Clinical reasoning is considered a crucial concept in reaching medical decisions. This paper reviews the reasoning processes involved in clinical reasoning from the perspective of cognitive psychology. To properly use clinical reasoning, one requires not only domain knowledge but also structural knowledge, such as critical thinking skills. In this paper, two types of reasoning process required for critical thinking are discussed: inductive and deductive. Inductive and deductive reasoning processes have different features and are generally appropriate for different types of tasks. Numerous studies have suggested that experts tend to use inductive reasoning while novices tend to use deductive reasoning. However, even experts sometimes use deductive reasoning when facing challenging and unfamiliar problems. In clinical reasoning, expert physicians generally use inductive reasoning with a holistic viewpoint based on a full understanding of content knowledge in most cases. Such a problem-solving process appears as a type of recognition-primed decision making only in experienced physicians' clinical reasoning. However, they also use deductive reasoning when distinct patterns of illness are not recognized. Therefore, medical schools should pursue problem-based learning by providing students with various opportunities to develop the critical thinking skills required for problem solving in a holistic manner.

Clinical reasoning is considered a crucial concept in reaching medical decisions. This paper reviews the reasoning processes involved in clinical reasoning from the perspective of cognitive psychology. To properly use clinical reasoning, one requires not only domain knowledge but also structural knowledge, such as critical thinking skills. In this paper, two types of reasoning process required for critical thinking are discussed: inductive and deductive. Inductive and deductive reasoning processes have different features and are generally appropriate for different types of tasks. Numerous studies have suggested that experts tend to use inductive reasoning while novices tend to use deductive reasoning. However, even experts sometimes use deductive reasoning when facing challenging and unfamiliar problems. In clinical reasoning, expert physicians generally use inductive reasoning with a holistic viewpoint based on a full understanding of content knowledge in most cases. Such a problem-solving process appears as a type of recognition-primed decision making only in experienced physicians' clinical reasoning. However, they also use deductive reasoning when distinct patterns of illness are not recognized. Therefore, medical schools should pursue problem-based learning by providing students with various opportunities to develop the critical thinking skills required for problem solving in a holistic manner.
Decision Making ; Humans ; Problem Solving ; Problem-Based Learning ; Psychology ; Schools, Medical ; Thinking

The term halo congenital nevus is a condition in which halo formation is associated with congenital melanocytic nevus. The regression of congenital melanocytic nevi is usually accompanied by the halo phenomenon and this is considered to be a rare event, although this may be underestimated. We describe here a 9-year-old boy with verrucous congenital nevus surrounded by a depigmented halo on the right upper arm. Histologically, the nevus lesion revealed a dense lymphocytic infiltration in the upper dermis intermingled with some remnants of nevus cell nests. Most of the infiltrating cells were CD8+ T lymphocytes. At the edge of the lesion, corresponding to the area of the halo, neither melanocytes nor melanin were found in any significant amounts.
Arm ; Child ; Dermis ; Humans ; Melanins ; Melanocytes ; Nevus ; Nevus, Pigmented ; T-Lymphocytes

Traditionally, radical hysterectomy is the main surgical method for the treatment of early cervical carcinoma and always results in the loss of fertility. But, large numbers of young women are recently being diagnosed with cervical carcinoma and fertility preservation has become a concern. So, there has been a move towards more conservative approaches for the treatment of cervical carcinoma in recent years. Radical trachelectomy, which allows preservation of uterus but removes the cervix, parametrium and upper one third of the vagina, is a conservative but locally radical procedure. We performed radical abdominal trachelectomy with pelvic lymphadenectomy for two cases of invasive cervical carcinomas, which may be the first report in korea. One patient was 37 years old single women who had stage Ib cervical cancer and was disease free for 17 months after treatment. The other patient was 19 years old student who was also single and had stage IIa cervical cancer and was disease free for 14 months after treatment. We report the first two cases and review the literature on radical trachelectomy.
Adult ; Cervix Uteri ; Female ; Fertility ; Fertility Preservation ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Korea ; Lymph Node Excision* ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Uterus ; Vagina ; Young Adult

