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Background: Despite advances in neonatal intensive care and surgical procedures, perinatal mortality rates for premature infants with congenital heart disease (CHD) remain relatively high.Purpose: We aimed to describe the outcomes of premature infants with critical CHD and identify the risk factors including the new modified version of the Risk Adjustment for Congenital Heart Surgery (M-RACHS) category associated with in-hospital mortality in a Korean tertiary center.Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of premature infants with critical CHD admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit from January 2005 to December 2016.Results: A total of 78 premature infants were enrolled. The median gestational age (GA) at birth was 34.9 weeks (range, 26.7–36.9 weeks), and the median birth weight was 1.91 kg (range, 0.53–4.38 kg). Surgical or percutaneous intervention was performed in 68 patients with a median GA at birth of 34.7 weeks (range, 26.7–36.8 weeks) and a median birth weight of 1.92 kg (range, 0.53–4.38 kg). The in-hospital survival rate was 76.9% among all enrolled preterm infants and 86.8% among patients who received an intervention. Very low birth weight (VLBW), persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), and M-RACHS category 5 or higher (more complex CHD) were independently associated with in-hospital mortality. For the 68 premature infants undergoing cardiac interventions, independent risk factors for mortality were VLBW, BPD, and CHD complexity. Late preterm infant and age at intervention were not associated with patient survival.Conclusion: For premature infants with critical CHD, VLBW, PPHN, BPD, and M-RACHS category ≥5 were risk factors for mortality. A careful approach to surgical intervention and prenatal care should be taken according to CHD type and neonatal condition.

To assess the role of 16S ribosomal RNA analysis in microbial identification in febrile infants under six months of age diagnosed with UTI, and compare it with the conventional culture results.Young infants under 6 mo of age who were suspected UTI from May 2018 to April 2019 had been enrolled. Uropathogens were analyzed by the traditional microbiologic culture system and the 16S rRNA analysis. The 16S rRNA analysis included 16S rRNA amplicon band confirmation and bacterial identification through the sequencing analysis.A total of 57 infants with the febrile UTI were enrolled, and the median age was 3 mo. Uropathogens were identified in 43 patients (75.4%) in a conventional culture method: Escherichia coli in 38 patients (88.4%), Klebsiella pneumoniae in 3 (7.0%), Enterobacter cloacae in 1 (2.3%), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in 1 (2.3%). Fifty urine samples (87.8%) had positive 16S rRNA amplicon band on electrophoresis. Among the 16S rRNA-positive urines, 40 samples were available for the sequence analysis of 16S rRNA, and the identification of bacteria were as follows: E. fergusonii in 36, K. pneumoniae in 3, and Shigella flexneri in 1. The sensitivity of 16S rRNA sequencing was 81.4% [95% confidence interval (CI), 67.4-90.3%] and the specificity was 64.3% (95% CI, 38.8-83.7%).Uropathogen identification using 16S rRNA analysis could be applied to manage the febrile UTI in young infants clinically in combination with the conventional culture.

This article reports five invasive Group B streptococcal (GBS) infections that occurred in a neonatal intensive care unit for about 3 months. This outbreak might have been associated with a prolonged GBS colonized infant and adjacent environmental contaminations. Infection control interventions prevented the additional spread of GBS infections. Keywords: Neonatal intensive care unit, Outbreak, Streptococcus agalactiae

Background: Retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is caused by prenatal sensitization and postnatal insults to the immature retina. This process can be associated with the postnatal growth of preterm infants. We investigated whether ROP requiring treatment was associated with the postnatal growth failure of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants. Method: From a cohort of VLBW infants (birth weight Results: Of 3,133 enrolled infants, 624 (19.9%) were diagnosed with ROP requiring treatment. After PSM, ROP requiring treatment was associated with postnatal growth failure assessed by head circumference (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.18–3.09), but not weight (aOR 1.45, 95% CI 0.97–2.17) and length (aOR 1.21, 95% CI 0.81–1.82). Conclusion: ROP requiring treatment was associated with poor head circumference growth, not with weight and length. Our findings suggest that ROP requiring treatment and poor head growth during NICU hospitalization are fundamentally related.

This study was conducted to investigate perceptions of a dignified death among elderly veterans using homecare in South Korea. This study was a descriptive survey. The subjects were 161 elderly veterans using the homecare service of a national veterans’ hospital for 1 year or more. Participants’ demographic, illness, and care characteristics and perceptions of a dignified death were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t test, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). Participants’ mean dignified death perception level was 3.18 on a 4-point Likert-type scale. Participants who received medical services free of charge had higher perceptions of a dignified death than those who had to pay. Having at least a college education, having above-average economic status, and being cared for by spouses or professionals were associated with higher perceptions of a dignified death. Participants’ perception of a dignified death differed by socioeconomic factors rather than disease characteristics. Therefore, to improve perceptions of a dignified death among elderly veterans using homecare services, it might be necessary for the state to assume greater responsibility for their medical expenses, to build better community-based end-of-life care systems, and to promote health and welfare policies for dignified death–oriented social infrastructure.

Fusarium head blight (FHB) caused by Fusarium species is a major disease of wheat and barley around the world. FHB causes yield reductions and contamination of grains with trichothecene mycotoxins including; nivalenol (NIV), deoxynivalenol (DON), 3-acetyldeoxynivalenol (3-ADON), and 15-acetylde-oxynivalenol (15-ADON). The objectives of this study were to identify strains of F. graminearum isolated in Korea from 2012-harvested wheat grain and to test the pathogenicity of these NIV- and DON-producing isolates. Three hundred and four samples of wheat grain, harvested in 2012 in Chungnam, Chungbuk, Gyeongnam, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Gangwon provinces were collected. We recovered 44 isolates from the 304 samples, based on the PCR amplification of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rRNA region and sequencing. Our findings indicate that F. asiaticum was the predominant (95% of all isolates) species in Korea. We recovered both F. asiaticum and F. graminearum from samples collected in Chungnam province. Of the 44 isolates recovered, 36 isolates had a NIV genotype while 8 isolates belonged to the DON genotype (3-ADON and 15-ADON). In order to characterize the pathogenicity of the strains collected, disease severity was assessed visually on various greenhouse-grown wheat cultivars inoculated using both NIV- and DON-producing isolates. Our results suggest that Korean F. graminearum isolates from wheat belong to F. asiaticum producing NIV, and both F. graminearum and F. asiaticum are not significantly different on virulence in wheat cultivars.

This study compared the demineralization resistance of teeth treated with silver diamine fluoride (SDF) to that treated with fluoride varnish. A total of 105 healthy bovine incisors were divided into control, fluoride varnish, and SDF groups. The enamel surface density change was then measured by micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) at three depths. The demineralized zone volume was measured on 3D micro-CT images to evaluate the total demineralization rate. The enamel surface morphology was assessed by scanning electron microscope. The enamel density had continuously decreased while demineralization increased in the control and fluoride varnish groups. The enamel density had increased in the SDF group till the 7th day of demineralization treatment and decreased thereafter. However, the decrease in the SDF group was less severe than that in the other groups (p &lt, 0.05). The demineralized enamel volume had increased through treatment and was the highest in the control group, followed by the fluoride varnish and SDF group. The enamel surface morphology was the roughest and most irregular in the control group, followed by the fluoride varnish group and SDF groups.

The allelic variations at the Rht-1, Vrn-1 and Ppd-1 of 410 Korean wheat cultivars, including 111 Korean experimental lines, 238 Korean landraces and 61 North Korean collections, were investigated to provide the information of plant height and heading date and to elucidate the relationship between those traits and allelic variation of these genes because earliness is major consideration in Korean wheat production. All Korean wheats displayed vrn-A1 and Ppd-A1b alleles, while Rht-B1a, Rht-D1a, vrn-B1, Vrn-D1, Ppd-B1b and Ppd-D1a alleles were also predominantly found. Most Korean wheats carried both Rht-B1a and Rht-D1a alleles, both vrn-B1 and Vrn-D1 alleles, or both Ppd-B1b and Ppd-D1a alleles. The Rht-B1a, vrn-D1, Ppd-B1b and Ppd-D1b alleles were found to exhibit longer culm and spike length than their counterpart alleles. The Rht-B1a allele also showed longer spike length than Rht-B1b. Vrn-B1b and vrn-D1 alleles exhibited longer days to heading date than their counterpart alleles at the Vrn-B1 and Vrn-D1 loci. Lines carrying both Rht-B1b and Rht-D1b alleles displayed shorter culm and longer spike length and days to heading date than any other combination of alleles at the Rht-B1 and Rht-D1 loci. In contrast, lines carrying both Ppd-B1b and Ppd-D1b alleles exhibited longer culm and spike length than any other combination of alleles at the Ppd-B1 and Ppd-D1 loci.