No abstract available.
Drug Therapy* ; Neuroectodermal Tumors, Primitive*

No abstract available.
Abortion, Induced* ; Female ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care*

No abstract available.
Abortion, Induced* ; Female ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care*

PURPOSE: To analyze the improvement of symptoms and signs of dry eye after surgical punctual occlusion and to evaluate the effects of secondary systemic disease in dry eye patients. METHODS: From March 2011 to July 2014, 15 eyes of 8 dry eye patients with a history of punctal plug insertion underwent surgical punctal occlusion. Schirmer test was measured based on mean 2.9 mm. The patients consisted of 4 dry eye patients with Sjogren's disease, 1 with rheumatoid arthritis, 1 with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), and 2 with no secondary systemic disease. Preoperative and postoperative ophthalmic examinations of log MAR visual acuity, subjective symptoms, corneal staining (National Eye Institute [NEI] score), and tear break-up time (BUT) were performed and the effects of secondary systemic disease in dry eye patients were evaluated. The results of surgical punctual occlusion were analyzed. RESULTS: All patients showed a statistically significant improvement of log MAR visual acuity, subjective symptoms, corneal staining (NEI score), and tear BUT. The patients with rheumatoid-related diseases showed improved symptoms after surgery, but the patient with GVHD showed no significant improvement after surgery. Among the study patients, 80.0% showed completely closed punctum and 20.0% showed partial recanalization. CONCLUSIONS: Surgical punctal occlusion is an effective alternative in patients with severe aqueous deficient dry eye who show recurrent punctal plug loss or complications associated with punctal plugs.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Graft vs Host Disease ; Humans ; Sjogren's Syndrome ; Tears ; Visual Acuity

OBJECTIVE: Although a high incidence of chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) following traumatic subdural hygroma (SDG) has been reported, no study has evaluated risk factors for the development of CSDH. Therefore, we analyzed the risk factors contributing to formation of CSDH in patients with traumatic SDG. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed patients admitted to Hallym University Hospital with traumatic head injury from January 2004 through December 2013. A total of 45 patients with these injuries in which traumatic SDG developed during the follow-up period were analyzed. All patients were divided into two groups based on the development of CSDH, and the associations between the development of CSDH and independent variables were investigated. RESULTS: Thirty-one patients suffered from bilateral SDG, whereas 14 had unilateral SDG. Follow-up computed tomography scans revealed regression of SDG in 25 of 45 patients (55.6%), but the remaining 20 patients (44.4%) suffered from transition to CSDH. Eight patients developed bilateral CSDH, and 12 patients developed unilateral CSDH. Hemorrhage-free survival rates were significantly lower in the male and bilateral SDG group (log-rank test; p=0.043 and p=0.013, respectively). Binary logistic regression analysis revealed male (OR, 7.68; 95% CI 1.18–49.78; p=0.033) and bilateral SDG (OR, 8.04; 95% CI 1.41–45.7; p=0.019) were significant risk factors for development of CSDH. CONCLUSION: The potential to evolve into CSDH should be considered in patients with traumatic SDG, particularly male patients with bilateral SDG.
Craniocerebral Trauma ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematoma, Subdural, Chronic* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Subdural Effusion* ; Survival Rate

Cases of spontaneous regression of cerebral aneurysm remnant after incomplete surgical clipping have been rarely reported. This paper reports the regression of an aneurysm remnant after incomplete surgical clipping during postsurgical follow-up. A 50-year-old male presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage because of rupture of an anterior communicating artery aneurysm. An emergency clipping of the aneurysm was performed. A cerebral angiography, which was performed two weeks postoperatively, revealed an aneurysm remnant. The patient refused additional treatment and was discharged without apparent neurological deficit. One-year follow up cerebral angiography demonstrated a partially regressed aneurysm remnant.
Aneurysm* ; Cerebral Angiography ; Emergencies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rupture ; Subarachnoid Hemorrhage ; Surgical Instruments*

PURPOSE: We investigated the clinical difference between single infection and coinfection with respiratory virus in hospitalized children with acute respiratory tract infections. METHODS: We reviewed 727 patients who were admitted with the diagnosis of acute respiratory infection at the Department of Pediatrics, Bundang Jesaeng Hospital between January and December of 2014. Diagnoses were made using the multiplex reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay targeting 16 viruses in nasopharyngeal swabs. Subjects were classified as the single virus infection and coinfection groups. RESULTS: A total of 439 patients were enrolled; 359 (77.2%) under 24 months. Single virus was detected in 279 (63.6%). Coinfection with multiple virus was detected in 160 (36.4%): 126 (28.7%) with 2 viruses, 30 (6.8%), and 4 (0.9%) with 3 to 4 viruses. Viral coinfection was detected in 28 samples (17.5%), with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) A and rhinovirus being the most dominating combination. There were no clinical differences between the single infection and coinfection groups, except sputum and the frequency of high RSV load. Sputum was significantly more frequent in the coinfection group (P=0.043), and the frequency of high RSV load was significantly higher in the single infection group (P=0.029). Disease severity (high fever, the duration of fever [≥5 days], and the length of hospital stay [≥5 days], O₂ therapy) did not differ significantly between both groups. RSV was a frequent virus of single infection during winter. Coinfection was most common in winter. CONCLUSION: There were no clinical differences between single infection and coinfection, except sputum and the frequency of high RSV load.
Child ; Child, Hospitalized ; Coinfection* ; Diagnosis ; Fever ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Multiplex Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Pediatrics ; Respiratory Syncytial Viruses ; Respiratory Tract Infections ; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Rhinovirus ; Sputum

