BACKGROUND: Recently, there has been an increase in acute poisonings in the elderly, which may be associated with attempts at suicide. The purpose of this study was to compare and analyze the clinical aspects and outcomes of acute poisonings in aged individuals with those of younger individuals. METHODS: We performed a retrospective analysis of 207 patients seen in the emergency department (ED) with acute poisoning from January 2009 to December 2010. Two groups were created, >65 years and <65 years. The following were carefully compared-annual frequency, gender distribution, cause of poisoning, poisoning substance, motive for suicide, past psychiatric history, psychiatric interview, psychiatric diagnosis, disposition after ED visit, disposition after admission, poisoning severity score (PSS), duration of hospitalization, intensive care unit (ICU) admission rate, and mortality. RESULTS: The annual frequency was 0.1% in the >65 group and 0.3% in the <65 group, 0.4% in total. The cause of poisoning was accidental more often in those >65 years than in those <65 years. As motive for suicide, health problem was cited more often in the older group (p=0.000). The older group had fewer interviews with psychiatrists and were more often diagnosed with depressive disorder (p=0.010, p=0.041, respectively). PSS and mortality were higher in the older group (p=0.002, p=0.010, respectively). CONCLUSION: A better understanding for the cause of poisonings and the poisonous substance used in the aged population is needed. And because of the more serious effects of acute poisonings to the elderly patient, they should readily receive regular comprehensive care including psychiatric care.
Aged ; Depressive Disorder ; Emergencies ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Mental Disorders ; Psychiatry ; Retrospective Studies ; Suicide

BACKGROUND: Diabetic nephropathy is the most frequent complication in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). In clinical practice, the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) is often estimated from serum creatinine. Recently, serum cystatin C has been suggested being a better parameter for diagnosis of impaired renal function. We evaluated serum cystatin C as a potential new marker of GFR in diabetes patients. METHODS: Serum cystatin C and serum creatinine (sCr) were measured in 73 DM patients to evaluate their usefulness in diabetic patients. DM patients were divided into three groups (whole DM patients, albuminuric patients, and DM patients with sCr<1 mg/dL). Serum cystatin C and sCr were compared with creatinine clearance (CCr). RESULTS: The overall correlation coefficient for the reciprocal of serum cystatin C was superior to that of the reciprocal of serum creatinine in all three patient groups. With CCr cut-off values of 60 mL/min and 80 mL/min, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plotting demonstrated that serum cystatin C had a higher sensitivity and specificity for detecting decreased GFR than did serum creatinine in all three patient groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that serum cystatin C is superior to serum creatinine as a marker of GFR measured by correction or mean ROC-plot AUC in diabetic patients; therefore, serum cystatin C could be used for the early detection of the impairment of renal function.
Area Under Curve ; Creatinine ; Cystatin C* ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Diabetic Nephropathies ; Diagnosis ; Glomerular Filtration Rate ; Humans ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity

PURPOSE: To evaluate the classification of punctal stenosis based on the shape of the external punctum, clinical characteristics and histopathologic features. METHODS: Patients who experienced tearing and were diagnosed with punctal stenosis were evaluated in this study. Punctal stenosis was classified according to the shape of the lower external punctum, which included membranous type, slit type, horseshoe type, and pinpoint type. Tear meniscus height, 2% fluorescein dye disappearance test and lacrimal pathway irrigation were measured or performed. For treatment, a punctal snip operation and silicone tube placement were performed, and the peripunctal histopathological findings were evaluated. RESULTS: Punctal stenosis was classified into four types: membranous type (17 eyes, 21.5%), slit type (11 eyes, 13.9%), horseshoe type (25 eyes, 31.6%), and pinpoint type (26 eyes, 32.9%). The tear meniscus was significantly higher, and the 2% fluorescein dye disappeared significantly more slowly in the punctal stenosis group. However, correlation of the tear meniscus height and 2% fluorescein dye disappearance test with the punctum shape was not statistically significant. A history of previous chemotherapy was significantly associated with the occurrence of punctal stenosis, especially the membranous type (p < 0.05). Histopathologic evaluation of the punctum showed differences between the punctum types. Pinpoint puncta exhibited a high density of muscle fibers, while they were faintly visible in the membranous type. CONCLUSIONS: Acquired punctal stenosis has various shapes, and the major types of stenotic puncta exhibited unique histopathologic features. Punctal stenosis and its pathophysiology may be related to multiple factors, such as age and systemic 5-fluorouracil chemotherapy history.
Classification* ; Constriction, Pathologic* ; Drug Therapy ; Fluorescein ; Fluorouracil ; Humans ; Lacrimal Apparatus ; Lacrimal Apparatus Diseases* ; Silicon ; Silicones ; Tears

