BACKGROUND: Recently doubts have been raised regarding the diagnostic significance of some of the minor clinical features of atopic dermatitis (AD) proposed by Hanifin and Rajka. Some of them may be nonspecific and racial difference was suggested. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic significance of 14 minor clinical features out of Hanifin and Rajka's 23 minor features of AD in the Korean pediatric population. The significance of 5 more items was evaluated as additional minor features. METHODS: The difference in frequency of the total 19 features of AD was compared between 100 patients with AD and 76 controls. RESULTS: Fourteen of these were shown to be significantly more frequent in patients than in controls including our 5 additional clues such as scalp scaling, postauricular fissure, infraauricular fissure, forehead lichenification, and infragluteal eczema. CONCLUSION: Our study about the minor features may be a valuable guideline for the diagnosis of AD in the Korean pediatric population.
Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Diagnosis ; Eczema ; Forehead ; Humans ; Scalp

BACKGROUND: Recently doubts have been raised regarding the diagnostic significance of some of the minor clinical features of atopic dermatitis (AD) proposed by Hanifin and Rajka. Some of them may be nonspecific and racial difference was suggested. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the diagnostic significance of 14 minor clinical features out of Hanifin and Rajka's 23 minor features of AD in the Korean pediatric population. The significance of 5 more items was evaluated as additional minor features. METHODS: The difference in frequency of the total 19 features of AD was compared between 100 patients with AD and 76 controls. RESULTS: Fourteen of these were shown to be significantly more frequent in patients than in controls including our 5 additional clues such as scalp scaling, postauricular fissure, infraauricular fissure, forehead lichenification, and infragluteal eczema. CONCLUSION: Our study about the minor features may be a valuable guideline for the diagnosis of AD in the Korean pediatric population.
Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Diagnosis ; Eczema ; Forehead ; Humans ; Scalp

PURPOSE: To evaluate the indication for intracavitary Urokinase(UK) in the treatment of Ioculated pleural effusion. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed CT and US in 31 patients who were treated with intracavitary UK in Ioculated pleural effusion. In each patient, a single chest catheter (10-12F) was insected under imaging guidance. When the amount of drainage was less than 100ml/day, UK was instilled through the catheter until less than 50ml/day was drained. On follow-up chest radiographs of more than 1 month, we classified the results of treatment into 3 groups:(1) completely effective (lung expansion, over 80%);(2) partially effective (20-80%); (3) ineffective (below 20%) group. Sonographic pattern of pleural fluid was classified into anechoic, septated, and honeycomb appearances and the thickness of parietal pleura was measured on CT. RESULTS: Sixteen patients were completely effective, nine were partially effective, and six were ineffective. patients with completely or partially effective outcome had anechoic and linear septated appearance on had less than 4mm of parietal pleural thickness on CT. Of six ineffective patients, US showed linear septated in one patient and honeycomb appearance in five patients and the thickness of parietal pleura on CT was 3 mm in one patient, 4ram in two patients, 5mm in one patient, and 6mm in two patients. CONCLUSION: UK instillation through percutaneous catheter was an effective method in the treatment of Ioculated pleural effusion. However, we found near complete reaccumulation of pleural fluid when honeycomb appearance of pleural fluid on US or more than 5mm parietal pleural thickness on CT was observed, which might suggest that we should consider the other kinds of treatment method in those patients.
Catheters ; Drainage ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Insects ; Pleura ; Pleural Effusion* ; Rabeprazole ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Thorax ; Ultrasonography ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator*

No abstract available.
Biliary Atresia*

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Gynecology* ; Laparoscopy*

No abstract available.
Female ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Tubal* ; Sterilization, Tubal*

BACKGROUND: The Laboratory Information Management System (LIMS) requires instrument interfacing for good efficiency. However, most instrument interfacing cannot be used easily because instruments have different interface protocols and database systems are different in each hospital LIMS. Therefore, it is necessary to establish flexible interface software that would be useful for various instrument interfacing and can be handled by laboratory workers. METHODS: We categorized the raw data acquisition format of instruments into 7 classification according to the field delimiter, the field position and the test ID, and created software so that anyone could make the interface protocols for any instrument that supports the unidirectional or ASTM interface protocol, according to classification. The software also provides various functions, such as host communications and printing. RESULTS: With this software, we have interfaced 23 instruments without program languages (C, C++, Basic, Pascal, etc.) coding. It took about 1-4 hours for each instrument interface. The software supports a maximum of 8 simultaneous instrument connections with one personal computer. Also, it is possible to retrieve acquisition data from instruments with Microsoft Excel without LIMS. CONCLUSTIONS: The advantages of this software are as follows; 1. Markedly shortens the input time for data generated from automated instruments and reduces errors of manual data entry, 2. Effective increase in host computer performance, 3. Significantly saves time and cost for instrument interfacing. Therefore, this software was considered to be very useful for laboratory instrument interfacing.
Classification ; Clinical Coding ; Information Management ; Microcomputers

No abstract available.
Colitis, Ulcerative* ; Sweet Syndrome* ; Ulcer*

No abstract available.
Papilloma*

BACKGROUND: House dust mites have been reported to play an aportant role in the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis(AD). In fact a high positive rate for house dust mites in the skin prick test was observed in patients of AD. However, it is quite difficult to determine the clinical relevance of positive immediate hypersensitivity to mite antigen by clarical history alone because AD patients are nearly always exposed to these antigens in their daily lives. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical. singficance of a positive immediate hypersensitivity reaction by observing the proliferative respons of peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC) to mite antigen in the AD. METHODS: The proliferative response of PBMC separated from Dermatopkagoides farinae(Df) positive AD patients to Df antigen was compared with that from Df negative normal controls, Df positive normal controls and Df negative AD patients. RESULTS: PBMC from Df positive AD patients showed signinc not proliferation in response to Df antigen evaluated by comparing stimulation indices(SI) among different experiment groups. CONCLUSION: Significant correlation between responses of PBMC and immediate hypersensitivity of skin to Df antigen in AD was found, and it was suggested the Df may be a real aggravating factor in the Df positiv AD patients. SI may be used as ar objective criteria to select patients for hyposensitization therapy after doing a skin test.
Dermatitis, Atopic* ; Desensitization, Immunologic ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity, Immediate* ; Mites* ; Pyroglyphidae ; Skin Tests ; Skin*