OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to estimate the incidence of abnormal liver function and risk factors in male employees of an industry in Ulsan City. METHODS: Five hundreds and seventy nine male employees were selected as the study cohort and 533(92.1%) of them were followed after one year. The blood sample was collected to test for AST, ALT, gamma-GTP, total-cholesterol, fasting blood sugar and a self-administered questionnaire on life style was done. General characteristics(age, marital status, educational level), job department, exposure status for organic solvents, life style(alcohol, smoking, exercise, diet), past history of liver disease, family history of liver disease, drug intake, HBsAg, blood glucose, total-cholesterol were considered as risk factors. The result of liver function test after 1 year follow-up was treated as dependent variable. The operational definition of abnormal liver function was as follows; those who had abnormal liver functions in the two repeated tests with one month interval. RESULTS: The annual incidence of abnormal liver function was 9.6 per 100 and age-standardized incidence was 9.5. BMI, alcohol, past history of liver disease, and meat intake were significantly related to the incidence(p<0.05). In multiple logistic regression analysis, BMI(RR=2.70, 95% CI=1.41-5.16) and alcohol(RR=1.98, 95% CI=1.08-3.60) were proved as the significant variables. By stratified analysis considering changing pattern of alcohol and BMI, the relative risk of the BMI normal-normal and alcohol intake high-high group was 2.24(95% CI=1.09-4.62) and that of the BMI obese-obese and alcohol intake high-high group was 5.66(95% CI=2.69-11.88) compared with that of BMI normal-normal and alcohol intake low-low group. CONCLUSIONS: The age-standardized annual incidence of abnormal liver function was 9.5 per 100 in male employees. Thus, an active effort for reducing alcohol intake and controlling BMI should be done to reduce the incidence.
Blood Glucose ; Cohort Studies ; Fasting ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Life Style ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Function Tests ; Liver* ; Logistic Models ; Male* ; Marital Status ; Meat ; Questionnaires ; Risk Factors* ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Solvents ; Ulsan

The leiomyoma of the uterus is most common benign genital tumor in women of reproductive age but occurs in the vagina rarely and may be confused with a variety of vaginal tumors. A preoperative diagnosis is seldom made. Recently we experienced a case of vaginal leiomyoma arising in the anterior vagina wall and concomitant uterine leiomyoma, so we report this case with a brief review of literature.
Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Leiomyoma* ; Uterus ; Vagina*

Traumatic peroneal tendon dislocation in association with fracture of the lateral process of the talus is a rare injury, which is difficult to diagnose. As a result, early detection is often delayed, which in turn leads to ankle pain and dysfunction. We treated a patient by open reduction and screw fixation in fracture of the lateral process of talus and primary repair of the superior peroneal retinaculum. We report this case with a brief review of the literature.
Ankle ; Dislocations* ; Humans ; Talus* ; Tendons*

This study was conducted in July-August, 1984, to define the causes of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms in rural population and to provide data for the management of such patients. A household survey was conducted to identify all the residents of Youngchun and Sungju counties in Kyungpook province who were over 20 years of age, had chronic upper gastrointestinal symptoms for over the last 6 months, never had medical examination for the symptoms, and volunteered to participate in the gastroscopic examination. Gastroscopy was done for 106 males and 108 females. Gastric ulcer was found in 16.8% of all the examinees, duodenal ulcer in 15.4%, gastritis in 14.0%, and gastric cancer in 3.7%. No lesion was found by gastroscopy in 52.3%. Gastric ulcer more common in male(26.4%) than in female(7.4%) (p<0.01) and the same was true for duodenal ulcer(20.8% of male, 10.2% of female). Gastric cancer was found in 7.5% of the male while none of the female had gastric cancer. A higher proportion of the female(68.5%) showed normal finding in the gastroscopy than the male(35.9%) (p<0.01). No significant association was found between the upper gastrointestinal symptoms and the gastroscopic findings. The higher prevalence rate of gastric ulcer than that of duodenal ulcer in this study which is the reverse of the study findings of urban area in Korea and western countries may be related in part with the dietary habit and social environment of the rural population. Although early diagnosis is the most important for the treatment of gastric cancer, many of the people with chronic upper gastrointestinal complaints defer the diagnosis and treatment. It is may be due to lack of the knowledge of disease and the health care attitude of the rural people. A national program for the health education and mass screening for the gastric cancer should be developed.
Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis ; Duodenal Ulcer ; Early Diagnosis ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Food Habits ; Gastritis ; Gastroscopy ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Health Education ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Prevalence ; Rural Population ; Social Environment ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Stomach Ulcer

PURPOSE: To assess the effectiveness of optimal treatment of proximal humeral fractures and humeral shaft fractures in elderly patients with osteoporosis using the Polarus nail. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-three patients with proximal humeral and humeral shaft fractures in elderly osteoporosis patients were treated using the Polarus intramedullary nail. Nine patients had proximal humeral fracture, 10 had humeral shaft fracture and 4 had the proximal humeral frac-ture extended diaphyseally. Radiological outcomes included the bone-union and the degree of re-sidual deformity. The residual deformities of the proximal humerus were assessed by the neck-shaft angle and the shaft angulation. Clinical outcome was assessed with the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score. RESULTS: All cases had bony union and the mean union period was 16.5 weeks. The average neck/shaft alignment at the time of bone union was 135degrees and varus deformities of neck-shaft angle was not seen in all patients. Varus shaft angulation was seen in 5 patients. The mean ASES score after surgery was 86.7 points. CONCLUSION: The Polarus intramedullary nail is effective for the treatment of proximal humeral and humeral shaft fractures in elderly patients with osteoporosis because it not only enables early postoperative mobilization, but also obtains bone-union without avascular necrosis and nonunion.
Aged ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Elbow ; Humans ; Humerus ; Nails ; Necrosis ; Osteoporosis ; Shoulder ; Shoulder Fractures

BACKGROUND: Quality of life (QoL) has emerged as an important issue to patients with chronic illness. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disorder requiring life-time treatment and supportive care, which affects not only physical activity but also cognition, mood, and daily living. The author investigated the QoL of patients with PD and aimed to find factors that have an influence on the QoL. METHODS: One hundred thirty patients with PD were evaluated. The QoL was measured and assessed by the Parkinson's disease quality of life questionnaire (PDQL). The author analyzed demographic and social data and clinical profiles. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Spielburger's State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were used to evaluate depressive symptoms and anxiety levels. RESULTS: The mean age of onset of parkinsonian symptom was 55.2 +/-10.9 years and the average duration of treatment was 34.7 +/-36.9 months. Patients with high BDI score, low Schwab and England activities of daily living scale (SEADLS) score, high bradykinesia score, progressed Hoehn and Yahr stage, high Unified Parkinson's disease rating scale score, low educational period and high economic state were all correlated with low PDQL scores. Multivariate regression analysis showed that BDI score, bradykinesia score, SEADLS score, and educational period were significantly associated with PDQL score. CONCLUSIONS: In order of magnitude, BDI, bradykinesia, SEADLS and educational period were influenc-ing factors on PDQL. Therefore, to improve the QoL in patients with PD, we should consider not only physical disabili-ty, but also psychological factors, including depressive mood.
Activities of Daily Living ; Age of Onset ; Anxiety ; Chronic Disease ; Cognition ; Depression ; England ; Humans ; Hypokinesia ; Motor Activity ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Parkinson Disease* ; Psychology ; Quality of Life* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Humans ; Staphylococcal Protein A*

Hepatic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurs in nearly one-third of recipients of HLA-identical sibling bone marrow transplantation (BMT), and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality following BMT. Hepatic dysfunction after BMT may result from a number of causes such as pretransplant chemoradiation, drugs for GVHD prophylaxis, venoocclusive disease, various infections, GVHD, and infiltration of recurrent malignancy. The clinical distinction of these causes may be difficult and the treatment of each causes is quite different. Therefore the early diagnosis of GVHD is very important. Hepatic GVHD is recognized to immunologic disorder such as primary biliary cirrhosis, and is characterized by cholestasis due to extensive bile duct damage and mild hepatocellular necrosis. In Korea, the occurrence of GVHD is about 20-45%. We report three cases of severe hepatic GVHD after allogeneic BMT, which were proven by laparoscopic liver biopsy in 1996. There were differences in primary illness, associated condition and disease progression.
Bile Ducts ; Biopsy* ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Cholestasis ; Disease Progression ; Early Diagnosis ; Graft vs Host Disease* ; Humans ; Korea ; Laparoscopy ; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary ; Liver* ; Mortality ; Necrosis ; Siblings

OBJECTIVE: Antipsychotic-induced weight gain is associated with treatment noncompliance and is also known to be associated with several medical conditions in schizophrenia. Topiramate, a relatively new antiepileptic drug, is currently used for mood and eating disorders, and also offers the advantage of weight loss. This study explored the efficacy and tolerability of topiramate as an adjuvant treatment of schizophrenia with overweight or obesity. METHODS: In this 8-week, prospective open trial, 30 hospitalized, schizophrenic patients took topiramate at a mean maintenance dosage of 159.37+/-61.15 mg/day. The primary measures were weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio. The safety measures included adverse events, physical examination, clinical laboratory data, and vital signs. The Clinical Global Impression Severity (CGI-S) Scale was used to quantify changes in schizophrenic symptoms and signs. RESULTS: Body weight, BMI, waist circumference, and hip circumference decreased significantly after treatment but the waist-to-hip ratio did not. The changes of body weight and BMI during 8 weeks treatment with topiramate were significantly correlated with the maintenance dose of topiramate. The high dose group (>100 mg/d) was significantly more changed in body weight and BMI between baseline and 8 weeks than the low dose group (< or =100 mg/d). The scores on the CGI-S scale decreased significantly over the 8 weeks of treatment. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that topiramate is both efficacious and tolerable for the short-term adjuvant treatment of schizophrenia with overweight or obesity. Further placebo controlled studies included larger samples would be needed to confirm these results. And much more clinical researches should be required to establish guideline for the optimal dose and duration of treatment using topiramate as an antiobesity agent in schizophrenia.
Body Weight ; Feeding and Eating Disorders ; Hip ; Humans ; Obesity* ; Overweight* ; Physical Examination ; Prospective Studies ; Schizophrenia* ; Vital Signs ; Waist Circumference ; Waist-Hip Ratio ; Weight Gain ; Weight Loss*

Posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome (PRES) is a clinical radiologic syndrome which is characterized by reversible neurological and radiological findings. It is associated with an abrupt and severe increase in blood pressure, eclampsia, chronic kidney disease with hypertension and using various immunosupressive drugs. Patient with chronic kidney disease could be especially vulnerable to this syndrome because they are frequently exposed to several possible causes as uremia, hypertension, or electrolyte imbalance. We report a case of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome in a patient having continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.
Blood Pressure ; Eclampsia ; Female ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory ; Posterior Leukoencephalopathy Syndrome ; Pregnancy ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Uremia