OBJECTIVE: To assess whether ultrasound detection of vault hematoma can be used as a predictor of post-operative morbidity following vaginal hysterectomy. METHODS: Prospective observational study of 418 consecutive cases of vaginal hysterectomy was performed between December 2000 and May 2001. The transvaginal sonographic examination of vaginal vault in the first postoperative week (3rd or 4th day) after vaginal hysterectomy was done. Routine observation and clinical assessments were made by established management protocol: febrile morbidity, hemoglobin drop, need for transfusion, length of stay in hospital. RESULTS: Of the 418 scaned patients, 103 (24.6%) had a vault hematoma. This group was compared with the 315 patients without hematoma. Significant increases in febrile morbidity (22.3% vs 7.6%), postoperative hemoglobin drop (2.39 g/dL vs 1.58 g/dL), need for blood transfusion (10.7% vs 1.3%) and length of hospital stay (8.6 days vs 6.2 days) were seen in the hematoma group. CONCLUSION: Ultrasound detection of vault hematoma following vaginal hysterectomy is a common finding associated with increased febrile morbidity, hemoglobin drop, need for blood transfusion and longer hospital stay. Transvaginal sonography may facilitate the diagnosis of posthysterectomy vault hematoma, which are not readily detected by pelvic examination.
Blood Transfusion ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Gynecological Examination ; Hematoma* ; Humans ; Hysterectomy, Vaginal* ; Length of Stay ; Observational Study ; Prospective Studies ; Ultrasonography*

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Colchicine is an established drug for microtubule stabilization that may reduce tissue injury. No data were available that its effects may depend on the dosage of colchicine. We investigated the anti-fibrotic and apoptotic effects of various dose of colchicine in a unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO) model. METHODS: Thirty-six Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned into six groups. Two sham groups were divided into a vehicle-treated or colchicine-treated group (100 μg/kg/day). Four UUO groups were treated with either vehicle or three different doses of colchicine for 7 days (30, 60, and 100 μg/kg/day, intraperitoneally). All of the animals were sacrificed on day 7. RESULTS: Colchicine treatment diminished acetylated α-tubulin and tumor growth factor-β immunoreactivities in the cortical area of the 7-day obstructed kidneys, which was in dose dependent manner. Colchicine attenuated tubulointerstitial damage and apoptosis in both cortical and medullary area, and beneficial effects of colchicine therapy were dramatically shown at the higher dosage of colchicine. The expression levels of cleaved caspase-3, ED-1, and fibronectin were decreased in UUO animals. CONCLUSIONS: We found that the proper dosage of colchicine may have anti-fibrotic and anti-apoptotic effects in obstructed kidneys. For clinical applications, an optimal dose of colchicine should be evaluated to maximize the prevention of renal disease progression.
Animals ; Apoptosis* ; Caspase 3 ; Colchicine* ; Disease Progression ; Fibronectins ; Fibrosis* ; Kidney* ; Microtubules ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Ureteral Obstruction

Kainic acid (KA) is a frequently used excitotoxin in experimental epilepsy research. The excitatory effect of KA leads to generalized convulsions when KA is administered systematically at convulsant doses. Nitric oxide (NO) is a gaseous messenger that plays a role in neurotransmission. NO is formed by NO synthase (NOS) from arginine. Purification and molecular cloning led to identification of at least three NOS isoforms designated as neuronal NOS (nNOS), endothelial NOS (eNOS) and inducible NOS (iNOS). In the central nervous system, NO seems to be involved in plasticity and cytotoxicity. Therefore, the present study has investigated the congruence of mRNA induction and protein expression of nNOS, eNOS, iNOS and neuropeptide Y (NPY) following KA-induced seizure activity. The patterns of NOS and NPY were studied by NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry, immunohistochemistry and RT-PCR in the rat brain. NADPH-d displayed a region-specific induction pattern. Regions of NADPH-d induction were the motor cortex and perirhinal cortex of KA treated group. Whereas NADPH-d neurons were not induced in auditory cortex, visual cortex, cingulate cortex, insular cortex, retrosplenial cortex and ectorhinal cortex of KA treated group. NPY neurons were not induced in all cortical areas of KA treated group. Subsequent to cortical neuronal induction, NADPH-d activity was increased in constitutive NADPH-d neurons of 1 and 3 days group of KA treatment. 1 and 3 days following KA administration, increased levels of nNOS, eNOS and iNOS mRNA were seen in the cerebral cortex. However, the level of NPY mRNA was decreased in 6 and 12 days after seizure. These findings demonstrate that mRNAs encoding for NOS isoforms are translated into the respective proteins following excitotoxic seizure.
Animals ; Arginine ; Auditory Cortex ; Brain ; Central Nervous System ; Cerebral Cortex* ; Cloning, Molecular ; Epilepsy* ; Gyrus Cinguli ; Immunohistochemistry ; Kainic Acid ; Motor Cortex ; Neurons* ; Neuropeptide Y* ; Neuropeptides* ; Neurotoxins ; Nitric Oxide Synthase* ; Nitric Oxide* ; Plastics ; Protein Isoforms ; Rats* ; RNA, Messenger ; Seizures ; Synaptic Transmission ; Visual Cortex

Objectives: Loneliness was associated with not only social status but also general health. Psychological conditions in older people have negative effects on general health and oral health. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between loneliness and subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP) for the questionnaire, UCLA loneliness scale data of 1,511 older adults living in a rural community. Logistic regression was conducted to identify the relevance of subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly according to the level of loneliness. Results: According to the final model that after adjustment for other risk factors (age, gender, level of education, smoking, drinking, etc.), in the elderly who rarely feel loneliness group compared to the elderly who never feel loneliness was Odds ratio (OR) 1.256 (95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.99-1.60) and sometimes+often feel loneliness was OR 2.110 (95% CI: 1.39-3.21). Conclusions Loneliness is associated with subjective chewing discomfort in the elderly. Older people feeling loneliness are likely to have more subjective chewing discomfort.

This study was intended to investigate the sodium-related perception, dietary behavior, and practicability of methods for reducing sodium intake(RSI) according to the stage of change in consumers. The survey was conducted to 770 housewives, among them 553 subjects who answered the key questions for the stage of change were categorized into ''aintenance (M)' stage (maintaining reduced salt intake for more than 6 months; n = 287, 51.90%), 'Action (A)' stage (maintaining reduced salt intake for less than 6 months; n=139, 25.14%), and 'Pre-Action (P)'stage (not starting reduced salt intake; n = 127, 22.97%). The subjects in M and A were significantly older than those in P (p < 0.01). The scores of desirable dietary habit and dietary balance were the highest in M followed by A and P. When eating out, the subjects in P considered 'price' more and 'healthiness of food' less than those in M and A did. Among the guidelines for RSI, 'Avoid Processed Foods', 'Eat enough vegetables and fruits' and 'Add little amount of dipping sauce for fried food' were selected as the three easiest items to perform. With regard to the sodium-related perception, the subjects in M considered eating-out food to be more salty than homemade dishes, read nutrition labels more, avoided table salt or dipping sauce for fried food more, and had 'own low-sodium recipe' than those in P (p < 0.001). It is suggested that practicability of actions for RSI and the stage of change should be considered to develop effective personalized education program and nutrition guidance.
Eating ; Food Habits ; Humans ; Sodium ; Sodium Chloride, Dietary ; Vegetables

Rapid growing mycobacterium grows in less than 7 days on most types of solid media including the Ogawa media. Ninety percent of human diseases caused by rapid growing mycobacterium are due to Mycobacterium abscessus, Mycobacterium chelonae and Mycobacterium fortuitum. We report an isolated case of wound infection due to M. abscessus following total knee replacement arthroplasty surgery. The patient has presented arthralgia and fever for 3 weeks. From the joint fluid aspirates, pale gram-positive beaded rods were found but cultures were negative after 24 hours. After 48 hours, microorganisms grew on blood agar plates as tiny pinpoint colonies and they had odor of freshly-turned soil. They gave a positive reaction in a partial acid fast, an acid-fast stain and a heat-stable catalase but gave a negative reaction to PCR for IS6110. They were identified as the M. chelonae group biochemically and confirmed as M. abscessus through PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism using restriction endonuclease, BstE II. Because rapid-growing mycobacterium can grow on a blood agar plate, an acid-fast stain should be selectively conducted in addition to a Gram stain in a microbiology laboratory.
Agar ; Arthralgia ; Arthroplasty ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee ; Catalase ; DNA Restriction Enzymes ; Fever ; Humans ; Joints ; Knee Joint* ; Knee* ; Mycobacterium chelonae ; Mycobacterium fortuitum ; Mycobacterium* ; Odors ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Soil ; Wound Infection

In immunocompromised renal transplant patients, aspergillosis can be a life-threatening opportunistic infection. Aspergillus is a ubiquitous organism in our environment, so pulmonary aspergillosis usually results from the ingrowths of the colonized Aspergillus in bronchial trees, pulmonary cysts or cavities. We have experienced a case of endobronchial aspergillosis developed in a renal transplant patient with neutropenia. Bronchoscopic biopsy revealed a necrotizing Aspergillus bronchitis in the orifice of the lateral segmental bronchus of left upper lobe. The patient received total 2,760 mg intravenous liposomal amphotericin B. There was no endobronchial lesion on follow up bronchoscopy and biopsy was also negative. This case serves as a reminder to clinicians that Aspergillus should be kept in mind as a possible infectious organism in renal transplant patients.
Amphotericin B ; Aspergillosis* ; Aspergillus ; Biopsy ; Bronchi ; Bronchitis ; Bronchoscopy ; Colon ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation ; Neutropenia ; Opportunistic Infections ; Pulmonary Aspergillosis

Metabolic acidosis, which is observed in salt-sensitive hypertension, is also associated with kidney injury. Alkali therapy in chronic renal failure (CRF) may ameliorate the progression of kidney disease; however, few studies have examined the effects of alkali therapy on salt sensitivity and kidney injury in CRF. We randomly administered standard diet (SD), sodium chloride with 20% casein diet (NACL), or sodium citrate with 20% casein diet (NACT) to Sprague-Dawley rats after a CRF or a sham operation. Four weeks after 5/6 nephrectomy, serum bicarbonate levels were higher in the NACT-treated group. On the pressure-natriuresis curve, NACT-treated CRF rats were more salt-resistant than NACL-treated CRF rats. Additionally, the NACT-treated CRF group showed less tubulointerstitial damage than the NACL-treated CRF group. The expression and immunoreactivity of NHE3 in the kidney in the NACT-treated CRF group were lower than those in the NACL-treated CRF group. We observed that dietary NACT as alkali therapy in CRF might improve the altered salt-sensitivity and ameliorate the progression of kidney injury compared to the NACL diet, which may be related to reduced renal NHE3 expression.
Acute Kidney Injury/diagnosis/*drug therapy/*physiopathology ; Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Citrates/*administration & dosage ; *Dietary Supplements ; Kidney Failure, Chronic/*diet therapy/*physiopathology ; Male ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Salt-Tolerance/*drug effects ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: To evaluate the clinical outcome and other relevant factors in cases where local intra-aterial thrombolysis (LIT) is used for the threatment of hyperacute ischemic stroke. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Forty-eight hyperacute ischemic stroke patients were treated by LIT, using urokinase, within six hours of ictus, and for evaluation of their neurological status, the National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) score was used. Angiographic recanalization was classified according to Mori recanalization grades. Three months after LIT, the outcome was assessed by clinical examination using the modified Rankin scale (good outcome: RS=0-3; poor outcome: RS=4-6). In all patients, the findings of pre- and post- LIT CT, and angiography, as well as neurological status and hemorrhagic complications, were also analysed. RESULTS: Thirty-three patients had occlusions of the middle cerebral artery (MCA), and 15, of the internal carotid artery (ICA). The NIHSS score averaged 16.9 at the onset of therapy and 13.5 at 24 hours later. Successful recanalization (Mori grade 3,4) was achieved in 28 (58.3%) of 48 patients, but in 20 (41.7%) the attempt failed. Twenty-two (45.8%) of the 48 patients had a good outcome, but in (54.2%) the outcome was poor. Thirteen (40.6%) of 32 patients with MCA occlusions and 13 (81.2%) of 16 with ICA occlusions had a poor outcome. Eight patients (16.7%) died. Overall, hemorrhages occured in 20 (41.7%) of 48 patients, with symptomatic hemorrhage in ten. Five (50%) of these ten died. CONCLUSION: LIT using urokinase for hyperacute ischemic stroke is feasible; patients with MCA occlusions had better outcomes than those with ICA occlusions. Hemorrhagic complications of LIT were frequent, and in cases of symptomatic hemorrhage a fatal outcome may be expected.
Angiography ; Carotid Artery, Internal ; Fatal Outcome ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Middle Cerebral Artery ; National Institutes of Health (U.S.) ; Stroke* ; Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator*

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the image quality, radiation dose, and intermodality agreement of cervical spine CT using spectral shaping at 140 kVp by a tin filter (Sn140-kVp) in comparison with those of conventional CT at 120 kVp. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients who had undergone cervical spine CT with Sn140-kVp (n = 58) and conventional 120 kVp (n = 49) were included. Qualitative image quality was analyzed using a 5-point Likert scale. Quantitative image quality was assessed by measuring the noise and attenuation within the central spinal canals at C3/4, C6/7, and C7/T1 levels. Radiation doses received by patients were estimated. The intermodality agreement for disc morphology between CT and MRI was assessed at C3/4, C5/6, C6/7, and C7/T1 levels in 75 patients who had undergone cervical spine MRI as well as CT. RESULTS: Qualitative image quality was significantly superior in Sn140-kVp scans than in the conventional scans (p < 0.001). At C7/T1 level, the noise was significantly lower and the decrease in attenuation was significantly less in Sn140-kVp scans, than in the conventional scans (p < 0.001). Radiation doses were significantly reduced in Sn140-kVp scans by 50% (effective dose: 1.0 ± 0.1 mSv vs. 2.0 ± 0.4 mSv; p < 0.001). Intermodality agreement in the lower cervical spine region tended to be better in Sn140-kVp acquisitions than in the conventional acquisitions. CONCLUSION: Cervical spine CT using Sn140-kVp improves image quality of the lower cervical region without increasing the radiation dose. Thus, this protocol can be helpful to overcome the artifacts in the lower cervical spine CT images.
Artifacts ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Multidetector Computed Tomography ; Noise ; Spinal Canal ; Spine ; Tin