PURPOSE: Prenatal diagnosis of congenital heart disease has been made by fetal echocardiography and its clinical impact on the outcome of CHD cases has been analysed. METHODS: A prospective study was performed for the fetal diagnosis of CHD for the standard risk pregnancy, confirmed postnatally or at second study and/or at autopsy and/or follow up at CHA hospital in 2001. Incidence of CHD has been calculated and compared to the incidence of CHD of the prescreening period(1992.3-1995.2). RESULTS: There were 66 cases of CHD prenatally during the study period. CHD consisted of 7 cases of ventricular septal defects(VSD), 7 cases of tetralogy of Fallot(TOF), 5 cases of heterotaxy, 5 cases of double outlet right ventricle(DORV), 5 cases of severe pulmonary stenosis(PS), 3 cases of hypoplastic left heart syndrome(HLHS), 3 cases of coarctation, 3 cases of critical aortic stenosis(AS), 3 cases of pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum(PA IVS). Among 66 fetal CHD cases, 30 cases of CHD has been terminated, 1 case died in utero and 23 cases has been delivered at cardiac center through planned delivery. The most common factors of termination were extracardiac and chromosomal anomaly. 17 cases of false negative diagnosis were small VSD and mild PS that couldn't be diagnosed in fetal stage. There was no false positive diagnosis. There were 30 cases of CHDs born in 2001 at CHA hospital. 28 cases were diagnosed postnatally. Among 30 cases of CHDs, there were 18 cases of VSD(17 small VSD), 6 cases of mild PS, 4 ASD, 1 PDA. Incidence rate of CHD in 2001 and period 1992.3-1995.2 were 5.95 and 10.15/1,000 livebirth respectively. CONCLUSION: The data suggested that all of the significant CHDs could be diagnosed prenatally accurately by fetal echocardiography. And the incidence rate of CHD has been decreased by 41.4%. And the most of the complex CHD has been transferred to the cardiac center for planned delivery or has been terminated. The rate of termination was 45.5%.
Autopsy ; Diagnosis* ; Echocardiography* ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart ; Heart Defects, Congenital* ; Incidence ; Pregnancy ; Prenatal Diagnosis ; Prospective Studies ; Pulmonary Atresia

We describe the case of a 45-year-old woman who had self-regressing livedo reticularis on the lower extremities. Examination of a biopsy specimen from the mottled area revealed myxomatous emboli in the deep dermal arterioles. Echocardiography showed a myxoma in the left atrium. After the tumor was surgically excised, the patient had no further evidence of the disorders during the 3-year period of follow-up. Livedo reticularis caused by an peripheral arterial embolism, which in turn was caused by the tumor fragments in our patient with left atrial myxoma, is considered to be unusual.
Arterioles ; Biopsy ; Echocardiography ; Embolism ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Heart Atria ; Humans ; Livedo Reticularis* ; Lower Extremity ; Middle Aged ; Myxoma*

We built the hypothesis that the hypertrophic callus formation is mediated by beta-endorphin that stimulates secretion of GH and increase circulation growth factor activity in head injury patient. We classified 4 groups such as 5 normal person(control), group I;5 patients with only fracture, group II;5 patients with fracture and head injury, group III; 5 patients with only head injury, group IV. We obtained the samples of serum from each group at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 weeks after trauma and assessed the serum level of GH, GHRH, somatostatin. The serum level of GH was statisticallyu higher in group III, IV than group I, II. There was not significant difference in serum level of GHRH. The serum level of somatostatin was higher in group II, III, IV than group I, but there was no statistical significance in each group. GH has a important role in hypertrophic callus formation in severe head injury patients, but there was no evidence that the mechanism is mediated by beta-EndorphinGHRH & somatostatin-GH-GF-1, beta-FGF axis. There may be a another mechanism in increasing GH that was stimulated by beta-endorphin in thalamus and lateral ventricle, and it should be necessary for further evaluation of it.
Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; beta-Endorphin ; Bony Callus ; Craniocerebral Trauma* ; Head* ; Humans ; Lateral Ventricles ; Somatostatin ; Thalamus

Among the fifty-three clinical isolates of Haemophilus influenzae, nineteen isolates including eight isolates of each biotype I-VIII, six of serotype b (Hib) strains and five of nontypeable strains were characterized by SDS-PAGE about outer membrane protein (OMP), restriction enzyme analysis (REA) and rRNA gene restriction pattems. OMP patterns showed to common band patterns in each H. influenzae isolate. Based on the two major proteins, 31KDa-38KDa, isolated strains were classified into 7 subtypes. In the OMP patterns about biotype and serotype, the specific pattern of each biotype was not distinguishable, but all of the serotype b strains were shown identical unique pattern, therefore it made distinctive difference with nontypeable strains. The digested genomic DNAs with EcoRI were identical result with rRNA gene restriction. It was more subdivided into 10 ribotypes. The most common ribotype I and serotype 1 accounted for 6 strains (31.6%) and 7 strains (36.8%) of the 19 clinical isolates, respectively. Hib isolates that were both OMP subtype 1 and ribotype I accounted for 2 strains (10.5%). In the epidemiologically unrelated strains, the putative association between the subtypes could not be confirmed. According to these results, the three methods were discriminatory and appropriate techniques for epidemiological studies of H. influenzae.
DNA ; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel* ; Genes, rRNA* ; Haemophilus influenzae type b ; Haemophilus influenzae* ; Haemophilus* ; Influenza, Human ; Membrane Proteins ; Restriction Mapping* ; Ribotyping

No Abstract Available.
Cytomegalovirus* ; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay* ; Humans*

PURPOSE: Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy(HOA) is a clinical syndrome consisting of clubbing, periostitis and synovitis. Most frequent causes of hypertrophic osteoarthropathy are intrathoracic neoplasms, among which the bronchogenic carcinoma ranks the highest. But computed tomographic evaluation of intrathoracic neoplasm associated with HOA has been seldom reported. The purpose of this study is to evaluate CT findings of intrathoracic neoplasm associated with HOA, and to infer possible mechanism. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seven cases of intrathoracic neoplasm associated with HOA were included in our study. Diagnoses of HOA were made by Tc99m bone scintigraphy or plain radiography. The findings of chest CT scans were reviewed retrospectively, with main interests on their size, location and internal characteristics, ect. RESULTS: Seven cases of intrathoracic neoplasm consisted of five bronchogenic carcinomas and two thymic tumors. The size of intrathoracic tumors were relativelY, large ranging from 6cm to 13cm(average 8.0cm). All thoracic neoplasms showed wide pleural contact, and one of them invaded thoracic wall. The range of length of pleural contact was 5-18cm(average 9.9cm). All of seven patients had internal necrosis, and one of them showed cavitation in thoracic mass. CONCLUSION: lntrathoracic neoplasms associated with HOA had a tendency to be large, to contain internal necrosis, and to widely abut the thoracic pleura.
Carcinoma, Bronchogenic ; Diagnosis ; Humans ; Necrosis ; Periostitis ; Pleura ; Radiography ; Radionuclide Imaging ; Retrospective Studies ; Synovitis ; Thoracic Neoplasms ; Thoracic Wall ; Thymus Neoplasms ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

No abstract available.
Antibody Formation* ; Borrelia burgdorferi* ; Borrelia* ; Retrospective Studies*

Partial trisomy of the long arm of chromosome 5 distal to 5q33 is rare. Only 16 cases have so far been reported. We report on a three-year-old boy with microcephaly, growth and developmental delay, mild mental retardation, and facial dysmorphism caused by partial 5q trisomy and partial 7p monosomy. The patient has an apparently unbalanced translocation resulting from a rearrangement between chromosomes 5 and 7 (46,XY,der (7)t (5;7) (q33;p22)de novo). Fluorescence in situ hybridization with chromosome 5 and 7 painting probes and a cri-du-chat critical region probe confirmed this chromosome rearrangement. Most cases of partial trisomy 5q33-q35 described to date are due to the unbalanced transmission of a familial translocation. To the best of our knowledge, there are no previous reports of de novo unbalanced translocations of these two chromosome abnormalities together with similar breakpoints.
Arm ; Chromosome Aberrations ; Chromosome Deletion* ; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5 ; Fluorescence ; Growth and Development ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization ; Intellectual Disability ; Male ; Microcephaly ; Monosomy ; Paint ; Paintings ; Trisomy*

Diagnostic Errors ; Female ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Leiomyoma ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; Ultrasonography ; Uterine Neoplasms ; diagnosis ; surgery ; Uterus ; blood supply ; diagnostic imaging ; Venous Thrombosis ; diagnosis ; surgery

OBJECTIVE: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a common entrapment neuropathy of the median nerve at the wrist, can be diagnosed clinically and electrophysiologically and treated successfully. The purpose of this study was to determine an association between clinical findings and the electrodiagnostic severity of this syndrome. METHOD: Medical records of 313 patients with CTS which was confirmed based on clinical and electrophysiological findings were reviewed. Clinical symptoms and signs (thenar atrophy, sensory change, positive Tinel sign and Phalen test) and electrodiagnostic values were recorded. CTS severity was determined according to the modified Stevens' criteria. The relationship between electrodiagnostic severity and clinical findings was investigated and statistically analyzed using the ANOVA and chi square tests. RESULTS: The median motor and sensory latencies became prolonged and amplitudes decreased with worsening electrophysiological severity of CTS, and the differences between severity groups were statistically significant. The frequency of symptoms and signs obtained was significantly greater in the more severe CTS groups. CONCLUSION: A positive correlation exists between the frequency of clinical findings and electrophysiological severity of CTS.
Atrophy ; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome* ; Electrodiagnosis ; Humans ; Median Nerve ; Medical Records ; Wrist