Blood valproic acid levels were decreased in patients with traumatic brain injury who had been using valproic acid to control irritability and aggression, and the symptoms worsened coincident with the administration of meropenem, a carbapenem-based antibiotic. Two weeks after the discontinuation of meropenem, valproic acid levels were restored to an effective therapeutic concentration. Therefore, when valproic acid and carbapenem-based antibiotics are used together, blood valproic acid levels may decrease due to drug interaction, and irritability symptoms may worsen. Thus, close monitoring of serum valproic acid levels is required.

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Maternal Age*

No abstract available.
alpha-Fetoproteins* ; Female ; Humans ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second*

Progressive zosteriform macular pigmented lesion(PZMPL) is a chronic pigmentary dermatosis similar to progressive cribriform and zosteriform hyperpigmentation(PCZH). This dermatosis described by Simoes in 1980 is characterized by a uniformly tanned macular pigmented lesion in a zosteriform distribution preceded by multiple pruritic macular pigmentation in a part of the dermatome for a period. PZMPL is not a fully understood disease entity but it is thought to be a variant of PCZH. It is differentiated from PCZH by accompanying pruritus as a prodromal symptom, a characteristic clinical course, and histological findings such as pigmentary incontinence. We report herein a case of PZMPL in a 17 year-old girl with the pigmentary skin lesion extending from the left forearm to the left chest along the Blaschkos line. The histological findings revealed increased melanin pigments in the basal layer and focal pigmentary incontinence in the upper dermis. To our knowledge, this case is the first report of PZMPL in korea thought to be the same case reported by Simoes.
Adolescent ; Dermis ; Female ; Forearm ; Humans ; Korea ; Melanins ; Pigmentation ; Prodromal Symptoms ; Pruritus ; Skin ; Skin Diseases ; Thorax ; Triacetoneamine-N-Oxyl

No abstract available.
Pulmonary Atelectasis*

No abstract available.

Twenty-seven consecutive patients who had post-traumatic stiffness of the elbow were treated by operative soft tissue release or by soft tissue release and distraction arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to describe the method of operation and postoperative management and to evaluate the results in the patients who had operative treatment for the post-traumatic stiffness of the elbow. The type of operative procedure was determined by whether the factors limiting motion were extra-articular (extrinsic) or intra-articular (intrinsic) and by pre-operative radiographic evaluation. The soft tissue release was performed by staged adhesiolysis through lateral or combined lateral and medial approaches. And if the factors limiting motion included a severe intraarticular lesions, distraction arthroplasty using the Judet or Oganesian apparatus was added to soft tissue release. The mean pre-operative arc of active motion was 42 degrees. At follow-up examination, nineteen to sixty-six months postoperatively, the mean post-operative arc of active motion was 103 degrees. There were nine complications (33 percent) in twenty-seven patients. All of them was transient ulnar nerve paresthesia. And we analysed the final results with Mayo elbow performance index for the evaluation of clinical outcome. Twenty-five (93%) of twenty-seven patients had satisfactory result according to Mayo elbow performance index. We conclude arthrolysis with or without distraction arthroplasty is useful for the treatment of posttraumatic elbow stiffness. However, the accurate anatomical knowledge, operative skill, and careful postoperative rehabilitation program were needed in the operative treatment of post-traumatic elbow stiffness.
Arthroplasty ; Elbow* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Paresthesia ; Rehabilitation ; Surgical Procedures, Operative ; Ulnar Nerve

Since the identification of the C-group chromosome has been made possible by the introduction of banding technique, the features of the trisomy-8 syndrome have been defined. Most of them have been mosaics and have had similar clinical findings. A case of Trisomy-8 mosaicism confirmed by G-banding analysis by skin fibroblast and heart blood in a dead female fetus of 35 weeks of gestation is described.
Female ; Humans

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate early outcomes of ALTA (aluminum potassium sulfate and tannic acid, Ziohn(R)) injection compared with those of a submucosal hemorrhoidectomy for the treatment of internal hemorrhoids. METHODS: From September 2008 to April 2009, a total of 50 patients who had internal hemorrhoids (Golliger grade II to IV) were treated by using either ALTA injection (n=25) or a submucosal hemorrhoidectomy (n=25). Outcomes with respect to pain scores, analgesics use, and satisfaction levels of the patients, and complications were compared. RESULTS: The mean number of hemorrhoidal piles was 3.52 in the ALTA injection group and 3.56 in the operation group. The average amount of ALTA injection was 27.34 cc. Pain scores measured at one day and 7 days after the treatment, and the number of analgesics used in the injection group were significantly lower than those in the operation group (P<0.001). However, there was no significant difference in the satisfaction level between two groups. One case of treatment failure was found in the ALTA injection group. There was no difference in complications between the injection group (n=4) and the operation group (n=5) (P=0.725). CONCLUSION: When compared with a submucosal hemorrhoidectomy, ALTA injection showed less post-treatment pain and less analgesics use. Overall complication rates were not different between the two groups. We found the early outcomes of ALTA injection for the treatment of internal hemorrhoids to be comparable to those of surgery. Thus, large-scale and long-term follow-up studies are needed to clarify the proper indications for ALTA injection.
Analgesics ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhoidectomy ; Hemorrhoids ; Humans ; Potassium ; Sclerotherapy ; Sulfates ; Tannins ; Treatment Failure

No abstract available.
Thymus Hyperplasia*