Sparganosis is a tissue-invading disease caused hy plerocercoid of Spirometra mansoni91. Usually, uncooked snakes or flogs and infected water are primary sources of sparganosis. Sparganosis found in the lower extremities, abdominal wall, breast, inguinal region and scrotum. Simple radiographs show linear or elongated calcification. Serodiagnostic tests have also heen used widely. Confirmative diagnosis of sparganosis is made by surgical removal of the worm. We experienced a case of sparganosis in a 48-year old male in the calf. We report a case and review related articles hriefly.
Abdominal Wall ; Breast ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Lower Extremity ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Scrotum ; Snakes ; Sparganosis* ; Spirometra

No abstract available.
Sepsis* ; Yersinia*

No abstract available.
Stroke*

PURPOSE: In spite of its high sensitivity, the D-dimer test has a limited role in diagnosis of pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) due to its low specificity. This study was designed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of an index for PTE with addition of C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients showing increased D-dimer level. METHODS: We carried out a retrospective study in a tertiary emergency department and enrolled patients who did blood sampling for D-dimer and CRP at the same time among patients suspected of PTE between December 2000 and October 2008. PTE was confirmed by imaging studies, chest computed tomography and angiography. We analyzed D-dimer and CRP levels and correlated them with PTE. RESULTS: A total of 362 patients were enrolled; 67 had PTE. Areas under the curve (AUC) of the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve of D-dimer for PTE were smaller than those for a relative increase in the ratio of D-dimer to CRP (RDDCRP). CONCLUSION: The diagnostic accuracy of D-dimer for PTE can be increased by normalizing D-dimer levels to CRP levels.
Angiography ; C-Reactive Protein ; Emergencies ; Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products ; Humans ; Pulmonary Embolism ; Retrospective Studies ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thorax

PURPOSE: Ethanol is the most common toxic substance encountered clinically and is becoming increasingly important in forensic medicine. Generally, pre-treatment with an alcohol disinfectant such as isopropyl alcohol for blood sampling could influence evaluations and affect legal evidence. This study was performed to determine whether isopropyl alcohol affects the serum ethanol level. METHODS: Volunteers were prohibited from drinking alcohol and taking medication for 48 hours prior to participating. Pregnant volunteers and volunteers with abnormal liver enzymes or abnormal kidney function were excluded. Enrolled subjects had their blood collected from each arm to measure the alcohol concentration, one side was disinfected with povidone iodine and the other with isopropyl alcohol. After waiting one hour, they ingested 20g of alcohol and waited. After one hour, the serum ethanol levels were measured using the same method as the first sampling. RESULTS: Ten volunteers enrolled for this study. Without the alcohol intake, all serum ethanol levels were in the nondetectable range(<3 mg/dL) for both samples with either isopropyl alcohol or povidone iodine. After drinking alcohol, the serum ethanol level varied among individuals; the mean value of the serum ethanol levels in the alcohol preparation group was 21.08+/-4.85 mg/dL, which was significantly greater than that of the povidone iodine preparation group (19.71+/-5.47 mg/dL) (p=0.006). However, the Bland-Altman analysis showed that the precision of both groups was 1.230 mg/dL, which was less than the measurement error of the equipment (3.48 mg/dL). Therefore, there was no significant difference between the two groups with regard to the measurement error. CONCLUSION: Before alcohol intake, there was no influence on the blood alcohol concentration from the alcohol disinfection, and the result was reliable. After alcohol intake, the possible influence of pre-treatment alcohol on the serum ethanol level was less than the measurement error of the equipment used.
2-Propanol ; Alcohol Drinking ; Arm ; Disinfection ; Drinking ; Ethanol ; Forensic Medicine ; Kidney ; Liver ; Povidone-Iodine

PURPOSE: This study was designed to investigate the time delay in the prehospital and inhospital course of acute ischemic stroke patients at an emergency department (ED). METHODS: We collected data from medical records retrospectively, including baseline characteristics, mode of arrival, arrival time, and neurological symptoms, from January 2006 to October 2008. Time data were also collected; from symptom onset to ED visit (prehospital delay), ED visit to brain imaging (imaging delay), and from ED visit to treatment (treatment delay). We designed multivariate Cox-regression models to predict factors influencing prehospital and ED time for ischemic stroke. RESULTS: In total, 946 ischemic stroke patients were enrolled. Diabetes mellitus was associated with a longer prehospital delay. Heart disease, hyperlipidemia, and use of an emergency medical service (EMS) were associated with a shorter prehospital delay. Female gender, night time visits, and abnormal speech were associated with a longer imaging delay. Hypertension, use of EMS, multiple symptoms, and prehospital delay within 3 hours were associated with a shorter delay. Abnormal speech was also a significant factor for a longer treatment delay. Tingling sense or numbness, multiple symptoms, and a prehospital delay within 3 hours were related to a shorter treatment delay. CONCLUSION: The time delay in the prehospital and ED course of acute ischemic stroke patients was associated with multiple factors including gender, comorbidities, use of EMS, arrival time, acute symptom onset within 3 hours, neurological symptoms, and multiple neurological symptoms.
Cerebral Infarction ; Comorbidity ; Diabetes Mellitus ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Female ; Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Hyperlipidemias ; Hypertension ; Hypesthesia ; Medical Records ; Neuroimaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Stroke

The goal of this study was to examine the characteristics of the histo- immunological changes following induction of autoimmune prostatic inflammation achieved by subcutaneous allograft injection of the tissue homogenate of mouse ventral prostate. We also investigated the effect of the administration of androgen upon the development of mouse autoimmune prostatitis. Eight week old male C57BL/6 mice were selected and the presence, location and the degree of inflammation were identified after injection. The extent of infiltrations of the inflammatory cells in the prostate following the administration of the exogenous testosterone, the variation of the CD4/CD8 ratio of splenic lymphocyte and the variations of the interleukin-2 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha secreted by the splenic cells were also examined. The autoimmune prostatitis of the mouse induced by subcutaneous allograft injection of the mouse ventral prostate showed histological findings similar to that of human. The degree of induction was in proportion to the amount of tissues injected and showed organ-specificity. Exogenous administration of testosterone resulted in partial inhibitory effect on the induction of inflammation which was thought to be related to the decrease in the CD8+ T lymphocyte count and the functional inhibitory effect of the splenic T lymphocyte on the production of Interleukin- 2. However, tumor necrosis factor-alpha is presumed to be not closely related to the inhibitory effect of the administration of testosterone. In the future, further studies on the variation of cytokine levels and the value of sex hormones within the prostate and, moreover investigations in related to the humoral immune mechanism should be encouraged.
Allografts ; Animals ; Gonadal Steroid Hormones ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-2 ; Lymphocyte Count ; Lymphocytes ; Male ; Mice* ; Prostate ; Prostatitis* ; Testosterone* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

Nasopharyngeal teratomas are rare congenital tumors which mainly cause neonatal respiratory difficulty or feeding problems. We report an extremely rare case of nasopharyngeal teratoma in which a 34-year-old woman experienced a foreign body sensation. Simple radiographs and CT scans revealed the presence of an exophytically growing mass with a region of fatty attenuation and a well-formed tooth in the nasopharyngeal wall. The mass was surgically removed, and found at histopathology to be a mature teratoma.
Adult* ; Female ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Sensation ; Teratoma* ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Tooth

Seminal inflammatory white blood cells in patients with chronic nonbacterial prostatitis may be related to the decrease of semen quality affecting fertility. So we evaluated the change of sperm motility, the levels of antisperm antibodies, the seminal levels of various cytokines and the change of seminal biochemical compositions that may affect sperm motility in the control group. We also examined chronic nonbacterial prostatitis with pyospermia to establish the role of seminal inflammatory white blood cells on alteration of sperm motility. The relation between various affecting factors and sperm motility were also evaluated. Titers of antisperm antibodies were low in patients with chronic nonbacterial prostatitis. Interleukin-1a and interleukin-8 of seminal inflammatory cytokines were present in increased quantities in patients with chronic nonbacterial prostatitis and interleukin-8 of these increases were correlated to sperm motility. Among the seminal composition, the level of zinc was decreased significantly which was not correlated to sperm motility. In conclusion, sperm motility was decreased and alterations in interleukin-8 of seminal cytokines were correlated with sperm motility in chronic nonbacterial prostatitis.
Antibodies ; Cytokines ; Fertility ; Humans ; Interleukin-8 ; Leukocytes ; Prostatitis* ; Semen Analysis ; Semen* ; Sperm Motility* ; Spermatozoa* ; Zinc

PURPOSE: Inflammatory white blood cells are related to semen quality, affection fertility. In these cases, inflammatory cytokines are present in increased quantities, and this increase may be related to sperm motility. We examined changes in measures of motility after administration of cytokines to sperm in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Semen from 30 healthy men were obtained. With the swim-up procedure, actively motile sperm were isolated and incubated in Ham's F10 culture medium. Interleukin(IL)-1 alpha(10ng/mL) was added, and measures of sperm motility were examined ater 5 and 24 hours using the Hamilton-Thorne computer semen analysis system. These measures were expressed as a percentage of the values before incubation. RESULTS: The decreases of the average path velocity (VAP) in the IL-1 alpha-treated and IL-8treated specimens after 24 hours are statistically significant. None of the decrease in values for straight-line velocity (VSL) is statistically significant. There were statistically significant decreases in the curvilinear velocity (VCL)in IL-6-treated and TNF-1 alpha-treated specimens after 24 hours. None of the changes in the lateral head displacement (ALH)or the beat cross frequency (BCF)was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: The administration of cytokines decreases sperm motility in vitro. It is suggested that seminal cytokines may affect sperm motility in vivo.
Cytokines* ; Fertility ; Head ; Humans* ; Interleukin-1 ; Leukocytes ; Male ; Semen ; Semen Analysis ; Sperm Motility* ; Spermatozoa*