OBJECTIVES: Patients with poor insight are commonly observed among schizophrenics and they show poor drug compliance and prognosis. This study aimed at examining the characteristics of psychopathology in patients with schizophrenia who have no insight. Understanding the features of inner psychopathology in schizophrenic patients with poor insight, we assumed, could lead to insight-promoting clues. METHODS: The subjects consisted of 69 patients with schizophrenia diagnosed by DSM-IV criteria. For identifying insight level in the patients, Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder(SUMD) was applied. After subjects were divided into two groups depending upon insight level, psychopathological differences were evaluated by Kyung Hee-Frankfruter Beschwerde Fragebogen(K-FBF), which was known as one of the subjective psychological tests for the schizophrenics. RESULTS: There was no significant differences in demographic variables, duration of illness, and dose of medication between two groups. However, significantly high rate of involuntary admission and tendency of high frequency of admission were revealed in schizophrenic patients with poor insight. And, also poor insight group showed significantly high scores in the factors of sensorimotor disorder(subscales of psychomotor disorder, perceptual disorder and blocking symptoms included) and in language-cognitive disorder factor(subscales of language disorder and cognitive floating included) compared with patients who have insight. CONCLUSION: We was assumed that lack of insight in schizophrenics could include one of the symptoms based on neuropsychological or neurobiological abnormalities in brain. Moreover, it was revealed that patients with poor insight evaluated themselves as having more serious psychopathologies than patients who had insight. It has been already known that schizophrenic patients who lack in insight are reluctant to taking psychiatric care and lack in awareness of their illness. However, this study suggests that their inner psychopathology associated with insight can be understood with the use of subjective psychological test, i.e. K-FBF. For understanding the schizophrenic patients who lack in insight, not only checking the insight but also applying the subjective test such as K-FBF seems to be helpful.
Brain ; Compliance ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Humans ; Language Disorders ; Perceptual Disorders ; Prognosis ; Psychological Tests ; Psychopathology* ; Schizophrenia

We report the first two cases of manic and hypomanic episodes respectively induced by risperidone treatment done to schizophrenics in Korea. One case was a 22-year-old woman with catatonic schizophrenia. Since 3 years ago, she had shown psychotic symptoms, but with was poor treatment compliance. She had mainly negative symptoms such as social withdrawal, decreased flood intake, mutism, and symptoms had been worsened since last 4-5 months. Prior to closed ward admission, she was prescribed 2mg/d of risperidone far a week at OPD. Two days after taking medicine totally 6-8mg, she revealed manic features. After hospitalization, risperidone was discontinued and then, lithium 900mg/d and high dosage of conventional antipsychotics(chlorpromazine 1200mg/d or haloperidol 20mg/d) were prescribed. About on the l0th day of hospitalization, there was limited improvement of her manic symptoms. The other case was a 29-year-old man with a 3-year history of paranoid schizophrenia. He was never exposed to antipsychotics before. His main symptoms were delusions of being poisoned and of persecution. His positive and also negative symptoms were alleviated by 38 days of risperidone 2mg/d trial. However, one week after dosage increment to 3mg/d, hypomanic symptoms appeared. Risperidone medication was discontinued and was replaced by chlorpromazine 300mg/d. The hypomanic episode was resolved over 5 days. In both of the two cases, manic episodes occurred by monotherapy of risperidone without mood stabilizer, and there were no history of substance abuse and other psychiatric disorders, family history of psychiatric disorders, and comorbid physical illnesses. It is hypothesized that the potent blockade effect on serotonin(5-HT2) receptor of risperidone causes antidepressant effect, as well as therapeutic effect for negative and affective symptoms in schizophrenia. Risperidone would induce manic or hypomanic features in schizophrenic patients. And there are few case reports of risperidone-induced mania or exacerbation of preexisting manic symptoms by risperidone treatment in mood disorder and schizoaffective disorder. Risperidone is being used more widely, even for obsessive-compulsive disorder and other psychiatric disorders. It is necessary for clinicians to recognize manic switch, one of psychiatric side effects by risperidon trial. It is recommended that the combination of mood stabilizer with risperidone or usage of the minimum effective dose of risperidone may bewefal especially in the patients with mood disorders or schizoaffective disorders. Clozapine which has mood-stabilizing properties is also beneficial in risk groups of risperidone-induced mania.
Adult ; Affective Symptoms ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Bipolar Disorder* ; Chlorpromazine ; Clozapine ; Compliance ; Delusions ; Female ; Haloperidol ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Korea ; Lithium ; Mood Disorders ; Mutism ; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder ; Psychotic Disorders ; Risperidone ; Schizophrenia ; Schizophrenia, Catatonic ; Schizophrenia, Paranoid ; Substance-Related Disorders ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: There has been no consensus on the best way to prevent hypotension during epidural anesthesia. We undertook the present study to evaluate the effect of ephedrine infusion along with fluid preloading in prevention of hypotension. METHODS: Eighty patients undergoing total abdominal hysterectomy were divided into 4 groups. The Group 1 and 2 were preloaded with 1000 ml lactated Ringer's solution(LR), Group 3 with 200 ml LR, and Group 4 with 500 ml of colloid(10% pentastarch) solution. In the group 1, normal saline was infused at 12 ml/min after bupivacaine injection into epidural space. In the Group 2, 3, and 4, ephedrine(mixed in normal saline) was infused after beginning of anesthesia at 1 mg/min. RESULTS: Systolic arterial pressure after epidural blockade was significantly lower in preloading of only LR(Group 1) than those with ephedrine infusion groups(Group 2, 3, and 4). In all groups the heart rate was not changed significantly during the course of the study. The central venous pressure increased after fluid preloading in all groups, but the magnitude of increase was relatively small in Group 3. Hypotension occurred in 45% of the patients who received only LR(Group 1) vs 10% of those who received pentastarch(Group 4)(p<0.05). The incidence of hypotension(20%) was same in Group 2 and 3. CONCLUSIONS: Infusion of ephedrine could be an alternative method to prevent hypotension during epidural anesthesia. Similar incidence of hypotension in Groups 2 and 3 challenges our perception of the value of crystalloid preload.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Epidural* ; Arterial Pressure ; Bupivacaine ; Central Venous Pressure ; Consensus ; Ephedrine* ; Epidural Space ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypotension* ; Hysterectomy ; Incidence

