A survey of the understanding of the scope of work undertaken by dental hygienists and chair-side dental assistants among dental students in Seoul / 대한구강보건학회지

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to investigate the awareness of the students currently attending dental colleges/schools in Seoul regarding the scope of work done by a dental hygienist (DH) and a chair-side dental assistant (DA).METHODS: A direct questionnaire survey was conducted among 950 students who currently attend dental colleges/schools in Seoul. We were able to use a total of 458 samples for final analysis after excluding inappropriate ones. The contents of this structuralized survey included the obligation of proper name badge use for dental health care personnel, the legal work scopes of a DH and a DA in accordance with the revised execution of the ‘Legal Acts on Medical Technicians’, and the inclusion/exclusion of such contents from dental colleges/schools curricula. The results were statistically analyzed via the IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0 software.RESULTS: Many subjects were aware of the difference in scope of work performed by a DH and a DA (P < 0.001), but not their legal obligation to wear appropriate name badges in accordance with the ‘Proposal for the Establishment of the Name Badge Standards for Healthcare Practitioners'. The subjects generally showed higher comprehension of the scope of work performed by a DH (74.3%) than that performed by a DA (57.7%). Without the presence of any corresponding curriculum, accurate responses tended to increase with the students' seniority. Most students (94.4%) agreed with the need to include a class that teaches the scope of work performed by a DH and a DA in their school curricula.CONCLUSIONS: We have found that education regarding ‘Name Badge Standards for Healthcare Practitioners’ and classification of a dental assistant's scope of work is lacking in the existing curriculum. Therefore, it is necessary to establish additional curriculum.

Correction: Detection of Rifampicin Resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Using Middlebrook 7H9 Broth Medium with 2,3-Diphenyl-5-Thienyl-(2)-Tetrazolium Chloride / 대한임상미생물학회지

The acknowledgement was missed without intention. The authors ask to add the acknowledgement ‘This work was supported by a 2-Year Research Grant of Pusan National University.’ in an appropriate section.

Detection of Rifampicin Resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis by Using Middlebrook 7H9 Broth Medium with 2,3-Diphenyl-5-Thienyl-(2)-Tetrazolium Chloride / 대한임상미생물학회지

BACKGROUND: A simple and cost-effective method is needed for the detection of rifampicin resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis in resource-limited settings. We suggest a broth medium-based method using 2,3-diphenyl-5-thienyl-(2)-tetrazolium chloride (STC) for detection of rifampin resistance of tubercle bacilli within a reasonable time frame. METHODS: The type strain (M. tuberculosis H37Rv) and 45 cultured clinical strains of M. tuberculosis (35 rifampin-susceptible and 10 rifampin-resistant) were used. Phenotypes of rifampicin resistance were tested by the Korea Institute of Tuberculosis, and confirmed by GenoType MTBDRplus (Hain Lifescience, Germany). Susceptibility tests were performed using STC-containing OADC-enriched Middlebrook 7H9 broth (BD, USA). RESULTS: All tests were finished in 3 to 6 days. The same results were obtained with the standard and current methods for all 45 clinical isolates (100% sensitivity and specificity for resistance detection). CONCLUSION: The current method using STC is a good alternative for detecting M. tuberculosis rifampin resistance in a cost-effective and timely fashion, which is particularly important in resource-limited settings.

Phenotypic and Genotypic Analysis of Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis Isolates in Myanmar

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most serious health problems in Myanmar. Because TB drug resistance is associated with genetic mutation(s) relevant to responses to each drug, genotypic methods for detecting these mutations have been proposed to overcome the limitations of classic phenotypic drug susceptibility testing (DST). We explored the current estimates of drug-resistant TB and evaluated the usefulness of genotypic DST in Myanmar. METHODS: We determined the drug susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolated from sputum smear-positive patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary TB at two main TB centers in Myanmar during 2013 by using conventional phenotypic DST and the GenoType MTBDRplus assay (Hain Lifescience, Germany). Discrepant results were confirmed by sequencing the genes relevant to each type of resistance (rpoB for rifampicin; katG and inhA for isoniazid). RESULTS: Of 191 isolates, phenotypic DST showed that 27.7% (n=53) were resistant to at least one first-line drug and 20.9% (n=40) were resistant to two or more, including 18.3% (n=35) multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) strains. Monoresistant strains accounted for 6.8% (n=13) of the samples. Genotypic assay of 189 isolates showed 17.5% (n=33) MDR-TB and 5.3% (n=10) isoniazid-monoresistant strains. Genotypic susceptibility results were 99.5% (n=188) concordant and agreed almost perfectly with phenotypic DST (kappa=0.99; 95% confidence interval 0.96-1.01). CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the burden of TB drug resistance and prove the usefulness of the genotypic DST in Myanmar.

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage Mimicking Leakage of Contrast Media After Coronary Angiography

We report a patient who developed subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) just after coronary angiography (CAG) with non-ionic contrast media (CM) and minimal dose of heparin. The 55-year-old man had a history of acute ST elevation myocardial infarction that had been treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention and was admitted for a follow-up CAG. The CAG was performed by the transradial approach, using 1000 U of unfractionated heparin for the luminal coating and 70 mL of iodixanol. At the end of CAG, he complained of nausea and rapidly became stuporous. Brain CT showed a diffusely increased Hounsfield unit (HU) in the cisternal space, similar to leakage of CM. The maximal HU was 65 in the cisternal space. No vascular malformations were detected on cerebral angiography. The patient partially recovered his mental status and motor weakness after 2 days. Two weeks later, subacute SAH was evident on magnetic resonance imaging. The patient was discharged after 28 days.

The effect of neuropeptides on secretion of Interleukin-8 (IL-8) / 대한치과보존학회지

We investigated the secretion of Interleukin-8 (IL-8) from ginviva and periodontal ligament stimulated with Substance P (SP) and Calcitonin Gene-related Peptide (CGRP). Gingiva (GF), periodontal ligament (PDLF) and pulp (PF) tissues were collected from extracted intact 3rd molars. Cultured cells were stimulated with different concentrations of SP for 4 hrs, and stimulated with SP, CGRP and Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) for 8 hrs. Then RNase Protection Assay was carried out. ELISA was performed using supernatants of stimulated cells for quantitative analysis of IL-8. Results were assessed using student t-test with significance of P < 0.05. According to this study, the results were as follows: 1. IL-8 mRNA was detected in all type of cells studied (PF, GF and PDLF). 2. IL-8 mRNA expression was not increased after stimulating 4 hrs with SP (10(-5)M) and SP (10(-8)M) compared with Mock stimulation in all type of cells studied. 3. IL-8 mRNA expression was not increased after stimulating 8 hrs with SP (10(-4)M) and CGRP (10(-6)M) compared with Mock stimulation in all type of cells studied. 4. TNF-alpha(2 ng/ml) increased the expression of IL-8 mRNA in all kind of cells studied. 5. The secretion of IL-8 from GF was increased 8 hrs after the stimulation with CGRP (10(-6)M) (p < 0.05). 6. The secretion of IL-8 from PDLF was increased 8 hrs after the stimulation with SP (10(-4)M) (p < 0.05). Calcitonin Gene-related Peptide (CGRP) increased Interleukin-8 (IL-8) which plays an important role in chemotaxis of neutrophil in Calcitonin Gene-related Peptide (CGRP) gingival tissue, whereas Substance P increased the secretion of IL-8 from periodontal ligament.