Bibliometrics ; Biochemistry ; Biotechnology ; China ; Journal Impact Factor ; Periodicals as Topic ; statistics & numerical data ; Science

Persistent physical stimulation and foreign body contact in prosthesis wearers may develop secondary infection, frequent conjunctival injection and responses such as giant papillary conjunctivitis. In 77 patients wearing prostheses, the bilateral conjunctival flora was studied and compared with the expect of conjunctival floral change. The predominent organisms were essentially the same in both sides: Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus aureus followed by streptococcus. The incidence of bacterial isolation on the anophthalmic side (67.5%) was significantly higher than on the healthy side (32.5%). Especially the incidence of potential pathogenic bacterial isolation(Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus, Gram negative bacilli)(27.9%) was significantly higher on the anophthalmic side than on the healthy side(6.5%). The conjunctival smear study showed the higher incidence of polymorpho nucleoleukocyte and bacteria on the anophthalmic side. The isolation rates of the moderate to marked responded conjunctiva(46.9%) was lower than on the mild responded conjunctiva(69.2%) . The wearing time of the prostheses, the frequency of cleaning of prostheses, type of cleaner and topical drops used did not effect the incidence of bacterial isolation of conjunctival sac. Therfore these results showed that persistent physical stimulation and foreign body contact with prosthesis wearing may alter the microbial flora of the conjunctival sac.
Bacteria ; Coinfection ; Conjunctivitis, Allergic ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Incidence ; Physical Stimulation ; Prostheses and Implants* ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus epidermidis ; Streptococcus

Patients who have undergone neck dissection and radiotherapy are at risk of cervical spine infections. Furthermore, previous radiotherapy and cervical spine infections can lead to fistula formation to the subarachnoid space and intracranial infection. This report discusses the serious consequences of a missed cervical spine infection including cerebrospinal fluid fistula formation and persistent central nervous system infection, and serves as a reminder to clinicians of the possible association between cervical spine infections and prior head and neck surgery and radiotherapy. In all such cases, the posterior pharyngeal wall should be inspected during follow-up. Despite the appearance of an intracranial infection, the cervical spine should be investigated, especially if the response to appropriate antibiotics is suboptimal.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Central Nervous System Infections ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Discitis ; Fistula ; Follow-Up Studies ; Head ; Head and Neck Neoplasms* ; Humans ; Neck ; Neck Dissection ; Radiotherapy* ; Spine ; Subarachnoid Space

PURPOSE: The aim of this retrospective study was to determine the association between dental implants in the posterior region and traumatic occlusion in the adjacent premolars, using data collected during from 2002 to 2015. METHODS: Traumatic occlusion in the adjacent premolars was assessed by examining clinical parameters (bleeding on probing, probing pocket depth, fremitus, and tooth mobility) and radiographic parameters (loss of supporting bone and widening of the periodontal ligament space) over a mean follow-up of 5 years. Clinical factors (gender, age, implant type, maxillary or mandibular position, opposing teeth, and duration of functional loading) were evaluated statistically in order to characterize the relationship between implants in the posterior region and traumatic occlusion in the adjacent premolars. RESULTS: The study inclusion criteria were met by 283 patients, who had received 347 implants in the posterior region. The incidence of traumatic occlusion in the adjacent premolars was significantly higher for splinted implants (P=0.004), implants in the maxillary region (P<0.001), and when implants were present in the opposing teeth (P<0.001). The other clinical factors of gender, age, and duration of functional loading were not significantly associated with traumatic occlusion. CONCLUSIONS: This study found that the risk of traumatic occlusion in the adjacent premolars increased when splinted implants were placed in the maxillary molar region and when the teeth opposing an implant also contained implants.
Bicuspid* ; Dental Implants* ; Dental Implants, Single-Tooth ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Molar ; Periodontal Ligament ; Retrospective Studies ; Splints ; Tooth ; Tooth Mobility

PURPOSE: We investigated correlations between the findings of oral examinations and panoramic radiography in order to determine the efficacy of using panoramic radiographs in screening examinations. METHODS: This study included patients who visited dental clinics at National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) Ilsan Hospital for checkups during 2009–2015 and underwent panoramic radiographic examinations within 1 year prior to the oral examinations. Among the 48,006 patients who received checkups, 1,091 were included in this study. The data were evaluated using the Cohen kappa and interrater agreement coefficients. Accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity were calculated using data from the panoramic radiographs as true positive diagnoses. RESULTS: The interrater agreement coefficient for occlusal caries was 28.8%, and the Cohen kappa coefficient was 0.043 between the oral and panoramic radiographic examinations. Root caries and subgingival calculus were only found on the radiographs, while gingival inflammation was found only by the oral examinations. The oral examinations had a specificity for detecting occlusal dental caries of 100%, while their sensitivity for proximal dental caries and supragingival calculus was extremely low (14.0% and 18.3%, respectively) compared to the panoramic radiographic examinations. The oral examinations showed a relatively low sensitivity of 66.2% and a specificity of 43.7% in detecting tooth loss compared with panoramic radiography. CONCLUSIONS: Panoramic radiography can provide information that is difficult to obtain in oral examinations, such as root caries, furcation involvement, and subgingival calculus, which are factors that can directly affect the survival rate of teeth. It therefore seems reasonable and necessary to add panoramic radiography to large-scale health checkup programs such as that provided by the NHIS.
Calculi ; Dental Caries ; Dental Clinics ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Oral ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Mass Screening ; National Health Programs ; Radiography, Dental ; Radiography, Panoramic ; Root Caries ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Survival Rate ; Tooth ; Tooth Loss

PURPOSE: Clinical implementation of subtraction computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is limited due to motion artifact and/or long processing time. We evaluated the utility of a motion-corrected subtraction CTA technique for visualization of intra- and extra-cranial vascular lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Pre- and post-contrast CT images were obtained in the target region of 53 consecutive patients which were consisted of 36 patients with 53 lesions and 17 normal patients. The source images were transferred to a personal computer (PC) and were automatically post-processed within one minute using novel motion-corrected subtraction CTA. The image quality of subtraction and non-subtraction CTAs was compared in each lesion category and lesion location using 3-point scale and Chi square test. RESULTS: The image quality of subtraction CTA was better than those from non-subtraction CTA (p<0.05) especially in the skull base lesions, such as carotid-cavernous fistulas, aneurysms in the cavernous internal carotid artery (ICA), and steno-occlusive lesions of the distal ICA, and extracranial lesions such as facial arteriovenous fistulas. CONCLUSION: The PC-based motion-corrected subtraction CTA technique allows fast generation of postprocessed images and can provide improved visualization of vascular anatomy and pathologies adjacent to bone in the skull base and head and neck areas.
Aneurysm ; Angiography* ; Arteriovenous Fistula ; Artifacts ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Fistula ; Head ; Humans ; Microcomputers ; Neck ; Pathology ; Skull Base

Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Radiography ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; cerebrospinal fluid ; diagnosis ; diagnostic imaging

Background: In non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), transient elastography (TE) is an accurate non-invasive method to identify patients at risk of advanced fibrosis (AF). We developed a diabetes-specific, non-invasive liver fibrosis score based on TE to facilitate AF risk stratification, especially for use in diabetes clinics where TE is not readily available. Methods: Seven hundred sixty-six adults with type 2 diabetes and NAFLD were recruited and randomly divided into a training set (n=534) for the development of diabetes fibrosis score (DFS), and a testing set (n=232) for internal validation. DFS identified patients with AF on TE, defined as liver stiffness (LS) ≥9.6 kPa, based on a clinical model comprising significant determinants of LS with the lowest Akaike information criteria. The performance of DFS was compared with conventional liver fibrosis scores (NFS, FIB-4, and APRI), using area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (NPV). Results: DFS comprised body mass index, platelet, aspartate aminotransferase, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and albuminuria, five routine measurements in standard diabetes care. Derived low and high DFS cut-offs were 0.1 and 0.3, with 90% sensitivity and 90% specificity, respectively. Both cut-offs provided better NPVs of >90% than conventional fibrosis scores. The AUROC of DFS for AF on TE was also higher (P<0.01) than the conventional fibrosis scores, being 0.85 and 0.81 in the training and testing sets, respectively. Conclusion Compared to conventional fibrosis scores, DFS, with a high NPV, more accurately identified diabetes patients at-risk of AF, who need further evaluation by hepatologists.

Therapeutic agents such as antibiotics, hormonal drugs and retinoids are usually applied for the treatment of acne vulgaris. Adult patients with acne vulgaris may suffer from various side effects of the therapeutic agents. Stellate ganglion blocks are known to be effective for general dermatological conditions such as atopic dermatitis and acne vulgaris. We experienced that a stellate ganglion block showed significant therapeutic effects in two patients with severe acne that did not respond to other treatments including medications. A stellate ganglion block should be considered as an effective treatment method for patients with acne vulgaris, especially in cases where little improvement is seen with the use of other treatment methods.
Acne Vulgaris ; Adult ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Humans ; Retinoids ; Stellate Ganglion

Hiccups occur due to sudden glottic closure connected to inspiratory muscle and diaphragm's involuntary spasm. Hiccups have been known to be caused organically, psychologically, and by some unknown causes, yet, their pathophysiologic mechanism is still unknown. There are non-drug treatments such as hyperventilation, drinking water, pharynx and larynx stimulation, and Valsalva maneuver: and drug treatments such as antipsychotics and antiepileptics. Nerve block can be also considered. A 67-year-old man, who was hospitalized due to his months' long hiccup, had begun hiccups 5-6 months after an operation of radical subtotal gastrectomy with Billroth I anastomosis due to his early gastric cancer. During follow-ups of 4 weeks and 12 weeks after one treatment of bilateral SGB, the patient no longer complained hiccups. In conclusion, SGB treatment for intractable hiccup is an alternative method to palliative therapy or pharmacotherapy when either method is ineffective as a cure.
Aged ; Anticonvulsants ; Antipsychotic Agents ; Drinking Water ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastrectomy ; Gastroenterostomy ; Hiccup ; Humans ; Hyperventilation ; Larynx ; Muscles ; Nerve Block ; Palliative Care ; Pharynx ; Spasm ; Stellate Ganglion ; Stomach Neoplasms