BACKGROUND: Common and effective treatments for calcific tendinitis involve needling procedures. However, it has been widespread practice to refer patients with calcific tendinitis, which is a predominantly orthopedic condition, to radiology department. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical and radiological outcomes after ultrasound-guided needling for calcific tendinitis between the orthopedics and radiology department. METHODS: Seventy-seven shoulders (Group 1) and 38 shoulders (Group 2) treated in the radiology and orthopedic department, respectively. A fellowship-trained orthopedic surgeon and a musculoskeletal radiologist each performed the procedure of ultrasound-guided needle decompression with subacromial steroid injection. Clinical outcomes was evaluated using the visual analogue scale for pain (pVAS) and the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) shoulder score before treatment and at each follow-up. The pre- and post-needling size and shape of the calcific deposits were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: We analyzed a total of 56 shoulders for Group 1 and 32 shoulders for Group 2. The mean age and sex ratio of the patients no significantly different. We found that the mean decrease in the diameter of calcification between pre- and post-needling was 9.0 mm for Group 1 and 13.1 mm for Group 2; the difference was significantly larger in Group 2 than in Group 1. Both groups showed improved pVAS and ASES scores after needling but the extent of these improvements did not differ with the type of operator. CONCLUSIONS: Needling decompression performed by orthopedic surgeons could a viable option for the treatment of calcific tendinitis.

Perforation of Meckel's diverticulum by foreign bodies is an extremely rare cause of acute abdomen in adults. We report a case of perforated Meckel's diverticulum by a chicken bone with localized abdominal abscess in a 46-year old man. The patient had been brought to the hospital with fever, abdominal pain and abdominal distention. On computed tomography, the mass-like lesion was considered to be an abdominal abscess caused by perforated bowel due to a suspicious foreign body. Resection of a segment of ileum including the perforated diverticulum was performed; the patient had an uncomplicated postoperative course and was discharged. We report this rare case of perforation of Meckel's diverticulum by a chicken bone with a review of the literature.
Abdomen, Acute ; Abdominal Abscess ; Abdominal Pain ; Adult ; Chickens* ; Diverticulum ; Fever ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Ileum ; Meckel Diverticulum*

PURPOSE: Laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LAG) is gaining wider acceptance as a minimally invasive treatment for early gastric cancer, but the safety, efficacy and clinical benefits of this type of surgery are still unclear. The purpose of this study is to compare laparoscopy-assisted gastrectomy (LADG) and conventional open distal gastrectomy (CODG) for early gastric cancer (EGC) according to the changes of the postoperative nutritional status and acute inflammatory reaction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighty seven patients with EGC and who underwent a LADG between March 2006 and May 2009 at Daegu Catholic University Hospital, was enrolled. Over the same period, we enrolled 30 patients who underwent CODG and they were confirmed to have EGC from their pathology. The clinico-pathological features and serologic parameters were evaluated from the medical records and then retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: There were no differences in the preoperative white blood cell (WBC), C-reactive protein (CRP) level, albumin level, the T4/T8 ratio and the other clinical data between the two groups. The total WBC counts gradually increased and they were significant lower at the 1st and 3rd postoperative days in the LADG group than that in the CODG group (P=0.001 and 0.008, respectively). The postoperative CRP levels were significantly lower at postoperative 5th day in the LADG group (P<0.001). The postoperative albumin and T4/T8 ratio gradually decreased, and the T4/T8 ratio was significantly higher at the 3rd postoperative day in the LADG group compared to that in the CODG group (P=0.003). CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates that the LADG has less of an influence on an acute inflammatory reaction than does CODG. Therefore, it is one of the safe and feasible procedures for the treatment of early gastric cancer.
C-Reactive Protein ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Leukocytes ; Medical Records ; Nutritional Status ; Retrospective Studies ; Stomach Neoplasms

No abstract available.
Aged* ; Femur Neck* ; Femur* ; Humans

Intrsneural ganglion cysts of the peroneal nerve are rare. The precise etiology and pathological changes remain obscure. We have experienced recently a case of intraneural ganglion cyst developed in the sheath of the peroneal nerve. A 28 year old male had suffered from lump producing pain over the posterolateral aspect of the upper portion of the fibula, weakness of dorsiflexion of the ankle and of extension of the toes and diminution of sensation on the dorsum of the foot. He underwent excision of the ganglion and the prognosis for recovery of function is good.
Ankle ; Fibula ; Foot ; Ganglion Cysts ; Humans ; Male ; Peroneal Nerve ; Prognosis ; Recovery of Function ; Sensation ; Toes

OBJECTIVE: Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy(ARVC) is a progressive cardiac muscle disease characterized as progressive fibrofatty replacement of the right ventricle, severe ventricular arrhythmia, and sudden death. However, there is no report of ARVC as a cause of sudden death in Korea. METHODS and RESULTS: Postmortem studies were done to 115 cases of sudden unexplained death at department of legal medicine, school of medicine, Kyungpook national university in year 1999. We identified 7 cases(6%) of typical ARVC with no other identifiable cause of sudden death. The subjects included 5 males and 2 females, ranging in age from 19 to 41 years (mean 29.7 years). All were found dead at bed (5 cases) or workshop (2 cases). Five cases were fibrofatty types and two cases were fatty types. Right ventricular aneurysm, inflammatory infiltrates and left ventricular involvement were found in 4, 2 and 1 cases, repectively. Two cases had family history of sudden death before age 40. No one was suspected of having cardiovascular disease or ARVC before death. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that ARVC in Taegu-Kyungpook area may be more frequent than previously thought. ARVC may be a major cause of sudden unexplained death.
Aneurysm ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Death, Sudden ; Education ; Female ; Forensic Medicine ; Gyeongsangbuk-do ; Heart Ventricles ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Myocardium

Although a popliteal cyst is most commonly identified as an asymptomatic mass occurring just below the popliteal fossa, the fluid may further extravasate into a deep compartment, causing compression with symptoms of local pain and tenderness. When the popliteal vein is compressed by a popliteal cyst, it may develop the symptom simulating the deep vein thrombosis, when the popliteal artery is compressed, it may develop the symptom simulating the ischemic pain and intermittent claudication. It is unusual for popliteal cysts to involve a nerve. When such does occur, it usually involves the tibial nerve, very rarely the peroneal nerve. It is important to diagnose a popliteal cyst early and to differentiate it from a ganglionic cyst, thrombophlebitis or a popliteal aneurysm, to effect optimal therapy and to obviate a potential neuropathy. We are now reporting a case of a thirty four-year-old male who had a popliteal cyst causing tibial nerve compression.
Aneurysm ; Ganglion Cysts ; Humans ; Intermittent Claudication ; Male ; Peroneal Nerve ; Popliteal Artery ; Popliteal Cyst* ; Popliteal Vein ; Thrombophlebitis ; Tibial Nerve* ; Venous Thrombosis

A composite glandular/exocrine-endocrine carcinoma of the gastrointestinal tract is characterized by the co-existence of two adjacent, but histologically-distinct tumors in an organ. Composite glandular/exocrine-endocrine carcinomas are a special type of tumor comprised of common adenocarcinomas and neuroendocrine components that account for at least one-third of the entire tumor area. Composite tumors have been reported in a range of organs, but are relatively rare in the stomach. We report a case of a composite neuroendocrine carcinoma with an adenocarcinoma of the stomach (mixed exocrine-endocrine carcinoma), which was misdiagnosed as a giant submucosal tumor preoperatively based on esophagogastroduodenoscopy and a contrast-enhanced axial computed tomographic scan.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Neuroendocrine ; Endoscopy, Digestive System ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Stomach

PURPOSE: We performed a study of clinical findings of Mycoplasma Pneumonia in children, to know differences between recent clinical manifestations of Mycoplasma pneumonia and previous studies. METHODS: The subjects of this study were 393 children who were diagnosed as Mycoplasma pneumonia with high titers of Mycoplasma antibody (> or = 1: 160) or fourfold rises of Mycoplasma antibody at Chung Ang University Hospital from January 1998 to December 2003. We practiced a retrospective study on the clinical manifestations of Mycoplasma pneumonia based on their medical records. RESULTS: Male to female ratio was 1.06 to 1 and mean age was 4.32+/-2.94 years. The highest incidence was in the age of 2 to 3 years (18.6 percent). Most frequent months were October, and November in 2000, April in 2002, and October and, December in 2003. Twenty six point seven percent showed allergic diseases. Second degree relatives of 10.7 percent patients had allergic diseases. Forty three point three percent were admitted before this admission for pneumonia. Allergic tests were positive in 65.7 percent. Cough, and sputum were the most common symptoms and abdominal pain, and vomiting were the most frequent extrapulmonary symptoms. Atelectasis and pleural effusion were seen in 2.5 percent and 1.8 percent. Infiltrations were more common on the right side. Titers of each simultaneous test for cold agglutinin and mycoplasma antibody were not in proportion to each other (P=0.163). CONCLUSION: The onset age of mycoplasma pneumonia was found to be lower than it used to be. More patients had a past medical history or a family history of allergic disease, and more wheezing was heard and associated with recurrent pneumonia.
Abdominal Pain ; Age of Onset ; Child* ; Cough ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Medical Records ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Mycoplasma* ; Pleural Effusion ; Pneumonia ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma* ; Pulmonary Atelectasis ; Respiratory Sounds ; Retrospective Studies ; Sputum ; Vomiting

PURPOSE: The proper selection of suture is very important to minimize infection after gastrointestinal anastomosis and closure, which is one of the causes of postoperative complications such as leakage and stricture, etc, in the surgical field. Thus this study focuses on which suture can reduce bacterial infection after surgical operation by comparing in vitro microbial infiltration rates of three synthetic absorbable sutures and that of silk - a relatively absorbable material, using E. coli. METHODS: Four different, sterilized kinds of absorbable sutures were used for two experiments. In experiment 1, the cut-off suture was directly applied to the standard method agar plate and cultured for observation. In experiment 2, the cut-off suture was diluted with 1 ml of tryptic soy broth to be smeared and cultured in the standard method agar plate and counted using a spectrophotometer. RESULTS: The first experiment revealed that bacterial growth was not observed in the monofilament and antibiotic-coated multifilament sutures, while the other sutures of multifilament structure were invaded by bacteria. In the second experiment, counting and averaging the colony from five plates of each test showed that the number of E. coli of monofilament suture, antibiotics-coated polyglactin, polyglactin and silk were 0+/-0, 39.3+/-14.4, 208.6+/-76.6, 59.4+/-26.7, respectively. CONCLUSION: Sutures of monofilament structure are believed to be a relatively safe material that can be used for gastrointestinal anastomosis and closure since it has lower bacterial infiltration rates than sutures of multifilament structure.
Agar ; Bacteria ; Bacterial Infections ; Caseins ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Polyglactin 910 ; Postoperative Complications ; Protein Hydrolysates ; Silk ; Sutures