15 patients with active Behcet's uveitis, suffering from marked deterioration of visual acuity in at least one eye were treated with cyclosporin A(CYA), 5 mg/kg/day for 6 months. All patients showed improved or same visual acuity after 1 month trial. All except 4 cases maintained same or improved visual acuity after trial of 6 months. There were minor side effects noted during the trial of 6 months except one who had suffered from the chronic persistent hepatitis. The authors conclude that CYA seems to be effective drug for the treatment of severe Behcet's uveitis.
Cyclosporine ; Hepatitis, Chronic ; Humans ; Uveitis ; Visual Acuity

We analysed the results of the 521 bronchofiberscopies which was carried out at the Severance Hospital during 1977-1980. The purpose of the bronchofiberscopic procedures were diagnostic in 488 cases (93.8%), therapeutic in 18 cases (3.4%) and follow up observation in 15 cases (2.8%). It's major role is in the diagnosis of lung cancer and the tuberculosis in our hospital. In 190 patients of lung cancer confirmed positive typing was possible in 72.9% by bronchial biopsy, 52.6% by washing cytology. In 48 patient with tuberculosis who was not diagnosed before bronchofiberscopy, tubercle bacilli were found in 20% by AFB smear, 51% by AFB culture and 68.4% by bronchoscopic biopsy. Complications were minimal(1.9%).
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Bronchoscopy/methods ; Female ; Fiber Optics ; Human ; Lung Diseases/diagnosis* ; Lung Neoplasms/diagnosis ; Male ; Middle Age

Twenty-five patients underwent flexible fiberoptic bronchoscopic examination under fluoroscopic guidance. All patients had an endoscopically invisible pulmonary lesion suggestive of malignancy. A diagnostic specimen was obtained in 23 of the 25 patients (92%). A pathological finding of lung cancer was obtained in 14 patient (56%) through the transbronchial lung biopsy (12 cases) and by washing cytology (2 cases). Remaining 11 patients who were undiagnosed for pulmonary malignancy were followed by clinically had roentgenographically over 6 months. We evaluated the sensitivity and specificity of the TBLB procedures including brushing cytology and noted an 82.4% in sensitivity and 100% in specificity.
Adult ; Aged ; Biopsy/methods ; Bronchoscopy ; Female ; Fiber Optics ; Human ; Lung/pathology* ; Lung Neoplasms/pathology* ; Male ; Middle Age

One hundred and sixty patients having bronchogenic carcinoma were evaluated for bone metastasis by means of 99mTc-monodiphosphate bone scanning, correlative radiographic bone survey and their clinical findings. In all patients, diagnosis was histologically proved. Bone scan demonstrated the possible evidence of bone metastasis in 75 patients (46.9%) and radiography, in 29 patients (18.1%). False negative was noted in 1 patient-Bone scan correlated with radiography in 37.3%, and with accompanying bone pain in 52% of the patients. But there was no correlation with the level of serum calcium, inorganic phos- phorus and alkaline phosphatase. In connection with their clinical stages before scanning, bone scans were positive in 33.3% of clinical stage I, 10.8% of clinica1 stage II and 54.1% of clinical stage III. Our Study suggests that bone scanning with 99m-monodiphosphate detected early bone metastasis in patients with bronchogenic carcinoma before their lesions became evident clinically or radiographically, and also important to determine operability.
Adult ; Aged ; Bone Neoplasms/radiography ; Bone Neoplasms/radionuclide imaging ; Bone Neoplasms/secondary* ; Bone and Bones/radionuclide imaging* ; Carcinoma, Bronchogenic/radiography ; Carcinoma, Bronchogenic/radionuclide imaging* ; Comparative Study ; Female ; Human ; Lung Neoplasms/radiography ; Lung Neoplasms/radionuclide imaging* ; Male ; Middle Age ; Technetium/diagnostic use ; Tomography, Emission-Computed

