• Pediatric Infection and Vaccine
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.123-127
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• 1996

Purpose : The most patients with acute streptococcal pharyngitis lack of classic clinical manifestations, therefore diagnostic laboratory test such as the throat culture or a rapid antigen detection test are frequently employed in primary practices of developed countries. We'd like to know the accuracy of the throat swab culture as gold standard for diagnosis of streptococcal infection with studying the discordant and concordant rate of duplicate culture. Methods : The study included 89 normal school children (boys:50, girls:39) who were attending Uljin primary school in Uljin, Kyong Sang Buk Do on March 1996. We obtained simultaneous 2 times of throat swab from each subject, and plating and streaking on 5-7% of sheep blood agar separately. We counted the characteristic beta-hemolytic colonies after overnight incubation. Results : 1) The carrier rate of beta-hemolytic streptococci at first culture is 25.1% and second one is 29.2%. 2) Ten out of 89(11.2%) is discordant in duplicate culture. 3) Culture containing less than 50 colonies of beta-hemolytic streptococci (+2) in first culture is 70.4%, second one is 85.7%. 4) Number of colonies is less than 50 in all ten discordant children. Conclusions : The discordant rate of duplicate throat swab cullture for beta-hemolytic streptococci is 11.2%, even if the subjects are normal school children. About 5% of individuals harboring beta-hemolytic streptococci in the pharynx may be missed by a single throat culture. If we are trying to examine the patients with pharyngitis, the discordant rate will be much lower than this results.

• Journal of Medicine and Life Science
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.29-32
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• 2020

As respiratory syncytial virus(RSV) is transmitted either via directly contact with an infected case or via indirectly contaminated fomites or skin, the major preventive measures are strict hand hygiene, early detection of transmitted sources, and rapid isolation of RSV patients. Especially early detection of hidden cases is the most critical control measure when an index case was notified in a postpartum center. The Guideline of Korea Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention defines potential contacts in an epidemiologic survey as admitted newborns, parents of index cases, center's workers, and visitors for 10 days before the first diagnosis day of index case. However, it needs to classify potential contacts in more detail in order to conduct a successful survey. Authors conducted to search related literatures and appraise the evidences. Firstly, potential contacts would be classified into RSV-related symptomatic contacts(SxC) and asymptomatic contacts. And then, mother, caring workers, and visitors of the index cases among asymptomatic contacts would be defined as the asymptomatic close contacts(ASCC). Finally, the rest would be defined as the asymptomatic regular contacts(ASRC). The defined test using reverse transcription-PCR is applied to SxC and ASCC, and decision of isolation or regular activities are made according to the results. The rapid antigen detection test kits are applied to ASRC. These suggestions might be helpful to detect hidden cases earlier and prevent a further infection.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.80-84
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• 2006

Rice allergen has low antigenicity, and thus, anaphylactoid reactions to rice are exceedingly rare. We experienced a case of isolated rice allergy in a 5 month-old girl who had been fed a milk formula without incident. However, after feeding a powdered weaning milk formula containing rice, she developed symptoms of projectile vomiting and diarrhea, at this time rice specific antigen tests were all negative. One month later a challenge test was performed using a rice gruel, and her symptoms recurred. Endoscopic and microscopic findings showed hyperemic mucosa in the duodenum and subtotal villous atrophy. Thereafter, she showed no adverse reaction to almost all foods appropriate for her age, but after feeding rice gruel at 10 months, she developed symptoms of cyanosis and vomiting. However, none of the allergic symptoms were demonstrated at 13 months upon repeated challenge test. Currently, she is 28 months old and tolerates all foods including rice.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.268-271
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• 2021

Lung granulomas are uncommon in Thailand. The disease typically develops from an occupational environment and is mostly caused by infection. Herein is a case report of a female patient, aged 48, working as a nurse in an Accident and Emergency Department at a hospital. Eighteen years prior to admission the patient was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis and pulmonary tuberculosis. The chest X-ray and CT scans showed a solitary pulmonary nodule in the lower left lung. The patient received an open thoracotomy with a left lobectomy. Granulomatous and nonseptate hyphae were found in the pathology diagnosis. The patient was thus diagnosed as having a lung granuloma. The galactomannan antigen test was positive. The solitary pulmonary nodule-found from the use of a Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test-was an Aspergillus spp. The fungus culture was collected from air samples. The air samples were collected by the impaction technique using a microbial air sampler. Three types of Aspergillus spp. were found as well as Penicillium spp. and Monilia sitophila. The Aspergillus spp. was a match for the patient's disease. The patient was diagnosed as having a lung granuloma possibly Aspergillus nodule which was caused by airborne Aspergillus spp. from the occupational environment.

