No abstract available.
Adult* ; Humans ; Molecular Epidemiology* ; Oxalobacter formigenes* ; Seoul*

The purpose of this study was to construct Korean Geriatric Depression Scale(KGDS) items and test the reliability and validity of KGDS. Total 151 items from GDS, BDI, SDS, MMPI-D, and K-CES-D were administered to 81 depressed elderly and 75 elderly control groups. Sixty-four preliminary items which have discrimination power between depression and control groups were selected. Then by correlational analysis considering adjusted item-total correlation, 40 items were finally chosen to construct KGDS. The values of Cronbach's alpha and split-half reliability were 0.88 and 0.79, respectively. The differences of means was signified at alpha=.001 level(patients group mean=23.40+/-8.13, control group mean=12.50+/-8.82, t=9.76). The result of factor analysis showed that KGDS had six factors. They were labeled negative thinking and unhappiness feeling(factor 1), emotional discomfort(factor 2), cognitive dysfunction(factor 3), decreased vitality(factor 4), physical weakening and inclosed somatic concern(factor 5), social withdrawal and loss of interest(factor 6), which represent depressive features of the elderly in thought, emotional, cognitive, physical, and social aspects. The total percentage of variance of the 6 factors was 51.2%. The result of discrimination analysis showed that hit ratio of KGDS was 76.7%, and the score of 16 was suggested as the optimal cut-off score. Additionally, by using percentile score distribution of control(normal) group, it is suggested that the score of 16-22 represents borderline or mild depression, the score of 23-25 are moderate depression, and greater than the score of 26 severe depression. Conclusively, KGDS not only improves diagnostic discrimination power 10% more than other depression scales including GDS, but also show sufficient reliability and validity, thus can be used for evaluaion of elderly depression. Finally, some issues relevant to sample selection and the necessity of concising content and items of KGDS are discussed.
Aged ; Depression* ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Humans ; Reproducibility of Results ; Thinking ; Weights and Measures

This study was aimed to standardize the Korean Geriatric Depression Scale (KGDS). In order to slove the unsatisfied discriminating power of Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS:Yesavage et al. 1983) presented in Korean studies, the authors made KGDs. The preliminary KGDS was costructed of 40 items selected from GDS, BDI, SDS, MMPI-D, CES-S and had satisfied reliability and validity, but had some problems in item contents, number of times, and sampling. Thus by correcting these problems, the authors made new KGDS of 30 item, and tested the reliability and validity of the final version of KGDS. The values of Cronbach's alpha and Split-half reliability were .88 and .79 respectively, and correlational coefficent with GDS was .87. The differences of means was signified at alpha=.001 level (patients group mean=17.82 (10.52), control group mean=10.52 (5.12), t=12.07). On factor anlaysis, 5 factors in KGDS were extracted. They were labeled Emotional discomfort (factor 1), Negative thinking and Unhappinesss feeling (factor 2), Physical weakening and decreased vitality (factor 3), Cognitive dysfunction (factor 4), Decreased social interest and activity (factor 5), which represent depressive features of the elderly in thought, emotional, cognitive, physical, social aspects. The total percentage of variance of 5 factors was 53.72%. The result of discriminatin anlaysis showed that hit ratio of KGDS was 75%, and the score of 14 was suggested as the optimal cut-off score. Additionally, by use percentile score distribution of control group (normal) subjects, each of the score of 14-18, 19-21, over 22 suggested borderline or mild depression, moderate depression, severe depression, respectively. Conclusively, the final version of KGDS not only improved diagnostic discriminatory power approxtimately 10% than GDS, but also showed satisfiable reliability and validity. So the KGDS could be a useful tool for evaluaion of elderly depression.
Aged ; Depression* ; Humans ; Reproducibility of Results ; Thinking

PURPOSE: There are only a few reports of extramammary Paget disease (EMPD) of the external genitalia because it is a rare malignancy. We investigated patients with EMPD of the penis and scrotum and report the outcome of surgical management. MATERIALS AND METHODS: From 2000 to 2012, a total of 19 patients diagnosed as having penile and scrotal EMPD underwent wide local excision with or without intraoperative frozen biopsy or preoperative mapping biopsy. The medical charts of these patients were reviewed and analyzed retrospectively. Mean follow-up was 22.5 months (range, 1 to 60 months). RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 68 years (range, 57 to 82 years). In some patients, the lesions were misdiagnosed as either eczema or some other benign skin lesion at outside institutions, with a mean delay in diagnosis of 43.5 months (range, 1 to 198 months). Intraoperative frozen biopsy or preoperative mapping biopsy was performed in 18 patients. The resection margin was negative in 9 patients (47.4%) and positive in 10 patients (57.6%). Intraepithelial EMPD without dermis invasion was observed in 5 patients (26.3%), whereas diseases with dermis invasion were noted in 14 patients (73.7%). During the follow-up period, recurrences occurred in four patients, and two patients with dermis invasion and recurrence died from the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Diagnosis of EMPD should not be delayed to allow for prompt management. Our findings suggest that intraoperative frozen biopsy or preoperative mapping biopsy cannot guarantee negative margins on final pathology. However, preoperative mapping biopsy and wide local excision with intraoperative frozen biopsy demonstrates good prognosis of EMPD, especially in those cases without dermal invasion.
Biopsy ; Dermis ; Diagnosis ; Eczema ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Genitalia* ; Humans ; Male ; Paget Disease, Extramammary* ; Pathology ; Penis ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Scrotum ; Skin

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of the Seoul National University Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator (SNU-PCRC) to reduce unnecessary prostate biopsy and to increase the detection rate of high-risk cancer. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 546 patients who underwent prostate biopsy between 2014 and 2016. The subjects were divided into 2 groups based on the type of risk calculator used: conventional and SNU-PCRC group. In the SNU-PCRC group, prostate biopsy was recommended when the probability of SNU-PCRC was more than 30%. Results: The SNU-PCRC group had significantly smaller prostate volume (p=0.010) and significantly more digital rectal examination and transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) abnormalities (p=0.011 and p=0.010, respectively). Overall detection (71.9% vs. 32.1%) and high-risk cancer detection rates (40.6% vs. 19.3%) were significantly higher in the gray zone (prostate-specific antigen=4-10 ng/mL) (p<0.001 and p=0.006). The group with prostate cancer risk ≥30% on the SNU-PCRC compared to <30% group, overall detection rate of 72.3% versus 30.2% and high-risk detection rate of 60.6% versus 18.3% were significantly different (p<0.001 and p<0.001). Applying the SNU-PCRC to the conventional group could avoid unnecessary prostate biopsy in 50.6%. Conclusions SNU-PCRC is clinically useful to reduce unnecessary prostate biopsy and increase overall detection rate and high-risk cancer detection rate.

Purpose: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of the Seoul National University Prostate Cancer Risk Calculator (SNU-PCRC) to reduce unnecessary prostate biopsy and to increase the detection rate of high-risk cancer. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 546 patients who underwent prostate biopsy between 2014 and 2016. The subjects were divided into 2 groups based on the type of risk calculator used: conventional and SNU-PCRC group. In the SNU-PCRC group, prostate biopsy was recommended when the probability of SNU-PCRC was more than 30%. Results: The SNU-PCRC group had significantly smaller prostate volume (p=0.010) and significantly more digital rectal examination and transrectal ultrasonography (TRUS) abnormalities (p=0.011 and p=0.010, respectively). Overall detection (71.9% vs. 32.1%) and high-risk cancer detection rates (40.6% vs. 19.3%) were significantly higher in the gray zone (prostate-specific antigen=4-10 ng/mL) (p<0.001 and p=0.006). The group with prostate cancer risk ≥30% on the SNU-PCRC compared to <30% group, overall detection rate of 72.3% versus 30.2% and high-risk detection rate of 60.6% versus 18.3% were significantly different (p<0.001 and p<0.001). Applying the SNU-PCRC to the conventional group could avoid unnecessary prostate biopsy in 50.6%. Conclusions SNU-PCRC is clinically useful to reduce unnecessary prostate biopsy and increase overall detection rate and high-risk cancer detection rate.

Hyperplastic gastric polyps (HPPs) are the most common type of gastric polyps. They are assumed to be caused by chronic inflammation and regenerative proliferation, although this has not been clearly investigated yet. Many studies suggested the development of fundic gland polyps and carcinoid during long-term proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy, but the relationship between PPIs and HPPs is still unclear. We encountered a patient who showed aggravation of HPPs after long-term use of PPIs. A 58-year-old male patient with liver cirrhosis visited our hospital because of hematemesis. We started PPI medication after confirming esophageal variceal bleeding and duodenal ulcer with blood clot in its base via emergency endoscopy. He took PPIs for three years because of an intractable duodenal ulcer. There was a marked increase in the size of the pre-existing polyps and in the development of new polyps. We presumed that the PPIs caused the aggravation of the HPPs, so we stopped their administration. After five months, the HPPs shrank and the polyps were partially degraded. More prospective studies are needed to investigate the relationship between HPPs and PPIs.
Carcinoid Tumor ; Duodenal Ulcer ; Emergencies ; Endoscopy ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; Hematemesis ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Polyps* ; Proton Pump Inhibitors* ; Proton Pumps* ; Protons*

