PURPOSE: The efficacy of the prostate-specific antigen (PSA), prostate-specific antigen density (PSAD), digital rectal examination (DRE) and transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) for diagnosing prostate cancer in Koreans was investigated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The medical records from a selected population of 346 patients (30 to 93 years old, mean age 66.0) who had visited the department of Urology in Seoul National University Hospital from January 1994 to December 2000 were reviewed retrospectively. All patients a transrectal ultrasonography-guided biopsy. The student's t test was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: Prostate cancer was detected in 119 (34.4%) out of 346 patients. PSA, PSAD, TRUS, and DRE showed a sensitivity of 95.8%, 88.2%, 66.4% and 61.3%, a specificity of 26%, 49.3%, 66.5% and 55.9%, and a positive predictive value of 40.4%, 47.7%, 51% and 42.2%, respectively. The positive predictive value from the combination of PSAD and TRUS was 67%, which was the highest when two among the four methods were selected and combined. The detection rate for prostate cancer was 23% (31 out of 135 patients) when the PSA level was between 4 and 10ng/ml, and was 20.9% (18 out of 86 patients) when PSA level was between 4 and 10ng/ml and the DRE findings were negative. CONCLUSIONS: In detecting prostate cancer, PSA showed the highest sensitivity and TRUS showed the highest specificity and positive predictive value. PSAD might be a useful method for diagnosing prostate cancer when combined with TRUS. A TRUS-guided biopsy should be done in patients when the PSA level is between 4 and 10ng/ml in Korea.
Biopsy ; Digital Rectal Examination* ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening* ; Medical Records ; Prostate* ; Prostate-Specific Antigen* ; Prostatic Neoplasms* ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Seoul ; Ultrasonography* ; Urology

BACKGROUND: Inflammation plays an important role in the postoperative morbidity of organs, which is related to the activation of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines. Ulinastatin (Urinary trypsin inhibitor, UTI) is a serine protease inhibitor found in human urine or serum that inhibits the activation of human leukocyte elastase. This study examined the effect of UTI on the inflammation response in patients undergoing a gastrectomy. METHODS: Thirty patients scheduled to undergo a gastrectomy were divided into two groups as follows: Control group (untreated, n = 15) and UTI group (100,000 units of UTI were continuously injected intravenously for 2 hours, n = 15). Arterial blood was sampled before surgery (T0), 10 minutes after its onset (T1), at its end (T2), and 1 hour after surgery (T3) to measure the level of cytokines. RESULTS: Both the control and treatment groups had higher interleukin (IL)-6 levels at T2 and T3 than T0, and the level increased with time. However, the increase was smaller in the treatment group. The IL-8 levels were not activated significantly in any of the groups. CONCLUSIONS: UTI inhibits the secretion of IL-6, which is an inflammatory cytokine produced after a gastrectomy. This shows that UTI can decrease the inflammation reaction caused by surgical stress.
Cytokines ; Gastrectomy ; Glycoproteins ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6 ; Interleukin-8 ; Interleukins ; Leukocyte Elastase ; Serine Proteases ; Trypsin

BACKGROUND: This study was to clarify the effects of gabexate mesilate (Foy(R)), a synthetic protease inhibitor, on endotoxin induced acute lung injury in rabbit. METHODS: Animals were randomly assigned to one of four groups: saline only (n = 7), saline and Escherichia coli endotoxin 5 mg/kg over 30 mins (n = 7), Foy(R) 1 mg/kg bolus, followed by infusion of Foy(R) at 1 mg/kg/h and endotoxin (n = 7), Foy(R) 2 mg/kg bolus, followed by infusion of Foy(R) at 2 mg/kg/h and endotoxin (n = 7). Infusion of saline or Foy(R) was started 0.5 hour before the start of infusion of saline or endotoxin and continued for 6.5 hours. At the end infusion animals were sacrificed, and the wet to dry (W/D) weight ratio of lung, lung injury score and leukocyte counts, percentage of polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMNL), and concentrations of albumin and interleukin-8 (IL-8) in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were evaluated. RESULTS: Endotoxin decreased the PaO2 and peripheral blood leukocyte and platelet counts. And it increased the W/D weight ratio of lung, lung injury score and leukocyte counts, percentage of PMNL, and concentrations of albumin and IL-8 in BALF. Foy(R) attenuated all these changes except the decreased peripheral blood leukocyte count. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that Foy(R) attenuates endotoxin-induced acute lung injury in rabbit by inhibiting neutrophil, IL-8 and platelet responses which may play a central role in sepsis related lung injury.
