BACKGROUND: Many hyaluronic acid (HA)-based anti-adhesive agents have been commercialized for clinical use in the pharmaceutical market. But their efficacy in arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs remains elusive. To determine their efficacy, we performed a comparative analysis of the effects of two hyaluronate/carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)-based anti-adhesive agents, Protescal and Guardix. METHODS: We recruited a total of 256 patients who had received an arthroscopic rotator cuff repair at our hospital between January 2014 and March 2015. Among them, 96 patients fulfilled the study's selection criteria and were enrolled as the final population sample. Thirty patients who had received a postoperative injection of Protescal were allocated into Group A. Another 30 patients who had received a postoperative injection of Guardix were allocated into Group B. As controls, 36 patients who did not receive any injection were allocated into Group C. The patients included in this study were aged between 19 and 75 years. For the clinical assessment, we measured the following clinical parameters—the visual analogue scale for pain (PVAS), the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, and the constant score, as well as passive range of motions (ROMs)—at three time-points (preoperatively, 2-month postoperatively, and 6-month postoperatively). RESULTS: We found that Group A compared to Group B tended to show a swifter recovery in passive anterior elevation and in internal rotation by the 2-month postoperative follow-up, but the differences were not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the effects of HA/CMC-based injections were minimal after arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs.
Elbow ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyaluronic Acid ; Patient Selection ; Retrospective Studies* ; Rotator Cuff* ; Shoulder ; Surgeons

No abstract available.
Adenocarcinoma* ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Prostatic Neoplasms

No abstract available.
Bone Density* ; Femur Neck* ; Hip Fractures* ; Humans ; Osteoporosis*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to assess the usefulness of dynamic MR imaging after contrast enhancement with Gd-DTPA in the differential diagnosis of hepatic focal lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The population consists of 22 cases of hepatocellular carcinoma, 44 cases of hemangioma, and five cases of metastasis. Diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma was made by surgery, fine needle biopsy, ultrasonography, CT and conventional angiography. Hemangioma was diagnosed on the basis of ultrasonography, CT, conventional spin-echo MRI and clinical data. Diagnosis of metastasis was done by fine needle aspiration biopsy. Dynamic and delayed images were obtained using 1.5T superconductive magnetom after Gd-DTPA(0.1mmol/kg) intravenous injection. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation was done for each lesion. RESULTS: Early contrast enhancement with rapid or gradual washout was noted in 15 lesions of hepatocellular carcinoma(68.2%) ;on the delayed images, no contrast enhancement was noted in 18 lesions(81. 8%). Peripheral contrast enhancement pattern was predominantly(86.4%) observed in hemangiomas during dynamic phase. On the delayed images, homogeneous and persistent contrast enhancement of masses were noted in all hemangiomas. Characteristic centripetal fill-in pattern was observed in 32 lesions of hemangioma (72.7%). Contrast inversion of masses during contrast enhancement study was noted in all hemangiomas, while continuous negative contrast was noted in hepatocellular carcinomas and metastases. CONCLUSION: Dynamic MR imaging after contrast enhancement with Gd-DTPA is an useful method in the differential diagnosis of hepatic focal lesions.
Angiography ; Biopsy ; Biopsy, Fine-Needle ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Gadolinium DTPA ; Hemangioma* ; Injections, Intravenous ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Ultrasonography

The increasing use of intravenous polyethylene catheters has led to a growing incidence of accidental catheter breakage and migration of fragments into the central vascular system usually in the inferior vena cave, the right atrium, of the pulmonary artery. The most common complications were formation of a thrombus in the area of the foreign body, infection with endocarditis, and perforation of the heart. And so obviously the polyethylene catheter must be removed. In 1967, Massumi and Ross et al have been successful in removing a catheter fragment from the right atrum percutaneously with a snare device. With some modification as suggested by Curry, method of retrieving fragments of polyethylene catheters from the heart without chest surgery utilize wire snares or endoscopic forceps. This report describe the technique and its use in successfully managing these complications in four consecutive cases.
Catheters* ; Endocarditis ; Foreign Bodies ; Heart Atria ; Heart* ; Incidence ; Polyethylene ; Pulmonary Artery ; SNARE Proteins ; Surgical Instruments ; Thorax ; Thrombosis

