Guidelines for Laboratory Diagnosis of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Korea

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which began in December 2019, is still ongoing in Korea, with >9,000 confirmed cases as of March 25, 2020. COVID-19 is a severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection, and real-time reverse transcription-PCR is currently the most reliable diagnostic method for COVID-19 around the world. Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine and the Korea Centers for Disease Prevention and Control propose guidelines for diagnosing COVID-19 in clinical laboratories in Korea. These guidelines are based on other related domestic and international guidelines, as well as expert opinions and include the selection of test subjects, selection of specimens, diagnostic methods, interpretation of test results, and biosafety.

Association between Abdominal Obesity and Oxidative Stress in Korean Adults / 가정의학회지

BACKGROUND: Obesity causes several changes in the body and is associated with both inflammation and oxidative stress. However, the relationship between abdominal obesity, diacron-reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs), and biological antioxidant potential (BAP) levels in Korean adults has not yet been proved. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between d-ROMs, BAP levels, and abdominal obesity in the Korean adult population using clinical data. METHODS: A total of 2,367 individuals, aged 18–86 years, were identified from health check-up examination records at a university hospital, between January 2015 and August 2016. Clinical and biochemical parameters, including waist circumference, lipid profile, alcohol drinking status, and smoking status, were investigated. Oxidative stress levels, viz., d-ROM concentration and antioxidant capacity, viz., BAP, were measured. RESULTS: Subjects with abdominal obesity presented significantly higher levels of d-ROMs compared to those with a normal waist circumference (P<0.001). After adjusting for age, sex, alcohol drinking status; smoking status; and triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein levels were found to have a significant positive correlation with abdominal obesity (P<0.001). BAP did not significantly correlate with abdominal obesity. CONCLUSION: We observed a positive association between abdominal obesity and d-ROM concentration. This result indicates that abdominal obesity can increase oxidative stress and may affect the pathways involved in obesity, such as the inflammatory pathway. Such correlation analyses were helpful in revealing the causes, as well as methods to reduce, oxidative stress.

Treatment Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in Children with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma at a Single Institution / 임상소아혈액종양

BACKGROUND: Treatment outcomes of children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have dramatically improved in recent years. However, there are few studies on the outcomes of pediatric NHL in Korea.METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 34 children diagnosed with NHL and treated at Kosin University Gospel Hospital from Jan. 1987 to Dec. 2009, according to age, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, histology, stage and involved site.RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 9.0 years. The abdomen and head/neck regions were the most common primary sites. On histologic classification, Burkitt lymphoma was the most common, followed by lymphoblastic lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, anaplastic large cell lymphoma, and unclassifiable, with respective incidences of 35.3%, 23.5%, 17.6%, 17.6%, and 5.9%. Various combination chemotherapies according to the diagnosis with mean treatment duration of 14.9 months showed 5 year event free survival (EFS) and 5 year overall survival (OS) rate of 67.7+/-8.0% and 79.3+/-7.0%, respectively. Nine out of the 34 patients relapsed, and the 5 year OS rates for those who relapsed vs. 25 patients without relapse were 44.4+/-16.6%, vs. 92.0+/-5.4%, respectively (P<0.01). Although 5 year EFS rate varied according to stage, 5 year OS rate were not different according to age, sex, LDH, stage, histology, or treatment period.CONCLUSION: The outcome of children with NHL treated in our setting was comparable to those of other large centers in Korea. No factor other than stage, including LDH, histologic subtype showed significant prognostic value.

Treatment Outcomes and Prognostic Factors in Children with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma at a Single Institution / 임상소아혈액종양

BACKGROUND: Treatment outcomes of children with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) have dramatically improved in recent years. However, there are few studies on the outcomes of pediatric NHL in Korea. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of 34 children diagnosed with NHL and treated at Kosin University Gospel Hospital from Jan. 1987 to Dec. 2009, according to age, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, histology, stage and involved site. RESULTS: The mean age of the subjects was 9.0 years. The abdomen and head/neck regions were the most common primary sites. On histologic classification, Burkitt lymphoma was the most common, followed by lymphoblastic lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, anaplastic large cell lymphoma, and unclassifiable, with respective incidences of 35.3%, 23.5%, 17.6%, 17.6%, and 5.9%. Various combination chemotherapies according to the diagnosis with mean treatment duration of 14.9 months showed 5 year event free survival (EFS) and 5 year overall survival (OS) rate of 67.7+/-8.0% and 79.3+/-7.0%, respectively. Nine out of the 34 patients relapsed, and the 5 year OS rates for those who relapsed vs. 25 patients without relapse were 44.4+/-16.6%, vs. 92.0+/-5.4%, respectively (P<0.01). Although 5 year EFS rate varied according to stage, 5 year OS rate were not different according to age, sex, LDH, stage, histology, or treatment period. CONCLUSION: The outcome of children with NHL treated in our setting was comparable to those of other large centers in Korea. No factor other than stage, including LDH, histologic subtype showed significant prognostic value.

The Combination of Real-Time PCR and HPLC for the Identification of Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria

We used HPLC and AdvanSure real-time PCR (LG Life Sciences, Korea) to retrospectively analyze non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in 133 clinical specimens. The specimens were culture-positive for NTM and the HPLC method identified 130 strains of mycobacteria from the cultures (97.7%) at the species level. Among the isolates, 48 Mycobacterium. kansasii (36.1%), 39 M. intracellulare (29.3%), 17 M. avium (12.8%), 16 M. abscessus (12.0%), 6 M. fortuitum (4.5%), 2 M. szulgai (1.5%), 2 M. gordonae (1.5%), and 3 unclassified NTM strains (2.3%) were identified. The real-time PCR assay identified 60 NTM-positive specimens (45.1%), 65 negative specimens (48.9%), and 8 M. tuberculosis (TB)-positive specimens (6.0%). The real-time PCR assay is advantageous because of its rapid identification of NTM. However, in our study, the real-time PCR assay showed relatively low sensitivity (45.1%) when using direct specimens including sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. HPLC is useful as it discriminates NTM at the species level, although it is time-consuming and requires specific equipment and technical expertise. A combination of both methods will be helpful for the rapid and accurate identification of mycobacteria in clinical laboratories.

Performance Evaluation of 3 Kinds of HBsAg Qualitative Assays and 2 Kinds of Quantitative Assays

BACKGROUND: Currently used techniques for quantitation of HBsAg often yield discordant results; therefore, development of quantitation techniques that can detect HBsAg with high accuracy has become very important. Recent advances have led to the development of several HBsAg detection systems. Here, we evaluated the performance of 3 newly developed detection systems, which can detect HBsAg both qualitatively and quantitavely, and determined the concordance among their results. METHODS: Four hundred and thirty two samples assigned to 4 groups-patient group, dilution group, weakly reactive group, and linearity group- were subjected to qualitative and quantitative detection of HBsAg by using the 3 systems developed by 3 major manufacturers; Abbott Architect, Roche E170 and Siemens Centaur XP. RESULTS: The results for the qualitative analyses were closely concordant among the three systems (98.3%) for all 432 samples. In 123 samples that were determined as HBsAg-negative, E170 (76%) distributed frequently at the upper half level (0.5-1.0) of negative reference range, compared with Architect (11%) and Centaur XP (22%). In particular, in 65 samples that were diluted from the strongly positive samples to obtain weakly positive samples, the average index values obtained using Architect (3.6 S/CO), E170 (4.2 COI) and Centaur XP (11.4 index value) differed significantly (P<0.0001). In the antiviral treatment group and the post-liver transplantation group, no inconsistency was observed among the results of the qualitative and quantitative assays. In the 18-fold serially diluted samples, no linearity was observed. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the possibility of false-positive detection in the HBsAg-negative samples, regular management of equipment and appropriate selection of reagents are very important. In weakly positive samples, quantitative assay has not to be replaced for qualitative assay. Therefore, the qualitative assays should be used for screening the samples, whereas the quantitative assays should be used for monitoring the Hepatitis B virus (HBV) load in the samples determined as HBsAg-positive. The qualitative index value should not be interpreted as a quantitative measure of HBV load.

Performance Evaluation of Immunoassay Detection of HBsAg Mutants and Their Clinical Significance in the High Risk Groups

BACKGROUND: False negative results have been reported in the immunodetection of hepatitis B virus (HBV) because of the existence of the various mutants of the virus, causing most suppliers to try to develop superior reagents by using highly sensitive and specific monoclonal or polyclonal antibodies. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of 3 newly developed reagents by major manufacturers by adopting automated methods with increased sensitivity and specificity in the detection and discrimination of native and recombinant mutant antigens. METHODS: We analyzed samples confirmed positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), high-risk samples from chronic hepatitis patients treated with antiviral agents, and samples from patients who had undergone liver transplantation and were treated with high-dose hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIG) by using reagents and systems newly developed by Abbott Laboratories (USA), Roche Diagnostics (Germany), and Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics (USA). Recombinant sample panels from these manufacturers with low and high concentrations were also analyzed for comparing the 3 reagents. RESULTS: There were no discrepant results among the various selected patient groups; however, for the recombinant mutant panels, all of the 3 reagents showed highly positive detection rates for their corresponding mutant panels, but showed relatively discrepant mutant detection rates when cross-tested with the other mutant panels. Detection rates of the HBsAg mutant panels were higher at a higher concentration of the mutant samples, but were lower for the same mutant receptor sites at a lower concentration. CONCLUSIONS: The 3 major detection methods seem to recognize the major native mutants commonly encountered in clinical practice. However, in the case of recombinant mutants, we believe that our data are not to be interpreted as a reference standard for any reagent, because the results can only be validated for the reagents' corresponding mutant panels; such results tend to be mutually exclusive, and the enough concentration of mutants was required to be adjusted for a comparative analysis.

Severe dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome in a child / 소아과

Dapsone (4,4'-diaminodiphenylsulfone, DDS), a potent anti-inflammatory agent, is widely used in the treatment of leprosy and several chronic inflammatory skin diseases. Dapsone therapy rarely results in development of dapsone hypersensitivity syndrome, which is characterized by fever, hepatitis, generalized exfoliative dermatitis, and lymphadenopathy. Here, we describe the case of an 11-year-old Korean boy who initially presented with high fever, a morbilliform skin rash, generalized lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, and leukopenia after 6 weeks of dapsone intake. Subsequently, he exhibited cholecystitis, gingivitis, colitis, sepsis, aseptic meningitis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion, pneumonia, pleural effusions, peritonitis, bronchiectatic changes, exfoliative dermatitis, and acute renal failure. After 2 months of supportive therapy, and prednisolone and antibiotic administration, most of the systemic symptoms resolved, with the exception of exfoliative dermatitis and erythema, which ameliorated over the following 4 months. Agranulocytosis, atypical lymphocytosis, aseptic meningitis, and bronchiectatic changes along with prolonged systemic symptoms with exfoliative dermatitis were the most peculiar features of the present case.

Assessment of Iron Parameters in Children with Acute Infectious Disease / 임상소아혈액종양

BACKGROUND: As some parameters reflecting iron status were known to change with infection or inflammation, we examined the changes of these parameters in children with minor illnesses.METHODS: Hematologic tests were done in 42 young children with acute infection. Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) was defined as having Hb less than age-matched normal range, MCH <27 pg, and either Tfsat (transferrin saturation) <10% or TIBC >360 microg/dL. Iron deficiency (ID) was defined as having Hb equal or more than age matched normal low limit with MCH <27 pg, and either Tfsat <10% or TIBC >360 microg/dL. The others were classified as normal control (NC).RESULTS: The proportion of IDA, ID and NC were 16.6% (7/42), 33.3% (14/42) and 50.0% (21/42), respectively. Comparisons of means of Hb, MCV, MCH, and RDW between groups showed statistical difference in general, while levels of iron, ferritin and hs-CRP showed no statistical difference. Mean blood levels of zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) of IDA, ID and NC were 72.21 microg/dL, 57.02 microg/dL, and 45.62 microg/dL, respectively, but the difference was significant only between IDA and NC. ZnPP was inversely correlated with MCV (r=-0.518, P<0.01) and RDW (r=-0.640, P<0.01), but not with hs-CRP or ferritin.CONCLUSION: Combination of RBC indices with newly controlled Tfsat or TIBC can be available for an iron status assessment in children with minor infections. ZnPP levels in blood reflect some aspect of iron status, while ferritin and iron do not reflect it.

