During the past two decades, silicone (polydimethylsiloxane) has become one of the most extensively applied biomaterials. Although pure silicone is relatively inert and usually causes only minimal tissue reactions, it has been reported to evoke a definite foreign body reaction. We studied five cases of silicone-induced granulomas in various sites; two in the breast, one in the breast and axillary lymph nodes, one in the subcutis of the abdomen, back and extremities and one in the eyeball, to illustrate the salient histopathologic features of reactions to silicone with particular emphasis to its differences from paraffin granuloma. For this, 17 paraffinomas were also studied. Tissue reaction to silicone liquid and gel was characterized by numerous round to oval empty cystic vacuoles, mild to moderate fat necrosis, foreign body reaction, a variable degree of mononuclear inflammatory cell infiltration and mild focal fibrosis. The cystic spaces were relatively uniform and showed a snow-man like appearance. In contrast to the silicone granulomas, the paraffinomas, also refered to as sclerosing lipogranulomas showed diffuse sclerosis and frequent calcification around the cystic vacuoles. The cystic spaces in paraffinomas were swiss cheese-like configuration, and the content of the cystic spaces was dirty and frequently calcified. However, there were certain similarities between these two types of granulomas particularly in the early phases of the reaction, therefore, the history of silicone injection or implant, is sometimes critical to the diagnosis of silicone granuloma. Despite great technologic advances in the manufacturing of prostheses and medical equipment, droplets and/or particles of silicone still escape into the body tissues in a variety of ways; therefores, the pathologist should always wonder whether the histologic reaction observed is due to silicone or to some other foreign material including paraffin.

Fine needle aspiration cytology of three cases of pulmonary hamartoma is presented. Case 1 was in a 67-year-old man with a 7 cm-sized left lung mass. Case 2 and 3 were in 47 and 53 year old females and consisted of 3 cm and 2 cm-sized right lung nodules, respectively. Fine needle aspiration of the masses revealed several fragments of irregularly shaped mature hyaline cartilage or fibromyxoid mesenchyme and sheets of benign epithelial cells in scanty to acellular background. Also scattered were inflammatory cells including lymphocytes, neutrophils and histiocytes and mature fat cells. These features were diagnostic for pulmonary hamartoma and case 1 was histologically confirmed by following surgical excision of the mass. Differential diagnoses about pulmonary hamartoma in the respect of conditions capable of producing cartilage on fine needle aspiration, were discussed.
Female ; Male ; Humans ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Hamartoma

Newborn infants, including premature infants, are high-risk patients susceptible to various microorganisms. Catheter-related bloodstream infections are the most common type of nosocomial infections in this population. Regular education and training of medical staffs are most important as a preventive strategy for central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs). Bundle approaches and the use of checklists during the insertion and maintenance of central catheters are effective measures to reduce the incidence of CLABSIs. Chlorhexidine, commonly used as a skin disinfectant before catheter insertion and dressing replacement, is not approved for infants <2 months of age, but is usually used in many neonatal intensive care units due to the lack of alternatives. Chlorhexidine-impregnated dressing and bathing, recommended for adults, cannot be applied to newborns. Appropriate replacement intervals for dressing and administration sets are similar to those recommended for adults. Umbilical catheters should not be used longer than 5 days for the umbilical arterial catheter and 14 days for the umbilical venous catheter. It is most important to regularly educate, train and give feedback to the medical staffs about the various preventive measures required at each stage from before insertion to removal of the catheter. Continuous efforts are needed to develop effective and safe infection control strategies for neonates and young infants.
Adult ; Bacteremia ; Bandages ; Baths ; Catheters ; Central Venous Catheters ; Checklist ; Chlorhexidine ; Cross Infection ; Education ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Infant, Premature ; Infection Control ; Intensive Care Units ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Medical Staff ; Skin

A 33-year-old-woman with twin pregnancy underwent genetic amniocentesis in our hospital at 16 weeks of gestation. Fetal chromosomal analysis showed 46,XY,inv(9) and 47,XX,+21. The affected twin was terminated by ultrasonographically guided intracardiac injection of 3 ml potassium chloride solution at 19 weeks of gestation. A healthy 2570 g male infant was born by cesarean section with Apgar scores of 8 and 9 at one and five minutes, respectively.
Amniocentesis ; Cesarean Section ; Down Syndrome* ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Male ; Potassium Chloride ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second* ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnancy, Twin ; Twins, Dizygotic*

Cervical adenocarcinoma represents approximately 3-6% of the uterine cervical neoplasms. Recently, its relative incidence tends to be increased in contrast to squamous cell carcinoma. Sixty nine cases from 1985 to 1990 diagonsed as adenocarcinoma of the cervix by radical or total hysterectomy were analyzed to know their histopathological characteristics and related prognostic factors. The results wer as follows. (1) The age distribution ranged from 24 to 60 years and the mean age was 44 years and 47 years in adenocarcinoma in situ and invasive adenocarcinoma, respectively. Staging by FIGO classification showed the range from stage 0 to IIb, of which 63.8% was stage Ib. (2) Cases were composed of 7 cases of adenocarcinoma in situ(10%) and 62 cases of invasive adenocarcinomas(90%). The latter included 16 cases of adenosquamous carcinoma and 46 cases of pure adenocarcinoma which showed endocervical, endometrioid, clear cell, minimal deviation adenocarcinoma subtypes. The most frequent subtype was endocervical adenocarcinoma(51%) and the endometrioid subtype showed slightly higher incidence rate(13%) in comparison to the previous studies. (3) Coexistent squamous lesions ranging from mild dysplasia to invasive carcinoma were found in 4 out of 7 cases(57%) of adenocarcinoma in situ and 18 out of 62 cases(29%) of invasive adenocarcinoma. Severe dysplasia and carcinoma in situ comprised most(77%) of them. (4) Analyses of histopathological and clinical characteristics of adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix revealed positive correlations between tumor size or mucin leakage and depth of invasion. The prognostic factors in relation to lymph node metastasis were considered to be th stage of disease, the size of tumor, mucin leakage in the stroma, and histologic subtypes.
Incidence ; Adenocarcinoma ; Neoplasm Metastasis

The most common etiologic agents of neonatal osteomyelitis in the last decades were Staphylococcus aureus, Group B streptococcus, and E. coli, but Klebsiella pneumoniae as a cause of neonatal osteomyelitis appears to be rare. Klebsiella pneumoniae is one of the most important organisms associated with hospital acquired infections in the neonate and outbreaks with multiresistant strains have been reported from neonatal intensive care units around the world. These multiresistant Klebsiella pneumoniae have been shown to produce tranferable plasmid mediated beta-lactamases that are able to hydrolyze oxyimmino- beta-lactamas and these confer resistance to the third generation cephalosporin and named extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Klebsiella pneumoniae. We experienced two cases of neonatal osteomyelitis due to extended spectrum lactamase producing Klebsiella pneumoniae in our neonatal intensive care unit during the same period. To our knowledge this represents the first documented neonatal osteomyelitise to extended spectrum beta-lactamase producing Klebsiellae pneumoniae in Korea.
beta-Lactamases* ; Disease Outbreaks ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Klebsiella pneumoniae* ; Klebsiella* ; Korea ; Osteomyelitis* ; Plasmids ; Pneumonia ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Streptococcus

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is an important health concern among the postmenopausal women. Therefore, it is necessary to find out acceptable screening tools for osteoporotic patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Risk Index by OSTA as a screening test for osteoporosis. METHODS: The study population was 322 naturally caused menopausal women in Korea. Their was of femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD measured by DEXA. Risk Index by OSTA, based on weight and age, was calculated and the sensitivity and specificity for osteoporosis and osteopenia were evaluated. To find out the proper cut-off point for osteoporosis and osteopenia among the postmenopausal women in Korea, we also compared the sensitivity and specificity of each Risk Index value. RESULTS: The mean age and ages at menopause were 59.1(+/-6.2) and 50.7 (+/-2.7) years, respectively. The prevalence of osteoporosis was 9.6% with femoral neck BMD. For oeteoporosis, using a cut-off point of -1 yielded a sensitivity of 74.3% and a specificity of 52.2% with femoral neck BMD. Using a cut-off of -2 yielded a sensitivity of 87.3% and a specificity of 70.9%. The ROC curve showed an AUROC 0.88 for Risk Index in identifying osteoporosis. CONCLUSION: The Risk Index is an acceptable, simple and useful method in the diagnosis of osteoporosis with a Risk Index of -2 in Korean postmenopausal women.
Bone Diseases, Metabolic* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening* ; Menopause ; Osteoporosis* ; Prevalence ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spine

Historically, gastrointestinal stroma tumors (GIST) have been considered as smooth muscle tumors, but the controversy over this histogenesis is provoked due to various results with utilizing immunohistochemical methods. In andeffort to further clarify the histogenesis of GIST, we performed the immunohistochemical study, as well as histopathologic reexamination, of 24 cases, all diagnosed as smooth muscle tumors of gastrointestinal tract, from Seoul Paik Hospital and Ewha University Hospital between 1980 and 1989, and the main results were as follows; 1) In the histopathologic features by light microscopic study, 11 benign and 13 malignant lesions (including one high grade malignancy and 12 low-grade malignant lesions) were disclosed. 2) In the immunohistochemical study, all tumors showed Vimentin positivity (100%), but no tumor showed S-100 protein positivity (0%), and 7 cases (29.1%) showed Desmin positivity. Positive reaction for Desmin made it possible to suggest that the histogenesis of GIST be in smooth muscle, and neurogenic origin would be excluded by all negativity for S-100 protein. In summary, we would like to conclude that GIST would be smooth muscle tumors on account of their morphological characteristics and their intramural location, but most of them appear poorly differentiated by immunohistochemical method.

A case of malignant mixed mesodermal tumor (MMMT) developed after radiation therapy for a uterine cervix cancer is described. The patient was a 62-year-old female at the time of diagnosis of stage Ib squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix and a total of 12,000 rads of x-ray was administered on the pelvic area. Five years later she manifested vaginal spotting and rectal pain. Endometial curettage and biopsy revealed carcinosarcoma. Radical hysterectomy was done and a 5x3x2 cm sized polypoid mass was noted in the uterine cavity. Microscopically, the tumor showed intimate admixture of adenocarcinomatous and sarcomatous areas. The sarcomatous stroma was composed of compactly arranged atypical spindle cells with frequent mitoses, merging into a loosely textured reticular areas and abundant amount of heterologous elements such as skeletal muscle and cartilage. The rhabdomyosarcomatous element was confirmed by PTAH staining and immunohistochemical staining for myoglobin and desmin. Multiple metastases to the liver, lung, and lymph nodes appeared within one year of total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy. In spite of palliative radiotherapy, she expired one month later.
Female ; Humans ; Biopsy ; Neoplasm Metastasis

Severe congenital neutropenia (SCN) is a heterogeneous group of disorders with a defect in granulopoiesis causing marked neutropenia and severe bacterial infections. A 17-month-old girl (patient 1) was admitted due to cervical lymphadenitis caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, with neutropenia. She had Pseudomonas aeruginosa sepsis and peritonitis with perforated appendicitis at 8-month of age. Her sister, a 37-month-old girl (patient 2), had recurrent stomatitis with profound neutropenia, and her mother, a 32-yr-old woman (patient 3), had had recurrent stomatitis until her early 20s with neutropenia. We found an ELANE gene mutation (c.597+1G > A) from them in direct DNA sequencing analysis. Patients 1 and 2 did not respond to granulocyte colony stimulating factor and patient 1 was treated with prolonged antibiotics and excision. We demonstrated inherited SCN cases showing different severity even with the same mutation of the ELANE gene in a family.
Adult ; Child, Preschool ; DNA Mutational Analysis ; Female ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Infant ; Leukocyte Elastase/*genetics ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus/isolation & purification ; Mutation/genetics ; Neutropenia/*congenital/diagnosis/drug therapy/genetics ; Pedigree ; *Phenotype ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Recurrence ; Staphylococcal Infections/diagnosis/microbiology ; Stomatitis/diagnosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed