STUDY DESIGN: A case report. OBJECTIVES: This case report presents a child who was treated conservatively after having being diagnosed with cervical intervertebral disc calcification. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Cervical intervertebral disc calcification is considered as a degenerative change of spine. It is common in adults and in most cases, no symptoms are observed. In children, by contrast, it is a rare condition and frequently accompanies symptoms such as severe neck pain and dysphagia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 7-year-old male patient who suffered from neck pain and torticollis without trauma had been diagnosed with cervical intervertebral disc calcification and was treated conservatively. He was discharged after symptom relief, and has been followed up and observed in our outpatient department. RESULTS: The improvements of symptom and radiographic findings were found in the month follow up. CONCLUSIONS: Cervical intervertebral disc calcification shows similar symptoms to laryngopharyngeal abscess, traumatic injury and infective spondylitis, but through careful physical examination and radiologic evaluation, differential diagnosis is possible. After diagnosis, conservative treatment alone is sufficient. Antibiotic usage and surgical treatment are avoidable.
Abscess ; Adult ; Child ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; Male ; Neck Pain ; Outpatients ; Physical Examination ; Spine ; Spondylitis ; Torticollis

Contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast is probably the most sensitive method for the detection of the pathology of the breast. It is an emerging technology that may revolutionize the management of women with known or suspected breast cancer. Recently, breast MRI has proven most useful in patients with proven breast cancer for the assessment of a multifocal/multicentric disease, chest wall involvement, chemotherapy response, or tumor recurrence or to identify the primary site in patients with occult breast cancer. False positive findings can pose a significance problem in the interpretation of a breast MRI. MRI examinations should be interpreted with an awareness of the pitfalls, false positive breast lesions, and artifacts that can affect on the image evaluation.
Artifacts ; Breast Diseases* ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Pathology ; Recurrence ; Thoracic Wall

OBJECTIVE: Adult onset Still s disease is an acute systemic inflammatory disorder. There are no pathognomonic symptoms or specific laboratory abnormalities. In recent reports, serum ferritin concentration is increased in active disease phase and decreased after defervescence. Our purpose was to determine the clinical significance of serum ferritin as an indicator for disease activity. METHODS: Seven patients who were diagnosed as adult onset Still s disease at Samsung Medical Center between October 1994 and March 1997, were reviewed. In these patients we checked leukocyte count, ESR, CRP and serum ferritin concentrations at the time of diagnosis and during follow-up periods and recorded febrile events during follow-up periods. RESULTS: At the time of diagnosis and during febrile periods, the concentrations of ferritin were extremely high(927ng/ml to 96,650ng/ml normal 10-290.8 ng/ml). The values were unrelated to other manifestations of the disease or laboratory findings. The ferritin concentrations decreased rapidly after adequate treatment. Eleven febrile reattacks happened in 7 patients. Serum ferritin concentrations were increased in 8 febrile attacks, while leukocyte count, ESR, and CRP were increased in 5, 5, 6 febrile attacks respectively, There were 10 events of increased serum ferritin concentrations in 7 patients during follow-up periods and 8 events were related with fever. The increases of other laboratory tests were similar. CONCLUSIONS: In all patients, serum ferritin concentrations were increased at the time of diagnosis and closely related to fever. During follow-up periods, serum ferritin concentrations are helpful in monitoring disease activity and guiding decisions about treatment.
Adult* ; Diagnosis ; Ferritins* ; Fever ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Leukocyte Count ; Still's Disease, Adult-Onset*

The vein of Galen malformation is a rare midline intracranial arteriovenous malformation. The majority of themalformations were seen in neonate, infancy and childhood, and the clinical symptoms and prognosis depended on ageof presentation. The authors report a case of the vein of Galen malformation in 17 month-old female withhydrocephalus, which is confirmed by CT and digital subtraction angiography.
Angiography, Digital Subtraction ; Cerebral Veins ; Female ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intracranial Arteriovenous Malformations ; Prognosis ; Veins

This study investigates the effects of third molar on the occlusal plane in Angle's class III malocclusion with possibilities of posterior crowding and the interrelationships of occlusal plane inclinations to other skeletal patterns. Above investigations might showed that considerations should be given to third molars with possibilities of posterior crowding in establishing diagnosis and treatment plans for Angle's class III malocclusion patients. The following conclusions were obtained. 1. In events of third molars causing possible posterior crowding, maxillary third molars showed more mesial inclinations than second molars, and compared to those with third molar missing cases, first molars were more mesially inclined and displaced more inferiorly from the palatal plane and OP-MP was increase, thus the occlusal plane was less steep. 2. In events of third molars causing possible posterior crowding, the anglulation between AB line and mandibular plane was decreased and ANB showed negative values. Thus chin points were more protruded, ramus were more anteriorly displaced, and increase in lower facial height, gonial angle, effective mandibular length and mandibular plane angle were observed. This in all caused more vertical opening and more severe skeletal disturbance. 3. OP-MP was increased as the maxillary first molars were more inferiorly displaced from the palatal plane. As this angle was increased mandibular planes were more inferiorly inclined and LFH, gonial angle, effective mandibular length were more increased and mandibular ramus was more anteriorly placed. 4. As the maxillary first molars were more inferiorly placed from the palatal plane, more increased OP-MP/PP-MP ratio made the occlusal plane less steep. As OP-MP/PP-MP was increased, mandibular ramus was more anteriorly placed and made longer, and facial angle and effective mandibular length were increased.
Chin ; Crowding ; Dental Occlusion ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Malocclusion* ; Molar ; Molar, Third*

The sensitivity and specificity of breast cancer screening with mammography in dense breasts are very low, and increasing attention has been paid to breast density and screening in high-risk groups. Therefore, a supplemental screening modality is needed. Mammography and supplementary ultrasound screening are mainly based on the differences between cancerous and normal breast parenchyma on an anatomical basis, whereas breast-specific gamma imaging is a functional imaging approach examining the physiological phenomena of blood flow and mitochondrial activity, which are increased in cancer cells. The purpose of this review is to discuss the diagnostic methods, clinical results, clinical application, and considerations of breast cancer screening with breast-specific gamma imaging using (99m)Tc-sestamibi.

Regional hub neonatal intensive care centers are opening supported by Ministry of Health and Welfare, with the need for more neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) beds response to increasing number of prematurity. Besides beds expansion, functional role of NICU is important and the evaluation tool of functional analysis of NICU is necessary. In this review, admission of preterm infant born before 32 gestational weeks was considered as a functional component and the annual number of those babies was used as an activity marker. The activity of NICU was higher with increased bed number, but also increased equipment, NICU personnel, obstetric personnel were independent factors for the higher NICU activity. Levels of NICU can be defined according to the activity, and reference bed size, equipment, personnel can be defined according to each level. In reverse, functional analysis of NICU can be performed with known bed size or equipment predicting activity level. Meanwhile, the evaluation of 13 regional hub NICU revealed that they partially contributed to the regionalization of NICU, and the activity was increased in all regional hub NICUs. Three regional hub NICUs showed markedly increased activity after opening, and those centers showed increased NICU personnel and obstetric personnel compared to other centers. In terms of regional hub government support, multilateral plan should be operated, besides simple bed size, considering distribution of different functional level of regional NICUs and leaking patient in the region.
Hospital Bed Capacity ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Intensive Care, Neonatal

In Behcet's disease(BD), there is a marked increase in vascular complication. Venous thrombosis is a major feature of the disease, although arterial thrombosis is rarely described. In Behcet's disease, thrombosis occurs in 20 to 30% of patients. We present two cases of Behcet's disease admitted to our hospital whose chief complaint was progressive increases in swelling and pain in their legs. In the first case, routine coagulation tests and sero-immunological tests were within normal limits, however, protein C and S activity were significantly decreased in the patient. So these findings suggest that auto-immune acquired protein S deficiency may be involved in the pathogenesis of thrombotic events in BD.
Humans ; Leg ; Protein C ; Protein S Deficiency ; Thrombosis ; Venous Thrombosis*

PURPOSE: Liver metabolism plays a pivotal role in the development of metabolic disorders. We aimed to investigate the clinical and laboratory risk factors associated with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels in young adolescents from an urban population in Korea. METHODS: A population of 120 apparently healthy adolescents aged 12–13 years was included in the cross-sectional design study; 58 were overweight or obese and 62 were of normal weight. We estimated anthropometric and laboratory measurements, including waist-to-height ratio, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, aspartate aminotransferases (AST), ALT, and lipid profiles. RESULTS: The mean ages of the overweight or obese and normal weight participants were 12.9±0.3 and 13.0±0.3 years, respectively. Height, weight, body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, AST, ALT, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, triglyceride, insulin, and the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) score were significantly higher and the high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index were significantly lower in the overweight/obese participants in comparison to the normal-weight participants (all P < 0.05). In multivariate linear regression analysis, waist-to-height ratio, systolic blood pressure, and HOMA-IR score were independently and positively associated with serum ALT levels. CONCLUSION: Screening for ALT levels in adolescents may help to differentiate those at risk of metabolic abnormalities and thus prevent disease progression at an early age.
Adolescent ; Alanine Transaminase ; Alanine ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Blood Pressure ; Body Weight ; Cholesterol ; Disease Progression ; Humans ; Insulin ; Insulin Resistance ; Korea ; Linear Models ; Liver ; Mass Screening ; Metabolism ; Obesity ; Overweight ; Risk Factors ; Triglycerides ; Urban Population ; Waist Circumference

No abstract available.
Animals ; Antibodies, Neutralizing* ; Immunization* ; Mice*