BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy & safety of a new HMG-CoA reductase inhibitor, atorvastatin, to improve serum lipid profiles in patients with primary hypercholesterolemia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three hundred and six patients from 21 hospitals, all with total cholesterol level over 240 mg/dl and triglyceride level below 400 mg/dl were enrolled in the study. Following diet therapy for 2 weeks, atorvastatin 10 mg was taken for 6 weeks if the total cholesterol level remained higher than 240 mg/dl. The percent change of total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol from baseline to 6 weeks of treatment were evaluated. Patients were monitored for safety through careful history talking, physical examination, serum sampling for liver and muscle enzyme. RESULTS: 1) The study was completed in a total of 166 patients. The mean age of patients the was 58 1/2 years and the percent of male and female patients was 37%, 37% and 63%, respectively. 2) The baseline mean values of total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol following diet therapy for 2 weeks were 280+/-34 mg/dl, 172+/-77 mg/dl, 190+/-35 mg/dl, 56+/-13 mg/dl, respectively. 3) After 6 weeks treatment, the level of total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDL-cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol were 195+/-34 mg/d, 150+/-67 mg/dl, 110+/-33 mg/dl, 55+/-12 mg/dl, respectively, and the rates of change were -30%, -7%, -42%, -0.2%, respectively. 4) The level of LDL-cholesterol at the end of treatment was below 100 mg/dl in 44%, 100-130 mg/dl in 33%, 130-160 mg/dl in 14%, over 160 mg/dl in 9% of patients. 5) 77% of total patients achieved the target goal of LDL cholesterol (below 130 mg/dl) according to the NCEP guideline. 6) The reduction rate of LDL-cholesterol was different among the patients. At the end of treatment, the patients with initial LDL-cholesterol below 100 mg/dl achieved a higher reduction rate (52%) as compared with those patient's inithal LDL-cholesterol level were higher. 7) There are was only 1 patient (0.6%) who showed 3 times a three-fold increase of liver enzyme and no patient showed an increase of creatine kinase. CONCLUSION: Atorvastatin is effective and safe in improving the lipid profiles in of patients with hypercholesterolemia without serious side effects. (Korean Circulation J 2001;31 (4):434-441)
Cholesterol ; Cholesterol, LDL ; Creatine Kinase ; Diet Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Hypercholesterolemia* ; Liver ; Male ; Oxidoreductases ; Physical Examination ; Triglycerides ; Atorvastatin Calcium

No abstract available.
Abstracting and Indexing as Topic* ; Evidence-Based Medicine* ; Methods*

No abstract available.
Echocardiography, Stress*

To compare the efficiency, success rate and abortion time of applications of intravaginal misoprostol versus intravenous Sulprostone(Nalador) for mid-trimester pregnancy termination. Eighty three patients between 17-29 weeks of gestation with medical, obstetric, or genetic reasons for termination of pregnancy were randomized to receive either 50 ug tablets of misoprostol placed in the posterior vaginal fomix or 1,000ug sulprostone intravenously diluted I L of isotonic saline solution given as a 12-h infusion. Among eighty three patients recruited, fourty five patients received misoprostol and thirty eight patients received sulprostone intravenously. The average interval from start of induction to vaginal delivery was 13.35+/-3.34 hours in misoprostol group and 21.14+/-6.64 hours in the sulprostone group. The success rate of complete termination within 12 and 24 hours in misoprostol group were 57.7%, 93.3%, respectively, while in sulprostone group were 15.8%, 92.1% respectively. Oxytocin augumentation was 6.7% in misoprostol group and 7.9% in the sulprostone group. No serious complication occurred. Intravaginal misoprostol appears to be acceptably safe and effective agents for second trimester pregnancy termination. Misoprostol has the advantage of being inexpensive, easily stored and readily available. The regimen of 100 ug misoprostol inserted intracervicovaginally every 8 hours is the optimal method for pregnancy termination.
Female ; Humans ; Misoprostol* ; Oxytocin ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Second* ; Sodium Chloride ; Tablets

