BACKGROUND: The length of postoperative drug therapy remains controversial in pulmonary tuberculosis. We analyzed our experiences to determine the postoperative duration of chemotherapy after resection. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed in 66 of 95 patients that underwent pulmonary resection for pulmonary tuberculosis between January 1993 and December 1998. We compared the relapse rates according to the length of postoperative chemotherapy in each group, classified by the results of sputum AFB culture before the surgery, the number of resistant durgs, the number of prior treatment and the division of anti-TB drugs used postoperatively. RESULTS: Fifty three of 66(80.3%) were men and 13(19.7%) were women with a median age of 33.5 years(range, 16 to 63). The mean lengths of the pre-and post-operative chemotherapies were 4.9 months, and 12.9 months respectively. Five of 66 patients(7.6%) relapsed during the mean period of follow up(39.7 months). In the group less than three times of the prior treatment, there were two relapses(20%) in Ed-the highlight above-rephrase 10 patients that were medicated for 6 months or less, and one relapse in 43 patients(2.3%) that took medicine for more than 6 months(p=0.03). In the group using second-line drugs postoperatively, there was one relapse(25%) in four patients that were medicated for 12 months or less. No patient in a total of 17 that received medicine for more than 12 months relapsed(p=0.03). CONCLUSION: We recommend that patients with the prior treatment less than three times should be treated for more than 6 months after resection and patients using the second-line drugs postoperatively should be medicated for more than 12 months.
Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Sputum ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*

No abstract available.

Authors experienced a case of acute myocardial infarction confirmed by analysis of LDH isoenzyme. 53-year-old male was admitted to Sacred Heat Hospital, Chung Ang University Because of severe precordial pain radiating to both arm, shoulder and back. Chest X-ray film & electrocardiogram were within normal limit and SGOT was 110 unit/ml on the day of admission. Determination of total LDH value and analysis of LDH isoenzyme by agar gel electrophoresis were made on the second hospital day. Total LDH was 315unit/ml, but there was significant increased percentage of LDH isoenzyme(LDH1). Electrocardiogram showed ST segment elevation only on the 8th hospital day.
Male ; Humans

BACKGROUND: Pruritus, which is a frequent accompanying symptom of dermatological diseases, is also common during pregnancy, either localized or generalized. It may be related to specific dermatoses of pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: A clinical study was performed to know the exact nature of pruritus in pregnancy. METHODS: Subjects with systemic diseases, or laboratory abnormalities were excluded. People who have had pruritic dermatologic diseases before pregnancy were also excluded. One hundred and fifty five pregnant women were interviewed with physical examinations and followed up to the date of delivery. Pruritus was graded. RESULTS: Pruritus was present in 31.6%. Most affected subjects had mild or moderate severity. The abdomen was the most common site. There was a tendency for the duration of itching to increase with the duration of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Conclusion: These findings may provide basic and useful data on pruritus during pregnancy.
Abdomen ; Clinical Study* ; Female ; Humans ; Physical Examination ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Pruritus* ; Skin Diseases

To investigate the human lung development and the distribution of elastic and reticular fibers during the fetal period proper, lung tissues taken from the periphery of the right lower lobes of Korean fetuses (n=49) of both sex were studied. The fetuses were the prodocts of spontaneous or therapeutic abortions and were found to have no associated lesions or anomalies at autopsy. The fetal age were estimated from crown-rump length or foot length. Paraffin sections, cut at 5-7 µm, were stained with routine hematoxylin and eosin for general structure, acid orcein and a1dehyde fuchsin for elastic fiber, and with Gomori's silver technique for reticular fiber, respectively. The lung development during fetal period proper, could be subdivided into three continuous periods according to the relation between airspaces, surrounding mesenchymal tissue, their structural changes and distribution, i.e., an early stage of the formation of conductive airways (pseudoglandular period, before 16th week of gestation), a middle stage of the development of lung parenchyma and new blood vessels (canalicular period, between 16th and 28th week of gestation), and a late stage of transition of respiratory portion to vascular organ (terminal sac stage, after 28th week of gestation). In places, secondary septa of sac or saccule formed by capillaries, capillary connective tissue, elastic and reticular fuel could be identified by the 33rd week of gestation. Elastic fibers could be noted in pleura, subepithelial areas of bronchioles and the wall of blood vessels in the late stage of pseudoglandular period. By the 28th week of gestation, elastic fibers were seen in the wall of small blood vessels or capillaries in the septal wall among the airspaces. And these fibers were observed in the tip of the secondary septa by the 33rd week of gestation but were not still completely developed in the walls of primary or secondary septa. Reticular fibers were already developed and widely distributed in fetal lung by the 10th week of gestation. These fibers were concentrated particular around the subepithelial area of bronchicoles, the airspaces and the blood vessel wall in the canalicular period. By the late stage of terminal sac period, reticular fibers formed a network along the small blood vessels in the septum of airspaces. These results indicate that primitive alveoli might be formed by the late stage of fetal period proper. The fibrous framework could partially formed by collagenous and reticular fibers during the pseudoglandular period, by addition of elastic fiber to the preformed network, and incompletely still finally by the three kinds of connective tissue fiber.
Abortion, Therapeutic ; Autopsy ; Blood Vessels ; Bronchioles ; Capillaries ; Collagen ; Connective Tissue ; Crown-Rump Length ; Elastic Tissue ; Eosine Yellowish-(YS) ; Female ; Fetus ; Foot ; Gestational Age ; Hematoxylin ; Humans ; Lung* ; Paraffin ; Pleura ; Pregnancy ; Reticulin* ; Rosaniline Dyes ; Saccule and Utricle ; Silver

There are 3 basic methods for surgical treatment of axillary osmidrosis; 1) method that removes only subcutaneous cellular tissue without removing skin 2) method that removes skin and subcutaneous cellular tissue en bloc, and 3) method that partially removes skin and subcutaneous cellular en bloc as well as removing the subcutaneous cellular tissue of the adjacent region. We studied the results of partial removal of the skin and subcutaneous cellular tissue en bloc, as well as the removal of subcutaneous cellular tissue of the adjacent region to compare the results of the bipedicled flap with the graft conversion method. There was no difference between two methods in results and complication rates. There are 3 advantage to this procedure. First, about 70-80% of apocrine glands were centrally distributed among the axillary hairbearing region therefore, resection of the central portion of axillary hair distribution area is important for good result. Second, the preservation of the subdermal plexus with careful excision of adjacent underlying subcutaneous tissue under the aid of the magnifying surgical loupe, is important for good wound healing. Third, the central excision of the axillary hair distribution area provides good exploration for undermining and defatting of the undersurface of the adjacent area, therefore it tooks a shorter operation time.
Apocrine Glands ; Hair ; Skin ; Subcutaneous Tissue ; Transplants ; Wound Healing

The antigenic domain of the major surface protein (Nc-p43) of Neospora caninum was examined by polymerase chain reaction of its gene fragments and recombinant expression as GST fusion proteins. The fragments of Nc-p43 were as follow: a total open reading frame (OFR), T; OFR without signal sequence and C-terminal hydrophobic sequence, S; N-terminal 2/3 parts of S, A; C-terminal 2/3 parts, P; N-terminal 1/3 part, X; middle 1/3 part, Y; and C-terminal 1/3 part, Z, respectively. The DNA fragments were cloned into pGEX-4T vector. Recombinant plasmids transformed into Escherichia coli of BL21 pLysS (DE3) strain were induced to express GST or GST fused fragments of Nc-p43 such as 69 kDa protein for T, 66 kDa for S, 52 kDa for A, 53 kDa for P, and 40 kDa proteins for X, Y, and Z, respectively in SDS-PAGE. The Nc-p43 fragments of T, S, and P reacted with a bovine serum of neosporosis while those of A, X, Y, and Z together with GST did not in the western blot. These findings suggest that the antigenic domain of Nc-p43 of N. caninum may be localized in the C-terminal 2/3 parts. Together with A19 clone in SAG1 of Toxoplasma gondii (Nam et al., 1996), the P fragment of Nc-p43 could be used as efficient antigens to diagnose and differentiate those infections with both species.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Biological Markers/analysis ; Blotting, Western ; Cells, Cultured ; Cercopithecus aethiops ; Coccidiosis/diagnosis ; Neospora/*immunology ; Protozoan Proteins/*analysis/genetics/immunology ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Vero Cells/parasitology

An ELISA was established to measure bovine IgG directed against the recombinant antigenic determinant of Nc-p43, a major surface antigen of Neospora caninum. In a previous study, two thirds of the Cterminal of the molecule was expressed as a 6 x His tagged protein (Ncp43P) for ELISA using 2/3 of the N-terminal of SAG1 from Toxoplasma gondii as a control (TgSAG1A). Among 852 cattle sera collected from stock farms scattered nation-wide, 103 sera (12.1%) were found to react with Ncp43P positively, but no positive reaction was observed with TgSAG1A. This study shows that Ncp43P could be available as an efficient antigen for the diagnosis of neosporosis in cattle. Furthermore, it together with TgSAG1A, could be useful for the differential diagnosis of N. caninum and T. gondii infections in other mammals.
Animals ; Antibodies, Protozoan ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/diagnosis/epidemiology ; Coccidiosis/diagnosis/epidemiology/veterinary ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/methods/*veterinary ; Immunoglobulin G/*analysis ; Neospora/*immunology ; Protozoan Proteins/*immunology ; Seroepidemiologic Studies

No abstract available.
Bronchopulmonary Sequestration*

BACKGROUND: Porokeratosis is a rare disorder characterized by an abnormal keratinization. Five different clinical types have been described, however most reports are on a small scale and rest,ricted to a particular type. OBJECTIVE: We tried to distinguish clinical and histopathologi'cal feat.ures of each type of porokeratosis. Methods: All patients with porokeratosis visiting the Dermatological Department of Chonnam University Hospital were retrospectively reviewed and finally 79 patients were evaluated. RESULTS: Disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis(DSAP) was most common it was present in 44 patients(56%). This was f'ollowed by the plaque type(28%), linear type(14%) and punctate type(2%). The:;oungest average age of onset was in the linear type at 13 years old (range 2-34 years old), and the oldest in DSAP which appeared in all patients after the age of 20. The plaque type was predominant in males 2.6 times rnore than in females. The predilection sites were the trunk in the plaque type, the unilateral lower limbs in the linear type and the face lower limbs in DSAP. 1tching was a complaint in 71% of DSAP and pain was in 14% of t.he plaque type. DSAP revealed a family history in 23% and a solar exacervation in 41%. Three cases of the plaque type t ad a malignant change. The average number of cornoid lamella per section was 1.8(ranging from one to seven). The height and invagination depth of cornoid lamellae were most prominent in the plaque type, and the le~ast in DSAP. Dysk(ratotic cells and vacuolar cell degenerat,ion in t.he underlying epidermis were most frequent in the plaque type. However dermal melanophage were present in DSAP. The Epidermis inside ring of:o~rnoid lamella was acanthotic chiefly in the plague type and atrophic chiefly in DSAP. CONCLUSION: These resuts demonstrate that each type of porokeratosis is somewhat, different in clinical and histopathological features.
Actins ; Adolescent ; Age of Onset ; Epidermis ; Female ; Humans ; Jeollanam-do ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Plague ; Porokeratosis* ; Retrospective Studies