The os calcis is fractured more frequently than any other tarsal bone. Fractures involving subtalar joint can, be associated with prolonged and severe disability. So there is no universal agreement in the treatment of these fractures. Calcaneal fractures of 64 feet in 56 patients who were treated at Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine from Jan. 1971 to Dec. 1980 were analyzed in clinical and radiological aspects. The results obtained from this study were as follows; 1. Of 56 patients, 46 patients were male and 10 female. 2. The main cause of fractures of calcaneus was a fall from a height in 71.4 percents of cases, and spine injury was associated in 15 patients (26.8%) with calcaneal fractures. 3. The fractures were almostly closed (89.1%). 4. Fractures involving subtalar joint were in 52 feet (81.3%) and Rowe's type 5 were 38 fractures (39.4%). Of these type 5 fractures, 31 fractures were treated by closed reduction and axial pin fixation and then favourable results were obtained. 5. The most common complication after treatment was persistant foot pain. Pain beneath the lateral malleolus was the most common (8 feet), and correlated with the decrease of Bohler's angle.
Calcaneus ; Clinical Study ; Female ; Foot ; Humans ; Male ; Spine ; Subtalar Joint ; Tarsal Bones

A putative gamma herpesvirus, termed human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), discovered in recent years, has been implicated as a possible etiologic agent for Kaposi`s sarcoma (KS). In South Korea, the incidence of KS in HIV seropositive individuals is very low. The cause of its rarity as compared with other countries is unclear. The objective of this study was performed to determine the prevalence of infection with HHV-8 and to clarify the cause of low incidence of KS in Korean populations including HIV seropositive individuals. The study population was composed of 200 blood donors, 220 voluntary visitors for sexual transmitted infection (STI)-testing in the public health centers, and 214 HIV-seropositive individuals. For the detection of HHV-8 antibodies, all blood samples were tested using Advanced Biotechnologies Inc`s enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits and the reactive samples were retested using Biotrin International SARL`s immunofluorescent assay (IFA). Also, we investigated the seroprevalence of Cytomegalovirus (CMV), Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV) and Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) in order to get more information of HHV-8 and other human herpesviruses transmission in Korea. The prevalence of specific IgG to HHV-8 among HIV seropositive individuals was 7.0% {95% confidential interval: 4.0-11.3%}. The specific antibody to HHV-8 could be detected only in HIV seropositive men. The prevalences of antibodies to other human herpesviruses unlike HHV-8 were very high even in blood donors. These observations strongly suggest that the rarity of KS in this country may be caused by very low prevalence of HHV-8.
Antibodies ; Biotechnology ; Blood Donors ; Cytomegalovirus ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Herpesviridae ; Herpesvirus 3, Human ; Herpesvirus 4, Human ; Herpesvirus 8, Human* ; HIV ; Humans* ; Immunoglobulin G ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Male ; Prevalence ; Public Health ; Sarcoma* ; Sarcoma, Kaposi ; Seroepidemiologic Studies*

