No abstract available.
Maxillary Sinus Neoplasms* ; Maxillary Sinus*

To assess the likelihood of procedural success in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease, 46 consecutive patients (male 34, female 12, mean age 60+/-9 years) umderwent single or multiple site angioplasty. The clinical diagnosis of unstable angina was in 20(44%), stable angina in 10 and acute or old myocardial infarction in 16. Coronary angiographic findings of 2 vessel disease was in 38(83%), triple vessel disease in 8. Left ventricular function was generally well preserved (mean ejection fraction 65+/-12%, range 30-82%) and mean 2.0 stenosis per patient angic, lasty had attempted. Single vessel angioplasty (SVA) was performed in 13 and multivessel angioplasty (MVA) in 33. Procedural success was achieved in 79(86%) out of total 92 stenoses. Sixty-six(88%) out of 75 stenoses in MVA and 13(76%) out of 17 stenoses in SVA had procedural success respectively. According to angiographic morphology of lesions, procedural success of type A stenoses was 17/17(100%), type B stenoses 57/66(86%) and type C stenoses was 5/9(33%). In 13 failures included inability to pass the guide wire cross the lesion in 7, inability to guide the griding catheter in 2 and inability to dilate lesions in 4. Before and after angioplasty, treadmill test (modified Bruce protocol)could be performed in 29 patients. Total duration of exercise and maximal double product improved significantly from 8.5+/-2.3 minute 5188+/-2403 to 12.2+1.3 min., 23,062+/-4111 respectively (p<0.001). 17 out of 24 patients who had positive treadmill test before angioplasty showed negative conversion after procedure. Complications included dissection in 29, prolongd chest pain in 5, acute closure in 3, cardiac tamponade in 1 and ventricular fibrillation due to side branch oclusion in 1. Thus, coronary angioplasty in selected paients with multivessel coronary artery disease might be useful and have relatively good immediate results, but the long-term efficacies with other forms of treatment must be evaluated prospectively.
Angina, Stable ; Angina, Unstable ; Angioplasty* ; Cardiac Tamponade ; Catheters ; Chest Pain ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Artery Disease* ; Coronary Vessels* ; Diagnosis ; Exercise Test ; Female ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Ventricular Fibrillation ; Ventricular Function, Left

PURPOSE: It is generally accepted that air pollution can cause acute respiratory diseases. This study assessed the relationship between air pollution and development of pediatric respiratory diseases in Inchon city. METHODS: We studied a number of pediatric patients who developed respiratory diseases such as bronchial asthma, bronchiolitis, URI, bronchitis and pneumonia and visited the Inha University Hospital emergency room from January to December 31 1997. We converted the data into an average per day that included meteorologic data of air pollution(such as CO, NO2, O3, SO2, and PM10) and weather data(such as atmospheric temperature, relative humidity) in three different places in Inchon city. We used a Poisson distribution, selecting a lowess statistics model. We also used the S-Plus statistics program. RESULTS: After several variables were controlled, we determined the relative risks between the incidence of pediatric respiratory diseases and air pollutants as CO=0.92, NO2=1.12, 03=1.21, SO2= 1.04, and PM10=1.00. The 95% confidence intervals were CO=0.88-0.19, NO2=1.05-1.14, O3=1.09- 1.28, SO2=1.07-1.31, and PM10=1.01-1.05. CONCLUSION: There was a significant association between the incidence of pediatric respiratory diseases and the level of air pollutants, especially NO2, O3, SO2, and PMio in Inchon city. More studies on air pollution and its effect on pediatric respiratory diseases are needed.
Air Pollutants ; Air Pollution* ; Asthma ; Bronchiolitis ; Bronchitis ; Child* ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Humans ; Incheon* ; Incidence ; Pneumonia ; Weather

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The therapeutic duration of variant angina is controversial. This study sought to determine the remission rates for coronary artery spasms, the factors associated with remission and the changes in spasm sites. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Fifty-eight patients were enrolled in the study. Initial, and follow-up, coronary angiographies (CAG), with ergonovine stimulation tests, were performed. Paired CAG were performed at a mean interval of 27+/-17 months. Medication was stopped 3 days prior to the follow-up CAG, and the occurrence of chest pain during these 3 days was studied. Coronary spasms were confirmed by follow-up CAG. Any changes, and the diameters, of spasm sites were analyzed on each paired CAG. RESULTS: The remission rate of coronary spasms was 24% (14 patients), when the smoking group (49 patients) stopped smoking (31 patients), the remission rate was 29% (9 patients). In the current smoking group (18 patients), the remission rate was 6% (1 patient, p=0.05). 31 patients had chest pains after stopping medication prior to their follow-up CAG. Of those patients, 1 patient had a remission (3%). Among another 27 patients with no chest pain, 13 patients had a remission (48%, p<0.001). In 28 out of 44 patients (64%, non-remission), fluctuations in spastic locations were observed at the follow-up CAG. The interval changes in the diameter of the spasm sites were not significant. CONCLUSION: The non-chest pain group showed higher remission rates, but lack of chest pain did not identify the loss of coronary spasm. Atherosclerosis at spasm sites did not progress, as confirmed by the paired CAG in our study.
Angina Pectoris, Variant ; Atherosclerosis ; Chest Pain ; Coronary Angiography* ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Coronary Vessels ; Ergonovine ; Follow-Up Studies* ; Humans ; Muscle Spasticity ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spasm*

