No abstract available.
Female ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Ectopic*

OBJECTIVES: To study the distributions of pH and gas values in umbilical arterial(UA) blood of normal newborns following uncomplicated pregnancies and vaginal births. Methods: In 457 consecutive normal term infants who were born between March 1995 and June 1998, we examined the UA pH and blood gas values obtained immediately following delivery. Maternal inclusion criteria were defined as an uncomplicated singleton pregnancy and a normal full term spontaneous vaginal delivery. And also neonatal inclusion criteria were defined as a normal intrauterine growth appropriate for gestational age without any malformations and Apgar score of 7 or more at both one and five minutes after birth. Umbilical artery blood samples were collected at each birth and were evaluated for pH, carbon dioxide pressure (PaCO2), oxygen pressure (PaO2) and actual bicarbonate. RESULTS: Histogram of UA pH value resemble normal distribution curve. The lowest UA pH was 7.04 and the 10th percentile value was 7.23. The median UA pH was 7.31 and 5% was below 7.20. The lowest UA PaO2 was 4.6mmHg and the 10th percentile value was 11.5mmHg. The highest UA PaCO2 was 67.2mmHg and the 90th percentile value was 56.5mmHg. The lowest bicarbonate value was 13.2mmol/L and the 10th percentile value was 18.4mmol/L. CONCLUSION: The distributions of the UA pH and gas values of the collective of normal newborns were illustrated. None of the UA pH was below 7.0.
Apgar Score ; Blood Gas Analysis* ; Carbon Dioxide ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn* ; Oxygen ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Umbilical Arteries*

Twenty-seven patients with congnital esotropia underwent bilateral medial recti recessions and were follwed up for 6 months or more. The relationship between the amount of bilateral medial rectus recession, the pre- and postoperative alignment was analyzed. The success of sugery was defined from the undercorrection less than 10 prism diopter(PD) to the overcorrection less than 5PD. Nineteen of 27 patients(70.3%) were successful. 3 patients(11.1%) were undercorrected and five(18.5%) were overcorrected. Three patients who showed overcorrection more than 20PD were recessed 7mm or more. The standard deviation of postoperative alignment was 2.2 in patients with preoperative alignment less than 50PD, and 17.4 in those with 50PD or more. The difference was significant(p<0.05). When preoperative alignment was 25 to 55PD and the amount of surgery was 4 to 7mm, there was high linear correlation between the amount of surgery and the corrected angle. However, close observation for consecutive exotropia will be necessary when preoperative alignment is more than 50PD and the amount of recession is more than 7mm.
Esotropia* ; Exotropia ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: The ovarian cycle is characterized by repeating patterns of cellular proliferation and differentiation that accompany follicular development and the formation and regression of the corpus luteum (CL). That angiogenesis may play an important role in this process. Angiogenesis is supposed to be regulated by vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The goal of the present investigation, therefore, was to determine whether the expression of VEGF was changed in the normally cycling human ovary. We also investigated VEGF expression in the regressed CL (ie, nonfunctiong CL) of normal term pregnancy to define the association with steroidogenic activity. To our knowledge there is no report available on VEGF expression in the CL of term pregnancy. METHODS: We assessed VEGF expression in ovaries obtained from, 26-42 yr of age, and from patients undergoing hysterectomy and salpingo-oophorectomy for nonendocrinological or nonovarian disorders. Tissue samples from premenopausal women included specimens from follicular (n=4) and luteal (n 4) phases. In addition, we studied ovarian specimens from pregnant women (n=3). Immunohistochemical analysis for VEGF was performed using a rabbit polyclonal antibody directed against human VEGF. RESULTS: These data demonstrate a development-related VEGF expression in the follicle and indirectly show that VEGF expression may be up to the existence of LH-receptor. And also, VEGF was overexpressed in the regressed CL of pregnant women compared with the functioning CL of nonpregnant cycles CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the intensity of VEGF expression is not correlated with steroidogenic activity, although both of them are stimulated by LH.
Cell Proliferation ; Corpus Luteum ; Female ; Humans* ; Hysterectomy ; Menstrual Cycle ; Ovarian Follicle ; Ovary* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