Impact of attachment, temperament and parenting on human development / 소아과

The purpose of this review is to present the basic concepts of attachment theory and temperament traits and to discuss the integration of these concepts into parenting practices. Attachment is a basic human need for a close and intimate relationship between infants and their caregivers. Responsive and contingent parenting produces securely attached children who show more curiosity, self-reliance, and independence. Securely attached children also tend to become more resilient and competent adults. In contrast, those who do not experience a secure attachment with their caregivers may have difficulty getting along with others and be unable to develop a sense of confidence or trust in others. Children who are slow to adjust or are shy or irritable are likely to experience conflict with their parents and are likely to receive less parental acceptance or encouragement, which can make the children feel inadequate or unworthy. However, the influence of children's temperament or other attributes may be mitigated if parents adjust their caregiving behaviors to better fit the needs of the particular child. Reflecting on these arguments and our childhood relationships with our own parents can help us develop the skills needed to provide effective guidance and nurturance.

Lung Infection Caused by Mycobacterium riyadhense Confused with Mycobacterium tuberculosis: The First Case in Korea

A slowly growing, non-chromogenic mycobacterial strain was isolated from sputum and bronchial lavage fluid samples of a patient presenting with productive cough, blood-tinged sputum, low-grade fever, and weakness. A positive acid-fast bacilli sputum smear result prompted the initiation of an anti-tuberculosis regimen. Multiplex real-time PCR showed a negative result for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex and a positive result for nontuberculous mycobacteria. The DNA chip test confirmed this organism as a member of the genus Mycobacterium, but could not specify the species. Interestingly, the mycolic acid patterns obtained by HPLC nearly overlapped with those of M. simulans. The sequences of the Mycobacterium 16S rRNA gene and 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer region were unique and were found to have 100% similarity with those of M. riyadhense. After a review of the literature, we report this case as the first Korean case of M. riyadhense lung infection.

Assessment of Iron Parameters in Children with Acute Infectious Disease / 임상소아혈액종양

BACKGROUND: As some parameters reflecting iron status were known to change with infection or inflammation, we examined the changes of these parameters in children with minor illnesses. METHODS: Hematologic tests were done in 42 young children with acute infection. Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) was defined as having Hb less than age-matched normal range, MCH 360 microg/dL. Iron deficiency (ID) was defined as having Hb equal or more than age matched normal low limit with MCH 360 microg/dL. The others were classified as normal control (NC). RESULTS: The proportion of IDA, ID and NC were 16.6% (7/42), 33.3% (14/42) and 50.0% (21/42), respectively. Comparisons of means of Hb, MCV, MCH, and RDW between groups showed statistical difference in general, while levels of iron, ferritin and hs-CRP showed no statistical difference. Mean blood levels of zinc protoporphyrin (ZnPP) of IDA, ID and NC were 72.21 microg/dL, 57.02 microg/dL, and 45.62 microg/dL, respectively, but the difference was significant only between IDA and NC. ZnPP was inversely correlated with MCV (r=-0.518, P<0.01) and RDW (r=-0.640, P<0.01), but not with hs-CRP or ferritin. CONCLUSION: Combination of RBC indices with newly controlled Tfsat or TIBC can be available for an iron status assessment in children with minor infections. ZnPP levels in blood reflect some aspect of iron status, while ferritin and iron do not reflect it.

A Case of Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome in a Girl with Nephrotic Syndrome / 고신대학교의과대학학술지

A 12-year-old girl with nephrotic syndrome was admitted to Kosin University Gospel Hospital because of progressive generalized edema and weight gain for the last one month. From the eighth day of admission, she developed headache and generalized tonic seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed multiple T2-high signal intensity lesions in the bilateral posterior parieto-occipital cortex and subcortical white matter. The convulsions responded to anticonvulsant and antihypertensive drugs but recurred again until she developed massive diuresis and became normotensive. Follow-up brain MRI 5 days later showed complete resolution of the previous abnormal lesions. The cause of Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES) in our case remains unclear. Blood pressure has been only moderately elevated when the patient became symptomatic. Here, we report a case of minimal change nephrotic syndrome complicated by PRES with a literature review.

Clinical characteristics of children with 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) admitted in a single institution / 소아과

PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate the clinical characteristics of children diagnosed with the novel influenza A (H1N1) in the winter of 2009 at a single medical institution. METHODS: Out of 545 confirmed cases of influenza A (H1N1) in children, using the real time RT-PCR method at Kosin University Gospel Hospital from September to December of 2009, 149 patients and their medical records were reviewed in terms of symptoms, laboratory findings, complications and transmission within a family. RESULTS: Median age of subjects was 7 years (range: 2 months-18 years). New cases increased rapidly from September to reach a peak in November, then declined rapidly. Most frequently observed symptoms were fever (96.7%), cough (73.2%), rhinorrhea (36.9%) and sore throat (31.5%). Average body temperatures on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd hospital day were 38.75+/-0.65degrees C, 38.08+/-0.87degrees C and 37.51+/-0.76degrees C, respectively. Complete blood counts and biochemical tests performed on the first admission day showed within the reference values in most cases. Of the 82 patients with simple chest radiography, 18 (22%) had pneumonic lesions; multi-focal bronchopneumonia in eleven, single or multi-segmental lobar pneumonia in five, and diffuse interstitial pneumonia in two patients. All of the 149 patients improved from their symptoms and discharged within 9 days of admission without any late complication. CONCLUSION: Children with 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) at our single institution displayed nonspecific symptoms and laboratory findings, resembling those of common viral respiratory illnesses, and did not appear to develop more severe disease.

Diagnosis and treatment of uterine didelphys with obstructed hemivagina and ipsilateral renal agenesis / 대한산부인과학회지

Uterine malformations consist of a group of miscellaneous congenital anomalies of the female genital system, and these anomalies are the result of major disturbances in the development, such as formation or fusion of the Mullerian or paramesonephric ducts during fetal life. The Mullerian anomalies have been estimated to occur in up to 0.001~10%, and these anomalies may be associated with numerous congenital anomalies, and ipsilateral renal anomalies especially are the most common. The uterine didelphys with obstructed hemivagina and ipsilateral renal agenesis clinically may result in dysmenorrhea, low abdominal pain, endometriosis or pelvic mass after menarche. Furthemore the delayed diagnosis causes infertility and poor pregnancy outcome due to continued retrograde menstruation which leads to endometriosis and distorted pelvic anatomy. These anomalies could be diagnosed with ultrasonography and MRI that have the high sensitivity and specificity. Excision of vaginal septum and marsupialization are appropriate treatments to relieve symptoms and reserve fertility. We report 7 cases of uterine didelphys with obstructed hemivagina and ipsi-unilateral renal agenesis with a brief review of relevant literatures to help understand these anomalies.

Evaluation of apoptosis regulating genes p53, Bcl-2, Bax, and Survivin in uterine cervical cancer tissues during concurrent chemoradiotherapy: Is it possible to identify unresponsiveness to therapy? - A preliminary report / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to explore changes of the expression of apoptosis-regulating genes, p53, Bcl-2, Bax, and Survivin in cervical cancer tissues during concurrent chemoradiotherapy (CCRT). METHODS: The expressions of apoptosis-regulating genes were evaluated in 14 patients with invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, who underwent 6 cycles of CCRT using weekly cisplatin, with immunohistochemical staining and Western blot of p53, Bcl-2, Bax, Survivin. Specimens of the cervical carcinomas were obtained by punch biopsy before starting CCRT and just after 2nd and 4th cycle of weekly cisplatin. We analysed the results with clinicopathological factors of the patients. RESULTS: Among 14 patients, 2 (14.3%) patients did not respond to CCRT. In these 2 cases, p53 and Bax were not expressed before and during therapy, while the expressions of Bcl-2 and Survivin were increased. Complete response and partial response were obtained in 11 cases (78.6%) and 1 case (7.1%), respectively. In this reponse group, Bcl-2 expressiondecreased seriallyduring the treatment, but the expression ofother apoptosis-regulating genes showed no significant change. There was no correlation between the clinicopathological prognostic factors and expressions of p53, Bcl-2, Bax, and Survivin. CONCLUSION: In this preliminary study, we deduced that Bcl-2 expression might predict response of CCRT even before completing treatment. In order to establish this possibility, a large scaled study should be needed in the future.

