• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.81 no.3
• /
• pp.241-246
• /
• 2018

Background: The "Tuberculosis Relief Belt Supporting Project (Tuberculosis Patient Management Project for Poverty Groups)" is a national program for socioeconomically vulnerable tuberculosis (TB) patients. We sought to evaluate the clinical and socioeconomic characteristics of poverty-stricken TB patients, and determined the need for relief. Methods: We examined in-patients with TB, who were supported by this project at the National Medical Center from 2014 to 2015. We retrospectively investigated the patients' socioeconomic status, clinical characteristics, and project expenditures. Results: Fifty-eight patients were enrolled. Among 55 patients with known income status, 24 (43.6%) had no income. Most patients (80%) lived alone. A total of 48 patients (82.8%) had more than one underlying disease. More than half of the enrolled patients (30 patients, 51.7%) had smear-positive TB. Cavitary disease was found in 38 patients (65.5%). Among the 38 patients with known resistance status, 19 (50%) had drug-resistant TB. In terms of disease severity, 96.6% of the cases had moderate-to-severe disease. A total of 14 patients (26.4%) died during treatment. Nursing expenses were supported for 12 patients (20.7%), with patient transportation costs reimbursed for 35 patients (60%). In terms of treatment expenses for 31 people (53.4%), 93.5% of them were supported by uninsured benefits. Conclusion: Underlying disease, infectivity, drug resistance, severity, and death occurred frequently in socioeconomically vulnerable patients with TB. Many uninsured treatment costs were not supported by the current government TB programs, and the "Tuberculosis Relief Belt Supporting Project" compensated for these limitations.

• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
• /
• v.23 no.1
• /
• pp.18-24
• /
• 2016

Purpose: There is a the great diagnostic challenge in pediatric tuberculosis especially in high burden setting. The purpose of this preliminary study is to evaluate the agreement between tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) including T-SPOT$^{(R)}$.TB and QuantiFERON$^{(R)}$-TB Gold (QFT-G) in Korean children. Method: This retrospective study included children and adolescents who visited to Asan Medical Center to evaluate tuberculosis infection using at least two assays of TST, T-SPOT.TB and QFT-G, from January 2014 to April 2015. Results: A total of 20 patients were included, whose median age was 13.3 years (range, 3.8-18.1 years), and all of them had history of BCG vaccination. Eleven patients had underlying diseases including 7 patients with immunosuppressant medication. The concordance rate between T-SPOT.TB and QFT-G was 90%. However, the concordance rate between TST and T-SPOT.TB was 50%, and between TST and QFT-G was 42.9%. Specificity for the diagnosis of tuberculosis infection of T-SPOT.TB, QFT-G, and TST was 93.3%, 86.7%, and 58.3%, respectively. Conclusions: Although there was a discrepancy between TST and IGRA to diagnose tuberculosis, agreement between T-SPOT.TB and QFT-G was relatively high. Further prospective study to validate the clinical usefulness of each assay for immunologic evidence of tuberculosis infection in Korean children will be mandatory.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.12 no.11
• /
• pp.5012-5018
• /
• 2011

According to the nationwide survey of tuberculosis from 1965 to 1995, the incidence and drug resistance rate of tuberculosis have been decreased in Korea, but the prevalence of multidrug resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is still a serious problem. The purpose of this study is to investigate the drug resistance rate and pattern of tuberculosis in Daejeon from 2001 to 2008. Of the total 581cases where the drug susceptibility test was performed, resistance to at least one anti-TB drug was found in 104 cases(17.9%) of these, 68(11.7%) were resistant to at least INH and 41(7.1%) were resistant to at least RFP. Single-drug resistance was found for isolates from 37(6.4%) ; 18(3.1%) of these were resistant to INH and 5(0.9%) to RFP. Multidrug resistance, where TB was resistant to at least isoniazid and refampin, was found in 35 cases(6.0%). and Factors associated with MDR-TB included age under 40-60.The drug-resistance rate of pulmonary TB, especially MDR-TB, is higher in the initial treated patients at a private referral hospital than in those in the pubulic sector. Initial drug resistance is common and the drug susceptibility test is informative for pulmonary TB patients who have not received previous TB treatment. The need for an improved control program, coupled with early diagnosis of MDR-TB, to reduce the spread and development of resistance. Multidrug resistance rate is still problem in korea. Efforts to decrease multidrug resistance rate either independently or in cooperation with the pubulic sector will be needed.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.42 no.5
• /
• pp.646-653
• /
• 1995

