No abstract available.

BACKGROUND: Surgery may have a role when medical treatment alone is not successful in patients with multi-drug resistant (MDR) pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). To document the role of resection in MDR PTB, we analyzed 4 years of our experience. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed on thirteen patients that underwent pulmonary resection for MDR PTB between May 1996 and February 2000. All patients had organisms resistant to many of the first-line drugs including isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RFP). RESULTS: The thirteen patients were 37.5±12.4 years old (mean±S.D.)(M:F=5:8), and their sputum was culture positive even with adequate medication for prolonged periods (109.7±132.0 months), resistant to 2-8 drugs including isoniazid and rifampin. All patients had localized lesion(s) and most (92.3%) had cavities. At least 3 sensitive anti-TB medications were started before surgery in all patients according to the drug sensitivity test. The preoperative FE1 was 2.37±0.83 L. Lobectomy was performed in 11 patients and pleuropneumonectomy in two. Postoperative mortality did not occur, but pneumonia occurred as a complication in one (7.7%). After 41.5±58.9 days (range 1~150 days) follow up, negative conversion of sputum culture was achieved in all patients within 5 months. Only one patient (7.7%) recurred 32 months after lung resection. CONCLUSION: When medical treatment alone is not successful, surgical resection can be a good treatment option in patients with localized MDR PTB.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Isoniazid ; Lung ; Mortality ; Pneumonia ; Retreatment* ; Retrospective Studies ; Rifampin ; Risk Factors* ; Sputum ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary*

No abstract available.
Dendritic Cells* ; Gallbladder*

To determine the frequencies of the genotypes of NAT2 gene in healthy Korean populations and to identify the high-risk genotypes of NAT2 gene in colorectal cancer patients, 115 healthy controls and 109 cancer patients were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFLP). The distribution of NAT2 polymorphism in healthy Korean was found to be 7.8% of S/S genotype, 48.7% of S/F genotype, and 43.5% of F/F genotype. And the frequency of phenotypes was 8% of slow acetylator and 92% of rapid acetylator. S/S genotype of colorectal cancer patients was slightly more frequent than that of healthy controls(11.9% vs 7.8%). The relative risk of S/S genotype to colorectal cancer was estimated to be 1.41, taking the risk of F/F genotype as a baseline(1.00). These results suggest that the distribution of frequencies of NAT2 genotypes is very unique in Korean characterized by extremely low frequency of slow acetylator geno type(S/S) in comparison to the other ethnic groups. And the slow acetylator genotype(S/S) in Korean was found to be more susceptible to colon cancer. Therefore, S/S genotype may have a certain role an colonic carcinogenesis in Korean.
Carcinogenesis ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Ethnic Groups ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease* ; Genotype ; Humans ; Korea* ; Phenotype

PURPOSE: The first web space of the foot has a similar thickness and skin texture of the pulp of the fingers. Moreover, it has a reliable blood vessel and sensory nerve. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical results of the first web space free flap to reconstruct the pulp of fingers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Authors have performed 23 cases of first web space free flap to reconstruct the pulp defect of the fingers between June 2004 and May 2009. The age of the patients ranged from 20 years old to 55 years old. The size of the flap ranged from 1x1.5 cm to 8.5x2.5 cm. The mean flap area was 5.4 cm2. In 4 cases, we elevated the flap including lateral aspect of the big toe and medial aspect of the second toe. And then we made an artificial syndactyly to reconstruct the pulps on two fingers at the same time. In all cases, we performed 1 digital artery and 1 dorsal vein anastomosis. Every donor site that had a small defect healed spontaneously without any additional operations to cover it. RESULTS: Of this type of surgery 21 flaps (91.3%) survived, 2 flaps (8.7%) failed. There was no severe complication in the donor sites. There was no walking disturbance due to the skin defect of the donor site. The static 2 point discrimination in 11 cases that we could check ranged from 3 mm to 15 mm. CONCLUSION: The authors believe that the first web space free flap of the foot is a good option for the reconstruction of the pulp of the fingers and it has a minimal donor site morbidity.
Arteries ; Blood Vessels ; Discrimination (Psychology) ; Fingers ; Foot ; Free Tissue Flaps ; Glycosaminoglycans ; Humans ; Skin ; Syndactyly ; Tissue Donors ; Toes ; Veins ; Walking

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical characteristics and treatment outcomes of alveolar soft part sarcoma (ASPS) of the extremities and trunk and investigate the prognostic factors. Materials and Methods: Forty patients presenting with ASPS in the extremities or trunk between 2001 and 2021 were reviewed retrospectively. We evaluated the clinical manifestations at presentation, local recurrence, and metastasis after treatment. The survival rates and prognostic factors affecting survival were analyzed. Only patients who were followed up for more than one year were included in the study. The mean follow-up time was 58 months (range, 12–120). Results: The average age of the patients was 26 years (range, 12–54) and the primary tumor developed mainly in the thigh (23 patients, 57.5%). The average size of the tumor was 8.7 cm and metastasis at presentation was seen in 28 (70%) patients. The overall survival rates at five-years and 10-years were 53.7% and 34.5%, respectively. Metastasis at presentation was related to poor survival (p=0.001). Conclusion ASPS in the extremities or trunk present with a high rate of metastasis and patients with metastasis showed poorer survival.In the future, further efforts to develop novel therapies like target therapy or immunotherapy for the treatment of metastatic patients are warranted.

BACKGROUND: A mixture of local anesthetics such as lidocaine and bupivacaine has frequently been used in clinical practice. The rationale behind this is to take advantage of lidocaine's rapid onset and bupivacaine's perpetuation in anesthesia. The purpose of this study was to examine the changes in the onset and recovery of nerve blocking action exerted by the different combinations of these two in the mixture. METHODS: Isolated sciatic nerve preparations obtained from adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were used in this study. Recordings of A-fiber compound action potentials (A-CAPs) were made at the end of the isolated nerve while single pulse stimuli (0.5 msec, supramaximal intensity, 2 Hz) were applied to the opposite end of the nerve. Seven different composition of lidocaine-bupivacaine mixtures were prepared (0 : 6, 1 : 5, 2 : 4, 3 : 3, 4 : 2, 5 : 1, 6 : 0 vol./vol.), where basal concentrations of lidocaine and bupivacaine were 0.2% and 0.05%, respectively. Amplitudes of A-CAPs were measured before, during and after perfusion of mixture solution. The time needed for A-CAPs amplitude to decrease to 10% of the basal value after starting perfusion (onset time) and that needed to reach to 50% of the basal value after ceasing the perfusion (recovery time) were measured. RESULTS: With increasing concentration ratios of lidocaine to bupivacaine in the mixture as mentioned above, the following onset and recovery times were obtained (6.0 +/- 0.3, 5.6 +/- 0.3, 6.0 +/- 0.5, 8.3 +/- 0.5, 7.3 +/- 0.6, 7.8 +/- 0.3, and 10.8 +/- 0.8, minutes; 38 +/- 4, 63 +/- 12, 87 +/- 19, 100 +/- 13, 104 +/- 18, 137 +/- 27, and 157 +/- 18 minutes, respectively). CONCLUSION: Onset times were, in general, exponentially decreased with the increase in the lidocaine concentration. However, recovery times were lineary increased with the increase in the bupivacaine concentration. So, it should be kept in mind that rapid onset can only be obtained with the expense of substantial reduction in the duration of local anesthetic effect of the mixture, and vice versa.
Action Potentials ; Adult ; Anesthesia ; Anesthetics ; Anesthetics, Local ; Bupivacaine ; Humans ; Lidocaine ; Male ; Nerve Block ; Neural Conduction* ; Perfusion ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Sciatic Nerve

PURPOSE: To evaluate the short-term effect of an intravitreal injection of ranibizumab in the treatment of diabetic macular edema. METHODS: Eighteen eyes of 18 patients who underwent intravitreal ranibizumab injection for the treatment of diabetic macular edema between March 1 and November 30, 2009 were retrospectively evaluated. Complete ophthalmic examinations including best corrected visual acuity and optical coherence tomography (OCT) were performed at baseline and follow-up visits at one and three months. RESULTS: The mean Visual Acuity Improved From Logmar 0.74 +/- 0.45 At Baseline To Logmar 0.44 +/- 0.26 At One Month And To Logmar 0.42 +/- 0.23 At Three Months (P < 0.05). The Mean Central Macular Thickness Decreased From 429.5 +/- 71.9 microM At Baseline To 299.9 +/- 81.2 microM At One Month And To 284.6 +/- 82.6 microM At Three Months (P < 0.05). No Adverse Side Effects Were Observed Following the injections. CONCLUSIONS: The observed macular edema and visual acuity improvements demonstrated that intravitreal ranibizumab injection may be useful for the treatment of patients with diabetic macular edema.
Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized ; Eye ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intravitreal Injections ; Macular Edema ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Visual Acuity

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the oncologic outcomes of parosteal osteosarcoma (POS) and to ascertain the fates of patients after local recurrence (LR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed 22 POS patients with an average follow-up of 114 months (range: 36-235 months). Seven of the 22 patients were referred after LR. There were 17 Stage IB and 5 Stage IIB (G2, 2; dedifferentiation, 3). Tumors were located in the femur (11) and in other locations (11). Initial surgical margins were wide in 10, marginal in 5, and intralesional in 7. Correlations between clinico-pathologic variables and LR and clinical courses after LR were evaluated. RESULTS: The 10-year overall survival rate was 85.7%. Three (14%) patients developed distant metastasis and all of them succumbed to the disease. Nine (41%) patients developed LR. Tumor location, resection type, and surgical margin were found to be correlated with LR. At final follow-up, 7 of the 9 patients that experienced local failure achieved no evidence of disease. CONCLUSION: A substantial risk of misdiagnosis exists, especially for POS in other than a femoral location. Recurrent tumor re-excision is possible in most cases; however, patients with an aggressive recurrence pattern deserve special attention.
Diagnostic Errors ; Femur ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Osteosarcoma ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

No abstract available.
Exanthema* ; Humans ; Infant* ; Leukemia* ; Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute