BACKGROUND: Pusan is geographically far away from the indigenous area of malaria. It is the area where the tourists and foreigners travel through frequently because of the port. We investigated the situation in Pusan concerning malaria through the examination of malaria patients who contracted it recently. We found the ways to decrease erroneous diagnosis presuming malaria on the basis of these studies. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 28 confirmed cases of malaria with the chief complaint of repeated high fever, who were admitted and treated in the Pusan Adventist Hospital and Pusan Samsun Hospital from June 1997 to August 2000. RESULTS: 25 cases were indigenous and 3 patients were imported cases contracted overseas. Peripheral blood smears revealed Plasmodium vivax in all indigenous cases, whereas 2 were P. falciparum and 1 case was P. vivax in the imported cases. Yeonchon-goon(9 cases) was the most prevalent area in the indigenous cases. Africa and Southeast Asia(3 cases) were the contracted areas in the imported cases. 27 cases were men and 1 case was a woman among the 28 cases, and the incidence was high peak in 8-10 month. Most of the patients(72.1%) were in the their 20's, and most of all had worked in the military bases near the demilitarized zone(DMZ). Thrombocytopenia and leukopenia were found more frequently by the laboratory findings. 23 of the cases(82%) were suspected to be malaria, before we confirmed it by peripheral blood smears. CONCLUSION: The number of patients with indigenous malaria from the other areas in Korea and patients with malaria from foreign countries will be expected to increase. Before we confirmed the malaria by peripheral blood smears, the cases suspected of malaria were 82.1%. This is a high diagnostic rate due to careful history taking and physical examination. The doctors decreased the rate of erroneous diagnosis of malaria and should be careful in the choice of the proper drugs.
Africa ; Busan* ; Diagnosis ; Emigrants and Immigrants ; Female ; Fever ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Leukopenia ; Malaria* ; Male ; Medical Records ; Military Facilities ; Physical Examination ; Plasmodium vivax ; Retrospective Studies ; Thrombocytopenia

PURPOSE: Unlike males, inguinal hernia surgery in females is an uncommon surgical procedure. The efficacy of laparoscopic surgery for female hernia must be proven. This study compared the clinical characteristics of male and female hernia as well as the efficacy of laparoscopic surgery with that of open surgery in female hernia. METHODS: From March 2007 to February 2011, one surgeon (C.S.) at the authors' institution operated on 965 patients (male/female=884/81) who were each more than 19 years old. The female patients were divided into the laparoscopic (n=67, TEP/TAPP=66/1) and open surgery groups (n=14). RESULTS: The mean age of the female patients was lower than that of the male patients. The incidence of bilateral and direct hernia was higher in the male patients but the incidence of femoral hernia was higher in the female patients (0.6 vs. 8.6%, p<0.001). Among the 81 female patients, the mean age of the patients with femoral hernia was higher than that of the patients with other types of hernia (56.4+/-12.5/43.0+/-15.1, p<0.026). The operation times and pain scores of the two groups 7 days after surgery were comparable. CONCLUSION: The findings revealed a higher incidence of femoral hernia in the female patients than male patients. Patients with a femoral hernia were older than those with other types of hernia. Therefore, laparoscopic surgery must be considered for elderly female patients who have a high incidence of femoral hernia.
Aged ; Female ; Hernia ; Hernia, Femoral ; Hernia, Inguinal ; Humans ; Incidence ; Laparoscopy ; Male

PURPOSE: This study was aimed to compare the results of a transanal repair with those of a transvaginal levatorplasty and to determine the long-term clinical outcomes according to the change in the depth of the rectocele after the procedure. METHODS: Of 50 women who underwent a rectocele repair from March 2005 to February 2007, 26 women (group A) received a transanal repair, and 24 (group B) received a transvaginal repair with or without levatorplasty. At 12 months after the procedures, 45 (group A/B, 22/23 women) among the 50 women completed physiologic studies, including anal manometry and defecography, and clinical-outcome measurements. The variations of the clinical outcomes with changes in the depth of the rectocele were also evaluated in 42 women (group A/B, 20/22) at the median follow-up of 50 months. RESULTS: On the defecographic findings, the postoperative depth of the rectocele decreased significantly in both groups (group A vs. B, 1.91 +/- 0.20 vs. 2.25 +/- 0.46, P = 0.040). At 12 months after surgery, 17 women in each group (group A/B, 77/75%) reported improvement of their symptoms. However, only 11 and 13 women (group A/B, 55/59%) of groups A and B, respectively, maintained their improvement at the median follow-up of 50 months. Better results were reported in patients with a greater change in the depth of their rectocele (> or =4 cm) after the procedure (P = 0.001) CONCLUSION: In both procedures, clinical outcomes might become progressively worse as the length of the follow-up is increased.
Defecography ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Manometry ; Rectocele