Objectives: This study investigated the effect of cognitive impairment on the association between social network properties and mortality among older Korean adults. Methods: This study used data from the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. It obtained 814 older adults’ complete network maps across an entire village in 2011-2012. Participants’ deaths until December 31, 2020 were confirmed by cause-of-death statistics. A Cox proportional hazards model was used to assess the risks of poor social network properties (low degree centrality, perceived loneliness, social non-participation, group-level segregation, and lack of support) on mortality according to cognitive impairment. Results: In total, 675 participants (5510.4 person-years) were analyzed, excluding those with missing data and those whose deaths could not be verified. Along with cognitive impairment, all social network properties except loneliness were independently associated with mortality. When stratified by cognitive function, some variables indicating poor social relations had higher risks among older adults with cognitive impairment, with adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) of 2.12 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.34 to 3.35) for social nonparticipation, 1.58 (95% CI, 0.94 to 2.65) for group-level segregation, and 3.44 (95% CI, 1.55 to 7.60) for lack of support. On the contrary, these effects were not observed among those with normal cognition, with adjusted HRs of 0.73 (95% CI, 0.31 to 1.71), 0.96 (95% CI, 0.42 to 2.21), and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.23 to 3.96), respectively. Conclusions The effect of social network properties was more critical among the elderly with cognitive impairment. Older adults with poor cognitive function are particularly encouraged to participate in social activities to reduce the risk of mortality.

PURPOSE: Laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (LRYGB) and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) are the most effective intervention and cure in achieving sustained weight loss in the morbidly obese with co-morbities, especially in type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Currently, there are few data in the literature presenting early diabetic outcomes between the 2 major bariatric surgeries in Korea. The aim of this study is to observe weight loss, improvement of type 2 DM after LRYGB and LAGB. METHODS: 33 retrospective data were obtained from diabetic subjects undergoing LRYGB (n=53) and LAGB (n=77). These measurements included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), pre-operative diabetic duration, post-operative diabetic at follow-up visit after surgery. Paired t-test, and SPSS12.0 were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: 33 morbidly obese patients with type 2 DM who had both procedures complain of general weakness. Most patients were taking oral medications or insulin and tired of them. Pre and post-op 12 months of percent of excess weight loss (%EWL), fetal bovine serum (FBS), hemoglobin A1c (HbA1C) presented at 0%, 185.6 mg/dl, 8.7% and 70.6%, 123.4 mg/dl, 6.6% in patients who had LRYGB (P<0.05). Pre and post-op 12 months of %EWL, FBS, HbA1C presented at 0%, 180.6 mg/dl, 8.4% and 32.8%, 136.5 mg/dl, 6.8% in patients who had LAGB (P<0.05). Rate of discontinuance or decreasing for treatment of type 2 DM after surgery showed 94% for LRYGB versus 80% for LAGB, and unchanged rates were 6% versus 20%, respectively. CONCLUSION: This study showed LRYGB and LAGB are quite satisfactory and promising bariatric procedures with significant weight loss and improvement of type 2 DM in Koreans. LRYGB is significantly associated with more weight loss, more diabetic outcome than LAGB. Clinical experiences in Korea with both procedures are limited and a larger number of cases are need, but the recent data shows promising results that are comparable to the international experience.
Bariatric Surgery ; Body Mass Index ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gastric Bypass ; Hemoglobins ; Humans ; Insulin ; Korea ; Retrospective Studies ; Weight Loss

Good preoperative screening and evaluation of patients undergoing surgery is necessary because it serves to identify the individual who is at risk of increased intra-operative and postoperative morbidity and mortality. The retrospective study was done in an attempt to determine if abnormalities in preoperative pulmonary function, detected by routine pulmonary function tests, would predict which patients would suffer from pulmonary complications following surgery. Pulmonary complications in the postoperative period included fever, atelectasis and respiratory failure. The overall incidence of pulmonary complications from our 78 patients undergoing surgery was 37 percent based on clinical criteria. This incidence was high in patients with FEV1 less than 1.0 L/sec, MVV less than 40% of predicted value and PCO2 more than 45 mmHg.
Fever/etiology ; Humans ; Lung Diseases/*etiology ; *Postoperative Complications ; Pulmonary Atelectasis/diagnosis ; *Respiratory Function Tests ; Respiratory Insufficiency/etiology ; Retrospective Studies

