This study analyzed 88 patients who sustained a cervical spine injury during the past 4 years(Jan, 1993-May, 1996) in whom had 33 anterior, 21 posterior interventions were underwent and 34 remaining patients recieved conservative treatment with halovest. In 45 cases of upper cervical injuries, 16 operations were done. Among these, anterior approach was used in 3 patients and posterior approach in 13 patients. In 43 cases of lower cervical injuries, 39 operations were done. The anterior approach was used in 30 patients, posterior approach in 9 patients, and bilateral approached in remaing 4 cases. For patients with a predominent posterior ligamentous or osteoligamentous lesion, we selected anterior approach, when closed reduction was possible. Whenever the facet joint remained interlocked, a posterior approach was chosen. This report does not mentioned priority of anterior procedure at any case. Although clinical experience does not support the experimental data, we examined the reliability of anterior approach with use of internal fixation.
Humans ; Ligaments ; Spine* ; Zygapophyseal Joint

The authors had analysed retrospectively a series of 286 consecutive patients with head injury who were admitted to the department of neurosurgery. Dong Gang Hospital between March and July, 1992. 59 cases underwent craniotomy for evacuation of intracranial hematoma and/or placement of subarachnoid bolt for intracranial pressure monitoring under general anesthesia. Patients with a Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS) Score of 8 or less had significantly higher serum glucose levels postoperatively than patients with GCS score of 12 to 15(p<0.05). Patients who subsequently remained in a vegetative state or died had significantly higher glucose levels postoperatively than patients who had good outcome or moderate disability(p<0.05). Among the more severely injured patients(GCS Score< or =8), a serum glucose level greater than 200mg/dl on admission is associated with a significantly worse outcome(p<0.05). The results suggest that severely head-injured patients frequently showed hyperglycemia and the elevted serum glucose level may worsen the neurological outcome in such patients.
Anesthesia, General ; Blood Glucose* ; Coma ; Craniocerebral Trauma ; Craniotomy ; Glucose ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Intracranial Pressure ; Neurosurgery ; Persistent Vegetative State ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: The associations of apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotypes and cholesterol levels with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are controversial. The aim of this study is to investigate the individual and combined effects of ApoE epsilon 4 allele (Epsilon4) and cholesterol levels on the progression of AD. METHODS: ApoE genotypes and fasting serum total cholesterol levels were measured in 79 patients with AD. The associations were investigated between Epsilon4, cholesterol level and decline in cognitive function (Korean version of Mini-Mental State Examination) over one year. RESULTS: No prospective individual and combined associations were found between Epsilon4, cholesterol level and decline of cognitive function. Adjustment for age, gender, education, and functional activities of daily living made little difference to the associations. CONCLUSIONS: The cognitive decline of AD might be determined by other factors rather than the impact of Epsilon4 or cholesterol levels.
Activities of Daily Living ; Alleles ; Alzheimer Disease* ; Apolipoproteins E ; Apolipoproteins* ; Cholesterol* ; Education ; Fasting ; Genotype ; Humans

Piriformis syndrome (PS) is an uncommon neuromuscular disorder caused by the piriformis muscle (PM) compressing the sciatic nerve (SN). The main symptom of PS is sciatica, which worsens with certain triggering conditions. Because the pathophysiology is poorly understood, there are no definite diagnostic and therapeutic choices for PS. This case report presents a young woman who mainly complained of bilateral leg weakness. Electromyography revealed bilateral sciatic neuropathy and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed structural lesions causing entrapment of the bilateral SNs. After a laborious diagnosis of bilateral PS, she underwent PM releasing surgery. Few PS cases present with bilateral symptoms and leg weakness. Therefore, in such cases, a high level of suspicion is necessary for accurate and prompt diagnosis and treatment.
Diagnosis ; Electromyography ; Female ; Humans ; Leg* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Muscle Weakness ; Piriformis Muscle Syndrome* ; Sciatic Nerve ; Sciatic Neuropathy ; Sciatica

PURPOSE: To review the seizure-related complaints and analyze the relationship between admission rates and clinical features in children who had visited the emergency department with seizures. METHODS: Retrospectively, we reviewed 180 patients(male 100, female 80) suffering from seizures, who had visited to the emergency department of Chosun University Hospital from January 2000 to June 2002. We have analyzed the correlation between admission rate and clinical features such as age, seizure type, seizure duration and individual laboratory findings(CT or MRI, and CSF). RESULTS: Out of 4,865 total children who visited the emergency department, 180 patients(3.7%) were seizure related. The most common seizure type was simple febrile seizure(52.2%). The admission rate of children with seizures was 48.9%. The admission rate according to age, sex and abnormal laboratory findings revealed no significant correlations(P>0.05). There was a significant correlation between admission and both status epilepticus 82.4%(14/17) and complex febrile seizure 63.6%(14/22) (P<0.05). According to the duration of convulsions, admission rates were 41.2% when within five minutes, 60% when six-15 minutes, 58.8% when 16-30 minutes, 85.7% when 30 minutes, to one hour and 66.7% when above one hour of duration. According to the seizure frequency, admission rates of recurrent seizure patients(61.4%=43/70) was higher compared to the first time seizure patients(40.9%=45/110). CONCLUSION: We found that the admission rate of children visiting the emergency department for seizure treatment was 48.9% and significantly correlated with duration, type and frequency of seizure.
Child* ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Seizures* ; Seizures, Febrile ; Status Epilepticus

