Effusive-constrictive pericarditis is a very rare disease in infants but has high motality rates when not treated. There were some reports of pericardial constriction associated with intrapericardial abscess that led to pericardiectomy. The patient was admitted due to fever, cyanosis, and abdominal distension. We treated the patient with antibiotics and pericardiostomy but the symtoms did not improved, therefore, pericardiectomy was perfomed immediately. The patient with effusive-constrictive pericarditis was immediately relief on the symptoms and the treatment was successful.
Abscess ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Constriction ; Cyanosis ; Fever ; Humans ; Infant* ; Pericardial Window Techniques ; Pericardiectomy* ; Pericarditis* ; Pericarditis, Constrictive ; Pericardium ; Rare Diseases

No abstract available.
Humans ; Infertility* ; Luteinizing Hormone, beta Subunit*

We conducted a multicenter clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of recombinant human erythropoietin(Espogen(R), LG Chemical Ltd.) in the anemic patients of chronic renal failure undergoing dialysis. The patients were end-stage renal disease who were undergoing hemodialysis or peritonea1 dialysis for 3 months or longer and they had less than 8g/dL of hemoglobin and more than 100ng/mL of serum ferritin. Hemodialysis patients were administered 150unit/kg/week of recombinant human erythropoietin as initial dose, and peritoneal dialysis patients 50unitAg, twice per week. We examined hemoglobin value every other week and adjusted the dose in order to maintain hemoglobin level as 10-llg/dL. We enrolled 64 patients and analysed 54 cases in the final. 96.3% (52/54) of patients showed increase by more than 1.0g/dL and the others in- crease by more than 0.5g/dL. Baseline hemoglobin, hematocrit were 7.11+/-0.85g/dL, 21.3+/-2.6% and final level were 10.42+/-1.31g/dL, 31.9+/-3.5%(p=0.0001), respectively. Reticulocyte was increased after 2 weeks of administration from 0.90+/-0.74% to 2.45+/-0.84% The adverse effects included hypertension, headache, increased potassium and phosphate level so required regular monitoring. Therefore we showed that Es-pogen was effective in correcting the anemia of chronic renal failure and didn't have any particular adverse effects.
Anemia ; Dialysis* ; Erythropoietin ; Ferritins ; Headache ; Hematocrit ; Humans* ; Hypertension ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Potassium ; Renal Dialysis ; Reticulocytes

BACKGROUND: Cardiac atrium is an endocrine gland secreting a family of natriuretic peptides. The secretion of atrial natriuretic peptide(ANP) had been shown to be controlled by variable factors. The change in atrial dynamics have been considered as one of the most prominent stimuli for the stimulation of ANP secretion. Hypoxic stress has been shown to increase cardiac ANP secretion. However, the mechanism by which hypoxia increases ANP secretion cardiac ANP secretions. However, the mechanism by which hypoxia increases ANP secretion has not to be defined. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was tow-fold: to develop a protocol to defined the effect of hypoxia on ANP secretion in perfused beating rabbit atria and to clarify the mechanism responsible for the accentuation by hypoxia of ANP secretion. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Experiments have been done in perfused beating rabbit atria. ANP was measured by radioimmunoassay. RESULT: Hypoxic stimulus with nitrogen decreased atrial stroke volume. The decrease in atrial stroke volume recovered basal level during the period of recovery with oxygen. ANP secretion and the concentration of perfusate ANP in terms of extracellular fluid(ECF) translocation which reflects the rate of myocytic release of ANP were increased by hypoxia and returned to basal levels during the recovery. Changes in ECF translocation paralleled by hypoxia and returned to basal levels during the recovery. Changes in ECF translocation paralleled to that of atrial stroke volume. At the start of recovery in atrial storke volume, ECF tranalocation incrased for several minutes. The above responses were stable and reproducible. Glibenclamide treatment prevented the recovery in atrial stroke volume. Increments by hypoxia of ANP secretion and ANP concentration were suppressed by glibenclamide. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that hypoxia incrased atrial myocytic ANP release and that the mechanism responsible for the accentuation is partially related to the change in K+ATP channel activity.
Anoxia ; Atrial Natriuretic Factor* ; Endocrine Glands ; Glyburide ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Natriuretic Peptides ; Nitrogen ; Oxygen ; Radioimmunoassay ; Stroke Volume

PURPOSE: Some patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) related to connective tissue disease (CTD) have a delayed diagnosis of the underlying CTD when the ILD is categorized as idiopathic. In this study, we evaluated the frequency of myositis autoantibodies in patients diagnosed with idiopathic ILD and investigated the clinical significance stemming from the presence of the antibodies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total 32 patients diagnosed with idiopathic ILD were enrolled in this study. We analyzed a panel of 11 myositis autoantibody specificities in the patients using a line blot immunoassay. Then, we divided them into myositis autoantibody-positive and -negative groups and compared the clinical features and laboratory data between the two groups. RESULTS: Of the 32 idiopathic ILD patients, 12 patients had myositis autoantibodies encompassing 9 specificities, except for anti-Mi-2 and anti-PM-Scl 100 (12/32, 38%). Anti-synthetase autoantibodies including Jo-1, EJ, OJ, PL-7, and PL-12 were present in 7 patients (7/32, 22%). The group with myositis autoantibodies presented more frequently with the symptom of mechanic's hand and showed abnormal pulmonary function test results with low forced vital capacity, diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide, total lung capacity, and high lactate dehydrogenase values in blood when compared with the group without myositis antibodies. CONCLUSION: We strongly suggest that patients undergo an evaluation of myositis autoantibodies, if they are diagnosed with idiopathic ILD in the presence of clinical characteristics including mechanic's hand, arthralgia, and autoantibodies which are insufficient to make a diagnosis of a specific CTD category.
Aged ; Autoantibodies/*blood/immunology ; Female ; Humans ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial/*diagnosis/immunology/physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myositis/*immunology/physiopathology ; Respiratory Function Tests

Prolonged neuromuscular blockade following succinylcholine may be seen when anticho- linesterase had been administered prior to reverse nondepolarizing muscle relaxant-induced paralysis, possibly anticholinesterase has been reported to inhibit serum cholinesterase activity. Our study was undertaken in order to understand the effect of a nondepolarizing muscle relaxant (vecuronium) following neostigmine pretreatment. In this study, we assessed the effect of vecuronium induced neuromuscular blockade using a train of four, 2 Hz stimulations on ulnar nerve. Patients admitted to our hospital for elective operations were divided into two groups, each group consisting of 16 patients. In group I, vecuronium 0.1 mg/kg was .administered according to the priming principle following normal saline, in group II, vecuronium 1.0mg/kg was administered according to the priming principle following neostigmine 0.05 mg/kg and glycopyrrolate 0.003 mg/kg pretreatment. Then the time for Tl to reach 5% or less(second), and the time for Tl to reach from 25% to 75%(recovery index) were measured in both groups. The time for Tl to reach 5% or less in group I(92.8+/-14.72 second) and group II(97.5+/-16.43 seconds) were not siginificant. However the recovery indexof group I(10.2 5+/-1.93 minute) and group II(8.5+/-1.80 minute) showed significant shortening in group II(p<0. 05)
Cholinesterases ; Glycopyrrolate ; Humans ; Neostigmine* ; Neuromuscular Blockade* ; Paralysis ; Succinylcholine ; Ulnar Nerve ; Vecuronium Bromide*

Respiratory bronchiolitis-associated interstitial lung disease has been described among current or former smokers and has features consistent with interstitial lung disease. Symptoms include cough, dyspnea on exertion. Lung pathology is characterized by the accumulation of pigmented macrophages within respiratory bronchioles and adjacent air spaces associated with mild thickening of the peribronchiolar interstitium. It must be separated from the other interstitial lung disease because of marked differences in treatment and prognosis. Recently we experienced a case of respiratory bronchiolitis -associated interstitial lung disease in a 48-year-old man. As far as we know, this is the first case in Korea.
Bronchioles ; Bronchiolitis ; Cough ; Dyspnea ; Humans ; Korea ; Lung ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial* ; Macrophages ; Middle Aged ; Pathology ; Prognosis ; Smoking

Stress-induced cardiomyopathy is a unique reversible cardiovascular disease precipitated by acute emotional or physical stress. It is associated with a high prevalence of chronic anxiety disorder that precedes the onset of cardiomyopathy, as well as comorbid cardiovascular risk factors that are similar to the ST segment elevation of myocardial infarction. A thirty-five-year-old woman suffering from anorexia nervosa visited our hospital complaining of severe general weakness. She was diagnosed with stress-induced cardiomyopathy and mural thrombus using a transthoracic echocardiogram. Therefore, she was given anticoagulation therapy and nutrition with immediate psychiatric interventions. After two weeks of treatment, the follow-up echocardiogram indicated a significant improvement of the left ventricular dysfunction and mural thrombus.
Anorexia ; Anorexia Nervosa ; Anxiety Disorders ; Cardiomyopathies ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Stress, Psychological ; Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy ; Thrombosis ; Ventricular Dysfunction, Left

Pulmonary mucormycosis is an opportunistic infection in patients with severe underlying illness such as immunocompromised diseases or uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. While patients with leukemia and lymphoma usually resent with diffuse parenchymal disease, diabetic patients usually have a localized endobronchial disease involving central airways. We report upon a case of pulmonary mucormycosis in diabetes mellitus patient presenting as an endobronchial mass, which was cured with antifungal therapy, rigid bronchoscopic mass removal and right pneumonectomy.
Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Leukemia ; Lymphoma ; Mucormycosis* ; Opportunistic Infections ; Pneumonectomy

BACKGROUND: Diffuse alveolar hemorrhage (DAH) is rare but often fatal. To determine the clinical manifestations of DAH, its etiology, clinical course and prognosis were studied. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed in 21 patients that were diagnosed as DAH. Diagnosis of DAH was based on the presence of the "classical triad" of hemoptysis, anemia, and rapidly progressive infiltrates on chest X-ray and a finding of bronchoalveloar lavage or lung biopsy. RESULTS: Thirteen patients (61.9%) had collagen vascular diseases (CVDs) as underlying disease and 10 patients had systemic lupus erythematosus. Females were more prevalent in CVD than in non-collagen vascular disease (NCVD). Otherwise, there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of clinical manifestations. Dyspnea (95.2%), cough (76.2%), hemoptysis (61.9%), and fever (33.0%) were frequent symptoms. The initial creatinine level was higher in CVD than in NCVD (3.27±3.15 mg/dl vs. 1.19±0.94 md/dl, p=0.030). The corresponding drop in hemoglobin level was 2.69±1.26 g/dl. Maximal drop in hemoglobin preceded the progression of infiltrates on the chest radiograph by 1.38±4.22 days. The mortality rate was higher in the patients with NCVD than in those with CVD (50.0% vs. 23.1%). CONCLUSION: The DAH can occur not only in patients with CVD but also in those with NCVD. Higher creatinine level CVD in patients is associated with renal involvement in conjunction with DAH. The maximal drop in hemoglobin preceeding the progression of infiltrates on the chest radiograph suggests that the drop in hemoglobin is important for diagnosing DAH.
Anemia ; Biopsy ; Collagen ; Cough ; Creatinine ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Fever ; Hemoptysis ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Lung ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic ; Mortality ; Prognosis ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Retrospective Studies* ; Therapeutic Irrigation ; Thorax ; Vascular Diseases