• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• 제46권6호
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• pp.722-730
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• 2022

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the pathogenic virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with major symptoms including hyper-inflammation and cytokine storm, which consequently impairs the respiratory system and multiple organs, or even cause death. SARS-CoV-2 activates inflammasomes and inflammasome-mediated inflammatory signaling pathways, which are key determinants of hyperinflammation and cytokine storm in COVID-19 patients. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 inhibits inflammasome activation to evade the host's antiviral immunity. Therefore, regulating inflammasome initiation has received increasing attention as a preventive measure in COVID-19 patients. Ginseng and its major active constituents, ginsenosides and saponins, improve the immune system and exert anti-inflammatory effects by targeting inflammasome stimulation. Therefore, this review discussed the potential preventive and therapeutic roles of ginseng in COVID-19 based on its regulatory role in inflammasome initiation and the host's antiviral immunity.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.180-183
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• 2020

목적: 국내 초중고 학교 등교재개 이후 소아에서의 코로나바이러스감염증-2019 (코로나19) 사례의 감염경로를 파악하고자 하였다. 방법: 2020년 5월 1일부터 7월 12일까지 국가감염병감시체계에 신고된 3-18세 소아 청소년 코로나19 확진자의 사례조사서 및 역학조사서를 분석하였다. 결과: 2020년 5월 국내 초중고 학교 등교 재개 이후 7월 12일까지 총 127명의 소아 청소년 코로나19 확진자가 신고되었다. 그 중 59명(46%)은 가족 및 친지로부터 전파된 사례였으며 18명(14%)은 학원 및 개인교습 중 전파되었다. 8명(6%)은 다중이용 시설에서 전파되었으며 3명(2%)은 학교에서 전파된 사례였다. 결론: 코로나19 감염예방을 위한 관리체계가 사전에 마련되고 준비된 경우 학교 내 코로나19 전파는 드물게 나타났다.

• 대한영상의학회지
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• 제81권3호
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• pp.591-603
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• 2020

목적 본 연구는 Coronavirus disease 2019 (이하 COVID-19) 폐렴 환자의 임상 양상과 흉부 전산화단층촬영(이하 CT) 소견을 분석하고자 하였다. 대상과 방법 IRB의 승인을 받은 연구로, 51명의 COVID-19 확진 환자들을 후향적으로 분석하였다. 환자들을 임상 양상에 따라 경증과 중증으로 나누어 두 그룹 간에 임상 양상과 흉부 CT 소견을 비교하였다. 결과 총 51명의 환자(남자 22명, 여자 29명, 평균 56.5 ± 16세, 범위 22~88세) 중 37명(72.5%)은 경증, 14명(27.5%)은 중증이었다. 중증 환자들의 평균 연령(68.7 ± 12.5세)은 경증 환자들(51.8 ± 14.9세)보다 많았다(p < 0.001). 중증 환자가 기저질환을 가지고 있는 경우가 많았으며(71% vs. 41%, p = 0.049), 혈액검사에서 림프구 백분율 감소를 보이는 경우가 많았다(86% vs. 32%, p = 0.001). 흉부 CT 소견은 대부분의 환자들에서 간유리음영과 폐경화가 혼합된 양상이거나(76%) 간유리음영으로(22%) 나타났고, 양측 폐 하부, 후방, 변연부에 나타나는 경우가 많았다. 중증 환자에서 병변이 더 많은 수의 폐엽을 침범했고, CT 위중도 점수도 높았다. 결론 COVID-19 폐렴 확진 환자의 특징적인 흉부 CT 소견을 숙지하는 것이 빠른 진단과 적절한 치료에 도움이 될 것이다.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.14-21
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• 2022

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which has been rampant since the end of 2019, has evidently affected pain management in clinical practice. Fortunately, a COVID-19 vaccination program is currently in progress worldwide. There is an ongoing discussion that pain management using steroid injections can decrease COVID-19 vaccine efficacy, although currently there is no direct evidence to support this statement. As such, the feeling of pain in patients is doubled in addition to the co-existing ill-effects of social isolation associated with the pandemic. Thus, in the COVID-19 era, it has become necessary that physicians be able to provide high quality pain management without negatively impacting COVID-19 vaccine efficacy. Steroids can alter the entire process involved in the generation of adaptive immunity after vaccination. The period of hypophysis-pituitary-adrenal axis suppression is known to be 1 to 4 weeks after steroid injection, and although the exact timing for peak efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines is slightly different for each vaccine, the average is approximately 2 weeks. It is suggested to avoid steroid injections for a total of 4 weeks (1 week before and after the two vaccine doses) for the double-shot vaccines, and for 2 weeks in total (1 week before and after vaccination) for a single-shot vaccine. This review focuses on the basic concepts of the various COVID-19 vaccines, the effect of steroid injections on vaccine efficacy, and suggestions regarding an appropriate interval between the administration of steroid injections and the COVID-19 vaccine.

• 디지털융복합연구
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• 제19권3호
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• pp.253-261
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• 2021

본 연구는 간호사를 대상으로 COVID-19에 대한 호흡기 감염관리 수행도에 영향을 미치는 요인을 파악하고자 시도되었다. 구조화된 설문지를 이용하여 191명의 간호사로부터 일반적 특성, COVID-19 감염관리 지식, 불안, 피로도, 수행도를 파악하였다. 자료분석은 IBM SPSS 21.0 프로그램을 이용하여 기술통계, t-test, one way ANOVA, 상관분석, 다중회귀분석을 하였다. 본 연구에서 지식과 피로도는 양의 상관관계, 불안과 수행도는 음의 상관관계가 있었으며 COVID-19 호흡기 감염관리 수행도에 영향을 미치는 요인은 불안으로 나타났다. 간호사의 COVID-19 호흡기 감염관리 수행도를 향상시키기 위한 교육프로그램 개발 시 신종감염병에 대한 불안 정도를 관리할 수 있는 내용을 포함해야 할 것으로 보인다. 또한 간호사가 신종감염병 환자를 미리 간호해볼 수 있도록 역할극이나 시뮬레이션 교육방안 적용을 고려해 볼 필요가 있다.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제63권9호
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• pp.345-354
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• 2020

The widespread and contagious coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has become a burden in the global health domain. The subsequent discovery of the virus features and pathogenesis, and prompt and adequate management are still lacking and remain inconclusive. Children usually present milder symptoms than adults, and management focuses on providing symptomatic and respiratory supports. Several treatment modalities, including the utilization of mechanical ventilation (MV), antivirals, immune-modulating drugs, or other agents, may present promising results in reducing the symptoms of COVID-19, particularly in severe cases. Although no randomized clinical trials have been published to date, it is interesting to explore potential modalities for treating COVID-19 in children, based on review articles, case reports, and recent guidelines.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• 제53권5호
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• pp.293-301
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• 2020

Objectives: At the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, some countries imposed entry bans against Chinese visitors. We sought to identify the effects of border shutdowns on the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: We used the synthetic control method to measure the effects of entry bans against Chinese visitors on the cumulative number of confirmed cases using World Health Organization situation reports as the data source. The synthetic control method constructs a synthetic country that did not shut down its borders, but is similar in all other aspects. Results: Six countries that shut down their borders were evaluated. For Australia, the effects of the policy began to appear 4 days after implementation, and the number of COVID-19 cases dropped by 94.4%. The border shutdown policy took around 13.2 days to show positive effects and lowered COVID-19 cases by 91.7% on average by the end of February. Conclusions: The border shutdowns in early February significantly reduced the spread of the virus. Our findings are informative for future planning of public health policies.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• 제84권3호
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• pp.176-181
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• 2021

At the beginning of February 2020, Daegu faced a serious situation due to the rapid outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2. The healthcare system in Daegu Metropolitan City was ill-prepared for this sudden disaster situation. The COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing in South Korea. Daegu has limited medical resources compared to the Seoul Metropolitan Area, and it is hypothesized that a review of the outbreak therein could provide information that will be valuable for dealing with future outbreaks. The likelihood of death due to COVID-19 depends on the capacity of the area for the treatment of critically ill patients. This report reviews the overall treatment process followed for critically ill patients in Daegu.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제44권6호
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• pp.392-400
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• 2021

It has been more than a year since severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) first emerged. Many studies have provided insights into the various aspects of the immune response in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Especially for antibody treatment and vaccine development, humoral immunity to SARS-CoV-2 has been studied extensively, though there is still much that is unknown and controversial. Here, we introduce key discoveries on the humoral immune responses in COVID-19, including the immune dynamics of antibody responses and correlations with disease severity, neutralizing antibodies and their cross-reactivity, how long the antibody and memory B-cell responses last, aberrant autoreactive antibodies generated in COVID-19 patients, and the efficacy of currently available therapeutic antibodies and vaccines against circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, and highlight gaps in the current knowledge.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제21권5호
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• pp.541-544
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• 2020

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pneumonia is a recent outbreak in mainland China and has rapidly spread to multiple countries worldwide. Pulmonary parenchymal opacities are often observed during chest radiography. Currently, few cases have reported the complications of severe COVID-19 pneumonia. We report a case where serial follow-up chest computed tomography revealed progression of pulmonary lesions into confluent bilateral consolidation with lower lung predominance, thereby confirming COVID-19 pneumonia. Furthermore, complications such as mediastinal emphysema, giant bulla, and pneumothorax were also observed during the course of the disease.