• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.205-212
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the differences according to the hospitals of antenatal care in premature infants. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of premature infants with gestational ages <37 weeks and very low birth weights who were admitted immediately after birth to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the Dongguk University Ilsan Hospital between March 2007 and February 2009. The hospitals of antenatal care were divided into two levels (primary antenatal care hospital: hospitals with less than a level 2 NICU, secondary antenatal care hospital: hospitals with a level 3 NICU) based on the level of NICU in hospitals. In addition, total infants were divided into two groups (Immediate group: infants born within 24 hours of maternal admission, Delayed group: infants born after 24 hours of maternal admission). The differences between maternal and neonatal variables in each groups were studied. Results: Neonates in secondary antenatal care hospitals comprised 11.0% of the study neonates (10 of 91). We compared with two groups (primary antenatal care hospital and secondary antenatal care hospital), but there were no differences in all subjects. However, the 1 minute Apgar score ($\leq3$) was lower in the immediate group than the delayed group. Conclusion: Shorter duration of maternal admission to delivery was associated with a lower 1 minute Apgar score of neonates. These findings suggest that if maintenance of pregnancy is difficult when high-risk gravidas are transferred, clinicians must prepare for emergencies of neonates.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.190-196
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• 2009

Purpose: Candida infection has increased in neonatal intensive care units (NICU). However, recent reports on systemic candida infections in preterm newborns are rare in Korea. The aim of this study was to examine the epidemiological features of systemic candida infection in very low birth weight infants (VLBW) over the past five years. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 19 patients with systemic candida infections in VLBW that were admitted to the neonatal intensive care units of three hospitals affiliated with the College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea from January 2004 to December 2008. We analyzed the birth weight, gestational age, age at diagnosis, risk factors, co-morbidity, antifungal treatment, and mortality rates among the 19 patients. Results: Systemic candida infections occurred in 19 cases (4.7%) among the VLBW infants. The mean birth weight and gestational age were 959.0$\pm$255.9 g and 26.7$\pm$2.1 weeks. The isolated Candida species were C. albicans (4), C. parapsilosis (9), C. glabrata (2), C. famata (2), and unkown subspecies (2). Most patients had various associated risk factors, including a central venous catheter, broad spectrum antibiotics, parenteral nutrition, intravenous lipid emulsion, endotracheal intubation and $H_2$ blocker therapy. There was no significant difference in the risk factors between newborns that survived and those that died with regard to the systemic candida infection, except for gestational age. Nine (47.4%) out of 19 patients with a candida infection died and four cases (21.2%) were directly related to the candida infection. Conclusion: The prevalence of systemic candida infection is increasing in VLBW infants. The majority of Candida species has shifted to C. non-albicans, especially C. parapsilosis. Because of the high mortality associated with candida infection in the NICU, prophylaxis and early treatment based on epidemiological features is necessary.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.146-153
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• 2009

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the current use of dexamethasone rescue therapy (DRT) for bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Methods: This is a retrospective study of 251 BPD patients managed in the neonatal intensive care units at Seoul National University Childrens Hospital and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital between March 2004 and August 2008. The demographic data and clinical characteristics of the mothers and infants were analyzed. The infants were compared based on DRT responsiveness. The DRT complications were investigated. Results: Ninety-three patients (37.1%) were classified with severe BPD, DRT was only given to patients with severe BPD. Dexamethasone was administered to 24 patients (9.6%) whose respiratory status had precluded extubation, which indicated that conventional BPD management had failed. Fourteen patients (58.3%) who received DRT were responsive. DRT non-responders required more oxygenation and more complicated with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Responder had shorter length's of hospitalization and lower mortality rates. High dose dexamethasone was no more effective in weaning neonates from the ventilatior than low dose dexamethasone. Sepsis was the most common complication of DRT. Conclusion: DRT is a valuable treatment for severe BPD ahead of PAH development. DRT should not be performed in BPD patients with PAH due to the possibility of complications.

