The author investigated serum immunoglobulin (IgG, IgA, and IgM) and complements (C3) of cord blood in 74 cases of normal fullterm infants and 50 cases of premature infants. Serum immunogloblin and complement levels were measured by the single radial immunodiffusion method. The following results were obtained; 1) The mean seru IgG levels of cord blood in 74 cases of the normal full term infants was 1407.3+/-230.5mg/dl. 2) The mean serum IgG levels of cord blood in 50 cases of the premature infants was 675.2+/-329.4mg/dl. In comparison of serum IgG levels between the premature infants and the normal full term infants, serum IgG levels in the premature infants was significantly lower than that level of the normal infants (P< 0.05). 3) The serum IgA levels were measured in 28 (37.8%) of 74 cases of the normal full term infants and in 6 912%) of 50 cases of the premature infants. The serum IgA levels measured ranged from 0.4mg/dl to 3.7mg/dl in the normal full term infants and ranged from 0.4mg/dl to 2.4mg/dl in the prematre infants. 4) The mean serum IgM levels of cord blood in 74 cases of the normal full term infants was 4.05+/-3.53mg/dl and that in 50 cases of the premature infants was 2.20+/-2.15mg/dl. 5) The mean serum C3 levels of cord blood in 74 cases of normal full term infants was 49.7+/-18.1mg/dl and those of the premature infants was 30.9+/-10.5mg/dl. In comparison of serum C3 levels between the premature infants and the normal full term infants, the mean levels of serum C3 in the premature infants was significantly lower A statistically significant increase of IgG and C3 levels of cord blood in newborn infants were observed in accordance with the increase of the gestational age. It has been suggested that decreased IgG levels among premature infants may provide a rationale for prophylactic gamma globulin administration.
Complement System Proteins* ; Fetal Blood ; gamma-Globulins ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Immunodiffusion ; Immunoglobulin A ; Immunoglobulin G ; Immunoglobulin M ; Immunoglobulins* ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn* ; Infant, Premature

Nasal chondromesenchymal hamartoma is a distinctive mixed mesenchymal lesion of sinonasal region with a complex histologic appearance and benign clinical course and clinicopathologically similar to those of the mesenchymal hamartoma of the chest wall of infancy. We report a case of nasal chondromesenchymal hamartoma occurred in the right nasal cavity in a 3-month-old female. She was admitted with a history of profuse nasal bleeding and obstruction. CT revealed complex solid and cystic mass, measuring 3.5x2.5x2.5 cm in dimensions which filled the right nasal cavity and extended into ethmoid sinus and cribriform plate. The received piecemeal fragments of tissue were brown tan-colored firm semitranslucent tissue with a cartilaginous appearance. Microscopically, the basic morphologic elements were irregular islands of hyaline cartilage and myxoid to spindle cell stroma with various cellularity.
Epistaxis ; Ethmoid Bone ; Ethmoid Sinus ; Female ; Hamartoma* ; Humans ; Hyaline Cartilage ; Infant ; Islands ; Nasal Cavity ; Thoracic Wall

BACKGROUND: Community-acquired pneumonia(CAP) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Recently, the evolution of drug-resistant microorganisms has become a serious problem in CAP management. Specific antimicrobial therapy is the cornerstone of CAP management. However, obtaining an accurate etiologic diagnosis clinically is not easy and empirical antimicrobial treatment is usually administered prior to the correct microbiologic diagnosis. In this study, the clinical usefulness of empirical CAP treatment was investigated. METHODS: A total 35 cases were studied prospectively over a 16-month period in Mokpo Catholic Hospital from Dec. 1995 to Mar. 1997. The microbiologic diagnosis was made by sputum, blood culture, a specific serum antibody test and an immunologic study. RESULTS: The causative organisms were isolated in 10 (30%) out of 33 cases: 8 cases and 1 case on the sputum culture and blood culture respectively, and 1 case by an indirect hemagglutinin test. 12 cases had underlying diseases: pulmonary tuberculosis 4, alcoholism 4, diabetes mellitus 3, and liver cirrhosis 1. Antimicrobial treatment was given empirically and all cases recovered. CONCLUSION: A definite microbiologic diagnosis before commencing the appropriate treatment in CAP is not straightforward. Empirical therapy according to a clinical assessment is important and helpful. However, every effort to make the correct etiologic diagnosis should be taken.
Alcoholism ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diagnosis ; Hemagglutinins ; Jeollanam-do* ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Mortality ; Pneumonia* ; Prospective Studies ; Sputum ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

The cumulative incidence of breast cancer in Korea is low, being about one-fifth of that in the United States. This low incidence has been mainly explained by environmental factors, and recently, however, racial variations in the disease-causing genes should also be considered. The BRCA1 is one of the common genes involved in early-onset breast cancer and/or ovarian cancer in the United States and Northern Europe. However, the involvement of BRCA1 in Korean'breast cancer patients are still unclear. We performed germline mutation screening of the BRCA1 gene by DNA single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analysis. We examined 27 breast cancer patients who were diagnosed less than 35 years by age including two cases with family history of breast cancer. Our study showed no germline mutation at the exons 2, 11 and 20, which were known as the supreme susceptible regions of BRCA1 mutations. Even though our cases did not fulfilled the criteria of familial breast/ovarian cancer, the proprotion of families who inherit the mutated BRCA1 allele seems to be very small and might be negligible among Korean population. Therefore, it is considered that the BRCA1 itself cannot be a major susceptibility gene and the contributions of other genes might be important for the breast cancer.
Alleles ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; DNA ; Europe ; Exons ; Genes, BRCA1 ; Germ-Line Mutation* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Mass Screening ; Ovarian Neoplasms ; United States

Objectives: . Cochlear implant (CI) users typically report impaired ability to understand speech in noise. Speech understanding in CI users decreases with noise due to reduced temporal processing ability, and speech perceptual errors involve stop consonants distinguished by voice onset time (VOT). The current study examined the effects of noise on various speech perception tests while at the same time used cortical auditory evoked potentials (CAEPs) to quantify the change of neural processing of speech sounds caused by noise. We hypothesized that the noise effects on VOT processing can be reflected in N1/P2 measures, the neural changes relate to behavioral speech perception performances. Methods: . Ten adult CI users and 15 normal-hearing (NH) people participated in this study. CAEPs were recorded from 64 scalp electrodes in both quiet and noise (signal-to-noise ratio +5 dB) and in passive and active (requiring consonant discrimination) listening. Speech stimulus was synthesized consonant-vowels with VOTs of 0 and 50 ms. N1-P2 amplitudes and latencies were analyzed as a function of listening condition. For the active condition, the P3b also was analyzed. Behavioral measures included a variety of speech perception tasks. Results: . For good performing CI users, performance in most speech test was lower in the presence of noise masking. N1 and P2 latencies became prolonged with noise masking. The P3b amplitudes were smaller in CI groups compared to NH. The degree of P2 latency change (0 vs. 50 ms VOT) was correlated with consonant perception in noise. Conclusion . The effects of noise masking on temporal processing can be reflected in cortical responses in CI users. N1/P2 latencies were more sensitive to noise masking than amplitude measures. Additionally, P2 responses appear to have a better relationship to speech perception in CI users compared to N1.

OBJECTIVES: Breast cancer has been the most prevalent female cancer in South Korea since 2001. Early detection of this disease is the most effective strategy for reducing mortality. The objective of this study was to identify factors which could predict advanced stage at diagnosis of breast cancer. METHODS: Participants who were initially diagnosed with breast cancer and referred to the Stress Clinic of the Breast Cancer Center at Kyungpook National University Hospital were included. Through a semi-structured interview, the authors investigated psychosocial variables such as the extent of marital and family functioning and emotional-economic family burden as well as sociodemographic and health behavior-, health characteristic- and cancer-related variables. RESULTS: Data were collected from 219 participants. One hundred and twenty(54.8%) subjects were diagnosed with advanced-stage breast cancer. Variables that were significantly different between the advanced-stage and early-stage groups included : monthly breast self examination(p<0.000), annual mammographic screening(p< 0.000), mode of tumor detection(p<0.000), nature of the first symptoms(p<0.000), time to treatment after di-agnosis(p<0.000), overloaded economic and family burden(p=0.018), marital functioning(p<0.000) and family functioning(p<0.00). Logistic regression analysis indicated that irregular annual mammography screening(OR=7.431 ; 95% CI 2.407-22.944) or a lack of screening(OR=25.299 ; 95% CI 7.855-81.482) and a dysfunctional marital relationship(OR=4.772 ; 95% CI 2.244-10.145) were significantly associated with advanced stage at diagnosis of breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: We reconfirmed screening behavior to be a risk factor for delayed diagnosis of breast cancer. Our findings also emphasized the importance of psychosocial factors such as marital functioning in early detection of breast cancer. Psychiatric consultation in the area of martial functioning could be beneficial for increasing early detection in breast cancer.
Breast ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Delayed Diagnosis* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Mammography ; Marriage* ; Mass Screening ; Mortality ; Psychology* ; Risk Factors ; Time-to-Treatment

Purpose: To evaluate the ability of the Hounsfield unit (HU) measurement of the femoral neck during multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for assessing osteoporosis compared with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Materials and Methods: Forty-two patients with femoral neck fractures who underwent MDCT and DXA from July to December 2016 were included in this study. HU measurements were made of the cancellous portions of the normal contralateral femoral neck on MDCT. Bone mineral density (BMD) and T-scores were obtained at the femur DXA. Correlations of HU values with BMD and T-scores were analyzed using Spearman’s correlation test. Results: The mean BMD and T-score of the femoral neck were 0.650 g/cm2 and -2.4, respectively. The mean HU values for the normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis groups were 131.9, 98.9, and 41.3, respectively. HU values at the femoral neck were positively correlated with BMD (r2 = 0.670; p < 0.001) and T-scores (r 2 = 0.676; p < 0.001). Conclusion The HU values of the femoral neck on MDCT are significantly correlated with BMD and T-scores of femur DXA. The HU values may serve as a diagnostic tool for the screening of regional bone quality when MDCT is performed for other reasons.

Here, we report a case of electrical injury-induced reversible advanced second-degree atrioventricular (AV) block. A 28-year-old male visited the emergency department for palpitations 3 days after receiving an electrical injury from 220 volt alternating current. The initial electrocardiogram (ECG) showed sinus rhythm and first-degree AV block with a prolonged PR interval of 400 ms. There was no structural heart disease or electrolyte imbalance. Follow up ECGs acquired 4-6 days after the electrical injury showed intermittent AV block with a prolonged PR interval of 400-460 ms. Exercise treadmill and atropine provocation tests performed 6 days after electrical injury induced advanced second-degree AV block. His bundle electrogram showed intermittent AH block in a Wenckebach pattern with a prolonged AH interval of 220-360 ms and a normal HV interval. Episodes of AV block decreased remarkably 4 weeks after the electrical injury, and the prolonged PR interval returned to 220 ms after 5 months.
Adult ; Atrioventricular Block* ; Atropine ; Electricity ; Electrocardiography ; Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Male

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of dementia is estimated to be as high as 11.3% among coummunity-dwelling persons over 65 years of age in Korea. The fear of dementia for both patients and families is growing because of the chronicity and progressiveness of the disease. Though the recognition, evaluation, and management of patients with dementia are important for the care of older pateint, unfortunately, MMSE takes 5 to 10 minutes to administer and is cumbersome to carry for all elderly patients in busy office. The Clock Drawing Test has been known as valid, easily administered and low cost screening procedure for the congnitive impaiment associated with dementia in general geriatric clinic population. In this study, we assessed the usefulness of this measure as a screening test for dementia, on the basis of the correlation between clock drawing and MMSE-K. METHODS: The subjects for this study consisted of 47 elderly who visited to two elderly clubs in Seoul from April 1996 through June 1996 or the outpatient department of Family medicine of the Ehwa Mok-dong hospital. They received the Mini-Mental Status Exam and the Clock Drawing test. Three observers evaluated them by ratings from 10(best) to 1(worst). Inter-rater reliability of scores from the Clock Drawing Test was assessed and Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine the relationships between scores from the Clock Drawing Test and MMSE-K. RESULTS: Their mean age was 75.4 years with range of 65 to 91 years. There were 34 women and 13 men. Correlations between individual raters was highly significant(y=0.8939, 0.8552, and 0.8698, respectively ; P<0.01). Compared to scores on MMSE-K, rating from clock drawings by each of 3 raters revealed statistically significant correlations(y=0.7164, 0.7398, and 0.6884, respectively ; P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The clock drawings can be rated reliably by even untrained observers and performance on this task relates significantly to performance on MMSE-K of severity. We confirmed the usefulness of clock drawings as a simple, easily administered, low cost, and reliable general screening tool for dementia in a general geriatric clinic population.
Aged ; Dementia* ; Female ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Mass Screening* ; Outpatients ; Prevalence ; Seoul

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to define the characteristics of female voiding difficulty, and evaluate the effects of the alpha-blocker, tamsulosin, on the symptoms in those patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 148 patients, who complained of voiding difficulty between March 2002 and September 2004, were retrospectively evaluated. 32 patients with anatomical and neuropathic causes were excluded, with the remaining 116 assigned to 4 groups from their urodynamic evaluations: group I, bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) only; group II, BOO plus an overactive bladder (OAB); group III, detrusor underactivity (DU) only; and group IV, DU plus an OAB. After 2 weeks of observation, tamsulosin, 0.2mg/d, was prescribed in all groups, with the patients re-evaluated after 3 months. RESULTS: 58 (50%), 23 (19.8%), 20 (17.3%) and 15 (12.9%) of the 116 study subjects were placed into groups I, II, III and IV, respectively. In group I, 45 (77.5%) had symptomatic improvement after taking tamsulosin for 3 months, and in group II improvement was observed in 73.9% (17/23) of patients. In groups III and IV; however, improvements were seen in only 25 (5/20) and 13.3% (2/15) of cases, respectively. Dizziness, postural hypotension and urinary incontinence occurred in some patients, but these disappeared after the medication was discontinued. CONCLUSIONS: 81 patients (69.8%) had a bladder outlet obstruction, without detrusor underactivity, and 62 (76.5%) of these exhibited a voiding improvement after taking tamsulosin for three months. However, in patients with detrusor underactivity, the response rate was very low (20%).
Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists ; Dizziness ; Female ; Humans ; Hypotension, Orthostatic ; Retrospective Studies ; Urinary Bladder Neck Obstruction ; Urinary Bladder, Overactive ; Urinary Incontinence ; Urination Disorders ; Urodynamics