OBJECTIVE: The patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) suffered by a lot of complications that influence the quality of life both physically and mentally. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology of patients with spinal cord injury in incidence of the complication according to the injury level and period. METHOD: Retrospective study was done in 554 patients with SCI who discharged from Yonsei University Medical Center from January, 1987 to December, 1996. We investigated the incidence of each complication such as respiratory, cardiovascular, genitourinary, musculoskeletal, and dermatologic complications according to the neurologic level and each period (1987~1991, 1992~1996). RESULTS: Among the 554 cases, urologic complication (40.3%) was the most common complication followed by dermatologic (39.0%), musculoskeletal (33.6%), cardiovascular (27.1%) and so on. The most common complications of each system were autonomic dysreflexia (13.2%) in cardiovascular, pneumonia (9.6%) in respiratory, contracture (27.8%) in musculoskeletal, urinary tract infection (34.3%) in urologic, hemorrhoid in gastrointestinal, and central pain (24.0%) in neurogenic complications. The most common site of pressure sore was sacral area (58.9%). There was no significant difference in each complication according to the injury period. CONCLUSION: Urologic complication was the most prevalent in patients with SCI followed by dermatologic, musculoskeletal and so on. These basic results would be helpful for prevention and management of the complication of SCI.
Academic Medical Centers ; Autonomic Dysreflexia ; Contracture ; Epidemiologic Studies* ; Epidemiology ; Hemorrhoids ; Humans ; Incidence ; Pneumonia ; Pressure Ulcer ; Quality of Life ; Retrospective Studies ; Spinal Cord Injuries* ; Spinal Cord* ; Urinary Tract Infections

OBJECTIVE: To find out the changes of the plantar pressure distribution of foot and the pathway of center of pressure (COP) in normal preschool children with age. METHOD: Thirty-eight normal children aged 1 to 6 were participated in this study. We divided into three groups according to the age. Foot contact area, pressure of the foot and pathway of COP were measured using F-scan in-shoe measuring system (Tekscan Inc.) during the gait. RESULTS: The ratio of midfoot contact width to forefoot contact width was decreased with age (p<0.05). And the relative pressure of the medial midfoot was decreased with age (p<0.05). In the analysis of COP, the ratio of anteroposterior length of COP to total contact length was significantly increased (p<0.05), and the ratio of mediolateral width of COP to forefoot contact width was tend to decrease. CONCLUSION: We can identify the characteristics and changes of the foot pressure distribution and the pathway of COP in preschool children with normal foot using F-scan system. These quantitative data of foot scan are useful for evaluating the foot pathology in preschool children during the gait.
Child ; Child, Preschool* ; Foot* ; Gait* ; Humans ; Pathology

BACKGROUND: Oculocutaneous albinism (OCA) is a genetic disorder of the melanin pigment system in which melanin synthesis is reduced or absent in the skin, hair, and eyes. OCA is classified into two major types, and tyrosinase-related OCA can be produced by mutations of the structural gene for tyrosinase enzyme (TYR gene). OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to analyze the segregation of mutant alleles of the TYR gene in tyrosinase-negative and tyrosinase-positive Korean OCA patients and families. METHODS: We amplified exon I, II, and III of the TYR gene of Korean OCA patients and their families by polymerase chain reactions (PCR), and analyzed the mutations by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis in exon I and single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) analyses in exon II and exon III. RESULTS: Two tyrosinase-negative cases showed mutations in exon I. Four tyrosinase-nega-tive cases and one tyrosinase-positive case showed mutations in exon II, and one tyrosinase-neg- ative case showed mutations in exon III. In summary, we found three kinds of mutation in four tyrosinase-negative OCA patients and one tyrsinase-positive OCA patient. CONCLUSIONS: RFLP and SSCP analysis can provide a basis for a rapid and sensitive screening system to detect TYR gene mutations of Korean OCA patients and their families.
Albinism, Oculocutaneous* ; Alleles ; Exons ; Hair ; Humans ; Korea* ; Mass Screening ; Melanins ; Monophenol Monooxygenase ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length ; Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational ; Skin