We studied the intradural variations of spinal nerve rootlets in 100 cases of Korean adults. The results of the study are as follows ; 1. The incidence of intrasegmental variations (abberrant rootlets) is high in cervical segments and decreased toward lumbosacral segments. The incidence is higher in posterior rootlets than anterior, except cervical sesments. 2. The incidence of intersegmental variations is higher in posterior rootlets than anterior, and generally high in cervical and lumbar segments. 3. We divide the intersegmental variations into supernumerary rootlets, dividing rootlets, and anastomosing rootlets, and among them the incidence of anastomosing rootlets is higher. We divide the anastomosing rootlets into parallel anastomosing rootlets, uniting anastomosing rootlets, and rearrangement anastomosing rootlets. 4. The anterior to posterior anastomosing of spinal nerve rootlet is present in 4 of cases studied.
Adult ; Humans ; Incidence ; Spinal Nerves*

Fourteen consecutive patients underwent application of V.S.P(Variable Screw Placement) spinal plate between January 1989 and July 1989. Operative indications were spondylolisthesis, spinal stenosis, segmental instability, herniated disc with instability, pseudoarthrosis. unstable fracture, and failed surgery syndrome. Our patients consist of 8 cases of spondylolisthesis, 4 cases of fracture-dislocation, one case of spondylolysis with instability, one case of herniated disc(L1- 2 interspace). Overall results showed 36% excellent, 50% good, 7% fair, 7% poor. Two deep wound infections were observed. Screw alignment and the angular relationship of each screw to the spinal plate is considered as important technical factors in minimizing screw failure.
Humans ; Intervertebral Disc Displacement ; Pseudarthrosis ; Spinal Stenosis ; Spine* ; Spondylolisthesis ; Spondylolysis ; Wound Infection

Steroid sulfatase (STS) is an enzyme responsible for the hydrolysis of aryl and alkyl sulfates. STS plays a pivotal role in the regulation of estrogens and androgens that promote the growth of hormone-dependent tumors, such as those of breast or prostate cancer. However, the molecular function of STS in tumor growth is still not clear. To elucidate the role of STS in cancer cell proliferation, we investigated whether STS is able to regulate the integrin signaling pathway. We found that overexpression of STS in HeLa cells increases the protein and mRNA levels of integrin β1 and fibronectin, a ligand of integrin α5β1. Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), one of the main metabolites of STS, also increases mRNA and protein expression of integrin β1 and fibronectin. Further, STS expression and DHEA treatment enhanced phosphorylation of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) at the Tyr 925 residue. Moreover, increased phosphorylation of ERK at Thr 202 and Tyr 204 residues by STS indicates that STS activates the MAPK/ERK pathway. In conclusion, these results suggest that STS expression and DHEA treatment may enhance MAPK/ERK signaling through up-regulation of integrin β1 and activation of FAK.
Androgens ; Breast ; Cell Proliferation ; Dehydroepiandrosterone ; Estrogens ; Fibronectins ; Focal Adhesion Protein-Tyrosine Kinases ; HeLa Cells ; Humans* ; Hydrolysis ; Phosphorylation ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; RNA, Messenger ; Steryl-Sulfatase* ; Sulfates ; Up-Regulation ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

A 45-year-old female with psychosis complained urological symptom of urinary incontinence and voiding difficulty with abdominal pains and expansion during her psychiatric hospitalization and suddenly collapsed at the 14th day of the admission. At autopsy, the urinary bladder showed a focal perforation and the abdominal cavity was filled with massive urinary ascites. The both lower lobes and the right upper lobe of the lung were accompanied by atelectasis. The death mechanism of this case could be explained that an increased abdominal pressure produced by massive uroperitoneum with spontaneous bladder rupture led to respiratory failure. The so-called abdominal compartment syndrome was manifested by massive uroperitoneum and caused a death. This would be the first forensic medical case that an undiagnosed spontaneous bladder rupture resulted in death of a psychiatric illness patient.
Abdominal Cavity ; Abdominal Pain ; Ascites ; Autopsy ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Intra-Abdominal Hypertension ; Lung ; Middle Aged ; Psychotic Disorders ; Pulmonary Atelectasis ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Rupture* ; Urinary Bladder* ; Urinary Incontinence

PURPOSE: This study was performed to identify the etiologic agents and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of organisms responsible for bloodstream infections in pediatric cancer patients for guidance in empiric antimicrobial therapy. METHODS: A 5-year retrospective study of pediatric hemato-oncologic patients with bacteremia in Seoul National University Children's Hospital, from 2006 to 2010 was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 246 pathogens were isolated, of which 63.4% (n=156) were gram-negative, bacteria 34.6% (n=85) were gram-positive bacteria, and 2.0% (n=5) were fungi. The most common pathogens were Klebsiella spp. (n=61, 24.8%) followed by Escherichia coli (n=31, 12.6%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (n=23, 9.3%), and Staphylococcus aureus (n=22, 8.9%). Resistance rates of gram-positive bacteria to penicillin, oxacillin, and vancomycin were 85.7%, 65.9%, and 9.5%, respectively. Resistance rates of gram-negative bacteria to cefotaxime, piperacillin/tazobactam, imipenem, gentamicin, and amikacin were 37.2%, 17.1%, 6.2%, 32.2%, and 13.7%, respectively. Overall fatality rate was 12.7%. Gram-negative bacteremia was more often associated with shock (48.4% vs. 11.9%, P<0.01) and had higher fatality rate than gram-positive bacteremia (12.1% vs. 3.0%, P=0.03). Neutropenic patients were more often associated with shock than non-neutropenic patients (39.6% vs. 22.0%, P=0.04). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that gram-negative bacteria were still dominant organisms of bloodstream infections in children with hemato-oncologic diseases, and patients with gram-negative bacteremia showed fatal course more frequently than those with gram-positive bacteremia.
Amikacin ; Bacteremia ; Bacteria ; Cefotaxime ; Child ; Escherichia coli ; Fever ; Fungi ; Gentamicins ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; Gram-Positive Bacteria ; Humans ; Imipenem ; Klebsiella ; Neutropenia ; Oxacillin ; Penicillins ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Vancomycin

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: T cells play a pivotal role in initiating and orchestrating bronchial inflammation in asthma. However, little is known about changes in T cell subset in the airways. Our objective was to study whether the proportion of CD4+ or CD8+ T cells in the bronchoa1veolar lavage fluid (BALF) of bronchial asthma is different from normal subjects, and whether it is associated with clinical characteristics. METHODS: We examined the percentage of CD4+ and CD8+ cells in the BALF of 37 patients with bronchial asthma and 14 normal controls by flow cytometry. Bronchial asthma was classified as mild, moderate and severe according to bronchial hyperresponsiveness. Skin prick test and pulmonary function tests were performed. RESULTS: The percentage of CD4+ cells in BALF did not differ between asthmatics and controls, however, the percentage of CD8+ cells was significantly higher in asthmatics than contro1s, In asthmatics, the percentage of CD4+ cells and CD8+ cells did not differ between atopic and nonatopic asthmatics. The percentage of CD8+ cells in addition to CD4+ cells was correlated with the percentage of eosinophils in BALF, and the percentage of CD8+ cells also showed negative correlation with FEV, and FEF25-75% CONCLUSION: These results suggest that CD8+ cells as well as CD4+ cells are associated with airway inflammation in bronchial asthma.
Asthma* ; Eosinophils ; Flow Cytometry ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Respiratory Function Tests ; Skin ; T-Lymphocytes ; Therapeutic Irrigation