Bacterial etiology of acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in hospitalized patients / 대한내과학회지

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic disease that has high morbidity and mortality in Korea. Since an acute exacerbation can place a great burden not only on COPD patients but also on the community, the prevention and treatment of this condition is becoming more important. An acute exacerbation of COPD is defined as an event in the natural course of the disease, characterized by a change in the patient's baseline dyspnea, cough, or sputum that is beyond the day-to-day variation, is acute in onset, and may warrant a change in regular medication. Among the causes of exacerbation, bacteria are the most common etiology. The data of Joo et al. in this issue best describe the relevant pathogens causing COPD exacerbation in Korea. Knowing the prevalent pathogens and their antibiogram is crucial when selecting the antibiotics to use. Their manuscript provides recent information on the bacterial etiology of COPD exacerbation.

A case of juvenile form Pompe's disease manifested as chronic alveolar hypoventilation

We describe a case of the juvenile form of Pompe's disease that presented as primary alveolar hypoventilation due to respiratory muscle involvement. This 17-year-old girl had been asymptomatic until this admission, although she had a delayed puberty. Arterial blood gas analysis, pulmonary function test as well as physical findings were compatible with chronic alveolar hypoventilation syndrome. Since she had lower extremity muscle weakness and pseudomyotonic discharge on electromyography a muscle biopsy was done, which revealed glycogen storage disease. The patient was managed successfully with nasal intermittent positive pressure ventilation.