No abstract available.
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1* ; Echocardiography*

PURPOSE: We measured the foveal thickness (FT) and macular center thickness (MCT) in healthy eyes and diabetic eyes to quantify the macular edema in diabetic eyes with Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT). METHODS: FT and MCT were measured with OCT in 30 healthy eyes, 30 diabetic eyes without macular edema and 30 diabetics eyes with macular edema on slit lamp biomicroscopy. The correlation between FT and MCT and visual acuity was calculated. The sensitivity and specificity of slit lamp biomicroscopy were calculated in comparison with FT and MCT by OCT. RESULTS: In healthy eyes, mean FT was 189 +/- 14 micrometer, and mean MCT was 157 +/- 15 micrometer. The FT and MCT by OCT were found to be linearly correlated with visual acuity in a log minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) scale (P<0.01). The sensitivity and specificity of slit lamp biomicroscopy was 72%, and 90%, respectively, in comparison with FT measured by OCT. The sensitivity and specificity of slit lamp biomicroscopy was 67%, and 100%, respectively, in comparison with MCT measured by OCT. CONCLUSIONS: We were able to quantify diabetic macular edema using OCT. It seems useful to determine the diagnostic criteria of diabetic macular edema with OCT for detecting early macular edema.
Macular Edema* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tomography, Optical Coherence* ; Visual Acuity

Coronary arteriovenous fistulas (CAVF) are rare malformations of the coronary circulation. They are seen in approximately 0.1% to 0.2% of all patients undergoing selective coronary angiography. We experienced a 58-years old male patient with bilateral coronary AV fistulas whoes diagnosis was confirmed by selective coronary angiography.
Arteriovenous Fistula* ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Circulation ; Diagnosis ; Fistula ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged

BACKGROUND: Although several risk factors associated with reduced age at natural menopause (ANM) have been investigated, the results are inconsistent. Excessive stress, which leads to elevation of stress hormones, can also negatively affect reproductive ability, including by accelerating menopause. However, a direct association between stress level and ANM has not yet been demonstrated. Therefore, the object of this study was to investigate the association between stress level and ANM in Korean women. METHODS: Study participants were Korean women between 40 and 70 years old who were in natural menopause during the 5th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (n=3,176). The level of stress in daily life was estimated based on data from the mental health topics of the survey. We used the t-test and one-way analysis of variance to analyze the correlation between stress level and ANM. Regression (beta) coefficients calculated by multiple regression analysis were used to estimate various factors affecting ANM. RESULTS: Women who experienced a high level of stress in daily life had a lower mean ANM than women with a low stress level (50.17+/-3.7 and 50.58+/-3.5 years, respectively), with a statistically significant correlation (P<0.05). This correlation was still observed after adjusting for age, body mass index, menstrual regularity, and personal income (P<0.05 for variables). CONCLUSION: In Korean women between 40 and 70 years of age who are in natural menopause, there is a statistically significant correlation between stress level and ANM. In particular, women who experience a high level of stress in daily life have reduced ANM.
Body Mass Index ; Female ; Humans ; Menopause* ; Mental Health ; Nutrition Surveys* ; Risk Factors

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of the laparoscopic incidental appendectomy during gynecologic laparoscopic operation. Methods: This study was evaluated for the clinical analysis of 118 patients who underwent laparoscopic assisted vaginal hysterectomy(LAVH group, 65 cases) and LAVH with laparoscopic incidental appendectomy(LAVH + IA group, 53 cases) at the Wallace Memorial Baptist Hospital from Oct. 1996 to Nov. 1998. RESULTS: The following results were obtained: 1) There was no significant difference between two groups in regard to age. The mean age was 45.7 years in LAVH group and 43.8 years in LAVH + IA group. 2) There was no significant difference between two groups in mean operative time. The mean operative time was 90.4 minutes in LAVH group and 97.5 minutes in LAVH + IA group. 3) The mean appendectomy time was 7.1 minutes. 4) The mean time recovering normal bowel activity was 46.2 hours in LAVH group and 45.8 hours in LAVH + IA group. There was no significant difference between two groups. 5) The mean hospital stay was 6.4 days in LAVH group and 5.7 days in LAVH + IA group. There was no significant difference between two groups. 6) The postoperative complications occurred in 11 cases(9.3 %). The serious complications of appendectomy was not found. 7) Of the 53 appendices removed, 5(9.4 %) were abnormal pathologic findings. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic incidental appendectomy during laparoscopic operation was not found to influence the operation time, hospital stay, gas passing time, but there is one case of wound infection due to incidental appendectomy. Therefore, a large number of study should be performed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of laparoscopic incidental appendectomy during laparoscopic operation.
Appendectomy* ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Postoperative Complications ; Protestantism ; Wound Infection

