The funding acknowledgment in this article was omitted as published.

BACKGROUND: Pneumatic tourniquets are most frequently used during operations on the lower extremities, especially during knee operations, and provide a bloodless surgical field and prevent excessive blood loss. But tourniquets increase blood pressure, though the cause has not been identified. We thought that plasma catecholamine is increased by pneumatic tourniquet inflation. Troponin I is specific cardiac marker in myocardiac injury. So we measured plasma catecholamine and Troponin I under general and spinal anesthesia in patients undergoing total knee replacement. METHODS: We divided the patients into two groups, the first group (Group I, n = 25) was the general anesthesia group and second group (Group II, n = 26) the spinal anesthesia group. All patients underwent an operation for total knee replacement. Serum enzyme levels are instable so we tried to keep changes at a minimal level. Thus all operations were carried out by the same group of surgeons, in the same operating room, at the same time (AM 8:00 start operation). The same tourniquet was applied for all subjects (tourniquet pressure 350 mmHg, 9 cm width). Group I patients had general anesthesia with N2O - O2 - Enflurane. Group II patients had spinal anesthesia with 0.5% tetracaine: the dermatomal level of sensory blockade to pin-prick was T6 - T4. We measured blood pressure, heart rate, SpO2, ECG, serum catecolamine and trophonine I. Blood sampling were performed preoperation, 50 minutes after tourniquet application, and 30 minutes after operation to obtained serum catecholamine and trophonine I levesl. Result: Mean arterial pressure increased in group I during tourniquet inflation. The serum catecholamine level was higher in group I than in group II. The serum troponin I level was statistically significance in the general anesthesia groups (Group I). CONCLUSIONS: It might be suggested that an increased level of serum catecholamine causes tourniquet induced hypertension. Myocardial injury due to tourniquet induced hypertension was not affected by anesthesia type
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Anesthesia, Spinal* ; Arterial Pressure ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee* ; Blood Pressure ; Electrocardiography ; Enflurane ; Epinephrine ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Inflation, Economic ; Knee ; Lower Extremity ; Norepinephrine ; Operating Rooms ; Plasma ; Tetracaine ; Tourniquets* ; Troponin I

OBJECTIVES: Identify the characteristics related to the suicide rates in rural and urban areas of Korea and discover the factors that influence the suicide rate of the rural and urban areas. METHODS: Using the data on causes of death from 2006 to 2008, the suicide rates were calculated and compared after age-standardization based on gender, age group and urbanicity. And, in order to understand the factors that influence suicide rate, total 10 local characteristics in four domains - public service, social integration, residential environment, and economic status - were selected for multiple regression analysis. RESULTS: The suicide rates were higher in men than women, in rural areas than urban, and in older people than the younger. Generally, although there were variations according to age group and urbanicity, suicide rates were significantly related to residential environment and regional economic status but not related to regional welfare spending and social integration. In addition, the population over the age of 65 years, only regional economic status has significantly influence on their suicide rates. CONCLUSIONS: The influence of characteristics of regions on suicide rate is various by age-group, gender, and urbanicity. Therefore, in order to lower suicide rate and reduce the gap between regions, various approaches must be adopted by taking into account the socioeconomic characteristics of the regions.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Cause of Death/trends ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Residence Characteristics ; Rural Population/*statistics & numerical data ; Sex Distribution ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Suicide/*statistics & numerical data ; Urban Population/*statistics & numerical data ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical and radiological results and to compare the results of posterolateral lumbar fusion in rheumatic and non-rheumatic disease. METHODS: A retrospective review of results was carried out in 20 patients who had posterolateral lumbar fusion with rheumatic disease from Jul. 1996 to Aug. 2002. And same cases of non-rheumatic disease were compared. The diagnosis of rheumatic disease was confirmed by the ARA revised criteria. Bony union was evaluated by Lenke's criteria and the clinical results by Katz's satisfaction degree. Statistical analysis was performed by paired T-test and ANOVA test. RESULTS: In rheumatic disease group, there were 7 males and 13 females. Mean age was 56.6 (20~68) years and mean fused segments were 2.7 (1~7). Mean follow-up period was 41 months (12~80) after surgery. In non-rheumatic group, there was 6 males and 14 females. Mean age was 57.1 (35~71) years and mean fusion segments were 2.9 (1~4), Mean follow-up period was 40.2 (12~88) months. In age and fusion segments between two group, there was no statistical difference. In rheumatic disease group, the diagnosis were rheumatoid arthritis in 18 patients, ankylosing spondylitis in 1, and systemic lupus erythematosus in 1 patient. The other operations for combined disease were 8 total knee arthroplasty and 3 total hip arthroplasty. There were no statistical differences in operation time (p=0.527), perioperative bleeding (p=0.653) and postoperative (p=0.830) bleeding between two group. In radiological bony union, all patients of two groups showed A and B grade by Lenke's criteria. Bony union was complete at 5.5 (5~8), 5.1 (4~7) months after surgery. There was no significant difference in clinical satisfaction (p=0.756). CONCLUSION: There were no significant differences in clinical and radiological results between the rheumatic and non-rheumatic patients with disease of the lumbar spine.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Arthroplasty ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Knee ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Rheumatic Diseases* ; Spinal Fusion* ; Spine* ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing

OBJECTIVES: Busan is reported to have the highest mortality rate among 16 provinces in Korea, as well as considerable health inequality across its districts. This study sought to examine overall and cause-specific mortality and deprivation at the town level in Busan, thereby identifying towns and causes of deaths to be targeted for improving overall health and alleviating health inequality. METHODS: Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for all-cause and four specific leading causes of death were calculated at the town level in Busan for the years 2005 through 2008. To construct a deprivation index, principal components and factor analysis were adopted, using 10% sample data from the 2005 census. Geographic information system (GIS) mapping techniques were applied to compare spatial distributions between the deprivation index and SMRs. We fitted the Gaussian conditional autoregressive model (CAR) to estimate the relative risks of mortality by deprivation level, controlling for both the heterogeneity effect and spatial autocorrelation. RESULTS: The SMRs of towns in Busan averaged 100.3, ranging from 70.7 to 139.8. In old inner cities and towns reclaimed for replaced households, the deprivation index and SMRs were relatively high. CAR modeling showed that gaps in SMRs for heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and physical injury were particularly high. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicate that more deprived towns are likely to have higher mortality, in particular from cardiovascular disease and physical injury. To improve overall health status and address health inequality, such deprived towns should be targeted.
Cause of Death ; Confidence Intervals ; Geographic Information Systems ; Health Services Accessibility ; *Health Status Disparities ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Life Expectancy ; Mortality/*trends ; Normal Distribution ; Poverty/*statistics & numerical data ; Regression Analysis ; Risk ; Socioeconomic Factors

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) has a poor prognosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of repeated arterial infusions of low dose cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (FU) in patients with advanced HCC with decompensated cirrhosis. METHODS: Between January 1995 and December 2003, a total of 79 decompensated cirrhotic patients having HCC and PVT were enrolled and divided into 2 groups. Group 1 (n=40) received intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy with cisplatin (10 mg for 5 days) and 5-FU (250 mg for 5 days) via an implanted chemoport every 4 weeks' and group 2 (n=39) was managed with only conservative treatment. RESULTS: The two groups were well matched with respect to the features relating to the prognosis, including age, gender and the Child- Pugh class. Although diffuse tumor involvement, main portal vein tumor thrombosis and bi-lobar involvement were more frequent in group 1, the median survival period of group 1 was significantly longer than group 2 (5 months vs. 3 months, respectively, P=0.016). Also, the 1-year survival rate of group 1 (7.5%) was higher than that of group 2 (5.1%) (P=0.016). When we analyzed the patients with the Child class B, the survival benefits of intra-arterial chemotherapy were more significant (P=0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Intra-arterial chemotherapy consisting of low dose 5-FU and cisplatin achieved favorable results for advanced HCC patients who had decompensated cirrhosis, and it showed better survival in selected patients. This therapy may be useful as a palliative treatment for HCC patients with decompensated cirrhosis.
Venous Thrombosis/complications ; Survival Rate ; Portal Vein ; Palliative Care ; Middle Aged ; Male ; Liver Neoplasms/complications/*drug therapy/mortality ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications ; *Infusions, Intra-Arterial ; Humans ; Fluorouracil/administration & dosage ; Female ; Disease-Free Survival ; Cisplatin/administration & dosage ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/complications/*drug therapy/mortality ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/*therapeutic use ; Aged ; Adult

