Bartter's syndrome is a rare tubular disorder characterized by hypokalemic, hypochloremic metabolic alkalosis, hyperreninemic, hyperaldosteronism, hyporesponsiveness to pressor agents and juxtaglomerular apparatus heperplasia. We report a case of Bartter's syndrome of a 5 month-old male infant with subdural hematoma who was confirmed by characteristic clinical, laboratory findings and kidney biopsy.
Alkalosis ; Bartter Syndrome* ; Biopsy ; Epilepsy* ; Hematoma, Subdural* ; Humans ; Hyperaldosteronism ; Infant ; Juxtaglomerular Apparatus ; Kidney ; Male ; Seizures*

n-Hexane and benezene are organic compounds which have been widely used as industrial solvents. However, they are also increasingly recognized as important pollutants in working environment. The purpose of this study is to analyze neurotoxicity of benzene and n-Hexane. In this study, tibial nerve of Sprague-Dawley rats were observed after exposing them to two different concentrations of these compounds (6000 ppm of n-Hexane and 2000 ppm of benezene) which were known to be the levels to cause subacute toxicity for the three different periods; two weeks, four weeks, and sex weeks. The following results were obtained from the analysis of variance, Duncan's multiple comparison test, and regression analysis: 1) Myelin sheath thickness of nerve fiber for two n-Hexane exposed groups (four weeks and six weeks) were both reduced compared with the control group and the benezene exposed group. 2) There were positive relationships between nerve fiber diameter and myelin sheath thickness for both exposed and control groups. 3) There were significant difference in myelin sheath thickness from equal diameter nerve fibers between benzene exposed group and control group, but the greater number of thin myelin sheath were observed for n-Hexane exposed group compared with control group. Thus, it is concluded that n-Hexane tends to reduce the rate of growth of nerve fiber more than the benzene and control group. While these results shed light on understanding the effects of benzene and n-Hexane, the duration of exposure was not long enough to apply these results to real working environments. In addition, to further understand the mechanism of nerve degeneration caused by organic solvents, both epidemiological and biochemical studies should accompanied by this kind of study.
Animals ; Benzene* ; Myelin Sheath ; Nerve Degeneration ; Nerve Fibers ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Solvents ; Tibial Nerve*

The objective of this study is to examine the correlation between the tolylene concentration in the work environment of organic solvents and the concentration of hippuric acid in urine of workers exposed toluene, and to acquire the fundamental materials of workers' health care and to assist the assessment of the biological permissible exposure limit. The control groups are 72 workers who had never been exposed to toluene and the case groups are 101 workers who had been exposed to toluene. This study was conducted to examine the correlation between the concentration of toluene in work environment and workers' hippuric acid concentration, to investigate the complaint difference of subjective symptoms by means of questionnaire, between the case groups and control groups. The results and conclusions are as follows: 1) The highest mean concentration of toluene in the air is 544.13+/-7.75 ppm in the Printing Department of mixing organic solvents. The concentrations of the others are 463.27+/-5.24 ppm in Department of mixture for organic solvents, and 393.56+/-45.69 ppm in the Printing Department(1), and 248.38+/-45.16 ppm in the Printing Department(2), and 159.38+/-18.51 ppm in the Printing Department(3). 2) The highest mean concentration of hippuric acid in urine is 6034.84+/-1298.35 mg/l in the Printing Department with mixing organic solvents. The concentrations of the others are 4798.44+/-784.53 mg/l in Department of mixture of organic solvents, and 2883.06+/-701.90 mg/l in the Printing Department(1), and 1449.98+/-905.19 mg/l in the Printing Department(2), and 598.52+/-299.43 mg/l in the Printing Department(3). 3) As the toluene concentration in the work environment becomes higher, the concentration of hippuric acid in urine also becomes higher. It is found that the coefficient of correlation between toluene concentration and the concentration of hippuric acid are positive (r=0.868, Y=7.18X+349.57). 4) It is found that the case groups complain of much more subjective symptoms than the control groups.
Delivery of Health Care ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Solvents ; Toluene*

No abstract available.
Female ; Obstetric Labor, Premature* ; Pregnancy ; Ritodrine*

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical characteristics of intertrochanteric or subtrochanteric fractures associated with ipsilateral femoral shaft fractures and assess the surgical outcomes of a novel, closed intramedullary nailing surgical approach designed to minimize fixation failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between May 2013 and April 2017, 31 patients with intertrochanteric or subtrochanteric fractures associated with ipsilateral femoral shaft fractures treated with closed intramedullary nailing or long proximal femoral nail antirotation (PFNA) were enrolled in this study. Preoperative data included age, sex, injury severity score, body mass index, location of shaft fracture, injury mechanism, accompanying traumatic injury, walking ability before injury, and surgical timing. Perioperative outcomes, including follow-up period, types of intramedullary nails, number of blocking screws used, operation time, and blood loss were assessed. Radiologic outcomes, including union rate, time from surgery to union, and femoral shortening, and clinical outcomes, including hip flexion, walking ability, and Harris hip score were also evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 29 unions (93.5%) were achieved. The time to union was 16.8 months (range, 11–25 months) for hip fractures (15.7 weeks for intertrochanteric fractures and 21.7 weeks for subtrochanteric fractures) and 22.8 months for femoral shaft fractures. There were no significant differences in surgical outcomes between the two groups except for type of intramedullary nail. CONCLUSION: Closed intramedullary nailing in the treatment of intertrochanteric or subtrochanteric fractures associated with ipsilateral femoral shaft fractures may be a good surgical option. However, fixation of femoral shaft fractures might not be sufficient depending on the implant design.
Body Mass Index ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fracture Fixation, Intramedullary ; Hip ; Hip Fractures ; Humans ; Injury Severity Score ; Walking

PURPOSE: Iliosacral screw fixation is an effective and less invasive method that is used widely for the definitive treatment of unstable pelvic ring injuries. On the other hand, fixation failures after iliosacral screw fixation have been reported in vertically unstable pelvic ring injuries. This study examined the surgical outcomes of posterior pelvic fixation using S1 and S2 screws in vertically unstable pelvic ring injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2011 and April 2016, 17 patients with vertically unstable pelvic ring injuries who met the minimum 1 year follow-up criteria were treated with internal fixation using posterior pelvic S1 and S2 screws. Their mean age was 43.9 years. According to the AO/OTA classification, 10 patients had C1, 6 had C2, and 1 had C3 injuries. Surgical treatments of single or multiple steps, where necessary, were performed by two surgeons. The clinical and radiologic outcomes were assessed retrospectively using radiographs and medical records. RESULTS: Overall, 16 patients had bone healing without screw loosening; however, one patient could not maintain anterior pelvic fixation because of an open fracture and deep infection in the anterior pelvic ring. Of five patients who complained of neurological symptoms after injury, three had partially recovered from their neurological deficit. At the last follow-up, the clinical outcomes according to the Majeed score were excellent in 5, good in 6, fair in 4, and poor in 2 patients. The postoperative radiologic outcomes by Matta and Tornetta's method were excellent in 5, good in 8, and fair in 4 patients. Malposition of the S2 screw was identified in one case. The mean time to union was 14.6 weeks after surgery. CONCLUSION: S1 and S2 screw fixation can be an effective treatment option for posterior pelvic stabilization in vertically unstable pelvic ring injuries when considering the surgical outcomes, such as screw loosening and loss of reduction.
Classification ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fractures, Open ; Hand ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Methods ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgeons

Although surgical techniques for treating acetabular fracture are evolving, the use of periacetabular screws is common, and their placement in acetabular surgery is still technically demanding. For instance, intraarticular screw perforation is a serious complication that may occur during surgical treatment of an acetabular fracture. Here, we describe the case of a 50-year-old female who experienced an intraarticular screw perforation after surgical treatment of a posterior acetabular wall fracture. Removal of the perforated screw was performed arthroscopically based on its ability to offer minimally invasive access to the hip joint. One year after removal of the screw, no radiological signs of osteoarthritic changes were observed. The patient regained normal ambulation without limitations to range of motion or hip pain. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the use of arthroscopy to treat intraarticular screw perforation after surgical treatment of an acetabular fracture.
Acetabulum ; Arthroscopy ; Female ; Hip ; Hip Joint ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Walking