Spinal anesthesia with hyperbaric tetracaine has short action duration, therefore it is inappropriate to long term operation. Clonidine has been shown to stimulate central and peripheral alpha two adrenergic receptors. By these central adrenergic action, clonidine decreases the MAC of anesthetics. Clonidine also has analgesic property following intrathecal administration. These properties may make clonidine as a useful adjunct to extend anesthesia time with spinal anesthesia. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of clonidine in spinal anesthesia. Thirty healthy adult patients who were scheduled for orthopedic operation below knee were divided into 3 groups: Group1 (hyperbaric tetracaine 10 mg(2 ml)+N/S 1 ml), Group2I (hyperbaric tetracaine 10 mg with clonidine 75 ug(0.5 ml)+N/S 0.5 ml) and Group3 (hyperbaric tetracaine 10 mg with clonidine 150 ug(1 ml). We investigated the onset and duration of spinal anesthesia and hemodynamic changes (blood pressure and heart rate). The results were as follows 1) There were no significant changes between groups in hemodynamic data. 2) The onset of spinal anesthesia was more rapid in the group 2 (knee flexion 2.9+/-0.7, foot dorsiflexion 4.6+/-0.8 minutes) and 3 (knee flexion 2.0+/-0.4, foot dorsiflexion 4.1+/-0.7 minutes) than group I (knee flexion 4.9+/-1.6, foot dorsiflexion 9.1+/-3.4 minutes). 3) The time to recovery of nerve block was more prolonged in the group 2 (touch 256, pain 295, foot dorsiflexion 276, knee flexion 300 minutes) and 3 (touch 295, pain 312, foot dorsiflexion 339, knee flexion 385 minutes) than group 1 (touch 143, pain 176, foot dorsiflexion 178, knee flexion 195 minutes). 4) There were more sedation and dry mouth in group 2 and group 3. From the above results, clonidine can be used as an effective adjunct in hyperbaric tetracaine spinal anesthesia to make rapid onset and prolonged anesthesia without significant hemodynamic changes.
Adult ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Spinal* ; Anesthetics ; Clonidine* ; Foot ; Heart ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Knee ; Mouth ; Nerve Block ; Orthopedics ; Receptors, Adrenergic ; Tetracaine

Metronidazole-induced encephalopathy (MIE) can be caused by excessive dose or prolonged metronidazole administration. The signal abnormalities in the cerebellar dentate nuclei, midbrain, dorsal pons and corpus callosum on magnetic resonance imaging are considered as the characteristic feature of MIE. Although the mechanism of MIE remains to be elucidated, various hypothesis have been proposed including the role of metronidazole as a thiamine antagonist. Here we report a 58-year-old woman with MIE who coincidentally presented with thiamine deficiency.
Brain Diseases ; Corpus Callosum ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mesencephalon ; Metronidazole ; Middle Aged ; Pons ; Thiamine Deficiency ; Thiamine

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study was designed to determine the effect of supplementary argon plasma coagulation (APC) after piecemeal resection of a gastric adenoma or an intramucosal adenocarcinoma. METHODS: Cases of 62 lesions of 56 consecutive patients with either a gastric adenoma or carcinoma were retrospectively reviewed at the Ajou University Medical Center. APC was performed after an endoscopic complete resection using the piecemeal method of endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) for patients in the EMR-APC group. For patients in the EMR group, APC was not performed. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the recurrence rate of the cancers for both groups (9.7%, for the EMR group, 6.5% for the EMR-APC group). The recurrence rate of a low grade dysplasia was 6.7% (EMR group) and 6.3% (EMR-APC group) (p=1.000), the recurrence rate for a high grade dysplasia was 11.1% (EMR group) and 25.0% (EMR-APC group) (p=1.000), and the recurrence rate for an intramucosal adenocarcinoma was 14.3% (EMR group) and 0% (EMR-APC group) (p=0.389). The recurrence rates of lesions in which the lesion size was less than 20 mm and over 20 mm for each group were 6.7% and 9.1% (EMR group) (p=1.000) versus 12.5% and 0% (EMR-APC group) (p=0.520). There was also no significant statistical difference in the recurrence rates for both groups according to the location and macroscopic type of lesion. CONCLUSIONS: Supplementary treatment with APC could not significantly reduce the recurrence rate after complete piecemeal resection determined macroscopically. A large- scale and prospective study is necessary to elucidate the clinical significance of supplementary APC for gastric neoplasm treatment.
Academic Medical Centers ; Adenocarcinoma ; Adenoma* ; Argon Plasma Coagulation* ; Argon* ; Humans ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms

Primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL) is an aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), usually composed of diffuse large B-cells. Although rituximab is known for its curative effect on B-cell NHL, data on the use of intrathecal rituximab for PCNSL are limited. In this report, we present two patients showing relapsed PCNSL with lymphomatous meningitis. Both patients were refractory to conventional methotrexate-based intrathecal chemotherapy. However, after intrathecal rituximab with or without conventional intrathecal chemotherapy, both patients showed stable disease on magnetic resonance brain imaging and cerebrospinal fluid analysis. There were no serious adverse events during each of 3 and 6 cycles with intrathecal rituximab immunotherapy.
B-Lymphocytes ; Central Nervous System* ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Immunotherapy ; Lymphoma* ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin ; Meningitis ; Neuroimaging

Background/Aims: Achieving rapid reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels below 55 mg/dL in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) can be challenging with statins alone. This single-center, retrospective study aimed to assess the impact of single-dose injection of evolocumab 140 mg on LDL-C levels during the peri-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) period in patients with AMI. Methods: A total of 95 patients with AMI who underwent PCI were divided into the evolocumab (n = 50) and non-evolocumab (n = 45) groups. Results: The percentage change of LDL-C level at 1–3 weeks from baseline was 78.4 ± 13.4% reduction in the evolocumab group versus 45.6 ± 22.6% in the non-evolocumab group, with a mean difference of -33.5% between the groups (95% CI: -42.6 to -24.5%; p < 0.001). The achievement rate of LDL-C levels below 55 mg/dL at 1–3 weeks was significantly higher in the evolocumab group than in the non-evolocumab group (97.7% vs. 60.0%, p < 0.001). Conclusions Patients with AMI who received single-dose injection of evolocumab 140 mg during the peri-PCI period had a significantly greater LDL-C reduction and higher proportion of patients achieved the target LDL-C level in the early phase AMI than those who did not receive evolocumab.

Background/Aims: Achieving rapid reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels below 55 mg/dL in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) can be challenging with statins alone. This single-center, retrospective study aimed to assess the impact of single-dose injection of evolocumab 140 mg on LDL-C levels during the peri-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) period in patients with AMI. Methods: A total of 95 patients with AMI who underwent PCI were divided into the evolocumab (n = 50) and non-evolocumab (n = 45) groups. Results: The percentage change of LDL-C level at 1–3 weeks from baseline was 78.4 ± 13.4% reduction in the evolocumab group versus 45.6 ± 22.6% in the non-evolocumab group, with a mean difference of -33.5% between the groups (95% CI: -42.6 to -24.5%; p < 0.001). The achievement rate of LDL-C levels below 55 mg/dL at 1–3 weeks was significantly higher in the evolocumab group than in the non-evolocumab group (97.7% vs. 60.0%, p < 0.001). Conclusions Patients with AMI who received single-dose injection of evolocumab 140 mg during the peri-PCI period had a significantly greater LDL-C reduction and higher proportion of patients achieved the target LDL-C level in the early phase AMI than those who did not receive evolocumab.

Background/Aims: Achieving rapid reduction of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels below 55 mg/dL in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) can be challenging with statins alone. This single-center, retrospective study aimed to assess the impact of single-dose injection of evolocumab 140 mg on LDL-C levels during the peri-percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) period in patients with AMI. Methods: A total of 95 patients with AMI who underwent PCI were divided into the evolocumab (n = 50) and non-evolocumab (n = 45) groups. Results: The percentage change of LDL-C level at 1–3 weeks from baseline was 78.4 ± 13.4% reduction in the evolocumab group versus 45.6 ± 22.6% in the non-evolocumab group, with a mean difference of -33.5% between the groups (95% CI: -42.6 to -24.5%; p < 0.001). The achievement rate of LDL-C levels below 55 mg/dL at 1–3 weeks was significantly higher in the evolocumab group than in the non-evolocumab group (97.7% vs. 60.0%, p < 0.001). Conclusions Patients with AMI who received single-dose injection of evolocumab 140 mg during the peri-PCI period had a significantly greater LDL-C reduction and higher proportion of patients achieved the target LDL-C level in the early phase AMI than those who did not receive evolocumab.