OBJECTIVES: Over the last 30 years, despite the increasing sophistication in medical care, the mortality of acute renal failure(ARF) has remained virtually unchanged at 40-50%, but the reasons remain unknown. This study intend to identify prognostic risk factors influencing survival and predict the mortality in ARF patients. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 152 patients with ARF who required renal replacement therapy, or whose serum creatinine level above 5 mg/dl, from Jan. 1988 to May. 1995. Multiple factors which may influence mortality were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. RESULTS: 1) Of the 152 patients, 97 were male and 55 were female. The mean age was 47 years and the overall mortality was 36.8%. 2) Based on the univariate analysis, age>60 years, cause of ARF, APACHE II score, number of failing organs, peak serum creatinine level, PaO2, coma, hypotension, ARDS, GI bleeding, ventilatory support, need for antiarrhythmics, DIC, cardiovascular failure, pulmonary failure, neurological failure, and gastrointestinal failure were all significant factors discriminating between survivors and nonsurvivors(p<0.05) 3) By multivariate analysis, hypotension, coma, ventilatory support, and age over 60 years were significant independent predictors influencing survival in ARF patients and logistic equation and logit score were as follows : z=-2.04+1.32(age over 60)+2.18(hypotension)+2.88 (ventilatory support) + 3.28(coma) P=ez/(1+ ez) 4) In ROC(receiver-operating characteristic)curve, when the cutoff point was 0.2, maximum sensitivity was 75% and maximum specificity was 82%. CONCLUSION: In ARF, prognostic risk factors for mortality were age over 60 years, hypotension, assisted ventilation and coma. The logit score by multiple analysis is a reliable predictor of mortality in ARF patients, however the further studies are required to confirm these results.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; APACHE ; Coma ; Creatinine ; Dacarbazine ; Female ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypotension ; Male ; Mortality* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Renal Replacement Therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Survivors ; Ventilation

No abstract available.
Polyarteritis Nodosa*

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Humans ; Hypophosphatemia*

PURPOSE: To evaluate various sepsis screening tests, individually and in combination, to formulate a guideline for the diagnosis of neonatal sepsis. METHODS: The study was a retrospective cohort study. It took place at the neonatal intensive care unit of the Paediatric Department, Il Sin Christian Hospital, Busan, Korea, over a period of 68 months from 1st, April, 2001 to 31st, December, 2005. This study evaluated 100 neonates having clinical features of sepsis and 100 normal asymptomatic neonates and used screening tests including C-reactive protein (CRP), total leukocyte count (TLC), absolute neutrophil count (ANC), immature neutrophils to total neutrophil count ratio (I/T ratio), thrombocytopenia, degenerative changes in the neutrophils and gastric aspirate cytology (GAC) for the diagnosis of neontal sepsis. RESULTS: The sensitivity of CRP and ANC was high. CRP had 86 percent sensitivity for group-A (proven sepsis) and 74 percent sensitivity for group-B (probable sepsis) and 94 percent specificity for group-A, B. ANC had sensitivity of 72 percent for group-A and 62 percent for group-B and 86 percent specificity for group-A, B. For group-A, sensitivity, specificity of GAC for polymorphs was 74 percent and 94 percent respectively. As for sensitivity, specificity of platelet count for group-A was 64 percent and 89 percent respecively. The sensitivity, specificity and predictive values (PV) of the individual tests and different test combinations were also calculated for group-A and B. CONCLUSION: For the detection of culture negative cases in neonatal sepsis, screening tests including CRP, TLC, ANC, thrombocytopenia, cytoplasmic vacuolization in the neutrophils and GAC for polymorphs have high sensitivity. A combination of three tests has higher sensitivity.
Busan ; C-Reactive Protein ; Cohort Studies ; Cytoplasm ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care, Neonatal ; Korea ; Leukocyte Count ; Mass Screening* ; Neutrophils ; Platelet Count ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Sepsis* ; Thrombocytopenia

Classic Kaposi's sarcoma is a human herpesvirus-8 associated with a multicentric lymphoangioproliferative tumor primarily arising in the lower extremities, but rarely in the head and neck. We herein report a 63-year-old man with primary classic Kaposi's sarcoma on the face. He presented with asymptomatic, erythematous papules on the nasal ala which had been noticed 2 months earlier. Histopathologic examination and nested polymerase chain reaction analysis in the tissue disclosed typical features of Kaposi's sarcoma.
Head ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Middle Aged ; Neck ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sarcoma, Kaposi*

We evaluated the antihypertensive effect of amlodipine, a calcium channel bloker, in 35 cases of essential hypertention. After 12 weeks' administration(5~10mg q.d.), the following results were obtained : 1) The systoloic and diastolic blood pressure were decreased significantly(170.3+/-12.2mmHg vs 143.7+/-13.0mmHg p<0.01 and 104.7+/-5.9mmHg vs 87.8+/-6.5mmHg, p<0.01, respectively) but the heart rate was independant of amlodipine administration. 2) The systolic blood pressure was lowered by 20mmHg or more in 26(76.5%) of 34 patients and the diastolic pressure was lowered by 10mmHg or more in 26(76.5%) of 34 patients at 12 weeks after amlodipine administration. 3) The adverse effects of amlodipine were dizziness in 5, edema in 5, indigestion in 3, constipation in 2, headache, flushing, insomnia in 1 patient respectively and only one of them discontinued amlodipine administration due to severs facial flushing and skin eruption.
Amlodipine* ; Blood Pressure ; Calcium Channels ; Constipation ; Dizziness ; Dyspepsia ; Edema ; Flushing ; Headache ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Skin ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic totally extraperitoneal herniorrhaphy (TEP) was developed as an alternative treatment of inguinal hernias to open hernia repair. This study evaluated 92 cases of laparoscopic surgery to determine the effectiveness and safety of laparoscopic TEP. METHODS: Laparoscopic TEP was performed on 92 patients with inguinal hernias from January 2008 to December 2010. Through a retrospective study of these patients, information om TEP repair was collected including the patients' characteristics, operation time, hospital stay, analgesic use and related complications. RESULTS: Laparoscopic herniorrhaphy were performed on a total of 92 patients (85 men and 7 women, age ranging from 16 to 83 years, with a mean of 56 years). The mean operation time for a unilateral inguinal hernia and bilateral inguinal hernia was 58.7 and 84.2 min, respectively. The mean postoperative hospital stay was 4.0 days (range, 2~9 days). Thirty nine patients were discharged without an analgesic injection, whereas 36 patients were injected with analgesic on the day of surgery. Of these 92 procedures, 10 complications were recorded; one granuloma complication, two patients with operation site discomfort, five with urinary retention issues, one patient with a scrotal seroma, and one patient with scrotal edema. CONCLUSION: TEP repairs have minimal morbidity and are more effective with less pain than the open procedure. TEP repair can be considered a favorable procedure for patients who request minimally invasive procedures for inguinal hernia repairs.
Female ; Granuloma ; Hernia ; Hernia, Inguinal ; Herniorrhaphy ; Humans ; Laparoscopy ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Pyrazines ; Retrospective Studies ; Seroma ; Urinary Retention

OBJECTIVE: Malignant gliomas are the most common primary tumors of the central nervous system and the prognosis of patients with gliomas is poor. The combination of interferon-bata (IFN-beta) and temozolomide (TMZ) has shown significant additive antitumor effects in human glioma xenograft models. Considering that the poor survival of patients with human malignant gliomas relates partly to the inability to deliver therapeutic agents to the tumor, the tropism of human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) for malignant gliomas can be exploited to therapeutic advantages. We investigated the combination effects of TMZ and MSCs that secrete IFN-beta on gliomas. METHODS: We engineered human MSCs to secret mouse IFN-beta (MSC-IFN-beta) via adenoviral transduction and confirmed their secretory capacity using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. In vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to determine the effects of the combined TMZ and MSC-IFN-beta treatment. RESULTS: In vitro, the combination of MSC-IFN-beta and TMZ showed significantly enhanced antitumor effects in GL26 mouse glioma cells. In vivo, the combined MSC-IFN-beta and TMZ therapy significantly reduced the tumor size and improved the survival rates compared to each treatment alone. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that MSCs can be used as an effective delivery vehicle so that the combination of MSC-IFN-beta and TMZ could be considered as a new option for the treatment of malignant gliomas.
Animals ; Bone Marrow* ; Central Nervous System ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Glioma* ; Heterografts ; Humans ; Interferon-beta* ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells* ; Mice ; Prognosis ; Survival Rate ; Tropism

No abstract available.