No abstract available.
Animals ; Doxorubicin* ; Rats*

This study was conducted to compare the date on knowledge, attitude and motivation toward blood donation between donors and non-donors. The study population included 622 donors and 322 non-donors who visited the mobile blood donation car of Taegu Red Cross Blood Center and participated the group appointed blood donation campaign managed by the center from March 1 to March 31, 1989. The donors and non-donors were questioned above mentioned items with a formulated questionnaire. Among the general characteristics of the subjects in the study, male predominance (84.1% in donors and 73.6% in non-donors) in young age group (16-24 years) was the outstanding feature. As a medium of information about blood donation, “television” was playing a dominant role (donors; 75.2%, non-donors; 78.9%), while “magazine” played more important roles among donors. Of the donors, 70.6% and of the non-donors, 58.1 replied that they had ever been induced to donate blood (p<0.01). Major inducers were friend and personnel of mobile blood donation vehicle. On the measuring of knowledge level, the average rates of correct answer was higher in donors (62.6%) than in non-donors (54.1%) (p<0.01). Higher the education level was presented, higher the knowledge level (p<0.05). There have been noticeable difference between donors and non-donors in blood replying the questionnaire set to measure their attitude toward blood donation, especially in the items such as “impression toward blood”, “selection of transfusion blood source” and “view on the situation of blood shortage.” The major motivation toward blood donation of the groups were “possible future need” and “altruism or humanitarian interest”. The major reasons for not donation blood in both groups were “fear of the needle” and “dread to visit to mobile car or center”.
Blood Donors* ; Daegu ; Education ; Friends ; Humans ; Male ; Motivation* ; Red Cross ; Tissue Donors

PURPOSE: To determine, when extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy is contraindicated, the usefulness and safety of percutaneous management in the removal from the upper urinary tract of foreign bodies and calculi, or small remnants of these, retained affer percutaneous nephrolithotomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 1996 and May 2001, we attempted to retrieve foreign bodies or calculi from the upper urinary tract of 20 patients, using various percutaneous techniques. There were eleven foreign bodies, namely fragmented nephrostomy catheters (n=2), migrated ureteric stents inaccessible to retrograde ureteroscopic management (n=8), and one metallic radiopaque marker which was separated from the pusher of the internal ureteral stent. Nine urinary tract calculi were present. These ranged in radiographically measured size from 4 to 8 mm in their largest diameter, and were found in the renal pelvis or calyx (n=5) and ureter (n=4). After percutaneous nephrostomy, all procedures involved the use of a 7-F to 14-F sheath, inserted under fluoroscopic guidance. Devices used for the retrieval of these objects include a stone basket retriever, loop snare, grasping forceps, and balloon catheter. RESULTS: In all cases except one, it was possible to retrieve calculi or other items from the upper urinary tract. No surgical procedure was required and no significant complications were encountered in any of the cases during or after the procedures. CONCLUSION: The percutaneous technique can be useful and safe in the management of foreign bodies or calculi present in the upper urinary tract.
Calculi* ; Catheters ; Foreign Bodies* ; Hand Strength ; Humans ; Kidney Pelvis ; Lithotripsy ; Nephrostomy, Percutaneous ; SNARE Proteins ; Stents ; Surgical Instruments ; Ureter ; Urinary Tract*

Birth brachial plexus palsy (BBPP) is usually caused by plexus traction during difficult delivery. Although the possibility of complete recovery is relatively high, 5% to 25% of BBPP cases result in prolonged and persistent disability. In particular, muscle imbalance and co-contraction around the shoulder and elbow cause abnormal motor performance, osseous deformities, and joint contracture. Physical and occupational therapies have most commonly been used, but these conventional therapeutic strategies have often been inadequate, in managing the residual muscle imbalance and muscle co-contraction. Therefore, we attempted to improve the functional movements, by using botulinum toxin type A, to reduce the abnormal co-contraction of the antagonist muscles.
Botulinum Toxins* ; Botulinum Toxins, Type A ; Brachial Plexus Neuropathies ; Brachial Plexus* ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Contracture ; Elbow ; Joints ; Muscles ; Occupational Therapy ; Paralysis* ; Parturition* ; Shoulder ; Traction

The Harris line (HL), caused by bone-growth arrest and manifesting on X-rays as a radiopaque transverse line in the metaphysis of the long bones, is an indicator reflecting stress conditions such as disease or malnutrition. HL frequency has been assumed to differ between pre-modern and modern societies, as reflective of increased caloric intake and overall nutritional improvements attendant on industrialization. To determine if such a change occurred in Korea, in the present study we compared the respective HL statuses in medieval Joseon and modern Korean population samples. HLs were found in 39.4% (28/71) of the Joseon Koreans. Whereas only 27.5% (11/40) of the males showed an HL, fully 54.8% (17/31) of the females exhibited it. Notably, HLs were observed in only 16.4% (35/213) of the modern Koreans; more remarkably still, the HL rate was almost the same between the sexes, 16.7% (20/120) for the males and 16.1% (15/93) for the females. The HL frequency was much higher in the Joseon Koreans than in their modern counterparts, reflecting the improvement of nutritional status that had been achieved in the course of South Korea's modernization. This HL-frequency decrease was much more obvious in the female populations. The higher HL frequency among the Joseon females might reflect the relatively poor nutritional condition of females in pre-modern Korean society.
Energy Intake ; Female ; Humans* ; Korea* ; Male ; Malnutrition ; Nutritional Status ; Republic of Korea ; Skeleton* ; Social Change ; Tibia

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is a common genetic disorder characterized by innumerable bilateral renal cysts. It has an prevalence rate of one in 200~1,000 individuals and is a relatively common cause of renal failure. As renal function deteriorates, overall renal size usually diminish in patients with chronic renal failure. However, renal size of patients with ADPKD usually continues to increase, even after the initiation of dialysis therapy, because numerous cysts replace renal mass. Attempted methods to reduce the size of enlarged kidneys have included needle aspiration and sclerotherapy, cyst decompression surgery, laparoscopic and surgical nephrectomy. The outcome of these therapy frequently has been suboptimal, and there is a need to develop a more effective therapy. We report a case of renal arterial embolization using 99% ethanol and lipiodol mixture for ADPKD in a hemodialysis pathient, which has not been previously reported.
Decompression ; Dialysis ; Ethanol* ; Ethiodized Oil* ; Humans ; Kidney ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Laparoscopy ; Needles ; Nephrectomy ; Polycystic Kidney, Autosomal Dominant* ; Prevalence ; Renal Dialysis* ; Renal Insufficiency ; Sclerotherapy

BACKGROUND: The incidence of postoperative hypomagnesemia in patients undergoing spinal surgery has been reported to be 70%. Ionized magnesium is considered to be the biologically active form, but until the early 1990s, only the total magnesium concentration could be measured. Currently, the ionized magnesium concentration as well as total magnesium concentration can be assessed due in part to the development of a selective electrode. The aim of this study was to more fully characterize the changes in the total and ionized magnesium concentrations in patients undergoing elective spinal fusion surgery. METHODS: The total and ionized magnesium, creatinine, albumin, urinary magnesium concentration, hematocrit, total amount of fluid administration, transfusion, blood loss, and urine output were evaluated both preoperatively and postoperatively in each patient. RESULTS: The total and ionized magnesium concentrations decreased from 0.783 mM/L and 0.529 mM/L preoperatively to 0.717 mM/L and 0.511 mM/L during the postoperative period, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of total hypomagnesemia during spinal surgery was 15% but the incidence of ionized hypomagnesemia was only 3%.
Blood Transfusion ; Creatinine ; Electrodes ; Hematocrit ; Humans ; Incidence ; Magnesium* ; Postoperative Period ; Spinal Fusion

