No abstract available.
Amphotericin B* ; Hemoptysis*

The patients initially underwent epikeratoplasty for keratoconus but a penetrating kerato plasty was required due to the opacity in the cornea. By using of this specimen, which was obtained by trephination the healing process of the host-Ienticule cornea could be examined by electron microscopy and immunofluorescence method. Epithelial ingrowth over the lenticule was well formed by the regeneration of the basement membrane over the Bowman's membrane. However, the poor attachment of the lenticule over the host corneal stroma made the interface easily separated during the sectioning processes. Electron microscopic study revealed the keratocytes in the lenticule stroma vacuolized with large number of degenerated microorganelles. These results suggest that it may take a long time to complete the wound healing of the host-Ienticule interface despite the epithelial ingrowth onto the lenticule was well formed.
Basement Membrane ; Bowman Membrane ; Cornea ; Corneal Stroma ; Epikeratophakia* ; Extracellular Matrix ; Fluorescent Antibody Technique ; Humans ; Keratoconus ; Microscopy, Electron ; Regeneration ; Trephining ; Wound Healing

BACKGROUND: To analyze the morphologic characteristics of low density lymph node in etiologic differentiation of lymphadenopathy, emphasizing the different features between tuberculosis and lung cancer, on contrast enhanced CT scan,. METHOD: A total of 64 patients who showed low density lymph nodes on chest CT scan were analyzed. Primary causes were tuberculosis (n=28), lung cancer (n=27), malignant lymphoma (n=5) and metastasis from extrathoracic malignancies (n = 4). CT scan was performed with 10mm slice thickness and 7 characteristic features were evaluated: location,size, presence or absence of the nonnecrotic lymph node, calcification, perinodal fat obliteration, thickness and evenness of the enhancing rim. RESULTS: In patients with tuberculous lymphadenopathy, lymph nodes with uneven (68.0%) and thick (62.1%) enhancing rim were more common than lung cancer (p<0.05). Low density lymph nodes with less than 1cm in size were found only in tuberculous lymphadenopathy(n=10). In 48.2% of patients with lung cancer, more than 1 nonnecrotic enlarged lymph node were coexisted, whereas 21.4% in patients with tuberculous lymphadenopathy(p=0.06). However, the size, location and calcification were not statistically significant between tuberculous lymphadenopathy and lung cancer. CONCLUSION: Tuberculous lymphadenopathy is strongly suggested when enhancing rim of enlarged lymph nodes is uneven and thick, when the coexisting nonnecrotic lymph nodes are few in number and when central low density is encountered in normal sized lymph nodes.
Humans ; Inflammation ; Lung Neoplasms ; Lymph Nodes* ; Lymphatic Diseases ; Lymphoma ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed* ; Tuberculosis

BACKGROUND: The toxicity of paraquat has been known to be caused by oxygen free radicals which leads to the lipid peroxidation and multiple organ failure. Although vitamin C has been known to be a potent antioxidant, recently there are numerous data which have shown that a low dose of vitamin C may act as a prooxidant due to the stimulation of the Fenton reaction with metal ions, which produces hydroxyl radicals. It has been reported that a deferoxamine in paraquat intoxication could reduce the production of the hydroxyl radicals by the inhibition of the Fenton reaction through the reduction of iron ion in tissue. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the high and low dose of vitamin C and deferoxamine on lipid peroxidation and plasma TNF-alpha in paraquat intoxication. METHODS: Female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into seven groups: control group which was not given paraquat(20mg/kg), P group which was given paraquat only, PVH group given paraquat and high dose of vitamin C(100mg/kg), PVL group given paraquat and low dose of vitamin C(10mg/kg), PVHD given paraquat, high dose of vitamine C and deferoxamine(100mg/kg), PVLD given paraquat, low dose of vitamin C and deferoxamine, and PD given paraquat and deferoxamine. Animals were killed at 6 and 24 hours after treatment. Malondialdehyde(MDA), superoxide dismutase(SOD) and glutathione(GSH) contents, catalase activity, plasma TNF-alpha, and histologic changes in the lung and liver tissue were measured. RESULTS: The lung histology in the PVH and PD or PVHD groups showed the significant decreases in the alveolar edema and interstitial thickness compared to the P group. The liver histology in the PVH and PVHD groups demonstrated marked differences in the central venous and sinusoidal dilatation compared to that of the P group. While the MDA levels of the lung and liver in the PVH and PD groups showed the significant reduction compared to that of the P group at 6 hours after treatment, all groups showed the significant changes compared to the P group at 24 hours. There was no significant change of the SOD levels of the lung and liver at 6 hours among all groups. At 24 hours, the SOD levels of the lung in PVH, PVL, and PVHD groups showed the significant increases compared to the P group. The increase of the SOD level in groups combined with deforoxamine, however, revealed a little reduction. The SOD level of the liver in PVH group only significantly increased compared to the P group at 24 hours. There was no significant change of the GSH level of the lung and liver among all groups at 6 hours. At 24 hours, the GSH level of the lung and liver were significantly increased in both PVH and PD group and PVH group, respectively, compared to the P group. Although the catalase activity of the lung was not significantly increased, that of liver was significantly increased in both PVHD and PD groups compared to the P group at 6 hours. The catalase activities of the lung and liver were significantly increased in PVH, PD, and PVHD at 24 hours. The concentrations of the Plasma TNF-alpha were slightly decreased at 6 hours and slightly increased at 24 hours compared to that of the P group, but they were not significant. CONCLUSION: This study showed that although the low dose of vitamin C had no effect, the high dose of vitamin C revealed a decrease of the MDA level and an increase of SOD, GSH, and catalase activity in the lung and lung and liver tissues, and the effect of the high dose of vitamin C increased with time. The administration of the deferoxamine with or without high dose of vitamin C, however, significantly showed the inhibition of the lipid peroxidation and antioxidant effect and low dose vitamin C decreased the effect of deferoxamine. The effects of the vitamin C and deferoxamine on plasma TNF-alpha were not clearly shown.
Animals ; Antioxidants* ; Ascorbic Acid* ; Catalase ; Deferoxamine* ; Dilatation ; Edema ; Female ; Free Radicals ; Humans ; Ions ; Iron ; Lipid Peroxidation* ; Liver ; Lung ; Multiple Organ Failure ; Oxygen ; Paraquat* ; Plasma ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Superoxides ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Vitamins*

BACKGROUND: Tuberculous chest wall abscess is a rare complication of tuberculosis. However, there have been few reports about the variable extents and shapes of tuberculous chest wall abscesses. We analyzed the extent and shape of tuberculous chest wall abscesses and grouped them according to combined pleuroparenchymal lesions by CT scans. MATERIALS AND METHODS: CT fadings were evaluated in 20 patients of tuberculous chest wall abscesses. We classified 29 abscesses in 20 patients into three types according to pleuroparnechymal lesions. Type 1 was defined when there was no active pleuroparenchymal lesion, Type 2, when intrathoracic tuberculosis was contacted with chest wall abscess, Type 3, when ipsilateral subpleural nodules were not contacted with chest wall abscess. RESULTS: The type 1 included 6 abscesses in 6 patients. They showed rib and/or postal cartilage destruction in their center. They were relatively large and round. The type 2 included 13 abscesses in 10 patients. The abscesses in contact with pleural lesion or mediastinal lesion were mainly located in the outer muscle layer, and they were relatively large in size, However, the abscesses in contact with parenchymal lesion were mainly located in extrapleural space. They were relatively small and they were longest along the long axis of ribs. The type 3 included 10 abscesses in 6 patients. They were located mainly in the extrapleural space. CONCLUSION: Tuberculous chest wall abscesses showed variable extents and shapes according to pleuroparenchymal lesions. CT is a good diagnostic modality to visualize the extent of tuberculous chest wall abscess and combined pleuroparenchymal lesion.
Abscess* ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Cartilage ; Humans ; Ribs ; Thoracic Wall* ; Thorax* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tuberculosis

PURPOSE: Metaplastic carcinomas of the breast (MpC) are rare disease with little information. The goal of this study is to describe the clinicopathologic characteristics of MpC and to compare the prognosis of MpC with that of infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC). METHODS: Twenty-three patients who underwent surgery due to MpC at Seoul National University Hospital between May 1982 and February 2000 were retrospectively analyzed on the basis of medical records and pathologic reports. RESULTS: All patients were females and the mean age was 47.3 years. The mean tumor size was 4.0 cm (range 1.0~11.0 cm). Twenty-one patients were treated with mastectomy and the remaining 2 patients were treated with lumpectomy. Four patients had metastatic disease at presentation. Lymph node metastases were detected in 6 of 21 (28.6%) patients who underwent axillary dissection. Two of 11 patients (18.2%) were positive for ER and one of 10 patients (10.0%) was positive for PgR. Follow-up was possible for thirteen patients. The overall 5 and 10-year survival rates were 66.7% and 35.6%, respectively. Additionally, the 5 and 10-year disease-free survival rates were 63.3% and 33.8%, respectively. When comparing against the control patients with IDC, the group with MpC tended to have a more unfavorable prognosis. However, this data was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Although MpC showed less frequent lymph node metastasis, the overall and disease-free survival rates of MpC patients was not better than IDC patients. Therefore patients with MpC require closer follow-up for disease recurrence.
Female ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis

PURPOSE: Bacteremia is one of the major concerns in the treatment of pediatric cancer patients. This study was to determine the etiologic agents and the pattern of antibiotic susceptibilities in a single tertiary medical center. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the cases of bacteremia in pediatric cancer patients from 1998 to 2005 in Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center. RESULTS: There were 62 cases of bacteremia from 44 patients. Gram-positive organisms(48.3%) were more common than gram-negative organisms(38.7%) or fungi(13%). Among gram-positive organisms, Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most common etiologic agent(63.3%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus(16.7%), alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus(16.7%), and Streptococcus mitis(3.3%). Among gram-negative organisms, Alcaligenes xylosoxidans was the most common agent(41.7%) and the other organisms were Klebsiella pneumoniae(20.8%), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia(12.5%), Acinetobacter baumanii(8.2%), etc. In febrile neutropenic patients, however, K. pneumoniae was the most common cause of gram-negative bacteremia. All of the isolated K. pneumoniae in our center produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamase and were related with high mortality. S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and Streptococcus species were all susceptible to vancomycin and teicoplanin. Most staphylococci were resistant to penicillin and oxacillin. Most of the gram-negative organisms were susceptible to imipenem. CONCLUSION: Gram-positive organisms were more commonly isolated than gram-negative organisms in pediatric cancer patients like other studies. We could obtained valuable information on the choice of proper antibiotics in our institution. Further studies will be needed to explain the prevalence of A. xylosoxidans in our center.
Acinetobacter ; Alcaligenes ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacteremia* ; beta-Lactamases ; Child ; Humans ; Imipenem ; Klebsiella ; Medical Records ; Mortality ; Oxacillin ; Penicillins ; Pneumonia ; Prevalence ; Retrospective Studies ; Staphylococcus ; Staphylococcus epidermidis ; Stenotrophomonas ; Streptococcus ; Teicoplanin ; Vancomycin

PURPOSE: Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) has been widely used in malnourished, critically ill or surgical patients since the 1970's. However, short-term application of TPN after elective gastrointestinal surgery has rarely been studied. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of postoperative TPN in patients after gastrectomy. METHODS: Forty seven patients who underwent elective gastrectomy from October 2005 to December 2005 were enrolled in this trial. Twenty two patients (TPN group) received multivitamin-containing TPN (Fulcaliq(R), Terumo, Japan) and 25 patients (control group) received the usual 10% dextrose solution for five days after surgery. Vital signs, body weight and nutritional support-related complications were evaluated on a daily basis. In addition, CBC, LFT, electrolyte, and trace elements were measured four times (preoperatively, POD1, POD 3 and POD 6). RESULTS: Nutritional support-related complications did not develop in the groups studied. Body weight and serum albumin levels were not different in comparisons between the two groups. However, in the TPN group, the total protein level on POD 6 had a tendency to be higher than in the control group. On POD 6, AST and ALT levels were significantly higher in the TPN group, but the total bilirubin and cholesterol levels were significantly higher in the control group. CONCLUSION: Multivitamin-containing TPN appears to be safe and effective for patients, in the short term, after gastric surgery.
Bilirubin ; Body Weight ; Cholesterol ; Critical Illness ; Gastrectomy* ; Glucose ; Humans ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total* ; Serum Albumin ; Trace Elements ; Vital Signs

Since Ernst Fuchs had described the chronic cyclitis as cyclitis in 1892, there have been many reports about the chronic cyclitis with the development of the binocular indirect ophthalmoscope and the Schepens' scleral depressor and gonioscope. The chronic cyclitis comes incidious onset with minimal symptoms of hazy vision and vitreous opacity. The authors experienced a case of chronic cyclitis of the left eye of 33 year old male patient who has been treated with systemic corticosteroid and antihistamines. Here, we briefly report it referring the literature about the chronic cyclitis.
Adult ; Histamine Antagonists ; Humans ; Male ; Ophthalmoscopes ; Telescopes ; Uveitis, Intermediate*

PURPOSE: A medullary carcinoma of the breast(MC) is a well-circumscribes tumor composed of poorly differentiated cells growing in a syncytium with an accompanying stroma. However, the prognosis of a MC is considered as more favorable than that of an infiltrating ductal carcinoma (IDC). In the present study, we characterized MC in terms of prognosis by comparing an MC group with an IDC control group. We described the distribution of other clinicopathological characteristics, as well as the prevalence and the prognostic importance of generally well known risk factors, for breast cancer and compared the result. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Clinical data from hospital records and pathological materials were available from 60 patients with tumors that had been initially diagnosed from Jan. 1981 to Dec. 1999 at the Department of Surgery in Seoul National University Hospital as having a MC. We analyzed the survival and the prognostic factors of those patients and compared the results with those for an IDC control groep. RESULTS: The 60 cases of MC showed more risk factors, such as young age, high nuclear grade, poor histologic grade, negative hormone receptors, p53 overexpression, c-erb-B2 expression, and high proliferative index(ki 67), than the IDC cases did. However, the prognosis of MC was better than that of IDC. Most of the risk factors were of highly significant prognostic importance in the IDC control group. In the MC group, only lymph-node status and young age were significantly important for disease-free survival. CONCLUSION: We found MC to be biologically unique, and patients with MC have a better prognosis than those with IDC. We propose that MC patients with axillary lymph-node metastasis and young age should be considered as a high-risk group for recurrence.
Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal* ; Carcinoma, Medullary ; Disease-Free Survival ; Giant Cells ; Hospital Records ; Humans ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Prevalence ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Risk Factors ; Seoul