In the treatment of spinal disorder, the introduction of pedicle screw system is an innovation in modern spinal surgery. This kind of new instrumentation provides correction, adjustment, stabilization, firm fixation and short segment fusion. Everybody should know that these complexities of instrumentation will increase the rated of complications, especially postoperative infection. Postoperative infections continue to be a source of frustration for patients and surgeons, and can lead to significant postoperative difficulties. So we analysed the postoperative infection from the 284 cases we operated on during the September 19S8 to August 1992 and obtained following results: 1. There were 17 cases(6.0%) of postoperative infection. Among them Scases(2.8%) were deep infection. 2. Average fused segments were 3.64 and 2. 96 in deep infection and control group respectively. 3. Staphylococcus aureus was the most frequent organism. Other recurring organisms were St. epidermidis, Enterobacter cloacae and so on. Many patients had multiple organisms. 4. Most significant risk factors for postoperative infection were obestity and prolonged surgery. 5. Just preoperative prophylactic antibiotic administation is more valuable than no prophylaxis and too early administration. 6. Postoperative acute deep infection is is not as easily diagnosed. The clinical manifestation such as sudden increase in pain at the operative site is the most valuable sign. 7. Maintaining the instrumentation in place, continuous irrigation system and the appropriate parenteral antibiotics were the choice of treatment.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Clinical Study ; Enterobacter cloacae ; Frustration ; Humans ; Pedicle Screws ; Risk Factors ; Spine ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Surgeons

No abstract available.
Anemia, Hypoplastic, Congenital*

The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability of cultured chondrocytes to prevent formation of bony bridge and possibly to repair of the damaged growth plate. Growth cartilage cells were obrained from the new born canine epiphyseal plates and was culture-expanded in high density. It took 14 days until formation of micro mass of cartilage cells which was easily removable from the culture flask. Twenty dogs were divided into two groups: group I (10), the medial side of growth plate of right proximal tibia was destroyed and cultured chondrocytes were homografted into the defect: and group II (10), the medial side of growth plate of right proximal tibia was destroyed and was left as it was. Left leg was served as a control. Serial radiological and histological observation were made until 16 weeks after homografting to determine the growth parrern. Following results were obtained. 1. In group I, 8 of 10 dogs had near normal growth with little angular deformity of the tibia, averaging 8° at post-op 16 weeks. Two dogs had 20° angulation at 16 weeks post-surgery. In contrast in group II, angular deformity was obvious at 4 weeks post-surgery, reaching 31° at 16 weeks post-surgery. 2. In group II, bony bridge was consistently formed on the medial side of the proximal tibia. In group I, the cultured chondrocytes initially appeared to be an amorphous cartiagenous mass, which, however, remained to contribute to matrix formation as time went on. 3. This study showed the ability of cultrued chondrocytes to prevent formation of bony bridge and possibly to repair the damaged growth plate. To prove the effectiveness of homografting of the growth cartilage cells for reconstruction of the growth plat, further studies should be followed.
Allografts ; Animals ; Cartilage ; Chondrocytes ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Dogs ; Growth Plate ; Leg ; Tibia ; Transplantation, Homologous

Extragonadal germ cell tumors are rare. accounting for approximately 38 of all germ cell tumors. Debate continues over whether these lesions originate from extragonadal site or are metastatic disease from an undetected testis primary tumor. Recently. we experienced a case of extragonadal mixed germ cell tumor in a 26-year-old male who showed complete response by combination chemotherapy with cisplatin. etoposide. and bleomycin(PVpB) and have remained disease tree for about 14 months since diagnosis. Herein we report the case with brief review of the literature.
Adult ; Cisplatin ; Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Etoposide ; Germ Cells* ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal* ; Testis

PURPOSE: In this research, a definition of overcrowding in emergency department (ED) was proposed, and the actual state of overcrowding in ED was measured by surveys and extensive statistical analysis of data using objective variables. METHODS: The emergency physicians (EP) of 10 arbitrarily selected hospitals were questioned about the definition and cause of overcrowding in ED. The hospitals were divided into two groups (high-feeling and low-feeling) in accordance with the survey results. Admission/discharge records of the patients including arrival/departure date and time, were also collected for the duration of 4 weeks with consideration of seasonal variations, from March 2002 to March 2003. Four parameters, the bed ratio (BR), the provider ratio (PR), the acuity ratio (AR), and the demand value (DV), which were used for the evaluation of overcrowding, were calculated for each hospital. A statistical analysis was carried out to see whether any difference existed in the BR, the PR, the AR and the DV between weekends and weekdays. Also, a similar statistical method was used to analyze the differences between the high-feeling group and the low feeling group. RESULTS: In the survey, 83 physicians were asked to answer the questions. The most preferred answers (>70%) for the definition of overcrowding were "saturation of the beds in the ED for more than 6 hours a day."For the cause of overcrowding, the popular answers were "delay in the consultation and the disposition decision" (74.7%), "use of the ED by non-urgent patients"(74.7%), and "lack of inhospital beds"(65.1%). Among the 10 hospitals, 5 hospitals were categorized the high-feeling group, and the rest fell into the low-feeling group. The average BR and AR were higher in high-feeling group than those of low-feeling group (p<0.01, p<0.01). However, average PR of low-feeling group was higher than that of high-feeling group (p<0.01). Average DV did not exhibit any difference between the two groups (p=0.31). CONCLUSION: The definition of overcrowding in the ED should include not only the lack of beds in the ED but also patient's acuity and the lack of providers. Certain aspects of overcrowding are clearly different between the high-feeling and the low-feeling groups.
Crowding ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medicine ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Humans ; Seasons ; Tertiary Care Centers*

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the opinions of experts to identify problems and prepare an improvement plan when applying the Korean Triage and Acuity Scale (KTAS) to pediatric patients in the emergency department. METHODS: The experts comprised 15 researchers at a pediatric emergency center designated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and research team members of the Korean Society of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. The first survey was an open-ended question about the problems, application results, and remedies of applying KTAS to children through e-mail. The problems were categorized by topic, and degree of agreement was presented using a 9-point Likert scale. RESULTS: In the first survey, 67% of experts participated and 18 problems were identified. In the second survey, 73% of experts participated and eight problems were identified in four categories, validity, reliability, feasibility and other opinions. All experts pointed out that resources were not considered during pediatric triage in the KTAS. Ninety-one percent of experts said that peak expiratory flow rate measurement and Glasgow Coma Scale evaluation were unlikely to be feasible. Moreover, 91% experts were concerned that the triage level could be distorted if KTAS was interlocked with medical costs. Eighty-two percent of the respondents pointed to the high triage result of febrile children and the difference in pain score between the evaluators, etc. CONCLUSION: Based on the problems pointed out by experts and the reality of Korea's emergency departments, it is necessary to consider revision of KTAS for children.
Child ; Delphi Technique ; Electronic Mail ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medicine ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Humans ; Peak Expiratory Flow Rate ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Triage

This study aimed to analyze the experiences of new nurses during their first year of hospital employment to gather data for the development of an evidence-based new nurse residency program focused on adaptability. Methods: This study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Korea between March and August 2021 with 80 new nurses who wrote in critical reflective journals during their first year of work. NetMiner 4.5.0 was used to conduct a text network analysis of the critical reflective journals to uncover core keywords and topics across three periods. Results: In the journals, over time, degree centrality emerged as “study” and “patient understanding” for 1 to 3 months, “insufficient” and “stress” for 4 to 6 months, and “handover” and “preparation” for 7 to 12 months. Major sub-themes at 1 to 3 months were: “rounds,” “intravenous-cannulation,” “medical device,” and “patient understanding”; at 4 to 6 months they were “admission,” “discharge,” “oxygen therapy,” and “disease”; and at 7 to 12 months they were “burden,” “independence,” and “solution.” Conclusion:These results provide valuable insights into the challenges and experiences encountered by new nurses during different stages of their field adaptation process. This information may highlight the best nurse leadership methods for improving institutional education and supporting new nurses’ transitions to the hospital work environment.

This study aimed to analyze the experiences of new nurses during their first year of hospital employment to gather data for the development of an evidence-based new nurse residency program focused on adaptability. Methods: This study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Korea between March and August 2021 with 80 new nurses who wrote in critical reflective journals during their first year of work. NetMiner 4.5.0 was used to conduct a text network analysis of the critical reflective journals to uncover core keywords and topics across three periods. Results: In the journals, over time, degree centrality emerged as “study” and “patient understanding” for 1 to 3 months, “insufficient” and “stress” for 4 to 6 months, and “handover” and “preparation” for 7 to 12 months. Major sub-themes at 1 to 3 months were: “rounds,” “intravenous-cannulation,” “medical device,” and “patient understanding”; at 4 to 6 months they were “admission,” “discharge,” “oxygen therapy,” and “disease”; and at 7 to 12 months they were “burden,” “independence,” and “solution.” Conclusion:These results provide valuable insights into the challenges and experiences encountered by new nurses during different stages of their field adaptation process. This information may highlight the best nurse leadership methods for improving institutional education and supporting new nurses’ transitions to the hospital work environment.

Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are congenital anomalies of the cerebrovascular system. AVM harbors 2.2% annual hemorrhage risk in unruptured cases and 4.5% annual hemorrhage risk of previously ruptured cases. Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) have been shown excellent treatment outcomes for patients with small- to moderated sized AVM which can be achieved in 80–90% complete obliteration rate with a 2–3 years latency period. The most important factors are associated with obliteration after SRS is the radiation dose to the AVM. In our institutional clinical practice, now 22 Gy (50% isodose line) dose of radiation has been used for treatment of cerebral AVM in single-session radiosurgery. However, dose-volume relationship can be unfavorable for large AVMs when treated in a single-session radiosurgery, resulting high complication rates for effective dose. Thus, various strategies should be considered to treat large AVM. The role of pre-SRS embolization is permanent volume reduction of the nidus and treat high-risk lesion such as AVM-related aneurysm and high-flow arteriovenous shunt. Various staging technique of radiosurgery including volume-staged radiosurgery, hypofractionated radiotherapy and dose-staged radiosurgery are possible option for large AVM. The incidence of post-radiosurgery complication is varied, the incidence rate of radiological post-radiosurgical complication has been reported 30–40% and symptomatic complication rate was reported from 8.1% to 11.8%. In the future, novel therapy which incorporate endovascular treatment using liquid embolic material and new radiosurgical technique such as gene or cytokine-targeted radio-sensitization should be needed.

This study aimed to analyze the experiences of new nurses during their first year of hospital employment to gather data for the development of an evidence-based new nurse residency program focused on adaptability. Methods: This study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Korea between March and August 2021 with 80 new nurses who wrote in critical reflective journals during their first year of work. NetMiner 4.5.0 was used to conduct a text network analysis of the critical reflective journals to uncover core keywords and topics across three periods. Results: In the journals, over time, degree centrality emerged as “study” and “patient understanding” for 1 to 3 months, “insufficient” and “stress” for 4 to 6 months, and “handover” and “preparation” for 7 to 12 months. Major sub-themes at 1 to 3 months were: “rounds,” “intravenous-cannulation,” “medical device,” and “patient understanding”; at 4 to 6 months they were “admission,” “discharge,” “oxygen therapy,” and “disease”; and at 7 to 12 months they were “burden,” “independence,” and “solution.” Conclusion:These results provide valuable insights into the challenges and experiences encountered by new nurses during different stages of their field adaptation process. This information may highlight the best nurse leadership methods for improving institutional education and supporting new nurses’ transitions to the hospital work environment.