BACKGROUND: The effectiveness of preemptive analgesia is still controversial. This study was designed to compare the effects of nalbuphine used in the pre-anesthesia period and after surgery for pain control when performing adenoidectomy or tonsillectomy in children. METHODS: Two hundreds four patients (aged 3 to 12 years) were randomly allocated into two groups: the preemptive group (group P, n = 98) and the intraoperative group (group I, n = 106). Nalbuphine 0.1 mg/kg was administered into the patients before induction of anesthesia in group P and it was injected at least 10 minutes after the beginning of surgery in group I. The anesthesia was performed in the conventional fashion. The pain score, the sedation score and the agitation score were checked and recorded in the postanesthetic room (PAR) at arrival (0), at 15 minutes and at 30 minutes. RESULTS: The pain scores for PAR 0, 15 and 30 minutes were significantly lower in group I than those in group P. The other sedation scores or agitation scores were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Nalbuphine used during the pre-anesthetic period was less effective than that used in the intraoperative period for pain control when performing adenoidectomy or tonsillectomy in children.
Adenoidectomy ; Analgesia ; Anesthesia ; Child ; Dihydroergotamine ; Humans ; Intraoperative Period ; Nalbuphine ; Tonsillectomy

The purpose of this study is to investigate the concentration of plasma choline of Korean and to clarify the relationship between plasma choline concentration and choline intake. Plasma choline concentration of 30 young adults (15 males, 15 females) aged 20 - 30 years living in Deajeon metropolitan city are analyzed and their dietary choline intake. Choline content of one day meal was directly analyzed with the use of enzymatic method. Plasma choline concentration from more than 12 hr fasting blood was analyzed by using HPLC-MS. Choline intakes of male subjects were in the range of 253.51 - 1724.14 mg and those of female subjects were in the range of 240.85 - 938.06 mg. Mean intakes of choline were 634.53+/-353.68 mg in male subjects and 473.99+/-183.76 mg in female subjects. Plasma choline concentration of total subjects was in the range of 5.08 - 14.01 micro mol/L. Mean plasma choline concentration was 9.19+/-2.05 micro mol/L in male subjects and 8.11+/-1.70 micro mol/L in female subjects. Plasma choline concentration did not show significant correlation with choline intake in male and total subjects, but showed positive correlation with choline intake in female subjects (p<0.05). This result shows that more studies on large scaled samples are needed.
Choline* ; Daejeon ; Fasting ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Meals ; Plasma* ; Young Adult*

Diabetic gastroparesis is a common gastrointestinal complication which develops in about 20-30% of patients with longstanding diabetes mellitus. Recent studies have shown that erythromycin stimulates gastrointestinal motor activity by binding on motilin receptors of gastrointestinal smooth muscles and that it improves gastric emptying in patients with diabetic gastroparesis. In this respect, we present a 35-year-old patient with diabetic gastroparesis, complicated with a gastric bezoar, who was successfully treated with endoscopic bezoar fragmentation and oral erythromycin for 3 weeks.
Adult ; Bezoars* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Erythromycin ; Gastric Emptying ; Gastroparesis* ; Humans ; Motilin ; Motor Activity ; Muscle, Smooth

Here, we show that the interaction between two membrane proteins, the mouse homologue of CD99 (designated D4) and its ligand, paired immunoglobulin-like type 2 receptor (PILR), is one of the major mechanisms of thymocyte apoptosis. Using the polymeric fusion protein of PILR and IgG1 (PILR-Ig), we demonstrated that D4 ligation in the absence of T cell receptor (TCR) engagement leads to the induction of apoptosis, mainly at the double-positive stage of thymocytes. This was further confirmed by a blocking study in which blocking the interaction between D4 and PILR by soluble D4 protein led to reduced apoptosis in the fetal thymic organ culture with wild type and TCRalpha(-/-) mice. Furthermore, the dissection of intracellular signaling pathway demonstrated that D4 cross-linking led to caspase activation without any change in mitochondrial membrane potential. Based on these data, we propose a mechanism for thymocyte depletion in which the interaction between D4 and PILR delivers an active signal.

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship of the Comprehensive Attention (CAT), Stoop Color-Word (STROOP), Children's Color Trails (CCTT), and Wisconsin Card Sorting Tests (WCST) in evaluating the executive function in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). METHODS: A total of 197 children and adolescents with ADHD (mean age 10.4+/-3.2 years, 173 boys) and 62 without ADHD (mean age 11.8+/-3.5 years, 48 boys) have completed the Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham-IV questionnaire (SNAP-IV), and also the CAT, STROOP, CCTT and WCST. RESULTS: The selective, sustained, divided attention and Flanker tests of the CAT significantly discriminated between the ADHD and non-ADHD groups. The results of the CCTT were significantly correlated with the results of the CAT only in the ADHD group. The results of the STROOP were associated with selective, sustained, divided attention and Flanker tests. The results of the WCST were significantly correlated with the scores of the Working Memory subtest of the CAT only in the non-ADHD group. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that the CAT has strong discriminant validity and moderate concurrent validity. The CAT could be a tool for the evaluation of the executive function of ADHD.
Adolescent ; Animals ; Cats ; Child ; Executive Function ; Humans ; Memory, Short-Term ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Stroop Test ; Wisconsin

PURPOSE: This study investigated factors affecting recurrent wheezing in infants, focusing on whether or not respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in children <3 years of age induce recurrent wheezing later in life. METHODS: The inclusion criteria were children <3 years of age who were hospitalized for an RSV infection from January 2006 to December 2009. We evaluated lateral flow immunochromatography (RSV Respi-Strip test). Subjects with at least three episodes of physician-verified wheezing were defined as recurrent wheezers. A group of 79 children hospitalized with RSV infections were compared with a matched control group. The following data were collected: age, gender, admission duration, gestational age, obesity, history of atopic dermatitis, parental history of allergic diseases, exposure to passive smoking, exposure to indoor animals, and daycare attendance. RESULTS: Rates of obesity and exposure to passive smoking were significantly higher in the RSV group than those in the control group. The frequency of recurrent wheezing in the RSV group (39.2%) was higher than that in the control group (10.1%). Compared to the control group, recurrent wheezing occurred 5.76 times more often in the RSV group, 2.49 times more often in males, and 2.41 times often in patients with a parental history of allergic diseases. CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that RSV infection is significantly associated with recurrent wheezing, and that the risk is higher in male children and in children with a parental history of allergic diseases.
Animals ; Child ; Dermatitis, Atopic ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Immunochromatography ; Infant ; Male ; Obesity ; Parents ; Respiratory Sounds ; Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses ; Tobacco Smoke Pollution

The development of renal glomerular lesions secondary to severe visceral infection (pulmonary, pleural, retroperitoneal or hepatic abscess) is not generally appreciated. Such patients resemble those with infective endocarditis. The suggested pathogenetic mechanisms by which infection can cause glomerular damage are immunologic interaction, direct toxicity of a bacterial products, and some other triggering factors; However, direct correlation between the infectious and immunologic events has not been demonstrated. The histopathologic findings of infectious glomerulonephritis are variable, and these findings, as well as the clinical abnormalities, may resolve with effective antimicrobial therapy or abscess drainage. We experienced a case of glomerulonephritis and acute renal failure due to staphylococcal retroperitoneal abscess. The patient was a 58-year-old man who presented with abdominal and back pain. We performed an abdominal CT scan which showed a retroperitoneal abscess which was proven to be a staphylococcal infection upon percutaneous abscess drainage. Furthermore, we performed a renal biopsy in order to investigate hematuria, RBC casts, and proteinuria. Pathologic findings revealed postinfectious glomerulonephritis. Abscess drainage and sensitive antibiotics were administered, after which his symptoms and urinary abnormalities disappeared, and the retroperitoneal abscess subsided. Here, we report a case of a staphylococcal retroperitoneal abscess which led to postinfectious glomerulonephritis and acute renal failure along with a brief review of the literatures.
Abscess* ; Acute Kidney Injury ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Back Pain ; Biopsy ; Drainage ; Endocarditis ; Glomerulonephritis* ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Proteinuria ; Staphylococcal Infections ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Livedo vasculitis is a chronic dermatosis characterized by recurrent painful ulceration of the lower limbs, which heals to leave atrophie blanche. The precise pathophysiology is not known. Antiplatelet, anticoagulant, fibrinolytic therapies and anabolic steroids have been reported to be helpful in this syndrome. However, no consistent benefit has been demonstrated with any treatment modality. Recently, pulsed intravenous immunoglobulin therapy has been reported to be effective in some refractory cases. We herein report two cases of recalcitrant livedo vasculitis which were effectively treated with pulsed intravenous immunoglobulin therapy. These were the first trials carried out in Korea.
Immunization, Passive* ; Immunoglobulins* ; Korea ; Lower Extremity ; Skin Diseases ; Steroids ; Thrombolytic Therapy ; Ulcer ; Vasculitis*

A 59-year old female was admitted to Yongdong Severance Hospital due to diarrhea and lower abdominal pain lasting for 2 months. She had a previous history of admission for stomach cancer on September 1995. At that time, she underwent total gastrectomy and gastroduodenostomy. The pathology of the specimen revealed a signet ring cell carcinoma of stomach. On admission, computerized tomography revealed rectal wall thickness and no evidence of lymph node enlargement in abdomen and pelvic cavity. Barium enema study showed stricture of rectum. After sigmoidoscopic biopsy, she was diagnosed as a rectal metastasis resulted in rectal stricture and underwent sigmoid loop colostomy. Hence we present a case of gastric cancer with rectal metastasis resulted in rectal stricture.
Abdomen ; Abdominal Pain ; Barium ; Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Signet Ring Cell ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Colostomy ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Diarrhea ; Enema ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Pathology ; Rectum ; Stomach ; Stomach Neoplasms*

No abstract available.
Health Surveys* ; Smoke* ; Smoking*