ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There was an worldwide outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) originated from China in late 2002. During that period three cases of suspected SARS and 17 cases of probable SARS were reported in Korea. With the concerns about the reemergence of SARS-coV transmission, it is important to be prepared for any possibility. So, this study is aimed to analysis the past measures in managing SARS and propose the amendatory plans to improve the preparedness. RESULTS:Questionnaires were collected among clinicians with any experience in managing the probable or suspected SARS cases in Oct. 2003. 17 out of 22 hospitals responded to the questionnaire. The contents in the questionnaire were practical activities, personal equipments, response plans, isolation facilities in emergency centers, outpatient clinics, general wards and intensive care units, and relationship with the public health department. RESULTS: The dedicated isolation rooms in emergency centers, outpatient clinics, general wards, and intensive care units were prepared in 9 (9/17, 52.9%), 5 (5/17, 29.4%), 15 (15/16, 93.7%), and 4 (4/16, 25.0%) hospitals, respectively. Except for one hospital that newly made negative pressure room for SARS, single or multi-bed rooms without airborne infection control were used in all the other hospitals. The personal precaution principles were kept quite well in general wards. Before the designation of SARS hospital by the public health department prior evalution to see if the hospital was suitable for managing SARS was conducted in only 1 (1/12, 8.3%) hospital. The results of laboratory diagnosis were reported back in 1 (1/15, 6.6%) hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The isolation facilities which can control airborne infection were almost deficient not only for SARS but also for other respiratory transmissible diseases. For the infection control of transmissible diseases including SARS, more investment is needed on medical facilities and comprehensive support from the public health department required.
Subject(s)
Humans , Ambulatory Care Facilities , China , Clinical Laboratory Techniques , Emergencies , Infection Control , Intensive Care Units , Investments , Korea , Patients' Rooms , Public Health , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: There was an worldwide outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) originated from China in late 2002. During that period three cases of suspected SARS and 17 cases of probable SARS were reported in Korea. With the concerns about the reemergence of SARS-coV transmission, it is important to be prepared for any possibility. So, this study is aimed to analysis the past measures in managing SARS and propose the amendatory plans to improve the preparedness. RESULTS:Questionnaires were collected among clinicians with any experience in managing the probable or suspected SARS cases in Oct. 2003. 17 out of 22 hospitals responded to the questionnaire. The contents in the questionnaire were practical activities, personal equipments, response plans, isolation facilities in emergency centers, outpatient clinics, general wards and intensive care units, and relationship with the public health department. RESULTS: The dedicated isolation rooms in emergency centers, outpatient clinics, general wards, and intensive care units were prepared in 9 (9/17, 52.9%), 5 (5/17, 29.4%), 15 (15/16, 93.7%), and 4 (4/16, 25.0%) hospitals, respectively. Except for one hospital that newly made negative pressure room for SARS, single or multi-bed rooms without airborne infection control were used in all the other hospitals. The personal precaution principles were kept quite well in general wards. Before the designation of SARS hospital by the public health department prior evalution to see if the hospital was suitable for managing SARS was conducted in only 1 (1/12, 8.3%) hospital. The results of laboratory diagnosis were reported back in 1 (1/15, 6.6%) hospital. CONCLUSIONS: The isolation facilities which can control airborne infection were almost deficient not only for SARS but also for other respiratory transmissible diseases. For the infection control of transmissible diseases including SARS, more investment is needed on medical facilities and comprehensive support from the public health department required.
Subject(s)
Humans , Ambulatory Care Facilities , China , Clinical Laboratory Techniques , Emergencies , Infection Control , Intensive Care Units , Investments , Korea , Patients' Rooms , Public Health , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome , Surveys and QuestionnairesABSTRACT
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a new infectious disease in human, first recognized in November, 2002 in southern China. Since March, 2003, SARS has spread rapidly worldwide and the SARS outbreak was more than 8,098 cases from 29 countries. National surveillance system for SARS started from March 16, 2003 in Korea. We report the clinical, laboratory, and radiologic features of 3 probable cases of SARS diagnosed between April 22 and May 12, 2003 in Korea. The first case was a 41-year-old man who was diagnosed as a probable case of SARS because he had fever, cough, travel history to China, and radiologic finding of pneumonic infiltration. The second was an 81-year-old American who came from the Philippines and was going to America by way of Korea. He had fever, cough, and radiologic finding of pneumonic infiltration. The third was a 28-year-old man who noted fever, cough, travel history to Taiwan, and pneumonic infiltration on chest X-ray. Their symptoms were improved in 5-7 days after symptomatic treatment. The antibody test was negative in all patients.
Subject(s)
Adult , Aged, 80 and over , Humans , Americas , China , Communicable Diseases , Cough , Fever , Korea , Philippines , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome , Taiwan , ThoraxABSTRACT
Malaria infection is not uncommon in Korea these days, but there was no report of malaria infection in the patients who had been transplanted his or her kidney. With the immunosuppression, the atypical findings are frequent and make prompt diagnosis difficult. We report a case of malaria which showed atypical clinical course but treated successfully with conventional anti-malarial drug therapy. A 37 year old male patient were transplanted his kidney in Sep. 1997. He was admitted because of fever, which lasted 40 - 50 min every afternoon for 27 days. Numerous trophozoites were found on his peripheral blood smear, which was diagnosed as vivax malaria. Chloroquine and primaquine were given, and fever subsided next day. The patients has been stayed afebrile thereafter. We reported a case of malaria in the renal transplanted patient with the review of literatures.
Subject(s)
Adult , Humans , Male , Chloroquine , Diagnosis , Drug Therapy , Fever , Immunosuppression Therapy , Kidney Transplantation , Kidney , Korea , Malaria , Malaria, Vivax , Plasmodium vivax , Primaquine , TrophozoitesABSTRACT
Hyperplastic polyps are a benign epithelial proliferation and a common type of colorectal and gastric polyps. Malignant change of hyperplatic polyps is rare. Patients with multiple lesions however, tend to have a high frequency of malignancy. Colorectal polyposis syndromes with gastric polyps include familial adenomatous polyposis, Gardners syndrome, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, juvenile polyposis and others. But the case of colorectal hyperplastic polyposis with multiple gastric hyperplastic polyps has not been reported until now. A case was recently experienced involving a 32 year old women with both colorectal and gastric hyperplastic polyposis. Multiple hyperplastic polyps were found in the lower part of the body and the antrum of the stomach, rectosigmoid, transverse and ascending colon.