Carcinoid tumors are arisen from enterochromaffin cells, which are scattered throughout the body but occur primarily in the submucosa of the intestine and brpnchi. Carcinoid tumors synthesises numerous bioactive amines such as serotonin, and cause the carcinoid syndrome. Rectal carcinoids present as asymptomatic submucosal nodules less than 2cm in size. In contrast to other carcinoid tumors, distant metastasis are rare(less than 15%). Malignant potential is seen almost exclusively in patients with tumors larger than 2cm. Transanal local excision suffices for tumors less than 2cm, with radical surgery reserved only for larger tumors and those with histological evidence of invasion of the muscularis propria. I have experienced two cases of rectal carcinoid tumors less than 2cm, which do not invade the muscular wall of the rectum. These carcinoids were treated with endoscopic polypectomy.
Amines ; Carcinoid Tumor* ; Enterochromaffin Cells ; Humans ; Intestines ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Rectum* ; Serotonin

No abstract available.

For the more practical and convenient application of the Tzanck test, we evaluated several staining methods and cytological findings 98 cases of vesicobullous skin diseases. Fixation by air-drying of specimen aad modified Giemsa staining method were thought to be the most appropriate procedure in clinical use. The disease studied were chickenpox, herpes zoster & simplex, contact dermatitis, Id reaction, tinea pedis, urticaria pigmentosa, incontinentia pigmenti, farnilial benign pemphigus, hand-foot-mouth disease, erytherna multiforme, toxic epiderrzal necrolysis, fixed drug eruption, and septic vesicle. Among these, herpes and chickenpox vesicles shawed the most characteristic and specific findings. And degenerating giant cell could be added as an useful diagnostic marker for these diseases in relatively old lesions. In the other diseases, cytological findings were neither charcteristic nor specific. But these findings suggested the possibility of picking up useful findings by more elaborated study including more large number of cases.
Azure Stains ; Chickenpox ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Drug Eruptions ; Giant Cells ; Herpes Zoster ; Incontinentia Pigmenti ; Pemphigus ; Skin Diseases* ; Skin* ; Tinea Pedis ; Urticaria Pigmentosa

Background: Reporting rate of notifiable communicable diseases has been assumed to be low in Korea. To encourage timely reporting of notifiable communicable diseases and to improve the reporting process by the Infection Control Unit, a disease code-based electronic surveillance and in-house electronic reporting system was developed and implemented in February 2003. We evaluated the reporting rates of notifiable communicable diseases before and after the implementation of the electronic reporting- system. METHODS: The electronic reporting system, which was integrated to the computerized physician order entry system, was designed to monitor KCD-4 codes at the time of every order entry. Whenever the system recognized the predetermined codes of notifiable communicable diseases, it generated an alert box to recommend reporting: and then a physician could fill up an electronic report form, which was collected and faxed to the local public health authority by the Infection Control Unit. Reporting rate of notifiable communicable diseases in 2002, when the conventional paper-based reporting system was used, was assumed comparing the number of cases reported actually and that of cases identified to be reported by reviewing the medical records and electronic database. RESULTS: From March to July 2003, 181 cases with tuberculosis and 14 with other communicable diseases were reported whereas 106 and 9 cases were reported respectively for the same 5-month period in 2002. Reporting rate using the conventional reporting system in 2002 was assumed to be 61% and 39% respectively. Conclusions: Using a disease code-based electronic reporting system, reporting of notifiable communicable diseases could be improved compared with conventional paper-based reporting system.
Communicable Diseases* ; Disease Notification ; Infection Control ; Korea ; Medical Informatics Applications ; Medical Order Entry Systems ; Medical Records ; Public Health ; Tuberculosis

