Monoclonal Gammopathy in Patients with Neuropathy.

Background: The incidence of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) in the population of over 50-year-olds is approximately 3% and increases with age. The association between MG and neuropathy has been of interest for several years, but the causal relationship has not yet been clarified.

Methods: For 682 patients who visited the Department of Neurology and requested tests for MG work-up, we retrospectively collected demographic and clinical information, such as age, gender, diagnosis, and neurologic and laboratory test results, from their medical records.

A Study on the Retrospective Reinterpretation of BRCA1 and BRCA2 Variants.

Background: Hereditary breast/ovarian cancer is associated with BRCA gene mutations. As large volumes of clinical data on BRCA variants are continuously updated, their clinical interpretation may change, leading to their reclassification. This study analyzed the class and proportion of the changed clinical interpretations of BRCA variants to validate the need for periodic reviews of these variants.

Incidence and Distribution of the Pathogens Causing GI Infections at a University Hospital of Korea.

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) infections, caused by various pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and parasites, are the second most common infectious diseases. Molecular diagnostics that can simultaneously detect these pathogens are commonly used in syndromic approaches. The authors aimed to identify the causative pathogens of GI infections to provide clinically useful information.

Recent Changes in the Human Metapneumovirus Outbreak at a University Hospital in Korea.

Background: Although the detection of respiratory viruses other than severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was significantly reduced because of quarantine due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, an epidemic of several viruses was reported unexpectedly. We also detected a change in the pattern of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) outbreak compared to that before the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, the authors intended to identify the incidence and altered distribution pattern of the HMPV outbreak and provide useful information for clinical practice.

The Diagnostic Yield and Difficulties of Utilizing Soft-clipped Read Clusters Encountered in Clinical Exome Sequencing.

Background: Despite the wide use of next generation sequencing, there are still many difficulties in detecting structural variants. A split read is one of the clues of structural variants and is represented as a soft-clipped read in the raw sequencing data. Considering that most of the breakpoints of structural variants reside in non-coding regions, split read information has not been routinely used in exome sequencing or targeted panel sequencing.

Diagnostic Performance of Interferon Gamma Release Assay (IGRA) for Cell-Mediated Immune Responses to SARS-CoV-2.

Background: As SARS-CoV-2 infection became a pandemic, much effort has been made to measure both antibody production and T cell response to SARS-CoV-2 to diagnose COVID-19 patients or find out their immune status. Authors tried to determine the optimal cutoff value and evaluate clinical performance of one interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) kit and compared their results with serological antibody assay in COVID-19 patients.

Methods: Study subjects included 100 patients confirmed as COVID-19 with RT-PCR method and 88 healthy volunteers who were PCR negative.

Evaluation of two SARS-CoV-2 IgG/IgM Rapid Tests in Capillary Blood Samples.

Background: As COVID-19 has spread rapidly around the world, it has become essential to detect the virus quickly and accurately for disease prevention and control. Therefore, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for rapid serological point-of-care test has increased. Recently, many antibody tests have been developed to detect IgM and/or IgG to SARS-CoV-2 in human blood.

Outbreak of Parainfluenza Virus During the COVID-19 Pandemic at a University Hospital in Korea.

Background: The incidence of respiratory viral diseases including parainfluenza virus (PIV) infection has decreased noticeably due to strict quarantine measures during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the recent outbreak of PIV in children occurred unexpectedly and the distribution pattern showed prominent differences from before the COVID-19 pandemic. PIV is one of the major viral pathogens related to acute lower respiratory infection in young children and the elderly.

Changes in the Distribution of Respiratory Microorganisms before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic, Daegu, Korea.

Background: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is the most common infectious disease in all ages and genders worldwide. Respiratory microorganisms such as respiratory viruses, are commonly responsible for causing ARI. COVID-19 is still prevalent in Korea.

Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibody in 2,935 Healthcare Workers at 6 Major Hospitals, Daegu, Korea.

Background: In Korea, the first community outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) occurred in Daegu on February 18, 2020. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in healthcare workers (HCWs) at 6 major hospitals in Daegu.

Methods: Blood specimens of 2,935 HCWs at 6 major hospitals in Daegu from January 2021 to February 2021 were collected.

Age-Related Variation of Syndecan-1 Levels in Saliva and Plasma of Healthy Individuals.

Background: Saliva contains various cells, proteins, and molecules, and it is emerging as a material for diagnosing various diseases. Syndecan-1 (SDC-1) is a member of cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans and is mainly expressed in epithelial cells and plasma cells. SDC-1 is known to be associated with various cancers and inflammatory response, but there are few studies related to the change of SDC-1 levels in the saliva and plasma of healthy individuals due to aging process.

Comprehensive Laboratory Data Analysis to Predict the Clinical Severity of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in 1,952 Patients in Daegu, Korea.

Background: Laboratory parameter abnormalities are commonly observed in COVID-19 patients; however, their clinical significance remains controversial. We assessed the prevalence, characteristics, and clinical impact of laboratory parameters in COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Daegu, Korea.

Methods: We investigated the clinical and laboratory parameters of 1,952 COVID-19 patients on admission in nine hospitals in Daegu, Korea.

How to keep patients and staff safe from accidental SARS-CoV-2 exposure in the emergency room: Lessons from South Korea's explosive COVID-19 outbreak.

Objectives: We report our experience with an emergency room (ER) shutdown related to an accidental exposure to a patient with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who had not been isolated.

Setting: A 635-bed, tertiary-care hospital in Daegu, South Korea.

Methods: To prevent nosocomial transmission of the disease, we subsequently isolated patients with suspected symptoms, relevant radiographic findings, or epidemiology.

HLA-B*51:315, identified using next-generation sequencing-based typing in a Korean individual.

HLA-B*51:315 differs from B*51:01:01:01 by a single nucleotide polymorphism in codon 87 (CAG → CGG).

Myeloperoxidase Deficiency Manifesting as Pseudoneutropenia with Low Mean Peroxidase Index and High Monocyte Count in 4 Adult Patients.

Myeloperoxidase (MPO) deficiency, one of the most common inherited phagocyte defects, and may exist as a transient phenomenon in combination with some clinical condition. Hematological analyzer ADVIA 2120i is used to identify the different types of leukocytes based on their size and staining properties, and by mean peroxidase index (MPXI). When MPO deficiency is present, neutrophils may be incorrectly counted as monocytes with lower MPXI values.

A Prospective Study of Presepsin as an Indicator of the Severity of Community-Acquired Pneumonia in Emergency Departments: Comparison with Pneumonia Severity Index and CURB-65 Scores.

Despite widely used severity indices such as the pneumonia severity index (PSI) and CURB-65, a rapid, easy-to-detect biological marker is required for assessment of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) severity. We aimed to investigate the ability of presepsin to differentiate between high- and low-risk patients, categorized according to PSI and CURB-65 scores. This prospective study was performed in an emergency department (ED) with 90 CAP patients.

Molecular epidemiology and antimicrobial susceptibility of Clostridium difficile isolates from two Korean hospitals.

Clostridium difficile is one of the main etiological agents causing antibiotic-associated diarrhea. This study investigated the genetic diversity of 70 toxigenic C. difficile isolates from two Korean hospitals by employing toxinotyping, ribotyping, multilocus sequence typing (MLST), and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

Two Cases of Bacteremia Due to Roseomonas mucosa.

Roseomonas is a genus of pink-pigmented nonfermentative bacilli. These slow-growing, gram-negative cocobacilli form pink-colored colonies on sheep blood agar. They differ from other pink-pigmented nonfermenters, including Methylobacterium, in morphology, biochemical characteristics, and DNA sequence.

Traceability Assessment and Performance Evaluation of Results for Measurement of Abbott Clinical Chemistry Assays on 4 Chemistry Analyzers.

Context: -The traceability of clinical results to internationally recognized and accepted reference materials and reference measurement procedures has become increasingly important. Therefore, the establishment of traceability has become a mandatory requirement for all in vitro diagnostics devices.

Objectives: -To evaluate the traceability of the Abbott Architect c8000 system (Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Illinois), consisting of calibrators and reagents, across 4 different chemistry analyzers, and to evaluate its general performance on the Toshiba 2000FR NEO (Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation, Otawara-shi, Tochigi-ken, Japan).

Usefulness of mycophenolic acid monitoring with PETINIA for prediction of adverse events in kidney transplant recipients.

Background Therapeutic drug monitoring of mycophenolic acid (MPA) is required to optimize the immunosuppressive effect and minimize toxicity. We validated a new particle-enhanced turbidimetric inhibition immunoassay (PETINIA) for the determination of MPA levels and evaluated the relationship of MPA trough level with drug-related adverse events. Methods PETENIA and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) were used to determine MPA concentrations from 54 kidney transplant recipients (KTRs).

POEMS Syndrome with IgG-λ/IgA-κ Biclonal Gammopathy and Abnormal Serum Free Light Chain Ratio: a Case Report.

Background: POEMS syndrome is a rare paraneoplastic disorder with atypical plasma cell proliferation. Cases of POEMS syndrome presented with either biclonal gammopathy or an abnormal serum free light chain ratio are considered uncommon. The present authors encountered a case of POEMS syndrome with IgG-λ/IgA-κ biclonal gammopathy with dominant κ free light chain and abnormal serum free light chain ratio.