Reinforced endotracheal tubes (ETTs) are designed to resist kinking or compression. However, these have a potential risk of being obstructed or severed by a patient's bite. We report a case in which a reinforced ETT was severed by tube-bite while the patient was in the prone position during an intensive care unit stay. Bronchoscopic evaluation showed that the severed distal part of the tube had lodged in the patient's right main bronchus, and it had to be surgically removed. The patency of reinforced ETTs should be carefully monitored in patients intubated in the prone position.
Airway Obstruction ; Bronchi* ; Bronchoscopy ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Intubation ; Patient Rights ; Prone Position

Purpose: To determine the prevalence, clinical manifestations, and outcomes of renal involvements in pediatric Alagille syndrome (ALGS). Methods: A total of 21 patients diagnosed with ALGS at age under 18 years who visited Samsung Medical Center from March 1999 to March 2022 were enrolled. ALGS was diagnosed either by clinical manifestations, targeted JAG1 sequencing, and/or liver biopsy. Medical records including sex, age, renal manifestations, urinalysis, serum creatinine, JAG1 sequencing, and ultrasonography were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The male to female ratio was 9:12. The mean age of patients at confirmative diagnosis of ALGS was 18.4 months. Sanger sequencing was performed for 17 patients. Sixteen of 21 patients (76.1%) showed JAG1 mutations. Renal involvement was found in 10 patients (47.6%). The most common type of anomaly was renal dysplasia (40%). One patient having renal dysplasia was pathologically confirmed with glomerular lipid deposition. Two patients (20%) manifested nephrocalcinosisephrolithiasis. Among eight renal-involved patients who survived, four (50%) progressed to chronic kidney disease stage 3. Two of these chronic kidney disease patients were diagnosed with hepatorenal syndrome. The other four patients had renal functions preserved, including two without any interventions and two who underwent urological interventions. Conclusions The current study revealed a high prevalence of renal involvement in Korean pediatric ALGS with diverse phenotypes.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and long-term clinical effects of hypertension in Korean childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) patients. Methods: The medical records of SLE patients, diagnosed by 2019 SLE European League Against Rheumatism/American College of Rheumatology (EULAR/ACR) classification criteria, who visited Samsung Medical Center from January 2009 to May 2019 were reviewed. Disease activity and long-term damage were evaluated using the Modified Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index 2000 (SLEDAI-2K) and the Pediatric Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/ACR Damage Index (Ped-SDI), respectively. The sex-, age- and height-blood pressure standards recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics 2017 guideline was used to define hypertension. Results: A total of 32 patients were enrolled in this study. The median follow-up duration was 7.3 years and females were predominant. The median ages at SLE and hypertension diagnoses were 14.2 and 14.3 years, respectively. The biopsyproven lupus nephritis was detected in 90.6% and 37.5% were class IV. During the follow-up, 12 patients (37.5%) had hypertension. Among them, 2 patients had 3 episodes of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome and 5 patients had left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Univariate analysis showed baseline hypertension was significantly correlated with a lower estimated glomerular filtration rate, higher body mass index and SLEDAI at baseline. The development of hypertension during the follow-up was significantly correlated with obesity, LVH, and higher Ped-SDI. Conclusion Our study revealed that hypertension in pediatric SLE is associated with obesity and renal function at SLE diagnosis and could affect long-term damage.

PURPOSE: This study compared the temporal artery temperature (TAT) measured by infrared temporal artery thermometers to the axillary temperature (AT) measured by standard mercury-in-glass thermometers, and evaluated accuracy of the TAT measurement for clinical practice. METHODS: A total of 247 adult inpatients in general wards in a tertiary medical center located in Seoul participated in the study. The TAT was measured within one minute after the AT measurement. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-test, Pearson correlation coefficient, linear regression, and the Bland-Altman plot. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in mean temperature between AT and TAT, 36.89℃ (SD=0.70) versus 37.35℃ (SD=0.72). The Bland-Altman plots demonstrated the difference between the AT and TAT as −1.29 to +0.33. The specificity and sensitivity of the TAT in detecting fever were high. The positive predictive values were 57.5% and 71.0% when the AT were higher than 38.0℃ and the TAT fever cutoff levels were 38.0℃ and 38.3℃ respectively. CONCLUSION: TAT and AT were highly correlated and agreeable, indicating that TAT is as accurate as AT. The findings suggested that TAT measurement can be used in clinical practice. For accurate communication between medical personnel, medical institutions need to provide guidelines for temperature measurement, especially for the use of thermometer and measurement sites.
Adult ; Body Temperature ; Fever ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Linear Models ; Patients' Rooms ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Seoul ; Temporal Arteries ; Thermometers

