PURPOSE: Differential diagnosis of sexual precocity is important. Sexual precocity, defined as the appearance of secondary sexual characteristics before the age of 8 years in girls and 9 years in boys, was studied to evaluate the sex incidence and etiology of sexual precocity. METHODS: We reviewed the etiology and age incidence of precocious puberty in 14 boys and 89 girls examined between 1994. 11. 1-2002. 7. 31 at Samsung Seoul Hospital. All underwent standard anthropometric measures. They were assigned to diagnostic categories on the basis of clinical assessment, endocrine evaluation, radiologic imaging, and pelvic ultrasonography. RESULTS: In 89 girls, 27 had idiopathic precocious puberty, 3 had precocious puberty with organic brain lesion, 12 had gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty, 44 had premature thelarche, 2 had premature menarche, 1 had premature adrenarche. The majority of idiopathic precocious puberty girls(78%) were aged between 7-7.9 years. In 14 boys, 2 had idiopathic precocious puberty, 3 had precocious puberty with organic brain lesion, 6 had gonadotropin-independent precocious puberty, 3 had gynecomastia. CONCLUSION: Sexual precocity occurs more frequently in girls than boys. Premature thelarche is the most common form of sexual precosity. In boys, majority of central precocious puberty had organic brain lesion, so brain imaging study should be performed. In girls, majority of idiopathic precocious puberty were aged between 7-7.9 years. Reexamination of the age limit for defining when puberty should be considered precocious in Korean girls is necessary.
Adolescent ; Adrenarche ; Brain ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Gynecomastia ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Male ; Menarche ; Neuroimaging ; Puberty ; Puberty, Precocious* ; Seoul ; Ultrasonography

PURPOSE: To understand natural course of transient hyperthyrotropinemia, so that the unnecessary treatment could be avoided. METHODS: Total 182 healthy newborns whose TSH levels in newborn screening test had been higher than 20 microIU/mL were recalled. Their serum levels of TSH, T4, free T4 were checked. RESULTS: Among 182 newborns, 10 newborns had congenital hypothyroidism. 68.1 % of healthy newborns who had high TSH levels were normalized within 2 months and all of the rests were normalized within 5 months. CONCLUSION: Transient hyperthyrotropinemia in newborns improves spontaneously. The unnecessary treatment of transient hyperthyrotropinemia should be avoided.
Congenital Hypothyroidism ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn ; Mass Screening ; Neonatal Screening*

No abstract available.

The purpose of the study was to develop and test the model for the quality of life in mothers of children with nephrotic syndrome. A hypothetical model was constructed on the basis of previous studies and a review of literature. The conceptual framework was built around ten constructs. Exogenous variables included in this model were mother's health, father's health, marital intimacy, mother's attitude on children, economic state, side effect of steroid, severity of illness and social support. Endogenous variables were mother's burden and quality of life. Empirical data for testing the hypothetical model were collected by using a self-report questionnaire from 152 mothers of children with nephrotic syndrom at the outpatient clinics and in the hospital. The data was collected from May, 1999 to August, 1999. Reliability of the seven instruments was tested with Cronbach's alpha which ranged from 0.71 - 0.92. For the data analysis, SPSS 8.0 WIN program and LISREL 8.20 WIN program were used for descriptive statistics and covariance structural analysis. The results of covariance structural analysis were as follow : 1.The hypothetical model showed a good fit with the empirical data.[x2 = .56, df = 3, p = .90(p > .05 ), GFI = .99, AGFI = .99, RMSR = .005.] 2. For the parsimony of model, a modified model was constructed by deleting 1 variable and excluding 2 paths according to the criteria of statistical significance and meaning. 3.The modified model also showed a good fit with the data[x2 = 2.83, df = 7, p = .90( p > .05 ), GFI = 1.00, AGFI = .97, RMSR = .011]. The result of the testing of the hypothesis were as follows : 1.Mother's health( gamma 21 = .26, t = 4.16), father's health( gamma 22 = .19, t = 2.92), marital intimacy( gamma 23 = .26, t = 4.13) and social support( gamma 28 = .12, t = 2.03) had a significant direct effect on the quality of life. 2. Mother's burden( beta 21 = -.20, t = -3.10) had a significant negative direct effect on the quality of life. 3. Mother's attitude on children( gamma 14 = -.34, t = .-4.57), mother's health( gamma 11 = -.22, t = -2.96) and side effect of steroid ( gamma 16 = -.23, t = .-2.69) had a significant direct negative effect on the burden. The result of this study showed that mother's health, marital intimacy, mother's burden, father's health, and social support had a significant direct effect on the quality of life. Mother's attitude on children, mother's health, and side effect of steroid had a significant direct effect on mother's burden. These six variables, mother's health, marital intimacy, father's health, social support, mother's attitude on children and side effect of steroid were identified as relatively important variables. The results of this study suggest, it needed to determine the nursing intervention will alleviate mother's burden and promote a greater quality of life in mothers of children with nephrotic syndrom.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Child* ; Humans ; Mothers* ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Nursing ; Quality of Life* ; Statistics as Topic ; Child Health

PURPOSE: To determine the radiographic findings which predict the presence of nonbronchial systemic feeding arteries (NBFAs) in patients undergoing embolotherapy to control hemoptysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In 48 patients (39 men and 9 women; mean age, 51 years) who underwent embolotherapeutic procedures for controlling hemoptysis, selective angiography was performed at the intercostal, subclavian and bronchial arteries in 65 hemithoraces (right 11, left 20, bilateral 17). Underlying diseases were tuberculosis (n=34, including three patients with aspergilloma), bronchiectasis (n=11), paragonimiasis(n=2) and metastatic cancer (n=1). The presence of NBFA at angiography was correlated with radiographic findings including pleural thickening, parenchymal distortion, and the location of lung lesions. RESULTS: NBFAs were found in 34 (77%) of 44 hemithoraces with pleural thickening, and in six (29%) of 21 without pleural thickening; the sensitivity and specificity of prediction were 85% and 60%, respectively. NBFAs were observed with greater frequency as the thickness of the pleura increased, and the extent of pleural thickening correlated less with the presence of NBFA than did thickness. NBFAs were found in 35 (78%) of 45 hemithoraces with parenchymal distortion, and in five (25%) of 20 without distortion (p<0.001). In addition, the distribution of the underlying disease in the upper lung zone showed close correlation with the presence of NBFAs (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: In patients with hemoptysis, the pleural thickening revealed by radiography has a high sensitivity and a relatively low specificity for predicting the presence of NBFA, and patients with parenchymal distortion and upper lung lesions have a high incidence of NBFA.
Angiography ; Arteries* ; Bronchial Arteries ; Bronchiectasis ; Embolization, Therapeutic ; Female ; Hemoptysis* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lung ; Male ; Pleura ; Radiography* ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Tuberculosis

No abstract available.
Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Diagnosis* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay* ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis* ; Mycobacterium* ; Tuberculosis, Meningeal*

Exacerbations of asthma is major causes of morbidity, mortality, and health-care costs. Over the decade, studies using new molecular diagnostic techniques have established that respiratory viruses are a major cause of exacerbations of asthma. The most prevalent viruses detected during exacerbations are the rhinovirus. Despite the burden of disease associated with exacerbations, little is known about the mechanisms of virus-induced exacerbations of airway diseases. Exacerbations are associated with increased airway inflammation in patients with asthma, but many questions remain unanswered regarding the key inflammatory cells and mediators involved. Identifying the key inflammatory mediators involved in exacerbations holds the promise of developing diagnostic and prognostic markers of exacerbation. The purpose of this review is to summarize the recent change in our understanding of the clinical manifestations of rhinovirus infection than occurred as a result of the improved diagnostic sensitivity provided by the multiplex-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays and serotypes.
Asthma ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Molecular Diagnostic Techniques ; Rhinovirus

A clinico-pathologic study with an immunohistochemical examination for c-erbB-2 expression in 54 cases of ductal carcinoma in situ and 16 cases of Paget's disease of the breast was performed. c-erbB-2 oncoprotein overexpression was observed in 45% (24/54) and 88% (14/16) of ductal carcinoma in situ and Paget's disease, respectively. The overexpression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein was significantly correlated with the nuclear grade of tumors and inversely with the status of the estrogen receptor. c-erbB-2 was positive in 4 out of 5 patients with metastasis to axillary lymph nodes and 3 out of 4 patients who died of the disease. Prognostic significance of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in ductal carcinoma in situ was highly suggested. The expression of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in Paget's disease was well correlated with coexisting infiltrating or in situ ductal carcinoma. The high positive rate of c-erbB-2 oncoprotein in ductal carcinoma with Paget's disease could be understood with a recent hypothesis that c-erbB-2 oncoprotein is involved in promotion of cell motility and the spread of carcinoma cells.
Neoplasm Metastasis

No Abstract Available.
Diagnosis* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay* ; Flagellin* ; Leptospirosis*

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis(LAM) is a rare disease of women of child-bearing age in which there is progressive hyperplasia of atypical smooth mucle along lymphatics in the lung, and/or axial lymphatics in the thorax and abdomen, resulting in honeycombing of lung. Interestingly there has been a speculation that it represents a forme furste or incomplete expression of tuberous sclerosis complex. This is based on the observation that patients with tuberous sclerosis can manifest pulmonary lesions indistinguishable from LAM. We report a case of LAM occuring in a 39-year-old female, who complained of recurrent pneumothorax, chest pain and shortness of breath. Three years ago, the patient had right nephrectomy under the diagnosis of ruptured angiomyolipoma. A X-ray film of the chest showed honeycombing with a diffusely reticulonodular pattern and cyst-like spaces. She had a characteristic facial appearance of adenoma sebaceum, which her father and uncle had. Microscopically, the lung showed a marked smooth muscle proliferation around the slit-like lymphatic spaces and also some respiratory bronchioles.
Female ; Humans ; Adenoma