No abstract available.
Cleft Lip* ; Congenital Abnormalities*

An unusual case of glroependymal cyst involving the lateral ventricle, 3rd ventricle, cerebellopontine angle cistern and prepontine cistern, simultaneously, is reported. The glroependymal cyst is benign developmental cyst that mainly occurs in the cerebrospinal axis in relation to ventricle, but occasionally occurs in relation to extraventricular system, such as subarachnoid space, brain stem and cerebral parenchyme. The histological characteristics of ependymal cyst wall are ependyma-like epithelium and neuroglial tissue.
Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Brain Stem ; Cerebellopontine Angle ; Epithelium ; Lateral Ventricles ; Subarachnoid Space

OBJECTIVES: We investigated impulsivity and sensation seeking of pathological gambling, comparing with alcoholism and normal group. METHODS: 36 pathological gamblers, who were diagnosed by DSM-IV criteria, were compared with 31 alcoholism group and 26 healthy normal group with Barratt impulsivity scale and Zuckerman sensation seeking scale. RESULTS: 1) Pathological gamblers appeared to have much more impulsivity than alcoholism group or normal group. In respect to sensation seeking, no significant differences were founded among three groups. 2) Pathological gamblers tend to have more non-planning impulsivity, cognitive impulsivity, and motor impulsivity than alcoholic group. Comparing with normal group, pathological gamblers tend to have more non-planning impulsivity and motor impulsivity, but not in cognitive impulsivity. 3) There were no differences in three sub-scales including of thrill seeking, experience seeking and disinhibition out of four sub-scales of sensation seeking scale, among three groups. However, Boredom susceptibility was higher in pathological gamblers than alcoholics and normal group. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that personality of pathological gambler is most impulsive and boredom susceptible, which indicates that pathological gamblers is more serious pathological clinical disorder than alcoholism.
Alcoholics ; Alcoholism* ; Boredom ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; Gambling* ; Humans ; Impulsive Behavior* ; Sensation

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy and timeliness of using tracheal ultrasound for examination of endotracheal tube placement in cardiac arrest patients. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational study, conducted at the emergency department of a university teaching hospital. Patients underwent emergency intubation due to cardiac arrest. Airway ultrasonography was performed during emergency intubation with the transducer placed transversely at the trachea over the suprasternal notch. Quantitative waveform capnography was used as the criterion standard for confirmation of tracheal intubation. The main outcome was the timeliness between airway ultrasonography and capnography. RESULTS: A total of 16 patients and 19 intubations were included in the analysis. The endotracheal tube was placed in the trachea in 16 intubations and in the esophagus in three intubations. The overall sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound for confirmation of tracheal intubation was 100%, respectively. The capnography application time after intubation was 17.5(10.0~32.5) seconds. The capnograpny confirmation time after application was 30(10~120) seconds. The ultrasound confirmation time for endotracheal tube placement after application was 5(4~5) seconds. CONCLUSION: When patients were in a low pulmonary blood flow state, such as cardiac arrest, capnography confirmation of endotracheal tube placement was not rapid and needed a lot of times. Ultrasound confirmation was very rapid and accurate, and was not affected by pulmonary blood flow. Ultrasound confirmation of endotracheal tube placement is more useful in the emergency department.
Capnography ; Emergencies ; Esophagus ; Heart Arrest ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Intubation ; Prospective Studies ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Trachea ; Transducers

The patients with degenerative lumbar spine disease were treated using TSRH(Texas Scottish Rite Hospital) universal instrumentation system. The patient population consisted of 6 men and 4 women with a mean age of 56 years(43 to 65 years). All patients suffered chronic back pain with other neurological symptoms and signs. Neurological improvement was obtained in all cases postoperatively. Complication include pneumonia in 1 case, deep vein thrombosis in 1 case, flaccid neurogenic bladder in 1 case. Autogenous bone graft, obtained from iliac bone, between transverse process provided excellent bony fusion in 7 cases on radiologic evaluation between 9 months to 12 months after operation. TSRH universal instrumentation system have several advantages compared with other pedicle screw rod systems ; easy to handle, low morbidity, shorter operative time and easier relieval of root compression.
Back Pain ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Operative Time ; Pneumonia ; Spine ; Transplants ; Urinary Bladder, Neurogenic ; Venous Thrombosis

No abstract available.

PURPOSE: To describe that Computer image recognition technique is more accurately and less invasive than other methods, which using contact lens with a search probe or electrodes for record of eye movements. METHODS: A reference marker which was infrared was attached to the center of the forehead of the patients and the infrared light was illuminated to both eyes. Video image sequences were recorded using digital CCD camera and the captured image frames (640 X 480) were processed using a image analysis program. From which each image frame captured, pupil area was saperated using difference of brightness in pupil and iris. And then the pupil center was determined by calculating the center-of-mass of black pixels to meet the pupil threshold criteria. RESULTS: In a post-processing process, we could acquire horizontal and vertical eye position and velocity data. Inverse fast fourier transformation(FFT) and digital filtering algorithm were applied to filter out noise due to limited resolution of the CCD camera and sampling rates. Experimental result showed that the system could detect about 0.2mm positional location and 30Hz horizontal and vertical eye movements simultaneously. CONCLUSIONS: We could accurately measure and record two dimensional eye movements of patients (horizontal and vertical simultaneously) in real time with some head movements.
Electrodes ; Eye Movements* ; Forehead ; Head Movements ; Humans ; Iris ; Noise ; Pupil

PURPOSE: Post-authorization survey(PAS) is a useful tool for obtainting wider range of data on the safety and efficacy of new drugs following their approval, as they can detect uncommon, unreported adverse events(AEs), which enables more attention to be directed to the practioners. Especially, the limited number of patients in oncology trial cannot usually give the actual incidence of AEs. METHODS: Since Nov. 1998, when docetaxel gained Korean approval in the treatment of breast cancer, a PAS to investigate its safety profiles has been conducted targeting more than 600 patients over 4 calendar years. RESULTS: Case report forms from 626 out of 646 patients were assessable for safety and 444 for efficacy. The patient characteristics are: mean age, 48.1 years; male/female 4/622; Wt/Ht/BSA 57.9 kg/156.1 cm/1.56 m2 ; stage I-II/III/IV 109 (18.2%)/125 (20.8%)/366(61.0%). In 344 patients, 960 AEs were reported in severity of mild/moderate/severe in 6.7, 40.9 and 51.1 % of cases. From AE results, 36.0% needed dose reduction; 34.3% transient interruption of the cycle; and 1.3% permanent discontinuation of docetaxel. Thirty five serious AEs such as febrile neutropenia, alopecia, diarrhea, abdominal pain and headache were reported in 21 patients. Unexpected AEs such as skin ulcer, discoloration of skin, H. Zoster infection, ulticaria, facial flush, chest pain, hemoptysis, pneumonia, stridor, nasal bleeding, photophobia, haematuria, Cushing's syndrome, hyperglycemia and insomnia were reported regardless of any causal relationship. Factors affecting the development of AEs were age, stage, concomitant medication other than chemotherapeutic agents and the number of cycles treated. The efficacy was evaluable in 444 patients with overall response rate of 36.5% (CR/PR 6.3/30.2%). Factors affecting the efficacy were stage, concommitant medication other than chemotherapeutic agents and the number of treatment cycles. CONCLUSION: This post-authorization survey on the safety and efficacy of docetaxel in breast cancer offers oncology practice in the real world without subject selection as is the case in clinical trials, although it was performed to fulfill the registrative requirement of the Korean health authority with limited data. The efficacy and safety profile of docetaxel in breast cancer was no much different from those reported in clinical trials.
Abdominal Pain ; Alopecia ; Breast Neoplasms* ; Breast* ; Chest Pain ; Cushing Syndrome ; Diarrhea ; Epistaxis ; Febrile Neutropenia ; Headache ; Hemoptysis ; Herpes Zoster ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia ; Incidence ; Photophobia ; Pneumonia ; Respiratory Sounds ; Skin ; Skin Ulcer ; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders

The authors present a statistical survey of the general incidence, age distribution, and preferential site of 631 tumors of the brain which have been surgically treated at Korea university medical center, department of neurosurgery over the last period of 10 years from 1985 to 1994. Among them 269 cases were males and 362 were females. Of the 631 intracranial neoplasms verified histologically, tumors of neuroepithelial tissue comprised 34%(212 cases), tumors of meninges 23%(148 cases), pituitary adenoma 18%(114 cases), metastatic tumors 8%(50 cases), neurilemmomas 8%(49 cases), germ cell tumors 3%(13 cases), cyst and tumor like lesions 3%(16 cases), and lymphomas 1%(5 cases). Of the 178 gliomas, astrocytic tumors comprised 83%(148 cases), oligodendroglial tumors 11%(20 cases), ependymal tumors 3%(6 cases) and mixed gliomas 1.7%(3 cases). Brain tumors occurred most frequently in the age group of 45-50 years, as seen by an incidence of 63 cases(10%). The male to female ratio was 0.74: 1. Tumors that showed a definitive preponderance of females over males were meningiomas, neurilemmomas, and pituitary adenomas. Supratentoral and infratenorial cases were 73%(461 cases) and 26%(162 cases), respectively and the remaining cases involved both sites. Of the 114 cases of childhood and adolescent tumors, 60 were male and 54 were female. Supratentorial tumors were 56% and infratentorial were 44%. The tumors in order of frequency were astrocytomas(28%), primitive neuroectodermal tumors(21%), craniopharyngioma(10%) and so on. Meningiomas occurred most frequently in parasagittal/falx area(25%), followed by cerebral convexity 23%, sphenoid 14%, posterior fossa 13%. Among pituitary adenomas, prolactinomas(32%) were the most common and followed by null cell adenomas 31%, growth hormone cell adenomas 15%, mixed GH-PRL cell adenomas 11%.
Academic Medical Centers ; Adenoma ; Adolescent ; Age Distribution ; Astrocytoma ; Brain Neoplasms* ; Brain* ; Female ; Glioma ; Growth Hormone ; Humans ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Lymphocytes, Null ; Lymphoma ; Male ; Meninges ; Meningioma ; Neoplasms, Germ Cell and Embryonal ; Neural Plate ; Neurilemmoma ; Neurosurgery ; Pituitary Neoplasms ; Supratentorial Neoplasms

PURPOSE: The endotracheal tube cuff pressure must be kept within the optimal range. This study compared the usefulness of the conventional pilot balloon palpation technique using a 10 cc disposable syringe and passive release technique using a Loss of Resistance (LOR) syringe for obtaining adequate intracuff pressures of endotracheal intubated patients in an emergency department. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational study, conducted at the emergency department of a university teaching hospital. Patients who required endotracheal intubation in an emergency department were enrolled in this study. The patients were divided into two groups: one group who underwent the pilot balloon palpation technique using a conventional syringe (group A, n=40) and the other group who underwent the passive release technique using a LOR syringe technique (group B, n=40). The amount of air that infused into the cuff and the cuff pressure were measured. RESULTS: The mean cuff pressures of groups A and B were 41.0+/-23.7 cmH2O and 23.7+/-16.5 cmH2O, respectively. The mean cuff pressure of group A were significantly higher than group B (p=0.002). The mean air volume that infused into the cuff of groups A and B were 8.6+/-2.6 ml and 7.6+/-2.4 ml, respectively, showing no significant difference (p=0.688). The proportion of the optimal cuff pressure (Normal range: 22-32 cmH2O) of group A (9/40, 22.5%) was higher than that of group B (3/40, 7.5%). CONCLUSION: The range of air volumes and pressures for cuff inflation varied and it may not be possible to obtain the appropriate pressure using the LOR syringe technique. The endotracheal tube cuff pressure must be kept within the optimal range using a pressure monitor control inflator.
Benzeneacetamides ; Emergencies ; Hospitals, Teaching ; Humans ; Inflation, Economic ; Intubation ; Intubation, Intratracheal ; Organothiophosphorus Compounds ; Palpation ; Piperidones ; Prospective Studies ; Syringes