We observed antihypertensive effect of Indapamide in nineteen patients with essential hypertension and following results were obtained: 1. There is significant decrease of systolic and diastolic blood pressure after 12 treatment with Indapamide. 2. No significant side reaction was observed durng treamtnet with Indapamide. 3. We propose that Indapamide is a single, useful antihypertensive drug for moderate essential hypertension.
Blood Pressure ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Indapamide

To evaluate the simplicity and efficacy of the 7-symptom screen test for somatization disorder, the authors tried 7-symptom screen test to find out the easiness in diagnosing the somatization disorder and to evaluate the simplicity and efficacy of it from Mar 1991 to Feb 1992. The objects were 135 female outpatients who visited Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University. The results were as follows; The discriminant index was over 3.0 for all 7 symptoms and two item accuracy was 89% (sensitivity 99%, specificity 77%), three item accuracy was 87% (sensitivity 83%, specificity 90%). In discriminant analysis, the cut off score for the criteria of somatization disorder was 87% when three or more symptoms were checked for 7-symptoms. This result means that 7-symptom screen test is the simple and accurate method for screening and diagnosing the somatization disorder.
Diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Methods ; Outpatients ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Somatoform Disorders

No abstract available.
Autistic Disorder*

Chronic ulcerative colitis is a systemic inflammatory disease with uncertain etiology primarily involving the colonic mucosa. The mucosal biopsy interpretation is important for an evaluation of the disease state and further medical or surgical treatment. However, few clinical and pathological studies of the endoscopic diagnosis of this disease are available in Korea. Therefore, we evaluated the clinical and pathological characteristics of it diagnosed by endoscopic biopsy and analysed the reasons for the discrepancy between clinical and pathologic diagnosis for a more accurate endoscopic mucosal biopsy diagnosis in the future. A total of 702 cases of colonic mucosal biopsy specimens during Feb. 1994 and Jan. 1995 at Severance hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine were reevaluated for the study. A clinical diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, after endoscopic examination, was made in 61(8.7%) cases. A pathological diagnosis was made when there is an increased inflammatory cell infiltration in the mucosa with evidences of a chronic crypt injury in the biopsy specimens. Using this criteria, a diagnosis was made in 32(52.3%) cases. In 29 cases the diagnosis was made in the first biopsy specimen and in the remaining 3 cases the diagnosis was made in the second or third biopsy specimens. No pathologic diagnosis of ulcerative colitis was made in the cases that clinical diagnosis was not. In the 32 cases diagnosed as ulcerative colitis, 14 cases were involved the rectum and sigmoid colon, 9 cases were involved up to the descending colon, 1 case was involved up to the transverse colon and 8 cases showed pancolonic involvement. In 29 cases, which ulcerative colitis was suspected clinically but was not consistent with it pathologically, 8 cases were proved to be ischemic colitis, 5 cases were acute infectious colitis and one case was Crohn's disease by repeat examination and follow up. Ten cases were histologically within normal range and lesions subsided spontaneously with no recurrence. A conclusive diagnosis could not be made in 5 cases during this study period. From these results, we conclude that ulcerative colitis can be diagnosed accurately by endoscopic biopsy, and clinical follow up and repeat examination are valuable in the differential diagnosis of this disease.
Diagnosis, Differential ; Biopsy

No abstract available.
Gels* ; Lipopolysaccharides* ; Silver* ; Sodium*

In September 1998, a case of nosocomial cutaneous myiasis caused by Lucilia sericata (Meigen, 1826) in a 77-year-old male was found. The patient had been receiving partial maxillectomy due to the presence of malignant tumor on premaxilla. This is the first verified case involving Lucilia sericata in Taegu, Korea. In the present paper, the salient morphological features of the third instar larvae involved have been studied.
Aged ; Animals ; Cross Infection/*parasitology ; Diptera/ultrastructure ; Face ; Human ; Larva/ultrastructure ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Myiasis/*parasitology ; Skin Diseases, Parasitic/*parasitology ; Surgical Wound Infection/*parasitology