Coronary artery ectasia (CAE) is a rare condition defined as the dilatation of coronary artery to at least 1.5 times larger than the normal adjacent coronary artery. Clinical manifestations of CAE vary, ranging from asymptomatic to ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). Because of its rarity and clinical diversity, the best treatment strategy and prognosis for CAE remain unclear. We describe a case of STEMI caused by intracoronary thrombus formation within an ectatic area in a patient with liver cirrhosis (LC). The patient was successfully managed by thrombus aspiration only, without balloon angioplasty or stent implantation, and maintained by dual antiplatelet therapy with aspirin and ticagrelor, a potent new P2Y12 inhibitor.
Angioplasty, Balloon ; Aspirin ; Coronary Vessels* ; Dilatation ; Dilatation, Pathologic ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver* ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Platelet Aggregation Inhibitors ; Prognosis ; Stents ; Thrombosis*

Purpose: This study investigated the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on body mass index (BMI) of children and adolescents. Methods: From May to July 2020, the obesity rate of children and adolescents was compared retrospectively to the corresponding rate in the same period in 2019. The change in height, weight, and BMI of the girls who received a gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) for precocious puberty (n=53) and the controls (n=31) who visited a growth clinic for early breast budding but were not treated with GnRHa in the first half of 2020 were compared to the corresponding change in the first half of 2019 using a paired t-test. Results: The rate of overweight or obesity in new outpatients (n=113, 83 girls, 30 boys) who visited growth clinics from May to July 2019 was 25.3% for girls and 23.3% for boys. The corresponding rate for the same period in 2020 (n=201, 153 girls, 48 boys) was 31.4% for girls and 45.8% for boys. There was a significant increase in the rate of overweight or obesity. The BMI of the GnRHa treatment group increased significantly from May to July 2019 than during the same period in 2020 (P<0.01). There was no significant difference in BMI between those periods in the control group. Conclusion During the social distancing period, the incidence of obesity was higher in boys than in girls. The obesity rate in girls who visited the growth clinic for early breast budding during routine follow-ups did not increase.

BACKGROUND: Data on allele frequencies (AFs) and haplotype frequencies (HFs) of HLA-C and -DQB1 are limited in Koreans. We investigated AFs and HFs of HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 in Koreans by high-resolution sequence-based typing (SBT). METHODS: Hematopoietic stem cells were obtained from 613 healthy, unrelated donors to analyze HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 genotypes by using AlleleSEQR HLA-A, -B, -C, -DRB1, and -DQB1 SBT kits (Abbott Molecular, USA), respectively. Alleles belonging to HLA-C*07:01/07:06 group were further discriminated by using PCR-sequence specific primer analysis. AFs and HFs were calculated by direct counting and maximum likelihood method, respectively. RESULTS: In all, 24 HLA-A, 46 HLA-B, 24 HLA-C, 29 HLA-DRB1, and 15 HLA-DQB1 alleles were identified. AFs and HFs of HLA-A, -B, and -DRB1 were similar to those reported previously. For the HLA-C locus, C*01:02 was the most common allele, followed by C*03:03, C*03:04, C*14:02, C*03:02, and C*07:02 (AF > or =7%). AFs of C*07:01 and C*07:06 were 0.16% and 3.18%, respectively. For the HLA-DQB1 locus, DQB1*03:01 was the most common allele, followed by DQB1*03:03, *03:02, *06:01, *05:01, *04:01, and *06:02 (AF > or =7%). AFs of DQB1*02:01 and DQB1*02:02 were 2.12% and 6.69%, respectively. HFs of A*33:03-C*07:06 and C*07:06-B*44:03 were 3.09% and 3.10%, respectively, while those of DRB1*07:01-DQB1*02:02 and DRB1*03:01-DQB1*02:01 were 6.61% and 2.04%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study reported AFs and HFs of HLA, including HLA-C and -DQB1, in Koreans by using high-resolution SBT. These data can be used to resolve ambiguous results of HLA typing for organ and hematopoietic stem cell transplantations.
Alleles* ; DNA Fingerprinting* ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Haplotypes* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells ; Histocompatibility Testing ; HLA Antigens ; HLA-A Antigens ; HLA-B Antigens ; HLA-C Antigens ; HLA-DRB1 Chains ; Humans ; Korea ; Leukocytes* ; Sequence Analysis ; Unrelated Donors

BACKGROUND: Flow cytometric crossmatching (FCXM) is widely used in hospitals performing solid organ transplantation. Pronase treatment of lymphocytes can increase the sensitivity and specificity of B-cell FCXM. However, it can also affect human leukocyte antigen (HLA) expression and results of FCXM. We treated lymphocytes with various concentrations of pronase and analysed the effect of the treatment on the FCXM results. METHODS: The peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from 10 renal transplant donors were treated with three different concentrations of pronase (0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/mL). The effects of pronase on median fluorescence intensity (MFI) values of AB serum (Fcγ receptor), HLA class I and II, and on the MFI ratio of HLA class I and II were analysed. RESULTS: In B-cell FCXM, the MFI values of AB serum (Fcγ receptor) and HLA class I were significantly decreased by the pronase treatment. The MFI ratio of HLA class II was significantly increased upon treatment with 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/mL pronase (P<0.05, P<0.01, and P<0.01, respectively). In T-cell FCXM, the MFI ratio of HLA class I was significantly decreased by the pronase treatment (all P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: When performing FCXM, it is recommended that B-lymphocytes should be treated with 1.0 or 2.0 mg/mL pronase. In the case of T-lymphocytes, pronase treatment should be adopted with caution.
B-Lymphocytes ; Flow Cytometry ; Fluorescence ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; Lymphocytes ; Organ Transplantation ; Pronase* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; T-Lymphocytes ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants

Intermediate-resolution HLA-DQ typing has gained importance in organ transplantation recently. We evaluated the performance of the LIFECODES HLA-DQB1 typing kit (Immucor, USA) using sequence-specific oligonucleotide (SSO) probe and Luminex platform (Luminex Corp., USA) on 100 samples tested by sequence-based typing (SBT) using the AlleleSEQR HLA-DQB1 kit (Abbott Molecular, USA) in Korean individuals. No sample showed ambiguity in the assignment of 4-digit HLA-DQB1 allele with the LIFECODES HLA-DQB1 SSO typing kit, and the results were fully concordant with those of high-resolution typing of AlleleSEQR HLA-DQB1 SBT up to 4-digit level. Three samples required adjustment of false reactions (3/100, 3.0%): two samples with DQB1*03:03/*06:01 showed false-positive result in probe 253, and 1 sample with DQB1*04:02/*05:02 showed false-negative result in probe 217. We tested an additional sample with DQB1*03:03/*06:01, which showed same false-positivity in probe 253 and 2 samples with DQB1*04:02/*05:02, which showed no false reaction. The false reactions did not result in ambiguity or change in the HLA allele assignment. We could assign HLA-DQB1 alleles to 4 digit-level without ambiguity, with 100% concordance with the SBT results. Thus, LIFECODES HLA-DQB1 SSO typing kit showed good performance for intermediate-resolution HLA-DQB1 typing in clinical laboratory for organ transplantation in Koreans.
Alleles ; DNA Primers/metabolism ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; HLA-DQ beta-Chains/*genetics/metabolism ; Histocompatibility Testing/*standards ; Humans ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic/*standards ; Republic of Korea

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Markers of inflammation have been associated with outcomes in various cancers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether systemic inf lammatory markers and their f luctuations can predict survival and chemotherapy response in patients with metastatic gastric cancer (mGC). METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 502 patients who received first-line palliative chemotherapy for mGC between 2007 and 2013. The neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) were assessed before and after chemotherapy to evaluate their association with survival. The NLR values were categorized into two groups based on a cut-off value of 3; mGPS values were classified as high versus low. RESULTS: High prechemotherapy NLR was significantly associated with poor overall survival on univariate analysis (p = 0.002). On multivariate analysis, high prechemotherapy NLR (hazard ratio, 1.43; p < 0.001) was an independent prognostic factor for poor overall survival. However, the prechemotherapy mGPS was not significantly associated with survival. Continuously high NLR or a shift to high NLR postchemotherapy was associated with poor chemotherapy response as well as survival, while NLR reduction was associated with a good response (linear by linear association, p < 0.001) and a favorable prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Prechemotherapy NLR can be used as a prognostic factor in mGC, while the postchemotherapy NLR value may predict the chemotherapeutic response and prognosis. In contrast, mGPS has limited prognostic utility in mGC.
Biomarkers ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neutrophils ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms*