The aconite root has been used in oriental medicine to improve metabolism of debilitated patient and to cure acute dysuria, cardiac weakness, gout, neuralgias and rheumatism. The crude drug "bu-shi" or "cho-oh", which is obtained from the Aconitum roots, contains the potent poisons aconitine, mesaconitine, jesaconitine, and hypaconitine, which are C
Aconitine ; Aconitum* ; Adult ; Alkaloids ; Animal Experimentation ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Dizziness ; Dysuria ; Gout ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional ; Metabolism ; Nausea ; Neuralgia ; Poisons ; Rheumatic Diseases ; Shock* ; Tachycardia ; Tachycardia, Ventricular ; Torsades de Pointes ; Ventricular Fibrillation ; Vomiting

Rhabdomyolysis is defined as skeletal muscle injury with release of muscle cell constituents into the plasma and may lead to acute renal failure secondary to myoglobinuria. The causes of rhabdomyolysis is diverse:alcohol abuse, primary muscle disease, disturbance of muscle metabolism, sustained seizure, infection, drugs, tox ins, trauma, severe exercise, CO intoxication etc. Rhabdomyolysis may cause acute derangement in electrolyte balance and death. It should be diagnosed earlier and managed properly. We experienced a 49 year-old woman developed acute renal failure and myoglobinuria after alcohol drinking. A kidney biopsy revealed acute interstitial nephritis. In the presence of otherwise unexplained acute renal failure in alcoholic patients, rhabdomyolysis should be considered in the differential diagnosis.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Alcohol Drinking* ; Alcoholics ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Kidney ; Metabolism ; Middle Aged ; Muscle Cells ; Muscle, Skeletal ; Myoglobinuria* ; Nephritis, Interstitial* ; Plasma ; Rhabdomyolysis ; Seizures ; Water-Electrolyte Balance

We report here a case of pulmonary benign metastasizing leiomyoma from the uterus in a 45 year old woman. The patient presented for investigation of multiple pulmonary nodules on a routine chest roentgenogram. The patient had undergone uterine myomectomy due to uterine leiomyoma 10 years earlier. We performed thoracoscopic wedge resection for definitive diagnosis. Histologically, spindle shaped smooth muscle cells appeared between collagen stroma, histology similar to that seen in uterine myoma. The tumor tissue tested positive for estrogen and progesterone receptors. The pathological findings were consistent with benign metastasizing leiomyoma. The patient was in pre-menopause. She received no specific treatment for lung tumors, and we did not found any changes in the lesions after one year follow up without any medication.
Collagen ; Diagnosis ; Estrogens ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leiomyoma* ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Middle Aged ; Multiple Pulmonary Nodules ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Premenopause ; Receptors, Progesterone ; Thorax ; Uterine Myomectomy ; Uterus

Cardiac rhabdomyomas are the most common primary tumor in infancy and childhood and are frequently associated with tuberous sclerosis. Although spontaneous regression of cardiac rhabdomyoma has been reported , prognosis of this tumor associated with subaortic stenosis is still considered to be poor and surgery continues to be indicated. A 4-day-old female was admitted due to tachypnea and cyanosis. Single rhabdomyoma arising from the interventricular septum associated with severe subaortic stenosis was partially removed under cardiopulmonary bypass. Excised tumor size was 0.7 X 0.9 X 0.4 cm in dimension. The postoperative course was uneventful and the infant discharged on the 14th postoperative day.
Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Cyanosis ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Heart Neoplasms ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn* ; Prognosis ; Rhabdomyoma* ; Tachypnea ; Tuberous Sclerosis ; Ventricular Outflow Obstruction*