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effect of preoperative fatty degeneration of deltoid and teres minor muscles on the clinical outcome in patient with reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA). METHODS: Nineteen patients with RTSA were enrolled. The mean follow-up period was 16.1 months. The fatty degeneration of three distinct parts in each deltoid and the teres minor muscle was measured using a preoperative magnetic resonance imaging. Postoperatively, the muscle strengths for forward elevation (FE), abduction (Abd), and external rotation (ER) were measured using a myometer at the last follow-up. The parameters for clinical outcome were Constant Score (CS) and Korean Shoulder Score (KSS). RESULTS: The number of cases was 10 in group 1 and 9 in group 2. The strength of FE and Abd were significantly higher in group 1 (p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively), and the strength of ER was not different significantly between two groups (p=0.065). For the clinical outcome, both CS and KSS were higher in group 1 (p=0.002 and p=0.002, respectively). The number of patients in group A was 11, and group B was 8. Although there was not a significant difference in terms of FE and Abd between group A and B (p=0.091, p=0.238), ER was significantly higher in group A (p=0.012). We did not find a significant difference in the clinical scores (CS, p=0.177 and KSS, p=0.238). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest the importance of a preoperative evaluation of the fatty degeneration of deltoid and teres minor muscles for predicting postoperative strength and clinical outcome.
Arthroplasty* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Muscle Strength ; Muscles* ; Shoulder*

PURPOSE: A polymorphism in the IGF-I gene promoter region is known to be associated with serum IGF-I levels, birth weight, and body length, suggesting that IGF-I gene polymorphism might influence postnatal growth. The present study aimed to investigate the role of this polymorphic cytosine-adenine (CA) repeat of the IGF-I gene in children with idiopathic short stature. METHODS: The study involved 131 children (72 boys and 59 girls) diagnosed with idiopathic short stature, aged 7-15 years. Genomic DNA was extracted from anticoagulated peripheral whole blood. The primers were designed to cover the promoter region containing the polymorphic CA repeat. Data were analyzed using GeneMapper software. The correlations between age and serum IGF-I levels were analyzed using Spearmans correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The CA repeat sequences ranged from 15 to 22 , with 19 CA repeats the most common with an allele frequency of 40.6%. Homozygous for 19 CA repeat was 13.0%, heterozygous for 19 CA repeat was 56.5%, and 19 CA non-carrier was 30.5%. The three different genotype groups showed no significant differences in height, body weight and body mass index, and serum IGF-I levels. The serum IGF-I level and age according to the IGF-I genotypes were significantly correlated in the entire group, 19 CA repeat carrier group, and the non-carrier group. The three groups also showed no significant differences in the first year responsiveness to GH treatment. CONCLUSION: There were no significant different correlations between 19 CA repeat polymorphism and serum IGF-I levels according to genotype. Our results suggest that the IGF-I 19 CA repeat gene polymorphism is not functional in children with idiopathic short stature.
Adenine ; Aged ; Birth Weight ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; Cytosine ; DNA ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I ; Promoter Regions, Genetic

Xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis is a rare form of inflammatory disease of the gall bladder and was first described in 1970 by Christensen and Ishak as fibroxanthogranulomatous inflammation of the gall bladder. Recently authors experienced three cases of xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis, two of which were erroneously diagnosed as malignant tumor in preoperative clinical and radiological examinations. Grossly, the gallbladders were enlarged and the walls were thickened with yellowish granular necrotic areas ranging from a few millimeters to 1.0 cm in diameter. Microscopically, all of three cases showed diffuse infiltration of the foamy histiocytes containing bile pigments and mononuclear leukocytes associated with fibroblastic proliferation and foreign body reactions. The pathogenesis of the xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis is uncertain, but opinion favours an inflammatory response to extravasated bile probably, from ruptured Rokitanky-Aschoff sinuses. Three cases of xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis with brief review of literature are presented.