Risk factors for latent tuberculosis infection in close contacts of active tuberculosis patients in South Korea: a prospective cohort study.

Background: The diagnosis and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) have become mandatory to reduce the burden of tuberculosis worldwide. Close contacts of active TB patients are at high risk of both active and LTBI. The aim of this study is to identify the predominant risk factors of contracting LTBI, persons in close contact with TB patients were recruited.

Association between weight change and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients.

Purpose: Body weight fluctuates daily throughout a patient's stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) due to a variety of factors, including fluid balance, nutritional status, type of acute illness, and presence of comorbidities. This study investigated the association between change in body weight and clinical outcomes in critically ill patients during short-term hospitalization in the ICU.

Methods: All patients admitted to the Gyeongsang National University hospital between January 2010 and December 2011 who met the inclusion criteria of age 18 or above and ICU hospitalization for at least 2 days were prospectively enrolled in this study.

Value of cytologic analysis of bronchial washings in lung cancer on the basis of bronchoscopic appearance.

Introduction: We evaluated the diagnostic yield of cytologic analysis of bronchial washing in addition to forceps biopsy on the basis of bronchoscopic appearance and histologic type in lung cancer.

Methods: This retrospective study included 611 patients who had lung cancer and underwent bronchoscopic procedures between April 2003 and December 2008. Bronchoscopic appearance was classified into six types (tumor, infiltrative, necrotic, normal, compressive and aspecific) on the basis of endoscopic morphology.

A case of isoniazid-induced thrombocytopenia: recovery with immunoglobulin therapy.

Treatment for a 51-year-old man with pulmonary tuberculosis was initiated with isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and pyrazinamide, and discontinued after 3 weeks because of skin rash and itchiness. Isoniazid monotherapy was restarted after 2 weeks. Two days later, the platelet count decreased from 150 to 4×10(3)/mm(3).

Endobronchial aspergilloma: report of 10 cases and literature review.

Purpose: A retrospective investigation of the clinical and radiologic features as well as the bronchoscopic appearance was carried out in patients with endobronchial aspergilloma.

Materials And Methods: Ten patients with endobronchial aspergilloma diagnosed by bronchoscopy and histological examination were identified at the Gyeongsang University Hospital of Korea, from May 2003 to May 2009.

Results: The patients included 9 men and 1 woman, and the age of the patients ranged from 36 to 76 (median, 58 years).

A case of anaphylaxis after the ingestion of yacon.

Anaphylaxis is a potentially life-threatening systemic allergic reaction, often with an explosive onset; the symptoms range from mild flushing to upper respiratory obstruction, with or without vascular collapse. Foods are common offending allergens and remain the leading cause of outpatient anaphylaxis in most surveys. Yacon (Smallanthus sonchifolius) is a plant native to the Andes region, where its root is cultivated and consumed mainly as food.