• Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.91-97
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• 2008

Kimchi is a representative traditional food in Korea and a type of vegetable product that is the unique complex lactic acid fermentation in the world. It can be considered as a unique fermented food generated by various flavors, which are not included in raw materials, that can be generated by mixing and fermenting various spices and seasonings, such as red pepper powder, garlic, ginger, and salted fish, added to Chinese cabbages. Functionalities in Kimchi have been approved through several studies and the probiotic function that is mainly based on lactic acid bacteria including their physical functions in its contents has also verified. Studies on the verification of the safety of Kimchi including its physiological functions have been conducted. In particular, the function of lactic acid bacteria, which is a caused of the fermentation of Kimchi. Although the lactic acid bacteria contributed to the fermentation of Kimchi is generated from raw and sub-materials, the lactic acid bacteria attached on Chinese cabbages has a major role in the process in which the fermentation temperature and dominant bacteria are also related to the process. The salt used in a salt pickling process inhibits the growth of the putrefactive and food poisoning bacteria included in the fermentation process of Kimchi and of other bacteria except for such lactic acid bacteria due to the lactic acid and several antimicrobial substances generated in the fermentation process, such as bacteriocin and hydrogen peroxide. In addition, the carbon dioxide gas caused by heterolactic acid bacteria contributes to the inhibition of aerobic bacteria. Furthermore, special ingredients included in sub-materials, such as garlic, ginger, and red pepper powder, contribute to the inhibition of putrefactive and food poisoning bacteria. The induction of the change in the intestinal bacteria as taking Kimchi have already verified. In conclusion, Kimchi has been approved as a safety food due to the fact that the inhibition of food poisoning bacteria occurs in the fermentation process of Kimchi and the extinction of such bacteria.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.41-45
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• 2013

Following are brief statements about the delayed encephalopathy of a patient who recovered without disturbance of consciousness after acute carbon monoxide poisoning. A 72-year-old male was found without consciousness at home and then visited the ER center. Later we learned that the patient was using briquettes as a household heating source. Blood carbon monoxide hemoglobin level was 17.5%. As carbon monoxide poisoning was uncertain after the first interview with the patient, hyperbaric oxygen therapy was not administered at the early stage. After supplying 100% oxygen, the patient recovered consciousness, however, the strength of the lower limb muscle had decreased to class II. The patient showed continued weakening of the lower limb muscle and an increase of CPK; therefore, he was diagnosed as carbon monoxide intoxication and rhabdomyolysis and then admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for conservative treatment. During the hospitalization period, continued weakening of the lower limb muscle was observed and he was diagnosed as myopathy after EMG/MCV. However, he suddenly showed altered mentality on the 20th day of hospitalization, and underwent brain MRI. T2 weighted MRI showed typically high signal intensity of both globus pallidus and periventricular white matter; therefore, he was diagnosed as delayed carbon monoxide encephalopathy. This case showed delayed encephalopathy accompanied by rhabdomyolysis and myopathy of a patient who recovered without disturbance of consciousness.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.104-109
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• 2008

Purpose: Unrefined tablets prepared from Aconitum tubers are occasionally used in Korean folk medicine. This study defines the potential sources, clinical toxicology, and treatment of aconitine poisoning. Methods: A retrospective survey was conducted in 63 patients in the ED of a tertiary University Hospital with suspected toxicity from an unrefined tablet prepared from Aconitum tubers from 1999 to 2007. Results: A total of 63 cases enrolled included 26 men and 37 women, aged 30 to 86 years. Forty-eight patients ingested aconitine tablets as digestives, 26 tablets on average. After a latent period of 30 to 450 minutes, patients developed a combination of neurologic (87.3%), gastrointestinal (82.5%), cardiopulmonary (41.3%), and other (28.6%) features typical of aconitine poisoning. Initial ECG abnormalities revealed dysrhythmia (61.9%), conduction disturbance (42.9%), and abnormal waveforms (39.7%), with 28.6% of patients having normal ECGs. All patients received supportive treatment or close observation regardless of ingestion amounts. Patients with hypotension or ventricular arrhythmia were treated with inotropic agents or amiodarone. Conclusion: Toxicologic signs and symptoms can occur after the consumption of aconitine tablets, regardless of ingestion amount. The risk occurs because of inadequately processed aconitine roots. This study will provide important data for public education and distribution regulations for Aconitum sp. in Korea.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.45 no.9
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• pp.1134-1140
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• 2002

Purpose : Childhood accidents have been increasing recently. Accidents rank as the leading cause of childhood mortality and morbidity. We performed this study to evaluate the causes of childhood accidents. Methods : The authors analysed retrospectively the medical records of 6,410 cases of childhood accidental injuries who visited the emergency room of Asan Medical Center from January 1990 to December 1999. Results : The most common type of accidents was trauma which accounted for 5,038 cases of the total accidents, followed by falls, burns, foreign body aspiration, and poisoning. The most common age of foreign body aspiration was under two years old and the male to female ratio was 2 to 1. The most common site of foreign body aspiration was the esophagus and the stomach, followed by the respiratory tract. In airways, the right and left main bronchus were the most common site for foreign body aspiration and were accompanied by the highest mortality. The most common foreign body in the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract were coins and peanuts, respectively. Conclusion : The most common cause of accidents was trauma, followed by falls, burns, foreign body aspiration, and poisoning. The incidence of foreign body aspiration and poisoning is increasing in infants. In cases of foreign bodies in airways, proper management is needed because of the high mortality rate.

• The Korean Journal of Malacology
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.1-9
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• 1986

The authors carried out paralytic shellfish poison bioassay on the 9 kinds of shellfishes collected from Pusan and Kyungnam areas of Korea from April to July, 1986. The areas are the main producing district of fisheries in Korea and the samples were collected from their producing sites-natural, cultured and marketed. There were little or no PSP in the majority of the shellfishes, but 3 natural (Pusan Il-Kwang $700{\mu}g$, Koje Okpo $648{\mu}g$, Chungmoo Madong $124{\mu}g/100gm$ meat) and 1 marketed (Pusan Chakalchi $490{\mu}g/100gm$ meat) blue mussels contained relatively high PSP only in April. It is considered that there will be a possibility of paralytic shellfish poisoning, and control program for preventing the poisoning is necessary in Korea.

• YAKHAK HOEJI
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.323-333
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• 1990

To study influence of carbonmonoxide (CO) poisoning on the content of amino acid neurotransmitter in brain, male rat was exposed to CO 5000 ppm for 30 minutes (60-75% HbCO). Aspartic acid and glutamic acid level in the cerebral cortex and aspartic acid level in the striatum were significantly decreased. GABA level in the cerebral cortex was significantly increased after the 30 and 60 minutes of CO intoxication. Taurine level in both the cerebral cortex and the striatum was increased although nonsignificant. Consequently, the CO-induced hypoxia brain showed lower level of excitatory neurotransmitter, aspartic acid and glutamic acid and higher level of inhibitory neurotransmitter, GABA and taurine. These results suggest that the change in content of amino acid neurotransmitter in the rat brain may be concerned with several CO poisoning symptoms.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.132-134
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• 2019

Green tobacco sickness is an illness caused by dermal exposure to nicotine. The common symptoms of the disease include dizziness, headache, nausea, vomiting, severe general weakness, fluctuations of blood pressure or heartbeat, abdominal cramping, chills, increased sweating, salivation, and difficulty breathing. A 79-year-old female arrived at the emergency room for an evaluation of sudden onset dizziness. Magnetic resonance imaging and angiography of the brain did not show any relevant abnormal findings. Four days later, with supportive care, she said that she had harvested green tobacco for six hours on the day of admission and the tobacco harvest was the first time in her life. She sweated excessively during the hot and humid weather and the tobacco leaves were wet from rain the night before. The serum cotinine tested at five days of admission was 16ng/ml. She was diagnosed with acute nicotine poisoning by her clinical symptoms and the half-life of cotinine in the blood.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.25-30
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• 2022

