Wheezing following viral lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs) in children <2 years of age is an important risk factor for the development of asthma later in life; however, not all children with viral LRTIs develop wheezing. This study investigated risk factors for the development of wheezing during viral LRTIs requiring hospitalization.

The study included 142 children <2 years of age hospitalized...

Thyroid dysfunction is common in preterm infants. Congenital hypothyroidism causes neurodevelopmental impairment, which is preventable if properly treated. This study was conducted to describe the characteristics of thyroid dysfunction in very low birth weight infants (VLBWIs), evaluate risk factors of hypothyroidism, and suggest the reassessment of thyroid function with an initially normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) as part of a newborn...

Idiopathic scoliosis is a structural lateral curvature of the spine of unknown etiology. The relationship between degree of spine curvature and cardiopulmonary function has not yet been investigated. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between scoliosis and cardiopulmonary characteristics.

Ninety children who underwent preoperative pulmonary or cardiac evaluation at a single spine institution over 41 months were...

Catheter urine (CATH-U) and suprapubic aspiration (SPA) are reliable urine collection methods for confirming urinary tract infections (UTI) in infants. However, noninvasive and easily accessible collecting bag urine (CBU) is widely used, despite its high contamination rate. This study investigated the validity of CBU cultures for diagnosing UTIs, using CATH-U culture results as the gold standard.

We retrospectively analyzed 210 infants,...

This study aimed to investigate the relative weight gain at 2-week intervals up to 6 weeks after birth to predict retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) requiring treatment among very low birth weight infants.

A total of 211 preterm infants with birth weights <1,500 g and gestational age <32 weeks were retrospectively reviewed. The main outcome was the development of ROP requiring treatment....

Obesity is related to systemic inflammatory processes causing cardiovascular complications. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), CD40 ligand (CD40L), P-selectin are newly described mediators of inflammation and have a significant effect in atherosclerosis. Adiponectin has shown anti-inflammatory effects in adults. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between adiponectin and inflammatory mediators in children and adolescents.

Fifty children or adolescents,...

Chronic upper airway obstruction causes hypoxemic pulmonary vasoconstriction, which may lead to right ventricle (RV) dysfunction. Adenotonsillar hypertrophy (ATH) is the most common cause of upper airway obstruction in children. Therefore, we aimed to evaluate RV function in children with ATH.

Twenty-one children (male/female, 15/6; mean age, 92.3¡¾39.0 months; age range, 4-15 years) with ATH and 21 healthy age- and gender-matched...

We evaluated serum procalcitonin (PCT) as a diagnostic marker of neonatal sepsis, and compared PCT levels with C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 269 neonates with a suspected infection, admitted to Wonkwang University School of Medicine & Hospital between January 2011 and December 2012, for whom PCT and CRP values had been obtained. Neonates were categorized...

Febrile seizures are induced by fever and are the most common type of seizures in children. Although numerous studies have been performed on febrile seizures, their pathophysiology remains unclear. Recent studies have shown that cytokines may play a role in the pathogenesis of febrile seizures. The present study was conducted to identify potential links between serum interleukin-1beta (IL-1β), tumor necrosis...

Neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1) is an autosomal dominant condition caused by an NF1 gene mutation. NF1 is also a multisystem disorder that primarily affects the skin and nervous system. The goal of this study was to delineate the phenotypic characterization and assess the NF1 mutational spectrum in patients with NF1.

A total of 42 patients, 14 females and 28 males, were enrolled...

Among the many factors associated with acute intestinal mucosal infection, numerous studies have proposed the usefulness of fecal calprotectin. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of fecal calprotectin in the diagnosis of necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC).

We collected 154 stool samples from 16 very low birth weight and premature newborns at the Konyang University Hospital neonatal intensive care...

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common disorder in school-aged children. Patients with restless legs syndrome (RLS) often present with ADHD symptoms and vice versa. This study was the first to attempt to identify the prevalence of RLS and sleep problems in children with ADHD in Korea.

Patients diagnosed with ADHD were asked to complete a sleep questionnaire. The sleep...

A recent study analyzing several cytokines reported that long cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time and long aortic cross clamp (ACC) time were accompanied by enhanced postoperative inflammation, which contrasted with the modest influence of the degree of hypothermia. In this present study, we aimed to examine the effect of CPB temperature on the clinical outcome in infants undergoing repair of isolated...

The aim of this study was to determine whether school-aged children with Kawasaki disease (KD) have an increased risk for early atherosclerosis.

The study included 98 children. The children were divided into the following groups: group A (n=19), KD with coronary arterial lesions that persisted or regressed; group B (n=49), KD without coronary arterial lesions; and group C (n=30), healthy children....

The prevalence of macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MRMP) has increased worldwide. The aim of this study was to estimate the proportion of MRMP in a tertiary hospital in Korea, and to find potential laboratory markers that could be used to predict the efficacy of macrolides in children with MRMP pneumonia.

A total of 95 patients with M. pneumoniae pneumonia were enrolled in...

Blood culture is the most important tool for detecting bacteremia in children with fever. However, blood culture contamination rates range from 0.6% to 6.0% in adults; rates for young children have been considered higher than these, although data are limited, especially in Korea. This study determined the contamination rate and risk factors in pediatric patients visiting the emergency room (ER)...

Lowe syndrome is a rare, X-linked recessive disorder caused by mutations in the OCRL gene. It involves multiple anatomic systems, particularly the eyes, central nervous system, and kidneys, and leads to profound growth failure and global developmental delay. This study evaluated the clinical and genetic characteristics of Korean patients with Lowe syndrome.

The clinical findings and results of genetic studies were...

Administration of antiretroviral drugs to mothers and infants significantly decreases mother-to-child human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission; cesarean sections and discouraging breastfeeding further decreases this risk. The present study confirmed the HIV status of babies born to mothers infected with HIV and describes the characteristics of babies and mothers who received preventive treatment.

This study retrospectively analyzed medical records of nine infants...