No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Melanoma*

Effect of Enoxacin (Flumark), an oral pyridone carboxylic acid, in the urinary tract infection was evaluated clinically and susceptibility of 292 strains of microorganism isolated from urine to the various antimicrobial agents was tested and compared. Thirty six patients with urinary tract infection were given with 300 to 600mg of Enoxacin daily for 7 to 14 days according to severity of urinary tract infection. The clinical symptoms and urinary findings improved in 30 patients (83.3%) and no clinical response was achieved in 6 patients (16.7%), but revealing 100% response in 9 patients of acute uncomplicated cystitis. In the antimicrobial susceptibility test, Enoxacin was much superior to aminoglycoside, especially against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Serratia spp., Enterobacter spp. and other Pseudomonas spp.. Enoxacin is a very effective and safe antimicrobial agent in treatment of the urinary tract infection.
Anti-Infective Agents ; Cystitis ; Enoxacin ; Enterobacter ; Humans ; Pseudomonas ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Serratia ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract*

No abstract available.
Antigens, Surface* ; Oncogenes*

PURPOSE: We wanted to determine and report on the outcome of combined gemcitabine/cisplatin chemotherapy for patients suffering with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between July 1999 and December 2004, 43 selected patients were enrolled in this study. Group 1 (the adjuvant chemotherapy group) had undergone radical surgery with removal of evident tumor from the following primary sites: bladder (n=8), renal pelvis (n=7) and ureter (n=3). Group 2 (the salvage chemotherapy group) had undergone palliative surgery with a remnant tumor at the following primary sites; bladder (n=23) and renal pelvis (n=2). All the patients were given gemcitabine/ciplatin and they evaluated for the therapeutic effect and toxicity. The patients were initially treated with gemcitabine 1000 mg/m2 intravenously for 30 minutes on days 1, 8 and 15 of a 28-day cycle, and cisplatin 70 mg/m2 was administered intravenously on day 1 using prehydration measures. RESULTS: Group 1: The median follow-up period was 16.5 months. The mean age was 63 years (males: 15 cases, females: 3 cases), and eleven patients (61%) remained alive. The estimated median relapse-free survival period and 2-year survival rate were 24 months and 63%, respectively. Group 2: the median follow-up period was 20 months, the mean patient age was 63.8 years (males: 22 cases, females: 3 cases), and nine patients (36%) remained alive. The overall response and 2-year survival rates were 36% and 43%, respectively. Toxicities: Grade 3 toxicities developed in 14 cycles during the total 232 cycles. Grade 4 toxicity did not occur. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study confirm that adjuvant and salvage chemotherapy with using gemcitabine and cisplatin is tolerable and safe.
Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Cisplatin ; Drug Therapy* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kidney Pelvis ; Palliative Care ; Survival Rate ; Ureter ; Urinary Bladder ; Urologic Neoplasms

Mitochondrial myopathy is characterized by variable clinical manifestations from mild limb weakness to fatal respiratory failure and central nervous system sequela. But it is a rare event that sleep disordered breathing become a clue of diagnosis for mitochondrial myopathy. We report a case of a 21 year-old man who was diagnosed as mitochondrial myopathy during the investigation for the possible cause of chronic hypoventilation syndrome. Before being admitted to our hospital, he was suspected as having sleep apnea syndrome in another hospital. We re-evaluated the history, physical examination, laboratoy findings and polysomnography in detail. Severe hypoxemia was noted during REM sleep on nocturnal polysomnography and the diagnosis of mitochondrial myopathy was made by muscle biopsy in rectus abdominis muscle. We treated him with bilevel positive airway pressure therapy during sleep and it could reverse the hypoxemia during REM sleep. He could be discharged with improved condition and is being well with the use of this ventilatory assistance.
Anoxia* ; Biopsy ; Central Nervous System ; Diagnosis ; Extremities ; Humans ; Hypoventilation ; Mitochondrial Myopathies* ; Physical Examination ; Polysomnography ; Rectus Abdominis ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Sleep Apnea Syndromes ; Sleep, REM* ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effectiveness and clinical utility of antenatal corticosteroids in the reduction of neonatal morbidity and mortality on preterm birth Material and method: Neonatal outcomes of 312 preterm babies were evaluated retrospectively. One hundred and two preterm babies(study group) were given dexamethasone more than 1 dose antenatally and 210 preterm babies(control group) were not given dexamethasone antenatally. Antenatal steroids were administered in the form of four 5mg intramuscular doses of dexamethasone 12 hours apart. Maternal and neonatal outcomes of study group were compared with those of control group. Student t- test, x2 test, Fisher's exact test, and logistic regression analysis were used where appropriate. p-value< 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Antentenatal corticosteroid significantly decreased the incidence of RDS(OR:0.47, 95% CI:0.25-0.86), IVH/PVL(OR : 0.32, 95% CI : 0.12-0.86), necrotizing enterocolitis(OR : 0.49, 95% CI : 0.25-0.98), and neonatal death(OR: 0.30, 95% CI: 0.10 - 0.89) in preterm delivery. In the presence of PROM, antenatal corticosteoid seemed to have no protective effect on the neonatal complications such as RDS, IVH/PVL, NEC, PDA, and neonatal death. CONCLUSIONS: Antenatal administration of corticosteroids was effective to decrease the incidence of neonatal morbidity and neonatal mortality in the preterm neonates with no apparent maternal complications.
Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Dexamethasone ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Infant Mortality ; Infant, Newborn ; Logistic Models ; Mortality ; Premature Birth* ; Retrospective Studies ; Steroids

No abstract available.
Thrombasthenia*

In recent years, the number of systematic review and meta-analysis literatures has markedly increased. Systematic reviews can give important information about clinical decision making when studies show different or even contradictory results. By utilizing systematic reviews, clinicians can get unbiased summaries of the estimates, which are a reliable source of clinical information. Contrary to the narrative review, the systematic review conducts a comprehensive research of relevant studies on a defined clinical question, and critically appraises the risk of bias in included studies. The systematic review usually includes meta-analysis which summarizes the quantitative estimates by using statistical methods. Most meta-analyses aggregate data from primary studies, but individual data are also commonly used. Explaining heterogeneity among included studies and subsequent subgroup analysis are often required. Systematic review and meta-analysis depend on the quality of included studies, and subsequently cannot overcome the limitations of primary studies. Also, meta-analysis is prone to publication biases and methodological flaws. Despite these limitations, systematic review has definitive strengths. Maximizing these strengths require reliable second-hand data and a comprehensive analysis.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Decision Making ; Evidence-Based Medicine ; Population Characteristics ; Publication Bias ; Review Literature as Topic

To evaluate the role of capsular polysaccharide (CPS) as a virulence factor, the interaction of V. vulnificus with mouse peritoneal macrophages and serum, which are involved in the clearance of bacteria from blood and other tissues, were examined. In this study, MO6-24/0 (wild strain; hemolysin- and capsule-positive), MO6-24/I' (acapsular spontaneous mutant), CVD 752 (acapsular transposon mutant), and CVD 707 (hemolysin-negative and capsule-positive mutant) were used. The strain with CPS (MO6-24/0 and CVD 707) were more resistant to phagocytosis by mouse peritoneal macrophages compared with acapsular strains (MO6-24/T and CVD 752), and the resistance to phagocytosis was not changed by serum opsonin in the capsular strains. Acapsular strains were more susceptible to serum bactericidal activity than the capsular strains through the classical complement pathway. MO6-24/0 strain were detected in blood, spleen, liver and lung at 4 hours after intraperitoneally infection, whereas CVD 752 were not detected. All tested strains could induced the transcription of inflammatory cytokine gene such as IL-1, IL-6, IL-10 and TNF-u, and their inductions were not decreased by cytochalasin B treatment. This results demonstrate that CPS of V. vulnificus plays an important role in V. vulnificus infection through interfering nonspecific host defense system such as blood clearance and phagocytosis.
Animals ; Bacteria ; Complement Pathway, Classical ; Cytochalasin B ; Interleukin-1 ; Interleukin-10 ; Interleukin-6 ; Liver ; Lung ; Macrophages, Peritoneal ; Mice ; Phagocytosis ; Spleen ; Vibrio vulnificus* ; Vibrio* ; Virulence*