PURPOSE: To report a patient with a pseudophakic bullous keratopathy (PBK) who underwent Descemet's membrane stripping endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK) with manual preparation of the donor corneal graft.CASE SUMMARY: A 61-year-old female presented with visual disturbance in her right eye. Five months prior, she was treated with phacoemulsification and intraocular lens exchange surgery of the right eye, and a very severe corneal edema was revealed by slit-lamp examination. We diagnosed PBK and planned DSEK with manual preparation of a donor corneal graft because of the non-availability of a microkeratome or a femtosecond laser. After making the corneal graft using an artificial anterior chamber, crescent knife and cornea dissector, the keratoplasty proceeded using the graft. Three months after surgery, her graft was well-maintained on the right eye. The patient's visual acuity was 0.3, and the corneal endothelial cell count was 1,844/mm².CONCLUSIONS: Manual preparation of the donor corneal graft for DSEK is suitable as a second choice treatment method when the availability of surgical devices is limited.
Anterior Chamber ; Cornea ; Corneal Edema ; Corneal Transplantation ; Descemet Membrane ; Endothelial Cells ; Female ; Humans ; Lenses, Intraocular ; Methods ; Middle Aged ; Phacoemulsification ; Tissue Donors ; Transplants ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: To investigate the clinical features and surgical outcomes of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) requiring surgery according to age. METHODS: Medical records of patients who underwent surgery for primary RRD between January 2008 and March 2016 were reviewed retrospectively. Patients were classified into two groups according to age at diagnosis: the under-40 group and the over-40 group. The two groups were compared in terms of demographic features, ocular manifestation, operating methods, primary anatomical success rate, and visual outcome. RESULTS: One hundred and forty-four eyes from 144 patients were included. Mean subject age was 48.6 ± 16.9 years old. The under-40 group involved 42 eyes from 42 patients, and the over-40 group included 102 eyes from 102 patients. Symptom duration was shorter in the under-40 group compared to the over-40 group (7.6 ± 10.7 days vs. 14.5 ± 24.4 days; p = 0.029). Proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) occurred more frequently in the under-40 group (40.0% vs. 17.4%, p = 0.007) than in the over-40 group. The anatomical success rate of primary surgery was significantly different between the two groups; 78.6% in the under-40 group and 91.2% in the over-40 group (p = 0.038). Preoperative PVR increased the rate of anatomical failure (40.0% vs. 6.2%, p < 0.001). The visual outcomes were not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: RRD is combined with PVR more frequently in young patients than in old patients, which increases the failure rate of primary re-attachment surgery.
Diagnosis ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Retinal Detachment* ; Retinaldehyde* ; Retrospective Studies ; Scleral Buckling ; Vitrectomy ; Vitreoretinopathy, Proliferative

We performed two trials of external quality assessment for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) subcommittee of Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratory (KAQACL) in 2009. The number of participating laboratories were 110, which is similar with that of previous 3 years. Average response rates were 97.8% in both trials, similar to those of previous years. Two kinds of control materials were requested to be tested in each trial so that each institution could find the possible systematic errors. The average drug item responded was 6.2 per institution, which was decreased slightly from 6.5 in recent 5 years. The most common test items were valproic acid, digoxin, carbamazepine, phenytoin, and theophylline which were peformed in more than 63.8% of participating laboratories, followed by phenobarbital, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, vancomycin, lithium, methotrexate, amikacin, gentamicin, acetaminophen, tobramycin, salicylate, free phenytoin, amitryptyline, ethosuximide, and primidone. The widely used TDM analyzers were Abbott AxSym (26.9%), followed by Abbott TDx/TDxFLx (24.8%), Roche Cobas Integra (15.1%), Siemens Diagnostics Viva-E (5.5%), Roche cobas c501 (5.1%), Siemens Diagnostics Dimension (3.4%), and many other analyzers. The inter-laboratory coefficients of variations showed similar tendency comparing with those of the previous years. The number of participating laboratories for drug of abuse (DOA) tests were 19, which was slightly increased compared to that of the previous year. Average DOA items were 3.8~4.2. We found the good performance of participating laboratories for DOA. In conclusion, the TDM and DOA external quality assessment of 2009 showed similar performance comparing with that of the recent 3 years.
Acetaminophen ; Amikacin ; Carbamazepine ; Cyclosporine ; Digoxin ; Drug Monitoring ; Ethosuximide ; Gentamicins ; Korea ; Lithium ; Methotrexate ; Phenobarbital ; Phenytoin ; Primidone ; Tacrolimus ; Theophylline ; Tobramycin ; Valproic Acid ; Vancomycin

Two trials of external quality assessment for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) subcommittee of Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratory (KAQACL) were performed in 2008. The number of participating laboratories were 114, which is similar with that of the previous year. Average response rates were 97.8% in both trials slightly lower than that of the previous year. Two kinds of control materials were requested to be tested in each trial so that each laboratory could know the possible systematic error. The average drug item was 6.3 per laboratory, which was decreased slightly from 6.8 in recent 5 years, and the maximum was 18 items. The most common test items were valproic acid, digoxin, carbamazepine, theophylline, phenytoin, and phenobarbital which were peformed in more than 52.1% of participating laboratories, followed by cyclosporine, vancomycin, tacrolimus, lithium, methotrexate, amikacin, tobramycin, gentamycin, acetaminophen, salicylate, free phenytoin, primidone, and amitryptyline. The widely used TDM analyzers were Abbott TDx/TDxFLx (35.3%), followed by Abbott AxSym (26.5%) and Roche Cobas Integra (17.3%), Abbott IMx (3.3%), and Siemens Viva E (3.0%). The inter-laboratory coefficients of variations showed similar tendency comparing with those of the previous years. The number of participating laboratories for drug of abuse tests were 17, which is similar to that of the previous year. Average drug item were 3.7 for the 1st trial. We found the relatively good performance as we got the correct answers for all laboratories except 2 laboratories. In conclusion, the TDM external quality assessment of 2008 showed grossly similar pattern comparing with that of previous year.
Acetaminophen ; Amikacin ; Carbamazepine ; Cyclosporine ; Digoxin ; Drug Monitoring ; Gentamicins ; Korea ; Lithium ; Methotrexate ; Phenobarbital ; Phenytoin ; Primidone ; Tacrolimus ; Theophylline ; Tobramycin ; Valproic Acid ; Vancomycin

Two trials of external quality assessment for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) subcommittee of Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratory (KAQACL) were performed in 2007. Number of participating laboratories were increased to 109, by 5.63% increase comparing with the previous year. Response rates reached 98.7% for both trials slightly lower than that of the previous year. Two kinds of control materials were requested to be tested in each trial so that each institution could know the possible systematic error. In both trials, 20 test items were responded at least from one laboratory. The average drug item was 6.3 per institution, which was decreased slightly from 6.8 in recent 5 years. The most common test items were valproic acid, digoxin, carbamazepine, theophylline, phenytoin, and phenobarbital which were peformed in more than 55% of the participating laboratories, followed by cyclosporine, vancomycin, lithium, tacrolimus, methotrexate, amikacin, gentamicin, salicylate, tobramycin, acetaminophen, primidone, free phenytoin, and amitryptyline. The inter-laboratory coefficients of variations showed simliar tendency comparing with those of the previous years. We started the proficiency test for drug of abuse from 2007 and got the response from 13 and 17 laboratories in the 1st and 2nd trial, respectively. Average drug items were 3.4 for the 2nd trial. We found the relatively good performances as we got the correct answers from all laboratories except 4 for each one mistake. In conclusion, the TDM external quality assessment of 2007 showed grossly similar pattern comparing with those of previous year and drug of abuse proficiency testing showed a relatively good performance.
Acetaminophen ; Amikacin ; Carbamazepine ; Cyclosporine ; Digoxin ; Drug Monitoring ; Gentamicins ; Korea ; Lithium ; Methotrexate ; Phenobarbital ; Phenytoin ; Primidone ; Tacrolimus ; Theophylline ; Tobramycin ; Valproic Acid ; Vancomycin

Two trials of external quality assessment for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) subcommittee of Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Laboratory (KAQACL) were performed in 2007. Number of participating laboratories were increased to 109, by 5.63% increase comparing with the previous year. Response rates reached 98.7% for both trials slightly lower than that of the previous year. Two kinds of control materials were requested to be tested in each trial so that each institution could know the possible systematic error. In both trials, 20 test items were responded at least from one laboratory. The average drug item was 6.3 per institution, which was decreased slightly from 6.8 in recent 5 years. The most common test items were valproic acid, digoxin, carbamazepine, theophylline, phenytoin, and phenobarbital which were peformed in more than 55% of the participating laboratories, followed by cyclosporine, vancomycin, lithium, tacrolimus, methotrexate, amikacin, gentamicin, salicylate, tobramycin, acetaminophen, primidone, free phenytoin, and amitryptyline. The inter-laboratory coefficients of variations showed simliar tendency comparing with those of the previous years. We started the proficiency test for drug of abuse from 2007 and got the response from 13 and 17 laboratories in the 1st and 2nd trial, respectively. Average drug items were 3.4 for the 2nd trial. We found the relatively good performances as we got the correct answers from all laboratories except 4 for each one mistake. In conclusion, the TDM external quality assessment of 2007 showed grossly similar pattern comparing with those of previous year and drug of abuse proficiency testing showed a relatively good performance.
Acetaminophen ; Amikacin ; Carbamazepine ; Cyclosporine ; Digoxin ; Drug Monitoring ; Gentamicins ; Korea ; Lithium ; Methotrexate ; Phenobarbital ; Phenytoin ; Primidone ; Tacrolimus ; Theophylline ; Tobramycin ; Valproic Acid ; Vancomycin

BACKGROUND: Numerous studies have identified that physical activity influences decrements of both mortality and morbidity. Besides these objective indices, positive influences of physical activity on individuals' lives are being studied upon various populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of physical activity on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in relatively healthy adults of Korea. METHODS: Questionnaires were sent by mail to one thousand examinees who were scheduled for health check-up. We analyzed data from 214 men and 195 women. The physical activities were measured using the International Physical Activity Questionnaraire (IPAQ)-short form and the HRQOL was assessed by the CMCHS ver 1.0. The subjects were separated by gender and into either a recommended level of physical activity group or a lower physical activity group according to the physical activity scale. RESULTS: The group with physical activity beyond the recommended level had better HRQOL measures than those who did not. After revising the factors that affected the HRQOL, cognition of present heath status, satisfaction for health status, bodily pain, physical function, emotional function, social function and general health measure scores were significantly higher in the female group with physical activity beyond recommended quantity than those who did not. However, there were no statical significance in the male group. CONCLUSION: Physical activity was associated with health related quality of life in middle aged women.
Adult ; Cognition ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mortality ; Motor Activity* ; Postal Service ; Quality of Life* ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND/AIMS: This study was done to evaluate the efficacy of rabeprazole (proton-pump-inhibitor) and ranitidine (H2-receptor antagonist) in the symptom relief and treatment of erosive esophagitis diagnosed by endoscopy. METHODS: A total of 110 patients with typical gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) symptoms were enrolled in this multicenter study. They were randomized into rabeprazole group (53 patients) and ranitidine group (57 patients) respectively. The patients in rabeprazole group were given 10 mg of rabeprazole and ranitidine group received 300 mg of ranitidine before breakfast and dinner for 8 weeks. After the end of treatment, we evaluated the endoscopic healing rate of reflux esophagitis and symptomatic improvement. RESULTS: After 8 weeks of treatment, rabeprazole group showed significantly higher complete endoscopic cure rate than ranitidine group (86.8% [46/53] vs. 57.9% [33/57], p=0.001) and higher symptomatic improvement of heartburn (91.2% [31/34] vs. 76.2% [32/42], p=0.085), especially in the first 7 days (76.7% vs. 45.3%, p=0.008). Also, rabeprazole group showed significantly higher improvement of regurgitation symptom than ranitidine group (100% [35/35] vs. 83% [39/47], p=0.009). Both group showed no differences in the improvement of chest pain and globus sensation. All the adverse events (rabeprazole group 4 events vs. ranitidine group 3 events) were mild and there was no abnormality in laboratory test. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with GERD, rabeprazole 10 mg b.i.d. is superior to ranitidine 300 mg b.i.d. in healing of reflux esophagitis and resolving typical GERD symptoms. Rabeprazole is an effective and well-tolerated drug for GERD treatment.
2-Pyridinylmethylsulfinylbenzimidazoles ; Adult ; Anti-Ulcer Agents/*therapeutic use ; Benzimidazoles/*therapeutic use ; Esophagitis, Peptic/*drug therapy ; Female ; Histamine H2 Antagonists/*therapeutic use ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Omeprazole/*analogs & derivatives/therapeutic use ; Proton Pumps/*antagonists & inhibitors ; Proton-Translocating ATPases/therapeutic use ; Ranitidine/*therapeutic use

Two trials of external quality assessment for Therapeutic Drug Monitoring (TDM) subcommittee of Korean Association of Quality Assurance for Clinical Pathology (KAQACP) were performed in 2005. The number of participating laboratories were increased to 95, by 6.7% comparing with the previous year. Response rates were 100.0% for both trials just like the two previous years. Two kinds of control materials were requested to be tested in each trial so that each institution could know the possible systematic error. In both trials, 20 test items were responded at least from one laboratory. The average drug item was 6.7 per institution, which was elevated slightly from 6.5 in recent 5 years. The most common test items were digoxin, valproic acid, carbamazepine, theophylline, phenytoin, and phenobarbital which were peformed in more than 65% of participating laboratories, followed by cyclosporine, lithium, vancomycin, tacrolimus, methotrexate, amikacin, gentamycin, tobramycin, salicylate, primidone, acetaminophen, free phenytoin, amitryptyline, and ethosuximide. The most widely used TDM analyzer was Abbott TDx/TDxFLx (41.7%), followed by Abbott AxSym (23.3%), and Roche Cobas Integra (19.2%). The inter-laboratory coefficients of variations were not much improved comparing with previous years. We also determined cyclosporine with reference method using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. In conclusion, the TDM external quality assessment of 2005 showed grossly similar pattern comparing with those of previous year with increasing participating laboratories.
Acetaminophen ; Amikacin ; Carbamazepine ; Cyclosporine ; Digoxin ; Drug Monitoring* ; Ethosuximide ; Gentamicins ; Korea* ; Lithium ; Mass Spectrometry ; Methotrexate ; Pathology, Clinical ; Phenobarbital ; Phenytoin ; Primidone ; Tacrolimus ; Theophylline ; Tobramycin ; Valproic Acid ; Vancomycin

This study was conducted to investigate the mothers' nutritional knowledge on weaning of 101 infants (8 for 4 mo, 44 for 5 mo, 45 for 6 mo, 4 for 7 mo) at a public health center of Incheon. Informations on the mothers' nutritional knowledge were obtained by questionnaires. In this survey 41.6% of infants were breast-feeding, 43.6% of them were bottle-feeding, and 14.9% of them were mixed feeding right after birth. The rate of breast-feeding right after birth was significantly higher in mothers of high school graduate than mothers of college/university graduate (p < 0.05). The infants of mothers graduated high school began to be weaned significantly earlier than the infants of mothers graduated college/university (p < 0.05). 95.1% of infants (n = 101) began to be weaned 4 to 6 months. 83.1% of infants were fed home-made weaning foods. 66.7% of infants were fed rice gruel, 18.5% of them were fruit juice, 6.2% of them were mixed grain, and 4.9% of them were commercially prepared weaning foods as their first supplementary foods. As main supplementary foods, 32.8% of infants were fed vegetable, 30.5% of them were rice gruel, and 27.7% of them were fruit juice. Mothers' nutritional knowledge related to weaning was significantly higher among mothers of college/university graduate than mothers of high school graduate (p < 0.05). 86.1% of mothers disagreed with the questionnaire in which breast-fed infants aged over 4 months needed to be fed iron sufficient food. For the improvement of nutritional status especially iron nutritional status of infants, nutritional education for mothers with weaning aged infants has to be increased and related programs have to be operated effectively.
Edible Grain ; Education ; Fruit ; Humans ; Incheon ; Infant* ; Iron ; Mothers ; Nutritional Status ; Parturition ; Public Health ; Vegetables ; Weaning*