No abstract available.
Pulmonary Aspergillosis*

Verapamil overdose results in cardiac arrhythmia including the complete A-V block, and hypotension due to decreased peripheral resistance and decreased myocardial contractility. However, sustained-release verapamil overdose frequently has atypical presentations, such as delayed and prolonged course of toxic signs and symptoms. Although several cases of sustained-release verapamil overdose have been reported worldwidely, the specific treatment modalities and prognostic indicators for verapamil overdose have not been well-defined. Recently, we experienced a case of sustained-release verapamil overdose in 30-year-old female. 10 hours after verapamil ingestion she presented in severe bradycardia and hypotensive shock state. Initial EKG showed the complete AV block and her systolic blood pressure was below 60 mmHg. Temporary cardiac pacemaker was performed and she was treated with activated charcoal, glucagon, amrinone, and several sympathomimetics, and 48 hours after admission, she was fully recovered.
Adult ; Amrinone ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Atrioventricular Block ; Blood Pressure ; Bradycardia ; Charcoal ; Eating ; Electrocardiography ; Female ; Glucagon ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Shock ; Sympathomimetics ; Vascular Resistance ; Verapamil*

A C2-3 zygapophygeal joint is a major source of cervicogenic headache. Radiofrequency (RF) neurotomy is preformed widely for zygapophygeal joint pain. Conventional RF denervation technique is generally performed under fluoroscopic control. Recently, ultrasound-guided radiofrequency on zygapophygeal joint has emerged as an alternative method. We report our experiences of two successful ultrasound-guided pulsed radiofrequencies on 39-year-old and 42-year-old males, who complained occipital headache and posterior neck pain.
Arthralgia ; Denervation ; Headache ; Humans ; Joints ; Male ; Neck Pain ; Post-Traumatic Headache

BACKGROUND: Epiduroscopic laser neural decompression (ELND) has been performed as a treatment tool for chronic refractory low back pain and/or radicular pain. There are some studies about the usefulness of epiduroscopy for post lumbar surgery syndrome, however, few studies about the effectiveness of epiduroscopy for patients without back surgery. We compared the satisfaction of patients who underwent ELND for chronic low back pain and/or radicular pain after back surgery and for the same symptoms without surgery. METHODS: We compared the degree of satisfaction of patients after ELND between who had underwent the lumbar spine surgery and who had not retrospectively by chart reviewing. We divided 39 patients who had received ELND into two groups, one is the group of patients who got the lumbar surgery (group 1), and the other is the group of patients who did not (group 2). Their medical records including age, sex, previous treatment, duration of illness, degree of symptom relief were investigated. We compared each items between two groups. RESULTS: The number of patients in group 1 was 17, and group 2 was 22. In group 1, 16 patients (94.1%) showed more than 'Acceptable', and 19 patients (86.4%) showed more than 'Acceptable' in group 2. There is no significant differences statistically in percentage of patients who showed more than 'Acceptable' in the satisfaction after ELND between two groups. CONCLUSIONS: ELND provided satisfaction (more than 85%) for patients with chronic low back pain and/or leg pain regardless of previous back surgery history.
Decompression* ; Humans ; Leg ; Low Back Pain ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine

No abstract available.

No abstract available.

Cervical medial branch block (MBB) is a frequently performed procedure for management of neck pain that rarely has complications. With fluoroscopic guidance, the procedure is considered a relatively safer procedure than epidural block. We report a case of a 27-year-old woman presenting with postural headache after cervical MBB. Dural penetration by inappropriate needle placement was suspected after reviewing fluoroscopic images of the procedure. After conservative treatment, including bed rest and analgesic treatment, the patient completely recovered without any neurological complications. Complications associated with MBB are rare and previous case reports have focused only on infection or vascular injection as etiologies. This is the first report of complications related to dural puncture after cervical MBB. Our findings suggest that misplacement of the block needle by inaccurate alignment of both sides of the cervical articular pillar, assessed by fluoroscopic view during the procedure, can result in dural injury.
Adult ; Bed Rest ; Female ; Headache ; Humans ; Neck Pain ; Needles ; Post-Dural Puncture Headache* ; Punctures

BACKGROUND: Pain is recognized as a cognitive phenomenon, which involves the processing of information. Given that human information processing is largely restricted to a number of simultaneous tasks, many interventions and techniques have been used to modify pain perception by distracting the cognitive processing of pain. This study tested the hypothesis that the pain threshold to electrical stimuli is increased as a result of distraction using a ReliefBand(R). METHODS: Twenty volunteers were enrolled in this study. After attaching surface electrode to the medial plantar nerve territory of left foot, electrical stimuli were delivered to obtain baseline pain threshold and temporal summation threshold. After 15 minutes, while distracting with ReliefBand(R), the same parameters were obtained. RESULTS: Pain threshold and temporal summation threshold before distraction were 7.9+/-2.2 mA and 7.0+/-2.1 mA respectively. During distraction pain threshold and temporal summation threshold were increased to 9.0+/-2.4 mA and 7.8+/-2.2 mA respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Pain and temporal summation threshold to electrical stimuli were increased during distraction with ReliefBand(R). Although we applied a technique with weak distracting ability, this distracted the processing of pain perception significantly. Further research about various distraction technique will be required.
Electrodes ; Foot ; Mental Processes ; Pain Perception ; Pain Threshold* ; Tibial Nerve ; Volunteers

No abstract available.
Constipation* ; Herpes Zoster*

PURPOSE: Complications and mortality rate of burn injuries are recently decreasing owing to development of systematic and special burn therapy. Whereas we are suffering from the lack of the medical manpower in burn center. In the future we might need more medical assistants to compensate these shortages. In this study we tried to search the path through these difficulties by considering the practical application of medical assistants. METHODS: We compared Korea's current situation of burn treatment with other countries in various references. Also we studied and compared recent situation of medical assistants in Korea and U.S.A. We took special considerations for Korean emergency medical technician, physical therapist and occupational therapist. RESULTS: Our study showed that we are practically using emergency medical technician, physical therapist and occupational therapist as medical assistants in various fields including burn centers. Emergency medical technician, physical therapist and occupational therapist as medical assistants can be excellent medical substitutes for shortage of manpower in our burn centers. Compared with U.S.A's current situation we are quite lacking of certain certified programs for such medical assistants. Burn therapists can be promoted from medical assistants through certain certified educational programs. CONCLUSION: We think that emergency medical technician, physical therapist and occupational therapist, who have certification concerning certain medical experience, should undergo certified educational program for burn therapy and should be used as a actual burn therapists to overcome the shortage of manpower in our burn centers.
Burn Units ; Burns ; Certification ; Emergency Medical Technicians ; Humans ; Korea ; Physical Therapists ; Stress, Psychological