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The incidence of Hepatitis B has significantly declined since the introduction of an HBV vaccination program. The aim of this study was to investigate recent clinical features of acute viral hepatitis B (AVH-B) in Korea. METHODS: A total of 2241 patients with acute viral hepatitis were enrolled and their data were collected from nine medical-centers between January 2006 and December 2009. RESULTS: One hundred nineteen (5.3%) of the 2241 were diagnosed as AVH-B. Among 78 patients with AVH-B whose data were analyzed, 50 were male, and the mean age was 38.6 years. In an initial test, mean AST, ALT and total-bilirubin levels were 1296.2 IU/L, 2109.6 IU/L and 9.3 mg/dl, respectively. Positivity frequencies for HBeAg and anti-HBe were 55.1% and 67.9%, respectively, and the mean HBV DNA level was 5.2 log10 copies/ml. The mean length of hospitalization was 11.6 days. During follow-up, AST, ALT and total bilirubin levels were normalized or near-normalized in all patients without serious complications. Sixty-three of 66 (95.4%) patients showed HBsAg loss and 37 (56.1%) patients showed HBsAg seroconversion. Only 3 patients (4.5%) showed persistent hepatitis B viremia. There was no case of death or liver transplantation. Nine patients (11.3%) had received anti-viral agents and their clinical outcomes were not significantly different from those of patients treated without antiviral agents. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of AVH-B among acute hepatitis patients is relatively low in Korea. AVH-B infection can be cured without complications in almost all patients, regardless of antiviral treatment.
Acute Disease ; Adult ; Alanine Transaminase/blood ; Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use ; Aspartate Aminotransferases/blood ; Bilirubin/blood ; DNA, Viral/analysis ; Female ; Hepatitis B/*diagnosis/drug therapy/epidemiology ; Hepatitis B Antibodies/blood ; Hepatitis B e Antigens/blood/immunology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Combined therapy with alendronate and calcitriol may have additive effects on bone density. An observational study was performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Maxmarvil, a combinative agent of alendronate (5 mg) and calcitriol (0.5 microg), and to identify factors associated with efficacy. METHODS: A total of 568 postmenopausal women with osteoporosis were enrolled by family physicians in 12 hospitals. The study subjects took Maxmarvil daily for 12 months. Questionnaires about baseline characteristics, socioeconomic status, and daily calcium intake were completed at the first visit. Adverse events were recorded every 3 months and bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine was measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at baseline and after 12 months. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of Maxmarvil, and the factors related to BMD improvement. RESULTS: A total of 370 patients were included in final analysis. The median BMD was 0.81 +/- 0.12 g/cm2 at pre-treatment and 0.84 +/- 0.13 g/cm2 after one year. The average BMD improvement was 3.4% +/- 6.4% (P < 0.05), and 167 (45.1%) patients showed improvement. Factors associated with improved BMD were continuation of treatment (odds ratio [OR], 2.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.15 to 5.07) and good compliance (OR, 2.54; 95% CI, 1.29 to 5.00). Adverse events were reported by 35 of the 568 patients, with the most common being abdominal pain and dyspepsia. CONCLUSION: Maxmarvil was found to be safe, well tolerated and effective in osteoporosis treatment. Continuation of treatment and good compliance were the factors associated with efficacy.
Abdominal Pain ; Absorptiometry, Photon ; Alendronate ; Bone Density ; Calcitriol ; Calcium ; Compliance ; Drug Combinations ; Female ; Humans ; Osteoporosis ; Osteoporosis, Postmenopausal ; Physicians, Family ; Social Class ; Spine ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: We investigated factors that influence outcomes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients treated with rituximab combined with the CHOP regimen (R-CHOP) followed by upfront autologous stem cell transplantation (Auto-SCT). METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated survival differences between subgroups based on the age-adjusted International Prognostic Index (aaIPI) and revised-IPI (R-IPI) at diagnosis, disease status, and positron emission tomographic/computerized tomographic (PET/CT) status at transplantation in 51 CD20-positive DLBCL patients treated with R-CHOP followed by upfront Auto-SCT. RESULTS: Patients had either stage I/II bulky disease (5.9%) or stage III/IV disease (94.1%). The median patient age at diagnosis was 47 years (range, 22-66 years); 53.3% and 26.7% had high-intermediate and high risks according to aaIPI, respectively. At the time of Auto-SCT, 72.5% and 27.5% experienced complete (CR) and partial remission (PR) after R-CHOP, respectively. The median time from diagnosis to Auto-SCT was 7.27 months (range, 3.4-13.4 months). The 5-year overall (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) were 77.3% and 72.4%, respectively. The 5-year OS and PFS rates according to aaIPI, R-IPI, and PET/CT status did not differ between the subgroups. More importantly, the 5-year OS and PFS rates of the patients who achieved PR at the time of Auto-SCT were not inferior to those of the patients who achieved CR (P=0.223 and 0.292, respectively). CONCLUSION: Survival was not influenced by the aaIPI and R-IPI at diagnosis, disease status, or PET/CT status at transplantation, suggesting that upfront Auto-SCT might overcome unfavorable outcomes attributed to PR after induction chemoimmunotherapy.
Autografts* ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Electrons ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Lymphoma, B-Cell* ; Positron-Emission Tomography and Computed Tomography ; Retrospective Studies ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Survival Analysis ; Transplantation, Autologous* ; Rituximab

No abstract available.
Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use ; Ascites/diagnosis/prevention & control/therapy ; Cholagogues and Choleretics/therapeutic use ; Fatty Liver/diagnosis/diet therapy ; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Hemorrhage/prevention & control/therapy ; Hepatic Encephalopathy/diagnosis/prevention & control/therapy ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Hepatitis C, Chronic/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology/*therapy ; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary/drug therapy ; Vasodilator Agents/therapeutic use