Serum lipids and lipoproteins were determined in 70 patients with hypertension, 40 patients with cerebral infarctions, and 41 patients with cerebral hemorrhage. The results were compared with findings in 64 healthy controls. The results are as follows; 1) Total cholesterol, VLDL-cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio were significantly higher in patients with hypertension or cerebral infarction than in control group, but HDL-cholesterol showed no significant difference. 2) In Patients with cerebral hemorrhage, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol were higher than in normal controls. Total cholesterol/HDL-cholesterol ratio was within the limits of normal. It is possible that the susceptibility to cerebral infarction is the result of high total cholesterol/HDL cholesterol ratio rather than low HDL cholesterol. But our study suggests that hyperlipoproteinemia plays a minor role in the development of cerebral hemorrhage.
Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Cerebral Infarction ; Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, HDL ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Humans ; Hyperlipoproteinemias ; Hypertension* ; Lipoproteins

To evaluate the effect of tibial cut with posterior slope in total knee arthroplasty(TKA) surgery on the flexion of the knee, 41 knees(32 patients) with varying degree of the posterior slope were retrospectively reviewed at more than 1 year after operation. Does sloping the tibial cut iurface rnore posteriorly promote increasing of maximal flexion of the knee by elimination of excessive tenaion of the posterior cruciate liga ment The degree of the posterior slope was radiographically measured, awi the change of the degree of the maximal flexion between preoperative and postoperative period was clinimlly measured with a goniometer at the latest follow up more than 1 year after operation. Comparison of the results demonstrated significantly larger degree of rqaximal flexion for the knees that had tibial cut with the degree of the posterior slope, 5 degrees or rnore (p<0.05). We concluded that 5 degrees or more posterior slope in proxirnal tibial cut is one of the important fact()r which could achieve increased flexion of the knee after TKA operation.
Arthroplasty* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Knee Joint ; Knee* ; Postoperative Period ; Retrospective Studies

OBJECTIVE: Staphylococcus aureus has persisted and is now resurging as an important hospital and community pathogen. Nosocomial infection caused by methicillin-resistant S.aureus(MRSA) is a major problem which may be connected with heavy or prolonged use of antibiotics S.aureus bacteremia caused acute complications, which occasionally resulted in death, and infectious/suppurative complications, which necessitated prolonged antibiotic therapy, sometimes in conjunction with surgery. Therefore, S.aureus bacteremia is a serious medical problem in association with high morbidity and mortality. METHODS: 130 patients with S.aureus bacteremia who were admitted in the Kyung Hee University Hospital from January, 1991 to December, 1994 were analyzed retrospectively. We compared the clinical and laboratory characteristics, and antibiotics resistances between MRSA and MSSA bacteremia and also we evaluated risk factors that contribute to fatal outcome in patients with S.aureus bacteremia. RESULTS: 1) of 130cases, 80 were male and 50 were female. The mean age was 44.5+/-25.1 years. 2) 84(65%) of S.aureus bacteremia were nosocomial and 46(35%) were community-acpuired. The percentage of MRSA stains studied was 55%(71/130) and The percentage of MRSA bacteremia in hospital-acpuired and community-accquired S. aureus bacteremia were 64% (54/84) and 36%(17/46), respectively. Sources of bacteremia were uncertain in 85(65%) with intravascular catheter(20%) and skin wound sites (8%) being the most common sources in remainder(35%) 3) 110(85%) of 130 patients had one or more underlying diseases. Common underlying dieases were cerebrovascular disease(33%), malignancy(17%), Diabetes mellitus(15%), chronic renal failure(8%) and liver cirrhosis(6%). 4) Acute complications occurred in 35 patients and were fatal in 21 5) The risk factors associated with MRSA bacteremia were various severe underlying diseases, vairous invasive procedures, IV catheter-associated infection, hypoalbuminemia, previous use of antibiotics, male sex and old age. 6) The Case fatality rate for patients with S. aureus bacteremia was 18% and those for patients with MRSA and MSSA bactermia were 20% and 12%, respectively. The risk factors that contribute to the increment of mortality rate in patients with S. aureus bacteremia were acute complication, low serum level of total protein, hypoalbuminemia, various invasive procedures and IV catheter-associated infection, 7) In the antibiotic sensitivity test S. aureus was resistant to penicillin in 98.5%, ofloxacin in 73%, cefotaxime in 67%, erythromycin in 58%, aztreonam in 56%, clindamycin in 52%, vancomycin in 0%. 8) In the multiple antibiotic resistance of S. aureus, 43(68%) of MRSA was resistant to more than 10 antibotics, revealing multiply resistant nature of strains, While all but one MSSA was resistant to 1 to 4 antibiotics, one revealing resistance to 8 antibiotics. CONCLUSION: S. aureus bacteremia is a cause of considerable morbidity and mortality in hospitalized patients who especially, exposed to various risk factors. MRSA revealed higher resistance rate to most antibiotics tested and more marked multiply resistant nature than MSSA. But there was no significant difference in case fatality rate between patients with MRSA and MSSA bacteremia.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Aztreonam ; Bacteremia* ; Catheter-Related Infections ; Cefotaxime ; Clindamycin ; Coloring Agents ; Cross Infection ; Drug Resistance, Microbial ; Erythromycin ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Humans ; Hypoalbuminemia ; Liver ; Male ; Methicillin Resistance ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Mortality ; Ofloxacin ; Penicillins ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Skin ; Staphylococcus aureus* ; Staphylococcus* ; Vancomycin ; Wounds and Injuries

No abstract available.
Humans ; Prevalence* ; Renal Dialysis*

The effects of propofol and thiopental on the intracranial pressure (ICP) were investigated in forty, male or female adult patients with transsphenoidal approach for pituitary tumors. A 7-French epidural catheter was inserted into the lumbar subarachnoid space and connected to a pressure transducer for the monitoring of ICP and the air or saline injection. And then, the inhalation anesthesia with 3%-isoflurane via mask following thiopental and metocurine was done. The mean ICPs at the preanesthetic period, 10 min after 3%-isoflurane inhalation with mask, immediately after intubation and after 5-10 ml air or saline injection were about 4, 8, 12, 16 and 30 mmHg, respectively. With the equipotent hypnotic dose of propofol (1 mg/kg)(Group I) or thipental (2 mg/kg)(Group II), the increased ICPs were diminished to the level prior to air or saline injection. Even if mean arterial pressure (MAP) with either agents were reduced significantly comparing with pre-administration values, cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) were significantly decreased only with group I. The authors conclude that propofol could be ascertained to reduce the increased ICP as thiopental did, but propofol reduced MAP to higher degree than thiopental. Accordingly, CPP were lower with propofol than with thiopental.
Adult ; Anesthesia, Inhalation ; Arterial Pressure ; Catheters ; Female ; Humans ; Inhalation ; Intracranial Pressure* ; Intubation ; Male ; Masks ; Perfusion ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Propofol* ; Subarachnoid Space ; Thiopental* ; Transducers, Pressure

A 53-year-old female admitted for multiple rib fracture, hemoptysis and dyspnea due to traffic accident. High resonance CT of the chest revealed bronchiectasis in left lower lobe. She presented for left lower lobectomy with the consent of her. A day before the operation, right internal jugular vein catheter was placed using anterior approach, and free blood flow was achieved. 2 hours after the procedure, she complained of mild chest pain and dyspnea but it was thought to reflect the rib fracture, and then 2 liters of fluid was administered through internal jugular vein catheter. Conducting anesthesia, thiopental sodium and succinylcholine chloride was administered through this route. But loss of consciousness of the patient didn't occur. The chest x-ray taken in OR showed hydrothorax on right pleural cavity.
Accidents, Traffic ; Anesthesia ; Bronchiectasis ; Catheters* ; Chest Pain ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Hemoptysis ; Humans ; Hydrothorax* ; Jugular Veins* ; Middle Aged ; Pleural Cavity ; Rib Fractures ; Succinylcholine ; Thiopental* ; Thorax ; Unconsciousness

PURPOSE: To determine clinical outcome in cases of traumatic intraventricular hemorrhage(TIVH) according to the mechanisms and amount of hemorrhage seen on initial CT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the initial CT findings of 61 patients with TIVH. The mechanisms of TIVH were analyzed on the basis of the following CT findings: Type I; large intracerebral hematoma extending to adjacent ventricle; Type II: hemorrhagic and/or non-hemorrhagic diffuse axonal injury in the thalamus and basal ganglia; Type III: multiple small hemorrhagic lesions in the septum pellucidum, fornix, corpus callosum, and periventricular region, which may be due to inner cerebral trauma, Type IV: evidence of hypoxic brain injury, and Type V: TIVH with contusion and small subdural or epidural hematomas. The amount of TIVH was classified according to the Graeb score. We analyzed these mechanisms on the basis of CT findings, and for prognosis, correlated these with clinical outcomes and the Glasgow coma score. RESULTS: Prognosis was good in types V and III and poor in type I and II(p=0.001). In patients with a Graeb score of 4 or less, the clinical outcome was better than in those with a Graeb score above 5(p=0.03). Patients with a lower initial Glasgow coma score had poor outcomes(p=0.001). CONCLUSION: The hemorrhage mechanism in patients with TIVH could be important for estimating clinical outcome, especially during the early phase. In patients with type V or III TIVH, clinical outcome was better than in those with type I or II.
Basal Ganglia ; Brain Injuries ; Classification* ; Coma ; Contusions ; Corpus Callosum ; Diffuse Axonal Injury ; Hematoma ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Prognosis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Septum Pellucidum ; Thalamus