BACKGROUND: Hydrofluoric acid burns are occuring with ever-increiisir g frequency due to the wide use of this acid in industrial fields, such as electronics and semiconductor i idustries. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of thie study was to evaluate the clinical charateristics of hydrofluoric acid burn. This study will give basic information of hydrofluoric acid burn to the dermatologists who are not familiar with hydrofluoric acid. METHOD: Twenty-two patient who were diagnosed as having hydroiluiiric acid burns at koryo General Hospital(1986-1993) were irraluated clinical)y. Forteen were malc ar d eight were female, most of them were in their third decade. RESULTS: The results are sumrnurised as follows 1. Latent periods were variabie from 30 min. to 3 days. Most patients recognized their chemical burn several hours after exposure. 2. Foot & sole (9 cases) and fingers (7 cases) were most frequently in olved. In 7 cases, nails were also involved. 3. Pain was the most. commori iuobjective symptom. 4. Skin lesions showed erytherna, erythematous swelling, erosion, bulla., necrosis, pigmentation and crust, formation, progressii ely. 5. Treatment Wet dressing with Hyami-solution and topical application of ai tibiotics or steroidointment were sufficient in mild case. In severe cases, intralesional injection of calcium glucoante was perfirmed. Debridement was also performed after the progn ssion of tissue damage stopped. Nails were extracted in cases involving nails. CONCLUSION: Hydrofluoric acid burn is characterized clinically by severc progessive tissue destruction and excruciating pain. Dermatologists need to be aware of the clinical features of hydroclucric acid burn and its proper treatment.
Bandages ; Burns* ; Burns, Chemical ; Calcium ; Debridement ; Female ; Fingers ; Foot ; Humans ; Hydrofluoric Acid* ; Injections, Intralesional ; Necrosis ; Pigmentation ; Semiconductors ; Skin

Mercury had been an important constituent of the remedial drugs for last few centuries, but substantially replaced by more specific and effective mordern medicines. However, metalic mercury, tbe vestige of the last decades, has still been employed for the patients of scabies by the herbal doctors in Korea. Therefore, we have often experienced patients with such complications as exfoliative dermatitis following topical applications of metalic mercury or inhalation of the vapor. There are three major toxic chernical forms of mercury, such as metalic (ele- mental) mercury vapor, salts of the mercury, and organic mercur.'als. Metailc mercury is the most volatile of the inorganic forms of the metal, Inhalation of the vapor of the metalic mercury is very toxic, but ingestion of the globular forms is rarely harmful. Acute mercury poison.ng due to topical mercurials is very rare. This case was a such patient who showed the mercury poisoning can result from the percutaneous absorption of topically applied mercury. The patient was an 11 year-old schoolboy with scabies. Three days after topical applications on the whole body with the mixture of rneta,lic rnercury, phosphorus and perilla oil, as prescribed by a herbal doctor, he was suffered from headache, fever, facial flushing, sore throat, a,nd stomatitis for a few days, and then followed by exfoliative dermatitis, renal and bone marrow fa'.lures. However, bone marrow failure due to mercury was very rarely described in the literatures. Virtually, the whole body was covered by thick scales on the dirty greyish pigmented or erytheinatoas Cohfluent payules. It whs oozing on the external genital area, and all nails were spontaneously extracted. Tbe findings of renal failures included puffy face, ascites, BUN 92. 8 mg/dl, serum creatinine 7. 3 mg/dl. creat.nine clearance 12rnl/min., proteinuria, rnicro and gross hematuria, and non or poor visualizations of IVP. The peak in severity was at about 50 days after onset and bacame normal except mild proteinuria at about 70 days after onset. The findings of aplastic anemia were shown by pancytopenia(Hb 7. 6g/dl, WBC 1, 700, seg. neutro. 18%, lympho. 40% mono. 26%, eosino. 16%, Hct25%, thrombocytes 40, 000, RBC 3, 000, 000, reticulocytes 0. 1%) and about 20 per cent of the cellularity in bone marrow aspiration from about 70 to 90 days after onset. In fact, the aplastic anemia was coincided with nasal bleeding, staphylococcal septisema, and staphylococcal pustulation at the site of IM injection. However, the levels of onset 80 day-urine and blood rnercury were high: 208 ug/1. (norm.alless than 100 ug/l)in urine, and 126. 3 ug/100g (normal less than 5 ug/100g) in blood.
Anemia, Aplastic ; Ascites ; Blood Platelets ; Bone Marrow* ; Child ; Creatinine ; Dermatitis, Exfoliative* ; Eating ; Epistaxis ; Fever ; Flushing ; Headache ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Korea ; Mercury Poisoning ; Perilla ; Pharyngitis ; Phosphorus ; Proteinuria ; Renal Insufficiency ; Reticulocytes ; Salts ; Scabies ; Skin Absorption ; Stomatitis ; Weights and Measures

In the published version of this article, an error in the sponsor's identity was discovered in the acknowledgment section.

Syringoma of the vulva is a rare disorder and limitation of the lesions to this site appears unique. Lesions can be clinically diagnosed without difficulty, since it is characterized by multiple, bilateral, asymptomatic skin-colored papules. Vuluar syringoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of multicentric papular lesions of the vulva. The patient presented here is a 30-year-old healthy woman; lesions are multiple, biiateral, asymptomatic, angular or round, skin-colored to yellowish brown, firm papules localized on the vulvar region and showing a characteristic histologic findings.
Adult ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Syringoma* ; Vulva*

Cimetidine, an H-histamine receptor antagonist, has been advocated to have enhancing effect on delayed type hypersensitivity. However, some recent reports have caused controversial opinion regarding the effect of cimetidine on delayed type hypersensitivity assessed in vivo. In this study the effect of cimetidine at the various periods of contact sersitivity reaction (CSR) to DNCB was assessed in guinea pigs. Three groups of five guinea pigs were sensitized with DNCB in the nuchal region and challenged with DNCB in the back on 16th day after sensitization, Cimetidine, 300mg/3ml/kg, was injected intraperitoneally once a day for the duration of different periods. For the first group, cimetidine was injected during the first 10 days after sensitization to assess its effect on the preparative and recognition phase of the induction period of CSR, For the second group, cimetidine was injected from the 6th to the 16th day to evaluate the enhancing effect of cimetidine on CSR at the period when suppressor T-cells were considered to be active. For the third group, cimetidine was injected for the last 3 days before elicitation test to assess the effect of short term treatment of cimetidine on the established CSR to DNCB. For the elicitation, two different consentrations of DNCB were applied on the three sites along both sides of the spine in the back. Total means of the degree of CSR elicited by DNCB were significanly ircreased by cimetidine in the second and third groups (p<0.05). These enhancing effects of cimetidine on CSR were more prominent at the uppermost back than other sites, eliclted by 0.05% DNCB rather than 0.01% DNCB.
Animals ; Cimetidine* ; Dermatitis, Contact* ; Dinitrochlorobenzene ; Guinea Pigs* ; Guinea* ; Hypersensitivity ; Spine ; T-Lymphocytes

PURPOSE: Deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism are common and potentially fatal complication among hospitalized patients. The first clinical manifestation of venous thromboembolism may be fatal pulmonary embolism. Therefore, some form of prophylaxis is warranted for patients at risk. Prolonged major surgery is well known as high risk factor in development of venous thromboembolism and venous thromboembolism following surgery remains a significant health care problem. But little data are available concerning the changes of venous hemodynamic during prolonged surgery. METHOD: To access the relationship of the lower leg venous congestion that occurred during prolonged and position-fixed surgery to the development of postoperative deep vein thrombosis, the venous pressure of lower leg were measured continuously. A flexible indwelling angiocatheter was inserted into the greater saphenous vein near ankle area and venous pressure was measured by pressure monitor. The data of patients (experimental group:n=10) who performed spinal operation in Jack-Knife position over 180 minutes, healthy volunteers (n=10) and patients (venous hypertension group) who diagnosed as lower leg deep vein thrombosis (n=7), chronic venous insufficiency (n=3) were collected and analyzed. RESULT: The mean age was 34 years old in experimental group and the patients were 7 males and 3 females. The mean lower leg venous pressures of healthy volunteer in Jack-Knife position were 42.89+/-3.52 mmHg at 30 minutes. In acute deep vein thrombosis and chronic venous insufficiency patients, the mean venous pressures were 73.14+/-4.78, 57.33+/-2.52 mmHg at 30 minutes and these data were statistically significant compared with control group (P<0.05). In experimental group, the changes of the mean venous pressures at 30, 60, 90, 120 and 180 minutes were 48.78+/-2.38, 45.89+/-2.09, 45.33+/-2.24, 45.11+/-2.03 and 46.33+/-2.18 mmHg and these data were not statistically significant compared with control group. There was no postoperative development of deep vein thrombosis. CONCLUSION: The surgical factors (prolonged operation time, fixed position) and anesthetic factor may not play a major role in development of postoperative deep vein thrombosis and other postoperative factors will intervene the development of deep vein thrombosis.
Adult ; Ankle ; Delivery of Health Care ; Female ; Healthy Volunteers ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hyperemia ; Hypertension ; Leg* ; Male ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Risk Factors ; Saphenous Vein ; Venous Insufficiency ; Venous Pressure* ; Venous Thromboembolism ; Venous Thrombosis

Congenital chylothorax is a rare disorder and can be diagnosed by prenatal ultrasonography recently. Most cases of congenital chylothorax were characterized by different clinical courses of respiratory distress. We describe two female cases with congenital chylothorax observed by ultra- sonography prenatally. In the first case, left-sided pleural effusion was noted by prenatal ultrasonography taken at 34 weeks of gestation, and then pleural fluid was extracted by intrauterine thoracentesis under sonography guidance. After birth, this patient was managed by TPN(total parentral nutrition) and intermittent thoracentesis without surgical treatment. But, pleural fluid was accumulated recurrently and respiratory distress was aggravated. At 15th hospital day, shock state was developed and patient died. In the second case, bilateral pleural effusion and ascites were noted by prenatal ultrasonography, and then patient was delivered immediately without intrauterine thoracentesis. After birth, the second case received conservative therapy including mechanical ventilation, TPN, intermittent thoracentesis and paracentesis. The patient was discharged with complete regression of chylothorax. We report the two cases with brief review of related literatures.
Ascites ; Chylothorax* ; Female ; Humans ; Paracentesis ; Parturition ; Pleural Effusion ; Pregnancy ; Respiration, Artificial ; Shock ; Ultrasonography, Prenatal*

No abstract available.
Case-Control Studies* ; Placenta Previa* ; Placenta* ; Risk Factors*

OBJECTIVE AND METHODS: To determine correlations among ambulatory renin activity, ambulatory blood pressure and microalbumin excretion rate, 66 Korean essential hypertensives were studied after 4 week wash-out period. The ambulatory blood pressure was monitored every 30 minutes and mean BP were calculated automatically. Urinary microalbumin excretion rate(UAER) and ambulatory plasma renin activity(aPRA) collected at mid-day were measured by radioimmunoassays. Subjectives were divided into 2 groups by aPRA value(2ng/ml/hr). RESULT: 14 cases were high renin group and 52 cases low renin group. The mean BP were 148.83/94.69mmHg in low renin group, and 146.57/98.07mmHg in high-renin group without difference. UAER were not different also between both groups. 23.07%(4/14) of non-dippers were included in high renin group and 25.58%(12/52) in low renin group without statistical difference. The aPRA was significantly related to UAER and systolic and diastolic mean blood pressure. Also UAER was related significantly to day mean blood pressures. CONCLUSION: Thus aPRA is thought to be a meaningful indicator to predict hypertensive renal target organ damage as well as blood pressure measured with 24-hr ABPM.
Blood Pressure* ; Hypertension* ; Plasma* ; Radioimmunoassay ; Renin*

Hyperkeratosis of the nipple and areola is a rare skin disordr characterized clinically by thickening and discoloration of the skin of the areola and/or nipple and pathoiog cally by papillomaosis or acanthosis-nigricans like changes. We report a case of hyperkeratosis of the nipple and areola occuring in a woman with no underlying endocrinopathy and no other additional hyperkeratotic conditions. Ttie iresent case seems to be the nevoid form by the Levy-Franckel classification. Treatment with topical medications including steroids and keratolytic agents produced no improvement. Therefore we recommeneded surgical excision because the paient was greatly disturbed by the appearance of the lesions. Surgical excision and full thickness skin graft were performed sucessfully.
Classification ; Female ; Humans ; Keratolytic Agents ; Nipples* ; Skin* ; Steroids ; Transplants*