A meta-analysis of 13 quasi-experimental studies was conducted to determine the effect of various nursing interventions applied to surgery patients. The studies were selected from dissertations done between 1982 to 1996 and had randomized or nonequivalent control groups in a pretest-post test design. The studies were classified according to three criteria : 1) types of surgery 2) types of nursing interventions 3) types of respondent variables. The following analysis was done : 1) Determination of usefulness of nursing interventions for surgery patients. 2) The magnitude of effect for each study was tested for different types of surgery, nursing interventions and outcome variables. 3) For a group of homogenious studies, the weighted mean effect size and standard error were estimated. Some findings are summarized as follows : Nursing interventions on relaxation effect applied to surgery patients have resulted in a significant effect size on pain, anxiety, and BP stabilization. Relaxation and music therapy were more effective on surgery patients than either education, heat therapy, or purposeful touch. It was impossible to identify which type of surgery was more effected by these interventions. On the basis of these findings, the following recommendations were made : 1) Many studies on the same kind of intervention applied to similar surgery patients should be accumulated continuously to identify factors that affect the effect size. 2) The detailed explanation of research process, such as, assignment method to experimental and control groups, starting points, duration and frequency of nursing interventions, and estimation of the outcome variables should be described in orther to be utilized for further research and practice.
Anxiety ; Education ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Music Therapy ; Nursing* ; Relaxation ; Surveys and Questionnaires

No abstract available.
Pancreatic Pseudocyst*

The "baboon sydrome" is the term used to denote a characteristic distribution pattern of systemic allergic contact dermatitis. Such skin manifestation is described as mercury exanthem in Japan. Until now, mercury, ampicillin, nickel is reported to produce this condition. We report herein 3 cases of the baboon syndrome. Among 3 cases, 2 cases were associated with mercury, but in the other we could not demonstrate the allergen.
Ampicillin ; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact ; Exanthema ; Japan ; Nickel ; Papio* ; Skin Manifestations

Thrombosed capillary or vein is a dome-shaped or slightly lobulated moderately firm, blue black nodule arising either abruptly or gradually. There may be a rim of erythema or brownish pigmentation around it. Its clinical features are similar to a malignant melanoma. We report a case of thrombosed capillary or vein associated with angiokeratoma in 44-year old male patient who has a bean sized, dome-shaped, blue-black nodule and multiple hyperkeratotic pinhead sized dark red papules un scrotum.
Adult ; Angiokeratoma* ; Capillaries* ; Erythema ; Humans ; Male ; Melanoma ; Pigmentation ; Scrotum ; United Nations ; Veins*

A case of cutaneous sarcoidosis in the 66 year-old Korean female patient is presented. She shows typical skin manifestations of plaque type in the absence of other common objective evidence of systemic involvement. Diagnosis was confirmed by charcteristic histological findings and positive Kveim test with the support of other compatible clinical and biochemical findings. She had been followed up for 3 years since the first visiting. Recently chest X-ray, slit lamp examination and skin biopsies were taken again, but failed to reveal any significant interval changes.
Aged ; Biopsy ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Kveim Test ; Sarcoidosis* ; Skin ; Skin Manifestations ; Thorax

Although causative factors are not completely defined, carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer is attributed to multiple genetic alterations. The abnormal expressions of oncogenes are regarded to be responsible for the production of malignant phenotype, subsequent invasion and metastasis. From 63 surgically resectable colorectal adenocarcinoma patients, expression of oncogenes in colorectal cancer tissue was evaluated with immunohistochemical staining methods using monoclonal antibodies to products of the oncogenes. To evaluate the possibility of oncogenes as a prognostic factor, we studied the relationship between the expression of oncogenes and the clinicopathologic findings which are well known prognostic factors. Rates of expression in colorectal cancer tissue were 27% for c-myc, 74.6% for c-Ha-ras and 77.8% for c-erbB-2 oncogenes. The positive rate of c-erbB-2 oncogene was higher in the well differentiated group than in the poorly differentiated group. The rates of expression of c-myc and c-Ha-ras oncogenes were significantly correlated each other. Expression of these oncogenes in colorectal cancer were not correlated with the pathologic stage, location of cancer, DNA ploidy pattern and histologic differentiation except between c-erbB-2 and histologic differentiation. In conclusion, there seems to be a possibility that c-erbB-2 could be used as a prognostic factor of colorectal cancer. However, further and more intensive study seems to be required.
Adenocarcinoma ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; Carcinogenesis ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; DNA ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Oncogenes* ; Phenotype ; Ploidies