BACKGROUND: Chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus(CCLE) is a well-known disease entity. But there has been no data about its clinical behavior and histopathologic features in Korea. OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to elucidate the clinical, laboratory, and histopathologic features of CCLE, and the relationship between CCLE and SLE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We investigated 48 cases of CCLE that visited the department of dermatology at the Seoul National University Hospital from January 1990 to June 1997. Medical records and biopsy slides were reviewed.
Biopsy ; Dermatology ; Korea ; Lupus Erythematosus, Cutaneous* ; Medical Records ; Seoul

The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence rate of hepatitis B in the military service and to examine the effect of the asymptomatic HBsAg carriers on the incidence of hepatitis B. The subject were 223,270 men who were conscripted to the Korean Army from 1991 to 1994 year. According to the conscripted year, four conscription cohort were constructed. At the screening examination for military service no test for hepatitis B were performed in 1991 and 1992. In 1993, a screening test for hepatitis B were performed and those who were confirmed as HBsAg positive or > or = SGPT 100IU were excluded from conscription. In 1994, the criteria for conscription was changed and those who were HBsAg positive were not excluded from conscription. Only those who were > or =SGPT 100IU were excluded. The main results were as follows ; 1. The positive rate of HBsAg is 5.5% in the conscripted men. 2. The incidence rates of the hepatitis B in 1991 and 1992 conscription cohort were 9.96 and 8.10 per ten thousand per son - year, respectively. The incidence rate of the hepatitis B was 1.34 per ten thousand per son - year in 1993 conscription cohort which was confirmed as HBsAg negative at the screening test, and 7.41 per ten thousand per son - year in 1994 conscription cohort which included the HBsAg positive. 3. The incidence rate of hepatitis B was 99.98 per ten thousand per son- year in HBsAg positive group and 2.25 per ten thousand per son - year in HBsAg negative group. The incidence rate of the group with high SGPT and HBsAg positive was 255 times higher than that of normal population. 4. The incidence of hepatitis B in HBsAg negative group did not increase even though the probability of personal contact with HBsAg positive had been increased. From the above result s, the men who have high SGPT with HBsAg positive should be excluded from military service, and it can not be said that asymptomatic HBsAg carrier s influence on the hepatitis B incidence among the HBsAg negative through personal contact.
Alanine Transaminase ; Cohort Studies ; Hepatitis B Surface Antigens* ; Hepatitis B* ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Incidence* ; Male ; Mass Screening ; Military Personnel*

Rhinocerebral mucormycosis, which is a fulminant and progressive disease often seen in debilitated hosts! Requires a high degree of clinical suspicion to promptly diagnose and an aggressive medical and surgical therapy. The prognosis is grave, especially in case of bilateral cavernous sinus thrombosis. We report a case of 69-year-old female patient with bilateral cavernous sinus thrombosis caused by rhinocerebral mucormycosis, who showed orbital swelling and lateral bulging of bilateral cavernous sinus in orbital CT, and large branching nonseptate hypae in biopsed specimen of the left periorbital necrotic tissue.
Aged ; Cavernous Sinus Thrombosis ; Cavernous Sinus* ; Female ; Humans ; Mucormycosis* ; Orbit ; Prognosis

Five patients with isolated avulsion fracture of the tibial attachment of the posterior cruciate ligament were treated in our hospital from September, 1975 to May, 1978. Among the five patients. one was treated conservatively and the others by surgical repair using catgut suture, cancellous bone screw fixation and staple fixation. Four patients were followed from 4 to 10 months poatoperatively. Satisfactory results were obtained in four patients (one was loat in follow up).
Bone Screws ; Catgut ; Humans ; Posterior Cruciate Ligament ; Sutures

BACKGROUND: Propofol has a high incidence of pain with intravenous injection, and different methods have been used to minimize the incidence and severity of this pain. In this study, we have compared the effect of lidocaine pretreatment with that of ketamine pretreatment on propofol injection pain. METHODS: Ninety healthy female patients scheduled for general anesthesia were randomly divided into three groups; saline group (n=30), lidocaine group (n=30) and ketamine group (n=30). Each patient received 2 ml of pretreatment solution (normal saline, 1% lidocaine, 0.5% ketamine) via 18G angiocatheter inserted in the antecubital fossa after applying an arm tourniquet inflated to 50 mmHg. The tourniquet was released 1 minute later, followed by intravenous injection of 2.5 mg/kg of propofol. The assessment of pain was made at the induction of anesthesia and in the recovery room, and the severity of pain was classified as none, mild, moderate, severe by one observer. RESULTS: The severity and incidence of pain diminished significantly in the lidocaine group and the ketamine group compared with the saline group at the induction of anesthesia (p<0.05) and there was no significant difference between the lidocaine group and the ketamine group. We had similar results in the recovery room and one patient from the saline group and the ketamine group had no recall regarding injection pain. CONCLUSION: Intravenous ketamine pretreatment is as effective as intravenous lidocaine pretreatment in alleviating the propofol injection pain.
Anesthesia ; Anesthesia, General ; Arm ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Injections, Intravenous ; Ketamine* ; Lidocaine* ; Propofol* ; Recovery Room ; Tourniquets

BACKGROUND: The criteria established by Light et al in 1972 have been used widely for the differential diagnosis of the pleural effusions in transudates and exsudates. However, in recent years, several reports have agreed that these criteria misclassified an important number of effusions. For this reason, different parameters have been proposed for differentiation the transudates from exudates. Nevertheless, all these alternative parameters have not been better than the past criteria of Light et al. In response the usefulness of two parameters for differentiation pleural transudate from exudates were evaluated : pleural fluid cholinesterase level and pleural fluid to serum cholinesterase ratio. METHODS: A total of forty-three patient with know causes of the pleura effusion by diagnostic thoracentesis were studied. The following criteria for differentiating the pleural effusions in transudates and exsudates were analyzed : Light's criteria, the pleural fluid cholesterol level, the pleural fluid to serum cholesterol ratio. the pleural fluid cholinesterase level, and the pleural fluid to serum cholinesterase ratio. RESULTS: The conditions of forty-three patients were diagnosed. Ten were classified as having transudates and thirty-three as exudates. The percentage of effusions misclassified by each parameter was as follows : Light's criteria, 9.3% ; pleural fluid cholesterol, 2.3% ; pleural fluid to serum cholesterol ratio, 2.3% ; pleural fluid cholinesterase, 4.7% ; and pleural fluid to serum cholinesterase ratio, 2.3%. CONCLUSIONS: The pleural fluid to serum cholinesterase ratio is one of the accurate criteria for differentiating pleural transudates from exudates. If further studies confirm these results, the cholinesterase ratio could be used as the first step in the evaluation of pleural effusion and if evaluated together with the other criteria, the differentiation of pleural transudate from exsudates will become more accurate.
Cholesterol ; Cholinesterases* ; Diagnosis, Differential* ; Exudates and Transudates* ; Humans ; Pleura ; Pleural Effusion

No abstract available.
Bacteria*

Cannulation of the arterial system is an invasive monitoring technique that readily is justified by its high information yield and minimal discomfort and risk to the patient and is commonly performed in the ICU and operating room, allowing continuous monitoring and graphic display of the systemic arterial blood pressure, and repeated analysis of arterial blood gases. The major complications subsequent to cannulation are thrombosis and occlusion pain at the puncture site, hematoms and infection. We performed a clinical study on complications following percutaneous arterial cannulation in 378 patients with radial artery cannulation and 172 patients with dorsalis pedis artery cannulation who had undergone surgery at Kyung Hee University Hospital from April to September, 1987. The patients were examined to confirm the patency of the collateral circulation of the hand and foot before cannulation and the frequency of complication was studied by physical examination and the Doppier technique on the 1st, 7th and 10th days after decannulation. The results were as follows: 1) The most common complication of radial artery cannulation was ecchymosis(41.8%) and the next common complications were abnormal blood flow(17.5%), abnormal pulse (13.2%), sensory change(1.3%) and infection(0.3%). 2) The most common complication of dorsalis pedis artery cannulation was ecchymosis(34.9%) and the next common complications were abnormal blood flow(19.8%), abnormal pulse(12.8%), sensory chang(1.7%) and infection(0.6%). 3) The crrelation of sex, duration of cannulation, number of punctures and age to the incidence of abnormal flow was studied in both arteries. Abnormal flow was only significantly related to females(p<0.05) in both arteries. 4) The correlation of both arteries to the incidence of abnormal flow under several circumstances was studied. But neither artery did not revealed a significant difference to the incidence of abnormal flow. 5) No permanent ischemic damage to the hand or foot occurred in any patient in this study. Therefore, we concluded that radial artery cannulation is a low-risk highly beneficial monitoring technique and careful dorsalis pedis artery cannulation provides a relatively safe, reliable and available to the radial artery with caution.
Arterial Pressure ; Arteries ; Catheterization ; Collateral Circulation ; Foot ; Gases ; Hand ; Humans ; Incidence ; Operating Rooms ; Physical Examination ; Punctures ; Radial Artery ; Thrombosis

Ondine's curse refers to the failure of automatic breathing during sleep associated with preservation of voluntary respiratory controls. This syndrome of Ondine's curse usually result from both bilateral and unilateral medullary tegmental infarcts. We report a case of a 56-year old hypertensive man who showed automatic respiratory failure during sleep and bilateral medullary infarcts in brain MRI.
Brain ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Middle Aged ; Respiration ; Respiratory Insufficiency*

No abstract available.
Catheters ; Stents