We report a case of right cervical (C2-C4 area) acute herpetic pain successfully treated by therapeutic selective nerve blocks. A47-year-old man complained of right cervical persistent pain and frequent intermittent pain associated with herpes zoster. This pain was resistant to standard therapies such as satellite ganglion block and epidural block. On the 10th day after onset, the patient was treated by X-ray-guided therapeutic C3 and C4 selective nerve root blocks, resulting in an almost immediate relief of pain. The patient remained pain-free, and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) was prevented. Although there are various treatments for PHN, none produces definitive effects. Relief of acute herpetic pain and prevention of PHN are important in the treatment of herpes zoster.
Pain ; Postherpetic neuralgia ; Nerve ; Herpes Zoster ; Plant Roots

We have studied post tetanic count (PTC) and single twitch height at the onset of reflex movement to carinal stimulation after administration of vecronium to 10 female patients under total intravenous anesthesia. During spontaneous recovery from vecronium-induced neuromuscular block, the carina was stimulated at every 120s. It took 18.7±5.5 minutes before reflex movement started, T1% was 1.9±2.2%, and PTC was 11.59±5.3 counts. In 5 cases, T1% did not appear at the onset of reflex movement.

The patient was a 57-year-old woman. Even though she had received a diagnosis of tetralogy of Fallot as an student of elementary school, she did not consent to undertake surgical repair. Consequently, she had been observed until age 56, although she suffered from atrial fibrillation during this period. She decided to undergo surgical correction as she suffered from severe heart failure. The surgical repair included Maze procedure, a patch repair of ventricular septal defect, a repair of the right ventricular outflow tract and a pulmonary valve replacement. The right ventricular pressure reduced to around two-fifths of high left ventricular pressure postoperatively, and she was discharged without any complication.

A 71-year-old man had undergone branched open stent grafting for a distal arch aneurysm in May 2006. He subsequently developed multiple episodes of postoperative endoleak successfully treated by TEVAR in January and November 2009. He visited our hospital complaining of back pain in May 2011. Chest computed tomography showed increasing size of the aneurysm and recurrent endoleak of the distal stent graft, and impending rupture of the aneurysm was diagnosed. Considering the technical difficulty of repair by TEVAR, we performed graft replacement of the aneurysm with removal of the previous stent graft. The postoperative course was unremarkable and he was discharged on postoperative day 11.

A 50-year-old man was referred to our hospital with a tumor in the left ventricle. He had suffered from rheumatic fever when 14 years old. He had shown signs of chronic heart failure due to atrial fibrillation and rheumatic valves (ASr, MSr) for 10 years. There was a history of unaccountable fever and rash, so infective endocarditis was suspected and echocardiography was performed. It showed a homogeneous mass with a diameter of approximately 10mm, fixed directly to the left ventricular septum 20mm below the aortic valvular ring. At operation, the tumor was excised together with endocardium and a part of the muscular coat. The rheumatic aortic and mitral valves were replaced with a 21mm SJM AHP and a 27mm SJM MTK mitral valve, respectively. Tricuspid annuloplasty (TAP) (De Vega 29mm) was also performed. Histopathological examination of the tumor revealed benign papillary fibroelastoma. It suggested that the tumors were secondary to mechanical wear and tear, and represent a degenerative process due to rheumatic valve disease.

We report a case of transposition of the great arteries (TGA) with severe pulmonary hypertension from the right to left shunt in the right modified Blalock-Taussig shunt. The patient was diagnosed with TGA with a small ventricular septal defect, restrictive patent foramen ovale, and patent ductus arteriosus. Balloon atrial septostomy was performed, and an arterial switch operation (ASO) was planned. However, ASO was delayed during the neonatal period due to cerebral bleeding. Moreover, left outflow tract obstruction was noted ; hence, the surgical strategy was shifted to an atrial switch operation or Rastelli type operation. The patient was palliated at the age of 5 months with a right 4-mm Gore-Tex modified Blalock-Taussig shunt. After this procedure, he was followed up at the outpatient clinic with good saturation level. However, at 9 months, he revisited the hospital due to septic shock. His SpO2 was 60% in the upper right limbs and 40% in the upper left and lower limbs. Nitric oxide inhalation and 100% oxygen were administered to improve pulmonary hypertension and subsequent differential cyanosis. Pulmonary hypertension decreased from over-systemic to 70% of the systemic arterial pressure. The Senning procedure with a fenestration in an atrial baffle was successfully performed at the age of 1 year.

