No abstract available.
Autografts*

We performed treat the 41 eyes of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment to scleral encircling.The causes of retinal detachment were unidentifiable breaks (10 eyes), high myopia (8 eyes), pseudophakia or aphakia (8 eyes), giant tear (8 eyes)and multiple holes (7 eyes). Overall the reattachment ratewas 80.5% (33/41 eyes). The anatomic success rate was relatively high (85.7%)in eyes with giant tear, high myopia and multiple hole but relatively low in eyes with breaks unidentified (60%) or pseudophakic and aphakic retinal detachment (75%). Among those 33 eyes, functional success was achived in 27 eyes (81.8%). We achieved higher functional success rate in pseudophakia or aphakia, multiple hole and high myopia (over 83.3%) but low functional success rate in unidentifiable breaks (66.7%)and giant tear (71.4%). Our results suggest other treatments such as pars plana vitrectomy should be considered to treat eyes with retinal detachment of breaks unidentified, although scleral encircling has been used conventially.
Aphakia ; Myopia ; Pseudophakia ; Retinal Detachment* ; Retinaldehyde* ; Vitrectomy

No abstract available.
Snake Bites* ; Snakes*

No abstract available.
Snake Bites* ; Snakes*

PURPOSE: A scoring system could be clinically useful in determining cases in which a throat culture may be omitted or in cases whether antibiotics may be initiated or not. We propose to make a clinical guideline of antibiotics administration in patients with pharyngitis. METHODS: From Apr. 1996. to Mar. 1997, throat cultures were taken from 321 cases (72 cases from Kyung-Hee Medical Center, 249 cases from 3 local pediatric clinics). On the first day of visit, 9 clinical items on a score-card were checked and a tentative diagnosis for streptococcal or non-streptococcal infection was made. These clinical scores were compared with the results of the throat swab cultures. RESULTS: Of 321 cases with pharyngitis, 55 cases (17%) proved to have group A streptococci by throat culture. The positive culture rate of group A streptococci was 18.5% from 3 local pediatric clinics, and 12.5% from Kyung-Hee Medical Center. The positive culture rate of group A streptococci were 40% in above 31 points of score, 31.5% in 29 to 30 points, 20.5% in 27 to 28 points. The sensitivity and specificity of the scoring system using a score at least 28 above points were 71% and 67%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The clinical diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis indicates that patients age 5 to 10 years, findings of abnormal pharynx, high fever and no past history of antibiotics use. Further modification of the scoring system for diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis should be made to prevent antibiotics abuse and correct diagnosis of pharyngitis.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Diagnosis* ; Fever ; Humans ; Pharyngitis* ; Pharynx ; Sensitivity and Specificity

BACKGROUND: Current blood and blood components are prepared from 320ml or 400ml blood collection. The analytic values and standard values of blood and blood components were evaluated at Seo-Bu Blood Center, The Republic of Korea National Red Cross, Seoul, Korea. METHODS: Blood and blood components were analyzed with weight, specific gravity, content volume, RBC counts, WBC counts, platelets counts, hemoglobin, hematocrit, pH, total protein, albumin, factor VII and bacterial culture. RESLUTS: The volume, hemoglobin, hematocrit and pH of 320ml and 400ml standard unit of whole blood was 328 +/- 31ml and 405 +/- 22ml, 12.7 +/- 1.7g/dl and 14.8 +/- 2.0g/dl, 38.0 +/- 4.0% and 40.8 +/- 4.6%, mean of 7.16 and 7.13, respectively. The volume and hematocrit of packed red cells prepared from 320ml and 400ml standard unit of whole blood was 188 +/- 23ml and 248 +/- 23ml, 73.2 +/- 4.7% and 72.6 +/- 5.4%, respectively. Leukocytes poor red cells from 400ml standard unit of whloe blood showed 225 +/- 12ml of volume, 71 +/- 2.4% of hematocrit, and WBC removal was 87 +/- 5%. The volume, hematocrit and total protein in washed red cells was 224 +/- 11ml, 59 +/- 6.0% and 0.10 +/- 0.05g/unit, respectively. Leukocytes concentrates revealed 50 +/- 4.6ml of volume, 2.0 +/- 0.5x109/unit of WBC count and WBC recovery was 78 +/- 6.0%. Platelet concentrates prepared from 320ml and 400ml standard unit of fresh whole blood showed 38 +/- 3ml and 48 +/- 3ml of volume, 4.68 +/- 1.60x1010 and 5.55 +/- 1.80x1010 of platelet per unit, and 7.05 +/- 0.25 and 6.95 +/- 0.34 of pH, respectively. The fresh frozen plasma from 320ml standard unit of whole blood contained 143 +/- 25ml of volume, and that from 400ml whole blood showed 161 +/- 27ml of volume and 112 +/- 33 IU/unit of factor VII. The cryoprecipitate from 320ml whole blood showed 42 +/- 3ml of volume and 81 +/- 9 IU/unit of factor VII. There were no bacterial growth for all the components inoculated. CONCLUSION: At Seo-Bu Blood Center, we evaluated the characteristics of current blood and blood components, and established the standard values for whole blood (320ml, 400ml) as well as packed red cells, leukocytes poor red cells, washed red cells, leukocyte concentrates, platelet concentrates, fresh fozen plasma and cryoprecipates from 320ml and 400ml whole blood based on the present studies. Compared to the Standards for Blood Banks and Transfusion Services, American Association of Blood Banks, values of evluated items of current blood and blood components showed comparable results, but platelet counts from 320ml collection did not meet to those standards.
Blood Banks ; Blood Platelets ; Factor VII ; Hematocrit ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Korea ; Leukocytes ; Plasma ; Platelet Count ; Red Cross ; Republic of Korea ; Seoul ; Specific Gravity