The selective targeting of an integrin alphavbeta3 receptor using radioligands may enable the assessment of angiogenesis and integrin alphavbeta3 receptor status in tumors. The aim of this research was to label a peptidomimetic integrin alphavbeta3 antagonist (PIA) with 99mTc(CO)3 and to test its receptor targeting properties in nude mice bearing receptor-positive tumors. PIA was reacted with tris-succinimidyl aminotriacetate (TSAT) (20 mM) as a PIA per TSAT. The product, PIA-aminodiacetic acid (ADA), was radiolabeled with [99mTc(CO)3(H2O)3](+1), and purified sequentially on a Sep-Pak C-18 cartridge followed by a Sep-Pak QMA anion exchange cartridge. Using gradient C-18 reverse-phase HPLC, the radiochemical purity of 99mTc(CO)3-ADA-PIA (retention time, 10.5 min) was confirmed to be > 95%. Biodistribution analysis was performed in nude mice (n = 5 per time point) bearing receptor-positive M21 human melanoma xenografts. The mice were administered 99mTc(CO)3-ADA-PIA intravenously. The animals were euthanized at 0.33, 1, and 2 hr after injection for the biodistribution study. A separate group of mice were also co-injected with 200 microg of PIA and euthanized at 1 hr to quantify tumor uptake. 99mTc(CO)3-ADA-PIA was stable in phosphate buffer for 21 hr, but at 3 and 6 hr, 7.9 and 11.5% of the radioactivity was lost as histidine, respectively. In tumor bearing mice, 99mTc(CO)3-ADA-PIA accumulated rapidly in a receptor-positive tumor with a peak uptake at 20 min, and rapid clearance from blood occurring primarily through the hepatobiliary system. At 20 min, the tumor-to-blood ratio was 1.8. At 1 hr, the tumor uptake was 0.47% injected dose (ID)/g, but decreased to 0.12% ID/g when co-injected with an excess amount of PIA, indicating that accumulation was receptor mediated. These results demonstrate successful 99mTc labeling of a peptidomimetic integrin antagonist that accumulated in a tumor via receptor-specific binding. However, tumor uptake was very low because of low blood concentrations that likely resulted from rapid uptake of the agent into the hepatobiliary system. This study suggests that for 99mTc(CO)3-ADA-PIA to be useful as a tumor detection agent, it will be necessary to improve receptor binding affinity and increase the hydrophilicity of the product to minimize rapid hepatobiliary uptake.
Animals ; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid ; Histidine ; Humans ; Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions ; Integrin alphaVbeta3 ; Melanoma ; Mice ; Mice, Nude ; Radioactivity ; Succinimides ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Ursidae

Appendicular schwannoma is a rare tumor originating from Schwann's cells in the Auerbach plexus. The preoperative diagnosis is difficult because the clinical features are nonspecific, and it is mostly found accidentally via a radiologic image as a tumor, mimicking malignancy. We report a case of an appendicular schwannoma coexisting with an adenocarcinoma in the lung. A laparoscopic appendectomy was done with a clear resection margin, and the immunohistochemical staining showed positive S-100 protein, which confirmed the schwannoma. The patient also underwent a left upper lobectomy of the lung. The patient has been free of recurrence for the 6 months since the operation. The laparoscopic approach could be available for treatment of an appendicular schwannoma, thus avoiding an unnecessary laparotomy.
Adenocarcinoma ; Appendectomy ; Appendix ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Laparotomy ; Lung ; Myenteric Plexus ; Neurilemmoma ; Recurrence ; S100 Proteins

PURPOSE: To further improve the advantages of minimally invasive surgery, single port laparoscopic techniques continue to be developed. We report our initial experience with single port laparoscopic appendectomy (SPLA) in children and compare its outcomes to those of conventional laparoscopic appendectomy (CLA). METHODS: Clinical data were prospectively collected for SPLA cases performed at Chung-Ang University Hospital by a single surgeon between March 2011 and December 2011, including operative time, perioperative complications, conversion rate, and length of hospital stay. Each case of SPLA was performed using conventional laparoscopic instruments through Glove port placed into the single umbilical incision. To compare outcomes, a retrospective review was performed for those patients who underwent CLA between March 2010 and December 2010. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients underwent SPLA and 114 patients underwent CLA. Mean age (10.5 years vs. 11.1 years, P = 0.43), weight (48.2 kg vs. 42.9 kg, P = 0.27), and operation time (41.8 minutes vs. 37.9 minutes, P = 0.190) were comparable between both groups. Mean hospital stay was longer for CLA group (2.6 days vs. 3.7 days, P = 0.013). There was no conversion to conventional laparoscopic surgery in SPLA group. In CLA group, there were nine complications (7.9%) with 3 cases of postoperative ileuses and 6 cases wound problems. There was one complication (3.2%) of umbilical surgical site infection in SPLA group (P = 0.325). CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that SPLA using conventional laparoscopic instruments is technically feasible and safe in children. SPLA using conventional laparoscopic instruments might be popularized by eliminating the need for specially designed instruments.
Appendectomy* ; Child* ; Humans ; Ileus ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Pediatrics ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive ; Wounds and Injuries