Korea HIV/AIDS Cohort Study: study design and baseline characteristics.

The number of persons infected by HIV/AIDS has consistently increased in Korea since the first case of HIV/AIDS infection in 1985 and reached 15,208 by 2016. About 1,100 new patients with HIV/ AIDS infections have emerged every year since 2013. In Korea, the Korea HIV/AIDS Cohort Study was established for the evidenced-based prevention, treatment, and effective management of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in December 2006.

Topical application of palmitoyl-RGD reduces human facial wrinkle formation in Korean women.

Maintaining a youthful appearance is a common desire among the aging population. Loss of elasticity and dermal density constitutes major causes of wrinkle formation during skin aging. In particular, periorbital wrinkles comprise the critical assessment point of skin aging.

Opportunistic diseases among HIV-infected patients: a multicenter-nationwide Korean HIV/AIDS cohort study, 2006 to 2013.

Background/aims: The frequencies of opportunistic diseases (ODs) vary across countries based on genetic, environmental, and social differences. The Korean HIV/AIDS cohort study was initiated in 2006 to promote research on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Korea, and to provide a logistical network to support multicenter projects on epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory aspects of HIV infection. This study evaluated the prevalence of ODs among HIV-infected patients in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy, and the risk factors associated with ODs.

Anxiety and depressive symptoms among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus in South Korea.

Patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) may develop mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, which negatively impact of disease progression. We investigated factors associated with the prevalence of anxiety and depression symptoms among HIV-infected patients in Korea. A total of 840 HIV-infected patients who participated in the Korea HIV/AIDS Cohort Study from 2006 to 2012 were evaluated.

A Case of Ventriculitis Associated with Renal Abscess Caused by Serotype K1 Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Recently, serotype K1 Klebsiella pneumoniae has been a major agent of an invasive syndrome characterized by liver abscess and its metastatic infection. Extrahepatic infection and its characteristics in patients with renal abscess caused by K. pneumoniae are poorly understood, and few cases of central nervous system infection have been reported.

A Case of Mycobacterium kansasii Pulmonary Disease Presenting as Endobronchial Lesions in HIV-Infected Patient.

Incidence of nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) pulmonary disease is increasing with the wider recognition and development of diagnostic technology. Mycobacterium kansasii is the second most common pathogen of NTM pulmonary disease in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. However in Korea, the incidence of M.

Inflammatory mimetic microfluidic chip by immobilization of cell adhesion molecules for T cell adhesion.

Leukocyte adhesion to adhesion molecules on endothelial cells is important in immune function, cancer metastasis and inflammation. This cell-cell binding is mediated via cell adhesion molecules such as E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) found on endothelial cells. Because these adhesion molecules on endothelial cells vary significantly across several disease conditions such as autoimmune diseases, inflammation or cancer metastasis, investigations of therapeutic agents that down-regulate leukocyte-endothelial interactions have been based on in vitro models using endothelial cell lines.

Risk factors for mortality in patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii bacteremia: impact of appropriate antimicrobial therapy.

This study investigated predictors associated with 14-day mortality, and focused especially on the impact of appropriate antimicrobial treatment among patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) bacteremia. This retrospective study was performed at a tertiary care hospital in Korea from June 2007 to June 2010. Antibiotic therapy was considered appropriate if the antibiotics were administered via an appropriate route within 24 hr after the result of blood culture, had in vitro sensitivity to isolated strains, and of an adequate dosage according to the current guidelines.

Risk factors for vancomycin-resistant enterococci infection and mortality in colonized patients on intensive care unit admission.

This study examined the incidence of and risk factors for development of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infection and death in VRE-colonized patients in a medical intensive care unit. VRE colonization was identified in 184 patients (17.6%) in whom VRE perianal swab cultures were obtained.

Predictive value of interferon-γ ELISPOT assay in HIV 1-infected patients in an intermediate tuberculosis-endemic area.

The tuberculin skin test for diagnosing latent tuberculosis (TB) has some limitations for HIV-infected patients, especially in BCG vaccinated countries. The objective of this study was to identify the incidence rate of new TB cases among HIV-infected patients in an intermediate TB-endemic area and to examine its correlation with the ELISPOT assay. We prospectively followed up 124 patients with HIV-1 infection to monitor development of active TB disease after performing an ELISPOT assay (T-SPOT.

Epidemiology and risk factors for bacteremia in 144 consecutive living-donor liver transplant recipients.

