OBJECTIVE: To investigate the morphometric characteristics of the pituitary gland and diaphragma sellae in Korean adults. METHODS: Using the 33 formaline fixed adult cadavers (23 male, 10 female), the measurements were taken at the diaphragma sellae and pituitary gland. The authors investigated the relationship between dura and structures surrounding pituitary gland, morphometric aspects of pituitary gland and stalk, and morphometric aspect of central opening of diaphragma sellae. RESULTS: The boundary between the lateral surface of pituitary gland and the medial wall of cavernous sinus was formed by the thin dural layer and pituitary capsule. The pituitary capsule adherent tightly to the pituitary gland was observed to continue from the diaphragma sellae. Mean width, length, and height of the pituitary gland were 14.3 +/- 2.1, 7.9 +/- 1.3, and 6.0 +/- 0.9 mm in anterior lobes, and 8.7 +/- 1.7, 2.9 +/- 1.1, and 5.8 +/- 1.0 mm in posterior lobes, respectively. Although all dimensions of anterior lobe in female were slightly larger than those in male, statistical significance was noted in only longitudinal dimension. The ratio of posterior lobe to the whole length of pituitary gland was about 27%. The mean thickness of pituitary stalk was 2 mm. The diaphragmal opening was 5 mm or more in 26 (78.8%) of 33 specimen. The opening was round in 60.6% of the specimen, and elliptical oriented in an anterior-posterior or transverse direction in 39.4%. CONCLUSION: These results provide the safe anatomical knowledge during the transsphenoidal surgery and may be helpful to access the possibility of the development of empty sella syndrome.
Adult ; Cadaver ; Cavernous Sinus ; Diaphragm ; Empty Sella Syndrome ; Female ; Formaldehyde ; Humans ; Male ; Pituitary Gland

Introduction: Anesthesia deaths are rare, while deaths due to surgical or other risk factors are more frequent. The goal of this analysis is to evaluate risk factors associated with postoperative mortality. METHODS: We have analyzed 34,200 surgical patients between 1990 and 1996 through records of anesthesia. The following informations were recorded; age of patients, physical status, site of operation, time of death, primary cause of death. RESULTS: The results are as follows; 1) Of 34,200 surgical patients, 119 died in the hospital. 2) The postoperative mortality rose progressively with age and was highest above 70 years. 3) Within 48 hours, the mortality was 36.1% of total deaths, declined progressively thereafter. The patients who had head operations exceeded 45% of deaths during this period. Eight days after the operation the mortality rate was 34.2% of total deaths and the patients who had an elective operation of the abdomen were 60.8%. 4) 34.2% patients of the total deaths had brain damages. Of these, 79.5% showed physical status V and had an emergency head operation and 47.5% were 50~60 years of age. 17.5% and 13.2% of deaths were due to sepsis and respiratory insufficiency and 48.6% of these two categories were physical status II, III and had an elective operation and 55.5% were above 60 years. CONCLUSION: The postoperative mortality was highest in the patients who had an emergency head operation and primary cause of death was brain damage. The patients of above 60 years, had a physical status II, III, had an elective abdominal operation were succeptable to sepsis and respiratory insufficieny.
Abdomen ; Anesthesia ; Brain ; Cause of Death ; Emergencies ; Head ; Humans ; Mortality ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Risk Factors ; Sepsis

