Harlequin ichthyosis is a most severe form of lamellar ichthyosis, which is one of congenital ichthyosis, and X- linked inherited, very rare, fatal congenital dermatologic disorder. At second trimaster in utero, skin deformity is occurred. We experienced a case of Harlequin baby in female neonate who showed typical skin appearance at birth. The nose and were flattened. The chemosis and severe ectropion obscured the orbit, and her lips were everted. The all joints were flexed due to inelastic skin, and hands and feets were fixed and ischemic. Diagnosis was established by clinical features and histopathological studies. A brief review of literature was made.
Congenital Abnormalities ; Diagnosis ; Ectropion ; Female ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Ichthyosis ; Ichthyosis, Lamellar* ; Infant, Newborn ; Joints ; Lip ; Nose ; Orbit ; Parturition ; Skin

The incidence of fetal cardiac arrhythmia is approximately 1-3%. Sustatined fetal tachyarrhythmia may cause fetal hydrops and rnay lead to fetal death. We experienced a case of fetal atrial flutter without fetal hydrops at 34 weeks of gestation, which was diagnosed by fetal echocardiography. Transplacental fetal therapy with maternal digoxin administration resulted in restoration of normal fetal sinus rhythm. At birth, the infant showed normal electrocardiographic finding with normal Apgar scores.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Atrial Flutter* ; Digoxin ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography ; Fetal Death ; Fetal Therapies ; Humans ; Hydrops Fetalis ; Incidence ; Infant ; Mothers* ; Parturition ; Pregnancy ; Tachycardia

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate influence of cellular phone videos and games on dry eye syndrome in university students. METHODS: A randomized comparison group pre-post design is used. Sixty university students were randomly assigned to either a video or a game group. Frequencies of blinking, dry eye symptoms scores and amounts of tears were measured. Thirty subjects watched cellular phone video programmes and the other 30 subjects played cellular phone games for 61 minutes. In addition, frequencies of blinking were measured three times during treatment, once immediately after a treatment and twice at an interval of 20 minutes after subsequent treatments. RESULTS: Post-test scores of frequencies of blinking significantly decreased, dry eye symptoms scores including amounts of tears significantly increased greater than pre-test scores in both groups. But there were no significant differences between the groups. Frequencies of blinking were significantly different with respect to the time spent using cellular phone. In both groups, the lowest frequencies of blinking were shown after 40 minutes of cellular phone use. CONCLUSION: This study shows that using cellular phone has negative influence on dry eye syndrome and eyes require a resting period after cellular phone use over 40 minutes.
Blinking ; Cellular Phone* ; Dry Eye Syndromes* ; Humans ; Tears

BACKGROUND: TGF-beta1 is the main fibrogenic cytokine associated with human glomerulonephritis. TGF-beta1 levels were found to be significantly increased in the urine of patients with IgA nephropathy. However, urinary TGF-beta1 excretion has so far not been evaluated with respect to the risk of kidney disease progression. METHODS: In the current study, urine samples were taken for TGF-beta1 protein analysis from 37 patients diagnosed with IgA nephropathy on the day of renal biopsy, and patients were followed until either the date of serum creatinine doubling or until the end of the follow-up period. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 3.6 years (range, 0.4-6.2 years). Urinary TGF-beta1/creatinine ratios (TGF-beta1/Cr, pg/mg) were significantly higher in IgA nephropathy patients than in normal controls (10.7+/-1.92 versus 2.38+/-0.52). The area under the receiver-operating-characteristics curve was 0.78 (P<0.05, 95% confidence interval 0.61-0.90), indicating that urinary TGF-beta1/Cr is an excellent predictor of kidney disease progression. Univariate Cox regression analysis showed that urinary TGF-beta1/Cr was the most powerful predictor of serum creatinine doubling (p=0.0026, relative risk 1.09, 95% confidence interval 1.03-1.15). Furthermore, multivariate Cox regression analysis adjusted for other confounders revealed that urinary TGF-beta1/Cr was the only significant predictor of serum creatinine doubling. In contrast, serum TGF-beta1 levels were not found to be a risk factor of kidney disease progression. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide new evidence of a robust association between urinary TGF-beta1 and kidney disease progression in patients with IgA nephropathy.
Biopsy ; Creatinine ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glomerulonephritis ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA ; Humans ; Kidney Diseases* ; Kidney* ; Risk Factors ; Transforming Growth Factor beta1

