• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.72 no.1
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• pp.82-87
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• 2012

In 2005, a group of mycolic acid-containing bacteria was characterized as belonging to a novel genus, Segniliparus with species Segniliparus rugosus and S. rotundus. We report a case of the S. rugosus isolated from a 54-year-old woman with radiologic features mimicking that of non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis (NTM). When the patient first visited our hospital, an acid-fast bacteria (AFB) smear tested positive and Mycobacterium tuberculosis polymerase chain reaction (TB PCR) was negative in the bronchoalveolar lavage sample. After 2 months, the growing colonies were reported as NTM, but could not be identified because they had died. One year after the initial visit, induced sputum samples showed the same results, positive AFB smear and negative TB PCR. At this point, the growing colonies were identified as S. rugosus. Therefore, we should consider Segniliparus genus as a differential diagnosis for AFB in respiratory specimens in addition to the genus Mycobacterium.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.777-780
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• 1995

Salmonellosis is one of communicable disease and still occur in sporadic in Korea frequently. They are four main clinical manifestations in salmonellosis. They are gastrocnteritis, typhoidal or septisemia syndrome, focal manifestation and carrier state. Among them, focal manifestation is rarely seen. Saphra, et al. reported that localized salmonella infection is about 5%. Localized salmonella infection frequently occur during salmonella bacteremia, but may also occur with enteric fever or gastroenteritis. Gray, et al reported 3390 cases of minor gunshot wound infection that bacterial isolates from infected wounds consisted of Staphylococcus aureus(90%), Streptococcus sp.(6%), and mixed organisms(4%). Incresed host susceptibility to infection secondary to lowered resistance due to debilitating disease is an important determinant of Salmonella infection. Since salmonella is seldom suspected as a cause of soft tissue infections, there is usually a dangerous delay in the institution of appropriate antimicrobial therapy and isolation procedure. We experienced one case of subcutaneous salmonella abscess developed on gunshot wound area in lung cancer patient, which was confirmed by pus culture.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.705-715
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• 2001

This study examined 19 papers published from 1977 to 2000 based on the objective frame evaluation. This purpose of this study was to examine the trend of Hwabyung research and to serve as a guide for the future 'Hwabyung' study. The results of studies were as follow. In the design of research, clinical studies are definitely dominant. As for the fields of research, the concept of Hwabyung was studied more frequently than the others. As for the authorship. psychiatrists prevailed but nursing professionals are on the increase. Research subject in clinical and survey study, patient was definitely dominant and the place of study was almost always a hospital (75%), data collection was higher on interview (58.3%). Hwabyung was considered unique culture bounded syndrome related to Korean culture. Frequent etiologic factor of Hwabyung were a husband's extra-marital affair, conflicts between houses wives and mothers-in-laws, and financial loss and suffering. From the incidence of Hwabyung, a greater number of patients with Hwabyung were middle aged women in the low economic and educational classes, and these were connected with the culture and the family system. The symptoms of Hwabyung included psychological and physical symptom, neurological disorder and disease behavior. Defense mechanisms and coping strategies for Hwabyung were somatization, suppression, orality, withdrawal, isolation, regression, help-seeking, complaining, and wreaking anger. Treatment of Hwabyung were medication, effort by herself, communication with families, consultation with psychologist, acupuncture, negative therapy, moxa, and Qi-kong. Psychiatric therapy, behavior therapy, nursing intervention on multi-interdisciplinary approach and psychiatric nursing approach were recommended for the nursing care of a Hwabyung patient.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.3919-3925
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• 2015

When a patient with thyroid cancer is released from isolation after I-131 treatment and return to home using a vehicle, travel time should be controlled to reduce the amount of radiation to accompanying person. As the calculation of appropriate travel time is difficult, there is no patient-specific guideline until now. If we assume that there is no excretion and no physical decay during the relatively short travel time, calculation become quite simple; total radiation dose = dose rate ${\times}$ travel time. Results of this simple calculation and conventional calculation were compared using datum from 120 patients. Travel time calculated by simple method was 56% of conventional method in 0.3 m, 91% in 0.5 m and 96% in 1 m. Simple method was safe. It can be applied easily and also can be applied to the patients with hyperthyroidism treated by I-131.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.209-223
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• 2022

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant changes. This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on patients with chronic pain. Methods: Patients with chronic pain from 23 university hospitals in South Korea participated in this study. The anonymous survey questionnaire consisted of 25 questions regarding the following: demographic data, diagnosis, hospital visit frequency, exercise duration, time outside, sleep duration, weight change, nervousness and anxiety, depression, interest or pleasure, fatigue, daily life difficulties, and self-harm thoughts. Depression severity was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the relationship between increased pain and patient factors. Results: A total of 914 patients completed the survey, 35.9% of whom had decreased their number of visits to the hospital, mostly due to COVID-19. The pain level of 200 patients has worsened since the COVID-19 outbreak, which was more prominent in complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Noticeable post-COVID-19 changes such as exercise duration, time spent outside, sleep patterns, mood, and weight affected patients with chronic pain. Depression severity was more significant in patients with CRPS. The total PHQ-9 average score of patients with CRPS was 15.5, corresponding to major depressive orders. The patients' decreased exercise duration, decreased sleep duration, and increased depression were significantly associated with increased pain. Conclusions: COVID-19 has caused several changes in patients with chronic pain. During the pandemic, decreased exercise and sleep duration and increased depression were associated with patients' increasing pain.

• The Journal of Internal Korean Medicine
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.167-175
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• 2024

Hospital-acquired bacterial infections, including vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infection (MIC: 32 mcg/ml), are common. We describe the case of a 63-year-old female patient with subarachnoid hemorrhage and VRE infection treated with Jashin-bowon-tang and Samhuang-sashim-tang for 57 days and 22 days, respectively. The therapeutic effect was assessed weekly via culture, color and viscosity of pus from a coccyx sore, and C-reactive protein (CRP). Vital signs were checked four times a day. Seventeen days after treatment, VRE was not colonized in patient and color and viscosity of pus, CRP and vital sign were improved. This case report suggests that Jashin-bowon-tang and Samhuang-sashim-tang might be an alternative option for VRE infection patients reducing the need for extended isolation periods and speeding up recovery times.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.105-162
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• 2020

In the pandemic of infectious disease, restrictions of individual liberty have been justified in the name of public health and public interest. In March 2020, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea passed the revised bill of the 「Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.」 The revised bill newly established the legal basis for forced testing and disclosure of the information of confirmed cases, and also raised the penalties for violation of self-isolation and treatment refusal. This paper examines whether and how these individual liberty limiting clauses be justified, and if so on what ethical and philosophical grounds. The authors propose the theories of the philosophy of law related to the justifiability of liberty-limiting measures by the state and conceptualized the dual-aspect of applying the liberty-limiting principle to the infected patient. In COVID-19 pandemic crisis, the infected person became the 'Patient as Victim and Vector (PVV)' that posits itself on the overlapping area of 'harm to self' and 'harm to others.' In order to apply the liberty-limiting principle proposed by Joel Feinberg to a pandemic with uncertainties, it is necessary to extend the harm principle from 'harm' to 'risk'. Under the crisis with many uncertainties like COVID-19 pandemic, this shift from 'harm' to 'risk' justifies the state's preemptive limitation on individual liberty based on the precautionary principle. This, at the same time, raises concerns of overcriminalization, i.e., too much limitation of individual liberty without sufficient grounds. In this article, we aim to propose principles regarding how to balance between the precautionary principle for preemptive restrictions of liberty and the concerns of overcriminalization. Public health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic requires a population approach where the 'population' rather than an 'individual' works as a unit of analysis. We propose the second expansion of the harm principle to be applied to 'population' in order to deal with the public interest and public health. The new concept 'risk to population,' derived from the two arguments stated above, should be introduced to explain the public health crisis like COVID-19 pandemic. We theorize 'the extended harm principle' to include the 'risk to population' as a third liberty-limiting principle following 'harm to others' and 'harm to self.' Lastly, we examine whether the restriction of liberty of the revised 「Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act」 can be justified under the extended harm principle. First, we conclude that forced isolation of the infected patient could be justified in a pandemic situation by satisfying the 'risk to the population.' Secondly, the forced examination of COVID-19 does not violate the extended harm principle either, based on the high infectivity of asymptomatic infected people to others. Thirdly, however, the provision of forced treatment can not be justified, not only under the traditional harm principle but also under the extended harm principle. Therefore it is necessary to include additional clauses in the provision in order to justify the punishment of treatment refusal even in a pandemic.

• The Journal of the Korean Society for Microbiology
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.79-93
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• 1987

The result of various researches mainly in search of 194 Shigella strains, isolated by the Health Research Centers(situated in Seoul city, Inchon city, Pusan city, Kyonggi-Do, Kangwon-Do, Chungchongnam and Buk-Do, Kyongsangnam and Buk-Do, Jollanam and Buk-Do, and Jaeju-Do) in addition to those clinical laboratories of all the general hospitals situated down twon Seoul, conducted during the month of Jan. through Dec. 85, through the reisolating-activity program following its transportation into the laboratory, particularly for a complete check on its correctiveness, are as follows: 1. Isolation processes were performed with the 194 strains obtained from each placeduring the period of investigation: 164 Strains(84.5%) of Sh. flexneri, B group; 6 Strains(3.1%) of Sh. boydii, C group; 24 Strains(12.3%) of Sh. sonnei, D group, which means there's quite a lot in B group while Sh. dysenteriae, A group was not isolated at all. 2. The isolation rate of the 164, B group for subserotype was 1b, 84(51.2%) the highest one, 2(1.2%) on 3a the lowest one, 4, on C group; In D group subserotype II showed 14(58.4%) more than subserotype I. 3. The biological data on sexuality regarding the isolation-strain showed traditional particularity. But the subserotype 1b in B group 2(2.4%) showed gas-growth from glucose. In subserotype 1a, the indole-growth was 88.9% on masculine which was considerably a good one. In the test of arginine dihydrolase subserotype I among D group showed 100% masculine rate. The subserotype 6 among B group showed 92.5% masculine. In the dissolution test of manitol, all subserotypes showed 100% maculine except subserotype 1b. In the dissolutioning test of rhamnose, the subserotype I among D group showed 100% masculine which is the unusual one. 4. Interms of the area among 13 districts examined, Kangwon-Do had 41(21.1%) which is the highest one on its ratio. 5. In terms of season on the strain isolation category, 44(22.7%) is the number isolated in April which is the highest one. 6. In terms of ages, the strain isolation ratio was notably high above the ages of 60 which was 34(17.5%). Next one was 29(14.9%) which was under the ages of 4. 7. In terms of sex, female was 113 or 58.2% while male was 74 or 38.2%, which means the female had more than the male. 8. The result of the resisting capability on the usage of 12 antibiotic medication was; 100% on chloramphenicol; 94.3% on tetracycline, 82.0% on streptomycin, 76.3% on carbenicillin, 74.7% on ampicillin, in regular order. The strain source bearing multimedication resisivity against the 5 antibiotic medication is as many as 117 or 60.3%. Of which 43.3% of 1b sub serotype, B group was the best one, and thus the resistivity against the antistrain medication seems the tendency is being changed. The summing up of the above result shows the total specific strains isolated in each branch in Korea is 194, of which the main type is Sh. flexneri 84.5%. The isolating rate is almost evenly spreading, although the Kangwon-Do showed the highest rate on the above data. It also shows female is higher than male on its statistics. The tendency on age category showed both on old and infancy generations high. However, the resistant capability against antibacteria medication or vaccine was still remaining on habitual one, particularly tending towards multimedication or vaccine trend.

• Journal of Chest Surgery
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.257-262
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• 1984

Acute purulent pericarditis, though not common in incidence after introduction of antibiotics, is still potentially life treating isease. Since 1971, we have experienced 14 cases of acute purulent pericarditis with successful treatment. Among these 14 cases, 9 cases were male and they had high occurrence on their third to fifth decades in age distribution. Isolation of causative organisms were obtained in 11 cases through the bacterial culture of infectious source which was mainly pericardial effusion or blood, and the most frequently recovered organism was the staphylococcus aureus. Pre-existing inflammatory disease preceding to pericarditis, named as antecedent disease, were proved in 12 cases, and among which contiguous extension from the intrathoracic infection such as pneumonia or empyema accounted for the majority of antecedent disease. Pericardiocentesis with administration of antibiotics were tried in all cases, but result in recovery in 1 patient only. Remaining 13 cases had persistent picture of pericarditis and necessitated surgical drainage procedure. Ten of these 13 cases were underwent the open pericardial window using a mode of anterior approach in 4 and subxiphoid approach in 6 cases respectively. Two cases of subxiphoid group were reoperated by the anterior interphrenic pericardiectomy, due to insufficient drain of too thick effusion. In remaining 3 cases, anterior interphrenic pericardiectomy was performed initially because of purulent effusion already changed into fibrinopurulent peel with thickened pericardium. Through the experience of this series, we recommended that pericardiectomy should not be reluctant in purulent pericarditis as a initial surgical procedure for advantage of complete removal of infected space and avoidance of late constrictive pericarditis.

• Korean Journal of Clinical Laboratory Science
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.97-102
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• 2010

The two new female cases of Angelman syndrome (AS) were described, which diagnosed on the basis of clinical features (dysmorphic facial features, severe mental retardation with absent speech, peculiar jerky movements, ataxic gait and paroxysms of inappropriate laughter) and neurophysiological findings. Failure to detect the deletion of the long arm of chromosome 15 or the absence of epileptic seizure were not considered sufficient to exclude a diagnosis of AS. Feeding problems, developmental delay and early signs of ataxia, especially tremor on handling objects and unstable posture when seated, proved effective as the clinical markers for early diagnosis of AS. Most of the authors agreed about the existence of three main EEG patterns in AS which may appear in isolation or in various combinations in the same patient. The most frequently observed pattern in children has prolonged runs of high amplitude rhythmic 2-3 Hz activity predominantly over the frontal region with superimposed interictal epileptiform discharges. High amplitude rhythmic 4-6 Hz activity, prominent in the occipital regions, with spikes, which can be facilitated by eye closure, is often seen in children under the age of 12 years. The EEG findings are characteristic of AS when seen in the appropriate clinical context and can be helpful to identify AS patients at an early age when genetic counselling may be particularly important.