To study the clinical characteristics and treatment results of childhood soft tissue sarcoma, the retrospective study was performed on 67 patients with soft tissue sarcoma, experienced at the Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University Hospital from January, 1982 to July, 1990. The median age of 67 soft tissue sarcoma patients was 4 years 5 months and age distribution showed that 0-4 year age group was most common (55.2%). The sex ratio of male to female was 1.2:1. There were 3 cancers among relatives of soft tissue sarcoma patients, including one cancer among first-degree relatives. As for pathological classification, rhabdomyosarcoma (67.1%) was the most common childhood soft tissue sarcoma, followed by malignant Schwannoma (8.9%), extraskeletal Ewing's sarcoma (6.0%), infantile fibrosarcoma (4.5%), malignant fibrous histiocytoma (3.0%), malignant hemangiopericytoma (3.0%), and there were 1 case each of angiosarcoma, leiomyosarcoma, synovial sarcoma, malignant mesenchymoma and mesenchymal chondrosarcoma. The median age of 45 rhabdomyosarcoma patients was 3 years 8 months and age distribution showed that 0-4 year age group was most common (64.5%). Twenty three patients were male and 22 were female. The histologic subtype of rhabdomyosarcoma was embryonal type in 38 patients (84.5%), alveolar type in 5 patients (11.1%) and unclassified type in 2 patients (4.4%). As for primary site of soft tissue sarcomas, the most frequent site was the head and neck region (32.8%) including parameningeal region (13.4%) and orbit (6.0%), followed by extremities (20.9%), trunk (19.4%), retroperitoneum and pelvis (11.9%), urogenital region (7.5%), perineum and perianal region (4.5%) and other region (3.0%). As for primary site of 45 rhabdomyosarcoma cases, the most frequent site was also the head and neck region (37.8%). The most common initial symptom of soft tissue sarcoma patients was mass (68.7%). As for Intergroup Rhabdomyosarcoma Study clinical grouping system of 67 soft tissue sarcoma patients, clinical group III (58.2%) was most common, followed by clinical group II(20.9%), IV (14.9%) and I (6.0%). Of 10 cases of clinical group IV with distant metastasis, lung (8 cases) was the most common metastaic region and other metastatic regions were bone, kidney, liver and bone marrow. As for IRS clinical grouping system of 45 rhabdomyosarcoma patients, clinical group III was most common (68.9%). Of 6 cases of clinical group IV, lung (5 cases) was also the most common metastatic region, followed by kidney and liver. From 1982 to 1985, chemotherapy was done with pulse VAC or pulse VAdrC-VAC regimen based on IRS-I and IRS-II. From 1986, patients in clinical group I and II received vincristine and actinomycin-D for 1 year and patients in clinical group III, IV and II with alveolar histologic subtype(unfavorable histologic group) received vincristine, actinomycin-D, adriamycin, cyclophosphamide and cisplatinum based on IRS-III. Radiation therapy was administered to patients in clinical group II, III and IV. Of 67 cases of soft tissue sarcoma, 54 case were eligible for treatment analysis. The 3 year disease free survival (DFS) of all 54 cases was 54.1%, 3 year DFS of clinical group I and II was 83.9%,3 year DFS of clinical group III and IV before 1986 was 35.7% and after 1986 was 48.2%. Of 45 cases of rhabdomyosarcoma, 41 cases were eligible for treatment analysis. The 3 year DFS of all 41 cases was 49.1%,3 year DFS of clinical group I and II was 87.5%,3 year DFS of clinical group III and IV before 1986 was 27.2% and after 1986 was 45.0%. Patients in clinical group I and II who had no gross residual tumor after primary surgical excision had best prognosis with 3 year DFS approximating 90% with only 2 drugs regimen, significantly better than patients in clinical group III and IV with 3 year DFS below 50% even after intensifying chemotherapy since year 1986. This analysis suggests that total surgical removal is very important for improving prognosis and should be undertaken where possible in all patients without distant metastasis. Treatment results also showed that after year 1986 with intensification of chemotherapy, 3 year DFS of clinical group III and IV as well as early toxic deaths increased, and after lowering doses of chemotherapeutic agents of regimen 35 of IRS-III, treatment results improved much. Therfore to improve prognosis of patients with gross residual tumor after surgical excision of biopsy and patients with distant metastasis at diagnosis, intensified multiagent chemcherapeutic regimen with adequate dose modification should be done to lower early toxic deaths.
Age Distribution ; Biopsy ; Bone Marrow ; Chondrosarcoma, Mesenchymal ; Classification ; Cyclophosphamide ; Diagnosis ; Disease-Free Survival ; Doxorubicin ; Drug Therapy ; Extremities ; Female ; Fibrosarcoma ; Head ; Hemangiopericytoma ; Hemangiosarcoma ; Histiocytoma, Malignant Fibrous ; Humans ; Kidney ; Leiomyosarcoma ; Liver ; Lung ; Male ; Mesenchymoma ; Neck ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Neoplasm, Residual ; Neurilemmoma ; Orbit ; Pediatrics ; Pelvis ; Perineum ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhabdomyosarcoma ; Sarcoma* ; Sarcoma, Ewing ; Sarcoma, Synovial ; Seoul ; Sex Ratio ; Survival Rate ; Vincristine

No abstract available.
Child* ; Drug Therapy ; Humans

No abstract available.
Bone Marrow* ; Necrosis* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma*

Acinetobacter calcoaceticus-Acinetobacter baumannii (A. calcoaceticus-A. baumannii) complex, which includes A. calcoaceticus (genospecies 1), A. baumannii (genospecies 2), Acinetobacter genospecies 3 and 13, has been identified as A. baumannii by automated bacteria identification system. The purpose of this study is to develop rapid genospecies classification of A. calcoaceticus-A. baumannii complex by molecular techniques. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) were determined for 4 reference strains and 80 isolates of A. calcoaceticus-A. baumannii complex from clinical sources. Four and eleven RAPD patterns were observed among the reference strains and the isolates, respectively. RAPD might be useful for genomic typing but not for genospecies classification of Acinetobacter spp. RFLP of 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer gene with three selected restriction enzymes (ApaLI, SwaI, and SalI) showed only four RFLP patterns in the reference and the isolates. Of 80 isolates, 10 of A. calcoaceticus (12.5%), 50 of A. baumannii (62.5%), 11 of A. genospecies 3 (13.75%), and 9 of A. genospecies 13 (11.25%) were classified by RFLP. This result suggests that RFLP of 16S-23S rRNA intergenic spacer gene of A. calcoaceticus-A. baumannii complex might be useful for genospecies classification.
Acinetobacter ; Bacteria ; DNA ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length

No abstract available.
Down Syndrome* ; Leukemia*

It is known that surgically induced astigmatism can be reduced by incision along the steep axis. Also, high grade astigmatism can be induced by pterygium. We evaluated the amount of corneal astigmatism according to the severity of pterygium in cataract patients. We retrospetively analysed the change of astigmatism after simultaneous surgery for cataract and pterygium retrospectively. We divided patients into two groups, temporal incision group. We confirmed that astigmatism is induced by moderate to severe pterygium. The more severe the pterygium, the more the amount of astigmatism. The amount of astigmatism was reduced after surgery irrespective of the incision. Postoperative astigmatic change was stabilized earlier in the temporal incision group than in the superior incision group. We concluded thath simultaneous surgery for cataract and pterygium can be considered when the severity of the pterygium is moderate to severe. Incision location in those surgeries should be decided according to whether the previous astigmatism was with-the-rule or aganinst-the-rule and this can be assumed by the state of astigmatism of the healthy, fellow sys. If the assumption is not possible, temporal incision is more desirable in aspectes of stability and predictability of postoperative astigmatism.
Astigmatism* ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Cataract* ; Humans ; Pterygium* ; Retrospective Studies

Thirty consecutive patient seen in a pediatric out patient and emergency department, in whom the diagnosis of intussusception was considered, had an ultrasound examination of the abdomen before the barium enema. The peak age was 5~12 month (range 4~34 month). Intussusception was detected by ultrasonography in all 25 cases proved by barium enema (sensitivity 100%). Normal findings on ultrasonography correlated with a negative barium enema results in 5 of 5 cases (negative predictive value=100%). No intussusception was missed by ultrasonography. To determine which patient would most benefit from ultrasonography, we divided patients into either a high risk group (100% intussusception) or a low risk group (37.5% intussusception) on the basis of clinical symptoms. We conclude that ultrasonography can be used as a rapid sensitive screening procedure in the diagnosis or exclusion of childhood intussusception. Probability of surgical reduction was associated with size of of total thickness and external rim thickness.
Abdomen ; Barium ; Child* ; Diagnosis* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Enema ; Humans ; Infant* ; Intussusception* ; Mass Screening ; Ultrasonography*

No abstract available.
Mycobacterium bovis* ; Prostatitis*

No abstract available.

Corynebacterium species are non-fermentous Gram-positive bacilli that are normal flora of human skin and mucous membranes and are commonly isolated in clinical specimens. Non-diphtheriae Corynebacterium are regarded as contaminants when found in blood culture. Currently, Corynebacterium striatum is considered one of the emerging nosocomial agents implicated in endocarditis and serious infections. We report a case of native-valve infective endocarditis caused by C. striatum, which was misidentified by automated identification system but identified accurately by 16S ribosomal RNA sequencing, in a 55-year-old male patient. The patient had two mobile vegetations on his mitral valve, both of which had high embolic risk. Through surgical valve replacement and an antibiotic regimen, the patient recovered completely. In unusual clinical scenarios, C. striatum should not be simply dismissed as a contaminant when isolated from clinical specimens. The possibility of C. striatum infection should be considered even in an immunocompetent patient, and we suggest a genotypic assay, such as 16S rRNA sequencing, to confirm species identity.
Corynebacterium* ; Endocarditis* ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Mitral Valve ; Mucous Membrane ; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S* ; Skin ; Surgical Instruments