Thyrotoxicosis (thyroid crisis) is a known cause of sudden death; however, only a few cases of death resulting from thyrotoxicosis have been reported. Histopathologic examination and postmortem thyroid function tests may be helpful in postmortem diagnosis, but their usefulness seems to be limited. We report three autopsy cases associated with thyrotoxicosis.
Autopsy ; Death, Sudden ; Thyroid Crisis ; Thyroid Function Tests ; Thyrotoxicosis

BACKGROUND: Care for prehospital cardiac arrest is one of the major concerns of emergency medical services. But, in Korea, prehospital emergency medical service systems are not yet well established. We tried to offer one of the fundamental data for development of these systems. METHODS: After application of exclusion criteria, 183 patients who transferred to emergency center of our hospital after cardiac arrest in consecutive 24 months from Jan,1,1994 to Dec,31,1995 were included in this study. Retrospective review of the hospital charts of these patients was done. For statistical analysis, we divided patients to some categories. t-test or chi-square analysis was used. RESULTS: 24 patients of the 183 patients were secondary visitors(cardiac arrest was occurred during transfer from other hospitals), 159 patients were primary visitors. In the primary visitor group, only one third was ambulance visitors, and there is no statistical differences between arrest time of ambulance visitors and non-ambulance visitors(35+/-27 vs 37+/-24 min, p=NS). No organized bystander CPR was done. After arrival, 131 patients received CPR and 87 patients(66.4%) were not responded, 31 patients(23.1%) experienced transient ROSC, 13 patients(10.0%) survived until discharge, and only 2 patients(1.5%) were returned to their lives. CONCLUSION: We failed to find significant statistical survival differences between ambulance visitors and non-ambulance visitors, between presumed cardiac etiology group and non-cardiac etiology group. Survival rate was high in witnessed arrest group than unwitnessed arrest group(14.5% vs 2.1%, p=0.015).
Ambulances ; Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation ; Emergencies ; Emergency Medical Services ; Heart Arrest* ; Humans ; Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUND: Hypertrophic scars and keloids have been regarded as representative of the proliferative change of the connective tissue of the dermis. Clinically, postburn and surgical scars show a smooth, shiny, erythematous appearance at an early stage. It is readily conceivable that, in such scars, changes may take place not only in the dermis but also in the epidermis and, possibly in the stratum corneum (SC). However, in contrast to the tremendous number of studies of scars on the dermis, those studies focusing on the epidermis and the SC have been scarce. OBJECTIVE: We have focused on the function of the SC covering the post-burn scar tissue and keloids. METHODS: Using noninvasive bioengineering measurements of functional properties of the SC, such as transepidermal water loss(TEWL), we evaluated the SC barrier function in various types of healing wounds, such as early erythematous lesion, hypertrophic scar, keloid, healed atrophic scar, scar occurring at the recipient site of the skin grafts and the adjacent normal appearing skin for control. RESULTS: 1. The TEWL values were 14.9+/-7.3 in early erythematous lesions, 13.2+/-7.5 in hypertrophic scars, 10.2+/-5.8 in keloids, 5.6+/-1.3 in healed atrophic scars, 6.9+/-4.3 in scars occurring at the recipient site of the skin grafts. Significantly increased TEWL values were found in all individual lesions(p>0.01) except for the scars occurring at the recipient site of the skin grafts(p<0.05) compared with the corresponding normal control skin. 2. When we randomly compared early erythematous lesions, hypertrophic scars, kelids, atrophic
Bioengineering ; Cicatrix ; Cicatrix, Hypertrophic* ; Connective Tissue ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Keloid* ; Skin* ; Transplants ; Wounds and Injuries

