No abstract available.
Sternotomy*

Hiccups are due to an intermittent clonic spasm of the diaphragm. In most cases, hiccups are self-limiting disease, but persistent hiccups may be related to the presence of serious underlying systemic disease. Two patients who had persistent hiccups that were not controled by conventional methods and medications were referred to the pain clinic. We administered a single oral medication of gabapentin, and then the hiccups disappeared in both cases. We concluded that gabapentin should be considered as an alternative therapy to control persistent or intractable hiccup. It could be particularly useful for those patients with solid malignancies, either alone or as an "add-on therapy" with other oral agents.
Diaphragm ; Hiccup* ; Humans ; Pain Clinics ; Spasm

OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were to examine the reliability and validity of the Korean version of Social Communication Questionnaire (K-SCQ) and to determine cut-off scores for diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). METHODS: A total of 166 subjects with ASD and their 186 unaffected siblings were recruited through child psychiatry clinics of university hospitals. Board certified child psychiatrists screened all probands suspected to have ASD based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. To confirm the diagnoses, the Korean versions of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule and the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (K-ADI-R) were administered to all the subjects. All parents completed the K-SCQ and Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). The non-ASD siblings were evaluated with the same instruments as the probands with ASD. We performed a factor analysis to examine the structure of K-SCQ. For testing the validity of K-SCQ, we compared the difference in Lifetime and Current scores of probands with ASD and their non-ASD siblings using t-test and analysis of covariance. Correlations between the K-SCQ and other measurements of ASD symptomatology, including K-ADI-R totals and domain scores and SRS, were examined. Receiver operation characteristic curve analysis was performed to extract cutoff scores discriminating affection status. RESULTS: Four factors were extracted through factor analysis of K-SCQ ; 1) social relation and play, 2) stereotyped behavior, 3) social behavior, and 4) abnormal language. Cronbach's internal consistency was .95 in K-SCQ Lifetime, and .93 in K-SCQ Current. There were significant differences in total score of K-SCQ, both in Lifetime and Current between the ASD group and non-ASD siblings group (p<.001). K-SCQ scores were significantly correlated with K-ADI-R subdomain scores and SRS total scores (p<.001). The best-estimate cut-off scores of K-SCQ for diagnosis of ASD were 12 for 48 months and over, and 10 for below 47 months. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the K-SCQ is a reliable and valid instrument for screening autistic symptoms in the Korean population. Lower cut-off scores than the original English version might be considered when using it as a screening instrument of ASD.
Appointments and Schedules ; Autistic Disorder ; Child ; Autism Spectrum Disorder ; Child Psychiatry ; Diagnosis ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Parents ; Psychiatry ; Reproducibility of Results ; Siblings ; Social Behavior ; Stereotyped Behavior