Acute Lung Injury* ; Animals ; Blood Platelets ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid ; Escherichia coli ; Gabexate* ; Interleukin-8 ; Leukocyte Count ; Leukocytes ; Lung ; Lung Injury ; Neutrophils ; Platelet Count ; Protease Inhibitors ; Sepsis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The prevalence of colonic diverticulosis in Korea is increasing in conjunction with the adoption of western dietary pattern, extension of lifespan, and advances in diagnostic modalities. The clinical characteristics of colonic diverticulosis seem to be gradually becoming similar to those of Western societies. Therefore, factors associated with the clinical characteristics of colonic diverticulosis in Korea were investigated. METHODS: The data of 200 patients diagnosed with colonic diverticulosis using colonoscopy between May 2010 and April 2012 at Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital (Seoul, Korea) were prospectively collected. Clinical parameters acquired through a questionnaire include age, body mass index, waist circumference, exercise, diet, smoking, drinking habits, etc. Correlation between these factors and the clinical features of diverticulosis were analyzed. RESULTS: Mean age of the patients was 54.9+/-11.9 (range 17-79) years and male to female ratio was 2.2:1. Most diverticula were located on the right side of the colon (83%) and the mean number of diverticulum was 4.07+/-3.9. Factor associated with the location of diverticulum on the left side was age (p=0.001). There was a positive correlation between the waist circumference and the number of diverticulum (partial correlation coefficient r'=0.143, p=0.047). Diverticulitis occurred more frequently in younger patients than in older patients (p=0.002). CONCLUSIONS: Colonic diverticulosis in older patients is found more frequently on the left colon, and the number of diverticulosis is associated with central obesity.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Alcohol Drinking ; Body Mass Index ; Colonoscopy ; Diverticulosis, Colonic/complications/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; Exercise ; Female ; Hemorrhage/etiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; Smoking ; Waist Circumference ; Young Adult

The influence of spinal cord injury (SCI) on protein expression in the rat urinary bladder was assessed by proteomic analysis at different time intervals post-injury. After contusion SCI between T9 and T10, bladder tissues were processed by 2-DE and MALDI-TOF/MS at 6 hr to 28 days after SCI to identify proteins involved in the healing process of SCI-induced neurogenic bladder. Approximately 1,000 spots from the bladder of SCI and sham groups were visualized and identified. At one day after SCI, the expression levels of three protein were increased, and seven spots were down-regulated, including heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) and heat shock protein 20 (Hsp20). Fifteen spots such as S100-A11 were differentially expressed seven days post-injury, and seven proteins including transgelin had altered expression patterns 28 days after injury. Of the proteins with altered expression levels, transgelin, S100-A11, Hsp27 and Hsp20 were continuously and variably expressed throughout the entire post-SCI recovery of the bladder. The identified proteins at each time point belong to eight functional categories. The altered expression patterns identified by 2-DE of transgelin and S100-A11 were verified by Western blot. Transgelin and protein S100-A11 may be candidates for protein biomarkers in the bladder healing process after SCI.
Animals ; Biological Markers/metabolism ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Two-Dimensional ; Female ; HSP20 Heat-Shock Proteins/metabolism ; HSP27 Heat-Shock Proteins/metabolism ; Microfilament Proteins/metabolism ; Muscle Proteins/metabolism ; Proteome/*biosynthesis ; Proteomics ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; S100 Proteins/metabolism ; Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization ; Spinal Cord Injuries/*metabolism/pathology ; Urinary Bladder/*metabolism ; *Wound Healing

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Performance of polyethylene glycol solution (PEG) is often unsatisfactory as bowel preparation agent for colonoscopy. In order to provide equivalent efficacy with better patient tolerance, sodium phosphate tablet (SPT) has been developed. This study was carried out to compare the efficacy and compliance of two bowel preparation methods: PEG with ascorbic acid (PEGA) vs. SPT preparation. METHODS: A multicenter, randomized controlled trial was performed. Primary efficacy variable was overall quality of colon cleansing assessed by Boston bowel preparation scale (BBPS) during colonoscopy. Patient's satisfaction and adverse events were evaluated by means of symptom questionnaire completed by each patient immediately before colonoscopy. RESULTS: A total of 189 patients were randomly assigned to undergo pre-colonoscopic bowel preparation with either SPT (n=96) or PEGA (n=93). Overall BBPS score was 8.3+/-1.12 in the SPT group and 8.4+/-0.96 in the PEGA group (p=0.441). Among the 189 patients, 90 had polyps (47.6%) and 50 had adenomas (26.5%). The polyp/adenoma detection rate was 54.2% (n=52)/27.1% (n=26) for SPT group and 40.9% (n=38)/25.8% (n=24) for PEGA group (p=0.079 and 0.790, respectively). More number of patients were unable to take the prescribed dose of PEGA compared with the SPT regimen (8.6% vs. 2.0%, p=0.045). Overall satisfaction score was 7.9+/-1.63 in the SPT group and 7.4+/-1.53 in the PEGA group (p=0.022). CONCLUSIONS: Degree of colon preparation, polyp/adenoma detection rate and adverse effect were similar between SPT group and PEGA group. Patient compliance and satisfaction were greater in the SPT group.
Abdominal Pain/etiology ; Adenoma/pathology ; Adult ; Ascorbic Acid/*therapeutic use ; Cathartics/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Colonic Polyps/pathology ; *Colonoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nausea/etiology ; Patient Satisfaction ; Phosphates/*therapeutic use ; Polyethylene Glycols/*therapeutic use ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Background/Aims: For metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC), various prognostic scoring systems have been developed. However, owing to the low prevalence of nonclear cell RCC, the three most commonly used tools were mainly developed based on patients with clear cell histology. Accordingly, this study applied three prognostic models to Korean non-clear cell RCC patients treated with first-line temsirolimus. Methods: This study analyzed data for 74 patients with non-clear cell RCC who were treated with temsirolimus as the first-line therapy at eight medical centers between 2011 and 2016. The receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves for the different prognostic models were analyzed. Results: Twenty-seven (36.5%), 24 (32.4%), and 44 patients (59.5%) were assigned to the poor prognosis groups of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), International Metastatic RCC Database Consortium (IMDC), and Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma (ARCC) risk stratification models, respectively. All three prognostic models reliably discriminated the risk groups to predict progression-free survival and overall survival (p < 0.001). The area under the ROC curve (AUC) for progression and survival was highest for the ARCC model (0.777; 0.734), followed by the IMDC (0.756; 0.724) and the MSKCC (0.742; 0.712) models. Furthermore, the sensitivity and specificity for predicting progression were highest with the ARCC model (sensitivity 63.6%, specificity 85.7%), followed by the MSKCC (sensitivity 58.2%, specificity 86.5%) and the IMDC models (sensitivity 56.4%, specificity 85.7%). Conclusions All three prognostic models accurately predicted the survival of the non-clear cell RCC patients treated with temsirolimus as the first-line therapy. Furthermore, the ARCC risk model performed better than the other risk models in predicting survival.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine clinical practice patterns in the management of pregnant women admitted with threatened preterm labor (TPL) in Korea. METHODS: Data from women admitted with a diagnosis of TPL were collected from 22 hospitals. TPL was defined as regular uterine contractions with or without other symptoms such as pelvic pressure, backache, increased vaginal discharge, menstrual-like cramps, bleeding/show and cervical changes. Data on general patient information, clinical characteristics at admission, use of tocolytics, antibiotics, and corticosteroids, and pregnancy outcomes were collected using an online data collections system. RESULTS: A total of 947 women with TPL were enrolled. First-line tocolysis was administered to 822 (86.8%) patients. As a first-line tocolysis, beta-agonists were used most frequently (510/822, 62.0%), followed by magnesium sulfate (183/822, 22.3%), calcium channel blockers (91/822, 11.1%), and atosiban (38/822, 4.6%). Of the 822 women with first-line tocolysis, second-line tocolysis were required in 364 (44.3%). Of 364 with second-line, 199 had third-line tocolysis (37.4%). Antibiotics were administered to 29.9% of patients (284/947) with single (215, 22.7%), dual (26, 2.7%), and triple combinations (43, 4.5%). Corticosteroids were administered to 420 (44.4%) patients. Betamethasone was administered to 298 patients (71.0%), and dexamethasone was administered to 122 patients (29.0%). CONCLUSION: Practice patterns in the management of TPL in Korea were quite various. It is needed to develop standardized practice guidelines for TPL management.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Back Pain ; Betamethasone ; Calcium Channel Blockers ; Dexamethasone ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Magnesium Sulfate ; Muscle Cramp ; Obstetric Labor, Premature* ; Physician's Practice Patterns ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnant Women ; Premature Birth ; Retrospective Studies* ; Tocolysis ; Tocolytic Agents ; Uterine Contraction ; Vaginal Discharge