Question: Could probiotics be used as a therapeutic modality in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis? Finding: There seem no added advantages over lifestyle modifications compared to Probiotics. Meaning: There does not seem to be an advantage of probiotics over lifestyle modifications in improving obesity-associated metabolic derangement in children. |
Question: Can nonpharmacological methods be used for neonatal pain management. Finding: Nonpharmacological methods like Sucrose, breastfeeding etc have shown to significantly reduce the pain caused by intramuscular hepatitis B vaccination. Meaning: Nonpharmacological methods are the safe and cheap potential modalities of analgesia which can be used during mild to moderate pain in newborns. |
Background: The seropositivity rate of hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs) antibodies is known to be ≥95% after hepatitis B virus vaccination during infancy. However, a low level or absence of anti-HBs in healthy children is discovered in many cases. Recent studies in adults reported that a reduced anti-HBs production rate is related to obesity.
Purpose: To investigate whether body mass index... |
Studies on cytomegalovirus (CMV) infections in immunocompetent children are lacking, and minimal information is available in the medical literature on hepatic manifestations and complications of CMV. The aims of this study were to evaluate the clinical characteristics, laboratory data, and prognosis of children with CMV hepatitis, and to investigate its prevalence at a single medical center in Korea over a... |
This prospective study included 1,044 pediatric patients with MP infection diagnosed serologically with MP IgM at one medical center... |
Two adolescent cases of Fitz-Hugh-Curtis syndrome, which has not been previously reported in Korean girls, presenting with right upper-quadrant abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever are reported here. A careful and thorough inquiry into the sexual history of the first patient, which was not done upon admission, led to a careful reassessment of the dynamic abdominal computed tomography scan revealing... |
Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC), and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) are chronic autoimmune liver diseases. Overlap syndrome is defined as a condition in which the clinical, biochemical, and histological features of these autoimmune diseases are overlapped. Thus, it is difficult to appreciate overlap syndrome as an actual diagnostic entity. Only a few cases of the overlap syndrome of... |
Purpose : This study aimed to identify the true extent of non-responsiveness in full-term infants born from HBsAg-negative or HBsAg-positive mothers and vaccinated against hepatitis B virus (HBV) at 0, 1, and 6 months of age and to evaluate the effect of revaccination among non-responders. Methods : The study included 716 full-term infants born in 2004-2007. Of 716, 662 infants... |
Korea is now classified as an area of intermediate endemicity for hepatitis B virus (HBV), due to the implementation of universal HBV vaccination and national preventive programs for HBV infection. A national program of HBV vaccination was launched in Korea in 1988 for school-going children and was listed on a vaccination guideline in 1991. In 1995, universal vaccination for newborn... |
The age-specific anti-hepatitis A virus (HAV) seroprevalence rates in South Korea have changed markedly since the last 2030 years with an improvement in the socio-economic, housing, and environmental-sanitation conditions. These changes are characterized by very low anti-HAV seropositive rates among individuals less than 30 years of age; however, nowadays, most adolescents and young adults at an increased risk of developing... |
Drug-induced toxic hepatitis is a relatively common hepatic disease in children, and it is usually self-limiting upon cessation of the offending drugs. Antituberculous drugs are well known for inducing hepatitis. Some cases of drug-induced hepatitis with autoimmune features have been reported; in these cases, the offending drugs were usually methyldopa, nitrofurantoin, minocycline, and interferon. The authors report the first case... |
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... |
Acute liver failure (ALF) is a very rare but devastating illness in children. Specific treatment to recovery is often not available, and the underlying cause of the liver failure is often unknown and diverse especially in children. Liver transplantation has increased the chance of survival; however it needs an optimal timing to reach the best result which is not familiar... |
Interferon (IFN) alpha has been the first line therapy of chronic hepatitis B in children, but HBeAg seroconversion occurred in 26% of treated children compared to 11% of controls in multinational randomized controlled study. Recently, lamivudine was shown to be a potent inhibitor of Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reproduction both in HBeAg positive and in HBeAg negative (the pre-core mutant... |
Purpose : Perinatal hepatitis B viral infection is decreasing; however, 10% of babies to HBeAg positive mothers still become chronic carriers despite perinatal prophylaxis. Although, the cause of prophylaxis failure is still unclear, an importance of maternal HBV-DNA level at the delivery time has been suggested. This study was established to certify if it would be a useful predictable factor... |
Purpose : The prevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) in a certain community reflects that community's living standards and hygienic conditions. And the pattern of HAV infection differs over time and geography. Recently, a shift in prevalence has been observed in cases from chilhood to adulthood. We studied the HAV antibody prevalence in the general population in Busan. Methods : From... |
Purpose : To assess the usefulness of 99mTc-DISIDA scanning in the early evaluation of neonatal cholestasis and to verify the diagnostic value of this test in the differential diagnosis of biliary atresia. Methods : DISIDA scannings were performed and analyzed in 87 children(58 males and 29 females; age, 18-139 days, mean, 59.1 days) with neonatal cholestasis. Five groups according to the... |
Purpose : This study was conducted to assess the current(2003-2005) prevalence of anti-HBs and immunologic memory for Hepatitis B vaccine in children from the central area of Korea. Methods : Subjects were chosen from children and adolescents who received tests for hepatitis B surface antigen(HBsAg) and anti-HBs at Dankook University Hospital from March 2003 to May 2005. Among these, antibodies to... |
Purpose : Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is relatively common in childhood. Its extrapulmonary manifestations have been reported so much, but hepatitis associated with it has been reported rarely in Korea. Methods : A clinical study was performed on 556 patients of M. pneumoniae pneumonia diagnosed serologically at Gil hospital from January 2001 to December 2004. We reviewed 65 cases among these patients,... |
Purpose : We compared the therapeutic efficacy of lamivudine and alpha-interferon in children with chronic hepatitis B two years after the initiation of treatment, so that we could verify the safety and long term efficacy of lamivudine in children. Methods : We prospectively studied 44 children(32 male and 12 female; age, 1-18 years, mean, 9 years) treated for chronic hepatitis B... |
Aplastic anemia following acute hepatitis or acute hepatic failure is an uncommon disease and has a poor prognosis. We experienced a case of aplastic anemia following acute hepatic failure in a 10- year-old girl. She was admitted because of jaundice and lethargy for 8 days. Laboratory findings revealed marked elevated serum transaminases and bilirubin levels, prolonged prothrombin time and partial... |
Fulminant hepatitis from hepatitis A in children is rare and has a low survival rate. We report a case of fulminant hepatitis from hepatitis A in a 12-year-old girl. The patient was admitted because of a three day history of fever, epigastric pain and vomiting. On her second hospital day, she had insomnia, anxiety, dysthesia, continuous fever, vomiting and nausea.... |
The generation of a draft sequence of the human genome has lead to an opportunity to characterize human diversity, including the differences in host response to numerous pathogens. Host responses upon exposure to a pathogen can determine the wide spectrum of illness from subclinical or mild to severe diseases. Host factors, particularly genetic backgrounds, influence the pathogenesis of infectious diseases.... |
Purpose : We investigated the spontaneous seroconversion rate of hepatitis B viral markers and predictive factors affecting seroconversion in children with chronic hepatitis B. Methods : The study population included 214 children diagnosed as chronic hepatitis B, with positive HBsAg, HBeAg and HBVDNA over six months, and all patients had a family history of chronic Hepatitis B. They were followed between... |
Perinatal hepatitis B virus(HBV) infection may occur despite combined immunoprophylaxis with hepatitis B immunoglobulin and vaccines. Although the mechanism of perinatal prophylaxis still has been obscure, it could be due to : in utero infection; host factors as the personal immunological differences of HLA or cytokine gene; viral factors as a high maternal HBV-DNA level or the presence of surface... |
Purpose : Hepatitis B virus(HBV) with various mutations has been reported. The aims of this study were to investigate the frequency and manifestation of HBV pre-S/S mutations in children with chronic hepatitis B infection. Methods : Sera from 17 children with chronic hepatitis B infection were analyzed by direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction amplification of HBV DNA. Results : Seventeen... |
Purpose : The envelope of HBV consists of three polypeptides which are encoded in pre-S/S open reading frame. Three translation initiation sites are present within this pre-S/S open reading frame, i.e. pre-S1, pre-S2, and S, allowing the expression of large, middle and small HBs proteins. The pre-S1 is thought to carry the receptor binding site for viral entry into hepatocyte... |
Purpose : The aims of this study were to investigate the frequencies and role of hepatitis B virus(HBV) precore and core promotor mutations in children with chronic hepatitis B infection. Methods : Sera from 46 children with chronic hepatitis B infection were analyzed by direct sequencing of polymerase chain reaction product of HBV DNA. In this study, the patients were divided... |
Purpose : Liver transplantation(LT) is regarded as an important management option for fulminant hepatitis(FH), which is associated with considerable mortality under conservative management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of children with FH according to management. Methods : We reviewed medical records of patients presented with FH from January 1994 until April 1999. The children were... |
Purpose : The efficacy and safety of interferon-alpha(IFN-α) therapy in children with chronic hepatitis B(CHB) is similar to that of adults. However, little information is available about the predictive factors of response to this therapy in children. The aim of this study was to determine the predictive factors for responsiveness to IFN-α therapy in children with CHB. Methods : The basal... |