Original article Seungtaek Lim, Seunghwan Seol, Eun Jeong Won, Bosung Park, Heungsup Sung, Mi-Na Kim Department of Laboratory Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Mi-Na Kim, E-mail: mnkim@amc.seoul.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2024;27(3):205-214. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2024.27.3.4Received on 13 August 2024, Revised on 30 August 2024, Accepted on 3 September 2024, Published on 20 September 2024.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology.This is an Open Access article which is freely available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). Abstract Background: Unlike the Mycoplasma IST2 kit (bioMérieux), the Mycoplasma IST3 kit has been updated to comply with the standardized antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) method for Ureaplasma spp. (Up) and Mycoplasma hominis (Mh). We aimed to verify the use of the Mycoplasma IST3 kit for genital mycoplasma cultures. Methods: From September 2023 to January 2024, the R1 medium remaining after inoculation with IST2 was refrigerated until the next

Original article Aram Kim, Heerah Lee, Kyu-Hwa Hur, Heungsup Sung, Mi-Na Kim Department of Laboratory Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Mi-Na Kim, E-mail: mnkim@amc.seoul.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2020;23(4):191-199. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2020.23.4.4Received on 23 August 2020, Revised on 28 Septenber 2020, Accepted on 13 October 2020, Published on 20 December 2020.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Inconclusive SARS-CoV-2 real-time reverse transcription-PCR (rRT-PCR) test results, which are positive for one or more target genes but not all, are problematic in clinical laboratories. In this study, we aimed to investigate the cause and clinical relevance of such inconclusive results. Methods: rRT-PCR was performed using the Allplex 2019-nCoV assay kit (Seegene Inc., Korea) targeting the following three genes: E, RdRp, and N. For all inconclusive test results reported from March to June 2020, the frequency per kit, lot number, specimen type, cycle threshold (Ct)

Original article PDF Heungsup Sung, Hee Jung Chung, Yeon Jung Pyo, Seung Namgoong, and Mi-Na Kim* Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine and Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Mi-Na Kim, E-mail: mnkim@amc.seoul.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2005;8(2):113-120.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Because the mortality rate of invasive aspergillosis (IA) is more than 50%, an early diagnosis and appropriate management are important to achieve a favorable outcome. Aspergillus galactomannan (AG) antigen test has recently been introduced for diagnosis and monitoring of IA. This study was to evaluate the clinical utility of AG detection in diagnosis of IA. Methods: One hundred and seventy-five samples from 149 patients were tested for AG during the period from September 2004 to May 2005 and the results were evaluated retrospectively. IA was diagnosed into ‘proven’, ‘probable’and ‘possible’,groups based on patients’clinical laboratory findings as per European Organization for Research and

Original article PDF Kyung Ran Jun, Hong Seon Jeon, Heungsup Sung, Mi-Na Kim Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine and Asan Medical Center, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Mi-Na Kim, E-mail: mnkim@amc.seoul.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2006;9(1):58-63.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: We evaluated the BD Phoenix Automated Microbiology System (Phoenix) for its ability to detect methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) and compared the results to those obtained by the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) agar dilution method, a mecA gene PCR method, and the MicroScan WalkAway 96 System (MicroScan). Methods: One hundred seventy S. aureus strains (Group I) isolated from blood and urine cultures were collected from eight university hospitals and 58 strains (Group II) including 20 blood isolates among Group I and 38 isolates from skin lesions of atopic patients were collected from Asan Medical Center. All 208 isolates were tested with Phoenix using PMIC/ID-53 panels, and the

Original article PDF Sollip Kim1, Heungsup Sung1, Hong Sun Jeon1, Suk Ja Park1, Sang-Hyuk Park2, Mi-Na Kim1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Univertisy of Ulsan College of Medicine and Asan Medical Center, 2University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Mi-Na Kim, E-mail: mnkim@amc.seoul.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2007;10(1):44-48.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Rapid and accurate surveillance is crucial in controlling vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Culture-based surveillance takes more than 4 days and direct polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is rapid but compromised by a low sensitivity. In this study, we evaluated the performance of an enrichment-PCR method for vanA VRE surveillance. Methods: In July 2006, 100 fecal specimens were inoculated to Enterococcosel agar (EA) and Enterococcosel broth (EB) containing 6μg/mL vancomycin. After 1 or 2 day-incubation bacterial pellets were obtained from 1 mL of blackened EB and VanA PCR were performed with DNA extract of the pellets (EB+PCR). Blackened EB were also

Original article PDF Hae Kyung Lee1, Hiun Suk Chae2, Jung Oak Kang3, Mi-Kyung Lee4, Heungsup Sung5, Mi-Na Kim5, Jongwook Lee6, Miae Lee7, Ki-Nam Shim8 Departments of 1Laboratory Medicine, 2Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, 3Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, 4Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, 5Department of Laboratory Medicine, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 6Hanaro Medical Foundation, Departments of 7Laboratory Medicine, 8Internal Medicine, Ewha Womans University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Miae Lee, E-mail: miae@ewha.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2008;11(2):84-89.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Clarithromycin resistance in Helicobacter pylori is a major cause of eradication therapy failure. The objective of this study was to determine the frequency and type of mutations in the 23S rRNA gene in Korea, which are associated with clarithromycin resistance.  Methods: From January 2008 to March 2008, 353 gastric biopsy specimens were collected from five university