After comparison of histopathologic findings of nasal polyps from 1993 and 2011 at 1 academic medical center in Korea, the prevalence of eosinophilic nasal polyps, which are known to be rare among Asians, has significantly increased.

The efficacies of both treatments were similar. The rate of adverse effects was significantly lower for intralesional injection of TA than mouth rinse of TA.

An experiment was conducted to determine the efficacy of mycotoxin sequestering agents for binding or degrading aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) and deoxynivalenol (DON) by an in vitro method. Ten toxin binder products including 5 bentonite clays (bentonite A, B, C, D, and E), 2 cellulose products (cellulose A and B), a yeast cell wall, an activated charcoal, and a mixture product containing minerals, microorganisms, and phytogenic substances were used in this experiment. An in vitro procedure was used to mimic the digestive process in pigs. The binding ability for AFB1 of the cellulose products was less compared with the values of other sequestering products (p < 0.05). The percent adsorption of AFB1 by bentonite clays, cellulose products, yeast cell wall product, activated charcoal product, and the mixture product were 92.5 (average of 5 bentonite products), −13.5 (average of 2 cellulose products), 92.7, 100.2, and 96.6, respectively. The respective values for DON were 3.24, 11.6, 22.9, 14.4, and 4.3. In conclusion, most toxin sequestering agents used in the present study had potential to bind AFB1 rather than DON based on the in vitro study which simulated the pH condition of the gastrointestinal tract of pigs.

There is little data that determine the clinical characteristics of prelaryngeal lymph nodes (PLN) metastasis in patients with papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). The aims of this prospective study were to evaluate the incidence and the clinical characteristics of metastasis to the PLN for PTC patients who underwent total thyroidectomy and prophylactic central neck dissection. Sixty-seven patients who underwent total thyroidectomy and prophylactic bilateral central lymph node neck dissection for PTC were enrolled. Central neck compartment was further divided into prelaryngeal, ipsilateral/contralateral paratracheal, and pretracheal regions. Clinicopathologic factors including age, sex, tumor size and location, extrathyroidal extension, and central and lateral nodal metastasis were evaluated. Of the 67 patients who underwent PLN dissection, 13 (19.4 %) had evidence of PLN metastasis. Tumor size was significantly larger in patients with PLN involvement (2.28 versus 1.12 cm; p = 0.020). Additionally, primary tumors larger than 1 cm, extrathyroidal extension, and isthmus involvement were more prevalent in PLN-positive patients. Patients with positive PLNs were also more frequently found to have lateral lymph node metastasis (23.1 vs. 1.9 %; p = 0.021), pretracheal lymph node metastasis (76.9 vs. 27.8 %; p = 0.003), and bilateral central lymph node metastasis (38.5 vs. 11.1 %; p = 0.031) than PTC patients without PLN involvement. The incidence of PLN metastasis in PTC patients who underwent prophylactic central lymph node neck dissection was 19.4 %. PLN metastasis was associated with tumor size, extrathyroidal extension, isthmus involvement, and other compartment lymph node metastasis.

Anisakidae larvae can cause anisakiasis when ingested by humans. Although several groups have reported a gastrointestinal Anisakis allergy among people in Spain and Japan, our report is the first to summarize the clinical features of 10 Anisakis allergy cases in Korea. We enrolled 10 Korean patients (6 men and 4 women) who complained of aggravated allergic symptoms after ingesting raw fish or seafood. Sensitization to Anisakis was confirmed by detecting serum specific IgE to Anisakis simplex. The most common manifestation of anisakiasis was urticaria (100%), followed by abdominal pain (30%) and anaphylaxis (30%). All patients presenting with these symptoms also exhibited high serum specific IgE (0.45 to 100 kU/L) to A. simplex. Nine patients (90%) exhibited atopy and increased total serum IgE levels. The fish species suspected of carrying the Anisakis parasite were flatfish (40%), congers (40%), squid (30%), whelk (10%), and tuna (10%). Anisakis simplex should be considered as a possible causative food allergen in adult patients presenting with urticaria, angioedema, and anaphylaxis following the consumption of raw fish or seafood.