BACKGROUND: Several antibiotics can be used to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB-VAP) including high-dose sulbactam. However, the effectiveness of high-dose sulbactam therapy is not well known. We report our experience with high-dose sulbactam for treatment of CRAB-VAP. METHODS: Medical records of patients with CRAB-VAP who were given high-dose sulbactam between May 2013 and June 2015 were reviewed. RESULTS: Fifty-eight patients with CRAB-VAP were treated with high-dose sulbactam. The mean age was 72.0 ± 15.2 years, and the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score was 15.1 ± 5.10 at the time of CRAB-VAP diagnosis. Early clinical improvement was observed in 65.5% of patients, and 30-day mortality was 29.3%. Early clinical failure (odds ratio [OR]: 8.720, confidence interval [CI]: 1.346-56.484; p = 0.023) and APACHE II score ≥ 14 at CRAB-VAP diagnosis (OR: 10.934, CI: 1.047-114.148; p = 0.046) were associated with 30-day mortality. CONCLUSIONS: High-dose sulbactam therapy may be effective for the treatment of CRAB-VAP. However, early clinical failure was observed in 35% of patients and was associated with poor outcome.
Acinetobacter baumannii* ; Acinetobacter* ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; APACHE ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated* ; Sulbactam*

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Apoptosis may play a key role in determining the growth, aggressiveness, and therapy responsiveness of tumors. Dysregulation of apoptosis can cause the tumorigenesis of sinonasal malignant tumors. The purpose of this study was to assess apoptosis and the expression of its related proteins, bcl-2 and Fas-L, in the sinonasal malgnant tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study samples were obtained after surgical removal of 22 cases of inverted papilloma (IPs), 4 cases of IPs associated with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), 14 cases of SCC in sinonasal cavity and 5 cases of normal inferior turbinate mucosa as a control. Apoptosis was evaluated by analysing DNA fragmentation using the TUNEL method. Bcl-2 and Fas-L expressions were assessed by immunohistochemical staining. RESULTS: Apoptotic index (Al) was decreased progressively from IPs, through IP with SCC to reach the lowest level in SCC (p<0.05). Bcl-2/Fas-L expressions were increased as tumor progressed but Fas-L expression was statistically significant only (p<0.05). An inverse relationship between the Fas-L expression and apoptosis was observed as tumor progressed (p<0.05). No significant correlation was found between AI, expressions of bcl-2/Fas-L and other clinicopathologic factors. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that bcl-2/Fas-L expressions are related to apoptosis and tumorigenesis of sinonasal malignant tumors. The inverse tendency between Fas-L expression and apoptosis might be an important role in evading surveillance of the immune system of sinonasal malignant tumors.
Apoptosis* ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; DNA Fragmentation ; Fas Ligand Protein ; Immune System ; In Situ Nick-End Labeling ; Mucous Membrane ; Papilloma, Inverted ; Turbinates

BACKGROUND: The stability of A-V junctional rhythm is the most important clinical interest in the patients with the complete heart block with narrow QRS complex. The QRS morphology, the basal heart rate & the reponse of subsidiary pacemaker to drugs may be helpful to assess the stability. But it can not be assessed exactly. The recording of the His-bundle was thought to be a means of predicting the clinical course of the patients and the necessity of the artificial pacemaker insertion;also it can assess the A-V block site. But it is invasive study cannot assessed exactly the stability of subsidiary pacemaker. To investigate the characteristics of subsidiary pacemaker, we studied the responses of the artificial pacemaker to ventricular overdrive suppression and the drugs by used the artificial pacemaker in the patient with the complete heart block with the narrow QRS complex, which can be accepted as "stabli" in general. METHOD: There was total of 11 patients diagnosed with the complete AV block with the narrow QRS complex(the escape junctional rhythm was less than 0.10sec) at the Yeungnam University Hospital from May 1988 to June 1989. To investigate the ventricular overdrive suppression of subsidiary pacemaker, the response of the subsidiary pacemaker after IV administatin of drugs (atropine, isoproterenol, lidocaine) and the junctional recovery time were measured. RESULTS: Thtee patterns were obtained in the overdrive suppression test (fig.1). The recovery time of the subsidiary pacemaker was 364.5+/-212.15% of the basal R-R interval. Among seven of the eight patients who showed syncoped, the JRTmax were 3 times higher than the basal R-R interval. In one of eight, CJRT which represent the absolute time, was prolonged to 560 msec. In one case, we examined overdrive suppression test serially was which shows gradual decrement of junctional recovery time, and normal sinus rhythm was recovered at the 14th after the development of complete heart block. After VOS, the junctional recovery time of the subsidiary pacemaker was 364.5+/-212.1% of basal R-R interval in complete heart block group. After injection of atropine, the decrement of R-R interval was 5.51+/-3.88% of basal R-R interval. After injection of isoproterenol, the decrement of R-R interval was 32.76+/-8.09% of basal R-R interval. Marked increase of the basal heart rate was observed. After injection of lidocaine, the increment of R-R interval was 1.72+/-1.82% of basal R-R inteval. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that measurement of the junctional recovery time following overdrive suppression is useful for evaluation of stability of subsidiary pacemaker. And also the subsidiary pacemaker shows the better response to sympathomimetic agent than to parasympathetic blocker.
Atrioventricular Block ; Atropine ; Heart Block ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Isoproterenol ; Lidocaine ; Pacemaker, Artificial ; United Nations