Temporal hollowing is a common complication that occurs after coronal approach surgeries. However, temporal hollowing without previous nerve damage or trauma history is rare. Herein, we present a patient with cryptogenic temporal hollowing. A 22-year-old man without any history of craniofacial interventions or trauma presented with temporal hallowing. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed fatty degeneration of the left temporalis muscle. Electromyography and nerve conduction study showed no signs of neurologic abnormalities. The patient received autologous fat injection of 30 mL harvested from the left thigh using the modified Coleman technique. Temporal hollowing is commonly caused by atrophy of the superficial temporal fat pad. Its incidence is reported to be as high as 6% after coronal approach operation. Augmentation using porous hydroxyapatite or titanium mesh is a treatment option. Autologous fat graft can also be an option for mild to moderate temporal hollowing. In this case, a patient with no history of trauma, surgery, or myogenic disease developed temporal hollowing. Further study of the littleknown cryptogenic form of temporal hollowing is warranted.
Adipose Tissue ; Atrophy ; Durapatite ; Electromyography ; Humans ; Incidence ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neural Conduction ; Thigh ; Titanium ; Transplants ; Young Adult

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate differences in language ability and emotional-behavioral problems according to the severity of social communication impairments (SCI) and restricted and repetitive behaviors (RRB) in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Materials and Methods: We grouped 113 children with ASD aged 3–12 years according to the severity of SCI and RRB, and investigated language differences and emotional-behavioral problems among the severity groups. If differences in language abilities between the groups were observed, they were further subdivided to examine possible predictors of both receptive and expressive language abilities. Results: In cluster analyses using subdomains of the Autism Diagnostic Interview-revised, severe SCI individuals showed lower language ability than their milder counterparts, while RRB showed no differences. Receptive and expressive language in the severe SCI group was negatively predicted by social communication and social motivation, respectively. The severe RRB group showed significantly higher levels of anxiety/distress, somatic complaints, thought problems, attention problems, and aggressive behavior, while the severe SCI group was reported to be more withdrawn. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that the severity of SCI greatly affects language ability. In children with severe SCI, social communication and social motivation negatively predicted receptive language and expressive language, respectively. Children with severe RRB may have more emotional-behavioral problems that require active intervention.

Background: We compared preoperative residual gastric volume (GV) between the first and second stages of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in older adults after drinking carbohydrate-containing fluid 2 h prior to surgery. Methods: In this study, 36 patients, aged > 65 years, scheduled for staged bilateral TKA with one-week interval, were enrolled. The patients consumed 400 ml of carbohydrate-containing fluid 2 h prior to surgery. Before the induction of spinal anesthesia, the gastric antral cross-sectional area was measured at the first and second TKA using ultrasound, and the residual GV was calculated. The primary outcome was the residual GV. Qualitative GV (grades 0, 1, and 2) and analgesic consumption after the first TKA were assessed as secondary outcomes. Results: The GV (median [Q1, Q3]) was greater in the second-stage TKA (41.1 [22.5, 62.8] ml) than in the first-stage TKA (10.3 [0.0, 27.1] ml) (P < 0.001). In the qualitative assessment, the distribution was not different between the two stages of TKA (P = 0.219) and only one patient showed grade 2 gastric content in the second TKA. When opioid consumption was converted to an equivalent dose of morphine, an average of 53.9 mg of morphine was required after the first TKA. Conclusions Residual GV after drinking carbohydrate-containing fluid differed according to the stage of TKA, showing a larger residual GV in the second TKA than in the first one. In older adults scheduled to undergo bilateral staged TKA, caution is required in preoperative fasting practice, especially in second-stage surgery.