The prevalence of right-sided infective endocarditis is increasing with a growing number of intravenous drug abusers. A case of right-sided endocarditis is reported in a 18-year-old female heroin addict. Tricuspid valve vegetation, septic pulmonary emboli and staphyloccus aureus in blood cultures are noted. During antimicrobial therapy, she developed remittent fever and skin rash due to vancomycin. After a change of the antibiotic to teicoplanin, she was freed from fever and discharged in an improved condition.
Adolescent ; Drug Users ; Endocarditis* ; Exanthema ; Female ; Fever ; Heroin ; Humans ; Malaria ; Prevalence ; Pulmonary Embolism* ; Teicoplanin ; Tricuspid Valve* ; Vancomycin

99mTc tricarbonyl glycine monomers, trimers, and pentamers were synthesized and evaluated for their radiolabeling and in vivo distribution characteristics. We synthesized a 99mTc-tricarbonyl precursor with a low oxidation state (I). 99mTc(CO)3(H2O)3 + was then made to react with monomeric and oligomeric glycine for the development of bifunctional chelating sequences for biomolecules. Labeling yields of 99mTc-tricarbonyl glycine monomers and oligomers were checked by high-performance liquid chromatography. The labeling yields of 99mTc-tricarbonyl glycine and glycine oligomers were more than 95%. We evaluated the characteristics of 99mTc-tricarbonyl glycine oligomers by carrying out a lipophilicity test and an imaging study. The octanol-water partition coefficient of 99mTc tricarbonyl glycine oligomers indicated hydrophilic properties. Single-photon emission computed tomography imaging of 99mTc-tricarbonyl glycine oligomers showed rapid renal excretion through the kidneys with a low uptake in the liver, especially of 99mTc tricarbonyl triglycine. Furthermore, we verified that the addition of triglycine to prototype biomolecules (AGRGDS and RRPYIL) results in the improvement of radiolabeling yield. From these results, we conclude that triglycine has good characteristics for use as a bifunctional chelating sequence for a 99mTc-tricarbonyl-based biomolecular imaging probe.
Chromatography, Liquid ; Glycine ; Kidney ; Lifting ; Liver ; Oligopeptides ; Pentamidine ; Tomography, Emission-Computed

Immunosuppressive medications after renal allograft transplantation have impacted the course of acute and chronic rejection: however, they have no defined effects on the prevention of recurrent and Glomerulonephritis (GN) in an allograft kidney. Authors experienced a case of rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN). The 35-year-old female patient developed a rapid deterioration of renal function 4 years after renal transplantation. The allograft biopsy showed crescentic glomerulonephritis evolving from membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) type I. She was given pulse steroid and oral cyclophosphamide therapy immediately after the renal biopsy. Graft function stabilized and proteinuria decreased even though graft function did not recover to pre-treatment level and low grade proteinuria persisted.
Adult ; Allografts ; Biopsy ; Cyclophosphamide ; Female ; Glomerulonephritis* ; Glomerulonephritis, Membranoproliferative ; Humans ; Kidney Transplantation* ; Kidney* ; Proteinuria ; Transplants

Purpose: Recently, non-exposure simple suturing endoscopic full-thickness resection (NESSEFTR) was developed to prevent tumor exposure to the peritoneal cavity. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of NESS-EFTR with sentinel basin dissection for early gastric cancer (EGC). Materials and Methods: This was the prospective SENORITA 3 pilot. From July 2017 to January 2018, 20 patients with EGC smaller than 3 cm without an absolute indication for endoscopic submucosal dissection were enrolled. The sentinel basin was detected using Tc 99m -phytate and indocyanine green, and the NESS-EFTR procedure was performed when all sentinel basin nodes were tumor-free on frozen pathologic examination. We evaluated the complete resection and intraoperative perforation rates as well as the incidence of postoperative complications. Results: Among the 20 enrolled patients, one dropped out due to large tumor size, while another underwent conventional laparoscopic gastrectomy due to metastatic sentinel lymph nodes. All NESS-EFTR procedures were performed in 17 of the 18 other patients (94.4%) without conversion, and the complete resection rate was 83.3% (15/18). The intraoperative perforation rate was 27.8% (5/18), and endoscopic clipping or laparoscopic suturing or stapling was performed at the perforation site. There was one case of postoperative complications treated with endoscopic clipping; the others were discharged without any event. Conclusions NESS-EFTR with sentinel basin dissection is a technically challenging procedure that obtains safe margins, prevents intraoperative perforation, and may be a treatment option for EGC after additional experience.

BACKGROUND: Heart transplantation is a definite treatment modality of the patients with end-stage heart failure. Heart transplantation has been performed in Korea since 1992, and currently it is an established procedure for the management of terminal heart failure. The purpose of this study is to clarify the Korean status of heart transplantation. METHODS: Six major heart transplantation centers' 137 cases during the period November 1992 through May 1999 are analyzed to evaluate the general demographics, underlying heart diseases, postoperative management, complications, and survival. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients is 37 years old, and the mean follow-up period is 25 months (1 day - 80 months, median 20 months). Most common underlying disease related to heart failure is cardiomyopathy (86%). Total 16% of patients underwent cellular rejection of ISHLT (International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation) grade 3A or more within 1 year after transplantation. The most common type of clinical infection is bacterial (18%), and the most common organism is Herpes zoster virus (6.4%). Graft coronary artery disease examined by coronary angiography detected in 3.7% of recipients within 12 months after transplantation. One, 2, 3, and 5-year overall survival rates of recipients are 81% , 72%, 71%, and 62%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Distribution of underlying heart diseases and the frequency of graft coronary artery disease of Korean heart transplantation recipients were different from those of the western patients. Although the history of heart transplantation in Korea is relatively short, the early and long-term results are comparable with well-established centers.
Adult ; Cardiomyopathies ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Artery Disease ; Demography ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Diseases ; Heart Failure ; Heart Transplantation* ; Heart* ; Herpesvirus 3, Human ; Humans ; Korea* ; Lung ; Survival Rate ; Transplants

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of risperidone in the treatment of Korean schizophrenic patients. METHOD: This multicenter open study included 377 schizophrenic patients drawn from 39 university hospitals. After a wash-out period of 1 week, the schizophrenic patients were treated with risperidone for 8 weeks and evaluated at 5 points: at baseline, and 1,2,4 and 8 weeks of treatment. The dose was increased from 2mg/day(1mg twice daily) to 6mg/day(3mg twice daily) during the first week and adjusted to a maximum of 16mg/day over the next 7 weeks according to the patient's clinical response. Medication to control extrapyramidal symptoms was permitted. The psychiatric and neurological status of the patients was assessed by PANSS, CGI, and ESRS scales. RESULTS: 343(91%) of 377 patients completed the 8-week trial period. Clinical improvement, as defined by a 20% or more reduction in total PANSS score at end point, was shown by 81.3% of patients. The predictors of response to risperidone were associated older age, shorter duration of illness, fewer previous hospitalization. Risperidone had rapid onset of action: a significant decrease of the total PANSS and three PANSS factor(positive, negative, general), and CGI was already noticed at the end of first week. For the ESRS, parkinsonism rating scores were significantly increased until week 4 comparing with baseline. Dystonia rating scores were significantly increased until week 1, and dyskinesia rating scores were not significantly changed during the study. Laboratory parameters including vital sign, EKG, hematological, and biochemical values showed no significant changes during the trial. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that risperidone is generally safe and effective against both the positive and negative symptoms in our group of patients.
Dyskinesias ; Dystonia ; Electrocardiography ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Parkinsonian Disorders ; Risperidone* ; Schizophrenia* ; Vital Signs ; Weights and Measures