BACKGROUND: This report reviews our experience with persistent air leaks in the peumothorax that were not considered candidates for surgical treatment in order to evaluate the efficacy and risks of the OK-432 plus autoblood or OK-432 pleurodesis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From March 2004 to July 2005, 8 consecutive patients who had an air leak in the pneumothorax over 5 days and had been treated with OK-432 plus autoblood or OK-432 pleurodesis. The patients were not considered candidates for surgical treatments because the chest CT findings revealed severe chronic lung disease with multiple bullae and/or bullous changes. A prolonged air leak with/without dead space was treated with either OK-432 plus autoblood or OK-432 pleurodesis. The efficacy and side effects of OK-432 pleurodesis were assessed by determining the duration of the air leak, the number of pleurodesis, the patients' symptoms, measurements of the white blood cell count and the c-reactive protein level. RESULTS: All of eight patients were male and the mean age was 72.4 +/- 8.5. The mean number of pleurodesis was 1.9 +/- 1.1 and the mean duration of the air leak was 4.6 +/- 4.6 days after pleurodesis. Side effects after pleurodesis were encountered in 7 patients, which included a chilling sensation in 7 cases, chest pain in 5 cases, headache in 3 cases, local heat sensation in 2 cases, and fever in 1 case. Leukocytosis was observed in 6 patients, and the mean of WBC count and CRP were 14500 +/- 2100 and 21.9 +/- 11.4mg/dL, respectively. CONCLUSION: Either OK-432 plus autoblood or OK-432 pleurodesis has acceptable side effects, and can be considered a treatment option for persistent air leaks in the pneumothorax that are not candidates for surgical treatment.
C-Reactive Protein ; Chest Pain ; Fever ; Headache ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Leukocyte Count ; Leukocytosis ; Lung Diseases ; Male ; Picibanil* ; Pleurodesis* ; Pneumothorax* ; Sensation ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND: This report reviews our experience with persistent air leaks in the peumothorax that were not considered candidates for surgical treatment in order to evaluate the efficacy and risks of the OK-432 plus autoblood or OK-432 pleurodesis. MATERIAL AND METHODS: From March 2004 to July 2005, 8 consecutive patients who had an air leak in the pneumothorax over 5 days and had been treated with OK-432 plus autoblood or OK-432 pleurodesis. The patients were not considered candidates for surgical treatments because the chest CT findings revealed severe chronic lung disease with multiple bullae and/or bullous changes. A prolonged air leak with/without dead space was treated with either OK-432 plus autoblood or OK-432 pleurodesis. The efficacy and side effects of OK-432 pleurodesis were assessed by determining the duration of the air leak, the number of pleurodesis, the patients' symptoms, measurements of the white blood cell count and the c-reactive protein level. RESULTS: All of eight patients were male and the mean age was 72.4 +/- 8.5. The mean number of pleurodesis was 1.9 +/- 1.1 and the mean duration of the air leak was 4.6 +/- 4.6 days after pleurodesis. Side effects after pleurodesis were encountered in 7 patients, which included a chilling sensation in 7 cases, chest pain in 5 cases, headache in 3 cases, local heat sensation in 2 cases, and fever in 1 case. Leukocytosis was observed in 6 patients, and the mean of WBC count and CRP were 14500 +/- 2100 and 21.9 +/- 11.4mg/dL, respectively. CONCLUSION: Either OK-432 plus autoblood or OK-432 pleurodesis has acceptable side effects, and can be considered a treatment option for persistent air leaks in the pneumothorax that are not candidates for surgical treatment.
C-Reactive Protein ; Chest Pain ; Fever ; Headache ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Leukocyte Count ; Leukocytosis ; Lung Diseases ; Male ; Picibanil* ; Pleurodesis* ; Pneumothorax* ; Sensation ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Primary hemangioperiycytoma is quite rare tumor of the lung and arising from pericyte in external layer of capillaries. Most cases are developed in 4th and 5th decade, are asymptomatic, and have malignant otential. On chest radiography, primary pulmonary hemangiopericytoma shows lobulated, well demarcated, homogeneous soft tissue density. Microscopically, it consisits of numerous vascular spaces of variable size and shape separated by aggregates of tightly packed oval to spindle-shaped cells. Treatment of choice is surgical excision. We report a case of primary pulmonary hemangiopericytoma in a 16-year-old man who had well demarcated homogeneous mass in the superior segment of left lower lobe, but had no symptom. He had undergone left lower lobectomy. He has been followed up for 8 months but has no sign of relapse or metastasis yet.
Adolescent ; Capillaries ; Hemangiopericytoma* ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lung* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pericytes ; Radiography ; Recurrence ; Thorax

We present a case with a foreign body in the left pulmonary artery, found in a traffic accident victim. A 52- year-old woman sitting in the passenger side of a car had massive bleeding and near complete amputation of her right forearm in addition to multiple rib fractures and a hemopneumothorax. At arrival to the emergency room, the patient had signs of shock; she was anemic, drowsy and hypotensive. A large volume of blood and crystalloid fluids were administered via the left subclavian vein with a rapid infusion device (Level 1(R)). As the lung contusion improved, a foreign body was noticed in the left lung field on plain x-rays. Pulmonary angiography was performed and revealed a 15 cm foreign body in the left basal segment of the common pulmonary artery. The foreign body was successfully retrieved using vascular forceps via the percutaneous femoral vein approach.
Accidents, Traffic ; Amputation ; Angiography ; Contusions ; Emergencies ; Female ; Femoral Vein ; Forearm ; Foreign Bodies ; Hemopneumothorax ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Isotonic Solutions ; Lung ; Pulmonary Artery ; Rib Fractures ; Subclavian Vein ; Surgical Instruments ; Thoracic Injuries ; Thorax

To assess the early results, risk factors and optimal timing for coronary artery bypass graft surgery(CABG) after an acute myocardial infarction(AMI), we reviewed our 19 patients who underwent CABG within 30 days after AMI, between June 1994 and October 1996. This study excluded 1 patient whose diagnosis was AMI with ventricular septal rupture. 14 of the patients were male and 5 were female. Their ages ranged from 41 to 77 years(mean age, 60.6+/-10.4 years), and the amount of time between AMI and CABG ranged from 8 hours to 24 days(mean time, 10.6+/-6.4 days). There were 11 anteroseptal infarctions and 8 inferior wall infarctions. 11 patients had transmural infarctions and 8 had subendocardial infarctions. Indications of operations were primary revascularization and postinfarction angina. Three patients required preoperative intra-aortic balloon pump(IABP) support, and 4 additional patients required IABP to be separated from cardiopulmonary bypass. An average of 3.6+/-0.6 vessels per patient were bypassed. The early mortality rate for these 19 patients was 5.3% and late mortality rate was 5.5%, 1-year and 2-year actuarial survival rates were 89.5%. Univariate analysis of mortality showed that an ejection fraction less than 30% and intraopretative IABP supports were associated with risk factors(p value=0.018 and 0.015 respectively). Age, sex, time to CABG, emergency operations, types and locations of infarctions were not significant. Although our studies have weak points in that there was only a small number of patients and the lack of long-term results, we could conclude that early myocardial revascularization is relatively safe after AMI for those individuals with an ejection fraction greater than 30%.
Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; Female ; Humans ; Infarction ; Male ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Revascularization ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate ; Transplants ; Ventricular Septal Rupture

BACKGROUND: Since video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) was introduced as a new treatment modality for empyema thoracis, numerous reports have suggested that VATS is a more effective treatment method than the traditional methods that mainly use antibiotics and drainage apparatus. However, no confirmative evidence of the superiority of VATS over the traditional method has been provided yet. METHODS: We attempted to evaluate the efficacy of VATS for the treatment of empyema thoracis by reviewing past medical records and simple chest films. First, we divided the patients into two groups based on the treatment method: group A of 15 patients who were treated with the traditional method between January 2001 and December 2003, and group B of 9 patients who were treated with VATS between December 2003 and August 2006. The final outcomes used in this study were the number of days of hospital stay, chest tube duration, leukocytosis duration, febrile duration, and intravenous antibiotics usage duration. In addition, radiological improvements were compared. RESULTS: The mean age(+/-standard deviation) of 11 men and 4 women in group A was 58.2+/-15.7 years, and of 9 men and 2 women in group B was 51.6+/-9.5 years. Group B had a significantly shorter hospital stay (16.6+/-7.4 vs. 33.7+/-22.6 days; p=0.014), shorter chest tube duration (10.5+/-5.7 vs. 19.5+/-14.4 days; p=0.039), shorter leukocytosis duration (6.7+/-6.5 vs. 18.8+/-13.2 days; p=0.008), shorter febrile duration (0.8+/-1.8 vs. 9.4+/-9.2 days; p=0.004), and shorter duration of intravenous antibiotics usage (14.9+/-6.4 vs. 25.4+/-13.9 days; p=0.018). However, radiological improvements did not show any statistical differences. CONCLUSION: Early application of VATS for empyema thoracis treatment reduced hospital stay, thoracostomy tube duration, leukocytosis duration, febrile duration, and antibiotics usage duration in comparison with the traditional methods. The early performing of VATS might be an effective treatment modality for empyema thoracis.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Chest Tubes ; Drainage ; Empyema* ; Empyema, Pleural ; Female ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Leukocytosis ; Male ; Medical Records ; Pleural Diseases ; Thoracic Surgery, Video-Assisted* ; Thoracostomy ; Thorax

BACKGROUND: Esophageal perforation is an emergency that requires early diagnosis and effective treatment. A delay in diagnosis and treatment significantly increases morbidity and mortality. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Thirty-seven patients with esophageal perforation were surgically treated at our institutions between January 1990 and December 2006. We retrospectively reviewed the results of surgical treatment for esophageal perforation to understand the risk factors affecting survival in patients. RESULT: Patients ranged in age from 21 to 87 years, with an average age of 52.7+/-16.98 years. Thirty-one of the patients were men and six were women. There were 23 patients (62%) with spontaneous perforations, 10 patients (27%) with a traumatic perforation, and 4 patients (11%) with an iatrogenic perforation. The site of esophageal perforation was the cervical esophagus in 5 patients, the thoracic esophagus in 31 patients, and the abdominal esophagus in one patient. Twenty-nine patients underwent primary closure of the perforation and five patients had T-tube drainage. Exclusion-diversion procedures were performed in two patients and an esophagectomy was performed in one patient. There were six cases of mortality (16.22%) and 25 cases of postoperative complications in 15 patients (40.5%). Patients that were treated later than 24 hours after detection of the perforation showed a statistically significant high morbidity and mortality rate (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The most important risk factor of esophageal perforation was the time interval between detection of the perforation and the initiation of treatment. A prompt diagnosis and effective treatment are necessary to decrease morbidity and mortality.
Drainage ; Early Diagnosis ; Emergencies ; Esophageal Perforation ; Esophagectomy ; Esophagus ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Postoperative Complications ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors

Between June 1994 to August 1996, 13 patients underwent emergency coronary artery bypass operations. There were 3 males and 10 females and ages ranged from 56 to 80 years with the mean of 65.5 years. The indications for emergency operations were cardiogenic shock in 12 cases and intractable polymorphic VT(ventricular tachycardia) in 1 case. The causes of cardiogenic shock were acute evolving infarction in 6 cases, PTCA failure in 4 cases, acute myocardial infarction in 1 case, and post-AMI VSR(ventricular septal rupture) in 1 case. Five out of 13 patients could go to operating room within 2 hours. However, the operations were delayed from 3 to 10 hours in 8 patients due to non-medical causes. In 12 patients, 37 distal anastomoses were constructed with only 3 LITA's(left internal thoracic arteries) and 34 saphenous veins. In a patient with post-AMI VSR, VSR repair was added. In a patient with intractable VT and critical stenosis limited to left main coronary artery, left main coronary angioplasty was performed. Five patients died after operation with the operative mortality of 38.5%. Three patients died in the operating room due to LV pump failure, one patient died due to intractable ventricular tachycardia on postoperative second day, and one patient died on postoperative 7th day due to multi-organ failure with complications of mediastinal bleeding, low cardiac output syndrome, ARF, and lower extremity ischemia due to IABP. In 8 survived patients, 3 major complications (mediastinitis, PMI, UGI bleeding) developed but eventually recovered. We think that the aggressive approach to critically ill patients will salvage some of such patients and the most important factor for patient salvage is early surgical intervention before irreversible damage occurs.
Angioplasty ; Cardiac Output, Low ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Bypass* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Critical Illness ; Emergencies* ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Infarction ; Ischemia ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Mortality ; Myocardial Infarction ; Operating Rooms ; Saphenous Vein ; Shock ; Shock, Cardiogenic* ; Tachycardia, Ventricular

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to examine various clinical factors for their ablity to predict mortality in geriatric patients following trauma. METHODS: In this retrospective study, medical records from Chun Cheon Sacred Heart hospital were reviewed for patients 65 years and older who sustained trauma. The following variables were extracted and examined, independently and in combination, for their ablity to predict death: age, gender, mechanism of injury, blood pressure, and respiration, pulse rate, as well as Glasgow Coma Score, Revised Trauma Score, and Injury Severity Score. These patients had entered the hospital following trauma during a 2-year period (1999-2000). RESULTS: the Injury Severity Score (more than 28), the Glasgow Coma Score (less than 9), and the Revised Trauma Score (less than 8) were variables that correlated with mortality. Mortality rates were higher for men than for women. Admission variables associated with the highest risks of death included hypotension (mean blood pressure < 78 mmHg); pedestrian and motorcycle traffic accident; skull fracture, subdural hemorrhage, and diffuse axonal injury; and hemothorax and lung contusion. CONCLUSION: Admission variables in geriatric trauma patients can be used to predict the outcome and may also be useful in making decisions about triage, and treatment of the patient.
Accidents, Traffic ; Blood Pressure ; Coma ; Contusions ; Diffuse Axonal Injury ; Female ; Gangwon-do ; Heart ; Heart Rate ; Hematoma, Subdural ; Hemothorax ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Injury Severity Score ; Lung ; Male ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Motorcycles ; Respiration ; Retrospective Studies ; Skull Fractures ; Triage

As snowboarding has become one of the most popular winter sports, lots of young people enjoy it and they have become the center of this winter sports. However, this increased number of snowboarding lovers results in raising the number of injuries. In the case of severe chest injury caused by snowboarding can be a source of a serious injury such as cardiac tamponade. The development of cardiac tamponade is an acute, life-threatening emergency. To test a cardiac tamponade, a patient with chest trauma should be diagnosed from the information given by a physical examination and simple chest radiography. If the heart is doubted to be wounded, an emergency echocardiography has to be executed. An emergency treatment for the cardiac tamponade patient is to normal saline infusion quickly to augment the capacity of a blood vessel. Extremely, surgeries such as pericardiocentesis or pericardiotomy can be applied to ease the pressure inside the heart. Some patients with chest blunt trauma while snowboarding developed cardiac tamponade and they were successfully recovered through pericardiocentesis. This precedent is reported here with the consideration of the references.
Blood Vessels ; Cardiac Tamponade* ; Echocardiography ; Emergencies ; Emergency Treatment ; Heart ; Humans ; Pericardiectomy ; Pericardiocentesis ; Physical Examination ; Radiography ; Skiing* ; Sports ; Thoracic Injuries ; Thorax* ; Wounds and Injuries