Unilateral absence of the articular process at a lumbar vertebra is a rare anomaly. The etiology of the congenital absence of articular process is not precisely determined yet, but it was explained as some of the possible embryologic bases. Absence of the articular process at the level of L5-Sl have been reported a few, but anomaly above L4 is rare. We are reporting a case of absence of articular process at the level of the 4th lumbar vertebra.
Spine

PURPOSE: To analyze the clinical results and functional evaluation of arthroscopic meniscal repair in meniscus tear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty nine patients who underwent arthroscopic meniscal repair were eval- uated from January 1995 to December 1998. Mean age was 32 years old(13-56) and mean follow up was 28 months. Lysholm score and Ikeuchi grading were used for functional analysis. Tegner activity score was used for physical activity evaluation. RESULTS: Lysholm score revealed 81.3 points in acute injury group(>8 week), 79.2 points in chronic injury group(<8 week). The functional results were similar between acute and chronic injury group. Twenty five patients(86%) was rated as excellent and good grade in subjective functional evaluation of Ikeuchi. Tegner activity scores at last follow up were slightly decreased from 6.3 to 6 in ACL reconstruc- tion and normal ACL group compared with the pretrauma state, but Lysholm score and Tegner activity score was more reduced in ACL partial injury and repair group. CONCLUSTION: The excellent and good grade was 86% in the subjective functional evaluation of Ikeuchi after arthroscopic meniscal repair and the stability of anterior cruciate ligament seemed to be important in the prognosis of meniscus.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament ; Arthroscopy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Knee ; Motor Activity ; Prognosis

Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is widely used for the treatment of colorectal neoplasia in patients who are candidates for endoscopic resection. In particular, pyogenic liver abscess (PLA), although rare, can occur. To our knowledge, there are no reports of PLA cases after ESD. Therefore, we report a rare case of PLA caused by ESD. A 76-year-old man was referred from a local clinic and admitted to our hospital for colonic ESD for a large polypoid mass. During colonoscopy, a 5-cm mass was seen in the cecum. ESD was performed. Four days after the procedure, he complained of myalgia and abdominal discomfort. Computed tomography revealed a 5.4-cm PLA in the medial segments of the liver. He was treated with antibiotics, and a percutaneous drainage catheter was inserted. Here, we report a very rare complication (PLA) after ESD. In conclusion, comprehensive awareness of the development of PLA is needed in ESD cases.
Aged ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Catheters ; Cecum ; Colon ; Colonic Neoplasms ; Colonoscopy ; Drainage ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Liver ; Liver Abscess ; Liver Abscess, Pyogenic ; Myalgia

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is considered a chronic condition characterized by mucosal or transmural inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Endoscopic diagnosis and surveillance in patients with IBD have become crucial. In addition, endoscopy is a useful modality in estimation and evaluation of the disease, treatment results, and efficacy of treatment delivery and surveillance. In relation to these aspects, endoscopic disease activity has been commonly estimated in clinical practices and trials. At present, many endoscopic indices of ulcerative colitis have been introduced, including the Truelove and Witts Endoscopy Index, Baron Index, Powell-Tuck Index, Sutherland Index, Mayo Clinic Endoscopic Sub-Score, Rachmilewitz Index, Modified Baron Index, Endoscopic Activity Index, Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity, Ulcerative Colitis Colonoscopic Index of Severity, and Modified Mayo Endoscopic Score. Endoscopic indices have been also suggested for Crohn's disease, such as the Crohn's Disease Endoscopic Index of Severity, Simple Endoscopic Score for Crohn's Disease, and Rutgeerts Postoperative Endoscopic Index. However, most endoscopic indices have not been validated owing to the complexity of their parameters and inter-observer variations. Therefore, a chronological approach for understanding the various endoscopic indices relating to IBD is needed to improve the management.
Colitis, Ulcerative ; Colonoscopy ; Crohn Disease ; Diagnosis ; Endoscopy ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Observer Variation

OBJECTIVE: To identify and localize the Placenta Growth Factor (PlGF) mRNA in term placentas and to determine whether there are any differences in the expression of PlGF mRNA in the placentas between normal and preeclamptic pregnancy. METHODS: Northern blot and In situ hybridization with 5 cases of preeclamptic placentas and 8 cases of normal controls RESULTS: In Northern blot analysis and In situ hybridization, PlGF2 mRNA (1.7 kb) band was identified and showed significant decrease in density in preeclamptic placentas compared to that of normal controls. PlGF mRNA was mainly expressed in the syncytial membrane of villous trophoblast, and in the perivascular tissue surrounding the vasculature of stem villi. CONCLUSION: Decreased levels of PlGF mRNA in preeclamptic placentas could have some unfavorable influences on trophoblast and endothelial function, thereby may play a role to the pathogenesis of preeclampsia.
Blotting, Northern ; In Situ Hybridization ; Membranes ; Placenta* ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Pregnancy ; RNA, Messenger* ; Trophoblasts

OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to evaluate the influence of maternal age on embryo quality and the frequency of multiple pregnancy in IVF-ET program. METHOD: 86 conventional IVF-ET cycles were divided into three groups according to the age by 5 year (group A: 26-30, group B: 3135, group C: 36-40 yrs). The in vitro fertilization and development outcome (fertilization, cleavage and high quality embryo rate) and the pregnancy outcome (pregnancy, implantation, G-sac/high quality embryo and multiple pregnancy rate) were examined. And then, these results were compared among the groups. RESULTS: The rates of fertilization (62.7, 68.5 and 65.4%, respectively) and cleavage (95.6, 97.6 and 98.0%, respectively) were not different among the groups. And the high quality embryo (HQE) rate also was not different among the groups (61.8, 62.9 and 62.8%, respectively). The pregnancy rate of group C (23.3%) was significantly lower than that of group A (41.2%) and B (48.7%). And the implantation rate was significantly decreased to group B (32.2%) and C (14.3%) when compared to group A (71.4%) and B (36.8%). CONCLUSION: The pregnancy rate was significantly decreased over 35 years. The G-sac/HQE and multiple pregnancy rate were significantly high below 31 years. Thus, these results suggest that the number of high quality embryo transferred should be limited by the age and another criteria for embryo quality evaluation were required for single embryo transfer.
Embryonic Structures* ; Female ; Fertilization ; Fertilization in Vitro ; Maternal Age* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Outcome ; Pregnancy Rate ; Pregnancy, Multiple* ; Single Embryo Transfer

No abstract available.
Hemangioma, Cavernous*

PURPOSE: To assess bone changes of mandibular condyle using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 314 temporomandibular joints (TMJs) images of 163 TMD patients were examined at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, Chonbuk National University. The images were obtained by PSR9000N (Asahi Roentgen Co., Japan) and reconstructed by using Asahivision software (Asahi Roentgen Co., Japan). The CBCT images were examined three times with four weeks interval by three radiologists. Bone changes of mandibular condyle such as flattening, sclerosis, erosion and osteophyte formation were observed in sagittal, axial, coronal and 3 dimensional images of the mandibular condyle. The statistical analysis was performed using SPSS 12.0. Intra- and interobserver agreement were performed by 3 radiologists without the knowledge of clinical information. RESULTS: Osteophyte (2.9%) was found more frequently on anterior surface of the mandibular condyle. Erosion (31.8%) was found more frequently on anterior and medial surfaces of the mandibular condyle. The intraobserver agreement was good to excellent (k=0.78-0.84), but interobserver agreement was fair (k=0.45). CONCLUSION: CBCT can provide high qualified images of bone changes of the TMJ with axial, coronal and 3 dimensional images.
Cone-Beam Computed Tomography* ; Humans ; Jeollabuk-do ; Mandibular Condyle* ; Osteophyte ; Sclerosis ; Temporomandibular Joint ; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders

Endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) is a valuable diagnostic procedure for the surveillance of cardiac allograft rejection. Interpretation of individual cases is still problematic due to variations of findings for grading of rejection and other associated lesions. We reevaluated an experience on endomyocardial biopsies to develop better diagnostic criteria for rejection and other complications. Immunohistochemical studies against cytokines were performed to assess the usefulness of the method for the diagnosis or researches. A total of 249 EMBs taken from 33 cardiac allograft recipients were reviewed. There were 25 males and 8 females. Dilated cardiomyopathy was present (24 cases) and valvular heart disease (4 cases), restrictive cardiomyopathy (3 cases) were also common conditions. We applied the grading system of the International Society for Heart Transplantation (ISHT) for the assessment of acute cellular rejection. Grades of 0, 1A, 1B, 2, 3A and 3B were 39.0%, 28.1%, 11.2%, 11.5%, 12.4% and 1.6% respectively, but 3.2% were inadequate. Thirty five episodes of grade 3A or 3B were present in 17 patients. The response to therapy was assessed using a next follow up biopsy, which revealed resolving or resolved rejection in 85% of patients. The intensity of immunohistochemical stains for IL-6 and TNF-alpha was increased in proportion to the histologic grade but Quilty lesion and cardiomyopathy also showed a positive reaction. The other pathologic findings were ischemic change, previous biopsy site, interstitial edema and fibrosis, and Quilty lesion. These findings showed usefulness of endomyocardial biopsy not only for the evaluation of cardiac allograft rejection but also for the diagnosis of associated cardiac lesions. Immunohistochemical study of the cytokines was related to the degree of inflammation rather than degree of rejection.
Allografts ; Biopsy* ; Cardiomyopathies ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated ; Cardiomyopathy, Restrictive ; Coloring Agents ; Cytokines ; Diagnosis ; Edema ; Female ; Fibrosis ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Transplantation* ; Heart Valve Diseases ; Heart* ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-6 ; Male ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha

PURPOSE: This study was performed to identify the etiologic agents and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of organisms responsible for bloodstream infections in pediatric cancer patients for guidance in empiric antimicrobial therapy. METHODS: A 5-year retrospective study of pediatric hemato-oncologic patients with bacteremia in Seoul National University Children's Hospital, from 2006 to 2010 was conducted. RESULTS: A total of 246 pathogens were isolated, of which 63.4% (n=156) were gram-negative, bacteria 34.6% (n=85) were gram-positive bacteria, and 2.0% (n=5) were fungi. The most common pathogens were Klebsiella spp. (n=61, 24.8%) followed by Escherichia coli (n=31, 12.6%), coagulase-negative staphylococci (n=23, 9.3%), and Staphylococcus aureus (n=22, 8.9%). Resistance rates of gram-positive bacteria to penicillin, oxacillin, and vancomycin were 85.7%, 65.9%, and 9.5%, respectively. Resistance rates of gram-negative bacteria to cefotaxime, piperacillin/tazobactam, imipenem, gentamicin, and amikacin were 37.2%, 17.1%, 6.2%, 32.2%, and 13.7%, respectively. Overall fatality rate was 12.7%. Gram-negative bacteremia was more often associated with shock (48.4% vs. 11.9%, P<0.01) and had higher fatality rate than gram-positive bacteremia (12.1% vs. 3.0%, P=0.03). Neutropenic patients were more often associated with shock than non-neutropenic patients (39.6% vs. 22.0%, P=0.04). CONCLUSION: This study revealed that gram-negative bacteria were still dominant organisms of bloodstream infections in children with hemato-oncologic diseases, and patients with gram-negative bacteremia showed fatal course more frequently than those with gram-positive bacteremia.
Amikacin ; Bacteremia ; Bacteria ; Cefotaxime ; Child ; Escherichia coli ; Fever ; Fungi ; Gentamicins ; Gram-Negative Bacteria ; Gram-Positive Bacteria ; Humans ; Imipenem ; Klebsiella ; Neutropenia ; Oxacillin ; Penicillins ; Retrospective Studies ; Shock ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Vancomycin