BACKGROUND: Some of elective surgical procedures may be postponed or cancelled due to inadequate preoperative assessment and preparation. To minimize this problem, our preadmission anesthesia consultation clinic had been designed and managed at the outpatient department. The case referral pattern and efficacy of the clinic were evaluated for 1 year. METHODS: The study was done collected prospectively on 881 patients referred to the clinic from January to December 1997, 1 year. The age, sex, departmental distribution of consultation, ASA physical status of patients, the clinical department and reasons of consultation, and satisfaction of the patients or their parents were analized prospectively. The preoperative hospital stay periods before and after the opening of the clinic were compared. RESULTS: The sex ratio(M/F) were 6/4. Thirty-seven percent of the patients were under 10 years old and 11.8% were twenties. ENT(48.4%), ophthalmology(15.6%), general surgery(12.6%) were mainly referral departments. Reasons for consultation were related to chest X-ray abnormality(28.9% of the cases) and EKG abnormality(17.9%). The majority of consultation had pediatric(30%) and cardiologic problem(26%). URI(54.2%) and liver disease(12.6%) were major disease entities to postpone their surgery. In 2.7% of the patients, their admission or operation were postponed by the anesthesiologists in the clinic. Ninety-one percent of the patients were satisfied to visit the clinic. CONCLUSION: We conclude that reduction in preoperative hospital stay and shortening in delay of surgery are provided, and most patients are satisfied to the preadmission anesthesia consultation clinic.
Anesthesia* ; Child ; Electrocardiography ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Liver ; Outpatients ; Parents ; Prospective Studies ; Referral and Consultation ; Surgical Procedures, Elective ; Thorax

Purpose: In this study, we assessed the intake of nutrients and food groups and analyzed the nutrition quotient of obese children in South Korea. The hypothesis was that dietary quality and nutrient intake are related to the body mass index (BMI) of obese children. Methods: The participants included 48 children (20 boys and 28 girls). Based on the guidelines for the age-for-body mass index provided by the Korean National Growth Charts for children and adolescents, the participants were divided into 3 groups: overweight, BMI ≥ 85th percentile; obese, BMI ≥ 95th percentile; severely obese, BMI ≥ 99th percentile. Results: The energy distribution showed that the carbohydrate ratio was significantly higher in the overweight group (p < 0.01), whereas the fat ratio was significantly higher in the obese and severely obese groups (p < 0.05). Thus, in the overweight and obese groups, the percent body fat was negatively associated with the carbohydrate ratio (p < 0.05) but was positively associated with the fat ratio (p < 0.05). The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRI) data revealed that the intake levels of protein, vitamin B 1 , vitamin B 12 , and sodium were higher in all groups. Intakes of fiber, calcium, potassium, and magnesium were insufficient in all groups, and the DRI percent for protein was significantly higher in the obese and severely obese groups than in the overweight group. No significant differences were obtained in food group patterns or Nutrition Quotient (NQ) scores among the 3 groups. According to the evaluation results by food record and NQ, a significant difference was obtained in the dietary quality of obese children. Conclusion We conclude that a higher intake of fat enhances weight gain. Based on the study results, we propose that the guidelines should consider the energy distribution of carbohydrate and fat intake to prevent and control obesity among Korean children.

BACKGROUND: Osteopontin (Opn) is recognized as an important adhesive bone matrix protein and a key cytokine involved in immune cell recruitment and tissue repair and remolding. However, serum levels of osteopontin have not been evaluated in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate and compare the serum levels of osteopontin in patients experiencing COPD exacerbations and in patients with stable COPD. METHODS: Serum samples were obtained from 22 healthy control subjects, 18 stable COPD patients, and 15 COPD with exacerbation patients. Serum concentrations of osteopontin were measured by the ELISA method. RESULTS: Serum levels of osteopontin were higher in patients with acute exacerbation than with stable COPD and in healthy control subjects (62.4+/-51.9 ng/mL, 36.9+/-11.1 ng/mL, 30+/-11 ng/mL, test for trend p=0.003). In the patients with COPD exacerbation, the osteopontin levels when the patient was discharged from the hospital tended to decrease compared to those at admission (45+/-52.1 ng/mL, 62.4+/-51.9 ng/mL, p=0.160). Osteopontin levels significantly increased according to patient factors, including never-smoker, ex-smoker and current smoker (23+/-5.7 ng/mL, 35.5+/-17.6 ng/mL, 58.6+/-47.8 ng/mL, test for trend p=0.006). Also, osteopontin levels showed a significantly negative correlation with forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1%) predicted in healthy controls and stable COPD patients (r=-0.389; p=0.013). C-reactive protein (CRP) was positively correlated with osteopontin levels in patients with COPD exacerbation (r=0.775; p=0.002). CONCLUSION: The serum levels of osteopontin increased in patients with COPD exacerbation and tended to decrease after clinical improvement. These results suggest the possible role of osteopontin as a biomarker of acute exacerbation of COPD.
Adhesives ; Biomarkers ; Bone Matrix ; C-Reactive Protein ; Disease Progression ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Forced Expiratory Volume ; Humans ; Osteopontin ; Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive

Strongyloides stercoralis is an intestinal nematode that is a parasite to humans. The infecting filariform larvae of S. stercoralis enters the host body via the bloodstream, passes through the lungs, penetrates the alveoli, and then ascends the airway to transit down the esophagus into the small bowel. The infection can persist for decades without causing major symptoms and can elicit eosinophilia of varying magnitudes. Of note, this infection can also develop into a disseminated, often fatal, disease (hyperinfection) in patients receiving immunosuppressive corticosteroids. A 65-year-old man who was receiving corticosteroid therapy for the treatment of spinal stenosis was admitted to the emergency room with complaints of abdominal pain and severe dyspnea. We detected many S. stercoralis larvae in the sputum and in the bronchoalveolar-lavage sample collected by bronchoscopy. Here, we report a fatal case of strongyloidiasis with acute respiratory failure and intestinal perforation. In addition, we provide a brief review of the relevant medical literature.
Abdominal Pain ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Aged ; Bronchoscopy ; Dyspnea ; Emergencies ; Eosinophilia ; Esophagus ; Humans ; Immunosuppression ; Intestinal Perforation ; Larva ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Parasites ; Respiratory Insufficiency ; Spinal Stenosis ; Sputum ; Strongyloides stercoralis ; Strongyloidiasis

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate recently developed real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay kit to detect Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) and nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) in respiratory specimens. METHODS: We assessed the positive rate of the real-time PCR assay to detect MTB and NTM in 87 culture-positive specimens (37 sputum, 50 bronchial washing), which were performed real-time PCR by using Real-Q(TM) MTB&NTM Kit from January 2009 to June 2009, at Gyeongsang University Hospital. To compare the efficacy with the TB-PCR assay, we evaluated 63 culture-positive specimens (19 sputum, 44 bronchial washing) for MTB or NTM, which were performed TB-PCR by using ABSOLUTE(TM) MTB II PCR Kit from March 2008 to August 2008. RESULTS: Among 87 specimens tested using real-time PCR, MTB and NTM were cultured in 58 and 29, respectively. The positive rate of real-time PCR assay to detect MTB was 71% (22/31) and 92.6% (25/27) in AFB stain-negative and stain-positive specimens. For NTM, the positive rate of real-time PCR was 11.1% (2/18) and 72.7% (8/11) in AFB stain-negative and stain-positive specimens. Among 63 specimens performed using TB-PCR, MTB and NTM were cultured in 46 and 17, respectively. The positive rate of TB-PCR was 61.7% (21/34) and 100% (12/12) in AFB stain-negative and stain-positive specimens. TB-PCR was negative in all NTM-cultured 17 specimens. CONCLUSION: TB/NTM real-time PCR assay is useful to differentiate MTB and NTM in AFB stain-positive respiratory specimens and it is as effective in detecting MTB with TB-PCR.
Mycobacterium ; Mycobacterium tuberculosis ; Nontuberculous Mycobacteria ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Sputum

PURPOSE: A retrospective investigation of the clinical and radiologic features as well as the bronchoscopic appearance was carried out in patients with endobronchial aspergilloma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Ten patients with endobronchial aspergilloma diagnosed by bronchoscopy and histological examination were identified at the Gyeongsang University Hospital of Korea, from May 2003 to May 2009. RESULTS: The patients included 9 men and 1 woman, and the age of the patients ranged from 36 to 76 (median, 58 years). The associated diseases or conditions were: previous pulmonary tuberculosis in 7 patients, lung cancer in 2 patients, pulmonary resection in 1 patient, and foreign body of the bronchus in 1 patient. The chest radiologic finding showed fibrotic changes as a consequence of previous tuberculosis infection in 6 patients and a mass-like lesion in 2 patients. Two patients had a co-existing fungus ball, and an endobronchial lesion was suspected in only 2 patients on the CT scan. The bronchoscopic appearance was a whitish to yellow necrotic mass causing bronchial obstruction in 7 patients, foreign body with adjacent granulation tissue and whitish necrotic tissue in 1 patient, whitish necrotic tissue at an anastomosis site in 1 patient, and a protruding mass with whitish necrotic tissue in 1 patient. CONCLUSION: An endobronchial aspergilloma is a rare presentation of pulmonary aspergilosis and is usually incidentally found in immunocompetent patients with underlying lung disease. It usually appears as a necrotic mass causing bronchial obstruction on bronchoscopy and can be confirmed by biopsy.
Adult ; Aged ; Bronchi/pathology ; Bronchography ; Bronchoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pulmonary Aspergillosis/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies