Purpose: Macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) is characterized by prolonged fever and radiological progression despite macrolide treatment. Few studies have examined serum procalcitonin (PCT) level in children with MPP. We aimed to investigate the association of acute inflammation markers including PCT with clinical parameters in children with MPP. Methods: A total of 147 children were recruited. The diagnosis of MPP... |
Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a hypersensitivity lung disease due to bronchial colonization of |
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory relapsing skin disorder. Vitamin D plays a pivotal role in the development of AD, and interleukin (IL) 31 is known to be related to pruritus in AD. The aim of our study was to determine whether 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) levels are related to IL-31 levels or to the severity of AD. We enrolled 91... |
A nationwide outbreak of |
In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence of year-round respiratory viral infection in children with lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) and the relationship between respiratory viral infection and allergen sensitization in exacerbating asthma. We investigated the sources for acute LRTIs in children admitted to our hospital from May 2010 to April 2011. The 6 most common respiratory viruses were... |
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Dramatic improvement of hemangioma to propranolol has been recently reported; however, details on dose and duration of treatment, potential risks, and monitoring have not been determined. The objective of this study is to describe and analyze the use of propranolol as a first-line treatment or as a single therapy in management of complicated hemangioma. A retrospective chart review of eight patients... |
Purpose : The human lung fibroblast may act as an immunomodulatory cell by providing pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, which are important in airway remodeling. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induces mucosal edema and angiogenesis. Thymus and activation regulated chemokine (TARC) induces selective migration of T helper 2 cells. We investigated whether human lung fibroblasts produced VEGF and TARC, and the... |
Purpose : Asthma is characterized by the presence of airway hyperresponsiveness(AHR) and inflammation. The extensive eosinophil infiltration into the lung is the hallmark of asthma and contributes to the damage of respiratory epithelium during late phase airway responses. Eotaxin is the major eosinophil chemoattractant found in bronchoalveolar lavage(BAL) fluid of allergic inflammation. IL-13 has been known to induce the... |
Purpose : Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) is a key cytokine for controlling vascular permeability and angiogenesis, which is one of the major findings in airway remodeling. However, it is not well known if it is associated with acute lower respiratory tract disease such as lobar pneumonia. The aim of this study is to compare serum VEGF levels in patients with... |
We encountered two children with lead poisoning who were administered herb medicinal pills recommended by their clergyman. These patients presented anemia and severe coliky abdominal pain, but no neurologic symptoms. For this reason, they were initially misdiagnosed with gastrointestinal hemorrhagic disease. However, we got a clue that they took herb medicinal pills. Finally, based on the assay of blood lead... |
Purpose : We performed this study to evaluate the mean serum levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I, insulin-like growth factor binding protein(IGFBP)-2 and IGFBP-3 in healthy Korean children according to age and sex. Methods : Ninety two healthy children, consisting of 42 boys and 50 girls, were classified into five groups according to age : neonate; infancy; early childhood; late childhood;... |
Syncope in children and adolescents have a common occurrence according for up to 15% before adulthood. Micturition syncope, a kind of situational syncope, can be considered a form of reflex syncope. It can typically occur in healthy young men after rising from bed in the early morning who experience sudden loss of consciousness during or immediately after urination. The mechanism... |
Purpose : Kawasaki disease is an acute systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology with a predilection for the coronary arteries. Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF) is a cytokine which promotes vascular permeability and angiogenesis. We investigated serum VEGF(sVEGF) levels in Kawasaki disease to determine whether sVEGF level can be used as a risk factor to predict the occurrence of coronary artery lesions(CAL)... |
Alagille syndrome is a autosomal dominant disorder characterized by intrahepatic bile duct paucity and resultant chronic cholestasis in combination with cardiac(mainly peripheral pulmonary stenosis), skeletal, ocular, and facial abnormalities. In addition to the pulmonary stenosis, in large series, anecdotal reports of vascular lesions have concerned the renal artery, aorta, hepatic artery, carotid artery, celiac artery or subclavian artery. Theses diffuse... |