Age as a Determinant to Select an Anesthesia Method for Tympanostomy Tube Insertion in a Pediatric Population.

Background And Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between age and anesthesia method used for tympanostomy tube insertion (TTI) and to provide evidence to guide the selection of an appropriate anesthesia method in children.

Subjects And Methods: We performed a retrospective review of children under 15 years of age who underwent tympanostomy tube insertion (n=159) or myringotomy alone (n=175) under local or general anesthesia by a single surgeon at a university-based, secondary care referral hospital. Epidermiologic data between local and general anesthesia groups as well as between TTI and myringotomy were analyzed.

Major factors affecting severity of obstructive sleep apnea.

Computed tomography (CT) has become a common method for evaluating obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). The aim of this study was to analyze the relationships between CT parameters and clinical parameters in OSA patients to determine major factors affecting the severity of OSA. The records of 128 consecutive snoring patients (98 males, 30 females) diagnosed with OSA were retrospectively reviewed.

CysA2: A candidate serodiagnostic marker for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

Background And Objective: It is important to identify and test serologically active antigens in order to devise a mixture of antigens or peptides that is most useful for serodiagnosis. This study evaluated the serodiagnostic potential of CysA2, which has not previously been described as a serological antigen, together with those of PstS1, HspX, antigen 85 complex and CFP-10 proteins.

Methods: Serum IgG antibody titres against each antigen and a mixture of the antigens were measured by ELISA, in subjects with pulmonary tuberculosis and in healthy control subjects.

Prevalence of excessive daytime sleepiness and associated factors in the adult population of Korea.

Objective: Information on the prevalence and correlates of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is limited for Asians. We determined the prevalence of EDS and its associated factors in the adult population of Korea.

Subjects And Methods: The subjects consisted of 4405 Koreans aged 40-69 years from the Korean Genome Epidemiology Study, which is an ongoing prospective population-based study.

Association of snoring with chronic bronchitis.

Background: Snoring is more prevalent in patients with chronic bronchitis than in persons without it. Few studies have examined the effect of snoring on chronic bronchitis. We prospectively investigated the association between snoring and the incidence of chronic bronchitis.

Relation of epidermal growth factor receptor expression to mucus hypersecretion in diffuse panbronchiolitis.

Study Object: Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) is a hypersecretory airway disease, and the mechanism of mucus hypersecretion in DPB is poorly understood. Moreover, mucin synthesis in the airways has been reported to be regulated by neutrophilic inflammation-induced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) expression, and the degranulation of goblet cells is known to be mediated by neutrophilic elastase. In this study, we examined the relationship between EGFR expression in the bronchiolar epithelium with neutrophilic inflammation and mucus hypersecretion in the tissues of DPB patients.