No abstract available.
Humans ; Patient Satisfaction*

No abstract available.
Epidemiologic Studies* ; Mumps*

PURPOSE: The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the effect of metronidazole for wound infection by using intra-incisional infiltration before appendectomy. METHODS: From January to May 2000, 176 patients with acute appendicitis received appendectomy. All patients were randomly divided into two groups. Group I (n=50) was the treatment group and group II (n=126) was the control group. After anesthesizing the patients of group I, 7.5 mg/kg of metronidazole was injected into subcutaneous tissue and muscle. All patients of group I and II were given intravenous injection of cephalosporin and intravenous or intramuscular injection of aminoglycoside. RESULTS: In the 50 cases of group I, the rate of wound infection was 2% and the rate of wound infection in the 126 cases of group II was 4.8%. The rate of anaerobic bacteria of organisms cultured from wound of patients with infection was 0% in group I and 33% in group II. The statistical analysis using chi-square test was not significant (p=0.676) but the rate of wound infection was reduced, especially in infection caused by anaerobic bacteria. CONCLUSIONS: The rate of wound infection was not significant statistically but it was reduced after intra-incisional infiltration of metronidazole. Therefore we suggest that this method can be one of methods that reduce the rate of wound infection after appendectomy.
Appendectomy* ; Appendicitis ; Bacteria, Anaerobic ; Humans ; Injections, Intramuscular ; Injections, Intravenous ; Metronidazole* ; Prospective Studies ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Wound Infection* ; Wounds and Injuries*

In this study, the authors investigated whether death of vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) had a pathological pertinence. Conditioned media obtained from rat aorta smooth muscle cell (SMC) that were induced death by expressing FADD in the absence of tetracycline (FADD-SMC) triggered death of normal SMC. DNA fragmentation and caspase-3 activation were observed in dying SMC by conditioned media. FADD-SMC showed transcriptional activation of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. Conditioned medium contained TNF-alpha, indicating secretion of the cytokine from dying FADD-SMC. It was investigated if secreted TNF-alpha was functional. Conditioned medium activated ERK and p38 MAPK pathways and induced MMP-9 expression, whereas depletion of the cytokine with its soluble receptor (sTNFR) remarkably inhibited induction of MMP-9 by conditioned medium. These findings suggest that TNF-alpha in conditioned medium seems to be active. Then, contribution of TNF-alpha on death-inducing activity of conditioned medium was examined. Depletion of TNF-alpha with soluble TNF-alpha receptor decreased the death activity of conditioned medium by 35%, suggesting that TNF-alpha play a partial role in the death activity. Boiling of medium almost completely abolished the death-inducing activity, suggesting that other heat labile death inducing proteins existed in conditioned medium. Taken together, these results indicate that SMC undergoing death could contribute to inflammation by expressing inflammatory cytokines and pathological complications by inducing death of neighboring cells.
Animals ; Aorta ; Apoptosis ; Caspase 3 ; Culture Media, Conditioned* ; Cytokines ; DNA Fragmentation ; Hot Temperature ; Inflammation ; Muscle, Smooth* ; Muscle, Smooth, Vascular ; Myocytes, Smooth Muscle* ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; Rats ; Tetracycline ; Transcriptional Activation ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha