• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 2013

Variceal bleeding results in significant morbidity and mortality in both children and adults. The guidelines for the management of variceal bleeding are well established in adults but not in children as there have been insufficient pediatric studies of this disorder. In addition, the adult guidelines for treatment of variceal bleeding cannot be applied directly to children as the etiology and natural course of this disease differs between children and adults. Examples of recommended treatments in children include endoscopic variceal ligation as secondary prophylaxis for biliary atresia whereas a meso-Rex shunt operation for extrahepatic portal vein obstruction. In this review, we discuss prophylaxis options and some technical aspects of endoscopic management for variceal bleeding in children.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.27 no.12
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• pp.984-988
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• 1994

Between 1981 and 1992, 22 children from 1 to 15 years of age have undergone cardiac valve replacements at National medical center. The patients were composed of 14 males and 8 females and 7 patients had congenital heart disease and 15 patients had rheumatic heart disease. Three of these 15 patients have had second valve replacement due to prosthetic valve failure[PVF]. Single valve replacement were 20[Aortic 3 cases, Mitral 17 cases] and double valve replacments were 2. The overall mortality was 22.7 %. Actuarial survival rate was 77.28 $\pm$ 8.92 % and Complication free rate was 67.68$\pm$15.56%. The pediatric valve replacements can now be performed at a low operative risk although various problems are still remained and the choice of valve is prosthetic valve mainly due to its durability at the present time.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.107-114
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• 2009

Tuberculosis is a disease with high morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. Despite significant improvements in diagnostic methods, scientific researches and clinical trials for new regimens of treatment or prevention in adult tuberculosis, childhood tuberculosis has been relatively neglected. Children are at high risk of severe disease, and reactivation of latent infection in adulthood perpetuates the epidemic. Therefore, a policy of tuberculosis control in childhood should be emphasized to improve control in the total population. To understand the new view of childhood tuberculosis, this article describes changes in the disease's national epidemiology, new diagnostic tools and treatment strategies, and multi-drug resistance.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.122-129
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• 2024

Chediak-Higashi syndrome (CHS) is a rare haematological and immunodeficiency disorder that occurs in childhood leading to recurrent infections, bleeding tendencies and progressive neurological dysfunction. Partial oculocutaneous albinism occurs in almost all cases. The exact prevalence is unknown, and the disease is caused by over 70 identified mutations in the lysosomal trafficking regulator gene. The presence of a bright polychromatic appearance from hair shaft and abnormally large intracytoplasmic granules, especially within neutrophils and platelets in the bone marrow is highly suggestive. Treatment is largely supportive, and the only curative treatment is through an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Without transplant, most patients will enter an accelerated phase of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) which carries a high mortality rate. We present a young male with CHS who we had followed through and eventually developed a fulminant accelerated phase. We believe this is only the second reported case of CHS in Malaysia.

• Health Policy and Management
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.125-148
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• 1998

Accurate vital statistics are essential for a national health planning and evaluation. Among various vital statistics, birth and death rates, and infant and matemal mortality rates together with the causes of death are the very basic ones for above purposes as well as for the maternal and child health management. These statistics are based on the birth and death reports. It is required by law to report every birth and death within one month after its occurrence. However, in case of a neonatal death occurring prior to the birth report, most of the birth and death are not reported. Thus accurate infant and maternal mortality rates are not available yet in Korea. The main objective of this study is to develop a birth and infant death reporting system via computer network. We designed a new birth report form based on the current form and data from the analysis of medical record forms of 14 hospitals. A new form is basically addition of essential medical information to the current birth report form. Since a revision of the rules and regulations related wtih the birth report is necessary to use a new form, we kept the current from intact to make it acceptable to the government office for a field trial. We also developed computer programs for data input for birth and death reports at a medical faciltiy, data processing for production of maternal and child health indices at a health center, and management of maternal and child health services including immunization and postantal care at health center. The birth certificate and birth report can be printed out at a medical facility. The computer packages were programmed by Borland Delphi 3.0 and can be run under Windows 95 system. We proposed a new birth and death reporting system via computer network after a field trial for data input, transmission, and processing. The medical and demographic data o birth and death at medical facilities will be sent to health centers directly via computer network. The health center will retain the medical data for analysis and forward only the data for birth and death reports required by current regulations to the Dong, Up, or Myun Office. Once the birth or death is reported via computer network to the Dong Office, then the Dong Office will notify the baby's mother of the birth report and request to submit the baby's name by mail. When the baby's name its submitted. the Dong Office will forward the birth reports to the Common Court and Statistics Agency in the same way as the current system, Upon the completion of birth registration of the Common Court, the court will issue the birth certificate to mother which will be used in lieu of the family record. The advantages of proposed birth and death reporting system via computer network ar as follows ; I) The accuracy, timing, and completeness of reporting will be improved and more accurate maternal and child health indices can be obtained, ii) The maternal and child health services of health center will be obtained, iii) Epidemiologic data for pregnancy and birth can be obtained, iv) Manpower for birth and death reporting will be saved.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Pharmacy
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.223-230
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• 2015

Background: 8,000 children in North Korea died before they reached the 1 year after births in 2013. The high mortality rate of children under five years of age is mainly caused by infectious diseases and malnutrition. The need for national pediatric immunization and supply of vaccines will be vital when the abrupt reunification occurs. Objective: The purpose of this study is to scrutinize the pediatric immunization coverage of North Korea. Additionally it is to estimate the amount and the costs needed to vaccinate. Methods: The target population is the children of North Korea. The method is based on a pre-survey and an interview of North Korea defectors. The target interviewees searched for are as follows; doctors, teachers, and others. The interview includes questions on mortality rates and immunization coverage. The analysis is largely based on the statements of the health care providers within the selected group. Results: The interviewees are 8; 7 female and 1 male. The birth years range from 1956 to 1982. 3 out of 8 are former health care providers; a doctor, a pharmacist, and a nurse. The morbidity rate of infectious diseases exceeds the data from WHO. The immunization coverage is nearly 0% after 1980s. In order to ensure the welfare of North Korean children, at least 8,234,000 vaccine doses, requiring over 105 million U.S. dollars, are needed. Conclusion: The morbidity rate of infectious disease in North Korea is conspicuous. The preparation for supply and expenditure of vaccines is vital.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.56 no.7
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• pp.298-303
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate short-term thyroid dysfunction and related risk factors in pediatric patients who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) during childhood. Methods: We studied 166 patients (100 boys and 66 girls) who underwent HSCT at the Catholic HSCT Center from January 2004 through December 2009. The mean age at HSCT was $10.0{\pm}4.8$ years. Thyroid function of the patients was tested before and during 3 months of HSCT. Results: Out of 166 patients, 165 (99.4%) underwent allotransplantation. Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD, grades II to IV) developed in 76 patients. Conditioning regimens before HSCT include total body irradiation (n=57), busulfan (n=80), and reduced intensity (n=29). Forty-five (27.1%) had thyroid dysfunction during 3 months after HSCT (29 euthyroid sick syndrome [ESS], 6 subclinical hyperthyroidism, 4 subclinical hypothyroidism, 3 hypothyroxinemia, 2 overt hyperthyroidism, and 1 high $T_4$ syndrome). In a univariate logistic regression analysis, age at HSCT (P=0.002) and acute GVHD (P=0.009) had statistically significant relationships with thyroid dysfunction during 3 months after HSCT. Also, in a univariate logistic regression analysis, ESS (P=0.014) showed a strong statistically significant association with mortality. Conclusion: In our study 27.1% patients experienced thyroid dysfunction during 3 months after HSCT. Increase in age and acute GVHD may be risk factors for thyroid dysfunction during 3 months after HSCT. There was a significant association between ESS and mortality.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.59 no.5
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• pp.212-217
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• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the clinical features of children who have survived a water submersion incident, and to identify risk factors for prognosis. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients who experienced submersion between January 2005 and December 2014. The patients were classified into 2 groups, according to complications, and prognostic factors were evaluated. Results: During the study period, 29 children experienced submersion (20 boys and 9 girls; mean age, $83.8{\pm}46.4$ months). Submersion occurred most commonly in the summer, with the peak incidence in August. The most frequent Szpilman clinical score was grade 5 (13 patients; 44.8%), followed by grade 6 (7 patients; 24.1%), and grades 1 or 2 (3 patients; 10.3%). Five children (17.2%) in the poor prognosis group died or had hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, and the overall mortality rate was 6.9%. Poor prognosis after submersion was associated with lower consciousness levels (P=0.003), higher Szpilman scores (P=0.007), greater need for intubation and mechanical ventilator support (P=0.001), and longer duration of oxygen therapy (P=0.015). Poor prognosis was also associated with lower bicarbonate levels (P=0.038), as well as higher sodium, aspartate transaminase (AST), and alanine transaminase (ALT) levels (P=0.034, P=0.006, and P=0.005, respectively). Szpilman clinical scores were positively correlated with consciousness levels (r=0.489, P=0.002) and serum liver enzyme levels (AST and ALT; r=0.521, P=0.004). Conclusion: We characterized the prognostic factors associated with submersion outcomes, using the Szpilman clinical score, which is comparable to consciousness level for predicting mortality.

• Advances in pediatric surgery
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.18-24
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• 2010

Pancreaticoduodenectomy is the treatment of choice for adult periampullary lesions. However there has been no studies on the clinical outcomes of pancreaticoduodenectomy in children. To evaluate the clinical outcomes, records of 13 patients who underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy, from 1989 to 2009, at Seoul National University Children's Hospital were reviewed. Mean follow up period was 83 (2-204) months, the male to female ratio was 1:3.3, and the mean age was 11 (2-14) years. Ten patients underwent PPPD and 3 patients had Whipple's operation. The postoperative diagnosis included solid pseudopapillary tumor (9), cavernous hemangioma (1), pseudocyst (1), benign cyst (1), pancreatic disruption (1). Two patients developed postoperative adhesive ileus and among them one patient required operative intervention. Four patients required pancreatin supplementation due to steatorrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms. There were no postoperative mortality during the follow up period and no evidence of recurrence in SPT patients. This study demonstrates that the pancreaticoduodenectomy procedure in children is not only feasible but also safe, with no mortality and an acceptable complication rate.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.61-69
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• 2022

Purpose: Studies in adults have shown an increasing incidence of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) in patients hospitalized with acute pancreatitis (AP). There is lack of epidemiological data on CDI and its impact on hospitalized pediatric patients with AP. Methods: We analyzed the National Inpatient Sample and Kids' Inpatient Database between the years 2003 and 2016 and included all patients (age <21 years) with a primary diagnosis of AP using specific International Classification of Diseases codes. We compared clinical outcomes between children with CDI and those without CDI. Our primary outcome was severe AP and secondary outcomes included length of stay and hospital charges. Results: A total of 123,240 hospitalizations related to AP were analyzed and CDI was noted in 0.6% of the hospital. The prevalence rate of CDI doubled from 0.4% (2003) to 0.8% (2016), p=0.03. AP patients with CDI had increased comorbidities, and also underwent more invasive surgical procedures, p<0.05. AP patients with CDI had a higher in-hospital mortality rate and increased prevalence of severe AP, p<0.001. Multivariate regression models showed that CDI was associated with 2.4 times (confidence interval [CI]: 1.91 to 3.01, p<0.001) increased odds of severe AP. CDI patients had 7.24 (CI: 6.81 to 7.67, p<0.001) additional hospital days while incurring $59,032 (CI: 54,050 to 64,014, p<0.001) additional hospitalization charges. Conclusion: CDI in pediatric patients with AP is associated with adverse clinical outcomes and increased healthcare resource utilization. Further studies are needed to elucidate this association to prevent the development of CDI and to improve outcomes.