Klippel-Feil syndrome is characterized by congenital fusion of cervical vertebrae with a wide range of associated anomaly. The authors present a 50-year-old Klippel-Feil syndrome patient with a minor trauma followed progressive quadriparesis. He had typical radiologic findings of type II Klippel-Feil syndrome and presented progressive myelopathy due to cord compression at foramen magnum level with cervical instability. The patient underwent craniocervical decompression and fusion. The authors reviewed the pertinent literatures and discussed this rare syndrome.
Cervical Vertebrae ; Decompression ; Female ; Foramen Magnum ; Humans ; Klippel-Feil Syndrome* ; Middle Aged ; Quadriplegia* ; Spinal Cord Diseases

BACKGROUND: The multiple allergosorbent test chemiluminescent assay (MAST-CLA) is a simple system with high sensitivity and specificity for measuring total and allergen-specific IgE antibodies in patients with allergic skin diseases such as urticaria. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate total IgE class, allergen frequencies, and their correlations in MAST-CLA in acute and chronic urticaria. METHODS: We performed a retrospective study using medical documents of 2,028 urticaria patients (average age= 34.85 years) who visited Yonsei Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Yeongseo Province, Korea, between 2003 and 2012. Positive rates of specific IgE and total serum IgE levels in acute and chronic urticaria patients were analyzed. RESULTS: Among the total 2,028 patients, 1,263 (62.3%) had acute urticaria, and 765 (37.7%) had chronic urticaria. The number of patients with higher than class 2 level of serum total IgE was 1,496 (73.8%): 964 (76.3%) of the acute urticaria group and 532 (69.5%) of the chronic urticaria group. More than half of the patients (1,048; 51.7%) showed a positive reaction to at least one allergen-specific IgE. The positive rate of acute urticaria was 53.0% and chronic urticaria 49.5%. In both acute and chronic urticaria, the most commonly detected allergen was Dermatophagoides farinae, followed by D. pterony and house dust. Most patients showed lower positive reactions to food allergens. Peach was the most common food allergen in both groups. Of the patients who showed positive total IgE, 40.4% did not react to any allergen-specific IgE. Also, 26.3% of the patients who were negative for total IgE showed a positive reaction to more than one allergen-specific IgE. The level of total IgE and the number of positive allergen-specific IgE responses were positively correlated in both acute and chronic urticaria patients. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that the positive rate of total IgE was higher in acute urticaria patients than in chronic urticaria patients. Both acute and chronic urticaria patient groups showed the highest positive rates for D. farinae. Positive rates for response to food allergens, such as soybean, chicken, yeast, tuna, and salmon, were lower in the chronic urticaria group. For inhalant allergens, the positive rates of response to white oak and Aspergillus were higher in the acute urticaria group. The level of total IgE and the number of positive allergen-specific IgE responses showed a positive correlation in both groups. Thus, MAST-CLA appears to be a simple and convenient method for determining causative allergens in the occurrence and exacerbation of urticaria, but other studies are necessary to confirm these preliminary findings.
Allergens ; Antibodies ; Aspergillus ; Chickens ; Dermatophagoides farinae ; Dust ; Gangwon-do ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin E ; Korea ; Luminescent Measurements ; Prunus persica ; Retrospective Studies ; Salmon ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Skin Diseases ; Soybeans ; Tuna ; Urticaria* ; Yeasts

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The efficiency of second harmonic generation at 532 nm is high when a pulsed Nd : YAG laseris used as a pump source of fundamental waves. The pulse durations of 532 nm-irradiation can be varied from 10 ns to 1000 ns by changing the pumping method. The purpose of this study was to compare the macroscopic and micropscopic changes in the muscle and skin after irradiation by 532 nm Flash lamp pumped solid state (FPSS) laser and Diode pumped solid state (DPSS) laser, whose pulse durations are 600 ns and 100 ns, respectively. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Two experiments were conducted on the muscle and skin of guinea pig. First, the guinea pig muscle and skin were irradiated by the 532 nm FPSS and DPSS lasers with various intensities and time duration. Macroscopic examinations were performed on the muscle lesions and immediate histopathologic examinations on the skin were carried out. RESULTS: The volume of vaporization and necrosis of the guinea pig muscle by the FPSS laser was larger than that by the DPSS laser. The vaporization and necrosis reaction of skin by the FPSS was significantly stronger than that by the DPSS laser. CONCLUSION: It appears that the DPSS laser system would be superior over the FPSS laser system in providing more accurate and precise surgery with less intense injury on the surrounding tissue.
Animals ; Guinea Pigs* ; Guinea* ; Necrosis ; Skin* ; Volatilization

No abstract available.
Bacillus anthracis* ; Bacillus* ; Classification*

No Abstract Available.
Dermatoglyphics* ; Evolution, Molecular* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction*