The aortic dissection is an acute aortic syndrome, caused by an intimal tear and subsequent splitting of the media by the pulsatile blood flow. Though there would be differences in the origin of aortic dissection and therapeutic modalities, the intermediate and long-term prognoses are poor. Endovascular Stent-graft implantation is a revolutionary technique in the treatment of aortic dissection. The endovascular stent grafting in aortic dissection is less invasive and feasible method and is an effective tool for closing the entry site and promoting clot formation, reducing the size of the false lumen. Therefore, endovascular Stent-graft implantation makes possible the desirable remodelling of aorta. We report 33 year-old male with aortic dissection in the thoracic aorta, which was treated with endovascular Stent-graft implantation. Over the favorable remodelling, his dissection was healed completely by the endovascular treatment using Stent-graft.
Adult ; Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic* ; Blood Vessel Prosthesis ; Humans ; Male ; Prognosis

OBJECTIVE: Each consumer uses different consumer evaluation by sources of health information, considering the influences of consumers' socio-demographic characteristics, health status, attitude to health, and types of health information needed. METHODS: Sources of health information include web-based resources, health professionals, and publications such as medical books, magazines, newspapers, etc. Data were collected from 1,189 respondents through a telephone survey, among whom 513(43%) responses were finally included in the analysis. The results were analysed by statistical methods including Chi-square, multiple regression, and correlation analyses. RESULTS: Key findings are as follows. First, there were significant differences in evaluation results by different sources of health information. Access to health professionals shows positive outcomes in general, followed by web-based resource. Second, the significant factors related to the access outcomes were different in each domains such as easiness, amount, understanding, reliability, and helpfulness. In addition, while access to health professionals was found to have significant influence on health behavior by improving the ability of health management, access to internet improved only the understanding of health information. CONCLUSION: Access to health professionals for health information was positively related to utilization outcomes in general, but access to publications was negatively related to outcomes. Despite the increase in the number of web-based users, they could not rely on the information they found. To effectively utilize various sources of health information and improve the nation's health by providing appropriate health information, quality assurance strategy for contents in health information websites and active intervention by health professionals should be pursued.
Attitude to Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Health Behavior ; Health Occupations ; Health Resources ; Internet ; Periodicals ; Periodicals as Topic ; Telephone

OBJECTIVE: This study investigates consumers' choice regarding source of health information. Specifically, the relationships between consumers' socioeconomic characteristics, health status, attitude to health, information needs and source of health information were explored. METHODS: Type of health information sources includes web-based, health professional, and mass-media types. Structured questionnaires were completed by 1,189 consumers through a telephone survey, and 622(52.3%) responses were included in analysis. RESULTS: A key finding was the significant difference for accessing health information by customer's characteristics, although the strong preference was shown in web-based resource. Accessing channels were different by consumer's needs of health information and attitude to health as well as consumer's age, job, education, and economic status. CONCLUSION: Consumer behaviors are likely to optimize physical and psychosocial health potentials through health information. Despite a growing number of available web-based health information resources, consumers continue to face a variety of barriers as they attempt to access these resources. Meeting consumer's needs for health information is an important role for all providers of health information.
Access to Information ; Attitude to Health ; Education ; Health Occupations ; Information Services ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Telephone

PURPOSE: Bone bruises of patients with acute traumatic knee injuries, that are not found on simple radiograph, can be found on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The purpose of this study is to evaluate the frequency and locations of bone bruises on MRI in acute traumatic anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 25 and 19 MRls, in which acute traumatic ACL and PCL injury was pre sent and there was no abnormality in simple radiograph, were reviewed. MRI was taken within 51 days of injury. A bone bruise was determined as a geographic and nonlinear area of signal loss on T1 images and increased signal intensity on T2 images involving the subcortical bone. RESULTS: In 16 patients with bone bruises and acute ACL injury, bone bruises were found in the lateral compartment of the knee in 15 (93.8%) patients. The most common area was the lateral tibial plateau (11 cases, 68.8%) and the second was lateral femoral condyle (9 cases, 56.3%). In 5 patients with bone bruises and acute PCL injury, bone bruises were found in the lateral compartment of the knee in all 5 (100%) patients. The most common area was lateral tibial plateau (4 cases, 80%) and the second was lateral femoral condyle (2 cases, 40%). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with acute traumatic ACL or PCL injuries the bone bruises are often found on the lateral compartment of the knee, especially lateral tibial plateau and lateral femoral condyle on MRI.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament ; Contusions* ; Humans ; Knee ; Knee Injuries ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Posterior Cruciate Ligament

No abstract available.
Pyelonephritis, Xanthogranulomatous* ; Wilms Tumor*

BACKGROUND: Preoperative chemotherapy has been adopted in our hospital as a standard treatment for non-small cell lung cancer patients with N2 disease. However, there have been cases of pathologic N2 disease that have been detected after curative-intent surgical resection. We retrospectively studied the outcomes of initial surgical treatment without neoadjuvant therapy in patients with unexpected N2 non-small cell lung cancer. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Between January 1995 and June 2007, 225 patients were diagnosed with pathologic N2 disease after they underwent initial pulmonary resection without neoadjuvant therapy. Among them, 170 patients were preoperatively diagnosed with lymph node stage N0 or N1. We retrospectively reviewed their medical record and analyzed the outcomes. RESULT: The overall 5-year survival rate was 35.4%. The prognostic factors that were significantly associated with survival were no adjuvant therapy, histologic cell types other than adenocarcinoma or squamous cell carcinoma, a pathologic T stage more than T1, old age (> or =70 years) and no mediastinoscopic biopsy. During the follow-up, 79 patients (46.5%) experienced tumor recurrence, including loco-regional recurrence in 20 patients (25.3%) and distant metastasis in 56 (70.9%). The 5-year recurrence-free survival rate was 33.7%. CONCLUSION: Based on our findings, the survival was good for patients with unexpected N2 non-small cell lung cancer and who underwent initial pulmonary resection without neoadjuvant therapy. A prospective comparative analysis is needed to obtain more conclusive and persuasive results.
Adenocarcinoma ; Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lymph Nodes ; Mediastinoscopy ; Medical Records ; Neoadjuvant Therapy ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm Staging ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the morphometry of the anterior thalamoperforating arteries (ATPA). METHODS: A microanatomical study was performed in 79 specimens from 42 formalin-fixed adult cadaver brains. The origins of the ATPAs were divided into anterior, middle, and posterior segments according to the crowding pattern. The morphometry of the ATPAs, including the premammillary artery (PMA), were examined under a surgical microscope. RESULTS: The anterior and middle segments of the ATPAs arose at mean intervals of 1.75+/-1.62 mm and 5.86+/-2.05 mm from the internal carotid artery (ICA), and the interval between these segments was a mean of 3.17+/-1.64 mm. The posterior segment arose at a mean interval of 2.43+/-1.46 mm from the posterior cerebral artery (PCA), and the interval between the middle and posterior segments was a mean of 3.45+/-1.39 mm. The mean numbers of perforators were 2.66+/-1.19, 3.03+/-1.84, and 1.67+/-0.98 in the anterior, middle, and posterior segments, respectively. The PMA originated from the middle segment in 66% of cases. A perforator-free zone was located >2 mm from the ICA in 30.4% and >2 mm from the PCA in 67.1% of cases. CONCLUSION: Most perforators arose from the anterior and middle segments, within the anterior two-thirds of the posterior communicating artery (PCoA). The safest perforator-free zone was located closest to the PCA. These anatomical findings may be helpful to verify safety when treating lesions around the PCoA and in the interpeduncular fossa.
Adult ; Arteries* ; Brain ; Cadaver ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Crowding ; Humans ; Passive Cutaneous Anaphylaxis ; Posterior Cerebral Artery

Education is essential for specialists in charge terminal care of cancer patients. In the second 10-year plan to conquer cancer under the Cancer Control Act, the Korean government announced a plan to train more hospice and palliative care (HPC) specialists based on quantitative HPC expansion. Specifically, the government aims to develop e-learning programs to foster social workers in HPC, following those offered to doctors and nurses. In HPC, social workers have served a vital role in helping patients overcome psychological and social issues. As professionals, they have carried out their responsibilities and played their part in the field to help HPC to take root and be institutionalized in Korea. To date, it has been difficult to obtain practical knowledge and skills for social workers due to the lack of systematic training program. Development of an e-learning program for social workers, as proposed in this study, should strengthen social workers in charge of terminally-ill cancer patients in terms of their identity, expertise, and practical skills in clinical setting and improve their access to education. We also hope the program to be further developed by the government by introducing an education system that offers refresher courses to guarantee social workers' continued expertise through.
Education* ; Education, Distance ; Hope ; Hospice Care ; Hospices* ; Humans ; Korea ; Palliative Care* ; Social Workers* ; Specialization ; Terminal Care

Coronary involvement of polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is rarely identified at premortem. Herein, we report a case of PAN presenting as acute myocardial infarction (MI). A 66-year-old man without previous history of heart disease presented with excruciating substernal chest pain of 3 hours duration. On admission, cardiac enzyme and ECG changes were compatible with acute MI of inferior wall. Emergency coronary angiography showed multiple aneurysmal dilatations of both left and right coronary arteries (RCA) and total occlusion with large thrombi at mid-RCA. After balloon angioplasty and intracoronary urokinase, huge coronary aneurysm was defined at mid-RCA and coronary flow partially improved. The patient was transferred to coronary care unit and continous intravenous heparin infusion was started. On the 7th hospitalization day, the patient was discharged in good condition. Two months later, follow-up coronary angiography showed no significant luminal narrowings in RCA with multiple aneurysmal dilatation, but abdominal angiography revealed multiple aneurysms in right renal and superior mesenteric arteries. These findings were compatible with the diagnosis of PAN. The patient was started on prednisone 60mg once daily and cytoxan 125mg bid. At follow-up 8 month later, there was no recurrence of symptoms.
Aged ; Aneurysm ; Angiography ; Angioplasty, Balloon ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Aneurysm ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Care Units ; Coronary Vessels ; Cyclophosphamide ; Diagnosis ; Dilatation ; Electrocardiography ; Emergencies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Diseases ; Heparin ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Mesenteric Artery, Superior ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Phenobarbital ; Polyarteritis Nodosa* ; Prednisone ; Recurrence ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of [18F]FDG PET in the diagnosis of recurrent head and neck cancer after the completion of surgery and radiotherapy in patients with head and neck cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In fifty-nine patients with head and neck cancers, whole body [18F]FDG PET studies were performed. According to the different therapeutic modalities, patients were divided into four groups (Group I; pre-treatment, Group II; surgery, Group III; radiotherapy, Group IV; both surgery and radiotherapy). [18F]FDG PET images were compared with clinical, CT and histopathologic findings. RESULTS: For detection of metastatic lymph nodes in 14 patients of pre-treatment group (group I), the sensitivity and specificity of PET were 100% (10/10) and 75% (3/4), and those of CT were 80% (8/10) and 100% (4/4). For detection of recurrence in 45 patients of post-treatment group, overall sensitivity and specificity of PET were 96.2% (25/26) and 78.9% (15/19) [(100% and 75% in group II, 80% and 50% in group III, and 100% and 100% in group IV)] without significant difference from pre-treatment group (p>0.1). In detecting recurrence, the sensitivity and specificity of [18F]FDG PET were 90.9% (10/11) and 20% (1/5) in 16 patients who underwent [18F]FDG PET within 2 months after the completion of treatment. The specificity of these patients was significantly lower than that of 29 patients (100% of sensitivity and specificity) who underwent [18F]FDG PET 2 months after treatment (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: [18F]FDG PET is an accurate diagnostic modality for the detection of recurrence in head and neck cancer. Post-therapy [18F]FDG PET should be obtained at least 2 months after the completion of surgery or radiotherapy.
Diagnosis ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; Head* ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Neck* ; Radiotherapy* ; Recurrence ; Sensitivity and Specificity