Purpose: We examined the safety and efficacy of cataract surgery and postoperative management in our hospital and at the homes of the patients who live on medically underserved remote.
Patients and methods: A total of 27 patients (54 eyes), who were followed in our hospital or at their homes were enrolled in this study. Cataract surgery was performed on them between January 2009 and January 2010 and we could follow up six months postoperatively. We divided these patients into two groups:group I (GI) consisted of 13 patients who could come to our hospital regularly during both preoperative and postoperative periods, and group II (GII) consisted of 14 patients who could not come to our hospital regularly during either preoperative or postoperative periods. Cataract surgeries were performed on all the patients in GI and GII in our hospital. The patients in GI were hospitalized for three days and those in GII were for seven days. After cataract surgery, the patients in GI had their eyes checked regularly in our hospital and those in GII were in their homes where the doctor visited. Postoperative ophthalmic clinical tests were conducted to examine visual acuity, intraocular pressure and fundus.
Results: GI comprised three males and 10 females. Their age averaged 79.3. GII comprised four males and 10 females. Their age averaged 82.6. Preoperative ophthalmic examinations found that preoperative average visual acuity (LogMAR and decimal visual acuity in parentheses) and spherical equivalent in GI and GII were 0.69 (0.41), 0.80 (0.33) and -0.43 dioptors, -0.42 dioptors respectively, showing no significant differences between the two groups. Postoperative ophthalmic examinations found that, best corrected visual acuity (LogMAR) was significantly increased to 0.36 (0.66) and 0.44 (0.53) in GI and GII respectively, showing no significant differences either.
Conclusions: We concluded that we could get safe and efficient cataract surgery and postoperative management combined with prolonged hospitalization and house calls on the patients who live in the isolated islands.

OBJECTIVETo clarify the methodological issues for the High-risk and population Strategy for Occupational Health Promotion Study (HIPOP-OHP study), which is a 4-year non-randomized control trial, an interim assessment of male participants was performed 3 years after the baseline survey.

METHODSWe had approximately 2,500 and 4,000 participants in the intervention and control groups, respectively. The population measures and prevalence of risk factors at each year, and between the baseline and 4th examinations were compared between the two groups. The personal trends of returning participants who were in the study at the 1(st) and 4(th) examinations were also evaluated.

RESULTSDuring the 3 years, an increase in serum HDL cholesterol (2.7 mg/dl), and a reduction in the prevalence of hypertriglycemia detected with fasting blood samples (3.6%) and current smokers (5.4%) were observed in the intervention group. The mean HDL cholesterol level was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group at the 4th examination, reversed from the baseline survey. The serum non-HDL cholesterol level was significantly increased only in the control group. There was also a significant increase in the prevalence of hypertriglycemia nad high plasma glucose detected with fasting blood samples in the control group. The return participation rate after 3 years was 72.2% for the intervention group and 74.9% for the control group. The above-mentioned changes for risk factors were mainly due to returning participants at each examination.

CONCLUSIONThese interventional methods may be effective in improving overall cardiovascular risk factors in the population. However, the low return participation rate will dilute the effect of the intervention.

OBJECTIVETo examine the effectiveness of newly developed materials for providing health-related information to the worksite population, we compared the amount of attention that employees paid to the materials.

METHODSStudy subjects were 2,361 employees in six companies participating in an intervention program between 2002 and 2003. Three kinds of media were used as tools for providing health information: [1] Point Of Purchase advertising menus (POP menus) were placed on all tables in company restaurants, [2] posters were put on walls and [3] leaflets were distributed at health-related events. One year or more after the introduction of these media, we compared the amount of attention paid to each type of medium.

RESULTSAmongst the three types of media, the POP menu drew the most attention, although results were not consistent in all gender and company groups. Every piece of information provided by the POP menus was "always" or "almost always" read by 41% of the men and 51% of the women surveyed. The corresponding rate for posters was 30% in men and 32% in women. For leaflets, only 16% of men and 22% of women read almost all of the leaflets. More attention was paid to the POP menu when the sample was women, older, and ate at the company restaurant at least three times a week.

CONCLUSIONThe POP menu may provide health-related information to a broader range of people than posters and leaflets, therefore, it is an effective material for population strategy.