No abstract available.
Adenoma, Pleomorphic ; Mouth Mucosa

PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of interferon alpha therapy with or without prednisolone in children with chronic hepatitis B. METHODS: Twenty-eight children (22 boys, 6 girls, mean age 130 months) had seropositive results for HBsAg, HBeAg and HBV DNA; 11 had chronic persistent hepatitis and 17 had chronic active hepatitis. The patients were divided into two groups depending upon their inflammatory activity on liver biopsy, pretreatment serum ALT levels and HBV DNA levels. Fourteen children (group 1: chronic active hepatitis, ALT > or = 100 IU/L and HBV DNA < or = 100 pg/300 microliter) received interferon alpha 2a 5 MU/m2 of body surface three times weekly for 6 months. Fourteen children (group 2: chronic persistent hepatitis or chronic active hepatitis with ALT < 100 IU/L or HBV DNA > 100 pg/300 microliter) received prednisolone in decreasing daily doses of 60 mg/m2, 40 mg/m2, and 20 mg/m2, each for 2 weeks, followed after 2 weeks by interferon alpha 2a on the same schedule. At the end of therapy, 3 end points were analyzed: HBeAg seroconversion, serum ALT normalization rate and clearance of serum HBV DNA. RESULTS: At the end of treatment, HBe antigen-to antibody seroconversion was higher but not more significant in group 1 than group 2 (71.4% vs. 50.0%). Only one patient in group 2 who lost HBeAg, also cleared HBsAg. ALT normalization was similar in both groups (64.3% in group 1 vs. 55.6% in group 2). Clearance of serum HBV DNA was observed in 78.6% of patients in group 1 and 64.3% in group 2, but no significant differences. Complete response was similarly achieved in both groups (57.1% in group 1 vs. 50.0% in group 2). Interferon alpha therapy with prednisolone priming was well tolerated and all children finished therapy. CONCLUSION: The combined therapy with prednisolone followed by interferon alpha may be safe and effective in inducing a serological and biochemical remission of the disease in approximately 50% of children with chronic hepatitis B and with a high level of viral replication and less active disease. However, a controlled study should be performed to confirm these results.
Appointments and Schedules ; Biopsy ; Child* ; DNA ; Female ; Hepatitis B e Antigens ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis B, Chronic* ; Hepatitis, Chronic* ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha* ; Interferons ; Liver ; Prednisolone*

Primary Aldosteronism is characterized by hypertension, hypokalemic alkalosis and increased aldosterone secretion. It is important to distinguish between adenoma and hyperplasia for the treatment of primary aldosteronism because the hypertension associated with the adenomatous form is more likely to respond to operative removal. We report a case of aldosterone producing adrenal adenoma which was diagnosed by postural stimulation test of aldosterone and abdominal computed tomography, and was treated by adrenalectomy. A week after surgery, the blood pressure and laboratory data returned to normal.
Adenoma ; Adrenalectomy ; Aldosterone ; Alkalosis ; Blood Pressure ; Hyperaldosteronism ; Hyperplasia ; Hypertension

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma is uncommon pleomorphic tumor of the soft tissue possibly arising from the histiocyte. We report on a 43-year-old man with malignant fibrous histocystoma of the right kidney. The chief complaint was nontender mass on the right flank, which recurred locally following radical nephrectomy and postoperative radiation.
Adult ; Histiocytes ; Histiocytoma ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous* ; Humans ; Kidney* ; Nephrectomy

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine oral intake predictors, including videofluoroscopic swallow study (VFSS) and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), in patients with diseases/conditions requiring nasogastric (NG) tube feeding for dysphagia. Methods: We retrospectively extracted the clinical or radiological medical records of 501 patients with internal medicine diseases who were referred for VFSS to evaluate dysphagia between January 2012 and August 2021. Our study analyzed 310 (61.9%) subjects using the NG tube out of 501 patients surveyed. The demographic features of the subjects, comorbidities, including CCI, and the VFSS results were extracted. Immediately after the VFSS test, the subjects were categorized into two groups: 153 who removed the NG tube and 157 who retained it. The chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and the independent t-test were used to analyze the data. We used the logistic regression analysis to determine the independent predictors of NG tube removal. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the best cut-off value of the Functional Dysphagia Scale (FDS) score for NG tube removal. Results: The FDS score, the Penetration-Aspiration Scale (PAS) score, the diagnosis of aspiration pneumonia, and the presence of hemiplegia affected the NG tube removal. The optimal cut-off value for the NG tube removal was a score of 36.5 based on the FDS. Conclusion We clarified factors that may affect the NG tube removal in patients hospitalized for internal medicine disease. This study will assist in the future development of an oral intake strategy for patients with medical conditions receiving NG tube feeding.

In children and adolescents, dental age estimation is performed with the development of the teeth. Various statistical analysis methods have been used to determine the relationship between age and dental maturity and develop an accurate method of age calculation. This study attempted to apply a neural network model for the statistical analysis of dental age estimation in children and evaluated its applicability. This study used 1196 panoramic radiographs of patients aged 3–16 years, and 996 and 200 were randomly classified into training and test sets, respectively. The dental maturity of the mandibular left teeth was evaluated using Demirjian's method, the neural network model using the backpropagation algorithm was derived using training sets, and the errors were evaluated using 100 radiographs of each male and female as test sets. In addition, multiple linear regression analysis was conducted on the same training set, and the error was calculated by applying it to the test set and comparing it with the error of the neural network model. In the neural network model, the mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) were 0.589 and 0.783 in male subjects and 0.529 and 0.760 in female subjects, respectively. In the multiple linear regression model, the MAE and RMSE were 0.600 and 0.748 in male subjects and 0.566 and 0.789 in female subjects, respectively. When applying the neural network model to the statistical analysis of the dental developmental stage, the results were as accurate as those of conventional statistical analysis methods. This study’s approach is expected to be useful for estimating the ages of children.

Patients with Kennedy syndrome, which progresses more slowly than amyotrophic lateral sclerosis show a mild degree of motor fluctuation but rarely show significant decremental responses to repetitive nerve stimulations. Even in a patient with decremental responses to repetitive nerve stimulations, there is usually no significant improvements in motor symptoms to anticholinesterases. We experienced a patient with Kennedy syndrome, who showed significant decremental responses to repetitive nerve stimulations and a marked degree of motor fluctuation. His motor fluctuation responded dramatically to anticholinesterase. (J Korean Neurol Assoc 19(5):544~546, 2001)
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis ; Bulbo-Spinal Atrophy, X-Linked* ; Cholinesterase Inhibitors ; Humans ; Myasthenia Gravis*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony has been commonly detected among hypertensive patients with normal LV systolic function and no evidence of congestive heart failure. The purpose of our study was to assess the changes in LV systolic dyssynchrony (SDSLV) among hypertensive patients after antihypertensive treatment, and to determine the relationship between SDSLV and other conventional echocardiographic parameters. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty one hypertensive patients with normal LV ejection fraction were enrolled. By performing a conventional echocardiographic study, the SDSLV was measured as the time difference between the shortest and longest time of the peak myocardial systolic velocities among 12 segments of the basal and mid-levels of the 3 apical views, and radial dyssynchrony of the basal (RDSbase) and mid-levels (RDSmid) measured as the time difference between the earliest and latest peak values on the radial strain curves of each level of the parasternal short-axis views. RESULTS: Compared to baseline after six months of antihypertensive treatment, the SDSLV improved significantly (48.7+/-37.9 ms vs. 29.5+/-34.1 ms, p=0.020). Also the RDSbase and RDSmid improved significantly in respect to the baseline values (129.9+/-136.3 ms vs. 38.8+/-45.4 ms, p=0.002 and 75.2+/-63.8 ms vs. 28.2+/-37.7 ms, respectively, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: The severity of SDSLV improved with antihypertensive treatment, and was associated with the regression of LV mass. Furthermore, it might precede improvement in the mitral inflow pattern, as assessed by conventional echocardiography, so that early detection of the benefit of antihypertensive treatment may be possible.
Echocardiography ; Heart Failure ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Sprains and Strains

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical validity of gugging swallowing screen (GUSS) scale in comparison with the findings of videofluoroscopic swallowing study (VFSS) for subacute and chronic stroke patients, though GUSS was developed in order to screen dysphagia in acute stroke patients. METHOD: The subjects of this study were thirty-five patients who had stroke for more than 3 months and were showing the symptom of dysphagia. GUSS, VFSS and clinical examination were performed respectively by three different physiatrists. These tests were performed at intervals of 24 hours or less. The result of GUSS was compared with videofluoroscopic dysphagia scale (VDS) based on VFSS, Clinical dysphagia scale (CDS), and ASHA scale based on clinical patterns. RESULTS: The result of GUSS was in a significant correlation with VDS, CDS, and ASHA scale (p<0.01). GUSS predicted aspiration very efficiently (area under the curve=0.928; 95% CI, 0.833 to 1.022). The cutoff value of 12 point showed sensitivity of 89.5%, specificity of 87.5%, and negative predictability of 87.5%. CONCLUSION: The GUSS is considered as an effective and convenient screening tool to evaluate stroke patients with dysphagia irrespective of stroke stages.
Deglutition ; Deglutition Disorders ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Stroke

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Congestive heart failure is one of the most frequent problems in cardiovascular patients. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the demographic and clinical characteristics and prognostic factors of patients hospitalized with congestive heart failure in Korea. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Nine university hospitals were involved, and gathered prospective clinical data on patients with heart failure. One thousand eight hundred and sixty four patients, admitted between Jan.1 1998 and Aug. 31 2003, were enrolled, and data from 1,759 patients were analyzed. RESULTS: The cumulative survival rates at 6 month, and 1 and 2 years were 90.8, 80.1 and 76.4%, respectively. Ischemic heart disease was the most frequent underlying disease (32.3%). Diabetes mellitus (OR: 1.682, 95%CI: 1.234-2.389, p=0.005), a previous history of myocardial infarction (OR: 2.521, 95%CI: 1.742-4.258, p<0.0001) and cerebrovascular accidents (OR: 2.020, 95%CI: 1.166-3.101, p=0.001) were the worst prognostic factors. CONCLUSION: Ischemic heart disease was the major cause of heart failure. The two year survival rate of patients with congestive heart failure was 76.4%. The factors relating to a poor prognosis were diabetes, a previous history of myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular accidents.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP)* ; Heart Failure* ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Korea* ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Prognosis ; Prospective Studies ; Stroke ; Survival Rate