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Background@#In Korea, tests for evaluating respiratory muscle strength are based on other countries’ clinical experience or standards, which can lead to subjective evaluations. When evaluating respiratory function based on the standards of other countries, several variables, such as the race and cultures of different countries, make it difficult to apply these standards. The purpose of this study was to propose objective respiratory muscle strength standards and predicted values for healthy Korean adults based on age, height, weight, and muscle strength, by measuring maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP), maximal expiratory pressure (MEP), and peak cough flow (PCF). @*Methods@#This cross-sectional study analyzed MIP, MEP, and PCF in 360 people, each group comprising 30 adult men and women aged 20–70, diagnosed as healthy after undergoing medical check-ups at a general hospital. Hand grip strength (HGS) and the five times sitto-stand test (FTSST) results were also recorded. Correlations among respiratory muscle strength, participant demographics, and overall muscle strength were evaluated using Pearson’s correlation analysis. The predicted values of respiratory muscle strength were calculated using multiple regression analysis. @*Results@#Respiratory muscle strength differed from the values reported in studies from other countries. In the entire samples, both MIP and MEP had the highest correlations with peak HGS (r= 0.643, r = 0.693; P < 0.05), while PCF had the highest correlation with forced expiratory volume in 1 s (r = 0.753; P < 0.05). Age, body mass index, peak HGS, and FTSST results were independent variables affecting respiratory muscle strength. A predictive equation for respiratory muscle strength was developed using the multiple regression equation developed in this study. @*Conclusion@#Respiratory muscle strength index may differ by country. For more accurate diagnoses, standard values for each country are required. This study presents reference values for Korea, and a formula for estimation is proposed when no respiratory muscle strength measurement equipment is available.Trial Registration: Clinical Research Information Service Identifier: KCT0006778
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Purpose@#This study aimed: to confirm the balance ability of patients with spinal cord injury in the sitting state through a functional reach test using an elastic aid; and to propose a balance improvement plan. @*Methods@#The study evaluated seven patients with spinal cord injury who could maintain a sitting posture through minimum assistance. A functional reach test was performed before and after wearing an elastic aid while sitting on a chair, and the effects before and after use of the elastic aid were compared and analyzed through a motion analyzer. @*Results@#In the functional reach test, the forward movement distance of the hand was 97.45 mm before wearing the elastic aid, but significantly increased to 131 mm after wearing the aid (p < 0.05). Corresponding forward movement distances for the shoulder were 81.26 mm and 113 mm (p < 0.05 for the increase). There was no statistically significant change in lateral functional arm extension. @*Conclusion@#It was confirmed, through a functional reach test, that trunk stability in patients with spinal cord injury increased with use of an elastic aid. In future, more efficient rehabilitation treatment programs will be possible if trunk stability in patients with spinal cord injury is improved by using elastic aids, and if various exercise treatments are also included in the rehabilitation programs.
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Background@#Except for data in the Korea Hemophilia Foundation Registry, little is known of the epidemiology of congenital bleeding disorders in Korea. @*Methods@#Data were obtained from the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) database. @*Results@#From 2010 to 2015, there were 2,029 patients with congenital bleeding disorders in the Korean HIRA database: 38% (n = 775) of these patients had hemophilia A (HA), 25% (n = 517) had von Willebrand disease (vWD), 7% (n = 132) had hemophilia B (HB), and 25% (n = 513) had less common factor deficiencies. The estimated age-standardized incidence rate (ASR) of HA and HB was 1.78–3.15/100,000 and 0.31–0.51/100,000, respectively. That of vWD was 1.38–1.95/100,000. The estimated ASR of HA showed increase over time though the number of new patients did not increase. Most patients with congenital bleeding disorders were younger than 19 years old (47.8%), and most were registered in Gyeonggi (22.1%) and Seoul (19.2%). @*Conclusion@#This is the first nationwide population-based study of congenital bleeding disorders in Korea. This study provides data that will enable more accurate estimations of patients with vWD. This information will help advance the comprehensive care of congenital bleeding disorders. We need to continue to obtain more detailed information on patients to improve the management of these diseases.
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Catabacter hongkongensis is an anaerobic gram-positive coccobacillus that was first isolated in Hong Kong. It is infectious and causes high mortality in patients with rare but underlying diseases. Alistipes indistinctus is an anaerobic gram-negative coccobacillus. This bacterium is a common member of the human intestinal microbiota. We report a case of C. hongkongensis and A. indistinctus isolated from blood cultures of a patient with acute appendicitis. A 35-year-old female patient with no specific medical history was admitted to the hospital due to abdominal pain, vomiting, nausea, and diarrhea experienced on the day before admission. On admission, laboratory tests revealed leukocytosis, neutropenia, and elevated C–reactive protein and procalcitonin levels. Following an abdominal computed tomography showing acute appendicitis with suspected perforation, emergency surgery was performed. Growth was observed in two anaerobic blood culture bottles after four days. After further culturing of the bacteria on Brucella Blood Agar, two types of bacteria were obtained. The two bacterial isolates, one gram-positive and one gram-negative, were unable to be identified using matrix assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Thus, 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis was performed, resulting in identification of the bacteria as C. hongkongensis and A. indistinctus. The patient was administered antibiotics and discharged two days after surgery. Although MALDI-TOF MS enables fast and accurate identification of bacteria, C. hongkongensis and A. indistinctus were not listed in the spectral library, and 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis was useful for identifying the two bacteria.
Subject(s)
Adult , Female , Humans , Abdominal Pain , Agar , Anti-Bacterial Agents , Appendicitis , Bacteria , Brucella , Diarrhea , Emergencies , Gastrointestinal Microbiome , Genes, rRNA , Hong Kong , Leukocytosis , Mass Spectrometry , Mortality , Nausea , Neutropenia , Sequence Analysis , VomitingABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Rotavirus is a major pathogen causing enteritis worldwide in children under five years of age. In recent years, immunochromatographic assay (ICA) has been widely used as a diagnostic test for rotavirus detection. This study aimed to compare and evaluate the performance of ICA-based rotavirus rapid test kits from two manufacturers. METHODS: Residual stool samples from a total of 130 children with acute enterocolitis from November 2017 to January 2018 were used. We compared the results of the two immunochromatographic methods (SD BIOLINE Rotavirus kit and GENEDIA Rotavirus Ag Rapid Test) with those of the currently used enzyme immunoassay method. RESULTS: Positive agreement, negative agreement, and total agreement rates between the SD BIOLINE rotavirus kit and the enzyme immunoassay were 98.0%, 100%, and 99.2%, respectively. Positive agreement, negative agreement, and total agreement rates between the GENEDIA Rotavirus Ag Rapid Test and the enzyme immunoassay were 96.0%, 100%, and 98.4%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Both rotavirus rapid test kits showed very good agreement with the conventional enzyme immunoassay. Therefore, it could be a useful test to detect rotavirus directly from stool samples in a short time.
Subject(s)
Child , Humans , Diagnostic Tests, Routine , Enteritis , Enterocolitis , Chromatography, Affinity , Immunoenzyme Techniques , Methods , RotavirusABSTRACT
No abstract available.
Subject(s)
Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute , Melphalan , Multiple Myeloma , Plasma Cells , PlasmaABSTRACT
Here, we report two cases of identified anti-Di(b) antibodies with rare Di(a+b−) blood types from two different hospitals in Korea. Di(b) mismatched transfusion could cause a hemolytic transfusion reaction. However, it is extremely difficult to find compatible blood for patients with such a rare blood type. In this regard, we concluded that national level rare donor registry program, wherein rare blood types are indexed, needs to be established. Moreover, laboratory medicine specialists at each hospital should encourage donor registration and family testing through education for helping patients with rare blood types. These efforts will help establish a system that guarantees safe blood transfusion for patients.
Subject(s)
Humans , Antibodies , Blood Donors , Blood Transfusion , Education , Korea , Phenotype , Specialization , Tissue Donors , Transfusion ReactionABSTRACT
Chromosome 9p syndrome is a rare chromosomal abnormality caused by a partial deletion in chromosome 9. It was first described in 1973 by Alfi et al., and has since been shown to have diverse clinical phenotypes. Here, we reported a case of a male infant with joint contracture of the extremities, dysmorphic face, inguinal hernia, and testicular cystic masses. Chromosomal analysis revealed a terminal deletion at the short arm of chromosome 9. The major clinical features of the 9p deletion syndrome are trigonocephaly, small palpebral fissures, a flat nasal bridge, and mental retardation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of a patient with 9p24 deletion presenting with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita.
Subject(s)
Humans , Infant , Male , Arm , Arthrogryposis , Chromosome Aberrations , Chromosomes, Human, Pair 9 , Contracture , Craniosynostoses , Extremities , Hernia, Inguinal , Intellectual Disability , Joints , PhenotypeABSTRACT
No abstract available.
Subject(s)
Aged , Humans , Male , Bone Marrow/pathology , Genome, Human , Isochromosomes/genetics , Karyotyping , Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/complications , Loss of Heterozygosity , Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis , Thrombocytosis/etiologyABSTRACT
No abstract available.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Infant , Asian People/genetics , Chromosome Deletion , Chromosome Disorders/complications , Chromosomes, Human, Pair 18 , Cyanosis/etiology , Heart Septal Defects, Atrial/complications , Karyotyping , Republic of KoreaABSTRACT
No abstract available.
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No abstract available.
Subject(s)
Female , Humans , Middle Aged , Bone Marrow Cells/pathology , Bone and Bones/diagnostic imaging , Lung Neoplasms/diagnosis , Multimodal Imaging , Multiple Myeloma/diagnosis , Tomography, X-Ray ComputedABSTRACT
No abstract available.
Subject(s)
Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive , SplenomegalyABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) can be life threatening, necessitating emergency therapy with prompt diagnosis by morphologic findings, immunophenotyping, cytogenetic analysis, or molecular studies. This study aimed to assess the current routine practices in APL and the clinico-pathologic features of APL. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 48 Korean patients (25 men, 23 women; median age, 51 (20-80) years) diagnosed with APL in 5 university hospitals between March 2007 and February 2012. RESULTS: The WBC count at diagnosis and platelet count varied from 0.4 to 81.0 (median 2.0)x10(9)/L and 2.7 to 124.0 (median 54.5)x10(9)/L, respectively. The median values for prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time were 14.7 (11.3-44.1) s and 29 (24-62) s, respectively. All but 2 patients (96%) showed a fibrin/fibrinogen degradation product value of >20 microg/mL. The D-dimer median value was 5,000 (686-55,630) ng/mL. The t(15;17)(q22;q12 and PML-RARA fusion was found in all patients by chromosome analysis and/or multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), with turnaround times of 8 (2-19) d and 7 (2-13) d, respectively. All patients received induction chemotherapy: all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) alone (N=11, 26%), ATRA+idarubicin (N=25, 58%), ATRA+cytarabine (N=3, 7%), ATRA+idarubicin+cytarabine (N=4, 9%). CONCLUSION: Since APL is a medical emergency and an accurate diagnosis is a prerequisite for prompt treatment, laboratory support to implement faster diagnostic tools to confirm the presence of PML-RARA is required.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Cytogenetic Analysis , Emergencies , Emergency Treatment , Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products , Hospitals, University , Immunophenotyping , Korea , Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute , Medical Records , Partial Thromboplastin Time , Platelet Count , Prothrombin Time , TretinoinABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) can be life threatening, necessitating emergency therapy with prompt diagnosis by morphologic findings, immunophenotyping, cytogenetic analysis, or molecular studies. This study aimed to assess the current routine practices in APL and the clinico-pathologic features of APL. METHODS: We reviewed the medical records of 48 Korean patients (25 men, 23 women; median age, 51 (20-80) years) diagnosed with APL in 5 university hospitals between March 2007 and February 2012. RESULTS: The WBC count at diagnosis and platelet count varied from 0.4 to 81.0 (median 2.0)x10(9)/L and 2.7 to 124.0 (median 54.5)x10(9)/L, respectively. The median values for prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time were 14.7 (11.3-44.1) s and 29 (24-62) s, respectively. All but 2 patients (96%) showed a fibrin/fibrinogen degradation product value of >20 microg/mL. The D-dimer median value was 5,000 (686-55,630) ng/mL. The t(15;17)(q22;q12 and PML-RARA fusion was found in all patients by chromosome analysis and/or multiplex reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), with turnaround times of 8 (2-19) d and 7 (2-13) d, respectively. All patients received induction chemotherapy: all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) alone (N=11, 26%), ATRA+idarubicin (N=25, 58%), ATRA+cytarabine (N=3, 7%), ATRA+idarubicin+cytarabine (N=4, 9%). CONCLUSION: Since APL is a medical emergency and an accurate diagnosis is a prerequisite for prompt treatment, laboratory support to implement faster diagnostic tools to confirm the presence of PML-RARA is required.
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Cytogenetic Analysis , Emergencies , Emergency Treatment , Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products , Hospitals, University , Immunophenotyping , Korea , Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute , Medical Records , Partial Thromboplastin Time , Platelet Count , Prothrombin Time , TretinoinABSTRACT
No abstract available.