Serologic tests for syphilis including VDRL and TPHA tests were carried out in 5,413 VISA applicants for emigration, from January, 1981 to December, l984 The results are summarized as follows: 1. In 5,413 VISA applicants, the reactive rate of VDRL test was 2,0% totally. The reactive rate of VDRL test of male was 2. 6%, and that of female was 1. 6% 2. The reactive rate of 1983 was 1.4% and that was the lowest in annual incidence, but there was no statistically significant differences in comparing the annual incidences. 3. The reactive rate increased with age, and males above the 5 th decade revealed an especially high reactive rate. 4. The biologic false positive rate of VDRL teet was 16. 5%, in gl VDRL reactive persons, using TPHA as standard. 5. The quantitative test of VDRL showed low titer below 1: 4 in 88. 4%, and high titer above 1: 8 in 11. 6% of the applicants.
Emigration and Immigration ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Serologic Tests* ; Syphilis*

Hemangiopericytomas, which used to be classified as the subtype of the meningiomas, like the angioblastic meningiomas or hemangiopericytic meningiomas, are rare in the central nervous system with an incidence of <1% of all central nervous system(CNS) tumors. In spite of a total surgical removal, hemangiopericytomas have a tendency of high local recurrence and distant metastasis. The authors report a case of hemaniogipericytoma recurred at the remote area from the primary site. The tumor recurred in the meninges of right temporal area after total removal of the tumor in the right parasaggital region including the falx.
Central Nervous System ; Hemangiopericytoma* ; Incidence ; Meninges ; Meningioma ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Recurrence

The problem of difficult intubation is well known to anesthesiologists. However, difficulties associated with the extubation of endotracheal tubes are not common, and few reports exist. However, untoward incidents of diverse etiology can occur and the complications of difficult extubation may be fatal. We experienced 2 cases of difficult extubations. One was due to adhesion of the tube to the tracheal wall and the other was due to a fold in the deflated cuff of an excessively large-sized tube. We managed these difficult extubations by rotating the tube with a MaGill forcep under direct laryngoscopy. We report upon these clinical experiences and include a brief review of the literature.
Intubation ; Laryngoscopy ; Surgical Instruments

No abstract available.
Teratoma*

PURPOSE: To estimate the effect and toxicity of bimonthly low-dose leucovorin (LV) and fluorouracil (5-FU) bolus plus continuous infusion(LV5FU2) with docetaxel combination chemotheraphy in patients with inoperable or postoperative relapsed gastric cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total 27 patients are enrolled in this study. LV 20 mg/m2 (bolus), 5FU 400 mg/m2 (bolus), 5-FU 600 mg/m2 (24-hour continuous infusion) on day 1, 2, 15, and 16, docetaxel 60 mg/m2 (1-hour infusion) on day 15 every 4 weeks. RESULTS: Total of 141 cycles were administered and response rate were 36.8% with 2 complete response (10.5%) and 5 partial response (26.3%) in 19 evaluable patients. The median response duration is 8.1 months (95% CI, 4.0~12.1). The median progression-free survival time is 6.7 months (95% CI, 5.0~8.5) and the median overall survival time is 11.9 months (95% CI, 4.8~19.1). The grade 3-4 toxcity of neutropenia (24.8%) and anemia (11.3%), neutropenic fever (2.8%) is observed. The grade 1 toxcity of injection site reaction is observed all patients and the grade 1-2 toxcity of alopecia is observed 60%. CONCLUSIONS: LV5FU2 with docetaxel combination chemotheraphy is effective and tolerable in patients with inoperable or postoperative relapsed gastric cancer.
Alopecia ; Anemia ; Disease-Free Survival ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Fever ; Fluorouracil ; Humans ; Leucovorin ; Neutropenia ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Taxoids

OBJECTIVE: This study is designed to demonstrate a relationship between reconstruction methods of the craniectomy site and the development of postoperative complications including headache, tinnitus, and operation site pain after microvascular decompression(MVD) in patients with hemifacial spasm. METHODS: This study included 44 consecutive patients who underwent MVD due to hemifacial spasm from 1995 to 2001. Craniectomy site was reconstructed with only Gelfoam(group 1) in 20, the bone dust and Gelfoam(group 2) in 11, the bone chips and Gelfoam(group 3) in 13. Group 1, 2 were studied retrospectively and group 3 was studied prospectively on the postoperative complications. RESULTS: Postoperatively, wound infection occurred in 3(6.8%), headache in 14(31.8%), operation site pain in 17(38.6%), tinnitus in 15(34.1%), hearing loss in 1(2.2%). Wound infection was noticed in 5% of group 1, 18.2% of group 2, and none of group 3. Headache developed in 45% of group 1, 27.3% of group 2, and 15.4% of group 3. Operation site pain was noticed in 50% of group 1, 27.3% of group 2, 15.4% of group 3. Tinnitus revealed in 45% of group 1, 18.2% of group 2, 30% of group 3. CONCLUSION: Reconstruction of the craniectomy site with the bone chips in patients with hemifacial spasm might have effects on diminution of the postoperative headache, operation site pain and wound infection.
Dust ; Headache ; Hearing Loss ; Hemifacial Spasm* ; Humans ; Postoperative Complications ; Prospective Studies ; Retrospective Studies ; Tinnitus ; Wound Infection

Background: During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the incidence of rhinovirus (RV) is inversely related to the intensity of non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs), such as universal mask wearing and physical distancing. Methods: Using RV surveillance data, changes in the effect of NPIs were investigated in South Korea during the pandemic. The time to the first visible effect of NPIs after the onset of NPIs (T1), time to the maximum effect (T2), and duration of the maximum effect (T3) were measured for each surge. For each week, the RVdiff [(RV incidence during the pandemic) − (RV incidence within 5 years before the pandemic)] was calculated, and number of weeks for RVdiff to be below zero after NPIs (time to RVdiff ≤ 0) and number of weeks RVdiff remains below zero after NPIs (duration of RVdiff ≤ 0) were measured for each surge. Results: During the study period, four surges of COVID-19 were reported. As the pandemic progressed, T1 and T2 increased, but T3 decreased. Additionally, the “time to RVdiff of ≤ 0” increased and “duration of RVdiff of ≤ 0” decreased. These changes became more pronounced during the third surge (mid-November 2020), before the introduction of the COVID-19 vaccine, and from the emergence of the delta variant. Conclusion The effect of NPIs appears slower, the duration of the effect becomes shorter, and the intensity also decreases less than a year after the onset of the pandemic owing to people’s exhaustion in implementing NPIs. These findings suggest that the COVID-19 response strategy must be completely overhauled

Live-born cases of partial trisomy 12q are rare, and only a few fetuses with this unbalanced translocation have survived to term. To our knowledge, only about 40 patients have been reported as having 12q duplication, and among them are no Korean reports. Here, we report the first Korean case of siblings with a 12q24.22q24.33 duplication. An 11-year-old boy visited our clinic for short stature. He was born small for his gestational age and had distinctive facial features, a history of surgery for anorectal malformation, psychomotor delay, intellectual disabilities, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). He had an older sister with similar clinical features. The chromosomal microarray of the patient and his sister showed identical results: a 16.2 Mb duplication of 12q24.22q24.33. They had an identical cutoff point, but their symptoms were not. Symptoms common to both included growth retardation, psychomotor delay, intellectual disability, ADHD, and small for their gestational age.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: To investigate the rate of detection of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals in the synovial fluid (SF) of patients with acute gouty arthritis and factors associated with false-negative results. METHODS: A total of 179 patients with acute gouty arthritis who had undergone SF crystal examination were identified from the data warehouse of two university hospitals. Clinical and laboratory data were obtained from the medical records. RESULTS: The overall rate of detection of MSU crystals was 78.8%. In univariate analyses, the only significant differences between the variables of crystal-negative and crystal-positive patients were a lower C-reactive protein level (p = 0.040) and fewer patients undergoing emergent surgery in the crystal-positive group (p = 4.5 x 10(-6)). In logistic regression analyses, MSU crystal-negative results were significantly associated with the interval from arthritis onset to crystal examination (p = 0.042), and this was the most significant risk factor for arthroscopic surgery (p = 2.1 x 10(-4)). Seventeen patients who underwent arthroscopic surgery had a significantly longer hospital stay (p = 0.007) and a significant delay in gout treatment (p = 8.74 x 10(-5)). The distribution of crystal-negative patients differed significantly between the SF samples that were evaluated by both the laboratory medicine and the rheumatology departments (p = 1.2 x 10(-14)), and the kappa value was 0.108. CONCLUSIONS: Although several clinical features were associated with detection failure, SF MSU crystal identification was critically dependent on the observer. Considering the impact on the treatment outcomes, implementation of a quality control program is essential.
Acute Disease ; Aged ; Arthritis, Gouty/diagnosis/*metabolism/*surgery ; Arthroscopy ; Biological Markers/metabolism ; Crystallization ; False Negative Reactions ; Female ; Hospitals, University ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Microscopy, Polarization ; Middle Aged ; Observer Variation ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Reproducibility of Results ; Republic of Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Synovial Fluid/*metabolism ; Time Factors ; Time-to-Treatment ; Treatment Outcome ; Uric Acid/*metabolism

OBJECTIVE: The study shows that the DFS is a questionnaire that almost effortlessly can be completed within 60-90 seconds during any moment of labor and delivery. The aim of the present study was to test the validity and reliability of the DFS, to identify its factor structure in Korea. METHODS: Review of the medical records from the department of obstetrics and gynecology from January to April 2005, a confirmed 51 patients with the diagnosis of singleton pregnancy without medical or obstetrical complications, being in 37-42 weeks. 22 primiparous and 29 multiparous women answered the Delivery Fear Scale (DFS) once during active labor, and the STAI (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) after delivery. Reliability test to calculate Chronbach alpha and validity test to measure correlation between DFS and STAI was done. Then factor analysis was applied with the method of principal component analysis and varimax rotation. RESULTS: Korean version of DFS proved to be a reliable and valid scale statistically: Cronbach's alpha was 0.7182 in study. CONCLUSION: Women's psychological experiences during the actual process of labor and delivery are essential part of obstetrical care. Nevertheless, studies examining psychological variables concerning childbirth, are mostly performed before or after labor. The DFS measures fear during labor and delivery in an effortless and fast away. The development of the Korean version of DFS which is reliable and valid, and consists of three sub-factors may facilitate future research in the field.
Anxiety ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Korea ; Medical Records ; Obstetrics ; Parturition* ; Pregnancy ; Principal Component Analysis ; Surveys and Questionnaire ; Reproducibility of Results