Preoperative Factors of Immature First Permanent Molars Treated with Vital Pulp Therapy / 대한소아치과학회지

This study aimed to analyze the preoperative factors of immature first molars treated with vital pulp therapy and to find out their correlation in pediatric patients. From May 2014 to January 2020, 523 patients and 1,242 immature first molars were investigated. Factors including age, sex, tooth location, Molar-incisor hypomineralization (MIH), caries cavity location, and history of previous restoration were evaluated. As a result of the study, the vital pulp therapy group had 5.56 times more MIH, 3.39 times more mesial cavities, and 8.73 times more distal cavities. In order to avoid vital pulp therapy in immature first molar, early diagnosis and active management of MIH and preventive treatment of mesial and distal caries are necessary after its immediate eruption.

Cantilever-Type Traction Appliance for Mandibular First Permanent Molars with Eruption Disturbances / 대한소아치과학회지

Eruption disturbances of the mandibular first molars can cause multiple problems in occlusal development although they are extremely rare. Early diagnosis and treatment are very important to prevent complications associated with eruption disturbances. The present case report describes the treatment of two cases of eruption disturbances of the mandibular first permanent molar. A fixed appliance composed of a cantilever spring with mandibular second deciduous molar as an anchor tooth was used to tract the impacted mandibular first permanent molar. The success of both cases shows that this novel traction appliance can be used to induce the eruption of an impacted mandibular first permanent molar within a short time in patients with intact mandibular second deciduous molar as an anchor tooth.

Prediction of itching diagnostic marker through RNA sequencing of contact hypersensitivity and skin scratching stimulation mice models

Pruritus (itching) is classically defined as an unpleasant cutaneous sensation that leads to scratching behavior. Although the scientific criteria of classification for pruritic diseases are not clear, it can be divided as acute or chronic by duration of symptoms. In this study, we investigated whether skin injury caused by chemical (contact hypersensitivity, CHS) or physical (skin-scratching stimulation, SSS) stimuli causes initial pruritus and analyzed gene expression profiles systemically to determine how changes in skin gene expression in the affected area are related to itching. In both CHS and SSS, we ranked the Gene Ontology Biological Process terms that are generally associated with changes. The factors associated with upregulation were keratinization, inflammatory response and neutrophil chemotaxis. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway shows the difference of immune system, cell growth and death, signaling molecules and interactions, and signal transduction pathways. Il1a , Il1b and Il22 were upregulated in the CHS, and Tnf, Tnfrsf1b, Il1b, Il1r1 and Il6 were upregulated in the SSS. Trpc1 channel genes were observed in representative itching-related candidate genes. By comparing and analyzing RNA-sequencing data obtained from the skin tissue of each animal model in these characteristic stages, it is possible to find useful diagnostic markers for the treatment of itching, to diagnose itching causes and to apply customized treatment.

Evaluation of the Xpert Clostridium difficile Assay for the Diagnosis of Clostridium difficile Infection

Infection with Clostridium difficile is a growing concern because of the increasing prevalence and spread of nosocomial infections. Emergence of the hypervirulent 027/NAP1/BI strain is also notable. Existing diagnostic methods have low sensitivity or are time-consuming. Therefore, establishing a rapid and accurate microbiological diagnostic assay is needed. We evaluated the Xpert C. difficile assay (Xpert CD assay; Cepheid, USA) to detect toxigenic C. difficile. This assay is a real-time multiplex PCR assay that can be used to detect toxigenic C. difficile strains and differentiate the C. difficile presumptive 027/NAP1/BI strain. A total of 253 loose stool specimens were collected and toxigenic cultures, VIDAS C. difficile A & B assays (VIDAS CDAB assay; bioMerieux, France), and the Xpert CD assay were performed. In comparison to toxigenic cultures, the sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values were 100%, 94.6%, 83.1%, and 100%, respectively, for the Xpert CD assay and 40.8%, 98.0%, 100%, and 88.9%, respectively, for VIDAS CDAB assay. Because of the low prevalence of the PCR ribotype 027 in Korea, the evaluation of the usefulness of the Xpert CD assay for screening for the 027 strain was limited. The Xpert CD assay provides great sensitivity in diagnosing toxigenic C. difficile infection. In addition, this method has excellent usability because it is simple and fast.