No abstract available.

Liver abscess in children is rare in developed countries; the incidence is 25 per 100,000 admissions in USA. Common complications are pleural effusion, empyema, pneumonitis, hepatopleural or hepatobronchial fistula, intraperitoneal or intrapericardiac rupture, septic shock, cerebral amebiasis, etc. These complications may lead to death if the management is delayed. However, recent management results in a mortality of less than 15%. We report a case of liver abscess in a child. He manifested with fever and abdominal pain in the right upper quadrant. On computerized tomography scans, multiple cystic lesions were seen in both lobes of the liver and were 5 to 55 mm in size. In laboratory findings, neutrophilic leukocytosis, peripheral eosinophila, elevated values of ESR, C-reactive protein, and elevated serum AST, ALT, ALP and GGT were detected. Furthermore, we determined the organisms in the blood culture and serum. Blood culture was positive for Streptococcus spp., and amebic indirect hemagglutination antibody titer was increased to 1:512.
Abdominal Pain ; Abscess ; Amebiasis ; C-Reactive Protein ; Child ; Empyema ; Fever ; Fistula ; Hemagglutination ; Humans ; Incidence ; Leukocytosis ; Liver ; Liver Abscess ; Neutrophils ; Pleural Effusion ; Pneumonia ; Rupture ; Shock, Septic ; Streptococcus

This study was conducted to investigate the safety of the umbilical venous blood for antologous transfusion in the premature newborn babies. Umbilical venous blood was collected with aseptic technique immediately after delivery from 270 healthy mothers admitted to the Yeungnam University Hospital between March 1,1992 and August 31,1992 . The volume of the blood and the time taken for collecting the blood were measured. Also the hematological and biochemical changes of the blood during storage in the refrigerator of blood band and the incidence of bacterial contamination were studied. It took 67.6+/-25.9 seconds on the average for collecting the blood from an umbilical vein and the average volume of the blood was 77.1+/-23.2ml which would be sufficient volume for one time transfusion of 10ml/kg of packed red blood cells for the neonates. The hemoglobin and hematocrit values did not change significantly during storage for three weeks. Thus significant hemolysis did not seem to occur during storage. However, platelet counts decreased significantly from 248+/-59x10E3/mm3 to 193+/-47x10E3/mm3(p<0.01). Although plasma calcium level was not changed (8.4+/-0.9mg/dL), sodium was decreased significantly from 184.3+/-11.1mEq/L to 170.9+/-13.9mEq/L(p<0.01) and potassium was incresed from 5.0+/-1.0mEq/L to 26.7+/-4.8mEp/L.(p<0.01). Plasma glucose level was decreased from 521.7+/-106.7mg/dL to 294.3+/-120.8mg/dL (p<0.01), blood pH and bicarbonate concentrations were decreased significantly from 6.825+/-0.110 to 6.378+/-.087 and from 13.5+/-1.6mEq/L to 2.1+/-1.0mEq/L respectively (p<0.01). The smear of the umbilical venous blood and peripheral blood of the neonates stained by KleihauerBetke method revealed no significant differences in the percentages of adult red blood cells. Also there were no differences in the percentages of adult ted blood calls in the umbilical venous blood samples according to time for collection. The degree of decrement of hemoglobins (1.2gm/dL) after delivery in the mothers who had sampling of the umbilical venous blood was not different from that in the mothers who didn't hava sampling. The bacterial contamination rate of the umbilical venous blood was 3.5% (95% confidence interval was from 0.7 to 6.3). It seems to be safe to use the umbilical venous blood in the neonates for autologous transfusion but confirmation of bacterial contamination by culture is necessary.
Adult ; Blood Glucose ; Calcium ; Erythrocytes ; Hematocrit ; Hemolysis ; Humans ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Incidence ; Infant, Newborn* ; Mothers ; Plasma ; Platelet Count ; Potassium ; Sodium ; Umbilical Veins

No abstract available.
Mortality* ; Nephrotic Syndrome*

No abstract available.
Child* ; Humans ; Kidney Failure, Chronic* ; Renal Dialysis*

No abstract available.
Cervix Uteri* ; Female

No abstract available.
Cesarean Section* ; Female ; Pregnancy

No abstract available.

BACKGROUND: Skin thickness for parameter of skin aging has been analysed with various methods. Skin thickness variations between the young and the old has been studied with various methods such as biopsies, calipers, micrometers, computer tomography, ultrsonography. But none of these methods evaluates skin thickness exactly. OBJECTIVE: For the evaluation of age-dependent skin thickness changes, we compared the skin thickness of an old-aged group and a young group with 20MHz-ultrasonography. METHODS: In order to identify the skin thickness variation between different age groups, 60 subjects, 30 aged 23-33, and 30 over 60, were studied with 20MHz-high frequency ultrasonogrphy (Dermascan C, Cortex Technology, Hadsund, Denmark) on fourteen skin sites. This machine was designed to measure the thickness from the top of the epidermis to the bottom of the dermis. After storage of cross-sectional skin imaging, skin thickness was calculated with a computer assisted image-analysis program. Skin thickness of the old was analysed by age, sex, height and weight.
Biopsy ; Dermis ; Epidermis ; Humans ; Skin Aging ; Skin* ; Ultrasonography*

PURPOSE: Although the symptoms of benign transient non-organic ileus of neonate (BTNIN) are similar to that of Hirschsprung's disease (HD), the etiology underlying BTNIN remains unclear. In the present study, we aimed to compare laboratory and clinical characteristics of BTNIN with those of HD and to clarify the possibility of an association between food allergies and BTNIN. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the data from 34 BTNIN and 11 HD patients from January 2005 to December 2011. We compared several variables between these patients, including sex, age, feeding method, rate (%) and absolute count of serum eosinophils, and eosinophil count in the rectal mucosa. Pearson chi-square tests and independent t-tests were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: BTNIN (N=34) is more likely to affect males as compared to HD (N=11), BTNIN had a longer duration of symptoms after birth, and BTNIN patients were more likely to be breast fed; all these factors were statistically significant (P=0.019, 0.000, and 0.000, respectively). The rate (%) and absolute count of serum eosinophils in the serum of BTNIN and HD patients was 3.9+/-2.4% and 401+/-388/HPF, respectively, and 1.4+/-0.8% and 170+/-110/HPF, respectively (P=0.001 and 0.000). Moreover, the eosinophil count in the rectal mucosa of BTNIN and HD patients was 14.4+/-12.9/HPF and 5.2+/-4.7/HPF, respectively (P=0.017). CONCLUSION: We observed that BTNIN patients exhibited a later symptom onset, and that BTNIN was more closely associated with breast feeding as compared to HD. A greater number of eosinophils were present in the serum and rectal biopsies of BTNIN patients. Thus, we suggest that BTNIN is associated with food allergy.
Biopsy ; Breast ; Breast Feeding ; Eosinophils ; Feeding Methods ; Food Hypersensitivity* ; Hirschsprung Disease ; Humans ; Ileus* ; Infant, Newborn* ; Male ; Mucous Membrane ; Parturition ; Retrospective Studies