Human sparganosis is caused by the larval tapeworm of genus Spirometra. This parasite commonly invades subcutaneous tissues and muscles. However, infection in the pleural cavity is rare. A 65-year-old male patient, who had undergone surgical excision of subcutaneous masses due to a parasite infection (presumed to have been sparganosis) approximately 10 years ago, showed pleural effusion and peripheral eosinophilia. The anti-sparganum specific IgG antibody levels in the serum and pleural fluid were significantly higher than the normal control levels. Three consecutive doses of praziquantel (75 mg/kg/day) were administered for control of pleural effusion and peripheral eosinophilia. In this patient, sparganosis was suspected, and the probable cause of the infection was ingestion of raw snakes and frogs. Immunoserologic tests using ELISA can be helpful in diagnosis of pleural sparganosis and praziquantel is suggested as an alternative treatment for surgically unresectable cases.
Cestoda ; Eating ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Eosinophilia ; Eosinophils ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin G ; Male ; Muscles ; Parasites ; Pleural Cavity ; Pleural Effusion ; Pleurisy ; Praziquantel ; Snakes ; Sparganosis ; Sparganum ; Spirometra ; Subcutaneous Tissue

PURPOSE: Oxalobacter formigenes is an intestinal flora degrading oxalate in the gut. However, microbiological detection of this organism is quite difficult. We tried to develop a simple, rapid and cost-effective PCR method for detecting Oxalobacter formigenes from fecal specimens and to determine whether O. formigenes could be detected from frozen fecal specimens as well as fresh stool. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Whole bacterial DNA was isolated directly from fresh and frozen stool samples obtained from 30 healthy volunteers known to be free from urolithiasis and from fresh stool samples obtained from 38 patients with urolithiasis. Genus specific oligonucleotide sequences corresponding to homologous regions residing in the oxc gene that encodes for oxalyl-coenzyme A decarboxylase were designed. A PCR-based assay was done in both fresh and frozen stool samples and the nucleotide sequences were analyzed to determine the details of oxc. RESULTS: PCR product of 416-bp molecular size encoding oxc gene was detected in 23 (77%) of 30 healthy volunteers and in 14 (37%) of 38 patients with urolithiasis. In healthy volunteers, the results of PCR for the fresh and the frozen stool proved identical in each subject. The nucleotide sequence analysis revealed that the sequence of the amplified product was compatible with that of oxc gene. CONCLUSIONS: O. formigenes could be identified easily and efficiently by this PCR-based detection system. Furthermore, as the PCR-based assay results in the frozen fecal samples were identical as that of fresh stool, immediate processing of the fecal samples may not be necessary to detect O. formigenes in the clinical setting.
Base Sequence ; DNA, Bacterial ; Healthy Volunteers ; Humans ; Oxalobacter formigenes* ; Polymerase Chain Reaction* ; Urolithiasis

OBJECTIVES: The anthors examined health-seeking behavior about using herbal medicine in psyciatric and other clinical patients. The effect, side effect and motives in selecting herbal medicine were examined also. This study aimed at presenting treatment guide for psychiatric patients hereafter. METHOD: Subjects were consisted of 277 patients who were 93 medical, 81 surgical, and 102 psyhiatric patients. We made a questionnaire checking circumstances on taking herbal medicine. The investigating psychiatrist conducted person to person semi-structured interview using this questionnaire. RESULTS: Psychiatric patients preferred herbal medicine to western medicine, as other clinical patients did. In their health seeking behavior, classical illness model of oriental herbal medicine occupied a central position. In addition, psychiatric patients not only regarded herbal medicine as a more symtom-specific therapeutic medication, but also accepted side effects of herbal medicine uncritically than other clinical patients. CONCLUSIONS: As it is known that many psychiatric patients take both oriental and western medical treatment, we should not have exclusive attitude to emphasize one side between oriental and western medicine. Rather, we should deepen our understandings about oriental herbal medicine.
Herbal Medicine ; Humans ; Medicine, East Asian Traditional ; Psychiatry ; Surveys and Questionnaires