No abstract available.
Actinomycosis*

PURPOSE: The present study reviews the clinical features of orbital cellulitis in childhood for early diagnosis and proper treatment. METHODS: The authors performed a retrospective study by computed tomography (CT) on children under 14 years of age diagnosed with orbital cellulitis and admitted to Pusan National University Hospital from 2003 to 2010. RESULTS: In total, 27 patients were identified (range 4 months to 14 years). Periorbital swelling was the most common initiating symptom, followed by fever and conjunctival injection. Paranasal sinus disease was the most common predisposing factor. Preseptal cellulitis was the most common finding, followed by subperiosteal abscess, orbital cellulitis, and orbital abscess. All patients underwent a blood culture; none were positive. Intravenous antibiotics therapy was performed empirically and was effective in all cases. No patients suffered from permanent complications except recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: Orbital cellulitis in children presents with periorbital swelling, fever, conjunctival injection in association with sinusitis, and upper respiratory infection (URI). A CT study is a reliable diagnostic option for the early detection and localization in the pediatric orbital cellulitis. Early empirical antibiotic therapy is mandatory for successful treatment.
Abscess ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Cellulitis ; Child ; Early Diagnosis ; Fever ; Humans ; Orbit ; Orbital Cellulitis ; Paranasal Sinus Diseases ; Retrospective Studies ; Sinusitis

PURPOSE: To present a surgical result of Yokoyama procedure in myopic strabismus fixus. CASE SUMMARY: A 51-year-old female patient presented with progressive esotropia and diplopia. According to the Krimsky test, the patient showed 70 prism diopter esotropia and 30 prism diopter hypotropia in her left eye. The axial length was 34.97 mm in the right eye and 33.71 mm in the left eye. The patient was diagnosed with myopic strabismus fixus. The authors performed the Yokoyama procedure on her left eye. Surgical examination revealed each medial rectus muscle was recessed. Half of the muscle bellies of the superior and lateral rectus muscles were sutured together without muscle splitting 15 mm posterior from their insertion. At 1 year postoperatively, the patient showed 30 prism diopter esotropia and 20 prism diopter hypotropia in her right eye by alternative prism cover test. The authors performed the same procedure on her right eye. At 2 months after the second surgery, the patient showed orthotropia in the primary position and gaze limitation was improved. CONCLUSIONS: The Yokoyama procedure can be an effective method for improving deviation and ocular motility in esotropia caused by high myopia.
Diplopia ; Esotropia ; Eye ; Female ; Humans ; Muscles ; Myopia ; Strabismus

We experienced a case of thanatophoric dwarfism with a relatively large head and shortened limbs. The diagnosis was confirmed by clinical features, radiologic examinations and autopsy. A review of literature was made briefly.
Autopsy ; Diagnosis ; Extremities ; Head ; Thanatophoric Dysplasia

Steroids are widely used for the treatment of a variety of diseases, including autoimmune and allergic diseases. Immediate hypersensitivity reactions can occur within 1 hour after administration of steroids and are regarded as IgE-mediated hypersensitivity presenting as urticaria, angioedema, bronchospasm, and anaphylaxis. Steroid hypersensitivity is rare, but can be life-threatening. Therefore, it is important to find implicated drugs and to choose safe alternative agents. A 44-year-old female was diagnosed with steroid hypersensitivity after intralesional steroid injection. She underwent a skin prick test and an intradermal test for methylprednisolone, triamcinolone, hydrocortisone, and dexamethasone. The results were positive to triamcinolone and methylprednisolone. The patient was educated to avoid culprit agents in order to prevent recurrence. Herein, we report a rare case of steroid hypersensitivity that showed positive reactions to triamcinolone and methylprednisolone. A review of the literature for steroid hypersensitivity is also provided.
Adult ; Anaphylaxis ; Angioedema ; Bronchial Spasm ; Dexamethasone ; Drug Hypersensitivity ; Female ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Hypersensitivity ; Hypersensitivity, Immediate* ; Intradermal Tests ; Methylprednisolone ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Skin Tests ; Steroids* ; Triamcinolone ; Urticaria

Eventhough surmountable amounts of genes are being cloned and a number of methods are being developed by human genome project, it's not easy to predict possible functions of genes and determine the chromosomal locations of genes. In this experiment, cDNA pool was made from 18 weeks old human fetal brain and analyzed the sequences. FB174 clone was chosen, in situ hybridization histochemistry was performed on developing and adult rat tissue section to observe the tissue specificity and developmental expression of this gene. To observe the chromosomal location of FB174 clone, the genomic DNA from human genomic library was isolated and fluorescence in situ hybridization was carried out. By sequencing and sequence search with GenBank data it was revealed that cloned FB174 cDNA was quite similar to translationally controlled tumor protein which is known to locate to human chromosome 13q14. The expression of FB174 mRNA was not detected in rat tissue sections by in situ hybridization histochemistry. Fluorescence in situ hybridization using biotin labeled FB174 probe resulted in specific labeling of human chromosome 7q22. These results and high sequence homology of FB174 to known translationally controlled tumor protein suggest that FB174 clone may be a new translationally controlled tumor protein-related gene.
Adult ; Animals ; Biotin ; Brain* ; Chromosomes, Human ; Clone Cells ; Databases, Nucleic Acid ; DNA* ; DNA, Complementary* ; Fluorescence ; Genomic Library ; Human Genome Project ; Humans* ; In Situ Hybridization ; Organ Specificity ; Rats ; RNA, Messenger ; Sequence Homology

PURPOSE: We evaluated the prevalence and characteristics of breakthrough cancer pain (BTcP) in Korean patients admitted with cancer pain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In-hospital patients with cancer pain completed a questionnaire concerning severity of background cancer pain (BCP), prevalence and treatment for BTcP, sleep disorders, and satisfaction with cancer pain treatment. Medical records showing medications for BCP and BTcP were also evaluated. RESULTS: Total 609 patients with controlled BCP enrolled. Mean age of the patients was 59.5 years old, and 59% were male. Of all patients, 177 (29%) complained of BTcP. No clinical characteristic predicted BTcP. Of the 177 patients with BTcP, 56% did not receive treatment for BTcP. Patients with BTcP showed significant association with a sleep disorder and dissatisfaction with pain control, compared to those without BTcP (p < 0.0001 and p=0.0498, respectively). Oxycodone-immediate release was the most commonly used short-acting analgesic, followed by intravenous morphine. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of BTcP was 29% in patients admitted with controlled BCP. Although the patients had well-controlled BCP, BTcP showed association with a lower quality of life in patients with cancer. More medical attention is needed for detection and management of BTcP.
Humans ; Inpatients* ; Male ; Medical Records ; Morphine ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Sleep Disorders

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of biofeedback-assisted autogenic training for chronic tension-type headache, and to determine the relationship among the changes in electromyography (EMG) activity, headache activity, and mood states according to the psychophysiological treatment. METHODS: Chronic tension-type headache patients aged from 20 to 40 years (n=35) were randomized to the treatment group receiving biofeedback-assisted autogenic training (8 sessions) or the monitoring-only control group. EMG activities, headache index, and various psychological variables were examined. RESULTS: We found greater treatment response rate (> or =50% reduction in headache index) in patients with biofeedbackassisted autogenic training than in the monitoring group (61% vs. 18%; chi-square=6.882, df=1, p=0.01). There were no significant changes in the mean values of the pretreatment EMG activities across the sessions in either group (all p's>0.1). Mood states including anxiety and depression improved over time in the both groups, with the improvements being more prominent in the treatment group. Moreover, the reduction in depression level predicted treatment outcome in terms of headache index (95% confidence interval: 0.272-0.966, p=0.039). CONCLUSION: These results show that biofeedback-assisted autogenic training is effective for the treatment of chronic tension-type headache in a Korean population. Changes in mood states may be closely associated with the clinical outcome in the treatment of chronic tension-type headache using biofeedback-assisted autogenic training.
Aged ; Anxiety ; Autogenic Training ; Biofeedback, Psychology ; Depression ; Electromyography ; Headache ; Humans ; Tension-Type Headache ; Treatment Outcome

BACKGROUND: Longer needle and complicated insulin injection technique such as injecting at a 45-degree angle and making skinfolds may decrease patient compliance to insulin injection therapy. In this light, shorter insulin needles have been recently developed. However, it is necessary to ascertain that such shorter needles are appropriate for Korean patients with diabetes as well. METHODS: First, the diverse demographic and diabetic features of 156 Korean adults with diabetes were collected by a questionnaire and a device unit of body fat measurement. The skin and subcutaneous fat thicknesses of each subject were measured by Ultrasound device with a 7- to 12-MHz probe. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and multiple linear regression. RESULTS: The mean skin thickness was 2.29+/-0.37 mm in the abdomen and 2.00+/-0.34 mm in the upper arms, and the mean subcutaneous fat thickness was to 10.15+/-6.54 mm in the abdomen and 5.50+/-2.68 mm in the upper arms. Our analysis showed that the factors affecting the skin thickness of the abdomen and upper arms were gender and body mass index (BMI), whereas the factors influencing the subcutaneous fat thickness in the abdomen were gender and BMI, and the factors influencing the subcutaneous fat thickness in the upper arms were gender, BMI, and age. Insulin fluids may not appear to be intradermally injected into the abdomen and upper arms at any needle lengths. The risk of intramuscular injection is likely to increase with longer insulin needles and lower BMI. CONCLUSION: It is recommended to fully inform the patients about the lengths of needles for insulin injections. As for the recommended needle length, the findings of this study indicate that needles as short as 4 mm are sufficient to deliver insulin for Korean patients with diabetes.
Abdomen* ; Adipose Tissue ; Adult ; Arm* ; Body Mass Index ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Humans ; Injections, Intramuscular ; Insulin* ; Linear Models ; Needles* ; Patient Compliance ; Skin* ; Subcutaneous Fat* ; Ultrasonography ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Organ transplantation has become a' widely accepted treatment modality for end-stage organ disease. The shortage of allogenic donors for organ transplantation has brought about the necessity of xenotransplantation as an unlimited source of organ donation. However, organ transplantation between different species have never been successful because of hyperacute rejection. Although the mechanism of this phenomenon is not fully understood, many researchers believe that the natural antibodies present in the recipient's serum may bind to the graft and induce the activation of complement cascade triggering the process of hyperacute rejection. ...continue...
Antibodies ; Complement System Proteins ; Heterografts ; Humans ; Organ Transplantation ; Tissue and Organ Procurement ; Tissue Donors ; Transplantation, Heterologous ; Transplants