A 55 yr -old female patient visited to the OPD of OS department complaining of the lumbago, the radiating pain to right thigh and the swelling of right knee and calf regions. On routine chest and abdominal X -ray and ECG, the dextrocardia was revealed. For further detail examination, Doppler US, lung perfusion scan, MRI images were obtained. As a result, the situs inversus with dextrocardia was confirmed. Other congenital anomalies or diseases were not combined. The patient was cared with conservative treatment of lowback pain via OPD. And she was recovered successfully.
Dextrocardia ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Humans ; Knee ; Low Back Pain ; Lung ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Perfusion ; Situs Inversus* ; Thigh ; Thorax

Despite significant advances in dialysis technology, kidney transplantation is accepted today as the optimal available treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) in children and adolescents. Children undergoing renal transplantation pose many challenges to the anesthesiologist because ESRD has such adversely affects on the entire vital organ system as hypotension, hypovolemia, acidosis, atelectasis and pulmonary edema. Most importantly, hypotension and hypovolemia as results of large kidney transplantation should be corrected for normal renal function. In addition, ESRD alters the effects of various drugs used in anesthetic practice. We experienced 4 cases of general anesthesia for renal transplantation in children. Careful preoperative evaluation and preparation of the patients, as well as a knowledge of altered dry responses are essential in planning and managing anesthesia.
Acidosis ; Adolescent ; Anesthesia* ; Anesthesia, General ; Child* ; Dialysis ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Hypovolemia ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Kidney Transplantation* ; Pulmonary Atelectasis ; Pulmonary Edema

BACKGROUND: Real-time PCR for quantification of JAK2 V617F has recently been introduced and used to evaluate the importance of mutant allele burden in both diagnosis and disease progression in myeloproliferative diseases (MPDs). We evaluated the usefulness of JAK2 MutaScreen(TM) kit that uses a real-time semiquantitative PCR method and has been designed to screen JAK2 V617F mutant allele burden. METHODS: Forty MPD patients were included in this study. We screened JAK2 V617F and determined the mutant allele burden using JAK2 MutaScreen(TM) kit. The mutant allele burden was estimated by six-scaled standards of JAK2 V617F mutant allele (2%, 5%, 12.5%, 31%, 50%, and 78%). For evaluation of test performance, an allele-specific PCR (AS-PCR) was carried out in all samples by using Seeplex JAK2 Genotyping kit. We assessed the clinical differences in distinct disease entities of MPDs according to JAK2 V617F mutant allele burden. RESULTS: JAK2 V617F mutation was detected in 30 cases, including 10 of 11 cases (91%) of polycythemia vera (PV), 13 of 20 cases (65%) of essential thrombocythemia (ET), and 2 of 3 cases (67%) of chronic idiopathic myelofibrosis (CIMF). The concordance rate between the two tests was 95% (38/40). JAK2 V617F mutant allele burden was greater than 50% in 17 cases, and 10 of them (59%) were PV. In contrast, mutant allele burden was less than 50% in 13 cases and 11 of them (85%) were ET. CONCLUSIONS: JAK2 MutaScreen(TM) kit that utilizes a real-time semi-quantitative PCR method is a useful tool for diagnosing MPDs precisely. It can be used to assess the grade of mutant allele burden as well as to screen JAK2 V617F simultaneously.
Adult ; Aged ; *Alleles ; Amino Acid Substitution ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Disease Progression ; Female ; Humans ; Janus Kinase 2/*genetics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mutation ; Myeloproliferative Disorders/*diagnosis/genetics ; Polymerase Chain Reaction/*methods ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic