One hundred seven isolates of Staphylococcus aureus from bovine mastitis were investigated for colony morphology in serum-soft agar (SSA), autoagglutination in salt, and capsular serotype. Capsular polysaccharide (CP) was purified and quantified from the extracts of clinical isolates. Overall, 89 isolates (83.2%) were diffuse in the SSA, without any difference in the proportion of diffuse colony between type 5 and type 8 strains. Some strains exhibited compact colonies in the SSA and expressed CP as determined by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, indicating that compact morphology does not exclude encapsulation. The majority of the strains (11/12) showed autoagglutination in the salt aggregation test. The serotype 336 accounted for 46.7% of the isolates followed by serotype 5 (12.1%) and serotype 8 (12.1%). Particularly, twenty-six (24.3%) isolates reacted with two serotypes; 7 for type 8/336 and 19 for type 5/336. Five isolates (4.7%) were nontypeable with monoclonal antibodies specific for CP serotype 5, 8, or 336. The CP concentration in culture supernatants varied with the serotypes, and the total amount of CP produced by cells grown in a liquid medium was much less than that produced by cells grown on a solid medium. The Western blotting indicated that the CP bands of S. aureus serotype 5 and 8 were ranged in the molecular mass of 58-84 kilodalton (kDa), with additional bands in the region of approximately >or= 48 or Agglutination Tests ; Animals ; Bacterial Vaccines/administration & dosage ; Cattle ; Cattle Diseases/immunology/microbiology ; Female ; Mastitis, Bovine/*microbiology ; Polysaccharides, Bacterial/*classification/isolation & purification ; Serotyping/methods/veterinary ; Staphylococcal Infections/immunology/*veterinary ; Staphylococcus aureus/*classification/*immunology/isolation & purification

An interdigital pilonidal sinus is considered a rare occupational disease related to individuals with short hair. We describe a case of a 44-year-old man who presented with a tender nodule with a purulent discharge in the fourth interdigital web space of the left foot. The biopsy specimen showed a sinus tract surrounded by keratin and squamous epithelium, and the track contained acute and chronic inflammatory cells. The skin lesion was improved with occlusion of the fistula by using 100% bichloracetic acid. We herein report on a rare case of a interdigital pilonidal sinus in the foot, and this occurred with no relation to the patietn's occupation.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Epithelium ; Fistula ; Foot ; Hair ; Humans ; Keratins ; Occupational Diseases ; Occupations ; Pilonidal Sinus ; Skin ; Track and Field

Bee sting therapy is sometimes used for the treatment of chronic recalcitrant neuralgia and arthralgia and chronic eczema in traditional Korean herbal medicine. The stings of many insects are withdrawn after stinging. However, in certain cases, retained sting materials at the treatment site may induce granulomatous inflammation. A 76-year-old man presented with an erythematous plaque containing a central ulcer and granulation tissue after he had undergone bee sting therapy for a palpable subcutaneous nodule in the right axilla area and eczema on the back. The biopsy specimen showed a granulomatous response marked by histiocytes and giant cells surrounding foreign material. Histologic examination of the subcutaneous nodule in the right axilla showed mature fat cells consistent with a lipoma. Thus, we report a rare case of a foreign body granuloma with skin necrosis occurring after bee sting therapy.
Adipocytes ; Aged ; Arthralgia ; Axilla ; Bees ; Biopsy ; Bites and Stings ; Eczema ; Foreign Bodies ; Giant Cells ; Granulation Tissue ; Granuloma, Foreign-Body ; Herbal Medicine ; Histiocytes ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Insects ; Lipoma ; Necrosis ; Neuralgia ; Skin ; Ulcer

Acute infarcts of the anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) territory are unusual. Furthermore incomplete AICA infarcts are perplexing because of its variations of vascular anatomy and inconsistent clinical features. We present a case with clinical features of AICA infarction, which consist of ipsilateral peripheral-type facial palsy, vertigo, and contralateral facial and upper limb sensory changes without motor weakness. The patient had hypertension and was a current smoker. The high signal intensity on inferior pontine tegmental area was found on MRI and the R2 interneuronal dysfunction was note on Blink reflex. The angiographic findings didn't show any focal vascular lesions, which is contrary to the pathogenesis of AICA infarction published previously. On the clinical ground, the present case reserves to attention in that patients with peripheral-type facial palsy should be properly evaluated and with thorough neurological examination and we could differentiate between the incomplete AICA infarcts such as Gasperini syndrome and Bell's palsy.
Arteries ; Bell Palsy ; Blinking ; Facial Paralysis* ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Infarction ; Interneurons ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Neurologic Examination ; Upper Extremity ; Vertigo

KSLA published our first version of treatment guidelines for dyslipidemia in 1996, which was based on health examination data gathered by the National Health Insurance Corperation in 1994. A number of academic societies including the Korean Endocrine Society, the Korean Society of Cardiology, the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine, the Korean Society for Biochemistry and the Korean Nutrition Society participated in the development of this guideline. In 2003, the second version of our guidelines was published based on the Korean National Health and Nutrition Survey (KNHANES) data which was collected in 1998. In 2006, the second version was modified and expanded with using KNHANES data collected in 2005. This article summarizes the recommendations included in the expanded second version of treatment guidelines. The full version of treatment guidelines in Korean is available at the KSLA Homepage (http://www.lipid.or.kr).
Biochemistry ; Cardiology ; Dyslipidemias ; National Health Programs ; Nutrition Surveys

BACKGROUND: The clinical characteristics and significance of peritoneal fluid eosinophilia (PFE) in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) in Korea were uncertain. The present study was performed to clarify the clinical characteristics of PFE in our CAPD patients. METHODS: Between January 2000 and December 2001, we analyzed retrospectively the clinical data of 112 patients on CAPD at two renal centers. RESULTS: The mean period of the observation was 12.6+/-6.7 months, and the total number of peritoneal effluent sampling was 1, 024 (10.5/patient-year). PFE was found in 4.4% of patients. The incidence of PFE was 4.25 per 100 patients/year. Sixty percent of patients with PFE experienced within 2 weeks of initiation of dialysis. The duration of PFE episode varied from 1 to 4 days with the mean value of 2.8 days. All PFE episodes except one patient with abdominal pain treated by oral prednisolone had no symptoms and was spontaneously resolved. The only distinction between the patients with PFE and those without was concomitant peripheral blood eosinophilia (80.0% vs. 15.8%, p=0.0027). Other factors such as age, sex, primary renal disease, bacterial peritonitis, previous use of heparin or antibiotics, blood in peritoneal fluid, and allergic history were not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSION: The majority of PFE episode in CAPD patients developed within 2 weeks of initiation of dialysis and spontaneously resolved without treatment. Peripheral blood eosinophilia was a good predictor of PFE.
Abdominal Pain ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ascitic Fluid* ; Dialysis ; Eosinophilia* ; Heparin ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory* ; Peritonitis ; Prednisolone ; Retrospective Studies

Irreparable obstructive azoospermic patients can be treated successfully with microsurgical epididymal sperm aspiration(MESA) o. testicular sperm extraction (TESE) by intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI). Obstructive azoospermic patients generally have normal spermatogenesis. The aim of this study was to see if any spermatozoa could be retrieved from non-obstructive azoospermia and to assess the efficacy of ICSI with TESE in germinal failure. 42 non-obstructive azoospermic patients revealed no spermatozoa at all in their ejaculates, even after centrifuge. The histology of 42 patients revealed 15 Sertoli cell only Syndrome, 4 maturation arrest and 23 severe hypospermatogenesis. All patients underwent extensive multiple testicular biopsy for sperm retrieval. These patients were scheduled for ICSI using testicular spermatozoa. In 25 out of 42 non-obstructive azoospermic patients, spermatozoa were recovered from multiple testicular biopsy specimen and 11 ongoing pregnancies were achieved. There are usually some tiny foci of spermatogenesis which allow TESE with ICSI in non-obstructive azoospermia. Also these patients may have sufficient sperm in the testes for ICSI, despite extremely high FSH level and small testes.
Azoospermia* ; Biopsy ; Humans ; Male ; Oligospermia ; Pregnancy ; Sertoli Cell-Only Syndrome ; Sperm Injections, Intracytoplasmic ; Sperm Retrieval ; Spermatogenesis ; Spermatozoa ; Testis

No abstract available.
Abortion, Habitual* ; Female ; Immunization* ; Lymphocytes* ; Pregnancy

In surgical treatment of the malignant melanoma, radical resection and a sentinel lymph node biopsy are essential procedures to eradicate the tumor and to minimize the risk of local recurrence. For the reconstruction of skin defect after tumor resection, a skin graft has been generally performed procedure. However, if tendon or bone is exposed after tumor resection, simple skin graft is not enough for the coverage of the defect and additional procedure is mandatory. In this study, we reviewed the clinical results of 16 patients, who had been diagnosed with malignant melanoma of the limb and underwent surgical resection and reconstruction of the defect with various methods. The sentinel lymph node dissection was performed in all patients combined with radical excision of the tumor. In 11 cases of positive sentinel lymph nodes, further elective lymph node dissections were performed. The mean tumor invasion depth was 4.54 mm (2~10 mm), and AJCC stage II was most common (9 cases). The pedicled flaps were performed in 10 cases for the reconstruction of defects. All flaps were successfully survived without significant complications until the last follow up. In conclusion, a pedicled flap coverage is very useful reconstruction strategy for the soft tissue defects after radical resection of malignant melanoma.
Extremities ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymph Node Excision ; Lymph Nodes ; Melanoma ; Nitriles ; Pyrethrins ; Recurrence ; Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy ; Skin ; Surgical Flaps ; Tendons ; Transplants

Jejunogastric intussusception (JGI) is a rare complication of gastric surgery, with most cases occurring in the form of long-term complications following gastric surgeries. We present a case of JGI in a 74-year-old man who presented with progressive abdominal pain and distention, and was admitted to our hospital. The patient had undergone a totally laparoscopic distal gastrectomy with a Billroth II gastrojejunostomy 9 days previously. Computed tomography and endoscopic findings revealed the presence of a small bowel loop within the gastric lumen, which we failed to reduce in size. We performed an emergency laparoscopic exploration and immediate reduction of the JGI. The efferent and afferent loops were then fixed to the mesentery and the stomach. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient remained asymptomatic during the 1-year follow-up period.