BACKGROUND: This study was aimed to elucidate the effect of thiopental anesthesia on circulatory response to hemorrhage in rats by power spectral analysis of heart rate and blood pressure variability. METHODS: Sixteen male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 350~475 g were divided into thiopental (50 mg/kg, ip)-anesthetized (T, n=10) and conscious (C, n=6) groups. Hemorrhage was induced with a withdrawal pump from the femoral artery at 3 ml/kg/min for 5 min. Arterial pressure was measured with a pressure transducer connected to the contralateral femoral artery for 5 min before, during and after hemorrhage. The blood pressure signal digitized at 500 Hz through a data acquisition system was analyzed with fast Fourier transform algorithm to yield power spectra of sytolic (SP) and diastolic (DP) blood pressure and instantaneous heart rate (HR). Powers of very low frequency (VLF, 0.02~0.26 Hz), low frequency (LF, 0.26~0.75 Hz) and high frequency (HF, 0.75~5.00 Hz) band were expressed as percent of total power. RESULTS: Before Hemorrhage blood pressure was lower in T (113 6/83 6 mmHg) than in C (157 4/101 2) rats, but was not changed by hemorrhage in both groups. Before Hemorrhage HR was lower in T (331 22 beats/min) than in C (378 27) rats. HR was significantly increased to 412 26 beats/min in C, but was not changed in T during hemorrhage. Total powers of Before Hemorrhage blood pressure and HR variability were lower in T than in C. During hemorrhage, total power of blood pressure variability tended to increase in both groups, and that of DP was significantly increased during hemorrhage in T. Total power of HR was significantly increased in C, but was not changed in T. T rats showed lower LF and higher HF power of blood pressure, and lower VLF and LF and higher HF power of HR than C rats. During hemorrhage, both groups showed no significant change in spectral distribution of HR power, except for a significant increase in LF of HR after hemorrhage in C. Spectral distribution of blood pressure power was not changed by hemorrhage in C. In T rats, VLF of DP was significantly increased and HF of DP was decreased during hemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS: It suggests that autonomic activity, especially cardiac sympathetic activity is increased in response to hemorrhage in C. Thiopental anesthesia depresses overall autonomic activity, especially sympathetic activity, and vasomotor tone. Hemorrhage under thiopental anesthesia induces depression of baroreceptor reflex activity, while increased levels of vasoconstrictor hormones help to maintain the blood pressure.
Anesthesia ; Animals ; Arterial Pressure ; Baroreflex ; Blood Pressure* ; Depression ; Femoral Artery ; Fourier Analysis ; Heart Rate* ; Heart* ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Male ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Thiopental ; Transducers, Pressure

The complications and the patients' attitude after transrectal systematic sextant biopsy of the prostate were evaluated by the questionnaire retrospectively. One hundred and sixty one of 211 men over 50 years old responded to the questionnaire. Transrectal sextant biopsy of the prostate under the finger guidance was performed by two doctors using Biopty Gun. The first 85 men (group A) received glycerin enema and oral administration of norfloxacin 30 minutes before the biopsy and norfloxacin was administered once again two to three hours after the biopsy. The other 126 men (group B) received the same procedures but the enema was performed using mixture of glycerin & betadine solution and the norfloxacin was administered 30 minutes before and for 3 days after the biopsy. Benign prostatic hyperplasia was diagnosed pathologically in 190 cases(90.1%) and prostate cancer in 8 cases(3.8%). No complication was less found in group A(23.4%) than in group B(40.5%)(P<0.05). Reported complications were perineal tenderness (group A: 42.9%,group B: 31.0%), hematuria (group A: 32.5%, group B: 34.5%), hemospermia (group A: 29.99%, group B: 19.0%), rectal bleeding (group A: 11.7%, group B: 11.9%), fever (group A: 15.69%, group B: 6.0%) and scrotal tenderness (group A: 2.6%, group B: 3.6%). In group A sepsis was developed in one case. Perineal tenderness lasted for 6.7 days in group A 5.1 days in group B. Hematuria was observed for 9.7 days in group A, 7.5 days in group B. Hemospermia was seen for 28.1 days in group A, 13.7 days in group B. Average duration of complications was shorter in group B (P<0.05). The better they understand the procedure of the biopsy, the less pain and the more satisfaction they experience. the rate of failure in obtaining tissue cores was 6.2%. If the doctor experiences more than about 120 cores of the tissue, the learning curve of success rate to obtain the proper specimens arrives to its plateau. In conclusion, the incidence of complications may be decreased by using appropriate pretreatment, especially adequate amount of antibiotics. Patient education is one of the most important steps to reduce the complications of this invasive technique.
Administration, Oral ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Biopsy* ; Enema ; Fever ; Fingers* ; Glycerol ; Hematuria ; Hemorrhage ; Hemospermia ; Humans ; Incidence ; Learning Curve ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Norfloxacin ; Patient Education as Topic ; Povidone-Iodine ; Prostate* ; Prostatic Hyperplasia ; Prostatic Neoplasms ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Retrospective Studies ; Sepsis

Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) is caused by the yeast-like fungus Pneumocystis jirovecii, which is specific to humans. PCP could be a source of opportunistic infection in adults that are immunosuppressed and children with prematurity or malnutrition. The diagnosis should be confirmed by identification of the causative organism, by analysis of the sputum, a bronchoalveolar lavage or a tissue biopsy. In both histologic and cytologic specimens, the cysts are contained within frothy exudates, which form aggregated clumps. The cysts often collapse forming crescent-shaped bodies that resemble ping-pong balls. We recently diagnosed nine cases of PCP using an immunohistochemical stain for Pneumocystis. The patients consisted of five human immunodeficiency virus positive individuals, two renal transplant recipients, and two patients with a malignant disease. All nine patients were infected with P. jirovecii, which was positive for monoclonal antibody 3F6. In conclusion, the immunohistochemical stain used in this report is a new technique for the detection of P. jirovecii infection.
Adult ; Biopsy ; Bronchoalveolar Lavage ; Child ; Exudates and Transudates ; Fungi ; HIV ; Humans ; Immunohistochemistry ; Malnutrition ; Opportunistic Infections ; Pneumocystis ; Pneumocystis jirovecii ; Pneumonia, Pneumocystis ; Sputum

Optic neuritis refers to any inflammatory disorder of optic nerves, but it usually denotes an acute or subacute disease of optic nerves attributed to inflammation associated with demyelination. The diagnosis of optic neuritis is usually made on a clinical ground. The condition usually presents as a painful subacute unilateral loss of vision, which progresses over a few days to 2 weeks. The pain varies in severity, although it typically does not interfere with sleep. We report 2 cases of atypical optic neuritis rapidly recovered by the administration of high doses of steroid that presented with severe eyeball pain accompanied by vague visual loss and painlessly insidious onset of visual loss respectively, with normal findings in fundoscopic examinations, visual evoked potentials and orbital MRIs.
Child ; Demyelinating Diseases ; Diagnosis ; Evoked Potentials, Visual ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Optic Nerve ; Optic Neuritis* ; Orbit

Polymicrobial peritonitis is a relatively uncommon complication and it's clinical characteristics, risk factor and optimal managernent remain controversial. To identify indications for catheter removal in polymicrobial peritonitis, we reviewed the 340 episodes that occured in 168 patients of CAPD peritonitis during past 7 years to identify those. Polymicribial peritonitis was the 18 epoisodes in 18 patients of all peritonitis. First, 18 patients with polymicrobial peritonitis (P-P) did not show significant differences in the demographic features compared to 130 patients with single organism peritonitis (S-P). In contrast to Staphylococcus in S-P, the most common causative organisrn in P-P was pseudomonas (23%). Also sgnificantly more catheters were removed in P-P than S-P (P=0.001). Second, we cornpared group I, the patients responded to antibiotics only, and group II, those who needed catheter removal. The group I was 7 (39%) and the group II was 11 (61%). No patient of group I died and two patients of group II died. Between group I and group II, there were no significant differences in the demographic features. However, patients whose dialysate-WBC counts were below 100 at 3rd day after start of antibiotics were more significantly frequent in group I than group II. Among combination of causative organisms in P-P, most of Pseudornonas (6/9) and fungus (4/4) were treated by catheter removal. In conclusion, more catheters were removed in P-P than S-P. When dialysate WBC at 3rd day after start of antibiotics were over 100 and causative organism included pseudomonas or fungus in P-P, catheter removal was needed. We suggest that the kinds of organisms isolated and early response to antibiotics influence on the outcome of polymicrobial peritonitis.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Catheters* ; Fungi ; Humans ; Peritoneal Dialysis, Continuous Ambulatory* ; Peritonitis* ; Pseudomonas ; Risk Factors ; Staphylococcus

STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study of posterior instrumentation without fusion for the stable thoracolumbar fracture. OBJECTIVES: To confirm vertebral body collapse by roentgenography and computerized tomography after removing posterior instrumentation at 6 months postoperatively in stable thoracolumbar burst fractures. SUMMARY OF LITERATURE REVIEW: Many authors have reported that vertebral body collapse occurs after instrumentation removal. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Sixty patients admitted between March 1999 and March 2001 with thoracolumbar junction fractures were included. Patients were divided into 3 groups: Group I - the Conservative management group (20 patients), Group II - Reduction and posterior fixation with fusion group (20 patients), Group III - Reduction and temporary posterior fixation group (20 patients). The patients were aged between 21 and 49 years (mean 38), and the follow-up period exceeded 1 year (mean 13.3 months). We studied vertebral height, kyphotic angle, disc height and facet hypertrophy by roentgenography, and the continu-ity of the anterior cortical connection, cavity formation, sclerotic bone formation and new bone formation by CT. RESULTS: The loss of vertebral height was 7.9% (from 21.5 to 29.4%) in Group I, 3.7% in Group II (preop 35%, postop 12.7%, postop 1Yr. 16.4%), and 3.5% in Group III (preop. 35.2%, postop 5.6%, postop 1Yr. 9.1%). Loss of angulation was 4.2degrees (from 9.6 degrees to 13.8 degrees) in Group I, 3.0 degrees in Group II (preop 15.3 degrees, postop 7.2 degrees , postop. 1Yr. 10.2 degrees), and 3.0 degrees in Group III (preop 14.6 degrees , postop. 5.9 degrees , postop 1Yr. 8.9 degrees). Loss of disc height was not statistically different for the 3 groups. Degenerative changes of the posterior facet were seen 3 patients of Group I, 11 patients of Group II, and in 5 patients of group III. On CT scan of Group III, all cases showed cavity formation and sclerosis ,and continuity of the anterior cortical connection and of new bone formation into the cavity were seen in 18 cases. CONCLUSIONS: Vertebral body collapse were not observed by roentgenography by computerized tomography after removing the posterior instrumentation at 6 months postoperatively in stable thoracolumbar burst fractures.
Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Osteogenesis ; Prospective Studies ; Radiography ; Sclerosis ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Administration, Intravesical* ; Humans ; Reflex, Abnormal*

Since 1982, many countries have reported outbreaks or sporadic cases by enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (E. coli) serogroup strains, mainly E. coli O157 : H7. Hemorrhagic E. coli induces hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) in 10 to 15% of cases in infants and young chilidren. HUS is a clinical syndrome of hemolytic anemia, acute renal failure, and thrombocytopenia. We experienced a case of E. coli O8 as the causative organism of hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome in 16 year-old man. Hemorrhagic colitis was diagnosed by the sigmoidoscopy and E. coli O8 was identified in the stool culture. Hemolytic uremic syndrome was clinically diagnosed. A conservative management including total parenteral nutrition, plasma exchange transfusion, hemodialysis and continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration with dialysis resulted in a complete recovery of the patient. We herein report this manifestations of E. coli O8 and discuss the therapeutic issues related to hemorrhagic colitis and hemolytic uremic syndrome.
Acute Kidney Injury ; Adolescent ; Anemia, Hemolytic ; Colitis ; Dialysis ; Disease Outbreaks ; Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli ; Escherichia coli* ; Escherichia* ; Hemofiltration ; Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome* ; Humans ; Infant ; Parenteral Nutrition, Total ; Plasma Exchange ; Renal Dialysis ; Sigmoidoscopy ; Thrombocytopenia

Estrogens are commonly used in gynecologic area, such as oral contraception, hormone replacement therapy, and in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer. Although estrogen is a common cause of acute drug-induced pancreatitis, there has been paucity of report in Korea. Clinical course of estrogen-induced acute pancreatitis is usually mild to moderate, but fetal case can occur. In addition, there can be a latency from the first administration to the symptom. Therefore, physicians should consider the possibility of the disease when a woman taking estrogen or previous history of taking estrogen presents with acute abdominal pain. Here, we report a case of estrogen-induced acute pancreatitis that occurred during the preparation for embryo transfer.
Abdominal Pain ; Contraception ; Embryo Transfer ; Estrogens ; Female ; Hormone Replacement Therapy ; Humans ; In Vitro Techniques ; Korea ; Pancreatitis*

PURPOSE: To investigate mid-term clinical outcomes of various methods of scapholunate reconstruction for chronic scapholunate instability. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 11 patients diagnosed as chronic scapholunate instability, from 2005 to 2013 and followed up for more than one year after surgery. 7 patients were treated with Garcia technique of triple ligament reconstruction, 2, bone-ligamemt-bone repair, and 2, dorsal capsulodesis. Mean age was 42 years (range, 23-61 years). The right side was involved in 6 patients, and the left in 5. The follow-up period averaged 42 months (range, 13-125 months). The postoperative functional outcomes were assessed with Modified Mayo wrist score (MMWS), disability of the arm, shoulder and hand (DASH) score and range of motion. The postoperative radiologic results were analyzed with the change of scapholunate angle and distance. RESULTS: The mean MMWS score improved from 65 preoperatively to 77 postoperatively (p=0.072). The mean DASH score improved from 29.4 (range, 18.3-43.3) preoperatively to 12.7 (range, 0-38.3) postoperatively (p=0.003). The dorsiflexion increased from 67° to 78°, the volar flexion decreased from 51° to 45°, the supination increased from 69° to 88°, and the pronation increased from 62° to 66°. The SL angle changed from 55° preoperatively to 51° postoperatively, the mean SL distance changed from 3.4 mm preoperatively to 1.7 mm postoperatively. CONCLUSION: The chronic scapholunate instability is amenable to various techniques and postoperative functional outcomes improved satisfactory.
Arm ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hand ; Humans ; Ligaments* ; Pronation ; Range of Motion, Articular ; Retrospective Studies ; Shoulder ; Supination ; Wrist