To clarify the characteristics of HBV-associated renal lesions, renal biopsies obtained from 22 HBsAg seropositive patients(M:F=32:1) were studied. Other than two(age 4 and 12), all were adults(17-77 y.o.). Twelve of the patients had nephrotic syndrome(NS), 5 NS and hematuria(H), 10 proteinuria and H, one gross H, one microscopic H, and 4 normal urinalysis at the time of biopsy. Light microscopy showed minimal change lesion(MCL) in 9 cases, mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis(MSPGN) in 6, MPGN type I in 7, MPGN type III in 6, and mebranous nephropathy(MGN) in 5 cases. There were variable immunofluorescent(IF) findings of 25 cases studied; IF staining were predominant with IgG in 10 cases, with IgA in 5 and with IgM in 2 cases. Complements tended to be more strong for C1 &/or C4 than C3. In electron microscopic(EM) studies of MCL group, rare mesangial deposits were noted(3/5). In MSPGN, aside from mesangial deposits, there were occasional subendothelia(2/4) or subepithelial(1/4) deposits. In MPGN type I, in addition to the usual EM features of MPGN, some subepithelial deposits were also observed in 5 cases. In MGN, 3 out of 4 showed subendothelial deposits. Among 7 cases stained for HBsAg all were negative with IF and 2 were positive with PAP method. It is concluded that clinico-pathological findings of HBV-associated nephropathy are variable and partly show lupus-like features, different from primary glomerulopathy.
Adult ; Male ; Female ; Humans ; Biopsy

No abstract available.
Endocrine Cells* ; Fetus* ; Humans* ; Immunohistochemistry*

Hospitals have been very susceptable to changes in external environment. Accordingly, they have been experiencing great financial difficulty due to low insurance rates and increasing competition. As a remedy, hospitals have attempted to use computer in a strategic manner. Such system is called strategic information system (SIS) , and order communication system (OCS) is an example of SIS in hospital setting. While OCS has known to be effective in reducing waiting time for outpatients, many hospitals are reluctant to introduce this system mainly because there are no real data or methods for justifying the cost of the system. Cost-benefit analysis has been traditionally used for such purpose, but this method deals with limited portion of benefits and therefore not very useful for analyzing the economic feasibility of SIS. In this paper, information economics tools which expand cost with value was used to analyze the economic feasibility of OCS. To assist the analysis, financial simulation model was developed using simulation package, called IFPS (Interactive Financial Planning System).
Cost-Benefit Analysis ; Humans ; Information Systems ; Insurance ; Outpatients

No abstract available.
Diagnosis* ; Intussusception* ; Ultrasonography*

No abstract available.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay* ; Herpes Simplex* ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Immunoglobulin M*

We conducted a retrospective study of 41 cases of clinically localized renal cell carcinoma (RCC) treated with radical nephrectomy by our department between January 1987 and December 1993. The prognostic pathological parameters considered were tumor extension (pT stage), nuclear grading, histological grading, cell type, histologic growth pattern and tumor size. In the univariate analysis by log-rank test, three parameters showed prognostic significance, including pT stage, nuclear grading and tumor size. However, in the multivariate analysis using Cox's regressional hazard model, only two parameters including pT stage (p<0.001), nuclear grade (p<0.05) were found to have significantly independent prognostic value. But, nuclear grade considered in a given stage provided no significant influence (p>0.05). We think that nuclear grading cannot predict the outcome of patients at the same surgical stage. These results suggest that pathological stage of RCC may be the most important prognostic factor and the nuclear grade of tumor may provide additional important prognostic information.
Carcinoma, Renal Cell* ; Humans ; Multivariate Analysis ; Nephrectomy ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Retrospective Studies

Perigraft seroma is uncommon complication of polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) grafts applied as an arteriovenous shunt for hemodialysis. It is a collection of clear, sterile fluid confined to nonsecretory fibrous pseudomembrane, most commonly localized around the middle and distal portion of graft. The possible etiologic factors of perigraft seroma include poor graft incorporation, mechanical graft damage caused by alcohol and povidone-iodine, intraoperative streching of the graft, variations in quality control at the time of manufacture and contributing factors such as anemia and coagulopathy in uremia. The best strategy for management of perigraft seroma is not clear. spiration or drainage alone is not effective, and some authors advocate graft removal. We report a case of perigraft seroma around arterial end of PTFE graft along with a brief review of the literatures.
Anemia ; Drainage ; Humans ; Polytetrafluoroethylene ; Povidone-Iodine ; Quality Control ; Renal Dialysis* ; Seroma* ; Transplants ; Uremia

Polyorchidism is an uncommon congenital anomaly, which is defined as the presence of more than two testes, and may be associated with urological pathologies, such as an undescended testis, inguinal hernia, testicular torsion and testicular tumor. In the absence of any concomitant disorder, and if testicular tumor can be ruled out, using magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasonography, then a surgical exploration or biopsy is unnecessary. We report a case of polyorchidism in a 3 year-old-boy, with three testes in the right scrotum.
Biopsy ; Cryptorchidism ; Hernia, Inguinal ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Pathology ; Scrotum ; Spermatic Cord Torsion ; Testis ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: Chronic pelvic pain syndrome(CPPS) is the most common category of the chronic prostatitis. CPPS is a poorly defined, multifactorial condition characterized by pelvic pain and voiding symptoms. The effectiveness of extracorporeal magnetic innervation(ExMI) therapy was evaluated in patients with CPPS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From July 2003 to December 2004, 28 men who were diagnosed with CPPS who were refractory to medication underwent ExMI therapy for 2 visits weekly for 8 weeks. The patients completed the National Institute of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index(NIH-CPSI) and a maximal flow rate index. RESULTS: Significant decreases occured in NIH-CPSI pain(9.7 to 8.3, p <0.05), NIH-CPSI urination(4.4 to 3.9, p <0.05), NIH-CPSI quality of life 8.7 to 7.7, p <0.05), and total NIH-CPSI(22.8 to 19.9, p <0.05) scores after treatment. There was an insignificant decrease in the maximal flow rate(21.5 to 21.4, p> 0.05) score after treatment. CONCLUSIONS: ExMI therapy effectively improves the symptoms of CPPS. ExMI therapy appears to be a safe and effective treatment in improving both the symptoms and the quality of life of men with CPPS refractory to conventional treatment. A larger controlled study is required to confirm these results.
Humans ; Male ; Pelvic Pain* ; Prostatitis ; Quality of Life* ; Urination*

The purpose of this study is to estimate the minimum optimal scale(MOS) of the self-employed health insurance associations. Considering the high proportion of operating expenses, the author have selected 254 regional health insurance associations from the 1990 Finance Report of the self-employed health insurance programs. both a quadratic function and a hyperbolic function were chosen for the analysis. The dependent variables are the average maintenance cost per insured person and per household, and the independent variables are the number of insured members and of household. The minimum optimal scale was obtained from the differentiation of the quadratic function. Major findings are summarized as follows: 1. The M.O.S. was calculated as 166,174 members (27,442 households) for the rural self-employed health insurance associations and 258,462 members (75,446 households) for the urban. Providing that both the rural and urban health insurance associations would e integrated, the M.O.S. be found to become 231,687 members (68,101 households) 2. Compared with the optimal minimum scale, the magnitude of the current health insurance association found to be much smaller, less than half of the optimal scale. 3. In order to reduce the operating cost, it is necessary to enlarge the operational scale of self-employed health insurance associations.
Family Characteristics ; Humans ; Insurance ; Insurance, Health* ; Korea* ; Urban Health