The purpose of study was to examine the effect of supportive touch on the surgical patients with anxiety in the operation room. The method of this study has been carried out under the similar experiment of Nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest design by conveniently selecting 25 experimental group and 25 control group totalling 50 patients in immediatery prior to surgery in the operation room. The data were collected from June. 22, 1998 through Aug. 28, 1998 at C-University hospital in Seoul. The subjects were 50 adult patients who were operated under general anesthesia and had undergone laparotomy. They did not have any complication, were alert enough to be interviewed and agreed willingly to participate in this study. The tool for measurement was the testing protocol for Trait-State anxiety developed by spilberger and the visual analogue scale developed by cline etc. and blood pressure, pulse rate and respiration rate and blood sugar level. SPSS program was used for the analysis. The hemogenety of the control and experimertal group was examined by x2-test and t-test. The results of this study are as follows: 1. There was the significant difference of the state anxiety between the experimental group and the control group (P=0.012) Just before surgery. 2. There was a partially significant difference in the vital signs between the experimental group and control group just before surgery. (systolic blood pressure: P=0.000, diastolic blood pressure: P=0.972, pulse rate: P=0.572, resp rate: P=0.186). 3. There was the significant difference of the blood sugar level between the experimental group and the control group(P=0.002) just before surgery. 4. There was a partially significant difference in the vital signs and blood sugar level of the experimental group and the control group when pre-therapeutic and post-therapeutic readings were compared. (systolic blood pressure: P=0.000, diastolic blood pressure: P=0.035, pulse rate: P=0.796, resp rate: P=0.242, blood sugar level: P=0.002).
Adult ; Anesthesia, General ; Anxiety* ; Blood Glucose ; Blood Pressure ; Heart Rate ; Humans ; Laparotomy ; Reading ; Respiratory Rate ; Seoul ; Vital Signs

Congenital anomalies of the pancreaticobiliary structure may go undetected until adulthood, and they can be the cause of unexplained jaundice, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. In addition to such associated disease, as cholangitis, gallstone, cholangiocarcinoma and pancreatitis, recognition of these variant anatomies is clinically important for planning surgery and for preventing inadvertent surgical injury. Although congenital abnormalities and variations of the biliary ducts are common, and variations in the drainage and course of the cystic duct are also frequently seen, variation of the cystic duct opening into the right hepatic duct is rare; further, it is important to avoid erroneous ligation of the hepatic duct during surgery. We report here on a case of aberrant cystic duct opening into the right hepatic duct along with acute pancreatitis.
Abdominal Pain ; Cholangiocarcinoma ; Cholangitis ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Cystic Duct* ; Drainage ; Gallstones ; Hepatic Duct, Common* ; Intraoperative Complications ; Jaundice ; Ligation ; Nausea ; Pancreatitis* ; Vomiting

BACKGROUND: Trichomonas vaginalis is a pathogenic protozoa infecting human genitourinary tract. Metronidazole is currently the drug of choice to treat T. vaginalis infection. However, because of the side effects and the occurrence of resistant strains of metronidazole, it is needed to investigate alternatives. METHODS: The antiprotozoal effect of aquatic extract from Sophora flavescens on the growth and fine structure of T. vaginalis was examined by using trypan blue exclusion assay and electron microscopy. RESULTS: One hour after the addition of 4 mg/mL extract and half hour after the addition of 5 mg/mL showed antiprotozoal effect. One to two hours after the addition of 3 mg/mL extract, the movement of flagella and axostyle had disappeared, but death of the cells had not occurred until two hours after the addition. The fine structure of the cytoplasm was also changed half an hour to two hours after addition. The number of polyribosome decreased when that of single ribosomes in the cytoplasm increased. CONCLUSION: These results indicated that S. flavescens had the antiprotozoal effect on T. vaginalis by inhibition of cell multiplication as well as an impairment of protein synthesis.
Cell Proliferation ; Cytoplasm ; Flagella ; Humans ; Metronidazole ; Microscopy, Electron ; Polyribosomes ; Ribosomes ; Sophora* ; Trichomonas vaginalis* ; Trichomonas* ; Trypan Blue

BACKGROUND: DNA methylation and histone modification are dynamically linked in the epigenetic control of gene silencing and they play an important role in tumorigenesis. METHODS: To evaluate the role of histone deacetylase 1 (HDAC1) in the development of lung cancer and the relationship between a HDAC1 overexpression and p16INK4a hypermethylation, we performed immunohistochemical staining for HDAC1 in 76 lung cancer specimens (39 squamous cell carcinomas and 37 adenocarcinomas) that had been previously evaluated for their p16INK4a methylation status by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: A HDAC1 overexpression (>50% of HDAC1 immunoreactive cells) was detected in 65 (85.5%) out of the 76 cases and it was more frequently seen in the squamous cell carcinomas (97.4%) than in the adenocarcinomas (73.0%) (p=0.002). The incidence of HDAC1 overexpression tended to be higher in the heavy smokers with more than 20 pack-years (p=0.067). Although there was no statistical significance, the frequency of p16INK4a hypermethylation in the cases with a HDAC1 overexpression (27.7%) tended to be higher than that in the cases without a HDAC1 overexpression (9.0%) (p=0.175). CONCLUSIONS: A HDAC1 overexpression might be involved in lung carcinogenesis, and especially in a subgroup of smoking and squamous cell carcinoma patients, and a HDAC1 overexpression may be associated with p16INK4a hypermethylation.
Adenocarcinoma ; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell ; Cell Transformation, Neoplastic ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 ; DNA Methylation ; Epigenomics ; Gene Silencing ; Genes, p16 ; Histone Deacetylase 1 ; Histone Deacetylases ; Histones ; Humans ; Incidence ; Lung ; Lung Neoplasms ; Methylation ; Polymerase Chain Reaction ; Smoke ; Smoking

BACKGROUND: Alcohol is known to affect two epigenetic phenomena, DNA methylation and DNA hydroxymethylation, and iron is a cofactor of ten-eleven translocation (TET) enzymes that catalyze the conversion from methylcytosine to hydroxymethylcytosine. In the present study we aimed to determine the effects of alcohol on DNA hydroxymethylation and further effects of iron on alcohol associated epigenetic changes. METHODS: Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either Lieber-DeCarli alcohol diet (36% calories from ethanol) or Lieber-DeCarli control diet along with or without iron supplementation (0.6% carbonyl iron) for 8 weeks. Hepatic non-heme iron concentrations were measured by colorimetric assays. Protein levels of hepatic ferritin and transferrin receptor were determined by Western blotting. Methylcytosine, hydroxymethylcytosine and unmodified cytosine in DNA were simultaneously measured by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry method. RESULTS: Iron supplementation significantly increased hepatic non-heme iron contents (P < 0.05) but alcohol alone did not. However, both alcohol and iron significantly increased hepatic ferritin levels and decreased hepatic transferrin receptor levels (P < 0.05). Alcohol reduced hepatic DNA hydroxymethylation (0.21% ± 0.04% vs. 0.33% ± 0.04%, P = 0.01) compared to control, while iron supplementation to alcohol diet did not change DNA hydroxymethylation. There was no significant difference in methylcytosine levels, while unmodified cytosine levels were significantly increased in alcohol-fed groups compared to control (95.61% ± 0.08% vs. 95.26% ± 0.12%, P = 0.03), suggesting that alcohol further increases the conversion from hydroxymethylcytosine to unmodified cytosine. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic alcohol consumption alters global DNA hydroxymethylation in the liver but iron supplementation reverses the epigenetic effect of alcohol.
Alcohol Drinking* ; Alcohols ; Animals ; Blotting, Western ; Cytosine ; Diet ; DNA Methylation ; DNA* ; Epigenomics ; Ferritins ; Humans ; Iron* ; Liver ; Male ; Methods ; Rats* ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Receptors, Transferrin ; Spectrum Analysis

Purpose: To retrospectively evaluate the chest computed tomography (CT) findings of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients with mild clinical symptoms at a single hospital in South Korea. Materials and Methods: CT scans of 87 COVID-19 patients [43 men and 44 women; median age:41 years (interquartile range: 26.1–51.0 years)] with mild clinical symptoms (fever < 38℃ and no dyspnea) were evaluated. Results: CT findings were normal in 39 (44.8%) and abnormal in 48 (55.2%) patients. Among the 48 patients with lung opacities, 17 (35.4%) had unilateral disease and 31 (64.6%) had bilateral disease. One (2.1%) patient showed subpleural distribution, 9 (18.8%) showed peribronchovascular distribution, and 38 (79.2%) showed subpleural and peribronchovascular distributions.Twenty-two (45.8%) patients had pure ground-glass opacities (GGOs) with no consolidation, 17 (35.4%) had mixed opacities dominated by GGOs, and 9 (18.8%) had mixed opacities dominated by consolidation. No patients demonstrated consolidation without GGOs. Conclusion The most common CT finding of COVID-19 in patients with mild clinical symptoms was bilateral multiple GGO-dominant lesions with subpleural and peribronchovascular distribution and lower lung predilection. The initial chest CT of almost half of COVID-19 patients with mild clinical symptoms showed no lung parenchymal lesions. Compared to relatively severe cases, mild cases were more likely to manifest as unilateral disease with pure GGOs or GGOdominant mixed opacities and less likely to show air bronchogram.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Little is known for the capacity and quality of colonoscopy, and adherence to colonoscopy surveillance guidelines in Korea. This study aimed to investigate the present and potential colonoscopic capacity, colonoscopic quality, and adherence to colonoscopy surveillance guidelines in Korea. METHODS: We surveyed representative endoscopists of 72 endoscopy units from June to August 2015, using a 36-item questionnaire regarding colonoscopic capacity, quality, and adherence to colonoscopy surveillance guidelines of each hospitals. RESULTS: Among the 62 respondents who answered the questionnaire, 51 respondents were analyzed after exclusion of 11 incomplete answers. Only 1 of 3 of endoscopy units can afford to perform additional colonoscopies in addition to current practice, and the potential maximum number of colonoscopies per week was only 42. The quality of colonoscopy was variable as reporting of quality indicators of colonoscopy were considerably variable (29.4%–94.1%) between endoscopy units. Furthermore, there are substantial gaps in the adherence to colonoscopy surveillance guidelines, as concordance rate for guideline recommendation was less than 50% in most scenarios. CONCLUSIONS: The potential capacity and quality of colonoscopy in Korea was suboptimal. Considering suboptimal reporting of colonoscopic quality indicators and low adherence rate for colonoscopy surveillance guidelines, quality improvement of colonoscopy should be underlined in Korea.
Colonoscopy ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Endoscopy ; Korea ; Quality Improvement ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium is one of the most important bacterial pathogens causing diarrhea. The resistance of S. typhimurium to antimicrobial agents, which has recently been isolated from patients, is causing serious problems. We investigated the effects of salicylic acid (Sal) and acetyl salicylate (AcSal) on the susceptibility of S. typhimurium to cephalosporin antibiotics, which are known to increase resistance to cephalosporin and quinolone antibiotics. The MIC of cephalosporin antibiotics was higher than that of the media without Sal. The rate of accumulation of ethidium bromide (EtBr) in the bacteria by the outer membrane protein (Omp) was not different from that of the bacteria cultured in the medium containing Sal. However, Carbonyl cyanide-m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), an inhibitor of bacterial efflux pumps, significantly reduced the rate of accumulation of EtBr in bacteria cultured on Sal containing medium. In the medium containing CCCP, the MIC of the antimicrobial agent tended to decrease as compared with the control. In addition, the MIC of the bacteria treated with CCCP and Sal was higher than that of the antimicrobial agent against the CCCP treated experimental bacteria. These results suggest that Sal decreases the expression of OmpF in the Omp of S. typhimurium and reduces the permeability of cephalosporin antibiotics to bacteria, which may induce tolerance to cephalosporin antibiotics.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Anti-Infective Agents ; Bacteria ; Carbonyl Cyanide m-Chlorophenyl Hydrazone ; Cephalosporin Resistance ; Cephalosporins ; Diarrhea ; Ethidium ; Humans ; Membrane Proteins ; Permeability ; Salicylic Acid ; Salmonella enterica ; Salmonella typhimurium ; Salmonella ; Serogroup

Isolated ACTH deficiency is a rare cause of secondary adrenocortical insufficiency. Adrenal crisis in isolated ACTH deficiency is less common compared to primary adrenal insufficiency, but isolated ACTH deficiency is an important cause of hypoglycemia. Recently we experienced a 41-year-old man admitted because of mental confusion. On admission, plasma glucose and sodium concentration were 1.7, 132 mmol/L, respectively. Basal plasma ACTH and cortisol levels were low and other pituitary hormone showed normal response to combined pituitary stimulation test except growth hormone. Plasma ACTH concentration remained low even after intravenous injection of ovine corticotropin releasing factor. It suggest that the defect of ACTH secretion was apparently due to intrinsic pituitary rather than hypothalamic disease. The sellar CT showed the fossa to be filled by cerebrospinal fluid. After treatment with glucocorticoid, he had no further evidence of hypoglycemia and hyponatremia. In conclusion, we report a case of isolated ACTH deficiency with empty sella.
Addison Disease ; Adrenocorticotropic Hormone ; Adult ; Blood Glucose ; Cerebrospinal Fluid ; Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone ; Growth Hormone ; Humans ; Hydrocortisone ; Hypoglycemia ; Hyponatremia ; Hypothalamic Diseases ; Injections, Intravenous ; Plasma ; Sodium

In view of this pandemic, as of February 2020, South Korea has the second highest number of confirmed cases in the world. Herein, we report four confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the early stage of the pandemic in South Korea and describe the identification, diagnosis, clinical course, and management, including one patient’s initial mild symptoms at presentation and their progression to pneumonia on day 21 of illness. Within 48 hours of hospitalization, all four patients underwent evaluation for initial laboratory parameters, COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and chest computed tomography (CT) findings. All four mild COVID-19 patients were discharged, and they were re-examined 14 days after discharge. Despite all four of them being asymptomatic, one patient was re-admitted after confirmation of COVID-19 through PCR viral nucleic acid detection. She could be discharged after 7 days with two subsequent negative COVID-19 PCR at 24-hour intervals. Patients with mild COVID-19 generally have normal follow-up chest CT scans after discharge, even if the early chest CT definitely indicates pneumonia. Re-hospitalized patients with COVID-19 PCR positive results after discharge were not related to her initial chest CT, lab, symptoms compared other three patients.