Acrokeratosis verruciformis is a familial disease characterized by indolent papules resembIing flat warts on the backs of the hands and feet with lesser involvement of volar surfaces, wrists, and ankles. A cas of 42 years old female with acrokeratosis verruciformis is reported. The skin lesions of this patient showed numerous rice to pea sized, flat-topped, round or polygonal, warty papules on the dorsal aspects of the hands and feet and also, pitted keratolysis on both volar surface of the hands. The hitologic findings were those of features of acrokeratosis verruciformis, i.e. the epidermis shows marked hyperkeratosis with slight acanthosis and papillomatosis and circumscribed elevations of the epidermis resembling church spires characteristically.
Adult ; Ankle ; Darier Disease* ; Epidermis ; Female ; Foot ; Hand ; Humans ; Papilloma ; Peas ; Skin ; Warts ; Wrist

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to examine the mental health status of the laid off by comparing the unemployed with the employed. METHODS: A survey questionnaire was used to investigate the mental health status of the laidoff in comparison with that of the employed. The study sample consisted of 247 laid-off people formerly employed in A auto factory and 167 employees working in B auto factory. RESULTS: The proportion exercising regularly was 20.2% for the laid-off and 34.8% for the employed and the proportion having regular meals was 10.9% and 50.6%, respectively. In addition, the frequency and amount of alcohol consumption and smoking of the laid-off were higher than those of the employed. Among the laid-off, 69.4% responded that they spent less time in talking to their spouse, and 65.4% also reported reduced sexual activities with their spouse. Because of unemployment, 41.8% of the laid-off experienced conflicts with their children, and 53.5% also perceived that they were stigmatized and treated badly by their neighbors, friends and relatives. Mean IFR in the laid-off was 22.9, which was much higher than the 15.3 recorded in the employed. The mean PWI-SF was 24.2 for the laid-off and 13.0 for the employed, which indicates the lower psychological health status of the laid-off than that of the employed. Age, annual salary, family relationship, regular exercise, regular diets, possibility to return to work and perception of the future were related to mental health status for the laid-off. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the most important factor influencing mental health status for the laid-off was family relationships. CONCLUSIONS: According to the above results, the mental health of the laid-off is worse than that of the employed. Based on this study, a follow-up study focusing on the mental health status of the reemployed to the same factory, is needed to understand the direct mental health effect on the laid-off.
Alcohol Drinking ; Child ; Diet ; Family Relations ; Friends ; Humans ; Meals ; Mental Health* ; Questionnaires ; Return to Work ; Salaries and Fringe Benefits ; Sexual Behavior ; Smoke ; Smoking ; Spouses ; Unemployment

PURPOSE: To analyze clinical, radiological and pathological features as well as clinical outcome after surgical treatment of patients with secondary chondrosarcoma arising from osteochondroma(tosis). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed clinical records, radiographs, pathologic slides of 14 patients. Nine patients were male and five were female. The mean age was 34 years. The mean follow-up period was 54 months. RESULTS: All patients had a history of previous mass since childhood or puberty. Preexisted osteochondroma was single in 3 patients and multiple in 10. Remaining 1 patient had multiple osteochondromatosis with enchondromatosis. MRI clearly provided thickness of cartilage cap, which was over 2 cm except in 2 cases. Chondrosarcoma was grade 1 in all except 1 case, which was grade 2. Wide excision was performed in 10 patients, marginal excision in 3 and amputation in 1. Twelve patients were doing very well without evidence of disease. Among 3 patients with marginal excision, 1 patient had local recurrence and 1 patient died of disease. CONCLUSION: Comprehensive understanding of clinical, radiological and pathological features of secondary chondrosarcoma is warranted for accurate diagnosis. The best result can be expected with early recognition of malignant change of osteohcondroma(tosis) and wide excision.
Amputation ; Cartilage ; Chondrosarcoma ; Enchondromatosis ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Male ; Osteochondroma ; Osteochondromatosis ; Puberty ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies

We investigated the overall survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy in the bone and soft tissue sarcoma and the available prognostic factors related with the survival rate after pulmonary metastasectomy. Between 1986 and 1995, 9 patients (median age 32) with bone and soft tissue sarcoma with pulmonary metastasis were managed in the Catholic University of Korea. Until the final follow-up in May 1996, 6 patients have died of disease and their mean survival period was 28 months (9- 58months). The actual 5-year survival rate by Kaplan-Meier method was 33%. Prognostic factors such as tumor free interval, number of metastatic lesion, postoperative chemotherapy and histologic grade were analyzed. Three patients who had the tumor free interval over 3 years were alive (mean survival period: 52.6 months), whereas six patients who had the tumor free interval less than 3 years were dead (mean survival period: 19 months). Out of four patients with low grade tumor, three patients were alive with average 39.2 months survival period, whereas five patients with high grade tumor were all dead with average 19.2 months survival period. These results suggested that pulmonary metastasectomy in bone and soft tissue sarcoma may prolong the survival rate. The long tumor free interval, histological low grade and soft tissue sarcoma may influenced on prolonged survival rate. However, number of metastatic lesion or postoperative chemotherapy has not influenced on the survival rate.
Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Korea ; Metastasectomy* ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Sarcoma* ; Survival Rate*

No abstract available.
Antibodies* ; Humans ; Leprosy*

BACKGROUND: It is important to evaluate the patient presenting with non-traumatic chest pain in emergency department, and it is also difficult to classify appropriately. The purpose of this study is to predict probability of acute myocardial infarction(AMI) and assess the group for low probability of AMI that is target for observation-unit of chest pain in emergency department. METHODS: A prospective, clinical study was performed from March 1998 to August 1998 at the department of emergency medicine, Ewha Womans University Mokdong hospital. We classified high-probability group and low-probability group of AMI according to Goldman's algorithm and then compared with the final diagnosis. RESULTS: The study included 218 patients. 84 patients(39%) was the high-probability group and 134 patients(61%) was the low-probability group of AMI. As compared with final diagnosis, AMI was 47 patients(56%) among the high-probability group and 1 patient(0.7%) among the low-probability group. We observed sensitivity of 98%, specificity of 78% in predicting AMI. CONCLUSION: The classification according to Goldman's algorithm may be useful predictor of AMI and improve triage for emergency department patient with chest pain. It is also helpful for management of observation-unit of chest pain in emergency department.
Chest Pain* ; Classification ; Diagnosis ; Emergencies* ; Emergency Medicine ; Emergency Service, Hospital* ; Female ; Humans ; Prospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Thorax* ; Triage

No abstract available.
Chickenpox*

The T cell responses to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) were analyzed in acute hepatitis patients, chronic active hepatitis (CAH) patients and asymptomatic carriers. Neither proliferative responses nor substantial cytokine production of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in response to HBsAg was detected. For further studies, HBsAg- reactive T cell lines were prepared from PBMC of the hepatitis patients and asymptomatic carriers. No proliferative response of the T cell lines was observed. Interestingly, however, T cell lines obtained from acute hepatitis patients were found to produce IFN-r, but not IL- 4, in response to HBsAg stimulation, whereas T cell lines obtained from CAH patients and carriers were not. Results of this study suggest that HBsAg-reactive T cells producing Thl type cytokines may play an important role in the viral clearance during acute infections, while defects in those T cells may be responsible for the viral persistency.
Cell Line ; Cytokines ; Hepatitis ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens* ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; T-Lymphocytes*

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of Desexualization Care guided by dramaturgical interaction on women's embarrassment during cervical cancer screening. METHOD: This study was carried out in a nonequivalent control group non-synchronized post-test only design. 62 women who had cervical cancer screening were conveniently recruited from a university hospital health promotion center. Embarrassment was measured under four distinctive sub-dimensions by the method of self-reported questionnaire and blood pressure and pulse rates monitoring. The data of control group had a conventional pap smear were collected in advance and then those of experimental group were gathered after completing data collection in the control group. Women in experimental group were provided with a newly developed cervical cancer screening programme in which interdisciplinary team conducted dramaturgical interaction. RESULT: There was no significant difference in the scores of VAS between the two groups. The score of physiological response of Embarrassment Measurement Scale was significantly lower in experimental group than in the control group (p<.05), while no significant difference was found in cognitive-emotional, non-verbal and verbal behavioral responses between the two groups. There was also no significant difference in blood pressure and pulse rates between the two groups during cervical screening. CONCLUSION: Desexualization Care guided by dramaturgical interaction during cervical screening was found to have positive effect on physiological response of women's embarrassment. Further research for identifying other main variables which might have influenced on women's embarrassment is needed.
Blood Pressure ; Data Collection ; Female ; Health Promotion ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Mass Screening* ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms* ; Verbal Behavior

A retrospective study was made of the medical records of 114 pregnant women with untreated syphilis and their offsprings, and 19 pregnant women with treated syphilis and their offsprings at Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine during the years 1972 through 1981. We analyzed the outcornes of offsprings from both untreated and treated syphilitic mothers and the clinical manife- stations of early congenital syphilis. The results obtained were as follows: Of 30 offsprings from 30 untreated syphilitic mothers with VDRL titer below 1: 4, six(20%) had congenital syphilis, one(3%) was a stillbirth, and twenty-three were normal infants. Of 84 offsprings from 84 untreated syphilitic mothers with VDRL titer above 1: 8, fifty-six(67g) had congenital syphilis, ten(12g,) were neonatal deaths, and eighteen(21%) were stillbirths, Normal infants were not observed. The mean weight ratio of placenta to fetus was 0 29 in g8 offsprings from syphilitic mothers. The ratios were as follows: 0. 25 in 14 living infants with con- genital syphilis, 0. 27 in 5 neonatal deaths, and (), 33 in 19 stillbirths respectively. 3, Of 19 pregnant women with treated syphilis, the qualitative tests of VDRL were all reactive except for one case and the quantitatis e tests of VDRL were 1: 1 weakly reactive to 1: 4 reactive. FTA-ABS tests demonstrated reactive results in all cases. The qualitative tests of VDRL in the infeants of the treated mothers were 1: 1 weakly reactive to 1: 2 reactive and FTA-ABS tests were reactive in all cases.-countinue-
Female ; Fetus ; Fluorescent Treponemal Antibody-Absorption Test ; Humans ; Infant ; Medical Records ; Mothers* ; Placenta ; Pregnant Women ; Retrospective Studies ; Stillbirth ; Syphilis ; Syphilis, Congenital*