• Childhood Kidney Diseases
• /
• v.22 no.2
• /
• pp.86-90
• /
• 2018

Non-infectious complications of peritoneal dialysis (PD) are relatively less common than infectious complications but are a potentially serious problem in patients on chronic PD. Here, we present a case of a non-infectious complication of PD in a 13-year- old boy on chronic PD who presented with symptoms such as hypertension, edema, dyspnea, and decreased ultrafiltration. Chest and abdominal radiography showed pleural effusion and migration of the PD catheter tip. Laparoscopic PD catheter reposition was performed because PD catheter malfunction was suspected. However, pleural effusion relapsed whenever the dialysate volume increased. To identify peritoneal leakage, computed tomography (CT) peritoneography was performed, and a defect of the peritoneum in the left lower abdomen with contrast leakage to the left rectus and abdominis muscles was observed. He was treated conservatively by transiently decreasing the volume of night intermittent PD and gradually increasing the volume. At the 2-year follow-up visit, the patient had not experienced similar symptoms. Patients on PD who present with refractory or recurrent pleural effusion that does not respond to therapy should be assessed for the presence of infection, catheter malfunction, and pleuroperitoneal communication. Thoracentesis and CT peritoneography are useful for evaluating pleural effusion, and timely examination is important for identifying the defect or fistula.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.60 no.1
• /
• pp.97-101
• /
• 2006

Coccidioidomycosis is a rare systemic fungal infection in Korea. However, the incidence of coccidioidomycosis has recently begun to increase due to the increasing incidence of people traveling overseas to endemic areas. In previously reported cases of coccidioidomycosis in Korea, the radiographic findings usually showed a solitary pulmonary nodule, pleural effusion, cavitation, and hilar lymphadenopathy, but no miliary nodules. We report a case of disseminated coccidioidomycosis with miliary nodules in an immunocompetent patient. A 32 year old male, who had traveled in Corona, New Mexico, USA, was admitted for an evaluation of persistent cough with fever. Chest radiography revealed initially diffuse multiple small nodules that appeared to be miliary tuberculosis. However, a subsequent evaluation revealed that he had disseminated coccidioidomycosis.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.54 no.3
• /
• pp.283-294
• /
• 2003

Introduction : Rapidly growing nontuberculous mycobacteria (RGM) can produce numerous types of manifestations including a pulmonary infection. Managing a pulmonary infection due to RGM is unusually difficult to treat because the organism is invariably resistant to traditional antituberculous drugs and has a varying susceptibility to other antibiotics. The experiences of treatments for a RGM pulmonary infection with various antibiotics are also limited. This study evaluated the clinical manifestations, treatment, and the therapeutic outcomes of a RGM pulmonary infection. Subjects and method : Fifty-four cases with RGM from respiratory specimens were identified between November of 1996 and September of 2002 in the Asan medical center. The medical records and radiographic findings in 20 patients who fulfilled the diagnostic criteria of nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) pulmonary disease by ATS guidelines. The clinical, laboratory, and radiological parameters between subgroups. Results : Of the 20 patients, 15 were female. The mean age was 57.7 yrs (${\pm}7.5$), and all of the patients had a history of pulmonary tuberculosis. Most (90%) had an underlying lung disease. The majority of the isolates (80%) were M. abscessus. Chest radiography showed bilateral involvement in 80% of the patients. Bronchiectasis and multiple nodules were the main findings. Cavitation was present in 35% of the patients. Even though 70 % of the patients received antituberculous drugs prior to the correct diagnosis, all of the patients eventually received antibiotics. A mean of 3.5 antibiotics were given for an average of 439 days(${\pm}168$). After completing treatment, nine patients showed improvement after a mean 591(${\pm}311$) days of treatment, whereas the antibiotic treatment was unsuccessful in 2 patients. Conclusion : Many patients with a RGM pulmonary infection show an atypical pattern of radiological findings (bronchiectasis and multiple centrilobular nodules). It is very important to differentiate between M. tuberculosis and NTM and to identify the causative organisms among the NTM because a misdiagnosis can lead to an inappropriate and prolonged treatment. Combined antibiotic treatment yielded promising results, and is recommended for treating patients with a RGM pulmonary infection.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.48 no.5
• /
• pp.802-807
• /
• 2000

Diffuse pulmonary nodular lesions have many causes. When they are caused by infection, the likely organisms are M. tuberculosis and various fungi. Silicosis, eosinophilic granuloma and pulmonary metastasis should be considered for differential diagnosis. Differential diagnosis needs detailed clinical history, physical examination and various laboratory tests. A case of persistent diffuse pulmonary nodular lesions which had persisted 5 years is reported. The patient was a 25 years old man with minimal pulmonary symptoms. Detailed past history and physical examination suggested thyroid tumor. Chest radiography showed numerous evenly sized well-defined nodules scattered in entire lung fields. Previous chest X-rays showed similar nodular lesions, which had lasted for 5 years. The number of nodules was slightly increased. Neck CT showed heterogenous mass in left lobe of thyroid gland and multiple lymphadenopathies along both internal jugular chains. Total thyroidectomy was performed. A case of lung metastasis which progressed slowly in papillary thyroid cancer is reported.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.66 no.2
• /
• pp.127-131
• /
• 2009

Most mediastinal teratomas are histologically well-differentiated tumors and benign. The majority of patients with a mediastinal teratoma are asymptomatic and their tumors are usually discovered incidentally on chest radiography. On rare occasions this tumor will rupture spontaneously into the adjacent organs. A 72-year-old female patient was admitted for dyspnea and she had a multiloculated pleural effusion in the left lung field. Although repeated pleural biopsy and pleural fluid cytology did not prove the presence of malignancy, we assumed that this was a malignant effusion because it revealed consistently high levels of carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 19-9, and the chest CT scan did not show typical fat or bone density in the mass. Secondary infection and an uncontrolled septic condition due to pleural empyema finally compelled the patient to undergo a surgical operation. Mature teratoma was the final diagnosis and she has done well without recurrence for 2 months.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.75 no.1
• /
• pp.18-24
• /
• 2013

Background: We investigated the prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) among the health care workers (HCWs) and analyzed its risk factors in South Korea. Methods: A standard questionnaire regarding the baseline demographics and risk factors for LTBI was given to each participant and tuberculin skin test (TST), QuantiFERON-TB GOLD In-Tube (QFT-GIT) assay, and chest radiography were performed. Results: A total of 493 participants, 152 (30.8%) doctors and 341 (69.2%) nurses were enrolled in eight tertiary referral hospitals. The mean age of the subjects was 30.6 years old, and 383 (77.7%) were female. Of the 152 doctors, 63 (41.4%) and 36 (23.7%) were positive by TST and by QTF-GIT, respectively, and among the 341 nurses, 119 (34.9%) and 49 (14.4%) had positive TST and QFT-GIT results, respectively. Overall, the agreement between the two tests was 0.22 by the chance corrected proportional agreement rate (kappa coefficient) in 493 subjects. Experience of working in tuberculosis (TB)-related departments was significantly associated with positive LTBI test results by QFT-GIT assay, not by TST. In multivariate analysis, only age was independently associated with increased risk of a positive TST result, while age and experience of working in TB-related departments (odds ratio, 2.29; 95% confidence interval, 1.01-5.12) were independently associated with increased risk of a positive QFT-GIT result. Conclusion: A high prevalence of LTBI was found among South Korean HCWs. Considering the association between the experience of working in TB-related departments and high risk of LTBI, QFT-GIT may be a better diagnostic test for LTBI than TST in HCWs.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.78-85
• /
• 1999