BACKGROUND: This study was investigated risk factors of abdominal aortic aneurysm that correlation with an aortic diameter and necessity of ultrasonographic screening program through ultrasonographic examination of the aorta, additionally investigated prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm. METHODS: We conducted a prospective study of an aorta-proximal part, middle part, distal part with using abdominal ultrasography with 246 subjects more than 65 years old who visited the emergency department of chuncheon sacred hospital without symptoms during the period March 2004-February 2005. Also, examined risk factors (age, sex, smoking, hypertension, vascular disease) and did comparative analysis of relation between an aortic diameter and risk factors. RESULTS: The abdominal aortic diameter of them was 2.08+/-0.37cm in proximal part, 1.78+/-0.31cm in middle part, 1.55+/-0.31cm in distal part. The difference between male and female group was regarded(proximal part 2.20+/-0.35cm vs 1.99+/-0.36cm, the middle part 1.88+/-0.30cm vs 1.69+/-0.31cm, distal part 1.66+/-0.30cm vs 1.48+/-0.29cm). The difference of diameter in distal part was regarded in comparison of young old man and old old man (1.58+/-0.31cm vs 1.91+/-0.27cm). The difference of middle and distal aortic diameter between a smoking and non-smoking group was regarded (1.88+/-0.31cm vs 1.74+/-0.31cm, 1.62+/-0.32cm vs 1.53+/-0.30cm). The difference of distal aortic diameter between a hypertensive and non-hypertensive group(1.58+/-0.36cm vs 1.54+/-0.28cm) and between the groups which had a vascular disease or not(1.78+/-0.36cm vs 1.54+/-0.30cm) was regarded. There was no abdominal aortic aneurysm among them. CONCLUSION: The diameter of distal part increased with more ages, in male, smoker, and person with hypertension and vascular disease. In this study, abdominal aortic aneurysm wasn't found.
Aged ; Aorta ; Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Female ; Gangwon-do ; Geriatrics ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Ultrasonography ; Vascular Diseases

BACKGROUND: Shoichi Kokubun introduced his successful experience with local anesthetic injection at the occipital insertion of the sternocleidomastoid muscle in K-point syndrome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term and long-term effectiveness of K-point injection and investigate factors affecting treatment results. METHODS: K-point injection was performed in 58 patients with K-point syndrome at Yeungnam University Medical Center. The syndrome was associated with cervical whiplash injury in 10 patients and was of nonspecific origin in the rest. One milliliter of 2% lidocaine mixed with 1 milliliter of dexamethasone was injected in 50 patients and 2 milliliters of 1% lidocaine alone in the rest. Initially, the severity of local tenderness at the K-point and other tender points was examined and the degree of immediate pain relief effect was assessed within 1 hour after injection. Early effect within 1 month after the injection and current effect were evaluated in 27 patients using a modified Kim's questionnaire with regard to the duration of improvement, degree of improvement in pain and daily living activities, and satisfaction. RESULTS: Of the total 58 patients, 44 (75.8%) apparently had immediate pain relief after K-point injection. The only factor associated with successful immediate pain relief was the whiplash injury associated with traffic accident (TA). The early pain control effect was associated with the immediate effect. The current effect was associated with the early effect alone. Satisfaction with the K-point injection was related to early successful pain relief. CONCLUSIONS: K-point injection would be useful for early pain relief in nonspecific neck pain syndrome so called K-point syndrome, but not for current pain relief. Especially, it was very effective for early pain control in the whiplash injury associated with TA.
Academic Medical Centers ; Accidents, Traffic ; Activities of Daily Living ; Dexamethasone ; Fibromyalgia ; Humans ; Lidocaine ; Neck Pain* ; Neck* ; Whiplash Injuries