A 47-year-old maIe, who had been treated under the diagnosis of bronchial asthma, was admitted to this department with the complaints of progressive dyspnea of 3 years duration and upper air way obstruction causing unique stridor. Through roentgenography and bronchoscopy, lower tracheal hamartoma was confirmed, but a pulmonary function test precipitated acute hypoxia with mental somnolence. The tumor was removed as quickly as possible by multiple punch biopsy, through a rigid bronchoscope, for life saving air way maintenance.
Biopsy ; Bronchoscopy ; Fiber Optics ; Hamartoma/diagnosis* ; Human ; Male ; Middle Age ; Respiratory Sounds/etiology* ; Trachea/pathology ; Tracheal Neoplasms/diagnosis*

Candida species are frequently found in the normal microorganism of humans, which facilitates their encounter with most implanted biomaterials and host surfaces. Medical devices such as stents, prostheses, implants and various types of catheters have all been shown to support colonization and biofilm formation by Candida. Candida albicans remains the fungal species most commonly associated with biofilm formation and the increase in Candida infections in the last decades has almost paralleled the increase and widespread use of a broad range of medical implant devices, mainly in populations with impaired host defenses. The formation of C. albicans biofilms carries important clinical repercussions because of their increased resistance to antifungal therapy and the ability of cells within biofilms to withstand host immune defenses. Also, biofilm formation on medical devices can negatively impact the host by serving as a reservoir or source for future continuing infections. This review article aims to provide insights on various aspects of C. albicans biofilms, formation and structure, their role in pathogenesis and antifungal drug resistance.
Biocompatible Materials ; Biofilms ; Candida ; Candida albicans ; Catheters ; Colon ; Drug Resistance, Fungal ; Humans ; Prostheses and Implants ; Stents

We evaluated the correlations between the allergy skin test for house dust radioallergosorbent test (RAST) and the bronchial provocation test for revealing the sensitivity of the skin test and RAST, and for aiding in the search for the causative allergen in house dust asthmatics. There was an overall 72.5% agreement between the prick test and RAST, a 73.8% agreement between the prick test and house dust bronchoprovocation test (HD-BPT), and a 71.3% agreement between HD-BPT and RAST. A positive RAST was found with a positive HD-BPT in 71.2% of cases, and if RAST was negative, HD-BPT was negative in 46.9% of cases. 69.6% of the positive cases on prick test (more than 21 mm of erythema) were positive with RAST. All of the cases with a negative skin reaction to the prick test were negative to RAST. A positive skin test was found with a positive HD-BPT in 77.1% of cases, and if the prick test was negative, the HD-BPT was negative in 50.0% of cases. 87.5% of cases with a RAST positive exhibited a positive result with HD-BPT. A significant correlation was found between the results of prick tests and those of RASTs in the early response group of HD-BPT, but not in the late and dual response groups. There were significant correlations between total serum IgE and the results of HD-BPT, and total serum IgE value and the results of RAST. The greater the size of the prick test, the greater the likelihood of a positive HD-BPT. All 5 cases with an end point of intradermal skin test of a 5 degrees -5(-l) X 10(-2) dilution of house dust noted a negative HD-BPT. There was no significant correlation between total serum IgE and total eosinophil count. There was no significant correlation between wheal and erythema size of prick test and PC20 of methacholine.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Asthma/diagnosis* ; Bronchial Provocation Tests ; Dust/adverse effects* ; Female ; Human ; Intradermal Tests ; Male ; Middle Age ; Radioallergosorbent Test ; Respiratory Hypersensitivity/diagnosis*