Torsades de pointes is characterized by paroxysms of ventricular tachycardia at rates typically greater than 200 beats/min in which QRS morphology shows alternating polarity in an undulating pattern so that the complexes appear to be twisting about the beseline;this arrhythmia is virtually always associated with prolongation of the QT interval. Its importance lies not in its unusual structure but in the potentially fatal outcome if conventional treatment is administred. Torsades de pointes was diagnosed in 4 patients;the first with hypokalemia, the second with congenital QT prolongation syndrome, the third with amiodarone, the fourth with organophosphorous and hypokalemia. Treatment of these patients consisted of potassium supply, isoproterenol, lidocaine, phenobarbital, tenormin, phenytoin, cardioversion, atropine. Three patients improved successfully, but one patient died, as a direct result of the ensuing ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest on one hour after admission.
Amiodarone ; Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Atenolol ; Atropine ; Electric Countershock ; Fatal Outcome ; Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Hypokalemia ; Isoproterenol ; Lidocaine ; Phenobarbital ; Phenytoin ; Potassium ; Tachycardia, Ventricular ; Torsades de Pointes* ; Ventricular Fibrillation

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) can be a good treatment option for avascular necrosis (AVN) of the femoral head. However, because dislocation can frequently occur after surgery, THA is a concern in patients with a neuromuscular disease, such as cerebral palsy or poliomyelitis. In patients with poliomyelitis, only one case of AVN of the femoral head in the affected limb has been reported in the English literature. Here, the authors report on a case of AVN of the femoral head in a patient with poliomyelitis, who was treated with a large diameter femoral head metal-on-metal THA using a modified minimally invasive-2-incision technique.
Arthroplasty ; Cerebral Palsy ; Dislocations ; Extremities ; Head ; Hip ; Humans ; Necrosis ; Neuromuscular Diseases ; Poliomyelitis ; Tacrine

Because information on biological agents in the workplace is lacking, biological hazard analyses at the workplace to securely recognize the harmful factors with biological basis are desperately needed. This review concentrates on literatures published after 2010 that attempted to detect biological hazards to humans, especially workers, and the efforts to protect them against these factors. It is important to improve the current understanding of the health hazards caused by biological factors at the workplace. In addition, this review briefly describes these factors and provides some examples of their adverse health effects. It also reviews risk assessments, protection with personal protective equipment, prevention with training of workers, regulations, as well as vaccinations.
Biological Factors ; Humans ; Risk Assessment ; Social Control, Formal ; Vaccination

Since the concept of osseointegration has been introduced, a lot of researches were performed to achieve stronger fixation of the implant. In this study, we tried to find the different pattern of bone ingrowth after implanting pure titanium implant and Hydroxyapatite coated titanium implant in dogs. Four typed of cylindrical titanium implants (diameter 6 mm, length 1 mm) were inserted in the distal femur of adult dogs. The histological examination was done at postoperative 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. There was no foreign body reaction at contact site and all implants kept direct contact with bone tissue. In the light microscopic finding, after 2 weeks, the cases with Hydroxyapatite-coated Implant (HAP) showed greater formation of immature woven bone in comparison to Titanium implant. After 4 weeks, Hydroxyapatite-coated Implant (HAP) showed more mature lamellar bone. After 8 and 12 weeks, most of the woven bone was transformed into mature lamellar bone. The fluorescence microscopic finding, after 2 weeks, revealed calcein green fluorescence around implants in all cases and it was more prominent in the cases with Hydroxyapatite-coated Implant (HAP). After 4 weeks, the center of trabecula gave out green fluorescent light, the corner of them showed red fluorescent light, and they were more prominent in the cases with Hydroxyapatite-coated Implant (HAP). After 8 and 12 weeks, green fluorescence disappeared gradually, red fluorescence appeared for the most part, and there was no difference in each cases, especially in 12 weeks. As a result, we support the concept that Hydroxyapatite-coated Implant (HAP) induces faster bone ingrowth in 4 weeks than Titanium implant, and that it may be more profitable for early bone ingrowth and implant stability.
Adult ; Animals ; Bone and Bones ; Dogs* ; Durapatite ; Femur ; Fluorescence ; Foreign-Body Reaction ; Humans ; Osseointegration ; Titanium*

An amelanotic malignant melanoma is characterized by little or no pigment. It is frequently misdiagnosed because it is a rare entity in general, and because of its unusual clinical features. Liposarcoma is one of the most common adult soft tissue sarcomas. We encountered a case of amelanotic melanoma with a concurrent liposarcoma. A 68-year-old man presented with a single, 1.5x1.5 cm round erythematous, eroded nodule on the left heel. A biopsy specimen showed atypical, pleomorphic tumor cells with little melanin pigment. The tumor cells were positive for S-100, HMB-45 and negative for cytokeratins. These findings were consistent with amelanotic melanoma. On positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT), a hypermetabolic lesion was found in the left buttock. This lesion was excised and diagnosed as a well-differentiated liposarcoma. An association between sarcomas and other primary malignancies has been reported. However, an association between melanoma and liposarcoma is rare.
Adult ; Aged ; Biopsy ; Buttocks ; Cytochrome P-450 CYP1A1 ; Electrons ; Heel ; Humans ; Keratins ; Liposarcoma ; Melanins ; Melanoma ; Melanoma, Amelanotic ; Sarcoma

Microinvasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix(FIGO stage IA) has been reported as highly curable disease even with conservative surgery such as conization and simple hysterectomy. Nevertheless, the surgical management for microinvasive carcinomas has been proposed varying from conservative surgery to radical hysterectomy with pelvic nodes dissection according to different diagnostic criterias for microinvasive carcinoma. We reviewed 512 patients who had been diagnosed as microinvasive carcinoma of the uterine cervix at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Samsung Cheil Hospital and Women's Healthcare Center from Jan. 1988 to Dec. 1995. Among them, 376 patients were included in this study satisfying guided criterias such as proper management and follow up more than at least one year, and they were analyzed retrospectively based on the clinicopathologic characteristics, pattern of surgical management and postoperative status. (continue)
Cervix Uteri* ; Conization ; Delivery of Health Care ; Diagnosis* ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gynecology ; Humans ; Hysterectomy ; Obstetrics ; Retrospective Studies

We present successful resuscitation in a mentally disabled young male who has isolated jejunal perforation without trauma history. Abdominal computed tomography scan showed large amount of free intraperitoneal air. Cardiac arrest occurred after anesthetic induction. Following resuscitation, emergent exploratory laparotomy revealed only a 3-cm perforation of the jejunum, 40 cm from the ligament of Treitz. During operation, repeated cardiac arrest occurred. Fortunately, the operation was successfully completed and patient discharged 15th day after operation without complications.
Heart Arrest ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability ; Jejunum ; Laparotomy* ; Ligaments ; Male ; Mentally Disabled Persons* ; Resuscitation* ; Shock, Septic

In vivo studies regarding biochemical, molecular biological, and histopathological changes in cancer tissues have been widely performed by the administration of carcinogens in rodents. In these established methods, dissection of the animal following sacrifice must be carried out. Exosomes are cell-derived vesicles that are present in all body fluids and these vesicles have specific roles within cells. Thus, much attention is given to the clinical application of exosomes that can possibly be used for prediction and therapy and as biomarkers related to cancer. To develop a new tool for monitoring in vivo genetic alterations, as a result of carcinogenesis, without the need for frequent euthanasia, we performed quantitative measurement of exosomes in Mlg2908 murine lung fibroblasts and LA-4 and KLN 205 murine lung cancer cells using fluorescence-activated cell sorting. We detected an increase in CD63-specific exosomes in LA-4 lung cancer cells. This result is able to be applied to the classification of cancer-specific proteins and miRNA as diagnostic markers.
Animals ; Biomarkers ; Body Fluids ; Carcinogenesis ; Carcinogens ; Classification ; Euthanasia ; Exosomes* ; Fibroblasts ; Flow Cytometry* ; Lung Neoplasms* ; Lung* ; MicroRNAs ; Rodentia

The various implants used in total hip arthroplasty can be classified according to the design and the fixation type. In general, they can be divided into two groups; cemented and cementless types. The surgeon's decision regarding which type of implant to use should be based on the goal of the arthroplasty operation, the bony deformity of the patient, the function of the involved hip joint, and the experience of the operator. When using cementless implants, primary fixation, survival rate, and successful fixation on long-term follow-up depend on the material of the implant, the bone quality, and, ultimately, the interaction between the implant and the bone. Cementless implants have shown a high success rate in primary total hip arthroplasty and relatively fine outcomes on long-term follow-up. In comparison of the two implant types, superiority has yet to be determined, however, a choice made based on the objective of the surgery, the function of the joint, the quality of the bone, and the surgeon's experience will result in a good outcome. Therefore, we reviewed the qualities of cementless implants, the application, and the various procedures involving the implant.
Arthroplasty ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Follow-Up Studies ; Hip ; Hip Joint ; Humans ; Joints ; Survival Rate

BACKGROUND: In primary total hip replacements (THRs), the dissected femoral heads (FHs) are commonly used to make the bone-chips for the reconstruction in the orthopaedic surgery. The donated FHs are routinely microbiologically cultured to identify and contaminated FHs are discarded. This study examines whether a positive FH culture predicts an infection and prosthetic failure after primary THR. METHODS: The study sampled 274 donated FHs from patients with osteonecrosis (ON), hip joint osteoarthritis (OA), and femoral neck fracture (FNF) in THR to culture the microbes. The FH contamination rates were analyzed for ON, OA, and FNF groups. Proportion of the postoperative infection or prosthetic failure in the group of donors with a positive FH culture were compared to the proportion in the group of donors with a negative FH culture. RESULTS: The rates of the positive culture in the ON, OA, and FNF groups were 7.1%, 3.8%, and 4.0%, respectively. The infection rate was found to be non-significantly greater in the ON group than in the OA and FNF groups. In the negative culture group, one patient (0.63%) had a postoperative superficial infection, and five patients (3.2%) experienced additional surgeries including a fixation for a periprosthetic fracture, within a minimum follow-up of two years. However, no postoperative infection was encountered, and no revision surgery was required in the positive culture group. CONCLUSIONS: A positive FH culture is not always associated with elevated risks of infection or prosthetic failure after THR. Therefore, such finding cannot be used as a prognostic factor of THR. The FHs that return a positive culture may not lead to the orthopaedic assessment of an infection or other postoperative complication risks in primary THR.
Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip/adverse effects/*methods ; Female ; Femoral Neck Fractures/surgery ; Femur Head/*microbiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Hip/surgery ; Osteonecrosis/surgery ; Prognosis ; Prosthesis-Related Infections/*microbiology ; Staphylococcus/isolation & purification