OBJECTIVES: Because of the changing life style of Koreans, we have witnessed an increase of patients with back pain. The development of medical knowledge and technology has resulted in more numerous and better treatment methods. However, the outcomes of diverse treatments have been examined by using a few medicine-oriented measures like pain. This study aims at identifing the factors that influence the outcomes of back pain treatments by using two outcome measures (e.g., quality of life and pain). METHODS: We used the questionnaire survey method for data collection. The questionnaires contained 5 categories(treatment methods, clinical conditions, exercise, quality of life and, socio-demographic characteristics). We interviewed 188 back pain patients. We used the regression analysis method to predict the quality of life or pain. RESULTS: Surgery showed a statistically significant effect on the quality of life as well as pain. The illness period, age and exercise were turned out to be significant factors for both of the dependent variables. The social class and surgery methods showed a statistically significant effect solely on the quality of life. CONCLUSIONS: In choosing the surgical methods, doctors need to provide detailed explanations on the quality of life outcomes for each of the surgical methods to the patients.
Adult ; Back Pain/*psychology/therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Quality of Life ; Republic of Korea ; Treatment Outcome ; Young Adult

PURPOSE: Pilomatrixoma is a benign, usually asymptomatic tumor. It presents clinically as a solitary superficial subcutaneous nodule measuring between 0.5 cm and 5 cm in diameter on the head or upper extremeties and has not been reported after skin graft. The objective of this article is to report our experience in treating pilomatrixoma which occurred after split thickness skin graft on the lower extremity. METHODS: A 56-year-old female was treated in August 2005 with a 0.5 X 0.5 cm firm subcutaneous nodule at recipient site of split thickness skin graft on the left medial thigh. The tumor was successfully removed by complete excision and histologic examination was followed. RESULTS: The diagnosis was pilomatrixoma which was characterized by a dual population of proliferating basophilic cells and diagnostic shadow cells. CONCLUSION: The tumor was successfully treated by complete resection. The authors report this very rare case of pilomatrixoma which occurred at recipient site of split thickness skin graft.
Basophils ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Head ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Middle Aged ; Pilomatrixoma* ; Skin* ; Thigh ; Transplants*

No abstract available.
Agaricales* ; Morus*

Milk-Alkali syndrome can be caused by ingesting large amount of calcium and absorbable alkali. Coincident with promotion of calcium therapy for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women and secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with chronic renal failure, the Milk-Alkali syndrome is now a common cause of hypercalcemia. We experienced a case of a woman who had took calcium for hypoparathyroidism after thyroidectomy (and incidental parathyroidectomy) for thyroid papillary adenocarcinoma. Recently she ingested unusually large amount of calcium (10.8 g/day) for a week mistakenly. She presented voiding difficulty, anorexia and irritability with the triad of hypercalcemia, metabolic alkalosis and acute renal failure. All the metabolic abnormalities were normalized and renal function was improved with fluid and diuretic therapies.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Adenocarcinoma, Papillary ; Alkalies ; Alkalosis ; Anorexia ; Calcium Carbonate* ; Calcium* ; Female ; Humans ; Hypercalcemia* ; Hyperparathyroidism, Secondary ; Hypoparathyroidism ; Kidney Failure, Chronic ; Osteoporosis ; Thyroid Gland ; Thyroidectomy

Dicamba is 3, 6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid and classified as a chemically related chlorophenoxy herbicide. This herbicide has been widely used for control of broad-leaved weeds. The poisoning is uncommon and of low toxicity, but massive self-ingestion may be fatal. We experienced a case of dicamba poisoning with rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure in a 53-year-old male. This patient showed vomiting, confused mental status, and myotonia. Electrolyte abnormalities, rhabdomyolysis, and acute renal failure also developed together with fever, hepatotoxicity, pancreatic toxicity, hematologic abnormalities and cardiac ischemia. He was treated by 7 sessions of hemodialysis with supportive treatment and recovered.
Acute Kidney Injury* ; Dicamba* ; Fever ; Humans ; Ischemia ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myotonia ; Poisoning* ; Renal Dialysis* ; Rhabdomyolysis* ; Vomiting

6 patients underwnet CT-guided stereotactic biopsy or hematoma aspiration procedure for posterior fossa lesions. Trajectory for biopsy or aspiration was transcerebellar approach. The patients were placed under general endotracheal anesthesia and positioned prone or sitting. No complications were encountered in the postoperative period when this technique was used. Stereotaxic transcerebellar multiple biopsy can safely provide tissue conformation of the neoplastic nature of a posterior fossa lesion thought to be a tumor. In addition, hematoma aspiration has been demonstrated to be safe, reliable, and efficient.
Anesthesia ; Biopsy ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Postoperative Period

No abstract available.
Cyclic GMP* ; Cytomegalovirus* ; Gene Expression* ; Humans*

No abstract available.
Vascular Access Devices*

No abstract available.
Brain* ; Neoplasm Metastasis*

No abstract available.
Diabetic Ketoacidosis* ; Drug Therapy* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma* ; Remission Induction*