Original article Seo Young Hwang, Young Kwan Lim, Kye Won Choe, Young ho Choi, Mi-Kyung Lee Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chung-Ang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Mi-Kyung Lee, E-mail: cpworld@cau.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2024;27(3):185-196. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2024.27.3.6Received on 2 February 2024, Revised on 8 September 2024, Accepted on 9 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: As most Candida species cause opportunistic infections, it is helpful for patient care to determine species name of Candida spp. and their distribution in both sterile and non-sterile specimens. We aimed to investigate trends in the distribution of Candida species isolated from a hospital in Korea, along with their antifungal susceptibilities and seasonal variations. Methods: This study was conducted at the Chung-Ang University Hospital and included 8,760 different clinical specimens from

Original article PDF Jung Oak Kang, M.D., Sun-E Kim, M.D., Think-You Kim, M.D., Ile Kyu Park, M.D. and Tae Yeal Choi, M.D. Department of Clinical Pathology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Jung Oak Kang Ann Clin Microbiol 1999;2(2):152-157.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Rotavirus activity in Korea has been reported beginning in October, peak in November, continuing in winter and ending in spring. But the peak month and the incidence of rotavirus seems to be changed recently. So we investigated the trends of rotavirus activity for the last 10 years in Hanyang University Hospital (HUH). Also latex agglutination test was compared with automated enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay for the detection of rotavirus in stool specimens. Methods: Stool specimens (3,636 from HUH, 1989-1998; 1,171 from Hanyang University Kuri hospital, HUKH, 1996-1998) from pediatric patients with acute diarrhea were tested for rotavirus,. Sixty specimens were tested

Original article PDF Jung Oak Kang, M.D., Jeong Don Chae, M.D., Jeong In Eom, M.D., Dongsoo Han, M.D., Pil Whan Park*, M.D., Ile Kyu Park, M.D. and Tae Yeal Choi, M.D.** Department of Clinical Pathology and Internal Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, Department of Clinical Pathology, Gachon Medical College* Corresponding to Jung Oak Kang, E-mail: jokang@email.hanyang.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2000;3(1):43-47.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: The most reliable and accurate diagnostic method of Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CAD) is considered the detection of toxin B in stool using the cell culture cytotoxicity assay. But cytotoxicity assay needs cell culture facilities and labor intensive. We evaluated an automated enzyme-linked fluorescent immunoassay for the detection of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) toxin A in stool specimens. Methods: Two hundred sixty-seven stool specimens were cultured anaerobically on cycloserine-cefoxitin-fructose-egg yolk (CCFA) media and tested for toxin A with the VIDAS C. difficile toxin A II (CDA

Original article PDF Jae-Kyoo Lee*,**, Kwang-Yup Kim**, Myoung-Sook Koo***, Dong-Eun Yong****, and Eui-Chong Kim*,**** Clinical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul*; Department of Food Science and Technology, Graduate School of Chungbuk National University, Cheongju**; Department of Clinical Pathology, Kangnam General Hospital Public Corporation***; Department of Clinical Pathology, Yonsei University College of Medicine****; Department of Clinical Pathology, Seoul National University College of Medicine*****, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Eui-Chong Kim, E-mail: euichong@plaza.snu.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2002;5(1):35-41.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Campylobacter is the most common bacterial cause of food-borne infection in developed countries, and handling or eating of contaminated poultry products was reported as the major cause of human campylobacteriosis in sporadic cases. This study was performed to investigate the prevalence of Campylobacter in patients with diarrhea and raw chickens of grocery, and identify the species by multiplex PCR and determine the genotypes of isolates by SmaI pulsedfield gel electrophoresis(PFGE) profiles. Methods: Eight

Original article PDF Hyekyung Kang1, Seong Chun Kim2, Sunjoo Kim3 1Department of Pharmacy, Gyeongsang National University Hospital, Departments of 2Emergency Medicine, and 3Laboratory Medicine, Institute of Health Sciences, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, Korea Corresponding to Sunjoo Kim, E-mail: sjkim8239@hanmail.net Ann Clin Microbiol 2012;15(1):37-42. https://doi.org/10.5145/KJCM.2012.15.1.37Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Reducing skin contamination rate and improving the positive rate in blood culture is essential for the correct diagnosis and management of sepsis. Chlorhexidine-alcohol was compared with povidone-iodine for the efficiency of disinfection. Positive rates were compared between the collection of 10 mL and 20 mL of blood per sample. Methods: The study population included adult patients ≥ 18 years old requested for blood culture in the Emergency Department. Povidone-iodine (10%) was used for antiseptic skin preparation from March to June 2011, and 0.5% chlorhexidine-alcohol from July to October 2011. The standard for blood collection was