Purpose: Bacteremia is a major infectious complication associated with mortality in liver transplant recipients. The causative organisms and clinical courses differ between medical centers due to variations in regional bacterial epidemiology and posttransplant care. Further, living donors in Korea contribute to 83% of liver transplants, and individualized data are required to improve survival rates.

Successful treatment of septic shock with purpura fulminans caused by Trichosporon asahii in an immunocompetent patient.

Trichosporon asahii is an emerging mycosis characterized by high mortality rate in immunologically compromised patients. Only a few cases have been reported in immunocompetent subjects. We report a 46-yr-old man who had been healthy and who presented with septic shock and purpura fulminans caused by Trichosporon asahii.

Comparison of the MicroScan system and the agar dilution assay for Quinupristin/Dalfopristin susceptibility of Enterococcus faecium.

We compared the results of Quinupristin/Dalfopristin (Q/D) susceptibility tests by the Positive Combo Panel (Type 11) of the MicroScan Walk Away 96 analyzer (Dade Behring, Inc.) with those obtained by the reference agar dilution method. From September 2003 to August 2004, a total of 410 E.

Four cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in AIDS patients.

The incidence of opportunistic infection has decreased since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy, so lymphoma is now far and away the most lethal complication of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. We have experienced four cases of NHL in AIDS patients. The first patient was a 37 year old male who presented with left sided hemiplegia due to CNS lymphoma.

Adrenal tuberculosis in Cushing's disease with bilateral macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia.

Cushing's disease is a disorder of hypercortisolism caused by a pituitary micro- or macro-adenoma. Most patients with Cushing's disease have a bilateral adrenal enlargement, which depends on the duration of the disease, as a result of the long standing ACTH stimulation of both adrenal glands. However, in macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia (MNH) that is caused by Cushing's disease, if the MNH gains autonomy, a bilateral adrenalectomy, as well as the removal of pituitary adenoma, is often essential.

Nosocomial transmission of CTX-M-15 and OXA-30 beta-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in a neurosurgical intensive care unit.

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase-producing E. coli were recovered from 16 patients in a neurosurgical intensive care unit; surveillance cultures revealed that the organism could be transmitted through the contaminated environment and the hands of health care personnel. All isolates from the patients, environment, and health care personnel showed the same pulsed-field gel electrophoresis pattern.

Prevalence of Ambler class A and D beta-lactamases among clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Korea.

Objectives: Recently, resistance to extended-spectrum cephalosporins due to acquired beta-lactamases has been reported in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of Ambler class A and D beta-lactamases and their extended-spectrum derivatives and antimicrobial susceptibilities of P. aeruginosa isolated from various parts of Korea.

Nosocomial outbreak by Proteus mirabilis producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamase VEB-1 in a Korean university hospital.

Objectives: To examine the molecular mechanisms involved in the beta-lactam resistance of multidrug-resistant Proteus mirabilis isolates that showed an unusual synergy between imipenem and ceftazidime in a Korean hospital.

Methods: Over an 11 month period, a total of 12 P. mirabilis isolates showing resistance to ampicillin, gentamicin, ceftazidime, cefotaxime, cefuroxime, cefalothin, cefepime, piperacillin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin, were recovered from the sputum and urine specimens of nine patients who were hospitalized in the neurosurgery ward.

DD1.5k, the gene preferentially expressed in bloodstream isolates of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium.

Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREFM) is becoming a threatening pathogen. We identified a gene called DD1.5K by differential display-PCR, which was preferentially expressed in the bloodstream isolates of VREFM.

Pharmacokinetics of primaquine and carboxyprimaquine in Korean patients with vivax malaria.

Primaquine is used for relapses caused by vivax malaria hypnozoites. No studies on the pharmacokinetics of primaquine (PMQ) has been reported in Korean patients. In our study, thirty vivax malaria patients were given 15 mg primaquine daily for 14 days after 3 days of chloroquine treatment.

Efficacies of vancomycin, arbekacin, and gentamicin alone or in combination against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an in vitro infective endocarditis model.

We adopted an in vitro infective endocarditis model (IVIEM) to compare the efficacy of vancomycin (VAN), arbekacin (ABK), and gentamicin (GEN) alone or in combination. Using two strains of clinically isolated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, one GEN susceptible (GS171) and one GEN resistant (GR153), fibrin clots were prepared and suspended in the IVIEM. Antibiotics were given as boluses every 6 h (q6h), q12h, or q24h or by continuous infusion with VAN, q12h or q24h with ABK, and q8h or q24h with GEN.