PURPOSE: Wound healing is a dynamic and complex process of tissue repair that involves a number of cellular and molecular events, which is characterized by intercalating degradation and re-assembly of connective tissue and epidermal layer. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) is one of the most common hydrofiber dressing. This material have a various degree of substitution. Our goal was to test the efficacy of Carboxymethyl cellulose with low and high degree of substitution on wound healing. METHODS: Four round (diameter 2 cm) wounds were made bilaterally on the dorsum of the all rat's trunk and were divided into four groups of dressing material: Group A with gauze dressing as a negative control group, Group B with high gel (DS=0.3), Group C with Aquacel(R) (ConvaTec, US) as a positive control group, Group D with low gel (DS= 0.15). We compared each group with gross findings by means of percentage of wound contraction, percentage of wound epithelization, and percentage of total wound healed area by tracing the remained wound area on each time periods. RESULTS: Group B and C show statistically higher percentage of wound contraction and higher percentage of wound healed than the other groups until 14th day after wound formation. Group D shows higher percentage of wound epithelization rate in early days, but it was reversed that Group B and C show statistically higher percentage of wound epithelization on 21st day after wound formation. Histologically, Group B and C show less inflammatory cell infiltration, faster and more prominent angiogenesis. On the 21st day after wound formation, collagen fibers was more regularly and densely arranged on Group B and C than the other groups. CONCLUSION: This study suggest Carboxymethylcellulose with high degree of substitution induces stable reepithelization and collagen synthesis in the wound healing process and have optimal effective results and is expected as more application of a various property of Carboxymethylcellulose for treatment of wound healing.
Bandages ; Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium ; Collagen ; Connective Tissue ; Contracts ; Wound Healing

Schwannomas are the most common type of benign peripheral nerve sheath tumors. They typically present as a solitary lesion, but multiple schwannomas rarely occur in patients with neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), or patients without the other hallmarks of NF2. The latter is termed schwannomatosis. They most commonly occur in the head and neck involving the brachial plexus and spinal nerves. Although rarely found in the extremities, when these masses occur peripherally, they most commonly affect the sciatic, ulnar, and tibial nerve. It is reported that 2.4% to 5% of all patients undergoing schwannoma excision present as schwannomatosis. One-third of patients with schwannomatosis show tumors limited to a single extremity or segment of the spine and it is referred to as segmental schwannomatosis. We report a case of recurred segmental schwannomatosis of the posterior tibial nerve without features of NF2 after schwannoma excision.
Brachial Plexus ; Extremities ; Head ; Humans ; Neck ; Nerve Sheath Neoplasms ; Neurilemmoma ; Neurofibromatoses* ; Neurofibromatosis 2* ; Spinal Nerves ; Spine ; Tibial Nerve

Brown syndrome is known as limited elevation of the affected eye during adduction. It is caused by a disorder of the superior oblique tendon, which makes it difficult for the eyeball to look upward, especially during adduction. It is classified into congenital true sheath Brown syndrome and acquired simulated Brown syndrome. Acquired simulated Brown syndrome can be caused by trauma, infection, or inflammatory conditions. The surgical restoration of blowout fractures can also lead to limitations of ocular motility, including Brown syndrome. We report on three patients with acquired simulated Brown syndrome, who complained of diplopia and limitation of ocular motility after operations to treat blowout fractures.
Brown-Sequard Syndrome ; Diplopia ; Humans ; Ocular Motility Disorders ; Tendons

Infectious diseases, particularly pneumonia, remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with systemic lupus erythematous (SLE), accounting for 30~50% of all death. Because infection appears in various forms in lupus patients, early detection and appropriate treatment is very important. In the case of diffuse infiltration in the whole lung field, we should make a differential diagnosis with drug-induced pneumonitis, interstitial lung disease and pneumonia caused by atypical microorganism infection. In particular, in case of atypical microorganism pneumonia, we usually suspect cytomegalovirus, pneumocystis jiroveci and ebstein-barr virus, but influenza pneumonia is relatively neglected. Here, we report on the case of a 26-year-old female patient with lupus nephritis who presented with dyspnea and diffuse pulmonary infiltration immediately after intravenous cyclophosphamide. She was diagnosed with primary influenza B pneumonia and successfully treated with oseltamivir.
Accounting ; Adult ; Communicable Diseases ; Cyclophosphamide ; Cytomegalovirus ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Humans ; Influenza, Human ; Lung ; Lung Diseases ; Lung Diseases, Interstitial ; Lupus Nephritis ; Oseltamivir ; Pneumocystis jirovecii ; Pneumonia ; Viruses