Original article PDF Heungsup Sung1, Jung Oak Kang2, Nam Yong Lee3, Chang Kyu Lee4, Han-Sung Kim5, Kyu Man Lee5, Eui Chong Kim6 Department of Laboratory Medicine, 1Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, 2Hanyang University College of Medicine, 3</sup/>Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 4Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, 5Hallym University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, 6Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Jung Oak Kang, E-mail: jokang@hanyang,ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2015;18(4):119-125. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2015.18.4.119Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Nasopharyngeal aspirate (NPA) is known as the best specimen for accurate diagnosis of viral respiratory infections in pediatric patients, but the procedure is very annoying. Recently introduced flocked swabs have been reported to be easy to obtain a good quality specimen and comfortable to patients. The purpose of this study was to compare the sensitivities between NPA and nasopharyngeal flocked swabs (NPFS)

Original article PDF Gyun Cheol Park1, Sook Jin Jang1,2, Min Jung Lee2, Joong-Ki Kook3, Min Jung Kim3, Young Sook Kim4, Nam Woong Yang5, Hye Soo Lee6,7, Seong Ho Kang1, Geon Park1, Dae Soo Moon1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, 2Research Center for Resistant Cells, Chosun University College of Medicine, 3Department of Oral Biochemistry, College of Dentistry, Chosun University, 4Departments of Radiology, Chosun University College of Medicine, 5Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, Chosun University, Gwangju, 6Department of Laboratory Medicine, Chonbuk National University Medical School, 7Chonbuk National University Hospital Branch of National Culture Collection of Pathogens, Jeonju, Korea Corresponding to Sook Jin Jang, E-mail: sjbjang@chosun.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2015;18(1):20-26. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2015.18.1.20Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Recently, genotypic identification of anaerobes is emerging as an alternative to the phenotypic method. In this study, we evaluated the performance of Vitek 2, API 20A and 16s rRNA gene sequencing for the identification

Original article Kang Ju Son1,2, Young Ah Kim3, Yoon Soo Park4 1Department of Research and Analysis, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, 2Department of Biostatistics and Computing, Yonsei University Graduate School, Seoul, 3Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, 4Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Young Ah Kim, E-mail: yakim@nhimc.or.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2020;23(4):181-189. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2020.23.4.3Received on 9 April 2020, Revised on 23 June 2020, Accepted on 23 June 2020, Published on 20 December 2020.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is an important pathogen that causes diarrhea in people who take antibiotics. The recent status of C. difficile infection is not well-known in Korea. Methods: The long-term trend of C. difficile infection in Korean hospitals was analyzed using a nationwide sample cohort. The data also included sociodemographic characteristics, disease severity, and healthcare facilities.

PDF Original article Annals of Clinical Microbiology (Ann Clin Microbiol) 2020 December, Volume 23, Issue 4, pages 181-189. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2020.23.4.3 Kang Ju Son1,2, Young Ah Kim3, Yoon Soo Park41Department of Research and Analysis, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, 2Department of Biostatistics and Computing, Yonsei University Graduate School, Seoul, 3Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Health Insurance Service Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, 4Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Abstract Background: Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile is an important pathogen that causes diarrhea in people who take antibiotics. The recent status of C. difficile infection is not wellknown in Korea. Methods: The long-term trend of C. difficile infection in Korean hospitals was analyzed using a nationwide sample cohort. The data also included sociodemographic characteristics, disease severity, and healthcare facilities. C. difficile infection was defined by the prescription of oral vancomycin or all metronidazole prescriptions under C. difficile infectious disease code

Review article Hae-Sun Chung Department of Laboratory Medicine, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Correspondence to Hae-Sun Chung, E-mail: sunny0521.chung@ewha.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2025;28(1):6. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2025.28.1.6Received on 14 March 2024, Revised on 16 March 2025, Accepted on 16 March 2025, Published on 20 March 2025.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/). Introduction Background Humans coexist with a diverse array of microorganisms. These microorganisms have significant roles in the environment, food, and the human body. Human microbiota comprises various microbial species, including bacteria, archaea, and fungi, which can interact with the host in ways that may contribute to health maintenance or disease pathogenesis [1,2]. The gut microbiota profoundly affects human metabolism, immune responses, and overall health [3,4]. Gut bacteria are crucial for synthesizing vitamins, metabolizing nutrients, and regulating immune functions