Serological Changes in Anti- IgG Antibody and Development of Chronic Pulmonary Aspergillosis in Patients Treated for Pulmonary Tuberculosis.

Chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA) is an important infection to understand in survivors of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). However, limited data are available regarding CPA development and its predisposing factors following PTB. We investigated the development of, and the predisposing factors for, CPA following the completion of PTB treatment.

Changes in Nutritional Status in Pulmonary Tuberculosis: Longitudinal Changes in BMI According to Acid-Fast Bacilli Smear Positivity.

Malnutrition is closely associated with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). However, changes before and after treatment remain unclear. We aimed to investigate the longitudinal changes in nutritional status from treatment to follow-up of TB in 215 PTB cases in South Korea.

Clinical Characteristics and Treatment Outcomes of Definitive Versus Standard Anti-Tuberculosis Therapy in Patients with Tuberculous Lymphadenitis.

Although it is necessary to culture from tuberculous lymphadenitis (TBL) patients for definitive therapy, based on the drug-sensitivity test (DST), substantial cases remain culture-negative. Limited data are available regarding the treatment outcomes after standard anti-tuberculosis therapy in culture-negative TBL. The aim of this study was to compare the recurrence rates between definitive anti-tuberculosis therapy, based on DST and standard anti-tuberculosis therapy in culture-negative TBL.

Does repeated pleural culture increase the diagnostic yield of Mycobacterium tuberculosis from tuberculous pleural effusion in HIV-negative individuals?

Background: Despite recent advances in methods for culturing Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), the diagnostic yield of tuberculous pleural effusion (TBPE) remains unsatisfactory. However, unlike repeated sputum cultures of pulmonary tuberculosis, little is known about the role of repeated pleural cultures. We examined whether repeated pleural cultures are associated with increased MTB yield from TBPE.

Screening for latent tuberculosis infection in South Korean healthcare workers using a tuberculin skin test and whole blood interferon-gamma assay.

This study compared the results of a tuberculin skin test (TST) and a whole-blood interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) to screen latent tuberculosis (TB) infection (LTBI) according to risk of TB exposure in South Korea. A cross-sectional comparison of 82 healthcare workers (HCWs) was performed from June 2009 to January 2010. Participants were grouped according to their risk for TB exposure: group 1, frequent and direct contact with active TB patients (n = 35); group 2, no known history of direct contact with active TB patients (n = 47).

Computed tomographic fluoroscopy-guided needle aspiration biopsy as a second biopsy technique after indeterminate transbronchial biopsy results for pulmonary lesions: comparison with second transbronchial biopsy.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of computed tomographic (CT) fluoroscopy-guided percutaneous transthoracic needle aspiration biopsy (NAB) and transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) after indeterminate bronchoscopy in patients with suspected malignant pulmonary lesions.

Methods: We included 77 patients who underwent CTF-NAB (n = 53) or TBLB (n = 24) as a second biopsy for pulmonary lesions because of inconclusive pathologic results on initial TBLB. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy were calculated and compared between the 2 groups using the Fisher exact test.

A short-term investigation of dysphonia in asthmatic patients using inhaled budesonide.

Background: Dysphonia is one of the most common side effects of patients who use corticosteroid inhalers. The aim of this study was to investigate, prospectively, the occurrence of dysphonia in patients who used corticosteroid inhalers.

Methods: Outpatients aged 18 years or older initially treated with inhaled corticosteroids were recruited.

Frequent central nervous system failure after clinical benefit with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors in Korean patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer.

Background: We investigated the risk of central nervous system (CNS) failure after clinical benefit with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) in Korean patients with nonsmall-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated the pattern of disease progression of 287 advanced NSCLC patients who were treated with gefitinib or erlotinib. Patients whose best tumor response was complete response, partial response, or stable disease (> or =90 days) were classified into the group receiving clinical benefit with these drugs.

Results: The clinical benefit group had a higher incidence of CNS failure as an initial progression, compared with the non-clinical benefit group (26% vs 4%; P < .

Impact of environmental tobacco smoke on the incidence of mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor gene in never-smoker patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: Active tobacco smoking has been associated with the incidence of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. However, the impact of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) on EGFR mutations has been unknown. We investigated an association between ETS exposure and EGFR mutations in never smokers with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Performance of the tuberculin skin test and interferon-gamma release assay for detection of tuberculosis infection in immunocompromised patients in a BCG-vaccinated population.

Background: Interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) may improve diagnostic accuracy for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). This study compared the performance of the tuberculin skin test (TST) with that of IGRA for the diagnosis of LTBI in immunocompromised patients in an intermediate TB burden country where BCG vaccination is mandatory.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective observational study of patients given the TST and an IGRA, the QuantiFERON-TB Gold In-Tube (QFT-IT), at Severance Hospital, a tertiary hospital in South Korea, from December 2006 to May 2009.

Activating mutations within the EGFR kinase domain: a molecular predictor of disease-free survival in resected pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

Purpose: Although epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase (TK) mutations are highly predictive of response to EGFR TK inhibitors in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a prognostic value of EGFR mutations in resected NSCLC has not been established.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 117 patients with primary lung adenocarcinoma who underwent surgical resection between 1995 and 2005. Nucleotide sequencing of the kinase domain of EGFR (exons 18-21) was performed using nested PCR amplification of individual exons.

High tumor metabolic activity as measured by fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography is associated with poor prognosis in limited and extensive stage small-cell lung cancer.

Purpose: We investigated the prognostic effect of incorporating metabolic assessment by (18)F-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose uptake on positron emission tomography/computed tomography ((18)F-FDG-PET/CT) into a conventional staging system in small-cell lung cancer (SCLC).

Experimental Design: Seventy-six consecutive patients with pathologically proven SCLC were enrolled. All patients underwent standard treatment after pretreatment (18)F-FDG-PET/CT scanning.

The prevalence of human papillomavirus infection in Korean non-small cell lung cancer patients.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is a co-carcinogen of lung cancer and contributes to its pathogenesis. To evaluate the prevalence of HPV infection, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was employed to detect HPV 16, 18, and 33 DNA in tumor tissues of 112 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) who underwent curative surgery from Jan. 1995 to Dec.

The clinical utility of polymerase chain reaction for the diagnosis of pleural tuberculosis.

Background: There is no exact consensus about the usefulness of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for the diagnosis of tuberculous pleural effusion because of the diverse PCR methods and the different diagnostic criteria that are described in other studies.

Methods: We analyzed pleural effusion specimens obtained from 111 patients for whom the exclusion of the possibility of tuberculous pleural effusion was necessary. We performed M.

Promoter -202 A/C polymorphism of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 gene and non-small cell lung cancer risk.

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) inhibits the mitogenic and antiapoptotic activity of insulin-like growth factor (IGF) by blocking the binding of IGF to its receptor. However, under certain circumstances, IGFBP-3 can enhance the activity of IGF by protecting IGF from degradation. More than half of the interindividual variations in IGFBP-3 levels are known to be genetically determined by the polymorphism at -202 locus of IGFBP-3 gene.