Purpose : Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia has been to be developed frequently in school age children and adolescence and hard to see under 3 year-old children. But it seems to be increased in number of patients with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia under 3-year old in clinical practice in these days. We have aimed to examine the characteristics of clinical findings of Mycoplasma pneumonia under 3 year-old children. Methods : We had performed retrospective review of medical records of 30 patients with Mycoplasmal pneumonia under 3-year old children who admitted to Department of Pediatrics, Kyunghee University Hospital from Jan. 1994 to Dec. 1997. The diagnostic criteriae was Cold agglutinin titer>1:64 or Mycoplasma antibody titer>1:80. Results : Mycoplasmal pneumonia was 30 out of 235 cases(12.7%) of total pneumonia under 3 year old children. Male female ratio was 1.3 : 1 and age distributions were 0~1y : 0, 1~2y : 8, 2~3y : 22 cases. Clinical symptoms and signs were cough(100.0%), sputum(83.3%), fever(80.0%) rhinorrhea(33.3%), vomiting(33.3%), moist rale(86.7%), decreased breathing sound(26.7%), wheezing(20.0%), and pharyngeal injection(30.0%). Thirteen out of 30 cases(43.3%) had unilateral infiltration, 10 cases(33.4%) had bilateral infiltration, 1 case(3.3%) had pleural effusion, and 6 cases(20.0%) had negative findings on chest radiography and there was no cases of atelectasis. On laboratory findings, 6 out of 30 cases(20.0%) had leukocytosis, 1 case(3.3%) had neutrophilia, 10 cases(30.0%) had eosinophilia, 17 cases(56.7%) had increased ESR, and 18 cases(60.6%) had positive CRP. Positive cold agglutinin titers(>1 : 64) were 19 cases(63.3%), and positive mycoplasma antibody(M-ab) titers(>1 : 80) were 27 cases(93.3%). Mycoplasma antibody test was more valuable than cold agglutinin test for the diagnosis of Mycoplasmal pneumonia and there was no correlation between cold agglutinin titer and mycoplasma antibody titer. Mycoplasma-polymerase chain reaction(M-PCR) was done with 13 cases, 12 out of 13 cases(92.3%) were positive. M-PCR test was valuable to the diagnosis of Mycoplasmal pneumonia but it will be needed to further study for their clinical application. Among 30 cases, 5 cases(16.7%) had complications, 3 cases(10.0%) had skin rash, 1 case(3.3%) had pleural effusion, 1 case(3.3%) had arthralgia, but all complications were mild and recovered without residual sequelae. Conclusion : The occurrence of Mycoplasmal pneumonia under 3 year-old children was not rare from this study. Clinical characteristics of Mycoplasmal pneumonia under 3-year old were normal radiologic findings in many cases, low complication rate, mild clinical course, and tend to rapid recovery compared with general manifestations of Mycoplasmal infectionsin children and adolescence. There were likely to be missed patients with Mycoplasmal pneumonia which did not diagnose by conventional serologic tests that had low sensitivity and specificity. We have to pay attention to the Mycoplasmal infection of the young children with pneumonia during epidemic periods of Mycoplasmal infection.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.54 no.1
• /
• pp.33-44
• /
• 2003

Background : Mycobacterium avium complex(MAC) is the most common respiratory pathogen in nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease. This study described the clinical characteristics of the patients with pulmonary disease caused by MAC. Materials and Methods : The clinical characteristics of 24 patients with pulmonary disease caused by the MAC, who fulfilled the 1997 American Thoracic Society diagnostic criteria for nontuberculous mycobacterial pulmonary disease, were retrospectively analyzed. Results : Fourteen patients(58%) were male and the median age at diagnosis was 61 years(range 46-75). Of the 24 patients, 16(67%) had a M. intracellulare infection, 7(29%) had a M. avium infection and one patient was not identified. Coughing (92%) and sputum (88%) were most frequently observed symptoms. The sputum smear for acid-fast bacilli was positive in 17(71%) patients. Fourteen(58%) patients had the upper lobe cavitary form and 10(42%) patients had the nodular bronchiectatic form. In a comparison between the patients with the upper lobe cavitary form and those with the nodular bronchiectatic form, significant differences were found according to sex(male 86% vs. 20%, p=0.003), smoking history(79% vs. 10%, p=0.008), the presence of an underlying disease(64% vs. 20%, p=0.036), the pulmonary function(% forced vital capacity, median 71% vs. 88%, p=0.022; % forced expiratory volume in one second, median 69% vs. 89%, p=0.051) and bilateral disease at chest radiography(29% vs. 90%, p=0.005). The time from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis was longer in those with the nodular bronchiectatic form(median 72 months, range 8-132) than those with the upper lobe cavitary form(median 22 months, range 6-60) Conclusions : MAC pulmonary disease occurs in two distinct populations with two distinct clinical presentations. For a correct diagnosis of MAC pulmonary disease, knowledge of the diverse clinical and radiological findings is essential.