PURPOSE: Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of the most common causes of pneumonia in children and adolescents. Though cold agglutinin test and specific antibody test are used in the diagnosis of mycoplasma pneumonia, there are some limitations in early diagnosis. In this study, we evaluated the availability and usefulness of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the diagnosis of M. pneumoniae pneumonia and compared it with serologic test. METHODS: One hundred twenty four children who were clinically diagnosed with pneumonia and admitted to Kyunghee Hospital from January 1998 to March 2001 were enrolled. Mycoplasma specific antibody test using commercial kit (Serodia-MYCO II, Fusirebio Inc., Tokyo, Japan) and PCR using mycoplasma DNA obtained from throat swabs were done. The sensitivity and specificity of PCR were evaluated. RESULTS: M. pneumoniae pneumonia was diagnosed when the mycoplasma specific antibody titer was over 1: 160 or when the titer increased more than fourfold during follow-up period. The specificity, sensitivity, false-positive rate and false-negative rates of PCR were 93.0%, 58.3%, 33.3%. and 9.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: PCR has shown high specificity. But, the positive result in PCR don't correlate with the disease activity and PCR does not have high sensitivity. So PCR must be used alongside with serologic test in the diagnosis of pneumonia. But, it seems possible to improve sensitivity by delicate handling of samples and by improving PCR technology, and PCR will possibly be used in the diagnosis of early infections of M. pneumoniae pneumonia and in the evaluation of treatments in the future.
Adolescent ; Child* ; Diagnosis ; DNA ; Early Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae* ; Mycoplasma* ; Pharynx ; Pneumonia* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Serologic Tests

PURPOSE: We evaluated the clinical results of operative treatment of the intraarticular calcaneal fracture according to fracture classification. MATERIALS AND METHODS: There were 25 cases (24 patients) which had at least one year follow up, 17 men and 7 women who were treated from June 1997 to March 2003. We have analysed the Bohler's angle, cruciate angle, width and posttraumatic osteoarthritis in radiological evaluation, and evaluated clinical results according to the Creighton-Nebraska health foundation score. RESULTS: Excellent results were noted in 7 cases, good results in 6 cases, fair results in 4 cases and poor results in 8 cases. Radiological changes showed as follows: Bohler angle 17 degrees, Crucial angle 0.1 degrees, Width 6mm. CONCLUSION: Type II showed satisfactory results and type IV showed unsatisfactory results in Sanders classification. Proper evaluation of the intraarticular calcaneal fracture by X-ray and CT scan is necessory to predict prognosis and decise method of operative treatment.
Calcaneus ; Classification ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intra-Articular Fractures ; Male ; Osteoarthritis ; Prognosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVE: The authors report a simple and reliable method for cervical open-door laminoplasty secured by titanium miniplate. METHODS: Sixteen patients with cervical myelopathy secondary to multilevel cervical spondylosis or ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament were treated with an expansive open-door laminoplasty using titanium miniplates to stabilize the posterior elements described by O'Brien et al between February 1998 and June 2002, and all had a minimum of 6 months of follow-up(mean 22.5months) review. Plain radiographs were used to measure sagittal canal diameter and monitor construct integrity. The neurological outcome was evaluated before and after operation using the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scoring system for cervical myelopathy. RESULTS: Only 1 titanium miniplate construct was failed out of 69 levels in 16 patients during follow-up period, but decompression was maintained. After surgery, in 15 patients(93.7%) different levels of clinical improvement were demonstrated, and in four of them(25%) full recovery was observed. The sagittal canal diameter and JOA score increased from 13.3+/-2.2mm and 9.19 preoperatively to 20+/-2.4mm and 12.88 postoperatively(p<0.01). CONCLUSION: The use of titanium miniplate to stabilize the posterior elements after laminoplasty is a simple, durable, and effective technique to maintain the increased sagittal canal diameter of the spinal canal and have another advantage of compatability of magnetic resonance imaging.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Decompression ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Longitudinal Ligaments ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Orthopedics ; Spinal Canal ; Spinal Cord Diseases ; Spondylosis ; Titanium*

Oxidative radicals are regarded as a major factor in the pathogenesis of both acute and chronic pancreatitis. Because oxygen radicals react most readily with polyunsaturated fatty acids, resulting in peroxidation of lipids, several studies have been performed to determine the development of lipid peroxidation in pancreatitis. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of free radicals and decision of the experimental model in acute necrotizing pancreatitis. Acute necrotizing pancreatitis was induced in 18 rats by retrograde injection into the bilopancreatic duct of 2%, 3%, and 5% sodium taurocholate. After a 12-hour observation time, the pancreas / the body weight, the serum amylase and the malondialdehyde content in tissue, as well as the reduced glutathione were measured in resected tissue samples. In addition, to determine the pathologic damage grade, tissue samples were examined by light microscopy. According to the amount of sodium taurocholate injected, the serum amylase and tissue malondialdehyde concentration were significantly increased. The reduced glutathione was significantly decreased, suggesting glutathione depletion due to oxidative stress. During the 12 hours after injection the pancreatic lesions were immediate and were characterized by interstitial edema, atrophy and extensive necrotic changes of the acinar cells, and hemorrhage. The pathologic damage grade increased according to the amount of sodium taurocholate injected. This study created an experimental model for studying the pathogenesis of acute necrotizing pancreatitis by using bile acid. In acute necrotizing pancreatitis, the increased levels of lipid peroxidation products in tissues and the change in glutathione metabolism suggest ongoing peroxidation of lipids due to an enhanced generation of oxygen radicals. Therefore, antioxidant treatment can reduce tissue damage, biochemical alterations, and extrapancreatic complications, thus improving the final outcome.
Acinar Cells ; Amylases ; Animals ; Atrophy ; Bile ; Body Weight ; Edema ; Fatty Acids, Unsaturated ; Free Radicals ; Glutathione ; Hemorrhage ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Malondialdehyde ; Metabolism ; Microscopy ; Models, Theoretical ; Oxidative Stress* ; Pancreas ; Pancreatitis ; Pancreatitis, Acute Necrotizing* ; Pancreatitis, Chronic ; Rats* ; Reactive Oxygen Species ; Sodium* ; Taurocholic Acid

PURPOSE: To evaluate the methods and results of the surgical treatment in the trimalleolar fracture of the ankle. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed the results of the ankle trimalleolar fracture which were treated with open reduction and internal fixation from January 1999 till September 2003. There were 45 patients who had at least six months follow up, 16 men, and 29 women. We have analysed the mechanism of injury, methods of operation and postoperative complications. RESULTS: The results were assessed on ankle AP, lateral and mortise X-rays and retrospective chart review. There were 30 supination-external rotation, 13 pronation-external rotation, 2 pronation-abduction in the mechanism of injury by Lauge-Hansen classification. Cases of the posterior malleolar fracture which involved more than 25% of the weight bearing surface were 7 (15.6%). Medial malleolar mono-fixation was done in 5 cases, fibular mono-fixation in 2 cases, bimalleolar fixation in 32 cases, trimalleolar fixation in 6 cases. 38 cases (84.4%) were good or excellent in clincal assessment and 39 cases (86.7%) were good or excellent in radiological assessment according to the criteria of the Meyer. There was no difference of results among the surgical treatment methods. CONCLUSION: The results of our study indicate that the rigid fixation with early ankle motion and weight bearing is needed in ankle trimalleolar fracture. But minimal fixation is not bad in slight displaced fracture. Both anterior approach and posterior approach were useful methods to stabilization the posterior malleolar fracture. And pre-operative evaluation to detect the hidden soft tissue injuries and fracture mechanism is very important to avoid the failure.
Ankle ; Ankle Fractures* ; Classification ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; Weight-Bearing

Aggressive angiomyxoma (AAM) is an extremely uncommon neoplasm of the female genitalia. This tumor arises from soft tissue of the perineum, and affects predominantly young women. Although surgical excision with wide tumor-free margins may be necessary to obtain a complete cure, some of patients experience local recurrences because of the infiltrative nature of this tumor. We experienced a case of recurrent huge AAM on the right vulva in 29-year-old woman and reported it with a brief review of literature.
Adult ; Female ; Genitalia, Female ; Humans ; Myxoma* ; Perineum ; Recurrence ; Vulva*

PURPOSE: The purpose of this article was to announce the establishment of the multicenter Korean Prostate Cancer Database (K-CaP) and to provide urologists with details about K-CaP's methodology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The initial participating K-CaP institutions include five medical centers in Korea. First, we registered prostate cancer patients who underwent radical prostatectomy as the basic background data. K-CaP is poised to combine these initial observational longitudinal studies with those of other eligible institutions as the database grows. All current prostate cancer patients in Korea are able to be registered into the Web-based database system and thereby have a role in several observational studies. The structure of the database for K-CaP was developed by matching it with the respective data from different studies. The operability of the K-CaP database system was verified by using the existing databases from three participating institutions. RESULTS: The analysis of clinicopathologic characteristics of patients with the use of the Web-based database was successfully conducted. We confirmed the accurate operation of the Web-based database system without any difficulties. CONCLUSIONS: We are announcing the establishment of K-CaP the first database of comprehensive observational longitudinal studies about prostate cancer in Korea. The database will be successfully maintained by sufficiently and continuously updating all patient data covering several treatments. Complete statistical results for registered prostate cancer patients are forthcoming for the basic background data to establish the database. Even though much trial and error are expected during the development process, we expect that K-CaP will eventually become one of the most powerful longitudinal observation databases.
Humans ; Korea ; Longitudinal Studies ; Prostate ; Prostatectomy ; Prostatic Neoplasms