• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.12 no.sup1
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• pp.85-92
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• 2009

Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in children and adolescents are influenced by diverse psychiatric components such as psychosocial stresses, familial environment, school-related situations, and comorbid psychiatric conditions. Absolutely psychiatric symptoms of pediatric patients are also affected by problems of GI system. Lots of symptoms including anorexia, dyspepsia, nausea and so on are commonly originated from either GI or psychiatric causes or both. Sometimes the negative interactions between GI and psychiatric problems aggravate the severity and eventually decline the functions of children and adolescents with GI symptoms. We summarized the common GI and psychiatric conditions which have GI and psychiatric associations. To a clinician who manages pediatric GI disorders, psychiatric considerations can be beneficial to understand the clinical manifestations of patients and to find the way to relieve them. This short and somewhat superficial review may help to have a bird's-eye view on this topic.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.26-32
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• 2011

Chronic abdominal pain (CAP) is a common complaint encountered in pediatric clinics and a great concern for patients and their caretakers as well as health care professionals. A constant challenge is detecting individuals with organic diseases or psychosomatic disorders from the majority of patients who have a functional disorder including functional dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome, functional abdominal pain, and abdominal migraine. Beginning with a detailed history and physical examination, physicians must determine a differential diagnosis of CAP by applying the symptom-based Rome III criteria to positively identify a functional disorder. These findings should then be further analyzed based on diagnostic clues and red flags that indicate the presence of specific organic diseases and/or the need for further testing. Once a functional diagnosis has been made or an organic disease is suspected, physicians can initiate an empiric therapeutic trial. Since psychological distress accompanies both organic and non-organic abdominal pain in children, a cooperative diagnostic approach involving pediatricians and psychiatrists is recommended.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.75-81
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• 2009

Objectives : This study aimed to evaluate the clinical usefulness of Korean version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire(SDQ-Kr) by comparing with Korean version of Childhood Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL). Methods : The parent version of SDQ-Kr and K-CBCL were administered to parents of 313 children in psychiatric clinic, 91 children referred for psychiatric consultation from pediatric clinic and 93 control children in pediatric clinic. All children aged 4-11 years old. Children in psychiatric clinic were diagnosed with one of followings;ADHD, emotional disorders and oppositional/conduct disorder. Mean scores were compared among three groups by gender. Coefficients were calculated for corresponding problem scales and total scores of both questionnaires. ROC analysis was performed for discriminant validity to distinguish psychiatry and pediatrics samples, and also to distinguish diagnostic groups of psychiatry sample. Results : The psychiatry sample showed highest means of problem scales and total scores, followed by consultation and control sample of pediatrics. SDQ-Kr and K-CBCL were significantly correlated, and equally able to distinguish those samples with SDQ-Kr showing better results. Within the psychiatry sample, SDQ-Kr had higher predictive power for all diagnostic groups. Conclusion : This study supports clinical usefulness of SDQ-Kr. We suggest that SDQ-Kr could be used not only as a diagnostic tool for children in psychiatric clinic but also as an effective and efficient screening instrument for children in need for psychiatric evaluation in pediatric clinic.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2012

The relationship between central nervous system (CNS) and enuresis has not been sufficiently elucidated despite the presence of several circumstantial evidences. Contrary to common belief, polysomnographic sleep analysis revealed that the disturbance of arousal rather than deep sleep was responsible for enuresis. Subsequent studies confirmed depressed sympathetic tone and retarded brainstem reflex indicating abnormal arousal threshold in enuretics. In accordance with the bladder-brain dialogue, chronic stimulation of bladder may modify the brainstem function elevating arousal threshold. Epidemiological studies have suggested the association between enuresis and various psychosomatic disorders like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which has shown the abnormal brainstem reflex similar to enuresis. Taken together, CNS is assumed to play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of enuresis. Psychological assessment is vital to understand the psychodynamic effect of enuresis. Studies have shown that the prevalence of psychological problems was higher in enuretic children and externalization of the symptoms was usually found. Several explanations have been brought up regarding the development of enuresis and psychological problems. Enuresis may cause psychological problems and vice versa. Otherwise, both may be associated with other variables, such as socioeconomic status (SES).

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.22-28
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• 2007

The pregnancy and postpartum period appear to be a time of heightened vulnerability for the development of major depression in some women. Postpartum depression affects 10% of women within a few weeks immediately postpartum. Postpartum depression is associated with disturbances in the mother-infant relationship, which in turn have an adverse impact on the course of child cognitive and emotional development. Depression during pregnancy is also common, although it has been relatively neglected. Psychopathological symptoms during pregnancy have physiological consequences for the fetus. Understanding the aetiology of perinatal depression requires integrating of multiple psychosocial and biological risk factors. The treatment of depressed pregnant women requires skilled decision making by psychiatrists. Risk-benefit analysis is appropriate method for intervention fur depression in pregnancy. Effective treatments for depression in pregnancy include psychotherapy, antidepressant medication and electroconvulsive therapy. In treatment of postpartum depression, the biological, psychological, and social interventions are included. Prescribing antidepressants(such as fluoxetine), estrogen in severe and chronic cases, and counselling can be effective for improving maternal mood and aspects of infant outcome. Ongoing research is directed to further elucidating neurohormonal and psychosocial contributions to depression during pregnancy or postpartum. Screening for risk factors and symptoms for depression need to be incorporated into antenatal and pediatric clinics.

• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.165-173
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• 2016

Objectives : Since the awareness of autism spectrum disorders(ASD) is growing, as a result, it is increasing numbers of infants and toddlers being referred to specialized clinics for a differential diagnosis and the importance of early autism spectrum disorders detection is emphasized. This study is to know the difference between ASD and intellectual disability(ID) from comparison of the demographics, clinical characters and obstetric complications. Methods : The participants are 816 toddlers who visited the developmental delay clinic(DDC) in National Health Insurance Ilsan hospital. The number of toddlers diagnosed as ASD and ID was 324 and 492. 75 toddlers out of 114 who returned to DDC were diagnosed as ID at the first visit but 7 of them had changed diagnosis to ASD at the second visit. After compared ASD with ID from the first visit, we analyzed characters of toddlers who had the changed diagnosis to ASD at the second visit. Results : As a result, the comparison between ASD and ID at the first visit shows that the boys have higher ratio, lower obstetric complication and lower language assessment score in ASD. The toddlers who had the changed diagnosis at the second visit were all boys and they had more cases of family history of developmental delay and had lower score of receptive language developmental quotient. Conclusions : These findings suggest that sex, language characteristics and obstetric complication could be useful in the early detection of ASD.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.51 no.4
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• pp.415-419
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• 2008

Purpose : Herbal medicine is thought to be widely used by children with epilepsy, but there have been few studies. This study aimed to investigate the perceptions and the actual conditions of usage of herbal medicine by children with epilepsy. Methods : From July to August 2007, three hundred seventy eight questionnaires were completed by parents of epileptic children who visited pediatric neurology clinic of Korea University hospital and Kwangmyung-Sungae hospital. Demographic data and patterns of usage of herbal medicine were investigated. Results : Among 378 patients, sixty five (17.2%) reported using herbal medicine. Major reasons for using herbal medicine were 'to enhance general health' and 'belief that it has fewer side effects'. Majority of respondents did not notify their physician about using herbal medicine because 'they did not need to share this with doctor' and 'they thought their doctor would disapprove'. After taking herbal medicine, 33.3% of patients reported that it did not benefit their seizure but they felt healthier. Usage of herbal medicine was significantly related to number of AEDs (antiepileptic drugs), duration of AED treatment, association with psychosomatic disorders and motivation by other people or by mass media. Conclusion : Considerable numbers of epileptic children were using herbal medicine during treatment with AED and did not inform their physician about usage of it. Physicians should be aware of benefits and harms of herbal medicine and actively intervene in the usage of herbal medicine by epileptic patients.