BACKGROUND: Although tinea pedis is one of the most prevalent diseases caused by dermatophytes, there have been few studies about distribution of dermatophytes on infected soles for this disease in Korea. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to investigate the distribution of dermatophytes on infected sole using the new direct culture method (Foot-press method). METHODS: The infected soles of 39 patients were directly pressed onto Sabouraud's dextrose agar with cycloheximide prepared in a large culture dish for a few seconds. The culture media were then incubated at 25degrees C for 1-4 weeks. RESULTS AND CONDLUSION: 1. Dermatophyte colonies were isolated from twenty-eight patients (71.8%). 2. Twenty-four of the isolated dermatophytes were Trichophyton (T.) rubrum (85.7%), and the rest were T. mentagraphytes (14.3%). 3. The number of isolated colonies from each patient range from 1 to 102 (Mean+/-SD, 12.8+/-20.7). Three isolated colonies were most common. 4. The isolation frequencies were higher in the patients of keratotic type and in those with tinea unguium (p<0.05). 5. Positive rate was highest in patients with widely-spread lesion (p<0.05).
Agar ; Arthrodermataceae* ; Culture Media ; Cycloheximide ; Glucose ; Humans ; Korea ; Onychomycosis ; Tinea Pedis* ; Tinea* ; Trichophyton

Purpose: Obesity has been known to contribute to technical difficulties in surgery. Until now, body mass index (BMI) has been used to measure obesity. However, there are reports that BMI does not always correspond to the visceral fat. Recently, bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) has been used for body composition analysis. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of the body composition index obtained using a BIA device in predicting short-term postoperative outcomes. Methods: Data of patients who underwent elective major colorectal surgery using minimally invasive techniques were reviewed retrospectively. Body composition status was recorded using a commercial BIA device the day before surgery. The relationship between BMI, body composition index, and short-term postoperative outcomes, including operative time, was analyzed. Results: Sixty-six patients were enrolled in this study. In the correlation analysis, positive correlation was observed between BMI and body composition index. BMI and body composition index were not associated with short-term postoperative outcomes. Percent body fat (odds ratio, 4.226; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.064–16.780; P=0.041) was found to be a statistically significant factor of prolonged operative time in the multivariate analysis. Correlation analysis showed that body fat mass was related to prolonged operative time (correlation coefficients, 0.245; P=0.048). In the area under curve analysis, body fat mass showed a statistically significant predictive probability for prolonged operative time (body fat mass: area, 0.662; 95% CI, 0.531–0.764; P=0.024). Conclusion The body composition index can be used as a predictive marker for prolonged operative time. Further studies are needed to determine its usefulness.

PURPOSE: To investigate the utility of surgical treatment of clavicle shaft fracture using a percutaneous towel clip reduction and intramedullary fixation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was conducted for total 16 cases of patients who had no neurovascular injury and a few comminuted bone fragment among patients with clavicle shaft fracture from January 2002 to July 2003. The method of operation was percutaneous towel clip reduction and intramedullary fixation. The clinical and radiological results were evaluated. RESULTS: Radiologically, 15 cases showed bone unions and the average time was 9.1 weeks. According to Kang's criteria clinically, there were 14 cases which were more than an excellence. One case substituted open reduction and nailing fixation due to a medial migration of K-wire and re- displacement of fracture even in 1 week. However, there wasn't any other major complication. CONCLUSION: Due to its having no additional injury to soft tissues, no scar formations, and its short operation time, percutaneous towel clip reduction and intramedullary fixation will be very useful as one of the treatments of clavicular shaft fracture if it follows correct surgical indications.
Cicatrix ; Clavicle* ; Humans