No abstract available.
Polyps*

No abstract available.
Epinephrine* ; Tonsillectomy*

No abstract available.
Cholesteatoma* ; Otitis Media* ; Otitis* ; Temporal Bone*

OBJECTIVES: Psychiatry in North Korea is believed to seem very different from psychiatry in South Korea. However, there is nearly no information regarding psychiatry in North Korea until now. Our study aimed to get information about North Korean psychiatry. METHODS: Three North Korean defectors in South Korea, whose clinical experience as medical doctors in North Korea was over 10 years, were recruited. They underwent the semi-structured interview, content of which included the clinical experience with psychiatric patients, the details of psychiatry, the treatment of psychiatric patients, the stigma of mental illness, and the suicide, in North Korea. RESULTS: In North Korea, psychiatric department was called as 49th(pronounced as Sahsip-gu-ho in Korean). Only patients with vivid psychotic symptoms came to psychiatric department. Non-psychotic depression or anxiety disorders usually were not dealt in psychiatry. The etiology of mental illness seemed to be confined to biological factors including genetic predisposition. Psychosocial or psychodynamic factors as etiology of mental illness appeared to be ignored. Psychiatry was apparently separated from political or ideological issues. The mainstay of psychiatric treatment is the inpatient admission and out-of-date therapy such as insulin coma therapy. Stigma over mental illness was common in North Korea. Suicide is considered as a betrayal to his/her nation, and has been reported to be very rare. CONCLUSION: The situation of psychiatry in North Korea is largely different from that of South Korea. Although some aspects of North Korean psychiatry are similar to psychiatry in former socialist countries, North Korean psychiatry is considered to have also its unique characteristics.
Anxiety Disorders ; Biological Factors ; Convulsive Therapy ; Democratic People's Republic of Korea ; Depression ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease ; Humans ; Inpatients ; Porphyrins ; Republic of Korea ; Suicide

In genitourinary trauma, the bladder is the second most common injury site. The majority of patients are injured by traffic accident. Injuries associated with bladder trauma are usually pelvic and rib fracture, but diaphragmatic rupture is rare. If bladder injury is suspected, diagnosis is made by a retrograde cystogram in most cases. However, if the patient complains of dyspnea, erect chest PA view or chest CT scan should be evaluated. We experienced a case of intraperitoneal bladder rupture combined with diaphragmatic rupture without other internal organ injury in a 68-year-old woman.
Accidents, Traffic ; Aged ; Diagnosis ; Diaphragm ; Dyspnea ; Female ; Humans ; Rib Fractures ; Rupture* ; Thorax ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Urinary Bladder*

A twenty nine-year-old woman has suffered for ten years from progressive proptosis and loss of vision in the right eye. Her right eye had deviated out-and-upwards, and its visual acuity was tested by hand motions. With the help of a brain and orbit CT, the tumor was found around the optic nerve and in the parasellar area. This tumor was surgically removed twice by Kroenlein operation and craniotomy, and was treated with irradiation(total dose: 5400 RAD). It was histopathologically diagnosed as astracytoma grade I. In the consecutive study, no evidence of recurrence of the tumor in either the orbit or brain was found.
Brain ; Craniotomy ; Exophthalmos ; Female ; Hand ; Humans ; Optic Chiasm* ; Optic Nerve Glioma* ; Optic Nerve* ; Orbit ; Recurrence ; Visual Acuity

We investigated HBV markers in serum and cerebrospinal fluid of 50 subjects with neurologic disorders or other disorders, who visited Dept. of neurology, college of medicine, Yeungnam University, from April-1 to August-31 1994 and were performed cerebrospinal fluid analysis to investigate the detection rate of HBV markers in cerebrospinal fluid and the possibility of neurologic disorders associated with HBV infection. The results were as follows. The positivity of HBsAg and. HBV prevalence rate in serum were 6(12.04) and 37(74.0%). Thf, number of patient with HBsAg, only anti-HBV and no markers were 6(12.0%), 31(62.0%) and 13(26.0%), respectively. The positivity of HBsAg and HBV prevalence rate in cerebrospinal fluid were 3(6%) and 18(36.0%). The number of patient with HBsAg, only anti-HBV and no markers were 6(100.0%), 12(38.7%) and 0(0.0%) respectively. The number of patient with virus associated diseases(VAD) and non virus associated diseases(NVAD) were 26(52%) and 24(48%). The HBV prevalence rate in serum of VAD and NVAD groups were 88.5% and 58.3% (p<0.05). The HBV prevalence rate in CSF of VAD and NVAD groups were 53.8% and 16.7%(p<0.05). The HBV prevalence rate in serum and CSF of VAD and NVAD groups were 60.9% and 28.6%
Cerebrospinal Fluid* ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens ; Herpesvirus 1, Cercopithecine* ; Humans ; Nervous System Diseases ; Neurology ; Prevalence