PURPOSE: To describe chronic rectal mucosal damage after pelvic radiotherapy (RT) for cervical cancer and correlate these findings with clinical symptoms and radiation dose. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two patients who underwent pelvic RT were diagnosed with radiation-induced proctitis based on endoscopy findings. The median follow-up period was 35 months after external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and intracavitary radiotherapy (ICR). The Vienna Rectoscopy Score (VRS) was used to describe the endoscopic findings and compared to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC)/Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) morbidity score and the dosimetric parameters of RT (the ratio of rectal dose calculated at the rectal point [RP] to the prescribed dose, biologically effective dose [BED] at the RP in the ICR and EBRT plans, alpha/beta = 3). RESULTS: Rectal symptoms were noted in 28 patients (rectal bleeding in 21 patients, bowel habit changes in 6, mucosal stools in 1), and 4 patients had no symptoms. Endoscopic findings included telangiectasia in 18 patients, congested mucosa in 20, ulceration in 5, and stricture in 1. The RP ratio, BEDICR, BEDICR+EBRT was significantly associated with the VRS (RP ratio, median 76.5%; BEDICR, median 37.1 Gy3; BEDICR+EBRT, median 102.5 Gy3; p < 0.001). The VRS was significantly associated with the EORTC/RTOG score (p = 0.038). CONCLUSION: The most prevalent endoscopic findings of RT-induced proctitis were telangiectasia and congested mucosa. The VRS was significantly associated with the EORTC/RTOG score and RP radiation dose.
Constriction, Pathologic ; Endoscopy ; Estrogens, Conjugated (USP) ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Mucous Membrane ; Proctitis ; Radiation Injuries ; Rectum ; Telangiectasis ; Ulcer ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms

PURPOSE: Pilomatrixoma is a benign, usually asymptomatic tumor. It presents clinically as a solitary superficial subcutaneous nodule measuring between 0.5 cm and 5 cm in diameter on the head or upper extremeties and has not been reported after skin graft. The objective of this article is to report our experience in treating pilomatrixoma which occurred after split thickness skin graft on the lower extremity. METHODS: A 56-year-old female was treated in August 2005 with a 0.5 X 0.5 cm firm subcutaneous nodule at recipient site of split thickness skin graft on the left medial thigh. The tumor was successfully removed by complete excision and histologic examination was followed. RESULTS: The diagnosis was pilomatrixoma which was characterized by a dual population of proliferating basophilic cells and diagnostic shadow cells. CONCLUSION: The tumor was successfully treated by complete resection. The authors report this very rare case of pilomatrixoma which occurred at recipient site of split thickness skin graft.
Basophils ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Head ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Middle Aged ; Pilomatrixoma* ; Skin* ; Thigh ; Transplants*

BACKGROUND: Some of the deficiencies in anterior pituitary function identified in subjects with macroadenomas appear to represent irrevemible necrosis of normal pituitary cells, and in addition reversible damage to viable glandular tissue and/or incomplete interruption of local circulation by compression of pituitary stalk may also contribute significantly to hypopituitarism. So anterior pituitary function may actually improve in some patients undergoing successful tumor resection or reduction in tumor size. Although direct comparisons of pituitary function among the various pituitary tumors are not presently available it was reported that there is some difference in the degree of pituitary impairment between patients with nonfunctioning macroadenoma(NFMA) and those with GH-secreting macroadenoma(GHMA).In this study, to investigate the difference in the degree of hypopituitarism we compared anterior pituitary function in subjects with NFMA to that in patients with GHMA. METHODS: In this retrospective study, preoperative and postoperative anterior pituitary function was assessed by clinical findings, basal hormone levels and/or combined pituitary stimulation test in 29 subjects with NFMA and in 24 subjects with GHMA. RESULTS: 1. There was no difference in age, sex, tumor size distribution between the two groups. 2. Preoperatively, NFMA patients had a higher prevalence of secondary hypothyroidism(34% vs. 5%; p(0.02) compared to subjects with GHMA. Patients with NFMA also had a higher prevalence of more severe pituitary failure compared with acromegalic patients; 48% of the patients in this group had more than one pituitary hormone axis impaired compared to 17% in the acromegalic group(p0.03). 3. Postoperatively, NFMA patients also had a higher prevalence of secondary hypoadrenalism (52% vs. 11%; p 0.01) compared with acromegalic patients. Additionally, the prevalence who had more than one pituitary hormone axis impaired was still greater in NFMA patients than in the acromegalic group(57% vs. 22%; p=0.054). 4. No correlation was found between the severity of pituitary failure and tumor size or extension in both groups before and after surgery. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that anterior pituitary function is relatively better preserved in patients with GHMA than those with NFMA and that this difference is independent of tumor size and extension. The mechanism underlying the lower rate of hypopituitarism in acromegalics with macroadenoma remains to be elucidated.
Adrenal Insufficiency ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Humans ; Hypopituitarism ; Necrosis ; Pituitary Gland ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies

No abstract available.
Pregnancy* ; Uterine Rupture*

BACKGROUND: Although anticardiolipin antibody(aCL)-related stroke is far more frequently identified in younger populations, the role of aCL in the pathogenesis of cerebral infarction may be important also in the old, stroke-prone population. We studied the clinical profiles of aCL- related stroke in elderly patient to look at its role on the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. METHODS: We analyzed unselected patients with acute ischemic stroke and age matched controls for the presence of aCL, prospectively. Also, we studied the characteristics of these patients based on the conventional risk factors and other clinical, laboratory and radiological features in them. RESULTS: aCL was positive 30 (14.7%) of 203 stroke patients, but 11 (6.1%) in 193 control patients. The proportion of patients having more than one of the risk factors was significantly greater in aCL-positive (24/30, 80.0%) than in aCL-negative patients (100/173, 57.8%). The incidence of aCL positivity was significantly greater in patients having one or more risk factors (24/124, 19.3%) than in patients not having any of the risks (6/79, 7.6%). Two of the patients had prolonged aPTT, and only one had a lupus anticoagulant. A positive ANA and false-positive VDRL were not found in our patients. Radiological findings confer subcortical infarction. CONCLUSION: The elevated aCL are a risk marker for stroke also in the elderly population. Our aCL-positive patients generally had multiple risk factors for stroke and are associated with subcortical infarctions, contrary to previous studies. The role of aCL as a disease marker for ischemic stroke in elderly patients warrants further investigations.
Aged* ; Antibodies, Anticardiolipin* ; Cerebral Infarction ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lupus Coagulation Inhibitor ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Stroke*

No abstract available.
Animals ; Babesiosis* ; Clindamycin ; Humans ; Male* ; Quinine

No abstract available.
Animals ; Babesiosis* ; Clindamycin ; Humans ; Male* ; Quinine

PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to examine the effect of vibration exercises generated from an XCO® trainer on supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and deltoid muscle thickness. METHODS: Thirty subjects were evenly divided into two groups. Muscle thickness was measured by a sonogram prior to the study, and at three and six weeks after the intervention. Changes in muscle thickness were analyzed using a repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA). The significance level for the statistical test was set at α=0.05. RESULTS: A statistically significant differences in timing, interactions between timing and the groups, and between-group changes were demonstrated for supraspinatus muscle thickness (p < 0.05). A similar finding was reported for infraspinatus, teres minor, and deltoid muscles with regard to the interactions between timing and the groups (p < 0.05), although the between-group change did not reach statistical significance (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: Significant changes were observed in the thickness of the supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor, and deltoid muscles, owing to the use of vibration exercises generated from an XCO® trainer. These findings can be used as a foundation for future studies on rehabilitation training.
Deltoid Muscle ; Exercise* ; Rehabilitation ; Shoulder* ; Vibration*

No abstract available.
Adipocytes*

Ultrasonography is a very useul diagnostic modality for the evaluation of clinically suspicious abdominalmasses in infants and children, especially in assessing their existence, size,location, origin and internalconsistency. Authors analyzed and present ultrasonographic findings of 92 pathologically and/or clinically provenpediatric abdominal masses that were studied and treated in Chonnam University Hospital during recent 4 years. Theresults were as follows: 1. The most common originating site was kidney(26 cases: 28.3%), followed bygastrointestinal tract (21 cases: 22.8%), genital organ(17 cases: 18.5%), non-renal retroperitoneum (13cases:18.5%), hepatobilary tract (12 cases:13.0%), and anterior abdominal wall (3 cases: 3.3%) in ordre offrequency. 2. The most common mass was hydonephrosis(18 cases: 19.6%). Neuroblastoma(7 cases:7.6%),hepatoblastoma, ovarian teratoma, periappendiceal abscess and abdominal tuberculosis(6 cases: 6.5%, respectively),Wilms tumor(5 cases: 5.4%) were next in order of frequency. 3. The sex distribution is rather similar, that is ,male 42(45.7%) and female 50(54.3%), but characteristically choledochal cyst(2 cases) and genital mass(17 cases)were found only in females. Considering age distribution, 78 cases(84.8%) were found within the range of one to 15years of age. The rest, 14 cases(15.2%), were under the age of one year. 4. With ultrasonography, the diagnosis ofhydronephrosis could be made easily in every case and we could evaluate its severity and level of obstruction withhigh accuracy. 5. All Wilms tumor were large, round or oval, sharply marginated and relatively homogenous solidmasses. 6. All neuroblastomas were irregular shaped, poorly defined, heterogeneous solid masses. Tumorcalcification and extension across the midline were noted in 6 cases(85.7%) and 5 cases(71.4%), respectively. 7.All periappendiceal abscesses had irregular thickened wall and posterior acoustic enhancement: 4 cases (66.7%)among them were mixed echo pattern and 2 cases(33.3%) ehco free. 8. Among the 6 abdominal tuberculoses, 2 wereseen as irregularly defined solid masses, 1 as conglomeration of multiple hypoechoic nodulles and 3 as mixedpatterns. 9. All hepatoblastomas were seen to be poorly marginated solid masses with more echogenicity thanadjacent normal hepatic echo in 5 cases except one. 10. Among the 6 ovarian teraomas, 4 cases were cystic and 2cases solid. Acoutic shadowing was seen in 3 cases. 11. Choledochal cyst (2 cases), hydrops of gallbladder(1cases) and cyst of pancreas head(1 cases) had similar ultrasonic appearance as a large elliptical systic mass,but, it was important in differential diagnosis to ascertain the existence of gallblader and the connectionbetween the cyst and bile duct.
Abdominal Wall ; Abscess ; Acoustics ; Age Distribution ; Bile Ducts ; Child ; Choledochal Cyst ; Diagnosis ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Edema ; Female ; Hepatoblastoma ; Humans ; Infant ; Jeollanam-do ; Male ; Neuroblastoma ; Pancreas ; Sex Distribution ; Shadowing (Histology) ; Teratoma ; Tuberculosis ; Ultrasonics ; Ultrasonography ; Wilms Tumor