No abstract available.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular* ; Spleen*

PURPOSE: Previous studies have revealed that tamsulosin is effective in improving lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and erectile functioning but has some inhibitory effects on ejaculation, including decreased ejaculatory volume. However, these inhibitory effects on ejaculation can be beneficial to patients with premature ejaculation (PE). Therefore, this study was conducted to understand the effect of tamsulosin on PE in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine patients who visited with LUTS were categorized into 2 groups of LUTS-only patients (n=12) and LUTS combined with PE (LUTS+PE) patients (n=17), and 0.4 mg of tamsulosin was administered to the patients of both groups for 12 weeks. Comparative analyses of before and after the treatment were conducted for calculating the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5), intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT), premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT), and premature ejaculation profile (PEP). The patients with an IPSS score of 8 or higher were determined as LUTS patients, and the patients with IELT of less than 2 minutess and a PEDT score of 9 or higher were determined as PE patients. RESULTS: After treatment, the IPSS score significantly decreased in both groups. There was no statistically significant change in the PEDT for the LUTS group, but there was a significant decrease in PEDT (p=0.012; from 12.1+/-3.31 to 8.4+/-4.49) in the LUTS+PE group. CONCLUSIONS: Tamsulosin not only has a treatment effect for LUTS but also improves the PE of LUTS+PE patients. Therefore, further studies are needed to confirm the effects of tamsulosin on PE.
Ejaculation ; Humans ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Male ; Premature Ejaculation* ; Prostate ; Prostatic Hyperplasia*

PURPOSE: Previous studies have revealed that tamsulosin is effective in improving lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and erectile functioning but has some inhibitory effects on ejaculation, including decreased ejaculatory volume. However, these inhibitory effects on ejaculation can be beneficial to patients with premature ejaculation (PE). Therefore, this study was conducted to understand the effect of tamsulosin on PE in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty-nine patients who visited with LUTS were categorized into 2 groups of LUTS-only patients (n=12) and LUTS combined with PE (LUTS+PE) patients (n=17), and 0.4 mg of tamsulosin was administered to the patients of both groups for 12 weeks. Comparative analyses of before and after the treatment were conducted for calculating the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), International Index of Erectile Function-5 (IIEF-5), intravaginal ejaculatory latency time (IELT), premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT), and premature ejaculation profile (PEP). The patients with an IPSS score of 8 or higher were determined as LUTS patients, and the patients with IELT of less than 2 minutess and a PEDT score of 9 or higher were determined as PE patients. RESULTS: After treatment, the IPSS score significantly decreased in both groups. There was no statistically significant change in the PEDT for the LUTS group, but there was a significant decrease in PEDT (p=0.012; from 12.1+/-3.31 to 8.4+/-4.49) in the LUTS+PE group. CONCLUSIONS: Tamsulosin not only has a treatment effect for LUTS but also improves the PE of LUTS+PE patients. Therefore, further studies are needed to confirm the effects of tamsulosin on PE.
Ejaculation ; Humans ; Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms ; Male ; Premature Ejaculation* ; Prostate ; Prostatic Hyperplasia*

PURPOSE: This study investigated whether a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) located at position -2 in the Kozak sequence of the TFF1 gene is associated with H. pylori infection and the development of gastric cancer in Koreans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We enrolled 167 patients with gastric cancer from January 2000 to December 2003 and also 299 healthy controls during the same period. The genotype of the TFF1 SNP was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism and single strand conformation polymorphism. We also examined the H. pylori infection by Giemsa staining. RESULTS: No significant difference in the allele or the TFF1 SNP genotype frequency was observed between the patients with gastric cancer and the control subjects (P=0.595 and P=0.715, respectively). When stratified by the histological subtype of gastric cancer and the age of the patients, the risk was not statistically significant between the two study groups (P=0.088 and P=0.551, respectively). H. pylori infection was detected in 39 cases and it was not associated with the TFF1 genotype. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that this TFF1 gene polymorphism is not associated with H. pylori infection and gastric cancer in Koreans and so it doesn't contribute to the susceptibility to gastric cancer in Koreans.
Alleles ; Genotype ; Humans ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Stomach Neoplasms

PURPOSE: To compare and analyze the rate of prevention of two venous thromboembolism prophylaxis guidelines in patients with artificial joint arthroplasty and hip joint fracture. Proper prophylaxis for preventing thromboembolism in orthopedic surgery is significant because of this fetal complication. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study compared and retrospective analyzed the rate of prevention using the medical records and radiographs of patients who underwent orthopedic surgery from March 2009 to February 2011 according to the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) guidelines and from March 2012 to February 2014 according to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) guidelines. RESULTS: The guidelines for venous thromboembolism prophylaxis have been applied to patients with artificial joint replacement and hip joint fracture, the compliance rate of the ACCP guidelines was 56.0% before surgery, 67.0% after surgery with chemical prophylaxis, and 80.5% with mechanical prophylaxis. In addition, the compliance rate of the AAOS guidelines was 74.1% with chemical prophylaxis, and 88.3% with mechanical prophylaxis, which was higher than the ACCP guidelines. The compliance rates of mechanical and chemical prophylaxis before and after surgery of the ACCP guidelines, and the compliance rate of mechanical and chemical prophylaxis of the AAOS guidelines were compared and analyzed. The results revealed statistical significance (p<0.05) before and after total knee replacement arthroplasty and hip joint fracture internal fixation and total high risk orthopedic surgery. CONCLUSION: Raising the compliance rate of prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism in high risk orthopedic surgery is necessary and people should follow the guidelines for a unified direction depending on which situation they are in.
Arthroplasty ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ; Compliance ; Hip Joint ; Humans ; Joints ; Medical Records ; Orthopedic Procedures ; Orthopedics ; Retrospective Studies ; Surgeons ; Thorax ; Thromboembolism ; Venous Thromboembolism

BACKGROUND: Although bisphosphonate is effective for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, poor medication compliance is a key-limiting factor. We determined whether alarm clock could improve compliance with weekly bisphosphonate in patients with osteoporosis, by comparing with age- and gender-matched control group. METHODS: Fifty patients with osteoporosis were recruited and participated in alarm clock group. Patients were asked to take orally weekly risedronate for 1 year, and received alarm clock to inform the time of taking oral bisphosphonate weekly. Using the propensity score matching with age and gender, 50 patients were identified from patients with osteoporosis medication. We compared the compliance with bisphosphonate using medication possession ratio (MPR) between two groups. RESULTS: Although there was no significant difference of baseline characteristics between both groups, the mean MPR (0.80±0.33) of alarm clock group was higher than that (0.56±0.34) of control group (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Alarming could improve the compliance with weekly oral bisphosphonate in patients with osteoporosis.
Compliance* ; Humans ; Medication Adherence ; Osteoporosis* ; Patient Compliance ; Propensity Score ; Risedronate Sodium

PURPOSE: Iron-deficiency anemia remains the most common nutritional deficiency in young infants. This study aimed to survey the actual condition of feeding patterns and weaning diet and to study the association between these factors and the prevalence of anemia in infants aged over 9 months. METHODS: We studied 171 infants aged 9-24 months who were hospitalized in the general ward with mild to moderate acute illnesses. The mothers answered a questionnaire about the feeding patterns and the status of the weaning diet of their infants. The infants were divided into three groups: infants who were exclusively breast-fed, those who had been given mixed feeding, and artificial milk feeders. RESULTS: The incidence of anemia was significantly higher in exclusively breast-fed infants (23/68, 33.8%) than in the infants with mixed feeding (11/62, 17.7%) and artificial milk feeders (5/41, 12.1%). The mothers' awareness about the state of their infants' weaning diet was not related to the presence of anemia in the exclusively breast-fed infants. About 70% of the infants had started the weaning diet before age 6 months in all three groups, without any difference according to feeding patterns. CONCLUSION: The incidence of anemia was significantly higher in the breast-fed group than in the other infants. Many mothers of breast-fed infants with anemia also believed that their infants were taking sufficient weaning foods. Therefore, further education of the mothers about iron-rich weaning foods and the importance of iron intake during infancy is needed to prevent anemia, especially in breast-fed infants.
Aged ; Anemia ; Anemia, Iron-Deficiency ; Diet ; Feeding Behavior ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infant ; Iron ; Malnutrition ; Milk ; Mothers ; Patients' Rooms ; Prevalence ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Weaning

PURPOSE: Staphylococcal bacteremia is a major problem in the neonatal intensive care unit. But, there is little data on staphylococcal bacteremia in the neonatal intensive care unit in Korea. We searched for patterns of staphylococcal infection in neonatal intensive care units. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on infants who had staphylococcal bacteremia and were in the neonatal intensive care unit between 2001, February and 2007, May. RESULTS: A total of 48 cases were reviewed (mean gestational age 31 wks [23-40], mean birth weight 1689 g [510-3,920]). The vast majority of cases were coagulase-negative staphylococcus (CoNS) (30 cases, 62.5%). Staphylococcus aureus caused 36.1% of staphylococcal bacteremia (17 cases). Methicillin-resistant staphylococcal aureus (MRSA) (14 cases) caused 77.7% of staphylococcal aureus bacteremia. Peripherally inserted central venous catheters were placed in situ in most patients (MSSA: 75%, MRSA: 88.2%, CoNS: 62.1%). Most of the staphylococcal bacteremia in patients were hospital-acquired (81%). Fifteen cases increased levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) (31%). (Mean CRP : MSSA 1.07 mg/dL, MRSA 3.64 mg/dL, CoNS 0.54 mg/dL). Exclusively MRSA had focal complications (osteomyelitis/arthritis: 3 cases). Vancomycin was used in 47.4% in MRSA and 52.6% in CoNS. Four patients (8.3%) died, but all were not directly attributable. CONCLUSION: The staphylococcal bacteremia was generally observed to be a hospital- acquired infection in the neonatal intensive care unit. MRSA caused more elevation of CRP levels and focal complication. To know exactly that what the pattern of staphylococcal bacteremia in Korea is, more research is needed in other neonatal intensive care unit.
Bacteremia ; Birth Weight ; C-Reactive Protein ; Central Venous Catheters ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Infant ; Infant, Newborn ; Intensive Care Units, Neonatal ; Intensive Care, Neonatal* ; Korea ; Methicillin Resistance ; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus ; Retrospective Studies ; Staphylococcal Infections* ; Staphylococcus ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Vancomycin

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to evaluate postoperative mastoid aeration according to the preoperative middle ear disease and investigate the factors affecting it. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scans of temporal bones that were taken 1 year after surgery. The postoperative mastoid aeration was evaluated according to the preoperative diagnosis, and classified into three groups: grade 1 (complete mastoid aeration), an air-filled epitympanum and mastoid cavity; grade 2 (partial mastoid aeration), an air-filled epitympanum and partially aerated mastoid cavity; and grade 3 (absence of mastoid aeration), no air space in the mastoid cavity. RESULTS: The overall mastoid aeration rate was 55.8%, with adhesive otitis media accounting for 21.2%, attic cholesteatoma 53.8%, and chronic otitis media 75.4%. The rates of postoperative mastoid aeration were significantly higher in the chronic otitis media cases and attic cholesteatoma cases than in the adhesive otitis media cases. There were 14 cases requiring revision operations due to the development of a retraction pocket in the tympanic membrane. All of the revised cases had grade 3 postoperative mastoid aeration, and underwent canal wall down mastoidectomies. CONCLUSIONS: The degree of postoperative mastoid aeration is associated with the preoperative middle ear disease. When planning a canal wall up mastoidectomy, the surgeon should contemplate the middle ear disease, because a canal wall down mastoidectomy or mastoid obliteration is recommended if the patient has adhesive otitis media.
Adhesives ; Cholesteatoma ; Diagnosis ; Ear, Middle* ; Humans ; Mastoid* ; Otitis Media ; Otologic Surgical Procedures ; Retrospective Studies ; Temporal Bone* ; Tympanic Membrane

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to evaluate postoperative mastoid aeration according to the preoperative middle ear disease and investigate the factors affecting it. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the high-resolution computed tomography (CT) scans of temporal bones that were taken 1 year after surgery. The postoperative mastoid aeration was evaluated according to the preoperative diagnosis, and classified into three groups: grade 1 (complete mastoid aeration), an air-filled epitympanum and mastoid cavity; grade 2 (partial mastoid aeration), an air-filled epitympanum and partially aerated mastoid cavity; and grade 3 (absence of mastoid aeration), no air space in the mastoid cavity. RESULTS: The overall mastoid aeration rate was 55.8%, with adhesive otitis media accounting for 21.2%, attic cholesteatoma 53.8%, and chronic otitis media 75.4%. The rates of postoperative mastoid aeration were significantly higher in the chronic otitis media cases and attic cholesteatoma cases than in the adhesive otitis media cases. There were 14 cases requiring revision operations due to the development of a retraction pocket in the tympanic membrane. All of the revised cases had grade 3 postoperative mastoid aeration, and underwent canal wall down mastoidectomies. CONCLUSIONS: The degree of postoperative mastoid aeration is associated with the preoperative middle ear disease. When planning a canal wall up mastoidectomy, the surgeon should contemplate the middle ear disease, because a canal wall down mastoidectomy or mastoid obliteration is recommended if the patient has adhesive otitis media.
Adhesives ; Cholesteatoma ; Diagnosis ; Ear, Middle* ; Humans ; Mastoid* ; Otitis Media ; Otologic Surgical Procedures ; Retrospective Studies ; Temporal Bone* ; Tympanic Membrane