A retinal prosthesis is being developed for the restoration of vision in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) and age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Determining optimal electrical stimulation parameters for the prosthesis is one of the most important elements for the development of a viable retinal prosthesis. Here, we investigated the effects of different charge-balanced biphasic pulses with regard to their effectiveness in evoking retinal ganglion cell (RGC) responses. Retinal degeneration (rd1) mice were used (n=17). From the ex-vivo retinal preparation, retinal patches were placed ganglion cell layer down onto an 8x8 multielectrode array (MEA) and RGC responses were recorded while applying electrical stimuli. For asymmetric pulses, 1st phase of the pulse is the same with symmetric pulse but the amplitude of 2nd phase of the pulse is less than 10 microA and charge balanced condition is satisfied by lengthening the duration of the pulse. For intensities (or duration) modulation, duration (or amplitude) of the pulse was fixed to 500 micros (30 microA), changing the intensities (or duration) from 2 to 60 microA (60 to 1000 micros). RGCs were classified as response-positive when PSTH showed multiple (3~4) peaks within 400 ms post stimulus and the number of spikes was at least 30% more than that for the immediate pre-stimulus 400 ms period. RGC responses were well modulated both with anodic and cathodic phase-1st biphasic pulses. Cathodic phase-1st pulses produced significantly better modulation of RGC activity than anodic phase-1st pulses regardless of symmetry of the pulse.
Animals ; Electric Stimulation ; Ganglion Cysts ; Humans ; Macular Degeneration ; Mice* ; Prostheses and Implants ; Retinal Degeneration* ; Retinal Ganglion Cells* ; Retinaldehyde ; Retinitis Pigmentosa ; Visual Prosthesis

Schwann cell, one of important components of peripheral nervous system, interact with neurons to mutually support the growth and replication of embryonal nerves and to maintain the different functions of adult nerves. The Ara-C, known as an antimitotic agent, have been used to have high effectiveness in eliminating fibroblasts during Schwann cell culture period. This enrichment effect is also known to be cummulative with each successive pulse of Ara-C applied and is due to a progressive loss of fibroblasts. But the cytotoxicity by Ara-C is also cummulative and noticeable over the period. To determine the most effective application time and interval of Ara-C in the Schwann cell culture, we observed the Schwann cell purity and density with the Ara-C treatment in plain and three-dimensional culture from dorsal root ganglion of new born rat. By culturing dispersed dorsal root ganglia, we can repeatedly generate homogenous Schwann cells, and cellular morphology and cell count with mean percentages were evaluated in the plain culture dishes and in the immunostainings of S-100 and GFAP in the three-dimensional culture. The Ara-C treated cultures showed a higher Schwann cell percentage (31.0%+/-8.09% in P4 group to 65.5%+/-24.08% in P2 group), compared with that obtained in the abscence of Ara-C (17.6%+/-6.03%) in the plain culture after 2 weeks. And in the three-dimensional culture, S-100 positive cells increased to 56.22%+/-0.67% and GFAP positive cells to 66.46%+/-1.83% in G2 group (p<0.05), higher yield than other groups with Ara-C application. Therefore, we concluded that the Ara-C treatment is effective for the proliferation of Schwann cells contrast to the fibroblasts in vitro culture, and the first application after 24 hours from cell harvesting and subsequent 2 pulse treatment (P2 group in plain culture and G2 group in three-dimensional culture) was more effective than other application protocols.
Adult ; Animals ; Cell Count ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cytarabine* ; Fibroblasts ; Ganglia, Spinal* ; Humans ; Neurons ; Peripheral Nervous System ; Rats* ; Schwann Cells ; Spinal Nerve Roots*

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate job stress, depression, insomnia, and fatigue of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) medical staff and analyze the differences according to their general characteristics. Methods: The study enrolled 98 workers at emergency medical institutions with COVID-19 treatment facilities located in Gangwon Province. An online survey was used to protect personal information. Data were analyzed using the statistical program SPSS version 28. The differences in job stress, depression, insomnia, and fatigue of COVID-19 medical staff were verified by t-test and analysis of variance. Results: Analyzing job stress revealed that the average of the lowest relationship conflict stress for each sub-factor was 2.22, the average stress for job demand was the highest at 3.78, and the average whole job stress was 3.04. Contrarily, the average for depression was 1.69, insomnia 2.96, and fatigue 3.07. No statistically significant differences were observed for job stress, depression, insomnia, and fatigue when considering the type of workplace, gender, and occupation of COVID-19 medical staff. However, statistically significant differences were obtained in some variables including age, family members, working period, COVID-19 confirmed, and COVID-19-related education experience. Conclusion In this study, differences in job-related stress, depression, insomnia, and fatigue were confirmed considering the general characteristics of COVID-19 medical staff. In particular, the results of this study are significant since the difference in perceived stress in performing COVID-19 tasks was identified through empirical analysis by considering sub-factors of job stress.