Idiopathic intracranial hypertension, a syndrome of obscure origin, occurs particularly in fat adolescent girls and young women. The usual symptoms are headache, blurred vision, a vague dizziness, horizontal diplopia and transient visual obscurations etc., and ophthalmoscopic examination reveals papillederma, due to increased ICP. Visual field testing usually shows slight peripheral constrictions with enlargement of the blind sports. CSF pressure is elevated in the range of 250 to 450 mm of water. Radiological or the other laboratory tests show no specific abnormalities. Treatment for idiopathic intracranial hypertension is focused on early detection and prevention of vision loss, the only permanent morbidity. Many different modes of medical treatment, including weight reduction, repeated lumber puncture, corticosteroids, diuretics, glycerol or carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, have successfully been tried up to 90% of the patients. In the remaining patients, particularly in those with measurable impairment of vision that does not respond to conventinal medical therapies, surgical procedure should be considered. We report a case of idiopathic intracranial hypertension successfully treated with optic nerve sheath fenestration.
Adolescent ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Carbonic Anhydrase Inhibitors ; Constriction ; Diplopia ; Diuretics ; Dizziness ; Female ; Glycerol ; Headache ; Humans ; Optic Nerve* ; Pseudotumor Cerebri* ; Punctures ; Sports ; Visual Field Tests ; Water ; Weight Loss

Purpose: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Korean women and the number of cases is increasing. We have found various histopathological differences in breast cancer and are using this knowledge for treatment. Various factors may help determine the progression of cancer in patients. The expression of lymphovascular invasion, a pathologic factor, denotes a poor prognosis. We analyzed the characteristics of patients showing lymphatic invasion. Methods: Data from 606 patients with breast cancer who underwent surgery between 2006 and 2016 were collected. We analyzed various pathologic factors in patients with or without lymphatic invasion expression. Results: Mean age was 52.0±11.2 years (range 29-83 years) and mean follow-up duration was 57.3 months (range 3−125 months). Pathologically, breast cancer types were invasive ductal carcinoma (552, 91.2%), invasive lobular carcinoma (21, 3.4%), and other pathologies (33, 5.4%). Number of patients in stages I, II, III, and IV were 299 (49.3%), 223 (36.8%), 82 (13.7%), and 2 (0.02%), respectively. Immunohistochemistry revealed 396 (65.3%) estrogen receptor (ER)-positive cases, 287 (47.3%) progesterone receptor (PR)-positive cases, and 139 (22.9%) human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive cases. Seven patients had local recurrence and 41 patients had distant metastasis, which included 14 bone, 7 lung, 5 liver, and 15 multiple metastases. Seventeen patients showed lymphatic invasion, while 24 patients were without lymphatic invasion. Significant association was observed between T and N stages and lymphatic invasion (p<0.001). No significant correlation was observed between lymphatic invasion and ER (p=0.073), HER2 (p=0.553). However, there was a significant correlation between lymphatic invasion and PR (p=0.044). Overall survival and disease free survival rates were significantly worse in the presence of lymphatic invasion (p<0.01, 0.011, respectively). Conclusion Lymphatic invasion was associated with T and N stages, overall survival and disease free survival. More careful observation and treatment strategy is needed, especially in locally advanced breast cancer.

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the correlation between various clinical results, including recurrence in patients with breast cancer, and preoperative blood composition ratio and postoperative pathological results. Methods: A total of 444 patients who underwent surgery were included, and the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), monocyte-to-lymphocyte ratio (MLR), and postoperative pathological results were classified into postoperative cancer stages to confirm the association with various clinical results, including recurrence. Results: The median age of the patients was 51 years. The stages were divided into 1, 2, 3, and 4. Additionally, stages 1 and 2 comprised one group and stages 3 and 4 comprised another group. The cut-off values of the NLR, PLR, and MLR were confirmed to be 1.43, 158.84, and 0.21, respectively. It was noted that the association with recurrence was higher in the group with hormone receptor negative (p<0.001), higher stage (p<0.001), and underwent neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p<0.001). In the association with blood composition ratio and recurrence, survival was high in the PLR group with a high cut-off value (p=0.004). There was no significant relationship in the NLR and MLR groups. In the disease-free survival and overall-survival curves, only the PLR group showed a significant association of 0.003 and 0.001, respectively. The NLR and MLR groups did not show any significant result. Conclusion No significant association with recurrence and mortality was confirmed in the NLR and MLR groups. However, the preoperative blood test in the high PLR group showed recurrence and mortality rate were high.

PURPOSE: Hypothermia has been demonstrated to protect the brain from reperfusion injury in patients suffering from cardiac arrest. We hypothesized that infusion of normal saline at 4 degrees C into the carotid artery (hypothermic carotid arterial flush, HCAF) during cardiac arrest would achieve selective cerebral hypothermia during cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), without a detrimental effect on the rate of return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) or significant impairment of cardiopulmonary function after ROSC. METHODS: Ventricular fibrillation was induced in 18 dogs weighing 12~18 kg, and circulatory arrest was maintained for 9 minutes. The subjects were then resuscitated using open cardiac massage. Group I (n=6) received no normal saline, while the dogs of group II (n=6) and group III (n=6) received infusions of 15 ml/kg and 30 ml/kg of normal saline solution, respectively, at 4 degrees C into both carotid arteries (cephalad) via 18 gauge catheters. RESULTS: Tympanic temperature decreased from 37.7 (37.5~37.7) degrees C to 34 degrees C within 1.2 (1~2) min and 1.0 (1~2) min from the start of HCAF in groups II and III, respectively. Thereafter, tympanic temperatures were maintained below 34 degrees C to 7.7 (1.5~14.5) min and 21.2 (12~37) min, respectively, from the start of HCAF in groups II and III. There were no significant differences in CPR-related variables or post-ROSC hemodynamic and laboratory variables between the two groups. CONCLUSION: HCAF rapidly induces selective cerebral hypothermia without detrimental effects on the rate of ROSC or significant impairment of cardiopulmonary function after ROSC.
Animals ; Brain ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Carotid Arteries ; Catheters ; Dogs ; Heart Arrest* ; Heart Massage ; Hemodynamics ; Humans ; Hypothermia* ; Reperfusion Injury ; Sodium Chloride ; Ventricular Fibrillation

OBJECTIVE: The authors reviewed clinical and radiological outcomes in patients with three column injury of the cervical spine who had undergone posterior cervical fixation using Nitinol shape memory alloy loop in the anterior-posterior combined approach. MATERIALS: Nine patients were surgically treated with anterior cervical fusion using an iliac bone graft and dynamic plate-screw system, and the posterior cervical fixation using Nitinol shape memory loop (Davydov(TM)) at the same time. A retrospective review was performed. Clinical outcomes were assessed using the Frankel grading method. We reviewed the radiological parameters such as bony fusion rate, height of iliac bone graft strut, graft subsidence, cervical lordotic angle, and instrument related complication. RESULTS: Single-level fusion was performed in five patients, and two-level fusion in four. Solid bone fusion was presented in all cases after surgery. The mean height of graft strut was significantly decreased from 20.46+/-9.97 mm at immediate postoperative state to 18.87+/-8.60 mm at the final follow-up period (p<0.05). The mean cervical lordotic angle decreased from 13.83+/-11.84degrees to 11.37+/-6.03degrees at the immediate postoperative state but then, increased to 24.39+/-9.83degrees at the final follow-up period (p<0.05). There were no instrument related complications. CONCLUSION: We suggest that the posterior cervical fixation using Nitinol shape memory alloy loop may be a simple and useful method, and be one of treatment options in anterior-posterior combined approach for the patients with the three column injury of the cervical spine.
Alloys ; Follow-Up Studies ; Fracture Fixation ; Humans ; Memory ; Retrospective Studies ; Spine ; Transplants

Allopurinol is widely used to reduce serum uric acid levels and, generally, has mild side effects. Rarely, allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome occurs and this consists of severe systemic skin lesions, fever, reduced kidney and liver function, and leukocytosis with eosinophilia. Extremely rarely, allopurinol-induced pure red cell aplasia is reported. We report a case of allopurinol hypersensitivity syndrome and pure red cell aplasia following allopurinol therapy for eight weeks and the disease response to steroid therapy in a patient with chronic renal insufficiency.
Allopurinol ; Eosinophilia ; Fever ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity ; Kidney ; Leukocytosis ; Liver ; Red-Cell Aplasia, Pure ; Renal Insufficiency, Chronic ; Skin ; Uric Acid

