PURPOSE: The study aimed to identity specific needs for services and programs to help childhood cancer survivors adjust and adapt to life after treatment. METHODS: In-depth interviews were conducted with 31 childhood cancer survivors, diagnosed with cancer before the age of 18 and currently between 15 and 39 years of age. Each survivor had completed his/her cancer treatment. RESULTS: The participating cancer survivors reported needs for services related to psychological counseling, schooling and learning, social skills, mentorship, integrated health management, self support activities, families of survivors, and public recognition and awareness. CONCLUSION: The results of the study indicate a need to better understand childhood cancer survivors, provides a basis for developing various services and programs to improve the quality of life among childhood cancer patients, survivors, and their families, and supports the importance of psychosocial adjustment.
Counseling ; Health Services Needs and Demand ; Humans ; Learning ; Mentors ; Qualitative Research ; Quality of Life ; Social Welfare ; Survival Rate ; Survivors ; Child Health

We report a case of plexiform neurofibroma developed under the overlying speckled lentiginous nevus, which occurred in a 20 year-old man. In this patient and his family no other signs of von Recklinghausens disease were found. Discussion is focussed on the fact that both plexiform neurofibroma and speckled lentigmous nevus, which represent a defect in the neural crest, occurred in the same area of the skin.
Humans ; Neural Crest ; Neurofibroma, Plexiform* ; Neurofibromatosis 1 ; Nevus* ; Skin

No abstract available.
Consensus ; Hyperthyroidism ; Thyroid Gland

Purpose: The effects of dexmedetomidine on locomotor function and thermal hyperalgesia in sciatic nerve crush injury (SNCI) were investigated using rats. Methods: After exposing the right sciatic nerve, the sciatic nerve was crushed for 1 minute by a surgical clip. One day after nerve injury, dexmedetomidine (5, 25, and 50 µg/kg) was directly applied to the injured sciatic nerve once a day for 14 days. Walking track analysis was used to assess locomotor function and plantar test was conducted to assess thermal pain sensitivity. Immunohistochemistry was performed to determine the expression of c-Fos in the ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (vlPAG) and paraventricular nucleus (PVN). Western blot was used to evaluate the expression level of nerve growth factor (NGF) and myelin basic protein (MBP) in the sciatic nerve. Results: SNCI resulted in deterioration of locomotor function and increased thermal pain sensitivity. The level of c-Fos expression in the PVN and vlPAG was increased and the level of NGF and MBP expression in the sciatic nerve was enhanced by SNCI. Dexmedetomidine treatment improved locomotor function and upregulated expression of NGF and MBP in the sciatic nerve of SNCI. Dexmedetomidine treatment alleviated thermal hyperalgesia and downregulated expression of c-Fos in the vlPAG and PVN after SNCI. Conclusions Dexmedetomidine may be used as a potential new treatment drug for recovery of locomotion and control of pain in peripheral nerve injury.

BACKGROUND: It is not clear whether mild hypothermia (34 degrees C) enhances stress hormonal responses during surgery under general intravenous anesthesia. The purpose of this study was determine how mild hypothermia affects hemodymic and stress hormonal responses introperatively and during extubation in patients undergoing cerebral aneurysm surgery under general intravenous anesthesia. METHODS: Anesthesia was induced intravenously with thiopental sodium 5 mg/kg, succinylcholine 1 mg/kg, and maintained with 50% O2, 50% N2O, and propofol using a target controlled system; Diprifusor(R) (3-5 microgram/ml) and muscle relaxation were administered with intravenous vecuronium intermittently. For the normothermia and the hypothermia groups, body temperatures were maintained at 36.9+/-0.3degrees C and 34.2+/-0.2 degrees C, respectively, up to the recovery room. Hemodynamic changes were recorded continuously. Arterial blood gas analysis, glucose, hemoglobin, stress hormones comprising epinephrine, norepinephrine, ADH, ACTH and cortisol were measured at whilst awake, intraoperatively, and just after extubation. RESULTS: Hemodynamic changes from the awake control state to postextubation were not significantly different between the normothermia and hypothermia groups. In the control awake state, all five hormonal concentrations were similar in the two groups. Intraoperatively and during extubation, all hormonal concentrations tended to be lower in the hypothermia group than in the normothermia group, except epinephrine during extubation. During the same period, all except ACTH decreased sufficiently to reach statistical significance (P < 0.05) versus the awake control state. But no significant differents were found between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that intraoperative mild hypothermia dose not significantly affect hemodynamic changes or the plasma concentrations of stress hormones.
Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Intravenous* ; Blood Gas Analysis ; Body Temperature ; Epinephrine ; Glucose ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Hypothermia* ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Muscle Relaxation ; Neurosurgery ; Norepinephrine ; Plasma ; Propofol ; Recovery Room ; Succinylcholine ; Thiopental ; Vecuronium Bromide

Osteopetrosis is an uncommon hereditary bone disorder whose prominent radiologic feature characterized by increased bone density. The authors reported a 7-year-old male patient who referred from local dental clinic for dental problems such as early exfoliation of deciduous teeth(#54,73,83) and delayed eruption of permanent teeth(#31,41,36,46). The patient appeared as a poorly developed. Dental X-ray films showed early exfoliation of deciduous teeth, delayed eruption of permanent teeth, and rampant caries. Lateral view of skull demonstrated increased opacity of calvarium, facial bones, and skull base. Generally the skeletal density is greatly increased throughout all bones. Facial CT showed poor development of paranasal sinuses and mastoid air cells. No hematopoietic and neurologic complications such as anemia, thrombocytopenia, blindness and deafness were found. Also mental retardation was not found. The final diagnosis of this case was a osteopetrosis tarda. Sometimes patient with osteopetrosis tarda may be developed dental problems prior to severe systemic symptoms. The dentist can be the first clinician to see the patient. It is very important for the dentist to have the knowledge of the osteopetrosis and to care the patient's dental problems to prevent complication such as osteomyelitis of jaws.
Anemia ; Blindness ; Bone Density ; Child ; Deafness ; Dental Clinics ; Dentists ; Diagnosis ; Facial Bones ; Growth Disorders ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Jaw ; Male ; Mastoid ; Osteomyelitis ; Osteopetrosis* ; Paranasal Sinuses ; Skull ; Skull Base ; Thrombocytopenia ; Tooth ; Tooth Eruption ; Tooth, Deciduous ; X-Ray Film

Two patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis were treated with itraconazole. One patient was a 24-year-old man who had several erythematous papulonodules on the extremities for 1 month, which revealed cutaneous leishmaniasis, histopathologically. He was treated with itraconazole (200 mg/day) for 2 months. After treatment he showed clinical healing and the biopsy specimens no longer showed leishmania organisms. The other patient was a 27-year-old female who had several erythematous papulonodules on the face and neck for 3 months. The skin lesions revealed leishmania organisms in the tissue sections and culture media. She was also treated with itraconazole (200 mg/day) for 2 months. After treatment she also showed satisfying clinical healing and the biopsy specimens revealed no leishmania organisms. No specific side effects were encountered in both patients during the treatment. From these results, itraconazole is considered to be one of the promising anti-leishmanial drugs.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Culture Media ; Extremities ; Female ; Humans ; Itraconazole* ; Leishmania ; Leishmaniasis, Cutaneous* ; Neck ; Skin ; Young Adult

BACKGROUND: This study was doned to evaluate the rate of awakening after desflurane or isoflurane anesthesia in pediatric tonsillectomy patients. METHODS: Sixty patients, aged 5 10 years undergoing a tonsillectomy with or without an adenoidectomy were randomly assigned to receive either desflurane-N2O (group D) or isoflurane-N2O (group I). A recovery profile was assessed by a 3 point scale for the first 0, 15 and 30 min in the recovery room. RESULTS: It was statistically significant that group D had a shorter extubation time and eye opening time and a less apprehensive score than group I at 0, 15 and 30 min. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that desflurane-N2O may offer clinical advantages over isoflurane when used for maintenance of anesthesia during a pediatric tonsillectomy.
Adenoidectomy ; Anesthesia ; Humans ; Isoflurane ; Recovery Room ; Tonsillectomy*

PURPOSE: This study was to evaluate the casual relationship between the factors in the Pender's model and to explain health promoting behaviors among middle-aged women in order to facilitate nursing interventions for this population group. METHOD: 116 women between 40~60 years old living in Incheon were asked to complete a questionnaire about their health. The data was collected between March and November, 2003. The data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and the correctional analysis SPSSWIN 11.5 program. The LISREL 8.12 program was used to find the best fit model which explained a causal relationship of the variables. RESULTS: The climacteric symptoms of middle-aged women negatively correlated with health promoting behaviors. However, marital satisfaction positively correlated with health promoting behaviors. CONCLUSION: Marital satisfaction and climacteric symptoms had an effect on health promoting behaviors. Therefore, based on this study, we plan to develop a health education program to decrease climacteric symptoms and to promote marital satisfaction for health promotion.
Socioeconomic Factors ; Middle Aged ; Korea ; Humans ; *Health Behavior ; Female ; Climacteric ; Body Mass Index ; Attitude to Health ; Adult

BACKGROUND: The use of neuraxial anesthesia for Cesarean section has dramatically increased. There was little information about the relationship of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) pressure according to the position and spinal block level in pregnant women. The aims of this study are to investigate the cerebrospinal fluid pressure according to the degree of flexion in the lateral position and block height after spinal anesthesia in pregnant women undergoing Cesarean section. METHODS: We enrolled 40 patients, American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-II, aged 22-40 years, undergoing Caesarean section under spinal anesthesia. Patients were randomly divided into two groups. In group I, patients were placed in a full flexed position, and 10 mg of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine was injected. In group II, the same dose of bupivacaine was injected when the hip and neck was straightened slowly. Following injection, the patients were immediately placed in supine position. The level of spinal anesthesia was checked by pinprick at 5, 10, 15, and 30 min after the subarachnoid injection. RESULTS: There was significant difference in the cerebrospinal fluid pressure between full-flexed position and non-full-flexed position. The spinal block height level was T3-T5 in both groups, and there was no significant difference in the spinal block height level in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: CSF pressures according to the degree of flexion in the lateral position during the subarachnoid injection have no significant correlation with the block level in spinal anesthesia for Cesarean section.
Aged ; Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, Spinal ; Bupivacaine ; Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure ; Cesarean Section ; Female ; Hip ; Humans ; Neck ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Supine Position