OBJECTIVE: Sonography is a noninvasive and safe bedside imaging modality that provides rapid and repeatable real-time radiological evaluations without a radiation hazard. However, sonography has not gained widespread acceptance as a diagnostic tool in adult brain disease because of limited imaging resolution through the bony window. We investigated the diagnostic potential and clinical usefulness of bedside brain sonography through surgical bone defects in neurosurgical patients. METHODS: We evaluated twelve patients, each of whom had undergone a decompressive craniectomy, via bedside sonography, and performed comparison CT or MRI for all patients. RESULTS: We obtained reliable information regarding anatomical structure displacement, ventricle systems, intracranial fluid collection, presence and distribution of cerebral infarctions, and hemorrhages. We performed several interventional trials under sonography guidance, including aspiration of entrapped fluid collection and insertion of an external ventricular drainage catheter into a collapsed and displaced ventricle cavity. CONCLUSION: Bedside sonography through surgically created bone defects is a non-invasive method that physicians can repeat as required with no radiation hazard, and it is of particular value in emergent and critical situations when conventional neuroimages are unobtainable. Bedside sonography can be a first-line monitoring tool, in lieu of CT, for critically ill patients with surgical cranial defects.
Adult ; Brain ; Brain Diseases ; Catheters ; Cerebral Infarction ; Critical Illness ; Decompressive Craniectomy ; Displacement (Psychology) ; Drainage ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Neurosurgery ; Ultrasonography, Doppler

PURPOSE: Blepharoptosis is often associated with telecanthus and the presence of epicanthal fold in telecanthus is one of unique features in Asian eyelids. The purpose of this article is to define telecanthus and pseudotelecanthus, and to determine optimal surgical procedure depending on classification of telecanthus. METHODS: Among 187 patients with blepharoptosis who had the advancement procedure of the Muller's muscle-levator aponeurosis composite flap for ptosis, 55 patients underwent Flowers' split V-W plasty concomitantly with shortening the medial canthal tendon for correction of telecanthus from September 2003 to January 2011. Among them, 52 patients were followed up for 16 months. We newly defined telecanthus because Mustarde ratio is inaccurate to measure in certain cases and then made a definition of pseudotelecanthus. Besides, we also classified telecanthus into mild, moderate and severe types based on its severity. RESULTS: Telecanthus is defined when the ICD (inner canthal distance) is greater than 110% of normal ICD. Pseudotelecanthus is a telecanthus like a wide skin bridge formed between the eyes because of the epicanthal fold in the normal ICD. Flowers' split V-W plasty combined with shortening medial canthal tendon was very effective in mild and moderate telecanthus with almost invisible scar and no recurrence occurring. In severe types, however, it showed high incidence (28%) of incomplete correction of telecanthus. CONCLUSION: New definition of telecanthus can be easily applied to any case and we think the classification of telecanthus is useful to select an appropriate operative procedure. Split V-W plasty with shortening of medial canthal tendon is a very effective procedure in mild and moderate telecanthus. Besides, it is also effective in improving the treatment outcomes of ptosis in cases of blepharoptosis associated with telecanthus.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group ; Blepharoptosis ; Cicatrix ; Craniofacial Abnormalities ; Eye ; Eyelids ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mustard Plant ; Recurrence ; Skin ; Surgical Procedures, Operative ; Tendons

PURPOSE: In accordance with the increasing number of accidents caused by various reasons and recently developed fine diagnostic skills, the incidence of orbital blow-out fracture cases is increasing. As it causes complications, such as diplopia and enophthalmos, surgical reduction is commonly required. This article reports a retrospective series of 5 blow-out fracture cases that had unusual nerve injuries after reduction operations. We represents the clinical experiences about treatment process and follow-up. METHODS: From January 2000 to August 2009, we treated total 705 blow-out fracture patients. Among them, there were 5 patients(0.71%) who suffered from postoperative neurologic complications. In all patients, the surgery was performed with open reduction with insertion of Medpor(R). Clinical symptoms and signs were a little different from each other. RESULTS: In case 1, the diagnosis was oculomotor nerve palsy. The diagnosis of the case 2 was superior orbital fissure syndrome, case 3 was abducens nerve palsy, and case 4 was idiopathic supraorbital nerve injury. The last case 5 was diagnosed as optic neuropathy. Most of the causes were extended fracture, especially accompanied with medial and inferomedial orbital blow-out fracture. Extensive dissection and eyeball swelling, and over-retraction by assistants were also one of the causes. Immediately, we performed reexploration procedure to remove hematomas, decompress and check the incarceration. After that, we checked VEP(visual evoked potential), visual field test, electromyogram. With ophthalmologic test and follow-up CT, we can rule out the orbital apex syndrome. We gave Salon(R)(methylprednisolone, Hanlim pharmaceuticals) 500 mg twice a day for 3 days and let them bed rest. After that, we were tapering the high dose steroid with Methylon(R)(methylprednisolon 4 mg, Kunwha pharmaceuticals) 20 mg three times a day. Usually, it takes 1.2 months to recover from the nerve injury. CONCLUSION: According to the extent of nerve injury after the surgery of orbital blow-out fracture, the clinical symptoms were different. The most important point is to decide quickly whether the optic nerve injury occurred or not. Therefore, it is necess is to diagnose the nerve injury immediately, perform reexploration for decompression and use corticosteroid adequately. In other words, the early diagnosis and treatment is most important.
Abducens Nerve Diseases ; Bed Rest ; Decompression ; Diplopia ; Early Diagnosis ; Enophthalmos ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Incidence ; Linear Energy Transfer ; Oculomotor Nerve Diseases ; Optic Nerve Diseases ; Optic Nerve Injuries ; Orbit ; Orbital Fractures ; Retrospective Studies ; Visual Field Tests

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate which glycemic parameters better reflect urinary N-acetyl-β-D-glucosaminidase (uNAG) abnormality, a marker for renal tubulopathy, in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) subjects with normoalbuminuria and a normal estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). METHODS: We classified 1,061 participants with T2DM into two groups according to uNAG level—normal vs. high (>5.8 U/g creatinine)—and measured their biochemical parameters. RESULTS: Subjects with high uNAG level had significantly higher levels of fasting and stimulated glucose, glycated albumin (GA), and glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and lower levels of homeostasis model assessment of β-cell compared with subjects with normal uNAG level. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that uNAG was significantly associated with GA (standardized β coefficient [β]=0.213, P=0.016), but not with HbA1c (β=−0.137, P=0.096) or stimulated glucose (β=0.095, P=0.140) after adjusting confounding factors. In receiver operating characteristic analysis, the value of the area under the curve (AUC) for renal tubular injury of GA was significantly higher (AUC=0.634; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.646 to 0.899) than those for HbA1c (AUC=0.598; 95% CI, 0.553 to 0.640), stimulated glucose (AUC=0.594; 95% CI, 0.552 to 0.636), or fasting glucose (AUC=0.558; 95% CI, 0.515 to 0.600). The optimal GA cutoff point for renal tubular damage was 17.55% (sensitivity 59%, specificity 62%). CONCLUSION: GA is a more useful glycation index than HbA1c for reflecting renal tubulopathy in subjects with T2DM with normoalbuminuria and normal eGFR.
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Diabetic Nephropathies* ; Fasting ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Glucose ; Hemoglobin A, Glycosylated ; Homeostasis ; Kidney Tubules ; Linear Models ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity

The prognosis of invasive aspergillosis in allogeneic bone marrow transplantation recipients is grave in the absence of bone marrow recovery in spite of antifungal treatment with amphotericin B. Beneficial role of granulocyte transfusion in neutropenic patients with fungal infection has been re-evaluated since granulocyte colony-stimulating factor made effective collection of granulocyte possible. And Liposomal amphotericin appears to be an effective alternative to conventional amphotericin B with much less toxicity. A 34-year-old patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia developed invasive pulmonary aspergillosis during very early period of allogeneic hemopoietic stem cell transplantation. We treated the case successfully with liposomal amphotericin and granulocyte transfusion and surgery in spite of known high mortality of invasive aspergillosis in transplantation patients.
Adult ; Amphotericin B* ; Aspergillosis ; Bone Marrow ; Bone Marrow Transplantation ; Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor ; Granulocytes* ; Humans ; Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis* ; Leukemia ; Mortality ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Prognosis ; Stem Cell Transplantation* ; Stem Cells*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: While surgical resection remains the standard of care in the treatment of upper urinary tract malignancies, nephrectomy is a risk factor for the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD). The aim of this study was to determine whether histologic evaluation of non-neoplastic kidney could enable early identification of unrecognized kidney disease and could be of prognostic value in predicting postoperative renal outcomes. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 51 patients with upper urinary tract malignancies who received uninephrectomy or uninephroureterectomy. A thorough pathologic evaluation of non-neoplastic kidney including special stains, immunofluorescence, and electron microscopic studies was performed. The degree of parenchymal changes was graded from 0 to 15. RESULTS: Of 51 patients, only 13 showed normal kidney pathology. Fifteen patients showed glomerular abnormalities, 14 showed diabetic nephropathy, and 11 showed vascular nephropathy. There was one case each of reflux nephropathy and chronic pyelonephritis. The median histologic score was 5 points. Only 25.4% of patients had ≤ 3 points. Score more than 5 was observed in 47.1% of patients. Postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) at 3 to 36 months were obtained from 90.2% of patients, and of those, 34.8% had de novo CKD. Since no one had CKD in partial nephrectomized patients, we determined risk factors for CKD in radical nephrectomized patients. Cox regression analysis revealed that postoperative AKI, preoperative eGFR, and histologic score of non-neoplastic kidney were the independent predictors for CKD. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that routine pathologic evaluation of non-neoplastic kidney provides valuable diagnostic and prognostic information.
Coloring Agents ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; Kidney Diseases ; Kidney Neoplasms ; Kidney* ; Nephrectomy ; Pathology ; Pyelonephritis ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Standard of Care ; Urinary Tract*