PURPOSE: Total anomalous venous return(TAPVR) is associated in more than 60Yo of patients with right isomerism and can significantly complicate the management of single ventricle patients at any stage of management. We studied the results of management and sought to determine factors that may influence survival in patients with TAPVR in right atrial isomerism. METHODS: Between February 1991 and July 1999, 14 patients with TAPVR in right atrial isomerism underwent operations,' we reviewed our experience after performing single ventricle palliation RESULTS: Seven patients were of the obstructive type TAPVR and seven patients were of the non-obstructive type TAPVR. The mean age at operation was 17 months and mean body weight at operation was 7.3kg. Direct surgical repair for the pulmonary vein was performed in seven patients and in the others, TAPVR could be satisfactorily managed by the use of bilateral cavopulrnonary anastomosis(BCPS) to exclude the distal superior vena cava(SVC). At a mean follow-up of 27 months, there were five deaths, arid pulrnonary vein restenosis developed in four patients in the direct surgical repair group. In the other group, there was neither mortality nor morbidity. Also, the presence of pulmonary venous obstruction was associated with high mortality. CONCLUSION: According to our study, TAPVR can be satisfactorily managed by the use of BCPS to exclude the distal SVC in the non-obstructive type. But further evaluation of surgical methods about other types of TAPVR are warranted, because TAPVR not requiring intervention includes any low supracardiac and some mixed types.
Body Weight ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Heterotaxy Syndrome* ; Humans ; Isomerism ; Mortality ; Pulmonary Veins ; Scimitar Syndrome* ; Veins

BACKGROUND: Intraperitoneal(IP) vancomycin has been widely used for the treatment of peritonitis or exit-site infection associated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis(CAPD). However, some previous reports in the literature have suggested that IP administration of certain vancomycin may be associated with chemical peritonitis in CAPD patients. METHODS: Between 1 February 1994 and 1 February 1997, 35 consecutive CAPD patients requiring treatment with intraperitoneal vancomycin for either exit-site infection or peritonitis in the Yeungnam University Hospital were recruited retrospectively into the study. We compared retrospectively the incidence of chemical peritonitis after using two different preparations of vancomycin from different pharmaceutical companies, namely vancocin CP(R) and vancomycin(R). RESULTS: Thirty-three cases(all 26 cases given vancocin CP(R) and 7 out of the 9 cases given vancomycin(R)) showed improvement. None of them developed fever, abdominal pain or cloudy dialysate. Out of the 9 cases given IP vancomycin(R), two who currently did not have abdominal pain and cloudy dialysis effluent develolped these symptom and sign at 5 and 6 hours after administration of IP vancomycin. The chemical peritonitis may be secondary to prolonged contact of the peritoneal membrane with one or more of the impurities present in vancomycin preparation. CONCLUSION: In summary, it is necessary for the nephrologists to be aware of the possible chemical peritonitis which can be caused by the impurities of certain brand of vancomycin.
Abdominal Pain ; Dialysis ; Fever ; Humans ; Incidence ; Membranes ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory* ; Peritonitis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Vancomycin*

