Abdominal pregnancy that is a life threatening variant of ectopic pregnancy, has been a rare event with high maternal mortality. It is very difficult to diagnose a abdominal pregnancy clinically. We have experienced a case of early abdominal pregnancy diagnosed at emergency laparotomy and this case was presented with a brief review of the literatures.
Emergencies ; Female ; Laparotomy ; Maternal Mortality ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy, Abdominal* ; Pregnancy, Ectopic

Pick's disease is a rare neurodegenerative disorder presenting cortical type of dementia. Pick's disease shows unique clinical and pathological features, that are due to a degeneration of fronto-temporal lobes of the cerebrum. The authors experienced a case of Pick's disease in a 58-year-old male patient who had dementia symptoms for five years. The patient showed compulsive behavior since five years ago. Memory decline started from four years ago and progressed. Brain CT disclosed lobar atrophy of the cerebral gyri in frontal and temporal lobes. He died of septicemia associated with aspiration pneumonia. At autopsy, both cerebral hemispheres showed marked encephalomalacia. The gyral atrophy was moderately severe in prefrontal and anterior temporal lobes. Coronal section disclosed moderate dilatation of the lateral ventricles. Microscopically, there were marked neuronal loss in prefrontal and anterior temporal cortices. Also noted were Pick's cells and Pick's body in occasional pyramidal cells preserved.
Atrophy ; Autopsy* ; Brain ; Cerebrum ; Compulsive Behavior ; Dementia ; Dilatation ; Encephalomalacia ; Humans ; Lateral Ventricles ; Male ; Memory ; Middle Aged ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Neurons ; Pick Disease of the Brain* ; Pneumonia, Aspiration ; Pyramidal Cells ; Sepsis ; Temporal Lobe

Although attachments have been utilized for a retainer of removable prostheses during several decades, there is little information on the force distribution by the attachments. This study was undertaken to evaluate the stress patterns developed by partial dentures employing rigid attachments on the supporting structures. Four types of the mandibular removable partial dentures were designed depending upon the position of the rigid attachment and the existency of lingual bracing. Under 100N of vertical and 25N of lateral loads on the 1st and 2nd lower molar of partial denture, stress distribution patterns and displacement were analysed with three dimensional finite element method by ANSYS version 5.3. 1. The highest stresses were concentrated on the distal alveolar crest of posterior abutment and the second stresses on the apical region of posterior abutment in the models. 2. The greatest displacement were shown on the distal alveolar crest of posterior abutment and the second displacement on the distal alveolar crest of anterior abutment in the models. 3. There was little difference between the models with intraoral attachment and those with extracoronal attachment. 4. There was little difference between the models with and without the lingual bracing.
Braces ; Denture, Partial* ; Denture, Partial, Removable ; Molar ; Prostheses and Implants

Malignant hyperthermia is a subclinical myopathy, usually triggered by anesthetics and associated with a mortality rate of up to 70%, when left untreated. But with early diagnosis using capnography and with the advent of dantrolene, the mortality rate could be reduced to less than 5%, which implies the significance of early diagnosis and proper treatment. Owing to the reduced mortality rate, anesthesiologists get more chances to encounter patients with a previous history of malignant hyperthermia and knowledge to provide proper anesthetic management become essential. We present a case in which malignant hyperthermia was detected in a 67 year old female patient with gastric cancer and a thyroid mass during the first operation and successfully treated with promptly initiated supportive measures based on capnography finding without dantrolene which was not available at the time and the same patient rescheduled for subsequent gastrectomy in which we chose non-triggering agents in adjunct to epidural anesthesia without provoking malignant hyperthermia.
Aged ; Anesthesia, Epidural ; Anesthesia, General* ; Anesthetics ; Capnography ; Dantrolene ; Early Diagnosis ; Female ; Gastrectomy ; Humans ; Malignant Hyperthermia* ; Mortality ; Muscular Diseases ; Stomach Neoplasms ; Thyroid Gland

Anatomical shape of the mandibular ramus, which includes the area from the rear of the mandibular second molar to the mandibular posterior border and from the mandibular sigmoid notch to the inferior mandibular border, must be carefully considered to perform orthognathic surgery. The locations of the lingula and mandibular foramen in medial side of mandibular ramus are one of the most important factors to decide the location of the horizontal medial osteotomy in sagittal split ramus osteotomy and to select the line of vertical osteotomy in intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy. Sixty-five different Korean human dry mandibles were surveyed. All mandible have permanent dentition including complete eruption of the mandibular second molar. The locations of the lingula and mandibular foramen in medial side of the ramus were identified and following results were obtained. Anterior ramal horizontal distance from lingula was 16.13+/-3.53mm(range:8.6~24.3mm), anterior ramal horizontal distance from mandibular foramen was 23.91+/-4.79mm(range: 14.1~39.7mm), horizontal width of mandibular foramen was 2.79+/-0.95mm(range: 1.5 ~6.1mm), height of lingula was 10.51+/-3.84mm(range: 3.1~22.4mm), vertical distance from sigmoid notch to lingula was 19.82+/-5.11mm(range: 9.1~35.3mm). From this study, the result could be used to select the location of osteotomy lines and to decide amount of periosteal elevation to avoid injury of neurovascular bundle, and to accomplish the appropriate split in Korean patients in mandibular orthognathic surgery.
Colon, Sigmoid ; Dentition, Permanent ; Humans ; Mandible ; Molar ; Orthognathic Surgery* ; Osteotomy ; Osteotomy, Sagittal Split Ramus

PURPOSE: The aim of this prospective, randomized study was to evaluate the effects and adverse effects of nebulized L-epinephrine compared with nebulized budesonide in children with moderate to severe croup. METHODS: Children were eligible for the study if their croup scores fell in the moderate to severe range(scores>4) in the AMC from May 1995 till May 1996. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either 5ml(1 : 1000) of L-epinephrine aerosols(n=9) or 500microgram of budesonide aerosols (n=8). Croup score, O2 saturation by pulse oximeter, heart rate, and blood pressure were recorded before treatment and at 5, 15, 30, 60, 120 minutes after aerosol treatment. Nine patients were enrolled in the nebulized L-epinephrine group and 8 in the nebulized budesonide group, respectively. There were no statistical differences in age, sex and croup score before treatment between the two groups. RESULTS: Total croup score significantly decreased at 15 minutes after treatment in the L-epinephrine group(P<0.05) but at 120 minutes after treatment in the budesonide group(P<0.05). Treatment failed in 1(1/9) patient in the L-epinephrine group and 2(2/8) patients in the budesonide group, who received intramuscular dexamethasone injections. The rebound phenomenon at 120 minutes after treatment was found in 1 patient from both groups. There were no significant changes of heart rate and blood pressure before and after treatment in both groups. CONCLUSION: The treatment using nebulized L-epinephrine showed a more prompt clinical improvement than the treatment using nebulized budesonide and without any significant adverse effects. So it can be recommended for emergent management in children with moderate to severe croup.
Aerosols* ; Blood Pressure ; Budesonide* ; Child ; Croup* ; Dexamethasone ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Prospective Studies*

PURPOSE: The aim of this prospective, randomized study was to evaluate the effects and adverse effects of nebulized L-epinephrine compared with nebulized budesonide in children with moderate to severe croup. METHODS: Children were eligible for the study if their croup scores fell in the moderate to severe range(scores>4) in the AMC from May 1995 till May 1996. The patients were randomly assigned to receive either 5ml(1 : 1000) of L-epinephrine aerosols(n=9) or 500microgram of budesonide aerosols (n=8). Croup score, O2 saturation by pulse oximeter, heart rate, and blood pressure were recorded before treatment and at 5, 15, 30, 60, 120 minutes after aerosol treatment. Nine patients were enrolled in the nebulized L-epinephrine group and 8 in the nebulized budesonide group, respectively. There were no statistical differences in age, sex and croup score before treatment between the two groups. RESULTS: Total croup score significantly decreased at 15 minutes after treatment in the L-epinephrine group(P<0.05) but at 120 minutes after treatment in the budesonide group(P<0.05). Treatment failed in 1(1/9) patient in the L-epinephrine group and 2(2/8) patients in the budesonide group, who received intramuscular dexamethasone injections. The rebound phenomenon at 120 minutes after treatment was found in 1 patient from both groups. There were no significant changes of heart rate and blood pressure before and after treatment in both groups. CONCLUSION: The treatment using nebulized L-epinephrine showed a more prompt clinical improvement than the treatment using nebulized budesonide and without any significant adverse effects. So it can be recommended for emergent management in children with moderate to severe croup.
Aerosols* ; Blood Pressure ; Budesonide* ; Child ; Croup* ; Dexamethasone ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Prospective Studies*

A 71-year-old man who had no prior history of chemotherapy or radiation therapy was diagnosed with nodular sclerosis Hodgkin's disease (HD) and IgA-kappa multiple myeloma (MM) simultaneously. The patient achieved a complete response of HD and a minor response of MM after 6 cycles of COPP/ABV chemotherapy. Thereafter, he had received oral mephalan and prednisolone without disease progression for 12 months. At 27-month follow-up, he succumbed to overwhelming pneumonia and septic shock with progressive disease of MM. We present this case as a first report of simultaneous occurrence of HD and MM in South Korea.
Aged ; Disease Progression ; Drug Therapy ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hodgkin Disease* ; Humans ; Korea ; Multiple Myeloma* ; Pneumonia ; Prednisolone ; Sclerosis ; Shock, Septic

BACKGROUND: Proteinuria is rarely observed in patients who suffer from thin basement membrane nephropathy (TBMN). Our study was performed to evaluate the clinical characteristics and prognosis of TBMN patients with proteinuria. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study on 231 kidney biopsies. A urine protein level more than 500 mg for the 24-hour urine excretion was considered as significant proteinuria. We studied the clinical characteristics, the pathological findings and the response to treatment of these patients. RESULTS: Ten (4 males and 6 females) of 17 cases of TBMN had significant proteinuria (59%). The mean patient age was 35 years. Six patients had hypertension and 1 patient had nephrotic syndrome. Two patients had proteinuria only, and 8 patients had both hematuria and proteinuria. At the time of biopsy, the amount of urine protein was 1,881 mg per day, and all the patients except one showed normal renal function. The GBM thickness ranged from 201 to 252 nm. Nine patients were treated with angiotensin receptor blocker, and 1 patient suffering from nephrotic syndrome was treated with prednisolone and cyclophosphamide. Marked improvement of the proteinuria (659 mg per day) was observed in 8 patients during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Thin basement membrane nephropathy is one of the causes of proteinuria. Therefore, reduction of the proteinuria should be considered for treating these patients.
Adult* ; Angiotensins ; Basement Membrane* ; Biopsy ; Cyclophosphamide ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hematuria ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Kidney ; Male ; Nephrotic Syndrome ; Prednisolone ; Prognosis ; Proteinuria* ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Accurate assessment of the preload and the fluid responsiveness is of great importance for optimizing cardiac output, especially in those patients with coronary artery occlusive disease (CAOD). In this study, we evaluated the relationship between the parameters of preload with the changes in the stroke volume index (SVI) after fluid loading in patients who were undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). The purpose of this study was to find the predictors of fluid responsiveness in order to assess the feasibility of using certain parameters of preload as a guide to fluid therapy. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We studied 96 patients who were undergoing CABG. After induction of anesthesia, the hemodynamic parameters were measured before (T1) and 10 min after volume replacement (T2) by an infusion of 6% hydroxyethyl starch 130/0.4 (10 mL/kg) over 20 min. RESULT: The right ventricular end-diastolic volume index (RVEDVI), as well as the central venous pressure (CVP) and pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP), failed to demonstrate significant correlation with the changes in the SVI (%). Only the right ventricular ejection fraction (RVEF) measured at T1 showed significant correlation with the changes of the SVI by linear regression (r=0.272, p=0.017). However, when the area under the curve of receiver operating characteristics (ROC) was evaluated, none of the parameters were over 0.7. The volume-induced increase in the SVI was 10% or greater in 31 patients (responders) and under 10% in 65 patients (non-responders). None of the parameters of preload measured at T1 showed a significant difference between the responders and non-responders, except for the RVEF. CONCLUSION: The conventional parameters measured with a volumetric pulmonary artery catheter failed to predict the response of SVI following fluid administration in patients suffering with CAOD.
Anesthesia ; Cardiac Output ; Catheters ; Central Venous Pressure ; Coronary Artery Bypass ; Coronary Vessels ; Fluid Therapy ; Hemodynamics ; Hetastarch ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Pulmonary Artery ; Pulmonary Wedge Pressure ; ROC Curve ; Stress, Psychological ; Stroke Volume