The characteristics of echocardiographic dilated cardiomyopathy according to its etiologic factors were studied from June, 1984 to September, 1986 in Pusan national University Hosptial. The cases included in the study were 144 patients, 90 cases of male and 54 cases of female respectively ranging the age from 17 years old to 79 years old. Patients with valvular heart disease were excluded in this study. The results were as follows: 1) Primary dilated cardiomyopathy was 40.3%, and secondary dilated cardiomyopathy was 59.7% of the study group. In secondary dilated cardiomyopathy, its etiologic factors were hypertension 17.4%, ischemic heart disease 27.8%, thyrotoxicosis 5.6%, chronic renal failure 4.8%, pregnancy 3.4% and alcohol drinking 0.7%. 2) Atrial fibrillation was noted in 32.6% of primary, 36.0% of hypertensive, 30.0% of ischemic and 62.5% of toxic cardiomyopathy. Conduction disturbance was noted in 57.1% of uremic cardiomopathy, it was far more frequent comparing with other cases of cardiomyopathy ranging 20-30%. 3) The frequency of end-diastolic internal dimension of left ventricle over 6.0cm was 58.6% in primary, 68.0% in hypertensive, 75.0% in ischemic, 71.4% in uremic and 40.0% in postpartum cardiomyopathy. 4) The frequency of ejection fraction of left ventricle below 40% was 17.2% in primary, 8.0% in hypertensive, and 28.2% in ischemic cardiomyopathy. 5) The paradoxical motion of anteroseptal wall of left ventricle was observed in 6.9% of primary, 4.0% of hypertensive, and 17.5% of ischemic cardiomyopathy. The ratio of anteroseptal wall motion to posterior wall motion below 0.4 was 15.6% in primary, 20.0% in hypertensive, and 25.0% in ischemic cardiomyopathy. 6) The frequency and grade of mitral regurgitation became increased with the dilatation of left ventricle. 7) The follow-up of cardiothoracic ratio was helpful significantly in the prediction of prognosis.
Adolescent ; Aged ; Alcohol Drinking ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Busan ; Cardiomyopathies ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated* ; Dilatation ; Echocardiography* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Valve Diseases ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Male ; Mitral Valve Insufficiency ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Postpartum Period ; Pregnancy ; Prognosis ; Thyrotoxicosis

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial infections caused by vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) are increasing problem in Korea. Until now, no nationwide study has been performed. The aim of the present study was to monitor the antimicrobial resistance of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREF). METHODS: Two hundred and two E. faecium isolated in 10 teaching hospital were studied. To detect VRE, the brain heart infusion agar containing 6 /mL vancomycin was used as the screening agar. The MIC was determined using agar dilution test. The vancomycin resistance genes (vanA, vanB & vanD) and genes (aac(6 ') Ie-aph(2 ") Ia & ant(6 ') Ia encoding the aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes were detected by multiplex PCR using specific primers. RESULTS: Thirty-nine VREF were detected from 202 isolates. All had vancomycin MICs > or =256 /mL and harboured vanA gene. No isolates revealed positive results for the vanB or vanD gene. However, the MIC range for teicoplanin was 2 to > or =256 /mL. All isolates with gentamicin MIC > or = 500 /mL gave positive results for the aac(6 ') Ie aph(2 ") Ia genes and with streptomycin > or =2000 /mL gave positive results for the ant(6 ') Ia gene. CONCLUSIONS: All VREF harboured vanA gene. According to MIC tests, 7 isolates(18%) showed intermediate or susceptible to teicoplanin. Therefore we need a study concerning the clinical meaning. The VREF in Korea contain at least one of genes encoding the aminoglycoside-modifying enzymes. This means there are only limited numbers of antibiotics to choose.
Agar ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Brain ; Cross Infection ; Enterococcus faecium* ; Enterococcus* ; Gentamicins ; Heart ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Korea* ; Mass Screening ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Streptomycin ; Teicoplanin ; Vancomycin ; Vancomycin Resistance

Various remedies have been developed for broad damage to soft tissue in limbs by traffic accidents and mechanical mishaps that have greatly increased in modern society. If the damaged part is trivial, it may be generally treated with local flap or skin graft. However, this has been limited by the ability to choose the flap available depending on the condition of the wounded part, so that, if it is rather large or severly inflamed, or if it occurred with a bone-fracture, it is inevitable to practice the free flap. In the past, the focus was on whether the free flap would survive or not. However, the function of donor the and recipient, as well as the problem of aesthetic appearance, gas become a matter of increqsing interest and concern as the survival rate of the flap has greatly improved due to the development of precise operations. In thes study, therefore, some complications were analyzed which may develop in a donor by a variety of free flaps. Preoperative plans, as well as intraoperative and postoperati-ve treatment were also studied to minimize the cause of complications. To investigate these questions, we undertook a clinical analysis of 91 followed patients from 1990 to 1997. There were 68 male and 23 female patients ranging in age from 6 to 67 years, with an average of 34.7 years. The length of follow-up ranged from 8 months to 6 years. The results of this study were as follows: Sufficient plans must be made on the donor before operation, single textures like muscle or fascia should be used if possible, and incision should be arranged along Langer`s line. Some measures to reduce wound tension should be pursued, and plans must be made to immobilize the site for an ample period after the operation. Some precautious should also be considered during the operation, such as avoiding traction surrounding nerves and vessels, preserving paratenon, practicing osteotomy with great care and properly stopping any bleeding. In addition, formation of a hematoma or seroma should be preventcd and the donor must be sutur-ed as soon as possible to reduce infection. With the application of the basic operational principles on the treatment of donors, the complications which might be caused by each free flap can be reduced, and furthermore, be protected against.
Accidents, Traffic ; Extremities ; Fascia ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Free Tissue Flaps* ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Male ; Osteotomy ; Seroma ; Skin ; Survival Rate ; Tissue Donors* ; Traction ; Transplants ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND: Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) infections are caused by Enterococcus faecium in about 90% of the cases but can also be caused by Enterococcus faecalis. Thus, this study investigates factors that cause a low isolation rate of vancomycin-resistant E. faecalis (VREfs). To this end, the authors study the clinical traits, resistant gene structure, genomic classification, and molecular characteristics of the virulent factor. METHODS: From January 2001 through September 2011, 17 vanA-containing E. faecalis isolates were collected from hospitalized patients at Ajou University Hospital in Korea. Identification, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, and PCR of van and esp genes were performed. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) was used for strain typing. PCR and sequencing of the internal regions of Tn1546 were performed for structural analysis of the van gene. RESULTS: Of 4,235 VRE infections, 3,918 (92.5%) were caused by E. faecium, and 95 (2.2%) were caused by E. faecalis. In 67% of VREfs infections, there was a preceding occurrence of E. faecium infection. All isolates were of genotype vanA. Our isolates were divided into three types according to the distribution of IS elements integrated into Tn1546 (types I to IIb). The PFGE results showed no clonal relatedness among isolates. CONCLUSION: Our study found that VREfs infections affect patients who have experienced vancomycin-resistant E. faecium. (VREfm) infection or undergo invasive procedures. The VREfs seems to involve the horizontal transfer of Tn1546 transposon from VREfm.
Classification ; DNA Transposable Elements ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Enterococcus faecalis* ; Enterococcus faecium ; Enterococcus* ; Epidemiology* ; Genotype ; Humans ; Korea ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

The period of study in title should have been listed as ‘in the Past Nine Years’. Therefore, we ask to correct ‘from 2015 to 2017’ with ‘from 2007 to 2015’.

BACKGROUND: Multilocus sequence typing (MLST) is useful in determining the long-term evolutionary process and minimizes differences in experimental results across individuals and laboratories. It is also useful in determining evolutionary origins and backgrounds of bacterial species. This study carries out MLST analysis on VanA-type vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolated from patient specimens in a single university hospital over nine years in order to observe changes in genetic evolution over time. METHODS: During the years from 2007 to 2015, 44 clinical isolates of vanA-containing E. faecium were collected from Ajou University Hospital in Korea. Species were identified by the VitekII system (bio-Merieux, USA), and antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by disk diffusion and E-test according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. To determine genetic relatedness, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF M/S) was employed. To characterize clonal diversity, MLST analysis was used. RESULTS: All isolates were highly resistant to ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, and vancomycin but showed variable levels of resistance to teicoplanin. The 44 clinical isolates were genetically unrelated according to MALDI-TOF M/S analysis. MLST showed that the clinical isolates harbored 6 sequence types (ST), with ST17 (n=19) being the most common, followed by ST78 (n=13), ST192 (n=6), ST64 (n=4), ST262 (n=1), and ST414 (n=1). CONCLUSION: The MLST analysis showed that the sequence types of most isolates belonged to clonal complex 17 This is consistent with outbreaks in hospitals. We had single observations for ST262 and ST414, suggesting that they were random occurrences. MLST can be useful for speculating the genetic evolution of VanA-containing E. faecium isolates.
Ampicillin ; Ciprofloxacin ; Diffusion ; Disease Outbreaks ; Enterococcus faecium* ; Enterococcus* ; Evolution, Molecular ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Spectrometry ; Multilocus Sequence Typing* ; Teicoplanin ; Vancomycin

BACKGROUND: The vanA gene cluster of vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) is carried as a part of Tn1546-like elements. In this study we characterized the structure of Tn1546-like elements in Enterococcus. faecium isolated from patients in Korea. The isolates were also typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). METHODS: During 2000, 21 clinical isolates of vanA-containing E. faecium were collected from ten university hospitals in Korea. E. faecium BM4147 was used as a control. PFGE was performed on a CHEF-DR III apparatus. For structural analysis of Tn1546, the overlapping PCR amplification of internal regions of Tn1546 was performed. The purified PCR products were directly sequenced by using ABI Prism 3100 DNA SEQUENCER. RESULTS: All isolates were divided into 3 types according to the distribution of insertion sequences (IS elements) integrated Tn1546 elements. Type I and II were characterized by an IS1542 insertion in the orf2-vanR intergenic region and an IS1216V insertion in the vanX-vanY intergenic region. Type III represented two copies of IS1216V at the orf1 and in the vanX-vanY intergenic region as well as IS1542 in the orf2-vanR intergenic region. No isolates were identical to the prototype, which was identical to the predicted pattern for the published sequence of Tn1546. The PFGE results revealed that all strains except A13, C1, A2 and A9 were genetically unrelated. CONCLUSIONS: The distribution of IS in Tn1546-like elements of the Korean isolates is similar to that of the European VREs. Considering the results of PFGF and Tn1546 typing, the horizontal transfer of vanA resistance gene may be occurring among genetically diverse strains of E. faecium in Korea.
DNA ; DNA, Intergenic ; Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field ; Enterococcus ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Korea ; Multigene Family ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

Scars are still a challenging problem in medical practice, despite advancements in treatment modalities. Numerous treatment modalities, ranging from simple revision, Z-plasty, and W-plasty to laser treatments, have been used to treat scar deformities. However, for wide depressed scars, additional methods are needed to completely restore the contour of the depression caused by tissue adhesion. We report on the case of a 34-year-old woman with a wide depressed scar deformity on the left upper buttock and the encouraging results of an autologous fat graft injection technique that utilized a cutting wire to form a pocket for the fat graft site, while simultaneously resolving the adhesion caused by the tissue. This method is safe and easily reproducible, making it a useful addition to the surgeon’s toolkit when dealing with such lesions.

The Brunner's gland adenoma is characterized by a nodular proliferation of histologically normal Brunner's gland, accompanied by ducts and scattered stromal elements. First descrived by Salvioli in 1876, the tumor is relatively rare, with 119 cases reported by 1977, The most common benign tumor of the small bowel is the adenoma, 25% of which occur in the duodenum. They make up 30% to 50% of all hyperplastic polyps of the duodenum. Most frequently these tumors are discovered in patients in the fourth to sixed decades of life, though the age in reported caes ranges from l 1 days to 80 years. The benign tumors of the duodenum 30% to 50% contain elements of Brunner's gland and 10.6% of them are adenomas of Brunner's gland. We report a case of Brunner's gland adenoma treated by endoscopic polypectomy in 63 year-old woman, and reviewed the literatues of adenoma of the Brunne'r gland.
Adenoma* ; Duodenum ; Female ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Polyps

Kimura's disease is a rare chronic inflammatory disorder mimicking a malignant tumor. It usually occurs in the head and neck regions, but occasionally shows up in the groin. A gray-scale groin sonograph showed a lobulated hypoechoic mass. Color Doppler sonography revealed the paucity of blood vessels within the mass.
Blood Vessels ; Groin ; Head ; Neck