Meningitis is among the most common infections affecting the central nervous system. It can be difficult to determine the exact pathogen responsible for the infection and patients are often treated with empiric antibiotics. This study was conducted to identify the most common clinical characteristics of enteroviral meningitis in children and evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR)...

Chest pain is common in children and adolescents and is a reason for referral to pediatric cardiologists. Although most cases of chest pain in these age groups are benign and do not require treatment, timely diagnosis is important not to miss life-threatening diseases requiring prompt treatment. We investigated certain clinical characteristics that may be useful in the diagnosis of such...

Kawasaki disease involves acute febrile systemic vasculitis that can cause a variety of symptoms by affecting various organs. Here, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence, causes, and prognosis of sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) occurring in children with Kawasaki disease.

Patients who were diagnosed with Kawasaki disease and received inpatient treatment in the Pediatrics Department at one of three university hospitals in...

We investigated the vitamin D status of preterm infants to determine the incidence of vitamin D deficiency.

A total of 278 preterm infants delivered at Kyungpook National University Hospital between January 2013 and May 2015 were enrolled. The serum concentrations of calcium, phosphorous, alkaline phosphatase, and 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD) were measured at birth. We collected maternal and neonatal data such as...

The vancomycin dosage regimen is regularly modified according to the patient's glomerular filtration rate (GFR). In the present study, we aimed to assess the usefulness of serum cystatin C (Cys-C) concentration, compared with serum creatinine (SCr) concentration, for predicting vancomycin clearance (CLvcm) in neonates.

We retrospectively analyzed the laboratory data of 50 term neonates who were admitted to the neonatal intensive...

Bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) is characterized by inflammation with proteolytic damage to the lung extracellular matrix. The results from previous studies are inconsistent regarding the role of proteinases and antiproteinases in the development of BPD. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-8, MMP-9, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-2, and TIMP-1 levels in the serum of...

Alagille syndrome is a complex hereditary disorder that is associated with cardiac, hepatic, skeletal, ocular, and facial abnormalities. Mutations in the Notch signaling pathway, such as in JAG1 and NOTCH2, play a key role in embryonic development. A cardiac or hepatic presentation is a critical factor for determining the prognosis.

We conducted a retrospective study of 41 patients with Alagille syndrome...

To evaluate the outcomes and prognostic factors in children with extracranial germ cell tumors (GCTs) treated at a single institution.

Sixty-six children diagnosed with extracranial GCTs between 1996 and 2012 were included in the study. Primary treatment was surgical excision, followed by six cycles of cisplatin-based chemotherapy. The survival rates were compared according to the International Germ Cell Cancer Cooperative Group...

Croup is a common pediatric respiratory illness with symptoms of varying severity. Moreover, epiglottitis is a rare disease that can rapidly progress to life-threatening airway obstruction. Although the clinical course and treatments differ between croup and epiglottitis, they are difficult to differentiate on presentation. We aimed to compare the clinical characteristics of croup and epiglottitis in Emergency Department patients.

The 2012...

Incomplete Kawasaki disease (KD) is frequently associated with delayed diagnosis and treatment. Delayed diagnosis leads to increasing risk of coronary artery aneurysm. Anterior uveitis is an important ocular sign of KD. The purpose of this study was to assess differences in laboratory findings, including echocardiographic measurements, clinical characteristics such as fever duration and treatment responses between KD patients with and...

In 2004, the American Heart Association (AHA) had published an algorithm for the diagnosis of incomplete Kawasaki disease (KD). The aim of the present study was to investigate characteristics of supplemental laboratory criteria in this algorithm.

We retrospectively examined the medical records of 355 patients with KD who were treated with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) during the acute phase of the disease....

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Montelukast sodium in the prevention of bronchopulmonarydysplasia (BPD).

The Interventional study was designed as a multicenter, prospective, and randomized trial, with open labeled and parallel-experimental groups, 66 infants were enrolled and allocated to either the case group (n=30) or the control group (n=36) based on gestational age (GA)....

To evaluate the practical applications of the diagnosis algorithms recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics urinary tract infection (UTI) guideline.

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of febrile UTI patients aged between 2 and 24 months. The patients were divided into 3 groups: group I (patients with positive urine culture and urinalysis findings), group II (those with positive urine culture...

The mean adult height of Koreans has increased since nationwide anthropological measurements began in 1967. The objective of this study was to evaluate differences in heights of Korean late adolescents and young adults within and between the Second and Fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES II and V).

Koreans aged ≤22 years with available measurements of height were...

The clinical interpretation of children sensitized to allergens is challenging, particularly in children with food allergies. We aimed to examine clinical differences between children with monosensitization and those with polysensitization to common food allergens and to determine risk factors for polysensitization in young children <10 years of age with immediate-type food allergies.

The study included children <10 years of age with...

In addition to regulating calcium and phosphorus homeostasis and bone metabolism, vitamin D is known as an immune modulator. Recently, there has been increased worldwide interest in the association between low levels of vitamin D and allergic diseases. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between serum vitamin D levels and allergic/vasomotor rhinitis (AR/VR) in children.

This study...

We evaluated three blood glucose self-monitoring for measuring whole blood glucose levels in preterm and low-birth-weight infants.

Between December 1, 2012 and March 31, 2013, 230 blood samples were collected from 50 newborns, who weighed, ≤2,300 g or were ≤36 weeks old, in the the neonatal intensive care unit of Eulji University Hospital. Three blood glucose self-monitoring (A: Precision Pcx, Abbott;...

It is difficult to differentiate between central precocious puberty (CPP) and premature thelarche (PT) in girls. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic usefulness of pelvic ultrasonography to distinguish between CPP and PT in girls with early breast development.

This study included girls with early breast development who visited the clinic between January 2012 and December 2013. Clinical,...

In this study, we aimed to review the clinical presentation of preterm infants with gastrointestinal perforations and compare the clinical features of gastric perforation with other intestinal perforations.

The medical records of preterm neonates with pneumoperitoneum, admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) between January 1994 and December 2013, were retrospectively reviewed.

Twenty-one preterm infants underwent exploratory laparotomy to investigate the...

We assessed the relationships between iron and vitamin D statuses in breastfed infants and their mothers and evaluated the determinants of iron and vitamin D deficiencies in breastfed infants.

Seventy breastfed infants aged 4-24 months and their mothers participated in this study from February 2012 to May 2013. Complete blood counts, total iron binding capacity, and levels of C-reactive protein, iron,...