Vivax malaria is a re-emerging infectious disease in Korea with cumulating 19,416 cases as of December 2003 since 1993. Vivax malaria is generally a benign disease with few severe complications. Even in the worldwide literature, there are only small number of case reports on severe complications. We experienced a fatal vivax malaria in a previously healthy young adult with severe multi-organ failure and fatal massive pulmonary hemorrhage. The patient presented with abdominal pain and shock. There were splenic hemorrhage, disseminated intravascular coagulation, oliguric acute renal failure requiring dialysis, and pulmonary hemorrhage leading the patient finally to death. The initial parasitemia was 2,046/?L. Thin smear and PCR revealed only Plasmodium Vivax. There was no explainable cause of death except for the only serological suggestion of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection without correlating clinical evidence. This is a first case of fatal vivax malaria in Korea since its re-emergence in 1993. Further case monitoring is needed to define whether this is a index case or an isolated one.
Abdominal Pain ; Acute Kidney Injury ; Cause of Death ; Communicable Diseases, Emerging ; Dialysis ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Korea ; Malaria, Vivax* ; Mycoplasma ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Parasitemia ; Plasmodium vivax* ; Plasmodium* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Shock ; Young Adult

Vivax malaria is a re-emerging infectious disease in Korea with cumulating 19,416 cases as of December 2003 since 1993. Vivax malaria is generally a benign disease with few severe complications. Even in the worldwide literature, there are only small number of case reports on severe complications. We experienced a fatal vivax malaria in a previously healthy young adult with severe multi-organ failure and fatal massive pulmonary hemorrhage. The patient presented with abdominal pain and shock. There were splenic hemorrhage, disseminated intravascular coagulation, oliguric acute renal failure requiring dialysis, and pulmonary hemorrhage leading the patient finally to death. The initial parasitemia was 2,046/?L. Thin smear and PCR revealed only Plasmodium Vivax. There was no explainable cause of death except for the only serological suggestion of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection without correlating clinical evidence. This is a first case of fatal vivax malaria in Korea since its re-emergence in 1993. Further case monitoring is needed to define whether this is a index case or an isolated one.
Abdominal Pain ; Acute Kidney Injury ; Cause of Death ; Communicable Diseases, Emerging ; Dialysis ; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Korea ; Malaria, Vivax* ; Mycoplasma ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Parasitemia ; Plasmodium vivax* ; Plasmodium* ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Shock ; Young Adult

Hantaan viruses cause haemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS), resulting in severe morbidity and mortality in humans. The genome of Hantaan virus is composed of three segmented and single stranded negative sense RNA genome. In this study, we expressed nucleocapsid (N) proteins of Hantaan 76-118, Seoul 80-39 and Hantaan virus isolated in Korea (01-23) using E. coli system. These N proteins were fused with a thioredoxin protein for secretion of the expressed protein. The antigenicity of each expressed N proteins was examined in Western blot with sera from HFRS patients and normal controls. The expressed N proteins did not show any cross-reactivity with sera obtained from patients with leptospirosis and tsutsugamushi disease. These results suggest that our recombinant N proteins can be used for the development of diagnostic system to distinguish between HFRS and leptospirosis or tsutsugamushi.
Blotting, Western ; Fever ; Genome ; Hantaan virus ; Hantavirus* ; Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome ; Humans ; Korea ; Leptospirosis ; Mortality ; Nucleocapsid ; RNA ; Scrub Typhus ; Seoul ; Thioredoxins

Background/Aims: Sex differences in the prognosis of heart failure (HF) have yielded inconsistent results, and data from Asian populations are even rare. This study aimed to investigate sex differences in clinical characteristics and long-term prognosis among Korean patients with HF. Methods: A total of 5,625 Korean patients hospitalized for acute HF were analyzed using a prospective multi-center registry database. Baseline clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes including HF readmission and death were compared between sexes. Results: Women were older than men and had worse symptoms with higher N-terminal pro B-type natriuretic peptide levels. Women had a significantly higher proportion of HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). There were no significant differences in in-hospital mortality and rate of guideline-directed medical therapies in men and women. During median follow- up of 3.4 years, cardiovascular death (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.38; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.07–1.78; p = 0.014), and composite outcomes of death and HF readmission (adjusted HR, 1.13; 95% CI, 1.01–1.27; p = 0.030) were significantly higher in men than women. When evaluating heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and HFpEF separately, men were an independent risk factor of cardiovascular death in patients with HFrEF. Clinical outcome was not different between sexes in HFpEF. Conclusions In the Korean multi-center registry, despite having better clinical characteristics, men exhibited a higher risk of all-cause mortality and readmission for HF. The main cause of these disparities was the higher cardiovascular mortality rate observed in men compared to women with HFrEF.

PURPOSE: In this study, we analyzed the short term changes of thyroid function, incidence and risk factors of thyroid dysfunction soon after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) in children. METHODS: We enrolled 80 pediatric patients following allogeneic HSCT, at the Catholic HSCT center between January, 2004 and February, 2006. Serum TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone), total serum thyroxine and total serum triiodothyronine levels were systematically measured in 80 patients before the HSCT, and at 1 month, 6 months and 12 months after HSCT. RESULTS: Thyroid function statistically decreased at 1 month after HSCT(P < 0.001). Thyroid dysfunction at 1 month was observed in 43 (54 percent) of 80 patients, 31 (39 percent) of whom presented with euthyroid sick syndrome (ETS). Thyroid dysfunction was normalized within 1 year after HSCT. In univariate analysis, malignant disease and the presence of acute graft-versus-host disease (grade > or = II) were risk factors for ETS (P=0.04, 0.01 respectively). In multivariate analysis, we could not detect an independent risk factor for ETS (P=0.19, 0.06 respectively). CONCLUSION: The present study suggests that the incidence of thyroid dysfunction is high after allogeneic HSCT. Therefore, regular monitoring of thyroid hormone levels after HSCT is required.
Child ; Euthyroid Sick Syndromes ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Hematopoietic Stem Cells* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Multivariate Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Thyroid Gland* ; Thyrotropin ; Thyroxine ; Triiodothyronine

PURPOSE: The needs of stem cell transplantation are increasing in Korea under the circumstance of medical insurance coverage since 1996. But allogeneic bone marrow transplants have the limitation in acquisition of matched donor because of small number of siblings in modern society. Although unrelated stem cell transplantations were made possible in Korea with the establishment of Korean Marrow Donor Program, less than one third of patients who need stem cell transplantation are seeking the matched donors through this program and it still takes too much time and efforts. In this clinical setting, cord blood offers an exciting alternative to traditional sources of stem cells. To implement the widespread clinical use of cord blood stem cells, it is necessary to establish the cord blood bank from which stem cell specimens are obtained. METHODS: To establish the cord blood bank in Korea, we started to develop the proper methods to obtain the cord bloods. Various ways of collecting the cord bloods, separation of red blood cells and storage methods were tried and the standard recommendations were made. RESULTS: Mean volume of collected umbilical cord blood was above 70mL by open or closed method in vaginal delivery and cesarean section. Among the RBC depletion methods by using 3% gelatin, Ficoll-Hypaque, or modified Ficoll-Hypaque method, 3% gelatin sedimentation showed the best result in viability and number of mononuclear cells(MNC), CD34+ cell, and day 14 CFU-GM. The recovery rate after freezing-thawing MNC was higher in the group of using 10% DMSO and programmed freezer starting from 4degrees C than in the group of using mixed with DMSO and hydroxyethyl starch and without programmed freezer. Nine patients underwent cord blood transplantation until December 1998. Among them, 6 patients showed the long-term successful engraftment. CONCLUSION: We have developed simple, efficient, and reproducible methods for collection, processing, and storage of cord blood to establish the cord blood bank. There are some administrative issues including the legal and financial problems that possibly will be resolved by the support of the government and the medical team.
Bone Marrow ; Cesarean Section ; Dimethyl Sulfoxide ; Erythrocytes ; Female ; Fetal Blood* ; Gelatin ; Granulocyte-Macrophage Progenitor Cells ; Humans ; Insurance Coverage ; Korea* ; Pregnancy ; Siblings ; Starch ; Stem Cell Transplantation ; Stem Cells* ; Tissue Donors

Background: As the prevalence of hypertension increases with age and the proportion of the older population is also on the rise, research on the characteristics of older hypertensive patients and the importance of frailty is necessary. This study aimed to identify clinical characteristics of older hypertension in Korea and to investigate these characteristics based on frailty status. Methods: The HOW to Optimize eLDerly systolic BP (HOWOLD-BP) is a prospective, multicenter, open-label, randomized clinical trial that aims to compare intensive (target systolic blood pressure [SBP] ≤ 130 mmHg) with standard (target SBP ≤ 140 mmHg) treatment to reduce cardiovascular events in older hypertensive Korean patients aged ≥ 65 years. Data were analyzed through a screening assessment of 2,085 patients recruited from 11 university hospitals. Demographic, functional (physical and cognitive), medical history, laboratory data, quality of life, and medication history of antihypertensive drugs were assessed. Results: The mean age was 73.2 years (standard deviation ± 5.60), and 48.0% (n = 1,001) were male. Prevalent conditions included dyslipidemia (66.5%), obesity (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m 2 , 53.6%), and diabetes (28.9%). Dizziness and orthostatic hypotension were self-reported by 1.6% (n = 33) and 1.2% (n = 24), respectively. The majority of patients were on two antihypertensive drugs (48.4%), while 27.5% (n = 574) and 20.8% (n = 433) were on 1 and 3 antihypertensive medications, respectively. Frail to pre-frail patients were older and also tended to have dependent instrumental activities of daily living, slower gait speed, weaker grip strength, lower quality of life, and lower cognitive function. The frail to pre-frail group reported more dizziness (2.6% vs. 1.2%, P < 0.001) and had concerning clinical factors, including lower glomerular filtration rate, more comorbidities such as diabetes, stroke, and a history of admission. Frail to pre-frail older hypertensive patients used slightly more antihypertensive medications than robust older hypertensive patients (1.95 vs. 2.06, P = 0.003). Pre-frail to frail patients often chose beta-blockers as a third medication over diuretics. Conclusion This study described the general clinical characteristics of older hypertensive patients in Korea. Frail hypertensive patients face challenges in achieving positive clinical outcomes because of multifactorial causes: they are older, have more morbidities, decreased function, lower quality of life and cognitive function, and take more antihypertensive medications. Therefore, it is essential to comprehensively evaluate and monitor diseaserelated or drug-related adverse events more frequently during regular check-ups, which is necessary for pre-frail to frail older patients with hypertension.

We investigated the outcome of idarubicin plus N4-behenoyl-1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl cytosine (BHAC)-based chemotherapy (BHAC group, n=149) compared to idarubicin plus cytarabine-based chemotherapy (cytarabine group, n=191) for childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Between January 1996 and December 2005, 340 children with AML from 5 university hospitals in Korea received the BHAC-based or cytarabine-based chemotherapy, with or without hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. After induction therapy, 264 (77.6%) of 340 children achieved a complete remission (CR) and 43 (12%) achieved a partial remission (PR). The CR rate in the BHAC group was higher than in the cytarabine group (85.2% vs. 71.7%, P=0.004). However, the overall response rate (CR+PR) was not different between the two groups (93.3% vs. 87.9%, P=0.139). The 5-yr estimates of overall survival (OS) of children in the two groups were similar (54.9% for the BHAC group vs. 52.4% for the cytarabine group, P=0.281). Although the results were analyzed according to the treatment type and cytogenetic risk, the OS showed no significant difference between the BHAC group and the cytarabine group. In the present study, the clinical outcomes of the BHAC-based chemotherapy, consisting of BHAC, idarubicin, and 6-TG, are comparable to that of the cytarabine-based chemotherapy for childhood AML.
Adolescent ; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols/*therapeutic use ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Cytarabine/*analogs & derivatives/*therapeutic use ; Cytogenetics ; Female ; Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation ; Humans ; Idarubicin/*therapeutic use ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute/*drug therapy/mortality ; Male ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Thioguanine/*therapeutic use ; Young Adult