Background: The confirmative diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis(Tb) can be made by the isolation of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis(MTb) in the culture of the sputum, respiratory secretions or tissues of the patients, but positive result could not always be obtained in pulmonary Tb cases. Although there are many indirect ways of the diagnosis of Tb, clinicians still experience the difficulty in the diagnosis of Tb because each method has its own limitation. Therefore development of a new diagnostic tool is clinically urgent. It was reported that silica cause some lysosomal enzymes to be released from macrophages in vitro and one of these enzymes is elevated in workers exposed to silica dust and in silicotic subjects. In pulmonary Tb, alveolar macrophages are known to be activated after ingestion of MTb. Activated macrophages can kill MTb through oxygen free radical species and digestive enzymes of lysosome. But if macrophages allow the bacilli to grow intracellularly, the macrophages will die finally and local lesion will enlarge. Then it is assumed that the lysosomal enzymes would be released from the dead macrophages. The goal of this investigation was to determine if there are differences in the plasma activities of lysosomal enzymes, ($\beta$-glucuronidase(GLU) and $\beta$-N-acetyl glucosaminidase(NAG), among the groups of active and inactive pulmonary Tb and healthy control, and to see if there is any possibility that the plasma activity of GLU and NAG can be used as diagnostic indicies of active pulmonary Tb. Methods: The plasma were obtained from 20 patients with bacteriologically proven active pulmonary Tb, 15 persons with inactive Tb and 20 normal controls. In 10 patients with active pulmonary Tb, serial samples after 2 months of anti-Tb medications were obtained. Plasma GLU and NAG activities were measured by the fluorometric methods using 4-methylumbelliferyl substrates. All data are expressed as the mean $\pm$ the standard error of the mean. Results: The activites of GLU and NAG in plasma of the patients with active Tb were $21.52{\pm}3.01$ and $325.4{\pm}23.37$(nmol product/h/ml of plasma), respectively. Those of inactive pulmonary Tb were $24.87{\pm}3.78$, $362.36{\pm}33.92$ and those of healthy control were $25.45{\pm}4.05$, $324.44{\pm}28.66$(nmol product/h/ml of plasma), respectively. There were no significant differences in the plasma activities of both enzymes among 3 groups. The plasma activities of GLU at 2 months after anti-Tb medications were increased($42.18{\pm}5.94$ nmol product/h/ml of plasma) in the patients with active pulmonary Tb compared with that at the diagnosis of Tb(P-value <0.05). Conclusion: The results of the present investigation suggest that the measurement of the plasma activities of GLU and NAG in the patients with active pulmonary Tb could not be a useful method for the diagnosis of active Tb. Further investigation is necessary to define the reasons why the plasma activities of the GLU was increased in the patients with active pulmonary Tb after Tb therapy.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.24 no.4
• /
• pp.359-367
• /
• 2008

TRMM TMI data were used to investigate a relationship between physical parameters from microwave sensor and typhoon intensities from June to September, 2004. Several data such as 85GHz brightness temperature (TB), polarization corrected temperature (PCT), precipitable water, ice content, rain rate, and latent heat release retrieved from the TMI observation were correlated to the maximum wind speeds in the best-track database by RSMC-Tokyo. Correlation coefficient between TB and typhoon intensity was -0.2 - -0.4 with a maximum value in the 2.5 degree radius circle from the center of tropical cyclone. The value of correlation between in precipitable water, rain, latent heat, and typhoon intensity is in the range of 0.2-0.4. Correlation analysis with respect to storm intensity showed that maximum correlation is observed at 1.0-1.5 degree radius circle from the center of tropical cyclone in the initial stage of tropical cyclone, while maximum correlation is shown in 0.5 degree radius in typhoon stage. Correlation coefficient was used to produce regressed intensities and adopted for typhoon Rusa (2002) and Maemi (2003). Multiple regression with 85GHz TB and precipitable water was found to provide an improved typhoon intensity when taking into account the storm size. The results indicate that it may be possible to use TB and precipitable water from satellite observation as a predictor to estimate the intensity of a tropical cyclone.

