Fingerprints remain the most important methodology of personal identification in the field of scene investigation despite of outstanding current DNA typing technique. Restoration of fingerprints may be, however, difficult or impossible in cases of severely putrefied or dried bodies. Several methods have been used in fingerprints recovery but they are somewhat easy and costly. We introduce a new practical method that is reconditioning of friction ridge skin with rehydration, which can obtain a good quality for comparison and identification via the automated fingerprint identification system. We think this method is easy to use and could contribute to restoring fingerprints of dead bodies with severe postmortem change.
Dermatoglyphics ; DNA Fingerprinting ; Fluid Therapy ; Friction ; Humans ; Skin

PURPOSE: To further improve the advantages of minimally invasive surgery, single port laparoscopic techniques continue to be developed. We report our initial experience with single port laparoscopic appendectomy (SPLA) in children and compare its outcomes to those of conventional laparoscopic appendectomy (CLA). METHODS: Clinical data were prospectively collected for SPLA cases performed at Chung-Ang University Hospital by a single surgeon between March 2011 and December 2011, including operative time, perioperative complications, conversion rate, and length of hospital stay. Each case of SPLA was performed using conventional laparoscopic instruments through Glove port placed into the single umbilical incision. To compare outcomes, a retrospective review was performed for those patients who underwent CLA between March 2010 and December 2010. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients underwent SPLA and 114 patients underwent CLA. Mean age (10.5 years vs. 11.1 years, P = 0.43), weight (48.2 kg vs. 42.9 kg, P = 0.27), and operation time (41.8 minutes vs. 37.9 minutes, P = 0.190) were comparable between both groups. Mean hospital stay was longer for CLA group (2.6 days vs. 3.7 days, P = 0.013). There was no conversion to conventional laparoscopic surgery in SPLA group. In CLA group, there were nine complications (7.9%) with 3 cases of postoperative ileuses and 6 cases wound problems. There was one complication (3.2%) of umbilical surgical site infection in SPLA group (P = 0.325). CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that SPLA using conventional laparoscopic instruments is technically feasible and safe in children. SPLA using conventional laparoscopic instruments might be popularized by eliminating the need for specially designed instruments.
Appendectomy* ; Child* ; Humans ; Ileus ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Operative Time ; Pediatrics ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive ; Wounds and Injuries

Clear cell sarcoma(CCS) is an uncommon soft tissue sarcoma that occurs in tendons and aponeuroses, usually of the lower extremities and is believed to be of neural crest origin that have a capability to produce melanin. These tumors commonly metastasize and have a very poor prognosis. The fine needle aspiration cytologic finding of CCS is not well documented. We recently experienced a case of CCS. The patient was a 54-year-old male with painful swelling of the right inguinal area. Fine needle aspiration cytology revealed polygonal or fusiform tumor cells with clear or granular cytoplasm and vesicular nuclei containing one or two nucleoli. Im munohistochemical staining for S-100 protein and HMB-45 revealed strong positivity, and variable developing stages of premelanosomes were observed by electron microscopy in the excised specimen.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Cytoplasm ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Melanins ; Microscopy, Electron ; Middle Aged ; Neural Crest ; Prognosis ; S100 Proteins ; Sarcoma ; Sarcoma, Clear Cell* ; Tendons

Pseudoaneurysm due to cancer is uncommon generally and is extremely rare in lung cancer. We report two cases of false aneurysms due to lung cancer that spontaneously regressed upon chemotherapy without intervention. Both patients had squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and the diagnosis of a pseudoaneurysm was made using computed tomography. There was no evidence of severe bronchial hemorrhage and the psuedoaneurysms were small and well-encased. Chemotherapy was performed and the pseudoaneurysms resolved.
Aneurysm ; Aneurysm, False ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms

Symptomatic renal metastasis from a primary lung malignancy elsewhere in the body is an uncommon feature in disseminated cancer. We report a case of a 1-cm primary squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the lung with renal metastasis initially misdiagnosed as primary renal cell carcinoma in a 65-year-old man who presented with left lower quadrant pain.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Renal Cell ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Humans ; Lung ; Neoplasm Metastasis

Pseudoaneurysm formation in the pulmonary vasculature is a rare but fatal condition. Several etiologies have been described including trauma, complication after cardiac or other surgeries, tuberculosis, necrotizing pneumonia, congestive heart disease, atherosclerosis, cancer and vasculitis. We report a case of pseudoaneurysm found in a patient being treated with status asthmaticus, who developed complications of pneumonia and brain abscess secondary to sepsis.
Aneurysm, False ; Atherosclerosis ; Brain Abscess ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Pneumonia ; Sepsis ; Status Asthmaticus ; Tuberculosis ; Vasculitis

Hemodialysis (HD) patients continually exposed to heparin are at risk of developing heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). However, HIT is very rare in chronic HD patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The authors report the case of a chronic HD patient with ESRD who developed HIT complicated by recurrent thrombocytopenia and significant bleeding episodes. A 67-year-old man with diabetic ESRD on chronic HD suddenly developed recurrent acute bleeding episodes and severe thrombocytopenia (platelet count <1.0x10(3)/uL) 2 months prior to presentation. These bleeding episodes and the thrombocytopenia always occurred 1 week after initiating HD with heparin, and improved within 1 week of discontinuing heparin. HIT was confirmed by ELISA for anti-heparin/platelet factor 4 antibody. HD was conducted successfully and thrombocytopenia did not occur after switching argatroban for heparin. This case report suggests that clinicians must consider HIT in the differential diagnosis of thrombocytopenia during maintenance HD.
Aged ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Hemorrhage ; Heparin ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Pipecolic Acids ; Renal Dialysis ; Thrombocytopenia

BACKGROUND: LKB1(STK11) is a serine/threonine kinase that functions as a tumor growth suppressor. The functions of LKB1 in lung cancer are not completely understood. This study evaluated the relationship between LKB1 protein expression and the clinicopathological features in lung cancer tissues. METHODS: The expression of LKB1 was studied in paraffin-embedded tumor blocks, which were obtained from 77 patients who had undergone surgery at Wonkwang University Hospital. The expression of the LKB1 protein was considered positive if the staining intensity in the tumor tissue adjacent to the normal airway epithelium was >30%. RESULTS: The LKB1 expression was positive in 31 (40%) of samples. Loss of LKB1 expression was significantly associated with being male, smoking history, and squamous cell carcinoma. In the peripheral sites, the loss of LKB1 expression was strongly associated with a smoking history. A loss of LKB1 expression was more frequently associated with progression according to TNM staging, particularly more than T2, N progression. CONCLUSION: There was a significant relationship between the loss of the LKB1 protein and gender, smoking history, and histological type in primary lung cancer. Although LKB1 expression was not found to be a significant prognostic factor, further studies with a larger cohort of patient's lung cancer tissue samples will be needed to confirm this.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cohort Studies ; Epithelium ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Neoplasm Staging ; Phosphotransferases ; Smoke ; Smoking

Chemical pneumonitis induced by hydrocarbon aspiration is rare in Korea. Kerosene is a petroleum distillate with low viscosity and high volatility. We report two adult cases of chemical pneumonitis caused by the accidental aspiration of kerosene. They were treated successfully with antibiotics and systemic corticosteroids, and recovered without complications.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Humans ; Kerosene ; Korea ; Petroleum ; Pneumonia ; Viscosity ; Volatilization

BACKGROUND: Biomarkers for cancer have several potential clinical uses, including the following: early cancer detection, monitoring for recurrence prognostication, and risk stratification. However, no biomarker has been shown to have adequate sensitivity and specificity. Many investigators have tried to validate biomarkers for the early detection and recurrence of lung cancer. To evaluate plasma G-CSF as such a biomarker, protein levels were measured and were found to correlate with the clinicopathological features of primary lung tumors. METHODS: Between December 2006 and May 2008, 100 patients with histologically-validated primary lung cancer were enrolled into this study. To serve as controls, 127 healthy volunteers were enrolled into this study. Plasma G-CSF levels were measured in lung cancer patients using the sandwich ELISA system (R & D inc.) prior to treatment. RESULTS: The mean plasma G-CSF levels were 12.2+/-0.3 pg/mL and 46.0+/-3.8 pg/mL (mean+/-SE) in the normal and in the cancer groups, respectively. In addition, plasma G-CSF levels were higher in patients with early lung cancer than in healthy volunteers (p<.001). Plasma G-CSF levels were higher in patients who were under 65 years old or smokers. Within the cancer group, plasma G-CSF levels were higher in patients with non small cell lung cancer than in patients with small cell lung cancer (p<.05). Overall, plasma G-CSF levels were shown to increase dependent upon the type of lung cancer diagnsosed. In the order from highest to lowest, the levels of plasma G-CSF tended to decrease in the following order: large cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, adenocarcinoma, and bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. Plasma G-CSF levels tended to be higher in patients with advanced TNM stage than in localized TNM stage (I, II Adenocarcinoma ; Adenocarcinoma, Bronchiolo-Alveolar ; Adrenal Glands ; Biomarkers ; Carcinoma, Large Cell ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Humans ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Plasma ; Recurrence ; Research Personnel ; Small Cell Lung Carcinoma