Spontaneous dissection of the middle cerebral artery could result in thromboembolic stroke caused by the intramural hematoma. Dissection should be considered as a possible etiology in a young stroke patient, but it is not straightforward in an emergency situation. Moreover, the efficacy and safety of thrombolytic treatment in the acute stage are unknown. We applied intravenous and intra-arterial stent thrombectomy with the Solitaire device successfully in a patient with acute left middle cerebral artery occlusion due to spontaneous dissection.
Emergencies ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Infarction* ; Infarction, Middle Cerebral Artery ; Middle Cerebral Artery* ; Stents* ; Stroke ; Thrombectomy*

Spontaneous dissection of peripheral arteries unrelated to the aorta is rare. Cases reported in the literature have involved the renal arteries, the coronary arteries, the cerebral arteries, and visceral arteries, in order of incidence. There is no consensus yet on indications for medical or surgical therapeutic modality. As a consequence of the rarity of spontaneous dissection of peripheral arteries, its natural history has been poorly described. A healthy 37-year-old male with normotension was admitted with an acute onset of left flank pain. Physical examination turned out an unremarkable result. Right renal infarction and splenic infarction was diagnosed by abdominal computed tomography. A spiral CT angiogram and angiography showed dissection of main right renal artery and celiac artery with involvement of branches. One year later, he has remained well and normotensive without treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first case of spontaneous renal and celiac artery dissection in normotensive patient in Korea.
Adult ; Angiography ; Aorta ; Arteries ; Celiac Artery ; Cerebral Arteries ; Consensus ; Coronary Vessels ; Flank Pain ; Humans ; Incidence ; Infarction ; Male ; Natural History ; Physical Examination ; Renal Artery ; Splenic Infarction ; Tomography, Spiral Computed

The prognosis of oral malignant melanoma is poor compared with cutaneous melanoma. It may be related to the difficulty of wide enough resection, the early hematogenous matastases, higher stage at initial diagnosis, and tendency to growth vertically. In the view of histological differences between oral mucosa and skin, it is impossible use Clark's and Breslow's classifications for prognosis. The great problem is that there is still no consensus on the treatment due to rarity. Because data collection from case reports is considered to be the best source of information and should be pooled to analyze key determinants of outcome, We analysed 6 cases of primary malignant melanoma of the oral cavity which were diagnosed and treated in Pusan National University Hospital on recent 7 years and reviewed the literatures. Immunohistochemical study on S 100 Protein, GP 100 (HMB-45) with biopsy was usable to confirm the melanoma. Three patients who were treated by surgery, chemotherapy are alive, but a patients who couldn't received benefit care surgically due to poor condition was died of distant metastasis, and two patients who refused to surgery are still alive. Neck dissection including wide excision is recommended if lymph node involvement is suspected. Additionally, adjuvant chemotherapy could be considered as supporting therapy for malignant melanoma.
Biopsy ; Chemotherapy, Adjuvant ; Consensus ; Data Collection ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Melanoma ; Mouth ; Mouth Mucosa ; Neck Dissection ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prognosis ; S100 Proteins ; Skin

PURPOSE: To evaluate long-term changes in visual acuity, fundus findings and complications in X-linked juvenile retinoschisis. METHODS: A retrospective chart review was conducted on 48 patients diagnosed with X-linked juvenile retinoschisis and followed for a minimum of 12 months. RESULTS: Forty-eight males (mean age 5.7 years) were followed for a mean of 6.3 years. The mean visual acuities were 0.14 at the initial and most recent examinations without significant change (p=0.67). Macular abnormalities were seen in all eyes. Macular lesions varied as follows: decreased foveal reflex (12.5%), typical foveal schisis (77.1%), atrophic change (5.2%), and macula-involving peripheral schisis (5.2%). When patients had different macular findings, the mean visual acuities were significantly different among groups (p< or =0.005), except those between the atrophic change group and the macula-involving peripheral schisis group. Peripheral schisis was detected in 66% of patients. The fundus findings were stationary during the follow-up period except in complicated cases with vitreous hemorrhage (15.6%). CONCLUSIONS: X-linked juvenile retinoschisis causes bilateral visual acuity loss, affecting maculae. In uncomplicated cases, changes in visual acuity and fundus findings were not significant during the follow-up period.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Reflex ; Retinoschisis* ; Retrospective Studies ; Visual Acuity ; Vitreous Hemorrhage