BACKGROUND: Although intralesional methotrexate (MTX) is an effective, nonsurgical treatment of keratoacanthoma (KA), there have not been many reports of on the MTX treatment for KA in Korea. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical efficacy of the intralesional MTX for the treatment of KA in Korean patients. METHODS: We retrospectively studied seven patients with KA who received intralesional injection of MTX in our department. The efficacy was evaluated based on the physician assessment. Our review also included the cases of KA treated with intralesional MTX in Korean patients from the previous reports. We then analyzed the therapeutic regimens in the Korean patients by comparing them with the Caucasian patients. RESULTS: We identified 11 cases of Korean KA patients treated with an intralesional MTX, including seven from our institution and four from the Korean literature. Ten of the 11 patients (91%) showed a complete resolution with an intralesional MTX. No adverse events were observed during the treatment and the follow-up periods. No recurrence was found during the follow-up. In therapeutic analysis, the Korean patients required 2 to 7 injections (mean 4.6 injections) to achieve a tumor resolution with the mean time to clearing at 7.6 weeks. CONCLUSION: Intralesional MTX can be an effective and safe non-operative treatment modality for most Koreans with KA.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Injections, Intralesional ; Keratoacanthoma* ; Korea ; Methotrexate* ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies*

Schonlein-Henoch purpura is a generalized small vessel vasculitis characterized by nonthrombocytopenic purpura, arthritis, abdominal pain and nephritis. In 1914 Osler described an allergic purpura associated with hemiplegia. After then Lewis et al. reported the cases of Schonlein-Henoch purpura associated with convulsion, coma, confusion, intracranial hemorrhage, and chorea, CNS complication has been reported in 1-8% of children and subsided spontaneously in most cases. Headache is a remarkable sympton and appears nonspecific nature. In 1991 Ostergaard and Storm reported that headache occured during the first week following skin rash and frequently showed abnormal EEG findings. We investigated prospectively the presence of a possible cerebral and renal involvement in the case of Schonlein-Henoch purpura. EEG abnormality demonstrated in 52.6% of all cases, and headache or irritability in 47.4% of all cases. A significant association was found between abnormal EEG finding and presence of headache, but was not found between EEG findings and presence of renal involvement and hypertension. Patients with abnormal EEG had no Past or famity history of febrile convulsion or ididopathic epilepsy.
Abdominal Pain ; Arthritis ; Child ; Chorea ; Coma ; Electroencephalography* ; Epilepsy ; Exanthema ; Headache ; Hemiplegia ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Intracranial Hemorrhages ; Nephritis ; Prospective Studies ; Purpura, Schoenlein-Henoch* ; Seizures ; Seizures, Febrile ; Vasculitis

BACKGROUND: Keloids and hypertrophic scars represent excessive scarring. They require different therapeutic approaches, which can be hampered because of an apparent lack of morphologic difference between the two diseases. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the clinical and dermoscopic features of keloids and hypertrophic scars in order to help dermatologists distinguish these lesions better. METHODS: A total of 41 keloids and hypertrophic scars in 41 patients were examined clinically and by performing dermoscopy with a digital imaging system. Lesions were evaluated for vascular structures. RESULTS: Dermoscopy revealed vascular structures in most keloid lesions (90%) but in only 27% of hypertrophic scar lesions. The most common dermoscopic vascular structures in keloids were arborizing (52%), followed by linear irregular (33%) and commashaped (15%); these features were present but less evident in hypertrophic scars (9% for all types). The distribution frequency of the vascular structures differed significantly between diseases (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: A strong association of vascular structures with keloids was observed on dermoscopic examination. The results suggest dermoscopic examination of vascular structures is a clinically useful diagnostic tool for differentiating between keloids and hypertrophic scars.
Blood Vessels ; Cicatrix ; Cicatrix, Hypertrophic* ; Dermoscopy* ; Humans ; Keloid*

PURPOSE: To report a case of complete recovery within 1 day of cortical blindness associated with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). CASE SUMMARY: A 15-year-old girl, who had no ophthalmologic disease, complained of bilateral visual loss immediately after ECT. At the first ophthalmologic examination, best corrected visual acuity was 0.03 in both eyes. Findings of anterior segment and fundus, movement of external ocular muscles, and pupillary light reflex were normal. Visual field examination showed generalized reduction of sensitivity and increased fixation loss in both eyes. Optical coherence tomography revealed no abnormalities. Electroretinography was normal, and a slightly prolonged latency of P100 was noted in the right and left flash visual evoked potentials. Without any specific treatment, the patient's vision improved gradually after 18 hours of ECT and was recovered completely, with vision of 1.0 in both eyes the next day. There were no abnormalities in visual evoked potentials or the visual field. CONCLUSIONS: Transient visual loss can occur after ECT, because of cortical blindness by transient cerebral ischemia, and can be recovered completely without specific treatment.
Adolescent ; Blindness, Cortical ; Electroconvulsive Therapy ; Electroretinography ; Evoked Potentials, Visual ; Eye ; Humans ; Ischemic Attack, Transient ; Light ; Muscles ; Reflex ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Vision, Ocular ; Visual Acuity ; Visual Fields

Paraquat (1, 1'-dimethy-14, 4' dipyridium chloride: Gramoxon(r)) was first discovered in England in 1955. It has been widely distributed for use in Korea since 1970 as a pesticide and also often the cause of accidental intoxications. The authors would like to report the following case of paraquat intoxicatio in a 13 year old female child admitted via emergency room with complaints of epigastric pain, vomiting and hematuria of four days duration. On admission the data of laboratory evaluation were as follows: BUN/Cr 126/11.6 mg/dl; sGOT/sGPT 641/641 IU/L; total bilirubin/direct bilirubin 3.9/2.4 mg/dl; alkaline phosphatase 396.1 U/L; fecal occult blood test-positive; pH 7.428, pCO2 26.2 mmHg, pO2 131.4 mmHg, base excess -5.0 mmol/L on arterial blood gas analysis (ABGA). Gastroendoscopy revealed esophageal ulcers, and as symptoms of renal failure could not be relieved by hemodialysis, kidney biopsy was performed on the otherwise previously healthy child to establish the cause of renal failure. The result of biopsy revealed tubular necrosis with eosinophilic infiltrations. A more detailed retrograde probe of the child's past medical history evoked that the patient had ingested paraquat in a suicidal attempt. Supportive therapy and hemodialysis were continued thereafter, but the symptoms of renal failure could not be reversed, and the patient eventually died due to acute respiratory distress syndrome.
Adolescent ; Alkaline Phosphatase ; Bilirubin ; Biopsy ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Child ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; England ; Eosinophils ; Female ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Kidney ; Korea ; Necrosis* ; Occult Blood ; Paraquat* ; Renal Dialysis ; Renal Insufficiency ; Respiratory Distress Syndrome, Adult ; Ulcer ; Vomiting

A clinical and statistical study was performed on 213 neonates of hyperbilirubinemia who were admitted to department of pediatrics of Korea University Hospital from Jan. 1989 to Jun. 1991. and we studied the difference between ABO compatible group and incompatible group, such as, day of apperance of hyperbilirubinemia, tendency of bilirubin concentration change, reticulocyte, hemoglobin and duration of hyperbilirubinemia. The following results were obtained. 1) There were no difference of initial body weight and gestational age between compatible (3.0 +/- 0.72kg, 38.2 +/- 3.2 weeks) and incompatible groups (3.2 +/- 0.54kg, 39.1 +/- 2.8 weeks). 2) Onset of hyperbilirubinemia within 2 days in the incompatible group (40.5%) was earlier than the compatible group (23.5%) significantly (p<0.05). 3) Mean bilirubin level in the incompatible group was higher than the compatible group significantly (p<0.05). 4) Peak bilirubin level in the incompatible group(18.7+/-4.1mg/dl) was higher than the compatible group (14.8+/-3.4mg/dl) significantly (p<0.05). 5) There were no difference of hemoglobin level, reticulocyte count, coombs positive finding and the ratio of exchange transfusion between two groups.
Bilirubin ; Body Weight ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Hyperbilirubinemia ; Hyperbilirubinemia, Neonatal* ; Infant, Newborn ; Korea ; Pediatrics ; Reticulocyte Count ; Reticulocytes ; Statistics as Topic

No abstract available.
Anemia, Refractory* ; Cyclosporine*

In Korea, all domestic made test systems for detecting antibodies in HIV-1 contain the antigens from human immunodeficiency type 1 (HIV-1) subtype B. However, because HIV-1 subtype O is significantly different in amino acid sequences from all other subtypes of HIV-1, there has been a need for developing a test for detecting antibodies in subtype O. For this purpose, the entire nucleotide sequence corresponding to the extracellular domain of the transmembrane glycoprotein of HIV-1 subtype O was synthesized with consideration of Escherichia coli cordon usage. Various regions of the extracellular domain were cloned into E. coli expression vectors and tested for levels of protein production. The nucleotide sequence, named ECTM, that can encode a 129 amino acid-long peptide, was found to be expressed at a high level in E. coli. The protein of approximately 17 kDa specifically reacted with sera from individuals infected with HIV-1 subtype O. The ECTM protein was purified to near homogeneity by the CM-T gel chromatography, using concentrated, denatured inclusion bodies. In Western blot analysis, the purified viral antigen reacted with sera from individuals infected with subtype O more efficiently than subtype B. The enzyme linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA) system was developed using the subtype O viral protein and compared with the commercially available kit lacking the antigens from subtype O. The ELISA kit containing the subtype O antigen ECTM alone efficiently reacted with sera from individuals infected with subtype O. The subtype O antigen-containing kit produced a positive absorbence even when sera were diluted 512-fold, suggesting a high sensitivity. The commercially available kit also reacted with subtype O sera, but produced a negative result at a dilution of 8-fold. Our results suggest that the currently available kit may not be able to efficiently detect subtype O sera and that the viral protein developed in this study may be added to the current system to maximize the detection of sera from individuals infected with subtype O.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Antibodies ; Base Sequence ; Blotting, Western ; Chromatography, Gel ; Clone Cells ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Escherichia coli ; Glycoproteins ; HIV* ; HIV-1* ; Humans* ; Inclusion Bodies ; Korea ; O Antigens

PURPOSE: Survival rate after renal transplantation has increased in according to the prolonged graft survival due to a development of new immunosuppressive agents and operative techniques. Therefore, the develpment of malignancy in renal transplant recipients has become the major cause of morbidity and mortality. METHODS: The retrospective analysis was performed in 4 patients with malignancy among the 315 patients who underwent kidney transplantation in our hospital from August 1990 to March 2001 and 1 patient with malignancy who underwent kidney transplantation in other hospital and was followed up in our hospital. RESULTS: In five malignancy, 3 were adenocarcinoma in stomach, 1 lobular carcinoma in breast and 1 squamous cell carcinoma in uterine cervix. The mean age of these patients at diagnosis of malignancy was 48.4 (35~60) and the average interval between renal transplantation and diagnosis of malignancy was 69.8 months. Surgical resection was done in all five patients. Chemotherapy was performed in 1 patients with advanced gastric cancer and 1 patient with breast cancer. Four patients are now alive and one patient was lost during follow-up period. CONCLUSION: We reviewed the incidences and types of malignancy after renal transplantation in our hospital. Regular screening and careful surveillance are highly recommended in patients after renal transplantation.
Adenocarcinoma ; Breast ; Breast Neoplasms ; Carcinoma, Lobular ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cervix Uteri ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Graft Survival ; Humans ; Immunosuppressive Agents ; Incidence ; Kidney Transplantation ; Mass Screening ; Mortality ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Survival Rate ; Transplantation*

The fracture of the humerus during arm wrestling are uncommon, but may occur in the shaft or medial condyle. In the shaft of humerus, the fractures are usually spiral and between the middle and distal third, with or without neurological involvement. A case of a comminuted spiral fracture with butterfly fragment of the distal third of the humerus is reported which had occurred during arm wrestling and was treated by open reduction and internal fixation. The possible mechanism of injury and the question of treatment are discussed.
Arm ; Butterflies ; Humerus ; Wrestling