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

BACKGROUND: Porokeratosis is a disorder of epidermal keratinization which is characterized by the presence of cornoid lamellae. Since the original description of the plaque form of Mibelli, various types of porokeratosis have been reported. OBJECTIVES: The purposes of this study were aimed at evaluating the clinical and biological features of porokeraosis. METHODS: The hospital charts and slides of 29 patients with porokeratosis were reviewed. Only the cases showing characteristic cornoid lamellae by histopathological examinations were included. RESULTS: Female patients outnumbered the male ones (M:F = 1:2.2). Ages of the onset of porokeratosis varied from infancy to 68 years. Disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis (DSAP) was the predominant type (22 cases). The Mibelli type was seen in 3 cases and the linear type in 4 cases. Only one case had a family history of porokeratosis. Two patients had complained of pruritus in the lesions, which were the DSAP and linear type, respectively. In that linear type, squamous cell carcinoma developed. Eight patients had other associated diseases. Although 6 patients were treated with CO₂ laser, topical isotretinoin or cryotherapy, the lesions tended to recur, persist or even progress. CONCLUSIONS: Porokeratosis showed various clinical features. DSAP was the predominant type. Two patients complained of itching of the lesions, which were the DSAP and linear types, respeciively. Within that linear type, squamous cell carcinoma developed. We speculate that pruritus might be an ominous sign of malignant transformation of the porokeratosis. We suggest that the Mibelli type and linear type of porokeratosis should be either excised or destroyed, or in widespread cases close follow-up should be mandatory.
Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cryotherapy ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Isotretinoin ; Male ; Porokeratosis* ; Pruritus

Epithelioid sarcoma is a rare distinctive malignant neoplasm of soft tissue with frequent recurrences and late metastases. It typically affects young adult males, and epithelioid sarcoma arising in the first decade of life is very rare. Epithelioid sarcoma may be confused with a wide range of benign, especially granulomatous, diseases and other malignancies, but the differentiation can be made, in general, by the characteristic clinical, histopathologic, and immunohistochemical features. We report herein a case of epithelioid sarcoma arising on the volar side of the right 5th finger in an 8-year-old boy. To our knowledge, this is the first report of epithelioid sarcoma in a Korean child.
Child* ; Fingers ; Humans ; Male ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence ; Sarcoma* ; Young Adult

Consideration of the nutritional status of patients with acute respiratory failure and mechanical ventilation is important for effective patient assessment and management. Patients with acute respiratory failure are at a high risk for developing malnutrition. High glucose intakes given during the administration of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) have been demonstrated to increase CO2 production. The workload imposed by the high CO2 production may precipitate respiratory distress in patients experiencing compromised pulmonary function. The authors report a case of successful weaning from mechanical ventilation in patient with post-operative ARDS by proper nutritional support and by changing the proportion of calories derived from carbohydrates and fats. Substitution of fat calories for carbohydrate in TNA solutions can reduce CO2 production and help wean patients from mechanical ventilation. Conclusively, the TNA (total nutrients admixture) system is more beneficial to patients with acute respiratory failure due to less CO2 production and surfactant production than TPN. For patients with hypercapnia, providing 25% to 30% of calories as carbohydrate and 50% to 55% of calories from fat may be beneficial.
Carbohydrates ; Fats ; Glucose ; Humans ; Hypercapnia ; Malnutrition ; Nutritional Status ; Nutritional Support* ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Respiration, Artificial ; Respiratory Insufficiency* ; Ventilator Weaning* ; Ventilators, Mechanical* ; Weaning

Four patients underwent lumbar surgery. In all four patients, the dura was minimally torn during the operation. However, none exhibited signs of postoperative cerebrospinal fluid leakage. In each case, a few days after the operation, the patient suddenly experienced severe recurring pain in the leg. Repeat magnetic resonance imaging showed transdural nerve rootlets entrapped in the intervertebral disc space. On exploration, ventral dural tears and transdural nerve rootlet entrapment were confirmed. Midline durotomy, herniated rootlet repositioning, and ventral dural tear repair were performed, and patients' symptoms improved after rootlet repositioning. Even with minimal dural tearing, nerve rootlets may become entrapped, resulting in severe recurring symptoms. Therefore, the dural tear must be identified and repaired during the first operation.
Diskectomy ; Humans ; Intervertebral Disc ; Laminectomy ; Leg ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The incidence of retropharyngeal abscess has been decreased with use of antibiotics, but it still causes critical complications such as airway obstruction, aspiration pneumonia, mediastinitis, or sepsis. For this reason, early diagnosis and proper management of retropharyngeal abscess should be undertaken as soon as possibile. The treatment includes maintaining airway, performing surgical drainage, and administering antibiotics; but there are no definite guidelines for treating patients with retropharyngeal abscess, nor a golden rule for the correct surgical approach. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: A retrospective analysis of patients with retropharyngeal abscess who were treated at the Chungbuk University Hospital from 1993 to 2003 was performed. We analized general symptoms, signs, causing factors, and causing bacteria. We also analized the treatment outcome and selected approaches from the surgically treated patients. RESULTS: The general symptoms of retropharyngeal abscess were sore throat, fever, dyspnea, with the most common cause being the upper airway infection. Bacteriologically, hemolytic streptococcus was the most common bacteria among aerobes and bacteroides was the most common bacteria among anaerobes. However, in most cases, both aerobe and anaerobes were cultured at the same time. Among 18 cases, 6 cases were treated conservatively with antibiotics and surgical interventions were performed in 12 cases, which included 11 cases of transoral and 1 case of transcervical approach. CONCLUSION: Retropharyngeal abscess can be treated with either conservative or surgical treatment according to initial abscess size. The abscess size which is greater than 3 cm is prefered to be treated surgically, and transoral approach is a useful way of dealing with less invasive procedure.
Abscess ; Airway Obstruction ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteria ; Bacteroides ; Chungcheongbuk-do ; Drainage ; Dyspnea ; Early Diagnosis ; Fever ; Humans ; Incidence ; Mediastinitis ; Pharyngitis ; Pneumonia, Aspiration ; Retropharyngeal Abscess* ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Streptococcus ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of various treatment modalities including pharmacotherapy, education-behavior therapy, and complementary alternative treatment for children with mental retardation (MR) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Korea. METHODS: The sample consisted of 50 parents who have children with MR (N=28) or ASD (N=22), 38 boys, 12 girls ; mean age 14.06 (4.14) years old. A questionnaire was composed of the experienced modality, duration, cost, satisfaction etc. RESULTS: According to the results, 56.0%, 100.0%, and 36.0% of children with MR or ASD have experienced pharmacological treatment, educational-behavioral therapy and complementary alternative medicine (CAM), respectively. Children who experienced education-behavioral therapy and CAM experienced 3.52 kinds of education-behavioral therapy and 2.78 kinds of CAM, respectively. Monthly cost of pharmacological treatment was lowest among three modality categories. Regarding treatment satisfaction by parental report, the lowest score was recorded fir CAM. CONCLUSION: Parents who have a child with MR or ASD are trying many treatment modalities and feeling the burden of their treatment.
Child ; Autism Spectrum Disorder* ; Complementary Therapies ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability* ; Korea ; Parents ; Surveys and Questionnaires

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate average working lengths of Korean posterior teeth and evaluate validity of endodontic file length. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The endodontic working length of the posterior teeth of 670 Korean patients were measured than each mean value and standard deviation were investigated than the frequency deviation and standard deviation per each length were calculated. RESULTS: Among the canals of premolar, 66.5% of canal length was marked under 20 mm by endodontic working length and 95.4% could be measured under 22 mm and Among the canals of molars, 95.5% of canal length was marked under 20 mm endodontic working length. CONCLUSIONS: With the result of measurement of endodontic working length of premolars of Korean, it suggested that 23 mm endodontic file is more proper than the 21 mm and 25 mm file on the market.
Bicuspid ; Humans ; Molar ; Tooth

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the shear bond strength between Ni-Cr alloy and composite resin using universal adhesive systems coMPared to conventional method using metal primers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For this study, a total of 120 cast commercial Ni-Cr alloy (Vera Bond 2V) disks were embedded in acrylic resin, and their surfaces were smoothed with silicon carbide papers and airborne-particle abrasion. Specimens of each metal were divided into 6 groups based on the combination of metal primers (Metal primer II, Alloy primer, Metal & Zirconia primer, MKZ primer) and universal adhesive systems (Single Bond Universal, All Bond Universal). All specimens were stored in distilled water at 37degrees C for 24 hours. Shear bond strength testing was performed with a universal testing machine at a cross head speed of 1 m/min. Data (MPa) were analyzed using one-way ANOVA and the post hoc Tukey's multiple comparison test (alpha=.05). RESULTS: There were significant differences between Single Bond Universal, All Bond Universal, Metal Primer II and Alloy Primer, MKZ Primer, Metal & Zirconia Primer (P<.001). CONCLUSION: Universal Adhesive system groups indicated high shear bond strength value bonded to Ni-Cr alloy than that of conventional system groups using primers except Metal Primer II. Within the limitations of this study, improvement of universal adhesive systems which can be applied to all types of restorations is recommended especially non-precious metal alloy. More research is needed to evaluate the effect of silane inclusion or exclusion in universal adhesive systems.
Adhesives ; Alloys* ; Head ; Water

Cytogenetic analysis of 4 cases of meningiomas from 3 male and 1 female patients is reported. One of male patients suffered from neurofibromatosis type 2. Histologically, the meningiomas were meningotheliomatous (1), transitional (2), and psammomatous (1). Chromosomal abnormalities were found in all cases with a karyotype 45,XY,-22, 45,XY,-16, 45,XX,-2, and 45,XY,t (15p;22q), respectively. Monosomy of chromosome 22 was detected only in the patient with neurofibromatosis type 2. These cytogenetic analysis demonstrates that variable clonal karyotype aberrations exist in meningiomas.
Adolescent ; Adult ; *Chromosome Aberrations ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Meningeal Neoplasms/*genetics ; Meningioma/*genetics ; Neurofibromatosis 2/genetics