No abstract available.
Dermatitis* ; Streptococcus pyogenes

No abstract available.

No abstract available.
Wegener Granulomatosis*

No abstract available.
Adolescent* ; Ecthyma* ; Humans ; Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Acute myocardial infarction after a bee sting is a very rare process. Among proposed mechanisms, vasospasm of the coronary artery is the most probable mechanism. Many mediators are included in the venom of wasps, and those mediators have vasoconstrictive properties and may constrict the coronary artery. Furthemore, those mediators have thrombogenic properties that lead to thrombogenesis in the coronary artery and aggravate myocardial ischemia. Epinephrine, commonly used in the management of anaphylactic shock, may further aggravate myocardial ischemia. We experienced two cases of acute myocardial infarction after a bee sting. In the first case, we could find no underlying abnormalities of the coronary vessel because the patient died during coronary angiography. In the second case, the electrocardiogram showed inferior wall myocardial infarction, but only mild stenosis of the right coronary artery was seen in coronary angiography.
Anaphylaxis ; Bees* ; Bites and Stings* ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Coronary Angiography ; Coronary Vessels ; Electrocardiography ; Epinephrine ; Humans ; Inferior Wall Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Infarction* ; Myocardial Ischemia ; Venoms ; Wasps

BACKGROUNDs: A retrospective study was performed to define objective radiologic parameters in diagnosing epiglottitis on soft-tissue lateral neck radiographic study. METHODS: Parameters of soft-tissue structures(epiglottis width, third vertebral body width, ratio of epiglottic width to third vertebral body width) in 30 adult patients compared with those of age and sex-matched controls with foreign body in throat whose radiographic reading was normal. RESULTS: Epiglottis width of more than 11mm, ratio of epiglottis width(EW) to the third vertebral body width(C3W) of more than 0.5 were, respectively, found to be 100% sensitive and specific in differentiating between patients with and without epiglottitis. CONCLUSION: These preliminary results suggest that EW/C3W ratio of more than 0.5, EW of more than 11mm, respectively, may be useful in the diagnosis of epiglottitis in adult patients.
Adult* ; Diagnosis* ; Epiglottis ; Epiglottitis* ; Foreign Bodies ; Humans ; Neck ; Pharynx ; Retrospective Studies

BACKGROUND: Osteoporosis is an important health concern among the postmenopausal women. Therefore, it is necessary to find out acceptable screening tools for osteoporotic patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Risk Index by OSTA as a screening test for osteoporosis. METHODS: The study population was 322 naturally caused menopausal women in Korea. Their was of femoral neck and lumbar spine BMD measured by DEXA. Risk Index by OSTA, based on weight and age, was calculated and the sensitivity and specificity for osteoporosis and osteopenia were evaluated. To find out the proper cut-off point for osteoporosis and osteopenia among the postmenopausal women in Korea, we also compared the sensitivity and specificity of each Risk Index value. RESULTS: The mean age and ages at menopause were 59.1(+/-6.2) and 50.7 (+/-2.7) years, respectively. The prevalence of osteoporosis was 9.6% with femoral neck BMD. For oeteoporosis, using a cut-off point of -1 yielded a sensitivity of 74.3% and a specificity of 52.2% with femoral neck BMD. Using a cut-off of -2 yielded a sensitivity of 87.3% and a specificity of 70.9%. The ROC curve showed an AUROC 0.88 for Risk Index in identifying osteoporosis. CONCLUSION: The Risk Index is an acceptable, simple and useful method in the diagnosis of osteoporosis with a Risk Index of -2 in Korean postmenopausal women.
Bone Diseases, Metabolic* ; Diagnosis ; Female ; Femur Neck ; Humans ; Korea ; Mass Screening* ; Menopause ; Osteoporosis* ; Prevalence ; ROC Curve ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spine

No abstract available.
Acute Generalized Exanthematous Pustulosis* ; Chickens* ; Eating* ; Hemodynamics* ; Lacquer*

No abstract available.
Bile Duct Neoplasms* ; Bile Ducts* ; Bile*

The most important prognostic factor of breast cancer is the status of lymph node or distant metastasis, which is resisted by basement membrane and stromal matrix. MMP (matrix metalloproteinase)-2 is a 72-kilodalton type IV collagenase/ gelatinase and degrades the type IV collagen which is a main component of the basement membrane. Therefore, MMP-2 is believed to be one of the key molecule for cancer invasion and metastasis. Enzymatic activity of MMP is inhibited by TIMPs (tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase). TIMP-2 forms a complex with latent pro-MMP-2 and inhibits the active forms of MMP-2. The balance of MMPs and TIMPs is suspected as the important factor of invasion and metastasis of the tumor cells. We studied the association between the expression of MMP-2/TIMP-2 and growth pattern of tumor border, lymph node metastasis, and estrogen receptor expression in the 57 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast using immunohistochemical staining methods. The results revealed increased expression of MMP-2 in the infiltrating tumor border and tumors with positive lymph node metastasis and negative estrogen receptor with no statistical significance (p>0.05). But the expression of TIMP-2 was increased in expanding tumor border and tumors with positive lymph node metastasis and negative estrogen receptor without statistical significance (p>0.05).
Basement Membrane ; Breast Neoplasms ; Breast* ; Carcinoma, Ductal* ; Collagen Type IV ; Estrogens* ; Gelatinases ; Lymph Nodes* ; Matrix Metalloproteinases ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Tissue Inhibitor of Metalloproteinase-2*