Malignant mixed mullerian tumor of the ovary are very aggressive tumors that were usually diagnosed at an older age. They are usually at an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis, and survival after diagnosis varies by stage of disease and histological type. Despite aggressive treatment that includes surgery and chemotherapy, women with these tumors have a significantly increased risk of death giving them a very poor prognosis. The poor prognosis associated with this rare disease represents a need to new therapeutic regimens to improve patients' survival. We experienced two cases of primary malignant mixed mullerian tumor of the ovary.
Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Ovary* ; Prognosis ; Rare Diseases

Malignant mixed mullerian tumor of the ovary are very aggressive tumors that were usually diagnosed at an older age. They are usually at an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis, and survival after diagnosis varies by stage of disease and histological type. Despite aggressive treatment that includes surgery and chemotherapy, women with these tumors have a significantly increased risk of death giving them a very poor prognosis. The poor prognosis associated with this rare disease represents a need to new therapeutic regimens to improve patients' survival. We experienced two cases of primary malignant mixed mullerian tumor of the ovary.
Diagnosis ; Drug Therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Ovary* ; Prognosis ; Rare Diseases

BACKGROUND: Doppler myocardial performance index (DMPI), defined as the sum of isovolumetric contraction time (IVCT) and isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT) divided by ejection time (ET), is an easily measurable index which has been shown to reflect the severity of the disease. It has been known each component of DMPI, as IVCT, IVRT and ET, was affected by the change of preload. Therefore, the objective of this study was to estimate the changes of DMPI during intravascular volume reduction in patients with end-stage renal disease and to determine which components of DMPI contribute to DMPI alteration during intravacular volume reduction. METHODS: We measured blood pressure, heart rate, M-mode echocardiographic and Doppler parameters within 10 minutes before and after hemodialysis and ultrafitration with amount of average 2 L. RESULTS: We studied 40 end-stage renal disease patients (22 men and 18 women, mean age of 52 years) who had left ventricular hypertrophy 39 (97.5%) and normal left ventricular systolic function (diastolic interventricular septal thickness, 13.8+/-2 mm; diastolic left ventricular posterior wall thickness, 12.6+/-2 mm; Ejection fraction, 63.1+/-0.1%). Peak E-wave velocity was significantly decreased after hemodialysis and ultrafiltration (84.85+/-25 cm/s vs 72.89+/-23 cm/s, p<0.05), but other Doppler parameters such as peak A-wave velocity and E deceleration time were not changed. E/A ratio showed decreased tendency which was not significant statistically (p<0.097). DMPI was significantly increased after hemodialysis and ultrafiltration (0.41+/-0.14 vs 0.45+/-0.15, p<0.001). The increase of DMPI was mainly affected by prolongation of IVRT/ET which was due to prolonged IVRT, but IVCT/ET was not changed. The changes of DMPI was little with hemodialysis and ultrafiltration of about 2 L. CONCLUSION: We could prove that DMPI was preload dependent parameter of myocardial function. We suggest the change of preload should be considered as an important factor which may alter the DMPI.
Blood Pressure ; Deceleration ; Echocardiography ; Female ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Male ; Relaxation ; Renal Dialysis* ; Ultrafiltration* ; Ventricular Function, Left*

Cryptosporidiosis is an intestinal disease caused by the protozoan Cryptosporidium parvum. The most common manifestation in human is enteric symptoms, which in immunocompetent hosts are self-limiting but can be life threatening in immunocompromised hosts, characterized by profuse watery diarrhea, abdominal pain, severe weight loss. It's prevalence rate in immunocompetent host is variable by geographic locations (3~11%) but up to 15~40% in AIDS patients. Now it is considered as one of the important enteropathogens causing diarrhea not only in immunocompromised but also in immunocompetent hosts, especially in children. We experienced two cases of cryptosporidiosis in a 15 year old boy who was admitted due to diarrhea , abdominal pain and fever and in a 8 year old boy who was admitted due to watery diarrhea and vomiting. These are the first clinical cases of cryptosporidiosis confirmed by electron microscopy of the colonic mucosa among immunocompetent children in Korea.
Abdominal Pain ; Adolescent ; Animals ; Child* ; Colon ; Cryptosporidiosis* ; Cryptosporidium parvum ; Diarrhea ; Fever ; Geographic Locations ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Intestinal Diseases ; Korea ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron* ; Mucous Membrane ; Prevalence ; Vomiting ; Weight Loss

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to find the relative risk of semen abnormality with respect to smoking history and obesity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subfertile or infertile men were enrolled in this study from July 2010 to June 2011. All participants provided their cigarette use information, self-reported weight, height, semen analysis, physical examination, and sexually transmitted disease status. None of the enrolled patients had any specific pathological reason for infertility. Semen abnormality was defined as a condition in which one or more parameters did not satisfy the World Health Organization's criteria. RESULTS: A total of 1,073 male patients were considered for this study. After the application of the inclusion criteria, 193 patients were finally analyzed. These patients were divided into two groups according to semen abnormality: the normal semen group (n=72) and the abnormal semen group (n=121). Baseline characteristics, except age and smoking history, were not significantly different between the two groups. Smoking history and age were risk factors for the semen abnormality of idiopathic infertile male patients. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking and old age were risk factors for semen abnormality. However, obesity did not affect the semen abnormality. Smoking affected semen quality and is therefore expected to play a negative role in conception.
Fertilization ; Humans ; Infertility ; Infertility, Male ; Male ; Obesity* ; Physical Examination ; Risk Factors ; Semen Analysis ; Semen* ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases ; Smoke ; Smoking* ; Tobacco Products ; World Health ; World Health Organization

PURPOSE: This study was conducted to find the relative risk of semen abnormality with respect to smoking history and obesity. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subfertile or infertile men were enrolled in this study from July 2010 to June 2011. All participants provided their cigarette use information, self-reported weight, height, semen analysis, physical examination, and sexually transmitted disease status. None of the enrolled patients had any specific pathological reason for infertility. Semen abnormality was defined as a condition in which one or more parameters did not satisfy the World Health Organization's criteria. RESULTS: A total of 1,073 male patients were considered for this study. After the application of the inclusion criteria, 193 patients were finally analyzed. These patients were divided into two groups according to semen abnormality: the normal semen group (n=72) and the abnormal semen group (n=121). Baseline characteristics, except age and smoking history, were not significantly different between the two groups. Smoking history and age were risk factors for the semen abnormality of idiopathic infertile male patients. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking and old age were risk factors for semen abnormality. However, obesity did not affect the semen abnormality. Smoking affected semen quality and is therefore expected to play a negative role in conception.
Fertilization ; Humans ; Infertility ; Infertility, Male ; Male ; Obesity* ; Physical Examination ; Risk Factors ; Semen Analysis ; Semen* ; Sexually Transmitted Diseases ; Smoke ; Smoking* ; Tobacco Products ; World Health ; World Health Organization

Impetigo herpetiformis (IH) is an extremely rare pustular dermatosis of pregnancy with typical onset during the second or third trimester of pregnancy and generally rapid resolution after delivery. Recurrent case of IH in subsequent pregnancy tend to earlier onset and greater severity. We report a 33-year-old pregnant woman, with a history of mild IH in the first pregnancy, who presented with generalized lesions at nearly 29 weeks' gestation. Her condition had become worse suddenly at 34 weeks' gestation. She developed fever, small for gestational age, and gait disturbance due to ache in both thighs. So we decided to terminate the pregnancy by repeat cesarean section. After delivery, her skin lesions had worsen rapidly in spite of treatment with corticosteroids. So she was treated with a large dose of acitretin. Three months after her delivery, her skin was returned to original state, except for residual pigmentation. In conclusion, our case indicates that clinicians should be aware of the possibility of sudden deterioration of the maternal lesions and fetal condition associated with IH.
Acitretin* ; Adrenal Cortex Hormones ; Adult ; Cesarean Section, Repeat ; Female ; Fever ; Gait ; Gestational Age ; Humans ; Impetigo* ; Pigmentation ; Pregnancy Trimester, Third ; Pregnancy* ; Pregnant Women ; Skin ; Skin Diseases ; Thigh

PURPOSE: Recently established in 1997, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine was the first medical school in Korea to adopt problem-based learning (PBL) as a core curriculum from the very beginning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the PBL curriculum from the viewpoint of the medical students. METHODS: This study used a qualitative approach to understand students' perceptions of the positive aspects of PBL. A total of 22 second-year medical students at Sungkynkwan medical school were surveyed. Student perceptions were obtained from questionnaires and face-to-face interviews. The interview was designed to evoke more personal and in-depth responses. RESULTS: Students' perceptions of the effects of PBL were found to be very favorable. Most students showed positive responses on the issues of more active learning attitude, self-directed learning, motivation to study, improved problem solving, and integrated learning. CONCLUSION: The results of this study demonstrated that the students had a good understanding of PBL and experienced its positive aspects of PBL approach. It might be concluded that PBL was successfully implemented into the curriculum and specific and expected effects of PBL accomplished.
Curriculum* ; Evaluation Studies as Topic* ; Humans ; Korea ; Learning ; Motivation ; Problem Solving ; Problem-Based Learning* ; Schools, Medical ; Students, Medical ; Surveys and Questionnaires

BACKGROUND: Use of universal leukoreduction for prevention of leukocyte associated transfusion reactions is common practice in many countries. This study was conducted in order to evaluate the performance of a newly developed leukoreduction filter for red blood cells (RBCs), the RF300 (Kolon Industries, Inc, Gumi, Korea). METHODS: Filtration time, RBC recovery, residual leukocyte count, and leukocyte removal rate were evaluated. To assess the quality of RBCs after filtration, percent hemolysis was monitored for a period of 21 days. Performance of the RF300 (N=78) was compared with that of the Bio-R O2 plus (Fresenius, Hamburg, Germany), the Pall Purecell RC (Pall Co., Washington, USA), and the Sepacell R-500N (Asahi, Tokyo, Japan). RESULTS: The shortest filtration time was observed using the RF300 (P<0.05). Using the RF300, recovery of RBC was 96.5%, which was higher than that of two filters (P<0.05). Mean residual leukocyte count was 0.26x10(6)/unit, with a leukocyte removal rate of 3 log. Using the RF300, mean percent hemolysis was 0.32% at day 21, which was comparable with that of two filters, but lower than that of one filter (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The RF300 meets all established quality requirements for conduct of safe and effective leukoreduction of RBCs.
Blood Group Incompatibility ; Collodion ; Erythrocytes ; Filtration ; Hemolysis ; Leukocyte Count ; Leukocytes ; Tokyo ; Washington

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to investigate the various causes of male infertility using multiple approaches. METHODS: Nine-hundred-twenty infertile male patients were analyzed at their first visit with one physician between January 1 and December 31, 2009. All patients were subjected to physical examination, semen analysis and azoospermic patients underwent hormonal testing, chromosomal tests, and testicular biopsy. Semen analysis was based on the definition of the World Health Organization. RESULTS: Among the 920 patients, 555 patients (60.3%) had semen results within the normal range, 269 patients (29.2%) within the abnormal range, and 96 (10.5%) were diagnosed with azoospermia. Varicoceles were diagnosed in 84 of the 555 normal-range patients (15.1%) and in 113 of the 269 abnormal-range patients (42.0%). Of the 96 patients with azoospermia, 24 patients (25%) were diagnosed with obstructive azoospermia, 68 patients (71%) with non-obstructive azoospermia, and 4 patients (4%) with retrograde ejaculation. CONCLUSION: Various causes of male infertility have been reported and diverse treatment methods can be adopted for each cause. In this regard, research must be conducted on a larger number of patients to accurately assess the various causes of infertility in Korean patients and to investigate various infertility treatment methods.
Azoospermia ; Biopsy ; Humans ; Infertility ; Infertility, Male ; Korea ; Male ; Physical Examination ; Reference Values ; Semen ; Semen Analysis ; Varicocele ; World Health ; World Health Organization