BACKGROUND: Patients with acute non-traumatic chest pain are among the most challenging patients for care by emergency physicians, so the correct diagnosis and triage of patients with chest pain in the emergency department(ED) becomes important. To avoid discharging patients with acute myocardial infarction(AMI) without medical care, most emergency physicians attempt to admit almost all patients with acute chest pain and order many laboratory tests for the patients. But in practice, many patients with non-cardiac pain can be discharged with simple tests and treatment. These patients occupy expensive intensive care beds, substantially increasing financial cost and time of stay at ED for the diagnosis and treatment of myocardial ischemia and AMI. Despite vigorous efforts to identify patients with ischemic heart disease, approximately 2% to 5% of patients presented to the ED with AMI and chest pain are inadvertently discharged. If the cause for the chest pain is known, rapid and accurate diagnosis can be implemented, preventing wastes in time and money and inadvertent discharge. Methods and Results: The medical records of 488 patients from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 1997 were reviewed. There were 320(angina pectoris 140, AMI 128) cases of cardiac diseases, and 168(atypical chest pain 56, pneumothorax 47) cases of non-cardiac diseases. The number of associated symptoms were 1.1+/-0.9 in non-cardiac diseases, 1.4+/-1.1 in cardiac diseases and 1.7+/-1.1 in AMI(p<0.05). In laboratory finding the sensitivity of electrocardiography(EKG) was 96.1%, while the sensitivity of myoglobin test ranked 45.1%. Admission rate was 71.6% in for cardiac diseases and 50.6% for non-cardiac diseases(p<0.01). Mortality rate was 8.8% in all cases, 13.8% in cardiac diseases, 0.6% in non-cardiac diseases, and 28.1% especially in AMI. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, all emergency physicians should have thorough knowledge of the clinical characteristics of the diseases which cause non-traumatic chest pain, because a patient with any of these life-threatening diseases would require immediate treatment. Detailed history on the patient should be taken and physical examination performed. Then, the most simple diagnostic approach should be used to make an early diagnosis and to provide treatment.
Chest Pain* ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Critical Care ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Myoglobin ; Physical Examination ; Pneumothorax ; Thorax* ; Triage

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Gastric stasis in migraineurs remains controversial. The aim of this study is to investigate gastric emptying (GE) time, and any associations between GE parameters and dyspeptic symptoms among patients with functional dyspepsia (FD) and migraine without any gastrointestinal symptoms during the interictal period. METHODS: We enrolled 27 migraine patients, 32 FD patients and 12 healthy people as controls, and performed GE scintigraphy as gastric function test. Gastrointestinal symptoms were evaluated in the FD and migraine. RESULTS: The age-adjusted mean gastric half-emptying time in FD (125.51 +/- 52.55 minutes) patients was longer than in migraineurs (100.82 +/- 23.94 minutes, P = 0.035) and controls (95.25 +/- 23.29 minutes, P = 0.021). The percentage of gastric retention was higher in FD than in migraine. However, migraineurs did not show an obvious delayed gastric emptying or an increase of gastric retention when compared to the normal controls. The association between each dyspeptic symptom and GE parameters was not significant, but postprandial fullness and early satiety showed a tendency of delayed GE. In migraineurs, GE time did not show significant association with nausea and vomiting during interictal periods. CONCLUSIONS: Delayed GE does not appear to be a mechanism that patients with FD and migraine have in common. Migraineurs without dyspepsia during interictal period had normal GE, and further study for association with FD should be investigated.
Dyspepsia ; Gastric Emptying ; Gastroparesis ; Humans ; Migraine Disorders ; Nausea ; Retention (Psychology) ; Vomiting

High frequency ventilation (HFV) is a new ventilatory technique that uses very small tidal volume (less than the anatomic dead space) and high frequency, and classified 4 distinct types according to frequency and mode of gas delivery. The mechanism of gas transport of high frequency oscillation ventilation (HFOV) is somewhat different to other types of HFV. To evaluate the determinants of PaCO² in HFOV, a study was done with a HFOV on 9 cats, and the results are: 1) PaCO² was not correlated with frequency at the constant stroke volume (6 voltage) and bias flow (6 L/minutes). 2)PaCO² was correlated with stroke volume but not with bias flow under the constant frequency (15 Hz/min) and bias flow (3 to 6 L/min). From above results, the main determinant of PaCO² on artificial ventilation with HFOV was stroke volume, but further study between flow, the site of delivery to the airway and humidification of bias flow and CO² elimination is required in future research.
Animals ; Bias (Epidemiology) ; Cats* ; High-Frequency Ventilation* ; Stroke Volume ; Tidal Volume ; Ventilation

BACKGROUND: Several antibiotics can be used to treat ventilator-associated pneumonia caused by carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB-VAP) including high-dose sulbactam. However, the effectiveness of high-dose sulbactam therapy is not well known. We report our experience with high-dose sulbactam for treatment of CRAB-VAP. METHODS: Medical records of patients with CRAB-VAP who were given high-dose sulbactam between May 2013 and June 2015 were reviewed. RESULTS: Fifty-eight patients with CRAB-VAP were treated with high-dose sulbactam. The mean age was 72.0 ± 15.2 years, and the acute physiology and chronic health evaluation II (APACHE II) score was 15.1 ± 5.10 at the time of CRAB-VAP diagnosis. Early clinical improvement was observed in 65.5% of patients, and 30-day mortality was 29.3%. Early clinical failure (odds ratio [OR]: 8.720, confidence interval [CI]: 1.346-56.484; p = 0.023) and APACHE II score ≥ 14 at CRAB-VAP diagnosis (OR: 10.934, CI: 1.047-114.148; p = 0.046) were associated with 30-day mortality. CONCLUSIONS: High-dose sulbactam therapy may be effective for the treatment of CRAB-VAP. However, early clinical failure was observed in 35% of patients and was associated with poor outcome.
Acinetobacter baumannii ; Acinetobacter ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; APACHE ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Pneumonia, Ventilator-Associated ; Sulbactam

BACKGROUND: Exit site/tunnel infection causes con-siderable morbidity and technique failure in CAPD patients. We presently use a unique revision method for the treatment of refractory ESl/TI in CAPD patients and mupirocin prophylaxis for high risk patients. MTEHODS: We reviewed one hundred-thirty nine CAPD patients about the ESI/TI from Qctober 1993 to February 1999 at Yeungnam University Hospital. At the beginning of the ESI, we usually started medications with rifampicin and ciprofloxacin and then changed the antibiotics according to the sensitivity test. If the ESI had persisted and there were TI symptoms(purulent discharge, abscess lesion around exit site), we performed catheter revision(external cuff shaving, disinfection around tunnel and new exit site on opposit direction) with a combination of proper antibiotics. We applied local mupirocin ointment at the exit site three times per week to the 34 patients who had the risk of ESI starting from October 1998. RESULTS: The total follow-up was 2401 patient months (pt.mon). ESI occurred on 105 occasions in 36 out of 139 patients, and peritonitis occurred on 112 occasions in 67 out of 139 patients. Cumulative incidence of ESI and peritonitis was 1 per 23.0 pt.mon and 1 per 21.6 pt.mon. The most common organism responsible for ESI was Staphylococcus aureus (26 of 54 isolated cases, 43%), followed by Methicillin resistant S. aureus (MRSA)(13 cases, 24%). Seven patients (5: MRSA, 2: Pseudomonas) had to be treated with a revision to control infection. Three patients experienced ESI relapse after revision. One of them improved with antibiotics, while another needed a second revision and the remaining required catheter removal due to persistent MRSA infection with reinsertion at the same time. But, there was no more ESI in these 3 patients who were received management to relapse (The mean duration : 14.0 months) The rates of ESI were more reduced after using mupirocin than before (l per 12.7 vs 34.0 pt.mon, p<0.01). CONCLUSION: In summary, revision technique can be regarded as an effective method for refractory ESI/TI before catheter removal. Also local mupirocin ointment can play a significant role in the prevention of ESI.
Abscess ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Catheters* ; Ciprofloxacin ; Disinfection ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Methicillin Resistance ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Mupirocin* ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory* ; Peritonitis ; Recurrence ; Rifampin ; Staphylococcus aureus