No abstract available.
Ambulatory Care Facilities* ; Humans ; Outpatients*

Because most of modern peoples are busy with many their task according to specialization and complexity of society, it is impportant to determine optimal and comfortable time of colonoscopy. So this study was designed to compare efficacy of colonic cleansing and patient acceptance according to the time of colonoseopy. Among 140 peoples who underwent colonoscoyy in Busan St. Benedict Hospital between March 1995 to August 1995, two groups of 70 peoples were randomly assigned to undergo colonoscopy either at A.M. or ~P.M. The results were as follows: 1) In view of efficacy rate of colonic cleansing, the group at P.M, was superior to the group at A.M.. 2) In view of patients acceptance and side effects, the group at P.M. showed better acceptance and less side effects than the group at A.M.. In conclusion, this study showed that the colonoscopy at P.M. is better than at A.M., especially when patient is poor systemic condition or low acceptance to colonoscopic cleansing preparation. However, it may be also acceptable undergoing colonoscopy at A.M. if patient condition is good and patient is busy with his task.
Busan ; Colon* ; Colonoscopy* ; Humans ; Prospective Studies*

PURPOSE: To evaluate MR findings of postoperative diskitis following operation for intervertebral disk herniation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twelve cases with postoperative diskitis following operation for intervertebral disk herniation were included in this study. MR findings of postoperative diskitis were analysed to determine 1) the extent and pattern of alteration of the involved disks, 2) the pattern of destruction of endplates and vertebral bodies, and 3) the pattern of inflammatory extension into the surrounding soft tissue. RESULTS: 1) Disk alteration developed mainly at the middle and posterior portions of the disk, and was characterized by loss of intranuclear cleft at the involved portion of the disk and intranuclear abscess formation 2) Vertebral bodies involved ware symmetrically adjacent to involved disks and in three cases, bone abscesses within the endplates were detected. 3) The extension of inflammation yielded prevertebral or pre-/paravertebral masses (7 cases), epidural abscesses (5 cases), arachnoiditis (6 cases), and inflammatory masses (2 cases) beneath the posterior longitudinal ligament. CONCLUSION: Disk involvement was mainly at the middle and posterior portions of the disks, and there was accompanying intranuclear cleft loss. Symmetric involvement of the vertebral bodies adjacent to the involved disks was noted.
Abscess ; Arachnoid ; Arachnoiditis ; Discitis* ; Epidural Abscess ; Inflammation ; Intervertebral Disc ; Longitudinal Ligaments ; Spondylitis

No abstract available.
Compliance* ; Early Detection of Cancer* ; Family Practice* ; Humans

Objective: Capsaicin, the pungent analgesic substance of hot peppers which produces a burning sensation and pain is known to affect Substance P and central opioid activities. This experiment was designed to test the effect of capsaicin on alcohol consumption in C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice. These two strains are known to differ in both their alcohol consumption and their endogenous opioid distribution and response to alcohol. It is hypothesized that this effect may be mediated by both increases Substance P and decreases beta-endorphin. Methods: After i.p. administration of 0.01 and 0.001 mg/kg of capsaicin with a vehicle or the vehicle alone as the control for eight days in C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice on limited access alcohol model, Capsaicin’s effects on 2-hour alcohol, 22-hours water, 24-hours food intake and body weight were studied. Results: In this study, as expected, C57BL/6 mice drank significantly more alcohol than DBA/2 mice under baseline conditions. Capsaicin at both doses tested significantly reduced baseline alcohol consumption in C57BL/6 but not DBA/2 mice. These effects were selective for alcohol as capsaicin did not disrupt food or water consumption. Conclusion These results demonstrate that capsaicin differentially affects those mechanisms underlying alcohol consumption in two strains of mice known to differ in their preference for and consumption of alcohol. This effect is hypothesized to be related to differences in the response of the endogenous opioid system.

Klippel-Feil Syndrome (KFS) is a complex congenital syndrome of osseous and visceral anomalies. It is mainly associated with multi-level cervical spine fusion with hypermobile normal segments. Therefore, a patient with KFS can be at risk of severe neurological symptoms even after a minor trauma. We report a patient with type III KFS who developed a hemiparesis after a minor trauma and was successfully managed with operation.
Humans ; Klippel-Feil Syndrome* ; Paresis* ; Spine

The purpose of this study is to identify a group of mild head injury patients having lesions on computerized tomography(CT) and to investigate the risk factors affecting the abnormal findings on CT scan. The study was limited to patients 16 years of age and older with a initial Glasgow Coma Scale(GCS) scores of at least 13 at the time of admission. Of a total of 243 patients studied, 156(64.2%) had abnormal CT findings. 49 patients(20.2%) required neurosurgical intervention(craniotomies for hematoma in 33, hematoma in 1 and subdural hygroma in 3). Four patients(2.4%) died of their cranial injury and three died of extracranial causes. The incidence of CT abnormalities for each GCS score was 86.7% in GCS of 13, 68.6% in GCS of 14, and 58.6% in GCS of 5. The factors affecting GCS scores at the time of admission were the presence of loss of consciousness and posttraumatic amnesia. The factors affecting abnormal CT scans were the presence of posttraumatic amnesia and skull fracture. A new lesion of extension of the initial finding on follow-up CT scans was found in 9.3% of 75 patients who underwent follow-up CT scans. Even though routine CT scans for mild head injury patients are not always necessary, these result suggest that all patients admitted to hospital after mild head injury should undergo CT scanning to enable early detection of an intracranial lesion.
Amnesia ; Coma ; Craniocerebral Trauma* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Glasgow Coma Scale ; Head* ; Hematoma ; Humans ; Incidence ; Risk Factors ; Skull Fractures ; Subdural Effusion ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed* ; Unconsciousness

BACKGROUND: The quality of cord blood largely depends on cell viability. Viability assessments using trypan blue or 7-aminoactinomycin (7-AAD) staining, which are commonly used methods, may not reflect early apoptosis of cord blood cells. We aimed to investigate early apoptosis in cord blood cells following elapsed time after collection using double staining with annexin V and 7-AAD and to compare the result with that of viability evaluation using trypan blue or 7-AAD staining. METHODS: Umbilical cord blood samples were obtained from 30 pregnant women at the time of delivery between July 2012 and March 2013. Viability of cord blood cells was determined at 0 (T0), 24, and 48 hr after collection by using trypan blue exclusion assay, 7-AAD staining, and 7-AAD/annexin V staining. RESULTS: Viabilities defined by 7-AAD/annexin V staining at T0, 24, and 48 hr after collection were respectively as follows: total nucleated cells, 92.8+/-4.5%, 78.4+/-7.8%, and 65.5+/-8.1%; mononuclear cells, 94.4+/-1.7%, 90.8+/-4.2%, and 84.2+/-6.7%; and CD34-positive cells, 92.4+/-3.0%, 90.7+/-4.7%, and 89.3+/-7.0%. The viability using trypan blue was more than 90% until 48 hr after collection. CONCLUSIONS: The mean viability of total nucleated cells using 7-AAD/annexin V staining decreased to less than 80% at 24 hr after collection; however, the viability of CD34-positive cells was more than 85% until 48 hr. Our study's data will provide useful information for the assessing the quality of cord blood products.
Annexin A5 ; Apoptosis ; Cell Survival* ; Female ; Fetal Blood* ; Humans ; Methods ; Pregnant Women ; Trypan Blue ; Umbilical Cord*

OBJECTIVE: Although unilateral transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) is widely used because of its benefits, it does have some technical limitations. Removal of disk material and endplate cartilage is difficult, but essential, for proper fusion in unilateral surgery, leading to debate regarding the surgery's limitations in removing the disk material on the contralateral side. Therefore, authors have conducted a randomized, comparative cadaver study in order to evaluate the efficiency of the surgery when using conventional instruments in the preparation of the disk space and when using the recently developed high-pressure water jet system, SpineJet(TM) XL. METHODS: Two spine surgeons performed diskectomies and disk preparations for TLIF in 20 lumbar disks. All cadaver/surgeon/level allocations for preparation using the SpineJet(TM) XL (HydroCision Inc., Boston, MA, USA) or conventional tools were randomized. All assessments were performed by an independent spine surgeon who was unaware of the randomizations. The authors measured the areas (cm2) and calculated the proportion (%) of the disk surfaces. The duration of the disk preparation and number of instrument insertions and withdrawals required to complete the disk preparation were recorded for all procedures. RESULTS: The proportion of the area of removed disk tissue versus that of potentially removable disk tissue, the proportion of the area of removed endplate cartilage, and the area of removed disk tissue in the contralateral posterior portion showed 74.5 +/- 17.2%, 18.5 +/- 12.03%, and 67.55 +/- 16.10%, respectively, when the SpineJet(TM) XL was used, and 52.6 +/- 16.9%, 22.8 +/- 17.84%, and 51.64 +/- 19.63%, respectively, when conventional instrumentations were used. The results also showed that when the SpineJet(TM) XL was used, the proportion of the area of removed disk tissue versus that of potentially removable disk tissue and the area of removed disk tissue in the contralateral posterior portion were statistically significantly high (p < 0.001, p < 0.05, respectively). Also, compared to conventional instrumentations, the duration required to complete disk space preparation was shorter, and the frequency of instrument use and the numbers of insertions/withdrawals were lower when the SpineJet(TM) XL was used. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that hydrosurgery using the SpineJet(TM) XL unit allows for the preparation of a greater portion of disk space and that it is less traumatic and allows for more precise endplate preparation without damage to the bony endplate. Furthermore, the SpineJet(TM) XL appears to provide tangible benefits in terms of disk space preparation for graft placement, particularly when using the unilateral TLIF approach.
Boston ; Cadaver ; Cartilage ; Diskectomy ; Spine ; Transplants ; Water

BACKGROUND: Throat culture is the golden standard for diagnosis of group A streptococcal (GAS) pharyngitis. However, because it is a time-consuming procedure, antibiotics are often empirically administrated. Rapid antigen tests (RATs) can detect bacterial infections within 15 minutes, thus helping to reduce unnecessary administration of antibiotics. METHODS: In total, 108 patients, between 3 and 17 yr of age, who visited our hospital from August 2011 to July 2012, were tested for suspected acute pharyngitis with two RATs––SD Bioline Strep A (SD, Korea) and BinaxNOW Strep A (Binax, Inc., USA)––as well as throat culture. We compared the sensitivity, specificity, and consistency of the two RATs and assessed the clinical manifestations of GAS pharyngitis. RESULTS: Of the 108 patients, 15 were confirmed to have GAS pharyngitis by throat culture. The SD test showed a sensitivity of 93.3% and a specificity of 97.8%; the positive and negative predictive values were 87.5% and 98.9%, respectively. The Binax test showed a sensitivity of 86.7% and a specificity of 100%; the positive and negative predictive values were 100% and 97.9%, respectively. The Kappa values for conformity degree were high, 0.887 and 0.918 in the SD and the Binax tests, respectively (P=0.00). Clinical manifestation assessment of GAS pharyngitis indicated that scarlatiniform rash and strawberry tongue were significantly associated signs (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: GAS pharyngitis diagnosis based on clinical manifestations alone has practical limitations. The two RATs are useful as substitutes for throat culture and their frequent use in clinical settings is advisable.
Animals ; Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Bacterial Infections ; Diagnosis ; Exanthema ; Fragaria ; Humans ; Pharyngitis* ; Pharynx ; Rats ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Streptococcus pyogenes ; Tongue