There are many hypotheses of spinal instability after trauma and the concept had been recently changed from 2-column concept by Holdsworth to 3-column concept by Francis Denis & McAfee and also there are controversies about the operative management of the unstable thoracolumbar spine fractures and fracture-dislocations. So we tried to find some relationship between the spinal instability and the effect of the stabilization operation for the fractures and fracture-dislocations in the thoracolumbar spine in this study. Totally 53 cases that stabilization operation had been performed for the unstable fractures and fracture-dislocations of the thoracolumbar spine at Yonsei University Hospital, including Yongdong hospital, from March, 1973 to October, 1984 and followed up over 6 months, were reviewed. 1. Majority of the patients (84.9%) was in an active age group (20–49 years of his age) and more common in males. 2. The first lumbar vertebra was most commonly involved segment (43.3%) and falling from a height was the most common cause of injuries (50.9%). 3. Injuries to the anterior, middle and posterior column of the spine (58.5%) was the most common mechanism of injury according to the classification by Francis Denis and McAfee. 4. The wedged deformity of the involved segment over 50% was usual (71.7%) and mean wedged deformity was 57% of the height of the vertebral body and most commonly associated fractures besides the body itself was laminae fractures (46.5%). 5. Seventy eight percent of the angular deformity was corrected after Luque rod instrumentation and 76%, after Harrington rod instrumentation, 68%, after posterior wiring, 58%, after anterior decompression and anterior interbody fusion. 6. Forty twa point seven percent of the displacement in anteroposterior plain X-ray film and 58.8% in the lateral film were corrected by Luque rod instrumentation and 39.5% in anteroposterior film and 44.3% in the lateral film were corrected by Harrington rod instrumentation. 7. No significant differences in the recovery of the neurologic signs were found according to the method of surgical treatments. 8. So Luque rod or Harrington rod instrumentation is now recommended for obtaining the spinal stability as a method of surgical treatment in the unstable thoracolumbar spine fractures and fracture-dislocations.
Accidental Falls ; Classification ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Decompression ; Humans ; Male ; Methods ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Spine ; X-Ray Film

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to evaluate whether maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin(hCG) level measured during second trimester could be used as a predictor of pregnancy-induced hypertension. METHODS: Between March 1996 and November l997, 505 pregnant women undergoing second trimester(14-22 weeks of amenorrhea) triple marker screening for neural tube defect and Down syndrome who delivered at our institution were reviewed. All samples were assayed in the same laboratory and medical records were reviewed about medical and obstetrical history. RESULTS: Maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin level(multiples of the median, MoM) was significantly higher in the pregnancy-induced hypertension group than in the control group. With the use of 2. l multiples of the median as a cutoff value, the sensitivity of human chorionic gonadotropin as a screening marker for development of pregnancy-induced hypertension was 38.7%, the specificity was 95.9%, positive predictive value was 38.7% and negative predictive value was 95.9%. Conlusion: We suggest that second trimester maternal serum human chorionic gonadotropin levels can be used clinically as an early predictive marker for pregnancy-induced hypertension.
Chorion ; Chorionic Gonadotropin* ; Down Syndrome ; Female ; Humans ; Humans* ; Hypertension* ; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced ; Mass Screening ; Medical Records ; Neural Tube Defects ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second* ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Sensitivity and Specificity

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of critical thinking disposition (CT), nursing work environment (NWE), and clinical decision making ability among nurses. METHODS: A cross-sectional, descriptive study design was conducted on 192 nurses who had worked for more than six months in five general hospitals. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data, which included demographics, CT, NWE, and clinical decision making ability. RESULTS: The mean score of CT was 3.5. The highest score was on the objectivity of CT and the lowest on systematicity. The mean score of NWE was 2.3. The highest score was on the collegial nurse-physician relations of NWE and the lowest on the staffing and resource adequacy. The mean score of clinical decision making ability was 3.3. In hierarchical multiple regression, affecting factors on clinical decision making ability were CT and NWE. CONCLUSION: The findings showed that clinical decision making ability is associated with CT and NWE. To improve clinical decision making ability, it is important to improve CT. In addition, it should be considered to improve NWE where the nurses can make a decision with their job through critical thinking.
Clinical Decision-Making* ; Demography ; Hospitals, General ; Nursing* ; Physician-Nurse Relations ; Thinking*

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Somatoform Disorders*

OBJECTIVES: Outbreaks of pneumonia caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) occur every 3-4 years in Korea, most recently in 2011. The aim of our study was to determine the optimal time to perform indirect particle agglutination antibody assays to improve early diagnosis of MP pneumonia in children. METHODS: A database of 206 pediatric patients treated for pneumonia at the Hanyang University Hospital from June to October 2011 was analyzed retrospectively for demographic characteristics and laboratory test results. RESULTS: Among the 206 patients treated for pneumonia during the study period, there were 160 children (mean age, 5.44 years) diagnosed with MP pneumonia, who were studied further. The mean age of these MP pneumonia patients was 5.44 years. Antibody titers increased with increasing time between symptom onset and the collection of serum collection: MP titers were <1:640 for sera collected after 5.44 days and titers > or =1:640 for those collected after 8.58 days; P<0.001). Antibody titers were considered positive when they reached > or =1:640. In 42 MP pneumonia patients in whom there was a four-fold or greater increase in titer between successive serum samples, the optimal cut-off time-point for distinguishing between the initial and second titer groups was 7.5 days after the onset of symptoms (sensitivity, 90.5%; specificity, 92.9%). CONCLUSIONS: Negative MP antibody titers earlier than 8 days after the onset of symptoms in children with pneumonia may require repeating to confirm the diagnosis. This finding could optimize diagnosis and result in better therapeutic outcomes of MP pneumonia in children.
Agglutination ; Child ; Disease Outbreaks ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Korea ; Mycoplasma ; Mycoplasma pneumoniae ; Pneumonia ; Pneumonia, Mycoplasma ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Infant* ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract*

No abstract available.
Erythrocytes*

PURPOSE: To evaluate mammographic and sonographic breast parenchymal changes and the risk of breast cancer in women on hormonal replacement therapy (HRT). MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 50 patients examined with serial mammograms and/or ultrasonograms during HRT. The control group consisted of 50 patients examined with serial mammogram for a routine health check. Mammographic parenchymal changes in both the study and control groups and so- nographic findings of 27/50 patients in study group were evaluated. RESULTS: Follow-up mammogram of the control group showed no interval change or slight evolution of parenchyma with increasing age, but the study group showed increasing parenchymal densities. Most frequently encountered finding on SOhogram in 11 women treated by estrogen alone, was ductal dilatation (7cases ;64%), whereas in 16 women treated by estrogen and progesteron it was ductal epithelial hyperplasia (8 cases; 50%). Overall, four breast cancers developed;one infiltrating ductal carcinoma and three ductal carcinoma in situ. CONCLUSION: HRT causes the changes of breast parenchyma on mammogram and sonogram of postmenopausal women, and increases the risk of developing breast cancer. Therefore, careful and regular examination should be followed in those on postmenopausal HRT.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal ; Carcinoma, Intraductal, Noninfiltrating ; Dilatation ; Estrogens ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Ultrasonography

No abstract available.
9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene* ; Animals ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Estrogens* ; Rats*