Experience of Biliary Atresia-Long-term Survival

Biliary atresia (BA) is an uncommon neonatal surgical disease that has a fatal outcome if not properly treated. The survival rates of the patients with native liver after Kasai's operation in countries outside Japan are not so good. We reviewed the results of 22 cases of biliary atresia treated in Kosin University Hospital between October 1987 and March 2001. There were 13 males and 9 females aged from 21 to 106 days (mean 52 days). There were 3 cases of Type I (13.6%), and 3 of Type II (13.6%), and 16 Type III (72.7%). The operative methods were resection of the common bile duct remnant and cyst followed by Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostomy in 3 cases for Type I BA; Kasai I in 15 cases, Kasai II in 1 case, and Ueda's operation in 3 cases for Types II and III BA. There was no death within the first 30 days after operation. We were able to follow 21 of the 22 patients (95.4%) for more than 5 years. The actual 5 year survival rate (YSR) was 40.9%. One Type I case received a living-related liver transplantation at 6 years of age because of the multiple intrahepatic stones and liver cirrhosis. Five YSR after biliostomy group (Kasai II and Ueda op.) was 75% (3/4) while that of Kasai I was 20% (3/15). One case had no bile duct in the resected fibrotic plaque on microscopic review and died 8 months after Kasai I operation, would have been a strong candidate for early liver transplantation. From the above result, our conclusions are as follows; (1) early liver transplantation should be considered for cases of no bile duct after pathologic examination of the resected specimen, (2) measures to prevent postoperative cholangitis and prevention of postoperative liver cirrhosis are needed, (3) liver transplantation program should be available for failed cases.

A case of Niemann-Pick disease type A / 소아과

Niemann-Pick disease is a group of autosomal recessive disorders associated with hepatosplenomegaly, variable neurologic deficits, and the storage of sphingomyelin and other lipids. Seven cases have been reported in Korea. We report an additional case presenting with hypotonia, early neurodevelopmental delay, hepatosplenomegaly and death by persistent pneumonia and asphyxia at the age of 23 months. MRI of brain and fundoscopic findings of our case at 4 months of age were normal. However, abnormal intensity of the thalamus and atrophy of the right temporal lobe on the MRI and macular cherry red spots were noticed at the age of 17 months. A bone marrow biopsy showed large foamy cells, while hexosaminidase A and B levels were normal. Although biochemical or molecular workup was not done, these findings led to the diagnosis of infantile onset Niemann-Pick disease, probably type A. A brief review of the related literatures was made.

The association of the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and human papillomavirus viral load / 대한산부인과학회지

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) and human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA load and to evaluate the efficacy of viral load in prediction of histologic severity. METHODS: The cervical cytology and Hybrid Capture II tests for HPV detection were performed in 2411 women visited our hospital, from August 2003 to October 2004. A total of 259 consecutive women underwent cervical colposcopy directed biopsy and operations with confirmed final histologic diagnoses were included. Viral load was measured by Hybrid Capture II system expressed as relative lights unit (RLU) ratio of specimens and controls. RESULTS: There was no significant difference of CIN 1, CIN 2, CIN 3, SCC group and control group in the clinical characteristics. The higher the viral load, the higher stage of CIN was shown. HPV viral load test showed sensitivity of 82.9%, specificity of 37.7%, positive predictability of 60.0%, negative predictability of 66.2% in detecting CIN, while 94.4%, 34.3%, 67.5%, 80.8% in detecting HGSIL. The viral loads were categorized into four groups (negative, low, intermediate, high) for analysis and it was shown that higher viral load group tended to exist CIN more frequently (odds ratio=1, 1.8, 3.4, 3.5). In addition, viral load was more strongly associated with the risk of HGSIL than that of LGSIL (odds ratio=1, 6.7, 9.0, 9.6). CONCLUSION: We found that the higher HPV viral load is significantly associated with the higher stage of CIN. The measurement of HPV DNA load is useful for predicting the severity of lesions of the uterine cervix and making decision of treatment plans.

A case of primary transitional cell carcinoma of the fallopian tube / 대한산부인과학회지

Primary carcinoma of the fallopian tube is a rare entity that accounts for about 1% of all gynecologic malignancies, and most are discovered during or after surgery. Primary transitional cell carcinoma of the fallopian tube is an extremely rare tumor that is reported only occasionally in the worldwide literature. Histologically, fallopian tube carcinomas are almost always papillary adenocarcinomas, but other histologic types such as endometrioid carcinoma, clear cell carcinoma, and mixed carcinoma have been reported. As primary transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the fallopian tube is so rare, the clinicopathologic characteristics are as yet unknown. The authors recently experienced a case of primary transitional cell carcinoma arising in the fallopian tube, and thus report the clinical features, management, and also a review of the past pertinent literature.