No abstract available.
Methylprednisolone* ; Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic*

We report a case of squamous cell carcinoma arising in porokeratosis of Mibelli in a 32-year-old male who presented with a large, slowly extending, erythematous patch with central ulceration on the left lateral side of the neck. Histopathologic examination of the periphery of the patch and central tumor showed porokeratosis and squamous cell carcinoma, respectively.
Adult ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell* ; Epithelial Cells* ; Humans ; Male ; Neck ; Porokeratosis* ; Ulcer

PURPOSE: Recent years have witness a dramatic increase in public awareness of the health risks associated with lead exposure-particularly concerning young children. The lead poisoning in children was considered a rarity, usually resulting from unique circumstances such as in appropriate use of lead-based body cosmetics or direct administration of lead-containing folk medicine or contaminated atmosphere. The increasing concern about children with lower levels of lead exposure has developed, but there are no data regarding the mean blood lead levels and the incidence of lead poisoning in Korean children. So, this study was conducted to measure the blood lead and ZPP(zinc protoporphyrin) levels of 125 children around Cheonan city. METHODS: 125 children around Cheonan city (from 1 month to 15 year-old, 68 males and 57 females) were studied. We analyzed the mean blood Zinc Protoporphyrin(ZPP) and lead values and excluded children with hematologic disorders in this study. RESULTS: 1) The mean blood lead level was 4.15 microgram/dl (95% CI: 3.82-4.488) and the mean ZPP level was 53.48 microgram/dl (95% CI: 48.44-58.52). Both were within normal range. 2) The mean blood lead level of 68 males was 4.23 microgram/dl and 4.06 microgram/dl in 57 females. The mean blood ZPP level was 49.88 microgram/dl in males and 57.77 microgram/dl in females. There was no significant difference in males and females. 3) There was no siginificant correlation between blood lead and ZPP concentration. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that the mean blood lead level of 125 children around Cheonan city was 4.15 microgram/dl. That was within normal range and the same values with United States. It is important that there must be a national counter plan and that pediatricians continue to pay attention to lead poisoning in children.
Adolescent ; Atmosphere ; Child* ; Chungcheongnam-do* ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lead Poisoning ; Male ; Medicine, Traditional ; Reference Values ; United States ; Zinc

Variety of complications following ventriculoperitoneal(V-P) shunt have been reported. However, right ventricular migration of a V-P shunt has never been documented. The authors present a case of migrated peritoneal catheter of a V-P shunt system into the right venticle. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case complicated with migration of a peritoneal tube into the right ventricle. The patient was presented with fever and the migration was diagnosed by chest X-ray, and neck and cardiac ultrasonography.
Catheters* ; Fever ; Heart Ventricles* ; Humans ; Neck ; Thorax ; Ultrasonography

Esophageal cancer may induce progressive dysphagia. Insertion of a self-expandable metallic stent is widely used to relieve dysphagia. There are previous case reports that have described the use of membrane-covered stents to seal esophageal perforations. Complications of the use of an esophageal stent include bleeding, fistula formation, perforation, pain, tumor ingrowth and migration of the stent. A perforation may occur during or after the insertion of a stent from a contact ulcer due to the sharp ends of the metallic stents. We report a case of esophageal perforation after the insertion of a membrane-covered esophageal stent, which showed perforation at the middle portion of stent due to expansion of the stent. The perforation was sealed without surgical treatment or additional stent insertion.
Deglutition Disorders ; Esophageal Neoplasms ; Esophageal Perforation ; Esophagus ; Fistula ; Hemorrhage ; Stents ; Ulcer

Human cases of echinostomiasis have been sporadically diagnosed by extracting worms in the endoscopy in Korea and Japan. Most of these were caused by Echinostoma hortense infection. However, in the present study, we detected 2 live worms of Echinostoma cinetorchis in the ascending colon of a Korean man (68-year old) admitted to the Gyeongsang National University Hospital with complaint of intermittent right lower quadrant abdominal pain for 5 days. Under colonoscopy, 1 worm was found attached on the edematous and hyperemic mucosal surface of the proximal ascending colon and the other was detected on the mid-ascending colon. Both worms were removed from the mucosal surface with a grasping forceps, and morphologically identified as E. cinetorchis by the characteristic head crown with total 37 collar spines including 5 end-group ones on both sides, disappearance of testes, and eggs of 108x60 microm with abopercular wrinkles. The infection source of this case seems to be the raw frogs eaten 2 months ago. This is the first case of endoscopy-diagnosed E. cinetorchis infection in Korea.
Aged ; Animals ; Colon/*parasitology ; Colonoscopy ; Echinostoma/anatomy & histology/classification/*isolation & purification ; Echinostomiasis/*diagnosis/parasitology ; Humans ; Korea ; Male

No abstract available.
Acne Vulgaris ; Allergens ; Dermatitis, Allergic Contact* ; Dermatitis, Contact ; Hospitals, University ; Incidence ; Korea* ; Mass Screening ; Merbromin ; Patch Tests ; Potassium ; Povidone ; Povidone-Iodine

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Oxidative stress is thought to play important role in cardiovascular disease. Thioredoxin is an important biomarker for determining the degree of oxidative stress. However, the relationship between the plasma thioredoxin levels and myocardial damage has not been investigated. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We measured the plasma thioredoxin levels in the patients suffering with acute myocardial infarction and who also underwent successful primary angioplasty. We then compared the plasma thioredoxin levels and the clinical parameters in acute myocardial infarction patients (n=37) in order to examine the relationship between oxidative stress and myocardial damage. RESULTS: The plasma thioredoxin level was significantly related with the initial WBC count (r=0.349, p<0.05) and the myocardial damage, the peak CK level (r=0.489, p<0.01), the CK increment (r=0.452, p<0.05), the peak MB level (r=0.417, p<0.05), and the MB increment (r=0.364, p<0.05). We divided the patients into two groups according to the plasma thioredoxin levels. There was a significant difference in myocardial damage between the low and high plasma thoiredoxin levels at the initial WBC count (10174.2+/-3380.4/uL vs 13500+/-3740.7/uL, respectively; p<0.01) and the cardiac enzyme, the peak CK level (2565.2+/-1389.9 IU/L vs 4045.9+/-1978.9 IU/L, respectively; p=0.02), the CK increment (2309.6+/-1351.8 IU/L vs 3762.8+/-2079.7 IU/L, respectively; p=0.03), the peak MB level (208.7+/-127.5 IU/L vs 322.7+/-146.3 IU/L, respectively; p=0.02), and the MB increment (173.8+/-128.4 IU/L vs 277.7+/-158.9 IU/L, respectively; p=0.05). CONCLUSION: High thioredoxin levels were associated with the degree of oxidative stress and the extent of myocardial damage. Thioredoxin levels may be used as a new surrogate biomarker for the severity of oxidative stress and the extent of myocardial damage in the patients suffering with acute myocardial infarction.
Angioplasty* ; Cardiovascular Diseases ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Oxidative Stress ; Plasma* ; Thioredoxins*

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is an autosomal dominant inherited disease characterized by epistaxis, telangiectases and visceral arteriovenous malformations (AVMs). The involvement of the gastrointestinal tract, liver, lung and cerebrum for HHT has been described, whereas little is known about AVMs of the spleen. We report here the radiological findings of a case of a splenic AVM manifested by thrombocytopenia in HHT.
Arteriovenous Malformations ; Cerebrum ; Epistaxis ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Liver ; Lung ; Spleen ; Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic ; Telangiectasis ; Thrombocytopenia

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Endoscopic injection therapy improves the outcome in bleeding peptic ulcer, but the optimum regimen is unknown. Although endoscopic injection therapy is effective in controlling initial hemorrhage from a peptic ulcer, between 10% to 30% of patients suffer rebleeding. The aim of this study was to evaluate the initial and ultimate success rate of hemostasis, the rebleeding rate, hospital stay (days), and the emergency operation rate in patients who had undergone endoscopic ethanol injection for bleeding peptic ulcer. METHODS: Thirty nine patients presented with active bleeding (spurting), visible vessels, or blood clots on endoscopic findings were given an endoscopic ethanol injection with a total of 1.0-3.0 ml of ethanol. The initial and ultimate success rate of hemostasis, rebleeding rate, and emergency operation rate after the endoscopic injection was evaluated. RESULTS: 1) The initial success of hemostasis was 38/39 (97.4%). 2) The rebleeding rate after ethanol injection was 8/39 (20.5%). 3) The success rate of the second trial of ethanol injection was 3/8 (37.8%). 4) Emergency operations were conducted in5/39 (12.8%). 5) The ultimate success rate of hemostasis was 34/39 (87.2%). 6) There were no mortalities [0/39 (0%)] related to the ethanol injections and bleeding peptic ulcers. 7) There were no complications [0/39 (0%)] related to the ethanol injections. 8) The mean duration of hospitalization was 9.5 4.5 days. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic ethanol injection in the treatment of bleeding peptic ulcers was as effective and safe as any other injection or mechanical hemostatic method. Further prospective studies or endoscopic trials for hemostasis are needed to reduce the rebleeding rate and emergency operation rate of bleeding peptic ulcer.
Emergencies ; Ethanol* ; Hemorrhage* ; Hemostasis ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Mortality ; Peptic Ulcer* ; Prognosis*