• 한국초전도학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• v.10
• /
• pp.61-64
• /
• 2000

$^{11}$B NMR measurements have been performed to investigate local electronic structure and 4f spin dynamics for TbNi$_2$B$_2$C single crystal. $^{11}$B NMR spectra show three resonance peaks due to the quadrupolar interaction. Shift and linewidth are huge and strongly temperature-dependent. In addition, both are proportional to magnetic susceptibility, indicating that the hyperfine field at the boron site originates from the 4f spins of Tb. $^{11}$B NMR shift and relaxation rates show high anisotropy for field parallel and perpendicular to the c-axis. Anisotropy of the shift and the relaxation rates suggests that the hyperfine field perpendicular to the c-axis is larger.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.80 no.1
• /
• pp.69-76
• /
• 2017

Background: Much of the attention of tuberculosis (TB) programs is focused on outcomes of microbiological cure and mortality, and health related quality of life (HRQL) is undervalued. Also, TB patients have a significantly higher risk of developing depression and anxiety compared with those in the general population. We intend to evaluate the HRQL and the prevalence of symptoms of depression and anxiety in hospitalized patients with TB. Methods: Cross-sectional study in a tertiary care hospital in Brazil. Adult patients with pulmonary TB that were hospitalized during the study period were identified and invited to participate. HRQL was measured using the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 (SF-36) version 2. Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to record symptoms of anxiety and depression. Results: Eighty-six patients were included in the analysis. The mean age of all patients was $44.6{\pm}15.4$ years, 69.8% were male, and 53.5% were white. Thirty-two patients (37.2%) were human immunodeficiency virus positive. Twenty-seven patients (31.4%) met study criteria for depression (HADS depression score ${\geq}11$) and 33 (38.4%) had anxiety (HADS anxiety score ${\geq}11$). Scores on all domains of SF-36 were significantly lower than the Brazilian norm scores (p<0.001). Conclusion: The present study shows that TB patients may have a poor HRQL. Additionally, we found a possible high prevalence of depression and anxiety in this population. Health care workers should be aware of these psychological disorders to enable a better management of these patients. The treatment of these comorbidities may be associated with better TB outcomes.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
• /
• v.49 no.4
• /
• pp.432-440
• /
• 2000

Background : The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis among the elderly is increasing in Korea and in the developed countries due to the increased elderly population and their predispositions to chronic disease, poverty and decreased immunity. To define the characteristics of pulmonary tuberculosis in the elderly, we evaluated the clinical spectrum of pulmonary tuberculosis. Method : We analyzed 92 patients retrospectively that were diagnosed as active pulmonary tuberculosis over the age of 65. The analysis involved patient's profiles, clinical manifestations, coexisting diseases, diagnostic methods, anti-TB medications and their side effects, and treatment outcomes. Results : The results were as follows : - 1) The ratio of male to female was 2.1:1(62:30 cases) 2) Chief complaints were a cough (47.8%), dyspnea (40.2%), sputum (38.0%), chest pain (12.0%), anorexia (10.9%), and fever (9.8%). 3) 38 (41.3%) of cases had a past history of pulmonary tuberculosis. 4) The coexisting diseases were : -COPD, 25 cases (27.2%); pneumonia, 17 cases (18.5%); DM. 13 cases (14.1%); and malignancy, 10 cases (10.9%). 5) The positivity of Mantoux test (5 TU, PPD-S) was 82.7%. 6) Pulmonary tuberculosis was diagnosed using the following methods : sputum AFB (Acid Fast Bacillus) smear 42.4%, sputum TB (M. Tuberculosis) culture 15.2%, sputum TB PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) 10.9%, bronchial washing AFB smear 2.1%, chest radiology only 25.0%. 7) Locations of radiologic lesions were RULF, 50 cases; RLLF, 50 cases, mostly, then LLLF ; 26 cases were leastly involved. 8) The coexisting tuberculosis were endobronchial TB(8.7%), TB pleurisy(7.6%) miliary TB(5.4%), intestinal TB(2.2%), renal TB(1.1%) 9) The proportion of treatment regimen with 1st line drug and 2nd line drug were 92.3% and 7.6%, respectively. 10) The outcome of treatment were as follows : cured 31.5%, expired 13.0%, no return 47.8%, follow-up now 7.6%. Conclusion : The pulmonary tuberculosis in the elderly has atypical patterns with chronic coexisting diseases. Therefore, the possibility of pulmonary tuberculosis should be considered in elderly patients with pulmonary symptoms.

