OBJECTIVES: Early diagnosis of intrauterine growth retardation is important to ensure optimal monitoring and delivery with the introduction of real-time and Doppler ultrasound systems, a noninvasive method of measuring human fetal blood flow has become available. The aim of this study is to compare blood flow velocity waveforms at the fetal descending aorta and umbilical artery in normal and in patients with pregnancy induced hypertension. METHODS: Using a combination of linear array real-time and pulsed Doppler ultrasound, blood flow velocity measurements were carried out at the fetal descending aorta and umbilical artery in 35 normal pregnancies and 18 cases of pregnancy induced hypertensive patients. RESULTS: The mean systolic/diastolic ratio of umbilical artery and aorta was significantly higher in PIH patients than in normal pregnancies(3.8 +/- 0.81 versus 2.97 +/- 0.52, p<0.05) and to predict perinatal morbidity, umbilical velocimetry is more sensitive than that of descending thoracic aorta. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that umbilical artery velocimetry could be used as a marker to predict adverse perinatal outcome.
Aorta ; Aorta, Thoracic* ; Blood Flow Velocity ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Fetal Blood ; Fetal Growth Retardation ; Humans ; Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced ; Pregnancy ; Rheology* ; Ultrasonography ; Umbilical Arteries

To identify significant prognostic factors in patients undergoing simple hysterectomy in the presence of invasive cervical cancer, the records of 45 patients who had taken such a procedure between 1993 and 1997 were reviewed. Overall relapse-free survival and 5-year survival rates were 91.1 and 92.1%, respectively. Factors found to be significantly related to survival were the retrospectively determined stage(p=0.0000), the presence of residual disease(p=0.0001), and cell type(p=0.0000). By multivariate analysis, factor emerging as significantly detrimental to survival was the cell type. The presence of residual disease was a marginally significant factor(p=0.067). The expectations for survival of patients with residual tumor mass and/or with adenocarcinoma after simple hysterectomy appear to be markedly worse than those with others, so radical reoperation should be considered in those patients.
Adenocarcinoma ; Humans ; Hysterectomy* ; Multivariate Analysis ; Neoplasm, Residual ; Reoperation ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Rate ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms*

We herein describe a case of a 55-year-old healthy woman with localized primary thymic amyloidosis presented as a mediastinal mass, found incidentally by chest radiography. Computed tomography revealed a 4.1 cm soft tissue lesion with nodular calcification in the left anterior mediastinum. The resected specimen was a well-defined lobulating mass with calcification. Microscopically, the mass was consisted of amorphous eosinophilc hyalinized substances involving the thymus and intrathymic lymph nodes. These eosinophilic substances showed apple-green bi-refringence under polarized light after staining with Congo red. In immunohistochemical study, they were positive for kappa and lambda light chains and negative for amyloid A. There was no evidence of systemic amyloidosis in clinical investigations. A final diagnosis of localized primary thymic amyloidosis was made.
Amyloid ; Amyloidosis ; Congo Red ; Eosinophils ; Female ; Humans ; Hyalin ; Light ; Lymph Nodes ; Mediastinum ; Middle Aged ; Thorax ; Thymoma ; Thymus Gland

More than 4 million women undergo breast cancer (BC) screening with mammography each year in Korea. Digital mammography (DM) was introduced in 2000, and it has been reported to have a higher diagnostic accuracy than screen-film mammography (SFM) or computed radiography (CR) in women with dense breasts. According to a study using data from the National Cancer Screening Program for BC, the diagnostic accuracy of DM was higher than those of SFM and CR, regardless of age, breast density, and screening round. Currently, despite high supply rate among OECD countries, the distribution of DM equipment is approximately 35% in Korea.For quick replacement with DM, it will be necessary to improve its fee for the National Health Insurance and support an educational program for radiologists. In addition, efforts should be made to increase the accessibility of DM.

Contusions ; Facial Bones ; Facial Nerve ; Facial Nerve Injuries ; Facial Paralysis ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lacerations ; Orbit ; Salivary Glands ; Skin ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; Wounds and Injuries

PURPOSE: We compared estimates of ejection fraction (EF) determined by gated Tl-201 perfusion SPECT (g-TI-SPECT) with those by gated blood pool (GBP) scan. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eighteen subjects underwent g-TI-SPECT and GBP scan. After reconstruction of g-TI-SPECT, we measured EF with Cedars software. The comparison of the EF with g-TI-SPECT and GHP scan was assessed by correlation analysis and Bland Altman plot. RESULTS: The estimates of EF were significantly different (p<0.05) with g-TI-SPECT (40%+/-14%) and GBP scan (43%+/-14%). There was an excellent correlation of EF between e-TI-SPECT and GBP scan (r=0.94, p<0.001). The mean difference of EF between GRP scan and g-TI- SPECT was +3.2%, Ninety-five percent limits of agreement were +9,8%. EF between g-TI-SPECT and GBP scan were in poor agreement. CONCLUSION: The estimates of EF by g-TI-SPECT was well correlated with those by GBP scan. However, EF of g-TI-SPECT doesn't agree with EF of GBP scan. EF of g-TI-SPECT cant be used interchangeably with EF of GBP scan.
Perfusion* ; Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon*

BACKGROUND: Irbersatan, an orally active antihypertensive agent, effectively reduce blood pressure by directly blocking angiotensin II receptors without any significant adverse effects. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of irbesartan in patients with mild to moderate hypertension. METHODS: This study enrolled 83 patients who had diastolic pressure above 95 mmHg and below 110 mmHg on two measurements. Sixty eight patients were administered 150mg of irbesartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker, daily for four weeks as an initial dosage. If the sitting diastolic pressure was equal to or greater than 90 mmHg after a 4 week treatment period, the dosage was doubled until the end of 8 weeks. Baseline pressures, antihypertensive effect, side effects, laboratory findings were compared before and after treatment. RESULTS: Fourty two patients out of 53 patients having completed this study showed decreased blood pressure equal to or more than 5 mmHg of the sitting diastolic pressure (response rate=79%). Twenty one patients out of 53 patients showed normalized blood pressure below 90 mmHg of the sitting diastolic pressure (normalization rate=40%). The extent of decrease in diastolic and systolic blood pressure after eight week treatment was an average 11.7+/-10.1 mmHg and 16.3+/-18.9 mmHg, respectively (p<0.05). Nineteen ontoward side effects was observed in 17 patients out of 68 patients with medication (frequency of ontoward effects=25%). Only one case with headache was considered to be related to the medication. Abnormal laboratory findings were observed in eight patients, and only one case with elevation of bilirubin and ALT levels was considered to be related to the medication. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, irbesartan is a safe and effective antihypertensive drug in patients with mild to moderate hypertension with tolerable side effects.
Bilirubin ; Blood Pressure ; Headache ; Humans ; Hypertension* ; Receptors, Angiotensin

PURPOSE: Preeclampsia is one of the most frequent complications in pregnancy. Because many different phenotypes are seen with this disease, more than one gene is thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of preeclampsia. This study was conducted to investigate if there exists any genotype combination of multiple single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP)s which are frequently found in preeclampsia patients. METHODS: One hundred and sixty two preeclampsia patients and 199 normotensive pregnant women were included. Severity was assigned and the patients were re-classified as early-onset (less than 31 weeks) and late-onset (31 weeks or beyond) disease. Genotype was measured with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism for Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T, Angiotensinogen (AGT) M235T, and Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) C936T. Case-control study for each SNP was done and the frequencies of genotype combinations were compared. ANOVA, t-test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analysis were used for statistical analysis. A P value of <0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Genotypes of MTHFR C677T polymorphism showed significant difference between late onset preeclampsia and control (CC+CT/TT, OR: 1.82, P<0.05) but AGT M235T and VEGF C936T polymorphism did not show statistically significant difference between any SNP combinations. Of the possible 27 genotype combinations, only 20 genotype combinations were found and there was no statistical difference in frequency of genotype combinations between case and control group. CONCLUSION: MTHFR C677T polymorphism might be associated with the development of preeclampsia, However combination of MTHFR C677T, AGT M235T and VEGF C936T polymorphisms were not associated with the development of preeclampsia.
Angiotensinogen ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Genotype ; Humans ; Logistic Models ; Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) ; Phenotype ; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide ; Pre-Eclampsia ; Pregnancy ; Pregnant Women ; Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A

This study was conducted to evaluate the health hazards and to develop diagnostic methods of glass fiber workers. We examined 40 male glass fiber workers (exposure group) and 57 male non-glass fiber workers (reference group) with a questionnaire, physical examination, chest x-ray and pathological examination in Mar, 1997. Also we examined 65 male glass fiber workers (exposure group) and 42 male non-glass fiber workers (reference group) with the same methods also we did some energy-dispersive x-ray analyses with a scanning electron microscopic examination in Sep. 1997. Most of the clinical symptoms were significantly more frequent among the exposure group than the reference group. Coughing (32.5%), itching of the nose (30.0%), irritation of eyes (27.5%), irritation of the nose (25.0%) and sputum (22.5%) were the major symptoms among the exposure group in Mar. 1997. Only itching of the nose was significantly more frequent in Sep. 1997. No cases of pneumoconiosis were observed among the groups and there were no differences in chest abnormalities between the exposure group with the reference group on both examinations. The prevalence of dermatosis among the exposure group was 20.0% (8 cases) and the cumulative prevalence was 72.5% (29 cases) in Mar. 1997. The prevalence of dermatosis among the exposure group was 23.1% (15 cases) and the cumulative prevalence was 58.5% (38 cases) in Sep. 1997. Onset of dermatosis among the exposure group was most frequent within one month after handling. The frequent sites of skin lesions were the hands and arms on both examinations. Glass fiber induced skin lesions can be diagnosed by the scotch tape method or KOH mount and then can be examined under the light, polarizing and phase-contrast microcopies. Glass fibers can be identified by some energy-dispersive x-ray analyses with a scanning electron microscopic examination.
Arm ; Cough ; Glass* ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Nose ; Physical Examination ; Pneumoconiosis ; Prevalence ; Pruritus ; Questionnaires ; Skin ; Skin Diseases ; Sputum ; Thorax

Although there has been recently noted a nation-wide spread of Trichophyton verrucosum infection in cattle associated with promoted stock raising and dairy farming, there were no case reports in Korean dermatologic literature describing the characteristic clinical features of tinea barbae caused by that particular fungus. We report 3 cases of tinea barbae due to T. verrucosum that developed in male stock farmers breeding cattle. One Patient acted 37, experienced acutely inflamed bo99y tumors on the chin and sub-mandible. The others aged 43 and 46 experienced inflammatory lesions with multiple follicular pustules, crusts and loss of hairs on their upper lips. They were successfully treated with oral griseofulvin and local antifungal ointment combined with short-term oral antibiotics or corticosteroid for about one month.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Breeding ; Cattle ; Chin ; Fungi ; Griseofulvin ; Hair ; Humans ; Lip ; Male ; Tinea* ; Trichophyton*