No abstract available.
Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Electrophoresis* ; Genes, ras* ; Humans* ; Point Mutation* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*

BACKGROUND: To pass through the microcirculation, erythrocytes need to undergo considerable deformation. We performed an experiment to investigate the erythrocyte deformability in healthy adults and in patients with uncontrolled hypertension and controlled hypertension. METHODS: 5ml of whole blood is anticoagulated with 2mg ethylenediaminotetra-acetic acid(EDTA). 1ml graduated plastic syringe, without its plunger, is filled with anticoagulated whole blood to the 1ml mark, And the syringe is put into the assembled membrane holder. Under standard condition, whole blood is passed through a 5micro polycarbonate membrane filter under negative pressure of 20cm H2O. The studies are performed at roon temperature and within two hours of venipuncture. RESULTS: Erythrocyte deformability was observed in 91 normal healthy adults and 25 patients with uncontrolled hypertension and 18 patients with controlled hypertension. Following results were obtained. 1) In male control age group I, II, III, the erythrocyte deformability indices were 0.776+/-0.125, 0.792+/-0.189, and 0.714+/-0.172 respectively and in female the indices were 0.880+/-0.138, 0.865+/-0.182 and 0.796+/-0.170 accordingly. 2) THe RBC deformability indices in female control troup were significantly higher than the male group in statistics(p<0.05). 3) No significant differences were observed among each age group in control. 4) In patients with uncontrolled hypertension, each age group I, II and III, the erythrocyte deformability indices were 0.785+/-0.050, 0.775+/-0.122, and 0.692+/-0.133 respectively and in control group, the indices were 0.8365+/-0.140, 0.8252+/-0.186 and 0.7534+/-0.173 accordingly. And in patients with controlled hypertension, the indices were 0.820+/-0.00, 0.788+/-0.135 and 0.716+/-0.141 accordingly. 5) The erythrocyte deformability inddex in patients with uncontrolled hypertension were significantly lower than the control group(p<0.05), and no significant differences were observed among each age group between male and female in patients with uncontrolled hypertension. 6) There was no significant statistical difference of deformability indices between uncontrolled group and controlled group(p>0.05). CONCLUSION: This study reveals that the erythrocyte deformability in patients with essential hypertension is significantly lower than the healthy adults.
Adult ; Erythrocyte Deformability* ; Erythrocytes* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Male ; Membranes ; Microcirculation ; Phlebotomy ; Plastics ; Syringes

No abstract available.
Female ; Ovary* ; Teratoma*

Disseminated mucormycosis is a rare fungal infectious disease with a high mortality rate and is infrequently diagnosed ante mortem. It is most frequently seen in immunocompromised hosts such as diabetes mellitus, hematologic malignancies, or in the long-term use of steroids or chemotherapeutic agents. Tissue invasion by the hyphae of mucormycosis must be seen microscopically to establish the diagnosis. Treatment consists of correction of the predisposing condition, surgical debridement, and amphotericin-B therapy. A 35-year-old man was admitted through the emergency room due to fever and the right flank pain. He had received an allogenic bone marrow transplantation eight months ago and had been medicated with prednisolone and cyclosporine since the procedure. He was diagnosed with disseminated mucormycosis that involved the spleen, right kidney, and right lung. He is being successfully treated with amphotericin B, flucytosine, and liposomal amphotericin B.
Adult ; Amphotericin B ; Ants ; Bone Marrow Transplantation* ; Bone Marrow* ; Communicable Diseases ; Cyclosporine ; Debridement ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Fever ; Flank Pain ; Flucytosine ; Hematologic Neoplasms ; Humans ; Hyphae ; Immunocompromised Host ; Kidney ; Lung ; Mortality ; Mucormycosis* ; Prednisolone ; Spleen ; Steroids

PURPOSE: To correlate clinical results of arthroscopic debridement of degenerative knee with preoperative factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective survey of 61 patients (81 knees) with degenerative arthritis of knee treated with arthroscopic debridement from June 1995 to June 1997 was conducted. The average follow-up period was 22.7 months (12-35 months). There were 6 male and 55 female patients. The average age was 61.1 years. The arthroscopic procedure included excision of osteophytes, removal of loose body, meniscal trimming, synovectomy and irrigation of the knee joint. Statistical analysis was done for parameters such as knee alignment, joint space narrowing, flexion contracture, meniscal tear, articular cartilage degeneration, age, follow-up period and preoperative Insall knee score. RESULTS: A statistically significant difference in clinical results was noted in the separate subgroups for radiographic alignment (chi-square test, P=0.007) and degree of cartilage degeneration (P=0.006). Those patients with joint space narrowing, flexion contracture, meniscal tear or low Insall knee score had poor results after arthroscopic surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Though the result of arthroscopic debridement of degenerative knee is known to be unpredictable, some preoperative factors are correlated with poor outcomes, and arthroscopic treatment should be carefully selected.
Arthroscopy ; Cartilage ; Cartilage, Articular ; Contracture ; Debridement ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Joints ; Knee Joint ; Knee* ; Male ; Osteoarthritis ; Osteophyte ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.
Humans

Background: Arrhythmia due to QT prolongation is one of the most serious adverse events with drug interactions in the elderly. This study aimed to examine the incidence of arrhythmia in Korean elderly patients who administered both cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4) substrates and inhibitors. Methods: Patients using CYP3A4 substrate and inhibitor were selected from the 2017 elderly patient dataset (the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service - Aged Population Sample). Selection criteria were patients with a medication possession ratio over 80%, medication duration of at least 7 days, and a follow-up period of 3 months or more. The patient’s basic information is age, gender, health insurance type, and comorbidities. The top 50 drug pairs and comorbidity with high-incidence arrhythmia were presented. Results: In patien ts with drug combin ation s for over 7 days, there were 981 incidences of arrhythmia, and 351 incidences in those with combinations for over 30 days. The comorbidities of congestive heart failure and myocardial infarction had a significant association with incidence of arrhythmia. Among patients with 7 days or longer, the drug pairs [substrates-inhibitors] with significant adjusted odds ratio (aOR) were [propranolol-cimetidine] (aOR, 2.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.66-3.04). Among patients with 30 days or longer, the drug pairs with significant aOR were [tramadolamiodarone] (aOR, 2.87; 95% CI, 1.97-4.19). Conclusions In elderly patients, the incidence of arrhythmia was high with drug interactions of CYP3A4 substrates and inhibitors. The comorbidity of congestive heart failure was the risk factor.

A noncontact sensor field is an innovative device that can detect, measure, or monitor physical properties or conditions without direct physical contact with the subject or object under examination. These sensors use a variety of methods, including electromagnetic, optical, and acoustic technique, to collect information about the target without physical interaction. Noncontact sensors find wide-ranging applications in various fields such as manufacturing, robotics, automobiles, security, environmental monitoring, space industry, agriculture, and entertainment. In particular, they are used in the medical field, where they provide continuous monitoring of patient conditions and offer opportunities in rehabilitation medicine. This article introduces the potential of noncontact sensors in the field of rehabilitation medicine.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the level of awareness and knowledge regarding elective oocyte cryopreservation (OC) among unmarried women of reproductive age in Korea. METHODS: A survey was conducted among 86 women who visited a fertility preservation clinic for counseling about elective OC between December 2016 and May 2018. Participants were asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their awareness and knowledge of fertility and OC. RESULTS: The questionnaire was completed by 71 women. Among them, 73% decided to undergo OC after counseling. The main reason for making this decision was that they wished to maintain their fertility in the future (70.6%). Conversely, the high cost for the procedure was the main reason given by those who chose to forego this procedure. Regarding fertility and OC, the participants' knowledge was poor. Most women expected greater financial support from the government or from their place of employment. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrated that the awareness and knowledge about elective OC were relatively poor among the female Korean population. These findings may help clinicians in better counselling of their patients.
Counseling ; Cryopreservation ; Employment ; Female ; Fertility Preservation ; Fertility ; Financial Support ; Humans ; Korea ; Oocytes ; Single Person ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: It is widely accepted that cervical interlaminar steroid injection (CIESI) is more effective in treating radicular pain than axial neck pain, but without direct comparison. And the differences of effect after CIESI according to MRI findings are inconsistent. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the therapeutic response of CIESI according to pain sites, durations, MRI findings, and other predictive factors altogether, unlike previous studies, which evaluated them separately. METHODS: The medical records of 128 patients who received fluoroscopy guided CIESI were analyzed. We evaluated the therapeutic response (more than a 50% reduction on the visual analog scale [VAS] by their second visit) after CIESI by (1) pain site; neck pain without radicular pain/radicular pain with or without neck pain, (2) pain duration; acute/chronic (more than 6 month), and (3) findings of MRI; herniated intervertebral disc (HIVD)/spinal stenosis, respectively and altogether. RESULTS: Eighty-eight patients (68%) responded to CIESI, and there were no significant differences in demographic data, initial VAS score, or laboratory findings. And there were no significant differences in the response rate relating to pain site, pain duration, or MRI findings, respectively. In additional analysis, acute radicular pain with HIVD patients showed significantly better response than chronic neck pain with spinal stenosis (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: We cannot find any sole predictive factor of therapeutic response to the CIESI. But the patients having acute radicular pain with HIVD showed the best response, and those having other chronic neck pain showed the worst response to CIESI.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Fluoroscopy ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Medical Records ; Neck Pain* ; Neck* ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Stenosis ; Visual Analog Scale