• Quality Improvement in Health Care
• /
• v.27 no.2
• /
• pp.73-82
• /
• 2021

Purpose: This study aims to examine the quality of tuberculosis (TB) care after the 1st to 3rd national quality assessment (QA) program for TB healthcare service in Korea was conducted. Methods: We analyzed Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service (HIRA) claims data of new TB patients during the period of January to June from 2018-2020. The new TB patients were defined as TB patients reported to Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KCDA). The unit of analysis was the patient. Chi-square tests were used to analyze the differences in indicator value according to the types of medical facilities. The QA indicators of TB care were divided into 3 areas consisting of the following 7 quality indicators: 4 indicators of diagnosis test (the rate of acid-fast bacilli smear, the rate of acid-fast bacilli culture, the rate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis-polymerase chain reaction, drug susceptibility test), 1 compliance of treatment guideline, and 2 indicators of care management of TB patients (encounter rate, day of therapy). Results: The QA program for TB care was conducted among 8,246 patients from 534 facilities in 2020. The value of the 7 quality indicators was shown to increase as a result of the QA program. The indicators of the diagnostic test were all higher than 95%, with the exception of the drug susceptibility test which was 84.8%. Both indicators for care management of TB patients were 88.5%. Conclusion: The quality of TB care has been improving with the implementation of the QA program. In order to continue to improve the quality of TB care, it will be necessary to disclose the results of the QA program in medical facilities in the future.

• Journal of Korean Biological Nursing Science
• /
• v.18 no.1
• /
• pp.43-50
• /
• 2016

Purpose: This study aimed to identify the relationship among knowledge, attitudes and prevention behaviors (PB) on tuberculosis (Tb) infection in nursing students. Methods: 268 subjects were recruited from two universities located in C D cities of Korea and data were collected utilizing self-reported questionnaires. Results: The mean scores of knowledge, attitudes and PB on Tb infection were 64.83, 3.18 and 2.97. The knowledge differed according to gender (t=-3.16, p=.002), grades (F=32.19, p<.001), educational experience about Tb (EETb) (F=10.59, p<.001), learning information about Tb (t=3.08, p=.002) and getting Tb: self or others (t=2.78, p=.006). The attitudes differed according to grades (F=7.71, p<.001) and EETb (F=2.68, p=.047). The PB differed according to grades (F=7.02, p<.001) and EETb (F=4.55, p=.004). Significant correlations were found between knowledge and PB (r=.20, p=001), attitudes and PB (r=.33, p<.001). The most significant factor influencing PB was attitudes with R2 value of 13.9% (F=11.81, p<.001). Conclusion: These findings indicate that knowledge and attitude adjustment may be necessary to improve PB for Tb infection in nursing students. Moreover further study is necessary to find out the ways to reinforce the level of attitudes. The results of the study can be utilized in educational programs for preventing Tb infection in nursing students.