PURPOSE: Kawasaki disease(KD) manifests a systemic vasculitis of unknown etiology in young children. Vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1(VCAM-1) and interleukin-1 beta(IL-1beta) may play important roles in the pathogenesis of KD. Intravenous immunoglobulin(IVIG) and methylprednisolone(MP) are therapeutically effective for KD, however, the precise mechanisms of the two drugs are still unknown. We investigated the therapeutic efficacy of IVIG and/or MP for KD in vitro. METHODS: Human umbilical vein endothelial cells(HUVEC) obtained from umbilical cords of healthy newborns were cultured. After HUVEC were treated with IL-1beta, the effect of IVIG and/or MP on the in vitro activation of HUVEC were assessed by cell proliferation and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction-detected expression of mRNA coding for VEGF, VCAM-1, and IL-1beta. RESULTS: IVIG and MP down-regulated the expression of VEGF mRNA induced by IL-1beta(P<0.05, respectively) significantly. The combination of both showed a synergistic effect on the expressions with a dose dependent manner of MP compared to the IVIG or MP alone respectively(P<0.05). IVIG and MP down-regulated the expression of VCAM-1 mRNA induced by IL-1beta(P<0.05, respectively). The combination of both showed a synergistic effect on the expressions with a dose dependent manner of MP(P<0.05). IVIG and MP down-regulated the expression of IL-1beta mRNA induced by IL-1beta(P<0.001, P<0.05, respectively). The combination of both showed a synergistic effect on the expressions with a dose dependent manner of MP(P<0.001). CONCLUSION: These results suggested that IVIG and MP are therapeutically effective for KD in vitro as well as in vivo.
Cell Adhesion ; Cell Proliferation ; Child ; Clinical Coding ; Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells ; Humans* ; Immunoglobulins, Intravenous ; Infant, Newborn ; Interleukin-1 ; Interleukin-1beta ; Methylprednisolone* ; Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome ; RNA, Messenger* ; Systemic Vasculitis ; Umbilical Cord ; Umbilical Veins* ; Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1* ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A*

OBJECTIVES: Septic shock is characterized by the circulatory failure including vasodilation, hyporeactivity to vasoconstrictor agents and organ ischemia in association with multiple organ failure and increased platelet aggregation and blood coagulation. In the present study, we investigated the preventive effects of N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME, 30mg/kg, i.p.), a non-selective nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, S-methylisothiourea sulfate (SMT, 5mg/kg, i.p.) and pentoxifylline (PTX,10mg/kg, i.p.) on the multiple organ dysfunction in a rat model of circulatory shock induced by bacterial endotoxin (E. coli lipopolysaccharide: LPS) and discussed the mechanism underlying the development of multiple organ failure. METHODS: The effect of each other N-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester(L-NAME, 30 mg/kg, i.p.), a non-selective nitric oxide synthase(NOS) inhibitor, S-methyli-sothiourea sulfate(SMT, 5mg/kg, i.p.) and pentoxifylline (PTX, 10mg/kg, i.p.) were comparatively evaluated following inducing circulatory shock by means of infusion of bacterial endotoxin to the rat model. RESULTS: 1) The systemic mean arterial blood pressure decreased by 48.7mmHg and vascular hyporeactivity to noradrenaline injection(1 g/kg, i.v.) upon intravenous administration of LPS. 2) Endotoxemia for 6hours resulted in little change in the numbers of white blood cells and neutrophils but a significant reduction in the numbers of platelets. The variables were not affected by the inhibitors. 3) Endotoxemia for 6hours caused a significant increase in serum nitric oxide level (P<0.01) which was inhibited by SMT, but not by L-NAME and PTX. 4) Upon injection of LPS, serum creatinine(0.65+/-0.08mg/dl) and urea(28.7+/-5.9mg/dl) were significantly elevated to 0.92+/-0.12 (P<0.05) and 54.3+/-2.1mg/dl (P< 0.01). These elevated levels were significantly attenuated by PTX but not by L-NAME and SMT. 5) Endotoxemia for 6 hours resulted in a significant increases in serum ALT(988.8+/-28.2 IU/L, P<0.01) and AST levels(1470.5+/-396.5 IU/L, P<0.01) from basal levels of ALT(67.8+/- 11.7IU/L) and AST(170.3+/-14.8IU/L). These increased activities were significantly attenuated by PTX, but not by L-NAME and SMT. The level of LDH(1279.8+/-156.2IU/L) was significantly increased by LPS treatment to 2932.0+/-519.9IU/L (P<0.05), which was inhibited by PTX. 6) Upon LPS treatment, the myeloperoxidase activity in the lung homogenate was significantly increased by LPS treatment (P<0.05), whereas that in the liver showed less change. The increased activity was reduced by PTX (P<0.05), but not by L-NAME and SMT. 7) The level of serum malondialdehyde, an index of lipid peroxidation by oxygen free radicals, was little influenced by LPS. CONCLUSION: Based on these results, it is summarized that PTX characteristically inhibited the development of multiple ogran dysfunction in a murine model of endotoxemia. Thus, it is concluded that the formation of TNF and increased activity of neutrophils may importantly contribute to the development of LPS-induced endotoxemia.
Administration, Intravenous ; Animals ; Arterial Pressure ; Blood Coagulation ; Endotoxemia ; Free Radicals ; Ischemia ; Leukocytes ; Lipid Peroxidation ; Liver ; Lung ; Malondialdehyde ; Models, Animal ; Multiple Organ Failure ; Neutrophils ; NG-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase ; Norepinephrine ; Oxygen ; Pentoxifylline* ; Peroxidase ; Platelet Aggregation ; Rats* ; Shock ; Shock, Septic ; Vasoconstrictor Agents ; Vasodilation

