Together, neonatal hepatitis and biliary atresia make up approximately 70 to 80% of the causes of neonatal cholestasis. Biliary atresia must be differentiated from neonatal hepatitis as soon as possible in order to institute early surgical intervention. We performed this study to examine whether the measurement of the serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and thyroxine-binding globulin(TBG) was useful for differentiating these two conditions. Serum AFP levels were measured using enzyme immunoassay in 76 infants with cholestasis and serum TBG levels were measured using radio immunoassay in 30 infants with cholestasis and 23 infants without cholestasis. Serum AFP and TBG concentrations in patients were compared with the normal ranges in infants and were expressed as standard deviation (SD) scores. 52.7% of the patients with neonatal hepatitis showed SD scores of AFP higher than 4.0. By contrast, 14.3% of the patients with biliary atresia showed SD scores of AFP highter than 4.0(p<0.005). The patients with either neonatal hepatitis or biliary atresia had TBG concentrations above the normal ranges, but there was no difference between neonatal hepatitis and biliary atresia. The patients with neonatal hepatitis who recovered from jaundice after 6 months of age or progressed to chronic liver disease of died of the liver disease showed hight serum levels of AFP and TBG than the patients who recovered from jaundice before 6 months of age. In conclusion. SD scores of AFP could be used to differentiate between neonatal heptatis and biliary atresia, and SD scores of AFP and TBG might be used as an indicator of prognosis of neonatal hepatitis.
alpha-Fetoproteins* ; Biliary Atresia* ; Cholestasis ; Hepatitis A ; Hepatitis* ; Humans ; Immunoassay ; Immunoenzyme Techniques ; Infant ; Jaundice ; Liver Diseases ; Prognosis ; Reference Values ; Thyroxine-Binding Globulin*

Septic arthritis in neonates is a rare condition. A failure to make an early diagnosis of septic arthritis in neonates may leave a permanent disability as a result of a delayed treatment. Thus, septic arthritis, requires a prompt diagnosis and a timely treatment especially in this subset of patients. In this case report, we describe our treatment protocol for septic arthritis and concurrent osteomyelitis in the right shoulder of a 28-day-old newborn. Using 2.4 mm wrist arthroscopy, we performed an arthroscopic irrigation and drainage, to remove intra-articular debris and inflammatory tissue, and multiple drilling. We report a satisfactory clinical outcome without any postoperative complications or side effects.
Arthritis, Infectious* ; Arthroscopy ; Clinical Protocols ; Diagnosis ; Drainage ; Early Diagnosis ; Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Osteomyelitis ; Postoperative Complications ; Shoulder Joint ; Shoulder* ; Wrist

No abstract available.
Blood Transfusion* ; Female ; Humans

No abstract available.
Thymus Hyperplasia*

Teratocarcinoma is a form of mixed germ cell tumor composed of a mixture of teratoma and embryonal carcinoma. It is rarely found in the brain, but when present it is most commonly found in the pineal region. We investigated a case of primary teratocarcinoma in the pineal region. The patient was a 10 year old boy who had suffered from a bitemporal headache for one month. Brain CT and MRI revealed a rather well defined ovoid heterogenous mass in the pineal gland region, measuring 4.3 x 3.8 x 3.0 cm in size. Microscopically the tumor contained areas of immature teratoma and embryonal carcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining revealed positive reactions for cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen, and alpha-fetoprotein in the embryonal carcinoma component.

No abstract available.
Anemia, Aplastic* ; Child* ; Humans ; Immunomodulation*

Mivacurium, a new neuromuscular blocking agent, is known not to rely greatly on the renal function for its elimination, therefore, is recommended for the renal failure patient. In these studies, we investigated neuromuscular blocking action of mivacurium in case of bilateral ligation of renal pedicles to prevent the renal excretion and compared its action to that of pancuronium, which is mainly excreted by the kidney. Rabbits were divided into 4 groups: the mivacurium control group, the mivacurium group, the pancuronium control group, and the pancuronium group. Both renal arteries were ligated in the mivacurium group and the pancuronium group. After intravenous administration of mivacurium or pancuronium, the6neuromuscular blocking actions were observed. The results were as follows: 1.There was no significant difference in onset time between the mivacurium group(77+/-18.6 sec) and the mivacurium control group(100+/-36 sec). No significant difference between the pancuronium group(90+/-42 sec) and the pancuronium control group(101+/-43.8 sec), too. And no significant difference in change of onset time was found between the mivacurium group and the pancuronium group. 2.There was no significant difference in duration of action between the mivacurium group ,(664+/-85.2 sec) snd the mivacurium control group(500+/-134.4 sec). But significant difference was found between the pancuronium group(3453+/-1088.4 sec) and the pancuronium control group(1041+/-304.2 sec)(P<0.05). In the pancurounium group, the prolongation of duration of action was significantly greater than that in the mivacurium group(P<0.05). 3.There was no significant difference in recovery index between the mivacurium group (316+/-99.6 sec) and the mivacurium control group(230+/-66.3 seo). But there was significant difference between the pancuronium group(676+/-162.3 sec) and the pancuronium control group(274+/-92 sec)(P<0.05). The prolognation of recovery index in the pancuronium group was significantly greater than that in the mivacurium group(P<0.05).
Administration, Intravenous ; Humans ; Kidney ; Ligation ; Neuromuscular Blockade ; Pancuronium ; Rabbits* ; Renal Artery ; Renal Insufficiency

No abstract available.
Humans ; Male*

No abstract available.
Humans ; Infant, Newborn* ; Membranes* ; Rupture*

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of nutrition education on nutrition knowledge, dietary attitudes, and food behavior of college students. The subjects of this study were 350 college students attending a university. The education group students received nutrition education three hours per week during a 4-week period offered in a 'Home Economics' course. A total of 150 students in the education group and 200 students in the non-education group completed pre-test questionaires examining nutrition knowledge, dietary attitudes, and food behaviors. Major findings were as follows : nutrition knowledge, and food behavior of the education group were improved compared to the non-education group. But significant changes were not observed in dietary attitudes in the education group. There were higher correlations between nutrition knowledge and dietary attitudes score, and between dietary attitudes and food behavior score at the posttest than those at the pretest. These results suggest that nutrition education for college students can effectively improve their nutrition knowledge and food behaviors.
Education* ; Humans