstein$-Jensen media). Sputum specimens were decontaminated with N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NALC)-4% NaOH and inoculated into the BacT/Alert culture bottles and Ogawa media. 95 from among 135 sputa were smear-positive, 97 (71.9%) were culture-positive by the BacT/Alert culture system, while 89 (65.9%) were positive by Ogawa media. The mean time to culture-positive by the BacT/Alert process system was about 11.3 days, which was significantly shorter than that by Ogawa media (22.4 days). Of 32 M. tuberculosis cultures examined for drug sensitivity, the concordant rate between the two methods (BacT/ Alert liquid culture system, $L\ddot{o}wenstein$-Jensen media) ranged from 87.5% for isoniazid and 90.6% for rifampicin.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.46 no.1
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• pp.96-102
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• 1999

A 40-year-old female presented with fever and cough which had lasted for 3 months. Three years previously systemic lupus erythematosus had been diagnosed, and at that time 10mg of prednisone per day was prescribed. Crackles were heard at the base of the lung and her chest roentgenogram revealed diffuse infitrates in both lower lung fields. Despite of empirical antibiotics and antituberculous medication consisting of isoniczid, rifampicin and ethambutol, the patients condition deteriorated. We performed open lung biosy and numerous nodules with necrosis as well as acid fast bacilli were observed. After biochemical tests and sequencing, the organism was identified as Mycobacterium abscessus. The patient was treated with imipenem and amikacin ; patient's condition, as indicated by both symptoms and roentogenogram, subsequently improved.