BACKGROUND: Pruritus, which is a frequent accompanying symptom of dermatological diseases, is also common during pregnancy, either localized or generalized. It may be related to specific dermatoses of pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: A clinical study was performed to know the exact nature of pruritus in pregnancy. METHODS: Subjects with systemic diseases, or laboratory abnormalities were excluded. People who have had pruritic dermatologic diseases before pregnancy were also excluded. One hundred and fifty five pregnant women were interviewed with physical examinations and followed up to the date of delivery. Pruritus was graded. RESULTS: Pruritus was present in 31.6%. Most affected subjects had mild or moderate severity. The abdomen was the most common site. There was a tendency for the duration of itching to increase with the duration of pregnancy. CONCLUSION: Conclusion: These findings may provide basic and useful data on pruritus during pregnancy.
Abdomen ; Clinical Study* ; Female ; Humans ; Physical Examination ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Pruritus* ; Skin Diseases

A household survey was conducted to compare the patterns of morbidity and medical care utilization between medical aid beneficiaries and medical insurance beneficiaries. The study population included 285 medical aid beneficiaries that were completely surveyed and 386 medical insurance beneficiaries selected by simple random sampling from a Dong (Township) in Taegu. Well-trained surveyors mainly interviewed housewives with a structured questionnaire. The morbidity rates of acute illness during the 15-day period, were 63 per 1,000 medical aid beneficiaries and 62 per 1,000 medical insurance beneficiaries. The rates for chronic illness were 123 per 1,000 medical beneficiaries and 73 per 1,000 medical insurance beneficiaries. The most common type of acute illness in medical aid and medical insurance beneficiaries was respiratory disease in medical aid beneficiaries, musculoskeletal disease was most common, but in medical insurance beneficiaries, gastrointestinal disease was most common. The mean duration of acute illness of medical aid beneficiaries was 3.8 days and that of medical insurance beneficiaries was 6.8 days. During the one year period, mean duration of medical aid beneficiaries chronic illnesses was 11.5 months which was almost twice as long compared to medical insurance beneficiaries. Pharmacy was most preferable facility among the acute illness patient in medical aid beneficiaries, but acute cases of medical insurance beneficiaries visited the clinic most commonly. Chronic cases of both groups visited the clinic most frequently. There were some findings suggesting that much unmet need existed among the medical aid beneficiaries. In acute cases, the average number of days of medical aid users utilized medical facilities was less than medical insurance users. On the other hand, the length of medical care utilization of chronic cases was reversed. Geographical accessibility was the most important factors in utilization of medical facilities. Almost half of the study population answered the questions about source of funds on medical security correctly. Most respondents considered that the objective of medical security was affordability. The chief complaint on hospital utilization was the complicated administrative procedures. These findings suggest that there were some problems in the medical aid system, especially in the referral system.
Chronic Disease ; Daegu ; Family Characteristics ; Financial Management ; Gastrointestinal Diseases ; Hand ; Humans ; Insurance Benefits ; Insurance* ; Musculoskeletal Diseases ; Pharmacy ; Referral and Consultation ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Many novel anti-cancer therapies have dramatically improved outcomes of various cancer patients. However, it also poses a risk for cardiovascular complications as well. For the novel anti-cancer agent with which physicians does not have enough clinical experiences to determine the characteristics of cardiovascular complications, it is important to assess risk factors for cardiotoxicity before starting anti-cancer therapy. High-risk patient should be consulted to cardiologist before initiating anti-cancer therapy and pre-emptive cardiac function monitoring plan might be prepared in advance. The biomarkers, electrocardiography and echocardiography are useful tools for the detection of subclinical cardiotoxicity during anti-cancer therapy. This review article tried to suggest the cardiac function monitoring strategies for newly encountered potential cardiotoxic anti-cancer agents and to summarize the cardiovascular complications of novel anti-cancer immunotherapies including immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy. ICIs can cause fatal myocarditis, which usually occurs early after initiation, and prompt treatment with high-dose corticosteroid is necessary. CAR T-cell therapy can cause cytokine release syndrome, which may result in circulatory collapse. Supportive treatment as well as tocilizumab, an anti-interleukin-6 receptor antibody are cornerstones of treatment.

No abstract available.
Chest Pain* ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Thorax*

OBJECTIVE: Hemangiopericytoma is known as a malignant tumor originating from pericytes and rarely occurs in the central nervous system. We present 6 cases of pathologically confirmed meningeal hemangiopericytoma. METHODS: Retrospective study was done based on patient's recordings including radiological studies. Each case of tumors was treated surgically and postoperative radiotherapy was done. RESULTS: There were 5 cases of intracranial and 1 case of spinal hemangiopericytomas. Three of 5 intracranial hemangiopericytomas were located at tentorial region. Total tumor removal was done in 4 cases and postoperative local recurrence (or regrowth) was noted in 3 cases despite of postoperative external radiation therapy, 2 of which had died. CONCLUSION: Our cases show more frequent tentorial locations and poor clinical outcomes of hemangiopericytomas compared with meningiomas.
Central Nervous System ; Hemangiopericytoma* ; Meningioma ; Pericytes ; Radiotherapy ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

Baseball-related injuries are on the rise due to its increasing popurity as an international sports. Among them, Little League Shoulder is characterized by pain when pitching and is associated with specific roentgenographic changes in adolescent baseball pitchers. Ball thrower's fracture is defined as a fracture of the humeral diaphysis resulting from overhead throwing without any external contact but it is rare in adolescents. We report a case of Little League Shoulder with a contralateral thrower's fracture of the humeral shaft related to baseball pitching in an ambidextrous adolescent baseball pitcher with a review of the relevant literature.
Adolescent ; Baseball ; Diaphyses ; Epiphyses, Slipped ; Humans ; Humerus ; Shoulder ; Sports

PURPOSE: Pinitol, a natural extract of soybeans, is metabolized to chiroinositol in the body. We evaluated the ability of pinitol to protect diabetic cataracts from oxidative stress in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. METHODS: We used Sprague-Dawley rats (n=80). Diabetes was induced with STZ (60 mg/kg, i.p.). These STZ-injected rats were administered pinitol or chiroinositol, each 20 mg/ml, and given access to regular chow. The efficacies of pinitol and chiroinositol were studied by monitoring a series of lens opacity and corneal lesion by photodocumentation. Aqueous humor and lens samples were collected at the 2nd week, 4th week, and 12th week. We measured glutathione, malondialdehyde (MDA) and used ELISA to evaluate its antioxidant effect. RESULTS: STZ-diabetic rats showed typical Y sutural lens opacity beginning on the 3rd day and progressed diffusely to more cortical opacity from the 1st week. However, in pinitol-treated diabetic rats, these cataractous changes were remarkably decreased. Corneal edema and opacity also remarkably reduced in the pinitol-treated group. Glutathione level markedly increased compared to that of the non-treated diabetic group (230.12+/-10.96 micrometer, 156.42+/-5.09 micrometer, respectively). This resulted in a decrease in peroxidized MDA product in the treated group. Similarly, the anti-cataractogenic and anti-oxidative effects of pinitol were also observed in the chiroinositol-treated group. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that pinitol could be effective in preventing cataract and cornea edema caused by oxidative stress in a hyperglycemic environment.
Animals ; Antioxidants ; Aqueous Humor ; Cataract ; Cornea ; Corneal Edema ; Edema ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ; Glutathione ; Malondialdehyde ; Oxidative Stress ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Soybeans ; Streptozocin*

We experienced a case of persistent left superior vena cava draining into the common atrium in a fetus of 26-year-old primigravida. Persistent left superior vena cava is derived from the left cardinal vein. This anomalous vessel usually drains into the right atrium via the coronary sinus and has no physiologic significance. Much less frequently, the left superior vena cava drains directly into the left atrium and it is associated with complex heart anomalies such as atrial septal defect, absence of coronary sinus, double outlet right ventricle, transposition of great arteries and asplenia syndrome. Fetal echocardiography showed an abnormal vessel draining into common atrium in a fetus with complex heart anomalies. It had a different direction from right superior vena cava or pulmonary veins in its traveling. We report a case with autosy findings.
Adult ; Coronary Sinus ; Double Outlet Right Ventricle ; Echocardiography* ; Fetus ; Heart ; Heart Atria ; Heart Septal Defects, Atrial ; Heterotaxy Syndrome ; Humans ; Pulmonary Veins ; Transposition of Great Vessels ; Veins ; Vena Cava, Superior*

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*

BACKGROUND: The skin shows many physiological changes during pregnancy. Although these physiological skin changes do not usually impair the health of the mother or the fetus, some can be cosmetically significant and of importance to the dermatologist. OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study was to determine the incidence and clinical findings of these skin changes during pregnancy. METHODS: We made a prospective study of 157 women in the third trimester of pregnancy who visited the prenatal care clinic at Seoul National University Hospital from January 1996 to June 1996. Women with pathological pregnaneies were excluded. RESULTS: The results of the study are summarized as follows. 1. Various skin changes occurred such as pigmentary alteration, vascular changes, striae, abnormalities in hair growth, and nail changes. In all subjects, one or more of these changes were found. 2. The incidence of hyperpigmentation was highest among the skin changes. The incidence of hyperpigmentation of areola and nipple was 100%. Linea nigra were observed in 81.5%. 3. Palmar erythema, suprapubic hirsutism, and abdominal striae were observed in 36.3%, 14.0%, and 40.1 %, respectively. CONCLUSION: Physiological skin changes during pregnancy were various and observed with high frequency. The incidences of vascular changes, hair and nail changes in Korean pregnant women were reported for the first time.
Erythema ; Female ; Fetus ; Hair ; Hirsutism ; Humans ; Hyperpigmentation ; Incidence ; Mothers ; Nipples ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third* ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Prenatal Care ; Prospective Studies ; Seoul ; Skin*