In this study, we report the case of a 59-year-old male patient with organophosphate pesticide poisoning. He visited the local emergency medical center after ingesting 250 ml of organophosphate pesticide. The patient's symptoms improved after the initial intravenous infusion of pralidoxime 5 g and atropine 0.5 mg. However, 18 hours after admission, there was a worsening of the symptoms. A high dose of atropine was administered to improve muscarinic symptoms. A total dose of 5091.4 mg of atropine was used for 30 days, and fever and paralytic ileus appeared as side effects of atropine. Anticholinergic symptoms disappeared only after reducing the atropine dose, and the patient was discharged on the 35th day without any neurologic complications.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Clinical Toxicology
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.31-37
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• 2021

Purpose: Acetaminophen (APAP) is a widely available drug responsible for a large part of drug-induced hepatotoxicity in developed countries. Although acetaminophen overdose cases in Korea are being continuously reported, there are no reports related to the level of this drug in the patient's blood or of laboratory analysis at emergency departments (ED). This study sought to analyze the acetaminophen overdose cases at a toxicological laboratory and to survey APAP analysis services offered at select EDs. Methods: We analyzed the demographic and analytic data at a toxicological laboratory run by the National Emergency Medical Center (NMC) in 2019-2020. We surveyed the APAP laboratory service in the 38 regional emergency medical centers (EMCs) and 68 local EMCs near the toxicological laboratory. Results: We studied 175 acute poisoning cases (112 women) with positive blood APAP results (mean age 47.0±24.1 years). Suicide attempts comprised 40.0% of the cases and 30.3% APAP overdose events. In the univariate analysis, we observed that patients were significantly younger, with fewer underlying medical diseases. There were a higher number of APAP overdose events, more favorable initial mental status, more toxic quantity intake in the above treatment line group (p<0.05), In multivariate analysis, the toxic amount intake was significantly more frequent in the above treatment line group (p<0.01). Hospital APAP analysis services were available in six EMCs (3/38 regional and 3/68 local). The hospital blood APAP level reporting intervals were shorter than outside-hospital laboratory services (p<0.01, regional 7.0±3.0 vs. 40.6±27.5, local 5.3±3.1 vs. 57.9±45.1 hours). The NMC toxicological laboratory reporting interval was shorter than the other outside-hospital laboratories (p<0.01, regional 5.7±0.6 vs. 50.2±22.7 local 7.5±3.0 vs. 70.5±41.5 hours). Conclusion: Over the treatment line group, toxic amount intake was significantly more frequent. Only six of 106 EMCs have their own APAP analysis service in their hospitals.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.241-249
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• 2005

Herein, two patients of acute toxic hepatitis occurred to persons had eaten Aplysia kurodai and their eggs. The authors report 2 patients of acute toxic hepatitis with reviews of the clinical features. One patient had gathered Aplysia kurodai and it's eggs from Ulleungdo sea shore on May 17, 2003. He ate with boiling the eggs. This patient developed acute toxic hepatitis and symptoms of aplysianin poisoning, such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and watery diarrhea about 10 and half hours after ingestion. The other patient had gathered Aplysia kurodai and its egg from Ulleungdo sea shore on 16 May 2004, which were consumed without boiling the eggs. This patient developed acute toxic hepatitis and symptoms of aplysianin poisoning, such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting and watery diarrhea, about 10 and half hours after ingestion. This patient complained of jaundice and pruritus, about 10 days after ingestion. The 2 patients all improved within 15~25 days with conservative treatment. This is the first significant report of acute toxic hepatitis caused by aplysianin poisoning following the consumption of Aplysia kurodai and their eggs in Korea. The clinical features, management and preventive counterplan of acute toxic hepatitis caused by aplysianin poisoning are also presented.