Background: Researchers have shown that eosinophil peroxidase (EPO) is a relatively accurate marker of eosinophilia and eosinophil activity. However, its use as a marker of eosinophilic inflammation in nasal secretions is limited because the diagnostic cutoff values of EPO for use as a one-time test for allergic diseases such as allergic rhinitis have not been established.
Purpose: To identify the correlation... |
This study aimed to evaluate the autonomic imbalance in syncope by comparing the baseline heart rate variability (HRV) between healthy children and those with vasovagal syncope. To characterize the autonomic profile in children experiencing vasovagal syncope, we evaluated the HRV of 23 patients aged 7-18 years and 20 healthy children. These children were divided into preadolescent (<12 years) and adolescent groups.... |
The aim of the present study was to investigate the differences in lower airway inflammatory immune responses, including cellular responses and responses in terms of inflammatory mediators in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and the airway, to rhinovirus (RV) infection on asthma exacerbation by comparing a control and a murine asthma model, with or without RV infection. BALB/c mice were intraperitoneally injected... |
Synthesis of regulated on activation, normal T-cells expressed and secreted (RANTES) in the airway has previously been shown to be elevated after respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. However, since few studies have examined whether RSV-infected asthma patients express a higher level of RANTES than do normal individuals, we used a murine model of asthma to address this question. We prepared |
Enterovirus 71, one of the enteroviruses that are responsible for both hand-foot-and-mouth disease and herpangina, can cause neural injury. During periods of endemic spread of hand-foot-andmouth disease caused by enterovirus 71, CNS infections are also frequently diagnosed and may lead to increased complications from neural injury, as well as death. We present the results of our epidemiologic research on the... |
Many patients assume that allergic reactions against foods are responsible for triggering or worsening their allergic symptoms. Therefore, it is important to identify patients who would benefit from an elimination diet, while avoiding unnecessary dietary restrictions. The diagnosis of food allergy depends on the thorough review of the patients's medical history, results of supplemented trials of dietary elimination, and in... |
Purpose : The study was performed to assess the distribution of the diseases associated with nonspecific reactive hepatitis (NRH) for the past 10 years and to evaluate the change in the level of AST and ALT, and the difference by several variable factors. Methods : From January 1997 to December 2006, 646 patients had elevated liver enzymes among 22,763 patients admitted... |
Purpose : Measurement of antistreptolysin O (ASO) is often necessary to confirm a clinical diagnosis of recent streptococcal infection, especially in patients suspected of rheumatic fever and acute glomerulonephritis. Standard normal ranges for ASO should be established locally for each age group. We analyzed ASO to determine the upper limit of normal (ULN) ASO in children in the Gyeonggi-Incheon area. Methods... |
The link between upper airway disease (allergic rhinitis and sinusitis) and lower airway disease (asthma) has long been of interest to physicians. Many epidemiological and pharmacological studies have provided a better understanding of pathophysiologic interrelationship between allergic rhinitis and asthma. The vast majority of patients with asthma have allergic rhinitis, and rhinitis is a major independent risk factor for asthma... |
Department of Pediatrics , College of Medicine, Hallym University Purpose : In spite of medical advances, empyema is a serious complication of pneumonia in children. Vaccination practices and antibiotic prescribing practices promote the change of clinical manifestations of empyema and causative organisms. So we made a nationwide clinical observation of 122 cases of empyema in children from 32 hospitals during... |
Purpose : The reticuloendothelial system is composed of sinusoidal capillaries, through which even large protein molecules are freely movable between plasma and interstitial space, including the lymphatic system. Therefore, high-dose intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) would cause a redistribution of proteins between two compartments. To investigate this hypothesis, we measured plasma protein and lipid levels in patients with Kawasaki disease before and... |
Purpose : Acute gastroenteritis in infancy is a very common disease with a frequency of a billion diarrhea per year, leading to 3 to 5 million deaths. Since the etiology is not always clear, the treatment plan can be quite difficult to make. The laboratory examinations of stool culture, along with complete blood counts may sometimes be helpful to find... |
Purpose : Kawasaki disease(KD) is an important acute febrile systemic vasculitis disease. Various cytokines have been studied to evaluate the pathogenesis of vascular injury. Some cytokines have been implicated for vascular injury, but there has been no direct evidence. We compared cytokine profiles of KD with Henoch-Sch nlein purpura(HSP), and febrile infections. Methods : We investigated the serum concentrations of... |
Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase(G-6-PD) deficiency is a disease that shows hemolytic anemia and jaundice caused by injury of erythrocytes. The gene of G-6-PD has 13 exons and locates in Xq28, and over 150 mutations of this gene have been reported. We experienced a G-6-PD deficienct male patient who was suffering hemolytic anemia and jaundice confirmed by measuring low G-6-PD activity in the... |
Purpose : Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor(G-CSF) and granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor(GM-CSF) are principal cytokines in granulopoiesis and their physiologic effects are mediated through binding to specific cell surface receptors. Although it is known that the level of serum G-CSF and GM-CSF, and presentation of the receptors are increased in infectious diseases, there have been no studies to find the correlation between... |
Congenital solitary liver abscess in newborns is an extremely rare and serious disease. Only one case was reported in the literature. Most a liver abscesses have a postnatal origin. We encountered a premature infant who had a low. Apgar score and an elevated right diaphragm at birth. Pyogenic solitary liver abscess was diagnosed by ultrasound and computed tomography. Staphylococcus aureus... |
Imperforated hymen, vaginal atresia or high transverse vaginal septum are caused by incomplete vaginal canalization. The infant may be present with distention of the vagina and the uterus with glandular secretions stimulated by maternal estrogens, known as hydrometrocolpos. We report two cases of hydrometrocolpos. In the first case, distal vaginal atresia with cystovaginal fistula was revealed by a contrast fluoroscope... |
Purpose : The close relationship between the size of a tumor burden and the curability of acute leukemia is well established. Therefore, it is very important to detect residual leukemia accurately at low levels. Fluorescence in situ hybridization(FISH) techniques rely on chromosome-specific and gene specific DNA probes to identify numerical and structural chromosomal abnormalities. But the detection limit of FISH... |
Shaken baby syndrome refers to the group of nonaccidental injuries occuring in infants and children as a consequence of violent shaking. The characteristic injuries include subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhages, retinal hemorrhages, traction-typed metaphyseal fracture of long bone and fractures of the ribs. General physical findings may include bruising and burns, but sometimes no extracranial injuries are detected. Affected children are... |
Invasive diseases caused by Trichosporon beigelii are rare, usually fatal, opportunistic infections that occur exclusively in immunocompromised patients. This fungus has been known to produce cutaneous involvement in immunocompetent hosts, and is rarely reported to cause systemic disease in patients with cardiac valve replacement. In this report, we described a case of invasive Trichosporon beigelii pneumonia in a 9-year-old boy... |
Purpose : Family history of allergy and cord blood immunoglobulin E concentration have been proven to be predictors of the development of allergic diseases in children. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether maternal, cord and baby's blood total eosinophils or eosinophil cationic protein(ECP) in addition to the above two predictors could be a predictor of subsequent allergic... |
Purpose : The diagnosis for chromosomal anomality has been made by obtaining cells in metaphase from peripheral blood and fresh tissue culture. But this method is difficult to perform because somewhat invasive and necessary time for cell culture and staining(48-72hr). Recently, the method to find numerical abnormalities in, autosome and sex chromosome of adult buccal mucosal smear by FISH was... |