BACKGROUND: Antihypertensive effect and safety of the newer, long acting, nonsulfhydryl angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor, lisinopril, were studied. METHODS: Twenty eight patients of mild to moderate essential hypertension were administered 10-20mg of lisinopril once daily for ten weeks. Patients were evaluated every two weeks concerning the changes of blood pressure and pulse rate in the sitting position and also any untoward sumptoms and signs attributable to the side effect. Chest X-rey, ECG and laboratory examination were performed in principle two times before and after the completion of medication. RESULTS: The blood pressure declined from 165.4/107.6mmHg to 141.3/92.4mmHg at the end of ten weeks of medication, thus the reduction of 24.1mmHg of systolic pressure and 15.2mmHg of diastolic pressure were observed and the overall effective rate was 85.7%. The pulse rate and laboratory findings were not sigificantly changed before and after the administration of lisinopril. The side effects were observed in 2 cases(7.1%) of mild dry cough and in 2 cases(7.1%) of transitory mild headache and in 1 case(3.6%) of dizziness but no one discontinued medication due to adverse effects. CONCLUSION: Lisinopril proved effective and safe in the treatment of mild to moderate essential hypertension.
Blood Pressure ; Cough ; Dizziness ; Electrocardiography ; Headache ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Lisinopril* ; Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A ; Thorax

Nosocomial pneumonia, which can develop in patients with prolonged intubation, may have in fatal consequences. The histamine type 2 blockers used for prevention of stress ulcers, increases gastric pH, and may increase the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in patients with prolonged intubation by promoting bacterial overgrowth in the stomach and retrograde colonization in the trachea. We assessed the effect of histamine type 2 blockers on the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia in patients with prolonged intubation, who were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit, Young Dong Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine from September 1992 to February 1993. The patients were divided into two groups Group 1 was the patients given histamine type 2 blockers and total parenteral nutrition, and Group 2 was the patients not given histamine type 2 blockers and with enteral feeding through the gastric tube. Gastric juice was aspirated for measurement of gastric pH. A culture of isolates was grown from endotracheal secretion and pharyngeal swab for identification of isolate cultured. Chest X-rays were taken for assess of pneumonic infiltrate, The results were as follows ;. 1. There were no difference of age, APACHE II scores at admission to ICU, duration of ICU stay and mortality between the two groups. 2. Gastric pH differed significantly between the two groups. In group 2, there was a significant difference between gastric pH before and after feeding. 3. The incidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding did not differ between the two groups. 4. Colonization developed more frequently in the patients with enteral feeding. 5. The incidence of retrograde colonization was higher in patients with enteral feeding. 6. The incidence of nosocomial pneumonia were 30 and 40 percent, and there was no significant difference between the two groups. From our study, the incidence of nosocomial pneumonia was not different significantly between the two groups although gastric pH differed significantly.
APACHE ; Colon ; Enteral Nutrition ; Gastric Juice ; Hemorrhage ; Histamine* ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Incidence ; Intensive Care Units ; Intubation* ; Mortality ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Pneumonia* ; Stomach ; Thorax ; Trachea ; Ulcer

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the effects of thoracic epidural anesthesia, with or without bilateral vagotomy, epinephrine-induced arrhythmias were studied in 31 rabbits anesthetized with 1 MAC enflurane. METHODS: Logdose protocol was used for the infusion of epinephrine; its arrhythmic dose being defined as the smallest infusion rate produced four or more continuous or intermittent arrhythmias within 15 seconds. RESULTS: The values (geometric mean) of arrhythmic doses and the plasma concentration of epinephrine during arrhythmia were as follows: 10.21 g.kg 1.min 1 and 83.16 ng/ml in epidural control group; 118.90 g.kg 1.min 1 and 677.76 ng/ml in epidural lidocaine group (p<0.05); 6.34 g.kg-1.min 1 and 96.42 ng/ml in intravenous lidocaine group; 8.65 g.kg 1.min-1 and 44.64 ng/ml in vagotomized-epidural control group; and 12.03 g.kg 1.min 1 and 95.35 ng/ml in vagotomized- epidural lidocaine group. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that thoracic epidural anesthesia raises the threshold for enflurane- epinephrine arrhythmias in rabbits and that this effect is eliminated by bilateral vagotomy.
Anesthesia, Epidural* ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac* ; Enflurane ; Epinephrine ; Lidocaine ; Plasma ; Rabbits* ; Vagotomy*

Sedation is often necessary to optimize care for critically ill children requiring mechanical ventilation. If too light or too deep, however, sedation can cause significant adverse reactions, making it important to assess the degree of sedation and maintain its optimal level. We evaluated the efficacy of the COMFORT scale in assessing optimal sedation in critically ill children requiring mechanical ventilation. We compared 12 month data in 21 patients (intervention group), for whom we used the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) sedation protocol of Asan Medical Center (Seoul, Korea) and the COMFORT scale to maintain optimal sedation, with the data in 20 patients (control group) assessed before using the sedation protocol and the COMPORT scale. Compared with the control group, the intervention group showed significant decreases in the total usage of sedatives and analgesics, the duration of mechanical ventilation (11.0 days vs. 12.5 days) and PICU stay (15.0 days vs. 19.5 days), and the development of withdrawal symptoms (1 case vs. 7 cases). The total duration of sedation (8.0 days vs. 11.5 days) also tended to decrease. These findings suggest that application of protocol-based sedation with the COMPORT scale may benefit children requiring mechanical ventilation.
Anesthetics, Intravenous/administration & dosage/therapeutic use ; Child, Preschool ; Conscious Sedation/methods/standards ; Critical Care/*methods/standards ; *Critical Illness ; Female ; Fentanyl/administration & dosage/therapeutic use ; Humans ; Hypnotics and Sedatives/administration & dosage/*therapeutic use ; Infant ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Intensive Care Units/statistics & numerical data ; Length of Stay ; Male ; Midazolam/administration & dosage/therapeutic use ; *Respiration, Artificial ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to estimate the success rate of vaginal delivery after trial of labor (TOL) and to analyze the neonatal outcome of vertex-vertex (V-V) and vertex-nonvertex (V-NV) second twin according to the mode of delivery. METHODS: We reviewed retrospectively the medical records of V-V and V-NV twin delivered between December 1996 and February 2006. The patients were classified as TOL group and elective cesarean delivery (ECD) group to compare of the neonatal morbidity and mortality in second twin. Neonatal morbidity included intraventricular hemorrhage, respiratory distress syndrome, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, sepsis, necrotizing enterocolitis, and birth trauma. Student t-test, Mann-Whtiney U test, Pearson's chi-square, and Fisher's exact were performed for the comparison of the neonatal outcome in second twin according to the groups. RESULTS: There are 349 eligible cases within given period. The proportions of TOL and ECD were 49% (n=170) and 51% (n=179), respectively. The success rates of vaginal delivery after TOL were 75% (n=93) in V-V twin and 70% (n=32) in V-NV twin. There were no significant differences in the neonatal outcome between TOL and ECD group. Additionally there were no significant differences in the neonatal outcome between cesarean delivery after the failure of TOL (n=45) and ECD group. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that TOL in V-V and V-NV twin may be a safe method and can reduce the rate of ECD without adverse effect on neonatal outcome of second twin unless there are other obstetrical indications for cesarean delivery.
Enterocolitis, Necrotizing ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Parturition ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis ; Trial of Labor ; Twins*

OBJECTIVES: Protein-calorie malnutrition is a common problem in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Serum albumin(SA) concentration has been used as a marker for assessing nutritional status. Hypoalbuminemia has been linked to an increased risk of morbidity and mortality and more numerous, prolonged hospitalization for peritoneal dialysis patients. The aim of this study was to determine factors affecting SA value in CAPD patients. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study which included patients' demographics, anthropometric data, biochemical parameters, urea kinetic data and comorbidity in 106 stable CAPD patients. RESULTS: 1) There were 50 men and 56 women with a mean CAPD duration of 43 months and mean age of 49 years. The mean concentration of SA was 3.9+/-0.5 (range 2.5-5.3) g/dl and weekly Kt/Vurea 2.0+/-0.4 (range 1.32-3.79) 2) Twenty-one patients(20%) were classified as group I(SA<3.5g/dl)and the remaining patients(80%) as group II(SA 3.5g/dl) 3) Group I patients were significantly older(55+/-11 vs 47+/-11 years, p<0.05) and had significantly higher comorbidity score(1.5+/-0.8 vs 0.7+/-0.9, p<0.05), C-reactive protein (4.5+/-0.9 vs 0.5+/-0.1 mg/dl, p<0.05), 24-hr dialysate-toplasma creatinine(D/PCr) ratio(0.84+/-0.1 vs 0.76+/-0.1, p<0.05), 24-hr dialysate protein (7167+/-2031 vs 5471+/-1515 mg, p<0.05) and had significantly lower residual renal function(RRF)(0.2+/-0.3 vs 0.7+/-1.2 ml/min, p<0.05), BUN(48+/-14.8 vs 55.6+/-14.9 mg/dl, p<0.05), serum creatinine(10.4+/-2.8 vs 12.6+/-3.5 mg/dl, p<0.05), IGF-1(186+/-99 vs 260+/-131 ng/ml, p<0.05), serum phosphorus(4.1+/-1.2 vs 5.0+/-1.3 mg /dl, p<0.05) than group II.4) SA showed positive correlation with anion gap (r=0.43, p value=0.001), transferrin(r=0.41, p value= 0.001) phosphorus(r=0.31, p value=0.001) and negative correlation with 24-hr dialysate protein loss(r=-0.51, p value=0.001), 24-hr D/PCr ratio(r=-0.49, p value=0.001), comorbidity score(r=-0.36, p vluue=0.001). NPCR(r=0.22, p value=0.023), IGF-1(r=0.30, p value=0.002), BUN(r=0.23, p value=0.016) weakly correlated with SA.5) By stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis, age, CRP, 24-hr D/PCr ratio and RRF independently influenced SA level. CONCLUSION: SA level seems to be affected by non-nutritional factors such as age, peritoneal membrane transport characteristics, residual renal function and presence of acute phase protein response manifested by CRP elevation, in addition to nutritional factors.
Acid-Base Equilibrium ; Acute-Phase Proteins ; C-Reactive Protein ; Comorbidity ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Demography ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Hypoalbuminemia ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Membranes ; Mortality ; Nutritional Status ; Peritoneal Dialysis ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory* ; Protein-Energy Malnutrition ; Serum Albumin* ; Urea

The aim of this study was to investigate the acute oral toxicity of fermented Scutellariae Radix (JKTMHGu-100) in rats and dogs. JKTM-HGu-100 was orally administered at a dose of 2,000 mg/kg in Sprague-Dawley rats. An escalating single-dose oral toxicity test in beagle dogs was performed at doses of 500, 1000, and 2000 mg/kg with 4-day intervals. Clinical signs, changes in body weight, mortality, and necropsy findings were examined for 2 weeks following oral administration. No toxicological changes related to the test substance nor mortality was observed after administration of a single oral dose of JKTM-HGu-100 in rats or dogs. Therefore, the approximate lethal dose (LD) for oral administration of JKTMHGu-100 in rats was considered to be over 2,000 mg/kg, and the maximum tolerance doses (MTDs) in rats and dogs were also estimated to be over 2,000 mg/kg. These results indicate that JKTM-HGu-100 shows no toxicity in rodents or non-rodents at doses of 2,000 mg/kg or less.
Administration, Oral ; Animals ; Body Weight ; Dogs ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Rodentia ; Scutellaria ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; Toxicity Tests

Inflammatory bowel disease can progress to colon cancer. However, there is not much of a causal relationship between intestinal tuberculosis and colon cancer. There have been a few case reports of intestinal tuberculosis in association with colon cancer. We experienced a 59-year-old man who had the collision-like pathology of adenocarcinoma and tuberculous lymphadenitis on the sigmoid colon. He visitied our hospital because of abdominal pain and hematochezia. Colonoscopy showed a mass on the sigmoid colon that was causing luminal obstruction. Therefore, sigmoidectomy was performed and the resected specimen revealed a collision-like appearance; the mass was composed of adenocarcinoma invading the proper muscle layer and caseating granuloma in the serosa and lymph nodes. We report here on a case of collision-like pathology that was composed of adenocarcinoma and tuberculosis on the sigmoid colon, and we review the relevant literature.
Abdominal Pain ; Adenocarcinoma ; Colon, Sigmoid ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colonoscopy ; Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage ; Granuloma ; Humans ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Lymph Nodes ; Middle Aged ; Muscles ; Phenobarbital ; Serous Membrane ; Tuberculosis ; Tuberculosis, Lymph Node

BACKGROUND: The persistence of infection by high-risk human papillomavirus (HPV) may lead to cervical cancer. Recently, the American Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology (ASCCP) announced that oncogenic HPV screening and the PAP smear are the main methods of screening for cervical cancer. The goal of this study was to investigate the prevalence and genotyping of HPV, as well as the risk of cervical dysplasia. METHODS: HPV genotyping was conducted by a commercial chip assay. Cervical dysplasia was retrospectively reviewed using electronic medical records. The study participants were grouped together according to cervical dysplasia status: 'no dysplasia,' 'atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS),' 'low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (LSIL),' and 'high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL).' The HPV prevalence and genotyping were analyzed according to the cervical dysplasia group. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of HPV was 17.6% (91 out of 518 patients). HPV-18 (2.3%), HPV-16 (2.1%), and HPV-58 (1.2%) were the three most frequent genotypes. The prevalence of HPV infection and the high-risk HPV positive rate was higher in the ASCUS, LSIL, and HSIL groups than in the no dysplasia group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: In this study, basic data regarding the prevalence and distribution of HPV genotypes were obtained. Since HPV vaccination has been actively encouraged among Korean women, a change in the prevalence of HPV and cervical dysplasia is expected in the future. This study provided basic data describing the prevalence of HPV and its genotypes in the pre-HPV vaccination era.
Colposcopy ; Electronic Health Records ; Female ; Genotype ; Human papillomavirus 16 ; Human papillomavirus 18 ; Humans ; Mass Screening ; Papillomavirus Infections ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ; Vaccination

Malignant pericardial mesothelioma is a rare and progressive cardiac tumor. There is no established standard treatment and the prognosis is poor. Most patients were retrospectively diagnosed from surgery or autopsy due to absence of specific clinical manifestation. Most patients with pericardial mesothelioma have demonstrated constrictive physiology on echocardiography or cardiac catheterization. Therefore, pericardial mesothelioma was often misdiagnosed as other causes of constrictive pericarditis. We report a case of primary pericardial mesothelioma misdiagnosed as pericardial metastasis of unknown origin.
Autopsy ; Cardiac Catheterization ; Cardiac Catheters ; Echocardiography ; Heart Neoplasms ; Humans ; Mesothelioma ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Pericarditis, Constrictive ; Pericardium ; Prognosis ; Retrospective Studies