BACKGROUND: The number of patients of doxylamine overdose has increased, but there were little clinical reports. The purpose of this study is review the patients of doxylamine overdose for aid clinical decision making of patients disposition. METHODS: We reviewed medical records of patients who ingested doxylamine succinate retrospectively from Jan. 1, 1996 to Dec. 31. 1996. Data that was recorded were followed: age, sex, psychiatric history, amounts of ingestion, time interval from ingestion to arrival to hospital, initial vital signs and symptoms, EKG, chest PA, Lab. findings, treatment, patients disposition, length of hospital stay, complication. RESULTS : 1) Total number of patients was ninety and average dosage of ingestion was 1062mg. 2) Tachycardia was the most frequent anticholinergic symptom(46%). 3) Routine lab. findings was not abnormal except one patient who was diagnosed as Rhabdomyolysis. 4) Gut decontamination was performed in patients who had arrived at hospital in 2-3 hours, and who had ingested large dose of drug. 5) Five patients were admitted to Psychiatric dept. and one patient was admitted to emergency dept. for treatment of rhabdomyolysis. 6) The mean duration of hospital stay was 6.5 hours. CONCLUSION: The patients who ingested overdose of doxylamine was managed safely in emergency department, but we should warn against the possibility of rhabdomyolysis.
Decision Making ; Decontamination ; Doxylamine* ; Eating ; Electrocardiography ; Emergencies ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies ; Rhabdomyolysis ; Succinic Acid* ; Tachycardia ; Thorax ; Vital Signs

BACKGROUND: Do-Not-Resuscitate(DNR) order has been used without specific legislation commonly in hospitals of Korea. We designed this study to assess the current use of DNR order in the emergency department and to make a database for establishing a policy for DNR order, especially in ER. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed medical records of 164 patients who expired in the emergency department of Severance hospital from Sep. 1996 to Aug. 1997. We evaluated age, sex, diagnosis, specific department involved, whether written orders were made and medical care after decision of DNR. The patients were divided into 2 groups : DNR vs CPR. To determine factors influencing DNR decision, we searched for presence of malignancy, irreversible shock, unconsciousness and chronic illness. The logistic regression analysis was used for statistical significance. RESULTS: We found that 102(62.2%) out of 164 expired patients had a DNR order. But only in 59% of cases, were written DNR order on the chart. Factors which had the most influence on decision of DNR were malignancy and age. The sex, chronic illness, irreversible shock, and unconsciousness were not significant factors. CONCLUSION: We found malignancy and old age as an important factor when DNR order had been made. But further evaluation of other factors may be necessary to establish definitely a policy for DNR order.
Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Chronic Disease ; Diagnosis ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Korea ; Logistic Models ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies* ; Shock ; Unconsciousness

OBJECTIVE: The continuous synthesis and degradation of proteins in the cell are essential for the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Intracellular protein degradation largely occurs in the lysosome and cytoplasm. The protein degradation in the cytoplasm (ubiquitin mediated protein degradation) is distinct from the well studied lysosomal protein degradation (nonselective protein degradation) and require energy (ATP), ubiquitin and ubiquitin conjugating enzymes such as E1, E2 and E3. Dementia caused by the deposition of abnormal proteins in brain cells followed by brain cells damage are not fully understood. To better understand the possible mechanism of dementia, we attempted to purify ubiquitin conjugating enzymes (such as E1 and E2 proteins) from the blood of normal persons and patients with dementia and tested their electrophoretic mob)ility on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. METHOD: The E1 and E2 enzymes of the red blood cell lysate fraction from the normal person and the patients with dementia were purified from ammonium sulfate precipitatant of DEAE-cellulose eluate fraction. Following ubiquitin-sepharose column chromatography, the E1 enzyme of the normal and the patients with dementia group showed homogeneous form and various kinds of E2 isoforms were identified by the SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. RESULTS: The E1 and E2 enzymes showed no difference on electrophoretic mobility, but the E2 isozyme containing fraction was observed to great difference between the two groups. The 44 kDa protein of E2 isozyme containing fraction was significantly increased in alcoholic dementia and clearly increased in patients with Alzheimer's disease. In addition, another 11 kDa protein was significantly increased in the patients with Alzheimer's disease, but 11 kDa protein of alcoholic dementia was similar to that of the normal person. The 44 kDa and 11 kDa proteins showed a reverse relationship between alcoholic dementia and the patients with Alzheimer's disease. These proteins seems to be different molecules from the well known studied beta-amyloid, presenilin, tau protein and apolipoprotein E (Apo E). CONCLUSIONS: These results might be useful for the elucidation of dementia and the identification of these proteins are now in progress.
Alcoholics ; Alzheimer Disease ; Ammonium Sulfate ; Apolipoproteins ; Brain ; Carrier Proteins* ; Chromatography ; Cytoplasm ; DEAE-Cellulose ; Dementia* ; Electrophoresis ; Erythrocytes* ; Homeostasis ; Humans ; Lysosomes ; Presenilins ; Protein Isoforms ; Proteolysis ; tau Proteins ; Ubiquitin* ; Ubiquitin-Conjugating Enzymes

PURPOSE: Hypertrophic scarring and depression are the principal problems of burn rehabilitation. This study was done to verify the effects of skin rehabilitation massage therapy (SRMT) on pruritus, skin status, and depression for Korean burn survivors. METHODS: A pretest-posttest design using a nonequivalent control group was applied to examine the effects of SRMT for 3 months in a group of 18 burn survivors. The major dependent variables-including pruritus, objective and subjective scar status, and depression-were measured at the beginning and at the end of the therapy to examine the effects of SRMT. RESULTS: Burn survivors receiving SRMT showed reduced pruritus, improved skin status, and depression. The remaining scar also showed improvement in skin pigmentation, pliability, vascularity, and height (compared to the surrounding skin) as measured on the Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS). CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate that SRMT for burn survivors may improve their scars both objectively and subjectively, and also reduce pruritus and depression.
Adult ; Burns/complications/*rehabilitation ; Cicatrix, Hypertrophic/etiology/*prevention & control ; Depressive Disorder/etiology/*prevention & control ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; *Massage ; Pruritus/etiology/*prevention & control

Systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE) is a systemic disease of unknown etiology. Its main pathology is vasculitis and serositis, due to deposition of the immune complex or antibodies. Most findings are nonspecific ; abdominal manifestations include enteritis, hepatomegaly, pancreatic enlargement, serositis, lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly,nephritis, interstitial cystitis, and thrombophlebitis. We described radiologic findings of various organinvolvement of SLE; digestive system, serosa, reticuloendothelial system, urinary system, and venous system.Diagnosis of SLE was done according to the criteria of American Rheumatism Association. Understanding of thevariable imaging findings in SLE may be helpful for the early detection of abdominal involvement andcomplications.
Antibodies ; Antigen-Antibody Complex ; Cystitis, Interstitial ; Digestive System ; Enteritis ; Hepatomegaly ; Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic* ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Mononuclear Phagocyte System ; Pathology ; Rheumatic Diseases ; Serositis ; Serous Membrane ; Thrombophlebitis ; Vasculitis