BACKGROUND: Endoventricular circular patch plasty (EVCPP)was introduced as an effective reconstructive procedure for ventricular aneurysm and diffuse dilated cardiomyopathy after myocardial infarction.We report the 4-year results of EVCPP in Seoul National University Hospital, the experiences of anesthesia and intensive care for EVCPP in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy. METHODS: EVCPP has been performed on 31 patients (22 men and 9 women wit h a mean age of 62 years)during 4 years from March 1998 to March 2002.Six patients (19%)were NYHA cl ass II,24 pat i ent s were cl ass III,and 1 pat i ent was cl ass I V.Preoperative and postoperative left ventricular end-diastolic volume (LVEDV),left ventricular end-systolic volume (LVESV),ejection fraction (EF)were determined and compared.Transesoghageal echocardiograghy (TEE)was used to measure the distance between aortic annulus and ventricular aneurysm during EVCPP.Milrinone combined with beta -adrenergics was infused during separation from cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and in the intensive care unit. RESULTS: Three patients (10%)needed an intra-aortic balloon pump to wean from CPB and one patient (3%)died in the hospital.Out of 30 survivors,29 patients returned to NYHA class I or II and one patient to class III.Out of 30 patients who underwent echocardiographic study before and after EVCPP,EF increased from 34 +/-9%to 38 +/-10%,and LVEDV and LVESV decreased from 139 +/-43 ml to 94 +/-20 ml and from 90 +/-34 ml to 59 +/-17 ml,respectively. CONCLUSIONS: EVCPP is effective to exclude the akinetic left ventricular segment,thus improving left ventricular function and clinical status of patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy.However, studies concerning postoperative intensive care are warranted to reduce the postoperative complications and morbidity.
Anesthesia ; Aneurysm ; Cardiomyopathies* ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Echocardiography ; Equidae ; Female ; Humans ; Critical Care ; Intensive Care Units ; Male ; Milrinone ; Postoperative Complications ; Seoul ; Stroke Volume ; Ventricular Function, Left

OBJECTIVE: We examined the difference in responses to donepezil between carriers and non-carriers of the A allele at the +4 position of the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) gene in Koreans. METHODS: Patients who met the criteria for probable Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n=199) were recruited. Among these, 145 completed the 12-week follow-up evaluation and 135 completed the 26-week scheduled course. Differences and changes in the Korean version of the mini-mental state examination (MMSE-KC) score, Korean version of the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer's Disease Neuropsychological Assessment Battery (CERAD-K[N]) wordlist subtest score (WSS), CERAD-K(N) total score (TS), and the Korean version of geriatric depression scale (GDS-K) score between baseline and 12 weeks or 26 weeks were assessed by the Student's t-test. RESULTS: At 12 weeks, the changes in the MMSE-KC score, CERAD-K(N) WSS, and CERAD-K(N) TS from baseline were not significant between ChAT A allele carriers and non-carriers; however, at 26 weeks, these changes were significantly larger in ChAT A allele carriers than in non-carriers (p=0.02 for MMSE-KC and p=0.03 for CERAD-K(N) WSS respectively). CONCLUSION: Our findings in this study suggested that presence of the A allele at the +4 position of ChAT might positively influence the treatment effect of donepezil in the early stages of AD in Koreans.
Alleles ; Alzheimer Disease* ; Choline O-Acetyltransferase* ; Choline* ; Depression ; Follow-Up Studies ; Genotype* ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the prevalence and risk factors of physically abusive behaviors (PhAB) and psychologically abusive behaviors (PsAB) towards people with dementia (PWD) in family caregivers, and compared their prevalences between East Asian and Western countries. METHODS: We estimated the prevalence and risk factors of PhAB and PsAB in 467 Korean pairs of community-dwelling PWD and their primary family caregivers. We evaluated abusive behaviors using the Modified Conflict Tactics Scale. In addition, we compared the prevalence of abusive behaviors between Asian and Western countries through a meta-analysis on 12 studies including the current one. RESULTS: More than a half of the caregivers reported PsAB and about one out of seven caregivers admitted PhAB within past three months. PsAB and PhAB were slightly more prevalent in East Asian countries than in Western countries. Non-Alzheimer type and moderate to severe behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia were associated with the risk of PhAB but not with the risk of PsAB. Severe care burden and low income were associated with the risk of PhAB and PsAB. CONCLUSION: PhAB and PsAB were as prevalent in the family caregivers of PWD in Asian countries including Korea as in Western countries. Prevention strategies should be implemented according to the type of abusive behaviors.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Caregivers* ; Dementia* ; Humans ; Korea* ; Prevalence* ; Risk Factors*