Staphylococcus is one of the most important pathogenic bacteria in chronic suppurative otitis media (CSOM). The prevalence of pathogenic bacteria in patients with CSOM has not been compared with the prevalence rates in patients from other fields of medicine. We investigated the pathogenic bacteria in CSOM throughout Korea and annual isolation rates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) over 6 years. Routine culture results and susceptibility data of CSOM isolated from 2000 to 2005 were collected from six general hospitals in Korea, along with the results of all clinically isolated Staphylococci from one tertiary care teaching hospital. Of the 1,162 bacteria identified in 1,360 CSOM patients, 628 (54.0%) were Staphylococci in CSOM. Of the latter, 288 (45.9%) were MRSA, which accounted for 24.8% of identified bacteria. Of the 5,988 clinically isolated Staphylococci from one tertiary care hospital, 3,712 (61.9%) were MRSA. All MRSA isolated from CSOM patients were sensitive to vancomycin and teicoplanin, and 88.2% were sensitive to sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim. In contrast, these strains showed little or no sensitivity to oxacillin, clindamycin, penicillin, and erythromycin. Annual MRSA isolation rates showed no tendencies to increase or decrease. MRSA was the most frequently identified Staphylococcus in patients with otorrhea. The isolation rate of MRSA has not changed over 6 years. Continuous and periodic surveillance of MRSA is necessary to reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and to guide appropriate antibacterial therapy.

This study indicates that MRSA bacteremia is not associated with higher risks of mortality or hospital costs. It is, however, associated with a substantial increase in the length of hospital stay as compared to MSSA bacteremia. This information may help clinicians and policymakers derive methods to control the impacts of MRSA infection.

Herein we report a case of encephalitis involving the unilateral hemisphere, with a clinical course different from that of Rasmussen syndrome. A 44-year-old man visited us because of headache and language abnormality. Cerebrospinal fluid examination showed lymphocytosis with increased level of protein. Brain MRI showed abnormal findings limited to the unilateral hemisphere. The symptoms and signs improved without any specific antiviral treatment in a week. However, language disturbance and right hemiparesis developed after a week. Steroid therapy was effective. He recovered without any neurologic sequelae. Our case was unusual encephalitis involving the unilateral hemisphere, which was benign and steroid-responsive.

We examine various ZnSe spectra to obtain that which best represents the dielectric response ε of ZnSe. The measured evolution of pseudodielectric function 〈ε〉 data with chemical etching shows that the natural overlayer on ZnSe can be modeled accurately only if we assume that it contains amorphous Se. Hence previous assumptions made in correcting 〈ε〉 mathematically are not correct, and data obtained on stripped samples yield the best representation of ε.

The clinical implication of extended-spectrum cephalosporin (ESC) resistance has been unclear in patients with Streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis (SPM). We collected the clinical data of 120 patients with SPM in 12 hospitals of the Republic of Korea. The clinical characteristics and outcomes of 23 ESC-nonsusceptible SPM episodes were compared to those of 97 ESC-susceptible episodes. Hospital acquisition, presence of other foci of pneumococcal infection, septic shock at initial presentation, or concomitant bacteremia were more commonly observed in ESC-nonsusceptible than ESC-susceptible SPM. Empiric antimicrobial therapy with vancomycin and ESC combination was very common in both groups. Although there was a tendency towards higher early fatality in ESC-nonsusceptible SPM (3-day mortality; 17.4 % vs. 4.4 %, p = 0.05), in-hospital mortality (26.1 % vs. 20.9 %, p = 0.59) and median length of hospital stay (20 days vs. 24 days, p = 0.34) did not differ between ESC-nonsusceptible and ESC-susceptible SPM.