BACKGROUND: The proper management of the patients with hypotention remains a difficult clinical problem. This study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of gepefrin in the treament of symptomatic hypotensive patients in outpatient clinic of university hospital. METHODS: Thirty milligrams of Gepefrin was given twice daily for 4 weeks in 30 patients with hypotension(6 males, 24 females ; 23-60 years of age). Blood pressure, heart rate, subjective symptoms and side effects were checked before medication and at the end of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th week of medication. RESULTS: 1) Grpefrin increased sitting systolic blood pressure significantly(p<0.05) by the end of 1st week and thereafter. 2) Hypotensive symptoms were improved in 76% of hypotensive patients and overall rate of usefulness was 70%. 3) Heart rate did not change significantly. 4) One patient complained of loose bowel movement and another one, of anorexia among 30 study patients and all laboratory parameters were within normal limits before and after drug treatment, thus the rate of safety was 93%. CONCLUSION: Results from this study suggests that gepefrin 60mg daily increases the blood pressure mildly and improves the symptoms moderately in symptomatic hypotensive patients.
Ambulatory Care Facilities ; Anorexia ; Blood Pressure ; Female ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypotension* ; Male ; Quality of Life

No abstract available.
Arthritis*

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Lupus Nephritis*

BACKGROUND: The rate of rise of left ventricular(LV) systolic pressure, dp/kt, and the peak ejection rate(PER) of LV may be more accurate indices for assessing LV systolic function than ejection fraction(EF). Both can be easily obtained by noninvasive methods, M-mode echo/phonocardiography and automated border detection(ABD) echocardiography, respectively. Mean dp/dt by M-mode echo/phonocardiography and PER by ABD echocardiography were compared with mean dp/dt by Doppler echocardiography. METHODS: Twenty-one adult patients who had normal sinus rhythm, mitral regurgitant signals by continuous wave Doppler echocardiography and an apical 4 chamber view of LV in which at least 75% of the endocardium was clearly visualized were selected for our study. The off-line estimation of LV end-diastolic volume (1) were performed by the method of disc, after manually tracing the endocardial border on the apical 4 chamber view and EF was calculated. M-mode echocardiography of the aortive valve and phonocardiography were simultaneously recorded on the strip chart to measure the isovolumic contraction time(dtM). A blood pressure (2) and LV end-diasolic pressure(LVEDP) was assigned 20mmHg in patients with Q wave myocardial infarction or EF< or =40% and 10mmHg in others. The mean dp/dtM during isovolumic contraction time was calculated as (aortic diastolic pressure-LVEDP)/dtM and was compared with the Doppler-derived mean rate of LV pressure rise(dp/dtDoppler) over the time period between velocities of 1 and 3m/sec on the ascending slope of the Doppler velocity spectrum. ABD system was used to measure the changes in LV volume and PER on the apical four chamber view. PER was compared with mean dp/dtDoppler. RESULTS: Mean dp/dtM positively correlated with mean dp/dtDoppler(r=0.73, p<0.001), but the limits of agreement between two methods were somewhat wide(-659-937mmHg/sec). PER also positively correlated with dp/dtDoppler and EF(r=0.73, p<0.001 ; r=0.80, p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Mean dp/dtM by M-mode echo/phomocardiography and PER by ABD echocardiography may be useful indices for assessing LV systolic function.
Adult ; Blood Pressure ; Echocardiography* ; Echocardiography, Doppler ; Endocardium ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Phonocardiography

No abstract available.
Humans ; Infant*

No abstract available.
Weaning*

Augmentation rhinoplasty using silicone implant is one of the most common cosmetic procedures in Korea, but is not without several complications such as exposure of the implant, its deviation and deformity. Above all, infection and extrusion through the skin is most serious complication. The purpose of this study was to determine the type of microbial colonization on silicone implant removed from symptomatic patients and to prevent from the infection. Over the past 11 years, from February of 1996 to February of 2007, we have done 134 aesthetic rhinoplasties using silicone implant in our clinic, patient ages ranged from 15 to 62 years with an average of 29.2 years. 78 percent of patients (105) were female, and 22 percent (29) were male. Among them, four cases had the local infection. The infection rate was 2.9 percent. Total six cases of implant including the other two case augmented elsewhere having the infection were removed and submitted for Gram stain, standard aerobic and anaerobic bacterial culture, and fungal cultures. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated most frequently (four cases), followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (one case) and Proteus mirabilis (one case). No fungal infections were identified. In order to reduce the infection rates after augmentation rhinoplasty using silicone implant, rhinorrhea as a source of bacterial nutrients should thoroughly be managed perioperatively. The hairs of the nostril should appropriately be shaved, and the patient's entire face and internal nares meticulously prepared. The implant should be shaped to be shorter, smaller and thinner, appropriately to the patient's nasal phenotype. Also, subperiosteal implantation rather than subcutaneous or subfascial is better choice.
Colon ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Dental Implantation, Subperiosteal ; Female ; Hair ; Humans ; Korea ; Male ; Phenotype ; Proteus mirabilis ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa ; Rhinoplasty* ; Silicones* ; Skin ; Staphylococcus aureus

An 18-year-old female was admitted because of dyspnea at rest. A chest computed tomography (CT) scan and fiberoptic bronchoscopy demonstrated a polypoid tumor in the left main bronchus, 0.5cm distal from the carina. Surgical resection of the tumor was performed, along with. A pathological evaluation and the immunohistochemical findings led to the diagnosis of a glomus tumor, which originated from the bronchus, an area where this type of tumor has rarely been reported.
Adolescent ; Bronchi ; Bronchoscopy ; Diagnosis ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Glomus Tumor* ; Humans ; Thorax

BACKGROUND: Apoptosis has been implicated in pathogenesis of various disease. Apo-1/Fas (CD95) is one of the main pathway of apoptosis. To examine the possible relationship between Apo-1/Fas (CD95) and primary knee osteoarthritis, MvaI restriction length polymorphism (RFLP) in human Apo-1/Fas (CD95) gene was assessed. METHODS: Genotype and allele frequencies in promoter region in the Apo-1/Fas (CD95) gene were studied by PCR-RFLP in 226 Korean controls and 148 Korean patients with primary knee osteoarthritis. RESULTS: No statistically significant difference in the genotypic distribution and allelic frequencies was found between the control and the knee oateoarthritis patients. But in the severe grade (grade 3, 4) Kellgren-Lawrence score patients, the frequency of MvaI*1 (G) allele was significantly decreased (P=0.0392) and the of MvaI*2 (A) allele frequency was significantly increased (P=0.0473) compared to the normal controls. CONCLUSION: Apo-1/Fas (CD95) gene polymorphism is a part a determinant factor of severity in knee osteoarthritis, the patients with MvaI*2 (A) allele is more severe radiologic progression. Further substantiation studies are needed in larger patient samples and various other apoptosis related genes to elucidate the mechanism of osteoarthritis, including the Fas ligand gene analysis.
Alleles ; Apoptosis ; Fas Ligand Protein ; Gene Frequency ; Genotype ; Humans ; Knee* ; Osteoarthritis ; Osteoarthritis, Knee* ; Promoter Regions, Genetic

No abstract available.
Hypertension*