BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to determine the correlation between the amount of pain reduction after local anesthetic injection into the subacromial space preoperatively and clinical outcome after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. METHODS: A total of 127 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair and followed up at least 1 year were analyzed retrospectively. Preoperatively, a visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain was measured in all patients before and after the ultrasound guided impingement test. The participants were divied into four groups according to pain reduntion ater impingement test (Group A: >75%, Group B: 50%–75%, Group C: 25%–50%, Group D: <25%). VAS for pain, shoulder range of motion, shoulder isometric strength, ASES score were evaluated preoperatively and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS: After surgery, the amount of pain reduction shows significantly at 3, 6 months in Groups A, B as compared to Groups C, D (p<0.05). Among the range of motion of shoulder joint, forward flexion was significantly improved in Group A at 3 months (p<0.05). The ASES score significantly improved at 3, 6 months in Groups A, B as compared to Group C, D (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative degree of pain reduction after impingement test correlates with the improvement of pain after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, especially in the early phase. Therefore, the impingement test could be effectively used.
Humans ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Retrospective Studies ; Rotator Cuff* ; Shoulder ; Shoulder Joint ; Shoulder Pain ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the efficacy and safety of combined subacromial and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia for control of postoperative pain after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. METHODS: Between May 2012 and August 2014, 60 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair with acromioplasty and received patient-controlled analgesia were studied prospectively. Cases were divided into 2 groups: combined subacromial and intravenous infusion group (group A, 30 cases) and solitary intravenous infusion group (group B, 30 cases). The visual analogue scale was used to record the patient's level of pain every 12 hours during postoperative 72 hours and the following 48 hours after the suspension of patient-controlled analgesia. RESULTS: The mean preoperative visual analogue scale score was 7.8 in group A and 7.6 in group B, and the immediate postoperative visual analogue scale score was 7.9 and 8.1 for each group. At postoperative time (From 12 hours to 72 hours after operation), the scores of combined subacromial and intravenous infusion were significantly lower than those of solitary intravenous infusion. Significant difference in the frequency of supplemental analgesic injections was observed between group A and group B (p=0.008). However, no significant difference in complication rate was observed between the two groups (p=0.562). CONCLUSIONS: Combined subacromial and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair is more effective than solitary intravenous infusion without significantly increasing complications. Therefore, combined subacromial and intravenous patient-controlled analgesia could be a effective pain control method.
Analgesia, Patient-Controlled* ; Humans ; Infusions, Intravenous ; Methods ; Pain, Postoperative ; Prospective Studies ; Rotator Cuff*

Ethical problems in an emergency department (ED) are much more common than is usually recognized. But these difficult ethical dilemmas have not been dealt with by general medical ethicists. Most medical ethics guidelines tend to concentrate on chronic or at least relatively stable situations rather than on the acute, episodic cases that are typical in the ED. most ethical problems such as abortion, euthanasia, and professionalism can be solved after reflection and deliberation, and after a process of communication that reveals the values and interests of the patient or the patient's family. In contrast, when health care professionals in the ED recognize ethical problems, they often don't have enough time for an ethical consultation such as a Hospital Ethics Committee. Ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice need to be applied to the unique setting of emergency medicine. Hence, it is necessary to develop ethics guidelines in emergency medicine and ethics education for health care professionals in emergency departments. At first, we collected cases involving ethical problems and reviewed the ethical and legal aspects of those cases. In this article, we summarize the ethical issues in emergency medicine, deal with actions in emergency medical services, and also consider the relationships between ethical issues and act on emergency medical services. We want to present the important factors that should be considered in ethical decision making within an emergency medicine department including patient decision making capacity, legal custody, and ethical principles.
Beneficence ; Decision Making ; Delivery of Health Care ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Emergency Medicine ; Ethicists ; Ethics Committees, Clinical ; Ethics, Medical ; Euthanasia ; Humans ; Jurisprudence ; Social Justice

PURPOSE: We wanted to assess the accuracy of ultrasound for detecting abnormality of the long head of the biceps tendon in patients with rotator cuff disorders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between January 2006 and March 2007, we reviewed the arthroscopic findings of biceps tendons in 67 patients with rotator cuff disorder and who underwent ultrasonography pre-operatively. The patients' average age was 58 years and there were 41 males and 26 females. The statuses of the biceps tendons were described as 'normal', 'dislocation', 'subluxation', 'partial or complete tears', and 'tendinopathy'. We investigated the correspondence between the arthroscopic and ultrasonographic findings. RESULTS: On ultrasonography, the biceps tendons were 'normal' in 37 patients and 'abnormal' in 30 patients. On arthroscopy, 5 biceps tendons turned out to have partial tears, which were 'normal' on ultrasonography. On the other hand, 8 biceps tendons were 'normal' which were 'abnormal' on ultrasonography. Three dislocations and 4 complete tears of biceps tendons were identified on arthroscopy, and all of them were detected by ultrasonography. Of the 20 cases of 'tendinopathy' seen on ultrasonography, 15 patients had partial tears and the remaining 5 patients were normal on arthroscopy. CONCLUSION: Ultrasonography is accurate for detecting some biceps pathologies, such as dislocation or complete tear, but it is not accurate for the detection of partial tear.
Arthroscopy ; Dislocations ; Female ; Hand ; Head ; Humans ; Male ; Rotator Cuff ; Tendons

PURPOSE: We reviewed the treatment outcomes and prognostic factors for patients with anal canal carcinoma who were treated with curative intent chemoradiotherapy (CRT) at Severance Hospital from 2005 to 2011. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data for 38 eligible patients treated during this period were reviewed. All patients were treated with curative intent using radiotherapy (RT) with (n = 35) or without concomitant chemotherapy (n = 3). Among 35 patients who received CRT, most of the chemotherapeutic regimens were either 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) plus mitomycin C (23 patients) or 5-FU plus cisplatin (10 patients). Recurrence-free survival (RFS), colostomy-free survival (CFS), overall survival (OS), and locoregional control (LRC) rates were calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method and survival between subgroups were compared using the log-rank test. Cox's proportional hazard model was used for multivariate analysis. RESULTS: Over a median follow-up period of 44 months (range, 11 to 96 months), 3-year RFS, CFS, OS, and LRC were 80%, 79%, 85%, and 92%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, tumor size >4 cm was an independent predicting factor for poorer RFS (hazard ratio [HR], 6.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.42 to 28.5; p = 0.006) and CFS (HR, 6.25; 95% CI, 1.39-28.0; p = 0.017), while the presence of external iliac lymph node metastasis was an independent prognosticator for poorer OS (HR, 9.32; 95% CI, 1.24 to 70.3; p = 0.030). No treatment-related colostomies or deaths occurred during or after treatment. CONCLUSION: Curative intent CRT resulted in excellent outcomes that were comparable to outcomes in previous randomized trials. No severe treatment-related toxicities were observed.
Anal Canal ; Anus Neoplasms ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Chemoradiotherapy ; Cisplatin ; Colostomy ; Fluorouracil ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Lymph Nodes ; Mitomycin ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Proportional Hazards Models

STUDY DESIGN: A case of brain infarction due to occlusion of vertebral artery after cervical spine fracture is reported. OBJECTIVES: Documentation of possibility and clinical significances of brain infarction as one of grave complications after cervical spine injury. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Occlusion of vertebral artery and consequent brain infarction can be associated with cervical spine injuries because vertebral arteries course through the transverse foramina from sixth to second corvical vertebrae. Infarction of vertebrobasilar system may cause impairment of cerebral, cerebellar, or brain stem function and can occasionally bring grave functional loss, even death. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A case of occlusion of vertebral artery and consequent cerebral infarction after cervical spine fracture in a 66 year-old man. Brain CT and angiogram were performed. He was managed with anticoagulants. RESULTS: Neurologic deficits from brain infarction disappeared after 2 weeks. CONCLUSIONS: Attention to the possibility of these complications and awareness of their clinical features seem to be mandatory in managing cervical spine injury patients.
Aged ; Anticoagulants ; Brain ; Brain Infarction ; Brain Stem ; Cerebral Infarction* ; Humans ; Infarction ; Neurologic Manifestations ; Spine* ; Vertebral Artery*

PURPOSE: Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the standard of reference, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of sonoelastography (SE) for assessment of fatty degeneration of suprasupinatus (SSP). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted in 131 shoulders of 126 consecutive patients who underwent shoulder MRI, and SE. Oblique sagittal images of SSP were obtained using SE; the SE images were evaluated by two orthopedic surgeons using a 256 degree color map image. RESULTS: When the supraspinatus fatty degenerations were based on MRI findings, the sensitivity of SE was 89.47%, specificity 92.85%, and accuracy 91.60%. The interobserver reliability of the SE findings was 'almost perfect agreement' with a weighted kappa coefficient of 0.81. By comparison of MRI with the SE findings, the grades of MRI and SE showed positive correlation (r=0.85, p< or =0.001). In addition, the occupation ratio and blue region area ratio also showed positive correlation (r=0.69, p< or =0.001). CONCLUSION: SE is valuable in quantitative assessment of the severity of fatty atrophy of the supraspinatus and has excellent accuracy, excellent correlation with MRI and conventional ultrasonography, and excellent interobserver reliability.
Atrophy ; Elasticity Imaging Techniques* ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Occupations ; Orthopedics ; Retrospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Shoulder ; Ultrasonography

BACKGROUND: The aim of the present study was to determine the correlation between the amount of pain reduction after local anesthetic injection into the subacromial space preoperatively and clinical outcome after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. METHODS: A total of 127 patients who underwent arthroscopic rotator cuff repair and followed up at least 1 year were analyzed retrospectively. Preoperatively, a visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain was measured in all patients before and after the ultrasound guided impingement test. The participants were divied into four groups according to pain reduntion ater impingement test (Group A: >75%, Group B: 50%–75%, Group C: 25%–50%, Group D: <25%). VAS for pain, shoulder range of motion, shoulder isometric strength, ASES score were evaluated preoperatively and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postoperatively. RESULTS: After surgery, the amount of pain reduction shows significantly at 3, 6 months in Groups A, B as compared to Groups C, D (p<0.05). Among the range of motion of shoulder joint, forward flexion was significantly improved in Group A at 3 months (p<0.05). The ASES score significantly improved at 3, 6 months in Groups A, B as compared to Group C, D (p<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Preoperative degree of pain reduction after impingement test correlates with the improvement of pain after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair, especially in the early phase. Therefore, the impingement test could be effectively used.
Humans ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Retrospective Studies ; Rotator Cuff ; Shoulder ; Shoulder Joint ; Shoulder Pain ; Ultrasonography

The position of interventricular septum, which was measured by transitional zone of EKG, was compared with that measured by 2-D echocardiography in 51 patient. 1) The position of interventricular septum measured by 2-D echocardiography was very similar to that measured by transitional zone of EKG. 2) Extensive AMI (Anterior Myocardial Infarction) and LBBB showed moderate differences between two method. 3) RBBB and replaced mitral valve state showed severe differences between two methods. Transitional zone of EKG was helpful to define the position of interventricular septum except extensive AMI, bundle branch block and replaced mitral valve state.
Bundle-Branch Block ; Echocardiography ; Electrocardiography* ; Humans ; Mitral Valve

OBJECTIVES: Protein-calorie malnutrition has been shown to be prevalent among patients on chronic dialysis, And assessment of nutritional status of continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis(CAPD) patients has assumed greater importance because of the association of protein-calorie malnutrition with increasing morbidity and mortality. So we observed the incidence and clinical effect of protein-calorie malnutrition, and we compared the indices of nutrition with dialysis adequacy utilizing urea kinetic modeling and cretinine clearance in CAPD patients. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study in which eight parameters, based on anthropometry, blood chemistry and subjective symptoms, were scored according to the degree of abnormalities in 82CAPD patients. A malnutrition index was derived from these scores. We also performed comparative analysis to identify significant correlations of the indices of urea kinetic modeling and creatinine clearance with the other parameters of nutritional status. RESULTS: The malnutrition index classified 47(57%) patients as normal, 30(37%) intermediately malnourished, and 5(6%) as severely malnourished. Malnutrition index showed a significant correlation with the body mass index(BMI), triceps skinfold thickness(TSF), mid-arm circumference(MAC), mid-arm muscle area (MAMA), duration of CAPD, subjective symptoms, serum albumin, transferrin, cholesterol, and triglyceride. The malnutrition index also showed a significant correlation with residual renal function(RRF), and standardized creatinine clearance(SCCr). The TWR-Kt/V(total Kt/Vurea per week with consideration of residual renal urea clearance) was significantly lower in the severely malnourished group than in the normal group. Serum alkaline phosphatase and BUN levels were higher in the severely malnourished group than in the normal and inter-mediate groups. CONCLUSION: In assessing the nutrition status of CAPD patients, body weight, TSF, MAC, MAMA, subjective symptoms, serum albumin, transferrin, cholesterol, triglyceride, urea nitrogen, and alkaline phosphatase were considered useful parameters. There was a trend of increased BUN and decreased TWR-Kt/V in severely malnourished patients, and the value of SCCr was significantly lower in malnourished patients. However, no meaningful relationships between TW-Kt/V and malnutrition index or between NPCR(normalized protein catabolic rate) and malnutrition index were found m this cross-sectional study. As the number of patients with longer duration of CAPD or negligible RRF has increased in the malnourished patients, regular monitoring of these parameters, especially TWR-Kt/V and SCCr, may be helpful to assess dialysis adequacy to keep good nutritional status of each CAPD patient.
Alkaline Phosphatase ; Anthropometry ; Body Weight ; Chemistry ; Cholesterol ; Creatinine* ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Dialysis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Malnutrition ; Mortality ; Nitrogen ; Nutritional Status ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory* ; Protein-Energy Malnutrition ; Serum Albumin ; Transferrin ; Triglycerides ; Urea*