No abstract available.
Thorax*

Purpose: The safety and efficacy of minimally invasive techniques in congenital heart surgery were tested in this study. Materal and method: Between July 1997 and November 1997, a total of 46 children were underwent minimally invasive cardiac operations at Seoul National University Children's Hospital. Age and body weight of the patients averaged 34.6+/-41.8 (Range: 1~148) months and 14.5+/-9.9 (Range: 3.0~40.0) kg, respectively. Twenty eight patients were male. Preoperative surgical indications included 15 atrial septal defects, 25 ventricular septal defects, 1 foreign body in aorta, 3 partial atrioventricular septal defects, 1 total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (cardiac type), and 1 tetralogy of Fallot. After creating a small lower midline skin incision starting as down as possible from the sternal notch, a vertical midline sternotomy extended from xyphoid process to the level of the second intercostal space, where one of the T-, J-, I-or inverted C-shaped lower lying mini-sternotomy was completed with a creation of unilateral right or bilateral trap door sternal opening. A conventional direct aortic and bicaval cannulation was routine. RESULT: A mean length of skin incision was 6.1+/-1.0 (range: 4.0~9.0) cm. A mean distance between the suprasternal notch and the upper most point of the skin incision was 4.0+/-1.1 (range: 2.0~7.0) cm. Mean cardiopulmonary bypass time, aortic cross-clamp time, and the operation time were 62.9+/-20.0 (range: 28~147), 29.8+/-12.8 (range: 11~79), and 161.1+/-34.5 (range: 100-250) minutes. A mean total amount of postoperative blood transfusion was 71.0+/-68.1 (range: 0~267) cc. All patients were extubated mean 11.3+/-13.8 (range: 1~73) hours after operation. A mean total amount of analgesics used was 0.8+/-1.8 (range: 0~9) mg of morphine. The mean duration of stay in intensive care unit and hospital stay were 35.0+/-32.2 (range: 10~194) hours and 6.2+/-2.0 (range: 3~11) days. There were no wound complications and hospital deaths. CONCLUSION: This short-term experience disclosed that the minimally invasive technique can be feasibly applied in a selected group of congenital heart disease as well as is cosmetically more attractive approach.
Analgesics ; Aorta ; Blood Transfusion ; Body Weight ; Cardiopulmonary Bypass ; Catheterization ; Child* ; Deception ; Foreign Bodies ; Heart Defects, Congenital ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; Heart Septal Defects, Ventricular ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Morphine ; Seoul ; Skin ; Sternotomy ; Surgical Procedures, Minimally Invasive ; Tetralogy of Fallot ; Thoracic Surgery* ; Wounds and Injuries

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery spasm is an important mechanism in producing myocardial ischemia. But the exact mechanism of the spasm is not well known. We investigated the mutation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) that produce nitric oxide and relationship between eNOS mutation and coronary artery spasm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood were drawn from the patients with angiographically proven coronary artery spasm and normal controls. DNA were extracted and polymerase chain reaction and restriction analysis with Nae I were performed to find T-786-- Cholesterol ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Coronary Vessels* ; DNA ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Korea ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spasm* ; Triglycerides

BACKGROUND: Coronary artery spasm is an important mechanism in producing myocardial ischemia. But the exact mechanism of the spasm is not well known. We investigated the mutation of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) that produce nitric oxide and relationship between eNOS mutation and coronary artery spasm. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blood were drawn from the patients with angiographically proven coronary artery spasm and normal controls. DNA were extracted and polymerase chain reaction and restriction analysis with Nae I were performed to find T-786-- Cholesterol ; Chungcheongnam-do ; Coronary Vessels* ; DNA ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Korea ; Male ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Nitric Oxide ; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Prevalence ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spasm* ; Triglycerides