No abstract available.
Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract*

Although many methods have been developed to correct the aging process of the head and neck, the correction of nasolabial folds still remains a difficult area. The difficulty of correcting nasolabial fold is due to the anatomical location and the difference of aging process. From March 2000 to February 2001, the authors operated on 10 aging face patients using face lift with SMAS and FAME(Finger-assisted malar fat pad elevation) technique. The authors repositioned the SMAS-platysma flap posterosuperiorly and used finger dissection of the malar fat pad enabling a 3-dimensional correction and repositioning of the fat pad without detachment of the zygomatic ligament. The finger dissection of the malar fat pad attached to the skin enables a more anatomical correction of the malar fat pad with a more natural looking layer and longer lasting results in addition to decreased hematoma, edema and postoperative pain compared to previous methods.
Adipose Tissue ; Aging ; Edema ; Fingers ; Head ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Ligaments ; Nasolabial Fold ; Neck ; Pain, Postoperative ; Rhytidoplasty* ; Skin

BACKGROUND: We studied the antibiotic sensitivities to the causative microorganisms of acute simple urinary tract infection for recent 3 years. METHODS: We analyzed 112 microorganisms and their antibiotic sensitivities of the 104 patients who were admitted to or visited the Department of Urology, Catholic University St. Marys Hospital and had more than 10cfu/mL on urine culture from June 1996 to January 1999 retrospectively. RESULTS: The chance of gram negative and positive as causative microorganisms was 72.3% and 27.7% respectively. The most common pathogenic microorganisms were Escherichia coli (67.0%) followed by a-hemolytic streptococci, Entercoccus. In gram negative acute UTI, imipenem, sulperanzone showed relatively higher sensitivity, while cotrimoxazole, ampicillin showed relatively lower sensitivity. In gram positive, vancomycin, penicillin showed relatively higher sensitivity, while ampicillin, imipenem showed relatively lower sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: We consider that gram negative microorganisms, especially E. coli, is the main cause of acute simple UTI. But, we should be concerned about the increase of gram positive organisms and other gram negative organisms besides E. coli. Regarding to the choice of adequate drug in the treatment of UTI, it is necessary to consider the change of pathologic microorganisms.
Ampicillin ; Escherichia coli ; Humans ; Imipenem ; Penicillins ; Retrospective Studies ; Trimethoprim, Sulfamethoxazole Drug Combination ; Urinary Tract Infections* ; Urinary Tract* ; Urology ; Vancomycin

PURPOSE: To assess the correlation between retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness measured by optical coherence tomography (OCT, Cirrus HD-OCT®) and visual acuity in optic neuritis, ischemic optic neuropathy and traumatic optic neuropathy. METHODS: Thirty-eight patients were recruited. RNFL thickness and visual acuity in optic neuritis, ischemic optic neuropathy and traumatic optic neuropathy were measured at least 6 months after the event. The correlation between log MAR best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) and retinal nerve fiber thickness in each quadrant was analyzed. RESULTS: log MAR BCVA and RNFL thickness of each quadrant in optic neuropathy exhibited a statistically significant correlation. In optic neuritis, RNFL thickness of the superior quadrant was significantly thicker than in ischemic optic neuropathy and traumatic optic neuropathy (p = 0.009, 0.003). In addition, RNFL thickness of the inferior quadrant in optic neuritis was significantly thicker than in traumatic optic neuropathy (p = 0.012). CONCLUSIONS: There was a statistically significant correlation between log MAR BCVA and RNFL thickness by OCT in patients with optic neuropathies. The RNFL thickness may predict visual acuity after an optic neuropathy attack and help to differentiate malingering patients with impaired vision loss.
Humans ; Malingering ; Nerve Fibers* ; Optic Nerve Diseases* ; Optic Nerve Injuries ; Optic Neuritis ; Optic Neuropathy, Ischemic ; Retinaldehyde* ; Tomography, Optical Coherence ; Visual Acuity*

Purpose: To analyze the clinical features of delayed diagnosed acute angle-closure glaucoma (AACG) patients who were misdiagnosed with neurologic disease in an emergency room (ER). Methods: This study was conducted with a total of 77 patients (77 eyes) who had been diagnosed with AACG in the ER. Age, gender, laterality, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of the affected eye at the time of the ER visit and at an outpatient clinic follow-up examination, bilateral intraocular pressure (IOP) at time of visit, previous eye-disease history, previous history of ophthalmic surgery, underlying systemic disease including metabolic syndrome, previous neurologic disease history, referral source, chief complaint, past history of migraine, residence, and specialty of the initial doctor in charge of the ER were statistically analyzed. Results: Among the 77 patients, 34 received a delayed diagnosis and 43 were diagnosed in a timely manner. Higher cases of delayed diagnosis were observed in patients who had lower BCVA at the time of the ER visit (p = 0.001), nonophthalmologic referral source visiting the ER (p < 0.001), a chief complaint of extra-ocular symptoms (p < 0.001), and a non-ophthalmologist as the initial doctor in charge of the ER (p < 0.001). None of the other factors, including IOP, previous eye-disease history, previous ophthalmic surgery, underlying systemic disease including metabolic syndrome, previous neurologic disease history, past history of migraine, or residence showed any statistically significant intergroup difference. Conclusions Among the AACG patients visiting the ER, many were delayed in their diagnosis and thus required much attention afterwards. Careful examination and a detailed recording of a patient’s medical history by an ophthalmologist is important for accurate and timely diagnosis in the ER.

Purpose: To analyze the clinical features of delayed diagnosed acute angle-closure glaucoma (AACG) patients who were misdiagnosed with neurologic disease in an emergency room (ER). Methods: This study was conducted with a total of 77 patients (77 eyes) who had been diagnosed with AACG in the ER. Age, gender, laterality, best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) of the affected eye at the time of the ER visit and at an outpatient clinic follow-up examination, bilateral intraocular pressure (IOP) at time of visit, previous eye-disease history, previous history of ophthalmic surgery, underlying systemic disease including metabolic syndrome, previous neurologic disease history, referral source, chief complaint, past history of migraine, residence, and specialty of the initial doctor in charge of the ER were statistically analyzed. Results: Among the 77 patients, 34 received a delayed diagnosis and 43 were diagnosed in a timely manner. Higher cases of delayed diagnosis were observed in patients who had lower BCVA at the time of the ER visit (p = 0.001), nonophthalmologic referral source visiting the ER (p < 0.001), a chief complaint of extra-ocular symptoms (p < 0.001), and a non-ophthalmologist as the initial doctor in charge of the ER (p < 0.001). None of the other factors, including IOP, previous eye-disease history, previous ophthalmic surgery, underlying systemic disease including metabolic syndrome, previous neurologic disease history, past history of migraine, or residence showed any statistically significant intergroup difference. Conclusions Among the AACG patients visiting the ER, many were delayed in their diagnosis and thus required much attention afterwards. Careful examination and a detailed recording of a patient’s medical history by an ophthalmologist is important for accurate and timely diagnosis in the ER.

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability in ischemic survivors who are suffering from motor, cognitive, and memory impairment. Previously, we have reported suppressing LPA5 activity with its specific antagonist can attenuate acute brain injuries after ischemic stroke. However, it is unclear whether suppressing LPA5 activity can also attenuate chronic brain injuries after ischemic stroke. Here, we explored whether effects of LPA5 antagonist, TCLPA5, could persist a longer time after brain ischemic stroke using a mouse model challenged with tMCAO. TCLPA5 was administered to mice every day for 3 days, starting from the time immediately after reperfusion. TCLPA5 administration improved neurological function up to 21 days after tMCAO challenge. It also reduced brain tissue loss and cell apoptosis in mice at 21 days after tMCAO challenge. Such long-term neuroprotection of TCLPA5 was associated with enhanced neurogenesis and angiogenesis in post-ischemic brain, along with upregulated expression levels of vascular endothelial growth factor. Collectively, results of the current study indicates that suppressing LPA5 activity can provide long-term neuroprotection to mice with brain ischemic stroke.