PURPOSE: To compare the precise roles of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT) and fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB) in the evaluation of patients presenting with hemoptysis and to determine the optimal timing for HRCT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The results of HRCT and FOB were compared in 23 patients (15 men, 8 women) presenting with hemoptysis. Etiologies included bronchietasis (n=4), parenchymal pulmonary tuberculosis (n=4), lung cancer (n=4), endobronchial tuberculosis (n=2), and broncholithiasis (n=2). Hemoptysis was proved to be due to miscellaneous causes in an additional three cases and to be cryptogenic in four. The diagnostic results of FOB performed before and after HRCT were compared as were those of HRCT performed within and after the first 48 hours of active bleeding. RESULTS: FOB and HRCT offered a correct diagnosis in 39% and 65% of cases, respectively (p=0.005). HRCT demonstrated three cases of bronchiectasis and three of parenchymal pulmonary tuberculosis which were beyond the range of a bronchoscope. In two of five cases in which HRCT findings were nonspecific, chondromatous hamartoma and lung cancer were confirmed by FOB. In cases where HRCT was performed prior to FOB, the latter demonstrated the location and diagnosis in 82% and 47% of cases, respectively (p=0.303) ; when HRCT was performed after FOB, HRCT was correct in 67% and 17% of cases, respectively (p=0.178). In none of three cases (0%) in which HRCT was performed during the first 48 hours of active bleeding did the procedure allow a specific diagnosis. In 15 of 20 (75%) cases in which HRCT was performed after the first 48 hours, however, the diagnosis provided by CT was correct. CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that in patients presenting with hemoptysis, both HRCT and FOB should be used for evaluation, since they are diagnostically complementary. FOB is more useful for the diagnosis of endobronchial lesion, and HRCT for bronchiectasis and parenchymal pulmonary tuberculosis. If, in cases of hemoptysis, initial diagnosis is attempted within the first 48 hours of active bleeding, FOB should be the initial step, and HRCT images should not be obtained until active bleeding has been shown on plain chest radiograph to have abated. If this initial approach takes place after the first 48 hours of active bleeding, FOB and HRCT are equally suitable.
Bronchiectasis ; Bronchoscopes ; Bronchoscopy* ; Diagnosis ; Hamartoma ; Hemoptysis* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms ; Male ; Radiography, Thoracic ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Pulmonary

The uterus with rudimentary horn occurs as a result of a lack of development during fetal life of the middle and lower parts of one of the Miillerian ducts, in which there is a failure of fusion of the two ducts, The incidence of this uterine anomaly is rare. Many cases of rudimentary uterine horn are not discovered since they do not become involved in a pregnancy, and thus remain symptomless and uncomplicated, and the diagnosis usually being made only with pregnancy with rupture. In this presentation, we describe a case of diagnosis and management of unruptured non-communicating rudimentary uterine horn pregnancy at the third trimester. The patient diagnosed by ultrasonography and MRI, was hospitalized for further evaluation and delivery under the impression of unruptured non-communicating rudimentary horn pregnancy. A living male infant weighing 1,930 gm was delivered by cesarean section at 33+l weeks due to impending preterm labor. Some articles concerned this subject were reviewed briefly to discuss relevant method of diagnosis, treatment, and clinical characteristics.
Animals ; Cesarean Section ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Horns* ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Obstetric Labor, Premature ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third* ; Pregnancy* ; Rupture ; Ultrasonography ; Uterus

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: It is widely believed that the post-lumbar puncture headache(PLPH) is related to CSF leakage through the dural hole made by needle tract. So it is accepted that PLPH is prevented by at least 4 hour bed rest after lumbar puncture (LP). If bed rest was unneccessary, the administrative and nursing advantages would be obvious,, especially in neurologic units, whereLP has been done frequently. Therefore, we evaluate the incidence of PLPH in the ambulant and bed-rest patients prospectively and compared the incidence difference between two group. METHODS: Eighty-eight patients without preceding headache who were done lumbar puncture for diagnostic purpose were selected prospectively. We compared the incidence of PLPH between the ambulant (50 patients) and bed-rest group (38 patient,) at 6 hour and 24 hours. We also evaluated the effect of the CSF profile (count of RBC and WBC, protein level and opening pressure) on PLPH. RESULTS: The PLPH was found in 11 cases(12.5%) among bed-rest and ambulant groups. The frequency of each group was 8% (3/38) in bed-rest group and 16%(8/50) in ambulant group, but there is no significant difference between two groups (p-vaIue = 0.26). The frequency of PLPH is also not correlated to the CSF profiles; count of RBC and WBC, protein level, and opening pressure. CONCLUSIONS: There is no significant difference between the ambulant and bed rest group in the frequency of the PLPH. We conclude that the bed rest after LP is unnecessary for the prevention of the PLPH.
Bed Rest* ; Headache ; Humans ; Incidence ; Needles ; Nursing ; Post-Dural Puncture Headache* ; Prospective Studies ; Punctures ; Spinal Puncture

BACKGROUND: Small deep cerebral infarct can be associated with small-vessel occlusive disease, largevessel disease, low-flow or thrombo-embolic mechanism. This study is designed to investigate ralationship between symptomatic single small deep infarcts ahd vascular diseases. METHODS: We studied 154 patients who had symptomatic, small-sized(<20 mm), single, subcortical infarction(basal ganglia, corona rediata, centrum semiovale) who were admitted to our hospital from jund, 1996 to September, 1999. They were evaluated about the lesion site and vascular status of the carotid system and middle cerebral artery, using MRI, MRA and cervical duplex sonography or conventional angiography. RESULTS: Among 154 patients with single small deep infarction, 100 were related with small artery disease(64.9%), 38 with middle cerebral artery disease(26.7%) and 16 with carotid artery disease(10.4%). The basal ganglia or basal ganglia with corona radiata area were more frequently responsible lesion sites in both small artery disease(n=59, 59%) and middle cerebral artery disese(n=28, 73.7%) than in carotid artery disease(n=1, 6.3%). The centrum ovale or centrum ovale with corona radiata area were frequently involved lesion sites in carotid artery disease (n=10, 67.5%). CONCLUSION: Single small deep infarcts of th basal ganglia with corona radiata were mostly seen in the middle cerebral artery disease or small artery disease, and small deep infarcts of the centrum semiovale with corona radiata were usually assoicated with internal carotid artery disease. In occurrence of single small deep infarcts, middle cerebral artery disease was more frequent than carotid artery disease, which might be associated with intracranial occlusive disease known to be more common in Asians than in Caucasians.
Angiography ; Arteries ; Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Basal Ganglia ; Carotid Arteries ; Carotid Artery Diseases ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Cerebral Infarction* ; Ganglia ; Humans ; Infarction ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; Vascular Diseases

PURPOSE: To evaluate the usefulness of CT angiography and to compare SSD(Shaded Surface Display) andMIP(Maximum Intensity Projection) in the diagnosis and preoperative evaluation of the cerebral aneurysms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-six aneurysms in 20 patients were diagnosed on conventional angiography and surgerywas performed. For preoperative evaluation, all patients underwent CT angiography, with spiral CT for preoperativeevaluation. Using SSD and MIP techniques, the results were proccessed and compared; three radiologistsretrospectively analysed detectability, size, neck visualization, delineation of shape, direction, therelationship with surrounding vessels-including the feeding artery of the aneurysm-and intraluminal thrombicontaining calcification. RESULTS: Twenty five of 26 aneurysms (96.2%) were detected by CT angiography, while MIPand SSD depicted 25 (96.2%) and 24 (92.3%), respectively. The largest diameter of the aneurysms was 11-15mm infour cases, 6-10mm in ten, and 3-5mm in 12 (mean 7.38mm, SD=3.34). With regard to detectability, MIP led to onefalse negative result, and SSD to two false negative and one false-positive results. Aneurysm neck assessment byMIP was clear in 96.0% of cases (24/25), and by SSD in 83.3% (20/24). For the depiction of directions and feedingvessels of the aneurysms, and intraluminal thrombi containing calcification, MIP was superior to SSD, while fordepicting shape and the relationship with surrounding structures, SSD was superior to MIP. CONCLUSION: For theassessment of cerebral aneurysms, MIP is somewhat superior to SSD. The characteristics of aneurysms and theirrelationship with surrounding structures can, however, be better evaluated by combining the two techniques.
Aneurysm ; Angiography* ; Arteries ; Diagnosis* ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm* ; Neck ; Silver Sulfadiazine* ; Tomography, Spiral Computed