Cardiac rhabdomyomas are the most common primary tumor in infancy and childhood and are frequently associated with tuberous sclerosis. Although spontaneous regression of cardiac rhabdomyoma has been reported , prognosis of this tumor associated with subaortic stenosis is still considered to be poor and surgery continues to be indicated. A 4-day-old female was admitted due to tachypnea and cyanosis. Single rhabdomyoma arising from the interventricular septum associated with severe subaortic stenosis was partially removed under cardiopulmonary bypass. Excised tumor size was 0.7 X 0.9 X 0.4 cm in dimension. The postoperative course was uneventful and the infant discharged on the 14th postoperative day.
Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Cyanosis ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Heart Neoplasms ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn* ; Prognosis ; Rhabdomyoma* ; Tachypnea ; Tuberous Sclerosis ; Ventricular Outflow Obstruction*

Protective efficacy of vaccination with Neospora caninum multiple recombinant antigens against N. caninum infection was evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Two major immunodominant surface antigens (NcSAG1 and NcSRS2) and two dense granule proteins (NcDG1 and NcDG2) of N. caninum tachyzoites were expressed in E. coli, respectively. An in vitro neutralization assay using polyclonal antisera raised against each recombinant antigen showed inhibitory effects on the invasion of N. caninum tachyzoites into host cells. Separate groups of gerbils were immunized with the purified recombinant proteins singly or in combinations and animals were then challenged with N. caninum. Following these experimental challenges, the protective efficacy of each vaccination was determined by assessing animal survival rate. All experimental groups showed protective effects of different degrees against experimental infection. The highest protection efficacy was observed for combined vaccination with NcSRS2 and NcDG1. Our results indicate that combined vaccination with the N. caninum recombinant antigens, NcSRS2 and NcDG1, induces the highest protective effect against N. caninum infection in vitro and in vivo.
Animals ; Antibodies, Protozoan/immunology ; Antigens, Protozoan/immunology ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Coccidiosis/prevention & control ; Dose-Response Relationship, Immunologic ; Gene Expression ; Gerbillinae ; Neospora/*immunology ; Protozoan Vaccines/*immunology ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Vaccines, Synthetic/immunology ; Vero Cells

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to describe the clinical and epidemiologic features and outcomes among children hospitalized with pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 infection. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the charts of hospitalized pediatric patients (<18 years) diagnosed with pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 infection by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea, between September 2009 and February 2010. RESULTS: A total of 72 children were hospitalized with pandemic influenza A/H1N1 2009 infection (median age, 6.0 years; range, 2 months to 18 years). A total of 40% had at least 1 underlying medical condition, including asthma (17%), malignancies (19%), and heart diseases (17%). Of the 72 patients, 54 (76%) children admitted with H1N1 infection showed radiographic alterations compatible with pneumonia. There was no significant difference in pre-existing conditions between pandemic influenza A/H1N1 infected patients with or without pneumonia. Children with pandemic influenza A/H1N1 pneumonia were more likely to have a lower lymphocyte ratio (P=0.02), higher platelet count (P=0.02), and higher level of serum glucose (P=0.003), and more commonly presented with dyspnea than did those without pneumonia (P=0.04). CONCLUSION: No significant differences in age, sex, or presence of preexisting conditions were found between children hospitalized with pandemic influenza A/H1N1 H1N1 influenza infection with pneumonia and those without pneumonia. Higher leukocyte count, higher glucose level, and a lower lymphocyte ratio were associated with the development of pandemic A/H1N1 2009 influenza pneumonia.
Asthma ; Child ; Dyspnea ; Glucose ; Heart Diseases ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; Korea ; Leukocyte Count ; Lymphocytes ; Pandemics ; Platelet Count ; Pneumonia ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Retrospective Studies ; Tertiary Care Centers

PURPOSE: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the allergic disease which appears during infancy. This study aimed to find associations between clinical parameters, allergen sensitization and severity of AD in chidren under 2 years. METHODS: Two hundred fifteen patients (123 boys, 92 girls) under 2 years with severe AD who visited the department of pediatrics of Hangang Sacred Heart Hospital and Asan Medical Center were enrolled. We checked the severity scoring of atopic dermatitis (SCORAD), total eosinophil count, eosinophil ratio, eosionphil cationic protein (ECP), total IgE and specific IgE to 12 allergens [egg white, milk, soybean, peanut, wheat, fish, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (D.p), Dermatophagoides farinae (D.f), dog, cat, cockroach, alternaria]. Atopic AD was defined as serum total IgE 200 IU/mL or specific IgE positive. RESULTS: The mean of SCORAD was 69.0. Atopic AD was 161 (75%). There were no differences in age between atopic and non-atopic AD. However, SCORAD, IgE, eosinophil, and ECP were the higher in atopic AD. Sensitization to food allergen was the highest in egg white (76.4%), followed by milk (58.4%) and aeroallergens such as D.f (49.1%) and D.p (46.6%). The more the number of sensitized food allergens, the higher the SCORAD appeared. However, it did not show any relationships with the number of sensitized aeroallergens. CONCLUSION: The percentage and severity were higher in atopic AD than non-atopic AD. The number of sensitized to food allergen affect the severity. Therefore, understanding the sensitization to food allergens may be more helpful in predicting severity than sensitization to aeroallergen. In cases of positive reaction to aeroallergens, it is necessary to observe the development of respiratory allergic disease.
Allergens ; Animals ; Cats ; Child ; Cockroaches ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Dermatophagoides farinae ; Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus ; Dogs ; Egg White ; Eosinophils ; Heart ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Milk ; Pediatrics ; Soybeans ; Triticum

Subclavian and internal jugular vein catheters are widely employed for temporary hemodialysis access. Placement of subclavian venous catheter has many complications such as pneumothorax and hemothorax, etc. Incidence of subclavian vein obstruction due to thrombosis is probably greater than is commonly appreciated. Subclavian vein obstruction may cause no specific complaints, but thrombosis in the presence of an arteriovenous fistula may produce severe symptoms such as massive edema and pain. This is report of one patient, who developed massive edema of upper extremity and in whom proximal subclavian vein occlusion developed after previous percutaneous dialysis catheter. Right internal jugular vein to axillary vein bypass with 8mm PTFE provided prompt and effective venous outflow, with complete resolution of venous engorgement of the affected limb and preservation of the dialysis fistula.
Arteriovenous Fistula ; Axillary Vein ; Catheters ; Dialysis ; Edema ; Extremities ; Fistula ; Hemothorax ; Humans ; Hyperemia ; Incidence ; Jugular Veins ; Pneumothorax ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Renal Dialysis* ; Subclavian Vein* ; Thrombosis ; Upper Extremity

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of vinorelbine and carboplatin in advanced non- small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between August 1998 and July 1999, 25 patients were enrolled. The median age was 68 (range, 46~77) years and male:female ratio was 23:2. Two patients had stage IIIa, 15 had stage IIIb and 8 had stage IV. Sixteen patients had ECOG performance status of 0 or 1 and 9 had 2 or 3. Sixteen patients had squamous cell carcinoma, 8 had adenocarcinoma and 1 had undifferentiated NSCLC. Treatment consists of intravenous carboplatin 400 mg/m2 on day 1 and vinorelbine 25 mg/m2 on days 1 and 8. The treatment was repeated every 28 days. RESULTS: Twenty-three of 25 patients were evaluable. Partial response were observed in 11 patients. The overall response rate was 48% (95% confidence interval: 27~69%) and the median response duration was 19 (range 7 ~44 ) weeks. The median survival of 25 patients was 52 (range 3~53 ) weeks. Toxicities were evaluated by WHO criteria. During a total of 108 cycles, granulocytopenia worse than WHO grade 3 occurred in 2%, thrombocytopenia in 4% and anemia in 10%, respectively. Treatment-related death occurred in 1 patient due to sepsis during cytopenic period. Non-hematologic toxicity was minor and easily controlled. CONCLUSION: A combination chemotherapy of intravenous vinorelbine and carboplatin has relatively high activity with acceptable toxicities in patients with advanced NSCLC.
Adenocarcinoma ; Agranulocytosis ; Anemia ; Carboplatin* ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung* ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Drug Therapy ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Sepsis ; Thrombocytopenia