Original article PDF Soo Jin Park*, Sunjoo Kim Korean Red Cross Gyoungnam Blood Center, Medical Quality Management Office, Changwon*; Department of Laboratory Medicine, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, Korea Corresponding to Sunjoo Kim, E-mail: sjkim8239@hanmail.net Ann Clin Microbiol 2003;6(1):7-11.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Group A streptococci (GAS) is the most common cause of bacterial pharyngitis. Recently, a high frequency of resistance to erythromycin (EM), the drug of choice for penicillinallergic patients, has been reported, especially in countries where antibiotics are overused. Resistance is classified as constitutive, inducible, or M according to the sensitivity results with EM and clindamycin (CC). These EM resistance phenotype is attributable to the ermB, ermTR, and mefA genes, respectively. Although EM resistance of GAS is a serious problem in our country, there are very few reports regarding to its mechanism.  Methods: GAS were isolated from elementary school children of Jinju in 2002. Antibiotic

Original article PDF Seong Geun Hong1, Jongwook Lee2, Dongeun Yong3, Eui-Chong Kim4, Seok Hoon Jeong5, Yeon Jun Park6, Tae Yeal Choi7, Young Uh8, Jong Hee Shin9, Wee Kyo Lee10, Ji Young Ahn11, Sung-Hee Lee12, Gun-Jo Woo13, and Kyungwon Lee3 Departments of Laboratory Medicine, Coll. of Med., Pochon CHA Univ.1; Keonyang Univ. Med. Coll.2; Yonsei Univ. Coll. of Med.3; Seoul Nat. Univ. Coll. of Med.4; Coll. of Med. Kosin Univ.5; The Catholic Univ. of Kor.6; Hanyang Univ. Coll. of Med.7; Yonsei Univ. Wonju Coll. of Med.8; Chonnam Nat. Univ. Med. School9; Ajou Univ. Coll. of Med.10; Sooncheonhyang Univ. Coll. of Med.11; Cheju Hanmaeum Hospital12; Food Microbiology Division, Center for Food Safety Evaluation, Korea Food and Drug Administration13 Corresponding to Kyungwon Lee, E-mail: leekcp@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2004;7(2):171-177.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background : A rapid increase in antimicrobial-resistant bacteria has become a serious problem in Korea. Moreover, the

Original article PDF Hee Young Chung, M.D.1, Yoo Li Kim, Ph.D.2, Kyung Ah Hwang, Ph.D.2, Byung Hoo Choi, M.T.1, Sook Ja Park, M.T.1, Heung Sup Sung, M.D.1, Mi-Na Kim, M.D.1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Asan Medical Center, 2 BioSewoom Institutue Bioscience and Biotechnology, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Mi-Na Kim, E-mail: mnkim@amc.seoul.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2007;10(2):77-83.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: We evaluated the performance of a newly developed real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method using TaqMan probe (TP) and internal control (IC) for quantitation of BK virus (BKV) DNA. Methods: PCR primers and TP were targeted for the VP1 of BKV and 300 bp-region of VP1 was cloned to prepare a standard DNA. Threshold cycles (Ct) of IC was set at 33±3. The recovery rates, precision, linearity, and limit of detection (LOD) were measured using the standard DNA. To correlate TP with previous

Original article PDF Hyukmin Lee1, Chang Ki Kim2, Jongwook Lee3, Sung-Hee Lee4, Ji Young Ahn5, Seong Geun Hong6, Yeon Jun Park7, Seok Hoon Jeong8, Eui-Chong Kim9, Wee Kyo Lee10, Young Uh11, Jong Hee Shin12, Tae Yeal Choi13, Hyo-Sun Kwak14, Kyungwon Lee2 Department of Laboratory Medicine, 1Kwandong University College of Medicine, Goyang; 2Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul; 3Keonyang University Medical College, Daejeon; 4Cheju Hanmaeum Hospital, Jeju; 5Sooncheonhyang University College of Medicine, Gumi; 6Pochon CHA University College of Medicine, Seongnam; 7 The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul; 8Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan; 9Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul; 10Ajou University College of Medicine, Suwon; 11Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju; 12Chonnam National Univeristy Medical School, Gwangju; 13Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul; 14Food Microbiology Division, Center for Food Safety Evaluation, Korea Food and Drug Administration, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Kyungwon Lee, E-mail: leekcp@yumc.yonsei.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2007;10(1):59-69.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Emergence and spread of antimicrobial

Case report PDF Seungok Lee1, Bin Cho2, Su-Mi Choi3, Kyoung Sil Park4, Myungshin Kim1 Department of 1Laboratory Medicine, 2Pediatrics, and 3Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, 4Division of Clinical Microbiology, St. Mary’s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea Corresponding to Myungshin Kim, E-mail: microkim@catholic.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2008;11(2):132-135.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a motile, non-fermentative, gram-negative rod. It is one of the important nosocomial pathogens associated with substantial morbidity and mortality such as pneumonia and bacteremia in immunocompromised patients. It should be carefully examined in the course of identification because it is frequently isolated together with other non-fermentative, gram-negative rods from clinical specimens. We report an isolate of S. maltophilia showing an oxidase-positive reaction, which is very rare for the species. (Korean J Clin Microbiol 2008;11:132-135) Keywords Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, Oxidase- positive, 16S rRNA sequencing

Original article PDF Hee-Young Yang, Hee-Joo Lee, Jin-Tae Suh Department of Laboratory Medicine, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Hee-Joo Lee, E-mail: leehejo@khmc.or.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2008;11(1):49-55.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Fungemia has increased over the past decade and is an important cause of significant morbidity and mortality. Since 1980, there has been an increase in the worldwide studies of nosocomial bloodstream fungal infections. We analyzed the distribution and the clinical characteristics of fungemia at a tertiary care hospital, Kyung Hee University hospital. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed medical records and laboratory findings of 139 patients who had fungemia from January 2000 to December 2006. We investigated the incidence of each fungal species, yearly occurrence, underlying diseases, hospitalized units, predisposing factors, use of the antifungal agents, mortality, and the characteristics of the expired group. Results: The most common species isolated was C. albicans (40.3%), followed

Original article PDF Sung Ha Kang, Young Ree Kim Department of Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, Cheju National University, Jeju, Korea Corresponding to Young Ree Kim, E-mail: namu8790@empal.com Ann Clin Microbiol 2008;11(1):11-17.Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: The referral hospital is somewhat isolated from the mainland due to its island status; thus, microorganisms isolated from blood cultures might have a distinct pattern in their frequency and antibiogram. We attempted to uncover these characteristics. Methods: The isolates from blood cultures at the Cheju University Hospital during 2003∼2007 were analysed. After inoculation in aerobic and anaerobic bottles, blood specimens were cultured using BacT/ Alert system, and the isolates were identifieded and antimicrobial susceptibilities were tested using Vitek II system. Results: The overall positive rate of blood cultures was 9.6% and contamination rate was 3.6%. The most commonly isolated pathogens were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Gram positive rod, gram negative

Original article PDF In-Ho Jang1, Soon Deok Park1, Young Uh1, Gyu-sang Lee2, Jong-Bae Kim2, Il Choi3 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, 2Department of Biomedical Laboratory Science, College of Health Science, Yonsei University, 3Department of Animal Science and Technology, College of Life Science and Natural Resources, Sangi University, Wonju, Korea Corresponding to Young Uh, E-mail: u931018@yonsei.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2013;16(3):126-133. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2013.16.3.126Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Multi-drug resistant (MDR) Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as a significant infectious agent in hospitals worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine the molecular characterization of MDR A. baumannii clinical isolates. Methods: Two hundred eighty-five strains of non-duplicated A. baumannii collected from March to November 2011 from a university hospital laboratory located in the Wonju area of the Gangwon province of Korea were analyzed for MDR genes. Results: All of the 285 imipenem-resistant A. baumannii isolates

Original article PDF Hae In Bang1, Hyun Mi Lim1, Eui Young Jang1, Eun Su Park1, Eun Jung Lee2, Tae Hyong Kim2, Rojin Park1, Jeong Won Shin1, Tae Youn Choi1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, 2Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Soonchunhyang University Hospital, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Tae Youn Choi, E-mail: choity@schmc.ac.kr Ann Clin Microbiol 2015;18(3):88-93. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2015.18.3.88Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Blood culture is a critical test for diagnosing bloodstream infections. Frequent microbial contamination during sampling and testing leads to abuse of antimicrobial agents. We evaluated methods for reducing contamination and obtaining more reliable results. Methods: We analyzed blood cultures obtained between 2009 and 2015. We established 6 quality indicators: true positive rate, contamination rate, blood sampling volume, number of sets of blood cultures, delayed transportation rate, and percentage of samples collected from the femoral region, with reference to the CLSI guideline M47-A, 2007. Education

Original article PDF Sunyoung Ahn1, Ji Yeon Sung1, Hyunsoo Kim2, Myung Sook Kim1, Younjee Hwang3, Sori Jong1, Younghee Seo1, Eunjin Ha4, Eun Suk Park4, Jun Yong Choi4,5, Dongeun Yong1,4, Kyungwon Lee1 1Department of Laboratory Medicine and Research Institute of Bacterial Resistance, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, National Police Hospital, 3Brain Korea 21 PLUS Project for Medical Science, Yonsei University, 4Department of Infection Control, Severance Hospital, 5Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea Corresponding to Ji Yeon Sung, E-mail: jysung80@yuhs.ac Ann Clin Microbiol 2016;19(2):39-47. https://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2016.19.2.39Copyright © Korean Society of Clinical Microbiology. Abstract Background: Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) has been increasingly reported worldwide in the past 10 years, which is an important infection control concern. Since the epidemiology and characteristics of these CPEs vary according to institutes, we aimed to characterize CPEs in a university hospital during the recent 4 years.