Clinical Review of Endogenous Endophthalmitis in Korea: A 14-Year Review of Culture Positive Cases of Two Large Hospitals

PURPOSE: To identify the clinical features and outcomes of endogenous endophthalmitis in Korea. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 18 patients with endogenous endophthalmitis at 2 Korean hospitals, treated over a 14 year period between January 1993 and December 2006. RESULTS: The comorbidities observed in these cases were diabetes mellitus and liver cirrhosis. The most common pathogens, which were found in 7 patients each (38.9%), were Klebsiella pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. All patients were treated with systemic antibiotics and fortified topical antibiotics. A surgical approach including vitrectomy was performed in 9 cases (50.0%). The prognosis was generally poor, and visual acuity improved slightly in 6 patients (33.3%). CONCLUSION: In this study, diabetes mellitus and Klebsiella pneumonia showed a close relationship with endogenous endophthalmitis, respectively. Endogenous endophthalmitis is a serious risk to sight and careful attention to establishing the diagnosis and management may decrease the ocular morbidity.ope

Effects of 4-week Training Using Laboratory Index on Competition Record of Elite Female Middle-distance Runner: A Case Report

PURPOSE To investigate the effect of a 4-week training using a laboratory index on the competition record of elite female middle-distance runners. METHODS A female, middle-distance, trained runner with the following characteristics: age, 20 years; height, 168.7 cm; weight, 64.3 kg; 27.2% fat; and VO2max, 56.4 VO2 mL/kg/min; volunteered to participate in this study. Before the training program, the participant took part in a 1,500-m track and field national event in April and the onset of blood lactate threshold was analyzed using (OBVA/ vOBLA), VO2max/vVO2max, and tVO2max tests. After completing the 4-week training program, the participant again took part in the 1,500-m track and field national event in May and her parameters were reassessed using the OBVA/vOBLA, VO2max/vVO2max, and tVO2max tests. RESULTS Pre- and post-training indicate that vVO2max did not improve; however, tVO2max (206 seconds pre-training vs. 251.51 seconds post-training) and VO2max (56.4 vs. 59.3 VO2 mL/kg/min)significantly. However, this improvement in relative VO2 was due to weight loss, and the absolute value of VO2 (3.63 vs. 3.62 L/min) did not change. The 1,500-m race record in track and field events decreased significantly from a pre-training value of 5 minutes 03 seconds to a post-training value of 4 minutes 52 seconds. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study indicate that utilizing laboratory indicators including vOBLA, vVO2max, and tVO2max may be extremely valuable when prescribing training programs for middle-distance runners

Change in the diagnosis of inflammatory bowel disease: a hospital-based cohort study from Korea

Background/AimsAccurately diagnosing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains a challenge, but is crucial for providing proper management for affected patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the frequency of change in diagnosis in Korean patients who were referred to our institution with a diagnosis of IBD.MethodsWe enrolled 1,444 patients diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 1,452 diagnosed with Crohn's disease (CD), who had been referred to the Asan Medical Center between January 2010 and December 2014. These patients were assessed and subsequently classified as having UC, CD, indeterminate colitis, possible IBD, or non-IBD.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 15.9 months, 400 of the 2,896 patients (13.8%) analyzed in this study experienced a change in diagnosis. A change in diagnosis from UC to CD, or vice-versa, was made in 24 of 1,444 patients (1.7%) and 23 of 1,452 patients (1.6%), respectively. A change to a non-IBD diagnosis was the most common modification; 7.5% (108 of 1444) and 12.7% (184 of 1452) of the patients with a referral diagnosis of UC and CD, respectively, were reclassified as having non-IBD. Among the 292 patients who were ultimately determined not to have IBD, 135 (55 UC and 80 CD cases) had received IBD-related medication.ConclusionsThere are diagnostic uncertainties and difficulties in relation to IBD. Therefore, precise assessment and systematic follow-up are essential in the management of this condition

Round-robin test on thermal conductivity measurement of ZnO nanofluids and comparison of experimental results with theoretical bounds

Ethylene glycol (EG)-based zinc oxide (ZnO) nanofluids containing no surfactant have been manufactured by one-step pulsed wire evaporation (PWE) method. Round-robin tests on thermal conductivity measurements of three samples of EG-based ZnO nanofluids have been conducted by five participating labs, four using accurate measurement apparatuses developed in house and one using a commercial device. The results have been compared with several theoretical bounds on the effective thermal conductivity of heterogeneous systems. This study convincingly demonstrates that the large enhancements in the thermal conductivities of EG-based ZnO nanofluids tested are beyond the lower and upper bounds calculated using the models of the Maxwell and Nan et al. with and without the interfacial thermal resistance

Multivariate analysis of prognostic factors in patients with pulmonary actinomycosis

BACKGROUND: There have been few studies of pulmonary actinomycosis, which is an uncommon anaerobic infection. Consequently, the optimal therapeutic regimen, appropriate duration of treatment, long-term prognosis, and factors predicting prognosis are not well established. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of histopathologically confirmed cases of pulmonary actinomycosis seen between November 2003 and December 2012. RESULTS: The study included 68 patients with a mean age of 58.4 ± 11.6 years. Of the 68, initial surgery was performed in 15 patients (22.1%), while the remaining 53 (77.9%) received antibiotic therapy initially. In the initial antibiotic group, 45/53 (84.9%) were cured without relapse (median antibiotic duration 5.3 months). 5/53 (9.4%) patients were refractory medically (median antibiotic duration 9.7 months), and 3/53 (5.7%) experienced a recurrence (median time to relapse 35.3 months). In the initial surgery group, 14/15 (93.3%) were cured and treatment failure occurred in one (6.7%). In the multivariate analysis, the absence of an antibiotic response at 1 month was the only independent factor associated with a poor treatment outcome, with an adjusted odds ratio of 49.2 (95% CI, 3.34–724.30). There was no significant difference in treatment outcome based on the size of the parenchymal lesion, comorbidities, whether intravenous antibiotics were used, antibiotic therapy duration, or whether the initial treatment was surgical. CONCLUSIONS: Antibiotic treatment with or without surgery was effective for treatment of pulmonary actinomycosis. Nevertheless, treatment failure or recurrence occurred in a considerable proportion of patients, especially those resistant to the initial antibiotic treatment