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the usefulness of percutaneous aspiration thromboembolectomy (PAT) via a transbrachial approach in patients with acute upper limb ischemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From July 2004 to March 2008, eleven patients with acute upper limb ischemia were enrolled in this study. They were initially treated with thrombolysis (n = 1), PAT (n = 6), or both (n = 4) via a femoral artery approach. However, all of the patients had residual thrombus in the brachial artery, which was subsequently managed by PAT via the transbrachial approach for removal of residual emboli. RESULTS: Successful re-canalization after PAT via a transbrachial approach was achieved in all patients. Two patients experienced early complications: one experienced a massive hematoma of the upper arm due to incomplete compression and was treated by stent deployment. The other patient experienced a re-occlusion of the brachial artery the day after the procedure due to excessive manual compression of the puncture site, but did not show recurrence of ischemic symptoms in the artery of the upper arm. Clinical success with complete resolution of ischemic symptoms was achieved in all patients. CONCLUSION: PAT via a transbrachial approach is a safe and effective treatment for patients with acute upper limb ischemia.
Acute Disease ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Arm/*blood supply ; Atrial Fibrillation/complications ; Axillary Artery ; *Brachial Artery ; *Catheterization, Peripheral ; *Embolectomy/methods ; *Endovascular Procedures ; Female ; Heart Failure/complications ; Humans ; Ischemia/*etiology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Thrombectomy/methods ; Thromboembolism/etiology/*therapy ; Thrombolytic Therapy

BACKGROUND: Recently, identification of fungi have been supplemented by molecular tools, such as ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis. According to these tools, morphological Exophiala species was newly introduced or redefined. OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to investigate the phylogenetics based on ribosomal ITS sequence analysis from clinical Exophiala species isolated in Korea. METHODS: The strains of Exophiala species were 4 clinical isolates of phaeohyphomycosis agents kept in the department of dermatology, Dongguk University Medical Center(DUMC), Gyeongju, Korea. The DNAs of total 5 strains of Exophiala species were extracted by bead-beating method. Polymerase chain reaction of ITS region using the primer pairs ITS1-ITS4, was done and phylogenetic tree contributed from sequences of ITS region from 5 Korean isolates including E. dermatitidis CBS 109154 and comparative related strains deposited in GenBank. RESULTS: The strains of Exophiala species were 3 strains of E. dermatitidis, 1 strain of E. jeanselmei and 1 strain of Exophiala new species. Among the 3 subtypes (type A, B, C) of E. jeanselmei, E. jeanselmei DUMC 9901 belonged to type B. Of the 2 main types of E. dermatitidis (type A, B) and 3 subtypes of E. dermatitidis type A (A0, A1 and A2), two strains (E. dermatitidis CBS 709.95, E. dermatitidis CBS 109154) belonged to A0 subtypes, 1 strain (E. dermatitidis DUMC 9902) A1 subtype, respectively. CONCLUSION: Phylogenetic analysis of ITS region sequence provided useful information not only for new species identification but for the subtyping and origin of Exophiala species.
Dermatology ; DNA ; Exophiala ; Fungi ; Korea ; Phaeohyphomycosis ; Phylogeny ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sequence Analysis ; Sprains and Strains

The da Vinci SP Surgical System (dVSP; Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) was introduced to perform pure single-incision surgery in 2018. This new surgical platform demonstrated favorable performance compared with the positive aspect of single-incision laparoscopic surgery and robot surgery. To date, its use has mainly been in urological and gynecological procedures. We report a case of successful robotic single-incision right hemicolectomy for cecal cancer with the dVSP.
Cecal Neoplasms ; Laparoscopy

The da Vinci SP Surgical System (dVSP; Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) was introduced to overcome this limitation of single-incision laparoscopic surgery. This new surgical platform has been demonstrated favorable performance in colorectal surgery and its use has been increasing. And, in accordance with the increment of adoption of dVSP, the indication to apply this platform has been expanding. Herein, we report a technique of right hemicolectomy with extended lymphadenectomy beyond conventional lymph node dissection using dVSP.

The da Vinci SP Surgical System (dVSP; Intuitive Surgical, Sunnyvale, CA, USA) was introduced to overcome this limitation of single-incision laparoscopic surgery. This new surgical platform has been demonstrated favorable performance in colorectal surgery and its use has been increasing. And, in accordance with the increment of adoption of dVSP, the indication to apply this platform has been expanding. Herein, we report a technique of right hemicolectomy with extended lymphadenectomy beyond conventional lymph node dissection using dVSP.

Purpose: Narrow pelvis has been considered an adverse factor for postoperative and oncologic outcomes after rectal cancer surgery. The aim of this study was to investigate the validity of using only axial CT scan images to calculate the pelvic cross-sectional area for the prediction of adverse outcomes after rectal cancer surgery. Methods: The medical records of patients who underwent rectal cancer surgery were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively. Axial images of CT scan were used to measure the pelvic cross-sectional area. Pelvic surgical site infection (SSI), positive resection margin, and early local recurrence were adopted as end-points to analyze the impact of pelvimetry on surgical outcome. Results: The mean pelvic cross-sectional area was 84.3 ± 10.9 cm2. Males had significantly smaller pelvic areas than females (P < 0.001). Comparing pelvic cross-sectional areas according to the surgical outcomes, the results indicated that patients with pelvic SSI and local failure (positive resection margin or local recurrence within 1 year) have significantly smaller cross-sectional-area than SSI and local failure-free patients (P = 0.013 and P = 0.031). A calculated crosssectional area of 88.8 cm2 was determined as the cutoff value for the prediction of pelvic SSI and/or local failure, which was significant in a validating analysis. Conclusion The pelvic cross-sectional area obtained from a routine axial CT scan image was associated with pelvic SSI, positive resection margin, and early local recurrence. It might be an intuitive, feasible, and easily adoptable method for predicting surgical outcomes.

PURPOSE: To compare the radiologic findings of pyogenic abscess(PA) and inflammatory cancer(IC) of the breast, as seen on mammograms, US, and MR images and to evaluate the usefulness of the differential diagnostic findings of MRI for differentiation of PA and IC of the breast. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the mammographic, US and MR findings of nine histopathologically proven cases of PA and four cases of IC of the breast. Parenchymal density, mass density, skin thickening and calcification were evaluated by mammography, and the extent of lesion and its morphologic characteristics and changes of dermal lymphatics by US and MRI. The latter was also used to analyse signal intensity and enhancement pattern. RESULTS: Mammographic findings for both lesions were nonspecific. US showed that the pyogenic abscess was a hypoechoic and anechoic complex lesion with posterior acoustic enhancement, while inflammatory cancer was a spiculated lesion with a heterogeneous hypoechoic echotexture. On 3D-GRE dynamic enhanced M-RI, PA was shown in six cases(66.7 %) to be a lesion with superficial periareolar involvement, in contrast to the deep parenchymal spread seen in all cases of IC. A central non- enhanced portion with an irregular thick peripheral enhanced rim was seen in eight cases of PA(88.9 %) , and in all cases of IC an inhomogeneously enhanced spiculated lesion in parenchyma and a diffusely enhanced dermal and subcutaneous layer was apparent. An MRI time-intensity curve showed that the enhancement pattern was slow in five cases of PA(55.6 % ) and irregular in four(44.4 %), while for IC it was rapid in three cases(33.3 %) and irregular in one(11.1 % ). CONCLUSION: As compared with mammography and US, 3D-GRE dynamic MRI was a useful method for the differential diagnosis of PA and IC of the breast. The characteristic MR findings of PA were a central non-enhanced portion with an irregularly thick peripheral enhanced rim, located mainly in the superficial periareloar area and spreading into the parenchymal layer. An inhomogeneously enhanced spiculated solid mass in the parenchyma associated with diffuse dermal thickening and lymphatic dilatation was more suggestive of IC.
Abscess* ; Acoustics ; Breast* ; Diagnosis* ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Dilatation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Mammography ; Retrospective Studies ; Skin