PURPOSE: Recently, the incidence of refractory Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) pneumonia has increased in Korea. Given that its early diagnosis is helpful in selection of the treatment, this study aimed at investigating the value of the antimycoplasma antibody (IgM) for early diagnosis of MP pneumonia. METHODS: A total of 315 children admitted with MP pneumonia from September 2015 to May 2016 were investigated with the IgM and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of MP pneumonia. Specifically, patients were grouped into nonrefractory respiratory MP and refractory MP groups according to their response to macrolide therapy. RESULTS: In the 44 PCR-negative seroconversed children, seroconversed IgM was more frequent in the refractory MP group compared with the nonrefractory respiratory MP group with statistical significance (P<0.001). In the 264 IgM-positive children, the time of antibody reaction was more delayed in the refractory MP group compared to the nonrefractory respiratory MP group with statistical significance (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: This study showed that there was a higher incidence of seroconversed IgM and delayed antibody reaction in the refractory MP group. In children with suspect MP pneumonia, follow-up studies of antibody are necessary, even through initial antibody and PCR showed negative findings. In addition, this result may suggest that the diagnosis of refractory MP pneunomia will be helpful in establishing the strategy of the treatment.
Child ; Diagnosis ; Early Diagnosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin M ; Incidence ; Korea ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Mycoplasma ; Pneumonia ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; Polymerase Chain Reaction

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of different pillow heights on the slope of the cervicothoracic spine segments. METHODS: A prospective analysis of data from 16 asymptomatic adults (aged 20 to 30 years) was carried out. Exclusion criteria were history of injury or accident to the cervicothoracic spine, cervicothoracic spine surgery, or treatment for neck symptoms. We used three different pillow heights: flat (0 cm), 10-cm, and 20-cm pillows. Cervical sagittal parameters, measured with radiography, included; C2-7 Cobb's angle, T1 slope (T1S), thoracic inlet angle (TIA), and neck tilt (NT). Statistical analyses were performed using Spearman correlation coefficients. RESULTS: As the height of the pillow increased, the T1S & C2-7 Cobb's angle increased while the NT values tended to decrease. The TIA values, however, remained constant. Additionally, there was a statistically significant sex difference in T1S with the 0-cm pillow (p=0.01), and in NT with the 20-cm pillow (p=0.01). CONCLUSION: From the data obtained in this study, we recommend that the most suitable pillow height is 10 cm, considering the normal cervical lordosis.
Adult ; Animals ; Bays ; Humans ; Lordosis ; Neck ; Prospective Studies ; Radiography ; Sex Characteristics ; Spine*

BACKGROUND: For monitoring infection and inflammation episodes, biomarkers of host response, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and procalcitonin (PCT), are now being recognized as useful tools in the diagnostic process. We aimed at evaluating the analytical performance of the recently developed semi-automated ichroma SMART system (Boditech Med Inc., Korea), which allows measurements of both CRP and PCT. METHODS: We evaluated the analytical performance of the ichroma SMART system and the agreement between its results and the laboratory standards for CRP and PCT measurements. The precision and linearity as well as the method of measurement were compared to the DxC 800 (Beckman Coulter, USA) for CRP and to the VIDAS (bioMerieux SA, France) for PCT, according to corresponding CLSI guidelines. Additionally, we evaluated the carryover rates between specimens. RESULTS: The total precision (% CV) of the ichroma SMART system in measuring low, middle, and high level controls (level 1, 2, 3) was 6.32%, 5.75%, and 3.56% for CRP, and 8.07%, 6.24%, and 6.53% for PCT. In the linearity test, R2 was 0.9997 and 0.9982 for CRP (0.1-336.8 mg/L) and PCT (0.05-60.91 ng/mL), respectively. Good correlation was observed between ichroma SMART and DxC 800 for CRP (r=0.997), and between ichroma SMART and VIDAS for PCT (r=0.992). Carry-over effect was 0.02% for CRP and 0.04% for PCT. CONCLUSIONS: The ichroma SMART system showed an adequate performance and appeared to be a suitable clinical analyzer with a simple operating procedure for the measurement of CRP and PCT.
Biomarkers ; C-Reactive Protein* ; Inflammation