• Journal of Applied Biological Chemistry
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.451-455
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• 2020

Testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS), also known as late-onset hypogonadism, is a clinical and biochemical syndrome associated with advanced age and characterized by deficient serum testosterone levels. The Elaeagnus multiflora fruit (EMF) and Cynanchum wilfordii (CW) have been used in traditional herbal medicine. This study aimed to investigate the therapeutic effects of EMF and CW mixtures (at the ratios of 3:7, 5:5, and 7:3) on TDS using TM3 cells and aging male rats. EMF, and mixtures of EMF and CW (at the ratios of 3:7, 5:5, and 7:3) significantly increased testosterone levels in TM3 cells (p <0.05). The rats were orally administered EMCW (EMF and CW mixed at the ratio of 3:7 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg/day) for 4 weeks consecutively. After 4 weeks of EMCW administration, latency time on the rotarod test, and serum testosterone and dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate levels were significantly increased (p <0.05 and p <0.01). Moreover, the levels of globulin-bound sex hormones were decreased in the EMCW-fed groups. However, prostate-specific antigen levels did not differ among the groups. These results suggest that EMCW can be effectively used to alleviate TDS.

• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.9-14
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• 2021

Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence have been rapidly increasing in some parts of Korea. We analyzed prevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies, using a rapid diagnostic test (RDT), in the sera of 552 residents in Ganghwagun, 661 ones in Cheorwon-gun, and 305 ones in Goseong-gun, Korea in 2019. IgG/IgM RDT mounted with recombinant fragment of major surface antigen (SAG1), glutathione-S-transferase-linker-SAG1A, were applied to the sera. IgG seroprevalence was 28.1% in Ganghwa-gun, 19.5% in Cheorwon-gun and 35.7% in Goseong-gun. Odds ratios comparing Cheorwon vs Ganghwa was 0.63 (P=0.001) and Goesong versus Ganghwa was 1.47 (P=0.01) adjusting age and sex. Goseong had highest seroprevalence among the 3 counties both in crude rates and logistic regression. Although Cheorwon and Goseong are adjacent to the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Korea, seroprevalence rate was much higher in Goseong. Further investigation on other DMZ-closed areas is necessary whether they have high prevalence rates compared to the other areas. T. gondii prevalence in Korea is still persists; proper health policy should be established.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.44 no.6
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• pp.635-643
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• 2021

The results of empirical researches on the diagnosis of lung cancer are insufficient, so it is limited to objectively judge the clinical possibility and utilization according to the accuracy of diagnosis. Thus, this study retrospectively analyzed the lung cancer diagnostic performance of PET-MRI (Positron Emission Tomography-Magnetic Resonance Imaging) by using the decision matrix. This study selected and experimented total 165 patients who received both hematological CEA (Carcinoembryonic Antigen) test and hybrid PET-MRI (¹⁸F-FDG, 5.18 MBq/kg / Body TIM coil. VIVE-Dixon). After setting up the result of CEA (positive:>4 ㎍/ℓ. negative:<2.5㎍/ℓ) as golden data, the lung cancer was found in the image of PET-MRI, and then the SUV_max (positive:>4, negative:<1.5) was measured, and then evaluated the correlation and significance of results of relative diagnostic performance of PET-MRI compared to CEA through the statistical verification (t-test, P>0.05). Through this, the PET-MRI was analyzed as 96.29% of sensitivity, 95.23% of specificity, 3.70% of false negative rate, 4.76% of false positive rate, and 95.75% of accuracy. The false negative rate was 1.06% lower than the false positive rate. The PET-MRI that significant accuracy of diagnosis through high sensitivity and specificity, and low false negative rate and false positive rate of lung cancer, could acquire the fusion image of specialized soft tissue by combining the radio-pharmaceuticals with various sequences, so its clinical value and usefulness are regarded as latently sufficient.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.63.1-63.9
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• 2020

Background: Canine adenovirus type 2 (CAV-2) induces infectious laryngotracheitis in members of the family Canidae, including dogs. To date, no ELISA kits specific for CAV-2 antibody have been commercialized for dogs in Korea. Objectives: We aimed to develop new indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (I-ELISA) to perform rapid, accurate serological surveys of CAV-2 in dog serum samples. Methods: In total, 165 serum samples were collected from dogs residing in Chungbuk and Gyeongbuk provinces between 2016 and 2018. The Korean CAV-2, named the APQA1701-40P strain, was propagated in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells and purified in an anion-exchange chromatography column for use as an antigen for I-ELISA. The virus-neutralizing antibody titers of CAV-2 in the dog sera were measured by virus neutralization (VN) test. Results: We compared the results obtained between the VN and new I-ELISA tests. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of new I-ELISA were 98.6%, 86.4% and 97.0% compared with VN test, respectively. New I-ELISA was significantly correlated with VN (r = 0.91). Conclusions: These results indicate that new I-ELISA is useful for sero-surveillance of CAV-2 in dog serum.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.387-395
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• 2022

Purpose: Toxins produced by Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) can cause enteritis and diarrhea. Although the number of pediatric CDI cases is increasing, the clinical management of pediatric CDI, including patient characteristics and prognosis, remains unclear. This study aimed to elucidate the background and clinical course of patients with CDI and evaluate the reliability of diagnostic tests in a tertiary pediatric hospital in Japan. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of children diagnosed with CDI between 2011 and 2021 at the Saitama Children's Medical Center in Saitama, Japan. Results: During the study period, 1,252 C. difficile antigen/toxin tests were performed, and 37 patients were diagnosed with CDI. The main underlying diseases among the patients were hematological and malignant disorders and gastrointestinal diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (59.4%). Two patients (5.4%) had an unremarkable medical history. Among the 37 patients, 27 (73.0%) were immunocompromised, 25 (67.6%) had a history of antibiotic use within the past two months, and 6 (16.2%) were negative on the initial test but were positive on the second test. Finally, 28 patients (75.7%) required primary antibiotic therapy only, and two patients with IBD required additional antibiotic therapy as secondary treatment. Conclusion: The number of pediatric patients with CDI is increasing. Both a comprehensive interview, including underlying diseases and history of antibiotic use, and an understanding of the features of clinical examinations should be emphasized to appropriately diagnose and treat CDI.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.90-97
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• 2013

The tuberculin skin test (TST) and interferon gamma (IFN-${\gamma}$) release assay (IGRA) have been widely used for diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). In order to overcome limitations of current LTBI diagnostic methods, the development of a novel molecular assay which is able to measure the IFN-${\gamma}$ messenger RNA (mRNA) expression level after stimulation with Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) specific antigen was recently developed. The ability of a molecular assay to detect MTB infection was similar to commercial IGRA however, the optimal incubation time for stimulating IFN-${\gamma}$ was not yet established. Therefore, in this study the direct comparisons of MTB Ag stimulation times (4 and 24 hrs) were performed for diagnosis of MTB infection. Data showed that the coincident rate between QFT-GIT IFN-${\gamma}$ ELISA and IFN-${\gamma}$ RT-PCR (4 hrs) was 88.35% and that of QFT-GIT and IFN-${\gamma}$ RT-PCR (24 hrs) was 70.85%. Based on a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, the 4 hrs-MTB specific Ag stimulation time for IFN-${\gamma}$ RT-PCR had the significant P value, 95% CI value, and AUC (P < 0.0001, 95% CI=0.82 to 1.02, and AUC=0.9214) in comparison with 24 hrs-MTB specific Ag stimulation time (P = 0.009, 95% CI=0.06 to 0.94, and AUC=0.7711). These results show that 4-hr was the most optimal MTB Ag stimulation time for performing IFN-${\gamma}$ RT-PCR. Although semi-quantitative RT-PCR had a few analytical limitations, it might be useful as an alternative molecular diagnostic method for detecting MTB infection.