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of hospital-based cardiac rehabilitation (CR) on quality of life (QOL) and physical ability in patients with myocardial infarction (MI). METHODS: Patients with MI who were referred to the Cardiac Health and Rehabilitation Center 2 weeks after percutaneous coronary intervention were divided into CR and non-CR groups. The CR group performed supervised exercises 3 times a week for 2 months. QOL assessment, using the 36-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) and physical ability evaluation were performed at the beginning and end of CR. RESULTS: The CR group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in physical functioning (PF), physical role functioning (RP), bodily pain (BP), general health perceptions (GH), vitality (VT), social role functioning (SF), emotional role functioning (RE), mental health (MH), physical component summary (PCS), and mental component summary (MCS). The non-CR group showed improvement in RP. Secondary outcomes, including resting heart rate (RHR), maximal oxygen consumption (VO(2max)), metabolic equivalent of task (MET), maximal exercise time (ET(max)), stage 3 Borg rating of perceived exertion (3RPE), maximal Borg rating of perceived exertion (RPEmax), and stage 3 rate pressure product (3RPP), improved in the CR group. The non-CR group showed improvements in VO(2max), MET, ET(max), and 3RPE. There were significant differences in improvements in PF, RP, BP, VT, SF, MH, MCS, RHR, VO(2max), MET, ET(max), 3RPE, and 3RPP between the two groups. CONCLUSION: Male patients with MI demonstrated improvements in QOL and physical ability following hospital-based CR; the impact on the mental component was greater than that on the physical component.
Exercise ; Health Surveys ; Heart Rate ; Home Care Services, Hospital-Based ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Health ; Metabolic Equivalent ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Oxygen Consumption ; Percutaneous Coronary Intervention ; Physical Fitness ; Quality of Life* ; Rehabilitation Centers ; Rehabilitation*

Conventional thoracoscopic sympathectomy is an effective method in treating palmar-axillary hyperhidrosis. However, this may result in a postoperatively compensatory hyperhidrosis. Conservative treatments of compensatory hyperhidrosis consist of aluminum chloride, anticholinergics, iontrophoresis, and botulinum toxin A injections. Surgical treatments in compensatory hyperhidrosis include excision of axillary tissue, liposuction, and thoracoscopic sympathectomy. Intradermal injection of botulinum toxin A has used to treat focal axillary or palmar hyperhidrosis. Botulinum toxin A bestows significant benefits with few side-effects and is well-tolerated, with beneficial results lasting from 4-16 months. We report a case illustrating the beneficial use of botulinum toxin A in a 25-year-old healthy male patient with compensatory sweating of the flank after thoracoscopic sympathectomy. Modified Minor's starch iodine test was used to allow accurate assess the impact of hyperhidrosis on the patient. In conclusion, Botulinum toxin type A is a valuable therapy for compensatory sweating after endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy.
Adult ; Aluminum ; Aluminum Compounds ; Botulinum Toxins ; Botulinum Toxins, Type A ; Chlorides ; Cholinergic Antagonists ; Humans ; Hyperhidrosis ; Injections, Intradermal ; Iodine ; Lipectomy ; Male ; Starch ; Sweat ; Sweating ; Sympathectomy