BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatitis C virus(HCV) was known to most common etiologic agent of chronic liver disease in United states and Japan. Although hepatitis B virus(HBV) was well known to be a its major etiologic agent in Korea, it has been showed that HCV and HBV are associated with liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma as major causative agent of chronic liver disease. Interferon alpha therapy is generally accepted as effective single agent for chronic hepatitis or to decrease the chronicity of acute hepatitis C. So, we evaluated the efficacy of interferon alpha in hepatitis C. METHODS: 46 patients who were positive for anti-HCV antibody and HCV RNA were included in this study. Liver biopsy was per formed on all patients and all of them were tested as negative for serum HBsAg, anti Hbe. Patients were divided into 2 groups . 30 patients received interferon therapy(treated group) and 16 patients received no therapy(untreated group). We compared the change of liver function test and HCV RNA before and after therapy between two groups. Treated group was subdivided into 5 groups according to response to interferon therapy '. Non-response, partial response, breakthrough, relapse and sustained response. RESULTS: 1) The mean age and sex distribution were 49.9 year old, male 19, female 11 in treated group and 48.7 years, male 12, female 4 in untreated group. 2) The number of patients with acute hepatitis, chronic persistent hepatitis, chronic active hepatitis and liver cirrhosis were 1, 2, 23, 4 in treated group and 0, 1, 12, 3 in untreated group, respectively. 3) The mean follow up period was 1.7 year and 2.3 years in treated and untreated group, respectively. 4) The activity of serum ALT before and after therapy were 195+ 134.6 IU/L, 87.4+ 40.5 IU/L and 186.7+ 106.4 IU/L, 157+ 87.1 IU/L in treated and untreated group, respectively. Serum ALT after therapy in treated group was significantly lower than untreated group(P<0.01). 5) The number of patients for patterns of reponse in treated group was non-response 5, partial response 8, breakthrough 1, relapse 4, sustained response 12 and there was no difference in age among them(P>0.05). 6) The case of negative conversion for HCV RNA in treated group was 12, but there was no case in untreated group. 7) Sex distribution of sustained response was 6(31% ) of 19 male, 6(54.5%) of 11 female and 12 patients(40.0%)(1 of 1 patients with acute hepatitis, 1 of 2 chronic persistent hepatitis, 10 of 23 chronic active heaptitis) included in sustained reponse, but any patients with liver cirrhosis had response. 8) Mean total dose and duration of interferon therapy was non-response 10353.6 million unit(MU)/5.8month(M), partial response 20025.06MU/6.4 M, breakthrough 36000.0MU/5.0M, relapse 11700.0MU/3.3M, sustained response 28100.0MU/6.6M, respectively. 9) 3 of 7 patients who were followed up over 1 year in sustained response and mean time to the relapse was 2.2 years. CONCLUSION: Our results showed that interferon alpha therapy is effective in patients with hepatitis C and further study and attempts should be performed to augument the efficacy of interferon alpha for the treatment of hepatitis C.
Biopsy ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hepatitis B ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Hepatitis C* ; Hepatitis* ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; Interferon-alpha* ; Interferons* ; Japan ; Korea ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Function Tests ; Male ; Recurrence ; RNA ; Sex Distribution ; United States

No abstract available.
Stents* ; Trachea*

CT is a highly accurate method of detecting and clarifying the narure of space-occupying lesions within theliver nd pancreatic disease. It was found to be a reliable, non invasive method for detecting the lesion. A normalrange of attenuation values were obtained from 71 CT examinations of the upper abdomen, that is liver, spleen,pancreas, aorta, before and after contrast enhancement in whom no radiologic or laboratory abnormality of theseorgans were detected from March to Sept. 1983. The results were as follows; 1. The age distribution was from 28years to 71 years. The sex ratio was 45 male to 26 female. 2. Mean Hounsfield Units (HU) in liver before contrastenhancement and after contrast enhancement liminute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes were 56.1±3.85, 75.0±4.77,82.0±3.71, 84.3±2.76 and 88.2±3.95 HU respectively. 3. Mean Hounsfield Units in pancreas before contrastenhancement and after contrast enhancement 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes, 10 minutes were 43.0±4.30, 66.5±4.27,71.2±2.39, 74.4±3.00 and 79.2±2.(0 HU respectively. 4. Mean Hounsfield Units in spleen before contrastenhancement and after contrast enhancement 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes 10 minutes were 53.0±4.31, 71.4±2.84,75.3±2.70, 80.5±3.04 and 83.2±2.14 HU respectively. 5. Mean Housfield Units in aorta before contrastenhancement and after contrast enhancement 1 minute, 3 minutes, 5 minutes 10 minutes were 45.1±5.39, 86.7±6.86,92.5±5.33, 106.8±4.12 and 114.1±5.02 HU respectively. 6. The most significant finding was that the livernormaly had the highest attenuation values of any of the organs measured. When another viscera in upper abdomenhad a attenuation value greater than that of the liver, this reflected abnormal lesions.
Abdomen ; Age Distribution ; Aorta ; Female ; Humans ; Liver ; Male ; Methods ; Pancreas ; Pancreatic Diseases ; Sex Ratio ; Spleen ; Viscera

Contemporary cementing techniques improved the longevity of the cemented total hip replacement. The mechanical strength of acrylic bone cement can be changed by different handling techniques with reduction of the porosity of acrylic bone cement. The greatest improvement of the mechanical properties with reducing the porosity is that of the fatigue strength. We investigated the mechanical properties of the specimens of high viscosity, Palacos R(Merk, Darmstadt, FRG) bone cement with two mixing methods, hand and vacuum mixing. Vacuum mixing improved the ultimate tensile strength by 22.4% compared to hand mixing in previous study. For the uniaxial tension fatigue test, the specimens were cyclically loaded at a maximum stress of 25 MPa at a frequency of 2.5 Hz and to investigate the porosity, scanning electromicroscopic examination was taken in each hand mixed and vacuum mixed specimens. Scanning electromicrogram showed the vacuum mixed specimens to be the more uniform and free of small voids compared with the hand mixed specimens. The results of the fatigue test were analized using Weibull distribution of survival probability, the average number of cycles to failure was 1459±924 cycles in hand mixed specimens, in vacuum mixed specimens, 21491±14956 cycles. The average fatigue life of the vacuum mixed specimens was 15 times loanger than that of the hand mixed specimens by Weibull mean, this differene exists stastically within 95% confidence interval. We could suggest vacuum mixing technique as a method eliminating porosity in a chilled acrylic bone cement and thereby markedly improving the mechanical properties. In cemented joint replacement surgery, a vacuum mixing technique are recommended as a method of preparation of acrylic bone cement
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip ; Clothing ; Fatigue ; Hand ; Joints ; Longevity ; Methods ; Polymethyl Methacrylate ; Porosity ; Tensile Strength ; Vacuum ; Viscosity

No abstract available.
Hemoptysis*

No abstract available.
Bone Regeneration* ; Bone Substitutes*

Septal extension graft is a frequently used technique for correction of the contracted short nose, in which septal cartilage is a first choice for the graft. However, we sometimes encounter situations where septal cartilage is not available. Autogenous rib cartilage can be a good option, but some female patients fear of a bigger operation and do not want a scar around the breast. In such cases, irradiated homologous costal cartilage can be a useful alternative. 38 cases of contracted short nose deformities were treated using the septal extension graft with homologous costal cartilage (34 cases with Tutoplast(R)-processed cartilage, 4 cases with Allowash(R)-processed cartilage). Follow-up period ranged from 2 months to 32 months. Good aesthetic and functional results were obtained. Neither infection nor unfavorable results were found. There was no graft warping, except two cases of graft avulsion fracture and one case of minimal nasal obstruction. There was no definite evidence of greater graft resorption compared to the autogenous rib. Homologous costal cartilage can be a safe and reliable material for rhinoplasty, especially in the absence of available autogenous cartilage sources.
Breast ; Cartilage ; Cicatrix ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Contracts ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Nasal Obstruction ; Nose ; Nose Deformities, Acquired ; Rhinoplasty ; Ribs ; Transplantation, Homologous ; Transplants

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to compare the rehabilitation nursing services what nurses recognize to be important and what they do in practice of the industrial workers. METHOD: The subjects were 150 nurses who were working at the industrial hospital. The questionnaire was made up with 43 items about the perception on importance and performance of rehabilitation services. RESULT: The highest services in the perception on importance and performance subscale were physical and therapeutic services. The highest difference between perception on importance and performance was the social and occupational services. The perception on importance of rehabilitation services had positive correlation with performance. The group take care of general patients had a higher level of perception on importance than the other group, and level of performance had significant difference with age and position. CONCLUSION: We need to develop the strategy for promoting the performance of services that recognize it will be important services, but not to do. Further study on system for promoting the nurse practitioner who responsible for rehabilitation nursing.
Humans ; Nurse Practitioners ; Occupational Health ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Rehabilitation Nursing

The goal of fracture treatment is to restore the patient to pre-injury function level. But the outcome assessment after orthopedic interventions has usually focused on physician-defined parameters of technical success, such as fracture union, alignment and range of motion rather than patient function and quality of life. However, the correlation among improvements in these parameters and functional status, psychosocial well being is inconsistent and weak in the elderly. Therefore authors assessed the functional status after surgical intervention of hip fractures in the elderly with functional recovery score(FRS). Independence in basic activities of daily living, in instrumental activities of daily living, in mobility, freedom from pain and intact memory were assessed in 133 hip fractures in the elderly. The hip fractures in the elderly resulted in 24.8% loss of function after the first year. The older the age, the more the loss of function after surgery of hip fractures. The more functional loss was observed in female patients and in patients with poor postoperative radiological results, but statistically insignificant (P>0.05). The more functional loss was observed in patients with underlying medical disease preoperatively and it was statistically significant (P<0.05). We recommend the evaluation of functional status in the elderly after hip fractures.
Activities of Daily Living ; Aged* ; Female ; Freedom ; Hip Fractures* ; Hip* ; Humans ; Memory ; Orthopedics ; Quality of Life ; Range of Motion, Articular

The CT digital radiography is a new accurate technique for measuring the long bone length. Authors performed acomparative study on accuracy, time and film consumption and radiation dose between conventional spot scanogramand CT scanogram. We used two femur and two tibia specimen for materials, the Somatom II(Siemens) for CTscanogram, and Rad Check(Voctoreen) for radiation dosimetery. There was no significant difference in accuracybetween direct measurement, conventional scanogram and CT scanogram(lesser than 1% difference). The examinationtime of conventional scanogram was about 35 minutes, CT was 15 minutes, and the film consumption of spot scanogramwas 3 of 14x17'' size, but the CT scanogram need only one 8x10'' film for completion of study. The radiation doseof hip, knee and ankle joint were 220 mRad, 365 mRad, respectively, in spot scanogram, but it was lesser than 5mRad in all joints in CT scanogram. The advantages of the CT scanogram are simple, rapid and reduced radiation.
Ankle Joint ; Femur ; Hip ; Joints ; Knee ; Radiographic Image Enhancement ; Tibia