• Journal of Korean Public Health Nursing
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.81-98
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• 1988

The purpose of this study was to fine out the general physical status of the neonates, and to identify the risk factors of the mothers and the neonates which were significantly related to the neonatal diseases during hospitalization. The data were obtained from clinical records of 1098 neonates born in Seoul Red cross Hospital between January 1st of 1984 and December 31th of 1986. The results of this study were summarized as follows: 1. General characteristics of the maternal group. 1) The average of maternal age was 26.6 years, the $91.7\%$ of the mothers de liveried at the age of 20-34 years old. 2) The distribution of the types of delivey were as follows : spontaneous delivery $39.9\%$, cesarean section $32.4\%$, vaccum extraction $25.7\%$, and breech delivery$2.0\%$. 3) The $40.3\%$ of the total de liveried mother had experienced abortion. 4) The $42.3\%$ of the total deliveried mother had one or more obstetric risk factors. 2. General characteristics of the neonatal group. 1) In the distribution of sex, male was $49.4\%$, female $50.6\%$. 2) The average of birth weights was 3,020gm. The distribution of birth weight were as follows; nomal weight $85.5\%$, low birth weight $12.7\%$ and high birth weight $2.5\%$. 3) The average of gestational age was 39.2 weeks. The distribution of gestational age were as follows; full term $77.4\%$, preterm $13.7\%$, and postterm $8.9\%$. 4) The average of Apgar Score was 9.0 at one minute and 9.6 at five minutes. 5) The $5.7\%$ of the neonates had one or more neonatal risk symptoms and signs at birth. 3. Apgar Score by the maternal and neonatal factors. In Apgar Score at one minute, normal group was higher than that of abnormal group. Apgar Score at five minutes was slightly higher than that at one minute. 4. The distribution of the maternal risk factors and the neonatal risk factors. 1) The total numbers of the maternal risk factors were 1376. The distribution of the maternal risk factors were as follows: obstetric factor $33.7\%$, abortion $32.2\%$, breech and cesarean section delivery $27.5\%$ and maternal age under 19 years and over 35 years $6.6\%$. 2) The total numbers of the neonatal risk factors were 517. The distribution of the neonatal risk factors were as follows: gestational age under 37 weeks and over 42 weeks $48.0\%$, birth weight under 2500gm and over 4000gm $12.2\%$, Apgar score under 4 at one munute $6.4\%$ and Apgar score at five munutes $2.7\%$. 3) The total numbers of the obstetric risk factors were 661. The types of the obstetric risk factors were meconium stained amniotic fluid $22.0\%$, premature rupture of membrane $17.5\%$. absence prenatal care $14.1\%$, unmarried pregnancy $10.3\%$, placenta problem $9.0\%$, toxemia $8.0\%$. 4) The total numbers of the neonatal risk symptoms and signs at birth were 83. The types of the neonatal risk symptoms and signs were respiratory distress $65.1\%$, neonatal apnea $14.4\%$, convulsion $13.3%$, meconium aspiration syndrome $4.8\%$, cyanosis $2.4\%$. 5. The relationship between the maternal risk factors and the neonatal risk factors. 1) Maternal age under 19 years or over 35 years was significantly related to Apgar Score under 4 at 5 minutes. 2) Breech delivery or cesarean section was significantly related to neonatal risk factor at birth such as birth weight, gestational age, Apgar Score at one minute and at five minutes. and neonatal risk symptoms and signs. 3) Obstetric risk factors were significantly related to the neonatal risk factors at birth. 4) Abortion was not related to the neonatal risk factors. 6. The relationship between neonatal diseases during hosptalization and the maternal or the neonatal risk factors. 1) The total numbers of neonatal diseases during hospitalization were 281. The distribution of neonatal diseases were as follows: birth trauma $38.1\%$, infectious disease $31.3\%$, hematologic disease $21.4\%$, respiratory disease $6.0\%$, neurologic disease $2.5\%$. cardiovascular disease $0.7\%$. 3) Most maternal risk factors except abortion were significantly related to neonatal diseases. 4) Most neonatal risk factors at birth were significantly related to neonatal diseases.

• Journal of Genetic Medicine
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.113-118
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• 2011

Purpose: Placental corticotropin-releasing hormone receptor type 1 (CRHR1) expression is reduced in pregnancies with abnormal placental function such as preeclampsia (PE), and the levels and/or function of CRHR1 are genetically influenced. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the c.33+8199C>T polymorphism in the CRHR1 gene and PE in a Korean population. Materials and Methods: Using a case-control design, the association between the CRHR1 polymorphism and the risk of PE was investigated in 203 individuals with PE and 211 normotensive controls. Genotypes were determined using a SNapShot kit and an ABI Prism 3100 Genetic analyzer. Results: Genotypes and allele frequencies for the CRHR1 polymorphism did not differ between PE and normotensive pregnancies. The variant T allele was more frequent than the ancestral C allele in both of the groups and was more frequent in the controls than in the cases. In risk analysis for PE, there was not an increased risk of preeclampsia in subjects who were concomitant homozygous rare allele genotypes (CC) (OR, 0.3; P=0.15) or heterozygous rare allele genotypes (TC) (OR, 0.8; P=0.29). There were no differences in the complications of PE such as severity or preterm delivery in patients with the CRHR1 polymorphism. Conclusion: Our findings indicate that the CRHR1 polymorphism was not associated with PE in the present Korean study group.

• Neonatal Medicine
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• v.15 no.1
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• pp.44-53
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• 2008

Purpose : Epidemic keratoconjunctivitis (EKC) caused by adenovirus is a highly contagious disease, which has been reported as outbreaks involving adults in the community. However, there has been no report on EKC outbreak by adenovirus in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in Korea. Aims of this study were to investigate the EKC outbreak by adenovirus type 8 in NICU and to confirm an effectiveness of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for diagnosis. Methods : Conjunctival swab or nasopharyngeal aspirate specimens were taken from all patients and tested by viral culture and PCR. Adenovirus serotype was determined by sequencing of PCR product of selected region of hexon gene using the virus isolates or specimens. Results : An outbreak of EKC occurred which was involving 12 preterm infants in the NICU of the Seoul National University Children's Hospital between July 12th and August 1st, 2005. Three hospital staffs and one family member of the neonate were also affected. Adenovirus was detected in 12/12 (100%), 6/11 (54.5%) by PCR and virus culture, respectively. Eleven PCR-positive neonates were identified as serotype 8 by sequencing. The first affected 4 babies have had routine ROP (retinopathy of prematurity) examinations one week ago. While previous outbreaks were sustained for a few months, the event in our unit was controlled without complications in 3 weeks. Conclusion : We analyzed the EKC outbreak by adenovirus type 8 in NICU. Adenovirus serotype was identified by PCR and sequencing with high sensitivity for the first time in Korea, so we suggest this method can be very useful for rapid diagnosis and infection control.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.179-186
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• 1992

Dietary intakes of 57 college women were measured by 7-day weight food records(7WR) Nutrient intakes of 7WR were compared with results of using 1-day weighted food records(1WR) and 2-day weighed food records(2WR), 7WR were recorded for 7 consecutive days by subjects and its first two days were chosen to provide 1WR and 2WR Mean nutrient intakes of the group were not significantly different between 1WR or 2WRand 7WR. Within-person variations were found to be greater than between-person variations. The ratio of within- and between-person variability was lowest for the vitamin A and highest for the calcium. Data on 7WR were analyzed to estimate the number of recording days needed to ensure r$\geq$0.9 between observed and turn mean intakes. The 11 to 13 days needed for energy sugar protein and vitamin A and 20 days for calcium The results indicated that the number of days needed varied substantially among individuals for the same nutrient and within individuals for different nutrients.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.163-174
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• 2009

Objectives: Members of the immortalization-upregulated protein (IMUP) family are nuclear proteins implicated in SV40-mediated immortalization and cellular proliferation, but the mechanisms by which their expression is regulated are still unknown in placenta. To investigate to expression and functions of IMUPs in placenta, we conducted to compare IMUPs expression in normal and preeclamptic placenta tissues and analyzed the function of IMUP-2 in HTR-8/SVneo trophoblast cells after IMUP-2 gene transfection. Methods: The expression of IMUPs was analyzed in placental tissues from the following groups of patients (none underwent labor): 1) term normal placenta (n=15); 2) term with preeclamptic placeneta (n=15); and 3) pre-term with preeclamptic placenta (n=11) using semi-quantitative RT-PCR, RNA in situ hybiridization, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot. In order to evaluate the function of IMUP-2 in HTR-8/SVneo trophoblast cells, IMUP-2 plasmids were transfected into HTR-8/SVneo trophoblast cells for 24 hours. Results: We observed that IMUPs are mainly expressed in the syncytiotrophoblasts and syncytial knot of placental villi. The expression of IMUP-1 was not differences between normal and preeclamptic placenta tissues. However, IMUP-2 expression was significantly higher in preterm preeclamptic placenta tissues than in normal placenta tissues without labor (p<0.001). Furthermore, we confirmed overexpression of IMUP-2 induced apoptosis in HTR-8/SVneo trophoblast cells through up-regulation of pro-apoptotic proteins. Conclusions: These results suggest that the expression of IMUP-2 is involved in placental development as well as increased IMUP-2 expression is associated with preeclampsia through the inducing of trophoblast apoptosis.

• Childhood Kidney Diseases
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.222-230
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• 2005

Purpose : ARC syndrome refers to an association of arthrogryposis, renal tubular dysfunction, and cholestasis. The VPS33B gene was recently identified as the causative gene. So far, 41 cases of ARC syndrome have been reported worldwide, and it has rarely been reported in Korea. This study was conducted to report the clinical findings of seven ARC syndrome cases in Korean children, focusing especially on renal tubular dysfunction. Methods : The hospital records of 7 cases diagnosed as ARC syndrome at Severance Hospital between Mar. 1995 and Aug. 2005 were reviewed and analyzed. Results : Of the 7 cases, 4 were boys and 3 were girls. Six patients(85$\%$) were born with normal birth weight at term, and one was born at preterm. All cases presented with cholestasis and severe jaundice. According to the type of arthrogryposis described by Brown et al, type 3 and 4 were found in 2 patients and type,6, 7, and the undistributed type in one patient respectively. Other associated clinical findings were as follows : failure to thrive in 6(85$\%$), lax skin in 5(71$\%$), and gray platelet syndrome in 4(57$\%$). Urine analysis revealed 6 cases(85$\%$) with proteinuria, 3(43$\%$) with hematuria, 5(71$\%$) with glycosuria, 2(29$\%$) with phosphaturia and 2(29$\%$) with calciuria. Serum electrolytes showed 4 cases(57$\%$) with hyponatremia, 3(43$\%$) with hypokalemia, and 1(14$\%$) with creatinine elevation. Renal tubular dysfunctions were diagnosed as renal tubular acidosis in 6 cases(85$\%$), nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in 2(29$\%$), and Fanconi syndrome in 2(29$\%$). During the follow-up period, 2(29$\%$) had no treatment, 5(85$\%$) had continuous supplementation to correct the electrolyte imbalance and acidosis, and 1(14$\%$) had dialysis. Only one patient had a family history of ARE syndrome in a sibling. Four cases(57$\%$) were diagnosed at the mean age of 8.2 months, and one case was lost during follow-up. Ages of the survived 2 cases were 13 and 25 months, respectively. Conclusion : The rare disease of ARC syndrome Is associated with severe renal dysfunction. However, this study revealed that the renal manifestation of ARC syndrome in Korean children is relatively mild and survival rate is higher than that of previous studies. Contrary to previous reports, this study showed that familial cases are rare and sporadic occurence is possible in Korea. Thus, the diagnosis of this syndrome requires a careful evaluation of the venal function in cases of congenital arthrogryposis, and a mandatory genetic counseling of affected family for prevention of familial occurance. (J Korean Soc Pediatr Nephrol 2005;9:222-230)