No abstract available.
Reticulocyte Count* ; Reticulocytes*

No abstract available.
Reticulocyte Count* ; Reticulocytes*

No abstract available.
Antibodies* ; Immunoglobulin G* ; Immunoglobulin M*

Sellar arachnoid cysts are rare; an infected arachnoid cyst is extremely rare as only one case has been reported to date in the literature. Here, we report a patient with an infected or inflamed sellar arachnoid cyst that was successfully treated with transsphenoidal surgery (TSA). A 53-year-old female with a history of chronic sinusitis developed a headache 5 months ago, and one month before admission polyuria, polydipsia, and abnormal vaginal bleeding occurred. The magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed a sellar cystic mass with a thickened pituitary stalk. Preoperative hormonal study revealed normal pituitary hormone levels except for a moderate elevation of prolactin. She was diagnosed with diabetes insipidus of the central nervous system origin based on a water-deprivation test. TSA was performed under an impression of symptomatic Rathke's cleft cyst according to the MRI findings. Intraoperative findings showed confirmation of turbid intracystic contents, but micro-organisms were unidentified on microbial culture. Pathology of the cyst wall revealed inflamed meningoepithelial lining cells compatible with an arachnoid cyst.
Arachnoid Cysts ; Arachnoid* ; Central Nervous System ; Diabetes Insipidus ; Female ; Headache ; Humans ; Inflammation ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Pathology ; Pituitary Gland ; Polydipsia ; Polyuria ; Prolactin ; Sinusitis ; Uterine Hemorrhage

Current diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection relies on the detection of anti-HIV antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Recently, kits detecting both p24 antigenemia and anti-HIV/anti-HIV2 antibodies have been developed. Thus, it is necessary to compare those kits developed as such. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of a simultaneous detection test of p24 antigen and anti-HIV1/2 antibodies in a low prevalence area. Eight hundred and four randomly selected sera proven negative for HIV infection and 110 sera from 54 patients diagnosed as HIV infected, obtained between 1999 and 2000, were used for this study. One commercial lot of panels composed of consecutive sera obtained from known HIV-infected patient was included. Anti-HIV1/2 antibodies were detected by two different commercial ELISA kits, one from Korean and the other from German manufacturer. P24 antigen test was performed by ELISA. The simultaneous HIV antigen and antibody detection test was carried out. In the meantime, HIV RNA PCR and anti-HIV and anti-HIV2 western blot assays were also performed to confirm the test results in cases the test results didn't agree. The simultaneous detection kit showed 100% sensitivity and 99.6% specificity. Furthermore, the test displayed the possibility of earlier diagnosis than conventional anti-HIV1/2 ELISA with the results obtained from a group of consecutive panel sera infected with HIV. From these results, we concluded that the simultaneous HIV antigen and antibody detection test can be applied as a substitute clinical screening test in the place of conventional anti-HIV1/2 ELISA, and there is the probable benefit of early diagnosis.
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/standards* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay/instrumentation ; HIV Antibodies/analysis* ; HIV Antigens/analysis* ; Human ; Korea ; Reagent Kits, Diagnostic/standards

Objective: Stent retrieval thrombectomy has recently been the standard treatment for acute ischemic stroke with large artery occlusion. However, the development of catheters for suction thrombectomy has recently led to results comparable to that of stent retrieval thrombectomy (SRT). This study aimed to analyze the safety and efficacy of forced suction thrombectomy (FST) using the SOFIA Plus (MicroVention Terumo, Tustin, CA, USA) device. Methods: We included patients with acute ischemic stroke who underwent FST using the SOFIA Plus device at our institution. Medical records and angiographic data were reviewed, and the results of this study were compared with those of other FST studies. Results: A total of 35 patients were included in this study. The occlusion sites were the internal carotid artery terminal (4), M1 segment (20), and posterior circulation (11). Of the 35 patients, FST was performed in only 21 (60%) patients, and the remaining 14 (40%) patients underwent SRT and FST. In all cases, the recanalization rate was 100%, and the average time from groin puncture to recanalization was 21±4.94 min. In particular, the average time required to reach the SOFIA Plus lesions from the groin puncture was 10.44±5.06 min and about 67% of the FST patients were recanalized at the first attempt. Three-months modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of ≤2 was observed in 52% of the patients. Conclusions Forced suction thrombectomy using the SOFIA Plus yielded a high recanalization rate within a shorter time. In particular, the recanalization rate was higher than that reported in previous studies using other types of suction devices.

To evaluate the clinical usefulness of fiberoptic intubation, we recorded the changes of arterial pressure, heart rate and cardiac output during fiberoptic nasotracheal and orotracheal intubation, while measuring the time taken for the intubation procedure. Anesthesia of pharynx was achieved by oral gargling of 10 ml of 4% lidocaine, and for nasotracheal intubation, nasal mucosa was anesthetized by application of 4% cocaine usirig cotton-tipped swabs. Anesthesia of the larynx and trachea was done by superior laryngeal nerve block with 6 ml of 2% lidocaine, and translaryngeal injection with 4% lidocaine by cricothyroid membrane puncture. After sedation with intravenous diazepam and fentanyl, awake fiberoptic (n=32) or orotracheal intubation (n=18) was performed on the patients (ASA class 1 or 2) in whom difficult intubation was expected. Mean arterial pressure, heart rate and cardiac output did not change significantly during intubation procedure, nor were these values significantly different between nasotracheal and orotracheal intubation group. The time taken by intubation procedure were compared, and there was no significant difference between two groups. In postoperative interviews, a few (3/28) patients complained discom-forts. It could be concluded that under approapriate anesthesia and sedation, awake fiberoptic nasotracheal or orotracheal intubation is a safe and useful approach producing minimal cardiovascular changes and discomforts.
Anesthesia ; Arterial Pressure ; Blood Pressure* ; Cardiac Output* ; Cocaine ; Diazepam ; Fentanyl ; Heart Rate* ; Heart* ; Humans ; Intubation* ; Laryngeal Nerves ; Larynx ; Lidocaine ; Membranes ; Nasal Mucosa ; Pharynx ; Punctures ; Trachea

From march, 1983 to May, 1987, we experienced 17 patients of Marfan syndrome. The clinical profile and course of 17 patients of Marfan syndrome were reviewed. 1) Their ages ranged from 13 to 50 years with a mean age of 30 years and 16 patients were male and 1 patient was female. 2) musculoskeletal features were present in 14(88%) of the 16 examined. Ocular features were found in 5(42%) of 12 examined. Familial features were present in 7(47%) of 15 examined. 3) Among cardiovascular manifestations dissecting aneurysm was present in 10(59%) patients, aortic annuloectasia in 15(94%), MR in 4(24%) and MVP in 1(6%). 4) Modified Bentall operation was performed to 8 patients. Two of them died. The other 8 patients took a conservative medical therapy. Four of them died.
Aneurysm, Dissecting ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Marfan Syndrome*

Myocardial bridging is defined that short segments of coronary artery descend into the myocardium for a variable distance and each systolic contraction of these fibers can cause narrowing of the artery. Systolic narrow-ing may rarely be caused by connective tissue such as fibrous band. Myocardial ischemia, infarction and sudden death may be seen in some patients with myocardial bridging. Myocardial infarction in association with isolated myocardial bridges with systolic narrowing is uncommon. We report a case of Q wave myocardial infarction in a patient with angiographic systolic narrowing at the middle segment left anterior descending coronary artery which was caused by fibrous band.
Arteries ; Connective Tissue ; Coronary Vessels ; Death, Sudden ; Humans ; Infarction ; Myocardial Bridging* ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Myocardium

BACKGROUND: There are many factors such as diffusion abnormality, V/Q mismatch, intrapulmonary shunt, alveolar hypoventilation and FIO2 in reducing arterial hypoxemia. Intrapulmonary shunting can be due to blood going from the right to the left side of the heart without respiring with alveolar gas(true shunt mechanism) or blood that respires but achieves a PaO2 less than the ideal (shunt effect mechanism). Understanding the portion of true shunt in patients with hypoxemia is very important indicator to analyze the effects of oxygen therapy. Several equations are used for calculation of physiologic shunt. The aim of this study was to calculate and compare shunts derived from four shunt equations; classic physiologic, estimated, modified clinical and simple equations. METHOD: After cardiovascular stability following open heart surgery, 40 patients were mechanically ventilated with an FIO2=1.0. Arterial and mixed blood gases were measured. We calculated and compared shunts by classic physiologic [S/T=(CcO2 CaO2)/(CcO2 CO2)], estimated [S/T=(CcO2 CaO2)/ (3.5 CcO2 CO2)], modified clinical [S/T= AaDO2 0.0031/(AaDO2 0.0031 CcO2 CaO2)], and simple equations [S/T=AaDO2/20]/ RESULTS: Shunts by classic physiologic, estimated, and modified clinical shunt equation were 26.9 8.5%, 25.1 7.1%, and 26.3 8.2%, respectively and did not differ one another significantly. Shunts by simple shunt equations was 18.8 6.2% and significantly lower than those by other 3 equations(P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: It is reasonable to conclude that in post-open heart patients with stable cardiovascular function and mechanically ventilated with an FIO2=1.0, classic physiologic, estimated, and modified clinical shunt equations show a reliable reflection of the physiologic shunt. But simple equation (AaDO2/20) might be used as a simple estimate.
Anoxia ; Diffusion ; Gases ; Heart ; Humans ; Hypoventilation ; Oxygen ; Thoracic Surgery